The Executive #31 by Jason Attard

Issue 31 - 2011

Issue 31

• Situational Analysis: Poor Performance from the New Leader • The Beta Accountant Richard Clarke

• The Importance of Milestones in Project Control Emanuel Camilleri

• Monitoring Customer Satisfaction Francis Farrugia

• Job Satisfaction, Job Stress Rose Anne Cuschieri

• Exceptions to Patent Rights Maria Chetcuti Cauchi

• Risk Management for the Uninitiated Mark Causon

• Dare to be Slow. Paul Gauci

• Interview with an Executive Roderick Muscat Monsigneur Joe Vella Bonnici

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The Executive 01

Issue No. 31 - 2011

Editor’s Letter

The Executive

here are obvious ramifications that a post of prominence loads one with. I for one will sympathise with any person in business who has to juggle a commercial need to have a social presence with the absurd notion of never, ever getting tainted by the alcohol that one is enticed to consume at such events, unless teetotalling. Particularly so after moments of stress, humanity tends to prevail.

The good Lord knows how often I had downed more than I should have in similar circumstances. And in no way am I implying that getting pissed out of one’s wits is excusable by business-induced circumstances. I’m simply saying that my personal experiences have shown me that several executives must go through a process of reaching an understanding as to where their personal point of safety is in such matters - without the luxury of pre-ordained knowledge. The rules of society, if such is what they are, will evidently never cease to disgust. That bad situations, whether factual or not, will be used for the gains of a person or a party of persons is already bad enough; exploitation is perhaps a base rule in the politics of business. The stealing-away of a trader’s dominant hold onto his market when he is in a temporary financial fix, by a knowing and cash-able competitor who suddenly increases customers’ pay-back periods is an example which comes to mind. But that even the possibility that frame-ups can actually occur defies the very fundamentals of decency and at this point in time there is such a local case in prominence; that of PBS’s Joseph Mizzi’s alleged state of drunkedness. What lessened my antipathy towards humanity was seeing prominent people vouch for this individual; all who have had the occasion of meeting him, myself included, seem to only have good things to say about his character, integrity, dedication to his post. Until guilt is proven let us not judge, as even the will and means to do harm to those who are more capable is an unremovable sore in our midst. And irrespective of whether an alleged harmless one-off anomaly within years of strong performance and delivery should be taken in stride or not (it should), some people could actually, in fact, be innocent of any ‘wrongdoings’. Jason Attard Enjoy your read. I’m off for a pint. editor@the-executive.biz 05. Situational Analysis: Poor Performance from the New Leader Alfred Debattista 08. The Beta Accountant Richard Clarke

Alfred Debattista

Richard Clarke

Mark Causon

11. Risk Management for the Uninitiated Mark Causon 15. The Importance of Milestones in Project Control Emanuel Camilleri 21. Job Satisfaction, Job Stress Rose Anne Cuschieri

Emanuel Camilleri

Rose Anne Cuschieri

Paul Gauci

31. Dare to be Slow. Paul Gauci 39. Monitoring Customer Satisfaction Francis Farrugia

BOV JEREMIE Financing Package for SMEs including Micro-Enterprises

43. Exceptions to Patent Rights Maria Chetcuti Cauchi

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46. Interview with an Executive - Roderick Muscat Monsigneur Joe Vella Bonnici

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The Executive 03

Issue No. 31 - 2011 © The Executive

Situational Analysis: Poor Performance from the New Leader

The Executive

Situational Analysis: Poor Performance from the New Leader Alfred Debattista

has been working for Tom, the Managing Director and owner of the agency, since its inception seven years ago. Julie is the daughter of Tom’s childhood friend.

ulie has been in the role of Business Development Manager of a small advertising and marketing agency for the past six months, taking up this role immediately following the completion of her university degree in Marketing. She is 26 years old, and though she is new to her role she is not new to the agency. She 04 The Executive

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The agency is Tom’s brainchild, having worked all his life in advertising and marketing, b e f o r e branching out on his own. Julie was first hired as a parttime clerk, assisting Tom with the office chores while at the same time attending university. The business grew over time from a one-man job to the present staff complement of eight, consisting of three sales executives, an office clerk, two creative designers, Julie and Tom. During these seven years working for the agency, Julie learned most of the agency work, from approaching new clients, handling customer accounts to dealing with the media. Her exposure to this industry induced her to further her studies in this area, knowing that through an academic qualification will she be able to make a proper career in this field, and to contribute further to the agency’s growth, which has been exceptional during the last three years.

Tom was overwhelmed with tasks and was finding it hard to concentrate on growing the business and at the same time managing the operations. So it was only natural that Julie be promoted as his right-hand person, now that she is in possession of a Marketing degree and able to take up a full-time job. After all, she is the longest serving person at the agency, the daughter of his best friend whom he trusts, and the only person in the office with a tertiary education. Julie’s remit was clear: she was now made responsible for all the operations in the office and the other employees, seeing that sales targets are met periodically as agreed with Tom, grow the business through new customer acquisition, coordinate all tasks, and most importantly responsible for customer service, making sure that tight deadlines are met from the ever-demanding customers. Tom will be primarily responsible of the large accounts and seeking contacts both locally and abroad, meaning that he will be spending less time in the office. Ever since Julie took over as manager the atmosphere in the office changed. Julie’s appointment did not go down well with all of her colleagues, particularly with John, one of the sales executives and Laura, a British expatriate creative designer, both in their forties, with over twenty years of work experience. They both have been working for the agency for the past three years. The rest of the employees are still in their twenties. Julie is a dynamic person, full of energy and ideas and with an eye for detail, important traits for this kind of job. She always wants to be involved in all issues within the office, even the nitty-gritty ones and there was little happening in the office that she did not know about. She insists that she is to be copied will all correspondence and emails, and wants to be present for all meetings as well! The Executive 05

Issue No. 31 - 2011

The Executive

Last week John and Laura burst suddenly into Tom’s office, obviously in a highly emotional state. They both complained about the office situation and how things have taken a turn for the worse since Julie was made responsible of the whole office and demanded to know what he, as the Managing Director, proposed to do about it. They both threatened that they are seriously considering quitting their jobs.

2. They feel that Julie’s management style has affected productivity and staff morale is rather low. Monthly sales targets are not being met mostly because there is open conflict on an ongoing basis between the staff and Julie. The team’s efforts are not being directed at co-ordinating work and meeting deadlines but rather at winning arguments.

It took some time for them to calm down but Tom was then able to get a clearer understanding of what their grievance was about. Specifically they made two complaints.

3. Tom is also concerned because only the day before he received a nasty phone call from one of the top agency’s customers, complaining that a mass advertising campaign, which had to be launched by the end of the month on all media, had to be postponed because “your people are blaming each other for mistakes, and there seems to be no one who is shouldering responsibility anymore.”

1. They feel like they are not trusted anymore. Julie is constantly checking on their work and they do not have the least discretion anymore, as she wants to impose her ideas in everything they do, which is becoming unbearable. They feel that their experience is worth nothing anymore. 06 The Executive

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Situational Analysis: Poor Performance from the New Leader

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How should Tom deal with this situation?

Write to Us. Whether based upon educational knowledge or your vast work experiences, we want to know how you would have handled the problems exposed within our situational analyses. Our preferred responses are to be displayed within the journal.

This article is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters, and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. Its prime scope is to prompt the consideration of solutions towards problems encountered whilst dealing with cultural barriers and / or strategic issues. Alfred Debattista, who has presented this situational analysis, is a banker by profession as well as a freelance management trainer, focusing on Managing Organisations. The Executive 07

Issue No. 31 - 2011

The Beta Accountant

The Executive

The Beta Accountant Richard Clarke

t’s fair to say I know more qualified accountants than is healthy. However, what makes a good accountant? I teach my students all about business and models, but most of my business knowledge comes from practice and having interests in business generally, particularly in young, start ups. Not from a dusty old textbook, or a set of IFRSs. Start-ups often do well at first - they are full of ideas and vigour and focused on the future. Then momentum dissipates and the focus shifts to the past (do what they’ve always done). New suggestions, new methods of working, new methods of communication and advertising are sneered at. It is out of their comfort zone. So the question is this: How many accountants really help their clients grow their businesses? The very best do. The average do not. It is fair to say that many do not have the knowledge to help, despite knowing their way around a statement of financial position. So I think there’s a split. Group 1: “Old” accountants This does not necessarily refer to age but more so to mindset. These can be recognised by their focus on the past, never offering predictions or new methods/ techniques/software etc. In truth they know very little about the marketplace in which you are working. They simply know of your business and how to create a set of accounts from your records. Group 2: “New / Beta” accountants Beta is what great new apps / websites are referred to whilst they iron out their glitches. They push the boundaries. They think forward. And they look for more efficient pathways and learn from other industries, applying this knowledge wherever is necessary. Now, here’s the twist. It would seem patently obvious that you should want an accountant from group 2. Yet in my dealings with many business owners, this simply isn’t the case. It’s horses for courses. Many simply want the lowest cost accountant for what is seen as a necessary evil. Many business owners approach an 08 The Executive

accountant simply because they want to pay less tax, not advice on the financial management of the business. Yes they also need some accounts work, but again not for their own financial management but for the bank or for the taxman. The problem is that for many “Old accountants” - this suits them down to the ground. Provision of backwardslooking tax and accounting services. The accountant’s role becomes commoditised - a service any qualified accountant can do - so let’s choose the cheapest. For group 1 accountants this means less earnings and more time trying to win/keep clients. Or, at least, an accountancy practice that will struggle to grow. Group 2 accountants, on the other hand, earn more and keep their clients. They also get new business opportunities and tend to be retained even when companies really take off. There is another more salient issue here though. It is oft said that 80% of businesses fail due to poor financial management. This should be the meat and drink of a qualified accountant. I know - I teach it to students on an almost daily basis. So the challenge to the old accountant is to help their business owner with the financial management side at the very least - before it’s too late. Is this just a twist of fate or can group 1 accountants and business leaders become group 2? Of course they can - with a little training and a nudge to see what is really happening elsewhere. There are also a myriad of accountants out there who claim to be “business advisors” too - but are they really? How can you tell if your accountant really is a business advisor or are they just words on his or her business card - well here’s a few questions to help you sort out the old from the Beta... 1. Does your accountant promote business advice as a separate service from backwards accountancy service? 2. Are you charged separately for this service? 3. Does your accountant ask you if you would like business advice and financial management help?

