THE 21ST CENTURY IN ASIA If the nineteenth was the British century, the twentieth the American, then

it may be suggested that the twenty-first will be the Asian century. It already has the most dynamic economies and the two potential powerhouses, India and China, will remain the two countries with the largest populations although their ranks will reverse. (Most have not included the former Soviet Asiatic land mass in discussions of Asia although the newly independent Central Asian states now qualify. The rest is still run by Russians and thus European, or as some Russians like to say, Eurasian). How did these developments occur? Remember, except for Japan and Thailand, the continent was under formal or de facto control of outsiders through half this century and had been for periods of up to several hundred years. We will be examining two very different countries that exemplify the diversity of Asian experiences, Japan and Sri Lanka, but first some basic background. ASIA BEFORE THE 21ST CENTURY 1) Asia underwent a tide of changes in the second half of the 20 th century. 2) Many asian countries broke free from the clutches of colonialism, and ventured to proclaim their own identity, reclaim national dignity and stand equal with other powerful countries of the west. 3) Post-war economic expansions along Asias Pacific coast have supported claims that the world is on the threshold of the Pacific Century. (ex. Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore succeeded in using science & technology to speed up their economic development) 4) Many economic alliances in Asia are active in their pursuit of the much-coveted development (ex. Assoc. of Southeast Asian Nations & Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) THERE WAS THEN AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT HAPPENED IN ASIA (esp East Asia China, Korea, Japan) THAT AFFECTED THE OTHER COUNTRIES OUTSIDE ASIA. - Chinas policy of free trade - Japans industrial power with the use of modern technology and japanese ethic - Taiwan, South Korea and Hongkongs programs for industrialization Most Southeast Asian countries (Thailand, Vietnam, Phils., Brunei, Singapore, etc.) launched programs to improve the production of goods intended for the export market later on, it increased these countries earnings.

BUT GENERALLY, poverty among these regions remained pervasive (due to overpopulation).

Based on my role as a worker in an asian country there are these top 3 challenges that 21st century asian needs to face: 1. Anticipating Global Talent Shortage: The most critical problem is hiring, retaining, training and motivating professional talent in a troublesome scenario where the already critical shortage of human talent in some professional areas and in diverse managerial disciplines due to the beginning of the retirement with no enough replacements of the baby boomers workforce; economical growth in China and India and resurgence of energy market firms due to record crude oil prices has motivated a fierce competence to hire, train and retain the already scarce talent available in the job market. Being so, human talent is being more critical to ensure the competitiveness of a company for the long term. 2. Employer Brand Management: Todays global organizations should excel in developing Employer Brand Management practices to generate multicultural workplaces where an employee can feel pride and satisfaction for belonging to an organization where he/she is considered, respected and recognized. When an employee as usually happens in most of today's companies is considered as a mere commodity that may be easily replaced, relocated, hired and finally fired out, is easy to expect that in such workplaces an anguish feeling of demoralization, progressive disengagement and lost of motivation finally will have a profound and detrimental impact over employees productivity, increasing the rate of employees attrition and affecting the whole companys productivity for the long term. 3. Managing efficiently multicultural organizations: In global organizations that are engaged in developing transformational projects with a worldwide scope dealing with cultural differences in organizations requires from a strong, empowered and influential leadership with the willingness of applying the proper corporate governance practices to homogenize those differences around an inspiring business vision that being strongly encouraged by senior Management and enabled by collaborative technologies may be instrumental in reducing the inefficiencies of having multidisciplinary teams geographically dispersed with different cultures working in markets, products and projects that could be intrinsic and inherent to the particular countrys culture, history and traditions.

Climate catastrophe: Surviving the 21st century Climate Stabilization Requires a Cultural and Political Revolution The climate, energy, and political catastrophe we are facing is mind-boggling and frightening. Yet there is still time to save ourselves, to move beyond psychological denial, despair, or false optimism. There is still hope if we are willing to confront the hydra-headed monsters that block our path, and move ahead with a decisive plan of action. The inspirational message we need to deliver is that we're not just talking about drastically reducing fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution, but rebuilding society, creating in effect a New Woman and a New Man for the 21st Century. What we are witnessing are the early stages of a mass grassroots consciousnessraising and taking back of power from out-of-control corporations, banks, corporatecontrolled media, and politicians. This cultural and political revolution will empower us to carry out a deep and profound retrofitting of industry, government, education, health care, housing, neighborhoods, transportation, food and farming systems, as well as our diets and lifestyles. The scale of human and physical resources needed to turn our current suicide economy into a green economy is daunting, but absolutely necessary and achievable. The only viable roadmap for survival-an 80-90% reduction in fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050-means we must force a drastic reduction in military spending (current wars and military spending are costing us almost one trillion dollars a year). We must tax the rich and the greenhouse gas polluters, and bring our out-of-control politicians, banks, Federal Reserve System, and corporations to heel.