Page 9 - CCFA Journal - Second Issue

决策管理 Strategy Management
当各国宣布疫情封锁和边境关闭，我们全家人难得正在离厄瓜多
尔海岸约千公里的加拉帕戈斯群岛度假。这个岛因其野生动物景
观而被联合国教科文组织列为世界遗产。我们行前做了准备但还
是不幸刚到两天碰上疫情宣布关闭边界。和数以百万被困无法回
家的旅行者一样，航班叫停疫情信息铺天盖地，我们却孤立无
援。厄瓜多尔实施了封锁和每晚 7 点后宵禁，禁止非必要旅行。
我们在机场酒店滞留，打听消息及争取所有可能的回程航班。可
依赖加拿大官方信息有限，唯一可做的是在(ROCA)数据库上注
册。不能被动等待，凭借多年的策略和执行经验，我迅速召集并
组织在同一家酒店的加拿大人集合商议大计，保证安全前提下创
造被遣返的机会，自己动手丰衣足食!
P1: Priority 优先考虑最重要的事情
在公共卫生公告和边境关闭后，各国政府强调确保其公民的安
全。病毒快速传播超过了学习了解这一威胁的速度。传言不断，
让本已复杂的局面更加混乱，内心焦虑恐慌使各种努力变得徒
劳。唯一共识都是以安全为最优先，公民、客户、雇员和资产的
各类安全。 对于滞留在厄瓜多尔的旅客来说，我们的安全取决
于能多快返回加拿大。COVID 按下暂停键，社会经济活动明显衰
退。不到一周，宵禁时间延展从下午 2 点到凌晨 5 点。酒店从开
始没有外国旅客到根本没有访客，陆续歇业。食品、水、卫生必
用品是配给供应。警察和军队全副武装在交通枢纽设置路障。显
然，人多发声大会引起重视，最佳机会是广而告之让政府机构知
道我们的存在。在我们抵达基多后的 10 个小时内，我们在酒店
组织了一次全体加拿大人的会议。我们在人群中传播这消息，很
快召集了 32 名加拿大人参加，大家的唯一目的就是安全回家，
并原则上商量出一个遣返计划。我们被称为“厄瓜多尔的加拿大
人”。
Canadians in Ecuador – from article “Yellowknifer fears being stranded
in Ecuador after Air Canada suspends flights” CBC News – Posted March
20, 2020 Joanne Stassen
CCFA JOURNAL OF FINANCE
加中金融
When nations announced COVID-19 lockdowns and border closures,
we were on a family vacation of a lifetime on the Galapagos Islands.
Located approximately 1000 KM off the Ecuadorian coast, the
islands are among the UNESCO World Heritage sites most known
for its wildlife-viewing. Like most Canadians, we followed the news
and travel advisories leading up to our March break holiday. At time
of departure, local governments were encouraging planned travels
with some precautions. Unfortunately, two days into our stay on
Santa Cruz Island, global issuance of border closures and repatriation
commenced. Similar to millions of travelers, we were stranded
without the means to return home. Travel businesses were inundated
with inquiries, cancelled flights and most/all means of travel were
halted. There was little to no information forthcoming or available on
government repatriation plans. Ecuador instituted immediate
lockdown. Non-essential travel was prohibited and curfews hours
where from 7pm to 5 am. To increase our odds of being on a
repatriation flight, we waited at the local island airport over 12 hours
in hopes of getting a flight to the mainland.
Upon arrival in Quito we chose to stay at the airport hotel to ensure
adequate access to international flights. The world was ill-equipped
to navigate the intricacies of the pandemic. In connecting with many
of the stranded travelers, we quickly learned that the Germans were
the most organized with swift repatriation of their citizens. Consulate
online and electronic updates to their citizens was at least twice daily
and repatriation flights were confirmed daily at target locations. In
contrast the Canadian consulate issued no updates, calls went into a
generic mailbox and the only instructions were to register on the
Registration of Canadians Abroad (ROCA) database. Leveraging my
ability to strategize and execute, I rallied the group of Canadians
staying at the same hotel to plan our trip home. We had to organize
quickly, create opportunities to increase our odds of repatriation and
remain safe. It was time to take matters into our own hands!
P1: Give PRIORITY to what matters most
In the aftermath of the public health announcements and global
border closures, the singular focus of all governments was to ensure
the safety of its citizens. The rapid spread of the virus outpaced the
mobilization of medical communities to better understand the threat.
Copious amounts of data needed to be gathered and synthesized,
emerging myths added to the already complex situation and
mounting civil unrest driven by fear or insecurities hampered the
planning efforts. Despite the overwhelming desire of management
bodies to act on multiple fronts, the unanimous and singular priority
was safety. Safety of citizens, clients, employees and assets.
For our stranded travelers in Ecuador, our safety was contingent on
how quickly we could secure lodging for an indeterminate time
and/or our ability to return to Canada. Within days of the COVID
shutdown, the social and economic decline was increasingly
noticeable. Curfew hours of 7pm to 5am went to 2pm to 5am in less
than a week. Hotels began closing its doors – ranging from no
foreigners to no guests at all. Rationing of food, water, sanitary
supplies and other common household goods took into effect almost
immediately. Police in full raid gear and army presence could be
found throughout major centres including barricades to transport
facilities. It was evident that our best chance of obtaining safety was
in our ability to ensure that government agencies were aware of our
existence and could properly formulate a plan for our safe return. We
can all attest to the fact that multiple voices are stronger, better heard
than a single voice. Getting on our government’s radar and then
becoming a priority would be a challenge, however one that would
be pivotal to our survival.
In the immediate 10 hours following our arrival to Quito, we
organized a meeting of all Canadians staying at the hotel. I solicited
the help of hotel staff and any of the patrons of whom we approached
to help spread the word. We were able to round up 32 Canadians for
the first meeting where we agreed to a high-level plan resulting in the
repatriation of Canadians. Our single purpose was to safely return
home. We named our group ‘Canadians in Ecuador’.
DECEMBER 2020
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