business world

Democrats in a business world

What impressed 26-year-old Veari Ani the most when he came to Sydney from Papua New Guinea for a seven weeks course in business manage ment was not the Harbour Bridge, or the tall buildings. It was the “happy relationship” between depart mental heads in Burns Philp’s branches, where he worked for four weeks, and the staff.

“What impressed me,” he said, “was the way the bosses worked with the staff. There was no conflict be tween them. Sometimes, the bosses even served customers when none of the staff was around, which is some thing I wouldn’t have seen back home.”

Ani, who was educated at his vil lage primary school in Hula and the high school, works in the business development section of the PNG Trade Industries Department. His de partment’s main job is to show the local people how to run a business.

Ani, who also spent three weeks at the Australian School of Pacific Administration at Mosman, NSW, said: “I really appreciated the way people treated me. They were so nice and no one ever hesitated to answer any question I asked. This way of communication makes me feel happy all the time and helps me a lot in my management course.

A well-known soccer player at home, Ani was a member of the PNG team which toured Australia in 1968, and has also played in several international games.

Mr Veari Ani.