JANUARY - MARCH 2007 | VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1
AIM for a New
Asia The Prepared Mind: A Conversation with N.R. Narayana Murthy Islamic Perspectives on Management: What We Need to Know and Why
EDITORIAL TEAM Greg Atienza EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Susan Africa-Manikan
JANUARY - MARCH 2007
VOLUME 2
ISSUE 1
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Sherbet Katigbak-Manalili MANAGING EDITOR
Haji Zulkifly Baharom SENIOR WRITER
Ashok Soota Prof. Marie Lisa Dacanay Prof. Maya Herrera Kelvin Lester Lee Kap Aguila Riza Olchondra WRITERS
Jose Andres Puno PHOTOGRAPHER
Chili Dogs DESIGN
Fran Ng Angelo Andres Chili Dogs ILLUSTRATORS
Lexmedia Digital PRINTING
Maritess Aniago-Espiritu Khristine Revilla Voltaire Masangkay Joana Marie Ozeña ALUMNI RELATIONS OFFICE STAFF
Lourdes Co FAIM STAFF
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Francis Estrada PRESIDENT OF THE INSTITUTE
Victoria Licuanan DEAN OF THE INSTITUTE
Datuk Ir. Mohd Annas Hj. Mohd Nor. CHAIRMAN, FEDERATION OF AIM ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC.
Ricardo Pascua CHAIRMAN, AIM ALUMNI ASSOCIATION – PHILIPPINE CHAPTER
Marvee Celi-Bonoan EXECUTIVE MANAGING DIRECTOR, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Greg Atienza EXECUTIVE MANAGING DIRECTOR ALUMNI RELATIONS OFFICE
The AIM Alumni Leadership Magazine (AIM Leader) is a quarterly publication of the Asian Institute of Management with editorial office at the Alumni Relations Office, Asian Institute of Management, 123 Paseo de Roxas, Makati City, 1260 Philippines Telephone No.: 892.4011 locals 331, 540 and 533 Telefax: 893.7410 | Email: aimleader@aim.edu Copyright 2007, AIM Alumni Leadership Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner in whole or in print, in English or other languages, without written permission is prohibited. ISSN 1908-1081
news
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ß Alumni and Students Celebrate ß ß ß ß ß ß ß ß ß
Homecoming in Asian Street Party Dr. P.N. Singh Gives Talk to MM Students FAIM Elects First BOT AIM Pays Tribute to Outstanding Alumni Gen. Tan Sri Aziz Flies to Manila to Receive Award AIM Plans Branches in Inida Alumni Keeps Flame Burning Prof. Hernando Receives Distinguished Achievement Award The President’s Briefing in KK Alumni Newsmakers: AIM Alumni at the Helm of Malaysian Armed Forces Nolido named GM of NorthPine Properties
aim
showcase
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ß Bookshelf: Taking AIM: Asian Management Breakthroughs ß Travel: Tour Vietnam
spotlight
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ß Ybhg. General Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Haji Abdul Aziz Bin Haji Zainal: Fighting the Right Battles
ß Arthur Aguilar: Art of Management ß Rajaish Bajpaee: Transcendence in Management
COVER STORY
AIM for a New Asia The First Asian Business Conference
28
briefcase
10
ß Law and Leadership ß Social Entrepreneurship: An Asian Perspective ß AIM Malaysia Campus: Myth or Reality?
insights
22
ß The New Economy: Benefits, Issues and Challenges
ß Here Comes the New Breed of Asian Managers
Cover by Angelo Andres and Chili Dogs
alumnileadership 45 Spotlight
Program Feature: The New 16-month MBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Alumni Leadership Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Class Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 End Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 END NOTES
“...anxiety has given way to ambition.”
57
48
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
The first week of March was “Leadership WEEK” at the Asian Institute of Management. It began early Monday morning of February 26 with a Flag Raising Ceremony conducted by student representatives of the 17 countries represented at AIM (attended by ambassadors and senior diplomats from— embassies), through the Annual Alumni Homecoming on March 2 and culminating with a multi-stakeholders’ meeting on March 3. Departing somewhat from prior years, AIM, the Alumni Association of the Asian Institute of Management (Philippines), as well as the Federation of AIM Alumni Associations, sought to underscore the Institute’s role “The Conference in Asia’s rapid economic integration by sponsoring the theme ‘AIM for a Asian Business Conference on March 1 and 2 at the New Asia: Unlocking Makati Shangri-La, and the AIM campus, respectively. Opportunities’ The Conference theme “AIM for a New Asia: reflects AIM’s Unlocking Opportunities” reflects AIM’s commitment commitment to address the to address the challenges and opportunities of the challenges and “New Asia” in a way that marries the rich Asian opportunities of the cultures and traditions with contemporary technology ‘New Asia’ in a way and management practice. that marries the I am grateful to our distinguished speakers for rich Asian cultures and traditions with sharing their wisdom with the AIM community and its contemporary guests: AIM Chair Washington SyCip; ADB President technology and Haruhiko Kuroda; Infosys founder and Chair, Dr. N. management R. Narayana Murthy; Dato Paduka Timothy Ong Teck practice.” Mong; and Monitor Group Chairman, Dr. Mark Fuller. Our deepest appreciation also goes to our speakers in the four working groups, Permodalan Nasional and IKIM (Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia or Institute for Islamic Understanding Malaysia) Chairman, Tan Sri Dato Seri (Dr.) Ahmad Sarji Bin Hamid; Chemoil Chief Executive and alumnus, Robert V. Chandran; former Korea University President and alumnus, Dr. Yoon Dae Euh and Bank of East Asia Deputy Chief Executive, Joseph Pang. I must also thank our distinguished panel of moderators and reactors who sought to stimulate discussion following each speaker’s presentation—in true AIM fashion. I look forward to another enriching and vibrant Asian Business Conference in 2008 as AIM celebrates its 40th Anniversary. This issue of the AIM Alumni Leadership Magazine shares with the alumni community—particularly with those who were unable to participate—some of the invaluable insights of these outstanding individuals on a wide range of issues related to the “New Asia” we live in. We are living in the most dynamic, exciting and challenging region in the world. We are witnessing, first-hand, an unprecedented economic and social transformation of a region that—except for a hiatus of a few centuries—has long been the center of economic, scientific and cultural activity. The message is clear: we must embrace, not fear, the “New Asia”. Our distinguished speakers put our engagement in perspective. Enjoy the issue.
Francis G. Estrada PRESIDENT, ASIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
FROM
THE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
T
“...AIM succeeding in it mission in addressing the challenges presented by the “new Asia”; an AIM responsive to the need for multiple campuses throughout the region and addressing the uniqueness of each; and an AIM that continues to expand from the multicultural, diverse and increasingly responsive student and alumni body.”
his January-March 2007 issue of the AIM Alumni Leadership Magazine marks the first anniversary of your publication. We are quite fortunate that this special issue features the prominent members of the Board of Governors of the Asian Institute of Management. Last March 1 and 2, we held the most significant first “Asian Business Conference” which brought together the movers, shakers and decision makers in the region. As a project of AIM, the Alumni Association of AIM (Philippine Chapter), and the Federation of AIM Alumni (FAIM), the ABC was inspired by AIM President, Mr. Francis Estrada’s vision for the Institute, “to be responsive to the demands and challenges of the region and to embody the harmony between the rich Asian cultures and traditions, on the one hand, and contemporary technology and management practice, on the other.” The landscape of the new Asia, and the vastness of its opportunities are painted in the pages of our cover story, as eminent leaders, Washington SyCip, Haruhiko Kuroda, Dr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, and Dato Paduka Timothy Ong Teck Mong share their insights on the economic and political setting, regional economic integration, the new economy, and new opportunities in a globalizing world. I would like to think of this as our “Vision” issue—a vision for AIM succeeding in it mission in addressing the challenges presented by the “new Asia”; an AIM responsive to the need for multiple campuses throughout the region and addressing the uniqueness of each; and an AIM that continues to expand from the multi-cultural, diverse and increasingly responsive student and alumni body. This issue also pays tribute to our outstanding alumni who have not only excelled in their respective endeavors, but have also given back to society and to their school. We focus our SPOTLIGHT on our AIM Alumni Achievement awardees, or Triple A winners: Arthur N. Aguilar, MBM 1972, President and Chief Executive Officer - National Transmission Corporation (TransCo); Ybhg. General Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Haji Abdul Aziz Bin Haji Zainal, MM 1996, Chief of Defence Force - Malaysian Armed Forces; and Rajaish Bajpaee, MM 1980, President and Group Managing Director - Eurasia Group of Companies. As AIM approaches its 40th Anniversary and as AIMLeader continues to look forward to many more years with you, our alumni, we take a step back to thank all those who have been appreciative of our efforts to serve our esteemed community of AIM graduates. We are encouraged by your enthusiasm to contribute articles and share insights, we are inspired by your stories of success, we are heartened by your suggestions and words of support, and we are motivated to strive even harder to unlock new opportunities to serve your needs. Thank you, and we hope to hear from you often. God bless!
Greg Atienza Editor-in-Chief, AIM Alumni Leadership Magazine Executive Managing Director, Alumni Relations Office Secretary General, Federation of AIM Alumni Associations, Inc.
A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
latest issue for both Class Notes and End Notes. Thank you. Rachel Geronimo MBM 1996 OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2006 | VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4
Glass
Beyond the
ERRATUM SPECIAL WOMEN ISSUE
October-December 2006 Issue, End Notes section, page 57. Rachel Christine Geronimo, MBM 1996, wrote “Leadership is influence, responsibility, and accountability. It is not an automatic result of rank or position. If you do not inspire respect, cause positive change, or make difficult decisions, then you are not a leader even if you are well-placed in your organization. Conversely, you can be a leader even without the rank for as long as you exhibit leadership qualities.� The quote was mistakenly attributed to Sarita Bahety, MBA 2006.
Ceiling
AIM4_06_COVER_FA.indd 3
I got my copy of the magazine. It is informative which has replay value. Roy Reyes MBA 2000
Hope you are doing good. Just got and read the last edition of the AIM magazine which I think was great! In the later half of February 2007, I was somehow
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officially coaxed into visiting Cuba (for no fault of mine). As usual, did find some time to create a short write up of why and how I went to Cuba (a long forgotten Caribbean island). Cheerio! Shaikh Muhammed Ali MBM 1995
I hope to receive more of
such worthy reading materials. God bless and more power! Marietta Lorenzo MDP 2005
AIMLeader invites all AIM alumni to contribute articles, Class Notes and Letters to the Editor to aimleader @aim.edu or aimalumni @aim.edu.
Please do try to avoid misattributions so that we alumni will not be discouraged from contributing in the future. Other than this, it was my pleasure to contribute to the A I M A LU M N I L E A D E R S H I P M AGA Z I N E J a n u a r y to M a rc h 20 07
NEWS
Alumni and Students Celebrate Homecoming in Asian Street Party
T
HE AIM PARKING LOT was transformed into an Asian street setting replete with the red glow of Chinese lanterns as alumni gathered to celebrate the traditional annual Alumni Homecoming Night last March 2 at the AIM campus. With MBM 1987 taking the lead in organizing an event to remember, students joined to likewise commemorate their International Students Night. The evening was highlighted by presentations from the alumniin-residence as they performed traditional Indonesian, and other Asian dances. Batch 1987 also provided entertainment with the Hotdog band, and popular Filipino performers such as Luke Mijares and Kyla.
With free entrance and welcome drinks to all alumni, and sumptuous Asian cuisine served by AIM Conference Center Manila, the homecoming gave the alumni a chance to unwind and reminisce their student days in the campus. Celebrating batches 1972, 1977, and 1982 were called onstage to acknowledge their presence, and AIM President Francis Estrada was given a short tribute by his fellow alumni and students. Sponsored by San Miguel Corporation, Coca-Cola, Smart Communications, Canon, Portico and Sentro, the Homecoming was a culmination of the weeklong activities of the Institute in celebration of AIM’s 39th anniversary with the theme “AIM for Asia.”
A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
NEWS
AIM Pays Tribute to Outstanding Alumni AS A FITTING FINALE TO the celebration of the 39th Anniversary of the Asian Institute of Management, the Triple A Awarding Ceremony was held last March 3, 2007 at the AIM Conference Center Manila. AIM Co-Chairmen Washington SyCip and Jose Cuisia with AIM President Francis Estrada conferred the Triple A to Mr. Arthur N. Aguilar, MBM 1972, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo), and Mr. Rajaish Bajpaee,
MM 1980, President and Group Managing Director of the Eurasia Group of Companies. Ybhg. General Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Haji Abdul Aziz Bin Haji Zainal, MM 1996, Chief of Defence Force of the Malaysian Armed Forces, was unable to attend the ceremony due to a prior engagement. The AIM Alumni Achievement Award or the Triple A is the highest recognition given by the alumni community of the Asian Institute of Management to its outstanding graduates.
Aguilar family with SyCip and Cuisia
Mr. and Mrs. Bajpaee (center) with Mohan Phadke, Estrada and SyCip
G E N . TA N S R I A Z I Z F L I E S T O M A N I L A T O R E C E I V E T R I P L E A AWA R D
A
special Triple A awarding ceremony was held in honor of Ybhg Gen. Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Haji Abdul Aziz bin Haji Zainal (MM’96), Chief of Defence Force of the Malaysian Armed Forces, on April 3, 2007 at the AIM Lopez Gallery. The Triple A medal and trophy were conferred to Gen. Aziz by AIM President Francis Estrada, AIM Dean Victoria Licuanan, AAAIM-Philippines Chairman and FAIM Treasurer Mr. Ricardo Pascua.
Gen. Tan Sri Aziz was accompanied by his wife Datin Sri Rositah Bt Md Mawi, Col. Abdul Hadi Bin Hussin, Defence Attache of the Malaysian Embassy, Lt. Cdr. Zahari Bin Samsuri RMN, Assistant Defence Attache of the Malaysian Embassy, Kol. Mohd Fadzil Yusof (MM ‘98) of the Malaysian Army HQ, guests from the Malaysian Embassy, the Malaysian Armed Forces and the Philippine Armed Forces. “I would like to take this
opportunity to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Malaysian Armed Forces for kindly giving me the chance to pursue my Masters degree here. To be accepted by such a highly acclaimed institution of higher learning means so much to me as it literally accords a lifetime opportunity to receive quality knowledge from world-class subject matter experts,” Gen. Tan Sri Aziz said in his acceptance speech. He added, “I find the knowledge and experience gained from AIM have paid off handsomely thus far. Evidently, this shaped the way I managed the Malaysian Army when I was its chief, towards becoming a more
systematic and credible force.” In closing, Gen. Tan Sri Aziz said, “I am optimistic that those invaluable teachings gained from AIM will continue to inspire and guide me in steering the Malaysian Armed Forces forward, as well as facilitating my endeavors in promoting peace and stability in this region.”
2007 TRIPLE A AWARDEES A RT H U R N . AGU I L A R M BM 19 72 R AJA I SH B AJ PAJ E E M M 19 8 0 Y BHG G E N . TA N SR I DATO’ SR I H AJ I A BDU L A Z I Z BI N H AJ I Z A I N A L M M 19 9 6
Triple A awardees Mr. Robert Kuan (MBM’75), AIM Prof. Jesus Gallegos, Jr. (MBM’73), and Gen. Ramon Farolan (MM’75) graced the event.
