Issue 58

Issue No. 58 - 2014

Malta’s MEP Candidates: The Race is On

• You’ve got (B2B) Mail! pg 20

Calvin Cassar

www.the-executive.biz

• Release your Rights pg 25 Patrick Barthet

• IT Review: Eyesel Business Suite pg 45 Kevin Attard Compagno

The Executive FC1

2 The Executive

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

The Executive

Editor’s Page

W

hen reading the interviews which have recently peppered our media (including the journal please view the interview with prospective new MEPs on page 04), one notes the impressively strong traits, views and core competences of the individual politicians, and can but hope that these strengths will manage to pull the required strings on our behalf more so than on behalf of the political stakeholders. That the MEP is to serve the politics before s/he can serve the people should neither resolve us from our moral obligation to vote, nor hinder him and her from greatly helping people and country.

On a lighter note, so to speak, it was interesting to compare the current tug of war between the West (the US and the EU) and Russia with Ukraine, to Russia and Ukraine’s performances in the hapless Eurovision song contest. One could argue that since Ukraine placed 6th and Russia 7th and therefore both performed in line with their medians and averages, Europe hasn’t been overtly influenced by the happenings, and people’s perception towards these countries hasn’t changed much, if at all.

Do they not give much of a toss, or are they refusing to be influenced by either sides’ propaganda? One wonders...

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Jason Attard

editor@the-executive.biz

Publisher & Editor in Chief Jason Attard

Editorial Advisor Victor Calleja

Design & Layout EFfective Marketing Ltd

Photography Charles Calleja, Foto-ish the Studio

Published by:

a member of

UKRAINE Russia

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Our Collaborators:

iMNG group Ajiree Court, 04, Testaferrata Street Ta’ Xbiex XBX1403, Malta Tel: +356 2010 7775 info@the-executive.biz

© All rights reserved. The Publisher’s written consent must be obtained before any part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means whatsoever. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the editor or publishers. Whilst every care has been taken in compiling contents, the editor and publishers cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. You are reminded of your right to refuse receipt of this publication and/or our other products or services by sending such requests in writing to Effective Marketing Ltd., signed by the person refusing receipt.

Issue No. 58 - 2014

The Executive

Contents

INTERVIEW

PEOPLE

04.

COMMUNICATION

12.

Malta’s MEP Candidates

Teaching Methodologies

Jo Caruana

David Dingli

18.

You’ve got (b2b) Mail!

Calvin Cassar

LAW

INTERVIEW

23.

Releasing your Rights

27.

Neville Cutajar: Lease out your Value

Patrick C. Barthet

IT REVIEW 45.

38.

Eyesel Business Suite

Malta Business Expo.com

Kevin Attard Compagno

COMPANY HIGHLIGHT Contributors

Jo Caruana

Patrick C. Barthet

www.the-executive.biz

David Dingli

Neville Cutajar

Calvin Cassar

Kevin Attard Compagno The Executive 03

Issue No. 58 - 2014

Interviewing Malta’s MEP Candidates

The Executive

Malta’s MEP Candidates: The Race Is On

Jo Caruana

With just weeks to go until the island casts its vote to select the next six MEPS to represent us in Europe, The Executive talks to candidates to discover the issues driving their individual campaigns.

F

rancis Zammit Dimech kick-starts his definition of Europe by stressing there should be no ‘us’ and ‘them’ when it comes to Europe. “We are members of the EU and I am totally set against the ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality that is professed by persons who still do not genuinely believe in Malta’s membership to the EU or, for that matter, in the EU itself. Scepticism is a negative force that does harm to the Union and to our own country.

The EP is as much our own Parliament as it is the Parliament of the rest of the European constituencies.

Alfred Sant

04 The Executive

I see Malta as enhancing the reputation that we have built up over the past 10 years of membership of the EU precisely by being European and feeling more proud than ever before of our national identity that is enhanced through our membership of the Union.”

Zammit Dimech is also adamant that Malta can compete on a business level. “Over the past few years we have invested heavily in our system of education, in training young people and in being innovative,” he says. “The Maltese people are

both talented as well as capable of adapting and rising to new challenges. I have never looked upon our people as either small bait or as lacking talent.

“Moreover the fact that, in Malta, we practically are all capable of speaking and expressing ourselves in a second – in many cases also in a third – language, as well as the fact that we are geographically placed in the centre of the Mediterranean and know how to identify and deal with opportunities in North Africa, gives us a competitive advantage that

Arnold Cassola

Charlon Gouder

Clint Camilleri

David Casa

Francis Zammit Dimech

Helga Ellul

Ivan Paul Grixti

Jonathan Shaw

Fleur Vella

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

The Executive

Interviewing Malta’s MEP Candidates should never be underestimated.

“Ultimately we need to believe in and have trust in ourselves.”

Malta’s position within the EU is obviously very important to the candidates. Asked about how he views Malta’s position, Arnold Cassola, who leads the Green party locally, believes: “We are Europe, but we are also Maltese, in Europe, a particular reality of dimensions and location that must be addressed in a targeted and specific manner. While being conscious of our size and limitations, we have the power to influence things in the right direction.”

For Cassola, it is the bettering of Maltese residents’ quality of life that he will be focusing on if elected. “This would include the total re-haul of the Dublin Rules, which are currently preventing migrants from moving from Malta to other parts of the EU,” he says. “This would enable Malta to alleviate the burden of detaining so many migrants by allowing them to proceed to other countries in Europe, as the great majority never intended to come to Malta in the first place. We’ll also work to continue empowering Maltese citizens and civil society to have a stronger role in the decision making process.”

Kevin Cutajar

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Cassola has no problem noting the controversial issues he feels passionate about: “Racism, xenophobia, spring hunting, the illegal occupation of public land and all arrogant behaviour in general,” he says. “I will continue to fight against it.”

For Alfred Sant, Malta’s exPrime Minister and current PL MEP candidate, it is ‘social dimension’ that he would like to see developed.

“Europe’s social model has been greatly undermined in the past years, and that development needs to be reversed,” he says.

“The EU as such does not focus on any particular country but tries to develop continent-wide policies. It is up to all member states to contribute to the development and management of EU policies in ways that safeguard their national interest.

Our partners in the EU should be aware that our national interest as the smallest member state and an island nation requires that one-size-fits-all policies be honestly scrutinised and run to ensure that they do not simply roll over and ignore the particular circumstances that define Malta’s existence.”

Rather than ‘pushing’ issues, if elected as an MEP, Sant would emphasise two main themes.

“They would include the one I’ve just mentioned – related to the need not to straitjacket all EU countries into one-size-fits-all policies; and secondly the need to ensure that Europe is built around concepts that respect fully the ideal of Europe as a ‘Europe of nations’ and not as a Europe of ‘united states’.”

Sant stresses that we also need to understand better the dynamics of the EU and the Eurozone, so that Malta can best assess how these will affect our traditional and non-traditional sectors of economic activity.

“There is a need to combine an understanding of developments in Malta with mature judgements about developments in the rest of Europe. We can compete for business by being cost effective, flexible and self reliant while seeking strategic partnerships without letting the stars get in our eyes.

Malta’s business communities need to look beyond seeking EU support and establish where they want to go and how. Dependence on EU “support” is not going to get them anywhere.”

Kevin Plumpton

Lino Bianco

Mario Farrugia Borg

Marlene Mizzi

Norman Vella

Peter Cordina

Raymond Bugeja

Roberta Metsola

Miriam Dalli

The Executive 05

Issue No. 58 - 2014

Interviewing Malta’s MEP Candidates Current MEP Roberta Metsola believes Europe needs to the ‘big on the big things and small on the small things’. She also stresses that a onesize-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work but that, as member states, we do need to learn from one another.

“It is essential that we find a balance that fully respects individual member states’ competencies in particular fields, especially where there are ethical concerns. Having said that, this needs to be done without restricting what can be achieved on European level too.

“Malta’s place is at the same table as our EU partners. Around 80 per cent of all legislation implemented in Malta is first negotiated in the EP, making a strong voice there indispensable. There are only six MEP seats allocated to Malta, so it is essential that we toe the same line where the best interests of the people of Malta and Gozo so dictate.

We may be the smallest national delegation, but I will continue to work to ensure that the voice of our people is always heard.

“Over the last few years, Malta has been a leader on many issues – take financial services or online gaming for example. Many EU states look to us for our experience. That is not to say that we have nothing to learn from other States – far from it.

That is a crucial aspect of our EU Membership – sharing experiences, best practices and learning from the experiences of other States on any number of different issues,” she says.

Unfortunately, PN candidate Jonathan Shaw thinks that Malta’s position within the EU has been backtracked. “Until a year ago I viewed Malta as a respectable success story within the EU, garnishing huge respect from other member states. Unfortunately, in the recent year, I feel that we have tarnished that respect thanks to the current administration’s actions and attitude, which at times bordered on a euro-hostile and populist approach. As a prospective MEP I would be committed to working to restore such respect, which is well-deserved by Malta and its citizens.

06 The Executive

The Executive “Additionally, I also hope to break down the complex and bureaucratic EU systems. Local representation offices and agencies need to have a ‘can do’ approach which push and aid local communities to tap in such support.”

For PN candidate and current MEP David Casa there are also several issues that he feels should be focused on in the years to come, including unlocking the full potential of the Internal Market and reworking for sensible-yet-proportionate regulation of the financial sector.

“I will push for real accountability, transparency and meritocracy,” he says. “We have shown on more than one occasion that, through a spirit of compromise and intelligent cooperation, Malta’s views have been taken into account and our concerns addressed. We will never be as influential as France or Germany but we have demonstrated great competence and reliability, at least in the PN years, and this has made us matter. Already after just one year of Labour in Government I feel that a great deal of this work has been undermined. This is most unfortunate.

“Now the future of Malta’s relationship with the EU depends very much on the behaviour of the Labour Government over the next four years. The first year of Labour’s mandate does not augur well. One can only hope that the trend we have seen emerge does not continue, and that this Government will approach issues that contain a European dimension with political maturity and tact.”

