As President of Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council, this is what I expect from my team – the board of directors. As I renew my ensuing term, it is important for the board to respect me, and in turn for me to respect the board. Respect is earned and not bought! So, I urge my board members to earn my respect and the response will be mutual.
As we know, the day to day operation of the Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council is carried out by a board of directors who are expected to be respectful to each other and fulfill the legal requirements and obligations of a Director, which include a comprehensive understanding of statutory and fiduciary roles. They are spelt out clearly in the "Code of Conduct Guidelines for Board of Directors". A director is expected to work with each other and not against each other. This is a basic human quality of working in a team environment. This is the only way the council will be successful and exceed expectations.
As your president, I encourage you to work with me to make our time worth the while and meaningful.
As a member of the Board, each Director will:
- exercise good judgment and act with integrity;
- use his or her ability, experience and influence constructively;
- be available as a resource to management and the Board;
- respect confidentiality;
- be ethical in your undertakings.
Ethics in small groups such as the Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council refers to the moral aspects of group interaction. "ethical communication enhances human worth and dignity by fostering truthfulness, fairness, responsibility, personalintegrity, and respect for self and other."
The Mission Statement of the Canada-Sri Lanka Business Council states as follows:
"To promote and assist bilateral trade, investment, tourism, technology transfer and industrial cooperation between Canada & Sri Lanka".
In order to carry out our business effectively, it is imperative that the elected officials work cohesively together as a team to further the council's mission. While the by-laws and constitution lays out the fundamentals of the corporate entity and what is expected from a legal perspective, it is equally important for the board of directors to adhere to the "CODE OF CONDUCT GUIDELINES FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS" that is posted on our website under the image "POLICY".
Lets work together to make this work!
Upali Obeyesekere – President, CSLBC 2016/2017
April 20, 2016.