Papers by Nalin Abeysekera
Sunday Times, 2024
The disconnect between qualifications and customer service in two Sri Lankan companies highlights... more The disconnect between qualifications and customer service in two Sri Lankan companies highlights a lack of emotional intelligence and empathy. Although soft skills are often discussed, they are narrowly defined in Sri Lanka, contrasting with global views that emphasize interpersonal abilities. Generation Y and Z’s overreliance on digital communication has weakened their face-to-face skills and empathy, crucial for relationship building. To address this, mentoring programs focused on emotional intelligence and empathy should be implemented. True progress, both in business and nation-building, requires empathy for people and the broader context, aligning with Buddhist teachings on compassion.
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Sunday Times , 2024
Sri Lanka's SME sector, crucial for the nation's GDP and employment, faces challenges due to lang... more Sri Lanka's SME sector, crucial for the nation's GDP and employment, faces challenges due to language barriers, as most programs are conducted in English, while many entrepreneurs speak only Sinhala or Tamil. Research highlights the need for "Indigenous engagement" in reaching SMEs, integrating local cultural practices with Western theories. For example, marketing strategies that reflect Sri Lankan customs, like offering free samples, are more effective when understood within a local context. Adopting native languages and blending indigenous knowledge with modern theories could enhance the effectiveness of SME support programs in Sri Lanka
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Proceedings of International Conference on Business Management, 2009
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Sri lanka journal of management studies, Dec 30, 2021
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AAOU Journal, May 16, 2022
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Journal of public affairs, Aug 13, 2020
This study investigates the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and divide... more This study investigates the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and dividend policy (DP) using a data triangulation approach in the Sri Lankan context. The findings of the secondary data approach suggest that there is a positive impact from environmental and social CSR on both the likelihood to pay dividends and its payout. Findings of the primary data approach propose that ethical and philanthropic CSR dimensions show a positive impact on both likelihood to pay dividends and its payout. The findings of the triangulation approach revealed that CSR and DP tend to rise together. Hence, we argue that the generosity of the management paves the way towards shareholders' prosperity. This is the first study to investigate the CSR‐DP puzzle using a data triangulation approach. Future researchers could use this study as a guideline, if they intend to conduct a research study through data triangulation approaches especially in dividend policy and also in finance discipline.
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University of Sri Jayewardenepura, 2016
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South Asian Journal of Marketing
PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating effect of trust on the rela... more PurposeThe main purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating effect of trust on the relationship between consumers' social motivation and online purchase intentions in the context of social media marketing in the fashion industry of Sri Lanka.Design/methodology/approachThe sample selection was done using a convenience sampling strategy. An online survey was conducted, and data gathered from consumers who worked for a range of organizations, including universities in the Colombo district (Sri Lanka).FindingsThe results illustrated that social motivation has a significant positive effect on trust as well as online purchase intentions. And they further demonstrated that a consumer's level of trust has a significant impact on their online purchase intentions. Trust was also found to partially mediate the relationship between social motivation and online purchase intention.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was solely focused on the Sri Lankan fashion industry. C...
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It was a special moment in Sri Lanka cricket! There is no bowler within sight who can even get cl... more It was a special moment in Sri Lanka cricket! There is no bowler within sight who can even get close to Murali. He has the capacity to go for many more years and get wickets for his motherland. His contribution has been so significant in the success story of Sri Lankan cricket. As a person he is always positive towards competition and towards his team. He is every inch a team player and in many ways his unselfish attitude would contribute against his personal performance. This is a small comparison between Murali and Bradman-all-time best batsman in world cricket.
Bradman (1928-1948) played 52 test matches in his career. He scored 29(55.76%) hundreds and 12 two hundreds (23%). Up to now Murali played 118 test matches .He took five wickets for 62(52.54%) times and ten wicket hold on 20 times (16.94%). One could imagine how difficult it is to take wickets consistency through over 100 matches. once considering performance analysis by innings Bradman scored his highest score (334) in first inning of the match. Murali too took his career best of 9 for 51 against England in the first inning of the match.
Both payers did this at the outside of their home soil and Vs England. And Bradman and Murali always performed well against England. Bradman scored highest runs in his career in 5028 against England while Murali also took 112 wickets (his best against any opponent) against England. Once considering analysis of performance at home and away, Bradman scored 4322 of his total 6996 runs at home averaging 61.78% runs at home. While Murali too took 451 wickets of his total 723 wickets at home. His average wicket taking at home was 62.37%.
By looking at this Murali can be easily equal to the performance of Bradman. In the spinning Department, it is Muralitharan who is the legend and match-winning bowler. He can bowl for the next five years too. According to the statistics and marvelous performance, it is quite clear that easily he could become one of the top cricketers in a Wisden Almanack in 21st Century. He has all right to claim in this regard.
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Why the Government should listen to the demands of university academics
Sri Lanka is experien... more Why the Government should listen to the demands of university academics
Sri Lanka is experiencing the dividends of peace at the moment. The Sri Lankan economy has expanded by a healthy growth rate of 7.9 per cent during the first quarter of this year, from the same period a year earlier.
Every year the UGC enrols 20,000 to 22,000 students. This is only around 15 per cent of the students who are qualified for university admission. The point we have to understand is that this is not the total number of students who sat for the examination. Out of 100, only 15 students can enter the university. This has been the (miserable) story for the last few decadesA Global Survey carried out by the ‘Equity and Bond Trading Institution’ has chosen Sri Lanka as the fourth rapidly developing economy in the third quarter last year. Sri Lanka logistics sector’s international ranking has improved from 137 to 81 in the World Bank Logistic Performance Index of 2012.
Even National Geographic Traveller magazine has named Sri Lanka among its top six destinations for world travellers in 2012, lauding the island nation’s heritage sites, wildlife, lush landscapes and pristine beaches.
Deteriorating discipline
This is a typical post war scenario and we have to understand the sustainability of this growth in the future. But on the other hand, the discipline of the country is deteriorating day by day. On the road you can observe both pedestrians and drivers violating the rules. Rarely do we see three-wheelers, bicycles and buses as well as other vehicles using signal lights. This is the same in every place.
There were a number of media announcements to save electricity but you can see lights on in the streets even in the daytime. Even if you visit many Government institutes to get your work done, they always like to take their own time. Sometimes you have to go to the same place a few times for the same purpose. So some people tend to bribe in order to make things happens quickly.
Most of the parents do not have any relationship with their children as they are used to dropping them to schools and going to offices and in the evening just trying to bring them back from school after tuition. There is an unnecessary “rat race” in the society and sometimes we witness suicide cases among young children as an outcome. Most parents want their son or daughter to become ‘dream stars’ and they are striving hard and sacrifice the most important time of their childhood.
On the other hand, people like to talk about Sri Lankan products but they are used to buying foreign brands. There is no ‘sense of belonging’ in the society. People like to talk about patriotism but they cannot implement it on their own. It is only like slogans.
Although the main leaders in different religious communities should be involved in the development of society, their roles are problematic as there is evidence of an increasing number of crimes instead.
Meanwhile, the rate of corruption has been increasing. Some even go further by arguing corruption is a ‘lubricant’ in the economic development of the country. Over the last few months it an escalating number of acts of violence can be observed by regional politicians, mostly those attached to the Government. But there is no strong message and this is also pushing others towards violence. It seems that a culture of ‘Julampitiye Amare’ is emerging.
There is also a tendency where people seem to be taking law and order into their hands, which can be considered really dangerous for the future. It is one indication that people have lost their faith in the establishments meant to ensure law and order in the country. The Government urgently needs to be conscious in this regard as well.
Education a focal point
If you really analyse this situation, there is a need for a better society with discipline. Education can be considered as a focal point in this regard. Still in Sri Lanka we have a type of education which has not been updated (curricula, quality, etc.) for years. This is common to school as well as university education.
There are some students in Grade 10 who cannot write or read properly. There is no sound assessment method in the system that takes into account these critical issues.
According to Examinations Department sources, around 270,032 school children had sat the GCE (O/L) examination in December 2011 and out of them 12,795 had failed in all nine subjects! Only 44.57% students had passed in the English Language paper and 55.3% passed in mathematics.
University
Then there’s the competitive university entrance examination: The GCE Advanced Level Examination. According to sources, out of the 239,624 students who sat for the Advanced Level examination, 142,000 are eligible to enter universities in 2011. But we have to understand that all those who are qualified for university entrance will not be absorbed by the national university system.
Every year the University Grants Commission (UGC) enrols 20,000 to 22,000 students. This is only around 15 per cent of the students who are qualified for university admission. The point we have to understand is that this is not the total number of students who sat for the examination. Out of 100, only 15 students can enter the university. This has been the (miserable) story for the last few decades.
For the last 15 years the UGC has enrolled around 20% of the students who satisfied the minimum requirements for admission; 142,000 students who gain admission will be over the moon to tell their parents, relatives and friends that they have qualified for university entrance. But that is short-lived ecstasy, for only 20,000-22,000 might be the actual number of those entering the varsity.
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Sri Lanka Journal of Management Studies
This study was undertaken to explore the determinants that can influence effective targeted promo... more This study was undertaken to explore the determinants that can influence effective targeted promotional SMS communication in the Sri-Lankan fashion retail sector. The objective of this study is to examine the current context of targeted promotional SMS communication in Sri-Lankan fashion retail sector. This study is also aimed at examining the relationship between dynamic customer segmentation via transactional and loyalty-card data utilization for targeted promotional SMS communication and provide relevant recommendations to improve effectiveness of SMS promotional communication. This study uses a deductive research approach. Hypothesis were generated and tested via a survey in Colombo, Sri-Lanka with 347 responses. Based on the regression analysis, all the independent variables of loyalty-card data utilization, past purchase data utilization and dynamic customer segmentation had a strong positive relationship and a positive relationship towards the independent variable of effectiv...
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Daily FT, 2023
As Sri Lankans, we are in a time in which precise decision-making is of utmost importance. This i... more As Sri Lankans, we are in a time in which precise decision-making is of utmost importance. This is the same for marketers as well. A few years back it was only common internal and external environmental factors we considered and adjusted our marketing strategies accordingly. But in year 2019 with the Easter attack, the equation has changed. This was triggered by COVID-19 in the year 2020. This situation has not changed even in the years 2021 and 2022.
Furthermore due to a lack of long-term planning, efficiency, and corruption, Sri Lanka has been declared as a bankrupt country in the year 2022. It is all about how you read your business, how you make decisions and convert some threats into opportunities. We are in a turbulent time. We have more challenges in this dynamic environment.
Challenges
In marketing, we need to anticipate some challenges. But now it is all about making continuous changes in different models in very short time periods. Let’s see some challenges for marketers that we need to explore.
Challenge One – Continuously changing marketing strategies with adaptation
Continuous changes can be seen in prices, tax rates and some important indicators in the economy. So we need to be vigilant 24/7. Marketers should always be alert to those changes. If the Government is expecting a price hike in gas by next week and if you are engaging with a bakery service, you should think and act in many ways, aligning with your pricing strategy. You need to change your promotion strategy, distribution strategy and sometimes even your segmentation and positioning strategy in case by looking at the sustainability of the business.
Challenge Two – Integrating marketing and supply chain
This is high time for marketers in Sri Lanka to focus more on the supply chain. It can be seen that the concepts of marketing and supply chain management were elaborated in different forums separately. Nevertheless, these two concepts look like twin brothers. We can see many experts talking about the problem which farmers who cannot sell their products and distribute vegetables and fruits to the consumers in different areas. We can remember, one report said that more than 900,000 kilos of vegetables have been purchased by the Government. Some seasons you can see excess vegetables like pumpkin which farmers are really finding it difficult to sell their products. In one way you need to argue that we should have proper value additions as well as marketing strategies for the products.
Anyway, there is a problem with having an updated food balance sheet for Sri Lanka. And also, it is important to note that “550,000 metric tons of vegetables and fruits were being wasted a year due to the post-harvest damage and its loss to the nation amounted to over Rs. 67 billion” (Daily Mirror, 28 August 2019). So there is a requirement for a proper supply chain aligned with the national marketing plan.
Challenge Three – Need for Anthro-Marketer
It is important to understand that in the current business situation and post-modern business with different approaches, what we think as marketing professionals about customers and what customers want from a company (or product) can be totally different, as it should be read from the perspective of an anthropologist. And also you need to have different lenses to read your customers. If you read your customer only from the lens of a marketer you can satisfy the customer. Hence you should read the customer from the lens of an anthropologist to delight (exceeding the expectation of customers. In simple “WOW” factor) the customers.
As marketers to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, we need to delight customers better than our competitors. The challenge for marketers in Sri Lanka is to convert the mode of “Marketer” to modern “Anthro-Marketer”. You may train your marketing staff or directly you can hire anthropologists. This is really vital at the moment.
Challenge Four – Indigenous marketing
As we know, the subject of marketing existed two or three decades ago as a “luxury product” used only by one “branded segment” of people and could not be accessed by the general public. Because of that, there is a need to disseminate the knowledge in “marketing” more with the best practices in our own context. Learn something from some best Sri Lankan indigenous practices and follow the marketing that suits the country in important, that is, “our own marketing method” which is similar to Romesh Kaluwitharana getting behind the stumps and exclaiming “Ohoma Yan” (we will together) in Sinhalese which is also one of the indicators for Sri Lankans winning the 1996 World Cup.
And also most of the time we have observed experts using ‘English” to teach the subject of marketing. That can be commendable. But for entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka, it proposed to teach and disseminate the subject of marketing in their native language (Sinhala or Tamil) because in the world research has proven that the native language is always important to inculcate imagination and creativity among all. We can train and teach own practices in our own language. So there is a need for experts and scholars in this subject domain of marketing to get together and investigate “Indigenous Marketing” in Sri Lanka which would be one way we have to learn the best practices of Sri Lankan culture as well.
