BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Entrepreneurship: Are you ready to take the Plunge?
Achieve Rapid Growth in Slow Growing Markets Realize your fullest potential
Minority Shareholders: Are they in the dance? The Battle of the Brands
Sherrard Spiers
eading L with Purpose
Energetic, Passionate, Positive.
Plus Contributions by
Mr. Ronald deC Harford - Chairman, Republic Bank Limited 18 Ways to Achieve Success Mrs. Arvinder Bharath - President & Country Manager (Trinidad and Tobago), RBTT A New Era of Banking
Executive Director & Professor of Strategy
Prof. Miguel Carrillo
Welcome Message
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Sherrard Spiers:
Leading with PPurpose rpo e h : Strong Leadership
What does it look like?
A New Era
of Banking
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How to Achieve Rapid Growth in Slow Growing Markets
content:
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11. Committed to the Caribbean 13. Entrepreneurship: Are you ready to take the plunge? 14. Growth - The Caribbean Challenge 16. Corporate Social Responsibility in T&T 18. Holistic Environmental Sustainability 20. 21. 22. 24. 26. 29. 30. 0 33. 34. 4. 36. 39. 40. 42. 2 43. 3
Corporate Scandals and Ethics Celebrating Success with a Global Network of Cluster Practitioners Bringing the World to Carnival Impact of Tax Administration in the economy of T&T 18 Ways to achieve Success Human Resources - Our Greatest Resources Minority Shareholders - Are they in the dance? Women in Leadership - Traits and Challenges Marcus Buckingham at Lok Jack GSB’s DLIC 2013 Human Development as a key to sustainability Choosing the right Recruitment Website Women and Leadership School Events - (Photo Collage) Helping Businesses Go Global
45.. 46. 47. 48. 50. 51.
1st Reunion & Cocktails - (Photo Collage) Launch of Mentorship Programme 2012 -13 (Photo Collage) Personal Development The Battle of the Brands The Challenges facing the Health System Essentials for a Successful Business Website
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Message from the Executive Director On behalf of the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, I want to say thank you to our alumni and friends of the Lok Jack GSB in the creation of our inaugural iAlum Magazine. This magazine is dedicated to our esteemed alumni and celebrates their success. The magazine also pays tribute to our stakeholders, that continue to play a pivotal role in the development of our programmes and ensure that we remain relevant in today’s business world. In this issue, we feature articles from Mr. Ronald Harford - Chairman of Republic Bank Limited and Board Member of the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, Mrs. Arvinder Bharath - President and Country Manager RBTT (Trinidad) Ltd, along with articles from Faculty Members and the alumni body. As a thought leader in the Caribbean, we hope that these articles continue to expand your knowledge of what are issues facing the business community today. Our Alumni Relations Centre team, Fayola Nicholas – Director of HR, Advancement & Alumni Relations and Kavita Kissoon – Alumni Relations Officer, work hard to engage, educate and reconnect with you through activities, such as the Distinguished Alumni Series, CEOs Back to School and the recently launched Annual Reunion & Cocktails. We continue to evaluate and update our events and programs for our alumni and we look forward to your feedback for improved service in the upcoming year I thank you for your continued support of your alma mater and remain committed to our purpose of educating extraordinary innovative leaders who positively reshape business and society, while constantly challenging the status quo of human development. Professor Miguel Carrillo, Ph D Executive Director & Professor of Strategy Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business
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Leading with
urpose P Meet Sherrard Spiers By the Alumni Relations Centre, Lok Jack GSB If ever three words could describe a person, Sherrard Spiers would be “Energetic, Passionate, Positive”. Sherrard lives in Trinidad with his wife and two children. He constantly reminds himself to keep things simple as he believes that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. Sherrard is a specialist in Sales and Marketing with over 20 years’ experience spanning across several large international and regional manufacturing and distribution companies and start-up companies in the Caribbean and the United States. He has worked with companies like Home Depot Inc., Solo Beverages Limited, Federal Express, The Ansa McAl Group of Companies, Hand Arnold (Trinidad) Limited and Kimberly-Clark Corporation. Currently a PhD candidate at UWI, St. Augustine, Sherrard also holds a Masters in Philosophy (M. Phil) (2011) from UWI, St. Augustine and an Executive Masters of Business Administration (EMBA) (2002) from the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business. Prior to this, he gained Associate of Arts (1995) from London Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Kent, London, UK and a Diploma in Personnel Management (1987) from the Miami-Dade Community College, Miami, USA as well as an Associate of Arts (1985) from the Miami-Dade Community College, Miami, USA. For over 10 years, Sherrard has been an entrepreneur. He is also the co-founder of a retail life-style and clothing company based in Trinidad and is also the 4
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founder, Managing Director and Managing-Partner of a medium-sized company that primarily services the oil and gas sector in Trinidad & Tobago and is an Adjunct Faculty Member and a Part-time Lecturer in Marketing, Management and Sales Management at both The University of The West Indies School of Business and Applied Studies, The University of New Brunswick and The Cave Hill Business School.
7. What is your favourite type of music and why? Elton John & Bob. They never get old. 8. If you had to compare your life to a movie, which would it be and why? Well it won’t be CNN, Cops and The First 48. It’s likely to be a Lifetime Movie maybe a show called “Letters to God”. Lisa-Marie, Shane and I have had challenges. If you want to understand take a look at this show. 9. What is your pet peeve? People who take advantage of others. 10. When you were a child/teenager - how did you imagine spending your life? What a question. Being rich by the time you are 35 of course. Doesn’t everyone.
e Sherrard is passionate about the environment and is a member of the NGO, Save Balandra. The Save Balandra is an NGO actively pursuing to reduce carbon footprint in the beach front of the North-east of Trinidad and Tobago. The NGO also works in protecting local rivers, forest from being polluted by inappropriate usage. We asked Sherrard to share a bit more about himself and here’s what he had to say: 1. What is the first thing you do every morning when you wake up? That’s simple. One cup of Nescafe. 2. What is a typical day like? I drop the kids to school. Then the day starts. Sales is my life, and the life of most organisations so this is where my focus lies every day, every hour, every minute. Even though it may not appear that I am selling at all times, my every action goes to improving our product and offering to our customers and improving our bottom line which, inevitably, aims to increase sales. 3. What is a typical weekend like? Simple. I spend every weekend at the Beach (and if not, talking about it).
11. Greatest Work Related Challenge. Capital. We are taught everything in business studies in school. Math, English, Accounting, Marketing, Business Law, and so on. But no one, nowhere, no how teaches us where to find capital, the backbone of any business. We go to school and university but it’s the one thing that is not taught. Fortunately I learnt this at The University of Amina. Amina was my grandmother and I lived with her and she taught me how to build capital so when you need it, you have it. So in the beginning I did many things to earn capital. I started by cutting lawns on July/August vacations to selling “Hops and Stew Beef” sandwiches on Tragarete Road. And once sufficient capital was realised it led to then investing in importing clothing to investing in retailing and so on. But yes, no one teaches you about capital. Oh, Amina also believed you had to be frugal to save and build capital. 12. Greatest Personal Challenge & How You Cope / Learn to Improve. Look at the movie - “Letters to God”. I am inspired by my son, Scott, an extraordinary six-year-old boy who was only armed with the courage of his faith, friends and community as he daily battled against cancer with bravery and grace. 13. What are some of your Recreational Activities / Passions,and why? No secret here. I am passionate about two things. My wife and My family. How would you say that you LIVE (work/personal) the Purpose of the Lok Jack GSB? Innovation and Action are two watch words of The Lok Jack GSB. Nothing could be truer, for in today’s business environment you daily have to innovate and act or you will be out of business because of your inaction.
4. What is your favourite quote and why? Things could always be worse. People always complain about how bad they have it even though they don’t know how good they do. 5. Who is your hero/heroine and why? Lisa-Marie. My best friend who I met 23 years ago. We have been through a lot together and this makes it so easy to now do everything together. 6. What type of movies do you like and why? I do not like movies. I love CNN, Cops and The First 48.
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STRONG
LEADERSHIP
?
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE By Dr. Kamla Mungal
The cry for leadership is echoed in the all areas of social life. What behaviours would be considered reflective of the strong leadership that we request so vociferously? There are many, often contradictory, views and perspectives with respect to what constitutes good leadership and as such, the concept has been interpreted in many different ways. In the world of business, financial performance is often considered a main indicator of leadership. Others argue that dimensions of organisational performance including impact, transformation, relevance and sustainability are more important and indicative of the leadership we seek. In the sphere of public life, popular opinion and firm adherence to commitments and decisions are considered suitable measures of leadership performance. Understanding leadership and its development is increasingly important in a world where stressors such as the financial meltdown, unethical practices, terrorism and diseases are prevalent. In Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean, the challenges of the sustainable development of small states add another layer of complexity to the leadership call. How do we develop leaders who can transcend divides and address issues by actively considering, at the same time, globalisation and localisation demands, the individual and the state, private and public concerns and the need for co-operative and competitive mindsets? What theories of leadership will guide us to attain the result we seek? Early theories of leadership have focused
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on the traits of the leader in a heroic role. In the evolution of leadership thought, emphasis was placed on the organisation, and specifically, on the capacity of the leader for transformation. In the last decade, authentic leadership, espoused by proponents such as Bruce Avolio and William Gardner of the Gallup Institute, has been advocated as a theory of leadership that is positive and inspiring; con tributing to the sustainable well-being of leaders and followers. In this model, selftranscendent and other-directed values such as social justice, honesty, gratitude and appreciation are paramount (Mitchie and Gooty, 2005). Leadership that is unwavering in its fundamental moral principles, rather than its decision stance, is considered authentic. What are the indicators of a moral and authentic leadership? These leaders are seen to work hard to build enduring rela
tionships based on morality and shared values. They lead with purpose and their actions reflect equity, spirituality and selfawareness. There is a high degree of alignment between the leader’s thoughts and feelings and her actions; the outer self is reflective of the inner self. Their organisations achieve veritable and sus-
tained performance as others are affected by their positive emotions through contagion. People are motivated and inspired by the leader. The language of negativity is replaced by positive personal and organizational credo.
People are moti“vated and inspired by the leader. ”
The advance of democracy, knowledge empowerment and demand for accountability in increasingly open, transparent systems demands leadership behaviours that are firmly rooted in fundamental human principles and consistently reflected in the leader’s sustainable growth and increasing alignment of inner values and outer behaviours. This is not political rhetoric, organisational jargon or unattainable perfection. Indeed, authentic and other positive forms of leadership are evident in our society and have always been present, demonstrated in the lives of great leaders such as Gandhi and Mandela as well as many others who are not recognisable to the wider public. The philosophy of Leading From Above the Line© that has been adopted to guide the work of the Leadership Institute at the Lok Jack GSB is premised on leadership behaviours and actions based on morality and authenticity. Leadership development is attained through one’s increasing understanding of and commitment to principle consciousness, purpose, emo-
tional mastery, understanding change and knowledge empowerment. This model of authentic, principled leadership is expected to produce new leader behaviours and actions that will build a more humane society and yield the organisational results we seek.