Also keen to promote Malta within the EU’s internal market, PN candidate Kevin Cutajar believes that the internal market is, in fact, Malta’s biggest EU benefit. “Upon exceeding to the EU, Malta’s market grew from a market of 400,000 individuals to a market of half a billion and more (i.e. the EU’s population and the population of third countries with which the EU has entered into trade agreements).

“The internal market is one single market without any borders and which gives the opportunity to a person coming from a Member State to freely trade with any other person coming from any other Member State. This is why I set Malta’s full access to the EU’s internal market as one of my priorities, if elected.

“In my opinion, the best way in which the EU can help our business community to benefit from this advantage is to constantly take Malta’s particular needs into account when making any decision and in any legislation which it adopts..”

Meanwhile, Peter Cordina, a PL candidate who was also the secretary general of the Moviment Iva campaign, believes in the importance of pushing for change. “Change is a constant element of our lives nowadays,” he explains. “Managing change is, therefore, a must.

“My approach will be to try to discern between changes which lead to genuine progress, and that which is change for its own sake, or for the worse. In all of this, it is important to factor the human element. Change can be a great motivator if properly managed, but equally a catalyst of opposition of not properly communicated and shared.

“Specifically speaking, it would be good to simplify EU procedures, as they are often so cumbersome. I would favour approaches that are friendlier to the citizen and easier to access, especially for small and peripheral countries like ours. A more effective EU would, in future, be a leaner and less bureaucratic one.”

Miriam Dalli, a PL candidate well-known for her sterling journalism work, will also be pushing for change. “Being satisfied with the status-quo isn’t good enough for me,” she states. “If elected as an MEP I would like to see the gap that still exists between the citizens and EU institutions addressed. I intend to reach out to as many citizens as possible via different means of communications. I pledge to communicate www.the-executive.biz

Issue No. 58 - 2014

Interviewing Malta’s MEP Candidates

The Executive constantly about my work and to provide information about directives that will affect our citizens.”

She highlights the Dublin II Regulation as putting countries like Malta in a disadvantaged position. “In my opinion, the EU has to rectify the current Dublin II arrangement as it imposes disproportionate duress on Malta when it comes to search and rescue operations, as well as the processing of applications for refugee status or asylum.

I believe that this regulation is still undermining European citizens inalienable right to have an equal shot at achieving prosperity.”

Naturally, Dalli isn’t the only candidate to raise the issue of immigration. In fact, several of our interviewees had strong opinions on the topic.

“I think the one single issue which the EU should focus on should be our problem with illegal immigration,” says PL candidate Mario Farrugia Borg. “We are approaching summer and this means that we will soon be facing boatloads of people entering our shores illegally.

“While we, as a people, remain the most hospitable in Europe, we have to put national interest first and make our position very clear: we cannot take in unsustainable numbers. There should be compulsory burden sharing and a mechanism by which requests for refugee status are processed before the cross over to Europe. This is no doubt one issue that I will be pushing.

“I also want to focus on peace in the Mediterranean, with Malta as a bridge between Europe and Africa. I strongly believe that there can be no peace in Europe unless there is peace in the Mediterranean. This is a concept that Malta has strived to make very clear since 1973. I think nobody is in a better position than Malta to make Europe understand this.”

PL candidate Charlon Gouder agrees and states that there’s no way around the fact that immigration needs to be a major focus of www.the-executive.biz

the next set of MEPs. “I will not just tak a stand by showing solidarity with immigrants,” he says, “but will continue to drive the strategy of the Maltese Government. I refuse to give up on this challenge as it is greatly affecting our country and the rest of Europe.

“Europe is certainly changing fast and we need to keep track of its development. The next five years will see an enhancement of negotiations with US and China on the trade front and a multitude of new developments in new areas that will depend on the new commission (which is yet to be nominated). Most of the next five years are not visible now.

What is sure, though, is that Europe is at a cross-roads and we need six strong voices in Brussels and in Strasbourg to carry our flag.”

PL candidate Clint Camilleri is equally vocal on the matter of illegal immigration. “The EU must understand that this is not only a Maltese problem but a European one,” he says. “The EU is based on solidarity and hence all member states must share this burden and help to alleviate this problem.

“Although Malta is small compared to other EU countries in terms of geography, population and representation, we are still full EU members.

This means that we have all the rights and possibilities to voice our concerns when it comes to legislation that could affect our country’s state of affairs.

Sometimes change is not possible, other times we require assistance, and it all depends on the issues. We have to lobby hard in the EU corridors to seek common issues between neighbouring countries. Malta is a co-partner with our European members and not adversaries and this facilitates mutual collaboration.”

PN candidate Ray Bugeja, a renowned businessman and financial service specialist, is driven by economic growth and hopes to work to improve this area for Malta. “Along with that, I would like to see the incentivisation of market-target education and entrepreneurship, and

the minimisation of unemployment, especially among the young. These are, in essence, one objective because they are profoundly interdependent. I found educational, work, entrepreneurial and lifestyle opportunities in Europe and I want these to be available to upcoming and future generations.

“I believe that, as an MEP, opportunities should be sought – both within and outside EU structures. I want to give Maltese businesses the same incentivising environment to be able to set up, grow and create employment.”

The economy is also a key concern for PN candidate and businesswoman Helga Ellul. “I believe we should focus on the many challenges faced by SMEs, particularly micro-enterprises,” she says.

“Additionally, I will be keen to focus on factors affecting Gozo due to its dual insularity. With Malta losing its Objective 1 status we need to ensure that Gozo will continue receiving the support it needs to ensure the economic well-being of its inhabitants. Moreover, facilitating women’s joining and permanence in the workforce is something which needs to be followed up energetically.

“The consolidation of the islands’ core economic activities also needs to be addressed. Over the years, I have observed that we are not inclined to see the greater benefits of consolidation. Maltese businesses, especially micro-enterprises, are quite insularly competitive in nature, possibly also due to the small size of the market. Having said that, we need to get out of our comfort zones and seek greater horizontal and vertical alliances. Only in doing so can we compete in a global business environment which is witnessing a strong and persistent drive towards integration, to the point of driving smaller operators out of businesses,” Ellul explains.

Fleur Vella, a PL candidate, meanwhile, has spent five years working as a senior economist and thus has The Executive 07

Issue No. 58 - 2014

Interviewing Malta’s MEP Candidates

The Executive a clear understanding of the industry. “When you are involved in day-to-day business you realise how all EU rules are built around the assumption that there is enough spare capacity within a company so that it can deal with all necessary checks and balances the bureaucrat feels necessary. Little does the bureaucrat, who has his or her own niche of specialisation, imagine that there are businesses persons who need to be the purchasing, finance, sales, store and project manager all in the same day.”

Vella thus wants to offer a voice to micro-enterprises so that they can communicate their special circumstances to other members of the EU. “I want to see that laws passed to decrease the bureaucratic burden on micro-enterprises are fully implemented locally,” she says. “I also wish to advise the Government on new rules which jeopardise the operation of micro-enterprises, as well as to disseminate information about the opportunities offered by the EU to micro-enterprises.”

Employment opportunities seem to be top of several other candidate agendas too. Ivan Paul Grixti, a PL candidate and the outgoing president of the King’s Own Band Club in Valletta places the generation of economic wealth as a top priority.

“Amid this, the on-going process of establishing a banking union is inevitable if we want to mitigate the threat of another economic crisis.

“Bringing into play my dual competencies as a fully-qualified accountant and a university lecturer, I know I can be beneficial to Malta in these areas. I will be an ambassador to Malta and encourage potential investors to open shop here. I also visualise Malta as the natural choice for the EU to forge links between the bloc and North Africa – which, incidentally, was highlighted by the recent Economist conference.”

Other candidates are also focused on the development of the economy and employment, including PN www.the-executive.biz

candidate Normal Vella. “In the aftermath of the deepest recession in living memory, the EU has to focus on growth and employment, and especially the creation of job opportunities for young people,” he says. “There is a growing problem of youth unemployment in a number of EU states which needs to be tackled head on.

“The EU has a multitude of programmes and schemes aimed at helping both individuals and enterprises. The key is how to match the programme with the needs of the recipient. This is where I feel we could be doing better. The first step has to be getting the Maltese to be more aware of the opportunities that exist. My focus will be the younger generations. They have the potential to unlock a better future and I will do my best to provide them with any assistance that they might need.

Change has to be a constant feature in EU policy. Policy makers need to constantly adapt or else risk becoming irrelevant.”

Aside from immigration and the economy, numerous other issues are being brought to the fore by the candidates. Among them, PL candidate Marlene Mizzi, a current MEP, is concerned with education, animal welfare and social equality.

“As an MEP the issues which mean the most to me are the same issues that are important to Malta’s citizens. Of course I have my pet loves and hates. I have worked on ‘ad hoc’ committees concerned with the creation of work for young people, as well as on those for education and animal welfare. I would like to pursue these issues further and deeper should I be given the mandate for the next five years, especially as there really is so much that needs to be done.

“Of course, I also feel very passionate about the issue of illegal immigration and the way Malta has been left to face this issue alone. I addressed this in my very first speeches in the EP and I intend to continue to be a pest on this issue until something concrete is done.”

PL candidate Lino Bianco hopes to aid Malta’s development by focusing on specific aspects of society. “Poverty and unemployment are realities which are an insult to contemporary Europe,” he says. “Poverty among children is a punishment for a crime which they have not committed; unemployment or precarious work, in particular among youths, is undermining their well-being and self-confidence. The elderly are the foundations of tomorrow’s socio-economic capital. All of these aspects need to be addressed.

“I am interested in a Citizen’s Europe; a Europe that truly respects and promotes the fundamental rights, promotes dignity and the value of work. One cannot have a truly sustainable Europe for our children if we do not address humanity, solidarity, equality and freedom, themes which I will not shy away from addressing.”

