Translation: We are a disaster waiting to happen because the elite class is not predisposed to change – given we cherish that we belong? “If people keep growing, their various false selves usually die in exposure to greater light. That is, if they ever let greater light get in; many do not.” [What Is the False Self (?), Richard Rohr’s Daily Mediation, 7th Aug 2017]
Let’s start with education – which in more ways than one explains how we stitch up institutional failures. Where do we stand? And do our actuations reflect our standing? We still believe that we are God’s gift to mankind? “Philippines lags in Asian university rankings,” Janvic Mateo, philstar.com, 16th Mar 2017. Unsurprisingly, those of us that can afford, do send our kids to the West. And why should we send them to local schools? Yet, we’re the ones not predisposed to transformation? [More to the point, we need more than the K-12 initiative, for instance. See below re our culture of impunity. It explains why whether in the regional or global arena we’re in a downward if not death spiral. And consider what Einstein says about education: It is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think.]
“The ranking is based on 13 performance indicators grouped into five areas: teaching (the learning environment), research (volume, income and reputation), citations (research influence), international outlook (staff, students and research) and industry income (knowledge transfer) … [T]he Philippines was not included in the countries identified to have the potential to follow the footsteps of Asian higher education powerhouses such as China and South Korea.” [Mateo, op. cit.]
But do our actuations square with reality? “My spirits were … buoyed when Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said that “build, build, build” was about not only infrastructure but also human capital.” [Unity of purpose now, Peter Angelo V. Perfecto, Business Matters, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 12th Aug 2017]
What is reality? “Execution problem,” Boo Chanco, DEMAND AND SUPPLY, The Philippine Star, 14th Aug 2017. We have a habit of electing officials who talk big, encourage us to dream big, but fail to deliver. They seem to think that their only obligation is to make feasibility studies. Never mind implementation or execution. That’s why they call their programs, The Dream Plan.
“I just came upon a memo dated April 11, 1995 jointly signed by then DTI sec. Rizalino Navarro and then finance secretary Roberto de Ocampo that suggested we should have had a new international airport at Clark 20 years ago. That’s right – two decades ago. That Navarro and de Ocampo memo was approved by FVR May 18, 1995.”
Recall a recent post re sub-optimization … and here is another example: ‘Outages’ send tourists packing, Robert A. Evora, Manila Standard, 14th Aug 2017. “[Puerto Galera Mayor Rockey] Ilagan lashed out at [Ormeco general manager Pat] Panagsagan and NPC manager Maximo de los Reyes for ‘holding the town hostage’ since they just announced in a recent public consultation that the 69 kv rehabilitation was approved since last February.
“In between the months of February and July or for six months, Ormeco and NPC did not tell Puerto Galera officials that there would be a major rehabilitation of the 69 kv line that would affect power delivery in the municipality.”
And what about something truly mind-boggling? Or have we already turned callous and blasé? “P25-B discrepancy in Malampaya Fund,”EDITORIAL, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 14th Aug 2017. “It seems that the multibillion-peso Malampaya Fund will never be free of controversy. Four years ago, former president Gloria Arroyo and her top officials were charged with plunder for the reported diversion of P900 million in Malampaya money meant for typhoon victims to bogus foundations of alleged pork scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles.
“Three members of then President Benigno Aquino III’s economic team also faced graft charges at the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly failing to account for P136 billion worth of royalties from the Malampaya natural gas project.”
What is our saving grace? “Not too late for manufacturing (Part I),” Bernardo M. Villegas, Manila Bulletin, 13th Aug 2017. “One of the worst consequences of the Philippine economy descending to the level of ‘the sick man of Asia’ in the last century was the lackluster performance of its manufacturing sector … This weakness of the Philippine economy was highlighted in a Special Report of the Hong Kong-based think tank CLSA entitled ‘Quest for a champion: ASEAN manufacturers.’
“The Philippines was readily discarded as a potential winner because of its past poor performance in this important part of the industrial sector (which comprises in addition to manufacturing such other sectors as mining, construction, and public utility).