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A new era
of Banking by Mrs. Arvinder Bharath The President and Country Head (Trinidad and Tobago), RBTT
In certain respects Trinidad and Tobago’s banking sector is ahead of the curve in the current environment. Our sector is extremely competitive in terms of its strength and stability. In its most recent Global Competitiveness Report, the World Economic Forum ranked Trinidad and Tobago 34th out of 144 countries in “soundness of the banks,” placing us ahead of many developed and emerging nations. During the financial crisis local banks reported minimal direct exposure and remained comparatively stable. This is a pivotal time for the banking sector – not just in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, but worldwide. As markets engage in the slow and fitful recovery from the global financial crisis, we have been forced to recognise the enormous importance of the sector and its capability for good or ill. Banking has an essential role in economic recovery and with this comes a responsibility for proper corporate governance, strategic and safe practices, and a broader vision for growth within local and regional markets. Because of slow growth, now more than ever, nations must rely on their financial systems to properly allocate savings to entrepreneurial and investment activities that can generate the best possible return. Banks must be transparent and trustworthy and they must have the necessary ingredients in terms of resources, practices, technology and products to spur productivity by encouraging business investment. 8
In addition, interest rates are more competitive than they have been in some years. Our banking system is liquid and there is increased competition within commercial banking, which brings with it innovation and opportunity for investment. In total there are eight commercial banks operating locally with well over 100 branches and 200 ATMs offering an ever-increasing array of services such as telephone banking, Internet banking and innovative financial products. All of these characteristics contribute to an excellent climate for investment and private sector-driven growth. At RBC Royal Bank we understand these economic priorities of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean and have from consistently concentrated our efforts on improving the banking sector in terms of both its strength and efficiency, and creating an enabling environment for business and investment. In 2008, the Royal Bank of Canada ac-
quired the RBTT Financial Group, creating one of the Caribbean’s most extensive banking networks. Our agenda was to introduce positive transformational practices to the market, especially in our relationship with our clients, as well as in the way we meet our obligations to regulatory authorities, both locally and internationally. We brought the highest international standards and combined them with RBTT’s intimate knowledge of the market and its 100 year legacy as a leading bank. In December of last year we unveiled our new Operations and Service Delivery Centre in Port of Spain which serves Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and the Dutch Caribbean. The Centre provides modern client support services that can dramatically increase the convenience and ease of doing business with RBC Royal Bank. In addition, earlier this year RBC signed a major amortising bond issue with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) specifically to bolster regional development and stimulate economic growth. The banking sector must be an enabler for productivity in the current environment and I would expect that in 2013 and beyond banking institutions in Trinidad and Tobago will do their utmost to encourage the private sector to invest or become involved in entrepreneurial activities by making it more attractive to do so. This will of course have to be balanced against sound risk management and adherence to regulations and proper corporate governance.
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How to Achieve Rapid Growth in Slow Grow Markets By Hilary Bengochea
It never ceases to amaze me when things come together and fit snugly in your mind like pieces of a puzzle as if the hand of God is at work. One such moment arrived when I was asked to write this article. I started to think of what was the immediate pressing marketing need of my clients and came up with a real brain twister. How to achieve rapid growth in slow growing markets with an explosion of competitors and competitive products?
And now the 99 percent perspiration: To do this, our solution must include market research through engagement with the customer with meaningful conversations and mind dazzling creativity and innovation in the product line.
This isn’t as impossible as it may sound, since Apple, Google and Samsung have all done just that. China, India, Brazil and Russia are also doing the same at a country level. So I set about thinking of a response to my clients’ challenge.
analysis is “stillQuantitative very relevant but the
Then while browsing the bookshops looking for activity books for my granddaughters during their August vacation, the book appeared. It read boldly, Word of Mouth Marketing, by Andy Sernovitz with foreword by Seth Godin and afterword by Guy Kawasaki, all modern day marketing gurus.
Today, true market research can only take place through engagement with meaningful conversations. As Apple founder Steve Jobs used to quip, how can we ask a customer what she wants when she doesn’t even know what she can get? It is only through conversations with the customer that we can learn of her life, her way of thinking, her daily challenges and use this information to create innovative solutions.
It was then the leap of intuition occurred as my right brain synapses fired off the thought, Eureka, that’s it! Now as with all solutions, as my Chemistry teacher in St Mary’s College, Fr. Galt, always reminded me, “It is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration”. So I set off down the rabbit hole like Alice in Wonderland to slay the dragon. First, the one percent inspiration: My response to the problem is marketing solu-
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tions at the level of the customer, no lofty concepts at 30,000 ft above sea level, but marketing solutions at the point of purchase. And this is where the Word of Mouth Marketing comes in, it is immediately effective and cost conscious.
real insights come through qualitative research in the form of conversations.
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Quantitative analysis is still very relevant but the real insights come through qualitative research in the form of conversations. And to do this we must turn to meaningful conversations between the entire staff and customers, through wordof-mouth and amplified word-of-mouth, social media. This would require every member of staff to be trained in customer
service, not just to speak to customers politely but also to engage the customer in conversations and to listen and capture the in information within the organisation. Having gathered meaningful information from staff, the marketing strategists must then not so much analyse it, but synthesize it into creative and innovative value added solutions (right brain stuff), and integrate the many strands of conversations into one coherent strategy. In essence, this strategy must involve catering to the “The Long Tail” (see the book by Chris Anderson) offering far more diversity and depth in product lines and in so doing, becoming an elastic company that can grow rapidly (as described in the book The Elastic Enterprise by Nicholas Vitalar). This can be achieved through creating network ecosystems of freely collaborating third parties who offer their products through your business. Having created such a long product line, you can then communicate them to potential customers through Word of Mouth Marketing and Affiliate Marketing, converting customers to advocates. All of this is exciting stuff and in many ways ushers in a new marketing revolution, as I introduced at my Arthur Lok Jack Distinguished Alumni Lecture and I will explore in this column in a series of upcoming articles, thereby offering a solution to achieve rapid growth in a slow growing market.
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Commitment to and confidence in local and regional market development is the hallmark strategy of Guardian Holdings Ltd. (GHL) the Caribbean region’s leading insurance and financial services Group. Through investment in its core businesses, in its major home markets, including the English and Dutch Caribbean, GHL has demonstrated tangibly, its focus on competitive returns and sustainable income to its shareholders. With its new vision and business focus GHL is now aggressively seeking out the growth opportunities which exist within its home markets, and which fit its business model. Within the last quarter of 2012, GHL announced the acquisition of Globe Insurance Company of Jamaica and through its Dutch subsidiary, Fatum Holding N.V., subject to regulatory approval in the Dutch Antilles, GHL will also acquire 100% of Royal and Sun Alliance (Antilles) N.V., a major general insurance company operating in the Dutch Caribbean.
(l-r) Larry Olton, Group VP Integrated Marketing Communications, Eric Hosin, President GLL, Karen Bhoorasingh, President WIA, Jeffrey Mack, CEO Guardian Holding Limited.
for 2012 is expected to be derived from its Jamaican business interests, which now include Globe Insurance Company, West Indies Alliance, Guardian Life Limited, and other strategic investments including Beaches Boscobel Hotel in Ocho Rios. GHL also takes its role as a corporate citizen very seriously. Over the years, the Group has consistently supported sport, education, health and wellness and the environment, across all of the Caribbean. On November 22nd, GHL subsidiary Guardian Life of the Caribbean, officially launched its exclusive partnership with the Pink Hibiscus Breast Health Specialists. The centre focuses on the early detection and prevention (l-r) Alejandro Nino di Royal & Sun Alliance (Antilles) – Steven Martina di FATUM in women, of breast cancer and is – Lionel ‘Chicu’ Capriles di Maduro & Curiel’s Bank. Photo credits FATUM/CE the only and most technologically advanced breast health diagnostic centre in The Group’s Jamaican activity is a good the Caribbean. This partnership is testimony to reflection of its commitment to the region. GHL’s new Corporate Social Responsibility Over the last 18 months GHL has invested a positioning of preventative health and wellness total of US$53 Million dollars in the Jamaican through education and financial support. economy. Fully 20% of GHL revenue and profits
In 2012 GHL undertook a Group-wide initiative that highlighted its staff’s spirit of giving and serving others, one of the core values of the Group. Over the holiday season, the staff brought joy and good cheer to hundreds of disadvantaged and underprivileged children across the Caribbean by adopting the internationally known “Shoebox Project”.Through subsidiaries in Aruba, Barbados, Jamaica, Bonaire, Curacao, Jamaica, St. Maarten, and Trinidad & Tobago, our Guardians presented over 1100 boys and girls with ‘shoeboxes’ filled with delightful gifts to lift their spirits. According to Group CEO Jeff Mack, “We got together as ONE TEAM, ONE GROUP to fill shoeboxes with gift items for needy children. Collectively, we can make a positive difference in the lives of those less fortunate. Our contribution to the economy and people of the Caribbean region is holistic, as we believe that strong communities lead to strong and sustainable businesses. ”
(l-r) Ravi Tewari, President of Guardian Life of the Caribbean, Lorraine Kam, CEO Pink Hibiscus, Gervias Warner, Chairman Pink Hibiscus, Rajen Rampaul ( to the back partly hidden), Rachel Laquis Director Pink Hibiscus, Arthur Lok Jack, Chairman GHL and Greg Mannette, Executive Agent, GLOC
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ENTREPRENEURSHIP:
ARE YOU READY TO TAKE THE PLUNGE? by Jhoewuel C.S. Kangalee BA, IMBA
A few years ago, when I thought of an MBA, I perceived it to be the sole preserve of the senior manager. As far as I was concerned, achieving this qualification was undoubtedly the best way to climb the proverbial corporate ladder and it was with this mindset that I started the International MBA. Adding those three letters after my name, I thought, was indeed the best way to make myself more employable and achieve both job satisfaction and financial security. A careful observation of the education landscape and the state of the job market today, has caused me to reconsider my take on the importance and purpose of the MBA. It is obvious that today, the motivation for many people to do an MBA has changed. The working world and corporate life on the whole has become stressful, limiting and uncertain. The possession of postgraduate qualifications, including an MBA, is no longer a guarantee that a managerial position awaits. No longer are graduates depending on the corporate world to provide them with job security. The allure of becoming an entrepreneur is now stronger than ever before and as a direct consequence, tertiary level educational institutes are responding by offering MBA programmes that focus on entrepreneurship. The Association of Business Schools in the United Kingdom reported that “for years, the focus for many MBA students has been banking, finance and consulting, but this is shifting. Entrepreneurship may be the trend of the future.” Admittedly, there are many days when the office just gets too crazy and you wish that you were doing something else, something that would offer a greater level of independence, less stress and more satisfaction. This ‘mental venting’ is sometimes just how I cope with the workload and how I stop short of pulling
my hair out on the frustrating days. For other people however, it is exactly these kinds of situations that will catapult them into entrepreneurship. Here are five signs that you may indeed be ready to start your own business: 1. You spend a lot of time thinking about what life would be like if you owned your own company, instead of working hard to ensure the success of the company that you currently work for. 2. You are willing to lower your standard of living for a while, by taking fewer or no vacations and cutting back on nonessentials while trying to get your business off the ground. 3. You have had the idea in your mind for many months or even years, and perhaps even jotted down some ideas in a notebook (or two).
may be more disappointed by the things that you failed to do, rather than the things that you did do. I only have two bits of advice for you. The first is to pursue a formal course in Entrepreneurship Education, as it will teach you the fundamentals of starting and sustaining a successful business. The second? Follow the instruction of Mark Twain. “Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Jhoewuel possesses a Degree in International Business Administration and an IMBA in International Marketing. She sometimes tinkers with the idea of becoming an entrepreneur herself.