A I M A LU M N I L E A D E R S H I P M AGA Z I N E J a n u a r y to M a rc h 20 07
NEWS
FA I M THE FEDERATION OF AIM Alumni Associations, Inc. (FAIM) during its annual general meeting elected the first ever FAIM Board of Trustees. In accordance to the FAIM by-law, Datuk Ir. (Dr.) Mohd Annas Hj. Mohd Nor (MM’84) was elected Chairman, Dr. Gan Cheong Eng (MBM’82) as Vice Chairman, Ricardo Pascua (MBM’71) as Treasurer, and Mohan Phadke (MM’80) and Nguyen Thi Thuan (MDM’98) as Board Members. The annual meeting was
E L E C T S
attended by 13 country chapters from Canada, China (Shanghai), India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, USA (East Coast) and Vietnam. The meeting covered an evaluation of the past year and discussions on issues and plans for the forthcoming school year 2007-2008. Prof. Horacio Borromeo was invited to the meeting to talk about the latest developments in AIM. Present during the meeting (from left): Catherine Xianyan
F I R S T
B O T
Chen, MBM’98 (Shanghai, China); Jocelyn R. Bernal, MM’01(representative USA East Coast); Dr. Gan Cheong Eng, MBM’82 (Singapore); Datuk Ir. (Dr.) Mohd Annas Hj. Mohd Nor, MM’84 (Malaysia); AIM President Francis G. Estrada, MBM’73; Nguyen Thi Thuan, MDM’98 (Vietnam); and Marilen A. Patricio MBM’86 (representative Canada). Standing from left: Ricardo S. Pascua, MBM’71 (Philippines); Vitaliano N. Nañagas, MBM’72 (FAIM
Treasurer 06-07); Bro. Vinai Virividhayavongs, MM’88 (Thailand); Peter Jiang, MM’95 (Shanghai, China); Chen Wang-Chai, MM’97 (representative Taiwan); Bimal Chapagain, MDM’96 (Nepal); Dani Firmansjah, MM’94 (representative Indonesia); Mohan M. Phadke, MM’80 (India); Hong Soo Lee, MM’79 (Korea); and Gregorio J. Atienza, MBM’83 (FAIM Secretary General and AIM Alumni Relations Executive Managing Director).
The President’s Briefing in KK
W
HILE IN SABAH TO meet the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi, AIM President Francis Estrada set aside time for a briefing with Sabah alumni in the evening of November 23, 2006. The seafood dinner at the KK Sea Front Restaurant was hosted by the Committee of Kelab AIM Malaysia, Sabah. The Chairman, Mr. Wong Chee Keong assisted by
Vera Chin and Faridah Malai and other Committee members, warmly welcomed alumni and guests. In his speech, President Estrada began by tracing the “deep and enduring” ties between AIM and Sabah alumni that started in the 1980’s, when Dr. Francisco Roman and Prof. Horacio Borromeo, Jr. came to facilitate management development programs for managers in the public and private sector of Sabah. “AIM would like to revive
A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
its brand and presence in Sabah again,” Mr. Estrada said. “ I am convinced that we are able to harness that commitment. As such, I welcome the active involvement of the entire AIM family in Sabah. I invite you all to join me in the exciting adventure of ensuring
“AIM would like to revive its brand and presence in Sabah again.”
that AIM remains a modern, relevant and outstanding graduate school of management deeply rooted in, and fully committed to, the Asian region.” The AIM entourage included Associate Dean Dr. Francisco Roman, Prof. Horacio Borromeo, Jr., Ms. Edythe Bautista, Puan Zarinah (KL Rep. Office) and Haji Zulkifly Baharom who represented the President and Board of Kelab AIM Malaysia.
NEWS AIM PLANS BRANCHES IN INDIA by Abhishek Anand, New Delhi
T
HE ASIAN INSTITUTE OF Management is seriously considering its India presence strategy. Francis G. Estrada, president of AIM, disclosed this during his visit to India last October 2006. Speaking exclusively to the pioneers, he said: “The Institute has been invited to establish partnerships in Banglore and Mumbai.” He noted that the prospects were promising and that,
given the importance of India in the “New Asia” and to AIM, these would be carefully evaluated. Estrada was in India for a “look see,” to call on key institutions and brainstorm with the alumni. He said that he held talks with the Chairman of All India Management Association (AIMA) regarding exchange programs and also on providing affiliation to some of the premium institutes registered with AIMA.
Mr. Estrada paid a courtesy call on the Chairman of IIMA and Chief Mentor of Infosys, Dr. N. R. Narayana Murthy at the company’s Bangalore campus. Mr. Murthy had previously accepted an invitation to serve as Governor of the Asian Institute of Management. Asked about whether Mr. Murthy’s role as chairman of IIMA (and Trustee/Director in other leading international graduate schools of business) might create any difficulty, he replied that, “...on the contrary, his extensive experience with these great institutions could be most useful to AIM.” The Asian Institute of Management was established in 1968 in Manila, Philippines by the Harvard Business School, the Ford Founda-
tion, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University and its key social investors, the Ayala and Lopez Groups of Companies. The Asian Institute of Management today consists of two integral components: teaching, which consists of four schools (Graduate School of Business, the Center for Development Management, the Asian Center for Entrepreneurship and the Executive Education and Life Long Learning) and knowledge creation, consisting primarily of endowed Centers of Excellence (Policy Center, RV del Rosario Center for Corporate Social Responsibility, the JB Fernandez Center for Banking and Finance and the Mirant Center for Bridging Societal Divides).
Alumni Keeps Flame Burning Chapter, for their donation of Panasonic equipment for the Alumni Fund for Learning Space; Perpetuo de z Claro (MBM’73), Triple A Club President and PhP 500,000 General Manager, Alumni Fund Wyeth Philippines for Scholarships Incorporated, for his donation of Php 1,000,000 to Augustus Caesar the Alumni Fund Esmeralda, MM ’76 for Scholarships; PhP 300,000 Dato’ Syed Alumni Fund Ahmad Idid for Learning Space Syed Abdullah (ABMP’83), Director, RePerpetuo de Claro MBM ‘73 gional Center for Arbitration Kuala PhP 1,000,000 Lumpur; Mr. Alumni Fund for Scholarships Augustus Caesar Esmeralda alumni donors during the AIM (MM‘97), Regional Director for Leadership Week to acknowledge Security of Makati Shangri-La Hotel, for sharing his expertise their generosity and support to the Alumni Leadership Fund. in improving and ensuring Recipients this year are the safety and security of AIM the Alumni Association personnel and property; and the of AIM, Inc.- Philippine Triple A Club, headed by Hon. IN KEEPING THE FLAME OF leadership alive, the AIM Leadership Award was given to five
Jesli Lapus, Secretary of the Department of Education (Philippines) and Chairman of the Triple A Club for their donation to the Alumni Fund for Scholarships. Mr. Alberto Villarosa, MBM 1973 and member of the Triple A scholarship committee received the award on behalf of the Triple A Club. During the awarding ceremony, the Triple A Club’s scholar, Mr. Ariel dela Cruz, gave a heartwarming thanksgiving speech. “I could never thank them enough for granting me this chance of a lifetime. It is with honor and much appreciation that I now stand before you, a living proof of the miracle that is Triple A. It is not everyday that one is blessed with this kind of possibility—a life-changing possibility,” Ariel said. The AIM Alumni Leadership Fund was launched last March 3, 2006. The fund-raising project will support four social investor opportunities: Scholarships, Learning Space, Faculty Development, and Research.
The string quartet of Val Cad provided inspiring musical pieces during the ceremony. Using the flame as a symbol of humanity, hope, passion and leadership, the AIM Alumni Leadership Fund will help AIM maintain its position as a leader in Asian management education. AIM invites its alumni to help ensure that the flame of leadership keeps burning by making a gift to the AIM Alumni Leadership Fund. For more details, please contact aimalumni@ aim.edu.
A I M A LU M N I L E A D E R S H I P M AGA Z I N E J a n u a r y to M a rc h 20 07
NEWS
Alumni Newsmakers AIM Alumni at the Helm of Malaysian Armed Forces
composition and consists of 215 different corps. Besides being largely responsible for military and security operations with the country, RMA has been widely recognized for active contributions in the United Nations Peace Keeping Operations, observer missions and providing staff at the United Nations Security Headquarters. The RMA to date has been involved in more than 20 Peace Keeping Operations and observer missions under the auspices of the United Nations. The RMA also assists the various government agencies during national disasters
Gen. Aziz Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that His Majesty the King has given the consent on the appointment of Army Chief, Gen. Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Bin Hj. Zainal, MM ’96 as the Chief of Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) effective January 31, 2007. The Chief of MAF advises the Minister of Defense (concurrently Deputy Prime Minister) on professional military matters related to strategy and operations. He is assisted by the three Services Chief i.e. Army, Navy and Air Forces. The role of the MAF is to defend the nation and its strategic interest against all forms of aggression and to support the civil authority in maintaining internal security. Concurrently, Deputy Prime Minister has also announced the promotion of Deputy Chief of Royal Malaysian Army (RMA), Lt. Gen. Datuk Muhammad Ismail Jamaluddin, MM ’96 as the new Army Chief with the rank of full general. From its modest beginnings, the RMA has now grown to be a well-balanced modern army. Today, the RMA is multi-racial in
Gen. Ismail as well as in implementing socioeconomic development projects. The AIM community congratulates Gen. Aziz and Gen. Ismail for the well deserved promotions!
Nolido Named GM of Northpine Properties Rhoel Alberto Balmaceda Nolido, MBM 2000, has been named general manager of NorthPine Properties, Inc. and NorthPine Land Inc. effective January 2007. The appointment was announced by A.B. Colayco, president of NorthPine Properties and NorthPine Land. Colayco said Nolido will be responsible for overseeing the development of NorthPine’s projects, which currently include
A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
Greenwoods in Dasmarinas, Cavite, Forest Ridge, the company’s latest middle-income residential project which recently broke ground in San Isidro, Antipolo, and other new developments being lined up for 2007. He will also be responsible for maintaining and strengthening NorthPine’s strong presence in the middle-income sector of the real estate industry. “He brings to NorthPine years of experience from the country’s leading property developers,” says Colayco of Nolido’s appointment. NorthPine Land and NorthPine Properties (formerly Jardine Land and Jardine Properties), are jointly owned by Hongkong Land, Equitable PCI Bank, Metrobank and San Miguel Properties. Before joining NorthPine, Nolido was Vice President for Business Development Group of One Asia Development Group (OADC). In that capacity, he handled the project development department of OADC and the market research department of the entire Extraordinary Group of Companies. From December 1995 to February 2006, Nolido worked for Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI), having been seconded to Laguna Properties Holding Inc. (LPH) as division manager, Property and Planning Group. From May 1994 to December 1995, he was senior brand assistant of Universal Robina Corp. (URC) where he developed and executed the marketing plan for snacks and confectionery products. Nolido holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Ateneo de Manila University where he graduated in 1994. He has Masters in Business Management major in Finance from the Asian Institute of Management, finishing it in 2000.
Source: The Philippine Star, December 2006
Prof. Hernando Receives Distinguished Achievement Award Prof. Soledad Hernando, Center for Development Management core faculty and Master in Development Management program director was one of the honorees feted by the College of the Holy Spirit (CHS) in Manila, Philippines. Prof. Hernando (AB-BSE Class ‘66) was conferred a Distinguished Achievement Award by the CHS Alumnae Foundation last February 4, 2007 during the school’s Annual Homecoming at its Mendiola campus.
Dr. P.N. Singh gives talk to MM students Dr. Pashupati Nath Singh, MM 1975, Triple A winner, and Chairman of Grid Consultants Pvt. Ltd. visited the AIM campus last November 8, 2006 and gave an inspirational speech to the MM students. Dr. Singh shared his AIM experiences, as well as the lessons he has learned as an entrepreneur, as written in his book, “From Bullock-Cart to Mercedes-Benz, The Story of a Bihari Boy.” Over 20 MM students participated in the lively open forum, which followed Dr. P.N. Singh’s talk. To end his presentation, Dr. Singh presented a short video of his ongoing scholarship program, “Leaders of Tomorrow,” for India’s youth.
BRIEFCASE
Law and Leadership K E LV I N
L E S T E R
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L E E ,
M S C
20 03
T H E L AW IS, TO M A N Y PEOPL E , A M Y R I A D A ND V ERY A BST R AC T CONCEP T T H AT SE E MS A L MOST M AGIC A L . E V EN TO T HOSE W HOSE PROFE SSION DE M A NDS M A ST ERY OF T HE L AW, SUCH A S L AW Y ER S, OF T EN H AV E DIFFICU LT Y A RT ICU L AT I NG CONCR ETE LY W H AT T HE L AW IS. COMPOU ND T H E A BST R AC T NE SS OF L AW W IT H T HE CONCEP T OF L E A DER SHIP, W HICH M A N Y CONSIDER JUST A S A BST R AC T, A ND YOU H AV E A R ECIPE FOR CONFUSION. OR SO YOU WOU LD T HI NK .
10
A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
ONKEL ULLE
Law is not just the domain of lawyers, nor is leadership simply the domain of managers. They can and do co-exist in the form of leader-lawyers. MANY INTELLECTUALS SEEMINGLY ADVOCATE THAT leadership is the domain of those in the management sector. Many of the more prominent leaders are those who possess an MBA or management diplomas. The reality however, is that lawyers have served just as well in leadership positions. This article hopes to discuss and elaborate on lawyers as leaders, the concepts of law and leadership in the view of law practitioners, what it takes to be a good leader and on the vital interplay or connection between law and leadership. Lawyers as Leaders
Traditionally, those who practice the law or are well versed in it have served as some of the most competent of leaders. The examples are legion. The famous former mayor of New York, Rudy Guiliani, has proven to be an exceptional chief executive of the city. The Philippines’ own Rudy Duterte has proven his leadership mettle during his tenure as mayor of Davao City. Jovito Salonga, Juan Ponce Enrile and Francis “Chiz” Escudero have served well in their legislative careers due to their legal training. Atty. Avelino Cruz is widely considered as one of the most effective Defense Secretaries the Philippines has ever had. Chief Justice Reynato Puno’s ascension to the Office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was widely hailed due to his excellent reputation as a respectable leader. Atty. Felipe Gozon of GMA Network, one of the biggest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, is a lawyer and a successful leader-manager, which is a rarity, as few are able to straddle the world of law and management (and concomitantly, that of leadership) and become successful in both. Bill Clinton, arguably one of the most successful, if not controversial presidents of the United States was a lawyer as well. Al Gore, one of the strongest vice-presidents the United States has ever had was not a lawyer as he never took the Bar, but he did study in law school, and he has credited much of his success to the discipline he learned while there. The same could be said of the former Chief of the Philippine National Police, General Edgardo Aglipay, who was a law school graduate. Many leaders trace their leadership successes to their time in law school and the training they received. Atty. Eugenio Villareal, the founding partner of the Law Firm Escudero Marasigan Vallente & E.H. Villareal (EMSAVVIL Law) and a noted litigator believes his training in the law helped him assume leadership roles in his career. He says that, “as we studied in law school, we were trained to be responsible: that this calling we were engaged in was no ordinary one, but was meant to lead others to a better and upright life.” In fact, Villareal believes that “the distinct way of thinking and reasoning inherent in lawyering has helped me help others in plowing through the various mazes in society: crisis litigation, issues in education, problems in media, corruption in government, the shocking disrespect for life, to name some.”