Challenge Five – Reading the political development of the country
Unlike in the past, it is essential to be updated on the latest political developments in the country and outside the country. Sri Lankan marketers should be politically sensitive and analyse the future to make decisions. As Aristotle believed, man is a “political animal” and we need to go beyond that “political animal” definition and see how certain political decisions may affect the business and our target marketing, segmentation, and customer profile. In this time period in Sri Lanka if you’re a good marketer but “politically blind and not sensitive” then again you may be having many challenges in the long run.
Challenge Six – Online customer segment and e-commerce
Prior to COVID-19, it was really hard to sell a female skirt online. Now this situation has completely changed and online business is viable for any product in Sri Lanka. Anyway, you need to be creative to pitch your product to target segments. And also there is a need to be equipped with some tools of digital marketing as well. As per the latest reports “49.4 percent of Sri Lanka’s total internet user base (regardless of age) used at least one social media platform in January 2023”!
Challenge Seven – Business sense
In Sri Lanka, we can witness many people talking about soft skills. We usually define “soft skills” as “Language competency and IT skills”. To be competitive and to become a “hit” in the market there is a need for “business sense”. This is really important in this situation. For that, you should have more imaginative power with creativity with emotional intelligence. A certain percentage of that you bring from your genes. Nevertheless, you should learn how “to sense the business environment”. Sri Lankan marketers should have “business sense” for better decision-making in this critical time.
Conclusion
Marketing is all about value creation and giving solutions to customers. Now the scope of thinking and implementation should be expanded and adjusted by Sri Lankan marketers by considering the current turbulent situation in the country. The seven challenges mentioned can be the opportunity for better outcomes in the coming months and years. And also it is really important to think about the country and help needy people in this critical time. All professionals should get together and build up a better Sri Lanka for the next generation.
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Sri Lankans are celebrating the traditional New Year, and we can see that despite many obstacles ... more Sri Lankans are celebrating the traditional New Year, and we can see that despite many obstacles people wanted to move back to their normal lives. The country has suffered three different blows––the Easter Sunday attack, Covid-19, and the economic crisis. They have caused many hardships for the general public. There has been no policy plan for the country for the last four or five decades. Anyway, now the time has come for an economic paradigm shift.
Traditionally, we celebrate the Sinhala and Tamil New Year also with a time of renewal and rejuvenation, and many people use this occasion to reflect on their lives and think about new beginnings.
IMF and Reflections
This is the seventeenth time we have sought the IMF rescue programme. There is a need for policymakers to study this and have a proper analysis of the loans taken by Sri Lanka for the last five decades––foreign debt and market borrowings––and outcome. This study would give experts about the so-called & quot; debt trap & quot; and its implications for the future.
There should be proper Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for loans taken and for the utilisation of same. Sri Lanka needs to learn lessons from the past by analysing numbers. There should be a separate independent body comprising experts in economics, business management, accounting, and finance to make decisions on taking loans and utilisation aligning with a sustainable competitive advantage. Anyway, it is worth noting that having loans with a dependent mentality is not driving any country for the future. Hence, we can propose the entrepreneurial model with a creative economy for the country.
Creative Economy
In Sri Lanka, we are still concentrating on traditional exports like tea, rubber, and coconut with garments and something out of the box is required to compete in the world market – even if it will utilise the resources at full capacity. This article focuses on how the concept of a ‘creative economy’ can be used as a new strategy for the country in order to achieve sustainable economic development.
The concept of a ‘creative economy’ is not a new one at all. It is better to discuss the creative economy with an example of “Nollywood”. The Emergence of ‘Nollywood’ is remarkable and it came into the world picture within 20 years. According to PwC.com. “The Nigerian Film Industry (Nollywood) is globally recognised as the second largest film producer in the world. The industry is a significant part of the Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Sector which contributed 2.3% (NGN239biliion) to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2016. It is one of the priority sectors identified in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Federal Government of Nigeria with a planned $1billion in export revenue by 2020”.
We have to study the success story of ‘Nollywood’ to see whether we can apply that to our Ranminithenna Film Village. University undergraduates in Sri Lanka can conduct a study on ‘Nollywood’ and see the Key Successive Factors (KSF) and uniqueness in the film industry. We can then see how we can apply these models (with some modifications) in the Sri Lankan context with Ranminithenna.
It is worthwhile to understand the meaning and implications of the creative economy (sometimes referred to as the creative industry). John Howkins, the author of ‘The Creative Economy: How People Make Money from Ideas,’ refers to a range of economic activities that are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information. Howkins divides the creative economy into fifteen sectors, which are: 1) Advertising; 2) Architecture; 3) Art; 4) Crafts; 5) Design; 6) Fashion; 7) Film; 8) Music; 9) Performing Arts; 10) Publishing; 11) Research and Development; 12) Software; 13) Toys and Games; 14) TV and Radio; 15) Video Games
According to Landry & Bianchini (1995), “The industries of the twenty-first century will depend increasingly on the generation of knowledge through creativity and innovation.” Human capital can be considered important and KSA factors – namely, knowledge, skills and attitude – as prime factors that will govern the world economy at this moment.As the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCAD) “significant 3% contribution to global gross domestic product (GDP) makes the creative economy a powerful emerging economic sector that is being strengthened by a surge in digitalisation and services.” So, the effect of the creative economy on any country cannot be underestimated.
Creative Economy and Yohani
We have recently witnessed the success story of viral marketing in Sri Lanka with the glocalisation of the Song of Manike Mage Hithe.
The Manike Mage Hithe cover by Yohani and Satheeshan has attracted 239 million views and is trending mainly in India and the globe by translating the same into Hindi, Malayalam, Urdu and Tamil. This can be considered one of the historical events in the music industry in Sri Lanka. If you need to “go global” we need to understand the global trends and all environmental factors. If we really analyze trendy songs such as Manike Mage Hithe most of the time they can be seen targeting the new generation/s (Y, Z and Gen A). One decade back from India we can see a song of Kolaveri D which was successful at that time in the globe. Unlike Sri Lanka, at that time it can be seen that the Indian Higher Education sector took that as one of the success stories in Viral marketing.
The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) ranked amongst the topmost business schools in India and Asia conducted some discussions on this with some own case studies. Even in IIM Ahmedabad there was an hour-long discussion between the professor and students of that class. Most of the Professors of IIMs – Bangalore, Rohtak and Lucknow – have played the song in class and reflected on the strategies played including viral marketing. Furthermore, the marketing club of IIM Ranchi organised a seminar on campus to study the strategy that has turned the song Why This Kolaveri “into an overnight rage. The popularity of songs such as Manike Mage Hithe and Why This Kolaveri Di in social media can be considered a message reiterating the power of creativity and innovation with the essence of new technology. It is truly an internet generation that articulated the fashion and trends in the world. This is one example of the practical implications of the creative economy in Sri Lanka with the blessings of young talents such as Yohani Diloka de Silva.
Conclusion
What we have to understand is the importance of moving away from traditional markets such as manufacturing and seeing the creative industries as a key strategy in a new knowledge economy (Abeysekera,2011). Two years back a webinar hosted by Central Bank’s Centre for Banking Studies, in my presentation I had set the ground conditions for having a creative economy for the country’s future development (available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkg91Pev4TM). The same presentation was reviewed by Dr. W.A. Wijewardena in his article titled “A creative economy for SL’s future development” (https://www.ft.lk/columns/A-creative-economy-for-SL-s-future-development-Much-more-to-be-done-to-realise-the-goal/4-716359) . The time has come for us to take initiation and the goal of Policymakers and intellectuals should understand the importance of this. This crisis has created an opportunity to “stop and see” (reflect) our policies in the long run. So with the new year with reflections on our lives and thinking about new beginnings, there is a need for the nation to have new policies in the economy as well.
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International Journal of Recent Innovations in Academic Research, Aug 14, 2021
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Papers by Nalin Abeysekera
Bradman (1928-1948) played 52 test matches in his career. He scored 29(55.76%) hundreds and 12 two hundreds (23%). Up to now Murali played 118 test matches .He took five wickets for 62(52.54%) times and ten wicket hold on 20 times (16.94%). One could imagine how difficult it is to take wickets consistency through over 100 matches. once considering performance analysis by innings Bradman scored his highest score (334) in first inning of the match. Murali too took his career best of 9 for 51 against England in the first inning of the match.
Both payers did this at the outside of their home soil and Vs England. And Bradman and Murali always performed well against England. Bradman scored highest runs in his career in 5028 against England while Murali also took 112 wickets (his best against any opponent) against England. Once considering analysis of performance at home and away, Bradman scored 4322 of his total 6996 runs at home averaging 61.78% runs at home. While Murali too took 451 wickets of his total 723 wickets at home. His average wicket taking at home was 62.37%.
By looking at this Murali can be easily equal to the performance of Bradman. In the spinning Department, it is Muralitharan who is the legend and match-winning bowler. He can bowl for the next five years too. According to the statistics and marvelous performance, it is quite clear that easily he could become one of the top cricketers in a Wisden Almanack in 21st Century. He has all right to claim in this regard.
Sri Lanka is experiencing the dividends of peace at the moment. The Sri Lankan economy has expanded by a healthy growth rate of 7.9 per cent during the first quarter of this year, from the same period a year earlier.
Every year the UGC enrols 20,000 to 22,000 students. This is only around 15 per cent of the students who are qualified for university admission. The point we have to understand is that this is not the total number of students who sat for the examination. Out of 100, only 15 students can enter the university. This has been the (miserable) story for the last few decadesA Global Survey carried out by the ‘Equity and Bond Trading Institution’ has chosen Sri Lanka as the fourth rapidly developing economy in the third quarter last year. Sri Lanka logistics sector’s international ranking has improved from 137 to 81 in the World Bank Logistic Performance Index of 2012.
Even National Geographic Traveller magazine has named Sri Lanka among its top six destinations for world travellers in 2012, lauding the island nation’s heritage sites, wildlife, lush landscapes and pristine beaches.
Deteriorating discipline
This is a typical post war scenario and we have to understand the sustainability of this growth in the future. But on the other hand, the discipline of the country is deteriorating day by day. On the road you can observe both pedestrians and drivers violating the rules. Rarely do we see three-wheelers, bicycles and buses as well as other vehicles using signal lights. This is the same in every place.
There were a number of media announcements to save electricity but you can see lights on in the streets even in the daytime. Even if you visit many Government institutes to get your work done, they always like to take their own time. Sometimes you have to go to the same place a few times for the same purpose. So some people tend to bribe in order to make things happens quickly.
Most of the parents do not have any relationship with their children as they are used to dropping them to schools and going to offices and in the evening just trying to bring them back from school after tuition. There is an unnecessary “rat race” in the society and sometimes we witness suicide cases among young children as an outcome. Most parents want their son or daughter to become ‘dream stars’ and they are striving hard and sacrifice the most important time of their childhood.
On the other hand, people like to talk about Sri Lankan products but they are used to buying foreign brands. There is no ‘sense of belonging’ in the society. People like to talk about patriotism but they cannot implement it on their own. It is only like slogans.
Although the main leaders in different religious communities should be involved in the development of society, their roles are problematic as there is evidence of an increasing number of crimes instead.
Meanwhile, the rate of corruption has been increasing. Some even go further by arguing corruption is a ‘lubricant’ in the economic development of the country. Over the last few months it an escalating number of acts of violence can be observed by regional politicians, mostly those attached to the Government. But there is no strong message and this is also pushing others towards violence. It seems that a culture of ‘Julampitiye Amare’ is emerging.
There is also a tendency where people seem to be taking law and order into their hands, which can be considered really dangerous for the future. It is one indication that people have lost their faith in the establishments meant to ensure law and order in the country. The Government urgently needs to be conscious in this regard as well.
Education a focal point
If you really analyse this situation, there is a need for a better society with discipline. Education can be considered as a focal point in this regard. Still in Sri Lanka we have a type of education which has not been updated (curricula, quality, etc.) for years. This is common to school as well as university education.
There are some students in Grade 10 who cannot write or read properly. There is no sound assessment method in the system that takes into account these critical issues.
According to Examinations Department sources, around 270,032 school children had sat the GCE (O/L) examination in December 2011 and out of them 12,795 had failed in all nine subjects! Only 44.57% students had passed in the English Language paper and 55.3% passed in mathematics.
University
Then there’s the competitive university entrance examination: The GCE Advanced Level Examination. According to sources, out of the 239,624 students who sat for the Advanced Level examination, 142,000 are eligible to enter universities in 2011. But we have to understand that all those who are qualified for university entrance will not be absorbed by the national university system.
Every year the University Grants Commission (UGC) enrols 20,000 to 22,000 students. This is only around 15 per cent of the students who are qualified for university admission. The point we have to understand is that this is not the total number of students who sat for the examination. Out of 100, only 15 students can enter the university. This has been the (miserable) story for the last few decades.
For the last 15 years the UGC has enrolled around 20% of the students who satisfied the minimum requirements for admission; 142,000 students who gain admission will be over the moon to tell their parents, relatives and friends that they have qualified for university entrance. But that is short-lived ecstasy, for only 20,000-22,000 might be the actual number of those entering the varsity.
Furthermore due to a lack of long-term planning, efficiency, and corruption, Sri Lanka has been declared as a bankrupt country in the year 2022. It is all about how you read your business, how you make decisions and convert some threats into opportunities. We are in a turbulent time. We have more challenges in this dynamic environment.
