Melanie Veness: PCB CEO I am a great advocate of “lean” as a strategy, and perhaps I should start by explaining why that is. Lean thinking is essentially about reconciling companies and their customers, management and their employees, and performance and creativity. At the heart of […]
Read MoreMelanie Veness: PCB CEO I was recently at a meeting at which we were discussing incentives to attract investment to our province. Organised Business made the point that we needed to be careful when doing so, to ensure that we do not inadvertently create uneven playing […]
Read MoreThe annual OTT (over the top) enterprise relay, hosted by the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business, provided plenty of thrills and spills, not to mention fun, as participants made their way around the obstacle course. Partnered by CK Water, Daymed Hospital, Maritzburg Fever and the Royal Agricultural […]
Read MoreMelanie Veness: PCB CEO For many years we had an inter-company relay in Pietermaritzburg that was held in Alexandra Park. It was great fun, because it wasn’t a serious race, and consequently almost everyone ran it. I must just point out that I use the term […]
Read MoreMelanie Veness: PCB CEO Margaret Thatcher said: “Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides”. Mrs Thatcher was a smart woman. My job often calls for me to play a liaison role between government […]
Read MoreMelanie Veness: PCB CEO I have been studying maladjustment in the workplace as part of a course that I am doing and I must say that I find the subject fascinating, especially in relation to culture. Socio-cultural approaches assume that psychological health is determined by the […]
Read MoreMelanie Veness: PCB CEO Normally I come back from the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) National Council Meeting feeling inspired, but I must admit that I left last weeks’ meeting feeling rather somber. It wasn’t the company that caused me to feel this way, […]
Read MoreMelanie Veness: PCB CEO The world education system was originally designed to supply the skills needed for the industrial revolution, so education by virtue of its origins, has tended to focus on academic achievement in the commercial subjects, with the humanities and the arts having taken […]
Read MoreMelanie Veness: PCB CEO As a youngster, I waitressed at the same restaurant in the centre of Pietermaritzburg for 9 years, and what valuable experience I gained doing that. I learnt the value of a smile, particularly when customers were being difficult or demanding, and I […]
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