Issue No. 31 - 2011

The Executive

The Beta Accountant

4. Does your accountant highlight the importance of financial management and the importance of the advice he or she can give which she has learnt from other businesses? 5. Does the accountant walk the talk? Does their business seem well run, modern, progressive, growing... if not... well I think you know what sort of accountant you have. So from the accountant’s point of view - how do you become beta? How do you learn new methods of marketing? New ways of thinking? The answer, as ever, is to study and follow the great business leaders of our time and marketing giants. At the same time think how have the new breed of successful companies become successful? We have moved from the world of atoms to a world of bytes - it’s a change as big as the industrial revolution, accountants and business owners need to understand what this means. In the old atoms-based world of business - hard work was the accountant who beavered away for 14 hours a day filling in those accountant forms - this was equally the world of factory workers and farmers. The more sweat you put in - the more you got out. Your business would grow. In the world of bytes, however, hard work is the Beta accountant who synthesizes four disparate ideas and comes up with an idea/ process that creates value in the business in less than five minutes. This may be frightening. This work involves risk. You might not actually be able to come up with that idea, you might fail. You couldn’t fail at spending hours bean counting. Often, of course, it is the hours spent that often sets the stage for that five minutes of focused thinking that will really make the benefit. So use that experience and take a risk. Go Beta. Richard Clarke was the International Director for Europe’s largest financial training company before going on to open his own successful accountancy training company with branches in Malta, Ireland and online, the Richard Clarke Academy. Having 10 years full time lecturing experience, specialising in Financial Reporting and Management Accounting, he also researched neurology and social economics and their affect on the learning process giving his lectures an extra dimension. He co-devised and ran train the trainer courses for ACCA in Europe, Africa and the Far East. Richard is writing innovative Financial training books which he hopes will break the death grip of tired, dull textbooks. www.the-executive.biz

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The Executive 09

Issue No. 31 - 2011

Risk Management for the Uninitiated

The Executive

Risk Management for the Uninitiated

There are five steps on how to manage risk: 1. Study the context 2. Identify the risks 3. Analyse the risks 4. Evaluate the risks 5. Control the risks.

Mark Causon

n business every decision can be described as a form of risk taking, but do businessmen understand the concepts and how to calculate their risk? It is impossible to precisely calculate risk but it is possible to estimate the possible effects via statistical calculations. Of course, these calculations do not give a solution to avoid risk in a project but they give a percentage range where an investor can accept or refuse the undertaking of the project in question. There are two different kind of risk: the objective risk and the subjective risk. The first measures the possibilities of success which an investment can attain, by employing statistics. 10 The Executive

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The subjective risk on the other hand cannot be measured and the process is highly dependant upon the personal experience and expertise of the investor and/or his analyst/s. Good management will always reduce the business risk. The manager must administer the company properly and must moreover be able to adapt to the dynamicity of the market. Profit is thus made, typically emerging after some years follow the investment when the start-up cost are fully covered. Miller and Modigliani’s ROE (Return On Equity) and ROA (Return On Assets) ratios facilitate the calculation of the risk’s success.

•

The first step is fundamental to understand how to operate in different environments. A wrong evaluation of the context renders difficult to manage a risk.

•

The second, third and fourth steps are required to properly evaluate the risk from the beginning (identification) through the analysis and the final evaluation of the risk.

•

The fifth step includes the ways to control and reduce the risks.

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Issue No. 31 - 2011

The Executive

Risk Management for the Uninitiated

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Diversification, Flexibility, Risk Sharing, Risk Transfer, Insurance.

The flexibility is necessary to reduce the transaction costs and moving the production from one sector, hit by a crisis, to another sector. The transaction cost in the case of a company are the cost related to changing the capital and to improve the capacities of the employees. The risk sharing is aimed at reducing the risk in case of very expensive investments. For example there are sector in the economy where the cost of investments are very high (e.g. aeroplanes producers) so, in order to reduce the possible effects of a negative investment; they create joint ventures that avoid the possible negative effects of an unprofitable investment. The risk transfer is transferring to other entities the risk of an investment. Usually the entities aimed at cover the loss derived from the investments are the governments. For example if there is an important investment in a public infrastructure the company that starts this investment make a contract with a public entity that guarantee the cover of the losses derived from the investment. The insurance is similar at the risk transfer but in this case the risk is given to a private insurance company that will cover the loss derived fro a bad investment. On the other hand the company that will do the investment pay the insurance company to have this service and the more risky will the investment the higher will be the premium of the insurance.

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Conclusion Those projects that could clock up a big loss with a high probability of happening are typically first ditched through risk management processes. This regrettably means that the analysis of those risks with a low probability of occurrence and a low potential of loss is delayed. In practice the process can be extremely complex and time consuming. But it is only sensible to pay as much tribute to those projects whose risks have a high probability of occurrence, but a low loss potential, as those with high loss potential but a lower probability of occurrence, as an example. Mark Causon has worked as coordinator and project manager on various projects in Ireland, Spain, Brussels, Germany, France, Sweden and Norway, and is also a visiting lecturer and tutor at Master’s level at several European universities. At present Mark is the manager of the Europe Direct Mosta office of the European Commission DG Communications office. He provides consultancy services on EU funding calls, project selection, application and project management. Mark may be contacted on tel. 79232635 or mark@ europedirect-mostamalta.eu. The Executive 13

Issue No. 31 - 2011

The Importance of Milestones in Project Control

The Executive

Project planning aids management to: • Select of the most economical method of conducting the project; • Establish the various resource levels required; • Secure human resources and financial needs; • Procure materials, delivery;

including

their

• Determine the necessary management staff levels;

Perhaps the most important milestone in humanity’s history, the wheel has moved forth to permit an unlimited variety of projects to materialise.

• Employ qualified sub-contractors at the appropriate time; • Carry out the project within the estimated cost constraints.

roject Managers must be made aware that once a project enters the implementation stage it moves in a path and at a rate of impetus that may be completely independent of the way it was predicted. The project manager must recognise that there is an important distinction between the planning and execution phases: the planning phase is theoretical, whereas the execution phase is reality. However, to minimise the gap between theory and reality, the project manager must establish within the plan a means of monitoring and influencing the project’s progress. There are two fundamental factors that aid the project manager to control a project, namely defining milestones that are clear and have unambiguous deliverables within defined target dates, and establishing exceptional and robust channels of communication. For the project manager, milestones are an essential means to monitor progress. Furthermore, milestones provide the entire project team with short-term goals and deliverables that are tangible in the immediate time span rather than the vague holistic completion of the whole project. Hence, milestones sustain project thrust and stimulate effort by allowing the project team to ascertain the progress

14 The Executive

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The Importance of Milestones in Project Control Emanuel Camilleri

being made and to register incremental successes throughout the duration of the project rather than merely at project completion. The best means of defining milestones is by examining the work breakdown structure and the project network to identify short term deliverables that are specific and attainable within the time, cost and resources allocated to them. However, milestones must be effectively communicated so that the project team may visualise how these milestones fit holistically into the project structure. Communication is a critical feature in project control because it allows the project manager to monitor progress, obtain timely warning of delay, promote collaboration, and facilitate motivation through the participation of project team members. The project manger should utilise an information system that provides continuous

and frequent reports giving supporting evidence of (or lack of) progress. The project manager must insist that the project team monitors its own progress with specific, real, and measurable achievements and failures that are formally reported. Essentials of Project Control Organisations are to have the necessary procedures in place to ensure the proper control of their projects in this varied and sometimes complex environment. However, rarely do paper plans work continually in practice. The primary purpose of project control is to review the current methods and processes, and forecast the future requirements of the project so that it may be successfully completed within the constraints established by management. Expediting all tasks within a project that fall behind schedule is not the solution. Critical path methods provide the project The Executive 15

Issue No. 31 - 2011

The Importance of Milestones in Project Control

The Executive

may be amended and the relevant future activities expedited to restore the position at an increase in costs; or accepting the delayed completion time rather than increasing costs to recover position. However, this decision will depend on the cost of expediting the activities behind schedule versus the loss of reputation and/ or cost of penalties for late deliverables. Furthermore, delayed non critical activities may be permitted to utilise the available float without any affect on project duration (but the cost of conducting these activities may be affected). Should the delay of non critical activities exceed the float time available, a new critical path will result. Hence, the uncompleted project network segment must be re-evaluated so that the appropriate decisions and action are undertaken.

Gagarin’s flight in space is yet another world-famous milestone that permits space travel, and the exploration of colonisation. Other Prerequisites of Project Control: • The literature indicates that the common reasons for project delays are the following: • Inaccurate estimates of activity durations and resource utilisation; • Unavailability of identified resources, particularly specialised human resources, equipment and materials; • Unanticipated project conditions such as, technical and other complexities, site hazards, weather conditions, discovery of historical artefacts and a host of other issues; • Insolvency of sub-contractors and suppliers; • Unexpected delays in the delivery of materials, equipment and other related items; • Industrial and other human resource disputes (Unions); • Unanticipated project site conditions; • Additional or deductions in works quantities and specifications.