In a legal profession class, a Justice of the Court of Appeals, which is the second highest court of the land, once said that within any community, it is the lawyer who often finds himself thrust into leadership roles. Clearly, these are roles which many lawyers are uniquely trained for, and many of whom are willing to undertake. Atty. Sedfrey Candelaria, Associate Dean for Student Affairs of the Ateneo Law School says that “knowledge of the law and legal processes by itself places a lawyer at a certain leadership potential.” Atty. Candelaria, who also serves in the Government Negotiating Panel with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPPNPA), and is a respected educator in the Philippine Judicial Academy (which trains Judges of the Philippines), credits much of his success to his training. “My work in the peace negotiations or even judicial education has been enriched by my legal training,” he says. Former Dean of the Ateneo Law School, Atty. Cynthia Del Castillo even goes as far as saying that most successful leaders are lawyers. She cites, as an example, the fact that most American presidents have been lawyers. She attributes this to the training of lawyers to advocate and convince. The current Dean of the Ateneo Law School, Dean Cesar L. Villanueva, who received his Masters of Law (L.L.M) from Harvard University, and is an authority in Commercial Law, believes that lawyers have the capacity to be good leaders. They are gifted to interpret and find the essences of the law. With the law and training in it seemingly playing a large role in the development of leaders, this necessarily begs the question: What is the Law? The Law
Some leaders answer the question of what law is in an uncomplicated manner. Atty. Eugenio Villareal believes that law is simply “the compulsion to do good.” Associate Dean Candelaria seemingly agrees when he says that “law is a set of rules and norms governing society inspired by reason and founded on the principles of justice and fairplay.” Ms. Venarisse Verga, a member of the Association of Law Students of the Philippines (ALSP) and an active Ateneo Law School campus leader, looks at law in a more technical manner. She sees law as “a set of norms promulgated by the legislative body and enforced by the executive branch of the government.” Dean Villanueva more philosophically provides that law is an expression of how the country seeks to guide itself, that it is a means to enforce compliance. Atty. Edsel Tupaz, a rising lawyer and law clerk in the halls of the Supreme Court, quotes Professor Charles Fried in defining law: “Law is a moving argument, shaped by politically relevant actors, through a series of decisions made under the dimension of time, like a score of music.” (Cf. Prof. Charles Fried, 2000). A I M A LU M N I L E A D E R S H I P M AGA Z I N E J a n u a r y to M a rc h 20 07
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The law does not change society. It is our hearts that can change society, it is our hearts that can change the law.
A more layman-oriented definition of law for this day and age can be attributed to Mr. Rafael Vicente Calinisan of the Ateneo Student Council. To him, “law is a listing of things one should strive to do and ought not be caught doing.” Leadership
This still begs the question though, what is leadership? Traditional conceptions of leadership have proven somewhat militaristic and authoritarian. However, that form of leadership is no longer prevalent or encouraged in the business world or even in the military, where leadership is a life or death necessity. West Point, the premiere military academy of America, once advocated a form of leadership that basically boiled down to “do this or else.” This leadership style has waned, and is likewise no longer even in vogue in the legal profession, which once abounded with authoritarian and draconian leadership in law schools and law firms. Reflecting on this trend, practitioners of the law currently define leadership in more inspirational terms. For example, Mr. Calinisan understands leadership as “collectively making other stars brighter than yours.” Atty. Poncevic Ceballos, founder of the Ceballos Law Firm and president of the Philippine Bonsai Society, believes that Leadership is the ability to let people follow and respect you. Dean Villanueva, who was a bar topnotcher, provides that leadership is an exercise by which members of society or a community are able to pinpoint a person or group of persons by which they can organize their collective resources. Atty. Villareal, however, believes that leadership is something more. Leadership to him, is “being able to define a vision, embody it, and boldly lead people to follow that vision -notwithstanding the odds.” Associate Dean Candelaria agrees. To him, leadership is “the capacity of a person to inspire or motivate other persons to perform their tasks or pursue their mission with passion.” Perhaps the foremost inspirational understanding of leadership can be traced to the statement of Atty. Edsel Tupaz, a law clerk of the Supreme Court. He provides that “leadership is the trait in a man or woman which commands the multitude under an unseen force, or some felt, universal necessity shared by the rest, and, furthermore, is accompanied by a feeling of a hero who never thinks under the censure of philosophers or divines, and, therefore, he is always right. And third, the leader dwells on the greatest and most formidable type of living, which history has so many things to say. I refer to none other than the national life, a life sometimes checkered with failure, or injured 12
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grandeur, of wounded heroism, but, a great life nonetheless, for it is far better to have failed than to never have tried at all; a life of a man or woman who has character, that is to say, he is a good man, a good husband, a woman, a good mother and spouse, both knowing that they are, and will always remain to be, students of the world.” It is clear therefore that leadership now consists greatly of inspiration and cooperation, motivation, vision and passion, among others. Leadership, especially among lawyers, seemingly consists of achieving a vision by inspiration and motivation. To Be a Leader
To be a leader requires many things, no matter what field one is in. For Atty. Villareal, “A leader must first have a big heart—generous and magnanimous, full of love for the others such that he seeks their good always. He or she must be one who never despairs, but perseveres to the end. Alongside this must be being a good example, especially in humility and the desire to learn, as well as to begin and begin again. Finally, a leader must have faith—‘pananalig sa Diyos’ (belief in God)—for working towards the good, to be consistent, must be in line with a supernatural outlook of things.” Mr. Calinisan believes that “to be a leader, one needs a good dose of patience, and tons of discernment. Work gets done not by you, but through other people. Possessing an ability to inspire others wouldn’t hurt at all. In fact, it might be the most important aspect of leadership.” Ms. Verga, who also works with Mr. Calinisan in the Ateneo Law School Student Council, agrees with his basic idea of a leader. For her, to be a leader, “One must learn how to attract people, and motivate them towards a goal. Being a leader should not entail inducing fear but rather, respect from the people being led. One should be firm but flexible to a certain extent.” It would seem then that to be a good leader, one requires qualities that can be present in individuals in any field or profession, whether in business or even the law. Though there is, in the opinion of many practitioners, a marked predisposition on the part of lawyers towards leadership, they do not, by all means, have a monopoly on it. But for Atty. Villareal, the type of training that a lawyer has, and the challenges he or she faces everyday make for good material to form a leader. And this is perhaps why there is a strong interplay between law and leadership. The Interplay Between Law and Leadership
Most law practitioners state that there is an interplay between the two concepts, but Atty. Tupaz emphasizes that “leadership, as master,
should not be wrought by its servant, which is the law.” Atty. Villareal definitely believes that there is an interconnection between law and leadership. “To live, fulfill, enforce, and develop the law, one must dare to lead and blaze a trail, so to speak.” For both Atty. Ceballos and former Ateneo Law School Dean del Castillo, the interplay between the two concepts is based on the fact that “to enforce the law, you need leadership.” Associate Dean Candelaria considers effective leadership, which presupposes an interplay between both law and leadership, as implying “the capacity to influence others to follow the rules set by society to govern relationships among its members.” To the Associate Dean, “this is best achieved by a leader who abides by these rules.” Dean Villanueva, who is famous for his philosophically deep discussions in the classroom, states that with law and leadership there is an interconnection based on two parameters. The first parameter is that of thinking or molding leadership. Leaders are representatives of the people, who are elected by the people to determine what the law should be. This is then followed by the second parameter, that of active leadership, whereby leaders lead the community and are followed, if they themselves are following or implementing the essence and meaning of the laws that have been determined. Therefore, to the Dean, the interconnection between law and leadership is that “law is an expression of the community and of those leaders who actively lead society to the fulfillment of their ideals.” Conclusion: The Magic of Law and Leadership
Law and Leadership, though considered abstract terms by many, are by no means necessarily confusing concepts. They can be defined and understood, as many lawyers and leaders have attempted to do. Nor are law and leadership mutually exclusive. Law is not just the domain of lawyers, nor is leadership simply the domain of managers. They can and do co-exist in the form of leader-lawyers. And unlike other leaders, leaders with legal training know the law, which is a clear and marked advantage over those who do not. This in fact, seems to serve as the biggest benefit of lawyers who become leaders. It is with this thought in mind that a modest proposal is made. Perhaps managers who have traditionally been the foremost leaders, should also be trained or at least be well-versed in law programs. They can learn the basics of the law, so that law in itself shall no longer be such an abstract concept.
Many undergraduate institutions already provide for the very basics of the law, with short courses in Obligations and Contracts, Sales and Credit Transactions and even Negotiable Instruments. Other institutions, perhaps seeing the unique advantages of both law and management (which necessarily embodies leadership), have already provided for dual degree programs, where students can finish with two graduate degrees, the Juris Doctor-Masters of Business Administration (J.D.-M.B.A.); one degree in law, the other in management, respectively. However, it must be remembered that, although knowing the law is an important aspect of what makes lawyers unique and seemingly well-suited to leadership, the law itself is not a magical incantation. Knowing the law does not necessarily nor magically transpose leadership skills into a person, nor does the law itself allow its followers or practitioners to change society and its people. According to Dean Villanueva, “we believe that the law can change society and thereby change the hearts of the people, but it does not do that. It is not magical. The law does not change society. It is our hearts that can change society, it is our hearts that can change the law.” Thus, it is our hearts as embodied in leadership that allow us to change society. No law has ever changed society or the world, but there have been many leaders who have done so, whether lawyers or not. That is perhaps what it boils down to. It is true that leaders who know the law do have a marked advantage. But it is with their hearts and souls that leaders have changed the world. And that is the true magic of leadership. A I M A LU M N I L E A D E R S H I P M AGA Z I N E J a n u a r y to M a rc h 20 07
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Social Entrepreneurship: An Asian Perspective P R O F.
M A R I E
L I SA
M .
DAC A N AY
This second of two parts is from Professor Marie Lisa Dacanay’s paper which was presented during the 2nd International Social Entrepreneurship Research Conference at the NYU Stern School of Business, New York.
IN THE COURSE OF THE AUTHOR’S INVOLVEMENT IN SOCIAL ENTERPRISE RESEARCH, she has observed four types of social enterprise development strategies. These four are: resource mobilization, social inclusion, empowerment and intermediation. One of the main ways of differentiating these four types is according to the main objective or intent of the social enterprise development project. (Dacanay, 2004). Empowerment strategies enable marginalized sectors to own and control social enterprises, so they may reap maximum benefits from it. The Barangay Lati United Multipurpose Cooperative, a social enterprise of municipal fishers in the province of Bataan in the Philippines was assisted by its partner NGO, the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement, to own, control and reap benefits from managing a sari-sari store (a village grocery store) and a microfinance project. (Beasca, 2004). Also exemplifying the empowerment strategy was the Maireang Farmers’ Group that was organized by Prayong Ronnarong to help the rubber farmers in his area in Thailand to process their rubber latex and trade their rubber sheets collectively. (Anukansai, 2004). The earlier example of the Kaira Milk Producers’ Union in India also exemplifies an empowerment strategy of social enterprise development. A variation of the empowerment strategy is manifested by the Prae Phan Women’s Weaving Group in Thailand. Here, the social entrepreneur, Kanda Sakolkiat and the Handicraft Center for Northeastern Women she set up, worked towards helping the indigenous women of northeastern Thailand revive their weaving tradition, and empower them over time (1987-1996) to own and manage a social enterprise that produced and marketed their woven products. (Anukansai and Boonrod, 2004). The latter exemplifies a devolutionary empowerment strategy as contrasted to the direct empowerment strategies observable in the other cases.
