Strategies for the future

AUTOMOTIVE manufacturing figurehead and Medal of the Order of Australia recipient Ivan James has urged Greater Dandenong businesses to think of the environment and indigenous Australians when formulating success strategies.
Mr James was guest speaker this week at the South East Networks 14th Annual Dinner at Sandown Racecourse on Tuesday night where he spoke about business competition in the global arena.
Mr James is Dandenong based Automotive Components Limited (ACL) chairman and was one of the first Australian business people to form a trade relationship with China in the early 1980s.
He outlined five key points that Greater Dandenong businesses should consider when working on strategies to compete in the future.
The points were: the risk of being overwhelmed by China; dealing with climate change; the push for a balance of fairness and flexibility in the workplace; fostering young people into the workforce; and also fostering indigenous people into the workforce.
The latter sparked a great deal of interest from the audience, including from Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce president Renae MacNamara.
Ms MacNamara challenged Mr James’ point by asking him about ACL’s indigneous employment strategy.
A surprised Mr James responded by saying that ACL did not have one, but was not located in areas where populations were saturated with indigenous people.
On climate change, Mr James said nuclear energy was an item for debate whether people liked it or not.
“We have to explore nuclear energy as an alternative to oil,” he said.
Mr James said businesses were now faced with a workplace relations challenge come this November’s anticipated Federal Election.
He said Kevin Rudd’s alternative was attractive given it retained key employers’ rights introduced by John Howard’s WorkChoices legislation but also reintroduced safety nets for employers, including abolishing Australian Workplace Agreements and focusing on group bargaining.
Mr James, who finished school at the equivalent of year eight, said businesses also needed to be concerned by a skills shortage and an accompanying glut in the number of young people finishing their high school studies. He said statistics showed that nationally, only 60 per cent of young people were finishing year 12 studies.
The night was also highlighted by South East Networks’ ‘musical tables’ format to encourage networking.
After each meal, people move tables as directed by predetermined numbers given to them at the beginning of the night.
The successful format, carried over from previous years, ensures businesspeople can mingle with more than just those at one table. – Shaun Inguanzo