March 20, 2010

5:41 PM

Frankly, bouts of sessions in Organizational Behaviour might never have been one of my best interests this past semester. It’s a good thing Sir Gerry had the talent of turning the dullest moments of our OB sessions into something-to-ponder-upon-over-the-weekend (I tell you, this guy can perform wonders through mere words). Yet despite my deep-rooting aversion towards OB, it taught me loads of key lessons I could never have come across in my entire stint here in our dear university especially on topics concerning our future careers as business-minded people. “Believe me kid, when you step out there in the ‘real world’, leadership concepts are almost always overlooked at.” This was according to an uncle who currently holds a top-level position at a premium banking firm. It seems like a no-brainer at first glance, yet very perplexing if delved into. Looks can be deceiving, and so are leadership concepts.

When my group and I were deliberating about the set of criteria we need to set as basis in choosing among our prospective line-up of leaders, we have always found ourselves falling into the trap of sticking too much to leadership stereotypes which are always general and unspecific, so to speak. Determining the set of characteristics our chosen leader must possess was the hardest and most painstaking part. It took us more than three conferences to ultimately come up with a consensual decision. Personifying these leadership ideals was the next trial we had to deal with, not bearing in mind that he/she must be at least part of our generation. An email request was already sent out only to find out that Mr. Ambeth Ocampo, who topped our list of prospects, was already past his 40s! That’s how we ended up with UP ICTUS’ chairperson Mr. Julian Cañita.

On a personal note, any human being in this planet is a possible candidate for any leadership role so long he is capable of leading himself. That is a crucial prerequisite. There is no single universal set of standards capable of accurately pinpointing whether a set of qualities is leadership potential or not. It is rather subjective – person- and culture-bound. The dubious assumption that every leader must always fit a pre-determined prototype is a pitfall that we should be wary of, something we must veer away from as much as possible because “out there” is anything but what the books say.

Last week, while I was taking my much-needed bath, I was contemplating on how I would fare if I were the subject of this project, a leader in my own generation. To do justice, I had my own version of self-evaluation by simply matching my strengths against my weaknesses. To get it straight, I think I am a leader by heart – but the seasonal type. I do not assume leadership roles unless the situation calls for it; but when it’s crunch time, that’s when my leadership skills come to life.

My first impressions regarding the project’s objectives led me to believe that it is a must for every group to look for someone who is either part of history books, someone who has a huge chunk of contribution to the Philippine society, or someone who simply holds stardom status. I was rooting for big people in the likes of veteran historian Ambeth Ocampo, CNN hero of the year Efren Peñaflorida, and UP’s Randy David. The idea of being able to present to the class personalities as brazen as this line-up was in itself psychologically gratifying, well of course, not to mention, will earn us the bragging rights. Yet I came to realize that what makes our group distinct isn’t the grandiosity, but rather our own personal definition of leadership. Leaders are anything but perfect. They are not without flaws. Recognizing bad qualities as much as crediting good ones will yield a more holistic evaluation.

March 18, 2010

9:41 PM

Plenty of successful entrepreneurs and businesspeople have virtually built up their empires from the ground up. Big time players from different fields in the business world rarely forgo strategic business models and intelligent ideas that keep their pastures greener year after year. For instance is the logistics genius of FedEx’s tracking system or Apple’s marketing genius that never seems to run dry. In the real world, every good idea in a business must first survive a rigorous process which involves a series of “study” to test how such projects would fare if introduced in the market, or if utilized by a company for its own use, most especially projects which are related to Information Technology for they will surely require heavy investments and continuous financing. According to some experts, only one idea out of fifty has any real chance of going long-term. By investing on a wrong idea, a company can lose millions overnight and profits can start tanking due to these insurmountable losses. A well-orchestrated project feasibility study provides the kind of impartial analysis that separates profitable ideas from unproductive brainstorms. It removes all the rotten eggs in a basket and leaves out the good ones, so to speak.

I have been talking a lot about feasibility study. What exactly is feasibility? According to the book, feasibility studies are preliminary studies where the information needs of prospective users and resource requirements, costs, benefits, and feasibility of a proposed project are determined. In layman’s terms, a feasibility study is an evaluation of, let us say, a project or a project proposal which aims to determine the imminent difficulties and dangers of carrying it out. Those who have intentions of establishing their respective businesses are heavily advised to conduct a feasibility study before proceeding with the actual implementation for it acts as a meter stick that effectively measures the readiness of the market for whatever business you are trying to venture in. As a rule of thumb, a feasibility study must precede technical development and project implementation. This reminds me of my parents’ failed attempt to put up a laundry shop back when they were still my age. My father wasn’t a big fan of basic marketing principles, and so was my mother, so without any regards for contingency plans or whatsoever, they had the business established right away which obviously ended up as a flop.

Aside from launching a new business, when do you think is feasibility most important? Most companies overlook the importance of feasibility studies, leaping into venture-backed businesses with reckless abandon. The same works for launching a new product or service. A company that understands very well the importance of feasibility studies can make strategic decisions that reap major dividends, which is what you would want. Ever heard of smokeless cigarettes? How about Harley-Davidson cake-decorating kits? These are classic examples of products that had high hopes of taking the market by storm, but ended up turning the market off and were left with squandered dollars and bruised egos. Further, subjecting ideas to a feasibility study before signing any contracts can keep a company from investing too much in company processes/systems that are deemed to fail in terms of gaining traction and meeting customer needs.

