Descending the steps into a foyer of Guernsey's finest proved slightly overwhelming, the sheer scale and prestige of this event had been overlooked by both myself and my peers. Nearly 500 attendees in a room that boasted sophistication and elegance. This was something special, something to be extremely thankful for being given the opportunity to represent my school at.
The debate overview was 'The Need to Protect Guernsey's Social Capital', this topic intrigued me and I eagerly anticipated the knowledge and experience of the speakers to be passed on to myself. So there I was sat on a table surrounded by my peers in a sea of Guernsey's most notable and economically minded individuals, something some would find daunting, however, I thrived in this environment.
The Moderator, Stuart Falla MBE, began with a warm introduction, some rather topical jokes to enthuse the crowd, and he succeeded in doing so, that or the copious amounts of alcohol that were provided. Jokes aside, Stuart Falla was a particularly good moderator as he knew what he was talking about, he also could relate to experiences and understood the island being a born and bred local. Stuart also did a smashing job on the deliverance of questions to the guest speakers.
The first guest speaker Giles Frost immediately brought an intellectual feel to the topic of public private partnerships, discussing how Guernsey's private companies could help to 'share the burden' as he so eloquently described it. Essentially the public private partnerships were striving to aid in the problem of provision, as we live in such a sophisticated island there is an ever increasing demand on the provision of public services. Giles suggested that these private public partnerships could be the answer to this ever growing problem, Giles did not come to this debate absent evidence leading the successful INPP (International Public Partnership Limited). The practical application of an PPP is to transfer some of the resources from public sector to private sector control this would result in increased efficiency, potentially better value for the consumer and an altogether more 'lean and mean' business approach. Giles Frost was knowledgeable in this topic and rose a particular interest of mine, however, his debate was not flawless, he had great knowledge of the practical application of 'PPP's in the context of large established economies and I felt he did not apply his knowledge specifically enough to the problem that Guernsey faces as Guernsey is a smaller established economy.
The second guest speaker Graham Parrot demonstrated great knowledge of the Island's current economic situation, being a resident since 1996 gave him a more personal touch than the previous speaker and to add Graham had prior knowledge of the event as this was his third debate. Graham also had a wealth of experience which further accentuated the quality of his debate. Graham debated Not-for-Profit Partnerships, for those of you unaware, an NPO (non-profit organisation) could be a charity or a business with whom all profit is reinvested for the benefit of the company. Graham began by giving the debate his own personal touch saying he had found another type of NPO or as he put it an NPPO (non-private profit organisation) whose profits can be payed out as large salaries rather than too a shareholder, these NPPOs were running inefficiently as is constantly the topic of the local news. Graham then went on to say that there were nearly 400 charities in Guernsey and gave an example of a few and commented on the generosity of Guernsey's residents. Graham gave a few examples of his NPPOs in Guernsey - including Guernsey Post and Aurigny, It was this knowledge of the Island's public and private sectors and how they run that I felt really elevated his debate. The key point of Graham's debate is that these NPPOs are spending more than they make and are therefore inefficient and suggested that the best way of solving this would be for members of the private sector to sit on the boards of these companies in order to boost efficiency with the wealth of business knowledge that they would be able to bring.
There was however, one issue I deduced from both speakers, I felt that they failed to mention, in enough depth, methods of control. If the propositions of PPP's, by the sale state owned NPOs, were to come into fruition then a natural monopoly could occur due to the nature of the Guernsey economy, this could result in the private companies raising prices to achieve supernormal profits, if no element of control were in place. This rise in prices has other implications like some residents being unable to afford the new prices resulting in of course a reduction in consumer satisfaction. An example of one method of control would be a price cap, being the company would be unable to raise its prices above a certain level or percentage per annum. I felt this area required more investigation and probing by the guest speakers.
The first two guest speakers I felt responded to questions very well addressing them to the best of their ability given the conditions and pressure of the high class event, I felt this half was particularly interesting and thought provoking. The knowledge of both speakers I felt really could benefit Guernsey the innovative ideas suggested would potentially benefit future planning of Guernsey's economy hugely - definitely food for thought as well as consumption seeing as it was now dinner time. The food was of a good standard and a great way to top off and interesting and provocative first half.
The second segment of the evening saw the introduction of the third guest speaker Julian Winser. Julian rose to the podium with a fountain of past experiences and knowledge making his debate on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) particularly interesting. Julian posed the question 'are CSR policies the latest management tool or are they a demonstrable relevance for Guernsey in helping share the burden?' Julian gave a rather notable quotation that 'experience equates to respect' and without experience then you will receive no respect, I felt this was particularly powerful as Julian had a wealth of experience, meaning the audience would really respect and listen to what he has to say. Julian then went on to say what a business gains from having a CSR policy, I felt he did this particularly well using examples from his own extensive past which added a personal touch to the debate. I felt the most powerful and key piece of information I was able to take from this debate is 'You cannot buy passion' meaning that it does not matter the scale of your CSR as long as you and your business feel passionately towards maintaining or achieving this CSR then the CSR has been successful. I felt Julian summarized his whole debate without overlapping on anything else that had been said throughout the evening.