16 The Executive

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manager with the necessary tools to achieve the appropriate project control. These tools allow project managers to predict concerns in adequate time to decide on rational project modifications for the concerns encountered. Basically, project control with CPM is achieved by the regular periodic appraisal of the tasks completed to date, together with the evaluation of the project network. With the passage of time, the estimated activity durations and resources of the project network are updated with actual time and resource utilisation for the activities completed and being carried out at the time of the project review. Whenever the activity durations are revised, the project network is evaluated to determine whether the critical path and the project duration and cost have been affected. Hence, a report related to WBS (work breakdown structure) will reveal those project deliverables that have been completed or the extent of their completion. Furthermore, a report regarding the CBS (cost breakdown structure) will disclose the various costs and variance by cost category for the deliverables and those deliverables being executed. The project evaluation will reveal whether the project is on or behind time. If the project is delayed, the project network

Whatever the project evaluation result and consequences, CPM allows the project manager to analyse time, cost and resource usage, and respond in a timely manner. The investment made at the planning phase will prove very beneficial at critical stages of the project. For instance, the activity utility data calculated at the planning stage enables the project manager to make a prompt assessment of the original estimates and will provide information for the project manager to employ a different execution method (if necessary) to recover lost time. The project evaluation and the resultant decisions made by management will enable a new revised network to be computed, including the associated time, Research

literature indicates that many projects in different types of industries have the following characteristics:

• A wide variety of tasks and processes that require different techniques, equipment, and human resource skills and competencies; • Often the project team is physically working away from their employers’ organisation at work-sites that are temporary and in some cases remote; • The project management team rarely has full control of finance, HR and other policies, and can never be self-sufficient; • Human resources on projects are normally of two classes, the relatively permanent members and transitory members. This may be a source of concern related to commitment.

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Issue No. 31 - 2011

A Daimler brand

The Executive An

The Importance of Milestones in Project Control

easy and practical method to

decide when to undertake a full review is to compare the current rate

with

the

works

expenditure

scheduled

rate

expenditure:

• If the critical activities are on time or ahead of schedule, but the expenditure rate is behind schedule, then it is likely that the non-critical activities are falling behind schedule. • If the critical activities are on or ahead of schedule on both the time and cost elements, then no significant slippage has occurred, unless the critical path activities have been maintained by the utilisation of resources from the non-critical tasks. • If the critical activities are only just on or behind schedule but the works expenditure rate is higher than scheduled, then this could mean that either the non-critical activities are being given priority over critical activities or the cost of conducting critical activities was under estimated. In this case a detailed cost analysis of each activity will reveal the true cause.

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cost and resource schedules and Gantt charts. Hence, a new plan is available to the project manager for the uncompleted segment of the project. This process is a continuous one and is adhered to until the project is completed.

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The decisive factor in undertaking a project network revision is the magnitude of the project delay. For minor delays, such as a few days, or delays that can be tolerated,

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The

frequency of the project

review depends on a number of factors, such as:

• The overall duration and cost of the project or project phase and/or its rate of momentum; • The degree of project risk and uncertainty;

The best or nothing. Auto Sales Limited, Mosta Road, Lija. Tel: 21433601 www.mercedes-benz.com.mt 18 The Executive

• The project size and complexity; • The various difficulties being encountered.

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the computation of the time schedule may be recalculated and an appropriate notation is made to the network. However, extensive delays that force the project manager to amend the sequence of tasks or the introduction of new tasks to adjust for the delay will require a full project network revision so that a new project plan may be computed. Obviously, a project that has an overall duration of only a few weeks will require close scrutiny and may require a daily review. However, with more lengthy projects, a weekly or fortnightly review may be adequate. Furthermore, the project review may not be based on a specific regular frequency (say weekly) but on the occurrence of specific control issues, such as, milestones. Moreover, a full project evaluation need not be conducted every time that a review is undertaken, but restricted to assessing the critical or near critical activities. However, a full review is necessary at times to ensure that the non critical activities do not fall behind time to such an extent that they become critical. Note that a project full review will necessitate a substantial amount of costly effort. Deciding when to undertake a full review depends on the experience of the project manager and above all the circumstances. On large projects it is best to appraise the critical and near critical activities at frequent short term periods (say weekly) as well as examining the works expenditure rate. If this evaluation indicates a concern (falling behind schedule) then a complete activity review is conducted. The above has provided the reader with the basic principles for controlling a project. Finally, project control procedures described have provided the reader with some of the basic principles for controlling a project. However these procedures must be supported by an information flow and reporting process, the subject of which will be covered by a separate article related to “Processes and Critical Data Set”.

Welcome to the O’Neill cylinder space station. Conclusion In a project management environment the creation of a learning organisation is facilitated by conducting project reviews, particularly after the project completion phase (post project review). A post project review is an evaluation of the project at the completed phase, whereby the project manager determines the time, cost and resource usage variances, and more importantly what went right and wrong with the project. The project manager in conjunction with the project team members is to explain the lessons learnt and what would be done differently the next time round. These are presented at the post-project review meeting in clear and precise terms. The experience gained from a project should never be lost. The organisation should have the proper mechanisms for setting milestones on the capturing of lessons learnt through the documentation of the good and bad things in the management of the project, and all comments and recommendations for improvements, in order to improve the management process in future projects. All project reviews must take into consideration the key performance indicators that were defined at the project definition stage. Milestones strengthen the project learning experience gained by the contractors and subcontractors, thus motivating them to improve the deliverables assigned to them. Such a process facilitates a commitment to long-term relationships amongst the project teams. Dr. Emanuel Camilleri has extensive local and overseas experience in information management applications, and holds academic qualifications in information management, accountancy, engineering and business management. The Executive 19

Issue No. 31 - 2011

Job Satisfaction, Job Stress

The Executive • Stress can never be eliminated and some element of stress can produce results as it can be used as an incentive for better job performance, and act as a motivator for the individual to strive on and try to ameliorate one’s position.for satisfaction to take place, there must be “activity on the part of the individual, some task, episode, adventure or activity in which the individual achieves a growth experience” (p.89). • For satisfaction to take place, there must be “activity on the part of the individual, some task, episode, adventure or activity in which the individual achieves a growth experience”. • The American Institute of Stress (2001) found out that some of the most stressful jobs in the modern workplace are referred to as active jobs where there is heavy pressure to perform, together with long hours of work, coupled with high problem-solving responsibilities.

Job Satisfaction, Job Stress

• We need to look at the overall balance between our stress levels and individual vulnerability, using a stress equation:

Rose Anne Cuschieri

Life stress + work stress + individual vulnerability = stress symptoms outcome..

he will to exert effort, and satisfaction, are relatively independent yet related outcomes. And whilst motivation is a process whose end-result can lead to job satisfaction, job satisfaction itself is more an attitudinal status associated with a personal feeling of intrinsic or extrinsic achievement that can be either quantitative or qualitative in nature. Job satisfaction is “a pleasurable emotional state resulting from the perception of “It seems that morality, emotion and social bonds provide far more powerful stimulants to motivation and commitment than extrinsic concerns of transactional leadership in which leaders and followers exchange needs and services to achieve independent objectives.” Day et al., 2000, p. 164

20 The Executive

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one’s job as fulfilling or allowing the fulfilment of one’s important job values, providing these values are compatible with one’s needs” (Locke, 1976, p. 298). In fact job satisfaction does not depend solely on the nature of the job, but also on the expectations that individuals have of their job. In a nutshell, “satisfaction reflects the individual’s attitude or happiness with the situation” (Rue and Byars, 1989, p. 100). Job Satisfaction The study of job satisfaction is perceived to be very important for the widely held assumption that satisfied people make better workers and this notion also holds for satisfied leaders. Warr and Wall (2005) speak of steps to make work likeable: • improving the material conditions of work • improving human relations • enhancing life motivations • improving work organisations

Evidently all these four aspects affect all individuals at all levels. High-performing people define their mission, set their priorities accordingly and align their performance with their mission. There are basically four factors that influence job satisfaction: •

Individual factors: these include a person’s gender, abilities, age, experience, and personal circumstances.

•

Social factors: these relationships at work.

•

Organisational factors: these include conditions of work, workload, incentives, opportunities for advancement.

•

Cultural factors: these are what bring about a sense of belonging and selffulfilment. They also include the balance between work and personal life and the sense of self-worth.

concern

The Executive 21

Issue No. 31 - 2011

The Executive These factors are experienced both by employees as well as by people in a management or leadership role. Therefore when studying job satisfaction, these factors have to be borne in mind. It is customary to make a distinction between overall job satisfaction defined as a person’s affective reaction to his (sic) total work role and facet satisfaction which is defined as people’s affective reaction to particular aspects of the job. Overall job satisfaction is determined by the difference between all the things a person feels he/she should receive from one’s job and all those things the individual actually does receive. It is also important to bear in mind that these values and rewards may differ at different stages of the career.