Hoping to work across the issues that are important to Malta, PN candidate Kevin Plumpton wants to ensure that Malta is adequately represented in the EP and its ancillary institutions.

“I don’t think that it’s in Malta’s interest to have its only six MEPs politically or emotionally attached to one issue – frankly with only six MEPs representing our country, we don’t afford that luxury!” he says.

“What is of utmost importance is to work and push hard for Malta’s interest. It is important to make our voice heard there and to be very active on all major issues,” he says. “We also have to learn to pick our ‘fights’ wisely, because that would ensure that we will continue to be taken seriously as a nation. I also wish to extend my natural bearing amongst the younger generation, and work on wider sectors within Maltese society, namely the middle class tax payer, and the older generation who want to live with dignity while retaining their sense of contribution towards society.”

The Executive 09

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

Company Highlight: Michael Attard Imports Ltd

The Executive

Michael Attard Imports Ltd

Following the appointment as official importers of Citroën in Malta, on Thursday 28th November Michael Attard Imports Ltd inaugurated their new showroom, displaying a full range of Citroën cars.

The occasion started off with a speech by Mr. Michael Attard, managing director of the Company, followed by the blessing of the premises. The showroom was then officially opened by His Excellency Dr. George Abela, President of Malta.

One of the highlights of the event was a 1939 Citroën Traction Avant Cabriolet displayed at the entrance of the showroom, together with a complete line up of C-line vehicles, including the newly arrived C4 Picasso. A dedicated platform was also set up to host the prestigious DS range.

The New Citroën showroom is situated at Mdina Road, Attard www.the-executive.biz

The Executive 11

Issue No. 58 - 2014

People

The Executive

Teaching Methodologies David J. Dingli

I

t is primarily important to realize that good teaching is as much about passion as it is about reason. This therefore requires a highly motivated and enthusiastic individual to be entrusted with a teaching role.

Good teaching for adult learning is also about listening, questioning, being responsive to participants and treating them as individuals. Also, each class or group is different, so any instructor attempting to roll out a standard approach irrespective of the audience will definitely fail irrespective of the methodology adopted. One must remain flexible, ready to experiment with new ideas and must possess the confidence to react and adjust to changing circumstances. A good instructor cares and nurtures his/her participants and strives to develop their minds and talents.

actually needed. In a way I was a product of this approach to learning in my younger days. Studying poems by heart, remembering definitions of terms, formulae and so many other things which have long been forgotten over the years was the standard approach.

Having said this, on a global scale, traditional teaching methods, where students are expected to remember through memory are still noticeable especially in Asian countries like China and Vietnam.

It is indeed a challenge, even at MBA level in these countries to expect students to use critical thinking and to develop their own ideas and conclusions; it conflicts with their educational background where teachers / professors were never challenged and therefore they are afraid and uncomfortable to express independent thought.

Other aspects of teaching that are often ignored are style, humor and the notion that learning must also be fun.

Teaching methods The three primary teaching methodologies used in a typical MBA program would include; lecture and discussion, case study, and experiential learning. Each of these methods caters to a different learning style, and has specific skills and topics which it develops best. The goal at most business schools is to optimally combine these methods so as to best prepare students for the variety of challenges they will encounter in the business world.

Traditional teaching For ages education was mainly focused on memory. This faculty has been taxed to the utmost, while the other mental powers had not been correspondingly developed.

Students have spent most of their time laboriously crowding their mind with knowledge, very little of which could ever be utilized when 12 The Executive

Lecture and Discussion Lectures and discussions are the typical traditional university methods of teaching theory to students.

Nearly all students would have encountered these methods during their educational path and will be familiar with the processes: The professor leads the class, explaining theories while students take notes. In addition to the lecture portion, time is usually dedicated to discussion of the subject or a question and answer session will follow. Most MBA courses fall into this lecture-and-discussion format, with some putting most of the emphasis on the lecture and others focusing more on discussion.

While MBA students can customize their business degree by choosing specific electives, most programs have a core curriculum of required MBA courses that will be delivered via the lecture-discussion method.

Although lectures can be seen as the direct delivery of information from professor to student, there are drawbacks to the method that discussion may not be able to offset. Nonetheless, lecture and discussion remain the backbone of MBA courses.

Drawbacks Despite their status as the main building block of education, lectures do have their drawbacks.

Even with a good lecturer leading a class, some students — non-auditory learners, students with short attention spans, weak note-takers www.the-executive.biz

Issue No. 58 - 2014

The Executive

People and others — may have difficulties picking up the material. Having the chance for discussion, however, allows students to provide feedback and ask questions about concepts they may not have understood during the lecture. Active participation in discussion sessions can help students overcome some of the drawbacks of the lecture method of teaching. Also, this method does not necessarily teach critical thinking or real-world applications.

Case Study This method emphasizes student participation and leadership rather than professor-led lecture and discussion. In a typical MBA case study, students analyze a business scenario, consider the possible options for action and attempt to recommend the best solution or plan. This methodology prepares MBA students for actual situations they may encounter in their future careers as managers and leaders. Cases teach them to make measured decisions, consider a problem from various angles, and work effectively with their peers as leaders and teammates. This method places the emphasis on participation rather than instruction; in fact, professors can simply act as moderators, steering student-dominated discussion and debate, asking appropriate questions and judging the class’ performance.

Advantages Because case discussions often place students in groups to work together in crafting the best solution, this method encourages teamwork and collaboration. The case study method molds students into decisive leaders and team members. These advantages have made MBA case studies essential to business schools across the globe.

In fact, some business schools have made case studies the dominant part of their curriculum.

Experiential Learning Experiential learning attempts to apply theories to real-world situations. This is not to say that all experiential learning occurs outside the classroom, but rather that its www.the-executive.biz

method is to use real experiences — even if those are examples or simulations — to educate business students. Unlike the lecture and discussion methods, which focus on theory, experiential learning examines these theories in a more practical context, encouraging students to learn by doing. Examples of experiential learning include team challenges, simulations, field work and extracurricular activities.

Theories should not be thought in a vacuum; they must eventually be applied to real world situations.

Thus, many MBA programs include experiential learning courses in their curricula to help students apply abstract concepts in real world settings and to prepare them to take action. This methodology must always be applied as a supplement to other methods and never exclusively. This method provides excellent networking opportunities, connecting students with one another, and with established companies and business practitioners.

Undoubtedly, this method requires a lot of administrative support as it might require collaborations with businesses and the planning of

activities. The larger a class, the harder it becomes to manage this approach.

Two major problems are tied to traditional training methods; Cost (absence of staff, training facilities etc...) and Timeliness (Access to experts, finding knowledge, remembering). We need to ensure that training methods are adopted to teach people who need to learn at the speed of business.

On the job learning Charles Jennings informs us that learning is a 70 – 20 – 10 approach.

We learn about 70% of what we know through experience and practice on the job, 20% through other people and through conversations and networks and only 10% from formal instruction. This undoubtedly challenges the straightjacket approach of traditional formal classroom teaching within work environments. Unfortunately the human brain does not retain as much as we would wish it to. One month after formal instruction the brain might retain only 25 % of what was learnt unless that learning is put into The Executive 13

Issue No. 58 - 2014

People

The Executive point: technology is here to stay.

The only thing that is certain is that we will have to adjust to how it changes us.

After two weeks we tend to remember 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we see and hear (watching a movie, a demonstration), 70% of what we say (discussions, talks, presentations) and 90% of what we do (doing the real thing).

practice. The shocking part is that 50% can be lost within an hour. As a lecturer myself, I notice this phenomenon when delivering relatively long lectures. By the end of a 3 hour session, asking students questions on what was covered in the first hour could draw blank faces or at best one word responses as others scramble through their notes trying to remember what exactly was covered.

So how can people’s performance improve if they are forgetting what they are learning?

Based on the research of Edgar Dale, the originator of the “Cone of Learning”, after two weeks we tend to remember 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we see and hear (watching a movie, a demonstration), 70% of what we say (discussions, talks, presentations) and 90% of what we do (doing the real thing).

In on-the-job training it is so much easier to put participants to task and expect them to practice www.the-executive.biz

Technology has definitely played a key role in my international lecturing experiences. Distance is not an issue anymore.

Communication with students before and after formal classes, organizing skype discussions, group emails, using Moodle as a platform to circulate reading material, receive assignments and post questions to students in forum discussions have revolutionized the way we can interact globally.

I have been able to supervise geographically distant students as they work through their thesis papers as well as having students browse the internet in class to seek information on specific topics being discussed has proven to be extremely engaging for people who today have been brought up in a digital world.

This is why it is extremely challenging to make participants “do things” within University environments as ultimately there is no “job” where the participant can go and practice. Simulation and role-plays are the next best substitute.

Conclusion People no longer have any excuse that they cannot learn something that is important for them to learn.

No longer can we say that we do not have access to information or that we do not have time to attend classes. Learning can happen in so many different formats. As long as we are willing and motivated to learn we will find the best platform and methodology to suit our needs.

The role of technology Technology is making us educators all re-examine the structure of our schools and universities, the kinds of knowledge and learning they reward, and how that learning can be tracked. We are at a turning

Educators must also keep up with the times, ensuring that their classes are stimulating and truly encouraging students to want to learn. The results can be extremely rewarding for both student and instructor alike.

what has been learnt. In fact it is essential that this is part of the training plan in the first place.

David J. Dingli is the managing consultant of Resource Productivity Consulting Services, a management consulting firm specializing in strategic planning, operational efficiency improvements and management development & training. (www.rpcsmalta.com). He is also an Assistant Professor with Maastricht School of Management, The Netherlands and has lectured at MBA level in 27 countries throughout Asia, Africa, South America and Europe.

The Executive 15

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

The Executive

Company Highlight: Flexifit

FlexiFit:

Now in your Office!

For your business, the implications are clear: Encouraging physical activity translates to fewer health issues and improved employee performance – a fact that many large companies figured out long ago. One key thing you can do to achieve this goal is to finding a way to motivate your employees to start – and keep – exercising.