Social inclusion strategies assist groups of people who are stigmatized or marginalized by virtue of their physical, psychological or social circumstance, to restore their dignity and create avenues for their participation as productive members of society. Such strategy is exemplified by the Children Are Us Foundation (CAUF) and the Sunshine Social Welfare Foundation (SSWF) in Taiwan. These foundations have successfully set up and managed social enterprises—a world class bakery and restaurant for CAUF and a gasoline station for SSWF. These social enterprises not only provide employment but more importantly, nurturing work environments for differentlyabled people comprising the majority of their workers. (CAFO, 2005). Intermediation strategies are exemplified by Basix of India and PEKERTI of Indonesia. Basix provides financial, agricultural, business development and institutional development services to the entrepreneurial poor and employers of the poor in India. (Loonker, 2004). PEKERTI Nusantara on the other hand provides product development and marketing support using the principles of fair trade to marginalized artisans in Indonesia. (Faizah and Saidi, 2004). Basix and PEKERTI are not owned by the marginalized stakeholders but provide immediate access to services among a critical mass of these marginalized stakeholders. The earlier example of the Kabalikat ng Botika Binhi in the Philippines also exemplifies an intermediation strategy in social enterprise development. Resource mobilization strategies generate income from the sale of products and services to finance the operations of the core program of their respective development agencies. The Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), an organization of artists believing in theater as a vehicle for education and empowerment, stages theater plays patronized
by university students and provides production services to institutions wanting to use theater for advocacy. PETA uses the revenues it mobilizes from such to subsidize their conduct of theater workshops and organizing of theater groups among the youth in poor communities (Basco-Sugay, 2004). The earlier examples involving the Population and Community Development Association in Thailand and Bina Swadaya in Indonesia also exemplify the resource mobilization strategy of social enterprise development. Without exception, all these aforementioned social enterprises pursued at least two types of objectives: a social objective directed at providing access to a service, improving the quality of life or empowering its primary stakeholders on one hand, and doing so in a financially sustainable manner, on the other. In addition to the social and financial objectives, some social enterprises pursue a third bottom line. In the case of PETA, ensuring the cultural and artistic integrity of Filipino theater was a third objective. (BascoSugay, 2004). For other social enterprises, a third objective is the pursuit of environmental sustainability. This is exemplified by the Kooperatibang Likas ng Nueva Ecija or KOOL-NE in the Philippines. KOOL-NE is a joint venture between an NGO, the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) and KALIKASAN, a group of Filipino farmers promoting sustainable agriculture. The joint venture, which engages in the production and
distribution of organic rice, pursues what it calls a triple bottom line of improving the quality of life of farmers, contributing to environmental sustainability and achieving financial sustainability. (Palomo, 2003). A Distributive Enterprise Philosophy
The distributive philosophy of social enterprises is manifested in various ways. One area of exploration is how they regard profit and growth. All cases studied see financial sustainability as an objective, but the nature of their social objectives have tended to frame their perspective of growth and the relative importance they give to enterprise profit. While empowerment strategies share the objective of financial sustainability, they tend to give less importance to generating enterprise profit relative to the other strategies. For example, the Maireang Farmers’ Group (MFG) did not experience significant enterprise profits. But whatever the market situation, all members selling fresh rubber latex to the group received a stable income every 15 days through their bank, receiving a higher price per kilogram of their produce compared with the normal market rate. Whatever the profit situation, the farmers continued to put their trust in the group and give their support
ILLUSTRATION: FRAN NG
to factory operations. (Anukansai, 2004). The group’s reason for being was to act as a channel for directly distributing income to the farmers. Since the members of the group were the farmers who owned the social enterprise, dividends were not as important to them as getting a regular income from selling their fresh latex. In terms of enterprise growth, Prayong Ronnarong noted: “We cannot expand our factories like other merchants do. We have limitations in terms of the required contribution for reinvestment and our capability to handle a big complicated business. Networking with other farmers’ groups having the same interest as ours works best to overcome this limitation.” (Anukansai, 2004). Indeed, MFG played a big role in networking with other rubber farmers to replicate their successful model. They consciously worked with these rubber farmers’ groups to provide the volumes of rubber sheets needed to fill the orders of their big buyers. Growth to them meant building a network of interconnected social enterprises rooted in communities. (Dacanay, 2004). Social entrepreneurs pursuing interme-
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diation strategies on the other hand give a tion and Community Development Association (PDA) of Thailand, Bina Swadaya of Indonesia relatively higher importance to enterprise profits and growth. Their concern to increase and the Philippine Educational Theater Asthe outreach of their services among margin- sociation (PETA) have set up enterprise projects alized stakeholders drives them to generate precisely to generate resources, to borrow the profits to sustainably finance their operations words of PDA founder Mechai Viravaidya, so they could be their own donor. It would be as well as expansion. At the same time, they face the need to raise additional resources, self-defeating for these enterprise projects not from profits or development assistance, for to generate surplus, as the pursuit of their research to inform their interventions and to respective core development programs depend upgrade the capacities on the adequacy of resources mobilized. What is interestof their marginalized ing is how these NGOs have partner producers or � stakeholders, so that positioned their enterprises they could become interesting is how these in a manner that is consisteffective market playent with their respective adNGOs have positioned ers. Both Basix and vocacies and missions. This their enterprises PEKERTI sustained meant looking for customer in a manner that is not-for-profit institusegments who were willing to consistent with their tions such as Indian pay for their services. These respective advocacies Grameen Services and and missions.� paying customers, in effect Yayasan PEKERTI to subsidized their provision of ensure the holistic pursuit of their developservices or development interventions among ment interventions, as their enterprise side the marginalized sectors. In pursuit of social inclusion strategies, focused on sustaining and expanding their Children Are Us and Sunshine Social Welfare outreach and markets in a sustainable and Foundations, work towards the financial efficient manner. (Dacanay, 2004). In addition, PEKERTI practices a distribsustainability of their respective enterprises utive enterprise philosophy in a distinct way to ensure a continuing platform for providing as a Fair Trade Organization (FTO). FTOs employment and a nurturing work environlike PEKERTI give marginalized producers or ment for their primary stakeholders. But they producer groups access to the world market also want to generate profit to finance other using the principles of fair trade. These fair specialized social services that their primary trade principles include the payment of fair stakeholders need and to expand their outprices to producers (which are usually higher reach among the differently-abled. However, than purely competitive prices), the payment they may continue to mobilize resources from their donors and patrons. (CAFO, 2005). In a of fair wages, the partial pre-financing of production, the prompt payment of deliveries, sense, their perspectives of profit and growth and the assurance of a long-term relationship are a hybrid between the intermediation and within the Fair Trade framework. (Gomez, resource mobilization strategies: their enter2001). By cutting the many layers of traders prise side provides livelihood or employment and acting as partner intermediaries serving services as well as resources to run their nonconsumers who likewise believe in fair trade, profit side that in turn provides specialized FTOs help marginalized producers reap the social services for their primary stakeholders. aforementioned benefits. What is usually acAt the same time, their increase in outreach cumulated as profits by regular traders are in among their primary stakeholders is partly this sense distributed as benefits to marginal- defined by how big they grow and how much ized producers. profits they reap. Social entrepreneurs pursuing resource Overall, the concern for profit among mobilization strategies also give a bigger imsocial enterprises is not an end in itself but portance to generating profit, relative to those a means towards ensuring the sustainability pursuing empowerment strategies. The Popula- of operations and/or increasing the outreach
what is
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A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
and quality of social and development impact on their target stakeholders. As has been shown by the aforementioned cases, what would normally be considered enterprise costs by private businesses are seen as benefits distributed to the primary stakeholders who may (as in the case of Maireang Farmers Group)or may not (as in the case of PEKERTI) own these social enterprises. In this context, achieving break-even at the enterprise level may in some cases become an acceptable financial outcome. For intermediation and social inclusion strategies, profits reaped through enterprise operations is either in part distributed back to primary stakeholders in the form of higher prices, better staff salaries and benefits, other development interventions or are used to finance the expansion of their outreach. Resource mobilization strategies on the other hand generate profits for distribution to primary stakeholders in the form of development programs dedicated to them. Social Entrepreneurship and CSR
If social entrepreneurship is the art of managing enterprises with multiple objectives, how different is it from corporate social responsibility (CSR)? To answer this question, it is important to appreciate these two phenomena as emanating from different traditions. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a tradition emanating from the business community. There were and are a number of business leaders and entrepreneurs who have been driven by their personal values and vision to set up companies with a clear social mission. But the spread of CSR was also a response of the corporate sector to the clamor from civil-society organizations and the public at large for businesses to be more accountable. Many companies also joined the CSR bandwagon as a result of a regulatory environment that encouraged corporate giving and penalized corporate practices deemed harmful to society. All of these factors pushed corporations to define social or development objectives to be incorporated in their policies and practices. In the Philippines, a recognized advocate of CSR is the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), founded in 1970 as a
nonstock, nonprofit corporation by a group of Banking Corporation (HSBC). Its business business leaders from 50 Philippine corporamodel, from the very start facilitated the tions. Member corporations appropriated a inclusion of the disadvantaged in the workportion of their net incomes for PBSP to assist, place. Datamation Consultants established and funded Datamation Foundation to manage, or finance programs and projects for the social and economic improvement of serve as an umbrella organization working the Filipino poor. Government support for this with other NGOs to provide free or low-cost system of corporate donations was encouraged information and technology (IT) training through income-tax exemptions. courses to marginalized groups of women. Describing the tradition of corporate The successful graduates of these courses social responsibility in Our Legacy, PBSP are then hired as workers in Datamation (2000) points out that this has been expressed Consultants. Thirty percent of its 1,880 emby the business community in three ways. ployees across 30 offices are disadvantaged One way is for business firms to have women it purposively recruited and trained. community involvements with host or base (Loonker, 2004). Even as they serve important social obcommunities that provide them with labor. The welfare of residents is addressed through jectives, practices in corporate social responcommunity-relations projects. sibility—including what are considered best Another way is for corporations to set up practices—do not usually address the issue their own social-development foundations to of enterprise ownership by marginalized undertake projects more systematically, often sectors. This is the strength of empowerment beyond their base communities, and focused strategies in social enterprise development as shown by BLUMPC and KOOL-NE in the on specific target sectors. Philippines as well as the Maireang Farmers’ The third way is corporate citizenship. PBSP set up a Center for Corporate Citizenship Group and Prae Phaen Women’s Weaving as an effort to raise the concept of corporate Group in Thailand. Likewise, as cases in social responsibility, from mere company sup- progressive intermediation, Basix divested port for projects, to the ownership of one of integration of social its non-bank financial development in basic institutions to margin“... company philosophy alized women (Loonker, 2004) and PEKERTI and practice. The by marginalized sectors model of a corporate assisted some of their is an important agenda of citizen is one who has social entrepreneurship. partner artisan groups a larger role in society This agenda is distinct to to become independand who “not only ent social enterprises. social entrepreneurship (Faizah and Saidi, looks at the material as a tradition.” 2004). Indeed, ownercosts of operations, but the environmental and social costs as well.” ship by marginalized sectors—encapsulated (PBSP, 2000). in the concept of worker-owners introduced It is the best practices of this third form of by Morató (1994)—is an important agenda corporate social responsibility that intersect of social entrepreneurship. This agenda with social entrepreneurship. is distinct to social entrepreneurship as a One example of this intersection is Datradition. It is a tradition evolving from the tamation Consultants, which was set up by entry of development institutions, practitionChetan Sharma, a Indian entrepreneur with ers, and advocates into the marketplace. a deep sense of social mission. Datamation (Dacanay, 2004). Consultants provides data mining, software Even as there is value in studying social enand web-based solutions and business advitrepreneurship as distinct from corporate social sory services to companies in India. Among responsibility, these two strategies play completheir clients are large Fortune 500 firms mentary roles in pursuing an agenda of change like Nestle and the Hongkong and Shanghai in the marketplace. Leaders and practitioners
ownership
of both could learn a lot from an exchange of experiences and a study of best practices. The Market as an Arena for Development
Social entrepreneurship is starting with a baseline where the global marketplace is dominated by big unaccountable corporate players, a reality that has been well-documented by Korten (1995) and Barnet and Cavanagh (1994). It goes without saying that, in such a scenario, the majority who are poor are playing marginal roles. Given its objective of creating spaces for greater and more meaningful participation of the marginalized sectors, social entrepreneurship at the macro level may be characterized as a strategy for democratizing the market. With a distributive perspective to profit and growth, social entrepreneurship’s mission of building a critical mass of social entrepreneurs and social enterprises effectively redefines the market as an arena for development. The agenda of democratizing the market towards making it an arena for development cannot be pursued by social entrepreneurs and social enterprises alone. In the marketplace itself, social entrepreneurs need to work with corporate leaders pursuing corporate citizenship as an agenda. Social entrepreneurs also need to work with civil society organizations, social movements and reform elements in government towards creating a policy environment conducive to social entrepreneurship. Above all, social entrepreneurs need to give attention to creating a consumers’ movement supportive to social entrepreneurship. Perspectives for Social Entrepreneurship Research in Asia
Towards developing social entrepreneurship as a strategy to democratize the market, it would be interesting to pursue research that would define the state of social entrepreneurship in various countries in the region. This will entail not only looking at the state of social enterprise initiatives resulting from the entry of civil society and other development players in the market, but will also need to “Social Entrepreneurship:...” cont. on page 20 >>
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AIM MALAYSIA CAMPUS:
MYTH OR REALITY? H AJ I
ZU L K I F LY
BA H A R O M ,
fter 38 years of existence, AIM now has more than 33,000 alumni from more than 70 countries, of which some 4,168 come from Malaysia. AIM has churned out many reputable alumni covering every sphere of professions in both the private and public sector. As of this writing, 17 Malaysian alumni have received the Alumni Achievement Award or Triple A —the highest recognition awarded by the Institute to its alumni. Distinguished Alumna Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor, 18
M M
1 9 8 9
BMP 1982, wife of the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia was recently conferred the Honorary Life Membership, the highest status offered by Kelab AIM Malaysia, for her leadership contributions to the alumni community and society at large. Today, graduate management schools in Malaysia, are part of a multi-billion dollar global industry, offering business education and executive development programs. Many private higher education institutions have established formal arrangements with foreign universities to offer education programs ranging from certificate courses to postgraduate programs. On November 8, 2005, during a brainstorming at the Kuala Lumpur Regional
A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA), 15 senior alumni of AIM, of which four were Triple A Awardees (Tunku Iskandar Ibni Tunku Abdullah, TMP ‘79; Datuk Dr. Ian Chia Kay Meng, MM ‘75; Ms. Effie Goh Toh Hoe, MBM ‘78 and Dato’ Syed Ahmad Idid, ABMP ‘83) had set the stage to propose the setting-up of the AIM Malaysia Campus in Kuala Lumpur. It was resolved that such a project should be led and driven by the alumni. That was the news AIM alumni in Malaysia have been waiting to hear: Malaysia is going to be the second home to a pioneer graduate school of management, modeled after our famous alma mater which has consistently been the principal exponent of practitioner-
based management education in Asia. One of the chief tasks then was to gather AIM’s reactions and to persuade our alma mater to either set up a branch in KL, or work with other institutions or universities in Malaysia. On November 24, 2005, a team of two alumni namely Dato Syed Ahmad Idid and Haji Zul Baharom were assigned to meet AIM top officials in Manila. They were warmly received and were treated to the Asian hospitality by the AIM team led by Prof. Horacio Borromeo, Jr., Director of International Programs, Prof. Ricky Lim, Associate Dean of the Washington SyCip Graduate School of Business, Fr. Ed Martinez, SJ, then Associate Dean of the Center for Development Management, alumnus then Board of Trustees member Francis Estrada, Ms. Marvee Celi-Bonoan, Executive Director of the Institutional and Investor Relations, Mr. Greg Atienza, Executive Managing Director of Alumni Relations, and Mr. Alex Tanwangco, then Chairman of the AIM Alumni Association Philippine Chapter. The breakthrough meeting in Manila ended positively with the following conclusions: first, with AIM reiterating its desire to establish a stronger presence in Malaysia and second, that Kelab AIM Malaysia would flesh out—for the consideration of AIM and Kelab AIM Malaysia—the business and financial model involved in the specific alternative of establishing a campus in Malaysia. A concept paper was endorsed by the Board of Kelab AIM Malaysia (Kelab) at its meeting on December 2, 2005. A special Alumni Taskforce for the proposed setting up of AIM Malaysia has been formed led by Haji Zul Baharom. The follow-up brainstorming was held on January 27, 2006 to iron-out the detailed framework of its business model and some of the fundamental actions in Putrajaya, the Corridor of Power in Malaysia. A Business Dialogue organized by the Kelab followed on February 17, 2006 at the Kuala Lumpur Concorde Hotel attended by about 150 alumni and associates from the
Malaysia-Philippines Business Council led by Tan Sri Dato’ Mohamed Basir Ahmad, Chairman of Maybank Malaysia to discuss the main theme: “Entrepreneurship and Trends in Management Education.” It was a platform for alumni networking and discussions on issues related to entrepreneurship education and development, with emphasis on business success for today’s enterprises. Tan Sri Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Ahmad Sarji bin Abdul Hamid, member of the AIM Board of Governors, delivered a special address entitled, ”From Business Management to Entrepreneurship: The Challenge to Malaysia.” Prof. Tommy Lopez presented a paper on “Entrepreneurship Models for the Region” and EXCELL Associate Dean Grace Ugut shared some research on “Trends in Management Education and the AIM Challenge in Malaysia.” It was concluded at the said dialogue that a university or school does not provide a specific skill or knowledge that could ensure the graduate lifetime earnings or livelihood. It merely trains the graduate to think and analyze so that he could continue to acquire new skills and knowledge. What sets people apart after their formal education is how hungry they are to learn new things. Former AIM President Roberto F. de Ocampo delivered the closing remarks and endorsed a platform in strengthening AIM alumni cooperation in entrepreneurship education and development, keeping in mind the idea envisioned by Malaysian alumni to set up the AIM Malaysia Campus.
...THE NEWS AIM ALUMNI IN MALAYSIA HAVE BEEN WAITING TO HEAR: MALAYSIA IS GOING TO BE THE SECOND HOME TO A PIONEER GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT...
Moving forward, AIM (represented by nowPresident Francis G. Estrada) signed an MOU with the National University of Malaysia (UKM) on June 8, 2006 in Manila. This was followed by the signing of an MOU between AIM and the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM) in conjunction with the Kuala Lumpur Roundtable on September 15, 2006. Investment in management education and close collaboration between AIM with graduate business schools and the business community is expected to contribute to Malaysia’s management education competitiveness. On its part, AIM is re-tooling and has positioned itself at the heart of Asia’s ongoing regional economic integration. The various initiatives related to the establishment of an Islamic Management Center (i.e. the programs with IKIM and UKM), the research on Asian production networks, family corporations, Asian business practices, and the like are all part of this effort. In practical terms, it seeks to be the preferred graduate school of management for anyone seeking to operate in the “New Asia.” The AIM Representative Office with the Kelab and all its alumni need to be vigilant because other foreign and local graduate management schools are moving quickly finding niches and cooperating with each other. Other graduate schools are establishing close collaboration between the government, business and university communities. The next step is to quickly obtain accreditation and recognition with the Ministry of Higher Education, Public Services Department and industry at large, so that the graduates produced are marketable and responsive to the broader needs of the market. As the Kelab’s Director-in-Attendance for the AIM President’s recent visit to Malaysia, I have spent considerable time with Mr. Estrada during his two-day formal activities in Kuala Lumpur last September 15-16, 2006. I am delighted that the President is receptive to the idea of substantially strengthening the Institute’s Malaysian presence and is supportive of the Malaysian alumni aspirations.