Challenges
In marketing, we need to anticipate some challenges. But now it is all about making continuous changes in different models in very short time periods. Let’s see some challenges for marketers that we need to explore.
Challenge One – Continuously changing marketing strategies with adaptation
Continuous changes can be seen in prices, tax rates and some important indicators in the economy. So we need to be vigilant 24/7. Marketers should always be alert to those changes. If the Government is expecting a price hike in gas by next week and if you are engaging with a bakery service, you should think and act in many ways, aligning with your pricing strategy. You need to change your promotion strategy, distribution strategy and sometimes even your segmentation and positioning strategy in case by looking at the sustainability of the business.
Challenge Two – Integrating marketing and supply chain
This is high time for marketers in Sri Lanka to focus more on the supply chain. It can be seen that the concepts of marketing and supply chain management were elaborated in different forums separately. Nevertheless, these two concepts look like twin brothers. We can see many experts talking about the problem which farmers who cannot sell their products and distribute vegetables and fruits to the consumers in different areas. We can remember, one report said that more than 900,000 kilos of vegetables have been purchased by the Government. Some seasons you can see excess vegetables like pumpkin which farmers are really finding it difficult to sell their products. In one way you need to argue that we should have proper value additions as well as marketing strategies for the products.
Anyway, there is a problem with having an updated food balance sheet for Sri Lanka. And also, it is important to note that “550,000 metric tons of vegetables and fruits were being wasted a year due to the post-harvest damage and its loss to the nation amounted to over Rs. 67 billion” (Daily Mirror, 28 August 2019). So there is a requirement for a proper supply chain aligned with the national marketing plan.
Challenge Three – Need for Anthro-Marketer
It is important to understand that in the current business situation and post-modern business with different approaches, what we think as marketing professionals about customers and what customers want from a company (or product) can be totally different, as it should be read from the perspective of an anthropologist. And also you need to have different lenses to read your customers. If you read your customer only from the lens of a marketer you can satisfy the customer. Hence you should read the customer from the lens of an anthropologist to delight (exceeding the expectation of customers. In simple “WOW” factor) the customers.
As marketers to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, we need to delight customers better than our competitors. The challenge for marketers in Sri Lanka is to convert the mode of “Marketer” to modern “Anthro-Marketer”. You may train your marketing staff or directly you can hire anthropologists. This is really vital at the moment.
Challenge Four – Indigenous marketing
As we know, the subject of marketing existed two or three decades ago as a “luxury product” used only by one “branded segment” of people and could not be accessed by the general public. Because of that, there is a need to disseminate the knowledge in “marketing” more with the best practices in our own context. Learn something from some best Sri Lankan indigenous practices and follow the marketing that suits the country in important, that is, “our own marketing method” which is similar to Romesh Kaluwitharana getting behind the stumps and exclaiming “Ohoma Yan” (we will together) in Sinhalese which is also one of the indicators for Sri Lankans winning the 1996 World Cup.
And also most of the time we have observed experts using ‘English” to teach the subject of marketing. That can be commendable. But for entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka, it proposed to teach and disseminate the subject of marketing in their native language (Sinhala or Tamil) because in the world research has proven that the native language is always important to inculcate imagination and creativity among all. We can train and teach own practices in our own language. So there is a need for experts and scholars in this subject domain of marketing to get together and investigate “Indigenous Marketing” in Sri Lanka which would be one way we have to learn the best practices of Sri Lankan culture as well.
Challenge Five – Reading the political development of the country
Unlike in the past, it is essential to be updated on the latest political developments in the country and outside the country. Sri Lankan marketers should be politically sensitive and analyse the future to make decisions. As Aristotle believed, man is a “political animal” and we need to go beyond that “political animal” definition and see how certain political decisions may affect the business and our target marketing, segmentation, and customer profile. In this time period in Sri Lanka if you’re a good marketer but “politically blind and not sensitive” then again you may be having many challenges in the long run.
Challenge Six – Online customer segment and e-commerce
Prior to COVID-19, it was really hard to sell a female skirt online. Now this situation has completely changed and online business is viable for any product in Sri Lanka. Anyway, you need to be creative to pitch your product to target segments. And also there is a need to be equipped with some tools of digital marketing as well. As per the latest reports “49.4 percent of Sri Lanka’s total internet user base (regardless of age) used at least one social media platform in January 2023”!
Challenge Seven – Business sense
In Sri Lanka, we can witness many people talking about soft skills. We usually define “soft skills” as “Language competency and IT skills”. To be competitive and to become a “hit” in the market there is a need for “business sense”. This is really important in this situation. For that, you should have more imaginative power with creativity with emotional intelligence. A certain percentage of that you bring from your genes. Nevertheless, you should learn how “to sense the business environment”. Sri Lankan marketers should have “business sense” for better decision-making in this critical time.
Conclusion
Marketing is all about value creation and giving solutions to customers. Now the scope of thinking and implementation should be expanded and adjusted by Sri Lankan marketers by considering the current turbulent situation in the country. The seven challenges mentioned can be the opportunity for better outcomes in the coming months and years. And also it is really important to think about the country and help needy people in this critical time. All professionals should get together and build up a better Sri Lanka for the next generation.
Traditionally, we celebrate the Sinhala and Tamil New Year also with a time of renewal and rejuvenation, and many people use this occasion to reflect on their lives and think about new beginnings.
IMF and Reflections
This is the seventeenth time we have sought the IMF rescue programme. There is a need for policymakers to study this and have a proper analysis of the loans taken by Sri Lanka for the last five decades––foreign debt and market borrowings––and outcome. This study would give experts about the so-called & quot; debt trap & quot; and its implications for the future.
There should be proper Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for loans taken and for the utilisation of same. Sri Lanka needs to learn lessons from the past by analysing numbers. There should be a separate independent body comprising experts in economics, business management, accounting, and finance to make decisions on taking loans and utilisation aligning with a sustainable competitive advantage. Anyway, it is worth noting that having loans with a dependent mentality is not driving any country for the future. Hence, we can propose the entrepreneurial model with a creative economy for the country.
Creative Economy
In Sri Lanka, we are still concentrating on traditional exports like tea, rubber, and coconut with garments and something out of the box is required to compete in the world market – even if it will utilise the resources at full capacity. This article focuses on how the concept of a ‘creative economy’ can be used as a new strategy for the country in order to achieve sustainable economic development.
The concept of a ‘creative economy’ is not a new one at all. It is better to discuss the creative economy with an example of “Nollywood”. The Emergence of ‘Nollywood’ is remarkable and it came into the world picture within 20 years. According to PwC.com. “The Nigerian Film Industry (Nollywood) is globally recognised as the second largest film producer in the world. The industry is a significant part of the Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Sector which contributed 2.3% (NGN239biliion) to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2016. It is one of the priority sectors identified in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Federal Government of Nigeria with a planned $1billion in export revenue by 2020”.
We have to study the success story of ‘Nollywood’ to see whether we can apply that to our Ranminithenna Film Village. University undergraduates in Sri Lanka can conduct a study on ‘Nollywood’ and see the Key Successive Factors (KSF) and uniqueness in the film industry. We can then see how we can apply these models (with some modifications) in the Sri Lankan context with Ranminithenna.
It is worthwhile to understand the meaning and implications of the creative economy (sometimes referred to as the creative industry). John Howkins, the author of ‘The Creative Economy: How People Make Money from Ideas,’ refers to a range of economic activities that are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information. Howkins divides the creative economy into fifteen sectors, which are: 1) Advertising; 2) Architecture; 3) Art; 4) Crafts; 5) Design; 6) Fashion; 7) Film; 8) Music; 9) Performing Arts; 10) Publishing; 11) Research and Development; 12) Software; 13) Toys and Games; 14) TV and Radio; 15) Video Games
According to Landry & Bianchini (1995), “The industries of the twenty-first century will depend increasingly on the generation of knowledge through creativity and innovation.” Human capital can be considered important and KSA factors – namely, knowledge, skills and attitude – as prime factors that will govern the world economy at this moment.As the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCAD) “significant 3% contribution to global gross domestic product (GDP) makes the creative economy a powerful emerging economic sector that is being strengthened by a surge in digitalisation and services.” So, the effect of the creative economy on any country cannot be underestimated.
Creative Economy and Yohani
We have recently witnessed the success story of viral marketing in Sri Lanka with the glocalisation of the Song of Manike Mage Hithe.
The Manike Mage Hithe cover by Yohani and Satheeshan has attracted 239 million views and is trending mainly in India and the globe by translating the same into Hindi, Malayalam, Urdu and Tamil. This can be considered one of the historical events in the music industry in Sri Lanka. If you need to “go global” we need to understand the global trends and all environmental factors. If we really analyze trendy songs such as Manike Mage Hithe most of the time they can be seen targeting the new generation/s (Y, Z and Gen A). One decade back from India we can see a song of Kolaveri D which was successful at that time in the globe. Unlike Sri Lanka, at that time it can be seen that the Indian Higher Education sector took that as one of the success stories in Viral marketing.
The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) ranked amongst the topmost business schools in India and Asia conducted some discussions on this with some own case studies. Even in IIM Ahmedabad there was an hour-long discussion between the professor and students of that class. Most of the Professors of IIMs – Bangalore, Rohtak and Lucknow – have played the song in class and reflected on the strategies played including viral marketing. Furthermore, the marketing club of IIM Ranchi organised a seminar on campus to study the strategy that has turned the song Why This Kolaveri “into an overnight rage. The popularity of songs such as Manike Mage Hithe and Why This Kolaveri Di in social media can be considered a message reiterating the power of creativity and innovation with the essence of new technology. It is truly an internet generation that articulated the fashion and trends in the world. This is one example of the practical implications of the creative economy in Sri Lanka with the blessings of young talents such as Yohani Diloka de Silva.
Conclusion
What we have to understand is the importance of moving away from traditional markets such as manufacturing and seeing the creative industries as a key strategy in a new knowledge economy (Abeysekera,2011). Two years back a webinar hosted by Central Bank’s Centre for Banking Studies, in my presentation I had set the ground conditions for having a creative economy for the country’s future development (available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkg91Pev4TM). The same presentation was reviewed by Dr. W.A. Wijewardena in his article titled “A creative economy for SL’s future development” (https://www.ft.lk/columns/A-creative-economy-for-SL-s-future-development-Much-more-to-be-done-to-realise-the-goal/4-716359) . The time has come for us to take initiation and the goal of Policymakers and intellectuals should understand the importance of this. This crisis has created an opportunity to “stop and see” (reflect) our policies in the long run. So with the new year with reflections on our lives and thinking about new beginnings, there is a need for the nation to have new policies in the economy as well.
Bradman (1928-1948) played 52 test matches in his career. He scored 29(55.76%) hundreds and 12 two hundreds (23%). Up to now Murali played 118 test matches .He took five wickets for 62(52.54%) times and ten wicket hold on 20 times (16.94%). One could imagine how difficult it is to take wickets consistency through over 100 matches. once considering performance analysis by innings Bradman scored his highest score (334) in first inning of the match. Murali too took his career best of 9 for 51 against England in the first inning of the match.
Both payers did this at the outside of their home soil and Vs England. And Bradman and Murali always performed well against England. Bradman scored highest runs in his career in 5028 against England while Murali also took 112 wickets (his best against any opponent) against England. Once considering analysis of performance at home and away, Bradman scored 4322 of his total 6996 runs at home averaging 61.78% runs at home. While Murali too took 451 wickets of his total 723 wickets at home. His average wicket taking at home was 62.37%.
By looking at this Murali can be easily equal to the performance of Bradman. In the spinning Department, it is Muralitharan who is the legend and match-winning bowler. He can bowl for the next five years too. According to the statistics and marvelous performance, it is quite clear that easily he could become one of the top cricketers in a Wisden Almanack in 21st Century. He has all right to claim in this regard.
Sri Lanka is experiencing the dividends of peace at the moment. The Sri Lankan economy has expanded by a healthy growth rate of 7.9 per cent during the first quarter of this year, from the same period a year earlier.
Every year the UGC enrols 20,000 to 22,000 students. This is only around 15 per cent of the students who are qualified for university admission. The point we have to understand is that this is not the total number of students who sat for the examination. Out of 100, only 15 students can enter the university. This has been the (miserable) story for the last few decadesA Global Survey carried out by the ‘Equity and Bond Trading Institution’ has chosen Sri Lanka as the fourth rapidly developing economy in the third quarter last year. Sri Lanka logistics sector’s international ranking has improved from 137 to 81 in the World Bank Logistic Performance Index of 2012.
Even National Geographic Traveller magazine has named Sri Lanka among its top six destinations for world travellers in 2012, lauding the island nation’s heritage sites, wildlife, lush landscapes and pristine beaches.
Deteriorating discipline
This is a typical post war scenario and we have to understand the sustainability of this growth in the future. But on the other hand, the discipline of the country is deteriorating day by day. On the road you can observe both pedestrians and drivers violating the rules. Rarely do we see three-wheelers, bicycles and buses as well as other vehicles using signal lights. This is the same in every place.
There were a number of media announcements to save electricity but you can see lights on in the streets even in the daytime. Even if you visit many Government institutes to get your work done, they always like to take their own time. Sometimes you have to go to the same place a few times for the same purpose. So some people tend to bribe in order to make things happens quickly.
Most of the parents do not have any relationship with their children as they are used to dropping them to schools and going to offices and in the evening just trying to bring them back from school after tuition. There is an unnecessary “rat race” in the society and sometimes we witness suicide cases among young children as an outcome. Most parents want their son or daughter to become ‘dream stars’ and they are striving hard and sacrifice the most important time of their childhood.
