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Events

Lok Jack GSB to host the Founding Father of Industry 4.0 at DLIC 2020

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The UWI – ALJGSB will feature the originator of Industry 4.0, Henrik Von Scheel at the annual Distinguished Leadership and Innovation Conference (DLIC) on May 8th, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain. Hailed by Financial Times as one of the leading authorities on strategy and competitiveness, he is notorious for his personal involvement to define the core differentiating, competitive aspects and to identify how to innovate and where to transform. As one of the most influential business thinkers, his work has been applied to national economies, influenced GDP growth, reset policies in governments, set standards currently applies by 26 NATO members, ignited hyper growth in companies and fuelled the profit of fortune 500 companies. Von Scheel will discuss putting Industry 4.0 into practice to shape the future and growth of organisations and of the nation. 

The emergence of Industry 4.0 continues to gain momentum with the development of technologies fondly known as artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT). Organisations will be challenged to reinvent their businesses, with customer centricity and experience at the core of every solution.  Leaders will be required to champion innovation in an eco-system reconfigured for employees to explore lateral functions and multi-disciplinary roles. Data analysis will become the backbone of future business and traditional businesses are being forced to dismantle silos and adopt more collaborative frameworks, encouraging agility and preparedness for global markets. Combining smart technologies with industrial platforms and practices, will achieve faster, more flexible and efficient processes to increase quality and reduce costs. Are you ready to harness the potential of Industry 4.0 within your organisation?

For further information, or to register at the early bird rate, please click here: https://bit.ly/36mjHs7 or contact the Conferencing team via 645-6700 ext 299 or  email conferencing@lokjackgsb.edu.tt

Good Bones

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Organisational Structure

What is “Good Organisation Design”?

What are “Good Organisation Design Principles and Tests”?

Are there specific OD rules and guidelines that your organisation should follow?

Most Organisation Design (OD) agents rely on a few homegrown rules of thumb, such as ‘a manager should have no more than six (6) direct reports’, or ‘staff shouldn’t have two (2) managers’. I myself have been guilty of same at one point in time or another.

Well according to Andrew Campbell, Organisation Design Expert, Author, Consultant and Trainer, in addition to the above there’s been a cacophony* (I like this word) of advice, much of it quite complicated, hard to apply and in some cases even self-contradictory in approach.

Case in point “How to Group Responsibilities into Units/ Departments”. The list below shows a sample of the advice procured from available literature on a singular OD issue:

  • Greater task diversity requires greater departmentalization (Aston Studies)
  • The greater the intensity of interaction between activities, the more closely they should be linked (Thompson)
  • Functional structures are best for Standardisation, scale and task specialization (Galbraith)
  • Product structures are best when product characteristics are diverse and rapid product development is important (Galbraith)

*an incongruous or chaotic mixture…

OD Conference image

Join us on September 17, 2019 at our Organisation Design Conference to explore best practices in Organisation Design principles and tests.

This is a relevant topic for all companies who are in the process of making themselves ‘fit for purpose’ given the region’s current economic landscape.

The time is now!!!  Book your spot for to be part of this onetime offering!

…Seats are going fast. See you there…

Visit our website at https://lokjackgsb.edu.tt/organisation-design-conference-2019/ call 645-6700 ext. 223 or email consult@lokjackgsb.edu.tt

From the desk of your OD Champion

Women’s Convention 2019

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The Women’s Convention 2019 carded for October 17th and 18th promises to be Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business’ most exciting and progressive event yet and is catered specifically for women seeking to #LevelUp! We have an all-star line up of 8 speakers, 2 International Keynote speakers including Janice Sutherland, author of This Woman Can 4 rigorous workshops over the 2-day experience and the opportunity to network with other like-minded women.

Breakdown:

  • 8 Speakers
  • 2 International Keynotes
  • 4 Dynamic Workshops
  • 2 Day Experience
  • Connect with 100+ likeminded women
  • 1 Location

Key Learning Takeaways for Participants:

  • Confidence V.S Arrogance – Women who portray confidence are often labeled and wrongly so, of being arrogant. This Convention will give an understanding of these two traits and teach how we could eliminate this stigma for women.
  • Overcome societal labels – Societal labels can make or break you; learn how to overcome these labels and carve your own path to success.
  • Identify and leverage your personal strengths – We all have personal strengths. Let us help you to identify, nurture, and growth these strengths.
  • Packaging and valuing your professional expertise and experience – Never sell yourself short. Your professional expertise and experiences honed from your years of practice are highly valued and should be packaged as such.
  • Own your career on your terms – Your career path is your choice. Develop the blueprint for owning your career on your own terms and create a roadmap to achieving success from start to finish.

