Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/499233
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 22 APRIL 2015 12 Business Today Human intuition Regular market closed – 21/04/2015 Symbol Code Volume Traded Value Traded Trades High Price Low Price Open Price Close Price Change Twap l 6PM 5000 3800.000 1 0.760 0.760 0.760 0.760 0.000 0.760 t BOV 26563 59435.150 12 2.250 2.230 2.240 2.241 -0.009 2.238 s GO 15000 42214.890 6 2.850 2.800 2.800 2.850 0.005 2.814 s HSB 30878 62426.940 6 2.030 2.021 2.021 2.030 0.030 2.022 l LOM 13542 26407.400 3 1.951 1.950 1.951 1.950 0.000 1.950 l MDI 187800 54462.000 3 0.290 0.290 0.290 0.290 0.000 0.290 t MIA 15700 54973.600 6 3.512 3.500 3.512 3.501 -0.011 3.502 l MTP 2000 2900.000 3 1.450 1.450 1.450 1.450 0.000 1.450 l PZC 46928 45754.800 3 0.975 0.975 0.975 0.975 0.000 0.975 t G15B 9318 9569.590 1 102.700 102.700 102.700 102.700 -0.010 102.700 t G16A 1864 1976.960 1 106.060 106.060 106.060 106.060 -0.010 106.060 t G16B 36805 39572.730 4 107.520 107.520 107.520 107.520 -0.030 107.520 s G17C 103200 113891.520 7 110.360 110.360 110.360 110.360 0.030 110.360 s G17D 75000 81322.500 2 108.430 108.430 108.430 108.430 0.020 108.430 s G18A 2330 2893.860 1 124.200 124.200 124.200 124.200 0.060 124.200 t G19A 6989 8833.400 2 126.390 126.390 126.390 126.390 -0.390 126.390 t G19C 25000 27745.000 1 110.980 110.980 110.980 110.980 -0.340 110.980 s G20A 23647 29144.930 1 123.250 123.250 123.250 123.250 0.450 123.250 s G21A 14600 18435.420 3 126.270 126.270 126.270 126.270 0.100 126.270 s G22A 118799 154455.580 4 130.020 130.010 130.020 130.010 0.190 130.010 t G28A 25000 34973.000 2 139.900 139.880 139.880 139.900 -0.230 139.890 s G28B 103700 141468.840 10 136.430 136.420 136.420 136.430 0.010 136.420 s G29A 15000 21787.500 1 145.250 145.250 145.250 145.250 0.360 145.250 t G30A 552400 817658.980 25 148.060 147.500 147.500 148.060 -0.180 148.020 t G31A 226800 336860.040 8 148.550 148.520 148.550 148.530 -0.160 148.530 s G32A 74600 105219.900 10 141.800 141.010 141.020 141.800 1.190 141.050 s G32B 46200 63767.530 6 138.090 137.670 137.670 138.090 0.420 138.020 s G33A 177600 241131.220 10 135.780 135.770 135.770 135.780 0.430 135.770 t G34A 236300 317972.480 9 134.570 134.560 134.560 134.570 -0.320 134.560 s G40AA 774000 918049.320 70 119.000 118.000 118.180 118.500 0.320 118.610 s AX24A 1400 1543.360 1 110.240 110.240 110.240 110.240 0.020 110.240 l BV18A 15000 16201.500 2 108.010 108.010 108.010 108.010 0.000 108.010 l BV19B 30500 33550.000 1 110.000 110.000 110.000 110.000 0.000 110.000 s BV20A 14800 16133.480 1 109.010 109.010 109.010 109.010 1.410 109.010 s GF21A 4400 4648.600 1 105.650 105.650 105.650 105.650 0.030 105.650 l HM24A 2500 2700.000 1 108.000 108.000 108.000 108.000 0.000 108.000 l MI15A 50000 48015.000 1 96.030 96.030 96.030 96.030 0.000 96.030 s MO19A 5600 5966.800 1 106.550 106.550 106.550 106.550 0.050 106.550 s MS23A 1200 1327.800 1 110.650 110.650 110.650 110.650 0.050 110.650 s PT24A 3400 3744.080 2 110.120 110.120 110.120 110.120 0.020 110.120 s TI20A 4000 4404.800 1 110.120 110.120 110.120 110.120 0.020 110.120 Market Summary as at April 21, 2015 Equity Official List Session State ................................................................... closed Number of trades ............................................................. 234 Volume Traded ................................................................. 3,125,363 Value of € denominated securities .................................... 3,973,540.5 Value of US$ denominated securities ................................ 0.00 Value of GBP£ denominated securities .............................. 3,800 Current Index ................................................................... 3751.158 Previous Index ................................................................. 3744.36 Change in Index (%) ......................................................... 0.182% 6pm Holdings plc ........................... 0.760 0.00% Malta International Airport plc ........ 3.501 -0.31% Bank of Valletta plc ......................... 2.241 -0.40% MaltaPost plc .................................. 1.450 0.00% FIMBank plc ................................... 0.500 0.00% Medserv plc ................................... 2.050 0.00% GlobalCapital plc ............................ 0.800 0.00% Middlesea Insurance plc ................. 1.200 0.00% GO plc ............................................ 2.850 0.18% MIDI plc ......................................... 0.290 0.00% Grand Harbour Marina plc .............. 1.900 0.00% Plaza Centres plc ............................ 0.975 0.00% HSBC Bank Malta plc ...................... 2.030 1.50% RS2 Software plc............................. 3.075 0.00% International Hotel Investments plc 0.710 0.00% Simonds Farsons Cisk plc ................ 3.270 0.00% Island Hotels Group Holdings plc .... 1.020 0.00% Tigné Mall plc ................................. 0.752 0.00% Lombard Bank Malta plc ................. 1.950 0.00% Pefaco International plc .................. 2.190 0.00% Malita Investments plc .................... 0.960 0.00% Santumas Shareholdings plc .......... 