On the other hand, people like to talk about Sri Lankan products but they are used to buying foreign brands. There is no ‘sense of belonging’ in the society. People like to talk about patriotism but they cannot implement it on their own. It is only like slogans.
Although the main leaders in different religious communities should be involved in the development of society, their roles are problematic as there is evidence of an increasing number of crimes instead.
Meanwhile, the rate of corruption has been increasing. Some even go further by arguing corruption is a ‘lubricant’ in the economic development of the country. Over the last few months it an escalating number of acts of violence can be observed by regional politicians, mostly those attached to the Government. But there is no strong message and this is also pushing others towards violence. It seems that a culture of ‘Julampitiye Amare’ is emerging.
There is also a tendency where people seem to be taking law and order into their hands, which can be considered really dangerous for the future. It is one indication that people have lost their faith in the establishments meant to ensure law and order in the country. The Government urgently needs to be conscious in this regard as well.
Education a focal point
If you really analyse this situation, there is a need for a better society with discipline. Education can be considered as a focal point in this regard. Still in Sri Lanka we have a type of education which has not been updated (curricula, quality, etc.) for years. This is common to school as well as university education.
There are some students in Grade 10 who cannot write or read properly. There is no sound assessment method in the system that takes into account these critical issues.
According to Examinations Department sources, around 270,032 school children had sat the GCE (O/L) examination in December 2011 and out of them 12,795 had failed in all nine subjects! Only 44.57% students had passed in the English Language paper and 55.3% passed in mathematics.
University
Then there’s the competitive university entrance examination: The GCE Advanced Level Examination. According to sources, out of the 239,624 students who sat for the Advanced Level examination, 142,000 are eligible to enter universities in 2011. But we have to understand that all those who are qualified for university entrance will not be absorbed by the national university system.
Every year the University Grants Commission (UGC) enrols 20,000 to 22,000 students. This is only around 15 per cent of the students who are qualified for university admission. The point we have to understand is that this is not the total number of students who sat for the examination. Out of 100, only 15 students can enter the university. This has been the (miserable) story for the last few decades.
For the last 15 years the UGC has enrolled around 20% of the students who satisfied the minimum requirements for admission; 142,000 students who gain admission will be over the moon to tell their parents, relatives and friends that they have qualified for university entrance. But that is short-lived ecstasy, for only 20,000-22,000 might be the actual number of those entering the varsity.
Furthermore due to a lack of long-term planning, efficiency, and corruption, Sri Lanka has been declared as a bankrupt country in the year 2022. It is all about how you read your business, how you make decisions and convert some threats into opportunities. We are in a turbulent time. We have more challenges in this dynamic environment.
Challenges
In marketing, we need to anticipate some challenges. But now it is all about making continuous changes in different models in very short time periods. Let’s see some challenges for marketers that we need to explore.
Challenge One – Continuously changing marketing strategies with adaptation
Continuous changes can be seen in prices, tax rates and some important indicators in the economy. So we need to be vigilant 24/7. Marketers should always be alert to those changes. If the Government is expecting a price hike in gas by next week and if you are engaging with a bakery service, you should think and act in many ways, aligning with your pricing strategy. You need to change your promotion strategy, distribution strategy and sometimes even your segmentation and positioning strategy in case by looking at the sustainability of the business.
Challenge Two – Integrating marketing and supply chain
This is high time for marketers in Sri Lanka to focus more on the supply chain. It can be seen that the concepts of marketing and supply chain management were elaborated in different forums separately. Nevertheless, these two concepts look like twin brothers. We can see many experts talking about the problem which farmers who cannot sell their products and distribute vegetables and fruits to the consumers in different areas. We can remember, one report said that more than 900,000 kilos of vegetables have been purchased by the Government. Some seasons you can see excess vegetables like pumpkin which farmers are really finding it difficult to sell their products. In one way you need to argue that we should have proper value additions as well as marketing strategies for the products.
Anyway, there is a problem with having an updated food balance sheet for Sri Lanka. And also, it is important to note that “550,000 metric tons of vegetables and fruits were being wasted a year due to the post-harvest damage and its loss to the nation amounted to over Rs. 67 billion” (Daily Mirror, 28 August 2019). So there is a requirement for a proper supply chain aligned with the national marketing plan.
Challenge Three – Need for Anthro-Marketer
It is important to understand that in the current business situation and post-modern business with different approaches, what we think as marketing professionals about customers and what customers want from a company (or product) can be totally different, as it should be read from the perspective of an anthropologist. And also you need to have different lenses to read your customers. If you read your customer only from the lens of a marketer you can satisfy the customer. Hence you should read the customer from the lens of an anthropologist to delight (exceeding the expectation of customers. In simple “WOW” factor) the customers.
As marketers to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, we need to delight customers better than our competitors. The challenge for marketers in Sri Lanka is to convert the mode of “Marketer” to modern “Anthro-Marketer”. You may train your marketing staff or directly you can hire anthropologists. This is really vital at the moment.
Challenge Four – Indigenous marketing
As we know, the subject of marketing existed two or three decades ago as a “luxury product” used only by one “branded segment” of people and could not be accessed by the general public. Because of that, there is a need to disseminate the knowledge in “marketing” more with the best practices in our own context. Learn something from some best Sri Lankan indigenous practices and follow the marketing that suits the country in important, that is, “our own marketing method” which is similar to Romesh Kaluwitharana getting behind the stumps and exclaiming “Ohoma Yan” (we will together) in Sinhalese which is also one of the indicators for Sri Lankans winning the 1996 World Cup.
And also most of the time we have observed experts using ‘English” to teach the subject of marketing. That can be commendable. But for entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka, it proposed to teach and disseminate the subject of marketing in their native language (Sinhala or Tamil) because in the world research has proven that the native language is always important to inculcate imagination and creativity among all. We can train and teach own practices in our own language. So there is a need for experts and scholars in this subject domain of marketing to get together and investigate “Indigenous Marketing” in Sri Lanka which would be one way we have to learn the best practices of Sri Lankan culture as well.
Challenge Five – Reading the political development of the country
Unlike in the past, it is essential to be updated on the latest political developments in the country and outside the country. Sri Lankan marketers should be politically sensitive and analyse the future to make decisions. As Aristotle believed, man is a “political animal” and we need to go beyond that “political animal” definition and see how certain political decisions may affect the business and our target marketing, segmentation, and customer profile. In this time period in Sri Lanka if you’re a good marketer but “politically blind and not sensitive” then again you may be having many challenges in the long run.
Challenge Six – Online customer segment and e-commerce
Prior to COVID-19, it was really hard to sell a female skirt online. Now this situation has completely changed and online business is viable for any product in Sri Lanka. Anyway, you need to be creative to pitch your product to target segments. And also there is a need to be equipped with some tools of digital marketing as well. As per the latest reports “49.4 percent of Sri Lanka’s total internet user base (regardless of age) used at least one social media platform in January 2023”!
Challenge Seven – Business sense
In Sri Lanka, we can witness many people talking about soft skills. We usually define “soft skills” as “Language competency and IT skills”. To be competitive and to become a “hit” in the market there is a need for “business sense”. This is really important in this situation. For that, you should have more imaginative power with creativity with emotional intelligence. A certain percentage of that you bring from your genes. Nevertheless, you should learn how “to sense the business environment”. Sri Lankan marketers should have “business sense” for better decision-making in this critical time.
Conclusion
Marketing is all about value creation and giving solutions to customers. Now the scope of thinking and implementation should be expanded and adjusted by Sri Lankan marketers by considering the current turbulent situation in the country. The seven challenges mentioned can be the opportunity for better outcomes in the coming months and years. And also it is really important to think about the country and help needy people in this critical time. All professionals should get together and build up a better Sri Lanka for the next generation.
Traditionally, we celebrate the Sinhala and Tamil New Year also with a time of renewal and rejuvenation, and many people use this occasion to reflect on their lives and think about new beginnings.
IMF and Reflections
This is the seventeenth time we have sought the IMF rescue programme. There is a need for policymakers to study this and have a proper analysis of the loans taken by Sri Lanka for the last five decades––foreign debt and market borrowings––and outcome. This study would give experts about the so-called & quot; debt trap & quot; and its implications for the future.
There should be proper Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for loans taken and for the utilisation of same. Sri Lanka needs to learn lessons from the past by analysing numbers. There should be a separate independent body comprising experts in economics, business management, accounting, and finance to make decisions on taking loans and utilisation aligning with a sustainable competitive advantage. Anyway, it is worth noting that having loans with a dependent mentality is not driving any country for the future. Hence, we can propose the entrepreneurial model with a creative economy for the country.
Creative Economy
In Sri Lanka, we are still concentrating on traditional exports like tea, rubber, and coconut with garments and something out of the box is required to compete in the world market – even if it will utilise the resources at full capacity. This article focuses on how the concept of a ‘creative economy’ can be used as a new strategy for the country in order to achieve sustainable economic development.
The concept of a ‘creative economy’ is not a new one at all. It is better to discuss the creative economy with an example of “Nollywood”. The Emergence of ‘Nollywood’ is remarkable and it came into the world picture within 20 years. According to PwC.com. “The Nigerian Film Industry (Nollywood) is globally recognised as the second largest film producer in the world. The industry is a significant part of the Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Sector which contributed 2.3% (NGN239biliion) to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2016. It is one of the priority sectors identified in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Federal Government of Nigeria with a planned $1billion in export revenue by 2020”.
We have to study the success story of ‘Nollywood’ to see whether we can apply that to our Ranminithenna Film Village. University undergraduates in Sri Lanka can conduct a study on ‘Nollywood’ and see the Key Successive Factors (KSF) and uniqueness in the film industry. We can then see how we can apply these models (with some modifications) in the Sri Lankan context with Ranminithenna.
It is worthwhile to understand the meaning and implications of the creative economy (sometimes referred to as the creative industry). John Howkins, the author of ‘The Creative Economy: How People Make Money from Ideas,’ refers to a range of economic activities that are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information. Howkins divides the creative economy into fifteen sectors, which are: 1) Advertising; 2) Architecture; 3) Art; 4) Crafts; 5) Design; 6) Fashion; 7) Film; 8) Music; 9) Performing Arts; 10) Publishing; 11) Research and Development; 12) Software; 13) Toys and Games; 14) TV and Radio; 15) Video Games
According to Landry & Bianchini (1995), “The industries of the twenty-first century will depend increasingly on the generation of knowledge through creativity and innovation.” Human capital can be considered important and KSA factors – namely, knowledge, skills and attitude – as prime factors that will govern the world economy at this moment.As the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCAD) “significant 3% contribution to global gross domestic product (GDP) makes the creative economy a powerful emerging economic sector that is being strengthened by a surge in digitalisation and services.” So, the effect of the creative economy on any country cannot be underestimated.
Creative Economy and Yohani
We have recently witnessed the success story of viral marketing in Sri Lanka with the glocalisation of the Song of Manike Mage Hithe.
The Manike Mage Hithe cover by Yohani and Satheeshan has attracted 239 million views and is trending mainly in India and the globe by translating the same into Hindi, Malayalam, Urdu and Tamil. This can be considered one of the historical events in the music industry in Sri Lanka. If you need to “go global” we need to understand the global trends and all environmental factors. If we really analyze trendy songs such as Manike Mage Hithe most of the time they can be seen targeting the new generation/s (Y, Z and Gen A). One decade back from India we can see a song of Kolaveri D which was successful at that time in the globe. Unlike Sri Lanka, at that time it can be seen that the Indian Higher Education sector took that as one of the success stories in Viral marketing.
The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) ranked amongst the topmost business schools in India and Asia conducted some discussions on this with some own case studies. Even in IIM Ahmedabad there was an hour-long discussion between the professor and students of that class. Most of the Professors of IIMs – Bangalore, Rohtak and Lucknow – have played the song in class and reflected on the strategies played including viral marketing. Furthermore, the marketing club of IIM Ranchi organised a seminar on campus to study the strategy that has turned the song Why This Kolaveri “into an overnight rage. The popularity of songs such as Manike Mage Hithe and Why This Kolaveri Di in social media can be considered a message reiterating the power of creativity and innovation with the essence of new technology. It is truly an internet generation that articulated the fashion and trends in the world. This is one example of the practical implications of the creative economy in Sri Lanka with the blessings of young talents such as Yohani Diloka de Silva.
Conclusion
What we have to understand is the importance of moving away from traditional markets such as manufacturing and seeing the creative industries as a key strategy in a new knowledge economy (Abeysekera,2011). Two years back a webinar hosted by Central Bank’s Centre for Banking Studies, in my presentation I had set the ground conditions for having a creative economy for the country’s future development (available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkg91Pev4TM). The same presentation was reviewed by Dr. W.A. Wijewardena in his article titled “A creative economy for SL’s future development” (https://www.ft.lk/columns/A-creative-economy-for-SL-s-future-development-Much-more-to-be-done-to-realise-the-goal/4-716359) . The time has come for us to take initiation and the goal of Policymakers and intellectuals should understand the importance of this. This crisis has created an opportunity to “stop and see” (reflect) our policies in the long run. So with the new year with reflections on our lives and thinking about new beginnings, there is a need for the nation to have new policies in the economy as well.
