Bose of US- An Example of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Posted : October 7, 2005 at 10:58 pm [IST]
During my stay in US, I was almost always on a look out for the Indians that have achieved some significant heights in setting their own business there. My sons used to many some humorous remarks about my craze. ‘ Mummy! Have you noticed? Papa keeps on looking at the tags in supermarkets to find the country that has made the merchandise, and in ‘Borders’, the bookstore he keeps on searching news about Indian business men who are doing well here.” In IT areas I could hear and read about many. But there was only one name in manufacturing and that too in a very competitive area of audio equipment. And it was Bose Corporation.
When Bose was studying for his graduate course at MIT in 1950s, he wanted to buy a good stereo system. None in market could satisfy the quality level that he was looking for. Even the top of the models speakers with impressive technical specifications failed to reproduce the realism of a live performance. Bose went for extensive research in the fields of speaker design and psychoacoustics-the human perception of sound. It resulted in significantly new design concepts that help deliver the emotional impact of live music.
When Bose Corporation decided to upgrade its corporate headquarters, their new building was designed to reflect their high tech image and serve as a showcase for the premier maker of audio equipment. The glass and steel structure, designed by Pisani Associates and built by Turner Construction, comprises 252,000 square feet of occupied space with many unique…
Dr. Amar G. Bose, who was by then professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, founded Bose Corporation in 1964.And by 1968, Bose Corporation could establish itself by introducing the 901® Direct/Reflecting® speaker system. Bose achieved international acclaim by setting a new standard for lifelike sound reproduction. And thereafter, it never looked back. Fourteen years of research led to the development of acoustic waveguide speaker technology, found in its award-winning Wave® radio, Wave® radio/CD and Acoustic Wave® music systems. The introduction of Acoustimass® speaker technology revolutionized conventional thinking about the relationship between speaker size and sound. Speakers small enough to fit in a palm can produce sound quality previously thought impossible from small speakers.
This is a success story that must inspire Indians to move in manufacturing too without hesitation and succeed. I wish they did that even now. Perhaps it is the education systems at MIT and Berkley that build such professionally successful entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, even though I am of IIT myself, I feel our education there still don’t provide sufficient encouragement and practical training in producing world-class products. Some exceptions such as Ashok Jhunjunwala of ’simputer’ fame are there. But a country of the size of India requires many more Ashok Jhunjhunwals? Can the thrust be different now?
I still remember Tondon of my batch, who became agricultural engineer, but couldn’t differentiate between paddy and barley. And I have myself seen the topmost technical managers who could hardly conceptualize a sheet metal die tool and correct the defect coming out in stampings. I don’t know if Emag of Stuttgart, West Germany is still there in business or not. Emag set up a manufacturing unit in India. When we were in their plant in Germany we saw some of the Indian engineers working in their plant there. I, as usual, asked the MD whom I knew intimately. “How are the Indian engineers?” ” Excellent in theory, but not good when they are to work by their own hands.” I saw the same drawbacks in engineers that we used to select. They never could appreciate that a first knowledge of working on the machines is a necessity to think differently and contribute productively. And presently, all the fresh graduate mechanical or manufacturing engineers seek a computer and a cubicle instead of working on the machinery. They feel that is the field of activity of mechanics and diploma holders. Can our education system at the engineering institutes help in changing the mindsets of the students they are preparing for the industry? For that the teachers themselves must expand their exposure to the real industrial situations and contemporary technologies in use.
India must aim at an education that researches, designs, develops, and produces what the customer world over want to possess and get delighted after possessing those products.
- Indra
Category: Manufacturing |
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