N THE NAME OF GOD, MOST GRACIOUS, MOST MERCIFUL THE NEXT GENERATION, INC. A West African Development Corporation and Trading Company “Nothing, not all the armies of the world, can stop an idea whose time has come.” -Victor Hugo “We have reached that time when every minute, every second must count for something done, something achieved in the cause of Africa.” -Marcus Garvey THE NEXT GENERATION, INC. A West African Development Corporation and Trading Company Objective: To develop Africa’s capacity to utilize its own natural resources. CORPORATE PHILOSOPHY: We are THE NEXT GENERATION, INC. We are a development corporation and trading company. We are Pan-Africans, and in our collective and individual histories, there is a single tale of economic oppression which is undeniably common amongst all Africans, including the descendants of Africans. Therefore, our motive is a simple one: to assist in the economic, social and moral development of West Africa. We offer Africa a more meaningful partnership between Western technology and African resources. It is our good pleasure to do so. The world, we can be sure, does not belong to the oppressor, nor exclusively to the oppressed. Reason and a sincere regard for the oneness of Man and his single destiny, leaves little argument to the contrary. A healthy environment is a respected goal of the world community. We applaud it. We of THE NEXT GENERATION reject the notion of “humans dealing in an inhuman world” as a corporate or personal explanation for continued inhuman behavior. A corporate entity is an associated collection of human beings. To measure or judge it, not by its activities but solely by its profits is, we believe, an unhealthy denial of a very basic and human measurement of life. How best to judge an individual than by what that individual did or is doing by way of service to his community? Morality and economy were meant to walk hand in hand. But as humanity has been prone to seek gain, often forgetting righteousness in favor of profits unlawfully obtained, the two have become askew. Profits should never be an accepted excuse for inhuman or immoral behavior by any collection of human beings. This does not mean that THE NEXT GENERATION can ignore the economic bottom line; there is, indeed, a profit motive in any and all of our business activities. We pledge, however, that this corporate and fiscal necessity be perpetually balanced by the inalienable moral and human rights of our employees, the community in which we operate and serve, the state, the nation and indeed the world. Our motive is not to destroy the individual or the collective spirit on any level of measurement. In point of fact, our employee is our most valued asset and the spirit of our employee is our most valuable tool. We are Pan-Africans first and entrepreneurs second. Our guiding principles are: (a) Our overall responsibility to Africa; (b) Our responsibility to our employees; and (c) The need to be successful in business in order to fulfill the first two obligations. It is unreasonable to suspect anything other than immense obstacles to the economic development of any developing nation, not to mention speaking of the entire region of West Africa. Some might even consider it arrogant to lay claim to so formidable a challenger, armed with little more that is new than our personal commitment to try. We know in our bones, as you must surely know, that our mutual survival is what counts. Responsible duty and human sympathy are virtues which must not be permitted to perish from a land and a people so rich in natural wealth. These priceless jewels are rooted more firmly in our tribal traditions than has been evidenced in many of the governments of our presently maturing nation states. Bare witness, dignity is not uncommon amongst us. We expect the best of Africa will stand with us. So, we are not alone. We of THE NEXT GENERATION are a company-community. If we are to succeed, our company has to work like a community as well as an organization. Put another way, we of THE NEXT GENERATION are a people-centered, community-conscious, development-oriented corporation. We are a community as well as a functional organization. In our community, no child is unimportant. And our community is Africa and the world. Bare witness, collective responsibility is not un-African. We take note how those in the West have worried about the individual’s self-fulfillment or alienation. They shake their heads at “soulless” corporations that treat workers as virtually interchangeable parts - by definition separated from the management and ownership of their companies. The Japanese, partly from old tradition and partly from modern necessity, simply infused human values into the corporation. They made the company a village and in so doing, they have not only given the worker a sense of belonging, they have also given the company a constituency that speaks up for it: its own workers. The system of lifetime employment used by Japan’s major corporation, the seniority system, the company-wide bonuses or “base-ups” founded on profits and paid out to blue collar and white collar alike - all add up to a “people-centered” capitalism that rebukes both the Marxist idea of helpless labor as ‘variable’ capital and the American capitalist principle of hiring a person for a specific function only, in a connection that can be easily and quickly severed by either party. The Japanese have constructed a future-oriented, people-centered, dynamic form of capitalism which is demonstrably more successful than anything seen in America for the last thirty years. They have done this because they are smart. They were patient, they worked together and they responded to the precious stimulus of adversity. To a greater or lesser degree, any free enterprise society must use the lessons of this capitalism and adopt some of its practices, if it expects to survive in the next century. There is another great advantage that the Japanese have of which we should take note: the advantage of demonstrated success. The development-centered ideas of the Japanese capitalist have wide appeal. They appeal both to developing countries like the Asian nations and the overdeveloped economies like that of the United States of America. In their stress for worker participation, their accent on quality, their insistence on free cooperation between different elements in a nation’s society, the Japanese are pointing the way. This, our adopted approach to economic development, social capitalism or communal capitalism, is historic, inevitable