QUANTA PROFESSIONAL CIRCLE TALCHER THERMAL POWER STATION, NTPC
LIMITEDTEAM MEMBERS: 1. AVPS KUMAR, 2. SAUBHIK DATTA, 3. KUNAL
KUMAR SARAFACTIVITY REPORT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR: 2014-15CIRCLE
CO-ORDINATOR: MR. S.K. GHOSH, AGM (BE), TTPSTOTAL MEETINGS HELD IN
THIS YEAR= 15
SERIAL NO.DATETOPIC PRESENTEDPRESENTED BYEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
110.08.2014COST COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH LEADERSHIPAVPS
KUMARENCLOSED
214.09.2014DATA MININGS. DATTAENCLOSED
313.10.2014KNOWLEDGE SECURITYS. DATTAENCLOSED
409.11.2014HUMAN ASSET VALUATIONAVPS KUMARENCLOSED
516.11.2014SUSTAINABILITY & BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY
REPORTINGK. K. SARAFENCLOSED
630.11.2014WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY IN POWER PLANT APPLICATIONSAVPS
KUMARENCLOSED
714.12.2014360 DEGREE APPRAISALS. DATTAENCLOSED
828.12.2014FLUIDISED BED COMBUSTION SYSTEMS. DATTAENCLOSED
911.01.2015INNOVATION BY DESIGNAVPS KUMARENCLOSED
1018.01.2015BIO DIESELK. K. SARAFENCLOSED
1125.01.2015CLOUD COMPUTINGAVPS KUMARENCLOSED
1205.02.2015WIRELESS POWER TRANSMISSIONS. DATTAENCLOSED
1315.02.2015SMART GRIDS. DATTAENCLOSED
1418.02.2015VALUES, ETHICS, MORAL- THE EMERGING CHALLENGES.
DATTAENCLOSED
1522.02.2015KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AVPS KUMARENCLOSED
TOPIC 1: COST COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH LEADERSHIPEXECUTIVE
SUMMARYIn the globalized business environment governed by market
driven economy, understanding concept of competitiveness and its
implementation are the key factors for a firms growth on a
sustained basis. Since the concept is translated and put into
operation by leaders, their role as transformational agent in
improving competitiveness of a firm is also equally
important.Competitiveness of a firm has been defined as the ability
of a firm to design, produce and market products superior to those
offered by competitors, considering the price and non-price
qualities. A study has argued that good leadership should enable an
organization to integrate, share and use his knowledge and
experience innovatively in order to improve competitiveness (Senge
et al, 1994).Applying common sense, one can say that an unit A is
more competitive than another unit B under the same business
environment when productivity measured in terms of capital, labor
or what goes in the name of total factor productivity is more than
that of B with more market share. But then, an improved
productivity which is reflected in a reduced cost of production
might not necessarily mean a high return on invested capital
because the rate of return depends on the rate of profit which is
not necessarily accelerated with a reduction in the cost of
production.As one knows, concept of marginal costing helps a
manager for a number of management decision makings. One of them is
to calculate value of optimum output. This is required to find out
what should be the level of output of a firm that will generate
adequate cash flow to meet not only the fixed cost but also to
repay the loan along with interest. Once the level of optimum
output is found out, a manager can assess whether the unit has got
capacity to produce that level of output. In the absence of
capacity, a decision can be taken to incur additional capital
expenditure for enhancing capacity. A manager can also assess
whether the optimum output produced by a firm can be sold in the
market and at what price.In this era, a firm devoid of competitive
advantage cannot survive. The present era of economy in our country
can be conceived as a period of boom in a Schumpeterian paradigm of
capital development. At the level of a firm, the message is that
the competitive efficiency is the key for survival. Unless
practicing managers leading a firm understand this reality and
adopt a competitive strategy for turnaround, that firm will simply
be eliminated from the market.
