by NATASHA?BECKLES
BARBADIANS HAVE A responsibility to “take action” and bring about the changes necessary to take the country forward.
This is the view of president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados (ICAB), David Simpson, who delivered the welcome address at ICAB’s annual conference at Hilton Barbados yesterday.
“We’ve all expertly diagnosed the challenges and the ills that our country faces today and now more than ever I say to you that we as a profession and as a country and as Barbadians need to take action; not action to preserve the status quo but action that will bring about real change that is required,” he said.
Simpson said a key thing that needed to be changed was “our perception of ourselves as a nation”.
“This country belongs to us as citizens, not the Government, not to investors local or foreign or not to the tourists that provide our much needed foreign exchange from our number one industry.
“It is therefore left to us as citizens who enjoy this country that has provided us opportunity to ply our trades, to provide our services as professionals and to operate our businesses and enjoy a decent standard of living to undertake the task of moving our country forward,” he said.
The president called for a focus on employee empowerment and engagement as part of efforts to increase productivity and competitiveness.
“We can no longer alienate our staff or our team members from the task at hand or from the companies as a whole. We need to make them a part of what is happening at a higher level and give them the power to engage us, to suggest ideas to us and to make decisions at the lower level and even at the middle level without direct interference or interaction with senior management,” he said.
Simpson also called for improved and effective dialogue between management, staff and all other stakeholders. He said this dialogue had to be tied to measurable outcomes.
“It is often apparent that fear tends to grip us as a people and as business persons and we need to develop a willingness to break the mould, move away from the status quo and be entrepreneurial and innovative in our thinking if we are to achieve the productivity and the competitiveness that we speak of,” he added.