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Entrepreneurship, Small Business, Small-scale Dairy Farmers

This case is appropriate for undergraduate final year/senior as well as graduate-level programme students.

This case explores the life of Saravanan, a small-scale dairy farmer in Malaysia. He inherited the business from his father. Small-scale farmers in Malaysia own farms with 30 (or fewer) milking cows. Over the years, milk consumption had been on the rise, but production was less than promising. Besides low-quality milk, Saravanan often experienced issues of low milk yield. Selling fresh milk as his only source of income and the milk collection centre as his sole marketing channel, Saravanan was caught in a financially tight situation when product diversification and marketing initiatives were limited. Saravanan’s problems began with rejected fresh milk, which landed him with zero income for the day. This issue was detected when the authorities identified a few contaminated batches of milk during a site visit. The problem compounded when Saravanan had to settle three months’ debt with the feed supplier on the same day. Saravanan’s predicament echoed the plight faced by small-scale farmers in Malaysia. After managing the farm for more than 30 years, Saravanan had plans to pass it to his son, Mugunthan. However, doubts about the sustainability of the business remained. Would Mugunthan suffer the same dire fate? Would he be able to find a way out? Based on the problem-solving framework, the case attempts to identify and assess the problems faced by small-scale dairy farmers in Malaysia, and at the same time, to suggest solutions that will ensure the sustainability of their business.

After attempting the case, students should learn to empathise with the hardship small-scale dairy farmers endure in the pursuit of their businesses, analyse issues and determine the root causes of the problems faced by small-scale dairy farmers in Malaysia based on the problem-solving framework, generate and justify sustainable solutions to solve the problems faced by these dairy farmers and present the case, discuss and work in teams, and critically offer sustainable solutions based on framework and theories.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

This paper aims to improve the life of the printed circuit boards (PCB) used in computers based on modal analysis by increasing the natural frequency of the PCB assembly.

In this work, through experiments and numerical simulations, an attempt has been made to increase the fundamental natural frequency of the PCB assembly as high as practically achievable so as to minimize the impacts of dynamic loads acting on it. An optimization tool in the finite element software (ANSYS) was used to search the specified design space for the optimal support location of the six fastening screws.

It is observed that by changing the support locations based on the optimization results the fundamental natural frequency can be raised up to 51.1% and the same is validated experimentally.

Manufacturers of PCBs used in computers fix the support locations based on symmetric feature of the board not on the dynamic behavior of the assembly. This work might lead manufacturers to redesign the location of other surface mount components.

This work provides guidelines for PCB manufacturers to finalize their support locating points which will improve the dynamic characteristics of the PCB assembly during its functioning.

This study provides a novel method to improve the life of PCB based on support locations optimization which includes majority of the surface mount components that contributes to the total mass the PCB assembly.

Telemedicine is delivered to patient anywhere during emergency treatment care, and medical information is transferred from one site of patient to another site of specialist doctors by using mobile internet communication. Some rural areas have slow internet speed because of weak internet signal propagation from mobile towers. A good design of antenna is needed to improve mobile internet speed for big medial data transmission in telemedicine application. Hence, this paper aims to propose economically low-cost design of antenna.

Telemedicine recommended to design the satellite frequency modulation dish (SAT FMD) antenna ( where in FM radio antenna, dish antenna are combined ) to improve the internet speed at Telemedicine system and Hospitals for purpose of Telemedicine communication and information for emergency treatment.

In the proposed system, designed SAT FMD satellite-based antenna improved internet speed is achieved at 90.6% accuracy in this research method. Finding latitude and longitude angles to identify the patient location, nearest hospitals location and finding distance, shortest path routing between patient and hospital. Finding elevation, Azimuth, latitude, longitude, skew for alignment dish to focus satellite and mobile cell tower to improve internet speed at telemedicine area and hospitals and reduced transmission delay and nodal delay of big medical data.

The social awareness among people can be shared information of accident patient to communicate Hospital and Ambulance driver by internet mobile app tools and help find nearest hospitals to emergency treatment for accident people.

This paper presents SAT FMD antenna model based on satellite dish antenna consisting of FM radio receiver antenna and dish antenna for telemedicine communication.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the rush of technological change will consolidate the worldwide reach of the internet with more capacity, specifically to control the physical world, including the machines, industrial facilities and frameworks that characterize cutting-edge technology.

The data were collected from 203 respondents predominantly from emerging economies, specifically India and SEA. Most of the participants are working professionals. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze data, as it is a popular statistical technique because of its ability to model selected independent variables and take into account all possible forms of measurement error to test an entire theory.

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) platform comprises four fundamental capabilities: connectivity, big data, advanced analytics and application development. The IIOT has the potential to provide a high level of synergies between the 4 Ms of manufacturing, namely, man, machine, material and method.

The collected data are predominately from India and SEA (close to 75 per cent), while contributions from other regions are comparatively less, so the findings cannot be generalized to the global context.

It is in the interest of service providers to collaborate and provide a universal solution to retain legacy systems to minimize the investment and reduce the security threat, which could boost IIOT adoption while ensuring that manufacturers are able to leverage this new technology efficiently.

The framework obtained has good quality of validity and reliability indicators. Thus, an alternative framework has been added to customer expectation which is currently a popular topic in the technological changes.

The current era is characterized by hyperturbulence, population growth, attention to food security, the need to identify sustainable strategies to reduce pollution and poverty, and the disparity between developed and undeveloped economies. These circumstances force a global paradigm shift based on sustainable practices and processes that put people and the environment at the core of each activity, contributing to sustainable, social, and economic development and promoting well-being in the community.

