Financial Times

Grant-McCann Erickson's new COO

Grant-McCann Erickson recently celebrated the appointment of Ms. Laila Gunesekere as its Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Gunasekere said she was delighted on the appointment at an exciting phase in the history of advertising. "Advertising is no longer merely about press, radio and television. Consumers are now exposed to the fascinating world of integrated communications - PR, Events and Promotions, Direct Marketing and the like," she said.

She has won innumerable SLIM and Sumathi awards including TV Commercial of the Year and has been a part of the winning team for "Campaign of the Year" last year. She won third place in the world for best Public Service Advertising for her work on Abused Women. In 2001 she received the very prestigious H.K. McCann award for Leadership Excellence.

An honours Graduate of Sociology, Psychology and English, and a first class graduate diploma in Mass Communication under her belt, Gunasekere kicked off her career at Grants as a copy writer and later joined Minds as senior copy writer before being promoted Account Manager in a short spell of time.

She later rejoined Grants as Creative Director before being promoted to Executive Creative Director.

Q & E to initiate responsible advertising

Q & E, Sri Lanka's largest independent advertising company, is taking a giant step in the world of advertising by developing its own code of best practice to ensure that communications solutions it develops will be culturally sensitive and morally acceptable.

Explaining the rationale for this epochal move, Q & E chairman Vijith Kannanagara explained, "We're in a very powerful industry. What we must realise is that our communication campaigns have an indirect effect of influencing our cultures, languages and religions - in other words our work indirectly plays a role in shaping the values of our society."

He said, according to a Q & E statement, that in the absence of a best practices code in the industry, the company decided to develop and nurture it.

Dr. Uditha Liyanage, a Director of Q & E explained the mechanisms that the company is putting in place.

"We're inviting an advisory panel that will represent the academia, religions, languages, arts, culture, women's and children's interest groups.

With the help and guidance of the panel we will formulate a set of values, policies and best practices, which will guide our team at Q & E as well as our clients.

The panel will review the code as well as our adherence to it on an on-going basis."

Strong global support for Lanka during Milinda’s US trip

Milinda Moragoda, Sri Lankan Minister for Economic Reform, Science and Technology, has completed a highly successful visit to the United States that resulted in several U.S. and international officials expressing strong support for providing Sri Lanka with increased international assistance, his office said in a statement last week.

“The minister had a series of meetings with U.S. and international officials in which he consistently heard how much the international community supports the peace process and understands our need for financial support,” said Devinda R. Subasinghe, Sri Lankan Ambassador in the US.

“As complicated as the world situation is now with regard to Iraq, it was heartening to see that the world community wants to work together to support Sri Lanka.”

Moragoda met United Nations General Secretary, Kofi Annan at the U.N. Headquarters in New York; World Bank President, James Wolfenson; U.S. Commerce Secretary, Donald Evans; Ambassador Robert Zoellick, U.S. Trade Representative; U.S. Congressman, Jerry Weller, a Republican from Illinois who is co-chairman of the Sri Lanka Congressional Caucus; U.S. Congressman Christopher Van Hollen Jr, a Maryland Democrat who lived in Sri Lanka when his father served as the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka in the early 1970s; U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage; U.S. Treasury Under Secretary (International Affairs), John B. Taylor; U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor, Stephen Hadley; Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Samuel Bodman; and U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, John Bolton and Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Affairs, Peter Rodman.

In addition to those meetings, the minister also met Vice President Dick Cheney and Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz at a private reception. “During the meetings the minister was repeatedly assured by these officials that they are pleased with the government’s commitment to the peace process and the progress that has been made,” Subasinghe said. “Statements of support were made with respect to Sri Lanka’s economic reform and economic development efforts and the country’s move to become a regional trade hub in South Asia. There was also strong indications that the United States has a favourable view of expanding bilateral trade and economic cooperation with Sri Lanka. Plans were discussed for a special visit of U.S. Congressmen to Sri Lanka sometime this summer.”

Finlay head says link wages to productivity

James Finlay and Company (Colombo) Ltd chairman R.L. Juriansz has said that future wage hikes in plantations must be linked to productivity and blamed trade unions for their failure to realize the reality of its benefits.

"If the plantation companies are to be viable and effective, then unavoidable increases in costs of production must in some way be coupled with an increase in productivity. Arbitrarily imposed wage increases, which have been the experience over the past few years, are simply unsustainable. Ultimately all stakeholders stand to lose - the shareholders, the employees, the community, the country.

The unions must recognize this stark reality and not be intransigent in refusing to link future wage increases to productivity," Juriansz said in the company's 2002 annual report released recently.

James Finlay posted its highest ever turnover of Rs. 3.96 billion as against Rs. 3.84 billion in the previous year. Net profit rose to Rs. 84 million from Rs. 37.8 million.

However, the wage increase affected its plantation companies (Hapugastenna and Udapusselawa) with a massive bill including the topping of retiring gratuity.

"While a wage increase was due on July 1, 2002 in terms of the collective agreement, it is the magnitude of the increase which burdened the companies, especially as the increase came on top of an unscheduled ad hoc wage increase in April 2001, which cost the two companies Rs. 38.4 million," he said. "Furthermore, despite all efforts on the part of the plantation companies to link wages to productivity, this did not happen," he added.

According to Juriansz, one of the critical areas that need to be addressed by the industry is the increases in costs of production being controlled by productivity and yield increases. Upgrading the skills and knowledge of workers with exposure to local and international trends and practices has partly addressed this issue. "In addition we have also invested substantially in upgrading the quality of life of employees and their families. Just as much as we are committed to continuing with this program, we trust that trade unions will act with equal responsibility in partnering us towards a mutually viable future," Juriansz noted. The directors of the company are R.L. Juriansz (Chairman), C.L.K.P. Jayasuriya (Executive Deputy Chairman), E.R. Croos Moraes, N.K.H. Ratwatte, C. Jayaratne, N.D.C. Austin, J.D. Bandaranayake, R.B.G.T. Hogg and P.G. Lockett.

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