The seminar forms part of string of programmes put together by the Institute to give opportunity to members of the academic community to interact with professionals and industry giants.

It also served as a unique platform to impact society with continuous knowledge to spur growth and development. Professor Roger C. Mayer, a renowned Professor of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at North Carolina State University, US gave the maiden talk which was on the theme: “Organisational Trust.”

He introduced the subject of trust with a comparison of some historic characters like Abraham Lincoln who contributed immensely to abolish slave trade in the US and Adolf Hitler, a very influential leader of the Nazi Party in Germany.

In the two-hour stimulating presentation, Professor Mayer said even though both characters were consistent, predictable and resolute, “there are several concerns to be raised if their actions are measured by integrity as the yardstick for trust”.

He noted that trust in leadership and management hinged on ability, benevolence and integrity, which he described as the building blocks. “Trust is domain specific and ability is skills and competencies in the domain,” he said, that comes with some level of risk which exists in every relationship.

Traditions and culture also influenced trust, he said, and urged institutions to dedicate time and resources to measure the value as part of their performance management practices to improve efficiency and productivity. Organisations represented at the lecture included the Ghana Police Service, CAL Bank, Zenith Bank, Universal Merchant Bank, National Accreditation Board, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Ghana Grid Company Limited, Cocoa Processing Company and other companies within the Tema industrial enclave.

Mrs Gloria Ago, a participant from GNPC thanked Data Link Institute for the innovation and knowledge shared. She said the subject was extremely important and played key role in organisational growth. Though trust has some risk factors associated, institutions should work towards reducing the risk factors to build trust in organisations, she added.

Data Link Vice President in charge of Institutional Advancement, Mrs Ingrid Ansah who chaired the lecture expressed appreciation to the speaker and the guests for contributing to the success of the lecture.

She said the lecture was just a part of a number of programmes expected to be rolled out in 2017 by the Institute. She invited corporate organisations and industry to partner Data Link Institute to deliver on its projects and programmes.