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BRIEFCASE
research in Asia still has to give attention to the role and participation of the corporate give attention to the role that governments, sector and governments in this unfolding phenomenon. Of particular interest are state or the corporate sector and small and medium enterprises, as well as consumers are playing government-owned or controlled enterprises or could play in its advance. or corporations, which may be studied as a One outcome of such a study on the state distinct type of social enterprise. Initiatives of the corporate sector in workof social entrepreneurship is defining contextspecific perspectives and strategies specially ing with social entrepreneurs or partnerships in a region as diverse as Asia. The AIM-CAFO with civil society and/or governments in research focused on four countries in Asia: promoting social entrepreneurship would be the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and another interesting area. India. In broad terms, these are all developing Defining the contours of a policy agenda market economies where poverty remains a conducive to social entrepreneurship and dominant concern. Much of the conclusions programmatic directions for its promotion of the AIM-CAFO research therefore are most by governments at various levels and in varirelevant to these and ous contexts are also other countries that are interesting areas of resimilarly situated. search. This will entail ” There are at least defining a baseline of four other contexts entrepreneurship research the overall and specific in Asia where social policy environments in Asia still has to give entrepreneurship promoting or retarding attention to the role may be distinctly social entrepreneurship and participation of the relevant: the context in the various contexts corporate sector and of developed market earlier defined. governments in this As an evolving body economies and affluent unfolding phenomenon.” societies (e.g. Japan, of knowledge on the Singapore, Hongkong , Taiwan), the context art of managing enterprises with multiple of socialist economies that are in transition objectives, pioneering efforts have been done to becoming market economies (e.g. China, by a group of faculty at the Asian Institute of Management led by Eduardo Morato. In his Vietnam); fledgling economies in states that just acquired independence (e.g. East Timor); book, Social Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development: Text and Cases (Morato 1994), and local economies that were totally ruined by natural or social disasters (e.g. Aceh in he introduced social enterprise development Indonesia). Research as to how social entreas a process of managing five life forces in six preneurship is becoming or may be relevant stages of the social enterprise life cycle. These in these contexts will surely enrich the body of life forces were the social entrepreneur (the knowledge of social entrepreneurship. primordial life force); the product or service CAFO had a glimpse of how social entre(essence of the enterprise); its relevant world preneurship may have a distinct character in or external environment (the outer life force); affluent societies with developed market econo- social-enterprise operations (the regenerative mies during the Asian Social Entrepreneurship life force); and social enterprise organization Forum held in Taiwan. Initial research efforts (its internal life force). Consistent with this of CAFO members presented during the forum framework, a significant percentage of the have shown that social inclusion strategies ongoing case research on social entrepreneurship at the Asian Institute of Management are the most dominant type in these affluent societies. (CAFO, 2005). Worth exploring are feature living stories showing the dynamic intermediation strategies using the principles of interplay of these life forces in social enterprise development. Such research efforts are fair trade as they have been practiced in these developed market economies. providing perspectives for social enterprise As a whole, social entrepreneurship management in the functional areas of mar-
>> “Social Entrepreneurship:...” cont. from page 17
Social
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A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
keting, organizational and human resource management, operations management, financial management and strategic management. From the perspective of practitioners gathered at the Asian Social Entrepreneurship Forum in Taiwan in February 2005, these perspectives for social enterprise management were identified as an area for continuing research critical to capacity building initiatives of social entrepreneurs. Some specific challenges identified by the Forum that may also provide directions for social entrepreneurship research are scaling up and mainstreaming of successful social enterprise initiatives; defining appropriate tools for measuring social enterprise outcomes; and harnessing social capital and other sources of competitive advantage inherent in social enterprises (CAFO, 2005). The Conference of Asian Foundations and Organizations and the Asian Institute of Management again collaborated, this time to organize a dialogue between practitioners and academics teaching and researching social entrepreneurship during the International Workshop on Social Entrepreneurship last July 6-8, 2006 in Manila. This is part of a collaboration between AIM, the ChinaEurope International Business School, IESE and the Copenhagen Business School under the auspices of the Social Entrepreneurship in Asia and Europe Project supported by the European Union. Looking Ahead
Social entrepreneurship will undoubtedly continue to capture the hearts and minds of development actors in Asia. Its clear-cut pro-poor bias should resonate widely in a region which is home to about two-thirds of the world’s poorest (UNESCAP, 2003). In this context, the challenge for academics doing social entrepreneurship research and capacity building is to strive to be relevant in serving the needs of these practitioners. Toward this end, it is hoped that social entrepreneurship could flourish as a distinct discipline in management education. As such, social entrepreneurship can aid the process of building a critical mass of social entrepreneurs capable of transforming the marketplace towards equitable and sustainable development.
INSIGHTS
A S H O K S O O TA M B M 1 9 73 Ashok Soota is co-founder, Chairman & Managing Director of MindTree Consulting, a $100 million revenue Indian IT Services company recognized as one of the Best Employers in India and a recipient of the Shell-Helen Keller Award. Mr. Soota was the former president of the Confederation of Indian Industries, India’s largest industry association.
AVESAO
The New Economy: Benefits, Issues and Challenges
This essay will attempt to summarize India’s role in the New Economy, how it came about, the benefits it has brought India, the way it has impacted perceptions of the country and finally, what it has changed in India and what it has not. In concluding, we will take a peek at the challenges and changes that lie ahead.
D
RAMATIC ADVANCES OVER the last 20 years in two technologies, computing and connectivity, have contributed, more than anything, to the creation and growth of what we now call the New Economy. The growth in computing price performance came about due to the doubling of transistors on a chip every 12 to 18 months. This phenomenon was predicted by Gordon Moore of Intel and is known as Moore’s Law. Enhanced connectivity has two symbols. One is the ubiquitous mobile phone. The other is the Internet which has demonstrated its own version of Moore’s Law where Internet traffic continues to double each year. These technologies have had huge and far-reach22
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ing impacts and consequences no one could ever have predicted. For one, they have made possible new jobs and new business models. They changed the relative competitiveness of nations and, in one instance, they even brought about the fall of a government. For another, they have brought about the death of distance and changed the concept of time by creating a world of real-time responses and instant messaging. This has resulted in a complete change in the way we work and play, the way we communicate, the way we make decisions and the way we interact as members of global communities. In effect, this has changed the many ways in which we leverage the power of information. While the impact has been global, nowhere has the change been more profound than in India, a nation suddenly propelled from a backward country into the role of a global leader in the industries of the phenomenon called the New Economy.
While the benefits have been enormous, all such rapid changes create winners and losers, and raise their own issues and challenges including those that impact on social systems. The Growth of India’s IT Industry
The flag bearer of India’s success in the New Economy is India’s Information Technology (IT) industry. Today it is a $30 billion industry, directly employing over a million people. Bangalore which became an early symbol of India’s successes in this field has far more software professionals than the legendary Silicon Valley where the information age had begun. Bangalore has become a respected brand sometimes outstripping the reputations initially built around the older Silicon Valley models. But in a certain sense, in this increasingly competitive world, Bangalore as an icon, is also a feared symbol as evident from the now popular phrase, “jobs are being Bangalored.” The developments in IT have created the fear that India can lure away the best jobs from the West and raised concerns on offshoring. In principle, what is happening in the world is no different from changes which have been taking place over centuries as forces of globalization have led to job shifts where some jobs are destroyed and new ones created. The difference now is the speed at which such changes take place. Since the prime driver is the movement of information and not physical resources, the changes occur more rapidly than before. And yet this is only the beginning. What we have seen in IT will soon be evident in a whole host of other industries. In fact, any cerebral activity where the output can be digitized lends itself to remote delivery as a service and, therefore, to offshoring. What the world has witnessed in IT Services, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), where the Philippines is a significant player, will be seen in many services from clinical trials to drug discovery, from advanced research to a whole range of service industries under the broad umbrella of Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO). All this has helped change the image of India from a land of poverty, to a young, entrepreneurial country rich in human capital. Unfortunately, we have also witnessed some developed economies that, while urging developing countries to open their markets, are taking more protectionist measures. The forces which seek to set back the clock on what technology has enabled are not likely to succeed. They need to realize that outsourcing is not a zero-sum game. Jobs lost in one part of economy are replaced in others as offshoring leads to increased savings for a nation. Let me illustrate this with an example. Today, many venture capitalists in Silicon Valley are demanding that product design for new ventures be distributed across the United States and other offshore locations. This ensures that Research and Development (R&D) dollars are stretched out, costs distributed over wider markets, and development expenses are reduced due to economies of scale. This makes viable projects
which would otherwise have been rejected as non-economic lead to job creation. The impact of this to India is important. The Indians in Silicon Valley have contributed to further expansion as 40% of new ventures started there are established by entrepreneurs of Indian origin. Another important impact of the New Economy has been on India’s corporate sector. It has brought about self-confidence and global ambitions. Accordingly, not just restricted to the IT sector alone, we are now witnessing the emergence of a number of global Indian companies. Enabling Technological Development
How did these changes come about? Technology developments of inexpensive computing and connectivity enabled it and made it possible. However, success, like so often, happens, was in reality, a question of being in the right place at the right time with the right skills. Like all cases of what appears to be good luck, you have to make that luck happen by seizing the opportunity. So it was for India in this case. Years of investment in higher education combined with a widespread knowledge of the English language, suddenly paid off when a worldwide shortage of skills developed in the eighties. India seized the opportunity by rapidly expanding its pool of talent through a unique publicprivate partnership and a focus on quality, evident where India had become the world’s home of many SEI CMM 5 companies—a hallmark process certification for quality. What began in the low-end activity of maintaining legacy software, rapidly moved up in the value chain and today Indian companies are executing mission-critical and complex projects covering the entire gamut of applications. From Monsanto to McDonalds, more than 200 multinational corporations (MNCs) have set up their R&D laboratories in India. The design work being done in the Indian labs of companies such as General Electric, Texas Instruments and others is state-of-the-art. Accordingly, India now has a profound impact on the world. It is no wonder that Paul Saffo of the “Institute of the Future” credits India for taking the lead in “colonizing cyberspace”.
“Like all cases of what appears to be good luck, you have to make that luck happen by seizing the opportunity.”
The Social Impacts of an IT Economy
What has been the impact of all this success on India? At first glance, it seems fair to say that Indian IT success has impacted the world more than it has changed India. That is true in a sense as the IT industry has created a breed of self-confident young Indians who see themselves as global citizens. It has led to the creation of a growing middle class and an entrepreneurial culture. But India is a land of paradoxes. While some parts of the country have moved into the 21st century, a large part remains mired in the 19th century. India has been slow to use within the country, the IT solutions it deploys for the rest of the world. IT and other knowledge industries have changed the role of women who find sizable representation in these sectors A I M A LU M N I L E A D E R S H I P M AGA Z I N E J a n u a r y to M a rc h 20 07
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INSIGHTS
“Digitizing the economy helps to reduce, not enhance, the disparities and economic gaps...”
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and yet Indian women remain largely disadvantaged. Indian IT industry grew in spite of the country’s poor infrastructure, particularly roads, the power backbone and airport facilities, indicating that the country did not and was not prepared for its success. Today, threatening to limit that growth, infrastructure is crumbling, as witnessed by the over-crowding and pot-holed roads in cities like Bangalore. For a while, India’s successive state and central governments basked in IT’s success without making the investments needed to sustain this or to even extend the benefits of IT to the masses and the rural areas. For too long, IT was seen as a panacea for development, rather than as a contributor needing supporting investments to sustain and spread its benefits. Fortunately, all this is about to change as multiple initiatives in the government, non-government organizations (NGOs) and the private sector seek to deploy IT for sustainable development. Through the efforts of these, IT might positively impact the environment, increase agricultural incomes, provide better healthcare and education, promote gender equality, as well as improve on the many other social aspects needed for the balanced development of a nation. For instance, multiple initiatives are well underway to make better information available to farmers. They are already yielding results and improving agricultural incomes through the ability to eliminate middlemen and tap into commodity exchanges. On its impact on the educational aspect, I was particularly amused and pleased to learn of an initiative to get computers into schools in remote Himalayan villages, even if it takes mules to get them to inaccessible sites. The Indian government has developed what it calls “Mission 2007” where it intends to establish every village as a knowledge center. Though the progress towards that goal is slow, it is moving in the right direction. The Indian central and state governments, often with World Bank financial support, have engaged in multiple projects for electronic governance (e-Governance) in administrative areas such as land record-keeping, revenue collection and women empowerment programs. The good news about many of these programs is that they are evolving as grass roots initiatives with the involvement of local communities. The approach, unlike before, is not as top-down and as centrally-directed as previous programs which did not succeed. If you drive through an Indian village, you will be surprised at the proliferation of Internet cafes even in remote areas. In Kerala, for instance, you will find fishermen being fed information through mobile phones on the location for the best catches of the day. In fact, in a village with high illiteracy levels, you will come across women running micro-credit programs through the use of computers. All these developments, while mind-boggling, remain novelties as they have only touched a small fraction of the populace.
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O
ne interesting area which technology and IT impact greatly is manufacturing. A country with the vast population of India needs not only the jobs IT and service industries provide, but also the blue-collar jobs which manufacturing offers. It appears that India irrevocably missed the “manufacturing bus” many years ago and China, in the area of blue-collar manufacturing, has become the workshop for the world. Fortunately, India’s design and technology capabilities are leading to a revival of technology-led manufacturing in multiple industries like auto components, electronics, and pharmaceuticals among others. Auto components exporting has become a multi-billion dollar industry where companies like Nokia and Samsung are investing heavily. The world’s largest contract manufacturers, Flextronics and Sanmina, are expected to make India a manufacturing base. While other countries invariably move up the value chain in most industries, manufacturing in India will do the reverse. In India it will start with technology-led manufacturing and gradually become more competitive and start taking away a fair share of the commodity manufacturing, which China now dominates. The Issues and Concerns of a Digitized Economy
Some politicians have been bemoaning the fact that the IT industry has created a digital divide between the IT haves and have-nots in India. It is true that in cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, the demand for land and other assets has increased sharply due to demand from IT professionals. That demand and the attendant increase in land values have made it unaffordable for others. However, an economic divide had always existed and the disparity may be nothing new. Digitizing the economy helps to reduce, not enhance, the disparities and economic gaps as it serves as a catalyst for growth thereby pulling everything and everyone up. Without the energizing influence of the New Economy, everything may just settle at the lowest common denominator. We see this in states like Bihar where the local economy has been left behind and today remains largely untouched by the IT revolution. As the Indian IT industry reached $30 billion per annum and continues to grow at 30%, other knowledge industries like pharmaceuticals, bio-technology and research have likewise reached a critical mass where they grow even faster. While all this seems like a heady story of assured and continuing success, growth in IT has been constrained by the availability of skilled persons. This raises issues and concerns, both external and internal to the economy. To articulate just a few of these: • Can there be a protectionist backlash against offshoring?
• Is there a danger that India will price itself out of the market since the demand for personnel has led to annual salary increases of about 15% for several years in a row? • Will the deteriorating infrastructure in many cities bring growth to a halt? • Will there be social unrest due to income disparities between digital haves and have-nots? • Is there enough R&D investment in Indian IT? Will it ever be able to develop products?