“The contest, though, remains open; the country that resists protectionism and opens its economy fully to trade and foreign investment will ultimately be champion.”
But can we resist protectionism and open PH economy fully to trade and foreign investment? As the blog has argued, ours is a culture of impunity, the outcome of our way of life: Parochial and insular; hierarchical and paternalistic; political patronage and dynasties; and oligarchic. And they kill inquisitiveness, imagination and creativity.
And that is why we’re not even in the game. But because we’re between a rock and a hard place, we must do our homework. Take this classic article, for instance: “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail,” John P. Kotter, Harvard Business Review, May-June 1995.
“Over the past decade, I have watched more than 100 companies try to remake themselves into significantly better competitors. They have included large organizations (Ford) and small ones (Landmark Communications), companies based in the United States (General Motors) and elsewhere (British Airways), corporations that were on their knees (Eastern Airlines), and companies that were earning good money (Bristol-Myers Squibb). These efforts have gone under many banners: total quality management, reengineering, right sizing, restructuring, cultural change, and turnaround. But, in almost every case, the basic goal has been the same: to make fundamental changes in how business is conducted in order to help cope with a new, more challenging market environment.
“A few of these corporate change efforts have been very successful. A few have been utter failures. Most fall somewhere in between, with a distinct tilt toward the lower end of the scale. The lessons that can be drawn are interesting and will probably be relevant to even more organizations in the increasingly competitive business environment of the coming decade.
“The most general lesson to be learned from the more successful cases is that the change process goes through a series of phases that, in total, usually require a considerable length of time. Skipping steps creates only the illusion of speed and never produces a satisfying result. A second very general lesson is that critical mistakes in any of the phases can have a devastating impact, slowing momentum and negating hard-won gains.
“Perhaps because we have relatively little experience in renewing organizations, even very capable people often make at least one big error. [And among them …]
“(1) Not Establishing a Great Enough Sense of Urgency; (2) Not Creating a Powerful Enough Guiding Coalition [Major renewal programs often start with just one or two people. In cases of successful transformation efforts, the leadership coalition grows and grows over time]; (3) Lacking a Vision; (4) Under communicating the Vision by a Factor of Ten; (5) Not Removing Obstacles to the New Vision; (6) Not Systematically Planning For and Creating Short-Term Wins; (7) Declaring Victory Too Soon; (8) Not Anchoring Changes in the Corporation’s Culture [In the final analysis, change sticks when it becomes ‘the way we do things around here,’ when it seeps into the bloodstream of the corporate body. Until new behaviors are rooted in social norms and shared values, they are subject to degradation as soon as the pressure for change is removed.]”
Why are we a disaster waiting to happen? Beyond our culture of impunity, consider: (a) we lack the sense of urgency; (b) foresight is not in our bag of tricks that we can’t formulate and agree on a vision and be focused and engaged; (c) we can’t anticipate and banish obstacles to change; (d) we don’t prioritize and seek quick wins and get the biggest bang for the buck to boost our confidence in the change efforts; (e) we like to declare victory prematurely; (f) we can’t internalize the imperative of change especially when outside our comfort zones.
“Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow? And that they will be such is not to be doubted, for he who submits to tyranny loves it.” [We are ruled by Rizal’s ‘tyrants of tomorrow,’ Editorial, The Manila Times, 29th Dec 2015]
“As a major component for the education and reorientation of our people, mainstream media – their reporters, writers, photographers, columnists and editors – have an obligation to this country . . .” [Era of documented irrelevance: Mainstream media, critics and protesters, Homobono A. Adaza, The Manila Times, 25th Nov 2015]
“National prosperity is created, not inherited. It does not grow out of a country’s natural endowments, its labor pool, its interest rates, or its currency’s value, as classical economics insists . . . A nation’s competitiveness depends on the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade.” [The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business Review, March–April 1990]
“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” [William Pollard, 1911-1989, physicist-priest, Manhattan Project]
“Development [is informed by a people’s] worldview, cognitive capacity, values, moral development, self-identity, spirituality, and leadership . . .” [Frederic Laloux, Reinventing organizations, Nelson Parker,2014]
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