TOPIC 2: DATA MININGEXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe past two decades has
seen a dramatic increase in the amount of information or data being
stored in electronic format. This accumulation of data has taken
place at an explosive rate. It has been estimated that the amount
of information in the world doubles every 20 months and the size
and number of databases are increasing even faster. The increase in
use of electronic data gathering devices such as point-of-sale or
remote sensing devices has contributed to this explosion of
available data. It was recognized that information is at the heart
of business operations and that decision-makers could make use of
the data stored to gain valuable insight into the business.
Database Management systems gave access to the data stored but this
was only a small part of what could be gained from the data.
Traditional on-line transaction processing systems, OLTPs, are good
at putting data into databases quickly, safely and efficiently but
are not good at delivering meaningful analysis in return. Analyzing
data can provide further knowledge about a business by going beyond
the data explicitly stored to derive knowledge about the business.
This is where Data Mining or Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD)
has obvious benefits for any enterprise.Data Mining, or Knowledge
Discovery in Databases (KDD) as it is also known, is the nontrivial
extraction of implicit, previously unknown, and potentially useful
information from data. This encompasses a number of different
technical approaches, such as clustering, data summarization,
learning classification rules, finding dependency net works,
analysing changes, and detecting anomalies.
Basically data mining is concerned with the analysis of data and
the use of software techniques for finding patterns and
regularities in sets of data. It is the computer which is
responsible for finding the patterns by identifying the underlying
rules and features in the data. The idea is that it is possible to
strike gold in unexpected places as the data mining software
extracts patterns not previously discernable or so obvious that
no-one has noticed them before.
Data mining analysis tends to work from the data up and the best
techniques are those developed with an orientation towards large
volumes of data, making use of as much of the collected data as
possible to arrive at reliable conclusions and decisions. The
analysis process starts with a set of data, uses a methodology to
develop an optimal representation of the structure of the data
during which time knowledge is acquired. Once knowledge has been
acquired this can be extended to larger sets of data working on the
assumption that the larger data set has a structure similar to the
sample data. Again this is analogous to a mining operation where
large amounts of low grade materials are sifted through in order to
find something of value.
TOPIC 3: KNOWLEDGE SECURITY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In this era of global economy, ever-changing enterprise risk,
cross-organization collaboration and online trade, information
security has become more of a business enabler than ever thought
possible. As new and evolving research, standards, tools and
technologies emerge, enterprises now have the mechanisms to help
secure their business transactions as well as the underlying
infrastructure and information involved. Yet enterprises still
struggle to keep up with regulatory requirements, economic
conditions and risk management. The exact role of information
security is still not clearly defined in many organizations. While
some still view information security as a cost center, it has been
shown that effectively managed information security organizations
can be instrumental in helping an enterprise meet its business
goals by improving efficiency and aligning business objectives.
Enterprises too often view information security in isolation:
the perception is that security is someone elses responsibility and
there is no collaborative effort to link the security program to
business goals. It is easy for this compartmentalized approach to
lead to weaknesses in security management, possibly resulting in
serious exposure. From a financial perspective, it is possible for
this lack of comprehension to result in unnecessary expenditure on
security and control. From an operational perspective, information
security efforts may not achieve the intended business benefit,
resulting in information at risk.
The Business Model for Information Security began life as a
model for systemic security management, created by Dr. Laree Kiely
and Terry Benzel at the USC Marshall School of Business Institute
for Critical Information Infrastructure Protection. In 2008 ISACA
acquired from the university the rights to develop the model to
help embed its concepts in information security practices
globally.
The model takes a business-oriented approach to managing
information security. Its holistic and dynamic approach to
information security within the context of business demonstrates to
the enterprise that information security can be both predictive and
proactive.
The model can be used regardless of the size of the enterprise
or the information security framework (if any) the enterprise
currently has in place. The model is independent of any particular
technology or technological changes over time. Likewise, it is
applicable across industries, geographies, and regulatory and legal
systems. It includes not only traditional information security but
also privacy, linkages to risk, physical security and
compliance.
Starting in 2006, the security organization began tracking
security incidents and reported suspicious activities. Security
reviews the information, looks for patterns and regularly shares
the findings with sales. An unanticipated outcome of this
information sharing has been the creation of a heightened sense of
awareness. Today, many incidents are disclosed that were unreported
in the past or were seen as stolen property issues rather than as
possible losses of corporate sensitive information.