4. You have tried to stick to the nine to five routine, but truly believe that the only way to achieve real happiness is to pursue your own business. 5. You want to be your own boss, not because you hate your job or because you want more money or free time, but because you have the passion for it and see it as your calling in life. The world’s most successful entrepreneurs all possess common characteristics: persistence, grit and courage. They are usually the ones to believe in a particular path, even when the odds seem stacked against them and they have no qualms in picking up the pieces and starting over again if they don’t succeed. President Obama recently acknowledged the contribution of hardworking entrepreneurs to the development of the American economy by describing them as “the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things…men and women…who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.” Don’t let job security or fear prevent you from following your dream, otherwise you BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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Growth: the
Caribbean Challenge Miguel Carrillo, Executive Director, Arthur Lok Jack School of Business, UWI, St Augustine
Growth is the ultimate output of any successful strategy, whether in the realm of nature or business. The evolution of species is the result of successful adaptation of environmental or contextual changes. Darwin clearly identifies 4 stages in the process of evolution: variation, selection, retention, and replication. The last stage, replication, implies the growth in numbers of a particular species. It generally implies conquering new spaces and positions in the food chain over time. A similar phenomenon happens for nations and business. In terms of growth, firms shall ask the following questions: • • • • •
A) How to grow? B) How to keep growing? C) How to accelerate growth? D) How to make it sustainable? E) How to make it profitable?
It is indeed quite difficult to make a case against growth. Firms that do not grow and are comfortable with its current position usually are setting themselves up for failure. Firms that lack growth initiatives or are not actually designing and/or deploying growth engines most likely have a depressing organizational atmosphere, where employees feel stagnated and there is an important misalignment between the organization and the market. Markets are always dynamic, and firms must mimic and anticipate the evolution of markets and even ignite a revolution in consumer behavior. Firms without an active portfolio of growth initiatives tend not to have a fundamental sophistication of business practices and a risk adverse profile.
The Growth Imperative CARICOM economies have are suffering a growth crisis. Growth expectations in the vast majority of Caribbean nations 14
are between 1% and 2%. The expected outliers are Suriname, Guyana, and Haiti. Although many explanations and excuses can be proposed, the reality is that neither governments nor the private sector have a clear idea of how to ignite growth in a sustainable fashion in our region.
“
Growth is the oxygen of the blood of business.”
It is important to point out that lack of growth usually implies the presence of a declining pattern. As well, it is critical to balance top line and bottom line growth. Growth is the oxygen of the blood of business. Sustainable and profitable growth patterns are a reflection of the management’s deep understanding of markets and the competitive landscape, and are able to attract, develop and retain the best talent even at a global scale.
of growth achieved through acquisition and b) a more risk adverse approach towards growth. New growth implies a very different approach towards uncertainty, ambiguity and risk. It usually needs a more aggressive profile in terms of decision making, aspirations and overall impact in the organizations. New growth has two fundamental pillars: Internationalization and Innovation. It usually uses a more complex and sophisticated portfolio of management and organizational capabilities, since it implies the constant creation, renewal, and destruction of competitive advantages. Figure I depict some of the most usual vehicles used in pursuing growth. Every growth combination (i.e. Old/Organic or New/Inorganic) presents its own particular challenges. It is difficult to state which is a better or more difficult growth strategy, since it depends on a lot of factors.
How to grow? Deliberate growth strategies are always challenging to craft. There is a general typology of growth: organic and inorganic. However, I propose the use of a different growth typology: new growth and old growth. Old growth basically implies to do the same but better. Serve the same markets with the same products with increased productivity. Usually implies leveraging the current resources and capabilities of firms, and being very efficient in exploiting its resource base. Old growth as well usually implies: a) incremental improvements of top and bottom line with the exception
Old and Organic Growth This might be the most traditional and well understood growth strategy that has lower levels of risk. However, this strategy has its own challenges. Usually businesses underestimate market penetration as a
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significant growth engine and in order to excel in this strategy, it is fundamental to achieve extraordinary levels or productivity and efficiency. As well, firms pursuing this growth strategy usually differentiate themselves through cost leadership or customer service. This strategy operates usually in two extreme contexts: a) one of very intense rivalry, or b) one of a quasi-monopoly.Some issues of this strategy: Natural declining returns in the investment in productivity efforts and the potential obsolesce of value proposition due to rival’s innovation efforts.
Old and Inorganic Growth This is essentially a strategy aimed to expand in well understood and friendly territories within essentially the same sector and/or in the same value chain steps. This strategy is one of the favorites of Caribbean tycoons and entrepreneurs. It helps to “safely” occupy new geographic positions, with a very similar value proposition, without the need to significantly localize or customize the products or services offerings. It is well documented in business research the fact that more than 80% of M&A’s failed to deliver the expected results, whether financial or strategic. However, there are many success stories in the Caribbean that speak to a particular capability of regional entrepreneurs to expand in the region. Since Caribbean markets are intrinsically small, the most obvious growth engine to consider is regional expansion in similar markets. Some issues of this strategy: potential alienation of local markets and the employee based of the acquired firm and important growth limitations, since the Caribbean is a very small market not able to sustain significant growth rates over an extended time horizon.
New and Organic Growth New growth initiatives usually imply the exploration of new revenue sources based either on new business models, new markets, new products/ services or a combination of all. It usually implies the existence of sophisticated innovation and internationalization organizational capabilities able to create and deploy extraordinary value propositions that are singular, unique, different, original rare, difficult to imitate, difficult to substitute, replicable and adaptable in other locations and competitive atmospheres. The sustainability of his growth strategy lies in the ability to generate non-trivial changes in the value equation of customers in a systemic and predictable fashion. In short, these particular strategy demands the command of knowledge and expertise in innovation and internationalization trajectories. Some issues of this strategy: It takes a long period of time (Gary Hamel suggests 10 years) and significant resources to build from scratch innovation and internationalization competencies. As well, firms must be willing to learn to experiment, and to significantly increase their investment in the future while accepting failure as a natural outcome of exploring “blue ocean” markets and/or the commercialization and adoption of new products and services.
New and Inorganic Growth
the pursuit of unrelated diversification through most likely high risk vehicles, in unfamiliar markets or new technologies. It is a very complex strategy, since it implies the diversification of novel business domains using a vehicle that implies the purchase of revenue and/or a position in atmospheres of little exposure. The biggest issue of this strategy is that as business growth initiatives are located further from its core competence and expertise, the possibilities of failure increase dramatically.
Conclusion No matter your choice of growth strategies, these most likely will pose challenges to traditional business practices, organizational capabilities and structure. The vast majority of firms are designed and organized to perform, not to grow in double digits. It is crucial that top managers understand the differences between a growth and a performance driven organization. After all, one of the biggest strategic challenges of strategy is the pursuit of performance inthe absence of growth.
This article was First published in Jamaica 2012 by Mona School of Business The University of the West Indies. The Caribbean Executive Leadership Series 2012 is a joint project of the Mona School of Business, UWI, Mona and The Jamaica Institute of Financial Services, Kingston, Jamaica W.I.
This growth definitely is not for the heart fainted. It enjoys the best and the worst of both worlds. On the one hand, new inorganic growth cuts the time in the exploration and conquering of new competitive spaces. On the other, stretches the capabilities and resources of businesses to the maximum since there is the possibility to be exposed to new businesses with a completely different dynamics due to unrelated domains in products and businesses. This strategic choice implies BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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Corporate Social
Responsibility in T&T
by Loraine Reyes-Borel Does Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) really contribute to social development? For many persons the answer is likely to be a definitive, yes. Our local scenarios of businesses or corporate giving certainly paint a picture of social activities and programmes which undeniably make some positive impact to alleviate suffering or improve the lives of individuals, families, special populations such as youths, special needs children, the homeless, battered women etc. However, one may ask how do these corporate and business efforts really create a framework or set a path to real social development? Wikipedia provides some insight into the concept of social development. It identifies development as a process of social change signified by “upward ascending movement featuring greater levels of energy, efficiency, quality, productivity, complexity, comprehension, creativity, mastery, enjoyment and accomplishment”. One might be challenged to comfortably associate our local corporate giving with the realisation of social development as defined above. Upon closer inspection, our corporate giving may be more closely aligned to philanthropy. The laudable giving associated with John W. Gardner’s definition of “private giving for public good”. The local scenarios appear to be more aligned to a public relations activity and upon scrutiny may have limited or no sound links to the concept of CSR. The European Commission defines CSR as a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis. How many businesses or corporations can demonstrate the link or a nexus between their corporate giving and their being more responsible in their business operations or even the financial or market performance of their 16
organisation? The idea is that the more the social activity is related to the organisations business the more potential it has to impact the bottom line of the organisation. This potential to impact the bottom line should lead the company to invest its money in contributing to bringing about improvements in that social activity. Therefore there can be a win-win for corporations/businesses and society but it requires a more strategic approach to CSR. Therefore it’s not about the photo opportunities with the grateful recipients of goodwill. It’s about the way the organisation does its business and the management of the intended or unintended impact on society so as to foster mutual long term benefit.
“
Certainly there are critical areas of social concerns that the State may be best positioned to identify along with appropriate support systems and mechanisms to encourage follow through within the private sector.
collaboration between State and the private sector. CSR should be guided by a social development agenda for Trinidad and Tobago. Certainly there are critical areas of social concerns that the State may be best positioned to identify along with appropriate support systems and mechanisms to encourage follow through within the private sector. I am convinced that with a clearly defined national social development agenda or blueprint for ascending movement of social change, along with a robust framework to foster and support follow through with the blueprint, there is significant potential for the private sector, through its CSR activities to achieve a positive long term impact on our society. Loraine Reyes-Borel is the Executive Director of the Social Displacement Unit. She develops and coordinates the implementation of policies, projects and programmes related to the rehabilitation of street dwellers.
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Sookram and Arjoon in the Abstract: Corporate Social responsibility in the Caribbean Community: Lessons from Trinidad and Tobago, identify a number of issues that are relevant to realising a strategic approach to CSR all of which are noteworthy but I think that a key issue which relates to the social development outcomes of CSR activities/programmes is that of establishing coordination and
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HOLISTIC ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY By Dr. Jesma Mc Farlane
munity to have a cadre of people who are trained to deal with bush fires and they are on call for the duration of the fire season?
There must be a holistic approach to environmental sustainability and we have to raise our consciousness to the idea that we are an integral part of the environmental equation. We cannot take the attitude that it is another person’s problem and once we recognise the relevant area of responsibility we can pronounce on it without doing anything ourselves. There is always a current discussion on the environment whether it is forest fires, turtle habitat despoliation, pollution, slash and burn, quarrying, waste disposal, land development or a myriad of other relevant areas. It is how we as a nation treat with this that would make the difference. We have to do whatever is in our power to protect our heritage and make the environment sustainable for future generations. To quote Chief Seattle, “Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life: he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.” The conversation on environmental responsibility is almost never-ending so this article will be selective and highlight observations on a few aspects of the subject at caption. How do we feel about the yearly bush fires, which could be prevented in most cases especially if everyone recognises that our careless use of fire is the problem? What would it take for each com18
We have a penchant to continue the white painted tree trunks from our colonial past. Originally the paint might have been for fungicidal purposes but in most cases it is cosmetic. This abuse could clog the pores of some plants and may even shorten their life span.
This is a bank denuded of vegetation. Workers endanger their lives by using ladders to climb up on the bank in order to cut the vegetation, which is preventing soil erosion, from the bank. Is this another cosmetic venture or does it serve a useful purpose?