Further distinction has to be made between satisfaction with the job actually held and occupational satisfaction which is not tied to time and place and applies to skilled and professional occupations. But entering a profession involves more than the practice of skills. It includes also reference to a body of theoretical knowledge, acceptance of a code of ethics that govern behaviour and a degree of autonomy which most leaders certainly have. Therefore to speak of professional satisfaction is to include the ways in which professionals perceive their values inherent in their work as well as the meanings they attach to their jobs and work roles. Accepting a professional stance and its implications is a powerful influence over the sources of professional satisfaction. Vision also seems to play a part in job satisfaction. Some elicit satisfaction from the fact that they have a vision, which they share and make happen with all those involved in the organisation. Herzberg (1968) says that for

Job Satisfaction, Job Stress satisfaction to take place, there must be “activity on the part of the individual, some task, episode, adventure or activity in which the individual achieves a growth experience” (p.89). Satisfaction is brought about by factors related directly to the job and these include achievement, recognition, advancement, the work itself, and responsibility (ibid). Studies on job satisfaction are based on the proven hypothesis that high job satisfaction leads to high levels of job performance. Therefore leaders who wish to maximise their performance have to follow these guidelines. They need to allow their intrinsic work interests and aptitudes to flourish. JOB STRESS Research by psychologists and other stress analysts has shown that the most wearisome and demanding professions are those that involve high pressure and serious responsibilities, which are often perceived to be beyond the control of the individual concerned (Sorenson, 2007). Very interesting is the fact that the American Institute of Stress (2001) found out that some of the most stressful jobs in the modern workplace are referred to as active jobs (Karasek and Theorell, 1992) where there is heavy pressure to perform, together with long hours of work, coupled with high problem-solving responsibilities (Jazzar and Algozzine, 2006). At this point it has to be said that stress can never be eliminated and some element of stress can produce results as it can be used as an incentive for better job performance, and act as a motivator for the individual to strive on and try to ameliorate one’s position (Dunham 1984; Somaz and Tulgan, 2003). In fact Maslow (1960) depicts the stressperformance relationship as an inverted bell-shaped curve.

“Stress begins with a life situation that knocks you (gently or abruptly) out of balance.” (Greenberg, 2002, p. 10).

22 The Executive

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At low stress levels, individuals maintain their current level of performance: they probably see no reason to change their performance level and might even become bored, lazy and perform poorly. Stress in moderate amounts acts as a stimulus for the individual. Mild stress can be responsible

for creative activities in the individual as one tries to solve challenging / stressful problems. On the contrary, under conditions of excessive stress, a person’s performance drops markedly. The severity of the stress consumes attention and energy and the individual focuses considerable effort on attempting to reduce the stress. Little effort would be left to devote to job performance. The study of stress has to be tackled from three different angles: causes, symptoms and remedies or coping strategies (Everard and Morris, 1996). Stress can be a very subjective matter, and different people give diverse definitions to what they understand by the word stress. CAUSES OF STRESS Late twentieth and early twenty-first century organisations put great emphasis on high productivity and accountability, and tend to be very competitive (Peterson, 1999). Then there seem to be other factors like organisational boredom, anxiety, tension, troublesome thoughts, job dissatisfaction and burn-out and even, at times nervous breakdowns, all of which seem to be resulting from a change in attitude and disposition towards work (Ross and Altmaier, 2000). Sorenson (2006) says that there is no shortage of factors within modern organisations that can cause stress. These would include pressures to complete tasks, trying to avoid unwanted mistakes, work-overload, high-stake competition, demanding administrators, discontented colleagues / stakeholders. The author goes on to classify these features around stress indicators such as problemsolving, time management, goal setting, conflict management, decisions, ethics, instructional leadership, organisational politics and pressure tolerance. Then there are administrative matters that have to be taken care of and which seem to cause undue stress. These are diverse and their degree varies according to the size of the organisation and the personality of the individual. WHAT IS STRESS? Stress may be defined as the experience “of unpleasant negative emotions such as anger, frustration, anxiety, depression and nervousness” (Kyriacou, 2000, p. 3) resulting from the work that a person does. Stress can also be depicted as a The Executive 23

Issue No. 31 - 2011

The Executive dynamic condition in which a person feels challenged by an opportunity or limitation, urgency, pressure, physical or mental anxiety or strain, or demands related to perceived outcomes (Schuler, 1980; Merriam-Webster, 2000; Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy, 2002). Furthermore stress can be simply described as an unavoidable consequence of life (Elkin, 1999a). In a recent study which I conducted among Heads of school, I tried to elicit what people understand by the word stress. From the variety of responses, I could realise how subjective such a theme can be; how the same concept can have diverse definitions for different people. Different notions emerged like a feeling of being overwhelmed, of feeling incapable of coping with circumstances, and of possibly losing control over a situation or situations. The notion of stress seems to go further than this and for some people it is perceived to delve into the personal. SYMPTOMS OF STRESS Stress, with its constraints, demands, pressures and anxieties, can bring about symptoms that can vary from low productivity, to an increase in absenteeism and turnover, and even to serious health concerns. Elkin (1999b) states that it is believed that seventy-five to ninety per cent of all visits to general practitioners concern stress-related medical problems. The symptoms of stress can range from a feeling of constant malaise or recurrent ill health to nervous conditions. In fact Everard and Morris, (1996) divide symptoms into four categories: Behavioural, Emotional, Physical and Mental (shown below). Stress is displayed in various ways. When a person is under excessive stress, behavioural, physical, emotional or mental signals would start to indicate that the individual is reacting to abnormal circumstances, striving to cope with the unwarranted situation (Kirsta, 1987; Nathan, Staats and Rosch, 1989; White, 1997; Bottery, 2005). As some authors (Somaz and Tulgan, 2003; Stranks, 2005; Sorenson, 2006; Sorenson, 2007) suggest, consequences can go beyond what the individual can ever expect, and can even extend to lack of focus, failure to do or complete work-related tasks and loss of motivation. In other words “the resulting consequences remain at the very least disturbing, if not debilitating” (Sorenson, 2007, p. 12). Greenberg (1984) and Dunham (1992) suggest that stress symptoms should be taken as warning 24 The Executive

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Job Satisfaction, Job Stress signs of a problem as would be the case in any other illness. Both authors suggest that an individual can reduce the pressure by developing personal coping strategies. COPING WITH STRESS Watts and Cooper (1992) suggest that we need to look at the overall balance between our stress levels and individual vulnerability, using a stress equation: Life stress + work stress + individual vulnerability = stress symptoms outcome. The nature of one’s personality will also determine how threats are assessed by the individual and what strategies the latter chooses to moderate the perceived stress. Friedman and Rosenman (1974) identified two types of personalities: • Type A: ambitious, competitive, hypercritical, perfectionist, workaholics who are often anxious and insecure underneath • Type B: who give themselves time to reflect, are generally more laid back, yet still able to respond to situations effectively. Kelly (1998) found that most people in managerial or leading positions tend to verge more on the type A personality. Therefore extra attention has to be given,

because such individuals are more prone to suffer from stress. Another factor that has to be taken into account when discussing whether people can be more prone to stress, is the concept of hardiness. People with a hardy personality have several important attributes which Watts and Cooper (1992) identify as: • Commitment (belief in self) • Control (belief that one can influence events) • Challenge (a positive attitude to change). Some people can tolerate stressful situations more than others, even though the most hardy may succumb eventually. This also depends on the context, length of time the stress has been present, the way the person views its worth, and the present circumstances. Stress management strategies must not only be employed but should be given great prominence and it should be made sure that they are truly effective (Steinmetz, Blakenship, Brown, Hall and Miller, 1980; Cummings, 1990; Elkin, 1999a; Sorenson and Goldsmith, 2008). The awareness of potential stressors has to be continuous and coping mechanisms need to be flexible enough to change and modify in

The Executive 25

Villa Arrigo

Sumptuous.Congenial.

Issue No. 31 - 2011

The Executive the light of the different stressors of different individuals (Crawford, 2000). Up to some years ago some individuals were reluctant to admit that they were undergoing stress for fear that this might indicate that they were failing to cope sufficiently with their work. Any attempt to reduce the experience of stress was seen as the individual’s own responsibility (Kyriacou, 2001). Conclusion Work intensification with all its different aspects, increased workloads, lack of time to deal with them, and the resulting stress are a phenomenon that cannot be overlooked. Yet albeit such demands occur, as well as increased constraint for them to be perceived as legitimate, people continue to go the extra mile, to work the extra hours, to forego the family or community (in this case). What is even more worrying is the fact, as Gronn (2003) points out, that people are becoming addicted to this pattern, and in reality are living to work, rather than working to live: “work becomes the measure of what one is and not just what one does” (p. 153).

Job Satisfaction, Job Stress Blackmore (1995) makes the same point, saying that due to the huge demands posed by certain jobs and the invasion of personal time and space, “the line between the professional and personal is increasingly blurred” (p. 51). Fielding (2003) takes this further by putting forward the perturbing fact that the personal is not just increasingly utilised for the functional, but rather that “the functional and the personal collapse soundlessly into each other” (p.12). This is a factor that should be combatted, both at the management as well as the personal level. References (abridged): • American Institute of Stress (1999) Stress, Stress, Stress. Retrieved 25th August 2006 from www.stress.org • Elkin, A. (2009) Stress Management. New York: Wiley • Greenberg, S.F. (2002) Stress and The Teaching Profession. Baltimore, MD: Paul Brookes • Kelly, M.J. (2008) The Manchester survey of Occupational Stress in Headteachers and Principals in the UK. Manchester Polythecnic

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That “the line between the professional and personal is increasingly blurred” is a factor that should be combatted both at the management as well as the personal level.

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• Kyriakou, C. (2000) Stress-busting for Teachers. London: Cassell • Locke, E.A. (1976) “The ambiguity of the technique of goal setting in theories and approaches to employee motivation” in Academy of Management Review, Vol. 3 (4), pp. 594 – 601

In a study among Heads of Dunham and Collins (1992) identified several sorts schools,

of individual coping patterns or coping mechanisms.