LECERCLE
Let me respond to these questions broadly. First let us take external threats of protectionism or the possibility of losing out to competition from more cost-effective or efficient countries who have infrastructure advantages India does not. The developed world is aging and studies show that many countries will soon face an acute shortfall of working-age persons. A Boston Consulting Group study also shows India as the country best equipped to meet this yawning gap in the years ahead due to excellent demographics. Once skills shortfalls start to affect the developed economies as their own populations start becoming inefficient and old, the criticisms leveled against offshoring may just fade away. Insofar as competition from other countries is concerned, India is no longer the only game in town which is how it should be. Market forces will bring about a course correction on cost increases which, at the moment, seem to be escalating out of control. On the aspect of internal issues, the question of India’s infrastructure is the most obvious and the biggest concern that might affect India’s IT competitiveness. Countries have their core competencies. India has a core incompetence it calls “Infrastructure” though not quite defined the way others might define it. In spite of the increasing awareness that something must be done
about India’s infrastructure constraints, the current conditions it finds itself in will not improve in a hurry, though further deterioration may get arrested. Ultimately, the funds and investments that infrastructure concerns attract should bring about noticeable improvements. Regarding the concern that income disparities create unrest, in reality there is no sign of this. One of the advantages of a vibrant democracy is that safety valves operate continuously so that there is a low chance of a social explosion due to a build-up of resentment below the surface. Also, the New Economy has caught the imagination of the country and every family now aspires to have at least one member in the IT industry or in one of the other knowledge industries. That kind of enthusiasm over economic development serves to dampen social resentment and unrest. Finally, on the issue of R&D investments in IT, companies like MindTree, Sasken, Wipro and others all generate their own intellectual properties (IP) which they license globally. In view of India’s good IP protection regime, western companies are more comfortable situating their IP development in India than, perhaps IT regimes like China. Several of the young engineers exposed to the technology and knowledge transfers from these will someday turn entrepreneurs generating their own software products out of India. In the meantime, industries like Bio-Tech evolve as R&D-based industries and even traditional pharmaceuticals develop from generics producers to new product development platforms. Towards Being an IT Superpower
This personal optimism is founded on the projections of reputed economists that in the next 25 years India will indeed become the world’s third largest economy after United States and China. However, there is a need for balance. India likes to think of itself as an IT superpower, but IT cannot be seen in isolation. Given the overall poverty levels it still has to contend with, it would be more appropriate to think of India as an emerging power with the potential to become a superpower. When this happens, India will be the first country to achieve this status on the strength of its knowledge industries. In conclusion, let me say that knowledge industries are to India what oil is to the Middle East. However, oil is a diminishing asset, and ultimately, substitutes will be found. On the other hand, the knowledge content of the world will keep increasing. Success in the New Economy will come to those nations who embrace and lead in knowledge industries.
Reprinted with permission from the book “TAKING AIM: ASIAN MANAGEMENT BREAKTHROUGHS,” published by Tripletop AIM, Inc. For the book review, turn to the Bookshelf section on page 40.
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INSIGHTS
Here Comes
The New Breed
of Asian Managers
H aji Z ulkifly B aharom , M M 1 9 8 9
ASIA. THE WORLD’S LARGEST continent and home to 60% of the total world population: 3,600,000,000 people of infinite diversity. With Asia’s enterprises all racing towards the peak of the world’s most dynamic economy, there is an ever-growing need for competent and responsible managers with progressive ideas and skills necessary to cope with the fierce competition and rapid change in the Asian setting. Realising such is the need for a different breed of Asian managers, President Francis Estrada has urged all alumni to join hands and brainpower in reinvigorating AIM, and to propel his vision: “We want to become the graduate management school of choice for anybody who wants to operate or do business in Asia.” According to the 2005 Revised Edition of the World Population Prospects, there are 1.4 billion Muslims in the world of which threefourths live practically throughout Asia. It is generally agreed that Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity. Islam is not simply rituals; it is rather beyond it, encompassing a complete way of human life. The last decade has seen a remarkable blossoming of Islamic management practices. About 240 financial institutions in more than 48 countries, including global giants such as Citibank and HSBC, practice some form of Islamic management. Islamic banking assets worldwide are estimated at over USD 200 billion with an average growth of 15 per cent in recent years. 26
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JEM
“...the brilliant move by AIM faculty introducing Islamic business management into the present Business Administration curricula would not only be a major attraction but a means to provide the real experiences of successful Islamic oriented business practices...”
Furthermore, in August 2004, the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) granted approval for the first Islamic Bank, the Islamic Bank of Britain, to operate in the traditionally Anglican UK. Whilst Islamic banks have long been established in predominantly Muslim countries, the issuance of a banking license by the FSA marks a bellwether of sorts for the inclusion of Islamic banking into the mainstream of financial markets. Islamic management today is therefore an area of topical interest for management students and practitioners. Given the networked and global environment we find ourselves in today, the implication of Islamic management in the global business environment, particularly in the Asian setting, needs to be considered thoroughly. Look at Malaysia—its state investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, has raised USD 750 million from a landmark Islamic bond sale that further strengthens the case for Malaysia as an Islamic financial services centre. The bonds, which could be converted into shares of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) have become the World’s first Islamic exchangeable bond. It is also the largest-ever exchangeable paper to come out from Malaysia this year and the largest exchangeable instrument in Asia, excluding Japan. The five-year exchangeable trust certificates that mature in 2011 drew tremendous demand as the papers are accepted by investors from the Middle East. The issue’s initial size was USD500 million but it ended up being 1.5 times bigger. Malaysia, where the majority of its 27 million people are Muslims, is positioning itself as a centre for Islamic financial services to attract investors from the Middle East and to compete with Bahrain and other Persian Gulf States. Malaysia is the world’s biggest issuer of Islamic debts ahead of Bahrain. At the start, investors wanted six times more than the initial USD500 million that was offered. Therefore, the brilliant move by AIM faculty to introduce Islamic business management to the present Business Administration curricula would not only be a major attraction, but a means to provide the real experiences of successful Islamic-oriented business practices to all its students and alumni, especially those who intend to make inroads into the flourishing Middle East and other Muslim markets. The rationale of Islamic management is to conform to the principles of Shariah’s law, the juristic code of Islam of the Quran and the Hadith. To put it simply, Shariah is the Islamic canon law derived from three sources—the Quran (the Holy Book), the Hadith [sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, Peace be upon him (pbuh)] and the Sunnah [practice and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, (pbuh)]. It is well known fact that the Quran is the only Holy Book for every Muslim. It is the book revealed from the Almighty God (Allah in Arabic)—the God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (pbuh), to be the constitution of the Muslims. The Quran is the only Holy Book that was written under the supervision of the Prophet during his lifetime and compiled during the reign of the Uthman, the Third Caliph. Not a single letter in the Quran has been changed, altered or amended. Nor has there been a trend to do so. The Quran is unanimously upheld by all Muslims to be the first source of the Shariah,
i.e. the Islamic Law; being the Sunnah, AlIjma’a (consensus) and Qias (analogy). What does the Quran stipulate regarding the essence of Islam? It is agreed among the most highly qualified Muslim jurists that the essence of Islam is laid down in the Quran as follows: “Allah enjoins justice, kindness, and charity to one’s kindred, and He forbids all indecent deeds, and wickedness and oppression. He admonishes you so that you may take heed.” (Chapter 16 or Surah Al-Nahl, Verse 90). Hence, by the order of Allah, Islam is to spread by peaceful means. Islam is the religion of peace and not of war. The Islamisation of countries like Brunei, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States is the case in point. The battle will turn against the radicals when moderate Muslim governments feel comfortable enough to associate themselves openly against Islamic terrorism. War is not an objective of Islam nor is it the normal course of Muslims. I don’t think AIM will be shifting its fundamental approach in management education by introducing Islamic management in its curricula. It is still fresh in my mind that 18 years ago in the Caseroom No. 2 during my MM class at the AIM campus, my favourite strategic management guru, Professor Gaby Mendoza, has well in advance crystallized the persona of tomorrow’s Asian Manager, when he forcefully challenged the class: “Let us take a look at the Asian Manager as conservator and optimizer of resources. What are our strengths? What can we build on? There are several possible bases for building competitiveness... the first springs from the nature of the Southeast Asian. One of the few things we can say about ourselves is that we have a very strong sense of wholeness of things. We will have to be able to operate in diverse cultures, religions and under a diversity of laws and sovereignties.”
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COVER STORY
Asia
For the longest time in world history, the continent of Asia was the unrealized and untapped—an underachiever on the world stage. Not that it needed to. Blessed with unequaled natural bounty,
Asians lived in absolute seclusion and bliss in the undoubted cradle of civilization. In each location they settled in, the inhabitants flourished—developing unique practices and traditions to suit their needs and beliefs. Later, European explorers and conquerors of the middle ages “discovered” and annexed for king and country much of this mythical land to their east—often forcibly indoctrinating locals while usurping their sovereignty. With a few exceptions, this was the status quo until very recently in historical terms. Asia had always been known more for its wealth of resources, not for what its people did with those resources. The continent was, instead, the metaphorical and literal source of fuel for the machine of Western industry and commerce. But that was yesterday. >> K ap
M aceda
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A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
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The First Asian Business Conference
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HE ASIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT and the Alumni Association of AIMPhilippine Chapter hosted the first Asian Business Conference last March 1, 2007 at the Rizal Ballroom of Makati Shangri-La Hotel and March 2, 2007 at the Stephen Fuller Hall of the Asian Institute of Management campus. With the theme “AIM for a New Asia: Unlocking Opportunities”, the Asian Business Conference brought together prominent guest speakers who are leaders in Asian Business. As Asia is the fastest growing region in the world, the speakers shared best management practices and how to maximize the new opportunities in the region. The Conference featured the following eminent speakers and their respective topics: Washington SyCip, Chairman of the Asian Institute of Management and Founder of The SGV Group spoke on the “Political and Economic Setting for Asia’s Growth in a Globalizing World.” Dato Paduka Timothy Ong Teck Mong, Acting Chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Bank revealed the “New Opportunities for Asia in a Globalizing World.” Dr. Haruhiko Kuroda, President of the Asian Development Bank, assessed the prospects for and the character of regional economic integration in East Asia—both 30
Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia. His topic was “Realistic Possibilities for Regional Economic Integration.” Dr. Mark Fuller, Chairman and CEO of The Monitor Group described and analyzed the opportunities open to business and development organizations in Asia as he spoke on “Unlocking New Opportunities for Innovative Entrepreneurship”. Four simultaneous Working Groups were held in the afternoon. Lead speakers and reactors generated free-wheeling discussions of prominent issues related to the conference theme, by sharing their insights and experiences. Tan Sri Dato’ Seri (Dr.) Ahmad Sarji Bin Abdul Hamid, Chairman of Permodalan Nasional Berhad described the extent of practice on Islamic banking and finance in Malaysia and Indonesia in Working Group I: “Islamic Perspectives on Management: What We Need to Know and Why”. Robert Chandran, Founder and CEO of Chemoil Corporation shared his experiences in managing cultural diversity in an organization, and analyzed the advantages of understanding the underlying differences as well as compatibility among cultures in Working Group II: “Managing Cultural Diversity in Business”. Dr. Euh Yoon Dae, former President of
A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
Korea University provided a survey of management education in Asia. He analyzed the needs of schools of management in order to respond to changing requirements of the social, political and economic environment, and the demands of global competition in Working Group III: “Management Education in Asia: Towards Unlocking New Opportunities”. A special session on “The New Economy and What It Promises for Asia” with Dr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor Officer and Chairman and Founder of Infosys Technologies Ltd. was held last March 2 at the Fuller Hall, AIM Campus. Recently featured in TIME Magazine in its “60 Years of Asian Heroes” issue, Dr. N. R. Narayana Murthy is the founding father of Infosys. As India’s 15th largest company and the first to list its shares in the United States, his company started the era of business process outsourcing. By his “simple living, high thinking” phenomenon, he has become one of the most admired business leaders in India. The second Asian Business Conference will be held first week of March in 2008. Details of the conference may be obtained at www.aimforasia.com.
COVER STORY
CHRIS LYE
s correctly posited by Thomas Friedman in his acclaimed book “The World is Flat,” times have changed, indeed. Today, Asian countries have caught up with (and in many aspects, overtaken) Western nations. In some cases, one would be hard pressed to try to distinguish one from the other in terms of development—especially with omnipresent technology relatively easy to secure and develop. The rapid evolution of Asian countries allowed them the latitude to move from veritable quasi-internship to full economic independence and vibrancy. This shift ironically followed the devastation of the two world wars. Asian societies previously savaged by strife displayed resiliency and determination— banking on people and resources to jumpstart their economies. But truth to tell, this development was also precipitated by a change in paradigm. According to Conway Henderson, protectionism was the predominant practice previous to World War II. But after the resolution of the conflict, people awakened to a vastly different reality in a, well, brave new world. The global village had come to fruition. The world had shrunk due to interdependence and networking. Writes Henderson in “International Relations”: “This network led to countries counting on economic flows from outside their borders for part of their national economic growth and prosperity.” Interdependence, not exploitation, was the order of the day. Symbiotic relationships were forged. Indeed, the last five decades have seen Asia rise as a dynamic, indispensable part of the integrated global economy. The journey to ascendancy was by no means an easy one, but Asian markets have emerged to become central players in core businesses around the world. Even with the crippling, so-called Asian Flu of the ‘90s, Asian countries have rebounded and managed to hold their heads high in deep water—maintaining the strength that brought them to the 21st century. To be fair, significant external assistance played, and continues to play, a big role in sustaining growth momentums and upward trajectories. Flexible financial policies by the International Monetary Fund and development work by institutions such as the Asian Development Bank have allowed Asian countries to compete in a frenetic global market. Truly, major players have emerged from its ranks—China, Japan, and India to name a few. Boasting open markets, capable labor forces, and a willing drive to participate in the globalized world, Asian markets are now a constant, ubiquitous force in booming businesses. The economies of the East thrust forward with newfound vibrance in capitalist models and free-market backdrops. Asia is the underdog no more. The rise of the multinational company further opened opportunities to countries (particularly China) with skilled, cheap labor. Now, it has become common to have a supply chain that can be traced to many nations, as in the computer industry.
