Looks like GM (of all companies) may have the first working, commercially available, electric vehicle on the market.  Dubbed the “Volt” . . .  expect the name to change before it is released.  The new EV is expected to have a 40 mile battery only range, with a small fuel powered engine that exists solely to charge the battery . . . that’s right, this car has no direct drive linkage to the fuel powered motor making it an EV rather than a hybrid!  The EV batteries are expected to be fully charged by the fuel motor within 30 minutes . . . even as the car cruises at 70MPH!

Concept and marketing photos of the Volt are available at AutoBlogGreen.
It appears that the new EV will have a modular architecture that allows for different charging motor technologies to be installed based on local markets for alternate fuels . . . such as E85, E100, Hydrogen and Biodiesel.

I want one . . . with my current driving commute of less than 3 miles a day . . . I’ve already been looking at a long available EV . . . the Segway to fully eliminate all fossil fuel burning from my commute . . . after all, I can’t force BART to use solar, hydro or wind power for the trains . . . at least not yet
This could actually be considered for my next car.  I refuse to buy another gasoline driven vehicle.  Yes, this even means a hybrid is out of the question.  World events and true national security requirements dictates that we remove ourselves from the global oil economy sooner rather than latter.  I don’t think that the current generation of cars being sold today will have a useful life span beyond 5-7 years due to the expected high price (in dollars and lives) or crude oil.  Those in the oil business in the US better get in gear and figure out what their business continuity plans are post Oil . . . or they go the way of the dinosaurs.  Come to think of it . . . maybe they will be THE next energy source, quite literally

ev, alternative energy, crude oil, energy independence, hybrid, oil, real national security, electric vehicle

By all accounts the paper look fine; it’s clear and complete and would appear to fulfill all of the requirements of the assigned project . . . except for the minimum page count. I recommended that she fill the remaining pages with a case study on the effects of requiring minimum page lengths for papers in an MBA program; I recommended she title the essay “Indoctrinated Waste”.

After she stopped laughing at me, she declined my advise citing her impending failure on the final project . . . we agree to disagree

Seriously, why would an MBA program worth anything require minimum document lengths for a final project (or any project for that matter)?  It’s like rewarding a project lead for coming in at or over budget, while penalizing a project lead that delivers a project under budget. This lesson reinforces the wrong goals for an effective business person . . . efficiency should be the goal of any project.

Scores are not calculated (in a properly run business) by the length of your documentation, rather you’re measured on speed of delivery, completeness and accuracy of the final product. Business communications should be made as clearly and succinctly as possible . . . any more is waste and is a distraction to the business goal.

Business reality dictates that this MBA project should be scored based on the minimum number of pages required to effectively and accurately communicate the intended message. Additional scoring should be based on the speed at which the project is completed, with the lowest positive score for speed being assigned to a project turned in on the actual due date.  Alas, this would require the faculty to think critically about the project scoring process, and spend time actually grading the project objectively based on real world business goals.

One more illustration of what is wrong with higher education today; the collective “Institution” continues to turn out college grads that are ill equipped to handle today’s business world . . . and in a large number of cases, actually present a liability to the company that hires them.

business, efficiency, mba, higher education