The Chaguaramas Development Authority frequently complains in the media that the majority of the waste, such as styrofoam cups, glasses and other paper related material littering the Chaguaramas landscape and of which all and sundry bemoan, come from the St. Ann’s valley, Caroni and other areas emptying into the Gulf of Paria. Who do we think is responsible for the indiscriminate dumping of this type of waste material? There are ways to raise our consciousness and educate ourselves at the same time. For example, several environmental competitions are held for schools every year and I want to suggest one that would involve families and communities. Each school would be required to identify the birds or snake or butterflies or other wildlife in their neighbourhoods. They would be provided with resource personnel for authenticity. Children are very creative and may draw on anecdotes and I am sure they would involve parents, siblings, neighbors and other interested parties in their project. It would be an opportunity for photography, art and research. In the end a publication could be made for the school libraries and for educational purposes. We have to start looking at environmental responsibility from our side and realise it is not a “them” issue but an issue to engage our attention and think carefully about our actions and contribution to the growing concern of environmental sustainability.
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Corporate Scandals and Ethics
The frequency of organisational scandals continue to drive the issues of governance and ethics to the forefront of business discussions. Last year, we learnt about scandals such as the Olympus accounting fraud, Barclay’s libor rate fixing, HSBC laundering money for Mexican drug cartels and Walmart’s bribery fiasco. These scandals suggest that despite the professional, personal and or organisational damages/costs associated with unethical behaviour, people are still willing to make decisions that are wrong. This type of behaviour then prompts one to ask - What motivates an individual towards an unethical action within the workplace? Though the answer to this question is not a simple one, there are some insights that could be offered. For our discussion, ethics will be considered within the context of business situations, activities and decisions where issues of right and wrong are contemplated. On pondering this brief discussion, hopefully, individuals will reflect on their individual ethical positions and give consideration to the importance of ethical decision making in the workplace. What drives unethical behaviour? Agency theory suggests that humans are innately opportunistic and selfserving and will therefore take action or make decisions that will serve their interests. Similarly, Ethicists argue that human beings are naturally narrowminded, self-centred thinkers and so often engage in acts that blatantly violate ethical principles. This line of reasoning suggests that when executives or officials act unethically they are driven by that naturally self-serving motive. In the cases 20
By Dr. Ron Sookram
mentioned above one can argue that the executives involved did what they did to earn more profits for their organisations but in so doing their personal interests were also realised by gaining higher compensation packages, rewards, power and prestige. In this context, unethical behaviour is explained solely by the inherent self-serving nature of man. This explanation however might be too simplistic since unethical actions are not always driven by self-interest.
Obedience to authority is a powerful factor that can determine unethical actions. It is not surprising that people are much more likely to undertake an unethical action in the workplace when instructed to do so by a superior than to choose that unethical course of action on their own. In fact, some of the major players in the Enron-era scandals pleaded that “they were just following orders” (Lehmann, 2002). Additionally, research has shown that auditors, for instance, pressured inappropriately by their superiors, are considerably more likely to accede to breaches of proper accounting protocol than are auditors not so pressured (DeZoort and Lord, 1994). What should be deduced here is that most people do not understand the great extent to which others, and especially they themselves, are susceptible to blindly following the instructions of people in positions of authority.
One of the most significant findings of Social Psychology since World War II is possibly the extent to which people’s behaviour is caused externally by situations rather than internally by their own disposition (Sabini, 2001). Susceptibility to peer pressure is one example of such external influence. Another external factor is that of social proof or the “everyone else is doing it” phenomenon. Social proof, for example, can influence executives in one company to decide that ridiculously high compensation packages is ethically justified because executives at competing companies are receiving similarly outrageous compensation and so influences managers, boards and auditors to conclude that earnings management and other forms of accounting aggression are defensible because leading companies in their industry are using them (Cunningham, 2003). The impairment of individual decision making known as “group think” may also be relevant in this situation. There is therefore a higher probability that people would undertake unethical actions in the workplace and elsewhere if colleagues are engaging in similar behaviour. In considering this discussion and the reasons why people may be inclined towards an unethical decision, individuals should carefully examine their innate and social motivations behind such negative actions in the workplace. The responsibility of ethical conduct is with the individual and so each person ought to have a clear understanding of their individual ethical compass.
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ARIMA
Other mining and quarrying Other Manufacturing Electricity and Water Transport, Storage and Communications Finance, Insurance, real estate and business services
St. Andrew
Other Agriculture, forestr & hunting Other mining and quarring Electricity and Water
Celebrating success with a global network of Cluster Practitioners -
Nariva/Mayar
Other Agriculture, forestry & hunting Petroleum and gas production Construction
15th Anniversary of the TCI Network Point Fortin
Petroleum and gas production Construction Other Manufacturing
St. Patrick
Other Agriculture, forestry & hunting Petroleum and gas production Construction
by Richard Ramsawak In the Caribbean there has been an upsurge in interest and appreciation by policy and business leaders alike of the power of industrial clusters. A cluster is a geographical agglomeration of firms, government and financial agencies, research institutions and also institutions for collaboration (IFCs), all working together for the development and growth of a particular sector or industry. The geographical concentration of businesses and other support institutions is considered natural phenomena in in the evolution of industries. Moreover this concentration frequently results in shared benefits to businesses, and can result in higher levels of competitiveness among firms participating in the cluster. Significant research continues to be undertaken to explain the process of clustering. More importantly, practitioners continue to work towards the deepening and linking of industrial clusters globally. Overview of a cluster
international forums in Latin and North America, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and Africa. These meetings are geared to bring together cluster practitioners from each region to share specific and relevant information on developments and projects relevant to each regional block. The TCI network also hosts an Annual General Meeting of its members every year. This year’s AGM marked the 15th anniversary of “TCI” and the meeting was hosted in the Basque Country in Spain. Some of the key presenters at the conference included Professor Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School, Professor Orjan Solvell, Director of the European Cluster Observatory, Flora Montealegre Painter of the Inter-American Development Bank, Jose Luis Curbelo, Managing Director, Okestra Basque Institute of Competitiveness and others. This represents a tremendous achievement and milestone for cluster practitioners, and researchers globally. It reflects the growing appreciation and importance placed on clusters, in addressing such economic development challenges as unemployment, economic stagnation, business competitiveness, and industrial deepening among firms.
Source: The Cluster Initiative Greenbook, 2003 One such network of cluster development practitioners operating throughout the globe is The Competitiveness Institute (TCI) network. The TCI network aims to promote and share information on best practices in cluster development internationally. The Institute also seeks to refine cluster development methodologies, and raise the professional standards of cluster development practitioners globally. Institutional members of TCI include such organizations as the European Cluster Observatory, Okestra-Basque Institute of Competitiveness, Spain, Institute of Competitiveness, India, Enterprise Estonia, Reg-X Danish Cluster Academy, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Desert Knowledge Australia, Korea Industrial Complex, and others. Each year the TCI network hosts
Professor Christian Ketels – Institute of Competitiveness, Harvard Business School, and President of TCI
This year we also celebrated the presentation of the first case study from the English speaking Caribbean at the Annual TCI conference. The “Energy Cluster of Trinidad and Tobago” was presented as a best practice in utilizing the cluster approach to move into downstream energy investments and attain global standards in terms of production and exports
of downstream energy products. The case study was developed by researchers from the Center of Strategy and Competitiveness at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, University of the West Indies in consultation with key stakeholders from the local energy sector. The case study represents just the first step in documenting successful clusters from the Caribbean with a view of gaining a better understanding of the way clusters develop locally. These case studies can also provide insight into strategies, which can be adopted to ensure the long-term success of cluster initiatives.
Richard Ramsawak – Deputy Director, Center for Strategy and Competitiveness, Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, UWI (Second from right)
Much more work needs to be done to promote cluster development in the Caribbean region, perhaps one of the most important lessons gained from participating at the 15th Annual TCI Conference is the fact that cluster development, at its heart is really about people. It is about motivating persons to dialogue, exchange of ideas, and eventually trust each other enough to work together. When it works well, people will be willing collaborate to solve mutual problems, innovative and sometimes compete internationally. It reflects the dual dimension of clustering, firstly the scientific, logic driven, analytical side, which seeks to diagnosis, analyze, map and evaluate clusters. And the softer people oriented side, which celebrates the dynamism, which can be achieved through collaboration and positive cooperation among people.
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Bringing the
World to
Carnival. By Dalia King - Member
Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce
There is much to commend the creation of a tourist and business industry centred on carnival. However, there are many sceptics whose doubts run a gamut from questioning the value proposition of the infrastructural costs associated with seasonal tourism, to probing the method by which we will effectively sell our cultural wares to the world, and on to the damning critique of whether we currently have ‘mas’ worthy of sale. Critics of today’s carnival point to the increasing lack of artistry involved in costume-making and the loss of traditional mas characters as evidence that our carnival has lost its soul. These critics may also hold little hope for the return of the carnival of yesteryear, as the numbers of mas-playing participants and profit-making enterprises who ‘like it so’ seem greater than the numbers of spectators who wish for more.
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If a utopian carnival can be described as a festival which caters both to those who welcome the joyful street party of modern-day mas and those who value the traditional artistic details, a way to create such a utopia could be to further commercialise carnival. This may seem counter-intuitive but it can be achieved by actively drawing “creative tourists” to our shores. Creative tourists seek immersive, participative travel experiences, where they connect to a place and its people via interactive learning in the arts, heritage or unique character of their destination. In T&T, we have wire bending and costumemaking, leather and wood craftsmanship. We have stick fighting, pan playing, limbo dancing and tassa drumming. We are rich in possibilities for the provision of a participative travel experience. However, for the tourist to have such a
travel experience, we must first restore and cultivate that which is dying. There will need for recruitment drives dedicated to finding those who can teach these skills as well as those who wish to learn them. The development of a labour force with these skill sets will have benefit beyond that of catering to the desires of a tourist base. Just as importantly, however, the increased presence of these skilled artists and the knowledge that their work is in demand and appreciated by others, will help to grow pride in our local culture so that the average citizen sees value in what they may have previously taken for granted. This pride could then flow into an increased trust and willingness within the private sector, to invest in and cultivate local enterprises surrounding the business of carnival.
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The Impact of Tax Administration in the Economy of Trinidad & Tobago by Nadira Lyder The global economy has been experiencing real turbulence for more than five years, from the United States subprime mortgage crisis to the Europeon sovereign debt crisis and more recently to its current economic policy making challenges and the uncertainty of the United States “fiscal cliff�, resulting in sluggish growth and an extremely fragile financial system. Optimistically, if these crisis risks and financial conditions improve, the world can see a somewhat stronger growth in 2013. According to latest update by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Economic Outlook, growth is expected to remain about 2.75 percent to 3.5 percent in 2013 for the Caribbean Region. Constraining factors leading towards this projection are based on high public debt, remittances and weak economic output, such as in the area of tourism. Consequently, Trinidad and Tobago is not immune to the constant changes taking place in the international economic and financial environment. The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago is forecasting a 2.5 percent growth for 2013, this is encouraging given that the financial sector remains resilient, the Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) issue has been resolved and the industrial strikes have also tempered down, resulting in increased activity, particularly, from the non-energy sector. It is within this economic situation that the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is being challenged with ever-increasing recurrent expenditure, in the form of transfers and subsidies and decreasing tax revenues, to name a few, ensuing in deficit budgets over the last four years and projecting for the next three years or so.
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In this regard, it has become critical for the Ministry of Finance and the Economy, Inland Revenue Division to continue to vigorously focus on providing greater efficiency and effectiveness in the administration of tax services, which would result in quality customer service to its stakeholders and more importantly, an overall increase in revenue collections, thus empowering the economy. In order to accomplish these objectives, the Inland Revenue Division is in dire need of reform. Many developing countries such as Guyana, Barbados and Jamaica have already embarked on its transformational agenda through the implementation of Revenue Authorities (RAs). Even though there were numerous attempts in the past to reform the Inland Revenue Division, with the last being in 2009, the Division has been making significant improvements in addressing some of its challenges, inclusive of but not limited to, long processing time of tax returns, low productivity, inadequate management capability, accountability and transparency, increase transaction costs and stakeholders dissatisfaction . A Management Information Systems (MIS) was one of the key component recognised as an integral tool to be used in the operational improvement of Tax Administrations. In 2008, the Division embarked on a project to implement Gentax on a phase basis, a fully Intergrated Tax Processing System (ITPS), which was designed to support multiple tax types with associated business processes and the taxpayer. Gentax was successfully implemented in the Division’s four Regional Offices, Port of Spain, Arima, San Fernando and Scarborough, which provided enhanced processing capabilities and quicker access to information.
