Discrimination in the workplace

Last night, my group in Ethics class reported about discrimination in the workplace. My groupmates and I started with a game called "test of discrimination." We showed some pictures of different people and asked our classmates to answer (by raising a paper with a YES or NO sign) if they were going to hire the people shown in the slides for various positions in their companies. It's quite a surprise to see how we subtly discriminate others based on looks. Then we proceeded to a short "interview" about discrimination experiences--either you discriminated someone or somebody discriminated you. After that, we played a short video about anti-discrimination showing that we are all equal, and that we should treat everyone equally.

As we set the mood for discussion, I saw some interest building up among our audience. It was a good sight, I thought. At least, we somehow captured their attention.

Then we went through the important terms related to discrimination, such as glass ceiling, workplace harassment, and sexual harassment. We also discussed how people discriminated others according to their religion, ethnicity, race, sex, age, and disability. We also talked about some forms of discrimination: isolated, institutional, intentional, and unintentional.

In the workplace, discrimination is rampant. Some people may experience this in recruitment, screening, or promotion stage. Unknowingly, some people may get fired not because of their inefficiency at work, but because some superiors--or even co-workers--simply don't like them! We, too, realized that employees hesitate to report these illegal acts or policies, including harassment, because of fear. Fear of losing their jobs, of being embarrassed, of disrupting the workplace, and so on.

We came to understand that it is very difficult to integrate utility, rights, justice and care in operating the company and managing people, but it is not impossible. To minimize these incidents and lawsuits, the company and its key officers must know and understand the laws which prohibit discrimination at work. And we did share that with the class last night. Our facilitator, Dr. Perla, commended our thorough research on the Philippine laws related to our topic. I remember that it was I who suggested to the class that every time we present a case or do group report, we should site Philippine-based cases and practical applications.

To give emphasis on our report, we did a short skit after going through the theories. We sited G.R. No. 118978 of May 23, 1997 (PHILIPPINE TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE COMPANY, petitioner, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION and GRACE DE GUZMAN, respondents) as our case study. It was actually fun to see your groupmates acting. Well, it's never too late to change a career!

My role was to make a conclusion and recommendation. Here's a snippet of what I shared in class.

Discrimination is a wrongful act. Consciously or unconsciously, people in the workplace tend to discriminate others according to their religion, ethnicity, race, sex, age, and disability.

As entrepreneurs, employers, or superiors, we should always ethically exercise careful judgment or make sound business decisions. It is important that decision makers should treat their stakeholders—officers, employees, suppliers, clients, creditors, etc.—with respect and dignity. As decision makers, we should weigh our options well, make legal, moral, regular, and humanistic corporate policies, and implement those policies that will best improve the life of the business entity and best serve its stakeholders.

Oftentimes, even though management has challenging situations to face and decisions to make that might entail high costs to the company, it must always reexamine and refine its company guidelines and policies to ensure that the company will not face a greater consequence more than it could possibly bear. It must not only think of what the employees can do for the company, but also what the company can do for its employees. Discrimination—intentional or unintentional—must never be part of our culture.

As subordinates or individuals, we should honor our officemates or colleagues no matter what or who they are. We should regard people and uphold their interests above ours without compromising our values and integrity. That is why it is important to build our values system, and try to do unto others what we want others do unto us.

Our choices determine our character. We must learn to fight for what is good, what is right, and what is just. And if we are a victim of discrimination—no matter how we are being treated and how our cases are served—let us remember that everything has a consequence. People (or companies) who discriminated us will someday face the consequences of such actions. We MUST care for what's happening around us.

It is comforting to know that government continues to look after the welfare of its people and protect its citizens against discrimination. Though there are still deficiencies in the implementation of the laws to protect us from discrimination, we can see that our government is making efforts to minimize if not totally eradicate all forms of discrimination. We suggest that the legislators must amend the law by increasing the penalties to be imposed on the perpetrator.

Our Commission on Human Rights must be more aggressive in its advocacy to protecting people from job discrimination to ensure the protection and promotion of workers’ human rights. Also, other government agencies such as Dept. of Labor and Employment, Dept. of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine Commission on Women, and other Non-government organization must exercise properly their duties to monitor and ascertain the implementation of the laws.

