Author: Metropolia Master's bloggers
Accelerating DEI agenda for companies, their reporting and KPIs
Both researchers and industry experts concur that workplaces with diverse and inclusive environments make positive impacts on organizations. They point out that having diversity, equity, and inclusion (hence DEI) initiatives at work improves corporate culture, client relations, enables the organization to move into new markets and even positively affects profitability. The three essential components – diversity, equity, and inclusion are interlinked and, when combined with business strategies, can help organizations thrive amid societal changes. (Ely and Thomas 2020.) These topics inspired me during my MBA studies and I chose them as a topic for my Master’s thesis. In my thesis, I collaborated with a company in Finland that has a nascent DEI strategy and was interested to develop a roadmap to amplify the benefits of having DEI in the workplace to the company’s leadership. Why the need to place a focus on DEI? Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), as a social pillar of sustainability policies, is part of the global goals in order to make a positive difference in own industry, as well as generate impact on society. DEI topics, as non-financial indicators, may be difficult to measure, unless they are conceptualized and well aligned to the strategy. This may pose a challenge to smaller companies, new to this area, and therefore the experience and developments in big companies deserve attention and dissemination. Especially the appropriate selection of DEI indicators is the necessary step for any organization in the new era of CSRD. For organizations, key performance indicators (KPIs) are the essential managerial tools to determine whether the company is headed into the right direction. Metrics are vitally important, as evidenced by the proverbs "if you can't measure it, you can't manage it" and "what gets measured gets done" (Marr 2022). The DEI KPIs are important not only for reporting, but for implementing and truly “living” the strategy of the organization. They are indicative tools that will shed light on performance and point out the areas that require special care. A look at EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) For the last two decades, the EU has been a champion in promoting DEI. The latest CSRD regulation (adopted since 5th January 2023) and its newly adopted EU standards (ESRS) include not only sustainability, but also - profoundly - social issues reporting, including DEI (see ESRS S1). As communicated in the EU Commission’s website on Corporate sustainability reporting: “Companies subject to the CSRD will have to report according to European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The standards were developed by the EFRAG, previously known as the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group, an independent body bringing together various different stakeholders. The standards will be tailored to EU policies, while building on and contributing to international standardisation initiatives.” This latest EU CSRD legislation requires that all large companies disclose the information on the opportunities and risks they perceive as emerging from social and environmental issues, as well as their effects of their actions on the environment and human population (EU Commission, Press Corner, Q&A, 2023). At the European Commission's request, EFRAG (European Financial Reporting Advisory Group) drafted the standards to enforce the proposed CSRD, that focus on appropriate due process, transparency, and the knowledge of pertinent stakeholders. The 12 new standards (ESRS) cover the full range of sustainability issues and include the four significant “must-do” reports under the social facet, namely: ESRS S1: Own workforce ESRS S2: Workers in the value chain ESRS S3: Affected communities, and ESRS S4: Consumers and end-users. The ESRS standards point to a range of recommended metrics for disclosures under the social pillar, namely in “ESRS S1: Own workforce” (such as the characteristics of the undertaking’s employees to collective bargaining and social dialogue). Figure 1 shows the range of KPIs in the newly adopted CSRD and ERSRS recommended for corporate reporting. Figure 1. Metrics recommended by EFRAG for ESRS S1: Own workforce” (EFRAG 2022. Educational session on the first set of draft ESRS). In addition, the newly adopted CSRD and ESRS give room for flexibility to organizations which specific aspects of DEI they can select for reporting on their DEI related topics. Especially the gender diversity policies are seen as the most common focus in workplaces and reporting practices. By having a gender-balanced workforce, companies can demonstrate their commitment to having an inclusive and equitable work environment. This condition gives a unique chance to the front-running companies to excel and stand out among competitors by demonstrating their leadership via adopting not just mandatory, but wider reporting practices, beyond the required minimum. Nordic companies are at the forefront in DEI reporting Companies, especially the larger ones, have undergone digital and other transformations in the past decades. These changes were also closely related to sustainability and diversity issues. The organizations that successfully embraced these efforts as part of their business strategy were immediately spotted by other industry players, to a big extent, due to their excellence in reporting. These companies have managed to set examples of reporting that other organizations - as well as students in DEI topics - can learn from. The widely acknowledge examples of DEI leadership from Nordics include, for example, the following front-running companies. AFRY can be considered as an inspiring example of a leading international engineering, design, and advisory company when it comes to sustainability reporting. AFRY´s Annual and Sustainability Report 2023 (published in March 2024) measures and follows us on sustainability commitments through targets that encompasses its solutions, operations, and people. It also monitors its progress on a wide range of KPIs in DEI area (which is especially obvious when comparing to reports on DEI topics published in 2020 or earlier). Also, CGI make an interesting example among the largest IT companies in Finland that emphasizes in its DE&I governance. DEI is endorsed by the CEO and the executive committee, and that accountability for DE&I is a shared responsibility. DEI topics are embedded in the annual business plans for each Strategic Business Unit (for example, in CGI 2022 ESG report, p.45). The company clearly indicates its DEI targets and KPI also in its 2023 Sustainability report (published in 2024) and sets the targets, for example, to achieve the same level of gender diversity representation in leadership positions as is present across the entire company by 2025. (CGI 2023 ESG report, p.21). These Nordic examples demonstrate that, by understanding and selecting measurable DEI targets and KPIs, the companies can create and follow more professional development plans, identify the multitude of domains where DEI can bring benefits to an organization, and thus point to a measurable impact of DEI on the overall performance. It makes this topic worth studying, also by the students at universities of applied sciences. About the author: Joan Mhyles Cruz is an MBA graduate in Business Informatics. In her student times, Joan was a student ambassador of Metropolia UAS and an advocate of DEI. She made this topic into her Master´s thesis done for one of the front-runners of DEI in Finland. References: AFRY (2022). Annual and Sustainability Report 2022. Retrieved on 30.10.2023. https://afry.com/sites/default/files/2023-04/annual-and-sustainability-report-2022.pdf CGI (2022). Environmental, Social and Governance Report. Retrieved on 20.11.2023. https://www.cgi.com/sites/default/files/2023-03/cgi-2022-esg-report.pdf CGI (2023). Environmental, Social and Governance Report. Retrieved on 20.04.2023. https://www.cgi.com/sites/default/files/2024-05/cgi-2023-esg-report-en.pdf Cruz, Joan Mhyles (2024). A DEI Roadmap for an Organization and Its Sustainability Reporting:Master´s Thesis. Metropolia UAS. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024053018232 EFRAG (2022). Educational Session on Draft ESRS S1 Own workforce. Educational videos on the first set of draft ESRS (downloaded). Retrieved 30.11.2023. https://efrag.org/Assets/Download?assetUrl=%2Fsites%2Fwebpublishing%2FSiteAssets%2FFINAL_26.01_Long_S1_SR%2520PPT%25201%2520vers230126%2520%281%29.pdf EFRAG (2022). European Sustainability Reporting Standards (Draft). ESRS S1 Own workforce. EFRAG November 2022. Retrieved on 20.11.2023. https://www.efrag.org/Assets/Download?assetUrl=%2Fsites%2Fwebpublishing%2FSiteAssets%2F13%2520Draft%2520ESRS%2520S1%2520Own%2520workforce%2520November%25202022.pdf Ely, Robin J. and Thomas, David A. (2020). Getting Serious About Diversity: Enough Already with the Business Case. Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec 2020. https://hbr.org/2020/11/getting-serious-about-diversity-enough-already-with-the-business-case EU Commission. Corporate Sustainability Reporting. EU rules require large companies and listed companies to publish regular reports on the social and environmental risks they face, and on how their activities impact people and the environment. (online). Retrieved on 01.02.2024. https://finance.ec.europa.eu/capital-markets-union-and-financial-markets/company-reporting-and-auditing/company-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting_en EU Commission (2023). People first – Diversity and inclusion. Fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Retrieved on 5.12.2023. https://commission.europa.eu/about-european-commission/organisational-structure/people-first-modernising-european-commission/people-first-diversity-and-inclusion_en#fostering-a-diverse-and-inclusive-workplace EU Press Corner (2023). Questions and Answers on the Adoption of European Sustainability Reporting Standards. 31.07.2023 (Brussels). (online). Retrieved 20.11.2023. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_23_4043 EUROPA. EUR-Lex. Directive - 2022/2464. Official Journal of the European Union. Directive (EU) 2022/2464 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 amending Regulation (EU) No 537/2014, Directive 2004/109/EC, Directive 2006/43/EC and Directive 2013/34/EU, as regards corporate sustainability reporting (Text with EEA relevance). 16.12.2022 (online). Retrieved on 10.12.2023. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.L_.2022.322.01.0015.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AL%3A2022%3A322%3ATOC Marr, Bernard (2012). Key Performance Indicators: The 75 measures every manager needs to know. Introduction. KPIs are vital management tools (xxv). Pearson Education Limited.