These can be divided into four categories: • Palliative measures: short-term tactics that give an immediate relief, like smoking, drinking and overeating • Direct measures: political action of some kind like trying to modify job demands by changing the system or possibly changing the culture of the organisation • Indirect measures: when an individual changes responses to demands by using peer support groups, counselling and other similar strategies • Compensatory measures: patterns such as developing outside interests like sports activities, leading to a more balanced overall lifestyle.

Dr Rose Anne Cuschieri is the Director for Educational Services within the Secretariat for Catholic Education. She is also a parttime lecturer and tutor within the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta. She is involved in seminars and training for young people and adults with the Employment and Training Corporation, and lectures Leadership, Management and Interpersonal Skills at the Malta Police Academy. Rose Anne is also a free-lance trainer and lecturer in leadership, motivation and stress. She is the author of several articles in both local and foreign educational and management journals and she has presented several papers in different prestigious conferences both locally and abroad. Rose Anne may be contacted at roseanne.cuschieri@gmail.com.

San Pawl tat-Targa, l/o Naxxar, Malta 26 The Executive

• Hertzberg, F. (1959) Motivation to Work. New York: John Wiley.

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The Executive 27

Issue No. 31 - 2011

Company Highlight - The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality

SHOULD YOUR LOGO SHOULD YOUR SHOULD YOUR LOGO LOGO BE HERE TOO?LOGO

BE HERE TOO? BE HERE TOO? HERE TOO? the equality Mark is a certification recognising organisations that gender equality, thedemonstrate equality Mark aiscommitment a certification towards recognising organisations the equality equality Mark Markisisaacertification certificationrecognising recognisingorganisations organisations the that demonstrate commitment towards gender equality, certifying them asa true equal opportunities employers. that demonstrate a commitment towards gender equality, that demonstrate a commitment towards gender equality, certifying them as true equal opportunities employers. certifying themas astrue trueequal equalopportunities opportunitiesemployers. employers. certifying them The organisations below have already demonstrated best practices in gender equality.

below have already the demonstrated besttopractices in gender equality. If you believe The thatorganisations your organisation possesses right attitude obtain the Equality Mark certification, The organisations below have already demonstrated best practices in gender equality. The organisations below have already demonstrated best practices in gender equality. If you believethe that your organisation possesses right attitude to obtain (NCPE) the Equality certification, then contact National Commission for thethe Promotion of Equality for Mark more information.

IfIf you believe that your organisation possesses totoobtain the certification, you believe that your organisation possesses theright rightattitude attitude obtain theEquality Mark certification, then contact the National Commission for thethe Promotion of Equality (NCPE) forEquality more Mark information. then contact the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) for more information. then contact the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) for more information.

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ESF 3.47

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The Executive

n today’s world, a good image and an excellent reputation are key factors to business success. A lot of effort goes into pleasing our customers, meeting their needs, ensuring that their relationship with every aspect of our organisations is a positive one. Yet perhaps less effort is spent in ensuring the same quality relationship with our employees. In some cases, the real experience of the employees is a far cry from the prestige exhibited by the organisation or the image that it portrays to its clientele. Presently, an issue that is still faced by numerous employees and job seekers is that of discrimination and harassment from a potential employer or at their place of work. Men and women still experience discrimination when applying for careers which have been traditionally dominated by the opposite gender and some employees work in an environment which is hostile, degrading and not conducive to productive work. Women in our society are still being looked over for promotions because of potential pregnancy years down the line or given a lower remuneration package compared to their male counterparts in similar posts. These are just some of the cases that the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) has encountered through the years and which has spurred the need for a certification that truly recognises equal opportunity employers. The Equality Mark is a certification that recognises the efforts of organisations that not only honour what the law prescribes but that give evidence of best practices in the area of gender equality. An organisation is expected to have a policy against discrimination and sexual harassment, evidence of equal opportunities in every aspect of recruitment, employment and training, as well as opportunities to both genders to reconcile their work and life obligations. To date, 17 organisations hailing from both the private and public sector have been certified. Several others have demonstrated an interest and are still being processed. What distinguishes certified organisations is their efforts to go beyond what the law prescribes in terms of gender equality. www.the-executive.biz

Are you truly deserving of an Equality Certification? Elaine Dutton This is evidenced in their flexibility and true commitment to meet their employees half way such that employees know that the management can understand their new responsibilities and that with these measures they can continue giving • To

date, men and women still

experience discrimination when

their utmost at the workplace without relinquishing their family responsibilities. For example, some of the family friendly measures that certified employers offer, include the possibility for an employee to benefit from reduced and / or flexible hours, teleworking, career breaks, jobsharing, extended paid/unpaid maternity leave and child care subsidies amongst others.

applying for careers which have been traditionally dominated by the opposite gender.

• The Equality Mark certification

that

the

efforts

recognises

organisations

that not only honour what the law

prescribes

but

that

give

evidence of best practices in the area of gender equality.

• What

distinguishes

organisations to

beyond

their what

certified efforts the

law

prescribes in terms of gender equality.

These measures are a welcome opportunity for female and male employees alike, particularly at a time when dual-earner families are increasing and the need to juggle work and family commitments has become one of the most discussed stressors of the 21st century. Like all awards in life – it takes hard work and true commitment to be certified. But if you feel that your organisation deserves the Equality Mark, then you only need to contact us to apply. Elaine Dutton B.Psy (Hons.), MSc Health Psy occupies the role of Equality Mark promoter at the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality. The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality can be contacted by phoning 2590 2850, by email on equality@gov.mt or visit our website www.equality.gov.mt for more information. The Executive 29

Issue No. 31 - 2011

Dare to be Slow.

The Executive • We need to encourage our most important managers to slow down, think about their products, customers and markets in context, and use some unstructured time to think about new products and services. • Bureaucratic organisations were built with the intention of slowing things down, rather than speeding them up. Let’s use that to our advantage. • We should embrace the threats of speed and complexity rather than fight them, and do so by slowing down, by looking further into the future and creating change at a pace that is acceptable to customers and to ourselves. • An increasing amount of personal energy is required to separate “noise” from “knowledge.” Once discerned, it seems we have less time and energy to translate knowledge into wisdom … and even less time and energy to enact our wisdom. As the pace quickens, as the demands increase, and as we age and therefore function with less energy, we need to challenge ourselves to be better time managers.

“Hurry sickness” is dangerous. Do you feel like a laboratory mouse running inside a wheel, getting nowhere? In today’s around-the-clock world, many people feel that they cannot get ahead, no matter how hard and fast they work. So what’s the best way to break out of the wheel? Slow down. That sounds counter-intuitive, but if trying to keep up puts you further behind, why not try something new? Take a big-picture approach, strive for balance and keep your eye on your primary goals.

Dare to be Slow. Paul Gauci

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hat the pace of change is increasing ever more rapidly, and that the complexity most businesses face is also growing is a well known fact. “But I’ve also learned that only through focus can you do world-class things, no matter how capable you are.” Bill Gates

Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH Level 2 Office Group Business Centre • Notabile Rd • Birkirkara BKR 1876 • Malta • www.konicaminolta.eu 30 The Executive

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Perhaps the best thing most firms can do from a creativity and innovation perspective is to slow down in order to speed up. There are several factors within this statement to discuss. First, in most organisations everyone is far too busy. There are too many meetings and too many decisions and too little time to think and reflect. We’ve begun to value people by how “busy” they are and thinking that time is valuable. Time is not as valuable as knowledge and insight. We

need to encourage our most important managers to slow down, think about their products, customers and markets in context, and use some unstructured time to think about new products and services. Second, it is natural to try to do things more quickly in the face of ever increasing change, but then we join a treadmill directed by some other power - not driven by our pace. As we try to ensure our organisation matches the pace of the market, especially dynamic global markets, we will quickly recognise that bureaucratic organisations were built with the intention of slowing things down, rather than speeding them up. Let’s use that to our advantage. Rather than react to the market, let’s forecast what we believe the market will do, using trend spotting and scenario planning, and put the power of the organisation to work defining the future. Then we can set the pace of change and work on developing the future products and services at our pace, and using our strengths, rather than trying to maintain the rat race established by someone else. Third, we need to consider what is “fixed” The Executive 31

Issue No. 31 - 2011

The Executive

Dare to be Slow.