History
Anyway, political parties work really hard to “Market” their candidates and policies, In this context it is important to discuss the concept of “Political Marketing”. As in other subjects we have the “history” of political marketing. Kelly(1956) first defined the term “political Marketing” to refer to the same domain of activity. This has been further developed by Rothschild’s (1978) who has his research work on the effectiveness of political advertising and segmentation . Then the area of political marketing has been developed by many experts and the work of Newman and Sheth (1985) and O’Shaughnessy (1990) on the pivotal work “Phenomenon of Political Marketing” can be considered as important in this context, Further Handbook of Political Marketing (Newman, 1999) , Harris and Lock’s “review of political lobbying in the UK” and Butler and Harris’ (2009) “review of political marketing theory” also should be mentioned as significant contributions for the subject
Political Marketing with Social Media
What is political marketing? It is important to understand the concept. Political marketing is a fundamental part of political life. Presidents and prime ministers; politicians and parties; government departments and councils all use marketing in their pursuit of political goals. So this is common for all. And also now we can see that social media has emerged as one of the effective strategies in Political marketing. According to Okan and Akyuz (2015) Social media campaigns should be used in an efficient way through reaching volunteers and increasing their shares on the platforms for the multiplier effect. They were in the view that the campaigns created by political candidates and parties are easily accessible to the target audience through social media platforms, thus, marketing activities can be managed with voters’ reviews in a more interactive way. The following figure really showcases how Barack Obama has used social and digital media to win the masses in the US.
What is “product” in Political Marketing?
‘Core product’ is the main and central pillar of the product. This has been described by Brassington and Pettitt (1997 ) as ‘the heart of the product, the main reason for its existence . . .’ In terms of political marketing, this may be viewed as the basic ideology upon which all aspects of a political party are grounded and is central to its very being (Lloyd,2005). This is in line with the main themes of political parties and their vision ,mission etc. Assume one party started with protecting one segment of voters(Say Sinhala Buddhist) and then they deviated from their main objectives then we can see the myopic situation which is deviating from their main “Product”.
Ranil, Sajith and Anura
It can be observed that potential presidential candidates in Sri Lanka display their photos with their campaigns. According to Harris(2001)‘personalisation’ of politics has led to a situation in which ‘the party leader is at the center of its brand image’ (Lock and Harris 1996).This is really interesting to study for Sri Lankan political parties and leaders with different perspectives.
Political Marketing Mix
Usually in Marketing, we discuss about marketing mix. This is all about “strategies to satisfy customers”. That consists of 4Ps(or 7ps) . Interestingly Lloyd(2005) has created a “Political Marketing Mix” by incorporating the research work done by scholars such as Borden (1962), Booms and Bitner (1981) and Beaven and Scotti (1990). Refer below for the components that are important for all political parties in Sri Lanka for a thorough investigation.
1. Services Offering(Policy on security, stability, economic growth.Project management roles for government initiatives. Electors judge based on policies and capabilities.
2. Representation(Representation goes beyond communication and promotion,Electors match expectations to political representation, “Integrity, realism, and response to misrepresentation”)
3. Accommodation(Understand and respond to electorate needs.,Not just focus-group led strategies.,Accessibility and participation for electors.
4. Investment(Stakeholder relationship with political representatives,Financial and non-financial investments by electors,Expect tangible or intangible returns.
5. Outcome(Deliver on policy issues and promises,Effective, efficient, and ethical delivery matters,Achievement process is as important as outcome)
Conclusion
One might argue that the presidential candidate who can really utilise the concept of political marketing can win the hearts of the people. Anyway, again it can be questioned how effectively we can use concepts such as “Political marketing mix” in the Sri Lankan context with different socio-economic and cultural influencers in the country. All Sri Lankan citizens need to be concerned about ethical practices with political marketing with better strategic perspective for sustainable development .
Selected References
Butler, P. and Harris, P. (2009), “Considerations on the evolution of political marketing theory”, Marketing Theory, Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 149-64.
Harris, P. and Lock, A. (2002), “Sleaze or clear blue water? The evolution of corporate and pressure group representation at the major UK party conferences”, Journal of Public Affairs, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp.136-51
Kelley, S. Jr (1956), Professional Public Relations and Political Power, John Hopkins University Press,Baltimore, MD
Lloyd J.(2005) Square Peg, Round Hole? Can Marketing-Based Concepts Such as the ‘Product’ and the ‘Marketing Mix’ Have a Useful Role in the Political Arena?, Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 14:1-2, 27-46
Newman, B.I. (Ed.) (1999), Handbook of Political Marketing, Sage, London
Newman, B.I. and Sheth, J.N. (1985), “A model of primary voter behaviour”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 178-87.
O’Shaughnessy, N.J. (1990), Phenomenon of Political Marketing, Macmillan, Basingstoke.
Rothschild, M.L. (1978), “Political advertising: a neglected policy issue in marketing”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 59-71
The same scenario can apply to the Music Industry as well. In Sri Lanka, we have witnessed the success story of viral marketing with the glocalisation of the Song of “ Manike Mage Hithe” . The Manike Mage Hithe cover by Yohani and Satheeshan has exceeded 249 million views and was trending mainly in India and the globe by translating the same into Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil, etc. We have seen that Amitabh Bachchan, is one of the most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema. was praised for the Sri Lankan song ‘Manike Mage Hithe’ in his blog. This can be considered as one of the historical events in the music industry in Sri Lanka. If you need to “go global” we need to understand the global trends and all environmental factors . If we analyse trendy songs such as Manike Mage Hithe most of the time it can be seen targeting the new generation/s (Y,Z and Gen Alpha). One decade back from India we can see a song by Kolaveri D which was successful at that time in the globe. Unlike Sri Lanka, at that time it can be seen Indian Higher Education sector taken that as one of the success stories in Viral marketing. The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) ranked amongst the topmost business schools in India and Asia conducted some discussions on this with some own case studies. Even in IIM Ahmedabad, there was an hour-long discussion between the professor and students of that class.
Most of the Professors of IIMs – Bangalore, Rohtak and Lucknow – have played the song in class and reflected on the strategies played including viral marketing. Furthermore the marketing club of IIM Ranchi organised a seminar on campus to study the strategy that has turned the song “Why This Kolaveri “into an overnight rage( Abeysekera,2011). Anyway, the same scenario cannot be observed in Sri Lankan education system in terms of respecting the creativity of the young generation . I think that is one of the problems that we need to explore more with possible solutions. The popularity of songs such as Manike Mage Hithe and Why This Kolaveri Di in social media can be considered a message reiterating the power of creativity and innovation with the essence of new technology. It is truly an internet generation that articulated the fashion and trends in the world. There is a responsibility and Mechanisms from the stakeholders in the country to have a proper mechanism to respect the creativity and imagination of our young generation. In that scenario, the role of the ‘Creative Economy” is really important for the country .. The creative economy encompasses careers many which the music Industry also played a vital part.We have discussed the concept of “creative economy” and its importance to Sri Lanka for decades but could not see any positive feedback from the administrators .( Refer to the article by Dr. W.A. Wijewardena titled “A Creative Economy For SL’s Future Development: Much More To Be Done To Realise The Goal”-
https://www.ft.lk/ w-a-wijewardena-columns/A-creative-economy-for-SL-s-future-development-Much-more-to-be-done-to-realise-the-goal/885-716359) .
We should consider the success story of “Manike Mage Hithe” as one case study for Sri Lanka to think about the importance of the “Creative Economy” with different strategies in coming years.
Recent literature discusses the concept of dynamic capability due to changing market trends. Organizational resources are crucial for performance, and Fang and Zou (2009) identify customer relationships as key elements of marketing dynamic capabilities. Hou (2008) suggests that customer orientation is an important component of dynamic capability. A study conducted by the author on relationship marketing orientation in Licensed Commercial Banks (LCBs) in Sri Lanka involved in-depth interviews with fifty salespersons and fifty customers.. Various themes emerged, but this article focuses on the importance of relationship marketing’s human touch.
The “Human Touch” in Relationship Marketing
Some banks heavily rely on computer-automated services rather than the human element in their banking services. One entrepreneur in a handicraft business commented, “My Customer Relationship Officer (CRO) asked me to use the web to check my balances and use machines to deposit money or checks. But I do not like this. If he is my salesperson, he should help me because I do not believe in machines.” Similarly, a manager in a steel company stated, “I always like to come and talk to my CRO in person. Sometimes we need telephones, but not always when it comes to relationships.”
Clearly, customers prefer the human touch in their banking relationships. Many customers dislike depending solely on machines and prefer personal assistance even for simple tasks like balance inquiries. This preference may be due to cultural factors or a lack of IT proficiency. In Sri Lanka, personal touch and individual concern are critical in the banking industry, where banks offer standard and generic products. The real competitive advantage lies in unique and outstanding services. Literature suggests that close customer relationships in banking are rare and further weakened by increased self-service technologies (O’Loughlin et al., 2004). Therefore, it is necessary to use new technologies strategically as relationship facilitators (Sweeney and Morrison, 2004; Payne and Frow, 2005). However, the human element remains important.
Shemwell et al. (1994) argue that close personal relationships are easier among individuals than between corporate bodies and individuals. Weitz and Bradford (1999) emphasise the partnering role of sales representatives, who establish social bonds with customers. This aspect of relationship marketing warrants further research in the Sri Lankan context. Notably, customers of private banks are more inclined towards new technology compared to state bank customers, possibly due to a more visible technology-driven environment in private banks.
Customers consistently prefer contacting their CROs, considering them more important than other aspects of the bank. One customer said, “I am only concerned about my CRO in [Bank]. Whatever problem arises, I will contact him. I do not have time for advertisements or promotions, but I get all information from my CRO. I trust him and it is easy to work with him.” This sentiment is common among customers of both state and private banks, highlighting the significance of salespeople in the banking sector. Previous studies support this, showing that a firm’s marketing success largely depends on individual salespersons. Customer-oriented selling is critical for sales roles, focusing on applying the marketing concept at the exchange process level (Saxe and Weitz, 1982). Williams and Attaway (1996) emphasize that a firm’s marketing success is highly dependent on its sales representatives, who have the most immediate influence on customers. Researchers agree that customer satisfaction is vital for long-term business success, and salespersons’ customer-orientation levels are crucial for building customer relationships (Grewal and Sharma, 1991).
Conclusion
The findings clearly indicate that the human element is crucial in relationship marketing. Even though artificial intelligence and new technologies are transforming the banking and service sectors, it is crucial to also focus on the human touch component, considering the regional context and the sentiments of the people. The cultural and social nature of this argument can be studied under different themes in future research to understand the underlying realities of the phenomenon in Sri Lanka’s banking sector.
2023 දෙසැම්බර් මාසයේ අලුත් කරන ලද අන්තර්ජාතික මූල්ය අරමුදලේ ණය වැඩසටහන යටතේ 2024 මැයි මස වන විට ඉටු කළ යුතුව තිබූ කැපකිරීම්වලින් සියයට 25 ක් සහතික ලෙස ඉටු කිරීමට ශ්රී ලංකාව අපොහොසත් වී ඇති බව වෙරිටේ රිසර්ච් වාර්තාවේ පෙන්වා දෙයි. එසේ ඉටු කළ යුතුව තිබූ කැප කිරීම් 63 න් අයි.එම්.එෆ්. මීටරයට අනුව 32 ක් ඉටු කර ඇති බවත් 16 ක් ඉටුකර නැති බවත් 15 ක් නොදන්නා බවත් එම වාර්තාවේ තවදුරටත් දැක්වේ. නොදන්නා යන්නෙහි අර්ථය අදාළ කැපවීමේ ප්රගතිය තහවුරු කිරීමට අවශ්ය දත්ත සහ තොරතුරු නොමැති බවයි.
අන්තර්ජාතික මූල්ය අරමුදල ශ්රී ලංකාවට මෙසේ ණය ලබා දුන්නේ 17 වැනි වතාවටය. 17 වතාවක්ම ලංකාවට මෙසේ ණය ලබා ගැනීමට සිදු වූයේ කුමන හේතු කාරණා මතදැයි විමසිය යුත්තකි. එසේ ණය ලබා ගන්නට සිදුවන්නේ ආර්ථික වශයෙන් තවමත් අපට දිගුකාලීන සැලැස්මක් නොමැති වීම නිසාය. එය අවාසනාවන්ත තත්වයකි. එම නිසා අප අවධානය යොමුකළ යුතු කාරණය වන්නේ එබදු තත්වයක් තුළ ඉදිරියේ දී 18 වැනි වතාවටත් මේ ණය මුදල මත යැපෙනවාද ? නැත්නම් ණය ලබාගන්නවා වෙනුවට නිසි ආර්ථික වැඩපිළිවෙළක් සැකසීමට පියවර ගන්නවාද? යන ප්රශ්නයයි. ලෝකයේ සෑම රටක්ම පාහේ නිසි ආර්ථික වැඩපිළිවෙළක් සකස් කිරීමේ දී ප්රධාන කාරණා කිහිපයක් කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු කොට ඇති බව පෙනේ. අපනයනය, සංචාරක කර්මාන්තය ඒ අතර ප්රධාන වේ. එහෙත් අපේ රටේ මේ අංශවල තවමත් ඇත්තේ සාම්ප්රදායික ගමනකි.
බොහෝ රටවල් පසුගිය දශක දෙක තුළම නිර්මාණශීලී ආර්ථිකයක් සම්බන්ධයෙන් වැඩි වශයෙන් අවධානය යොමු කොට ඇත. එහෙත් අපි තවමත් සාම්ප්රදායික ආර්ථිකයක් මත පදනම්ව සිටිමු. සංචාරක කර්මාන්තයේ යළි කිසියම් පිබිදීමක් දක්නට ලැබුණත් නිර්මාණශීලී ආර්ථික ක්රමවේද ඒ වෙනුවෙන් විධිමත්ව යොදාගන්නා බවක් නොපෙනේ. ණය ලබා ගැනීම සඳහා නිතර යොමුවීමට සිදුවන්නේ මේ නිර්මාණශීලී ආර්ථිකය ශක්තිමත් නොවන නිසාය. කාලයක් තිස්සේ පියවරින් පියවර ණය මතම යැපීම හේතුවෙන් දැන් ඒ හැර වෙනත් විකල්ප නැති තැනට පසුබිම සකස්වී තිබේ.