H

owever, it is also clear that not all employees are still young and fit. Age, excess weight, injuries and medical issues, do not always permit employees to take part in high impact, high energy exercise. Employers, also demand exercises will have a direct correlation to the office space.

This is where FlexiFit is a leader amongst peers. FlexiFit offers different fitness programs that your employees are going to be more likely to stick to, working on posture and reducing back pain, keeping employees active at work and injury free. Exercises are graded and ideal for people with back and knee problems including sciatica and slipdiscs, overweight employees, middle aged and elderly. This is because exercises are based on functional movements (such as standing tall and climbing stairs), strengthening areas which are directly linked to office performance. This is

recommended by doctors and physiotherapists as it greatly reduces back pain and repetitive strain injuries.

Studies have shown how posture is directly linked with office performance and morale. Improved posture at work results in employees being alert for longer and happier at work!

Activities such as FlexiFit, unlike traditional gym classes are a positive approach to team building while learning individual skills. Classes have an immediate and direct impact on office life, which will also improve personal health.

FlexiFit classes are available in 30 to 90 minute sessions, depending on the luxury of time.

Plethora Dance also organizes team building workshops, including FlexiFit, fitness and dance depending on the company’s or individual group’s needs.

For more information call 99490896: email plethoradance@gmail.com visit our website danceclassesmalta.com or like PlethoraDance on Facebook. www.the-executive.biz

The Executive 17

Issue No. 58 - 2014

Communication

The Executive

You’ve got (b2b) Mail!

Calvin Cassar

Little academic consideration has been given to the psychological functions fulfilled by digital correspondence.

Possibly, because of ubiquity, it becomes difficult to step back and perceive emails as a subject matter for analysis rather than a means to an end.

This article has striven to cut through a set of example emails, and to indicate intended or unintended psychological processes projected by the sender, as well as potential analyses that could or should be made by the recipient.

While possibly some of the emails or situations might come across as familiar, all content and persons mentioned are fictitious and have been created solely for illustrative purposes.

18 The Executive

W

hile emails have become an integral part of corporate life, consuming as much as a quarter of our working time (Czerwinski, Horvitz and Wilhite, 2004), little academic consideration has been given to the psychological functions fulfilled by these communications.

Possibly, because of their ubiquity, it becomes difficult to step back and perceive emails as a subject matter for analysis rather than a means to an end.

While there is potential for the setting up of a full taxonomy of functions of emails in business, in what follows, a far less ambitious plan is being laid out, namely that of cutting through a set of example emails, and to indicate intended or unintended psychological processes projected by the sender, as well as potential analyses that could or should be made by the recipient.

While possibly some of the emails or situations might come across as familiar, all content and persons mentioned are fictitious and have been created solely for illustrative purposes. www.the-executive.biz

Issue No. 58 - 2014

The Executive

Communication

Email 1 - The night owl RE: Client Follow-up Joseph Borg 00.13am To Mary Vella

Hi Mary, Email will received - will take action first thing in the morning.

Regards, JB Sender’s Intentions The sender is aiming at projecting an image of engagement, passion and commitment towards the organisation. By providing a response late in the evening, Joseph is attempting to mould Mary’s perception of him through the communication - the process may have been carried out deliberately with an aim towards ingratiation, or possibly unconsciously but with the same possible objective.

Recipient’s Perspective While easy to fall into ingratiation traps, it is important that the recipient realises the underlying connotations. While some corporate cultures might promote an all-out engagement and reward these behaviours, the recipient should realise that there is value in such follow ups only if the sender forwards content in the email.

Simple late night acknowledgements add little of value outside an increase in mailbox count. Commitment and motivation are important ingredients in the work environment but when presented in an undirected manner, attempts should be made to channel them into constructive vessels.

Sender’s Intentions In this email, the sender is including all possible recipients in the communication. In most likelihood, the sender is engaged in a defensive psychological process in which she is making sure that no harm will come out of what is being passed on to others in the email. In general, this could be indicative of insecurity, or of a corporate climate bolstered by tension, high enmity and a propensity for over use of disciplinary procedures.

Recipient’s Perspective The recipient should be cognizant of the insecurity being communicated in the email and should seek to determine whether there is ground for development in the individual and/or areas of concern for the department or organisation.

Very often, with multiple persons in copy in the same email, it becomes difficult to realise who should take specific action (particularly if not highlighted in the email itself by the sender). In these instances, there is a risk of spreading or shedding of responsibility through a phenomenon social psychologists refer to as social loafing. Latane’ (1979 as cited in Brehm, Kassin, and Fein 2005) asserts that as the number of persons in a group increase, people tend to experience a decrease in accountability, resulting in a lower effort in collaborative processes. This has been documented in lab studies calling for group effort in clapping, but also in real world occupational scenarios. In email there is particular risk for this to result given the limitations of the communication channel.

Email 2 - All Inclusive Problem with client Jessica Busuttill 13.25pm To M. Vassallo, E. Gech, T. Buhagiar, sales@vector.com, acc@vector.com, hr@vector.com

Hi all, Good afternoon.

I had a meeting earlier with Joseph at Automotive Sales and he is not happy with the rate at which we are delivering. I tried to reassure him however he is threatening to move on to one of our competitors. Not sure if we can do anything specific to address this.

Regards, Jessica

www.the-executive.biz

Email 3 - Picture Perfect Shipment Jamie Brincat 9.15am To Marica Vesic

Hello Marica :) H o w Ru? Wanted to tell you that your order is on it way. Hope that you enjoy!!!!!

Regards, Jamie

Sender’s Intentions In this instance the sender is expressing cordiality towards the recipient and is doing so both through the message as well as through the form used. There is an over expenditure of resources in that the result is being achieved through the investment of time which could have been channelled differently.

Recipient’s Perspective Excessive formatting, overuse of emoticons, and use of abbreviations are a guaranteed means of leading to a recipient to take less seriously an intended communication. The emphasis and attention moves naturally from content to structure and consequently to a watering down of the strength of the intended message.

Email 4 - Scream [No Subject] Julian B 11.34am To Marina Victoria

Marina, Are you serious? What you did with Joseph is UNACCEPTABLE. Do not even THINK about doing something about like this again as you will face the consequences. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Regards, J

The Executive 19

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Company Highlight: bits & bytes

The Executive

Issue No. 58 - 2014

Communication

The Executive

Sender’s Intentions • Freud, S. (1990). Jokes and their ReConclusion who Are And whAT do we do?

CusTomerlation servICe e CAre” In thisweemail there is a clear and Emails represent an important to the- “w Unconscious.

New York: bits & bytes is an established company specializing in computer Our partners and customers apparent projection of hostility, the social phenomenon and to date Norton. (Original work published 1905) hardware, point of salewith and communication equipment. know setting up of a barrier the re- have received limited attention in how highly we value customer• Pinnington, relations. D.For the The bad news cipient, and an assertion of power research, particularly with regards (2010).

We have been providing service since 1990 and have secured a past 22 years, our firm has and authority. about email message recall: It doesn’t to the psychological processes inreputation of honesty and reliability volved by providing in always its word. work.by Retrieved JanuaryOur 12, 2014, from in theconsistency communication in- stood quality and bits & bytes combines the best characteristics success is based on this.

R ecipient ’s support.

Perspective http://www.slaw.ca/2010/03/23/ terchange.

The examples reviewed for retailers, business all clients and homerepresent users. mini case studies in select When confronted, organisms email-message-recall-doesnt-work/ “We care” simply means that we fulfil tend to respond in one of two contexts although there is value We offer manners a range of- fight computer hardware, peripherals, all of our promises: competent technicians, possible or flight. in widening thenetworking line of enquiry and communication necessary for quantitative, the efficientorand that arrive on time and products that While fight or flight products, are not althrough moredeliveries exsmooth running of a the computer setup haustive in any environment - office perform as they are supposed to. ways possible within work enqualitative means. or home. the thought processes vironment, In short, our customer service policy is based on underlying interactions will still be References: certain fundamental valuesCalvin of honesty, reliability ChoICe vAIlAbIlITy the sameAnd andAas a result the mechCassar is currently employed as andS. trust which are not very common in today’s The huge we stock • is Brehm, constantly updated anisms willrange tendoftoproducts be expressed S. S.,being Kassin, S., & Fein, Human Resources Manager at FTIAS, business world. anda expanded. supply and cables, Switches, in more subtleWemanner in KVM F. (2005).

Socialnetworking Psychology. London: part of FTI GmbH, a multi-national products, add-on cards, hardware accessories, the sociallytools, expected forms (in the Houghton Mifflin. USB and company operating in the tourism case of fight, through email conFireWire devices. industry. He holds particular interest and frontation, setting up of in and out • Czerwinski, M., Horvitz, E., & Wilhite, bits & bytes provide services and in repairs for all types and expertise recruitment, assessment groups, in thethecase of flight (2004).

Diary of Task We havewhile on stock widest range of S. cables onAthe island andSwitching brands of IT equipment. For more informationanalyses please contact and quantitative having through sick leave or thedata tendering gained exposure in these through and Interruptions.

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The Executive 55

The Executive 21

22 The Executive

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

The Executive

Law

Releasing your Rights Patrick C. Barthet

O

perators of amusement parks make it very clear that you’ll have to accept responsibility for your own injuries if you use their facilities. While the way they are written may vary and the law may be different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, most such clauses are generally enforceable.

Much depends, as so many things in the law, on the actual facts, including the wording of the particular provision, the sufficiency of any posted warnings regarding the possible risks associated with any planned activity, and whether there may be a contributing factor to any injury, such as defective design or inadequate maintenance.

The provisions are there solely for the protection of the operators of such facilities, be they theme parks, traveling carnivals, local fairs or established amusement centers.