The Division continued the drive to improve on its service offering and as at October 2012, it has decentralised its tax payment services to eleven (11) District Revenue Offices. This initiative allows taxpayers the convenience of accessing tax payment services at both the Regional Offices and District Revenue Offices throughout Trinidad and Tobago. In addition, the ITPS is now interfacing with multiple information sources to harmonise data, conduct trend analysis and business intelligence so as to facilitate effective monitoring of taxpayers, resulting in increased compliance, enforcement efforts, and better utilization of resources. Given that the Divison has significantly progressed in terms of its realignment strategies (technology, people, processes and performance) in bridging the gaps and maximising organisation efficiency, it has now paved the way for the introduction of e-services, such as e-filing and e-invoicing. This will ultimately result in the improvement of the Tax Administration while aligning it to international best practices. However, this would require technical upgrades to the current ITPS, supported by a legislative framework. In conclusion, one can deduced that an effective Tax Administration can impact both directly and indirectly on the national economy. Whilst there are on-going technological improvements under the civil service model, which addresses only one aspect of the overall strategic framework, the successfull implementation of this critical pending reform of the Inland Revenue Division will depend heavily on its leadership team and the policy maker, the Government
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18 Ways to
Achieve Success By Fayola Nicholas - Director of HR, Advancement & Alumni Relations Lok Jack GSB
Mr. Ronald deC Harford sat with the Director of Alumni Relations, Fayola Nicholas to talk about his experience and insights, with a good bit of Caribbean storytelling, about what is required to achieve success and be a good leader. As we started our conversation, Mr. Harford handed me a list that he created entitled “18 Ways to Achieve Success”. With a welcoming smile and jovial spirit he began sharing his heart warming stories of his lessons learnt on his journey throughout the years as a leader in the Banking industry. 1. Believe in yourself: “You must have belief in yourself or you can’t go anywhere.” 2. Wisdom comes from everywhere: “Listen to what everyone has to say, filter it, then make your own decision.” Early in his career, he was sent to manage the Rio Claro branch of the bank. He arrived and didn’t know what to do. The messenger pulled him aside and said ‘Don’t worry! I will show you how to run a bank! You take all the debits and put it on the left and you take all the credits and put it on the right.’ The person who provided wisdom to Mr. Harford is currently the Vice President of the Inter Religious Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago, Imam Haji Abzal Mohammed, and they remain good friends today. “Wisdom comes from everywhere. Always be alert!” 3. Know who knows: “You don’t have to know everything…just know who knows sometimes.” 4. Always keep the bright people around you. 5. Don’t be intellectually lazy: “Think about everything involved, and always have a back door plan because things can go wrong.” 6. Don’t run from problems: “You learn the best when you face them.” 7. Write down your plans: “Check them day by day, week by week, to see what you have accomplished and what still needs to be done.” This pearl of wisdom is not just said, but practiced, as Mr. Harford showed me his list of plans, lying in a place of prominence on his desk. It is a photocopy of the original handwritten list written in 1997. Its edges are frayed and worn down from years of being held and reviewed. A line was drawn through each item and a tick placed to the left of it. He smiled as he shared that this list had been sitting on his desk since 1997. “There is one item that still has to be done, and it will remain on my desk until I’ve completed all my plans.” 8. Accept hard work: “The harder you work, the luckier you become. Don’t sit down and expect luck to fall into your lap.” 9. Be passionate about what you do…let it be a work of art. 10. Pick your battles carefully: “Most things don’t matter, but what does… you fight for that.” 11. Seek to have a healthy balance between your personal and professional life: “It is all that really matters in the end – your family and a few good friends. Invest heavily in that.” 26
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12.
13.
14. 15. 16.
17. 18.
When asked if the weight of the responsibility of leadership has had negative effects in other areas of his life, he gave a thoughtful pause and said, “At the time I was General Manager, I would arrive at work at 6am and leave at 7pm or 8pm. There were days I didn’t sit at all and I was always on the move. It was necessary during that period, to ensure the banks position. However, I think it made my family feel excluded. I wouldn’t recommend that way of working for everyone, but this tends to happen when I become passionate and energetic to the point of excluding things. With age and retirement, I’ve been able to mitigate this.” You are nothing unless you develop the people around you to their fullest potential: ”Organisations that do not regard this as important are doomed.” Pay attention to the sufferings of others. His advice to those entering their first leadership role is to be aware of the sufferings of others and build yourself up by reading the autobiographies of great people. It is important to see what they have suffered through and achieved for the goal that they were passionate about. “My father made all of his children read ‘Les Miserables’ by Victor Hugo, to teach us empathy and compassion. Some people may have done something wrong, but don’t let that be the sole judge of them.” Failure is not the end: “In all the challenges you face, when you fall down, just get right back up.” Illegitimi non carborundum (Latin): “Don’t let the bastards grind you down!” Keep your fingers clean. Mr. Harford stressed the important of ethics and integrity in leadership. As a young man, he was sent to London for the Bank and was asked to have a chat with Frank Dolling (Group Vice-Chairman at Barclays). Upon entering he was greeted by Mr. Dolling, sitting behind a large formidable desk, dressed impeccably in a pinstripe suit with a pink carnation in his lapel, and he was picking at his finger nails. He invited Mr. Harford to have a seat and said, ‘You’re a bright young man and you have far to go in the bank. Just remember one thing - keep your fingers clean.’ Mr. Harford concedes that there were many brighter than him, but they forgot this important lesson along the way, which inevitably served to derail their careers. Have big dreams and go after them. Have a healthy perspective for the Almighty
around me.” He discussed that his work at the bank is to secure a future for his employees, the work with UWI Endowment Fund and serving as a Board Member of the Lok Jack GSB is for the future leaders of tomorrow. He showed me two quotes on the wall of his office. One of them is a classic John Ruskin quote, which he says guides him through his endeavours, and as I read it, I realised that it should be used a guide for all leaders. When we build let us think we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work that our descendants will thank us for, and let us think, as we lay stone upon stone, that a time is to come when these stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labour and wrought substance of them, “See! This our fathers did for us.” - John Ruskins Ronald deC Harford is a recipient of an Honourary Doctorate by the University of the West Indies, the Chaconia Gold Medal awarded by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for the long and meritorious service in the sphere of business. He is a Fellow of the UK Chartered Institute of Bankers, the Institute of Banking in T&T, and the Caribbean Association of Baking and Finance. He is also the Chairman of Republic Bank of T&T (Barbados) Ltd, Republic Bank (Grenada Ltd), UWI Development and Endowment Fund and several other organisations and institutions. He was honoured by the T&T Chamber of Industry & Commerce at the 2012 Hall of Fame the American Foundation of UWI for his contributions to Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, receiving the 2005 Luminary Award, and by the Institute of Banking and Finance in Trinidad and Tobago for his contributions to the growth and development of the baking industry and his focus on the skills of enhancement of the human resources therein.
As we closed, he shared his insights of the behavioural traits that a good leader should have, such as being focused, determined and unrelenting in their pursuits despite failures they may encounter along the way. The most important trait of a leader however is passion. “A good leader must do things passionately. You will be called to account for your time as a leader, and how will we know that you were here? What did you do to make a difference? My work now is not for myself, but for everyone BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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Human Resources:: Our Greatest
Resources By Audra Mitchell)
The Human Resources (HR) profession is not for the faint of heart or for anyone who believes that they should enter the field simply because they like people. When several applicants for HR vacancies were asked about their interest in this area , many replied: “Because I like dealing with people.” or “I see myself as a people person.” Their enthusiasm is certainly commendable, but it is by no means sufficient as a foothold for building a career in the field nor for creating the level of impact required.
The HR professional un“derstands that managing today requires managing employees’ expectations and motivations and no longer simply their output.
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My intention of course is not to disillusion anyone about the HR profession, but rather provide clarity and a very real perspective of modern-day Human Resources. There are a number of misconceptions which professionals will quickly dispel. These include the idea that anyone can do HR or that HR only deals with the soft side of business and therefore does not contribute to the bottom line in any significant way. The truth is that this profession has come a long way. It has undergone some changes as evidenced by the shift away from personnel management to existing instead as a strategic support function in partnership with the operational arm of the business. The transition has been gradual and has resulted from changes in both the internal and external business environments, and most importantly, changes in the workforce and their expectations and demands of organisations today. The workforce, once dominated by those defined as Industrial Workers, is now far more diverse, with the emergence of the
Knowledge Worker. The presence of the Knowledge Worker in the modern workforce signals a different type of employee – someone who is now more empowered and requires that he/she be led by a different management style and approach. The change has necessitated a paradigm shift for HR practitioners from simply managing attendance/productivity issues, to ensuring that (1) unfair and inhumane practises desist (2) that they operate decisively (3) influencing decision-makers at all levels (4) building personal credibility (5), having the courage to challenge, and most importantly, doing all this while understanding the business and being able to contribute in a meaningful manner. The HR professional understands that managing today requires managing employees’ expectations and motivations and no longer simply their output. If we are unable to engage our employees then the task becomes more difficult. Managing today’s employee is far more demanding and complex than in times past, which brings me to another myth which many HR practitioners must address: the notion that HR’s role is HR’s responsibility. The management of human resources is not the sole responsibility of the HR Manager because managing relationships is intrinsic to the role of every manager, supervisor and team leader. Line Managers and other members of management also need to understand, as Nelson Jackson once said: “We cannot do today’s jobs with yesterday’s methods and be in business tomorrow.” For too long we have been responding to the changes in the business environment without understanding and appreciating the changes in our workforce. The needs of our employees have changed and this, coupled with the drastic changes in our society, has led to the difficulty faced by some organisations in attracting and retaining the level of talent required to take
them into the future. For example, the increase in the number of female employees in the workforce, including single mothers with little or no support at home, has given rise to female employees requiring jobs that offer greater flexibility at the workplace. They also require a greater level of empathy on the part of the employer as this situation has a direct impact on the employee’s ability to reach to work on time or even her attendance record. We can no longer simply take the road of the first line of action being discipline, but rather how can we work with the employee to achieve a win/win situation that mimimises the fallout on the business but still makes him/her feel that we genuinely care.
Additionally, forward-thinking companies are moving away from treating employees as commodities and are seeing them instead as internal customers. Hence the focus is now on talent management , employee engagement and change management approaches, in an effort to stem the rise in turnover and minimise the impact on their businesses. One may question the benefit of this approach but it is proven that engaged employees go the extra mile for their companies if they believe they are valued by their organisation. The benefits for the organisation include increased productivity and morale, increased customer satisfaction (external) and loyalty, a reduction in turnover and last but not least Higher profits and profitability. There is no doubt that as the world evolves so too must our thinking and our approach to our human resources because it is no myth, they are indeed our greatest resource. BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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Minority Shareholders: Are they in the dance?
Issues relating to minority shareholders and their protection in Trinidad and Tobago.
