EDITORIAL
Volume 11, Issue 5, 2016
Global Wealth Management
- Chan, K C, Goh, C, Anggono, D K, Susanto, M G, Hartono, M R & Yuwono S
Globalisation brings a greater range of impacts on business, such as global fluctuations such as interest rates, economic crises, recovery, trade agreements and price wars. As businesses grow vast, there are unprecedented amounts of money which must be managed throughout changing conditions, through accumulation, transfer and protection. This paper takes a wholistic view of three family businesses which have grown over time, in one case for 1300 years, and their differing approaches. Some of the same principles apply across centuries - for example, K C Chan's 6 As. It starts with Awareness, without which no valid decisions can be made. Companies then need to Align and ensure the organisation fits in multiple ways, including strategy and culture. They must Act to achieve their mission, vision, and values. They need to Adopt new ways as the world changes, while retaining core values. There needs to be Assurance to maintain the business in challenging times. To gain all this, they need to Anticipate risks and opportunities. This demands continuing awareness, which links back to the first A - Awareness.
Leading in a VUCA Business Environment
- Sattar Bawany
The acronym, VUCA, seems to get more and more apposite in this Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous world. To keep up and deal with the challenges, there needs to new cognitive approaches, and creativity will continue to be vital for leaders. There has to be cognitive readiness, both to think creatively, and to make it clear why this creativity is essential. This brings in another acronym - LEAP. Leaders must be Liberal and open-minded, Exuberant, to keep up the energy and optimism needed, Agile, to regard change as a continuing process, not a one-off project, and leaders need Partnerships at every level, from small teams within the organisation, to all stakeholders, internal and external. This involves critical thinking beyond the traditional evaluation of data, problem -solving and decision making; it includes the incorporation of ambiguity and risk, where linear logical thinking does not work. Leaders need to ready for a new world with new demands, including emotional and social intelligence, the ability to form visions and enthuse others in its implementation.
Shifting to Outcomes and Demand-Based Public Services
- Neil Streets
Demand for public services, and ongoing budget crises pull in opposite directions. To cut, cut, cut is a simplistic approach and creates frustration, anger, and bad relationships - a poor foundation for future provision of services. There need to be ways of working with the systems (formal and informal) to find solutions. Grass roots movements are powerful, and the more they concur with existing social norms, the more powerful they are. Strong and easy communication is vital. Anger rises when people do not know, feel excluded, and maybe most destructive of all, begin to guess, and act on guesses, thus starting the wildfire of rumour. This applies even more in times of change, and we now need fundamental changes in outlook to deal with continuous change. One way is to shift the focus from providing services at a decreasing rate in response to cuts, to looking at demand and how it may be managed. For example, providing visiting nurses at home may be more effective and cost less than prolonged hospital stays. Technology makes it easier to collect data, and this needs to be properly analysed, especially if the results are surprising. This paper looks at various factors in demand management and public services, and how improvements might be made.
International Relocation
- Hannah Lobban
Relocation is an upheaval that requires a lot of adjustment, even within a country. It adds to the tensions in starting a new role, it involves the whole family, and it is expensive. The difficulties multiply when it means living in a new culture and perhaps speaking a different language. With globalisation this is going to become more frequent. From the business point of view it is expensive, and important not to lose employees by not managing relocation properly. Adjustment is a complex process, starting well before the move with the necessary information and training to match expectations to reality. Once they arrive, there needs to be cultural adjustment and job adjustment. Factors that help are strong self-belief and autonomy to make their own decisions, along with empathy for others and openness to different ways of viewing the world and work. This paper outlines basic theory and looks at some research around international relocation.
Career Coaching: A Primer
- Dellistina James
Coaching is a way of helping people to improve their performance, and may be used at any stage of a career, even before people even start work in the form of career guidance. It can help beginners to get started, and it can push people already at a high level to further excellence. It has existed for centuries, all over the world, and yet there is no universal definition of what coaching is. This paper looks at existing literature on the subject. Some definitions strictly apply to building individual strengths; some embrace almost anything that will help with a career. They may emphasise topics, or tasks, or problems, or solutions. There is sometimes high concern as to what is out of bounds, some. thinking coaches should have clinical training. This may well be advisable if the client has any, even marginal, mental health issues. Coaching sessions may be highly analytic, or may view clients as the best judges of their own way forward. All these different approaches should not vie against each other, but be used as a rich vein of research.