And it isn’t just to defend against the typical slips, trips and falls but rather the more traumatic accidents which may occur, especially where visitors and participants continue to seek faster, taller and more exciting rides and venues. Injuries run the gamut from hearing loss and neck sprains to amputations, broken limbs and much, much worse.

Each year thousands of patrons are taken to hospitals with serious and sometimes life altering injuries.

You can therefore understand why operators want to reduce or eliminate liability for such unfortunate events. They do this in a number of ways, but generally by having you accept the risk of participation and presenting you a disclaimer of fault. They also post signs warning of the potential www.the-executive.biz

hazards associated with going on their rides or using their property.

If the facility is properly maintained and kept in a reasonably safe condition, such releases can work. They must be clearly and unequivocally written to express the intention of the parties – that the amusement park or recreational facility owner be relieved from any and all liability for injuries sustained by reason of any negligence, including that of the owner or operator. But there can be no evidence of reckless conduct or intentional wrongdoing on the part of the park. Is the risk sufficiently described, is the person assuming the risk competent to do so, and is the risk actually covered by the language within the release?

All that said, a recent case has gotten the attention of many in this industry. It involves a 14 year old boy who was taken by his father to a motor sports park. There the teenager could ride his own all terrain vehicle (ATV). Before the father and son were allowed to enter the facility, the father was required to sign a release, waiving liability and assuming the risk on the boy’s behalf, essentially releasing the park of any liability in the event of injury or death. What was supposed to be a fun day came to a tragic end, however. While attempting a particular jump, the boy lost control of his ATV, fell off and hit the ground. He got up but quickly collapsed and died shortly thereafter.

The boy’s estate filed suit against the park for wrongful death and the park defended by presenting the signed release. The trial court agreed with the park but the appellate court reversed the decision. The case then went

before that state’s Supreme Court to answer a question of great public importance – can an adult release the rights of an underage child? The court’s decision was a surprise. Such pre-injury releases, executed by a parent on behalf of a minor child, were unenforceable as to the minor or the minor’s estate.

The state, the Court held, may in certain instances preempt generally accepted parental authority if it does so for the greater good.

This decision has sent shock waves throughout the tourism industry where waivers of liability are commonplace and where it has been standard practice for parents to sign such documents for their minor children. Bike and boat rentals, horseback riding, dolphin swims, animal interactions, thrill rides and other innately dangerous activities, all have required and obtained signed releases before allowing participation. Owners and operators may have been protected in the event of an unfortunate accident, but no longer when it comes to under age children. Indeed, this decision, if not overturned, will surely alter the extent to which young children will be allowed to actively participate at today’s amusement parks and recreational facilities.

Mr. Barthet is founder and President of The Barthet Firm, a seasoned 10 lawyer commercial law practice located in Miami, Florida (www.barthet.com).

He was appointed Honorary Consul of Malta in 2008 and regularly represents entrepreneurs and established concerns in all manner of contract law, intellectual property issues and business disputes. He can be reached at pbarthet@barthet.com.

The Executive 23

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

The Executive

Company Highlight: Computime

Computime Now in its thirty-fifth year of operation, Malta’s leading ICT company Computime, employs over 90 industry professionals and has gained widespread respect within the business community for its commitment to deliver on the promise for product and service quality and excellence.

In recent developments, Computime achieved the highly coveted HP Platinum Partner status in recognition for its continued effort to provide a superior level of service and its ability to deliver end-to-end solutions and services based on the full HP Converged Infrastructure portfolio.

centric ideology compels us to place significant importance on accreditation programmes such as the Platinum Partner Programme and we fully recognise the value they bring to our business and to our customers.”

The HP Platinum title was awarded for the first time last year to a few select organisations in the EMEA region. Locally, Computime became the only partner to hold the status.

The newly forged Platinum title is the highest ranked in the HP PartnerOne membership levels, creating clear distinctions between various business partners and making it easier for end customers to choose among HP’s preferred resellers.

“As a long-standing strategic HP partner, Computime offer one of the most comprehensive IT solutions portfolios in the market,” claims Joint Managing Director Mr Andrew Borg. “Furthermore” he adds, “Computime’s customer

“Computime have always maintained the highest level of accreditation with HP by investing in both official training and ensuring that staff are provided with the required resources to gain a high level of hands on experience,” adds Head of Technology Solutions at Computime, Mr Stephen Vella. “We are proud to have achieved the new and exclusive Platinum accreditation as testimony to our experience and hard work.

Customers will now enjoy the benefits only we can deliver – both on a technical as well as commercial level - by working closer with a world-leading brand such as HP. No other local company can beat what we can offer with HP.”

For more information regarding HP Platinum Partner, kindly contact one of our Sales Representatives or Technical Team members on +356 21 490 700 or email on info@computime.com.mt www.the-executive.biz

The Executive 25

And you thought what happens in the office

Stays in the office?

There are so many ways in which data leakage can occur, whether accidentally or intentionally, from accidentally misplacing or damaging a smartphone to intentionally emailing or downloading data.

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Safeguarding the security of your data and network is essential to avoid the negative business and financial impact security threats pose.

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

Interview with an Entrepreneur: Neville Cutajar

The Executive

Lease out your Value When sitting down with Neville Cutajar, a managing partner, director and one of the three co-founders of 3A Accountants, the conversation inevitably turns to the identity and positioning of the group as a fast-growing player in the auditing sector.

Seeing that 3A Accountant fulfils its mission to provide an innovative and comprehensive, yet personal service to local and international business is a matter very close to Mr Cutajar’s heart. He is after all in charge of compliance and quality control of 3A’s operations.

As Mr Cutajar states early on in the interview, the focus of 3A is to assist enterprises in realising their business potential through a trio of core competencies that include accountancy, assurance and advisory services — each spearheaded by one of the co-founders.

It didn’t escape the founders’ attention that this particular convergence of services all started with the letter ‘A’, humorously capturing the coincidence in their brand name — 3A — which also provided the inspiration for their corporate tagline: ‘Your Aspirations, Your Achievements - Our Aim’. The Executive explores.

Since being launched in February 2008, 3A has gone from strength to strength. Led by a team of young professionals consisting of Neville Cutajar himself, Christian Vella and Clive Farrugia — with the presence of veteran business experts Joseph F.X. Zahra and Franco Azzopardi as non-executive directors - the organisation has more than tripled its initial complement of staff from 9 employees to 25 in just over six years.

3A’s business is in value-building, and every one of the themes above simply reflect the domains in which the brand exerts its efforts whilst conducting its practical business of maximising returns on the investment decisions being made by its clients.

The brand has also extended its services to markets in Cyprus and is now seeking to expand its reach even further to businesses in the Czech Republic.

However, as Mr Cutajar clarifies, the company straddles not only the monetary economy but also a knowledge economy, which explains why since the very start, 3A has placed such a premium in developing a working environment that develops its employee’s potential and facilitates the sharing of knowledge along with financial returns.

But what accounts for 3A’s success, if you’ll pardon the pun?

Punching above its weight

Mr Cutajar is unequivocal in his reply. A firm belief in putting the values espoused by company in practice, such as giving personalised attention to individual client’s needs, an innovative and professional working environment for their employees and a commitment to the organisation’s social responsibilities, contributed to the company’s continued growth.

Although working within a financial company involves a significant amount of number crunching, Cutajar explains that 3A’s clients are not numbers, they are in fact people — entrepreneurs and established business people — who are best served when given individual attention to their particular set of needs and business goals.

www.the-executive.biz

The Executive 27

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

The Executive

Interview with an Entrepreneur: Neville Cutajar

This is achieved by training employees to look at client’s problems from a multiplicity of perspectives and giving them the tools to be able to offer relevant and timely answers to the clients’ questions.

In this regard, 3A’s strategy to tackle their clients’ challenges seems to work. The company has nearly an equal amount of local and international clients in its portfolio, hailing from diverse industries.

Cutajar points out the company’s track record of client retention as proof that their strategy works and ascribes this to the founders’ willingness from the get-go to invest heavily both in the human resources underpinning 3A’s operations, as well as the technology that permits open and free sharing of the company’s knowledge in the business amongst employees and clients alike.

Surprisingly, the fact that 3A is a comparatively small outfit compared to bigger organisations in the same sector which carry a lot more clout does not lead Cutajar’s and his managing partners to underestimate their brand’s ability to be a major player in the market. The company is comfortable punching above its weight, and this is particularly evident in its ability to attract talent from top accounting firms to join its ranks.

Offering

something new

What does 3A offer that sets its apart from its larger, more influential, counterparts?

In a word, creativity. As a smaller company, 3A depends on the ability of its employees to be able to apply their expertise to a wider range of related areas within their specialisation.

An employee dealing with the company’s auditing services, for example, has to be be able to conduct EU funding audits, internal audits, IT audits and more. The job description at a younger company is inevitably more open, as professionals have to implement their expertise in a wider range of scenarios which permits employees to meet the challenges faced by their clients with an eclectic approach that is capable of analysing it from a variety of perspectives.

The constant exposure to a diversity of challenges enables the company to maintain a fresh perspective on their business however, Mr Cutajar is quick to point out, it does not preclude the necessity of specialisation and the company still stands on the threefold areas of accountancy, assurance and advisory services that represent each co-founder’s field of expertise.

The experience that 3A’s clients are enjoying through its company in Malta is in the process of being replicated elsewhere. 3A already has a franchisee offering the same suite of services in Cyprus, with a second one based in the Czech Republic in the pipeline.

Local

company with a global outlook

According to Mr Cutajar, this expansion of the 3A brand reflects its sensitivity to the increased impact of global trading on local markets. Even organisations in Malta are frequently engaged business transactions with businesses based in foreign countries, and this requires a thorough understanding of the differences in the jurisdictions of these countries for an optimal operation. www.the-executive.biz

As such, cultivating the right relationships plays a vital role in 3A’s work.

Cutajar highlights the importance of forging alliances with professional advisors that specialise in the jurisdiction you intend conducting business, a requirement that is becomes even more critical for a company that cannot realistically be specialised in every single jurisdiction. In fact, professional service firms todays are often required to team up with other firms and integrate their skills in order to provide a specialist service to the clients.