By Gizel Thomas Roberts The term minority shareholder conjures up the image of Lilliputians being bullied and stymied by the Gulliver-like majority shareholders who mercilessly unleash all their corporate might and power on the hapless beings because they are small. Though this may be a common thought pattern among many, the truth is that minority shareholders can wield tremendous power wherever they are. FitzGerald and Muth in their 5th edition text “Shareholders Agreements” provide an apt definition of these corporate Lilliputians. A minority shareholder, they say, “is someone who is unable, either alone or with his associates, to prevent others from controlling the composition of the board of directors of a company and thereby the management of its business. The law takes the view that majority rule is desirable in principle on the basis that a difficult minority should not be allowed to frustrate the legitimate objectives of a company by pursuing its own limited interests and equally an innocent minority should not be subjected to oppressive and unfair conduct by the majority.” There must be, under the circumstances, a balancing effect. Minority shareholders are not entirely impotent. Their rights consist of the same rights that are available in a general sense to ALL shareholders. Among some of these rights are: • To make amendments to the Articles of Association. • To amend the company’s bye-laws. • To vote on major corporate events inclusive of any attempts at mergers and acquisitions, liquidation or an inevitable sale of the assets • The right upon request to inspect the company’s books and list of shareholders. • To vote on election of the company’s directors. • To take action through consent. Though minority shareholders have the rights as mentioned, they sometimes find it extremely difficult to exercise them since majority shareholders wield control over the
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company. As such, the minority shareholders do face tremendous difficulties within the body politic. Some such difficulties include, but are not limited to, the issue of majority rule, the traditional reluctance by Courts to interfere with the company’s internal affairs, managerial control usually vested in a Board whose decisions cannot be changed by the shareholder, the inability to hire employees, be signatories to cheques, make any management decisions of count or enter into any obligations for and on behalf of the company. Faced with such difficulties and the constant thought that they are of ‘nuisance value’ to the company, minority shareholders can suffer serious disillusionment in a company. Is there no balm when wrongs occur that can be deleterious? Can their rights not be protected? At first glance the answer would be a resounding no. This is because the ancient Rule in Foss v Harbottle (1843) 2 Hare 461 envisaged majority rule in this two-pronged way: • The court has no jurisdiction to interfere with the internal management of companies acting within their power. • Wrongs done to a company are prima facie to be redressed at the instance of the company. Majority rule often lead to the oppression of the minority and the courts being who they are, have intervened to protect the minority only in exceptional cases where there is fraud on the minority. Even this exception proved onerous, and for years even in Trinidad and Tobago, minority protection was stymied and appeared prima facie fatalistic. This considerable hardship on the minority led to sweeping legislative changes favouring minority protection. Therefore the common law rule in Foss v Harbottle has been supplanted by Section 240 of the Companies Act of Trinidad and Tobago (CATT) Chapter 81:01 through a derivative action provision. In Prudential Assurance Co. V. Newman (NO. 2) Ch 204,210, the Court of Appeal stated that
‘a derivative action is an exception to the elementary principle that A cannot, as a general rule, bring an action against B to recover damages or secure other relief on behalf of C for an injury done by B to C. C is the proper plaintiff because C is the party injured, and therefore, the person in whom the causes of action is vested...sometimes referred to as the rule in Foss v Harbottle.’ DERIVATIVE ACTIONS- a cure or a band-aid Section 240)(1) speaks to a derivative action being brought by certain persons with ‘leave’ (permission) of the court to enforce a right, claim or defence to which the company is entitled...this person is a complainant who can be a shareholder. The fact that there is a ‘leave requirement’ in section 240 can dissuade the minority shareholder since if he does not obtain leave there can be no action or the action is dismissed. There are conditions precedent to ‘leave’ and section 240(2) envisages the ‘giving of reasonable notice to the company’s directors by the minority shareholder, minority shareholder acting in good faith and that the action appears in the interest of the company or its subsidiary that the action be brought, prosecuted, defended or discontinued. Section 241 of the CATT sets out a number of incidental powers possessed by the court in statutory derivative actions. The Court is empowered to make any order that it thinks fit inclusive of authorising the complainant to control the conduct of the action. There are those who say that section 240 of CATT does not appear to bar derivative proceedings brought otherwise than under the statute. Derivative proceedings based on a common law right to institute such proceedings are still available. If this is the case, then it begs the question: “Where does the 500lb gorilla sit when he enters a room?” The answer: “Anywhere he wants.” The same applies to the majority (DOES SHE MEAN MINORITY HERE?) shareholder who is certainly in the dance.
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Women in Leadership -:
Traits and Challenges By Lillawatti Rastogi)
Over the ages women have naturally taken a leadership role at home and with their families. They have exhibited traits such as nurturing, empathy, organisation skills, created the term multi-tasking, managed scarce resources and generally contributed to the greater good of families and communities. In the world today, with the growing trend in the numbers of women being educated, there is an emergence of women leaders, in the areas of politics, as CEOs of top performing multinational corporations and at all levels of management in various organisations. Regionally, countries such as Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and Costa Rica all have or have had women as presidents. In the Caribbean, there are currently two women Prime Ministers. Here in Trinidad and Tobago, for the first time in our history, we have a woman Prime Minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar. Is there a difference between men and women who lead? What qualities do women leaders possess that make them different to men who are leaders? Are these qualities unique to women? And what are societies’ attitudes to women leaders? Recent research coming out of the USA on the quality of women leaders have identified some of the unique qualities which women leaders bring to the table. Women leaders tend to be demonstrate an inclusive, teambuilding, participative leadership style. They tend to be empathetic, flexible and stronger in interpersonal skills than men thus enabling them to read situations accurately. They manage with emotional intelligence. In T&T, under our current female leader, we have seen an increase in social spending, the creation of a Ministry of the People, an announcement of plans to build a children’s hospital and the creation of a Children’s Life fund. These decisions all focus on quality of life and health care and support the theory that female leaders excel at nurturing
competencies such as developing others and building relationships. This finding was also supported by a recent survey in 2011 of some 7,280 leaders from across the globe, conducted by Zenger and Folkman and reported in the Harvard Business Review blog network.
two important traits which has made her one of the most influential and successful business leaders in the world. She is a visionary, is action oriented and has the ability to inspire. These are qualities, which all aspiring female leaders should seek to develop.
Women leaders are more persuasive than male counterparts. When faced with challenges, they respond with an increased drive to prove themselves. Perhaps this may well be one of their weaknesses as they feel the need to have to always prove themselves. Women leaders are more likely to ignore rules and take risk.
In the context of T&T, where we have been conditioned to an autocratic leadership style, we as a nation need to deeply examine our attitudes towards and acceptance of female leaders. We need to question whether we judge them with colored lenses. Most important, based on current trends, is the fact that we need to prepare ourselves for more women entering into top leadership positions.
While women have excelled academically at all levels, and have leadership potential, there is still a gap between women and men occupying top leadership positions. Even though there are no studies locally that have surveyed women in leadership, from observations there are very few women CEOs in the corporate world in Trinidad and Tobago. Some of the reasons advanced for this situation are that there are well-entrenched perceptions and stereotyping about women leaders. Assertive women leaders are perceived to be aggressive, pushy and bossy while the assertive male is accepted as being a natural leader. There is an also what has been described in gender research as a “labyrinth” which women leaders have to go through to get to the top. The most obvious challenge which women in leadership face is discrimination. Women receive fewer earnings than men for equal work. They face challenges such as lack of opportunities for growth. There is also a preconceived expectation of how women should act and their placement in society.
Lillawatti Rastogi is the Director of Regional Administration South Ministry of Food production .
Is there a difference be“tween men and women
who lead? What qualities do women leaders possess that make them different to men who are leaders? Are these qualities unique to women? And what are societies’ attitudes to women leaders?
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In spite of these challenges some leaders have made it to the top. In an assessment of the leadership style of Indra Nooyi, the current CEO and chairman of PepsiCO and one of the top ranking CEOs in the world, it was noted that she possessed BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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Human Development as a Key to Sustainability By William Rajnauth)
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No company can consistently grow revenues faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth and still become a great company. [And] If a company consistently grows revenue faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth, it will not simply stagnate; it will fall. David Packard
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Human development is a critical component in the success of any organisation. It is the capacity of the people in an organisation to create the opportunities for competitiveness and sustainability which is a Darwinian imperative in the business environment. Business leaders must ensure that the organisation is equipped to adapt, innovate, anticipate and be effective which can only be achieved through people. Human development is usually focused on technical, “soft” skill development and the acquisition of undergraduate degrees and MBAs. While these programmes are essential to knowledge acquisition and serve a critical part in human development, there are other aspects which must be addressed. Too often human development is approached in an ad hoc way and lacks an overall cohesion resulting in the individual not seeing the bigger picture. The approach in the organisation should be structured and deliberate thus the alignment of organisational, departmental and individual goals must be the starting point of this process. In this context alignment must go beyond targets and key performance indicators. It should include the identification of the knowledge, skills, abilities and other attributes required to not only do their jobs and surpass targets, but to also to facilitate broader development. Development should include critical and lateral thinking skills, broadening of perspectives, leadership, physical intelligence, understanding of self and execution. With this broadened 36
view of development, it can lead to building a sound foundation upon which the academic degrees and skills training can used to add value. But what does this mean in practical terms? Are we turning businessmen and businesswomen into monks and gym buffs at the expense of business performance? The simple answer is no. The impact of holistic development supports and in fact enhances the value creation in organizational performance and delivery.
In practical terms, organisations must then facilitate development by partnering with its organisational members in various ways. Self-Awareness and Soft Skill Development – Many organisations spend time and money on skill development in areas of emotional intelligence, leadership, coaching and the list goes on. There continues however to be a gap between the knowledge acquired and the translation in behaviour. Therefore, in building organisations that support employee engagement and enabling environments, the employees have to be open to the thinking that underlies these skills. The shift that is required lies in introspection and critical self-analysis of “is my behavior creating value and producing outcomes?” The use of business coaches by companies is one such approach in creating the mental shift in what is required of leadership. This shift in approach is evident on the writings of Senge, Drucker, Jaworski to name a few and underscores the shift in leadership development. Physical Development – Engaging team members in annual physical checks, selfmonitoring of Body Mass Index (BMI) and organised testing for hypertension, diabetes and high (bad) cholesterol are
simple diagnostic approaches to getting on the wellness train. The interventions can range from discounted or subsidised gym memberships, in house gyms, organised sessions utilising the many fitness crazes on the market supported by meal management plans. Quite a few local organizations have been successful with this option and the cost is really a DVD player and procuring the fitness programme of choice. The key is that the organization is actively facilitating wellness and supporting physical development. Technical Development – Staying current in your field is incumbent on all disciplines but in many ways there is an ad hoc approach to attending seminars when you see them in the newspaper or in an email from GSB. One must start with keeping up to date through journals subscriptions both from an industry and discipline perspective. You can support knowledge sharing through institutionalized discussion groups – share the article with your team and spend 45 minutes every two weeks discussing a new article. It is then by staying current that you begin to seek out programmes, seminars and workshops on cutting edge topics. It is also through maintaining this approach that you can lobby the business schools and professional organisations to host a seminar on the current value adding topics. It is always touted that “people are our greatest asset”. Therefore in support of our greatest asset, organisations must structure the development of people in a deliberate and holistic approach. This is by no means a simple undertaking since it requires conducting effective diagnostics, determining appropriate interventions, building the buy-in, balancing development activities with deliverable action plans and not create the feeling that development is a burden. The benefits are evident through the innovation that is generated, the level of engagement and the creation of organisational and national value through the holistic development people.