and destined to be ongoing. The achievements of an organization are the result of the combined efforts of each individual in the organization working toward common objectives. These objectives should be realistic, should be clearly understood by everyone in the organization and should reflect the organization’s basic character and personality. If the organization is to fulfill its objectives, it should strive to meet certain other fundamental requirements: FIRST, the most capable people available should be selected for each assignment within the organization. Moreover, these people should have the opportunity -through continuing programs of training and education - to upgrade their skills and capabilities. This is especially important in the technical businesses where the rate of progress is rapid. Techniques that are good today will be outdated in the future and people throughout the organization should continually be looking for new and better ways to do their work. SECOND, enthusiasm should exist at all level. People in important management positions should not only be enthusiastic themselves, they should be selected for their ability to engender enthusiasm among their associates. There can be no place, especially among the people charged with management responsibility, for half-hearted interest or half-hearted effort. THIRD, even though an organization is made up of people fully meeting the first two requirements, all levels should work in unison toward common objectives and avoid working at cross purposes if the ultimate in efficiency and achievement is to be obtained. OUR WORK ETHIC: “Productivity is a way of practicing virtue” A business, any business, is only as good as the work ethic perpetuated amongst its people. For Africa to become a major player as a producer in the industrial and high-tech world, we must adopt the work ethic which proclaims productivity as a way of practicing virtue. Frankly, we have no other choice. Development is a restructuring process requiring constant attention and adjustment at every level of involvement. West Africa will not be developed overnight. Our economies must make a steady shift forward from labor-intensive, low-growth, low value-added sectors to ever higher levels of technology-intensive, capital-intensive and higher-growth sectors. This is, in fact, what economic growth means. Real incomes can increase only if productivity increases. Productivity increases as there is a rise in the value of output of each input of labor or capital. This process of continual restructuring requires a continuing shift of resources of the economy (capital and labor) out of relatively low growth, low-technology, labor-intensive sectors, toward higher value-added, higher technology sectors. It is this kind of change that must take place if Africa is to increase its productivity and thus, its standard of living. Obviously, one firm or many firms, no matter how deeply committed, cannot achieve this alone. The world is not static but is becoming more interdependent. The economic development which we propose will occur within an ever-changing, ever-adjusting world. A critical factor in the accomplishment of any sweeping development plan is the ability and attitude of the nations and/or companies with which we freely associate within the international community. In this particular regard, we have every reason to be cautious and discerning. We must choose our associates and our targets wisely. Bare witness; For every complicated problem there is a simple solution or a series of simple solutions. Human relations and the challenges of human relations are no exceptions. ON CONTRACTS: Integrity and “good faith” It is difficult to anticipate all the contingencies of a business relationship in a single written document. We of THE NEXT GENERATION believe that if the parties have a decent cooperative relationship, they should be able to handle unforeseen problems by talking them out and arriving at an equitable solution. If such a relationship is not contemplated, why do business with them in the first place? THE NEXT GENERATION is not disdainful of contracts; they are indeed a necessary element of business. There is no real substitute for a written statement of an agreement, especially when quantities of orders and dates of deliveries are involved. What we do protest is the American tendency to emphasize the contract as a thing in itself, disregarding the mutual trust and faith that should be behind any workable contract - and which must be maintained - if the working relationship is to continue. THE GOVERNMENT Africa can not go on mortgaging our future and our children’s future to the demand of instant gratification. It is time we developed similar long-term goals and set out to work in support of them. To remodel our economy for future productivity is a good start. For better or worse, our governments must play a part in developing a new industrial and economic policy for its country and the region. Certain critical elements in West Africa’s development process can only be managed by the governments of West Africa. A major element is education. The increase in the educational level in West Africa must keep pace with the economy’s needs for a more highly educated work force. As some industries grow and flourish others must in the nature of things languish and decline. It is helpful, and indeed necessary, for economic growth and change that the governments help do what no business firm can, which is to undertake a steady educational process regarding the prospects and direction for the economy. Equally important elements are savings and investment. Growth can only come about with investment, which in turn can only derive from savings and from a solid financial infrastructure to manage the flow of funds. Our governments must work to create and maintain high savings rates rather than high consumption; this takes no special ingenuity, only commitment. One result is low interest rates, which support rapid and continuing investment. While supply-side tactics are admirable, as a corrective to past demand feedings of a consumer economy, they will be ineffective unless supported by a most carefully planned program of tax and other incentives that reward saving and productive investment and penalize the opposite. A new industrial policy would recognize the need for government to assist the work of industry, without overwhelming it. In a modern economy, government cannot afford to be a mere bystander or referee. Behind the economic success of Japan and