Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/553115
Events 45 maltatoday, Sunday, 9 auguSt 2015 MCAST students with special needs look into production practices at GSD Marketing A group of ten MCAST students with special needs recently vis- ited the plant of The General Soft Drinks Co. Ltd in Marsa to get first-hand experience of a company renowned for the bottling of some of the world 's largest brands, like Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite. The students finished a two- year course at MCAST that tar- gets students over 16 with mild to moderate intellectual dis- abilities. Students attending the Path- way to Independent Living course acquire vocational skills along with other key and life skills, which lead them to em- ployment and independence. The three vocational areas, taught in a workshop environ- ment at the MCAST premises, are hospitality; office; and pro- duction and retail. However, the course also in- cludes job visits and placements in the respective industries so that the students will get ac- quainted with the working en- vironment. During their visit at The Gen- eral Soft Drinks, students could see operations in the back of- fices, the procedure on the pro- duction line, the packaging sys- tem and ultimately the highly functional warehouse and dis- tribution centre from the facil- ity's state-of-the-art Visitors' Centre that is open to the public on request. Classic Ford cars on display at SmartCity Malta CAr enthusiasts are in for a treat on Sunday, 9 August as a large fleet of Ford and Volkswagen motorcars from various eras will be on dis- play at SmartCity Malta from 5pm onwards. The cars, which are all in pristine condition, belong to members of the Classic Ford Club Malta, who are organising this static car ex- hibition. They will also be joined by a number of exquisite classic Volkswagen cars courtesy of the local VW club 'Das Maltese Kruiz- ers'. The event at SmartCity Malta will be open to the public and will be an opportunity for car enthusi- asts to see the cars on static display at Laguna Walk. During this event the public will be able to view and appreciate the attention to detail of these classic cars, which have withstood the test of time. Speaking about static exhibition, SmartCity Malta, CEO Anthony Tabone said, "we are proud to wel- come these classic and contempo- rary cars to our premises for the public to view at close range. This event together with other events being held over the sum- mer months, form part of our commitment to open our doors to the general public. This open door commitment was more pro- nounced since we inaugurated La- guna Walk. "This is a €30 million investment incorporating Malta's first lagoon with spectacular light and music choreographed fountains, food and beverage outlets offering both indoor and outdoor dining, as well as a verdant pedestrian-friendly promenade, all to be open to the general public." InterContinental Malta launches 19 new Insider Experience events EArLIEr this year InterConti- nental Hotels Group launched 'Secrets of the City' a brand new initiative for its iconic, luxury InterContinental chain, each property has developed its own unique experiences for guests to satisfy their desire for explora- tion. At InterContinental Malta this has been taken a step further, with the development of 19 indi- vidual and meticulously detailed events for their guests to discov- er and immerse themselves into. These 19 Insider Experiences contribute towards InterConti- nental Malta's extensive series of developments, including the refurbishing of 24 Deluxe Suites as well Club InterContinental Lounge as the creation of a fur- ther 30 Highline Suites. The team at InterContinental Malta are offering these Insider Experiences as a way of assur- ing that guests residing during the summer savour their holiday with a personal touch in antici- pation of the project's comple- tion. It is also InterContinental Mal- ta's way of sharing their love for the islands and contributing to a truly Maltese way of present- ing what they have to offer. Be it by enjoying local food and wine in an undiscovered venue, a one on one interaction with a local artist or sports team, or sipping champagne in a noble family palazzo. The team at InterContinental Malta promises to unlock the doors for a memorable adven- ture with an opportunity to de- light one's senses off everyday tourists tracks. This is all part of InterConti- nental Malta's promise to help you discover the Island and un- lock its secrets. Nexia BT's best-in-class Business Process Reengineering SInCE the early 19th century, reengineering has evolved from management theory to the mod- ern management perspective: Business Process reengineering (BPr) - analysing the way a com- pany operates in order to imple- ment the necessary changes to radically improve customer care and gain competitiveness. This allows for a reduction in opera- tional costs and improvement in bottom line profits. The purpose of reengineering is to make all business processes the best-in-class. The BPr activi- ty organises activities and human resources, while making the best use of IT systems to support the strategic goals of the company. Having access to nexia BT's expertise renders it possible to adopt a radical approach, allow- ing 'thinking outside the box', in order to change the current ways of doing things so as not to limit opportunities to achieve sub- stantial process improvements. nexia BT's role is to manage re- sistance to change by facilitating implementation plans that are tailored to secure the project's success, and most importantly, employee buy-in. The team forms an integral part of the process through collaborative interac- tion with employees throughout the BPr project. Forward looking: BPr as a con- tinuous process improvement tool Forming part of a holistic stra- tegic plan, the BPr places the customer at the core of the ex- ercise. With the right business model, businesses have the po- tential to become industry lead- ers. This starts with the right vision, leadership and most im- portantly a robust roadmap of the people, processes, and tech- nology required. Our approach leverages IT as a competitive tool and our project management techniques com- bine practical industry knowl- edge with process analysis skills. Companies that are leaders in their respective fields or aspire to grow further, aim to imple- ment BPr as a continuous proc- ess improvement tool, in order to remain at the forefront of their respective markets. The right timing for BPr Selecting the right timing for embarking on a BPr project is critical to success. Business- es that enjoy a strong market position can plan for BPr to strengthen their competitive ad- vantage or widen the gap from their competitors. On the other hand, when companies are facing problems, they can plan for BPr to consolidate their position and avoid deterioration of the situa- tion. On the other end of the scale, companies that are in the brick of bankruptcy need BPr to survive and to revolutionize their strate- gies and modes of operation. Challenges facing BPr Failure of BPr projects mostly revolves around employees' re- sistance to change. Without de- tailed guidance and support dur- ing the implementation phase, BPr will not reap the desired benefits. rather than describing BPr exercises as the situation before (as-is) and after reengineering (to-be), nexia BT's method fo- cuses on the approach required to reach the final situation. To reach the desired results, nexia BT takes on a facilitation ap- proach, most of the time men- toring clients' staff to own the project and to guide them in changing the processes, steering the implementation on course at all times. MCAST students at the General Soft Drinks Co. The InterContinental Malta team offer guests Insider Experiences