It started early morning office hours, some of our colleagues are usually online on the company instant messaging service, but that day, the service was offline while the email server was up and running. A buzz circulating that if an employee’s email account bounces, it is an indication that he/she is a candidate for the redundancy. So, we tried to email some of our colleagues to confirm.  We have one email bounce from Davao, three from Northern Mindanao, and on some area a whole department on our main office. It just happen in one whole day to completely execute the company plans and all the turnovers.

Other separated employees were mostly are very happy to avail the separation package. While more than a few were disheartened for those who served several years already and wanted to avail the early retirement package, but unfortunately it was like being drawn. From this day forward, we are not really into a motivated moods to work specially thinking those who had just like winning the lotto grand draw.

It is going to be the headache of our human resource department on how to motivate and prepare employee of the company to eventually accept reality of its worker. We still have to wait and see what the higher management will need to do, and what changes will be made for the organization.

As an employee of the company I should have an open mind to realize that it is for the company’s interest to be competitive to retain more efficient and reliable workforce to face the challenges ahead. Support the company objectives, work with the company values, influence positively around my workplace and of service to others as a model.

We will never know what is going to happen to the company in an industry where changes are made constant. This is one of my other reason to pursue masteral studies to prepare for such uncertainties.

“Opportunity favors the prepared mind.”

With so much of our experience with this kind of vulnerability in the organization. The company decided to come up with a company values that would guide employees to meet its shareholders expectations and customers satisfaction. We call this our VMV (Vision, Mission, Values). Let me share this with you.

Vision:  “To bring out the best in the lives of Filipinos.”

Mission: “To let the Filipinos be heard.”

Values:  “KUSANG KAKASA – Values”

-          KUmikitang Kabuhayan

-          SAma-samaNG may saya

-          KAKAibang diskarte

-          Simple at totoong Serbisyo

-          Aksyong Dekalidad

Every time we have to create departmental activities we should align it on this core values the organization had agreed upon. We even have a testimony to support the values and signed to documents as our commitment to the company. To encourage everyone to participate with it, was made as part of our Key Performance Indicator(KPI) Appraisal.

Employees have standardized direction even the organization experience changes.

Since, the company is part of a holding company it also have a corporate values. It aims to help achieve to a greater insights to a successful career and healthy personal lifestyle.

Our corporate values:

“In our service to the Filipino people we will be guided by the following distinct corporate values

-A Pioneer entrepreneurial Spirit

-Business Excellence

-Unity

-Nationalism

-Social Justice

-Integrity

-Concern for employees

– Welfare and Wellness

We know from generations of experiences that it is by living according to the  values that the company can be built to last.”

As I adopt this values, I had understand it is not there to be memorized the values and their definitions.

Eventually I understand what it takes to succeed and learn important life lessons through this values.

1. Threat of new entrants
2. Bargaining powers of buyers
3. Threat of substitute Products or Services
4. Bargaining power of Suppliers
5. Rivalry among existing competitors

In my line of industry – Telecommunications, it is inevitable that competition exists and in a fast pace dynamic industry. Mainly because it is attach to the technology advancements that it evolves. Today, data communications is almost part of our daily activity need, we opted to keep in touch very often with our peers, family and business associates. Filipinos are socially oriented human being. Technology specifically caters these needs.

PLDT has a net income of 42 Billion for 2010, much of the top 5 banks combined net income. So, What should be the reason investor will not invest into this industry.

You would notice majority of the tri-media advertising are dominated by the telecommunications company. The company has exerted its resources just to gain the critical mass of clients. In this way, we could just imagine how this topic applies to their daily menu in shaping their marketing strategy.

Now let me give you an example a dilemma that telecommunications having problem early years ago. Voice service in telecommunications have been the core product in this industry. The income generated by charging voice calls by the minute with its domestic and international interconnections. Telecommunication company compete with each other by providing most linkages and area of coverage.  The company that have a bigger capitalization have taken advantage of this industry, in effect they dominated and even monopolized some services. But today, in this industry data communication network is more important, voice service became a value added service by which data connections are capable of handling voice calls. Companies invest their resources to setup network that can handle vast data transmission. Now, services in broadband have been slowly improving due to the customers demand. Different product offerings surfaced just to attract subscribers.

