If the Sri Lankan Government was a Company...

The last few weeks have been somewhat disturbing; especially if like me you live in Sri Lanka. The country has been on a war footing for a while now and the budget for 2008 has been the topic of discussion in most quarters. It is all too easy to criticize a government as being useless, wasteful, corrupt, self-serving etc. I've heard all of those words describing the government over the last week. However, I tried to think of the government in a context that I am more familiar with - a private sector company. This led me to think of what a company faced with the multitude of issues that the current government of Sri Lanka is faced with might attempt to do to dig itself out of the hole it is in.

Firstly, I'd want to list down the issues that we are faced with -

• soaring cost of living
• break down of law and order
  
• huge cost of war effort
• corruption (allegations) from top to bottom rungs of society
• ... and the list goes on
  

Next, we would ask what issues are easy to fix - the low hanging fruit? Are there win-win scenarios that can be exploited? Does the Pareto Principle come into play for the set of issues that exist (I.e. can 80% of the dissatisfaction be removed by 20% of the problems being resolved)?

Whenever problems or issues are present, there are associated costs. These costs have to be borne by someone. How a company handles those costs and who is most inconvenienced by the chosen methods can make or break the company.

Given the cost of war, I would look at how other costs to the country could be minimized.

Shared services is becoming popular as a cost cutting mechanism. Can this concept be utilized to better manage costs? I don't imply cutting jobs etc. However, it might be a mechanism to reduce the number of required imported bullet proof BMW vehicles required by the government.

The cost of fossil fuel is increasing by the day. Are there solutions that can be implemented that would enable businesses and people to achieve the same or higher levels of effectiveness without having to get on the road? In this respect, I think the tax on credit card transactions is somewhat counter productive. We should be encouraging people to use efficient mechanisms of commerce like internet commerce whenever possible. Some possible results are

• reduction in city traffic
  
• reduction in fuel usage (directly and indirectly due to less traffic)
• reduction in pollution (direct implication of less fuel usage)
  
• reduction in paper usage

This will also stimulate the economy as more people spend their time on gainful activities rather than stuck in traffic.

Setup early warning systems to indicate expected disruptions in the city. If a road is going to be closed for VIP travel, find mechanisms to inform the public. Be proactive rather than reactive or (as is even more often the case in Sri Lanka) inactive.

Companies have share-holders who demand a return on investment. CFOs are paid to ensure share-holders do not get surprises. If a dividend is going to reduce by 50% start ringing warning bells early. The country is on a war footing so please don't dishonor our intellect by giving us only good news till calamity strikes.