ANTENERO, JAN KENNETH D.
MANAGEMENT205 A
MARCH 31, 2014

A. Part 1: Test on Understanding (40%)

1. TRUE. 2. TRUE. 3. FALSE. The given statement is false because it was wrongful to say that enactment of laws by government legislative bodies and initiatives related to voluntary industry practices and the like are some of the many ways to promote corporate governance, well in fact it should be PUBLIC GOVERNANCE. By definition, Public Governance is the exercise of POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, and ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY to manage a nation’s affairs. Clearly, the given instances are examples of Public Governance and NOT corporate Governance. 4. TRUE. 5. TRUE.

B. Part 2: Analytical Test (30%)

1. With regards to the wages and salaries is being concerned, I think the best way to balance the interest of employers and concerns of employees is by actually have a heart to heart talk. With this I mean, there is actually a mutual understanding between the managers and the employees. Employers should actually know what the employees want, for instance the range of salaries they expect. And in return, employees should also know what their bosses expect from them, which are in terms of the performance rate that these employees give. But more than that, good moral character and relational and communication skills which prevail at the end of the day. I believe these concerns and issue in terms of wages and salaries can actually achieve in the long run. The best alternative solution on this issue is to have a mutual agreement between the employers and employees with regards to the basis or criteria for setting wages or salaries rates. I personally believe that the work performance of an individual must be commensurate with the wages or salaries he gets. That is when he performs well and exerts more effort than others then most probably he gets higher salaries compared to those who didn’t do so well. However, it is difficult to measure an abstract or value such as performance rate; therefore bosses should not only look up on the performance of an individual (because people might have different techniques or working habits and these might be bias to others) but on the concrete part of an employee such as if he overtimes at work, or when he sold higher sales compared to other, or when he gets promoted to a higher position then these things can be very good and acceptable basis for setting wage rates and salaries rates of the employees.

2. In the statement which says that some people argue the “giving of gifts” even on special occasions only is just another form of corruption. This is necessarily untrue because we don’t always assume that giving of gifts is grounded on corruption. Well not all the time. But not to complicate things, it is better not to assume that this given statement is always grounded on corruption unless clear evidence is presented. I think corruption is prevalent in some countries like the Philippines than other countries because of the kind of political system a country has. Sometimes when a country has an autocratic government, then most probably corruption will arise due to the overwhelming presence of political power over the people thus corruption can be easily spotted. However this doesn’t work all the time, like in the Philippines, though the country is a democratic country, where the people’s voices are being heard, corruption can be still present. Actually, Philippines is considered as one of the countries with a corrupt government. Why is this so? Mainly because the government is not transparent in terms of the government budget or any other issues and transactions which corruption can arise. That is why the pork barrel scam issue is being greatly discussed and investigate by the government. But more than that, there is actually a remedy to these kinds of hidden agenda within the government and that lies to the political leaders to be transparent in all aspects with respect to the right of each citizen of the country. That is why it’s important for the citizens to choose their leaders wisely and not merely by their advertisements during election but by the platforms, experiences, and advocacies these candidates are pushing through.

3. If I were to be in a situation where a person is saying that my father is involved in some corrupt practices, then I would most probably approach that person before my father. I think it would be good to know where the information was taken and how credible the source is because is such information is false then it would be hurting to approach my father immediately without knowing the whole background if such information is true or not. But of course when confronting a person, always see to it that the manner is not aggressive and your objective is to know the truth. After all, we always seek for the truth, nothing but the truth.