TOPIC 4: HUMAN ASSET VALUATION
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Despite being an important asset for a company, human resource
is an asset always ignored by accountants. With regards to assets,
there is a fundamental conflict in accounting practices between
human and non-human assets. Only non-human assets find a place on a
company's balance sheet. Keep in mind that even intangibles like
'goodwill' are accounted for.
An asset is simply something that can generate cash / value in
the future. If you go by this definition, human assets should also
be accounted for the balance sheet. So why aren't human assets
given their due recognition? It is because the formal definition of
asset does not recognize people as 'accountable assets' for a
company. According to the formal definition, an asset is a resource
controlled by the entity as a result of past events and from which
future economic benefits are expected to flow to the entity. Simply
stated, assets are economic resources which represent ownership of
value that can be converted into cash.
Human assets do generate cash for a company, but they are not
owned by the company. Hence, they cannot be incorporated into the
balance sheet. However, the definition and accounting practices do
not make human assets any less. They still command the same value
and importance for the company. Thus, there are few companies that
choose to value their human asset . One example of such companies
is the 2nd largest software company in India, Infosys.
There are many financial models to value human assets. Infosys
used the Lev & Schwartz model to calculate the value of their
human resources. In the past, companies such as Bharat Heavy
Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL),
Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation of India Ltd (MMTC Ltd),
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) and National Thermal
Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) have also used the same model. The
model uses several factors such as age, annual earnings up to
retirement, retirement age of the employees & cost of capital
to value the human assets of the company. However, the model
ignores productivity of employees, attrition rate and training
expenses in its calculation.
Conceptual thinking about valuing human resources is still
developing. Accounting bodies all over the world still haven't
accepted any model for valuing human resource. Hence, a company
does not need to value its human assets for the purpose of external
financial reporting. However, people are one of the most valuable
assets for any company. No matter how good the company's business
is, it is the people who steer it in a particular direction.
Therefore, while making internal decisions related to human
resource management, a company should consider human asset
valuation. The company should look at the parameters such as return
on human resource value, ratio of total income to human asset
value. All these parameters give a clear picture of efficiency of
human resources employed by the company.TOPIC 5: SUSTAINABILITY
& BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY REPORTINGEXECUTIVE SUMMARYCorporate
sustainability reporting has a long history going back to
environmental reporting. The first environmental reports were
published in the late 1980s by companies in the chemical industry
which had serious image problems. The other group of early
reporters was a group of committed small and medium-sized
businesses with very advanced environmental management systems.An
important, globally-accepted framework for accomplishing this
expanded disclosure and reporting is the Global Reporting
Initiative (GRI) Framework. GRI is a global, network-based
mechanism organized as a foundationand is based in the Netherlands.
GRI has pioneered the development of the worlds most widely-used
sustainability reporting framework and as such is a reporting
mechanism with broad credibility.The goal of GRI is to assist
organizations in their disclosure of environmental, social and
governance (ESG) performance. A wide range of participants have
embraced GRI reporting, including members of the global business
community, civil society, the public sector, and labor, academic
and professional institutions.
The GRIs third generation of reporting framework and guidance
the G-3 is used by a growing number of public companies, either as
a general guide or for specific reporting of their ESG performance
against the Framework Boundaries, Indicators and Disclosure
expectations. (The application level system has various
requirements and disclosures for each application level selected by
the reporter.)
G3.1 is a two-part guideline providing the GRIs Reporting
Framework to aid organizations in disclosing their sustainability
performance.
Part 1 of the G3.1 Guideline consists of principles to define
report content, quality and to describe how to set the report
boundary.
Part 2 outlines the standard disclosure in terms of strategy and
profile, management approach, and performance indicators. In the
G3.1 guidelines, GRI has updated its guidance in topics such as
Human Rights, Local Community Impacts, and Gender.
Companies that report on their sustainability strategies,
initiatives, programs and performance are more likely to be
selected for key Sustainability reputational lists, ranked higher
by Sustainability raters and rankers, and selected for inclusion on
leading Sustainability indices. In addition, our study indicates
that companies that are managing their sustainability issues tend
to perform better over the long-term in the markets, although we do
agree that evaluating a larger number of companies over a longer
period of time would be more definitive in this regard.
TOPIC 6: WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY IN POWER PLANT
APPLICATIONSEXECUTIVE SUMMARYWireless technology offers benefits
beyond just wiring cost savings. With a multi-functional,
plant-wide wireless network, utility and power generation
facilities can improve safety, reliability and efficiency through
optimized employees, equipment and processes.
Power plants implementing wireless systems do so for the same
reason as the designers of the first telegraph system cost savings.
Utilities look to wireless to add real business value, both in
terms of installation costs and optimized operations from increased
data availability.
An ultra-secure and ultra-reliable wireless field infrastructure
supports not just wireless instruments, but also IEEE 802.11 WLAN
applications and mobile clients such as hand-held computers and
mobile Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs). A single wireless network,
supporting multiple wireless technologies and classes of service,
can handle diverse tasks ranging from communicating sensor
information back to a host system, to closed-loop control,
information, HMI, video, communication, and enterprise
applications. Wireless technologies developed for building
management and security can also be utilized in process plants to
support both asset management and personnel tracking.
For example, wireless mobility tools provide a fully functional
PC environment that personnel can interact with directly from a
handheld device while performing maintenance rounds, data
collection and inspections. These solutions are optimized for
specific end user applications, ranging from read-only access over
the Intranet by multiple casual users, to secure system access for
mobile operators. This wireless collaboration can improve
decision-making, production uptime and process monitoring, and
incident avoidance.
Handheld access to process data allows technicians in the field
to view the latest plant information to help identify failures and
causes that may previously have gone unrecorded, and can open the
door for further investigation of a systems reliability. Users can
integrate field data with data from multiple other sources,
including production, control, and work management systems. They
also provide mechanical and engineering data and support
calibration of instrument databases. On-site computing helps
management improve the tracking and reporting of inspections,
tests, and repairs for pumps, actuators, valves, vents, pipes and
other plant process equipment.
To get started with wireless, and unlock the possibilities of
this innovative technology, it is important to view your wireless
implementation as a partnership between the plant operator, company
IT department, and wireless supplier. Each party has a share in
determining the outcome of this effort.
TOPIC 7: 360 DEGREE APPRAISALSEXECUTIVE SUMMARYIn human
resources or industrial psychology, 360-degree feedback, also known
as multi-rater feedback, multi-source feedback, or multi source
assessment, is feedback that comes from members of an employee's
immediate work circle. Most often, 360-degree feedback will include
direct feedback from an employee's subordinates, peers
(colleagues), and supervisor(s), as well as a self-evaluation. It
can also include, in some cases, feedback from external sources,
such as customers and suppliers or other interested stakeholders.
It may be contrasted with "upward feedback," where managers are
given feedback only by their direct reports, or a "traditional
performance appraisal," where the employees are most often reviewed
only by their managers.The results from a 360-degree evaluation are
often used by the person receiving the feedback to plan and map
specific paths in their development. Results are also used by some
organizations in making administrative decisions related to pay and
promotions. When this is the case, the 360 assessment is for
evaluation purposes, and is sometimes called a "360-degree review."
However, there is a great deal of debate as to whether 360-degree
feedback should be used exclusively for development purposes, or
should be used for appraisal purposes as well. What a 360 Feedback
Survey Measures:1. 360 feedback measures behaviors and
competencies2. 360 assessments provide feedback on how others
perceive an employee3. 360 feedback addresses skills such as
listening, planning, and goal-setting4. A 360 evaluation focuses on
subjective areas such as teamwork, character, and leadership
effectiveness What 360 Feedback Surveys do not assess1. 360
feedback is not a way to measure employee performance objectives
(MBOs)2. 360 feedback is not a way to determine whether an employee
is meeting basic job requirements3. 360 feedback is not focused on
basic technical or job-specific skills4. 360 feedback should not be
used to measure strictly objective things such as attendance, sales
quotas, etc.
TOPIC 8: FLUIDISED BED COMBUSTION SYSTEMEXECUTIVE
SUMMARYFluidized bed combustion (FBC) is a combustion technology
used to burn solid fuels.In its most basic form, fuel particles are
suspended in a hot, bubbling fluidity bed of ash and other
particulate materials (sand, limestone etc.) through which jets of
air are blown to provide the oxygen required for combustion. The
resultant fast and intimate mixing of gas and solids promotes rapid
heat transfer and chemical reactions within the bed. FBC plants are
capable of burning a variety of low-grade solid fuels, including
most types of coal and woody biomass, at high efficiency and
without the necessity for expensive fuel preparation (e.g.,
pulverizing). In addition, for any given thermal duty, FBCs are
smaller than the equivalent conventional furnace, so may offer
significant advantages over the latter in terms of cost and
flexibility.FBC reduces the amount of sulfur emitted in the form of
SOx emissions. Limestone is used to precipitate out sulfate during
combustion, which also allows more efficient heat transfer from the
boiler to the apparatus used to capture the heat energy (usually
water tubes). The heated precipitate coming in direct contact with
the tubes (heating by conduction) increases the efficiency. Since
this allows coal plants to burn at cooler temperatures, less NOx is
also emitted. However, burning at low temperatures also causes
increased polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emissions. FBC boilers
can burn fuels other than coal, and the lower temperatures of
combustion (800 C / 1500 F) have other added benefits as well.There
are two reasons for the rapid increase of FBC in combustors. First,
the liberty of choice in respect of fuels in general, not only the
possibility of using fuels which are difficult to burn using other
technologies, is an important advantage of fluidized bed
combustion. The second reason, which has become increasingly
important, is the possibility of achieving, during combustion, a
low emission of nitric oxides and the possibility of removing
sulfur in a simple manner by using limestone as bed
material.Fluidized-bed combustion evolved from efforts to find a
combustion process able to control pollutant emissions without
external emission controls (such as scrubbers-flue gas
desulfurization). The technology burns fuel at temperatures of
1,400 to 1,700 F (750-900 C), well below the threshold where
nitrogen oxides form (at approximately 2,500 F / 1400 C, the
nitrogen and oxygen atoms in the combustion air combine to form
nitrogen oxide pollutants); it also avoids the ash melting problems
related to high combustion temperature. The mixing action of the
fluidized bed brings the flue gases into contact with a
sulfur-absorbing chemical, such as limestone or dolomite. More than
95% of the sulfur pollutants in coal can be captured inside the
boiler by the sorbent. The reductions may be less substantial than
they seem, however, as they coincide with dramatic increases in
carbon (monoxide?) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
emissions.
TOPIC 9: INNOVATION BY DESIGNEXECUTIVE SUMMARYIf one look at the
history of organizations, one can find examples galore of many
greatorganizations which have been obliterated from the history of
mankind, as they could not innovate with the changing
circumstances, technology, environment or customer choice, which
created demand and opportunity for them to do so, but they failed
to capitalize on those opportunities to innovate.
When we want organizations to use the creative potential of its
people and innovate, then these have to be built on certain
foundations. These foundations can also be seen as the
preconditions and premise on which the process of innovation
starts. For bringing about an organization where employees
continually innovate, all these conditions must be met. In the
absence of any one of these, we may fail to meet the objective of
getting innovation in the organization. At the same time there has
to be complete synergy among the different foundation blocks for
resulting in innovation.
