Management education is of great importance because the knowledge, skills and attitude required for those managers in the national development process are so complex and multi-faceted, he said. It is only through a well-structured program of education and training that these could be imparted to budding managers both in the public and private sectors, he added.

Mr. Weerathunga also said the outcome of management education and development should be to develop leaders and managers with an objective mind, develop the analytical and innovative mind, enable them to understand strengths and weaknesses of the resources at one’s command, develop the ability to make choices for system building, make them understand the innumerable complexities of human behaviour and empower them to use the best and State-of-the-Art methods for implementation to take their organizations to the desired goal. As you know, managers with those abilities are rare. The job of management schools has become exceedingly difficult.

Whether in private or public sector, these new leaders who are before us will play leading roles in national development. For a moment, I want you to focus on development. Should ‘development’ be interpreted only in terms of economic criteria and criteria for social justice such as growth and distribution, or should it embody socio-cultural elements? In other words, should development also mean the promotion of certain socio-cultural values, for example, social cohesion? This has become more relevant and important than ever before.