Tema, Oct. 27, GNA – Mr. Carl Cruz, Unilever West Africa General Manager, has identified diversity as a critical operational mechanism for the sustenance of companies and urged managers to take reasonable risk, challenge the status quo and carry staff along.
“Operational diversity as a business mechanism places values on differences of cultural backgrounds, skills, and demographics of its stakeholders at management, employees, and supply chain levels for the sake of survival,” Mr. Cruz stated in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema.
Mr Cruz explained that managers must always recognise that the success or otherwise of the organisation hinged on staff largely, “leaders must demonstrate when to descend with workers into the trenches to get things fixed and when to stand at the roof top and issued instructions”.
He, therefore, charged leaders to appreciate the workers, “both new and old workers have a lot to offer toward the growth of the organization, we must blend the zeal of the new employee with the experiences of the old staff to move the wheel of the company moving”.
The Unilever West Africa General Manager explained that the corporate world had changed dramatically the dynamics of management pre-covid, during-covid, and post-covid.
Speaking to tertiary students on the theme: “Journey to the boardroom,” which is Unilever initiative to groom youth into the business environment, Mr Cruz urged the youth to identify pillars of life, which include characteristics of being humble, as humility open doors.
Other pillars include setting one’s purpose, acknowledging parents’ roles in the developmental process, develop and shape sense of responsibility, stay focus, ability to face difficult situations and at the same time being patience yet persevere.
Mr Cruz also urged the youth to acknowledge their strengths and weakness and should not allow their glorious past to get in the way of their future; face facts and be realistic; decisions must not be taken out of emotions; and learn to iron out professional differences.
The Unilever West Africa General Manager also urged the youth, in particular and workers in general, to learn to adjust to people of different cultures, and environments; maintain friends throughout, while stressing that frustration also served as part of one’s transition from one stage to the other.
Mr Michael Otchere Duah, Head of Human Resources Unilever Ghana, explained 100 students across the country participated in the grooming section online while 30 were physically present at the centre for the lectures.
He said Unilever had developed flagship projects to prepare the youth for the place of work, stressing that with more than 400 brands around the world, there are plenty of amazing prospects at Unilever for career starters and experienced professionals.
Mr Duah explained that the company worked in collaboration with university administrators to select students to participate in their grooming process.
Mr Paul Agbai, Unilever Human Resources Business Partner, Function West Africa, identified some of the flagship initiatives of the company as Unilever Brand Ambassadors, Unilever Ideal Trophy, and Unilever Future Leaders Programme, among others.
Source: Ghana News Agency