To my groupmates Belle, Stell, Ken, Stan, and Wally. I had fun working with you. :) To my teachers, the Hudtohans, I was really glad that you didn't ask questions or make unnecessary comments. We presumed that you liked our presentation. It's just that I was made to confess my political ambition to the class just to save my group from the question "What can we do to make a difference in this country?" I guess they were satisfied when I answered "I will run for Congress." :)

(unedited)

ManSci: Not a Rocket Science

Tonight I stepped into my Management Science (ManSci) class. Room 510. RCBC campus.

You see, this computer lab is very special to me; it always brings memories of my ManStat sessions with Mrs. Reyes two terms ago.

Stepping inside the computer lab tonight brought me hope: to get a better grade. But this time, in ManSci. One strategy was to choose a different seat, but, believe it or not, I could still see and hear Winning woes lecturing there. Isn’t that scary? Especially for Sir Dennis!

Anyway, my ManSci professor is Dr. Dennis Berino. Yes, my former CSR teacher. Rumor has it that Sir Dennis lectures very fast like a bullet train. Well, it’s his forte. He’s a Stat major and he is a Doctor of Business Administration. What do you expect? Honestly, if I will not see any sign of Sir Dennis slowing down, I expect myself to catch up and manage to perform well in his class. A grade of 3.5 is not bad at all, but that doesn’t mean I won’t strive for 4.0. Not that came from the Bernoulli family, but I think my mathematical skill is average. With the right attitude—and enough sleep, I think I can survive his class.

We were 22 or so in the class. Quite big actually that we are cramped inside Room 510. I saw some familiar faces this evening. My former classmates from my other subjects where there: Imran, Yokey, Mei-mei, and Shirley.

ManSci is basically the use of scientific method for decision making. And we will be studying several quantitative models. Wait until you hear more from the ManSci wizard. Oh Lord!

Okay. This plus Ethics and InfoMan. I am really up for a challenging term. Looking at the ManSci syllabus, I can see myself doing the Moodle Marathon again. That means less time for blogger.com and more time for teachnologists.com! (Ugh!)

Secretly, I was hoping to belong to a punctilious group—and I did! Meimei, our ManStat 2^nd honor (next to JP), will be my groupmate…and my partner throughout the term. Inside, I was leaping with joy. God is good to me! J

Sir Dennis, to our relief, said that his ManSci class is not a rocket science. He stressed that! If he was indeed serious, I will start campaigning for his subject to my other friends who have not taken ManSci. It’s too early to tell though. But if it is not a rocket science—something that will require great intelligence or technical ability—then I might enjoy attending his class. Might. After all, I need to remind myself what I had to give up—my Thursday night!—this term just to take ManSci. If you know my Thursday schedule, you’d say it is truly a big sacrifice.

With this and that, I look forward to having some fascinating, thought-provoking, mind-stretching discussions in ManSci. I have an inking that what I can learn from this course will contribute to my growth, not just accumulate knowledge. On top of that, it will help me discover my God-given potentials that will someday be part of my solutions in making a difference in this world.

Not a rocket science, but it will be a useful rocket ship to somewhere. Somewhere.

Infoman: Our new I.T. superhero

Information Management is my last pre-MBA subject. I have no choice but to take it this term; otherwise, I will be stuck next term with a bunch of freshies listening to the evolution of computers. When the two Rons—Eslabon and Macapinlac—and I decided to take the Tuesday class in Makati, I informed Mike, our former ManStat classmate, to take the same class. For one reason, Mr. Benedict Avila, the I.T. guru, has many endorsers. Many students recommended his class saying that they had learned some computer softwares and had discovered useful websites because of Mr. Avila. It sounded interesting, so we took our chances. We also heard about the “open house” at the end of the term. Now, who’s not into class parties anyway?

I wasn't surprised to see a jam-packed class. Indeed, news spreads like virus. Tonight, I was grasping for oxygen because we have a small classroom and we were about 30 students!

Anyway, Benedict Avila is the I.T. director of La Salle Greenhills and is currently taking his DBA at DLSU. He has a master’s degree in keyboard shortcuts (MKS). This fine gentleman is an entrepreneur and a photo hobbyist.