Small players are also starting to put up the same service as the large telecommunications company can offer. This is mainly because hardware became affordable and efficient.

In the End, Consumers service will improve with more competition around.

One of the school teacher of the said school was diligent enough to sharpen-improve his knowledge and decided to indulge himself into Java programming. To cut the story short. He eventually became NC IV at that region and as I knew it the first Java Programmer, some NC IV passers were Visual Basic programmers. He used his knowledge to teach the said programming to the students who became skilled. The students now have really shown signs of potential to be ready into industry standards.

From that, it became a buzz to their place and as a result it increased its Information Technology course enrolled to about 118% compared to from the previous semester.

As Louise Pasteur said long time ago: “Fortune favors the prepared mind.” This is how organization will work on their competencies to outshine all the odds. Especially business today faces duplication in just a short period of time. A niche must be designed for your organization to be able to compete.

In data communications industry we all have almost the same products to offer to our clientele with our competitor. In order for us to produce a core product we did study our competitors offering and marketing strategies for us to produce our own, that would exceed their products. From this, clients will have a handful of choice to choose from, meaning better services.

Before, our company dominated the backbone of telecommunications. We have the most dynamic-redundant network of fiber optics. Some of our competitor lease our fiber optic cables for their backup network in case their own network experiences problem. We offer the highest reliability of a network that is why they are coming to us because of our core competent network.

Today, to be able to have a core competency, company must take an innovative steps to create a remarkable products.

One of the most common denominator of them all is communication. Keep the lines open to your subordinates, enjoy to be with them during lunch time, share baon with them. Chat without boundaries but in ethical manner of course.

Let me share with you one of the personalized messages sent to us by our president of the holding company using technology. This is lengthy but worth the read.

“Subject:  Eyes on the price

Dear Alan,

By the way, thank you for all your emails. I appreciate the time you put into writing me. I read all your messages with great interest. For those who joined the contest, give me some time to go over all your entries on how you practice the Lopez values at work. I will be announcing a winner soon.

Oscar M. Lopez”

From time to time our president share his experiences of course using the technology that feels like he is just talking to you personally, and treated you like a friend.

Our organization is also active in promoting the wellness of employees. By organizing schedule mountain climbing, walking activity during weekend on ecoparks, participate in running events and many more.

Management should take extra effort to have a good feel of the organization to proactively make some actions to move everyone on the workforce guided with the company core values.

In every organization there are always a setback of events during implementation or in a day to day activity in a workplace. This is because organizations are composed of employees with different characters, attitudes and upbringing. Resiliency is a factor to this environment.

A Passive-Aggressive organization identifies symptoms that categorically falls into this area.

Inability to Excute. In my workplace there are instances that an employee cannot execute because it is not his/her responsibility. And, another reason if he is not provided with details of what result is expected and technical skill differences from the superior exists.

Ineffective Decision Making. Raw data is important with this scenario. During my project implementation stint, a detailed map is provided to layout the facilities of a telecoms project in the city. However the map provided does not reflect the exact setup on to the actual place thus creating problems during implementation.

Information Disconnect. In telecoms industry any information of the client is very crucial to serve them better. Example, if the address provided or even a contact number is not the accurate details, it will hamper the service to be provided to the client. And, if the repair reported logs are not even updated, the information that might help her concern, thus resolution will just prolong. – if the data being extracted to our portal daily is not updated the decision of our management will be surely altered.

Inconsistent/Conflicting Motivators. In our organization we experience a newly hired employees got the better compensation than the existing skilled employee. This demoralizes some of us to support or to perform efficiently. Semi-Annually, we have our performance appraisal individually to gauge what have done exemplary in our workplace and grade ourselves using the parameters the company standardized but at the end, the senior managers will just manipulate some of the grades/appraisals as their justification, it did not correspond to the bell curve set by their superiors.

With this hindrance in every organization it is a Positive outlook for the Japanese companies if ever this will be reflected on their SWOT analysis. Specifically, if these mentioned above were reflected at the Weakness box. According to them , with this data the people around the organization have the passion to adopt change and willing to provide reform to what they had observe on their workplace.

Management should have consensus on a frequent manner what are the sentiments of their employee toward working environment within their jurisdiction.

The only constant in this world is change. We need to CATCH UP!!