A. Most importantly it has to have norms, values and beliefs
which encourage and facilitate innovation. The organization culture
has to act as an enabler for bringing about innovation. (Innovation
culture)B. The capacity and capability of employees to innovate can
never be undermined. It is one of the prerequisites for generating
innovation in the organization. (Innovation Capability) C. It has
to have some deliberately designed formal mechanisms which removes
the disablers and reinforces the enablers for facilitating
innovation. The organization has to create the right kind of
structures and processes for facilitating innovation in the
organization. (Innovation process and organizational support
system) D. Innovation in a normal sense could mean doing something
different or doing something differently. In that sense, it could
mean developing a new product, adopting new process or it could
also mean solving problems differently. So all three aspects of
product innovation, process innovation or innovative problem
solving comes into the ambit of innovation. (Innovation
Opportunity)
TOPIC 10: BIO DIESELEXECUTIVE SUMMARYBiodiesel refers to a
vegetable oil - or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of
long-chain alkyl (methyl, ethyl, or propyl) esters. Biodiesel is
typically made by chemically reacting lipids (e.g., vegetable oil,
animal fat (tallow) with an alcohol producing fatty acid
esters.Biodiesel is meant to be used in standard diesel engines and
is thus distinct from the vegetable and waste oils used to fuel
converted diesel engines. Biodiesel can be used alone, or blended
with petro diesel in any proportions. Biodiesel blends can also be
used as heating oil.Biodiesel Compared to Petroleum Diesel
AdvantagesDisadvantages
Domestically produced from non-petroleum, renewable resources
Can be used in most diesel engines, especially newer ones Less air
pollutants (other than nitrogen oxides) Less greenhouse gas
emissions (e.g., B20 reduces CO2 by 15%) Biodegradable Non-toxic
Safer to handle Use of blends above B5 not yet approved by many
auto makers Lower fuel economy and power (10% lower for B100, 2%
for B20) Currently more expensive B100 generally not suitable for
use in low temperatures Concerns about B100's impact on engine
durability Slight increase in nitrogen oxide emissions possible in
some circumstances
Biodiesel has promising lubricating properties and cetane
ratings compared to low sulfur diesel fuels Depending on the
engine, this[clarification needed] might include high pressure
injection pumps, pump injectors (also called unit injectors) and
fuel injectors.The calorific value of biodiesel is about 37.27
MJ/kg. This is 9% lower than regular Number 2 petro diesel.
Variations in biodiesel energy density are more dependent on the
feedstock used than the production process. Still, these variations
are less than for petro diesel. It has been claimed biodiesel gives
better lubricity and more complete combustion thus increasing the
engine energy output and partially compensating for the higher
energy density of petro diesel.Biodiesel contains virtually no
sulfur, and it is often used as an additive to ULSD.TOPIC 11: CLOUD
COMPUTINGEXECUTIVE SUMMARYCloud computing is a recently evolved
computing terminology or metaphor based on utility and consumption
of computing resources. Cloud computing involves deploying groups
of remote servers and software networks that allow centralized data
storage and online access to computer services or resources. Clouds
can be classified as public, private or hybrid.The goal of cloud
computing is to apply traditional supercomputing, or
high-performance computing power, normally used by military and
research facilities, to perform tens of trillions of computations
per second, in consumer-oriented applications such as financial
portfolios, to deliver personalized information, to provide data
storage or to power large, immersive computer games. To do this,
cloud computing uses networks of large groups of servers typically
running low-cost consumer PC technology with specialized
connections to spread data-processing chores across them. This
shared IT infrastructure contains large pools of systems that are
linked together. Often, virtualization techniques are used to
maximize the power of cloud computing.The standards for connecting
the computer systems and the software needed to make cloud
computing work are not fully defined at present time, leaving many
companies to define their own cloud computing technologies. Cloud
computing systems offered by companies, like IBM's "Blue Cloud"
technologies for example, are based on open standards and open
source software which link together computers that are used to
deliver Web 2.0 capabilities like mash-ups or mobile commerce.Cloud
computing has started to obtain mass appeal in corporate data
centers as it enables the data center to operate like the Internet
through the process of enabling computing resources to be accessed
and shared as virtual resources in a secure and scalable manner.For
a small and medium size business (SMB), the benefits of cloud
computing is currently driving adoption. In the SMB sector there is
often a lack of time and financial resources to purchase, deploy
and maintain an infrastructure (e.g. the software, server and
storage).In cloud computing, small businesses can access these
resources and expand or shrink services as business needs change.
The common pay-as-you-go subscription model is designed to let SMBs
easily add or remove services and you typically will only pay for
what you do use.
