The Alares Foundation participates in the Conference on Companies’ Positioning in the New Economic Outlook
The Alcobendas City Council, with the collaboration of the Alares® Foundation, organized a conference on How Companies Are Positioning Themselves in the Face of the New Economic Horizon, held at the Rafaelhoteles Center in Madrid on September 24, 2008. The city of Alcobendas is the second city in the Madrid region with the largest workforce, establishing itself as a benchmark for business and industrial development within the region. It is an attractive municipality for investment and a dynamic environment for its business community.
Contributing to the economic progress of companies is a fundamental objective of this administration. For this reason, the Department of the Environment, Commerce, Industry and Employment promotes a series of programs and conferences that foster the strengthening of socioeconomic enterprise in our municipality. This conference featured recognized experts in the field from the business world, generating debate and an exchange of ideas in response to the new socioeconomic context.
Among other issues, the organizational changes companies must undertake as a productivity factor were analyzed, alongside the introduction of new management leadership models, facilitating the transition to new knowledge economies that lead to the implementation of policies and programs to improve competitiveness and equality. The conference was presented by Mr. Ignacio García de Vinuesa, Mayor of Alcobendas, Mr. Juan Carlos Pérez González, Councillor for the Environment, Commerce, Industry and Employment, and Mr. José Manuel Morán, Secretary General of the Alares® Foundation, an organization specializing in consulting studies and services related to dependency, work-life balance and corporate social responsibility.
The main topics addressed at the conference were “Organizational Changes as a Factor in Business Productivity,” analyzed by Mr. Ignacio Mazo, Partner at People Matters; “The Contribution of Equality Policies to Economic Competitiveness,” presented by Ms. María Jesús Valdemoros, Director of Economics at the Circle of Entrepreneurs; and, finally, “Leadership and Learning,” with Ms. Paloma Portela, Chair of CEDE’s Knowledge Management Committee (Spanish Confederation of Directors and Executives), and Mr. José Mª Gasalla, lecturer and writer, who spoke about “The New Management of People: Management Through Trust”.
The conclusions of the conference emphasized that an intelligent, value-generating company is one that values talent, creating differentiation, according to Ms. Paloma Portela; that the new management of people is management through trust, based on five key principles—awareness, clarity, commitment, fulfillment and courage—according to Mr. José Mª Gasalla; and that, according to Ms. Mª Jesús Valdemoros, the organizational model and sound people management must be implemented in Spain in order to move toward the knowledge economy.” The event was closed by Mr. José Fanego Méndez, Director of the Department of the Environment, Commerce, Industry and Employment of the Alcobendas City Council.