“Success in the knowledge economy comes to those who know themselves - their strengths, their values, and how they best perform.” Peter Drucker and what is “fluid”. Traditionally we’ve assumed that business models are fixed they exist for a period of time, and then they perish. What is assumed to change if the business model is fixed is the product or service - we are constantly changing existing products or introducing new ones within a fairly consistent business model. Perhaps we need to assume a business model which is flexible and which should change over time? What if the business models are adaptable, and products and services are adaptable as well? What remains “fixed” is the customer value proposition and the firm’s strategic intent, while everything else is subject to change. Suddenly change and the pace of change isn’t measured in product lifecycles, which are growing ever shorter, but in business model “eras”. What isn’t going to change drastically over any period of time is the customer’s need for excellent services and experiences. If we can “fix” those, then let’s construct business models and products that evolve on our timescales, changing as necessary. Given the fight or flight instinct, it is natural for us humans to react to those changes in our environment which we think are threats or things we can’t control. Perhaps we should embrace the threats of speed and complexity rather than fight them, and do so by slowing down, by looking further into the future and creating change at a pace that is acceptable to customers and to ourselves. After all, customers are just as bewildered and threatened by the complexity and pace of change as we are in business. Customers don’t want change for change sake, they actually want their problems to be solved in ways that are easy to understand and adopt. Some firms that grasp that they control more of their future than they think they do, and who are willing to slow down to embrace complexity and change, will be the winners. The self perspective A good time manager actually responds to some things more slowly than a bad time manager would. For example, someone who is doing the highest priority task is 32 The Executive

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probably not busy answering incoming email while they’re doing it. There are more important tasks than processing email. Intuitively, we all know this. What we need to do now is recognise that processing one’s work (evaluating what’s come in and how to handle it) and planning one’s work are also mission-critical tasks. The promise of technology and increased sophistication in our society is enhanced efficiency that manifests itself in an improved lifestyle … a lifestyle in which leisure increases and the burden of work wanes. Increasingly, however, this promise is lost. Permanent overload in both one’s personal life and organisational life results from both an over supply of tasks and from an assumption that all those tasks have to be done … and have to be done ASAP. Surely, in the current environment of economic recession and institutional cutbacks, the deafening cry of doing “more with less” is leading to employee burnout and organisational confusion, as staying busy has become an excuse for not forming and following strategic foci in both our personal and corporate lives. The phrase “information overload” depicts our dilemma. An increasing amount of personal energy is required to separate “noise” from “knowledge.” Once discerned, it seems we have less time and energy to translate knowledge into wisdom … and even less time and energy to enact our wisdom. As the pace quickens, as the demands increase, and as we age and therefore function with less energy, we need to challenge ourselves to be better time managers. With incessant workplace demands to become more efficient, effective, and innovative, we drive ourselves at an acceleratingly frantic pace … and seem to fall further and further behind. How do we escape this quandary? Perhaps, ironically, we must slow down in order to speed up. Fine ! So how do we escape this quandary? The following actions, may help us recalibrate our lives in a manner that will result in a fuller, focused, and more meaningful existence. 1. Change yourself on the inside The key is to get to know yourself and then make choices based on personal ethical standards, value foundations, mental attitudes, and life priorities. To be effective,

many times who one is, is more important than what one knows; what drives you at a deeper level? In order to improve, we have to focus on our strengths. A person can perform only from strength. One cannot build performance on weaknesses, let alone on something one cannot do at all. We have to discover what we do well, how we do it and for what reasons. This may sound simple, but in fact it’s a mystery to most people. The power of positive purpose can and will produce personal confidence, a strong ego, and a commitment to perform within one’s values structure. Remember, world Ten Power Questions • When am I most naturally myself ? What people, places, and activities allow me to feel most fully myself ? • What is one thing I could stop doing, or start doing, or do differently, starting today that would most improve the quality of my life? • What is my greatest talent? • How can I get paid for doing what I love? • Who are my most inspiring role models? • How can I best be of service to others? • What is my heart’s deepest desire? • How am I perceived by: my closest friend, my worst enemy, my boss, my children, my co-workers, etc.? • What are the blessings of my life? • What legacy would I like to leave?

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The Executive class organisations and individuals do not succeed because of insecurities, and fear of failing, rather they succeed because of positive attitudes, self-confidence, and believing in achieving their visions. Selfidentity and the quest for self-awareness are the salient anchors that one must internalise before one can be a success in any capacity. Know yourself … be honest about your values, skills, limitations, and biases. 2. Good – better – best It is impossible for to be at your best all the time. In truth, one must make quality trade-offs between tasks and obligations all the time. Therefore, it is vital that you know the difference between what is critical and what is marginal so that limited personal and organisation resources are used in a priority-anchored manner. Never let perfection become the enemy of the good. Use time, energy, and resources within a good-better-best continuum. To know the difference between being busy and hyperactive and being focused and productive is essential to both one’s personal and vocational life. 3. Eliminate trivia The seduction of trivia is insidious as the hours in the office mount. As the blunting nature of difficult decision-making blurs focus, individuals get fatigued. The importance of decisions (criticality to institutional success) and the urgency with which they must be made (the “time” dimension) get skewed.

Become an active listener, as in so doing you would be demonstrating to others that you understand and care for them and that you value their opinions and observations.

Dare to be Slow. Managers often spiral from where they should be and desire to be to stressinducing crisis management. The addictive properties of the adrenaline rush via URGENT pace degrades from matters of high importance to matters which are less/ not important … and the ‘Trivia Trap’ is sprung as the individual slips into the “mismanagement” box.

of everyday life in the workplace. Clearly, in today’s organisational milieu of cultural diversity, open systems, flattened hierarchies, decisionmaking transparencies, and customer demands for better access to and better service from all organisations, it is incumbent upon each of us to help both others and ourselves.

4. Become an active listener When one hears the word ‘listener’ images are conjured up of an auditory process in which one assumes a reclined, contemplative posture with thoughtful, affirmative nods of the head. While this “passive listening” is preferred to not listening at all, it falls far short of the active listening necessary in slowing down.

We can do this working humanely in teams based on empowering, enabling, and nurturing that allows those within our sphere of influence to realise their own dignity and humanity. Respect for each other and respect for your organisation’s mission produces an alignment that guarantees performance and productivity.

Effective listening simultaneously engages both auditory and visual senses. Listen with your ears and your eyes and your whole body, metaphorically on the balls of your feet … on the edge of your seat. Active listening takes effort, but picking up clues by both hearing and seeing and feeling encourages one to ask better questions, thereby unearthing agendas and issues that may not be initially apparent. By becoming an active listener, it demonstrates to others that you understand and care for them and that you value their opinions and observations. By listening for the intrinsic value of what others say, you develop relationships that lead to dialogue, collaboration, and trust.

6. Seek wisdom, competence, confidence The half-life of information is six months. The half-life of wisdom is a lifetime. The self is not infinitely elastic. It has potentials and it has limits. If the work we do lacks integrity for us, then we, the work, and the people we do it with will suffer. Fundamentally, there must be a blend and a balance among your intellectual quotient, your emotional quotient, and your spiritual commitments, as you move from the notion of learning to the motion of acting.

5. Improve your “serve” Dignity, trust, and hope are rarely soft personal or management skills. The respect required to build relationships and become a leader is mostly acquired by communicating trust through one’s behaviour; demonstrating by one’s actions a faith in humanity; and serving one’s colleagues/employees with caring and compassion. It is this combination of commitment and concern within the guidelines of “servant” leadership, that gives all of us the confidence and the will to do difficult but rewarding work. Let’s remain aware of our innate spiritual nature while struggling through the trials

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Thinking without action is futile, action without thinking is fatal, and doing either without a deep commitment to community, interpersonal collaboration, professional competence, and personal confidence is to fail. Perpetual optimism, positive attitudes, and purposeful performance lead to positive actions. By creating an interdependent blend of intellect, emotion, and spirituality you can produce your own personal collaborative style enabling you to achieve success in your goals and people relationships. 7. Retreat … find silence and solitude An important aspect of slowing down is to listen to yourself. “Take a timeout.” The purpose of this is to calm down and re-centre.. Let “slowing-silence” become a tool for contemplative effectiveness. The Executive 35

Issue No. 31 - 2011

The Executive

The major up side to slowing down, is creating space for your inner wisdom. The voice of guidance always empowers choices when moving too fast, some of those choices become obscured and can be missed. Conversely, sitting and waiting without action can limit your choices as well. Making an active decision to take time to connect with guidance changes your relationship to your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. Slowing down is different for everybody. Some people meditate, exercise, do sports, listen to music, or play with kids. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is when you slow down enough to listen to guidance, you feed your energy systems, opportunities expand and challenges transform.

There’s far more to an office than

Conclusion Faster and faster in the end can only mean stasis. We do not just risk personal and organisational breakdowns in indiscriminate speed; indeed, we press the limits of our humanity, of our energy, and of our culture. When the principle of “slowing down, to speed up” is applied in day to day life, it saves

Dare to be Slow. Seeing the future is only half the battle; you have to live to get there.

headaches, empowers relationships, creates more time, opportunity and abundance than any other time management principle one may read about. We need to know where we are going even when things are uncertain, moving fast and contain multiple distractions, which is a fact of life and business in the current global economy. Slowing down to speed up becomes critical as we view the current environment. We must master ourselves so that we can master the things that have

accelerated us beyond our values. In essence, the way forward is paradoxically not to look ahead, but to slow down and look around. Remember, seeing the future is only half the battle; you have to live to get there. Perhaps C.S. Lewis was right when he stated that “only lazy people are too busy”. Paul Gauci, who has a passion for management education, training and development, is Head Training and Consultancy at Bank of Valletta and a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta where he teaches ‘Organisational Behaviour”.

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36 The Executive

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The Executive 37

Issue No. 31 - 2011

Monitoring Customer Satisfaction

Monitoring Customer Satisfaction Francis Farrugia

customer’s expectations are mainly shaped by the customer’s experience, the information available and the customer’s needs.

In this model, the customer’s expectation of product characterises the product the customer would like to receive. The

The planned product characterises the product that the organisation intends to deliver. Often it is a compromise between the organisation’s understanding of the customer’s expectations, the organisation’s capabilities, its internal interests and the technical, statutory and regulatory constraints applicable to the organisation and the product. As illustrated in the conceptual model, in order to improve customer satisfaction, the organisation needs to close the gap between quality expected by the customer and the customer’s perception of delivered quality. In order to do so, the organisation should address each of the stages in the conceptual model cycle, i.e. by understanding the customer’s expectations when defining the planned product; delivering their products in conformity with the planned product; understanding the customer’s perception of the delivered product; and enhance customer satisfaction through improvements to the product and information about the product and its constraints.

he necessity to monitor and measure customer satisfaction comes from the fact that one of the key elements of organisational success is the customer’s satisfaction with the organisation and its products. The information obtained from monitoring and measuring customer satisfaction can help identify opportunities for improvement of the organisation’s strategies, products, processes and characteristics that are valued by customers. Such improvements can strengthen customer confidence and result in commercial and other benefits. This article looks at some of the important aspects on establishing effective processes for monitoring and measuring customer satisfaction. Conceptual model of customer satisfaction We will start our discussion with a conceptual model of customer satisfaction shown in Figure 1. It shows the relationship between the organisation’s perspectives and the customer’s perspectives regarding product quality.