2.000 0.00% T he Harvard Business Re- view recently interviewed Garry Kasparov and some- thing he said in the inter- view struck me. He seemed to make a huge emphasis on the need and importance of human qualities and specifically human intuition. For those of you who might not know Kasparov, let's just say that he is a Russian chess Grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, and considered by many to be the greatest chess player of all time. In this interview, Kasparov argued that in today's day and age almost everyone has access to computer processing power. Knowledge has almost been democratised. We all have access to it. Hence, ultimate competitive advantage comes from our human gifts and not technology since everyone has access to technology. Applying Kasparov's argument to business, I started thinking that all managers, in reality, have access to the internet (the knowledge of everything) and/or internal ERP systems. For instance, a manager can search any management term in Google and he will have an almost infinite amount of information. Similarly, most companies now have in place powerful ERP systems, which provide managers with a multitude of business information and analytics. In fact, I would argue that the problem isn't a lack of information since there is arguably too much of it. The value lies in a manager who is experienced, well educated and intuitive plus can discern and judge what is relevant and important in any given situation. This, I believe, is where the real competitive advantage lies in the business world. Therefore, I completely agree with Kasparov that the human element is fundamentally important. What is 'human intuition' after all? According to Bruce Henderson (founding management consultant of BCG) it is '…the subconscious integration of all the experiences, conditioning and knowledge of a lifetime, including the cultural and emotional biases of that culture...' and that is precisely it, we as human beings have this gift to merge our knowledge with our subconscious and emerge with intuition; something computers don't do. Don't get me wrong: I am not suggesting that business decisions should be based on gut feeling alone, since this would be a regression in our evolution of business management practices. I also consider it poor practice when managers use their gut feeling to make decisions instead of first embarking on fact finding and analysis. In fact, when managers are lazy, time starved and/or overwhelmed with information overload and complexity, they usually resort to gut-feeling, fuelled, decision-making. In fact, business research by Christian & Timbers reveals that 45% of corporate executives rely more on intuition than facts & figures in formulating their business decisions. To my mind, human intuition will always be important but only in tandem with reason and analysis; a sort of machine power plus human intuition. In business, today, ERP systems undeniably have immensely powerful data and analytical capabilities. The challenge isn't business analytics but how good your senior managers are at using their intuition in complex and ambiguous business situations with a plethora of information bombarding them; since 'complex' and 'ambiguous' is the new norm. I therefore, believe, that this is the real measuring stick of how good your managers are and this is where the real competitive advantage resides, i.e in the quality of their judgement. Again, please don't take my argument too literally: human intuition is subject to all sorts of biases and flaws, most of which operate at the sub-conscious level, meaning we are not even aware of it, but I do believe that with the right blend of reason-&-analysis plus (a well trained) gut-feeling, managers can advise their leaders and offer good judgement. I also think that since the main protagonists of any business are human beings – customers and employees – and not big expensive machines or ERP systems, that it is human intuition that gives companies their competitive advantage, since this is what ultimately is unique and difficult to copy or replicate. Consequently, I cannot but agree with Kasparov that we shouldn't forget or neglect the human element in everything we do and I am applying this to business: from interviewing a prospective employee, to promoting a young manager, investing in a new product or how we deal with people in general. Granted there is a way to probe, to motivate, to ask questions, to solve problems, to analyse them, etc, but the human element is the most valuable part of the equation. In the words of Kasparov himself, when talking about chess, although what he says can easily be applied to business management: '[You need] enormous self-belief, intuition, the ability to take a risk at a critical moment and go in for a very dangerous play with counter-chances for the opponent – it is precisely these qualities that distinguish great players.' Kevin-James Fenech is a management consultant at FENCI Consulting Kevin-James Fenech I would argue that the problem isn't a lack of information since there is arguably too much of it. The value lies in a manager who is experienced, well educated and intuitive plus can discern and judge what is relevant and important in any given situation Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov