Tamara Ward, Ocean Spray country manager. - photo by amitabh sharma

The glass partition beside Tamara Ward's small work station overlooks the production line wheezing and squeaking, churning out rows of bottles of juice and soda being filled and packaged.

"Any office environment is what you make of it," said the Ocean Spray country manager, sitting in the conference room at the White Marl industrial complex facility.

Ward, who grew up in Maryland, and moved to Jamaica in 2005 and joined Cable and Wireless (now LIME), said that there were a lot of things she found different here. "The first thing that struck me was the fact that there were cubicles, I mean we had eight cubicles in a floor in our office in New York, there were 30 here," she said about her office in Kingston.

"There were cultural differences that I had to overcome," she said.

First-world standards

She has moved on since. Sitting in the manufacturing facility of Wisynco Group Limited in Spanish Town, Ward said that she takes things in stride. "Success and failure are a matter of the individual, I am more concerned about the productivity, the outcome of the work," she said. "I have gained a lot of experience of using the resources to the maximum."

"It is a very different experience, we don't have the resources of the first world, which is what I am implementing, " Ward said.

Transparency

Coming from a corporate background in New York where she was rubbing shoulders with the who's who of the fashion industry to a manufacturing company, she said her focus was always work. "I never felt glamourised, for me these celebrities were marketing tools, because they have a natural connection with the masses," Ward said.

She said that working with a company like Wisynco has given her a different perspective. "There is a difference working in a corporation and a smaller company," she said.

"There is a lot of transparency, the team is small and there are more responsibilities," Ward said. "I am giving it the best shot."

She said that the advantage for her was that there are not very many regulations, "since one is independent, there is a lot more freedom to make decisions".

Apply yourself

Ward said that marketing is hard work and one has to be on top of things. "To be successful one should not lose sight of one's objective, you should find opportunities to learn in order to grow personally."

"To get anything one needs to have perseverance and education, you need to have the ambition, always be willing to try and be open-minded," Ward advises the youngsters.

Ward said being an active sports person in school helped her a lot. "I used to play basketball, field hockey, softball and I believe there is no way better to be a team player than to be in sports."

Lack intensity

She said that it is imperative for the youngsters to be proactive, "I don't see the intensity in the youngsters here, I remember when I was an intern, I used to be the first person in and the last one out of the office," she said.

"I was asking for work around the office, even it was to answer a phone or take a printout," Ward said.

Sharing ideas

Ward said that the mantra for success was in sharing ideas. "You should be willing to share ideas and have something to contribute to the company that you are working for, bring what you have to the table and merge it with what the company has to offer."

"But above all," she said, "you should be honest and have integrity."

amitabh.sharma@gleanerjm.com