COLUMNSBoosting business with Bangladesh
The reactivation of the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Joint Economic Commission after about a decade of inaction is indeed a good move for many reasons. Bangladesh is a member of SAARC and politically a friend of Sri Lanka.
At a time when international organisations and economists keep on stressing on the need to look at the regional markets more closely than in the past, in order to reduce the dependency on developed markets which have caused and are still suffering from the fallout of the global economic crisis, revival of this Joint Economic Commission is opportune.
Is change overrated?
Change is becoming a management mantra these days. Sadly, to the point that it has become rather overrated and therefore its importance is being underplayed. Change management theories abound, thousands of articles are written on the subject and change management consultants are everywhere.
What I would like to address here is something much more fundamental, without going into the management jargon. Something very basic that gives rise to all these theories.
A brief political economy of the Eurozone crisis
The European Union seems totally consumed by an existential battle to save the Euro. But there are other symptoms of European malaise. There is no serious agenda of structural reforms to tackle “unfinished business” in the Single Market, especially in services and energy.
Climate-change policies are increasingly costly at home and are not taken seriously abroad. The EU is becoming less open to foreign workers. And it is taken even less seriously than before as a global force, indeed sometimes treated as a laughing-stock. Whatever next?
‘Sa’ in the theatre
I was in an operating theatre recently, and yes, I was the guy they were operating on. It was what medical practitioners call a minor procedure; I was to get a screw pulled out of my ankle, which fractured about six months
ago.
What’s important to know here is, be it major or minor surgery, the preparation to get into the theatre is almost the same. So after going through a lot of questions, filling forms, getting all other health conditions such as blood pressure and blood sugar levels checked and finally being wrapped up in hospital overalls complete with shower cap, I was wheeled into this very modern theatre, which without the general anaesthesia to dull ones senses, can be quite intimidating.
Why unqualified managers are harmful to employees: Part I
The responsibilities of a manger are the obligation to accomplish the goals related to the position and the organisation.
Managers, no matter what level of the organisation, typically have the same basic responsibilities when it comes to managing the work force: Direct employees toward objectives, oversee the work effort of employees, deal with immediate problems, and report on the progress of work to their superiors.
As the world decides to vote
As the world decides vote on Sri Lanka on the methods used on the eradication of terrorism in the country, my mind goes back to the December 2008 when three of us were organising the staging of the first Industrial Exhibition in Jaffna so that the north gets connected to south on an economic front.
The objective was to mitigate the business support of the north to the LTTE. Over 150 companies decided to be part of the exhibition that led to strong ties forming between the north and south and today we have more than 250 new companies setting up in the Jaffna Peninsula.
Moneylenders
Exploiters or providers of a vital financial service?
Those who lend money are unpopular. They are seen as the exploiters of the common man. They range from the most sophisticated international finance houses like UBS of Zurich or Goldman Sachs of New York or Barclays of London to the common or garden village moneylender, referred to colloquially as the ‘gini poli karaya’ in our villages.
Living with debts
It is pleasant to lead a peaceful life with no encumbrances and without debts. In the modern world, debt has become a part of life like breath. In Sri Lankan society, it has not been the case and the practice before.
It has been a burden and a commitment for somebody to live in a house with a mortgage on the roof. That is the last thing that a villager would want. The village life was self-sufficient and life was simple; they lived with nature. Needs were limited, commitments were less. The people were extremely happy and contended.
More and better jobs: Policy prescription for South Asia
South Asia: the promise of the future
To many, South Asia is indeed the ‘promise of the future world’. Its population is about a little higher than one fifth of the world population. Its middle class is growing and even larger than the combined middle classes in North America and Europe thereby creating a huge regional market for its products.
It had a comfortable economic growth rate compared to the growth rates maintained by most of the economic superpowers in the last decade.
Halos and horns: Causes and cures
Performance has always been a buzz word in business circles. This time of the year is the typical time for a wave of performance appraisals, particularly in organisations where the appraisals are linked to the calendar year. There is a strong link between performance and perceptions. Today’s column will discuss the what, how and why of it.
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