The final speaker, Jurat Stephen Jones, had the topic of debate 'Volunteering', I felt he was the best choice for this role being such an influential individual who has found time to dedicate to a local charity. Being the Chairperson of The Guernsey Cheshire home after dedicating 20 years of his life to the charity, Jurat Stephen Jones truly is an inspirational individual and a fantastic person to close the debate. Stephen began his debate by stating that Guernsey charities are running inefficiently, there are too many charities of the same form, Stephen suggested an umbrella solution allowing similar charities to operate as one altogether more successful unit. Stephen then went on to add that rather than members of the financial sector offering to 'paint walls' they should be offering there professional service to better benefit the charities this I believe was the key aspect to Jurat Stephen Jones inspirational debate.
Thus the evening came to a conclusion with the final round of questions from the audience to which I felt the guest speakers answered concisely and professionally addressing every possible angle. In conclusion I am very thankful for being presented this opportunity as I feel it is of vital importance to inform the youth of today about this economic issues that will inevitably prove an issue for out generation living on Guernsey. I felt the experience on knowledge passed on from these intellectuals was fantastic and a great eye-opener for me and my peers.
I would like to close this post giving my thanks to De Putron Fund Management for giving me and my peers this opportunity and wishing good luck to whom ever attends the IoD conference in London.
There was however, one issue I deduced from both speakers, I felt that they failed to mention, in enough depth, methods of control. If the propositions of PPP's, by the sale state owned NPOs, were to come into fruition then a natural monopoly could occur due to the nature of the Guernsey economy, this could result in the private companies raising prices to achieve supernormal profits, if no element of control were in place. This rise in prices has other implications like some residents being unable to afford the new prices resulting in of course a reduction in consumer satisfaction. An example of one method of control would be a price cap, being the company would be unable to raise its prices above a certain level or percentage per annum. I felt this area required more investigation and probing by the guest speakers.
The first two guest speakers I felt responded to questions very well addressing them to the best of their ability given the conditions and pressure of the high class event, I felt this half was particularly interesting and thought provoking. The knowledge of both speakers I felt really could benefit Guernsey the innovative ideas suggested would potentially benefit future planning of Guernsey's economy hugely - definitely food for thought as well as consumption seeing as it was now dinner time. The food was of a good standard and a great way to top off and interesting and provocative first half.
The second segment of the evening saw the introduction of the third guest speaker Julian Winser. Julian rose to the podium with a fountain of past experiences and knowledge making his debate on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) particularly interesting. Julian posed the question 'are CSR policies the latest management tool or are they a demonstrable relevance for Guernsey in helping share the burden?' Julian gave a rather notable quotation that 'experience equates to respect' and without experience then you will receive no respect, I felt this was particularly powerful as Julian had a wealth of experience, meaning the audience would really respect and listen to what he has to say. Julian then went on to say what a business gains from having a CSR policy, I felt he did this particularly well using examples from his own extensive past which added a personal touch to the debate. I felt the most powerful and key piece of information I was able to take from this debate is 'You cannot buy passion' meaning that it does not matter the scale of your CSR as long as you and your business feel passionately towards maintaining or achieving this CSR then the CSR has been successful. I felt Julian summarized his whole debate without overlapping on anything else that had been said throughout the evening.
The final speaker, Jurat Stephen Jones, had the topic of debate 'Volunteering', I felt he was the best choice for this role being such an influential individual who has found time to dedicate to a local charity. Being the Chairperson of The Guernsey Cheshire home after dedicating 20 years of his life to the charity, Jurat Stephen Jones truly is an inspirational individual and a fantastic person to close the debate. Stephen began his debate by stating that Guernsey charities are running inefficiently, there are too many charities of the same form, Stephen suggested an umbrella solution allowing similar charities to operate as one altogether more successful unit. Stephen then went on to add that rather than members of the financial sector offering to 'paint walls' they should be offering there professional service to better benefit the charities this I believe was the key aspect to Jurat Stephen Jones inspirational debate.
Thus the evening came to a conclusion with the final round of questions from the audience to which I felt the guest speakers answered concisely and professionally addressing every possible angle. In conclusion I am very thankful for being presented this opportunity as I feel it is of vital importance to inform the youth of today about this economic issues that will inevitably prove an issue for out generation living on Guernsey. I felt the experience on knowledge passed on from these intellectuals was fantastic and a great eye-opener for me and my peers.
I would like to close this post giving my thanks to De Putron Fund Management for giving me and my peers this opportunity and wishing good luck to whom ever attends the IoD conference in London.
