Contemporary challenges in management

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
A top Minister yesterday emphasised the need for Sri Lanka to evolve in the area of management so it can have its own brand that takes into account the country’s traditions and goodwill and the friendly relationship it has with its workers.
Deputy Minister Finance and Planning Dr. Sarath Amunugama noted that while greater focus should be on factors such as discipline, attendance and productivity, getting the right culture for this regard is the challenge at hand.
“Sri Lanka needs to evolve in the area of management, but the challenge is in creating a management culture that is both a part of our country and culture and one that takes into account cultural norms, higher productivity, higher performance and higher output,” he said during his keynote address at the National Management Conference 2014.

The comparative advantage
Delivering his speech under the title ‘Promoting Good Business: Pluralism, Inclusion and Tolerance,’ he noted that within the globalised world we live in today it is those countries which have a comparative advantage in several fields that can attract more investment and fast track growth.
Among these aspects that help in providing comparative advantage is firstly investment in material infrastructure.
He stressed the need to have in place roads, ports, airports, and power supply as it is those infrastructural aspects that give a nation the advantage when it comes to production, manufacturing and exports.
Noting that the soft infrastructure that involves development of skills is also imperative, he acknowledged that Sri Lanka has a good reputation globally and is known to have highly-educated and trainable people.
In a recent survey carried out by the Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA), where it compared the skills of workers from Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, it was found that the Sri Lankan came first in terms of adaptability, knowledge and management skills.
To capitalise on that advantage, Amunugama stressed on the need to further improve and maintain the status.
Encourage overseas training and skills development
With a proportion of the highly-skilled workforce having left the country for greener pastures, Amunugama encouraged the idea, opining it would help the country to have better access to worldclass management skills.
“This is a new phenomenon when you take the case of Asia, since many of them who move out of the country eventually come back. Many move out for better opportunities and exposure but the majority return. It is a modern phenomenon and is not something that has to be criticised, but something that is to be encouraged,” he said.
He added that by doing so Sri Lankan managers will be able to obtain skills for which there is an international demand.
To ensure this is in the country’s favour, Amunugama stressed the need to create a management culture as a number of studies has established that management by itself is nothing if it is not linked to productivity.
“You should be able to access the consequence of management in terms of greater productivity. And for that it is needed to create a culture of productivity. We have to ask ourselves the question of whether we have gone to a satisfactory level of creating a culture of activity, productivity and innovation in our workplace,” he said.
Challenge of ever-evolving technology
While for companies at the end of the day it is about profit maximisation, they turn to technology which is the answer for not only cost reduction but also helps boost productivity and competitiveness.
“Companies will have to look at the balance sheet and the management must lead to increase productivity. However, it is essential to have a more productive workforce and people must have faith in their future. Today the modern world gives us the opportunity to look at technology as means of lean administration. This is a problem in Sri Lanka since we have a large number of young people coming out looking for jobs. On the other hand, with the expansion of technology, job opportunities tend to shrink,” he noted.
Be productive or perish
“Whatever we produce today, it is imperative we increase that several-fold to get better results since we want to be competitive. If we don’t do it, then we will be wiped off,” cautioned Amunugama.
He stated that unlike in the past where the State interfered in all areas, today such a practice cannot be embraced as it is no more a centrally-planned economy but a market place where competition is high.
“When the State is managing all, one can afford to waste time, money and resources, but in the private sector you cannot do that.  In that context management is absolutely necessary as it allows to have the competitive edge which will make Sri Lanka a strong economy that will give results for all the people,” he said.
Pix by Daminda
Harsha Perera

National Management Conference 2014 kicks off Representatives across diverse sectors yesterday received a top briefing on handling the workplace, with the National Management Conference 2014 kicking off in Colombo. The conference, which is a biennial event organised by the Institute of Management of Sri Lanka (IMSL), was held under the theme ‘Contemporary Challenges in Management: Diversity, Integration, and Social Media in a Dynamic World’. The event was held with the objective of facilitating informed discussions and consultation on contemporary management topics of national interest. Participating management practitioners, professionals, academics students and leaders from the public and corporate sector were able to gain fine insights from top industry leaders on a number of areas. With the workforce becoming increasingly diverse due to demographic changes as well as socioeconomic trends, young employees, along with the middle and senior management, are required adapt to optimise productivity and workplace harmony. Shedding light on how the labour force and the management are moving together across national boundaries were Sampath Bank Managing Director Aravinda Perera, Triad Joint Managing Director Varuni Amunugama Fernando and Brain Power Consultancy Principal Consultant Nanda Dediyagala, who deliberated on the topic ‘Managing Diversity’. On the panel discussion on ‘Ensuring Integration’, NDB Chairman and National Chamber of Commerce President Sunil Wijesinha, Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairperson Janaki Kuruppu, Hatton National Bank (HNB) Managing Director and CEO Jonathan Alles shared their views as to how each organisation has to have its own organisational culture although it is faced with the challenge of cultural integration. On the topic ‘Potentials of Social Media’, Google Country Director for Sri Lanka Rohan Jayaweera, Grant McCann Erickson Neela Marikkar and Microsoft Sri Lanka Director Developer Platform Evangelist Wellington Perera highlighted the shifts in thinking and behaviour affecting social transformations of cultures.