Constant information of the employees about the company directions, activity makes more knowledgeable workforce. In my case, my employer constantly provides training within the department to update and assure alignment of our skills to the demand of the work.

We are also encourage to author a improve process flow within the boundary of our work. And if there is non, we have the option to do it for the improvement and set standards to follow.

Lately, some employee groups create this activity. A film showing.

Film showing that fits for the season. Like a love story film that encourages couples or singles alike that love conquers all, even a disability could never stop it in line for a valentines celebration. Last December we have a film showing that reminds us what is the true meaning of the Christmas season. And this coming March 2011, a film showing in relation of the Holy Week Celebrations. These are the activity that keep the employees pump up.

Another activity that flexes our muscles, our human resource department organizes a bowling tournament for the employees to stretch some of our idle muscles.

Human resource department come up from time to time a survey and extract the pulse of its employees. Even encourages us to suggest any activity that could help the company and its employees.

One of the most awarded activity made by the company was the “Lola Techie”. The company organizes the seminar this specifically design for our – young once, out elderly. They are taught how to use computer  and utilize the existing technology like social network, usage of emails, online calling, messenger, surfing and many others. With this activity, it is our privilege to extend our support for our elderly. While maintaining a social responsibility to the community.

There are many activities that an organization can be empowered. Could even start within your circles of network in a workplace.

For my classmate who are in the academe, teaching to your students is an empowering deed that makes them encourage and to pursue whatever course they are into. And, It should start within – LEAD by Examples.

Fortunately, the company is under a conglomerate that had been into the “The Service of the Filipino People”. It appreciates human resources that is the basic foundation of an organization or company.

Management prepares everything to pacify internal conflicts and reorganization. Management quickly assures employees that restructuring is for the better and improvement of the company. Aligning of company direction is for the company to keep up the pace of information technology changes.

For me, as long as you enjoy what you are doing and you learn new things within your workplace, move somebody else around you, encourages them to strive for the better to excel.

Whatever changes there may be along your way it is part of the learning experience that will improve your resiliency.

This is a fast changing world, and we are in the sector that is really really fast, the Information Technology.

I recommend to you,  to read The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman.

During my visit they we were also exposed from the Korean history especially during the war that devastated their country and split it into two. But the place was very planned and no sign that the country came from a war 40 years ago.

I just could not imagine how a person could lead , inspire almost a whole nation that it made the company as the number one shipbuilding company with less natural resources  just relying on guts, skill, perseverance, leadership and dream.

To give you a picture how a typical line works. Not less than 2,000 personnel works for a single tanker ship with different stages of structural works, they hand them after to another group of skilled work stage by stage until such an oil tanker, LPG ship, submarine, Oil Rig ship platform be completed. That’s management with intense collaboration in control. Imagine a huge structure completed chunk by chunk. I am just amazed how their project management performs to come up a world class products.

More of the Hyundai Heavy Industries product lines where we visit the actual different manufacturing sites.

See for yourself, for me it is a humongous breath taking products lines:  http://www.hhi.co.kr/

What do you think Asan is? A Leader or a Manager?

I would like to share with you my experience during a seminar I attended conducted by The Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship(AOTS) titled Roles of Managers and Workplace Activation. The strategic planning introduced at the seminar is how Japanese companies implement their planning model to their respective departments.

First the 5W2H, Why, What, When, Where, Who, How and How much.

You should answer all these questions to further continue with your planning on a certain projects. The team should dissect all the detailed answer to properly implement smoothly on the planned activity.

Second the PDCA Cycle, Plan , Do, Check, Action.

This is the usual activity pattern when a person does his work. It is also applicable to a team or department setting. You have to prepare all of these before going into the proposed activity of such department.

There are some planning models Japanese companies do implement, but the last model discuss to us was so interactive that I thought was just a four box.

It was the SWOT analysis, Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat. It was really explained in detailed to us even prompted us to have a working model to show on our respective companies. From that box, management could certainly analyze the condition of the working group, if the contributor are motivated, informed and the general condition of the company or department can be determined.

On my work experience, usually planning fails if every contributor on its initial stage are not into it. Meaning they are just a mere planer to what they want as a result of the plan, but does not into the real situation of the action.

The Toyota Way : “Go and see for yourself”.

If you really want to implement a plan go and see for yourself. Immerse yourself to the action, for you to implement the plan.