Part 3: Test on Critical Thinking (30%)

1. It is evident how successful Hard Rock Café came to be, and the continual success of the restaurant is made possible by their founder Isaac Tigrett. Mr. Tigrett was a devoted businessman and it showed how he was dedicated and committed in catering the needs and wants of his customers. But more than dedication, he poured so much love and passion on his business and to his employees. He was too witty to carefully choose his employees given that some of these employees can speak roughly 25 different languages. Mr. Tigrett is a compassionate one because most of his employees are those people who couldn’t get a job anywhere else. He gave these people the opportunity to work with him and somehow alleviate their lives. And what’s beautiful is he even hires women to work with him and gets paid the same amount with the others. Thus, equality is present because he treats his workers equally, no special treatment to one another thus no envy is arising too. Lastly, success would not be possible if it were not for the unity and hard work of both Mr. Tigrett and his employees. As what I can see, the restaurant is a customer-service oriented, which means Mr. Tigrett’s main focus is its customers and not for the profit or name of the restaurant. And because of the good quality service Hard Rock Café offers, customers are engaged to patronize their service and products thus the name became known to the world and their service keeps on expanding.

I believe so that this can be considered as a CSR strategy because of the qualities that were presented by Mr. Tigrett towards to his workers and because of these, his workers and passionate towards their work as well. I can also see that there is a good governance present in this story mainly because Mr. Tigrett is in control with the management and how he relates and communicates with his workers and that made him a good manager. He is not a one sided person, he actually gets to talk and know more of his workers so it would be comfortable to work with them.

Given in the Philippine context, I think it would be difficult to replicate this kind of idea or strategy. However this doesn’t mean that it is impossible but it would be difficult in the Philippine context mainly because as what I can say, restaurants here in the Philippines are more inclined to profit-oriented companies and they focus more on the cost and benefit of such companies which doesn’t work all the time. But if given the chance and the opportunity then it would be great and I surely believe that many companies will end up being successful and more customers will be engaged to patronize such services and products.

2. A. I believe that PARTICIPATORY and TRANSPARENT characteristics are two of the characteristics I found in this article mainly because Vizcaya community presents goals for the benefit and for the development of the community and it shows how the people of the Vizcaya community participates in achieving these goals and how active they are in programs for the purpose of helping the community alleviate their lives. These characteristics are actually essential in good governance and these actually help the people to be active and responsive to the issues and problems within the community.

B. EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE USE OF RESOURCES. This characteristics is evident all throughout the article because it shows how the Vizcaya community use its resources efficiently and effectively at the optimum level to mitigate common problems in the community such as malnutrition which actually was proven effective because the malnutrition rate dropped down from a high of 204 cases to 129 cases. Thus, it shows how this characteristic greatly contributed in resolving the issues and problems within the Vizcaya community, and how the people efficiently and effectively utilize their given resources in mitigating malnutrition and hunger.

C. SERVICE-ORIENTED. The first paragraph is what struck me the most as it entails that Viscaya is serious in its being service-oriented in their own area. The couple in the story administered and accomplished their requirements in a few hours and walked away from the municipal with happy hearts as they were actually satisfied with the service provided to them by the government in Viscaya. Not to compare, but unlike many government agency or halls, Viscaya is one of the fastest and most accommodating municipal halls ever. It only proves that their service is much optimized and has been promoting good accommodation to their constituents.

3. I personally believe that Atty. Oposa’s advocacies are really powerful mainly because he made this advocacies pushed through and be made possible. But more that, it became successful because it was grounded on a determination and perseverance by the promoter, Atty. Oposa. I believe that such strong advocacies is available for development and without a doubt that sych advocacies like this will further prosper especially when we talk about preserving the environment and how the effects could actually help the people around. This specifically advocacy is successful because more than anything, its goal is to preserve one of the national treasures of the Philippines and uplifting it as well which in return offers good effects to the health conditions of the people around not to mention that this issue is an alarming one and should be given much attention and resolution.

I believe as a citizen of the Philippines we are held accountable and responsible for our own actions and what effects these might bring to our environment especially when we talk about environmental issues which Filipinos take part in most of these advocacies. And so, it shows how responsive Filipinos can be to these kinds of issues that are which no doubt that Atty. Oposa’s advocacies will surely prosper. Moreover, I believe what contributes to the success of this advocacies is its long term effects. You see if this advocacy will keep on pushing through then this will result to a long term effect and sometimes it’s better to think ahead to the future especially when the present problem is grave. Not to mention how badly this problem can get and how this problem might expand and get worst for the next generation if no resolution and no determination and perseverance will be put in making this advocacy possible.