“What is a man capable of doing to make more money?”
It’s now a trend that new phone models are released before you even
catch up with the new functionalities of the last phone you bought. All of a sudden,
adverts are all over and you are being convinced that the new model is better
than the one they sold you last month. Really now? Some of these companies have
been very deliberate to release new models in shorter intervals to make more
money out of our insatiable need of owning the latest. I am not a sadist and
neither am I anti-tech. On the contrary, I appreciate the far technology has come
and the way our lives have been bettered by these advancements in technology.
From high tech illness, diagnostic equipment built by tech giants like General
Electric (GE) and Philips to a simple video call that couldn't be imagined a
while back. I appreciate the goodies technology has brought and the scientists,
engineers and researchers who have made this possible. They invest a lot of
resources in research and thinking to come up with solutions to solve world
problems. However, I am concerned because innovation is slowly being swallowed whole
by capitalism or in other words, ‘love of money’.
We all remember the March 2019 tragic plane crash of the Ethiopian
airline flight 302 en route to Nairobi JKIA from Addis Ababa Bole International
Airport. The Boeing Company has been in the spotlight and the big question is whether
the accident was preventable in the first place bearing in mind that a similar plane
model (Boeing 737 max 8) operated by Lion Air (flight 610) had crashed in
October 2018, just five months prior. Similar concerns of errors in flight
control software called MCAs (Maneuvering characteristics Augmentation System)
running in 737 max 8 avionics were raised when the crash of flight 610
occurred. Rumour has it that the Boeing Company has lowered its standards of
safety in manufacturing and assembly of their planes to increase their profit margin
by saving cost on materials, labour and time. The Boeing Company is a business
and at the end of the day they have to make money but the uncontrolled chase for-profits
could be interfering with engineering and scientific judgement at the Company.
Former staff members, some of whom left the company voluntarily, have in the
past expressed their concerns of what has been going on. William Boeing must be
turning in his grave when he hears of a company that he founded and dearly
loved becoming a joke. As an aviation enthusiast, I don’t think I will ever
forgive Boeing.
Engineering has come of age and design philosophies have been
refined and fewer assumptions are being made hence more reliability of
designs. Engineers and scientist are able to predict how long their designs
will perform and last and this is where knowledge is being abused in my
opinion. We all know of the famous Land Rover Defender. This is a car that has
maintained its reputation from world war one to date because of its
reliability. It is said that three-quarters of all land rover defenders ever
made are still in use or at least can be patched up and be up and running.
Automotive designers back then used to over design because many assumptions
were made and they wanted to be safe. Nowadays engineers and scientist are more
enlightened due to advancements in technology and research. Some of the
capitalist scientists know how best to make money by deliberately determining
the design life and performance of their products. I am sure I am not the only
one who has noticed that devices now break down faster than they used to a
while back. These short-lived products are what are called ‘Chinku’ in my
country Kenya. Any Kenyan reading this gets the joke. Not once have electronic
devices broken down a month after expiry of the warranty. Wow! What a
coincidence!
Gilead science is United States Company we have trusted to make HIV
medication but is busy toying around to maintain their monotony. And we will
keep telling sad stories of many companies that survive on lies and extortion
with the hope things will change. It is also my hope that young innovators and
small company start right and become consistent in principle as they grow.
The integrity question still remains- ’What is a man capable of doing
to get more money?’ As we nurture the new breed of cooperate leaders,
researchers, scientist and engineers we strive to instil values such as
integrity and honesty in the lives of young people.
Money is an enabler of innovation. Yes, we need to grow the economy,
create jobs and provide scientific and engineering solutions to world problems
but we need a balance and to be more people-centred, otherwise, we will turn out
to be a man eat man society which we already are.
By
Kelvin Macharia