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Choosing the right Recruitment Website by Garth Francis Corporate Account Manager at Caribbeanjobs.com
The recruitment process is one of the most important aspects in creating a successful organization. A company that wishes to be modern, dynamic and technologically advanced can’t ignore the advantages of online recruitment. It would be like pretending computers don’t exist and expecting staff to thrive with type writers (Readers under 30 are encouraged to Google the term). Organizations must be aware of what information they need to choose a recruitment site that will give them the best results. Asking the right questions is the key: • How many people visit the site monthly (Ask for the Google Analytics)? • Where are these site visitors from? • How large is their CV data base? • What clients does the site have? • What jobs have been successfully advertised? • How easy is it to adjust ads if necessary? • How descriptive can the ads be? • What is the process for uploading ad content and what support services are offered? Recruitment sites with high levels of site traffic are preferable. For Caribbean companies it is important that site visitors are actually from countries that they want to recruit from (An organization may want recruits from the region or from the international community). I must stress again the importance of getting these facts based on Google Analytics which can be considered the international standard.
Recruitment sites which possess an impressive CV database would also be preferable. Such sites will be able to actively invite applicants to apply for jobs which are posted online. They may also be able to offer direct access to their data base which could be a great tool for any company. A recruitment site which has provided service to hundreds of clients throughout the region would naturally be preferable to one which lacks such a track record. If the site has worked well for companies that are similar to yours then you can have a high degree of confidence. Ensure that the site can successfully advertise for the specific vacancy that you have. Whether you are looking for senior managers or entry level staff, you need to select a recruitment site that has experience in getting that type of staff. With online advertising it should be easy to make adjustments to ads and to include huge amounts of content. If a recruitment site offers the equivalent of a full page ad and allows free adjustments then you’ve made a cost effective choice. A recruitment site should offer options in terms of uploading ad content and provide support services. You may have the option of having your staff trained to have direct control over the ad posting or you can simply provide the recruitment site with the ad and have them post it. Leading sites will have ways of limiting unsuitable applicants so be sure to select site that offers such services. The right questions will lead to an informed decision that will give your company high quality applications, flexibility and greater efficiency in a cost effective manner.
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Women and
Leadership By Nassema Ali, B.Sc., IMBA There are many women who are leaders but some don’t even know they are leaders and understand their power and influence, or how they touch other people’s lives. Leadership does not only exist in the corporate world, politics and human rights, but it also exists in our homes as mothers and caregivers. If you figured out a way to get four kids to four different events on a Saturday and still pick up the dry cleaning, go to the supermarket, and make dinner for your in-laws, then you are a leader in your own right. Why? These behaviours exhibit a vision and a plan. A woman cannot lead without first having a vision, without a vision or a goal in mind there is nowhere to go and as such no one to take there. As the 45th Texas Governor the late Ann Richards said: “To be an effective leader, a woman must know what she wants and where she is taking everyone else.” The woman’s leadership qualities and assets include setting direction, being strategic and tactical; influencing others; building teams; taking risks; motivating; being likable and having emotional intelligence.
Without these characteristics one cannot lead people, however if people do not want to be led or do not share your vision you won’t be successful. This is where the other characteristics within the model become important, as one cannot manage people; you manage processes and lead people. Women leaders identify needs; they capitalise on their passion and the passion of others to address those needs, developing concrete plans for ensuring that those needs are met, and focusing on the human needs of those involved so as to ensure their commitments and cooperation when you need them most. It’s about focusing simultaneously on the goal, the tactics and the people to 40
achieve success. Women are much more influential than they give themselves credit for as they remove their egos from the equation; they pull others towards their ideas instead of pushing others into a particular direction. She knows her followers, build relationships with them and appear to be like them or at least understand them. This way those being lead are more likely to allow themselves to be influenced, accept the vision and be cooperative. This brings us to teamwork, which is what makes common people capable of achieving uncommon or extraordinary results. Women’s sense of fair play, desire to create communities of interest, ability to draw out the individual talents of others, and willingness to admit their own shortcomings all contribute to the outstanding ability to be strong team leaders. It’s a matter of recognising that your personal ambitions and the ambitions of the team are one and the same, that’s the incentive. The risks that leadership requires are particularly difficult for women, who so often suffer from the rarely fatal but always limiting “disease to please.” They want everyone to like them and think they need to do everything perfectly. However there is no such thing as a perfect leader. Leaders are imperfect human beings and by women realising this, they can become even better leaders as they become more risk inclined. Risk also includes the willingness to say difficult things, the courage to speak the unspoken. Women have far more experience at doing this and are actually better at it but women must remember that the most important thing with risk taking is to leave emotion out of it and to go in with the facts. Women are expert motivators, as the saying “Behind every great man, there’s a great woman” affirms. Women are the classic cheerleaders, helpmates, sounding boards and fans. We are natural motivators or coaches. Women leaders look for commitment as committed people go the extra mile, support
decisions made by the leader, and act in the best interest of the organisation even when no one is watching them. The way to get this done begins with the individual relationships with those upon whom you depend to get the job done. A woman’s secret weapons are likability and emotional quotients as they understand themselves and people around them. Socialised to be nurturers, caretakers and accommodators, women have learned to read subtle changes in moods, to anticipate needs of others and absent formal authority to get things done through the power of their personalities. Women score higher than men in overall measures of emotional intelligence, as well as in three of the four emotional intelligence skills: self management, social awareness, and relationship management. They score equally in selfawareness. When it comes to likeability on the other hand, likeable leaders tend to gain the cooperation and goodwill of these upon whom they depend to get the job done. Women tend to want to be liked and will do what is necessary to increase their likability such as knowing the people in their work environment names, smiling at people when they pass them in the hall, focusing and listening to others, admitting their mistakes and laughing at themselves. The qualities and assets discussed above exist in women since the beginning of time. Women lead all the time, they just don’t call it leadership, and although the leadership gap between men and women are closing minutely each year in T&T we still have a long way to go. Women need to stop ignoring their potential and sabotaging their careers and take charge of these qualities which already exist. They need to empower themselves to take charge at their work places, homes and associations they serve. Works Cited Anon., 2011. The Global Gender Gap Report, s.l.: World Economic Forum. Dr. Jean Greaves, D. T. B. L. D. S., n.d. s.l.: TalentSmart. Frankel, L. P., 2007. See Jane Lead. New York: Warner Business Books.
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DLIC 2012 with Malcolm Gladwell
We collected a Global Innovation Award from AMBA. From left, Dr. Zaffar Khan, Professor Miguel Carrillo of the Lok Jack GSB with presenter Kriss Akabusi
School Events
Gautemalan Cultural Evening
Lok Jack GSB Graduation 2013 - Class of the IMBA
Students and Alumni spend quality time together on the China Study Trip 2012
Key Alliance partners at the launch of the Commercial Business Incubator-Biz Booster in 2012
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Helping Businesses Go Global By Florence Louis-Edouard Senior Trade Specialist
The services sector produces “intangible’ goods, some well know – Government, Education, Health and some quite new – modern Communications, Information and Business Services. Relative to other sectors constituting Trinidad and Tobago’s economy, the Services sector for almost a decade has been the largest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). For the period 2001-2011, the services sector on average accounted for 53% of GDP or TT$43 billion (US$6.8 billion) in value to the gross domestic product. There are many subsectors contributing to the services economy. These include: business services (professional, computer etc.), construction, transport, communications, financial services, tourism/travel, and government operations among others. In 2011, the services sector employed more than 58% of the labor force, some 366,100 persons. The Services Sector has also been a net contributor to the balance of payments.
(FDI) in 2008. The services sector is therefore a major source of innovation, and provides essential infrastructure and value-added investment toward the improvement of the economy. The sector generates opportunities for greater income, productivity, employment, investment and trade The TTCSI, an alliance of professional services associations and organizations is therefore committed to actively promoting the liberalization of international trade in services in the interest of Trinidad and Tobago’s services providers. The alliance acts on behalf of services providers lobbying government and international agencies for assistance in developing services industries and continues to
assist in addressing capacity building issues among service providers and trade in services issues. Helping more businesses go global is exactly what the TTCSI aims to achieve. Focused, driven and determined to achieve its main objective - that is to contribute to the increase of services export - the TTCSI has adopted a progressive strategy towards export success and seeks to educate services providers so that businesses can be further developed and provided with the tools to gain access to foreign markets while lobbying the relevant authorities to ensure that the legislative framework is in place.
Recent data show that World Trade in commercial services, measured on a balance of payments basis, accounted for around one fifth of world exports of goods and services, and reached $2,7 trillion in 2008. Services account for more than 60%, or more than $420 billion of annual flows of foreign direct investment BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
By Nigel Marquez
President - Human Resource Management Association of Trinidad and Tobago (HRMATT)) We are all part of the nexus that keeps society in constant flux. Society can be accused of creating unconscious people that recycles from generation to generation. Too many of us are caught up in the microelements of day-to-day life to actually take the time to understand our real purpose and how we can move to that self-actualisation point of harmonic efficiency with ourselves and the environment.
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• Personal development is an important element in our realisation of self. It should be seen as the key element to properly determining success. For us to understand the correlation between personal development and success we must first conceptualise the entire picture and then take steps to change our paradigm so as to be in full alignment with the direction in which we must go to actually get to our desired destination. Personal development does not have a direct link to age, however some methods employed can be better learnt from experience. We must understand that everyone has a different vision of self and what must be done is to ensure that each individual’s vision be realised to its fullest potential. The following steps will help in this regard. •
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Dream your dream- persons must conceptualise where they want to be in their life. It is important that we understand who we are, where we came from and where we want to see ourselves. Nothing is impossible if we create a challenge and put our minds to it (create your vision). Our past should be an important part of our existence that we should learn from when focusing on the future. Begin to see the direction- it is only after that vision has been realised could it now be aligned with your future reality. It is important to position yourself as much as possible to gain the respective knowledge and skills for you to achieve your goals. Learn from others- it is important to observe how things are done around us. There must always be a reason for the methods employed. Analyse them and you will often find that you can take away some important learnings (both what to
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do and what not to do). This experience will make you more confident and help you to be more creative in your concepts and direction. Build your competencies- always strive for excellence. Ensure that you build on your strengths and turn your weaknesses into strengths. This will definitely develop you as a person. Get emotionally intelligent- understand the big picture and ensure that you are able to see where you fit into it. Be able to identify, assess and control your emotions and the emotions of others around you. Tread wisely and build your reputation so that you can be viewed by others with high regard and respect. This comes from your actions and it takes a long time to acquire but can be removed quite rapidly. Take advice, but not too much- advice has a place in your development, however negativity should be cast aside. Surround yourself with positive people as negative people can discourage you and dampen your spirit. Seek out a mentor- whether in your personal or professional space, he/she can help you develop into the person you wish to be by sharing his/her experiences with you. Listen to criticism- it is important to see yourself objectively as others see you. You can learn significantly from constructive criticism. This can aid in your development and allow you to recognise any deviant behaviours to be curbed. You should ensure that you decipher objective criticism from biased criticism. Listen to all but add only the right suggestions to your personal portfolio. How you treat others is an important part of developing personally- always treat others with respect. This goes a long way in helping you develop the proper mindset. It allows you to become more tolerant, which is key in personal development.
As we look to the future we must recognise the importance that the development of self will play on the continuity of society as a whole. Always remember to keep your focus and you will get there. Give back to others as much as possible because society needs a team effort to ensure it moves forward positively.