TOPIC 12: WIRELESS POWER TRANSMISSIONEXECUTIVE SUMMARYWireless
power transfer (WPT) or wireless energy transmission is the
transmission of electrical power from a power source to a consuming
device without using solid wires or conductors. It is a generic
term that refers to a number of different power transmission
technologies that use time-varying electromagnetic fields. Wireless
transmission is useful to power electrical devices in cases where
interconnecting wires are inconvenient, hazardous, or are not
possible. In wireless power transfer, a transmitter device
connected to a power source, such as the mains power line,
transmits power by electromagnetic fields across an intervening
space to one or more receiver devices, where it is converted back
to electric power and utilized. Wireless power techniques fall into
two categories, non-radiative and radiative. In near-field or
non-radiative techniques, power is transferred over short distances
by magnetic fields using inductive coupling between coils of wire
or in a few devices by electric fields using capacitive coupling
between electrodes. Applications of this type are electric
toothbrush chargers, RFID tags, smartcards, and chargers for
implantable medical devices like artificial cardiac pacemakers, and
inductive powering or charging of electric vehicles like trains or
buses. A current focus is to develop wireless systems to charge
mobile and handheld computing devices such as cellphones, digital
music player and portable computers without being tethered to a
wall plug. In radiative or far-field techniques, also called power
beaming, power is transmitted by beams of electromagnetic
radiation, like microwaves or laser beams. These techniques can
transport energy longer distances but must be aimed at the
receiver. Proposed applications for this type are solar power
satellites, and wireless powered drone aircraft.[9] An important
issue associated with all wireless power systems is limiting the
exposure of people and other living things to potentially injurious
electromagnetic fields.
TOPIC 13: SMART GRIDEXECUTIVE SUMMARYA smart grid is a
modernized electrical grid that uses analog[1] or digital
information and communications technology to gather and act on
information - such as information about the behaviors of suppliers
and consumers - in an automated fashion to improve the efficiency,
reliability, economics, and sustainability of the production and
distribution of electricity. Electronic power conditioning and
control of the production and distribution of electricity are
important aspects of the smart grid.The smart grid represents the
full suite of current and proposed responses to the challenges of
electricity supply. Reliability: The smart grid will make use of
technologies, such as state estimation that improve fault detection
and allow self-healing of the network without the intervention of
technicians. This will ensure more reliable supply of electricity,
and reduced vulnerability to natural disasters or attack.
Flexibility in network topology: Next-generation transmission and
distribution infrastructure will be better able to handle possible
bidirectional energy flows, allowing for distributed generation
such as from photovoltaic panels on building roofs, but also the
use of fuel cells, charging to/from the batteries of electric cars,
wind turbines, pumped hydroelectric power, and other sources.
Efficiency: Numerous contributions to overall improvement of the
efficiency of energy infrastructure are anticipated from the
deployment of smart grid technology, in particular including
demand-side management, for example turning off air conditioners
during short-term spikes in electricity price, reducing the voltage
when possible on distribution lines through Voltage/VAR
Optimization (VVO), eliminating truck-rolls for meter reading, and
reducing truck-rolls by improved outage management using data from
Advanced Metering Infrastructure systems. The overall effect is
less redundancy in transmission and distribution lines, and greater
utilization of generators, leading to lower power prices.