Since the May 2010 election is fast approaching, we shall take the poll automation as our hypothetical example, but first things first. Let us quickly run down through the three major categories we take into consideration when making feasibility studies. First up is operational feasibility. This is mainly concerned with issues regarding the stakeholders of a project. Does management support it? Are the users not happy with the current basic business practices? Have the users been involved in the planning and development? Economic feasibility involves weighing the expected benefits and expected costs of a project. For a project to be economically feasible, benefits must equal or exceed costs. Last but not the least is technical feasibility. Classic questions include: Do we have enough manpower to push through with the project? Is our software and hardware capable and reliable enough for expected results to come up?

So what’s the final verdict for the poll automations this coming May 2010? Problems could still outweigh the benefits. Theoretically speaking, the automation will be beneficial to the country, as it will hasten the election process. In reality, problems and dangers, which are well beyond the scope of human hands, may outweigh the benefits. A single power outage alone can compromise, at the very least, one part of the operations. Moreover, there is still no assurance of a clean election. Poll automation is not the best remedy that will put an end to the electoral fraud in the Philippines. Was there any nationwide pilot test on record? In terms of the hardware and software, are they fool-proof? They may be vulnerable to attack from hackers all over the world which could cripple the whole process.

March 11, 2010

9:29 PM

Have you ever had a feeling you felt you should never feel because you had a gut feel that the feeling was never right? Oh yeah, welcome to the world of the obsessive-compulsives.

It's just been roughly four days since I left Pampanga and I'm already at my wit's end, missing home dearly. I tried texting my mom moments ago, but to no avail. My credits have gone zero due to important calls and texts I had to make these past few days. It's a good thing I have chikka messenger. Hearing my mom's voice was a relief, let alone seeing her in person. So I kept sending her messages, hoping she would call me. Luckily, God answered my request. We were on the phone for barely 30 minutes, chatting about the latest scoops on life in general. Co'z you see, I am a guy who gets struck by anxiety easily whenever I fail to keep up with stories, be it something just plain trivial or a-matter-of-life-and-death, about my family. So I need updates by and by (wait ti'l I become your boss and see for yourself). With all the things running through my mind, I am having a very hard time organizing my thoughts and placing them on their right spots. My thoughts are in frenzy (not the condom brand). By trying to do and think of everything, I end up doing nothing. Multitasking is never my strong point; and that's what I need to develop! What am I gonna do with my law report next week. What are the latest stories my mom has in store for me. Ooh, I wanna blog. Ooh, I wanna do this and that. Brain clutter and mental anguish are something we obsessive-compulsives suffer from on a daily basis. Trust me, I am Adrian Monk's real-life counterpart. Oh well, gotta go. Two reports and five exams are on queue for the following weeks so I need to keep up the pace to strip myself off of academic duties just before summer; and maybe strip off my shirt when summer comes along. *Giggles* Tanaydana, makamurit. Bisa na kung muli.

March 2, 2010

7:30 PM

Special Thanks to the following:

Kim Caelian (guy in spectacles)

Alvin Asis (guy in printed black shirt)

Emil Custodio (Mr. Cameraman)

Xavierville 1 Village

Sony Cybershot Camera

Lightings by Philips

Above is a brief spontaneous discussion among four bright and handsome detectives hoping to unravel the secrets that plague BA 151 (Organizational Behaviour). Nah, just kidding. The video presented above was part of our leadership presentation for organizational behavior. And oh, by the way, we took the video a few hours shy from the supposed presentation. In short, we were stuffing all requirements that needed to be submitted, including a technical paper, all mixed up in a single day. What terrible decision-makers. Poor managers. Our group was in cram mode so we had to stay up until 4 o'clock in the morning. Although we had a few mishaps during our report, the rest went very well as planned. Thanks to the group's spontaneity and grace, once again the day is saved. Thanks to the powerpuff girls. *poof*

February 29, 2010

4:21 PM

@Pampanga

Just got home from the movie house. Ate Jovy, Ate Kim, and I went to see John Lloyd and Bea's new low-brow chick flick entitled Miss You Like Crazy. Overall, the movie was decent. I got my money's worth. No wait, it wasn't my money. It was my sister's. So technically, we got her money's worth. By the way, have you noticed lately that Bea Alonzo seems to be getting hotter... and hotter... and hotter movie after movie? Albeit she appears to be packing some pounds recently, it doesn't make this girl any less of a beauty. I have the hots for her! Who doesn't?!

There was one particular part of the film where I had to bite my fingers just to control myself from laughing too hard. The scene was like this. Bea was sitting on a bench in a park somewhere in Malaysia. As she was sobbing, John Lloyd discretely dragged himself towards her to console the seemingly lady in distress. Bea stood up and hurled the stone she was clasping with her hand towards the lake. So you might argue, what was funny about that? This is where it gets hilarious. Part of Bea's dress was damp when the camera shifted angle. Somewhere a little below her waist and somewhere a little over her thighs. It must have come from her tears. The funny thing was, some of the movie goers started giggling which later escalated into hard laughter. I was literally laughing my ass out. I could not control myself from laughing too much! It turned out, most of the movie goers were thinking green, myself included. There was something else that soaked her dress wet - and it wasn't her tears! If you're thinking what we were thinking, then we're on the same page. Watch the movie and see it for yourself. You be the judge. No doubt. It was a sabaw moment, literally. XD