The Executive • Energy, effort and a lot of enthusiasm need to be invested in motivation. • To motivate is to induce someone to take action. • Positive reinforcement offers attractive consequences for desirable performance. Therefore praise and appreciation motivate the individual to do their best. • Leaders need to feel appreciated by their subordinates. They need to feel that their efforts, which at times, are huge, are acknowledged. • Providing challenge together with fulfilment at work is a powerful motivational tool. • Only leaders who are themselves motivated can possibly motivate others. • Stress can never be eliminated and some element of stress can produce results as it can be used as an incentive for better job performance, and act as a motivator for the individual to strive on and try to ameliorate one’s position.

The organisation should also consider that customer satisfaction is related not only to product and delivery characteristics, but also to organisational behaviour characteristics. Customer expectations and satisfaction Customer satisfaction is not simply the satisfaction of the specific elements or aspects of the delivered product, but also the overall satisfaction of the customer. One should be aware that this is not the sum (or average) of the individual elements and should therefore be evaluated separately. The customer often specifies certain elements of the product that directly impact satisfaction. However, satisfaction is affected by other characteristics, whose relationship is illustrated in Figure 2 based on Kano model (1984). Kano found that customer satisfaction is determined by the gap between the customer’s

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Issue No. 31 - 2011

The Executive

Monitoring Customer Satisfaction

requirements, as well as other customer desires (“wish list”). As discussed above one should be aware customers might not always explicitly specify all aspects of the product.

expectations and the customer’s perception of the product as delivered by the organisation. To achieve customer satisfaction, the organisation should first understand the customer’s expectations. T h e s e expectations might be explicit or implicit, or not fully articulated (they may be in the sub-conscious mind).

The Executive Such data can provide insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the product and related organisation processes (e.g. product support, complaints handling and customer communication). Direct measures of customer satisfaction

Identifying and selecting product characteristics

The organisation should then The extent to which the identify the characteristics Figure 1 – Customer satisfaction conceptual model delivered product is perceived of the product (quality, Source: Berry, et al (1991) by the customer to meet or dependability, features, exceed expectations determines aesthetics, safety, etc.), of its and using customer satisfaction information, the degree of customer satisfaction. It is as well as how to analyse the results and delivery (on-time delivery, completeness important to make a distinction between make effective use of these results. of order, response time, etc.) and of the organisation’s view of the quality of the organisation (personnel courtesy, the delivered product and the customer’s Identifying the customers and their competence, communication, billing perception of the delivered product, expectations process, complaints handling, etc.). because it is the latter that governs the The first step is to identify the customers, customer’s satisfaction. both current and potential, whose The organisation should rank the expectations it intends to determine. selected characteristics to reflect their Once the “customer” group is defined, the relative importance, as perceived by Measuring customer satisfaction organisation should identify the individual the customer. If necessary, a survey Some information regarding customer customers whose expectations are to be should be carried out with a sub-set of satisfaction might be obtained indirectly determined. For example, in the consumer customers to determine or verify their from the organisation’s internal processes goods sector, such individuals might perception of relative importance of (e.g. customer complaints handling) or be regular customers, or they might be characteristics. from external sources (e.g. reports in the occasional customers. media). Usually, the organisation needs to Indirect indicators of customer supplement such information with data Next comes determining customer satisfaction obtained directly from customers. Therefore expectations. The organisation should The organisation should also consider it is important that the organisation makes consider the stated customer requirements, examining the existing sources of plans to monitor the processes for obtaining implied customer requirements, legal information for data that reflect characteristics related to customer satisfaction. These typically include: Satisfied

• the frequency or trend in customer complaints product returns; Motivators: Characteristics that are directly connected to satisfaction – in general, the more fulfillment, the better

Hidden Opportunities: Characteristics that are important, But are not (yet) expected or fulfilled

Not Fulfilled

Fulfilled

Hygenics: Characteristics that are expected. Their fulfillment only avoids dissatisfaction, but does not cause satisfaction. Non-fulfillment will cause extreme dissatisfaction;.

Dissatisfied

Figure 2. Relationship between various characteristics and customer satisfaction Sourrce: Adapted from Kano model (1984) 40 The Executive

Issue No. 31 - 2011

• data obtained through communication with customers; • reports from supplier surveys conducted by customer organisations;

Whilst the above sources of information are valuable, it is usually necessary to gather customer satisfaction data directly from customers. The methods used to gather customer satisfaction data depend on various factors, such as the type, number and geographical or cultural distribution of customers. The method most commonly used for gathering such data is a survey, which can be either qualitative, or quantitative, or both. Qualitative surveys are those that are typically designed to reveal characteristics of the product, delivery or the organisation that are relevant to customer satisfaction. They are typically undertaken to understand or explore individual perceptions and reactions, and to uncover ideas and issues. Whilst they are relatively flexible in application, they can be subjective. Quantitative surveys are those that are designed to measure the degree of customer satisfaction. They are typically conducted to collect aggregate data, using fixed questions or criteria. They are used for determining status, benchmarking, or tracking changes over time. Analysing customer satisfaction data Once the data related to customer satisfaction has been collected analysis typically includes the degree of customer satisfaction and its trend; aspects of the organisation’s product or processes that might have significant impact on satisfaction; relevant information on competitor’s or comparable organisations products and processes; and the strengths and primary areas for improvement.

• reports from consumer groups that might reveal how the organisation and its products are perceived by customers or users;

“It seems that morality, emotion and social

• media reports which might reveal how the organisation or its products are perceived, and which might themselves also influence customer perceptions;

concerns of transactional leadership in

bonds provide far more powerful stimulants to motivation and commitment than extrinsic which leaders and followers exchange needs and services to achieve independent objectives.” Day et al., 2000, p. 164

• reports and publications from regulators. www.the-executive.biz

www.the-executive.biz

Monitoring Customer Satisfaction Though qualitative surveys are far more flexible than quantitative ones, they can be quite subjective to one’s particular whims over that of others..

Communicating

and validating

customer satisfaction information

Finally, once the information from the measurement and analysis of customer satisfaction data is gained, the organisation should take steps to improve the products, processes or strategies by: reviewing the current customer satisfaction information; determining what information should be communicated and to whom (including customers); formulating action plans for improvement; and reviewing implementation of action plans and outcomes in appropriate forums, e.g. management reviews; and assessing the effectiveness of actions taken by validating the customer satisfaction information with other relevant business performance indicators (for example, increased demand, increased market share, increased repeat customers and increased new customers). If the customer satisfaction measurement trend is not reflected in other business performance indicators, it might point to a limitation or flaw in the customer satisfaction measurement and communication processes. As seen in the above discussion, customer satisfaction is an abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product

to product as the state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviours such as return and recommend rate. It is therefore one of the most challenging tasks of management to ensure customer satisfaction and this article provides some modern insights to close the satisfaction ‘gap’. References: • Berry, Leonard L.; A. Parasuraman, “Marketing Services: Competing Through Quality”, New York: Free Press, 1991 • Bonacorsi, Steven. “Kano Model and Critical To Quality Tree.” Six Sigma and Lean Resources – Home, 2010 • ISO/DIS 10004 “Quality management — Customer satisfaction — Guidelines for monitoring and measuring”, International Standards Organization, Geneva, 2010 • Kano, Noriaki; Nobuhiku Seraku, Fumio Takahashi, Shinichi Tsuji, “Attractive quality and must-be quality” (in Japanese). Journal of the Japanese Society for Quality Control, 1984.

Ing. Francis Farrugia occupies the post of Head of the Standardisation Directorate of the Malta Standards Authority (MSA). He also lectures at the Henley Management College in Malta. The Executive 41

Issue No. 31 - 2011

Exceptions to Patent Rights

• The tug of war between upholding inventors’ rights and the need to promote innovation, creativity and sustainable development (especially for less developed countries) has never been more economically and politically felt than today. • Patent rights were never endowed to rightholders to prevent other individuals of the capacity and faculty from exercising their abilities in a just way.

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The Executive

ince time immemorial, inventors were applauded, encouraged and financially rewarded for their efforts in seeking refinement to existing modes of practice and developing new ones. In fact, such traces of endowment could be traced back to 500BC, where “encouragement was held out to all who should discover any new refinement in luxury, the profits arising from which were secured to the inventor by patent for the space of a year” (City of Sybaris).

The last five centuries have seen a proliferation of legislation and regulations that protect inventors and encourage them in producing new commodities, re-engineering existing traditional methods and scientifically researching and producing new compounds and compositions. Legislative interventions are frequent and numerous. Examples range from the enactment of a decree in Republic of Venice in 1474 that new and inventive devices put into practice had to be communicated to the Republic The Executive 43

Issue No. 31 - 2011

The Executive

Exceptions to Patent Rights Patent Protection Patent protection generally denotes exclusive rights granted by a country to an inventor/creator for a defined period, in exchange for the public divulgence of the contents of his/her invention in the name of the general good of the community. Under Maltese Law, patents are protected by giving the proprietor the right to prevent third parties from performing, without the inventors’ authorisation, the following acts: (a) the making of a product incorporating the subject-matter of the patent; (b) the offering or the putting on the market of a product incorporating the subject-matter of the patent, the use of such product, or the importation or stocking of such product for such offering or putting on the market or for such use; (c) the inducing of third parties to perform any of the above acts.

