W
ellington based BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly has emphasised the importance of Good Governance, saying that it is a pre-requisite for improving productivity and profitability.
“Good Governance is essential for every organisation, be it the government, public sector or private undertakings,” he said.
Mr O’Reilly is the Guest Speaker at this year’s Indian Newslink Sir Anand Satyanand Lecture scheduled to be held on Monday, July 30, 2012 from 630 pm at Stamford Plaza Hotel in Auckland City.
“Good governance-who wins: the shareholder, the public or Gordon Gekko?” would be the theme of his address.
For tickets priced at $140 including GST, Cocktails and Dinner, please call 021-836528 or write to editor@indiannewslink.co.nz
Gordon Gekko is a fictional hero of Wall Street and appears in Forbes magazine and some Hollywood movies.
Boosting performance
In a recent comment, he said that the ‘Draft Inquiry Report’ of the New Zealand Productivity Commission on the international freight transport services raised useful and sensible recommendations to improve the productivity of New Zealand’s international freight. He said productivity of international freight services was highly significant for New Zealand.
“Around 30% of our GDP is generated from the exports of goods and services, and hence freight services productivity can impact on the productivity of a substantial number of New Zealand enterprises.
“We agree that that Councils should carefully consider what their ownership objectives are and how these objectives are best pursued. These are central to the performance of organisations,” he said.
Mr O’Reilly said that the recommendations around improving employee relations to promote better trust, shared values and outcomes, and more productive workplaces were also significant.
“I consider the draft recommendations of the Productivity Commission worthy of active consideration by the Government and port stakeholders,” he said.
Business Ethics
Similar views were expressed by International College of Auckland Board of Advisors Chairman Wenceslaus Antony at another meeting held on May 30 in Auckland (see separate story under Businesslink).
“All organisations, including governments, state-owned enterprises and private companies should recognise the importance of integrity, transparency and open communications. Goodwill resulting from successful implementation of an ‘Ethical Code of Strategy’ will in the long run accrue economic gains and build a ‘Value Brand’ on the global front,” he said.
Global Group Advisor
Mr O’Reilly was recently re-elected to the membership of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD at its meeting held in Paris recently.
BIAC is an independent international business association devoted to advising government policymakers at OECD on issues of globalisation and the world economy.
Officially recognised since its founding in 1962 as being representative of the OECD business community, BIAC promotes the interests of business by engaging, understanding and advising policy makers on a broad range of issues.
Among its objectives are to positively influence the direction of OECD policy initiatives and to ensure that the needs of business and industry are addressed in OECD policy decision instruments which influence national legislation.
The advisory group advocates consensus industry views to ensure that the resulting policy instruments and guidance assist private sector capacity to generate growth and prosperity.
Who is Gordon Gekko?
Gordon Gekko is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 1987 film Wall Street and the antihero of the 2010 film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, both directed by Oliver Stone.
Gekko was portrayed by actor Michael Douglas, whose performance in the first film won him an Oscar for Best Actor.
Co-written by Stone and screenwriter Stanley Weiser, Gekko is claimed to be based loosely on arbitrageur Ivan Boesky, who gave a speech on greed at the University of California, Berkeley in 1986, real-life activist shareholder and corporate raider Carl Icahn and also Stone’s own father Louis Stone.
According to Edward R. Pressman, producer of the film, “Originally, there was no individual who Gekko was modeled on; But Gekko was partly Milken, who was the ‘Junk Bond King’ of the 1980s, and indicted on 98 counts of racketeering and fraud in 1989.”
In 2003, the American Film Institute named him number 24 of the top 50 movie villains of all time. In 2008, Gordon Gekko was named the fourth richest fictional character by Forbes, attributed him with assets worth US$8.5 billion.
Among the famous quotes of Gekko are, “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good,” and “Money itself is not lost or made, it is simply transferred from one perception to another.”