Superman, Spiderman, and Batman are no match for our “Infoman.” And his transportation device? A motorbike. Now that’s a superhero image!

Just between you and me, I think that if he could just possibly add something to the Philippine constitution, he’d definitely put there “bragging” rights (to Wow your officemates and friends!). That is, by the way, his famous tagline!

During our first session, Infoman—concatenated that way—showed off his prowess as a techie. His computer runs Windows 7; his desktop features BumpTop having photos resized and edited by Faststone and Lightroom. It was also the premiere night of Prezi, the latest Web 2.0 presentation software that we are all wheedled to use for our group reports. I bet its popularity will last even after we passed this course—at least in our batch.

My clairvoyance and first impression are telling me that I will be bombarded with a whole lot of Internet research and requirements. I just hope I can manage all the website accounts (and remember all the passwords) Infoman is requiring us to subscribe.

At the end of the day, I realized that by being in his class I could actually acquire some special skills under the superhero’s instructions and training that I might later on need in life. No doubt he's part of the plan.

Cheers…to our new hero!

Ethics and Family-Work Life Harmony

Today is the first day of my third term at the graduate school. My first subject of the week: Business Ethics and Family-Work Life Harmony.

Confession: I'm supposed to be enrolled in Prof. Macachor's Management Accounting class (Monday) this term, but I changed my mind. I dropped the subject a few days before classes started and I replaced it with Ethics. I thought it would be a better move for me, so I can take core courses next term.

I came earlier than most of my classmates, but the amazing senior couple, were there already!
I chose to seat at the center of the middle row inside Room 520, our temporary classroom. It's my biggest class so far. Imagine, thirty one students under the renowned husband-and-wife tandem, Drs. Emiliano and Perla Hudtohan!

Confession: I did some advance on-line reading before coming to class. How about that! I hear somebody calling me nerd! :)

Our class went well. The Hudtohans like to consider themselves as facilitators (from the French word facile meaning "easy") instead of professors. Sir Emil said that they want to be mentors, not "tormentors." But what struck me most was when he said that we have to take advantage of the 100 plus years of experience--Sir Emil's and Ma'am Perla's combined.

I think I will like this class, so I am excited what this course will bring. I hope it will bring out the best in me!

By the way, the Hudtohans are both Ilonggos. Isn't that interesting? :)

How I see my school life for the Year 2010

Today is exactly seven days after we said goodbye to Year 2009. Yes, precisely one week. And it's three days to go before the new school term starts again.

Am I ready for another race? Really, how do I see my school life this year? Two words: More challenging.

Last term, I started taking three subjects. Since I want to finish my MBA by 2011, I have to take at least three subjects every term. Now, I am one step away from being a full-blown MBA student. Meaning, I will be taking purely core courses--no pre-MBA subjects anymore--after this term!

I enrolled in Dr. Hudtohan's Ethics class, Dr. Berino's Management Science class, and Mr. Avila's Information Management class. InfoMan is my last pre-MBA subject aside from the I.T. workshops which I will be validating in the coming weeks. If I pass all the exams then I don't have to enroll the workshops next term.

All my classes will be at RCBC Tower. Just that thought of traffic from Manila going to Makati makes me tired already. I wish I could find a better schedule in Taft. On the brighter side, there are more places to eat in Makati that in Taft. I can imagine myself eating at Pasta World more often, if not every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday!

So yes, this term will be more challenging, physically and mentally.

Confession: While I have to go through the Herculean task, I look forward to a month long vacation after this term. Meaning, I can travel again! Horay!

As I wait, I have to gear up and prepare for upcoming battle. God is watching! Victory is waiting! I am aiming...for 4.0s!

Happy 3rd term!

The Cs of Life: My BusCom Reflections

My second term at the graduate school has taught me a handful of life lessons. One of my three fountains of learning this term is my Business Communication subject. Yes, another fourteen weeks of discovering skills, of gaining knowledge and wisdom, and of building relationships.