Metropolia UAS and Erasmus+ student exchange to Stuttgart, Germany – May 2024
Studying in a Master's program is more than just an academic endeavor; it's a gateway to a world of inspiring opportunities and experiences. This past May, a dynamic group of Metropolia's students studying in the Master in Business Administration programme, guided by their teacher Jimmy Ruokolainen, embarked on an Erasmus+ Student exchange to the Business Psychology Department at Hochschule für Technik Stuttgart in Germany. The students documented their experiences gained from the visit through blog posts, which were evaluated in a friendly competition. Metropolia Mastermind blog is happy to post the winner of the competition that was created by MBA students Sofia Konttinen and Kasey Snider. Their captivating blog is entitled as "Seeking inspiration? Business Psychology at HFT Stuttgart will put a spin on your perspective!" Take a look and enjoy the blog yourself!
How to Navigate the Complex Landscape of Software and Technology Export Controls
The early 2020s were marked by turbulence, and the resulting economic sanctions have profoundly impacted exporting companies around the world. At the same time, groundbreaking advancements in digital infrastructure, such as generative AI and intelligent automation, have sparked debates about regulations governing software and technology export controls in leading nations. These discussions aim to protect competitive advantages and shield nations from emerging threats such as advanced cybercrime and electronic surveillance by foreign entities. As a result, export control restrictions are becoming increasingly complex. I have taken up this topic to help the company that I work for to make sense of these complex regulatory issues. Challenge: Understanding the Regulatory Framework Given the lack of maturity in multilateral processes and national regulations, companies in the software and technology sectors must proactively prepare for new restrictions and controls. Non-compliance with foreign trade laws can lead to legal, financial, and reputational risks. Moreover, macroeconomic trends, including the global economic shift and rising protectionism, will continue to impact organizations involved in export activities. Ignoring exports, that are intangible in nature, is no longer an option. What the technology industry should have learned from the unprecedented economic sanctions of 2022 and the uncertainties surrounding global treaties is that proactive trade compliance is essential. Master´s Thesis Offers an Approach My Master’s thesis offers a thorough review of existing knowledge on software technology export controls, regulatory frameworks, and best practices in both the United States (US) and the European Union (EU). This information has been synthesized into a conceptual framework to help co-create an export compliance framework tailored to software offerings. The goal is to mitigate the risk of non-compliance within the sponsor organization and to clarify the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in the export compliance process. This process involves business conduct due diligence and adherence to export control regulations, which typically cover four main categories: product controls, end-user controls, export destination controls and controls on the actual end-use. The Wassenaar Arrangement serves as the umbrella for export control regulations. It is a multilateral, non-binding international forum that facilitates the exchange of views and information on international trade in conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies. The EU and the US have integrated the Wassenaar Arrangement control lists into their legislative frameworks and operational practices. The US has more comprehensive legislation regarding software product-related controls, while the EU has delegated most software-specific regulations to its member states. Key Considerations in Software Technology When it comes to software technology classification, important aspects include encryption features and the functionality of software embedded in dual-use classified end products. The US also monitors the re-export of US-made technology in exports outside its borders. Therefore, all software product development should consider both US and EU legislation when working in international markets. A common element across the Wassenaar Arrangement, the US, and the EU concerning software and technology is the inclusion of information security within their respective national regulations. Solution: A Tool for Export Compliance Drawing from the information security domain, a tool for further content analysis was selected; the People, Process, and Technology framework introduced by Information Security and Privacy expert Bruce Schneier in 1999. This framework became a foundational concept in cybersecurity, emphasizing that when one element changes, the other two must also adapt to maintain a balanced and effective response to change. Schneier (2013) stressed that security should not solely rely on technology but should also incorporate people and processes into a comprehensive security system. The same principle applies to the export compliance landscape. To prevent confusion regarding Technology terminology in export control regulations, the Technology element was modified in the thesis to represent the actual end product, transforming the framework into the People, Process, and Product (PPP) matrix. During the co-creation process with stakeholders, the PPP elements were evaluated through the four categories of export control. Identified findings and related regulatory aspects were consolidated into a matrix, with each cell color-coded to identify the responsible entity. This matrix was designed as a tool to assist in risk mitigation within the export compliance process for software offerings at the sponsor organization. It aims to verify and monitor software exports and clarify the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders. Preparing for the Future To thrive, businesses must accelerate innovation, enhance risk management, and meet increasingly demanding expectations. Effectively designing and managing their people, processes, and product controls during times of change can provide the necessary insight and understanding to achieve these goals. Consequently, companies engaged in the software and technology business should proactively prepare to adopt new restrictions and controls as they are introduced. By doing so, they can navigate the complex landscape of export controls and ensure compliance in an ever-evolving global market. About the author Aino Herranen is a graduate of Master´s degree program in Business Informatics. Aino has a keen interest in technologies and export compliance, and has selected this area for doing her Master´s thesis. References: Herranen, Aino. 2024. Building an Export Compliance Framework: Intangible Technology Transfer – Software offerings. Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Master’s Thesis. https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/856483 Schneier, Bruce. 2013. "People, Process, and Technology". Blog. Pulished 30/01/2013. https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/01/people_process.html This document benefited from the use of OpenAI's ChatGPT for grammar and style checks.
How Machine Learning Can Be Applied in Demand Forecasting and Supply Planning
Demand forecasting is known to be challenging due to phenomena such as the Bullwhip Effect (Lee et al., 1997a). Having worked in supply chain management for many years, I observed that the Bullwhip Effect is a universal issue across all industries. Companies, regardless of size, struggle with the amplification and distortion of demand information. My master’s thesis focused on leveraging AI, specifically machine learning, to enhance demand forecasting and optimize supply chains for the case company, a producer of durable IT devices. This thesis aimed to bridge two hot topics in the digital era — machine learning and demand forecasting — by providing a practical solution within a real business context. Effective demand forecasting and supply planning are crucial components of supply chain management. Inaccurate demand information often leads to suboptimal decisions, causing inventory imbalances and customer dissatisfaction. Many organizations struggle with business challenges due to inaccurate demand forecasts, resulting in inefficiencies, financial losses, and unhappy customers. Recent advancements in machine learning (ML) algorithms offer new tools to improve forecasting accuracy and maintain excellent performance for industrial demand. Since 2018, Machine Learning algorithms have consistently won competitions focused on retail demand forecasting. In my study, I employed an applied action research approach to diagnose the case company's challenges and offer viable solutions. Data collection primarily involved qualitative methods such as interviews, meetings, and internal document analysis, supplemented by quantitative data for model development. Four algorithms were used to build Machine Learning models using data extracted from the company's weekly demand reports: Linear Regression, Decision Tree, Recurrent Neural Network, and Support Vector Machine (as recommended by: Vandeput, 2023). After processing the data, performing feature engineering, and conducting training, testing, and validation, Linear Regression emerged as the most suitable algorithm based on both Machine Learning metrics and internal evaluations. Based on the thesis results, this approach was recommended for integration into the case company's existing demand forecasting and supply planning processes to support better decision-making. The steps in the approach are shown in Figure 1 below. Figure 1. Demand Forecasting Process by Utilizing Machine Learning Model (Zhang 2024). By leveraging AI technology, particularly machine learning, in demand forecasting and supply planning, organizations can vastly improve supply chain management. Enhanced forecast accuracy and optimized inventory levels lead to reduced inefficiencies, minimized financial losses, and heightened customer satisfaction. My academic journey in Metropolia University of Applied Sciences has equipped me with invaluable expertise in digitalization and data analytics. Notably, Power BI and Machine Learning provided direct insights for visualizing data, aiding in the selection of the most suitable machine learning model in my thesis. About the author Yi Zhang is a graduate of Master´s degree program in Business Informatics. Yi is keen on new technologies and has set her personal goal to master Machine Learning for advancing in her professional area. References Lee, H.L., Padmanabhan, V. & Whang, S. (1997 a). The Bullwhip Effect in Supply Chains. Sloan Management Review/Spring. Vandeput, N. (2023). Demand forecasting best practices. Manning Publications. Available from: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/demand-forecasting-best/9781633438095/?sso_link=yes&sso_link_from=metropolia-university Zhang, Y. (2024). Machine Learning Applied in Demand Forecasting and Supply Planning. Metropolia UAS, Master´s thesis, 99 pages. Available from: https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/857760