Whilst this may seem threatening to a company’s identity, 3A has thrived by building strong relationships with other firms that help them maximise the opportunities that come their way.

“

The company is comfortable punching above its weight, and this is particularly evident in its ability to attract talent from top accounting firms to join its ranks.

”

Of particular importance is creating alliances with companies abroad, which not only gives a globalised edge to 3A, but enables the brand to offer their clients seeking to do business in foreign jurisdiction tailored advices for their circumstances.

Dealing

with the business socialscape

This reality particularly affects Malta because the country has garnered such a reputation as an international economic hub for a wide variety of foreign companies, especially those in the IT industry. For this reason, an accounting firm like 3A is often placed in a position where it has to oversee business being conducted abroad, oftentimes via electronic means.

However, even local companies are either selling or buying from abroad, a fact with makes this field very complex to administer and reinforces the need to tailor advisory services to the specific circumstances faced by a client, as opposed to providing services with a cookie-cutter approach.

So, not even financial services are immune to the power of social?

According to Cutajar, no they’re not. The realities of contemporary business requires solid relationships as much as solid strategies. He explains in great length the benefits of being part of a worldwide alliance of firms, as well as the network of franchisee which 3A is aspiring to set up.

One of the main benefits of being part of a larger web of companies is that the basic infrastructure needed by the client is already in place and was the result of extensive testing process by different franchisees that ultimately contributed to setting up a system which is running in line with rigorous standards.

Knowledge

at its basis

This is something 3A takes very seriously, but Mr Cutajar says that the company has gone a step further than that. Not content with providing clients the basic necessities, they expanded their focus to The Executive 29

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

Interview with an Entrepreneur: Neville Cutajar

The Executive include also essential (but sadly often overlooked) factors like customer relationship management, documentation and other factors that contribute to the running of a successful company.

But this doesn’t demean the disruptive energy of an entrepreneur ready to push the envelope. 3A itself has a number of unconventional decisions under its belt that shaped the kind of company it is today.

By sharing the knowledge acquired in each of these aspects, Cutajar argues that 3A goes above and beyond the call of duty and delves into the nitty gritty of operations to come up with a complete system of how to run things in a way that benefits a firm which - due to various reasons - hasn’t had the possibility to develop this kind of management yet.

Rather, the franchise environment 3A has set up is one that permits a level playing field for franchisees with different risk tolerances, whilst banking on the experience and lessons learnt from dealing with franchises themselves.

The argument presented by Cutajar dovetails perfectly with his opinion that franchising isn’t for everyone. By necessity, the conditions set by the parent company will restrict the way a franchisee operates the business in order to assure brand consistency and, ultimately, customer satisfaction.

In keeping with their vision of how an accountancy firm should be operated, 3A takes a safe-rather-than-sorry approach, and this is clearly evident in their decision to come up with a system that details the running of their franchise.

Franchising the future Cutajar has previously described the ideal person to run a franchise as somebody with a ‘capped entrepreneurial spirit’ - somebody willing to take on a more disciplined approach in running a firm.

“

Franchising isn’t for everyone. By necessity, the conditions set by the parent company will restrict the way a franchisee operates the business in order to assure brand consistency and, ultimately, customer satisfaction.

”

This regulated workflow serves to ensure that customers dealing with any branch of their operations, no matter where in they are located in the world, are given the same level of service.

A web of information 3A’s commitment to outdo the typical offering of a network accountancy is evidenced by how keenly Mr Cutajar explains the group’s efforts to set up a state-of-the-art IT infrastructure that can support the management practises outlined above.

The IT system in question is a owned by 3A, but in a bold move the group decided to outsource its management in order to give itself the benefit of a flexible and cost-effective solution that doesn’t burden the company with investing resources on easily outdated infrastructure. This permits 3A to allocate more resources on pursuing its goal to becoming a globally recognised brand.

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32 The Executive

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

Interview with an Entrepreneur: Neville Cutajar

The Executive

Another plus of the IT system developed by 3A is that it allows their employees in Gozo to work completely online whilst still being able to provide the kind of seamless operation to clients that Mr Cutajar says 3A takes great pride in.

Words of advice In our interview with 3A’s Neville Cutajar, one of the company’s managing partners, director, and co-founder, we delved deep into the the critical factors that shaped the success of the company from its startup years to its present position in the market.

In this column, we list five of the most salient learning points that emerged from the experiences Mr Cutajar’s shared in our interview about the progress the company made during its 6 years of doing business.

1. Putting the company values to practice The values that each company stands for will differ according to its founders’ and target customers’ agendas, however Mr Cutajar pinpoints certain universal qualities that should be valued by companies and put in practice, including ‘giving personalised attention to individual client’s needs’, fostering ‘an innovative and professional working environment for [the] employees’ and ‘a commitment to the organisation’s social responsibilities’.

2. Developing employees’ potential and facilitating sharing of knowledge Another key learning point from 3A’s experience is that time and money invested in developing your human resources will always yield the best return-on-investment for the company. In fact, Mr Cutajar advocates in favour of ‘training employees to look at client’s problems from a multiplicity of perspectives’. When this is done in addition to investing in technology that facilitates the sharing of employee experiences, then the company can truly benefit from the combined knowledge of all its members.

3. Contemporary business requires solid relationships as much as solid strategies.

This point can be capitalised upon by investing heavily in your own and you employees’ abilities to ‘put [your]selves in [the] clients’ shoes’ in order to enhance collaboration with them.

Continued on pg. 35 www.the-executive.biz

The system that is in place acknowledges professionals as they log on to it - even from home - and permits rapid sharing of information between 3A’s employees and their clients.

Another technical innovation that 3A developed is a depository of the knowledge learnt throughout its six years of operation that is freely accessible to its staff. This customised database has been modelled on Wikipedia and is known as the 3A Knowledge Share; a concept which will eventually connect all 3A franchises on a single web of information sharing.

Mr Cutajar explains that 3A Knowledge Share is not meant to be a static storehouse of information, but a dynamic resource that is developed collaboratively by all the staff while dealing with clients and conducting research.

Any change effected by one member on the network will be automatically transmitted across the infrastructure, allowing employees to conduct real-time searches for items even while they are being updated. 3A Knowledge Share has both private and public components, with the latter being freely accessible by clients as well.

As part of 3A’s commitment to giving added value, both to clients and franchisees, Mr Cutajar highlights that the system allows a lot of interaction for clients looking for opportunities to do business with 3A and to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of operating in different jurisdictions.

This international sharing of knowledge could benefit also the employees of future 3A franchises since the exchange of information can eventually lead to actual sharing of human resources between the locally-based parent company and its satellites abroad.

Challenges faced Being part of an innovative, and fairly disruptive, accountancy firm does have its share challenges.

Mr Cutajar pins this down primarily to the fact that unfortunately many companies in Malta neglect to spend time to create a properly defined management layer onto their business, as well as a realistic business strategy that helps them assess objectively their current performance and pinpoint their strengths and growing edges.

Nevertheless, Mr Cutajar says that now 3A’s is in a position to widen its scope from a local company to one with an international perspective. He explains that the process that lead to this point was an organic one. In the first few years of business, the company was mainly focused on putting in place the systems and nurturing the human resources necessary to put 3A on par with its bigger competitors.

The Executive 33

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

The Executive

Interview with an Entrepreneur: Neville Cutajar

Forging stronger ties with other firms Mr Cutajar affirms that the company’s emphasis on a high calibre of competence and continuous investment in its people’s development means that the brand is now manned by a highly professional staff, most of whom possess postgraduate qualifications in their area of specialisation.

Several employees also have experience working with much bigger firms than 3A, including major foreign institutions.

Words of advice (continued from pg. 33)

B Mr Cutajar readily acknowledges the importance of these international bonds and admits that in creating these links and embedding 3A within a strong network of like-minded firms , the group has a solid foundation on which to build 3A Global. As stated earlier, Cyprus was the first partner firm of the group and a second firm based in the Czech Republic is on the cards. And though not alone in having ensured 3A’s success, being different from the competitors - carving out a unique niche in the sector - was crucial in so doing.

Achieving their aspirations

3A’s aim is clearly to achieve their aspirations in promoting a business model that extends its reach to a far wider client base while delivering a constant level of experience that is based on the cumulative expertise earned over their years of doing business.

As described by Mr Cutajar, meeting this goal involves a blend of human resources, networking and a sound IT infrastructure to facilitate communication between the former two. The path taken by 3A reflects the complexity of doing business in the modern world, and echoes the same challenges that are faced by the clients supported by 3A.

If their track record is anything to go by, then one can safely say that 3A does indeed live up to what they declare in their mission statement, namely that ‘each business encounter [is] a learning experience in itself.’

Mr Cutajar emphases that this also involves having a thorough understanding of the client’s products and resources and finding a way to serve their specific needs beyond their expectations.

1. Listen to the opinion of the employees while tak-

ing the responsibility for making the final decision.

Managers should help their employees to develop a proactive mindset and make it easier for them to contribute feedback on how to help their company ‘perform better and adopt more effective business strategies’. Mr Cutajar suggests that any final decision has to taken ‘in full cognisance of the body of experiences and skills available in one’s team.’

2. 5. Find out what are the core benefits your com-

pany’s products and services offer.

Finally, Mr Cutajar recommends studying your competition diligently. He complements this classic business advice with a further suggestion to ‘[put] excellent customer experience above all else’ and encourages local companies to be daring enough to explore the opportunities that lie beyond our shores. Like in the case of 3A, this step needn’t be taken alone, but by forging alliances with companies working in the same industry that located in other countries.

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

The Executive

Company Highlight: Malta Business Expo.com

Malta Business Expo.com: Taking a stand for business

M

alta Business Expo.com is exposing the Malta based firms exhibiting in the Expo to over 27 industry sectors and reaching out to link to Malta services to 25 countries. This will be achieved using an online tool which allows businesses to easily and effectively connect to potential clients and business partners in real-time, with the option to display their own branding material and stream corporate video.