Confession: I’ve always had this thing about life lessons. They are like chocolates to me: cravings. Ever since high school, I’ve been searching for deeper meanings of events and conversations.Even a professor’s simple statement can lead to a profound revelation that becomes an integral part of ME.I remember one college friend wrote on my yearbook something like this: “ Jaja loves to think and to talk about life.”

Until now, I still carry that repute. And my friends can tell. Even a simple statement from a professor can lead to a profound self-discovery or revelation that eventually becomes an integral part of ME. I always try to see the reasons behind a particular incident and its implications to my life.

My Business Communication (BusCom) subject is like Prince Caspian, Revenge of the Fallen, or New Moon—a sequel to my box-office (in my opinion) subject last term, Business Writing (BusWri). It’s quite obvious to my former BusWri classmates that I really loved the subject and of course, my section. And just like the box-office movies, we do love the first release, but we can’t wait to see the second part. We always hope that the sequel will be as good as the first, if not better. Same thing with my BusCom.:)

Confession: While I looked forward with anticipation to my second term, I had my apprehensions, too. I heard that BusCom is more difficult than BusWri.

Former BusCom students say that BusCom requires a lot writing and rewriting. Students are required to write letters and memos. For the finals, we will do videotaped oral presentations and will be criticized. And since I deliberately chose to take it under the grammar guru Ms. Marissa C. Marasigan, they said that it is going to be very arduous. I even remember asking Ms. Marissa a silly question during my BusWri farewell lunch out if she is demanding in BusCom. She replied wittingly, “What do you think, Jaja?” With that riposte, I still enrolled in her class.

Going back to my schoolmates' grievances on BusCom, isn’t the course all about Business COMMUNICATION? Shouldn’t we expect from our professors to teach us how to develop effective writing and oral presentation skills? How will a teacher assess our understanding of the lessons if he or she will not give tests? And shouldn’t we at least CHOOSE to learn from the best? So I resolved to prove that what people think of Ms. Marissa’s BusCom class is merely an urban legend.

You know, there is something more than just passing the subject or getting a 4.0 at the end of the term. I was under Ms. Marissa in BusWri last term…and I’m still alive. Actually, I'm better. So I decided to take on a different perspective. I set my heart and mind to learn as much as I can to be a better communicator. I constantly reminded myself of how much money I'm paying and how much time I'm spending in the grad school. But more than those reasons (and this is serious), I know one day God will use me for His grander plans and my ultimate job will require a great deal of communications. Now that’s a motivation!

BusCom has guiding principles and we call them the Cs of Effective Business Communication. For me, they are like steps to becoming a great leader! While Ms. Marissa did a wonderful job in teaching us these lessons (and my classmates did well in our business presentations), I figured that there is more than “meets the eye.” I find the principles - Cs of BusCom - relevant to one's life journey.

Let’s take a short walk.

1. Clarity

As human beings and the highest creation of God, we should all have a sense of purpose…a sense of direction. And that purpose must be clear to us—what God wants us to be and to do with our time, talents and resources. We will know His heart for us if we spend time reading His Word and cultivating our relationship with Him. We need to remember that God has a plan for us. A great future. We just need to fix our eyes on Him. In time, we will be able to see our lives through His lenses and live according to his pleasant, good and perfect will.

2. Coherence

Our lives must have a certain order. It’s not a shoot-anywhere kind of living. We need to have a definite plan to achieve the unity of purpose. That is why we need to have a purpose so we know what to plan on. Also, we need to set our priorities straight. And God must be the first in our list. If we seek Him first, we will have everything we need. That is why we have to be united with God. Our hearts to His heart. Our minds to His mind. Our spirits to His Spirit. Everything in and about us must be connected to our Creator.

3. Completeness

Everyone wants to be loved. Everyone needs to be loved. But we can only be perfectly complete in Christ. Jesus Christ completes us, not our Jeremy Maguires. God alone can fill that vacuum inside of us; Only He can make us whole. However, oftentimes we seek people’s approval and attention to find self-worth. Sooner or later we realize that they will never satisfy us. But God continues to reach us with His love. God’s love can quench our insatiable desire to be whole.

