This article which is based on in-depth interviews and archival data, details and analyzes the leadership style of two different CEOs and the related impact their style of management had on public entity employees in Fiji. The first aim of this article is to give a detailed account of what transpired in a privatized then re-nationalized Fijian public enterprise under the leadership of two different CEOs, the first of whom was an acting CEO, the second was the full-time appointed expatriate CEO. The second aim is to analyze the impact different styles of leadership had on employee-management relationship.

Thatcherite and Reganomics doctrines both elevated the role of the market to the central place in resource allocation. In the developed, as well as the underdeveloped nations, market-mania took numerous forms, of which one was privatization. Infatuation with privatization became the hallmark of public policy-making in the Third World (Narayan, 2005), so much so that reforms have taken economies by storm.

The Pacific Island nations are no exception. Since many nations were badly hit by the Asian crisis, the small island economies also felt the effect. The after-effect of this crisis triggered ambitious reform programs in order to improve the performance and transparency of states and to facilitate private sector development. The implementation of such reforms have been effectively assisted by external sources and supported by the World Bank and IMF. Island states have also appreciated the need for strong economic fundamentals via reforms. Fiji is one such island state. Fiji, a coup ridden, yet one of the most developed of Pacific Island economies is an island nation located in the heart of Pacific Ocean, southwest of Honolulu, midway between the equator and New Zealand. Indigenous Fijians (predominantly, Melanesian with Polynesian admixture) amount to 57.3%; Indo-Fijians amount to 37.6%; Rotumans amount to 1.2%; Europeans, other Pacific Islanders, and Chinese amount to 3.9% of the total population. Fiji is endowed with forest, mineral and fishery resources with a large subsistence sector. The major sources of foreign exchange are sugar exports, remittances from Fijians working abroad and a growing tourist industry. However, the most recent infamous coup has dimmed the attractiveness of business climate . At present, the country operates under military rule, under the self-appointed prime-ministership of Commodore Josaia Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama after the bloodless coup of December 2006. Following this, Fiji suffered a year of negative growth, i.e. economic contraction of 3.9% due to declines in tourism, sugar, construction and gold mining earnings growth. A number of funding agencies suspended most new aid proposals but many of the existing projects are continuing.

Global CEO Magazine, Employee-Management Relations, Structural Adjustment Policies, SAPs, Government Shipyard and Public Slipways, GSPS, State-Owned Enterprises, SOEs, Economic Reforms, Transport Workers Union, TWU, Occupational Health and Safety.