අන්තර්ජාතික මූල්ය අරමුදල ශ්රී ලංකාවට 17 වැනි ණය මුදල ලබාදීමේ දී ප්රධාන කාරණා දෙකක් කෙරෙහි ඔවුහු අවධානය යොමු කළෝය. ඉන් එකක් නම් කාර්යක්ෂමතාවයි. දෙවැන්න වංචා සහ දූෂණයි. ලංකාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් කතා කරන බොහෝ රටවල් වැඩි වශයෙන් අවධානය යොමු කරන කාරණා දෙක බවට කාර්යක්ෂමතාවත්, වංචා දූෂණත් ඉදිරියට පැමිණ තිබේ. 2023 දෙසැම්බර් මාසයේ අලුත් කරන ලද අයි.එම්.එෆ්. මීටරය දෙස යළි අවධානය යොමු කළහොත් වංචා දූෂණ සම්බන්ධ කාරණය යළි තහවුරු වී තිබේ.
ඉටුකළ යුතුව තිබූ කැපවීම් හැට තුනෙන් 16 ක් ඉටු නොකළ කැපකිරීම් ලෙස පෙන්වා ඇත. එම ඉටු නොකළ කැප කිරීම් 16 සැකසී ඇත්තේ 7 ක් මූල්ය කළමනාකරණයටත්, 6 ක් මූල්ය විනිවිදභාවයටත් ,3 ක් දූෂණ මර්දන ක්රියාමාර්ගවලටත් වශයෙනි.
මේ අනුව පෙනෙන්නේ රටේ වත්මන් ආර්ථික අර්බුදයට මූලිකම හේතු ලෙස හඳුනාගෙන ඇත්තේ විනිවිදභාවයේත්, කළමනාකරණයේත් දූෂණ මර්දන කටයුතුවලත් ඇති දුබලතාය. අන්තර්ජාතික මූල්ය අරමුදලේ ණය වැඩසටහනෙන් එම දුබලතාවලට පිළියම් යෝජනා කර ඇතත් එම යෝජනාවලට නිසි ලෙස පිළිතුරු දීමට සමත් වී නැති බව මෙයින් පැහැදිලි වේ.
අයි.එම්.එෆ්. මීටරය සලකා බැලීමේ දී ඇති යහපත් ප්රවණතාව නම් 63 න් 32 ක් ඉටුකළ කොටසට අයත් වීමය. එසේ වුවත් අසාර්ථක වීමට ප්රධාන හේතු ලෙස ගැනෙන අකාර්යක්ෂමතාව හා දූෂණ වංචා පිළිබඳ තවදුරටත් දැඩි අවධානයක් යොමු කළ යුතුව ඇත. ඉතා මෑත කාලීන සරල උදාහරණයක් ලෙස දුම්රිය සේවය ගනිමු. දුම්රිය සේවයේ වර්ජනයක් පසුගියදා ක්රියාත්මක විය. එහෙත් එය සිදු වූයේ රටේ අයහපත් කාලගුණයක් යටතේ සාමාන්ය ජනයා දැඩි අපහසුතාවලට මුහුණ පා සිටියදීය. ලෝකයේ සෑම රටකම පාහේ වැඩවර්ජනයකට යෑමේ දී සලකා බලන කාරණා බොහොමයක් වෙයි. එහි මානූෂීය පැති ගණනාවක් තිබේ. ලංකාවේ මූල්ය කළමනාකරණය පිළිබඳ කතා කිරීමේ දී රාජ්ය සේවය සම්බන්ධයෙන් අවධානය යොමු නොකොට බැරිය. මිලියන 1.4 කට වඩා මේ රටේ රාජ්ය සේවකයෝ සිටිති. එහෙත් රාජ්ය සේවය සඳහා අත්යවශ්ය වන්නේ ලක්ෂ හතරක් පමණි. ඒ ගැන මෙතෙක් අවධානයක් යොමු වී ඇති බවක් නොපෙනේ. ඒ අනුව එහි තිබෙන්නේ අවශ්යතාව ඉටු කර ගැනීමට රාජ්ය සේවය යොදාගන්නා ප්රධාන අරමුණ නොවේ.
මෙවැනි අංශ දෙස අප බැලිය යුත්තේ අයි.එම්.එෆ්. අරමුණු ඉටුකර ගැනීමට පමණක් නොවේ. මෙතැන ඇත්තේ රටේ ජනතාවගේ ආකල්ප පිළිබඳ අවුලකි. එබඳු ආකල්පමය වෙනසක් ඇති නොවී, රට පිළිබඳ ආදරයක් හැඟීමක් ඇති නොවී අයි.එම්.එෆ්. අරමුණු ඉටු කර ගැනීමට ක්රියා කළත් එය දිගු කාලීන වශයෙන් පල රහිත වන්නකි. අනෙක් කාරණය මේ රටේ අධ්යාපනයේ ඇති විය යුතු බරපතළ වෙනසයි. වසර ගණනාවක් තිස්සේ අප මේ කතා කරන කාර්යක්ෂමතාව පිළිබඳව හෝ වංචා දූෂණ පිළිබඳව හෝ අධ්යාපනයේ කතා කරනවානම් කතා කරන්නේ විෂය නිර්දේශ ආවරණය කෙරෙන නිර්නායක පමණි. අධ්යාපනයෙන් අරමුණු කරන්නේ මෙරට ශිෂ්ය ප්රජාව ශිෂ්යත්වය, සාමාන්ය පෙළ හා උසස් පෙළ විභාග සමත් කරවීම මිස පුද්ගලයා සංවර්ධනය කිරීම නොවේ. ආකල්ප සංවර්ධනය කිරීම නොවේ. එබඳු සංවර්ධනයක් නොමැතිව රටට ආදරය කරන පිරිසක් බිහිවන්නේ කෙසේද? රටට ආදරය කරන පිරිසක් නොමැතිව රටේ සංවර්ධනය අපේක්ෂා කරන්නේ කෙසේද? භෞතික ජීව දත්ත දර්ශකය තුළ ආර්ථික සංවර්ධනයත් සමග දල දේශීය නිෂ්පාදිතය, පුද්ගල ආයු අපේක්ෂාව, ආදිය ගැන ද අවධානය යොමු කෙරේ.
පුද්ගල සංවර්ධනය යනු සංවර්ධනයේ ප්රධාන ඉලක්කයකි. පුද්ගල සංවර්ධනය සමාජ සංස්කෘතියේ ද සංවර්ධනයකි. බොහෝ රටවල් තම සංවර්ධන ඉලක්කවල දී මේ ගැන අවධාන ය යොමු කරන බව පෙනේ. එහෙත් අවාසනාවකට අපේ රටේ පුද්ගල සංවර්ධනය සඳහා ලබා දෙන තැන ගැන සතුටු විය නොහැකිය. එස් 5 වැනි සංකල්ප ජපානය භාවිත කළේ ඔවුන්ගේ සංස්කෘතික කාරණා ලෙසය. එහෙත් එම සංකල්ප ලංකාවේ වැඩමුළුවලට පමණක් සීමා විය. රටකට ජාතියකට අනන්යතාවක් නොමැති වූ විට එහි ජනතාවගෙන් සිස්ටම් චේන්ජ් අපේක්ෂා කිරීම විහිළුවකි. සංවර්ධනය අප සාකච්ජා කරන්නේම මූල්ය ආර්ථිකය පෙරමුණෙහි තබා ගෙනය. සංස්කෘතියට නොසලකන, මවු බසට නොසලකන සිංහලත් ඉංග්රීසිත් දෙකම හරිහැටි නොදත් පරම්පරාවක් බිහිකිරීමෙන් රටට ආදරය කරන පිරිසක් අපේක්ෂා කළ හැකිද?. රටට ආදරය කරන පිරිසක් බිහි කරන අධ්යාපන ක්රමයක් අපට අවශ්ය වන්නේ එබැවිනි. ආර්ථික ඉලක්ක සපුරාගත හැකි දිගුකාලීන වැඩපිළිවෙළට ශක්තිමත් පදනම වන්නේ එයයි.
අයි.එම්.එෆ්. අරමුණු ඉටු නොවීම ගැන පමණක් සිල්ලර මට්ටමින් කතා කිරීම තාවකාලික ප්රයත්නයකි. පවත්නා පසු බිම තුළ මේ ණය මුදලට පසු කලෙක ගන්නා තවත් ණය මුදලක් වෙනුවෙන් තවත් ඉදිරි වසර කීපයක දී අපට කතාකරන්න වන්නේත් මේ ටිකමය. අපට දැන් අවශ්ය වන්නේ එසේ නොවීමට අවශ්ය පරිසරය සකසන දිගුකාලීන වැඩපිළිවෙළ හඳුනා ගැනීමය. මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් පුළුල් සංවාදයක් ඇතිවිය යුත්තේ එබැවිනි.
It can be seen that the concepts of marketing and supply chain management were elaborated in different forums separately. Nevertheless, these two concepts look like twin brothers. According to Linton (2019) Marketing delivers an essential balance in supply chain management which supports businesses and their associates to become more focused on customers rather than on the production process. “By improving communications, support and collaboration, marketing helps increase supply chain efficiency and create a single extended enterprise with a strong competitive edge(“Linton,2019) .Hence it can be observed the synergistic effect of Marketing and Supply chain. It is important to see how supply chain and marketing play an important role in
Sri Lankan context in the case of distribution of food and vegetables.
We can see many experts talking about the problem of farmers who cannot sell their products and distribute vegetables and fruits to consumer in different areas. We can remember, one report said that More than 900,000 kilos of vegetables were purchased by the government. In Some seasons you can see excess vegetables like pumpkin which farmers are finding it difficult to sell their products. We have witnessed the same problem for decades. In one way you need to argue that we should have proper value additions as well as marketing strategies for the products. Anyway, there is a problem with having an updated food balance sheet for Sri Lanka. And also, it is important to note that “ 550,000 metric tons of vegetables and fruits were being wasted a year due to the post-harvest damage and its loss to the nation amounted to over Rs. 67 billion(Daily Mirror,28th August 2019)”.Anyway, It can be proposed to have an integrated plan of Supply chain and Marketing. We can observe that the factors mentioned above such as food waste, problems in transport etc being discussed in completely different forums, But both can be considered as the flip side of the same coin. People in the country should be educated on the nutritional value of vegetables, fruits, and all food items which are produced in Sri Lanka. Then you can expect a greater demand aligned with the “be Sri Lankan buy Sri Lankan “ tag line(which has been already established in Sri Lanka). Sri Lanka imports some products which affect the balance of payment of the country with no real nutritional value. This you can compare with some substitutes produced in our home soil.
There is a need for experts in the country to,
1. Educate people on the nutritional value of vegetables, fruits, and all food items which is produced in Sri Lanka and see possibilities to grow some import substitutes in the country with proper Integrated Marketing Communication activities (IMC)-(this is all about awareness and Marketing)
2. To have better supply chain management related to food in Sri Lanka(especially vegetables and fruits)
And also you need to have a proper association between all factors with a newly established institution.(refer to below for a diagram)
Source: Abeysekera,2020
Conclusion
There should be a better alignment between the demand and the supply chain. This alignment can be achieved through strategic Marketing and awareness initiatives. To facilitate this, we propose the establishment of an institution dedicated to managing this orientation. This institution should include a diverse range of stakeholders and experts from various fields including food, supply chain, nutrition, strategy, marketing, finance, and economy, representing both the public and private sectors. By creating such an institution, we can ensure a coordinated effort to align the food supply chain with the actual needs and preferences of the population. This initiative will help address issues related to food security, nutrition, and economic efficiency. Furthermore, it will promote sustainable practices that benefit the entire food ecosystem.
Actually in Sri Lanka we need a party (not a political party as some politicians even will undertake to exploit this as they are good at that) representing us(consumers).In this context we need to study the term “Consumerism” . The term “consumerism” was first used in 1915 to refer to “advocacy of the rights and interests of consumers” .Some schools of thought defined “consumerism” as “The movement seeking to protect and inform consumers by requiring such practices as honest packaging and advertising, product guarantees, and improved safety standards.
Many countries boast consumer associations established by professionals from diverse fields, dedicated to safeguarding consumer rights. These organizations serve as invaluable resources for consumers, advocating for their interests and holding businesses accountable.One such exemplary association is the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) in Malaysia, which offers a compelling model for Sri Lanka to emulate. CAP stands out for its unique blend of activism and mainstream consumer engagement, capturing the attention not only of Malaysians but also of observers worldwide.At the heart of CAP’s mission is the cultivation of critically-aware consumers. Through various initiatives, CAP equips consumers with knowledge about regulations governing different purchasing scenarios, emerging issues concerning products and services, pricing dynamics, governmental activities, and even the impact of international trade practices such as dumping on Sri Lanka.Central to CAP’s ethos is its role as a relentless pressure group, constantly advocating for consumer welfare, environmental sustainability, and public health. By championing these causes, CAP not only empowers consumers but also contributes to broader societal well-being. Even the Consumers Association of Penang(CAP) discusses the issues like diabetes and always Educate Malaysians on this with repercussion in a creative way.Pls refer below
“According to a report released by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in August 2022, it was shown that diabetes consumed the highest annual healthcare spending among the three chronic illnesses at 45.4 percent, compared to cardiovascular disease (CVD) at 40.7 percent and cancer at 13.9 percent. In other words, for every ringgit spent on the three NCDs, 45% goes to diabetes, 41% goes to CVD, and 14% to cancer-Source : https://consumer.org.my/cap-diabetes-the-silent-epidemic/)
The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) Empower, Educate, Engage consumers in diverse array of forums beyond addressing customer complaints. These forums cover a wide spectrum of topics, including health and nutrition, food and wellness, financial literacy, safety, environment, development, natural farming, lifestyle, and animal rights.We As Sri Lankan need to explore and see how we can learn something from this with some adaptations.