Sustainability: The improved flexibility of the smart grid permits
greater penetration of highly variable renewable energy sources
such as solar power and wind power, even without the addition of
energy storage. Current network infrastructure is not built to
allow for many distributed feed-in points, and typically even if
some feed-in is allowed at the local (distribution) level, the
transmission-level infrastructure cannot accommodate it. Rapid
fluctuations in distributed generation, such as due to cloudy or
gusty weather, present significant challenges to power engineers
who need to ensure stable power levels through varying the output
of the more controllable generators such as gas turbines and
hydroelectric generators. Smart grid technology is a necessary
condition for very large amounts of renewable electricity on the
grid for this reason.TOPIC 14: VALUES, ETHICS, MORAL- THE EMERGING
CHALLENGEEXECUTIVE SUMMARYIn this age of globalization, open market
economy and fierce competition, it is a real challenge for the
business organizations to operate ethically. Various alluring
factors are constantly afflicting the people working in the
organizations and thus, making it a herculean task for the managers
to actualize values and uphold the moral culture effectively.The
present study has made an attempt to analyze the various factors
that are hindering the process of establishing a sound business
ethics in Indian organizations, and the initiatives taken by
various firms in this regard.In order to gain some insight on the
mindset of the people working in the corporate world on this issue,
a survey was conducted among the executives of Talcher Thermal
Power Station, NTPC Limited. From the data gathered, we tried to
analyze the factors which need to be worked upon by the managers to
instill organizational ethics and values into the entire
workforce.In our proposed solutions, we have tried to address each
of these factors. If implemented, these measures will help NTPC
Limited as well as any other business entity to establish itself as
a more responsible and ethical corporate citizen, ensuring the
reputation of the company among its stakeholders, guiding towards a
flourishing and sustainable future.Values and principles are the
essence of human lives that justify human beings as supreme. We
need to start seeing values from a fresh perspective, arouse a
general awakening towards the worth of values in life. If we are
not aware towards the imminent crisis in values today, we may not
be able to pass on these important aspects to the next
generation.Failure in business ethics and corporate governance is a
real threat to the future of every corporation. With the effective
governance based on core values of integrity and trust, companies
can gain much competitive advantage which attracts and retains best
multiple alternatives and generates positive reactions in the
marketplace- if any company got reputed for ethical behavior in the
competitive market, it engenders not only customer loyalty but also
employee loyalty. A great deal depends upon fairness, honesty,
integrity and the manner in which companies conduct their affairs.
Companies must make a profit to survive and grow; however, the
pursuit of profits must stay within ethical bounds.TOPIC 15:
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENTEXECUTIVE SUMMARYKnowledge management involves
any systematic activity related to the capture and sharing of
knowledge by organization.Knowledge is an asset and Knowledge
management is a cluster of all asset.it is a single platform where
Knowledge is shared, updated, refreshed and grown. For any
organization it becomes imperative to increase the circulation of
Knowledge and information amongst the employees and to provide an
organizational environment which helps in developing the right
attitude and mutual trust among the employees.The term "knowledge
management" is now in widespread use, having appeared in the titles
of many new books about knowledge management as a business
strategy, as well as in articles in many business publications,
including The Wall Street Journal. There are, of course, many ways
to slice up the multi-faceted world of knowledge management.
However, its often useful to categorize them.The Benefits of
Knowledge Management Facilitates better, more informed decisions
Contributes to the intellectual capital of an organization
Encourages the free flow of ideas which leads to insight and
innovation Eliminates redundant processes, streamlines operations,
and enhances employee retention rates Improves customer service and
efficiency Can lead to greater productivity. Knowledge Management
does not have a beginning and an end. It is ongoing, organic, and
ever-evolving. Understanding Knowledge Management KM is about
people. It is directly linked to what people know, and how what
they know can support business and organizational objectives. It
draws on human competency, intuition, ideas, and motivations. It is
not a technology-based concept. Although technology can support a
KM effort, it shouldnt begin there. KM is orderly and
goal-directed. It is inextricably tied to the strategic objectives
of the organization. It uses only the information that is the most
meaningful, practical, and purposeful. KM is ever-changing. There
is no such thing as an immutable law in KM. Knowledge is constantly
tested, updated, revised, and sometimes even "obsoleted" when it is
no longer practicable. It is a fluid, ongoing process. KM is
value-added. It draws upon pooled expertise, relationships, and
alliances. Organizations can further the two-way exchange of ideas
by bringing in experts from the field to advise or educate managers
on recent trends and developments. Forums, councils, and boards can
be instrumental in creating common ground and organizational
cohesiveness. KM is visionary. This vision is expressed in
strategic business terms rather than technical terms, and in a
manner that generates enthusiasm, buy-in, and motivates managers to
work together toward reaching common goals. KM is complementary. It
can be integrated with other organizational learning initiatives
such as Total Quality Management (TQM). It is important for
knowledge managers to show interim successes along with progress
made on more protracted efforts such as multiyear systems
developments infrastructure, or enterprise architecture
projects.