Both Sides of The Coin: The Story of The Central Bank of Barbados 1972-2017

142 not last long and by 2003 there was once more a separate position of legal officer, except that this time it was not a management position. Organisational change also included changes in management style. According to Governor King, he used “participatory management”, “to reach out to the staff ” and get them “to feel that they were somehow a part of the decision-making process”. This involved forging a better working relationship with the Union Division, in particular introducing a more transparent selection process for filling vacancies. A significant attempt at organisational restructuring occurred in 1998 under the stewardship of Governor Cox. The process was managed by Canadian consultant, Richard Clague, who relied on interviews, surveys, seminars and personal coaching. Clague was assisted by author and behavioural specialist Jerry Fletcher. 82 Governor Cox outlined the aims of the exercise to groups of staff members during sessions in the Frank Collymore Hall. The coaching and consultations culminated in the production of a Charter, committing management to certain guiding principles, which was signed by almost all managers during a general staff meeting at the Sherbourne Conference Centre. However, the centrepiece of this attempt at re-organisation was the re-assignment of a number of heads of departments and the amalgamation of two departments. The Board of Directors did not support these arrangements; neither did they agree with a move by the governor to terminate Legal Officer, Dr. Sonia Richards. This turn of affairs set up a fundamental difference of opinion between themselves and Governor Cox that resulted in the involvement of the minister of finance and the subsequent revocation of the governor’s appointment. The intended re- assignments were rescinded but the Bank reaffirmed its commitment to the need for organisational change. Efforts to consolidate and adjust the structure, mainly at the departmental level, continued under Governors Williams and Worrell. The Prime Minister Owen Arthur.