 

Why should you attend this Convention?

1. This Convention prepares you to become a leader by providing you with the tools and skills you need. Be mentored on aspects of Female Leadership, Empowerment and Career Advancement.

2. Enjoy the authentic Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business experience with a mixture of traditional and modern mentoring techniques.

3. Unlock your hidden strengths and learn how to make these strengths work for you.

4. Learn how to break the barriers in your personal and professional life.

5. Make a personal investment in yourself and your future that starts paying off immediately.


“This Woman Can is akin to an MBA in leadership. The practical stories of real people plus the personal experience of the author make for an interesting and fun read. I literally could not put it down when I started reading. I finished it in one day which is not usually the case for me when I am reading a book. It is done in such a way that it can be read in one go or simply as reference material when the need arises. I recommend it without reservations.”
– Review of Janice Sutherland’s This Woman Can.

 

Interested? Partner with the Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business and become part of this exciting Convention! See the behind-the-scenes workings and get special benefits that are reserved just for you!

For further information click here http://info.lokjackgsb.edu.tt/uwi-aljgsb-womens-convention-2019 or contact Reannah Corbie at 645-6700 ext 363 or via email r.corbie@lokjackgsb.edu.tt.

Entrepreneurial Challenges in the 21st Century

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Editor:

Dr. Balraj Kistow
Lecturer and Programme Director
Lok Jack GSB

Caribbean societies have quite a few things in common.  In large part we have beautiful tropical flora and fauna, fantastic beaches, a common Euro-centric colonial past, which has influenced our legal, socio-political and administrative systems as well as our trading relations. We also have a common history in the early development of agriculture-based industries as the core of our colonial economic purpose. While some countries have moved away from this sector to varying degrees, we all in some way maintained the same principle of economic development by selling our natural endowments.  When we look at the region, we are either dependent in large parts on tourism, agriculture and oil and gas.  Now don’t get me wrong.  I am thankful for these natural resources as I am sure you are as it have sustained us for generations.  However, our continued path of being overly dependent on these resources by selling it mainly in the primary state does not only derive less values for us but have given rise to much less virtuous commonality in the region, which is, our economic well-being that’s very much vulnerabile to external events and price shocks.

When we look at regional economies we see that our prosperity could quickly turn to poverty with a crash in the fall in the prices of oil and gas, a mad man’s rant that makes people nervous to travel or an arbitrary decision by some major government or supra-national body that severely impede our ability to trade our products and services in the traditional markets.  In the highly globalized, interdependent and connected world of today it is not possible to be totally insulated from the happenings international community.  The question is how do we position our economies to be less vulnerable to these external shocks and events while at the same time creating an entrepreneurial culture in our population that facilitates and empower people to take advantage of events and current trends towards economic prosperity.

This may sound like a tall order and I can hear the less optimistic among us pointing to the reams of paper that have raised this or similar questions before, but we are still in the same place.  That might be true, but time have changed, people are changing, the world is evolving and maybe we need to change our approach and perspective.

The usual approach to trying to move to a more secure and less vulnerable economic platform has been to look to diversification as a solution.  While we have looked in that direction we cannot say we have been able to diversify in any meaningful way.  I am sure there are many components to why we have not fared well in the area of diversification but I feel that an important element is our approach that seems to suggest moving away from traditional sectors rather than an approach that emphasise on using the resources, skill sets, networks and competencies to develop new products, services and sectors.  In this way we can use the traditional sectors as focal points in creating value added solutions for the modern world.

Rather than speaking about moving away from the traditional sectors of agriculture, tourism and energy we should be asking the question as to how can we leverage these sectors such that we are able to create new and exciting products and services on the higher end of the value chain that treats with contemporary trends, issues and challenges.  For instance, rather than see agriculture as a relic from a bygone era maybe we can look to develop selected areas that can serve global and diaspora markets with traditional goods and local delicacies.  In the last few years coconut is the new craze with coconut water being demanded for its isotonic qualities, coconut oil as a health fat for cooking and in beauty products from New York to Paris and coconut flour and sugar selling at premium prices.  A company in Guyana is now canning a local delicacy called “Heart of Palm” or Palmiste, as it is traditionally known in Trinidad and Tobago, for the export market.  The leaves and the fruits of the “Sijan” or Moringa plant is now a global health phenomenon and is being sold on Amazon.  With fish stocks being depleted globally we should have the capacity to develop fish farms that can serve the domestic and international markets and the regional tourism sector.  These are few examples where we can relook, remodel and recreate the agriculture sector to generate wealth and foreign exchange and I have not even touched on the potential of medical marijuana, eco and indigenous tourism and renewable energy.

