Dr. M.I. Sahadulla, CMD, KIMS Healthcare,

Dr. K. Muraleedharan, CMD, Muralya Group of Companies,

Shri Harikesh, President, Trivandrum Management Association,

Shri Prasad Unnikrishnan, Director, KPMG,

Shri C. Padmakumar, CMD, Terumo Penpol Pvt. Ltd.,

Shri Mahesh L.S, Secretary, Trivandrum Management Association,

Friends in Media,

Sahodaree Sahodaranmare,

Ellaavarkkum Ente Namaskaaram.

       I am very happy to inaugurate TRIMA 2019, the annual Management Convention of the Trivandrum Management Association, which has chosen “Building Values for the Future” as its major theme.

Let me at the outset, compliment the Association for using this platform to revive the falling value system and to encourage the young professionals to internalize the traditional value system in all walks of life.

As we all know, Ethics, morals and value systems are important in every sphere of activity, including business. Thus, a conference that focuses on the need for such values has   great relevance. It is all the more befitting that the sub themes of the Conference focus on three areas where Ethics and Values play a great role, namely, Governance, services and the Industry.

Any mention of values in business should remind us of Gandhiji who believed that ‘a Man comes into business to do well and stays in it to do good.’ Besides, you may recall that the Western Management guru Peter Drucker believed that Business enterprises do not exist for their own sake, but to fulfill a specific social purpose and to satisfy a specific need of a society.

All such sayings and concepts remind us of the importance of Values. In fact, ourvalues influence everything we do: our behaviour, our investments, our partnerships in business and in our business decisions.Interestingly, some of us do not realize that ultimately, our values can also influence the attitude of society towards our business. There was a time when making profit alone was seen as the aim of a business activity, but soon, business houses learned the value of empathy, tolerance and   social commitment in all industry decisions.

 As all of us know, the term business does not confine to trade and commerce alone. Day to day governance is also like business, to be carried out by adhering to the right values that ensure accountability, fairness, transparency, assurance, leadership etc.  Governments also have to achieve objectives and drive improvement, as well as maintain legal and ethical standing in the eyes of citizens, regulators and the wider community.

Sadly, the concepts about the vision and mission of governments do not trickle down to every employee. This has led to low performance in many areas.  A saving grace is that governments across the country are now focusing on transparency and performance evaluation in governance. The   ideals of good governance have been amply clarified by our Constitution.  Anyone in governance cannot be in doubt, if he or she internalizes the ideals of the Preamble, Fundamental
Rights and the Directive Principles. I feel that a thorough understanding of our constitution is essential for anyone in governance.

I am happy that this Conference has chosen Health and Education as the focus of the sub theme on services. The International Declaration of human Rights as well as the Constitutions of all nations ensure an individual's right to enjoy a life of mental and physical health, through various provisions. But, how far the practitioners and institutions offering Health services have succeeded in imbibing and practicing the essential values in health-care is yet to be seen. I must also inform this audience that the State Government's new Health Policy has several provisions to ensure adherence to essential values.

When we talk of today's Education, we see a wide gap in terms of the cost and the quality of service. Education is also a service and the student has a basic right to get the best services, but the tendency is to see the student as the least important factor. This has to change and a student oriented approach that fosters good research and freedom of choice in academic matters has to be brought in. We need a value based intervention of management professionals to encourage industry linkage and better research in our institutions of higher learning.

With Kerala having one of the best Start up ecosystems in the country, it is appropriate that this conference has chosen to discuss the significance of values in the Start-up sector. Since our young innovators are the business leaders of tomorrow, it is essential  to  empower  them  with the right practices of management.

I am happy that Trivandrum Management Association has instituted the awards for Management Leadership, Corporate Social Responsibility and Paper Presentation. As an association of decision makers and Industry leaders   actively involved in   the promotion of education and training in management, the gesture of instituting such recognitions is truly laudable. I also take this opportunity to congratulate all the award winners of today.

Finally, I hope this Convention would have elaborate discussions on value based management practices and that the deliberations would help to strengthen Kerala's development initiatives too. I also expect to see this Convention contributing valuable suggestions to the policy makers, since governmental policy can play a pivotal role in creating a business environment guided by values.

       I compliment the organizers for conducting this function in a befitting manner and wish the Convention all success.

Ellavarkkum Ente Aashamsakal

Nanni

Jai Hind

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