Integrating Security into Continuous Delivery
Adopting a DevOps strategy for software development aims to significantly increase the speed of software delivery process by working in small batches and ensuring software is always releasable. This way of working is often called Continuous Delivery. However, the increased speed in software delivery creates challenges for existing security processes and practices. To ensure security concerns are identified before the software is released, security must be integrated into the Continuous Delivery process. This was the topic of my Master’s thesis that has just been completed as part of Metropolia Master´s studies. When working as a consultant helping organizations with all things around DevOps and Continuous Delivery, I have noticed that security is still often not integrated into the process as well as it could. For sure, most professionals try to think of security while implementing new features and automation. Yet, often I think we tell ourselves that there should be security experts in the organization that will be ultimately responsible for the security of the solution. Here, I can take myself as an example. Although I have discovered many great open-source security tools that could be used at various stages of the software development and delivery process, rarely did I feel like I have the time and mandate to take them into real use in projects. This is a mindset which, I think, should be changed; everyone who contributes to the software delivery should be responsible for security. Realizing it as a problem, I turned this challenge into a Master’s Thesis topic when I started my studies at Metropolia. According to my initial idea, integrating the available open-source security tools into the Continuous Delivery processes would provide a fast feedback loop on security threats and vulnerabilities that developers might accidently introduce while working on projects (Vainio 2023). This is what the Master´s thesis finally achieved. What is Continuous Delivery? In my experience, a successful DevOps strategy for software delivery revolves around the concept of Continuous Delivery which was popularized by David Farley and Jez Humble in their 2010 book called “Continuous Delivery”. (Farley & Humble 2010) More technical readers will know that continuous Delivery extends the earlier coined Continuous Integration concept and takes it to its logical conclusion: every change to the software should be followed by multiple stages of automated testing to verify that the software is releasable; and if the testing fails, everyone must work together to either rollback the change or fix the issue. These stages are arranged into what is called the deployment pipeline. It is easiest to understand the concept with help a diagram such as the one below: Figure 1. Example of a Deployment Pipeline (Vainio 2023, picture modified from Farley & Humble 2010). The deployment pipeline in Figure 1 is triggered by a change to the software’s code base and is then followed by multiple stages of testing. Finally, if tests are successful, the software should reach a releasable state. Given that the team is already working with a deployment pipeline, it presents an opportunity to integrate automated security tests into this process. Integrating Security Since Continuous Delivery aims for software that is always releasable, this means that the security posture of the software and the related deployment infrastructure must also be in a secure, releasable state. It might seem obvious by now, but the below diagram shows how security tests can be bolted onto the deployment pipeline: Figure 2. Example of an Enhanced Deployment Pipeline (Vainio 2023). As seen in Figure 2 above, security tests fit right into the deployment pipeline. Ideally, the security tests are run in parallel to the existing tests. This is the desired implementation that aims for security tests that don’t slow down the pipeline execution and thus the delivery process. It seems obvious that security should be one of the characteristics of the software that is tested during the deployment pipeline. But as often happens, this simple idea can be tricky to implement in practice unless you are a security expert, and that’s why I wanted to study and discover the practical ways for anyone working on the delivery process to find effective ways to integrate security tests into the process. My Master’s Thesis describes a security framework based on these core ideas. Following the thesis, in my company we have internalized this approach and developed additional practical examples and information around the security tools and practices. It is still very early days for the full-scale adoption of the framework, but we have started the journey to fully embrace the idea that security has to be an integral part of everything that we deliver. References Farley, D. & Humble, J. (2010). Continuous Delivery. Reliable Software Releases Through Build, Test and Deployment Automation. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc Vainio, M. (2023). Practical Framework for Continuous Delivery: Master´s Thesis. Metropolia UAS. 77 pages. https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/810697 About the author Mike Vainio is a double alumnus of Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. He first graduated as an Engineer of Information and Communication technology (Bachelor, 2014) and then graduated as a Master in Business Informatics in December 2023. Among other professional topics, Mike has a keen interest in security in software development.
A More Strategic Approach to Managing a Company’s Patent Portfolio
Half of the economic growth in industrial countries derives from innovations (Gassmann 2021: 4, 8). As a result, understanding of the significance of intellectual property (IP) rights and the value of patents has been growing during the past decades. Patents come into this picture since it is essential to protect innovations. However, protecting innovations and capturing the underlying value require a more strategic approach to Patent portfolio management. Traditionally, patents have been seen as quite a costly investment, especially for small and midsized companies. But even if many companies invest in patenting, they are not always focusing on managing their patent portfolios strategically. Yet, if managed well, the value produced by patents will probably exceed the costs in the long run and will also prevent financial losses due to lack of IP protection. Strategic Patent Portfolio Management Requires Commitment on All Organizational Levels Patenting strategy should be clear and aligned with the general company strategy. Even more importantly, it should be implemented consistently within a company. This requires cooperation and commitment from different stakeholders, from multiple organizational levels. Here, the company culture and engagement of top management have vital impact. (Jell 2012: 115; Agostini et al 2023: 1055-1056.) When Patent portfolio management is run well, patents can bring such advantages as: Bringing in market revenues (e.g. from product-related patents) Blocking competitors from using the patented technology, which creates comparative competitive advantage Increasing the attractiveness of products in marketing Enhancing the company reputation Bringing in direct licensing revenue Opening access to patent pools and cross-licensing (Gassmann 2021: 10, Jell 2012: 11). To capture the value of patents, different stakeholders, such as technical experts, product owners, business unit decision makers, and patent experts must collaboratively find answers to the questions like: Why is the patent sought? What are costs vs. benefits? How does the patent affect company´s main markets and competitor operations? Intellectual Property Management Systems Facilitate Patent Management Modern Intellectual Property Management System (IPMS) software offers multiple ways for facilitating patent management and make it more interactive for stakeholders. In practice, all the materials, documents, discussions, and decision can be stored within the IPMS in an easy and secure way. IPMS can also be used to keep all materials and decisions, and also the tacit knowledge behind the decisions available for all stakeholders and thus, making the patenting process smoother and more transparent. At the same time, utilizing IPMS as a tool efficiently requires commitment from the stakeholders. Process Development for a More Strategic Patent Management The objective of my Master´s thesis was to improve the patenting process in the case company and increase the commitment of stakeholders by developing a consistent patenting process model. The thesis also discussed utilizing the advantages of a modern IPMS data platform in the context of a defensive patent strategy. The development proposal emphasized the significance of stakeholder training and engagement. The process model which was developed as the outcome of my Master´s thesis offers a structured way to manage patenting process and gather important aspects to consider in each process phase. It also offers a model for evaluating patents during the patenting process, which was developed to meet the needs of the case company. Based on the thesis investigation, the data from each process phase was recommended to be gathered in the IPMS systematically, by utilizing visual tools which are available in the IPMS. The case company approved all the outcomes for implementation and started the change process towards new IPMS already during the final stages of the Master´s thesis. The full-scale implementation will follow early in 2024. The development proposal from the thesis helped the case company to make important commitment to the implementation of a new, more strategic and consistent patent management process. About the author Jaana Huusko is the alumnus of Master´s degree program in Business Informatics. Jaana is keen on managing patents and wants to bring a strategic touch to this exciting professional area. References Agostini, L., Nosella, A., & Holgersson, M. (2023). Patent management: The prominent role of strategy and organization. European journal of innovation management, 26(4), 1054-1070. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-09-2021-0452 (Accessed 21 September 2023) Gassmann. (2021). Patent Management. Springer International Publishing (e-book). Available from: https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.metropolia.fi/book/10.1007/978-3-030-59009-3 (Accessed 18 February 2023) Jell, F. (2012). Patent Filing Strategies and Patent Management. Gabler Verlag. (e-book) Available from: https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.metropolia.fi/book/10.1007/978-3-8349-7118-0#toc (Accessed 18 February 2023) Huusko, J. 2023 Management and Evaluation of Patent Portfolio in the Context of Defensive Patent Strategy – Development of a Consistent Model for Collecting and Analysing Data Using a Modern Data Platform as a Tool. Metropolia UAS, Master´s thesis, 94 pages. Available from: https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023112231005
Achieving Sustainability Through Reshoring
Globalization and the new global economic system have brought enormous benefits and lifted millions out of poverty across the globe. But it has also started posing significant risks. Particularly the transportation of people and goods illustrate the achievements and the drawback of globalization. Role of location Humans have been traveling and trading across vast distances for centuries. However, in the XX century, globalization had increased exponentially especially due to advancements in travel. Travel has literally made the world smaller. The XX century led not only to the rise in global transportation, but also of the world wide web, the end of the cold war, trade deals, and new rapidly emerging economies - all these factors combined creating a system that has made nations dependent on each other. To such an extent that, if a nation is hit with a disaster, the effect is felt on the other side of the globe very fast. This interdependence was recently recognized (just think of one example, covid-19), and it has led to a new phenomenon that firms and people operating them have started exploring alternatives closer to their homes. Firms have accepted that cheap price will not help them against volatility in global markets. Moreover, as the industry’s supply chains lengthened, transporting the products over thousands of miles significantly increased the strain on the environment caused by moving goods around the world. Reshoring - what is it? In business, risk avoidance and vulnerability of supply chains, as well as sustainability concerns started to overweight. Businesses started looking for opportunities in closer locations. This new phenomenon is called reshoring, in other words, a kick-start to bringing the industries back locally. Reshoring, or the act of relocating a firm’s manufacturing operations back to the country of origin or nearby, is gaining popularity in the 2020s. Reshoring offers a chance for businesses to gain a viable balance of environmental sustainability and economic reward. Reducing the Length of the Supply Chain To combat the challenges related to distances, many firms have invested in proximity manufacturing, commonly known as “local for local”. This is a strategy that focuses on creating goods near the locations in which they will be sold. Proximity manufacturing enhances sustainability through greenhouse gas reduction. Increasing Regulatory and Environmental Compliance In previous decades, firms directed their manufacturing toward less developed countries. It was motivated by lower labor costs, as well as less stringent regulations. Less stringent environmental regulations resulted in creating “pollution havens”, a phenomenon in which firms in high-wage countries export dirty manufacturing processes to low-wage countries in an effort to avoid the costs associated with strict environmental laws. This migration to low-cost countries is particularly potent within CO2-intensive sectors, such as steel refinement and cement production. The changes in EU regulations (EU 2023) made it mandatory for all somewhat big companies (500 people employed and more) to publish their corporate sustainability reports, and the situation has started changing. It does not matter anymore where the company pollutes since the results are anyhow made visible and published via the calculations and reporting of CO2 emissions across all three scopes: scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 (which includes CO2 emissions from all supplies). For this reason, it is imperative that firms commit to reducing their carbon emissions and environmental footprint toward less harmful operations. Compliance with the new EU regulations (EU 2023) is a tangible method for accomplishing this goal. Innovating for Becoming Agile and Local A third way how reshoring allows for greater sustainability is commonly known as agile manufacturing. This is an approach that allows rapid responses to consumer needs. Agile manufacturing plus automation can provide a competitive advantage for firms that produce their products locally. In fact, a key element to successfully integrating agile manufacturing is the availability of effective human capital. (Agile, Vorne 2023) The level of efficiency provided by agile manufacturing not only reduces the environmental footprint of an organization through waste reduction but also allows for more sustainable operations through the elimination of unnecessary resource usage. Finally, to stay competitive when producing locally, the firms also have to accelerate innovation in their products and sourcing. Eliminating Geopolitical Risks Also, the trade war between U.S. and China combined with the Covid-19 pandemic has moved companies to actually start considering re-shoring seriously. For example, a robust, secure, domestic industrial base for lithium-based batteries requires access to a reliable supply of raw, refined, and processed material inputs for lithium batteries. In such a business context, the goal is to reduce Europe/U.S. battery manufacturing dependence on scarce materials or materials controlled by unreliable partners. This is necessary for basic risk management, in order to develop a stronger and more secure supply chain. Also, as people around the world are becoming aware of the environmental impact and companies are becoming ever more sensitive to reputational damages, it becomes critical that things are done right in all parts of the supply chain, both upstream and downstream. For example, in the case of producing lithium batteries, it means that new mineral extraction must be held up to modern environmental standards, according to the best-practice labor conditions, based on conducting rigorous community consultation, including with tribal nations through government-to-government collaboration, - and all that begin done while recognizing the economic costs of manufacturing, waste treatment, and processing. A Way Forward The new trend does not mean that globalization will cease or it will be reversed. However, it has definitely slowed down, which is not entirely bad news considering the rapidly rising temperatures and constantly increasing CO2 levels around the globe (WMO 2023). Reshoring enables firms to be more sustainable, and sustainability keeps firms economically and socially viable. This is exactly what the society is looking forward to. At the same time, we must remember that shifting away from commonly accepted offshore supply chains and manufacturing is anything but easy. It requires a clear vision, accountability, and most importantly, commitment from companies to take up the challenge of changing the status quo and willingness to evolve in the ever-changing business landscape. In other words, taking meaningful steps to make the world a better place, and walk the talk. About the author: Satish Kumar is currently a Senior Sourcing Engineer at Valmet Automotive and a graduate of the Master´s Programme in Business Informatics. His interests are related to developing sustainable supply chains. Satish is co-teaching in the “Corporate Social Responsibility” course at Metropolia Summer School in Business in 2023: https://www.metropolia.fi/en/academics/summer-studies/masters-summer-school. References: Agile Manufacturing. Overall Equipment Effectiveness Manufacturing Made Easy by Vorne, https://www.vorne.com/learn/tools/overall-equipment-effectiveness/ Bloom, J. (2020). Will coronavirus reverse globalisation? BBC News, April 2, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52104978 Bové, A.-T. and Swartz, S. (2016). Starting at the Source: Sustainability in Supply Chains. McKinsey & Company, https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/starting-at-the-source-sustainability-in-supply-chains EU (2023). Corporate Sustainability Reporting. European Commission: What EU is doing and why. https://finance.ec.europa.eu/capital-markets-union-and-financial-markets/company-reporting-and-auditing/company-reporting/corporate-sustainability-reporting_en WMO, World Meteorological Organization (2023). Global Temperatures Set to Reach New Records in Next Five Years. Press-release. May 17, 2023. https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/global-temperatures-set-reach-new-records-next-five-years
Ethics in Medical History: How can we understand the history and the choices they made?