We cannot continue to see our natural resources as cash cow by being sold as a primary product, but we need to create and foster an entrepreneurial mindset where we see our resources as raw materials that can be used to create high value products.  We all have our parts to play in this regard as there are key roles for academic in research and development among other things, government in creating and maintaining a secure and predictable enabling environment and industry in taking the lead investing in value creating solutions.  Moreover, creating an entrepreneurial mind set would require a systemic change especially to the way we see education and the way we educate as the move to creating this mindset would not happen in the boardroom if it is not inculcated in the classroom. I am not saying this is an easy task as it would require many herculean changes and dealing with many moving parts at the same time, but it is not beyond us.  Frankly, I don’t think we have much of a choice.

Join us at Distinguished Leadership and Innovation Conference and gain insights from Entrepreneurial Gurus – Josh Linkner and Prof. Andrew Corbett on May 6th 2019 at the Hyatt Regency. Register now at www.dlictt.com

 

 

Compliance Seminar 2019

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Participants informed that Trinidad and Tobago would have high levels of crime once crime remains profitable, at the Compliance Seminar 2019

On Thursday 17th January 2019, Attorney’s-at-Law, Compliance Analysts, Mediators, Consultants and Financial Crimes Prevention Personnel converged at the Arthur Lok Jack Global School of Business, Mt. Hope campus to discuss Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (CFT) activities in the nation and outline pro-active counter-measures to combat these nefarious activities. The Seminar provoked insightful and interactive discussions around the topics of AML and CFT as participants were edified on their legal obligations with regard to reporting suspicious actions. Participants were also encouraged to assess their stakeholders and implement Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) procedures when necessary to minimize risks of regulatory non-compliance.

The Compliance Seminar commenced with a special address from Ms. Susan Francois, Director, Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (FIU), who highlighted the legal AML and CFT obligations of institutions. Ms. Francois discussed the five (5) pillars of AML / CFT obligations, which were the adoption of a risk-based approach, written policies, procedures and controls, a designate Compliance Officer / Alternate Compliance Officer, a staff-training program and an independent audit of systems and controls. Institutions are required to implement these activities should they fall under the purview of the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, the Trinidad and Tobago Securities Exchange Commission (the TTSEC) or the FIU; the three named Supervisory Authorities mandated to ensure that institutions comply with AML and CFT legislative and regulatory requirements.

Ms. Belinda James, Senior Director, Compliance, Caribbean Banking, RBC Financial (Caribbean) Limited was next on the agenda with a presentation on emerging risks and trends in AML. Some of the emerging risks identified were Trade-based Money Laundering, Virtual Currencies, Human Trafficking, Bribery and Corruption. Mr. Rennie Lakhan, Lecturer at UWI-ALJGSB / Senior Analyst, Ministry of Finance followed and took a deep dive on the topic of CFT through the analysis of case studies. This interactive segment stimulated thought provoking conversations around violent extremism and crime. During this segment Mr. Lakhan stated that Trinidad and Tobago would have high levels of crime once crime remains profitable. He went on to encourage participants to follow ‘clean money’ in addition to ‘dirty money’ to further reduce funding for terrorism and highlighted some indicators of possible terrorism financing which included travels to conflict zones.

The packed agenda continued with Ms. Dawne Spicer, Executive Director, Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, who gave a special address on where Trinidad and Tobago stands in accordance with global and regional standards of AML and CFT best practices. The Seminar concluded with Ms. Cindy Sadaphal, Attorney-at-Law, Co-Founder / Director of ACPTT who elaborated on the Enhanced Due Diligence measures that institutions could implement to prevent Terrorism Financing of financial products. These measures involved conducting a background scan on customers, determining a customer’s source of wealth and clearly identifying the reasons for undertaking a particular business activity.

At the end, participants of the Compliance Seminar 2019 were equipped with actionable counter measures and approaches that can be implemented to combat Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing. The knowledge gained would enable participants to adopt an effective AML / CFT risk management framework and compliance programme into their respective institutions thereby mitigating the risks associated with AML and CFT activities.

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