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In this Issue ...

Editor's Letter...

This issue is the last one for the year, and brings to an end the first year of our journal. It has undoubtedly been a highly satisfactory one. Your response and continued support have given us the courage to work harder, so as to seek to consistently improve our journal. Our expectations, and we believe yours too, have been surpassed.

One of the key strengths of the journal must be the array of topics that it covers. We are proud that we work with a number of established contributors who come from various disciplines and who are well respected in their respective fields. Some of the articles have a special appeal to your individual area of interest. However, the rest are also worth your reading. This is why we emphasise that articles be written in a semi-academic style.

Whilst the year-end is time for merry making, it should also be a time for reflection. Today is the product of yesterday, and the promise of tomorrow. Yesterday is important in that the experience gathered, and the lessons learnt, should be of guidance for the future. If we really believe in lifelong learning, then we cannot “just do it”. As the saying goes, “to err is human” but if we want to continue improving, we need to learn from our past mistakes. This will also help us to be optimistic about the future; confident in our abilities to succeed in our work and our lives.

There is little doubt that the new year promises to be a most challenging, and interesting, one. The talents, initiative, effort and smart work of each of us is required to help our country face challenges that lie ahead. The executives of our country have a special responsibility in enabling our society to make this qualitative leap forward.

Tom Peters and Robert Waterman Jr.’s book, In Search of Excellence was first published in 1982. It soon became an international bestseller. As a result the word excellence started to appear on several American corporate strategy statements. Unfortunately, many of the companies profiled in the book as fine examples of excellence did not achieve extraordinary financial results; excellent results are only achieved through hard work and determination to succeed, especially when the going gets tough. We have to have a passion for our work, and the primary challenge is to out-perform our competitors. We have to seek to “build to last” and not to manage in a day by day basis. This will in itself lead to excellence, not as some abstract qualitative concept, but as an unmatchable offer to our customers.

On behalf of the editorial board, I wish each one of you all the best for the coming year. Do enjoy the Christmas festivities and may you all find happiness in 2007.