4. Conciseness

Less is more. We must learn the art of cutting unnecessary things from our lives such as anxieties, regrets, bitterness, and pride. They cripple us and make us miserable. In this journey, we have excess baggage: things we just want but don’t really need. We spend so much on the latest gadgets thinking that they will make our lives easy; however, they deprive us of the quality time we spend with our loved ones. Let us not let the hustles and bustles of life rub us from the best life God has for us.

5. Concreteness

While most people think that life is abstract, we need something concrete to appreciate it. For example, love is absolutely abstract, but we can see, hear and feel it by the actions and words of those who dearly loved us. God showed us how much He loved us by giving Himself to us first. That is love in action. Specific. Precise. Defined. Tangible. Real. Another thought about concreteness, however, speaks of our stubbornness. Sometimes, we don’t pay attention to the warnings, advices, and opinions from our loved ones, but we recklessly decide for our lives thinking that we are old enough to face the consequences, yet end up sorry for committing foolish choices. That is a concrete experience—the trouble and the pain that could have been avoided had we listen.

6. Consistency

Our actions must be consistent with our thoughts and words. Our decisions must be consistent with our convictions. Our values system must be defined by God’s opinion and not by our client’s affluence. Our leadership is measured by our integrity, honesty, and courage, and by our influence on others.

7. Courtesy and Considerateness

Life is all about people. Business is all about people. And pursuing people requires not much of a brilliant mind but considerably a good heart. We can never build relationships with out having the compassion and showing care for others. We have to think highly of others and we need to put their interest above ours because relationships are more important than profits.

8. Correctness

Though the correctness principle is a BusWri leitmotif, I find it appropriate to include the principle here because it is, after all, one of the Cs.

Since we all have messed up and there is no way for us to make up for our wrong doings, God has provided a way for us to be restored. He offers redemption through His Son Jesus Christ. He has lived a perfect, sinless life. And in Christ, we can receive forgiveness and adoption as God’s children—perfect, holy, and glorious. By the work of the Holy Spirit, our minds are renewed and our hearts are transformed.

Confession: After several sessions in BusCom, I realize that our lives are like letters and memos. People read our letters and memos and somehow our choice of words and punctuations speaks of who we are. That is why we have to proofread what we have written. Moreover, we have to reflect constantly on how we live our lives and how can make things better. :)

Sounds like I have proven the other students wrong about the urban legend. I don't really know. However, my BusCom "plight" was all worth it. That is why our weekly session became a thrill for me. I always awaited with eagerness - except for the waking up on Saturday mornings! - because I wanted to learn something new, something interesting. Each lesson has brought a new understanding though at times my classmates and I looked quizzical.

Every time Ms. Marissa introduced something new, my feedback was always accompanied by my subvocalized Oohhs and Aaahs. Along the way, I realize that yes, I love BusCom...and that includes the all quizzes, the assignments, the midterm (sigh!) and final exams, and the business presentations. I even have a BusCom suit. I had it tailored just for my presentation, which by the way, my dear professor announced to the whole class.

Oh, did I mention I was class president? Yes, I was. For the second time in Marasigan Republic. But nobody knows that my "executive" position (and my spiritual reputation) made me strive for excellence. Admittedly, I pressured myself to perform. I have never had copious grammar books in my life until Ms. Marissa became my professor.

In closing, I wish my classmates will remember all the good things we've shared in class and yes, the spiritual messages I courageously shared with them, including my reflections on the Cs.

But more than that, I pray they will remember the greatest C of all: Christ. He is the Alpha and the Omega…and everything in between. Apart from Christ we are nothing. In Him we move, we live, and we succeed. From Him, we draw strength, courage, hope, faith and love. May we always remember that Christ is the living WORD. He is the greatest communicator of all time—the WORD became flesh. He did not only tell us how much He loved us but also demonstrate His love for us by giving His life that we may live.

My hope is this: Message sent equals message received. :)

P.S.

If I have seriously committed circumlocution here, forgive me.

I thank Ms. Marissa for everything she has taught us. She may be one of the most difficult professors yet I believe she is one of the best assets De La Salle Graduate School has. I could not find any better words to say how grateful I am to be gleaning lessons from her field of expertise. I just wish everyone gets to appreciate the same.

BusCommified