He was speaking at a seminar on 'Improving the competitiveness of Sri Lankan Industries,' which was held in Colombo last week. It was organised by the Sri Lanka Economic Association. In Japan, management decisions are made on facts, but in Sri Lanka, decisions are made by opinions, guesswork and hunches, the speaker further said. We are not willing to see the consumer with our own eyes.
Firms have to think long term.
They have to go beyond one year's financial planning to three years. But we tend to think short term. This is because we depend on foreign intermediation, the speaker said. Quality of the product is the minimum entry ticket to the world market, in Japan, quality is a religion, Fonseka said. Competitiveness has to be displayed in the market place, where the sellers are competing with each other to win over buyers.