      Business Editor : Eriq Dewanarayana
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The Central Bank's Spot Rates for transactions with Commercial Banks announced on the morning of June 18, 1998 were as follows:
The approximate middle exchange rates of following currencies calculated on the basis of cross rates quoted by Gulf International Bank, Bahrain as it appeared in Reuters Financial Information System on June 18, 1998 were as follows:
Average rates at which the following currencies were quoted by Commercial Banks in Colombo for Telegraphic Transfers at mid-day on June 18, 1998 were as follows:
Average Weighted Prime Lending
Rate (AWRP) and Lowest Prime Rate (LPR) Average Weighted Deposit Rate
of Commercial Banks (AWDR)
The National Development Bank's annual report was again judged the Best Corporate Report in the Financial Institutions category at the ÔAwards for Excellence in Annual Report & Accounts competition 1998', organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL), to promote and recognize excellence in published annual reports of companies and state sector institutions. The chief guest at the presentation ceremony, Mr. Anton Op de Beke (Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund in Sri Lanka), said in his address that producing good quality information is a challenge. The raw information generated through proper management information systems, combined with stringent accounting and auditing standards need to be then converted into a user-friendly report. 'The natural desire to present the company as favourable, must be balanced against the need to build up a reputation for credible and fair reporting. We expect good corporate reports to be rewarded in the market place', he said. The latest trophy adds to a string of awards won by the NDB for financial reporting over the years. The Bank has been the winner in the Financial Institutions category in 1997 & 1995, and in the Banking & Financial Institutions category in 1993, 1991 & 1990. 'We recognise the importance of presenting information of the highest quality to our shareholders, giving a clear picture of our current performance, highlighting our key strategies and direction for the future. The awards we have received for our reporting is another indication of our commitment to excellence in everything we do', said CEO, Ranjith Fernando. To ensure business success Ramon Segismundo is an expert in Human Resources. He is Director of Human Resources at SmithKline Beecham International operations in South East Asia and India. SmithKline & Beecham is a global player in the pharmaceutical industry and employs a vast number of people both with scientific and managerial expertise. Segismundo thinks there is excellent managerial talent in Sri Lanka. Here he talks to Dinesh Weerakkoddy. Q: There are two ways to approach human resources; get out in front and drive change, or clean up in the aftermath of change. What is the approach you advocate? A: The approach that I advocate is to get out in front and drive change, but clearly the head of the organisation himself has to be leading the change with HR as the change agent and/or catalyst and with the leadership team as change leaders. We should not forget that one of the roles and responsibilities of a Human Resource Manager is to be change agent specially if there is a need to shape an existing culture or build a new culture completely from scratch. Q: Would you agree with me if I say that how you develop and implement your HR strategy will mean the difference between success or failure in today's market place? A: Yes, I agree. The success or failure of the business/HR strategy depends on the development of HR capabilities to ensure business success in the marketplace. Capabilities, in my terms, refer to superior process i.e. training, recruitment, etc. and competencies i.e. HR professionals need to have the required knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours. Q: Also, why is it that HR professionals respond with ineffective practices when a business is nose diving? Like for example, voluntary early retirement, layoffs and eliminate training. A: Whether practices are effective or infective depend very much on the context. HR Professionals respond with ineffective practices when there is an ineffective business strategy, of which the people strategy is a part of. HR should have the capabilities and influence to ensure that the total business strategy is effective. The HR person is an integral part of the business team and while HR has a significant role to play in situations like these, these are obvious business decisions. Q: Does it have to be this way? A: It does not have to. The way to do it is for HR to align itself fully with the business and develop the processes and competencies to ensure effective delivery of HR outcomes. Q: Today many companies in the USA are outsourcing more of their HR activities than ever before. My view is that non value adding HR services should be outsourced to save overhead. How do you view this scenario? A: There are pros and cons to outsourcing. While certain cost economies may be achieved, the more important element of customer service may be lost. Also, in developing countries such as India and Sri Lanka, there are labour pools that could do low value added work and there is no sufficient infrastructure as of yet for outsourcing service providers. Outsourcing may therefore be premature in a developing market context. Q: Turnover of quality employees is of concern to employees in Sri Lanka. What are the reasons you attribute to the turnover of high quality employees? A: I see three major reasons. The first one is Career. Planning, managing and developing the careers of high quality employees is in an embryonic stage in the developing economies. The second one is Culture. People usually identify with companies with winning cultures that encourage continuous development in everything that it does. The third and final reason is that the talents of excellent companies are well sought after and highly mobile and this accounts for some of the turnover that we see, with the obvious challenge being to motivate and retain these talents. Q: In order, to retain smart employees, what HR strategies should organisation put in place? A: The organisation should focus on: i) Developing leaders at all levels and this means fostering continual development and learning. Our key people should be properly assessed vis-a-vis leadership competencies. Leadership development plans have to be designed and implemented. ii) Offering challenging and exciting work and providing opportunities to work with high performing, committed and energised teams. Q: What are the processes that your company adopts to retain people? A: I have previously explained leadership development. The other key process is an organisation survey. People generally want to be heard and listened to and a process to gather and analyse people's views usually works well. Of course, it is critical that the company acts on the data. Another one is the culture change process. This is where we make people aware of the desired culture, educate the people on this culture, integrate this culture with the day to day operations and positively reinforce this culture through recognition mechanisms. Has it paid off? A: Definitely. In companies, we are seeing more moves, more development activities and managers who are more aware of their coaching/developing role. We have people who feel that they could truly influence the way their companies are run. More importantly, people are talking about distinctive cultures of companies that define how employees of companies should live and work within their respective organisations. Q: Lastly, how do you rate our management staff when compared with the staff available in your Southeast Asia/India Region? A: There is a good and adequate supply of management staff in Sri Lanka unlike some of the Southeast Asia countries where shortages continue to exist despite the crisis. I also note that the Sri Lankan manager's outward-looking and non-isolationist perspective coupled with a good command of the English language will continue to be a competitive advantage. To maintain this edge, mechanisms to ensure closer linkages with Asia and the rest of the world have to be developed and maintained. |
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