This blog reflects on my impressions ranging from disgust to respect in the Medical Museum of Copenhagen when exploring history and cultural well-being on the study trip with CRASH Master´s students of Metropolia. “The Body Collected” exhibition in the Medicinsk Museion presented the body parts collected from the 18th century to the present. The newest exhibits include dnas, cells and biopsies from bio banks, and the older ones were body parts, deformed foetuses, bones, skeletons, organs, tumours, lungs and so on. Visit to museum in a study trip to Copenhagen I took the stairs down to see the Indsamlade Menneske (“The Body Collected”) exhibition. The first element catching my eye was a full-term foetus in her mother’s womb. The birth had been obstructed due to the placenta being attached to other tissues and thus blocking the way out. I could clearly see the baby's face, hair, finger nails, all the possibilities of a new person being born. And why can I explore these samples, which were collected up to 200 years ago? It made me think if it is ethical to present these now? and what kind of ethical questions existed 200 years ago? Asking questions is a relevant part of ethics I can only imagine what has happened to the mother since her body was left in the hospital. Family might have been poor, or the mother was ill, or she might have gotten pregnant by the wrong man, or without being married. No matter what was the reason, their bodies were left to science, because no one paid the hospital fees and did not collect their corpses for burial; and this is how surgeons learnt the anatomy of the human body and learnt to practise their profession. This was also the way, ethical or unethical, how hospitals operated, and this is how medical science developed. I noticed a lot of unpleasant emotions and thoughts rising in my mind during this visit to the museum. Should I watch these at all? Can I be interested in the anatomy of a human, when it is presented via dead human beings and surely without consent? How many of the human rights and the laws are violated by portraying deceased person’s body parts? I do not have answers to these questions. I can only understand the history from the perspective of my time. This all seems so unethical considering modern time values and guidelines and legislation. From disgust to respect I continued my tour of the exhibition. Slowly, my disgust started to melt down. First, my emotion changed to wonder and interest, then to curiosity and finally to huge respect. It really hit me deeply. I realised that we would not have modern medicine without these scientists. They had the courage to explore human bodies in this way and teach the next generations by exploring these samples. It is way too easy to judge them with today’s ethical criteria and standards. Before these samples, the physicians were trained by exploring animal bodies. But we all can see the difference in the accuracy comparing, for example, the humans’ and the pigs’ anatomy. How many of us would be alive without the development and the research of these earlier generations? The driving motive behind these actions and modern science is nevertheless exactly the same, human’s need to learn, explore, develop, and they have the scientific enthusiasm. All these, of course, in addition to the influence of such much more down-to-earth factors as professional competition, need for funding, reputational considerations, personal ambitions, etc. just like nowadays. Later in the exhibition, I noticed that the museum had a separate room for ethical questions. They pondered on the same questions as I did. They asked from the audience if it is ethically bearable to have these collections presented to the public. The visitors’ answers varied from absolute “no” to “yes, of course”. My opinion swung to acceptance during the 30 minutes I spent watching these beautiful and remarkable samples. What did I learn from ethics? My main learning point was very simple and yet quite revolutionary on a deeper personal level. This experience touched on my physical body, my emotions, my thoughts and my biases. I felt my judgement and the resistance were melting away. My conclusion was that it is not fair to interpret history with current values and criteria. Who am I to say 200 years later that those actions were unethical? I felt that seeing the exhibition offered me a mindset change. I understood the proportionality of ethics, and how all actions need to be evaluated related to that time and place when these actions happened with their participants. How will this insight and experience influence me? How can I generalise this insight to a wider level? I came up with the following reflections from my part. What is ethical at this, modern time? What is ethical in our society and community? What are our values? In politics, values change every four years with the new elections, at least partly. Then, how about science? If science is based on our current understanding and knowledge, how should I think of what happened 20 years ago, and how will it be in 200 years to come? I can only come to the conclusion that ethics and our understanding of ethics needs to be re-evaluated and it transforms constantly. And yes, historical structures need to be dismantled, like the colonisation and the patriarchy. We need to be prepared to ask difficult and unpleasant questions, and see those unbearable painful injustices that happened in our society. Similarly, we will be embarrassed and judged by future generations for the actions of today. But without stepping into the unknown areas and taking risks, there is no development, no creativity, and no new insights. It is for the future generations to judge us. So, be fearless! Be the future-maker and take actions based on the values and ethics of our time and our understanding! Like Sanna Marin, the Prime Minister of Finland, encouraged us all to do in her speech at the New York University’s Commencement 17.5.2023 where she was recognized for her own courage. Similarly, we need to honour those who were before us and our time. They did their very best with all the understanding, the experience and the knowledge they had. Let’s consider their work and actions with respect and learn from them. It sends a clear message to our generation: be bold to change and yet honour the history! Why am I writing this? I’m one of the hope-holders for the future. I believe in the good in human beings. I see it in people’s willingness to respect our future by finding the ways to save our nature and planet. They try their best to find a harmonious and sustainable way of living with other living organisms on earth. So, what does this have to do with my experience in the Medical Museumn? I believe, it is exactly the same. Our enthusiasm is to learn, know, understand, develop, cure, find solutions, and ground them to the solid base of science, rather than contribute to prejudice of randomness. We strive to mix the knowledge and experiences with creativity to generate something new. We have the courage for new approaches, the tolerance of not knowing, but exploring constantly, and we have the attitude of respecting others and capacity to empathy; the ability to use our instincts and heart among the scientific knowledge. When wandering in the exhibition, I connected to those persons and their imaginary stories, not only their collected body parts in the exhibition. Those persons have a meaning even hundreds of years after their death. They help me to understand the core of ethics, develop my professional and personal thinking, and ground my own life actions more on respect. In short, I have had inspirational moments with ethical questions in my life, work, studies and research! and I encourage you to do the same. About the writer Hanne Aura is a student in CRASH, Master’s Programme in Creativity and Arts in Social and Health Fields. She has a work history over 30 years, in such roles as nursing in psychiatric care, as a nursing expert and counsellor, as a specialist in social and health care data system development, as a key account manager, and as a therapeutic worker utilising embodiment and other creative approaches. Presently, she is a practitioner and student of the counsellor of Systemic Constellation. References Medicinsk Museion (2023). Medical Museion of København Universitet, Copenhagen. Web-site of the museum: https://www.museion.ku.dk/en/forside/ The Body Collected: Exhibition (2023). Medical Museion of København Universitet, Copenhagen. Web-site of the exhibition: https://www.museion.ku.dk/en/the-body-collected/ Also available as a virtual tour: https://www.museion.ku.dk/en/product/the-body-collected-en/ Speech by Prime Minister Sanna Marin at the New York University commencement on 17 May 2023. Prime Minister´s office (17.5.2023). https://vnk.fi/en/-/speech-by-prime-minister-sanna-marin-at-the-new-york-university-s-commencement-17.5.2023
Designing for Sustainability in Berlin. A master´s study trip to “International Week on Sustainability 2022”
The Berlin School of Economics and Law (1) organizes the annual International Week on Sustainability (IWS) since 2019 with the goal is to integrate sustainability into the higher education curriculum. This year 2022, HWR invited master’s students from Metropolia for the second time to participate in the design and development of sustainable solutions together with companies and students from other countries in a series of workshops that lasted for 4 days, 18-21 November 2022. Our group of 10 master´s students was excited to get an approval from Meropolia´s International office. Additionally, the IWS study trip offered a chance to earn 3ECTS while solving real-world sustainability concerns, so we longed to go and try. The final argument in favor of the trip was its destination, as Berlin represents significant historical legacy, making it a unique opportunity to visit and experience it, difficult to pass by. Fast forward to November, it felt surreal to land at Berlin airport, and we were too excited to feel exhausted. Even the rain, slushy streets, and chilly air could not dim our spirits. In Berlin, we were all determined to expand our knowledge and make new connections. Day 1. Opening Day and Kick-off The program kick-off took place in HWR Startup Incubator Space located in the Siemens industrial park. It started with a briefing with project partners from Startup Incubator Berlin, which featured the startups in the sustainability field. The introduction also included a brief review of Service Design methods and tools covered by Prof. Christian Klang of HWR. There were about 30 participants coming from different academic and business fields who were assigned to five working teams. Each team selected one of the following challenges: 1) incentivizing nature-based solutions to climate change; 2) making travel sustainable and meaningful; 3) incentivizing CO2 reduction during commute; and 4) communicating vegan food delivery effectively. Teams put their hands to work on the challenge they had selected. The startups sat down with the teams to explain their projects and share their motivations and visions. Ideas poured in as each team concentrated on solving the issues and gathering data. Day 1 came to a close with more questions than answers. Day 2 and 3. Ideation and Prototyping Day 2 sessions were held on the HWR campus (2). As we had grown accustomed to the modern design of Metropolia´s campuses, the large corridors, arched hallways, and marble floors in the HWR campus were a little surprising. Teams worked seriously to build and test their prototypes. It became obvious that cooperation is essential to the success of the projects and this is where online tools for team collaboration became critically useful. Ideas and information were together put in an online board to make sure that good ideas and critical pieces of information are not missed out. The challenge was to make business sense out of all the ideas and