COLUMNSDown a memory trail with Olwyn
There are two lines that constantly make an appearance during chats with the legendary Olwyn Weerasekara, the founder and owner of the iconic Beach Wadiya: “Necessity is the mother of invention” and “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”.
Founded by Olwyn over 35 years ago, Beach Wadiya needs no introduction. The place has been regularly patronised by people from all rungs of society both local and foreign and, despite its iconic status and international renown, it is still as unpretentious as ever: a no-frills seafood joint with its trademark cadjan roof and walls that are plastered with pictures that tell many tales.
Business interviewing skills: Getting it right
Want to hire great employees? How do you conduct a safe, legal job interview that also enables you to select the best candidates for your open positions are important?
The job interview is one of the significant factors in hiring because so many employers count on the job interview to help determine their best, most qualified candidates. Certainly the job interview is a key component in determining whether the candidate fits your company culture.
Why you must get it right?
Neo socialism
Karl Marx, 1818 to 1883, was the German revolutionary sociologist who developed the socio-political theory of Marxism. He published various books during his lifetime, the most notable being the two books, ‘The Communist Manifesto’ and ‘Capital’.
Gaddafi lessons for brand building
I still remember the thoughts that crossed my mind on the day that Harvard University announced the top 50 candidates for the 2011 Global Leaders in Development forum. The excitement was high, but then again the commitment to me personally in Sri Lanka made it a catch 22 decision.
Street politics and street economics
Occupy Wall Street, occupy the London Stock Exchange
The frustrations caused to the unemployed, the poor and the marginalised by the international and national economic crisis has spilled out onto the streets in the capital cities of the world’s leading and emerging economies. It has spread at the last count to over 900 cities in over 80 countries.
RWC 2011 as I saw it
THE RWC 2011 is over and long after the last game was played, the discussions about the individual tries, scoring opportunities lost, team selection and refereeing decisions are still in the air.
Some have vowed that they will make it to England for the 2015 games having missed out on the opportunity this year. Maybe the airfares and accommodation will be cheaper and there are other sights to be visited between games, time and finances permitting.
State of SL economy according to IPS: Grow but make it inclusive
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The Institute of Policy Studies or IPS has once again issued its annual assessment of the Sri Lanka’s economy in 2011 six months before the Central Bank of Sri Lanka would do so in March next year.
Though the report contains a fair, constructive and elaborative assessment of the state of the economy, no adequate discussion has been made of the report in the mainstream business media and it appears that it has largely been ignored.
IPS mission: Give an independent view on policy
Information security: Barrier to BPO growth in Sri Lanka?
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Given the current state of the economies in Europe, you would think that as businesses look to reduce costs and improve profitability there would be plenty of opportunities for Sri Lankan businesses offering Business Process Outsourcing to deliver their services.
Unfortunately, it is not quite that straightforward. The European Data Directives, whilst aimed at the processing of personal data, place some challenging obstacles in the path of many businesses outside of the European Union looking to gain entry into that market. To further complicate matters, not every European country will have implemented the directives in the same way although the core principles will be the same.
The treasures and travails of training
I enjoy training. It is one of the multiple roles I play. One such recent training I enjoyed even more was a training of trainers. It also prompted me to reflect more on training as a concept as well as a practice. Today’s column is the result of such reflection.
Overview of training
There is a variety of training programmes taking place. My emphasis is more on management training. It is not only because I am a management learner and a teacher, but also being a management trainer.
“Regulation puts enormous strictures on a business”
Q: After the financial crisis, regulators and funds are now totally hung up with new governance structures and rules that they want companies to practice and adopt. This new governance regime has brought about new challenges for businesses. What are they?
A: The first challenge is uncertainty – there are many new regulations already, but no one knows just how many more are coming, or how constraining they will be. In the UK, for example, banks have until 2019 to implement the ‘ring-fencing’ required by Vickers. And in the US, the Dodd-Frank Act will take many years to be worked through in terms of the actual regulatory changes it requires. And of course the target is moving all the time.
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