Concussion
In Sri Lanka, we’ve reached a crucial juncture that demands deeper introspection into our activities. It’s imperative for professionals across sectors to grasp their roles and responsibilities more comprehensively. Moreover, there’s an urgent need for an active consumer association to advocate for consumer rights and provide education across various domains. This is indispensable for the country’s progress.In this context, it’s vital to examine and learn from the best practices of other nations. By studying successful models from around the world, we can glean valuable insights to inform the establishment and operation of a robust consumer association in Sri Lanka
ශ්රීමත් හෙන්රි ස්ටීල් ඕල්කට්තුමාගේ 117 වන ගුණසමරුව අපි සැමරුවෙමු. වර්තමානයේ සිංහල බෞද්ධ ප්රබෝධය නොයෙකුත් මිත්යා මත සමග පාසල් අධ්යාපනයේ හුදෙක් කවි කටපාඩම් කරන විෂයක් තුළ ප්රශ්නාර්ථයක් බවට පත්වී ඇත. තමා සිංහල බෞද්ධ කියා කියන්නට ලජ්ජා යුගයක් අපි අත් විඳින්නෙමු. මෙහිදී අප ඕල්කට්තුමාට කළ යුතු වටිනාම කලගුණ සැලකීම වන්නේ කුමක්ද? අර ශ්රීමත් හෙන්රි ස්ටීල් ඕල්කට්තුමා හෙළයට ගෙන ආ ඒ බෞද්ධ ප්රබෝධය තුළින් දේශය, භාෂාව හා ජාතියට ආදරය කරන පරපුරක් රට තුළ නැවත ඇති කිරීමයි. මේ ආර්ථික සමාජ ව්යසනවලින් රට බේරා ගැනීමේ පළමු පියවර එය විය යුතුමය.
කොළඹ පිහිටි ආනන්ද විද්යාලය, ඕල්කට්තුමාගේ අධ්යාපනික හා ආගමික ප්රතිසංස්කරණවල ප්රතිඵලයක් ලෙස ස්ථාපිත කරන ලද ප්රමුඛතම බෞද්ධ පාසලකි. ආනන්දය රටට ජාතික නායකයන් බිහිකළ තෝතැන්නකි. ශ්රේෂ්ඨ අධ්යාපනික පාසල්වලින් ජාතික නායකයන් බිහි වූ බව සිහිපත් කරන විටම ඉදිරි අනාගතය තුළ ආනන්දයේ වගකීම ගැන කතා කළ යුතුය. මෙහිදී ආනන්දයට ආනන්දයක් වූ ගුරු පරපුර ගැන කතා කළයුතුමය. මෙවිට මාගේ මතකයට නිතැතින්ම පැමිණෙන්නේ සෝමා විජේරත්න ගුරු මෑණියන්ය. දශක කිහිපයකට පෙර සෝමා විජේරත්න මාතාව උදෑසන වන විට කොලොන්නාව පුරාණ විහාරය අසල බස් රථයක් බලාපොරොත්තුවෙන් සිටින දර්ශනය මගේ සිතේ පැලපදියම් වී ඇත. උදෑසන 6.30 වන විට ආනන්දයට එන ඇය විදුහලේ දියුණුව වෙනුවෙන් කළ සේවය පිළිබඳව ආනන්ද විද්යාලයීය සාහිත්ය සංගමයෙන් වෙනමම ග්රන්ථයක් සම්පාදනය කළ යුතු බව මාගේ අදහසයි. මගේ තවත් ආනන්දයේ ගුරුවරයකු වූ ධර්මසේන ලොකුලියනගේ ගුරු පියාණන් (ඔහු ආනන්දයේ ශිෂ්යයකු ලෙස ඇයගෙන් උගෙනම එකම ගුරු මඬුල්ලේ සෝමා විජේරත්න ගුරු මාතාව සමග සේවය කර ඇත) පැවසුවේ ඇය සැබවින්ම ආනන්දයට සම්පතක් බවයි. ගුරුවරයකුගේ භූමිකාව මනාව නිර්වචනය කරමින් තම ජීවිත කාලය තුළ බුද්ධාගම ගුරුවරයෙක් ලෙස පමණක් නොව දරුවන්ගේ විනය, හික්මීම, සාරධර්ම දියුණු කිරීමට ක්රියා කළේ තම රාජකාරී ජීවිතය පුරාවටම කිසිම නිවාඩුවක් නොලබාය. ආනන්දයටම ආවේනික උදෑසන ආනන්ද විහාරයට සපැමිණෙන ‘මල් පෝලිම’, සෝමා විජේරත්න ගුරුතුමිය යුහුසුළුව සංවිධානය කළ අයුරු නිරන්තයයෙන් මාගේ මතකයට නැගේ. ආනන්දයට පැමිණින දරුවන්ට ආනන්දය, විනය සහ විශේෂයෙන්ම විෂය ධාරාවෙන් ඔබ්බට ගිය ජීවිතය ගැන සෑම විටම ඇය උපදෙස ලබා දුන්නාය. මිනිසා නොහදා රට හැදිය නොහැකි බවත්, මිනිසා හදා රට හැදිය යුතු බවත් රටට මිණිපහනක් වූ අති පූජ්ය මඩිහේ මහ නාහිමි කී ලෙසටම රටට වැඩදායී අනද පුතුන් දහස් ගණනක් බිහි කිරීමට තම දහදිය මහන්සිය යොදවා, එතකින් නොනැවතී තම විශ්රාම දිවියද මේ පින් බිම වෙනුවෙන්ම කැප කරන, තම පාසල තම ජීවිතය කරගත් මෙවැනි ගුරු මෑණිවරුන් රටටම ආශිර්වාදයකි. මෙවැනි “සාධු චරිත”, කිලෝ හය – හතක බෑගයක “බර” ගැන මිස අධ්යාපනයේ “ගුණ” අමතක වර්තමාන සමාජයේ පාසල් විෂය නිර්දේශයට ඇතුළත් කළ යුතු බව මාගේ අදහසයි.
එමෙන්ම ආනන්දයෙන් බිහිවිය යුත්තේ රට-දැය පිළිබඳ සංවේදී පුරවැසියන්ය. මෙහිදී රට තුළ කතා කළ යුතුම විශ්ලේෂණය කළයුතු, පර්යේක්ෂණ කළ යුතුම දේ බොහොමයක් ඇත. ඒ තුළ වර්තමාන “පරිගණකයට ඇබ්බැහි සංවේදී නැති පරපුර ගැන කතා නොකරම බැරිය. තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණය පිළිබඳ දරුවා උනන්දු කළ යුතු නමුත් ඔහු හෝ ඇය එයට ඇබ්බැහි වී ඇතිදැයි සෑම විටම විමසිය යුතුය. අප බිහිකළ යුත්තේ රටට, ජාතියට සංවේදී දරුවකු මිස යාන්ත්රීකරණය වූ අයකු නොවන බව වටහා ගත යුතුය. ලෝකයේ දරුවන් පිළිබඳ කළ පර්යේක්ෂණයක තොරතුරු තුළින් ඒ පිළිබඳ මානව පෙන්නුම් කරයි.
■ වසර 2-5 දක්වා දරුවන්ගෙන් 58% පරිගණක ක්රීඩා පුළුවන් නමුත් ඔවුන්ගෙන් බයිසිකල් පදින්න පුළුවන් 43% කට පමණි.
■ තවද එම වයස් කාණ්ඩයේ දරුවන්ගෙන් 10% නව දුරකථන උපාංග භාවිතය හුරු නමුත් 9% පමණයි සපත්තුවේ ලේස් එක ගැට ගහන්න පුළුවන්.
එමෙන්ම පර්යේක්ෂණ මගින් අනාවරණය වී ඇත්තේ පරිගණක වැඩිපුර පැය ගණනක් භාවිතය දරුවාගේ අන් අය සමග මානුෂීය සම්බන්ධතා කරන බවයි. එමෙන්ම 1979 හා 2009 වසර තුළ 14000 සමග කළ සංසන්දනාත්මක පර්යේක්ෂණයක් මගින් තහවුරු වී ඇත්තේ මෙම කාලය තුළ පුද්ගල සහකම්පනය දැඩි ලෙස අඩු වී ඇති බවයි. මෙය කොවිඩ් අර්බුදය තුළ තවත් තිව්ර වී ඇත. මෙම සහකම්පනය නැති පිරිසක් බිහිවීම ජාතියක අවාසනාවන්ත ඉරණමකට මග සලකුණු පෙන්වයි. රටේ ප්රමුඛතම ජාතික පාසල වන ආනන්දය තුළ අප බිහිකළ යුතු විරුවන් දෙස, බස, රැස යන හෙළ තුණුරුවන කියවිය යුතුය. එය භාවිතා කළ යුතුය. ඒ පිළිබඳව ආඩම්බර විය යුතුය. දේශය, භාෂාව හා ජාතිය පිළිබඳව, කුමාරතුංග චින්තනය පිළිබඳව රට තුළ, ජන මනස තුළ නැවත අවධි කිරීමක් අවශ්යයෙන්ම සිදුවිය යුතුය. බසින් රැස රැකෙන බවත් රැසින් දෙස රැකෙන බවත් යන සරල සත්ය අර්බුදයට පත්, බංකොළොත් වී ඇති අර මහ සම්ප්රදායක් උරුම වී තිබූ ජාතියට කියා දිය යුතුය.
ඕල්කට්තුමා බෞද්ධ පුනර්ජීවන ව්යාපාරයට ඒ කළ මෙහෙවර අප සැමරිය යුත්තේ මේ රට නැවත බෞද්ධ පුනර්ජීවන ව්යාපාරයකට අවතීර්ණ කිරීමෙන්. මෙහිදී ආනන්දයට ඇති කාර්යභාරය අතිමහත්ය. එම අභියෝගය මේ යුගය තුළ ආනන්දයට පැටවී ඇත. එය හෙන්රි ස්ටීල් ඕල්කට්තුමාට ආනන්දියකු කළ හැකි උසස්ම උපහාරයයි.
මහාචාර්ය නලින් අබේසේකර
(ආදී ආනන්දීය බෞද්ධ සංගමය මගින් සංවිධානය කළ ආදි කර්තෘවර සෙන්පති හෙන්රි ස්ටීල් ඕල්කට්තුමන්ගේ ගුණානුස්මරණ වැඩසටහනේ ආනන්දයේදී සිදුකළ විශේෂ දේශනය ඇසුරෙනි)
20 May 2013: Disciplinary action has been taken against 20 students from the Engineering Faculty of the University of Peradeniya, for alleged ragging. The Public Relations Officer of the university said that the students had been caught in the act by the Vice Chancellor and several members of the disciplinary committee on Sunday morning, after they had received information that first year students of the Engineering Faculty were being ragged.
18 June 2012: The Buttala Police today arrested four AL students on charges of having assaulted several teachers of the Buttala Uva Pelwatte Maha Vidyalaya, when the teachers had intervened to stop the ragging of the newly-admitted students.
17 January 2013: The Faculties of Engineering and National Diploma in Technology (NDT) at the Moratuwa University were temporally closed following a clash between two student groups last evening, Police said. Six students were injured during the clash and two of them were admitted to the Colombo National Hospital and the Kalubowila Teaching hospital.
23 October 2012: Following the clash between two student groups today, the Education Ministry said Grade 10, 11, 12 and 13 classes at Royal and Thurstan Colleges in Colombo 7 would be closed from Wednesday (24) till 29 October.
17 February 2012: Police are investigating the mysterious death of a 15-year-old schoolgirl who was found hanging inside her room. The incident was reported in Ihala Thammennawa area in Medawachchiya on Wednesday. The Police was immediately informed by the residents of the area. It is believed that a love affair had led to the incident.
According to Dr. Neil Fernando, Head of National Institute of Mental Health Promotion, Sri Lanka has one of highest suicide rates in the world, with almost 4,000 people killing themselves per year, or about 11 per day. The majority of victims were aged 15 to 44.
If you really study the reasons for suicide cases, ragging as well as fights, there may be social and economic problems. The person who commits suicide may see his or her actions as some sort of solution to a severe physical or psychological dilemma. The psychology of the suicide is rooted in depression (Geberth, 1996). Even the outcome of ragging also can be directly related to the depression.
The research done by Castaldelli-Maia JM, Martins SS, Bhugra D, Machado MP, Andrade AG, Alexandrino-Silva C, Baldassin S and de Toledo Ferraz Alves TC in Department of Psychiatry, Medical School in Brazil in 2012 revealed the relationship between ragging and depression with related to the victim. Some research even suggested that depression would lead to murders as well (http://www.examiner.com/article/the-wellington-murders-can-depression-turn-into-murder-slide-show).
But now it can be seen that many schools, universities and companies as well as institutions across the globe are conducting programs of mindfulness in order to get away from depression and many problems. What is mindfulness? There are hundreds of definitions can be seen from different roots. But the following definition defines this with the essence of Buddhism: “Mindfulness is a spiritual or psychological faculty that, according to the teaching of the Buddha, is considered to be of great importance in the path to enlightenment.”
In Buddhism the concept of mindfulness has been discussed under the Noble Eightfold Path. The Noble Eightfold Path is a practical roadmap to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and delusions; to understanding the truth about all things. According to the table, mindfulness can be considered as one part of mental development.
