Silicon Valley: a parableWritten by Janet K. Ilacqua
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Beneath high-tech sparkle laid a hidden underbelly of inequality, environmental devastation, and exploitation. A recent study of Silicon Valley economy found that hourly wages of 75 percent of Silicon Valley workers were actually lower in 1996 than in 1989. Meanwhile, between 1992 and 1997, income for top 20 percent has increased by 32 percent. The diverse workplace does not necessarily mean equality of opportunity. You see very few Hispanics or blacks in hi-tech crystal palaces. Silicon Valley has 29 Superfund sites--toxic sites slated for cleanup by federal government. This is more than any other area in country. High-tech manufacturing created 24 of 29 sites; 18 are tied to computer chip industry. At one time, largest mercury mine in U.S. was located in New Alma den hills in back of San Jose. Mercury, which is used to separate silver from base ore, seeps from this 100-year year old open sore and poisons Guadalupe River and San Francisco Bay. The Hispanic hamlet of Alison lies partly on a landfill created by dumping of asbestos-lined pipes in 1950’s by Certainteed Corporation. Will Silicon Valley ever regain its prosperity? Alternatively, it is like some new Atlantis being destroyed by its greed while its inhabitant scatter to four winds. No one knows. Maybe, a large no strings attached investment, such as Leland Stanford’s bequest that help found Stanford University, would help jump-start economy. However, maybe, problems faced by Silicon Valley are those, which cannot be solved by money alone. The entrepreneurial individualism, which has made unnatural growth of Valley possible, had, in process, destroyed social fabric that holds a society together. The issues facing Silicon Valley today are social ones—pollution, growing income inequality, ethnic tension, unemployment, high housing costs, and a limited state budget. These problems had always been there, but were ignored and have worsened during most rapid increase in wealth in history. Maybe, one day, people of Silicon Valley and California will wake up and have political will to spend money needed to fix these problems. However, no one really knows.
Bio: Janet Ilacqua is a freelance writer living in Tracy. She specializes in spirituality, business, and prosperity issues. She can be reached at jilacqua@aol.com. Also, check out her website at http://www.writeupondemand.com
| | The new ways to do the Business: MBA or CIO?Written by J.C.Melo
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The companies are more and more electronics, as for examples ERP Enterprise Resources Planning, CRM Customer Relationship Management, Voice over IP VoIP, sophisticated Call Centers, Business Intelligence BI, Internet, new Internet Marketing, etc. Therefore, to survive a modern business administrator must learn those new ways to do business and how to manage those modern enterprises. In other words, current MBA will be substituted by a CIO in a very short period of time. And a recent report from Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, primary accrediting body in North America lambasted its members for maintaining a curriculum that is out of touch with modern business practices. As a matter of fact, current MBA it's an 60-years old curriculum in begin of this digital age.
About the Auctor: J.C.Melo is a 73-years old IT professional, he was the owner of the first Brazilian minicomputer factory and also a Consultant for the U.S. Government several times. He has 54 years of experience in the computer science & technology entrepreneurship fields. Now is the CEO of the organization http://mba-open-university.net.
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