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International Productivity Conference 2007: Knowledge Management – From Brain to Business
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| KEYNOTE ADDRESS & OFFICIAL OPENING SPEECH by Mr. Piyabutr Cholvijarn, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Industry |
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Mr. Shigeo Takenaka, Secretary General of Asian Productivity Organization (APO), Dr. Phanit Laosirirat, Executive Director, Foundation of Thailand Productivity Institute (FTPI), Resource Speakers, Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is a great pleasure and honor for me to chair the official opening ceremony of the "APO International Productivity Conference 2007 Knowledge Management (KM) – From Brain to Business" on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry (H.E. Mr. Kosit Panviemras) as his Excellency is tied up with another important function at the same time this morning.
I would like to warmly welcome all distinguished participants both from Asian Productivity Organization (APO) member countries and local members. Our co-organizers, Asian Productivity Organization and Foundation of Thailand Productivity Institution (FTPI), both Mr. Takenaka and Dr. Phanit Laosirirat, are beaming with joy as well as gratitude to have all the experts in Knowledge Management from all over the world present here at this auspicious conference. You have brought with you valuable information, experiences and research findings on showcases of outstanding Knowledge Management applications pioneered by world-leading enterprises from Asia, Europe and the USA, which will enlighten everyone here, who will be able to connect and share the experiences with you.
The conference is especially auspicious as it celebrates two very important concomitant events. One being the 45th anniversary of the Asian Productivity Organization and the other the 11th anniversary of Foundation of Thailand Productivity Institution, the National Productivity Organization (NPO) for Thailand.
Mr. Takenaka, Secretary General of Asian Productivity Organization, Dr. Phanit, Executive Director of Foundation of Thailand Productivity Institution, Distinguished Speakers, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The world is a dynamic place. Knowledge and technology are crucial drivers leading to this dynamism. They influence all policy makers, business, and academia alike in every country to seriously think of the ways and means to promote, develop, and manage knowledge so that it will enhance national competitiveness. Most essentially, it is how can we, with all the huge investment in scientific and technological infrastructure and human resource, turn them into applications that can be used commercially as well as beneficially towards strengthening of our nation and peacefulness and happiness of our mankind.
Thailand embarked on a journey to become an intelligent and knowledge-based society. We recognized that Knowledge Management is the central part of productivity and Knowledge Management. It must be integrated into government, business, and academic institutions because it is the main engine leading to sustainable growth and the health of our economy. All organizations, employees and the whole society must be encouraged to adhere to the concept of continuous learning and improvement. It must be deeply planted into daily practices. Every employee needs to be trained to apply quality tools and methodologies to embrace operational productivity and quality and to understand the conditions where core competencies lay in order to drive toward organizational excellence. Small and medium size enterprises need help to identify by themselves operational deficiencies, take remedial actions, and improve efficiency and productivity — the critical source of profitability.
Realizing this importance, our Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry have launched numerous programs that focused on building productivity as well as promoting the development of intellectual property in some industries namely, printing, rubber, food, electronics, and automotive spare parts. Next year, we plan to expand our productivity program into other key industries. The investment requires the business community and academia to jointly work hand-in-hand in human resource training, process and operational optimization, upgrading technology and to innovate all critical factor inputs through research and application. The Ministry of Industry also in multi-layered and multi-faceted approaches plans to deploy scientific and technological discoveries and advancement through the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDAT), Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Thailand Research Fund Regional Office to commercialize new innovative products to the market.
Furthermore, Thailand has also allocated huge funds through centers of excellence whereby they were used to provide scholarships and research grants and to develop more PhDs, Post Doctorates and researchers. This year we will increase by five more centers to the already existing seven centers of excellence that will include math, physics, information technology, biodiversity, and system biology. The Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPDC) has established a system for Knowledge Management in OPDC itself. The important strategy was to develop the organization for excellence, by developing OPDC personnel to be knowledge workers with complete knowledge on all aspects, including concepts, theories, and knowledge on circumstances, especially, that concerns the public administration of Thailand and overseas.
A Knowledge Center is set up to collect information and knowledge on innovation and guidelines for public sector development. It is a mechanism to help promote learning organizations, and to encourage creativity and the development of new knowledge on competency, vision, and change in attitude of public officials, so that they have modern knowledge and are competent to adequately perform their duties with maximum efficiency and integrity.
As Thailand is working arduously to prepare herself for the complexity and speed of technological advancement of the 21st century, she is also working towards becoming a “greener economy and society. Tremendous works have been done particularly in the energy sector where we promote and develop clean fuel from biomass and ethanol from agriculture products. In the industrial sector, the Ministry of Industry has supported existing factories and caused new ones to be built in the organized industrial estates designed to manage industrial waste and pollution, such as toxic chemicals, with effective waste control and disposal systems. The Ministry of Industry also has been enforcing EU standards, such as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (VIEEE) and Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS), on our industrial products, such that not only will this eventually lead to greater awareness and acceptance of eco-friendly products, but it will also enhance the ability to compete in the global market.
Mr. Takenaka, Secretary General of Asian Productivity Organization, Dr. Phanit, Executive Director of Foundation of Thailand Productivity Institution, Distinguished Speakers, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The APO International Productivity Conference 2007 is specially auspicious and extremely fortunate to be able to bring together the best and the brightest speakers from various fields of expertise to present and share with you the most current issues that contribute to the impact and look ahead at the trends of the productivity-related factors and findings that would nurture your thoughts of what will lead the world through the next decade. I certainly will impatiently wait to hear all the proposals and recommendations from the outcome of the conference.
I also sincerely hope that all our foreign guests will have the time to relax by visiting our ancient cities, palaces and temples, and enjoy Thai food as much as you can.
I now declare the "APO International Productivity Conference 2007 Knowledge Management – From Brain to Business" officially opened.
Thank you very much.