The platform is designed to be easy to use, allowing players in all sectors to participate in the venture. By creating their own stand in the expo, the companies can upload news articles that demonstrate their business successes and even have possibility of translating news bulletins as part of the digital marketing campaign in several languages to target the foreign markets.

Malta Business Expo.com offers Malta-based companies the possibility to offer and deliver their high quality services both nationally and internationally. The expo can complement companies’ marketing plans by providing extra leverage to launch one’s message onto the global business stage.

Bringing an international audience to your doorstep The key focus of Malta Business Expo.com is to bring a global audience to organisations that are based in Malta. It will serve as a permanent online exposition that will showcase the wide variety of high quality services and industries that work with clients nationally and overseas.

Just like a physical business expo, Malta Business Expo.com will provide a wealth of opportunities for participants to forge global links and give valuable access to new leads that can take their business to the next level.

38 The Executive

Unlike a physical exposition being open only for a small number of business days, a company’s stand in Malta Business Expo.com is open 24/7, 365 days and welcomes interested parties at anytime. In fact, a key characteristic is that it has been engineered specifically to foster closer ties and open communication between businesses.

The driving force behind this concept is it aims to nurture a spirit of collaboration between local businesses. Already international companies, from 27 different industry sectors, have expressed great interest in the promise that Malta Business Expo.com holds for their business. There is strength in numbers, and by investing in this tool, local companies can present a united image of a Malta that’s open for business. Local companies can thus gain value from the global digital marketing strategy, to generate new enquiries to their business and at the same time present a united image of Malta, showing Malta as a hub that’s open for business. The latter will play an important role within the global digital marketing strategy, to deliver updates regarding government announcements, business news alerts, product & service launches, events & conferences within the 27 industry sectors, reaching out to 25 countries, and the global digital marketing is to be delivered in several languages.

Malta Business Expo.com adds a key element that contributes www.the-executive.biz

Issue No. 58 - 2014

Company Highlight: Malta Business Expo.com

The Executive

Malta Business Expo.com is a project that aims to radically change and also compliment the way local companies market their services within the global business to business sectors. This online tool showcases Malta based companies as national and international suppliers & providers, and one of the many benefits of exhibiting within Malta Business Expo.com is that this marketing platform is backed by a team of experienced marketing specialists who are experts in utilizing their brand of search engine marketing, to provide a strong global digital marketing strategy and effectively extend a company’s ability to easily reach international markets.

in building and delivering a strong global digital marketing campaign that Maltese businesses will immediately benefit from once they join the expo.

towards building on our island’s success in attracting foreign investing, a coherent and credible online platform. Like any expo, Malta Business Expo.com won’t only represent local market leaders, but it will also provide an opportunity for the local government to market its incentives for international companies that are thinking about bringing their services to Malta.

The online expo is divided into five key areas that include the government pavilion, representative organisations, services and industries, expo partners and a news centre. The latter will play an important role in introducing to Malta a new strategy of marketing our local businesses, known as global digital marketing strategy.

This pioneering effort will ensure that every business that invests in its own stand in the expo, will enjoy a strong return on investment in the form of widespread recognition and awareness of its services and contributions to the industry, both locally and abroad.

Introducing a global digital marketing strategy One the key factors that underpins the groundbreaking contribution of Malta Business Expo.com towards strengthening our local business scene is the global digital marketing strategy it will implement. The organisers behind the expo have actively invested a lot of time and money in planning a strategic approach www.the-executive.biz

True to its name, a global digital marketing strategy will give locally based companies an extended reach towards the most important markets in the world. The expo will be actively showcasing the representatives of our economy to 25 countries in Europe, Russia, Africa, the Gulf, the Middle East, as well as in many other regions.

Malta Business Expo.com will not only open up a host of international business opportunities to local business, it will also play an active role in encouraging them. The online information centre within the expo will serve as a central repository of news and updates on expo participants, who are invited to contribute new information about their operations and recent successes.

A company exhibition stand within the Expo is placed within their relevant industry sectors of service and allows the options to upload multimedia resources to illustrate the better services it renders and the role it plays in the Maltese economy. Malta Business Expo.com will turn it into a launch pad that helps business achieve wider recognition by strategically distributing news and company updates to their foreign links. To this end, the expo will be backed up by the expertise of a world-renowned digital marketing consultant who collaborated on various marketing projects with companies ranging from Apple, to Intel and Lufthansa.

Malta Business Expo.com will be utilising global digital marketing to the full, even translating company news into different languages to target specifically foreign partners who might be most interested to strike up The Executive 39

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

The Executive

Company Highlight: Malta Business Expo.com

a deal with local service providers. The inform centre will also serve as careers marketplace, allowing participating companies to advertise openings and attract an international base of interested applicants.

Business networking on a company-to-company level The Malta Business Expo.com has been developed with simplicity in mind, offering local businesses a three-tiered structure that lets them choose the type of representation that best fits their needs.

A company can create a personalised profile on this online exposition, which is categorised by industry sector, and upload multimedia resources to illustrate better the services it renders and the role it plays in the Maltese economy. The amount of detail and customisation possible depends on the stand level that is chosen. A basic stand will be designed with the company branding & colours, providing the corporate profile and links to the company website and social media channels. On the other hand, a standard profile will allow companies to promote themselves and their individual products by placing up to 10 banner-style images that act as a visual complement to the information on screen, illustrating key aspects of a company’s background and current work. Finally premium stands will have access to host of more advanced and powerful branding features that will enable the participants to market their services and products more intensely to their prospects.

Malta Business Expo.com targets both local and foreign endusers and provides a variety of methods to encourage interaction between the represented brands and potential clients. One example is the availability of an e-brochure which can be printed, downloaded and saved on a variety of devices. In other words, the Malta Business Expo.com will not only serve as an online presence for local businesses, but equally importantly as a mobile presence as well. The Expo will also be linked to a smartphone app that provides direct access to the participating companies, as well as the opportunity to get in touch with them at any time.

One of the main benefits of the Malta Business Expo.com is its networking potential, especially for local businesses seeking to grow beyond our shores. This platform acts as a one-stop shop both for businesses as well as investors who can join together in partnerships that wouldn’t have been possible without the clout, the prestige and the reach that an organised effort like Malta Business Expo.com can provide.

An online platform that’s open for business The developers of Malta Business Expo.com have taken great care to improve user experience. The platform places a lot of emphasis

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on usability and accessibility, ensuring that users get the maximum benefit out of using this platform.

A notable feature of the Malta Business Expo.com is Lisa.

Lisa acts as a personal assistant who is ready to step in and help users with any queries they might have. Currently, Lisa welcomes users on Malta Business Expo.com homepage, explaining to them the main aims of the expo and her role in ensuring they make the most of this tool. The technology has been finely tuned to adapt across devices, offering the users a seamless experience from one platform to another.

Malta Business Expo.com seeks to emulate the social dimension of a physical experience to the full. In fact, the developers of this tool have placed a premium on interactivity and user engagement.

Each company stand will feature live chat functionality that allows the participants to come in direct contact with interested parties, taking business relationships off the screen and into board rooms where new deals can be closed.

The companies that is represented on the Expo will be able to advertise several ways of encourage communication with people who virtually visit their stand. Besides live chat, other online channels like email, Skype and social media are all supported.

The functionalities afforded by Malta Business Expo.com make it a very attractive addition to any company trying to expand its marketing reach. However, the central purpose of the sits isn’t to encourage competition between the participating companies, rather it aims to foster a spirit of collaboration. The stance taken by the organisers of the expo is that it will primarily serve to present a the image of Maltese service providers and industry leaders as a solid and sound investment choice for international companies who want to bring their operations on the island.

Foster collaboration amongst local stakeholders In its homepage Malta Business Expo.com’s states that is working motto is ‘taking a stand for business’, a phrase it quickly links up with the importance of ‘standing united’ as a small economy made up of high-quality services providers that can easily step up to business requirements on the global level.

In fact, the organisers behind the Malta Business Expo.com aim to emphasis a lot the strengths shared by local business, and through its information centre spread news about local business successes to a worldwide audience.

The expo intends to bring people together, seeking to connect

The Executive 41

maltabusiness

.com

The online Exposition creating a new Global Audience for your Business

Are you taking a stand alongside the National and International Exhibitors to exhibit your service and products?

Call now to book your meeting and see how Malta Business Expo.com works for you

+356 2138 7900 info@maltabusinessexpo.com www.maltabusinessexpo.com

Reg Office: 14, C.Mallia Street, San Gwann, SGN2202, Malta

Issue No. 58 - 2014

The Executive

Company Highlight: Malta Business Expo.com One of the main factors in the interest that this idea is generating is undoubtedly the fact that participating companies will be joining in an innovative venture that is at the cutting edge of online business-to-business collaborations. By taking a stand alongside other organisations, the companies participating in the expo will be taking a concrete step towards consolidating Malta’s image as a strong economy in the perspective of foreign investors.

There are many companies locally who desperately want to grasp the plethora of opportunities beyond our shores, and take their businesses to the next level. Malta Business Expo.com serves as a springboard for these businesses who can transition onto the international scene more easily and successfully thanks to the unique strengths, benefits and exposure that the expo provides.

private industry players with government entities. By linking all stakeholders of the Maltese economy into a collective exposition, the Mata Business Expo will complement individual company market plans with additional exposure and credibility from being linked to other market leaders. And although the organisers recognise that a competitive streak is inherent in Maltese business owners, the expo tries to transcend these barriers and focus on branding Malta as a place to do business in thanks to the collective competencies of the participating firms.

The government pavilion on the site plays an important role in reminding visitors that the Malta Business Expo.com is first and foremost an endeavour that contributes to the economy on a national level, instead of favouring any particular business over another.