information that we had, as we quickly realized that bright ideas and passion were necessary but not enough. We kept reminding ourselves that we needed to find solutions that would be viable, feasible, doable, and would make business sense for our partner startup. The second day ended with coffee and laughter, as we watched the first snowfall of the year covering HWR. On Day 3, we went to The Morp Company, a consulting firm that offers sustainability advice. A brief workshop on the use of the business model canvas as a tool to address corporate sustainability concerns was held and received very well as a hands-on new tool. Day 4. Pitch for Impact Day 4 was a pitching day. As teams presented their ideas and answered questions from partner startups and other participants, it was inspiring to see the variety of proposed solutions. There were no earthshaking proposals, but the teams focused on concepts that made real business sense and would advance true sustainability. Although the solution reports still need to be finalized, we felt a sense of accomplishment for having done something worthwhile as the last session ended. Discovering Berlin In all honesty, finding our way to the session locations in the morning was a bit challenging. Because of this, coffee and Google Maps have become our close allies. When in Berlin, we didn’t just snap pictures. We needed to get out there, interact, and connect. Berlin is blissful for shoppers and vibrant for foodies and art lovers. A frequent conversation starter during this trip was “Is this your first time in Berlin?” It was easy to say “Yes” in response to this question. “How do you find Berlin?” and “Which sites have you visited?” were the typical follow-up queries. With each passing day, we would find ourselves giving different answers because Berlin is too diverse to describe in a few words. Despite our time constraints due to working 4 full days on projects, we were nevertheless able to visit some famous sites. We were lucky to witness the start of Berlin's Christmas market and were able to sample local food including currywurst, kebab, stollen cake, and local wine. We had our taste of misadventure too during the first attempt to visit the Brandenburg gate, as we ended up at a factory site due to our over-reliance on Google Maps. On the last day of the trip, it was difficult to bid Berlin goodbye. Armed with new knowledge and filled with the brilliant sparks of Berlin, we boarded our plane to return to Finland. References The Berlin School of Economics and Law (Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht, HWR, Berlin) is one of the largest universities of applied sciences in Berlin. It was founded in 2009 as a result of merged of two other big higher education institutions, and it now enjoys more than 150 partners around the globe, including Metropolia UAS, its long-time partner. Read more about HWR from its web-pages: https://www.hwr-berlin.de/en/ Berlin School of Economics and Law, Badensche Str. 52, 10825 Berlin. The picture below shows the marble floors and grand interiors of this campus. About the author Karen Espiritu is a 1st year MBA student in Business Informatics at Metropolia Business School. Karen is a certified project manager and a result-driven professional who is passionate about fostering organizational sustainability on all three fronts: economic, social, and environmental. She enjoys blogging in her spare time and is an active student ambassador of Metropolia. Her video about IWS-2022 in Berlin can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPiUds0fVvo
Creating a Roadmap to Digital Transformation: A strategic plan to overcome the barriers to digital acceleration
Today, the digital opportunities are evolving faster than the pace of transformation in the organizations. To better understand the path our business is on, where to focus the efforts, and how to overcome the disruption and resistance to change, I decided to use this challenge as a topic for my Master´s thesis and created a roadmap for accelerating the digital transformation towards achieving my company’s future state (1). In the course of this research and development project, I realized several important things which I want to share with the readers. What is Digital Transformation? Many companies often end up with misunderstanding the concept of digital transformation. They often do not differentiate between beliefs and realities about digital transformation. Instead, before embarking on a digital transformation journey, companies need to become aware of a wide professional discussion going on in the professional world and be aware of key findings that business practitioners have came up with based on the experience of industry leaders. I summarize these key points below: First, digital transformation is not just about implementing new technology. It is about the adoption of digital technology to improve business processes, value for customers and innovation. (2) Second, digital transformation is not just a buzzword for business but a way to grow. Therefore, it requires clear targets for each source of value creation and ensuring that the entire company shares one digital vision. Third, digital transformation is not optional, it is mandatory for business success. It helps company businesses gain a competitive advantage. (3) Last, digital transformation is often mistaken for digitization or digitalization, but there are some significant differences. Digitization is, according to Wikipedia (4), the process of converting information into digital. Digitalization is, as Gartner (5) defines it, the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide revenue and new value opportunities. While digital transformation is about transforming the customer experience and changing how to operate and deliver value to customers. What does acceleration of digital transformation mean? For most of digital services companies, the COVID-19 crisis has had an “all-or-nothing effect” on their digital strategy agenda. As reported by Deloitte (6), 77% of CEOs considered that the pandemic had sped up their company’s digital transformation plans. The crisis has significantly accelerated the digitization in terms of way of working and do business. Many businesses have already embraced transformational change. However, this large scale change should be fast. To leverage the opportunities quicker and overcome the possible challenges faster than the competitors, you don’t have to rush to the corner shop to buy the smartest gadgets. Instead, your company will need to start enhancing systematically your organization culture, operations, and capabilities for the workforce of the future. This phenomenon is called acceleration of digital transformation. McKinsey (7) suggests that the “digital first movers and fast followers capture more value within their industries than slower-moving companies”, taking the lead on digital transformation. It is just what Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, said about the impact of speed on the business level: “In the new world, it is not anymore so much about the big fish which eats the small fish, it’s the fast fish which eats the slow fish.” What are the key enablers of digital transformation? The digital transformation is a journey where the desired destination and the path are different for every company. Like on any journey, a careful planning and a well-organized process would help the company to reach the destination safely and avoid back-roads and unnecessary costs. An analysis of the digital maturity of a digital services company, using BCG’s Digital Acceleration Index (8), reviled three relevant domains impacting its journey to successful digital transformation. First, the operations optimization needs a systematic digital approach in decision making to improve the quality of work and ensure customer satisfaction. Second, the digital talent is needed to enhance the changes to digital transformation to succeed points to building capabilities for the workforce of the future. Third, the dynamic organization that lies in creating an agile culture and new ways of working. As the figure below shows, the enablers for accelerating the digital transformation include precisely these three elements: the optimized operations, engaged digital talent & leaders, and dynamic organization. In other words, the chances for a successful digital transformation will be greatly increased in case your organization is able of doing: quick decision making, building the digital capabilities for the workforce of the future, rolling out an agile culture, and establishing new ways of working. What is a digital transformation roadmap and why do we need it? Most importantly, making your organization succeed in the digital transformation needs a plan with clear steps and effective actions to achieve the goals as part of your growth strategy. Mapping out these steps on a timeline with clear milestones builds a digital transformation roadmap. The roadmap that I proposed in my thesis for accelerating the digital transformation of my company that provides digital services defines three major elements to reach the digital transformation acceleration: 1) implementing a systematic approach in decision making, 2) building digital capabilities for the workforce of the future, and 3) creating an agile culture and a new way of working. By doing all of these, the company can better deliver relevant business outcomes to customers with fast payback and also enhance employee performance. On an EndNote Industry leaders often want to understand how far they are on the road of digital transformation. This was also the case with my organization that is concerned with the same question. After completing my investigation, my conclusion is this. Your organization is a digital transformation “performer” if (a) it has started to adopt the new ways of working, (b) has taken the efforts to build a more agile culture, (c) it has developed new digital capabilities, (d) it has a leadership mindset, and (e) it has streamlined the operations across its teams and organization. About the author Violeta Tudose is a seasoned professional with a MSc in Computer Science and many years of industry experience. Currently, Violeta is a Huld Leader at Huld ltd. Recently, Violeta decided to take up yet another challenge and graduated as Master of Business Administration from the Master’s programme in Business Informatics. Welcome to contact Violeta via violeta.tudose@huld.io and her LinkedIn. References: (1) Tudose, V. (2022). Roadmap to Digital Transformation. Master´s Thesis. Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Available from: https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/783038 (2) Shaban, H. (2022). Digital Transformation Process: 5 Factors That Can Empower Your Transformation Strategy: Blog. Apti.io (18 February 2022). Available from: https://www.apty.io/blog/digital-transformation-process (3) Chakravarty, V., Wang, J, and Ahuja, S. (2021). Why digital transformation doesn’t have to be hard. (Online publication). Available from: https://www.ey.com/en_ph/board-matters/why-digital-transformation-doesnt-have-to-be-hard (4) Digitalization. Wikipedia (Definition). Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitization (Assessed 24 November 2022). (5) Digitalization. Gartner Glossary (definition). Available from: https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/digitalization (6) Kane, G.C., Phillips, A. N., Copulsky, J., and Nanda, R. (2020). Digital Transformation through the lens of COVID-2019: A case of acute disruption. Deloitte Insights. Availabe from: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/digital-transformation/digital-transformation-COVID-19.html (7) Booth, A., De Jong, E., Peters, P. (2018). Accelerating digital transformations: A playbook for utilities. McKinsey. Available from: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/mckinsey%20digital/our%20insights/accelerating%20digital%20transformations%20a%20playbook%20for%20utilities/accelerating-digital-transformation_a-playbook-for-utilities-vf.pdf?shouldIndex=false (8) Boston Consulting Group, BCG (2020). Accelerating digital to build the ´bionic company´: BCG´s Digital Acceleation Index (DAI) to more digital maturity. Digital BCG. Available from: https://cdn.auckland.ac.nz/assets/auckland/business/our-research/docs/CODE/Accelerating%20digital%20to%20build%20the%20'bionic%20company'%20Framework%20and%20case%20study.pdf