Germany lies neither laissez-faire nor centralized economic planning. On the contrary, they combine the strengths of government and the market place. It is critical to the economic development process that our governments see the private company as the necessary, effective and appropriate instrument for our nation’s economic development. When this policy view by our governments is coupled with a perception by the business community of government as generally competent and supportive, a degree of government-business dialogue and cooperation becomes possible that is indeed rare. A new industrial policy would encourage savings and capital formation with every device at the government’s disposal. The means are there. In some cases by rewriting tax laws alone, it would promote investment in research and development by similar methods. But industrial policy does not end with tax concessions. To succeed, it must provide a stimulus to greater national competitiveness and an incentive for wider growth. Among the first steps that many have advocated are: an industrial development bank; government support for high technology industries on something more than a random basis; educational programs for retraining and re-educating workers, as some industries fade and others swiftly grow; a greatly strengthened export-import bank; a government patent policy; revision of banking and anti-trust laws to permit better competition in exports, with the chance of using trading companies for this purpose, on the Japanese model and; a greatly strengthened department of commerce, trade and technology to spearhead government support of African industry. We of THE NEXT GENERATION pledge to assist in whatever manner required. OF OUR PEOPLE AT LARGE We, THE NEXT GENERATION, pledge to honor our obligations to society by being an economic, intellectual and social asset to each nation and each community in which we operate. All of us should strive to improve the environment in which we live. As a corporation operating in many different communities throughout Western Africa, we must assure ourselves that each of these communities is better for our presence. This means, among other things, building plants and offices that are attractive and in harmony with the community; it means solving instead of contributing to the problems of traffic and pollution; it means contributing both money and time to community projects. Each community has its particular set of social problems. Our company must help to solve these problems. As a major step in this direction, we must strive to provide worth while employment opportunities for people of widely different backgrounds. Among other things, this requires positive action to seek out and employ members of disadvantaged groups and to encourage and guide their progress toward full participation at all position levels. As citizens of their community, there is much that we can and should do to improve it - either working as individuals or through such groups as churches, schools, civic or charitable organizations. At a national level, it is essential that the company be a good corporate citizen of each country in which we operate. Moreover, our employees, as individuals, should be encouraged to contribute their support to the solution of national problems. The betterment of our society is not a job to be left to a few; it is a responsibility to be shared by all. We of THE NEXT GENERATION wish to set the standard for industrial Africa which is worthy of our humanity and consistent with our heritage. Bare witness. To THE PEOPLE of THE NEXT GENERATION, INC. We have accepted the challenges of Africa in your name. You are THE NEXT GENERATION. You are its spirit and its motivation. If Africa is to step from behind the fortress of economic oppression, it will be into your footsteps. This is Africa’s most crucial hour and we are Africa’s vanguard, its new warriors - the African industrialists, the innovators and the producers. Each and every one of you, whatever your responsibility or contribution, is important. We are African. We are here because we have always been here. We have no choice but to work, act and decide in unison. It is our good pleasure, as well. Now more than ever before, the cause of Africa requires that each and every one of us avoids at all cost the three deadly poisons: greed, anger and idle complaint. We ask of you that which is asked of each of us: Live your life such that your ancestors will be proud. We ask further that you follow these basic credos: • How you do your job is an indication of your loyalty to your country; • A business should always be operated for the public welfare and not for private profit; • Always think of your customers and express gratitude to them for their patronage; • Good management benefits society, poor management hurts it; • The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. It is our good pleasure to seek every opportunity for you to share in the company’s success, which you make possible; to provide job security; to recognize your individual and collective achievements within our company-community, as well as our larger community; and to insure the personal satisfaction that comes from a sense of accomplishment in your work. The modern world has known of Africa’s extraordinary ability to endure with almost complete equanimity, its various forms of debilitating exploitation. This same world has known little else of Africa. Exploited from without and exploited from within, Africa remains faced with overwhelming obstacles to recovery. There is no need to recount here Africa’s bitter examples of tyranny. Indeed, it is high time for Africa’s sons and daughters to place these powerful lessons into historical perspective and to step forward and present Africa and the world a better example, a more humane example of sincere and responsible human effort. The United States of America gave the world its corporate form. Japan, by deliberately infusing human values into the corporation, gave the corporate form a heart. With our combined efforts, God willing, Africa will give it a soul. Bare witness, this is indeed our nature. This brochure is not for publication. It is an internal document intended to communicate the philosophy and motive behind our corporate activities. We insist that its spirit be shared by all with whom we associate, no matter how the association is defined. © The Next Generation, Inc.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 18:20:36 +0000
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