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The Battle of the
Brands
By Lyndon A. Mohammed The marketing teams of all companies have the undaunted task of seeking that sacred and priceless position of being the number one brand of choice in the customer’s mind. This assignment becomes more difficult as the media of choice are constantly bombarded with millions of messages all with the same mission, “buy my product first”. The battle of the brands continues into a time where the speed of the message and its style of presentation can range from a yesteryear poster to a digital message in the palm of your hand. Budgets dictate the extent of the marketing plan and the level of bravado that would be allowed to position and cement the brand as the number one choice. The marketing professional has to constantly convince his executive team that their approach can support the sales team in driving the lifeblood of the company, the sales revenue. These two challenges are neverending and the marketing professional is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to win both external and internal battles. This situation however begs the question, why is the marketing professional alone in this battle? One cannot deny that today’s consumer is driven by brands and the equity that they bring to the entire purchasing process that launches the buyer into a sacred status quo is unparallel. Brand development 101 taught us that the brand is the promise of an experience. This experience will be consistent, fulfilling and will allow acceptance in the status quo. Ultimately, the brand offers that emotional satisfaction that transforms a buyer into a worshipper and warrior for the brand.
the consumer’s experience. The cake offered for eating, the soft drink sold, the fit of the jeans, the function of the automobile, the service in the bank, the efficiency of the courier for example, must always give that precious, deep seated, emotionally riveting ‘wow’ factor.
dictate the ex“tentBudgets of the marketing plan and the level of bravado that would be allowed to position and cement the brand as the number one choice.
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Hence the focus is on the strategic integration of the entire production and distribution processes of the product or service. Our colleagues on the production line at each station are unknowingly driving the equity of the brand. As much as many companies may pride themselves in their quality control systems, we all know that one product failure is one too much. It is evidently clear that the cross-functional contribution of the leaders in production, distribution, marketing and sales are critical. The marketer may be leading the brand battle but the lieutenants of all the other processes in the supply chain are crucial. They must all work closely together to win the battle! The experience promised to the consumer is an unwritten agreement between every employee in the company and the customer. Once the experience is delivered, the company is guaranteed a repurchase; failure however is a victory for the competition.
Each time a purchase is made there is brand acceptance, the company continues to deliver its promise and there is one less purchase for the competition. That is how we can cause the enemy to haemorrhage slowly but surely; constantly maintain the brand experience, drive the depth of the emotional connection and cement the top of mind position. Falling sales can be attributed to many different causes, but we must ensure that the brand experience is not the culprit. The constant competition for raw materials, increasing distribution costs and the rapidly changing technological advancement makes the equation for success increasingly challenging. Ultimately, the price for the product or service is affected and as a result the consumer has to balance the brand’s equity versus the price. One can describe this as the moment of truth Have we as a team delivered on the promise sufficiently and consistently that will allow the customer to purchase our product? Have we made the brand battle ready?
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The battle of the brands continues into a time where the speed of the message and its style of presentation can range from a yesteryear poster to a digital message in the palm of your hand.
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Thus, it becomes extremely important that all participants in the process clearly understand their role in contributing to
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The Challenges facing the Health System By Henry Bailey and Mandreker Bahall What are the major challenges facing health systems today? As a simple exercise, Google this question and see what comes up: many references, websites prescriptions, essays, etc. all pointing in many different directions. The reality is that the challenges facing health systems are many and varied. Many of the acute problems in health follow from the fundamental issue of scarcity. There is always something more in health that is required for a patient, or for a population: some other tests that can be performed, or some other drugs that can be bought by the health system, or some other patients that can be treated but the resources are just not there. The health needs of a society are infinite, but the resources available to health are finite. This is actually partly due to the success of the health system itself. A 50 year old who has a heart attack and is given an angioplasty procedure today may live on to get some other illness (e.g. cancer) in 15 years time. Today’s cure has in part created tomorrow’s patient. As the health system gets ‘better’ at improving the health of citizens, it has to cope with an aging population and a higher burden of chronic illness and complications as a direct result. For this reason, no country in this world (no matter how rich) can provide all medical care for all of its citizens. The challenges confronting health systems today can better be faced by finding ways to produce more health per dollar spent in the health system, rather than looking at the number of dollars spent in the health system. Looking at the challenges confronting health systems in the Caribbean from this starting point provides an interesting perspective on some ways to address the challenges. Three measures emerge which can 50
go a long way towards improving the effectiveness of healthcare: • Using explicit prioritization to inform resource allocation decisions in health. • Changing the incentive patterns in healthcare • Re-examining the ways in which quality is managed in health. Explicit Prioritization: In Trinidad and Tobago, we now spend over $5 billion per year on our public health system , and another $4 billion is spent by individuals on private health care. One would be hard pressed to find another sector of our economy in which so much is spent with so little information concerning the output or the impact of that spending. The Medium Term Policy Framework outlines the vision for the health system over the period 20112014. Resource allocation in our public health system is largely based on historical budgeting with inputs from epidemiological data and political objectives. In the public sector, the government owns hospitals, hires people to staff them and provides drugs, equipment, food etc to offer health services to the population. What is missing here is the evaluation of alternative courses of action in health based on the consequences, or contribution to health of these courses of action. Internationally over the past 20 years, there has been a shift away from implicit towards explicit prioritization methods in healthcare. Health programmes and interventions are evaluated based on their impact on the health of the population, rather than simply on the burden of illness or the number of procedures carried out in previous periods. By including the impact of interventions and programmes in resource allocation decision-making (in terms of the amount and distribution of health created) we can greatly improve
the impact of the health system on the health of the population. Incentive patterns: In a system where government owned hospitals and facilities are financed through general taxation, operated by its own employees and providing all services to the public, we find some incentive patterns that may not be consistent with the maximization of population health. Great strides can be achieved by reexamining these arrangements and moving towards systems in which there are incentives to improve quality, efficiency, clinical outcomes and as a result to improve population health. In Trinidad and Tobago we have seen some discussion of the use of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in health, some models of which have produced great results in countries as diverse as Hong Kong, India, and Turkey. There has also been much discussion of changing the way in which healthcare is financed – towards a mandatory insurance-based system. Greater use is being made of the private sector to provide services in the public sector. Initiatives like these should be linked in an orchestrated plan (rather than to be considered and implemented in isolation) as they can move the health system towards models in which institutions and professionals are rewarded not on the basis of ‘time worked’ or ‘services provided’, but on the basis of their contribution to health, so that they have incentives to increase the health of patients, thereby improving the health of the population. Quality in Healthcare: From a public health perspective, quality means “offering the greatest health benefits, with the least health risks, to the greatest number of people, given the available resources” and the IOM defines quality as health care that ensures Safety, Patient-centredness, Timeliness, Effectiveness, Efficiency, Equity”. Appropriate leadership, policies and strategies must be aligned to ensure
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quality healthcare. Health care organizations must scientifically and explicitly measure, monitor and manage quality. With active quality management, gaps will be continuously identified, and dealt with to attain continuous improvement, customer centeredness and organizational goals. According to Lawson and Miller (2002) “Good clinical performance requires providing services that are appropriate for each patient’s condition, providing them
safely, competently, and in an appropriate time frame, and achieving desired outcome in terms of those aspects of patient health and satisfaction that can be affected by those Services”. Effective quality management in healthcare enhances the clinical outcomes of interventions thereby consuming fewer resources while improving the health of the population .
health systems in all countries. By reorienting and aligning the provision of health with the twin objectives of health systems (maximizing societal health and pursuit of equity goals in health), the three important issues in our health system in Trinidad and Tobago that emerge can together greatly enhance the impact of the health system on the health of the population without any further increase in the cost of the health system.
There are many challenges confronting
ESSENTIALS FOR A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS WEBSITE By Dale Prescott - ICT Consultant
Many believe that starting an online business is easy and it will lead to personal and financial freedom. This is in part true. An entrepreneur can easily go online and find a hosting provider, then setup a shopping cart and then find a payment provider. These are straight forward tasks; however, building a successful online business website is another matter. A traditional brick and mortar store require set business activities that are critical to success. Similar, activities exists in cyberspace. Conducting business online also introduces its own unique challenges and is dependent on the cultural environment and market segment. The essential components that contribute to a successful online business include: 1. Understanding the purpose of your website, your audience, your budget and understand what the website should look like and set a launch date; 2. Use of security and access control techniques such as user names, strong passwords and digital certificates to signify a sense of trust; 3. Uses of the tools for profiling your visitors and capturing visitor behavior and their choices and in turn deliver a sense of one-to-one marketing; 4. Effective search mechanisms for your website so that your visitors can search using several different parameters; 5. Use of content management tools for easy development,
updating, archiving and delivering standard content to the end-user; 6. Use of a shopping cart and online payment facilities with verification techniques to reduce fraud; 7. Establishment of an online community for customer feedback and business intelligence; 8. Integration with other business processes such as an inventory system for real-time product availability; 9. Timely notification of events on your website which may include problem situations, customers first visits, customer’s first payments, high-value transactions to name a few; 10. Effective marketing of your website which entails Search Engine Optimization(SEO), paid advertising, link building, article marketing, e-mail marketing, affiliate marketing, video marketing and link building are the most common strategies. One major challenge that presents the Caribbean region is online payment. It wasn’t until late 2010/2011 that PayPal permitted Trinidad and Tobago companies and individuals to accept online payments through their service. This service attracts a 5% fee per transaction, a fixed transaction fee of US$0.30 and requires a TT issued VISA card or US Bank Account. What are the alternatives? I can start by saying that our banking sector needs to step-up.
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Lok Jack GSB
Alumni & Faculty Contributor Profile
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Audra Mitchell graduated from the UWI Institute of Business (now Lok JacK GSB) with a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management. Her current role is as the Manager of Training and Development at Neal and Massy Limited Gizel Thomas-Roberts is an attorney at law and founder, CEO of Blackstone and Blackstone Consultancy and the holder of three (3) Masters degrees in Corporate and Commercial Law, Petroleum Law and Policy and IMBA (Marketing). She has held senior positions in law the public service in Trinidad and Tobago. Henry Bailey is a Lecturer in Economics and Health Economics at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business. Hilary Bengochea is a Business Coach & Speaker specializing in Strategic Marketing, Sales & Customer Service. Dr. Jesma McFarlane’s current interest is genealogy research. She works on ecotourism projects and lectures locally and internationally. Jhoewuel Kangalee possesses a Degree in International Business Administration and an IMBA in International Marketing. Lillawattie Rastogi is currently the Director of Agriculture, Regional Administration South. Loraine Reyes-Borel is the Executive Director of the Social Displacement Unit. Lyndon A Mohammed is a marketing professional with 25 years experience across the Caribbean with emphasis on, sales and brand management in fast moving consumer goods and pharmaceuticals. Nadira Lyder is a Business Analyst and a former Advisor at the Ministry of Finance and the Economy. With over twenty years experience, she plays an instrumental role in the development and implementation of transformational projects within the Public Sector. Nassema Ali holds a B.Sc. Hotel Mgmt and graduated with an IMBA from the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business. She is the Manager - Purchasing T&T, Bdos, EC at RBC Financial (Caribbean) Limited. Nigel Marquez is the current President of the Human Resource Management Association of Trinidad and Tobago (HRMATT) and a Senior Industrial Relations Officer (Ag.) at T&TEC. Dr. Ron Sookram holds the position of Lecturer and Director for the Centre for Corporate Responsibility at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business. He lecturers and researches topics in Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Corporate Governance Dr. Kamla Mungal holds a Doctorate in Business Administration and she is currently the Director of Academic Development and Accreditation as well as the Leadership Institute at the Lok Jack GSB. William Rajnauth possess a B.Sc. in Sociology and Management, a Post Graduate Diploma in HRM and a MBA. He is currently the Vice President, Human Resources at SM Jaleel and Company Limited.
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