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Exceptions to Patent Rights

Exceptions Having said that, patent rights were never endowed to right-holders to prevent other individuals of the capacity and faculty from exercising their abilities in a just way: -

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“... if there be neither using nor vending of the invention for profit, the mere making for the purposes of experiment, and not for a fraudulent purpose, ought not to be considered within the meaning of the prohibition, and if it were, it is certainly not the subject of an injunction”. Since patent systems were designed to encourage and incentivise innovation, a system that would prevent research into the subject matter would be inconsistent with such objective. Therefore patent systems of most countries contain certain exemptions from infringement in the case of experiments performed relating to the subject matter of a patent. It

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• Developing agreements on: dividend policy, business exiting, Family employment policy, Ownership and share transfer, Spouses, etc. • Setting up of Family Assembly / Family Council • Managing and resolving family conflict • Developing and implementation of family governance • Training and education for families in business, next generation and specialist groups

2M Management Consultancy Ltd, 33, Flat 2, St. Joseph Street, Pieta Telephone: 21 22 82 64/5 | Fax: 21 22 82 66 | Email: mariod@2mmanagementconsultancy.com

past, prior to the TRIPS Agreement, countries had been largely free to adopt exceptions to patent rights as they deemed fit. It was envisaged that TRIPS would create some basic, harmonised rules and introduce some concrete conditions to regulate the validity of such exceptions. In short, a set of functional tests were put in place, which tests any adequate exception must pass. At the end of the process, the exceptions that had been well known before the negotiation of the TRIPS Agreement, continued to be regarded as valid exceptions after the entry into force of the TRIPS Agreement and most were incorporated therein.

44 The Executive

to obtain the right to prevent others from using them, to the first US Congress Patent Act in 1790, and the issuance of the first US patent for a potash production technique on July 31, 1790. Inventions in Malta have been protected since 1899. Through the decades, the law regulating the protection of inventions was amended several times. Yet, in the last decade the regulator felt the pressing needs of inventors to have a modern legislation that would protect their interests whilst at the same time avoiding that creativity and innovation are stifled. Hence the need to revise the old governing legislation and promulgate new provisions which would cater for the requirements of today’s business and science community as well as conforming with EU law and practices. The tug of war between upholding inventors’ rights and the need to promote innovation, creativity and sustainable development (especially for less developed countries) has never been more economically and politically felt than today. Presently the need to balance the two ideologies is paramount, especially in the pharmaceutical development arena.

Issue No. 31 - 2011

These exceptions include: 1. Private & Non-commercial Use de minimus private activity should not fall within patent infringement. 2. Experimental Use Scientific/technical progress must not be hindered by the patent system. 3. Prior Use Prior users should be treated fairly visà-vis patent holders 4. Regulatory Review – Experiments carried out for the purpose of seeking regulatory approval for marketing of a product after the expiration of a patent. Competition between patented medicines and generic medicines must be enabled as fast as possible after the expiry of the medicine patent (the “Bolar Exception”) for the benefit of society. 5. National Exhaustion & European Regional Exhaustion Once a patent holder has sold a patented product, whether in one

country or on the European market, they ought not to be able to control subsequent dealings with the product (e.g. resale or repair), whether within a country or throughout a region such as the EU respectively. The journal’s forthcoming issue will mainly focus on exception 4 above, that is, regulatory review and the promotion of healthy competition between the branded medicinal industry and the generic industry through the Bolar exemption. Dr Maria Chetcuti Cauchi acts as managing partner at Chetcuti Cauchi and heads the Intellectual Property & ICT Departments and the Financial Services and Banking Departments. Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates is a law firm with key strengths in intellectual property and ICT law, corporate and trust law, tax and financial services law. As head of the Intellectual Property & ICT Law department, Maria acts as legal counsel to medium-sized and large corporates requiring any form of IP protection in Malta and the EU. She is an approved EPO European Patent Attorney and trademark agent in Malta. www.ccmalta.com The Executive 45

Issue No. 31 - 2011

Interview with an Executive - Roderick Muscat Monsigneur

The Executive

Issue No. 31 - 2011

The Executive

Interview with an Executive - Roderick Muscat Monsigneur

“W

hat business are we in?” For many companies this may appear to be a most superfluous question. And yet it has enhanced the fortunes of companies such as the CocaCola Company that decided that its business was about providing refreshment rather than just selling soft-drinks. I had been working on and off with Advertising Agents for some thirty years. I presumed that the industry had evolved to reflect the increased competitive intensity of local markets . For sure indigenous adverts have become more sophisticated.

photography by George Scintilla

So I should have been prepared. However, I admit that I was somehow surprised when I met Roderick Muscat Monsigneur, founder and CEO of Lighthouse & Ashley. Roderick is a marketer by passion and profession. Obviously, after so many years in the industry, he is still very much in love with his work. “Our business is first and foremost about strategy. We are a Strategy Agency. We consult enterprises on how to boost their sales by developing and implementing the right strategy. We help them to communicate better with their existing and potential customers. We help enterprises to bond with customers through a ‘feel good’ factor.” This is a long way from media buying. Strategy is about doing the right thing, rather than doing something right. It is about being effective, not just more efficient. “Our way of operating gets results for our customers. They do not spend more; they just spend differently. We put greater emphasis on understanding, thinking and planning. We care about the quality of communication and not the amount of communication”. Roderick cannot hide his joy at Lighthouse & Ashley having registered another first. A 15-minute film, “Daqqet ix-Xita”, conceived and produced in-house had been accepted for the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival, leading the way to other festivals that have already selected the film in their official line-ups. The Executive will be closely following this story as it proves once again that there is no limit to the heights that can be achieved by Maltese executives.

Four AVA Platinum awards, a film at Cannes, and a strong international presence say a lot about what makes Roderick Muscat Monsigneur tick. The Executive interviews the CEO of Lighthouse Group so as to strive to gather what lies behind their success.

Interview with an Executive -

Roderick Muscat Monsigneur

This interview was conducted by Joe Vella Bonnici. 46 The Executive

www.the-executive.biz

This last achievement follows the four AVA Platinum Awards which Lighthouse & Ashley were awarded by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals in Texas, USA. The work created by the company competed with 1,700 other entries from all over the world. A proud Roderick tells me “we hit four platinum awards with four submissions. Now let’s see someone beat that!” What lies behind such success? Roderick puts it down to three key characteristics of Lighthouse & Ashley: a professional approach, a commitment to innovation and consistent training of personnel. Roderick explains that professionalism entails giving due attention to detail. “We need to be specialists even if we operate in a small market. Still, we acknowledge our limitations and wherever necessary we get external expertise so as to enhance the value of our work” adds Roderick. Professionalism entails total commitment and exceeding the expectations of customers. On one particular occasion, Lighthouse & Ashley even set up a studio and research team on a customer’s premises so as to better understand the nature of the business. www.the-executive.biz

Claudia, Roderick’s muse and companion Innovation starts with carrying out the necessary research and development and determining in what way one can be different. “Today, image is of paramount importance for companies as well as for products and services. Marketing today is very much about meeting the aspirations of customers”. If strategy is the core business of the agency, consistently delivering creativity requires good organisation. Creativity is not art. Creativity in business is only as good as the sales that it begets. Creativity is very subjective. What ultimately matters is the results it generates for enterprises. Every employee goes through consistent training. “We have to consistently embrace change. We find strength in having a multi-disciplinary team. Even our Board members have distinct areas of expertise: business operations, strategy, audio-visual production, creativity and design. We undertake extensive team-building exercises. Our business planning process starts by asking every employee for ideas and suggestions of how we can improve and move forward. We carry out extensive profiling of every employee at all levels so as to determine how he or she can best contribute to the team. This also enables us to assess his or her training needs”. Roderick points out that there are still too many companies in Malta which do not fully appreciate the investment that goes into running a Strategy Agency. “Our industry deserves more respect. We still get people who expect us to pitch for free. They do not fully appreciate that our time too is money.” Young agencies within the industry are often not given a fair chance. Only now is Malta realising the contribution that Creative Industries can make to the development of our economy. “Malta needs to promote itself better as a B2B base” adds Roderick. Lighthouse & Ashley engage themselves in extensive qualitative and precise marketing. “We practice what we preach” explains Roderick. But successful marketing starts with a good product or service. Or should I say that it starts with a good strategy? Lighthouse & Ashley seem to have the right answer. Joe Vella Bonnici is a freelance management consultant and is a lecturer at the University of Malta. The Executive 47

ÂŠ The Executive 48 The Executive

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The Executive 49

Bacon said that “knowledge is power.” Chekov inferred that “knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice,” while Einstein said “information is not knowledge.” The truth? It’s pretty easy to quote clever thinking after a quick internet search. Lighthouse & Ashley believes in real data, hard facts and decades of combined experience. We have opinions that are backed up by market research, strategies that are the product of analysis not just guess work or re-hashed ideas. We believe in professional partnerships. We invest ourselves into our allies because your success benefits us in the long term. Because we are here to stay. Let’s talk real strategy.

Winner of Four Platinum AVA Awards Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals TExAS, USA

50 The Executive

Lighthouse and Ashley. 14, C. Mallia Street, San Gwann SGN 2202, Malta t: (356) 21 387 900 e: info@lighthouse.com.mt www.lighthouse.com.mt www.the-executive.biz