Financial Times

Tackling bad behaviour
The new code of conduct adopted by the Board of Investment, which comes in the wake of a similar initiative by the Inland Revenue Department, is a good example of enlightened thinking and progressive attitudes. It is one that our management leaders, both in government and the private sector, would do well to emulate.

It is noteworthy that the BOI has drawn up the code after discussing it with the staff and not imposing it from above without any consultation.
The consultative process that the BOI management has engaged in gives added strength to such an initiative and increases the chances that it would be supported by everyone in the organisation. Otherwise, the chances are that disgruntled elements would disrupt attempts to implement the initiative and could use the lack of consultation as a ready, albeit flimsy excuse.
It demonstrates an egalitarian attitude and is a good example of what can be termed ‘smart management’ – an administrative style that combines common sense with fairness. One of the significant features of the new code is that employees are protected from harassment or discrimination based on one’s political opinion.

This is important in the Sri Lankan context where such discrimination has become so routine as to be almost accepted as part of normal life. In fact, it was exactly such discrimination that was alleged soon after the present government came to power and the minister under whom the BOI came went about abusing and criticising a certain group of officers at the organization. If they had done any wrong it was only fair that they be investigated but to sling mud at them from public platforms was not the done thing. Presumably the new code would provide some protection against such behaviour.

The code also bans lewd remarks, sexual advances and harassment or discrimination on racial, ethnic or religious grounds. It has called for a positive work environment where every employee shall act with “compassion, kindness, respect, courtesy and consideration and fostering personal dignity” while refraining from interfering with another’s work performance.

Kindness and courtesy are attitudes and traits that are sorely lacking in our society, driven as it is by greed, fear and selfishness. The code is indeed timely as it is well known that such behaviour and attitudes are common in most offices, whether they be government or private sector. Our people are yet to accept that such attitudes are inappropriate. Many of them are still stuck with unreasonable and outdated attitudes, some of which can be traced to misinterpretation of tradition and orthodoxy. It is those with such inflexible mind-sets that this code would be useful in dealing with.

The code shows that the BOI as a government agency is keeping up with modern thinking and trends. Such codes are usually found in advanced Western countries which have had years of experience to draw on and whose governments and corporate sectors have been under sustained pressure from their employees and the public. Very often it is such pressure from outside that has led to the adoption of such codes of conduct.

Furthermore, Western politicians, bureaucrats and corporates have the leisure to devote time to such activity whereas their counterparts in Third World countries usually are focussed on the struggle to survive or in crisis-management, Sri Lanka being a good example.

However, while the adoption of such a code of conduct by the BOI and other organisations may be a positive development, it is the implementation that matters in the final analysis. Such efforts should be able to withstand changes of personnel and governments. It remains to be seen how well the code would be implemented.

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