The Amazon & beyond improving operations
By Alexandra G.
I have been thinking about the impact I can create in such organizations, and I realized that although my entire career I have been focused on profitability and reducing operational costs through efficiency and lean operations, the connection between sustainability, community work, environment protection and energy goes beyond making a company profitable because at the end of the day, my capabilities and knowledge is indirectly supporting these communities as well. The work our client performs in the Amazon is inspiring, and I hope I can deliver their message in a way that will inspire others.
Did you know?
- The Amazon river basin is home to the largest rainforest in Earth.
- The basin is roughly the area of the forty-eight contiguous United States.
- It covers approximately 40% of the South American continent including parts of eight South American? countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela, as well as French Guiana, a department of France.
- The Amazon river is the most voluminous river on Earth, 11 times the volume of the Mississippi.
- During the high-water season, the river’s mouth may be 300 miles wide. For reference, the Amazon’s daily freshwater discharge into the Atlantic is enough to supply New York City’s freshwater needs for nine years.
I am a last year Professional Evening MBA student (PEMBA) concentrating in Operations & Technology Management with over 10 years of experience in business in the health care field and biotech industry.
I was scheduled to visit Brazil- Rio de Janeiro and Manaus in the Amazon region as part of spring 2020 Social Impact Field Seminar. By now, you must be wondering why someone concentrating in operations is enrolled in a social impact seminar. Let’s say that it was one of those situations that were meant to be.
The operations concentration was planning to travel to Vietnam and visit a few companies and factories where we could see their production lines, operations and lean procedures. I was beyond excited about having the opportunity to visit companies such Toyota which is an outstanding example on how to operate efficiently; but this seminar, as the Social Impact seminar in Brazil, was canceled.
During the last quarter of 2019, there was an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus that was first detected in China, in the city of Wuhan. The virus spread rapidly in the Asian continent and three months later it has been detected in almost 90 locations internationally, including the United States. According to the CDC, this virus was so novel that it didn’t even had a name- on February 11 it was named “SARS-CoV-2” and the disease it causes was named “coronavirus disease 2019” aka COVID-19.
The international Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. On January 31, 2020, the Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the U.S to aid the nation. The outbreak of coronavirus has left thousands of people dead; officials declared a global health emergency; cities became ghost towns and large gathering events have been canceled.
Due to the continued spread of the COVID-19 virus and related concerns regarding international travel, Governor Baker urged universities to suspend all international travel, and as a direct result of this announcement, Questrom made the decision to indefinitely cancel all Questrom-sponsored international trips, including the Brazil Field Seminar.
But not all is bad news. I have had the opportunity to learn and understand the value of the work that companies with a social impact mission bring to the community. A lot of the work that is being done in Brazil is related to environmental sustainability and creating consciousness about the Amazon and wood trade. It has been a great experience working with our client, although I think it would have created a bigger impact in myself if we were able to travel.
I have been thinking about the impact I can create in such organizations, and I realized that although my entire career I have been focused on profitability and reducing operational costs through efficiency and lean operations, the connection between sustainability, community work, environment protection and energy goes beyond making a company profitable because at the end of the day, my capabilities and knowledge is indirectly supporting these communities as well.
The work our client performs in the Amazon is inspiring, and I hope I can deliver their message in a way that will inspire others.