This is the New Asia that has learned to bank on its skilled human and bountiful natural resources. AIM for a New Asia
This is the New Asia that the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) envisions to equip with managers that display both adroitness and skill to thrive in contemporary times and in a variety of milieus, even as they remain faithful to the essence of being Asian. These are the new managers that will take the region’s economic reigns and guide it to a more viable future. This is the New Asia that is still a work in progress—a newly awakened giant that may sometimes lumber along clumsily yet always with a power that is both inherent and unmistakable. AIM takes itself to task in seeking to harness that raw power and promise through the preparation of managers and entrepreneurs for today and tomorrow. “The growth of Asia AIM is indeed boosting the President Francis Estrada, global economy while facilitating economic in his speech at the recent growth of the West.” Asian Business Conference hosted by AIM and the AIM Alumni AssociationPhilippine Chapter, said that Asia has now become known for economic superlatives as well. The continent is now the largest global exporter of manufactured goods and commodities. Its markets hold the largest pool of international foreign exchange reserves, and accounts for a staggering two-thirds of the world’s foreign currencies—an excess of US$2.5 trillion, to be exact. Meanwhile, Dr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, in his own talk at the same occasion, explained: “The growth of Asia is indeed boosting the global economy while facilitating economic growth of the West. In other words, both are partners in trade—as has been ably proved by economists—so there need be no fear that A I M A LU M N I L E A D E R S H I P M AGA Z I N E J a n u a r y to M a rc h 20 07
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opening up borders, enhancing trade will not be good for any country. It will be good for both countries.” Asia’s growth has been meteoric in the last years—clearly the fastest growing region in the world—beating developed countries by a wide berth. This growth momentum is expected to be sustained in the future. Even as the region moves inexorably forward, Asia’s populace is one ever aware of its cultural values and mores. Indeed, these values are what inevitably help shape the vision and execution of its political and economic “Jumping at several leaders. Conversely, it opportunities may is these very qualities get us there more that sometimes quickly than waiting fuel a maelstrom of for one big one to political intrigues and come along.” economic competition. Continued Estrada: “Asia is home to flashpoints for international conflict due to lingering poverty, social disparities, sectarian violence, rivalry over energy resources, and an escalating arms race.” Yet Asians should take heart in the ground has already been gained—easily gleaned in the success story of countries such as China and India, which have embraced globalization. China Opens Its Doors
China’s current active role in the globalized world is a far cry from the intolerance it initially displayed to the idea of interrelated economies. The old China steadfastly denied entry to institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, preferring instead to be an island in itself. According to William Overholt, Rand Corporation director for Asia Pacific Policy, China’s leaders tried their hand on various forms of government, presumably to fend off the inevitable encroachment of globalization. Two decades of experimentation with socialism, capitalism, an empire, and a republic all but failed. The stark reality was that the government-imposed isolation of the country could not support its economy; the “path to success had to start with the destruction of the existing order,” said Overholt. China’s leaders finally relented on 11 December 2001, when China signed into the World Trade Organization. This meant, writes Friedman, that “Beijing agreed to follow the same global rules governing imports, exports, and foreign investments that most countries in the world were following.” “It meant China was agreeing, in principle, to make its own competitive playing field as level as the rest of the world.” Additionally, this development gave rise to another phenomenon: offshoring. The country began to support global institutions and took a more favorable view of globalization. Chinese institutions, culture, and policies are now evolving to adapt to globalization. Corporate structures, banking and financial systems, education, 32
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and even fashion have become internationalized—following examples of American and other Western counterparts. Of course, information technology has played a significant role in China’s booming presence. It has actively engaged into research and development as well. But as with everything, there is a price to pay. What Overhalt terms as “painful adjustments” for China is characterized by a 44-million decrease in state employment and a 25-million drop in manufacturing jobs, to name a couple. Still, China’s general feeling of hope and exuberance could not be hindered. The rosy picture, according to Overhalt, had Chinese workers dressed up in colorful clothes, a higher ratio of more than one television to one home, and the absence of malnutrition. There was only one way to go for China—onward with globalization. The change of perspective for China was more significant because of the far-ranging impact it had on other countries of the region. Overhalt says that countries like India and Japan have benefited from the globalized China—saving them from recession and “a dangerous global downturn.” In the year 2004 alone, China’s trade was equivalent to 70 percent of its GDP; Japan only had a 24 percent ratio. Now, India’s protectionist policy has been replaced by an open economic policy. Countries like Singapore, Vietnam and Taiwan are building on their economic management style. Truly, Big Brother’s moves are being emulated region-wide. The robustness of the Asian economy is solidly reflected in the numbers presented by Dato Paduka Timothy Ong Teck Mong at the same AIM conference: • Asia’s 6.4 billion population accounts for 52 percent of total world population, 25 percent of world output in terms of purchasing power, and 11 percent of world exports; • Out of the 20 top economies in the world, five are in Asia —China, Japan, India South Korea, and Taiwan; “AIM for a New Asia” continued on page 36 >>
SHASWAT NAGPAL
The Prepared Mind: A Conversation with N.R. Narayana Murthy P R O F.
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IS IS A STORY THAT IS almost legendary. N.R. Narayana Murthy’s story is part of the story of information technology in Asia. He served as CEO of Infosys Technologies Ltd. for 20 years and continues to serve as its Chairman and Chief Mentor. As befits one of the legends of information technology in Asia, he continues to be an influence in the industry he helped grow. He topped the Economic Times’ Corporate Dossier list of India’s most powerful CEO’s in both 2004 and 2005. In 2004, Time magazine named him one of the 10 leaders who are helping shape the future of technology. But Murthy is more than an engineer. In 2005, he was number 8 in The Economist’s top 15 most admired global leaders, number 28 in the top 50 of the Financial Times’ world’s most respected business leaders. He was named World Entrepreneur of the year by Ernst & Young in 2003 and was one of two people named Asians’ Businessmen of 2003 by Fortune magazine. He is a businessman, an entrepreneur, a visionary and, as I was to learn in my brief talk with him, an idealist. Path to Success
To the question of the origin of Infosys, he begins in the 1980’s. It was a time, he says, of many things converging. You only had to be able to see the pattern and the opportunity. In the 1980’s, he related, several things were happening at the same time. IBM, which had previously only sold both hardware and
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software in a bundle had began to unbundle. tant. “You must have both,” he declares. A new powerful breed of computers came onto “In the future,” he says, “scalability will continue to be a challenge. In order for a the market with prices a small fraction (10% to 15%) of the price of the old mainframes. At company the size of Infosys to grow, we must the same time, inexpensive compilers became be able to find the talent.” “Each year,” he says, “we hire almost 20,000 people.” After widely available. He and a group of friends saw this opportunity and formed Infosys. that, he says, is the continuing job of developBut to the question of how he made the ing and motivating them. Technical ability transition from engineer to businessman, alone will not get that job done. he needed to track to an earlier time. “As a student,” he reminisced, “I was not the sort you Path to the Future would expect to go into business. If anything, I At the Asian Business Conference held in the would have been classified as left-leaning. But first week of March this year, Murthy was asked while backpacking in Hungary, something hap- how a country begins to build the foundation for pened which changed my life. I was on a train competing in the new knowledge economy. He near what you would know as Yugoslavia and responded by citing his own experience. we were stopped by police. We were detained In India, he said, a group of businessmen and I realized that we were being treated difdecided that something had to be done to prepare India for a technology-based future. ferently based on what language we spoke and on our nationalities. Because of what happened “You should not wait for government,” he there, I decided to go back to India.” said. “If you truly want something to happen, He then went on to relate that he was you must make it happen.” As he was talking about his life and what also preparing for a graduation address to be he is working on now, he quoted, “If you are delivered at Stanford. For his speech, he planned to say that benot an idealist in your 20’s, you have no heart. If you are yond education and skills, what determines a per- “If you are not an not an idealist in your 40’s, son’s eventual path are the idealist in your 20’s, you have no brain.” you have no heart. It seemed to me that many seemingly random If you are not an events in his life, a chance idealist in your 40’s, Murthy has always been encounter, an unplanned you have no brain.” an idealist in one sense. He dreamed a dream and event. To this observation, he appended: “But chance, I always say, favors believed it could happen. But more than being an idealist, Murthy is a practical man. He the prepared mind.” truly believes in getting things done. Murthy’s message is simple. While the The Prepared Mind “I like Mathematics,” Murthy says. “Math course of our lives our altered by what we is the most precise of subjects. It transcends lan- chance upon, it is the frame of mind we are guage, culture. You can put people from many in, the preparation that we make and what we walks of life in one room and they will disagree actually do with these chance encounters that on many things. But if the subject is mathemat- determines where our paths will ultimately lead. And that perhaps is why so many admire ics, there is always a basis for discussion.” this man. He lives what he preaches, and has “But technical ability,” he says, “is not enough. I know many people who I feel are made many other lives the better for it. much better than me technically but they do not Readers can email Maya at integrations_manila@ seem to have achieved as much.” The ability to yahoo.com. Articles archive at http://360.yahoo. work well with others and build a team that can com/integrations_manila and http://www. work together—that he says is also very impor- mayaherrera.com. A I M A LU M N I L E A D E R S H I P M AGA Z I N E J a n u a r y to M a rc h 20 07
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Islamic Perspectives on Management: What We Need to Know and Why Y B H G TA N S R I A H M A D SA RJ I B I N A B D U L H A M I D Chairman, Institute of Islamic Understanding, Malaysia; Board of Governors, AIM
This speech was presented during the Asian Business Conference held last March 1, 2007 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Manila, Philippines.
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slamic management, unlike the conventional management, looks at the management of organizations from the perspective of the knowledge from the revealed sources and other Islamic sources of knowledge. The application is compatible with Islamic beliefs and practices. There is no demarcation between
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the secular and the religious; human life is an organic whole. All human activities can be “ibadah” provided they are guided by Allah’s commandments. In Islamic management, the organizational objectives are both economic and non-economic and are subservient to the larger purpose of human existence; whereas in conventional management, organizational objectives are also both economic and noneconomic in nature, but are subservient to organizational interests. The digital technology, thanks to faster chips, broader bandwidth and with common internet standard, with the cell phone for example, often with a camera to boot, is changing the way we live and work. What effect will the converged world have on management? There are now networks galore—business now moves onto high34
speed networks, within homes, offices, and throughout the mobile world. There are now voices with faces. As phones merge with computers, video calls have finally taken off. Far-flung teams now work on shared documents in virtual meetings, igniting offshoring and telecommunicating. How do we put values and ethics in action in this environment of advanced digital technology? This is a great challenge for both private sector management and corporate governance and public administration. The Institute of Islamic Understanding, Malaysia (IKIM) and the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation have developed the MS 1900:2005 Quality Management Systems-Requirement from Islamic Perspectives. The MS1900:2005 is basically the Islamic version of MS ISO 9001:2000. This Malaysian Standard is developed with the aim to ensure that organizations are managed in accordance to the principles and practice of the quality management system from Islamic perspective. ISO 9001 is the internationally accepted standard on quality management systems. It however, does not address certain aspects of Shariah requirements which are a
“In Islamic management, the organizational objectives are both economic and non-economic and are subservient to the larger purpose of human existence...” concern to Islamic practitioners and consumers. Therefore, in addition to the existing ISO 9001 Shariah requirements are being incorporated, where applicable. The user of this standard should be able to meet the following expectations and benefits:
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(a) to inculcate Shariah requirements into their quality management practice with the emphasis on value-based management. Islam promotes good universal values, which are readily acceptable to all people in the world; (b) to enhance the level of effectiveness and efficiency. This standard requires the practice of universal good conducts at all levels of the organization that could lead to the improvement in the level and quality of production of products; and (c) to enhance level of Shariah compliance and confidence among Muslims and stakeholders. Some examples of Shariah compliance are: (a) the formation of Shariah Compliance Unit, a unit comprising two or more Shariah qualified persons who are accountable to monitor and ensure Shariah matters. It is also the reference centre on Islamic management issues of an organization; (b) appointment of a Shariah qualified person who is accountable to monitor and ensure Shariah is observed and continuously practised in the management of the organization according to the Shariah Advisory Committee’s advice; (c) to ensure that things or actions are permitted or lawful in Islam (Halal), otherwise it will be non-Halal; and (d) the organization shall ensure that all processes for quality management system, i.e., (i) identify the processes needed for the quality management system and their application throughout the organization; (ii) determine criteria and methods needed to ensure that both the operation and control of these processes are effective; (iii) ensure the availability of resources and information necessary to support the operation and monitoring of these processes, are Shariah compliance. The Institute is also working on another standard, the Value-Based Management System Requirements from Islamic Perspective. This standard is a systematic and, scientific
mechanism for measuring performance excellence of organizations, both in the public and private sectors. The objective of establishing of this value-based model is to institute a constant, conscious focus on Islamic ethics and values which are universal. The Value-based Total Excellence Performance is the result of two concepts in Islam—falah (highest level of success) and ihsan (excellence). The strength of the Valuebased Total Performance Excellence Model lies in the direct incorporation of core values in each of the 12 dimensions of organizational performance, namely, Leadership, Objectives and Strategy, Change Management, Resource Management, Best Practices, Innovation, Productivity Focus, Employee Focus, Customer Relationship and Stakeholder Focus, as well as Financial and Non-Financial Results. For example, with regard to Productivity Focus, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) says, to the effect that: “Allah loves those workers who perform their works to their abilities” (narrated by al-Baihaqi). The value-based measures are addressed explicitly in the baseline assessment using selected indicators, which are assigned accordingly to each dimension. The incorporation of values is the distinctive factor in the standard. This approach to Baseline Assessment is not alien to Islam. There are many evidences in the Holy Quran which explicitly address the issue of measurement. For example, in Chapter 41 Verse 10, Allah subhanahu wata’ala says: “He set on the (earth). Mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measured therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in four Days, in accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (sustenance).” In another verse Allah subhanahu wata’ala says: “And We send down water from the sky according to (due) measure, and We cause it to soak in the soil; and We certainly are able to drain it off (with ease)” (Chapter 23 Verse 18). With regard to the use of measurement in trades, Allah subhanahu wata’ala says, “And O my people! give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due: commit not evil in the land
with intent to do mischief” (Chapter 11 Verse 85). It is therefore a step forward from the existing business excellence models developed by others. As Chairman of the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia, I had also proposed the introduction of the Malaysian Ummah Development Index (MUDI), to provide a more comprehensive measurement of the development of Islam and Muslims. The Composite Development Index (CDI) comprising the Economic Development Index (EDI) and Social Development Index (SDI) established by the Government of Malaysia, which measure the social and economic development of the country. Undoubtedly, the components of both EDI and SDI are consistent with Islamic principles. Therefore, they are included as components of MUDI. The new additional component introduced into CDI to form MUDI is the Spiritual Development Index (SDI).
THE COMPONENTS OF THE MALAYSIAN UMMAH DEVELOPMENT INDEX A Economic Development Index (EDI) 1 Average monthly household income 2 Gini coefficient 3 Rate of unemployment 4 Rate of poverty 5 Ownership of share capital in limited companies (%) 6 Ratio of deposit of Islamic banking system and non financial institutions to total banking industry (%) 7 Per capita zakat B Social Development Index (SDI) 1 Rate of enrollment in learning institutions 2 Rate of graduate per 10, 000 population 3 Doctors per 10,000 population 4 Life expectancy rate 5 Ratio of marriages per 10, 000 population 6 Ratio of divorces per 10, 000 population 7 Average number of children per family C Spiritual Development Index (SDI) 1 Number of mosques per 10, 000 population 2 Number of zakat payers per 10, 000 population 3 Number of depositors of Tabung Haji per 10,000 population 4 Number of registered Muslim professionals per 10,000 population 5 Number of religious school students per 10,000 population 6 Number of crimes of integrity per 10,000 population 7 Number of drug addicts per 10,000 population ALL FIGURES ARE BASED ON MUSLIM POPULATION.