In this spirit, a strong impulse can derive from the practices of Green Technology, considered here as that set of processes aimed at eco-sustainability that acquire undisputed relevance, especially for emerging economies.

This chapter focuses on the role that Green technology practices exert in generating local well-being in the world's fifth-largest country: Brazil. Dynamic growth and effective social policies lifted millions of people out of poverty in the 2000s, even if socio-economic development varies widely across the country. Brazil is a leading global agricultural, minerals, and oil producer. The natural environment represents the primary source of Brazil's development that deserves to be protected and push firms and citizens to find new sustainable solutions based on green policies. Drawing inspiration from a Brazilian case study, this chapter proposes a set of building blocks that foster sustainable business practices in emerging countries.

The chapter is organized as follows: the first part introduces the concept of green technology practices; the second highlights the opportunities of green technologies; the third focuses on a single case study.

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether innovation mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and supply chain resilience (SCR) in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Based on the structural equation modeling the relationships were tested in the proposed model. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from SMEs owners/managers in Yemen. Out of 384 questionnaires, 229 have been used in statistical analysis.

The results obtained reveal that both EO and innovation have positive and significant effects on SCR. In addition, innovation partially mediates the effects of EO dimensions (risk-taking and proactiveness) on SCR.

Managers and decision-makers of SMEs who want to enhance their firms' resilience to any supply chain disruptions are highly recommended to adopt EO, as well as to develop the innovative capability resulting from it.

The present study emphasizes previous results and provides additional evidence that SMEs' adoption of EO can reinforce their resilience within the supply chain through innovation in light of the disruptions facing supply chains in developing countries.

The socio-emotional wealth (SEW) framework and the resource-based theory (RBT) offer two valuable perspectives on innovation dynamics within family firms. Through the SEW lens, family firms may prioritize preserving their traditions and core values, potentially resisting the adoption of new technologies and modern business methods. In contrast, RBT suggests that family firms can gain a competitive edge by harnessing and nurturing their unique resources and capabilities, such as collective experiences, market reputation, and established networks, to foster innovation and secure a strong market position. By integrating these two perspectives, family firms can achieve sustainable competitive advantages by balancing the tensions between tradition and innovation. This comprehensive approach allows them to innovate while preserving their SEW, ensuring long-term success in the ever-evolving business landscape.

While rapid increase in demand for foods but limited availability of croplands has forced to adopt input-intensive farming practices to increase yield, there are serious long-term ecological implications including degradation of biodiversity. It is increasingly recognised that ensuring agricultural sustainability under the changing climatic conditions requires a change in the production system along with necessary policies and institutional arrangements. In this context, this chapter examines if climate-smart agriculture (CSA) can facilitate adaptation and mitigation practices by improving resource utilisation efficiency in India. Such an attempt has special significance as the existing studies have very limited discussions on three main aspects, viz., resource productivity, adaptation practices and mitigation strategies in a comprehensive manner. Based on insights from the existing studies, this chapter points out that CSA can potentially make significant contribution to enhancing resource productivity, adaptation practices, mitigation strategies and food security, especially among the land-constrained farmers who are highly prone to environmental shocks. In this connection, staggered trench irrigation structure has facilitated rainwater harvesting, local irrigation and livelihood generation in West Bengal. However, it is necessary to revisit the existing approaches to promotion of CSA and dissemination of information on the design of local adaptation strategies. This chapter also proposes a change in the food system from climate-sensitive to CSA through integration of technologies, institutions and policies.

This paper aims to find the optimal path using directionally driven self-regulating particle swarm optimization (DDSRPSO) with high accuracy and minimal response time.

This paper encompasses optimal path planning for automated wheelchair design using swarm intelligence algorithm DDSRPSO. Swarm intelligence is incorporated in optimization due to the cooperative behavior in it.

The proposed work has been evaluated in three different regions and the comparison has been made with particle swarm optimization and self-regulating particle swarm optimization and proved that the optimal path with robustness is from the proposed algorithm.

The performance metrics used for evaluation includes computational time, success rate and distance traveled.

The purpose of this paper is to improve the positional accuracy, smoothness on motion and productivity of industrial robot through the proposed optimal joint trajectory planning method. Also a new improved algorithm, i.e. non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II) with achievement scalarizing function (ASF) has been proposed to obtain better optimal results compared to previously used optimization methods.

The end effector positional errors can be reduced by limiting the uncertainties of dynamic parameter variations like torque rate of joints. The jerk induced in robot joints due to acceleration variations are need to be minimized which otherwise induces vibrations in the manipulator that causes deviation in the encoders. But these lead to a vast increase in total travel time which affects the cost function of trajectory planning. Therefore, these three objectives need to be minimized individually so that an optimal trajectory path can be achieved with minimum positional error.

The simulation results have been obtained by running the proposed hybrid NSGA-II with ASF in MATLAB R2017a software. The optimal time intervals have been used to calculate jerk, acceleration and torque values for consecutive points on the trajectory path. From the simulation and experimental results, it can be concluded that the optimization technique could be used effectively for the trajectory planning of six-axis industrial manipulator in the joint space on the basis of minimum time-jerk-torque rate criteria.

In this paper, a new approach based on hybrid multi-objective optimization technique by combining NSGA-II with ASF has been applied to find the minimal time-jerk- torque rate joint trajectory of a six-axis industrial robot for obtaining higher positional accuracy. The results obtained from the execution of algorithm have been validated through experimentation using Kawasaki RS06L industrial robot for a particular defined path.