The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) will hold a full day seminar on "Practical Survival Strategies in Times of Recession" on Tuesday, 19th May 2009 from 9.00 am – 5.00 pm at Hotel Taj Samudra.

There have been a surfeit of seminars, discussions and presentations on the Global Financial Crisis; its causes, the extent of the downturn etc. However there has been very little advice given to organizations in Sri Lanka on what they should practically do and how they should face the challenges caused by the downturn in demand.

Therefore the Chamber thought it timely to hold a seminar on this topic, as many business organizations in the country and particularly exporters have been affected very significantly. This seminar, mostly conducted by practitioners in business organizations, will  enlighten the participants with practical steps taken by them and provide advice on what Sri Lankan Companies could do to sustain their businesses during the crisis period, so that they may bounce back when the situation improves. The eight sessions are as follows.

Dr. Sirimal Abeyratne, Senior Lecturer, Colombo University will talk on the "Economic Scenario for the future; globally and locally".  He will explain the extent of the global crisis and its repercussions to Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan economy, future trends in inflation, growth, exchange rates, and how businesses should prepare future scenarios for strategic decisions.

Chathuranga Samarakoon, Group Manager, MOS Projects, MAS Holdings  will talk on excellent results the company has achieved by practicing  "Lean \ Management practices"  thereby reducing cost,  reducing product development time, reducing inventories, reducing working space etc. Lean management Practices have enabled them to weather the current storm successfully.

Ravi Pieris, Director General, Employers’ Federation of Ceylon will talk on "Restructuring without violating labour laws." Many companies are restructuring and reducing their workforce, changing working hours, using labour contractors etc, and some of these initiatives have been undertaken without proper professional guidance, and may lead to complications. In fact some companies have experienced problems with compliance audits of foreign buyers. Peiris will advice the organizations as to how they could restructure their organisations without violating labour laws.

Lesley Devendra, General Secretary – Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya will talk on "Effectively communicating with your work force in times of crisis." It is observed that many organizations have been deficient in communicating the current crisis to the employees and have thus failed to take the workers as partners in the restructuring process.

Manoj Gunawardane, CEO of Sri Lankan Airlines will describe his experience in "Changing the business model to suit current conditions". He will highlight how Sri Lankan Airlines reduced its overheads and rescheduled their flights and re-looked at their value chain in order to survive in the current downturn in air travel.

Ravi Fernando, Director, Corporate Branding and Strategic Sustainability of MAS Holdings, and CEO of the Sri Lanka Institute of Nano Technology, will explain why organizations should adopt "Sustainable Business Strategies". He will talk about the global trend in approaching business from a triple bottom line perspective and expand on economic sustainability with practical ideas on how to re-look at the brand strategy, marketing strategy and marketing techniques.

L G Perera, Managing Director, DFCC Vardhana Bank will talk on "Effectively managing company finances and bank facilities as a measure to sustain business in difficult times". He will advise on how to manage finances within the organization and how to approach banks for re-scheduling and assistance during difficult times.

All the practical ways mentioned above will help businesses and industries to adopt suitable strategies to survive in the difficult times. However to achieve a well rounded result, it is of utmost importance that the relevant players will adopt a simpler life style avoiding unnecessary expenses in their day-to-day activities.

Dr. A T Ariyaratne, the Founder President of Sarvodaya Movement will explain about "A new life style for a new era". He will advise the participants as to how they could benefit by adopting a new life style.

Sunil G Wijesinha, Chairman/Managing Director of Dankotuwa Porcelain PLC, who is also the Deputy President of the NCCSL, will moderate the seminar.

The seminar is ideal for Managing Directors, Executive Directors, Chief Executive Officers, General Managers, Senior Managers and Proprietors of organizations to gain practical experience from those who managed the crisis well and are successful in leading their organizations towards success amidst the global financial and economic crisis.