My Remote Studies in Procurement MBA
Only a few of us envisage a career path that we eventually end up following or foresee the choices that we will make along the way. But each professional and academic choice shapes us and broadens our perspectives, growing our network and leading to new opportunities. The Master´s degree programme in Procurement at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences was a choice that I was often asked about. Why study in Finland at Metropolia when I live and work in the United Kingdom? In times of turbulence, uncertainty, and change, it proved to be a choice that benefited me personally and professionally as a procurement leader. I was able to learn from senior people in the industry and apply examples of digital procurement technology and sustainability where Finland leads the way. However, studying whilst working full time can be a daunting experience, especially remotely or as a foreign student. So, I want to share my tips for getting the most out of your master´s studies and review my Finnish student experience. Start by choosing what you want to study I found the Procurement MBA programme through StudyPortals.com. I’ve studied in Sweden and England previously, so I was not intimidated by the prospect of studying in Finland. The degree was in English and fully remote, and covered those aspects of procurement that I was particularly interested in, including digital procurement technology, strategy, innovation management and circular economy. So, my advice is to choose a subject that you find interesting and valuable to your career and use the studies to develop yourself further in that field. Commit to your studies and organise yourself ahead by sharing your commitment with your line manager, with your family and friends. They are likely to be very supportive of your drive towards improving your knowledge and building upon your skills, and they may help by giving you the time and space needed for you to complete studies. Stay in control Studying for a master’s degree means that you are responsible for managing your time, allocating resource, and sticking to deadlines. My Metropolia study coordinator helped me with planning, so that I was able to build my own academic calendar and use the spectrum of online tools available such as OMA, Moodle, Tuudo, and other apps to ensure I was always up to date. My advice would be to start with listing all the deadlines for your assignments and other obligations, subscribing to learning resources that are available, being proactive in contacting lecturers and fellow students, and asking questions. If you miss something, think before putting the blame to others. Apply yourself We often hear the phrase ‘apply yourself’, but what does it mean for students? It means committing to the task and managing it like you would manage a project at work. In other words, prepare in advance, gather books, articles, and notes, and organize yourself into group roles with your fellow students. Pick a leader and make sure they do a good job at allocating resources and splitting tasks along a critical path. Maintain a healthy work-study-life balance My most important advice is to maintain a healthy body and a healthy mind. Don’t stretch yourself too thin so that you are not your best self. Ensure that you get plenty of sleep, eat well and take a day off so you can rest from your studies and work. Then you will get the desired results. Also, take part in extracurricular activities such as trips and evenings out that allow you to build your long term professional and social networks. Ask for support You will find that studying abroad or remotely can be difficult. You will have a whole new culture to adapt to, a different setting and a new academic system that you may be unfamiliar with. However, help is always available to those that ask for it. Reach out to Metropolia´s Student services and your Study coordinator for support. If you find yourself falling behind during your studies, be proactive in voicing your concerns to your lecturers. For me, studying procurement at the master’s level at Metropolia was an energising experience. I was able to relate to my previous work experiences and apply my corporate procurement knowledge in the academic setting, and thus got the most out of my studies. About the author Mindaugas Jočbalis is an MBA graduate from the Master´s degree programme in procurement at Metropolia UAS and a Category Leader for Packaging Procurement at Associated British Foods plc., looking after Europe, Middle East and Africa since 2018. In his career, Mindaugas has often worked in procurement, but never studied it. He started his career as a retail store manager, and later managed social corporate projects at Marks and Spencer. Following this, he then moved into a graduate procurement role at AkzoNobel in the decorative paints industry in 2013. As part of his professional development, Mindaugas has completed a single year master’s degree remotely at Malmo University, Sweden, studying Communication for Development in 2016. Having completed this graduate programme, he was offered a role at GlaxoSmithKline and looked after consumer healthcare packaging for two and a half years.
Corporate Ride-Sharing: Yet another promising option in sharing economy
Technology creates possibilities for organisations, and one of the well-known existing problems of commuting can be solved by integrating and promoting a ridesharing application within corporations. A ridesharing service refers to any method of transportation in which commuters use a single vehicle, either a private or company vehicle, to reach a similar destination. So far, ridesharing is known through initiatives such as Uber, Lyft, Taxify, Gett, Juno, and smaller providers around the world. It has its advantages and limitations, as with any initiative in the sharing economy. In this blog, a corporate ride-share service is described that was proposed as a student´s thesis project for the Aviapolis area, Vantaa, an area popular with companies and corporations. History of Ride Sharing The earliest reports of ridesharing arise in early 20th century America. The consent found between 1914 -1918, known as the Jitney craze (1), allowed individuals to think of an innovative and effective way to use their vehicles. With mass-produced cars flooding the market and the early stages of a recession coming into play, enterprising car owners in 1914 began offering rides in their vehicles for a “jitney” – five-cent streetcar fare. The idea grew from Los Angeles across America in less than 12 months, with an estimated 1,400 jitneys operating in San Francisco alone. Ride Sharing As economic growth increased, mobility became more important to support human activities and needs. One of the most prevalent needs is transportation to and from work. Long commutes cost employees and their companies considerable time, wasted resources, productivity, and additional expenses (emotional, physical, financial). New, fast-growing business regions located away from city centers are especially affected by this. In Helsinki, one such example is the Aviapolis business district (2), which is currently transforming into a business hub. More than 37,000 people are employed by more than 1,000 companies in the area. The area, however, faces its challenges with complicated commuter traffic and a congested parking lot, and main roads are highly congested during business hours. Corporate Ride Sharing The goal of this Master's thesis was to present an application for corporate ridesharing as a possible solution to this problem. In this thesis, we describe a solution to a common need: traveling between two locations. Some areas lack frequent public transportation, which means that the time interval between transport is very high or varies — resulting in long waiting hours, long traveling time, and higher costs. Corporate Ridesharing is one of the most valuable solutions when there are no other means of transportation to a specific location. The new service was outlined based on extensive analysis of the customer needs of the employees at several companies in the Aviapolis area. It was followed by the development of the actual application based on the PiggyBaggy platform. PiggyBaggy is another excellent example of how innovations help the world run better (3). The thesis combined web technology into a ridesharing solution to help provide immediate economic, environmental, and social benefits to the companies and their employees in the Aviapolis region. The application developed in the Master´s thesis was launched successfully(4), providing an easy platform to the employees of participating companies. There were also two pilots done in 2020-2021. Turku Pilot We have commenced a pilot where the objective is to create an incentive for drivers to offer rides in their car by giving in return access to parking places in prime locations in the city center . Additionally, we are testing in a particular area whether a combination of community services in addition to ride-sharing would increase participation. Tampere Pilot In this case, it was a public hospital, and the parking place management was again taken care of by a local operator. The participant numbers were encouraging, and the employer (hospital) issuing the parking place incentive is keen on considering scaling up the trial in the Fall. Results: Users in PSHP-group: 56 Rides executed: 232 Rides per month: 123 Because the trials were limited in duration, we did not reach the targets for shared-ride numbers as planned. However, I strongly believe that we planted the seed for Ridesharing and its benefits among many employees, which I believe will grow over time. The service is being improved by integrating AI-based trip and transport mode detection to automatically create routes for offering or requesting rides, as well as integrating with MaaS services (make transport capacity visible, e.g., in Matkahuolto Reitit ja Liput). About the Author Usman Khanzada earned his Master's degree in Business Informatics from Metropolia UAS. Professionally working as a Client Integration Manager for In4mo Solera. His career trajectory is based on Client management, process improvement, and project management in the information technology and services industry. He is passionate about finding ways to reduce CO2 in the corporate sector by taking the right steps and addressing the issues essential to the future health and well-being of employees, the community, and the planet. References Ride Share Research. (2009, 24 January). Massachusetts Institute of technology, Rideshare History & Statistics. MIT “Real-Time” Rideshare Research. [Online] Available at: http://ridesharechoices.scripts.mit.edu/home/histstats/ [Accessed June 2021] City Vantaa (2022). Aviapolis Major Region. Available at: https://www.vantaa.fi/en/regions-and-districts/aviapolis-major-region [Accessed November 2022] Piggy Baggy. (2021). KCity Market. K-citymarket Lahti Paavola hypermarket. [Online] Available at: https://pages.piggybaggy.com/en/partners/ [Accessed June 2021]. Usman, K. (2021). Corporate Ridesharing Application for Aviapolis Business Region. Metropolia University of Applied Sciences: Master´s Thesis [Online] Available at: https://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/501460
Electric car batteries are considered “dead” when they still have 70% capacity. How to make electric car batteries live a second life.
