Passing The Torch Dilemma

Leone Nayacalevu, Deuba

A key requirement for the future of all organisations no matter what their size or type is having the right talent to fill key positions going forward.

Times have changed and given the many factors that impact Organizational Development (OD), traditional succession planning may no longer be practical.

Lifetime employment is also phasing out in most places and people are motivated differently at work.

Recently we have also witnessed a number of expats in statutory bodies leaving before ‘passing the torch’.

This is a real concern and the dilemma here is: why couldn’t the position(s) be filled locally?

Of course situations vary and in areas where local talent is scarce, hiring an expat may be justified.

However, the system needs to also proactively groom a pool of high performers to step up to the top level when required.

Still, we also have many success stories of locals who have excelled at the C-Suite level. More of the same needs to be encouraged in other government entities to help people realise their potential.

In doing so, leadership is localised and the nation’s human capital gains.

The new torch bearer will also most likely go the full distance!

Lost Transcripts

Arien Vikash Kumar,  Nadi

Your 12 or 13 years of sweat during your school journey may be of no value if you are not able to produce your external examination transcripts during a job interview, enrolment at tertiary institutions for further education or when applying for National Toppers, etc.

Parents sacrifice and invest so much for  their child towards his or her Education from day one with the hope that one day they will become something and make them feel proud.

However, all their dreams are shattered into pieces only because some children are irresponsible and careless towards their external examination transcripts.

After the successful completion of secondary education, some students don’t even bother to go back to their respective schools for their original transcripts.

Out of those that collect the transcripts, some think that it’s just an extra piece of paper in their files and drawers.

Thus losing or misplacing this piece of paper is not a big deal.

Let me remind our students and school leavers that it becomes a big deal when this document is needed and you don’t have it.

Keeping transcripts safely is as important as sitting for external examinations.

A friendly reminder to the students, be responsible now rather than the last minute bothering of teachers, school administrators or education officers.

Also, please stop the common excuse that its destroyed in natural disasters or fire.

Can parents and elders, teachers and schools inculcate this sense of responsibility in our children before the closing of the 2017 school calender please.

Climate Change

Amrit Singh,  Bau Road

Reading through the past few days’ letters to the editor, an issue of climate change has been trending massively. Some are saying positives about COP23 in Bonn which is currently in progress.

But what deceives my eye is people are saying that mother earth is in danger, that the world will end.

I laughed a lot when I read such hideous words.

Let us be reminded that mother earth will never end but we will.

Just like when we have a flu our body raises its temperature to kill the bacteria or virus causing sickness by using our bodies energy so we feel weak.

Similarly mother nature is raising her temperature to kill the bacteria that is us the ‘HUMANS’.

We are harming her and in return she is raisng her wrath by the rise in temperatures so that the appropriate population level is maintained.

We humans are mad arent we?

We made fuel out of fossils, we made tobacco to cause cancer, alcohol and all the bad things in this world for greed.

Don’t complain now and stop saying the world will end.

The world will never end but homo sapiens will.

What needs to be addressed is stop taking risks by doing wrong to mother nature only.

Renewable energy is in abundance.

The world has the money to invest, doing meetings will never help the earth.

Mother earth must be smiling at us since signs are being shown by her but we are ignorant.

We humans can never change because we are full of greed.

Feedback:  jyotip@fijisun.com.fj