This synergy between government and private businesses enhances the platform’s ability to promote profitable business contacts. The Malta Business Expo.com will also promote any legislation that makes Malta a more attractive place to invest in, as well as equipping investors with all the information they need to make an informed choice about investing in our country. As such, the Malta Business Expo.com acts as a crucial information provider, as well as an icebreaker which makes it easier for foreign investor to familiarise themselves with the potential advantages of setting up shop in Malta. According to the organisers, participating companies stand to benefit from being associated with such an enterprise, which not only raises the profile of individual companies, but also increases Malta’s status as an ideal country to do business in.

Generating interest and enthusiasm locally The Malta Business Expo.com is already generating a lot of interest among local businesses which are eager to open up their stand when the concept goes live. At the moment, the expo team is meeting with key stakeholders in the local economy and have been received with unanimous interest in the idea. Several market leaders have confirmed their intention to participate in the expo, including companies like 6PM, Middlesea and MSV. Fimbank plc and GO plc will be main expo partners, with Times of Malta providing a strong presence.

Besides private companies, the exposition will also host stands featuring a number of Maltese associations. There are over 22 associations that have endorsed the concept. www.the-executive.biz

Malta Business Expo.com serves as a catalyst towards helping local business strengthen and expand their influence abroad. The information centre that is part of this expo can be a key asset in their efforts to penetrate foreign markets. Having the convenience of a team that is dedicated to pushing relevant news about your company and even adapting it to specific regions is a definite advantage to any company that is seeking to have a wider impact on its market.

Conclusion In summary, the Malta Business Expo.com promises to be a valuable addition to any local company’s marketing efforts. By position themselves as members of this expo, individual companies will not only enjoy the added credibility that comes from collective influence sharing, but also earning access to foreign business links.

As a networking platform for business, the Malta Business Expo. com has all the tools to complement companies’ presence within it.

Moving beyond mere presence, companies can actively engage with each other and potential clients using the user-friendly functionalities.

In view of increased interest by foreign investors in what Malta has to offer, Malta Business Expo.com puts the biggest contributors to our economy’s success, local businesses, at the forefront of foreign investors’ attention. Besides the added visibility that local businesses will enjoy, the platform also gives them a voice to ensure that each company can successfully convey its particular background and business ethos. Moreover, Malta Business Expo.com also makes space for the presence of government stands, which will complement the marketing efforts of individual companies by providing investors with key legislative information that can help influence their decision to adopt Malta as their overseas base to do business.

One can say that Malta Business Expo.com is truly a product of its time. An online platform that harnesses the key elements of digital marketing and implements it using a global strategy that makes it more targeted and effective. The global digital marketing strategy devices and employed by the Malta Business Expo.com can be viewed as a supplement to local companies’ market plans, one that dramatically extends their reach to areas which alone they’d find too costly to address.

The setting up of the Malta Business Expo.com will be a step towards helping local business to stand united and advance their common interests of growth and increased international influence, to their betterment and that of the Maltese economy.

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

The Executive

IT Review: Eyesel Business Suite

Eyesel Business Suite Kevin Attard Compagno

Writing a review for an Accounting Package can feel repetitive. Let’s face it, without a Nominal Ledger, you cannot keep track of your accounts - so they all have a Nominal Ledger. And an Accounting Package that does not keep track of Debtors and Creditors will soon send you to the poor house, so they all have a Debtors’ Ledger and a Creditors’ Ledger, and control accounts, and so on. Except it’s so passé to call them Debtors and Creditors, they’ve all changed the wording to Customers and Vendors, or Payables and Receivables, just to keep users on their toes, and to keep with the times. www.the-executive.biz

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Issue No. 58 - 2014

IT Review: Eyesel Business Suite

The Executive

O

f course an accounting system that is of any use to any commercial entity needs to have all the bits in place.

And at ISL, they consider the CORE to consist of: • Financials • Inventory • Sales & Distribution • Retail You could get only pieces of it, but that’s not the way ISL likes to look at things.

Financials

The Financials part of the equation provides the staple functions to keep a commercial entity running, keeping your records up to date, and allowing you to extract information, and make your decisions based on the records.

You can also look through the telescope from the other end, starting with the Financial Statements, and then “drilling-down” (a buzz word that simply means “if I click on some record, please show me the components that make it up”) into other sections of your system, in as much detail as you need, right down to individual transactions where necessary.

This package is designed so even the big boys can play with it, since it can handle inter-company transactions and consolidation of reports and accounts amongst several companies.

A full-blown fixed-asset register is also provided, complete with retention of relevant documentation and even images of the fixed assets, and various depreciation methods.

Budgeting is also taken care of, including the possibility to import spreadsheets as source information for your budget plans.

Inventory Keeping track of inventory is obviously an important aspect of control and efficiency. Eyesel provides with the tools to manage costings and product pricing, as well as the www.the-executive.biz

intricacies of multiple warehouse locations and inter-location transfers. It can handle product variations based on such metrics as weight, volume, colour, and size.

Waste management is also catered for, and this is rapidly becoming a more important part of day-to-day operations that supply products.

Managing stock quantities starts with reorder levels and reorder quantities, but this can go much further. It can control your inventory by batch number or serial number, can keep track of expiry dates, and also implement stock rotation rules to optimize allocation - FEDO (first expiry date out) is the most obvious type here. And it talks to all other parts of the system, so that if you are building a purchase order, Eyesel will look not only at your reorder levels, but also take into account items that are already on sales orders and still require procurement.

The purchase order processing section is very well put together, and comes with all the trimmings to handle even the most complex scenarios, with partial deliveries, backorders, multiple invoices spanning multiple purchase orders, HS Codes for per-item tax, duty, levy and eco-contribution management, and all the other lovely time saving procedures that our legislators force us through.

Keeping us in the 21st century, Eyesel has already a fully-implemented handheld solution, allowing you to interact with your system using handheld devices, such as smartphones, PDAs, and tablets, and they are constantly developing this aspect to drive more of the functionality towards such types of automation.

Sales and Distribution This part of the system encompasses the complete sales cycle, as it goes from enquiry to quote to confirmation to delivery to invoice. To optimize stock level management, it talks to the purchase ordering system, and also collates information from other backorders with the same customer - this function-

ality comes together to also provide the Just-In-Time stock allocation mechanism.

The flexibility and power of its price list management is truly impressive, contemplating all manners of quantity-based or value-based discount structures and free unit allocations. All this can eventually be tied in to sales representative commission structures.

Sales Force Automation Using handheld devices, your sales staff can take orders, accept returned merchandise, collect payments - online or offline. You take this as far as having your staff generate an ad-hoc Van Sale, complete with generation and printing of invoices.

You can also leverage the automation function to streamline a wholesale and distribution entity, allowing you to optimize van loading based on inventory item types (some items may require refrigeration, for example) and route plan.

Retail Managing a retail outlet is made simple with Eyesel, which can handle any number of retail outlets, and also survive a situation where connection to the head office is severed. It has screen layouts designed for touch screen use, eliminating the need for having a mouse and keyboard clutter your shop counter.

The Executive 47

Issue No. 58 - 2014

IT Review: Eyesel Business Suite It provides a full-blown cash-till experience, with end-of-day reports, takings reports, and tracking of operator logins. Other plus points are a fully-implemented loyalty card management system, gift vouchers, barcode support, management of containers (empties), and a dizzying array of other features which play a part in a Retail setup. Again, this talks to the rest of the system to help with stock taking, restocking, label printing, and stock checking and movements from one retail outlet to another.

Looking at the Bigger Picture When I look at an Accounting Package nowadays, I tend to make sure that the basic concepts, like Nominal Ledgers, Debtors and Creditors Ledgers, and so on, are still present JUST to make sure it is STILL an accounting package I am looking at, and then look into the product from a completely different viewpoint, looking for the functionality

The Executive

that distinguishes one product from another, rather than the similarities.

Most accounting systems are sold in “Modules”, with the Financials being the “core”, then you may opt to get the “Debtors” module, and then the “Creditors” module. Then they tell you how the “Stocks” module is sometimes useful, and maybe you would like to consider “Invoicing”.

This, I put to you, is a WLOB (whole lot of bull-droppings). Can you imagine the thinking process?

Yeah, let’s run a business, but no, we can leave the invoicing part out, who the hell needs to issue bills?

And oh, if we’re not issuing invoices, why bother with the debtors bit?

Having a chat with Adrian Coleiro, the Operations Director at ISL, was a refreshing experience in this regard, since he was obviously ahead of me in his thinking. I actually had

to forcefully drag him back to at least mentioning (the existence of) the Ledgers and the other absolute necessities for an Accounting System.

With that part over, he started to explain to me how the Eyesel Business Suite is structured. His initial mention of the “core” functions of the product would have led me to think it was just another accounting package, except it became immediately obvious that, to him, the “core” part of the system is not the “Financials”, but rather the synergy generated between the Financials, Inventory, Sales & Distribution, and Retail components.

That core, indeed, is the basis on which ISL can then proceed to REALLY provide bespoke customised add ons to fit your internal business processes. The modular and scalable nature of Eyesel allows you to take this solution wherever you want it to go.

DiDactic Programmes for Primary & seconDary stuDents Mediterraneo Marine Park, has launched specific educational programmes based on four animal areas: Reptiles, Parrots, Sea Lions and Dolphins.

team BuilDing Days

Ideal for Corporate Companies/Organisations wishing to have their personnel teams indulge on a relaxing and fun outing.

For enquires please email your requests on: info@mediterraneopark.com or reservations@mediteraneopark.com

Bahar ic-Caghaq, Malta | +356 2137 2218 | +356 2137 6519 | info@mediterraneopark.com | www.mediterraneopark.com

48 The Executive

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www.the-executive.biz

The Executive 1

Bure Mediterranean Taste

Host your business lunch daily with a choice of table d’hôte or à la carte.

Hotel Phoenicia, The Mall Floriana Tel: (+356) 2122 5241 dine@phoeniciamalta.com www.phoeniciamalta.com