Plantations to benefit from Contract-Growing system

It has been claimed that the recent wage increase granted to plantation sector workers has pushed the cost of production of Sri Lankan teas to the highest in the world, The wage increase,

From crisis to sustenance : Leadership challenge – Inspiring future leaders

From today onwards for seven weeks, we will be talking about leadership. For all who lead others or aspire to lead others, this short course could be a good guide. We have taken the concept from the best seller ‘The Leadership Challenge’ by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner.

Maximizing opportunities in a growing market

A growing and well performing market is vital for both investors and borrowers to maximize their returns. This growth can help improve investor confidence as well as uplift the economy as a whole by mobilizing savings to the most important investments in the country.

Why women suffer most when garment industry collapses

Whether in Sri Lanka, Vietnam or Bangladesh, where a deadly factory collapse has killed over 500 people, the garment factory...

The SHINKANSEN method to energize workforce

 “Why does the Shinkansen (Japan’s bullet train) travel much faster than an ordinary train?” was a question posed to us during a training programme in Japan. None of our answers ranging from technology to the tracks were correct.

Feeding Asia’s energy appetite

Asia’s rise is increasingly considered a foregone conclusion, yet the extent to which the region will prosper hinges on its ability to feed its voracious, ever-increasing appetite for energy.

Capacity building at Mattala International Airport

 While the opportunities are being created to optimize the utilization of the new airport through Free Trade Zone, Industrial Park, Convention Centre etc. it is also necessary to look at what could be done from the existing opportunities both to the west and east of Sri Lanka in the immediate term.

From crisis to sustenance : Blue Ocean Strategy – Where rules of game are waiting to be set

Today, we recap what we have studied during the past few weeks.  If you ever hear your executives whine about the competition, you will want to read this book.

Essentials for successful investors

Being a successful investor requires skills similar to those of a successful chef. Every cookbook stresses the need to read the recipe before beginning, make sure you have all the ingredients and do not deviate from the recipe until you have practiced it several times. 

Austerity in Europe hurting women the most

Europe has always been a centre of celebration for human rights, whether for minorities, lesbian, gay, bisexual...

Futuristic macroeconomic policies for Asia and the Pacific

The  recently-launched  2013  Economic  and  Social  Survey of Asia and the Pacific of ESCAP is forecasting subdued growth of 6 per cent for the region in  2013  - up from 5.6 per cent in 2012.

NR will be volatile in 2013 and after

Rubber industry analysts have said some time ago that, natural rubber (NR) prices are likely to take a dip after 2012 due to the acceleration in normal production on account of massive new planting undertaken across the major natural producing countries of the world during 2005-08.

Marketing’s next frontier: Blue Ocean Strategy

Turbulent times have hit both Europe and emerging country economies. The competition for a share of the consumer’s wallet is becoming more severe. In Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne’s parlance, the Red Ocean is becoming more and bloodier.

Improving Sri Lanka’s service quality: Where the smile alone is not good enough

We often boast of our ‘Sri Lankan smile’ and the friendliness of the Sri Lankans, but all is not well with the Sri Lankan service quality. According to many foreign business visitors, Sri Lanka’s hotels are the worst offenders.

Benefits of sound economic diplomacy

A lot has been said about the current state of our external relations with the West. While the fallout of all this is often exaggerated, many of us know that diplomacy plays a direct role in addressing the root cause of insecurity and improving relations between countries. 

Foreign entrepreneurs - Threat or opportunity?

On a recent visit to the Galle Fort, supposedly one of the most ‘IT’ places around, I was struck by...

Electricity price adjustment commendable

The government is to be commended for its highly courageous decision to adjust electricity prices towards cost-reflectivity.

Migrant worker rights: Regional frameworks could hold key

In the wake of the execution of Sri Lankan housemaid Rizana Nafeek on 9th February 2013, accused of smothering an infant in her care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the human rights of migrant workers have come to the forefront of the policy discussion on migration.

From Crisis to Sustenance : Blue Oceans are possible in the era of rapid transformation

In our previous instalments we said that the Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS) is a systematic way to challenge the conventional logic of competition in a given industry and  to expand the market by attracting ‘non-customers’,

Stashing your cash: Mattress or market?

When stock markets become volatile, investors get nervous. In many cases, this prompts them to take money out of the market and keep it in cash. Cash can be seen, felt and spent at will and having money on hand makes many people feel more secure.

Six-year-old millionaire beauty queens: How consumerism consumes them too young

Isabella Barrett is just six years old – I would expect her to enjoy playing with her Barbies, go for ballet...

PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT We need more KAIZEN and less KAIWAARU

Kaizen is a Japanese word. KAI means change and ZEN means better, the two words together mean - change for the better, or improvement.

PPPs: Answer to Sri Lanka’s struggling healthcare sector?

In Sri Lanka, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) have existed unofficially for a long period. The first instance that such partnerships were seen in Sri Lanka’s health sector was during the....

New electricity tariffs: Cost wise, price foolish

It is frequently assumed that the subject of economics is chiefly concerned with the movement of money. This is incorrect. The main preoccupation in economics is how people make choices. The key to understanding and guiding an economy is this distillation and aggregation of individual choices.

Abans introduces LG Pocket Photo Printer

LG continues to make life even better by introducing the LG Pocket Photo printer to Sri Lanka. LG Pocket...

Let’s sabotage our education system!

I recently found myself sitting excitedly at Microsoft headquarters, eagerly waiting to see, and listen to, someone who I had been inspired and highly taken up with for a long time - Salman Khan- the Bengali American Educator and Entrepreneur (not the film idol).

Changing pillow to cure headache

The Pathfinder Foundation (PF) welcomes the efforts currently underway to address the chronic losses incurred by the CEB; and congratulates the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) and other stakeholders for conducting a professional Public Hearing.

Do plantation workers have a problem with their unions?

Voters share a common problem with owners of firms: How do you get the people you hire, or vote for, to protect your interest, after they are appointed or elected? In economics, there is a term for this question. It is called the principal-agent problem. 

Fallow land is worth nothing: Let’s incentivise realizing its value

Land is an emotional issue in all countries. It is particularly so in a relatively small country like Sri Lanka.

Extreme weather boosts poverty in Sri Lanka: Report

Without fail, Somadasa Gamage has prayed for one thing every year before he plants his crops. “Rain,” says the 47-year-old vegetable farmer, who has farmed for three and a half decades in Sri Lanka’s remote south eastern Tanamalvilla area, a dry area where rain can be frustratingly scarce.