“Circular economy” Master´s course at Metropolia had an amazing guest from Vaasa. Daniel Öster, an electric car enthusiast and a start-up entrepreneur told the students about his passion for EVs (electric vehicles) and his innovation that allows electric car batteries to live up to 22 years, instead of 10 years guaranteed by manufactures. Daniel´s story tells about curiosity, passion, persistence, and a long journey of exploration on the way to realizing his own innovative idea. “I am a car guy, - told Daniel to the students at his presentation at Metropolia, - and I was excited by Tesla. What an excellent car, no emission! But there was one problem, I could not afford it. So, I decided to make my on EV, electric vehicle, from scratch. For this end, I started collecting old laptop batteries that were thrown away in trash. I opened them and looked at their cells, to see which were good or dead. I continued till I collected 2000 cells, it was enough to assemble my own car. I thought, excellent! I will soon start a zero-emission life!” “Out of the collected laptop batteries, I assembled my first power-bank as a proof of concept. It worked”, - continued Daniel, showing his pictures from the past. “It was 2018. As soon as I collected enough second-hand laptop batteries, I went to netti.auto and bought a very cheap e-car. It was a fully electric Nissan “Leaf” manufactured in 2015. The seller was very optimistic (he owned it for 1 year), while I myself did not know much about e-cars yet. I thought, the battery would most likely need a bit of a face-lift… But it was a much bigger disappointment. My new car could only ride for 25 km! (instead of 125 km shown on the tool bar). What could I do? I was truly devastated. You can imagine how it felt. I just spent over 10 000 euros on something that I could not use. After contacting the local dealer, it felt like I did a horrible mistake. Nissan suggested to replace my old battery for another one for 10 000 euro. Oh, gosh!..” - remembered Daniel about his first steps of having an electric vehicle. “I was used to having internal combustion engines, and did not expect this kind of difficulties. But I was determined to have my electric car!” - told Daniel about his brave decision. “Being an engineer by education, I downloaded the app and checked the state of my battery. It was evident that only 2 elements of the battery were low. That was good news. I decided, if I could fix them, I am saved! I deconstructed the battery – and voila! – I fixed my battery! And it worked! And my car could ride for 125 km just by fixing these 2 elements! – and everyone whom I spoke about it could not believe it. How could it really be so easy? People started saying, Daniel you should start a business about it. And I did!” “But let´s say first about the combustion car engine (traditional). The normal engine has many rotating powers and only convert about 30% of liquid energy to movement. To be able to convert it, the traditional engine has more than 2 000 components! As a result, it needs a lot of maintenance, or it will die prematurely,” - explained Daniel the difference between the combustion and e-car engines. “In the e-car engine, however, there is only 1 rotating part! It means, there is no need for a periodic service, and it turns 90% of energy into movement! So it is a truly unique solution! (Yes, the initial price is high, but in the total cost of ownership it is much cheaper)”. “Although the solution itself seems to be perfect, there was a practical problem related to my old e-car. For example, in Vaasa, where I live, there is little e-infrastructure (in other words, e-charging stations where I can recharge my e-car). It means I needed to stop quite frequently to charge it. So, very soon after fixing my 2 elements, I started wondering if it could be possible to put a bigger battery into my car? I investigated this problem and purchased a bigger battery from the car scrap, from Norway. It was actually the biggest old e-car battery available. Nissan and all literature would say it is NOT possible (companies do not want people to put bigger batteries). Luckily, since I was Wärtsilä employee at that time, I had wide networks of excellent specialists to consult. It took me many nights to do trouble-shooting – and compare new batteries and old batteries – and making tables comparing them, with graphs and calculations. The software was the most challenging part. Finally, I had found how to communicate to the battery via a CAN-bridge and it was a success! I managed, first, to upgrade my own EV, so that it could go 300 km. It felt so great! No more anxiety that I would get stuck in the night somewhere! And later, I turned it into a service offered by my own start-up,” - told Daniel about the development of his business. Daniel feels very proud. “By now, I have done 8 successful upgrades myself and also sold hardware, so that my customers can do their own upgrades. I have 45 customers by now who upgraded their batteries themselves using my hardware! These are not many people, as reverse engineering battery upgrade requires considerable efforts. But I promoted this knowledge. Also, those who cannot do it themselves, can ask for my services,” - tells Daniel about his current situation. “These e-cars that I am serving with my skills and hardware are already over 10 years old. It means my services relate only to these early adopters. At the time of their production, the batteries were not that advanced, and these cars would otherwise be discarded into waste. So, I am happy that I am doing a good thing! Manufactures want to you to drop such cars instead, but why?” - argues Daniel explaining how he can considerably prolong the life cycle of both, the early e-cars and their batteries. Based on his experience, Daniel calculated that the batteries that are considered as “end-of-life” by manufacturers (with still having 70% of original capacity!) with the help of his services can be used for much longer, up to 22 years as Daniel projects. Moreover, when they become worn out even further, Daniel figures out how to continue their second life in various stationary installations, such as power-banks in individual houses. The story about installing “old” e-car batterers in private houses continues after the picture. Figure 5. The extended electric car battery life cycle and the business idea that emerged from Daniel´s experiments with electric car batteries (from own presentation). Daniel continues: “I was very excited about my findings. Just think about it! Batteries that are considered “dead” still have about 70% capacity. EV manufacturers give 8-10 years guaranty before reaching “end-of-life”. But I have proven that early technologies are still good even after 10 years after the upgrade! That was my initial insight. After that, I was faced with another practical challenge. As a result of my experiments, I ended up with a lot of batteries. I faced a question, what to do with them?” “I decided to try and use these second-life batteries with private individuals and install them into own houses as power-banks. Nowadays, individual households can produce own energy via solar panels, for example, of other small-scale energy technologies. But it turns out to be not cost-effective to sell the excessive power generated by own solar panels back to the grid. It is more efficient to store own energy and then use it later. In other words, private household can basically earn more money by using own energy, in case they have a battery for accumulating it. This is how another idea for using old batteries emerged,” - explained Daniel his innovative idea that sprang from his initial service. The picture below shows a typical customer case for a power-bank. “This is still a very recent idea. One year ago I sold the first set of batteries, and now – 1 year ago – the customer came back to me and bough another set, and now he is fully off the grid! He uses his own energy. (Importantly, in this second life, the old batteries are expected to still stay active for another 10 years),” adds Daniel and demonstrates how the power-bank looks like. “For this purpose, you do not need to have fancy batteries, just old batteries will do”. Daniel says that there could be many more ideas for the second life solutions for old electric car batteries. He shows pictures of the other use cases for Nissan´s “Leaf” and Tesla´s old batteries: This inspirational example of Daniel´s innovations opens a truly new avenue for re-use of car batteries. Daniel´s proposals allow to keep car batteries out of the waste landfills for tens of years. Moreover, they manage to create new value by facilitating effective energy use. Such proposal directly contribute to improving sustainability and heading for circular economy. Daniel adds that, when he hears concerns about the challenges related to the manufacturing and recycling of old car batteries, he always wants to remind about the great advantages and a truly huge potential provided by electric cars - from reducing the fossil fuel consumption, cutting emissions and reducing noise, to many other striking features of electric cars. His message to the world is that the electric batteries can live surprisingly long! And Daniel wants the humankind not to throw away the electric old cars and batteries, but to re-use them wisely and find other benefits in this great opportunity. The story is presented by Daniel Öster and written down by Zinaida Grabovskaia, Master Degree Programme in Business informatics. Daniel Öster - an electric car enthusiast, a former Wärtsilä engineer and now Kempower expert, and a start-up entrepreneur and founder of “Dala´s EV Repair” who participated in the “Circular Economy” course at Metropolia. Daniel develops his innovative ideas around electric car batteries. Daniel has developed a technology to upgrade the early generation electric car batteries that allows to radically extend their life. He is also active in disseminating his knowledge about re-use of batteries: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc3g-KhOBoicgOrB4KkMeew His most recent idea relates to re-using the old batteries as power-banks for energy storage in private households. Daniel lives and works in Vaasa, and continues to generate innovations inspired by versatile use of electric car batteries for various businesses.
The editorial team will provide the content of the Masterminds blog before publication.
The editorial team started its work at the beginning of 2022.
Pia Koirikivi, chief editor in Masterminds blog, Pedagogical Specialist
Minna Kaihovirta, Manager of Dialog
Iira Lankinen, Principal Lecturer
Riikka Wallin, Publications Specialist
Zinaida Grabovskaia, Senior Lecturer
Salla Kivelä, Principal Lecturer
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