According to Mindfulnet.org, “Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to, and seeing clearly whatever is happening in our lives. It will not eliminate life’s pressures, but it can help us respond to them in a calmer manner that benefits our heart, head, and body. It helps us recognise and step away from habitual, often unconscious emotional and physiological reactions to everyday events. It provides us with a scientifically researched approach to cultivating clarity, insight, and understanding. Practicing mindfulness allows us to be fully present in our life and work, and improve our quality of life.”
It can be seen some programs in mindfulness is conducting in schools and universities successfully. In Buddhism we learn Anapanasathi which mean ‘mindfulness of breathing’. The same is conducting in some mindfulness programs in the initial stage. See the following extract from one elementary school in the US: During a five-week pilot program at Piedmont Avenue Elementary, Miss Megan, the ‘mindful’ coach, visited every classroom twice a week, leading 15 minute sessions on how to have ‘gentle breaths and still bodies’.
There are several training programs like Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) developed by Professor Mark Williams and his team in Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry which showed that MBCT could significantly reduce the rate of recurrence in serious recurrent depression. The University of Oxford’s Centre for Suicide Research found that mindfulness meditation can cut the recurrence of depression by 50%, and neuro imaging scans have shown significant positive change in brain activity of long-term meditators. The latest, from a team at the University of California, Santa Barbara, reports even a short, two-week course in focusing the mind can lead to immediate, tangible results: higher scores on tests measuring reasoning and comprehension.
“Our results suggest that cultivating mindfulness is an effective and efficient technique for improving cognitive function, with wide-reaching consequences,” a research team led by psychologist Michael Mrazek writes in the journal Psychological Science.
It is all about paying attention in the purpose of present moment without making judgments. We are often unaware of what we are doing. This has been extensively discussed in Buddhism as well. Simply in Buddhism, ‘Satipattana’ means to be in the moment at all times. A person should always ‘live in the moment,’ so to speak.
Sri Lanka has a history of practicing Anapanasathi in schools for years. But there is a need for proper mindfulness program in the Sri Lankan education system (school to university level). There is no requirement to “import” experts from Western countries as our system is governed by the teachings of Buddhism. Nevertheless, we can incorporate the success stories and the pedagogy they used to teach students. This can be applicable to schools as well as in universities in the country.
The initiative is like an investment in the long-term for the country. This can be considered as one method to reduce violence as well as depression among youth in the early stage of their life. In addition to this, it will teach them to live in a current moment , respond more effectively to complex or difficult situations , become more creative, and more importantly to achieve balance and resilience at work and at home.
Actually the problem which Sri Lankans are facing is that we have our own values and precious resources but they have been exploited (or utilised) effectively by others not by us. Furthermore, the concept of mindfulness is something which most of us read about and listen to, but have not been practicing for years. But if we start to work and live accordingly, this nation will be the island with peace and prosperity forever.
(The writer is a Senior Lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka.)
References
http://www.mindfulnet.org/page2.htm
http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/eightfoldpath.html#Right_Speech
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/mindfulness-training-boosts-test-scores.html
When applied to the context of resilience, adaptability, and sustainability, action research can be a valuable tool for individuals, organizations, and communities to develop strategies for long-term success and environmental responsibility. Action research can be particularly effective in addressing complex, interconnected challenges related to resilience, adaptability, and sustainability. It promotes a dynamic and responsive approach, allowing you to adjust strategies as circumstances change. If we specifically relate to the subject domain of education ,Action research is a valuable approach in the field of education.It empowers educators and administrators to engage in a systematic and reflective process to bring about positive changes in teaching, learning, and the educational environment. Furthermore, Action research in education is a dynamic process that can lead to tangible improvements in teaching and learning. It is particularly valuable for addressing specific challenges within a school or classroom, as it allows educators to take a hands-on, problem-solving approach to effecting positive change. It also encourages reflective and evidence-based practice, which is fundamental in the field of education.
Both VUCA and BANI highlight the need for individuals, organizations, and societies to be prepared for a world marked by rapid change, unpredictability, and complexity. Strategies for thriving in these environments often include fostering adaptability, continuous learning, scenario planning, and developing a greater capacity for resilience in the face of challenges.Hence the need for institutional and action research cannot be underestimated.
It is common in the business that the ‘black box’ of the customers cannot be interpreted with given formulas. Even if you have ‘good’ clients, they may leave you without a valid reason. There are ways to read the customer mindset from a different perspective. This is a ‘challenge’ faced by most of the companies. It is important to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage for any business while identifying core competencies. In this context, we should identify the ‘Role of Anthropologists’ as many leading companies receive professional services to ‘read’ and ‘understand’ their present and potential customers.
What is Anthropology and who is an Anthropologist?
Anthropology is the study of humans, past and present. To understand the full sweep and complexity of cultures across all of human history, anthropology draws and builds upon knowledge from the social and biological sciences as well as the humanities and physical sciences (American Anthropological Association)
It is important to ‘read and study’ the subject. An Anthropologist is a person with an extensive knowledge of anthropology who uses this knowledge in their work, typically, to solve problems specific to humanity.
Marketing and Anthropology
If you go through the success stories in the world during the last two to three decades, you can see many examples of the way businesses have used the service of anthropologists. In 1991, the Business Page of New York Times carried an article by Claudia Deutsch, of an increasing number of anthropologists employed by major corporations. Meanwhile, Baer (2014) in Business Insider observed that “Google hired an ethnographer to ferret out the meaning of ‘mobile’. Intel has an in-house cultural anthropologist and Microsoft is reportedly the second-largest employer of anthropologists in the world”. More interestingly, the same article discusses the case of Adidas about how they were able to understand the ‘world and life of customers’ through an anthropological lens. Mitchell Osak (Managing Director of Quanta Consulting Inc.) clearly argued that Anthropology, which is important in business, requires the marketer to frame the problem in human — not business terms. He further explained the need to find patterns and insights. Quoted below what he has elaborated on this
“The anthropologist then undertakes a careful analysis of the data to uncover themes or patterns. When organised in themes, a variety of insights will emerge about how a customer feels, their goals and what drives their actions. Of course, traditional quantitative and qualitative research methods have their place and should remain part of a marketer’s analytical tool kit. However, anthropology will play an increasing role in uncovering the consumer’s subconscious needs as well as societal/religious behavioural drivers, areas that are largely impervious to standard qualitative techniques. Producing this holistic view will allow marketers to design more relevant products and services that deliver higher value.” (Osak,2014)
Conclusion
It is important to understand that in post-modern business, what we think as business executives, about customers and what customers want from a company (or brand ) can be totally different, as it should be read from the perspective of an anthropologist. And also you need to have different lenses to read your customers. If you read your customer only from the lens of a marketer you can satisfy the customer. Hence you should read the customer from the lens of an anthropologist to delight (exceeding the expectation of customers. In Simple “WOW” factor) the customers. As marketers to achieve sustainable competitive advantage we need to delight customers better than our competitors. The challenge for CEOs of any business is to convert the mode of “Marketer” to modern “Anthro-Marketer”. You may train your marketing staff or hire anthropologists. Anyway “Business Sense ” is the key to success .
Professor Nalin Abeysekera
Department of Marketing , Faculty of Management Studies
Open University of Sri Lanka
Even though the IMF facility will provide us short-term solution and boost international confidence in our economy, Sri Lanka should think about sustainable strategies. This is a must and the country needs entrepreneurial orientation embedded in our economic policy. Universities should produce entrepreneurs, not graduates. Anyway, the year 2024 is already important for Sri Lanka as the year of elections. The election manifesto of any political party should be concerned about sustainable solutions for the country. And also there should be a proper analysis of strategies adopted by political parties to win the election. By analysing the history of Sri Lankan political activities, it is important to discuss about Blue Ocean Strategy as one of the potential strategies for main stakeholders in the political arena.
What is Blue Ocean Strategy?
Usually in business (this is the same in politics as well) you are always concerned about cutthroat competition. It means simply you follow some strategies (most of the time some conventional strategies) to compete in the market. The organisation simply wants to face intense competition in the market. All competitors are practicing similar strategies to obtain something from a given market share. This we called as “Red Ocean Strategy”. As per Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne (Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne are notable figures in the field of business strategy, most famous for their development of the Blue Ocean Strategy concept) “Red oceans are all the industries in existence today – the known market space, where industry boundaries are defined and companies try to outperform their rivals to grab a greater share of the existing market. Cutthroat competition turns the ocean bloody red. Hence, the term ‘red’ oceans (Kim and Mauborgne, 2005)”.
In politics and engaging with the general public we can see the same strategies such as book donations, street protests, and meetings conducted. Anyway, political parties should be concerned with applying creative tactics for different market segments such as “floating votes” and “people who did not vote” for elections. Usually in Sri Lanka we can witness 15-20% floating votes and in the year 2019 Presidential election around 16% were not polled (even in the 2020 General election around 24% of people were under the category of “not polled”). There should be different strategies to understand the aforementioned segments in the market. The concept of segmentation always plays a critical role in political marketing. In that context, we should discuss the concept of the “Blue Ocean Strategy”. In Blue Ocean, we are always concerned about uncontested market space. In blue oceans, demand is created rather than fought over. There is ample opportunity for growth that is both profitable and rapid. In Blue Oceans, competition is irrelevant because the rules of the game are waiting to be set.
Implications of Blue Ocean in political landscape
As mentioned in the Blue Ocean Strategy you need to create demand. This is a really important and interesting strategy for all political parties to target floating votes and to target a certain percentage of people who did not poll. And more importantly, with different approaches such as entrepreneurship movements in the country and some positive collaborative work targeting the economy and children even you can target different segments such as partisan voters as well. What we need to understand is the voting behaviour of generations such as Baby Boomers, X, Y and Z Generations.
Baby Boomers, X, Y, and Z refer to distinct cohorts of people born in different time periods. Each generation is characterised by unique experiences, cultural norms, values, and attitudes shaped by the socio-economic and political events of their formative years. There should be more research should be conducted on this as well. Refer following for attributes of Generation Z.
Attributes of Generation Z
Time period: Born from the mid-to-late 1990s through the early 2010s (by looking at this from the year 1990 to 2005 can be considered as segment with voting power).
Characteristics: True digital natives, having been exposed to the internet, social networks, and mobile systems from a young age. They tend to be more tech-savvy and connected.
Values and Attitudes: They are often seen as more pragmatic, analytical, and socially conscious, with a strong concern for mental health and environmental issues.
Cultural and global awareness: Growing up in a hyper-connected world, Gen Z is generally more attuned to global issues and diverse cultures.
Creating a “Blue Ocean” political strategy for Generation Z involves identifying and capitalising on new market opportunities that appeal specifically to this young, tech-savvy, and socially conscious generation. The plan for education policy targeting youth with digitalisation, Loan schemes for needy people (for example: Students studying at universities like The Open University of Sri Lanka) with specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be embedded with some action-oriented programs that can be conducted before election as well(provocative strategies).There should be intensive studies to be conducted to understand different patterns and behaviours of different cohorts (like Generation X,Y, Z, etc.) and their dynamics.
Conclusion
As mentioned earlier Sri Lanka is in a situation in which all stakeholders should have some collective agenda by looking at the “big picture”. More interestingly the year 2024 will be an election year and we as citizens are not expecting the same sort of “red-ocean-cutthroat” political campaign/s and it should be a “Blue Ocean Strategy” by considering the future of the country.
(The writer is a Professor in Management Studies at the Open University of Sri Lanka. You can reach him via nabey@ou.ac.lk.)
මෙහිදී දෙස, බස, රැස යන හෙළ තුනුරුවන දේශය, භාෂාව හා ජාතිය සහ පිළිබඳව, කුමාරතුංග චින්තනය පිළිබඳව රට තුළ, ජන මනස තුළ නැවත අවධි කිරීමක් අවශ්යයෙන්ම සිදුවිය යුතුය. බසින් රැස රැකෙන බවත් රැසින් දෙස රැකෙන බවත් යන සරල සත්ය අර්බුදයට පත්, බංකොලොත් වී ඇති අර මහ සම්ප්රදායක් උරුම වී තිබූ ජාතියට කියා දිය යුතුය. මා අර සඳහන් කළ අනන්යතාවක් නැති ජාතිය තුළ අනන්යතාවක් පිළිබඳ විමසීමට අත්යවශ්ය සාධකයකි. ලෝකයේ සිදුකර ඇති සියදහසක් පර්යේෂණ පත්රිකාවල නිශ්චිතවම සඳහන් වන්නේ දරුවාගේ නිර්මාණශීලි බවට ස්වභාෂාව අනිවාර්ය අංගයක් බවයි. මහා භාරතයේ උපන් දාර්ශනිකයකු, ශ්රේෂ්ඨ කවියෙකු වූ රවීන්ද්රනාත් තාගෝර් පවසන්නේ මව් භාෂාව ස්වයං ප්රකාශනයේ සැබෑ වාහකය බවයි. මේ සම්බන්ධ එක් පර්යේක්ෂණ පත්රිකාවක සඳහන් වන්නේ “කුඩා දරුවකුගේ අධ්යාපන ක්ෂේත්රය තුළ මව් භාෂාව ඉතා වටිනා සහ අත්යවශ්ය කාර්යභාරයක් ඉටු කරන බැවින් එය විෂයමාලාව තුළ අර්ථවත් හා ප්රමුඛ ස්ථානයකට නැඹුරු විය යුතු අතර අපේ තරුණයන් තම මව් භාෂාවෙන් අධ්යාපනය නොලබන්නේ නම්, වසර දහස් ගණනක චින්තන ක්රියාවලීන් හදිසියේම අවසන් විය හැකි බවයි.