The Malaysian Ummah Development Index (MUDI) makes it possible to capture the development of the Muslim community in any country in its true definition. MUDI is also an attempt to illustrate that as a comprehensive economic system, Islam enjoins several practical solutions for distributing wealth and reducing inequalities including prohibition of riba, encouraging savings, payment of zakat, seeking knowledge, investment in the distribution of the societies’ wealth among members, spending in the way of Allah, the right to ownership, waqf, and equal opportunities to encourage every individual to work hard and make the best of his/her ability. I hope that by the adoption of these indices and standards, Muslim countries can formulate, manage and monitor their development plans which will result in a more proper allocation of resources, more equitable distribution of income and wealth, eradication of poverty and improved spiritual development. The ability to realise all these objectives are indeed the way forward for a sustainable Muslim society. A I M ALU M N I L E A D E R S H I P M AGA Z I N E J a n u a r y to M a rc h 20 07
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>> “AIM for a New Asia” continued from page 32
• Of the top 20 economies in the world in terms of global competitiveness or the ability to achieve sustained rates of growth, five are in Asia: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. • Of the top 20 economies in the world based on innovation index or one’s ability to adapt to new technology, four are Asian: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. Further, five of the top 20 based on ICT index are in the region as well: Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
DP ELYANQUI
India as the Silicon Valley of the East; RP goes BPO
Another success story of the New Asia is India, now known as the Silicon Valley of the East. The country’s integration into the global economy has vastly changed India’s dynamics —propelling its economy forward and making it an attractive host for investors. The country welcomed the globalization thoroughly—not just superficially—adroitly evolving to maximize and promote the swift integration of India into the global marketplace. New business opportunities were encouraged with investor-friendly policies and, soon, Bangalore became a focal point of an extensive network of globalization. Specifically, India became a crucial hub of the sunshine industry of business process outsourcing (BPO). India filled a growing need, and filled it well. Friedman describes the picture clearly: India sold products, offered to fix taxes, had ready software for any need, offered remote personal executive assistants—all the while maintaining a dedicated 24/7 hotline for people all over the world, especially Americans. So successful was Bangalore that its own operations would later be spun off and outsourced to the Philippines. A surplus supply of English-literate workers makes the Philippines a logical choice to entrust the front-line aspect of the BPO business. As for the ever-growing population of unemployed 36
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college graduates, it naturally gravitated to the BPO industry that offered better-than-average pay. India and its IT professionals moved on to tackle backroom operations, particularly advanced software and hardware development, and more demanding services lines. The spread of information technology around the world has been made possible by outward-looking policies. The countless emerging market economies have brought Asian economies closer as the private sector continues to partake in the offerings of a free market. Networking, partnership, and cross-border deals provide the steady impetus for economic prosperity in the region. As expected, people debated on the wisdom of the new industry in the Philippines, and its long-term effects on our economy and workforce. Critics countered that the BPO business is but a fleeting affair; supporters maintained otherwise, and pointed to the number of young people—particularly fresh college graduates—who used to worry about finding a job after school but now are gainfully employed. These young people have been empowered by their BPO jobs and have, in turn, helped their families. Underscored Washington Sycip in his own speech at the Asian Business Conference: “The office space requirements of outsourcing companies have created a boom in construction.” Indeed, the country’s BPO trend is bucking naysayers. Multinational technology and outsourcing firm Accenture recently disclosed that it will increase its 11,000-strong Philippine workforce to 15,000 by the end of 2007. Friedman writes that we have entered the era of Globalization 3.0—where the globe has shrunk to a “tiny” size and the playing field has been “flattened.” “Individuals,” writes Friedman, “(enables) individuals to collaborate and compete globally. And the phenomenon that is enabling, empowering, and enjoining individuals and small groups to go global so “Globalization... easily is what I call the flat- is going to be driven ‘not only by individuals world platform.” This, he continues, was precipitated but a much more with the convergence of the diverse—non-Western, non-white—group of personal computer with individuals. Individuals the fiber-optic cable. from every corner of Never has the world the world are being been smaller in terms empowered.’” of communication and contact. The boundaries and walls around countries have been replaced by an information superhighway that becomes more efficient and ubiquitous with each passing day. More importantly, Friedman says in no uncertain terms that Globalization 3.0 (which began at the turn of the millennium) is going to be driven “not only by individuals but a much more diverse—non-Western, non-white—group of individuals. Individuals from every corner of the world are being empowered.” Clearly, Asia’s time has come, and AIM is set to better equip managers and entrepreneurs for this eventuality—supplying crucial competitive advantage in a level playing field.
PROGRAM FEATURE
The16-month MBA “This intensive MBA is one of the few programs in the world to use heavy case-based, participative and team learning methods that draws on a strong Asian context.”
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AS ONE OF THE FIRST WORLD-CLASS GRADUATE SCHOOLS OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT in Asia, AIM knows how Asian managers are best developed and how business and development organizations in Asia are best managed. The AIM experience is rooted in a learning process that combines the Case Method and a study of Asian Business and Development Management. This learning method pervades in the four schools of AIM—the W. SyCip Graduate School of Business, the Center for Development Management, the Asian Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Executive Education and Lifelong Learning Center. Academic excellence at the W. SyCip Graduate School of Business (WSGSB) is attained through the managed interplay of four critical factors: excellent faculty, students, program design, and program management that meet international standards. However, a continuous alignment between the degree programs at AIM and the business challenges of the real world should constantly co-exist. In August 2007, AIM will launch its new intensive Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree program. Realizing the needs of 21st century Asia, the program is leaner, meaner, and meant to bring students to the environment of the real world. MBA students will undergo an intense 16-month management education program that will enable them to simulate real-world management analysis
A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
and decision-making, and expose them to a diverse, international environment. This intensive MBA is one of the few programs in the world to use heavy case-based, participative and team learning methods that draws on a strong Asian context. Asian cultures, stakeholder behaviors, management ethics and market nuances are a few of the interesting electives to sharpen the rigorous learning experience that is unique to AIM. The 16-month MBA curriculum has a very strong functional orientation. It offers up-to-date knowledge, analytical tools, and management skills in a distinctly Asian-centric perspective. Its general thrust includes Development of Enterprise, General Management and the Management Research Report, which train students to undertake business projects, evaluate management processes, assess business opportunities, and formulate corporate strategies. The generalist thrust is supplemented by a strong emphasis on business functions: Finance anchored on CFA; field-based Operations Management; practitioner-oriented Marketing; and Human Behaviour in Organizations that emphasizes emotional competence and multiple intelligences. The MBA contextualizes itself in three relevant courses: Asian Business Systems, Management Issues in Globalization, and Development Management. To prepare students in job entry positions, they undergo an eight-week Action Consultancy with partner corporations and take up ten course electives. Students may opt to pursue majors in Marketing, Finance, or Entrepreneurship. They can also participate in an international exchange program and attend classes for one term in top business schools in the US, Europe, and Asia. The 16-month MBA requires that young managers should have had at least two years work experience. Graduates are prepared to work hard and strengthen their ability to see problems and opportunities from both a tactical and strategic perspective. This will enable them to develop a bias for action and become skillful at implementation as the future leaders of Asian societies.
Modules Management Control (MC) Human Behavior in Organizations (HBO) Management Communication (MC) Economics Marketing Management (MM) Operations Management (OM) General Management (GM) Development of Enterprise (DE) Quantitative Analysis (QA) Information & Communication Technology (ICT) ß Language of Business (LOB) ß Management Accounting (MA) ß Financial Management (FM) ß General Management II (GM) ß Development of Enterprise II (DE) ß Development Management (DM) ß Management Issues in Globalization (MIG) ß Asian Business Systems (ABS) ß Electives I ß Electives II ß Human Behavior in Organizations ß Action Consultancy (AC) ß Management Research Report (MRR)
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Program Electives Labor Relations Management in Family Corporations: Issues, Problems and Concerns ß Management of Change ß Management and Philosophy (East and West) ß Negotiations: Analysis and Practice ß Organization Development Consulting ß Emerging Issues in the Workplace ß Strategic Human Resources Management
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General Management Electives Management Ethics Sports and Strategic Management Stakeholder Management
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Operations Management Electives Business Process Re-engineering Corporate Manufacturing Strategy Designing and Improving Cost Management System ß Management of Service Operation ß Measuring Quality and Customer Satisfaction ß Operations Management for Environmental Improvement ß System Dynamics Modeling for Business
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Marketing Electives Advanced Data Analysis in Marekting Advertising and Sales Promotion Management Analyzing Market Perceptions Brand Management Creative Marketing and Selling Direct Marketing Electronic Commerce Strategies Global Marketing Industrial Marketing International Public Relations Marketing Competitive Intelligence Marketing of Financial Services Marketing Strategy and Implementation Retail Management Service Marketing Understanding the Consumer Mind Human Behavior in Organizations (HBO)
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Finance and Economics Electives Bank Credit Analysis CFA Level 1 Review Course CFA Level 2 Review Course International Economics International Financial Institutions Investment Banking Management of Banking Institutions Mergers and Acquisitions Analytics Micro-Finance and Special Lending Institutions ß Political Analysis for Managers ß Portfolio Management and Professional Standards ß Project Finance ß Real Property Management and Finance ß Real Options and Business Strategy ß Venture Capital ß Asian Equities ß Corporate Financial Management ß Corporate Valuation ß Financial Engineering and Risk Management ß Financial Instrumentation ß Financial Policy and Strategy ß Financial Restructuring and Rehabilitation ß Fixed Income Markets, Analysis and Strategy ß Fundamentals of Stockmarket and Technical Analysis ß Global Financial Markets ß Globalization: Theory and Practice ß Long-term Financing and Capital Budgeting
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SHOWCASEBookshelf
Taking Aim: Asian Management Breakthroughs This book brings together the stories of 22 distinguished Asian managers, each story told in the language of the manager himself.
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HE BOOK TAKES THE READER ON A journey, one that begins with the question “How complex is our world and more importantly, why should we even care?” and ends with a treatise on the melding of spirit with profit. Here you will find the story of Robert Chandran, who built ChemOil Corporation into the largest independent supplier for marine fuel oil for ships as well as the reflections on the future of Ashok Soota, who is co-founder of MindTree Consulting, one of the most admired of the Indian IT services companies. You will hear the heartbeat of the airline business in the story of Robby Djohan, who turned around Garuda and set it back on the road to profitability as he watched planes landing and taking off from his office window. Napoleon Nazareno, President of PLDT, talks about getting out of the way. “Paradoxically, the fact that I created a culture of consensus gives me greater leeway to make decisions sans prolonged consultation.” He writes: “Consensus is central to leadership because it’s tied to execution.” But Nazareno is more than a consensus builder. In his story, you will find reflected his passion for clarity of direction and his belief that people are central to success. His views are reflected in the values of the company he is widely credited with taking to the top, Smart Communications. Unlike the motherhood sentiments resorted to by many companies, Smart chooses words like tech-savvy and stretch. The story of the ice cream house that became one of the largest fast food chains in the country is more than the story of standards and expansion. It is a story of a family that works together. Tony Tan Caktiong, founder, chairman, and CEO of Jollibee Foods Corporation talks about passion, a passion for listening to customers and a passion for delivering good food. Taste, he writes is number one. Tan talks about the need for humility and the value of learning from mistakes. More importantly, he explains that happiness comes not from reaching a goal, but from making the journey. The stories, as varied as the managers themselves, provide both personal and professional insight. They reflect not only the many ways companies and organizations can be successful, they also reflect the many ways managers can find fulfillment while making a difference. The book launching of Taking Aim was held during the Asian Business Conference last March 1, 2007 at the Shangri-La Hotel. AIM alumni get a special discount off the regular price. Taking Aim comes in hard and soft bound. To order for a copy, contact the Alumni Relations Office at 893.7410 or email aimalumni@aim.edu.
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A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
“While the breakthroughs and achievements of these unique and extraordinary individuals could not be circumscribed by any means, at the very least, we would have chronicled a legacy unparalleled.” -Dean de la Paz Excerpt from article published in the column Integrations, Manila Standard Today.
SHOWCASETravel
Tour Vietnam VIETNAM’S DIVERSE NATURAL ENVIronment, geography, history, and culture have created a great potential for the tourism industry. Vietnam’s environment includes long coastlines, forests, and mountainous areas with beautiful caves. As well, Vietnam has a history and culture of ancient architectures, religions and cults, and traditional festivals.
Beaches” by Forbes magazine in its latest list of luxury beach destinations worldwide. Vietnam is a tropical country in the northern hemisphere. With its geographical diversity, the country has inherited many famous natural tourist sites such as Sapa, Tam Dao, Bach Ma, and Dalat. These sites are usually located 1,000 meters above sea level; therefore, they have climates
Hao mineral spring in Binh Thuan Province, Duc My stream in Nha Trang, and Kim Boi mineral spring in Hoa Binh Province. These areas have become resorts for health rehabilitation and relaxation attracting numerous visitors every year. Vietnam has a long 4,000-year history, over which many valuable architectural heritage of rich oriental culture have been built. Many of
J CATLETT
AIM Alumni Vietnam Tour in September... Details To Be Announced Soon! LOOKFAR
Vietnam has a long coastline that extends along the eastern boundary of the country and wraps around the southern tip for 3,260 km, a distance geographically longer than the length of the country. Traveling from north to south, tourists will find many beautiful beaches where, all year round, they can stay and enjoy the excitement of the seaside. There are more than 20 beautiful beaches along the coastline, such as Tra Co, Halong, Do Son, and Sam Son in the north and Danang, Nha Trang, Vung Tau, and Ha Tien in the south. Tourists can visit Halong Bay, which is a recognized as the World Natural Heritage Site by the UNESCO, a creation of Mother Nature, with thousands of islands and rocks of different sizes and shapes, such as a dragon, a frog, a turtle, and a couple of chickens. Inside the big islands, there are huge and wonderful caves and grottoes. Nha Trang Bay, which has been recognized as one of 29 most beautiful bays in the word since July 2003, and Danang Beach also known as the famed “China Beach”, has been ranked among the “World’s Most Luxurious
that are similar to those of the temperate zones. Dalat is an ideal tourist area, famous for pine forests, waterfalls and many kinds of beautiful flowers. Coming to Dalat, tourists are diverted by the strong and tender melodies of the T’rung and Gongs, two typical musical instruments of the highlanders commonly played at evening parties. Vietnam has many famous national parks, which are great collections of precious plant and animal species of the tropical zone. The most famous national parks include Cuc Phuong in Ninh Binh Province, Cat Ba on Cat Ba Island, Con Dao on Con Dao Island, etc. There are several regions in Vietnam that have been reserved as bird gardens and sanctuaries. At Tam Nong Bird Sanctuary, there is a garden conservatory for redhead cranes, established as an information center for cranes funded by the International Fund for Bird Protection in Bergheim, Germany. Vietnam has abundant mineral water sources found throughout the country, such as Quang Hanh hot stream in Quang Ninh Province, Hoi Van mineral spring in Binh Dinh Province, Vinh
these vestiges maintain their ancient appearances, such as the One Pillar Pagoda and Kim Lien Pagoda in Hanoi, Pho Minh Tower in Nam Dinh Province, Binh Son Tower in Vinh Phuc Province, Tay Dang Temple, Chu Quyen Temple and Tay Phuong Pagoda in Ha Tay Province, Keo Pagoda in Thai Binh Province, and But Thap Pagoda and Dinh Bang Temple in Bac Ninh Province. In the villages of the Central Coast of Vietnam, Cham Towers are the remarkable vestiges of this lost civilization. In particular, the royal architectures of Hue Ancient Citadel were recognized as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO. Also, other world heritage, including Halong Bay, My Son Sanctuary, Hoi An Ancient Town, Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, and the intangible heritage such as Nha Nhac (Hue Royal Court Music) and Space of Tay Nguyen (the Central Highlands) Gong Culture, are invaluable assets. Printed with permission from the Tourism Information Technology Center-TITC. Visit www.vietnamtourism.com for more information.
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ALUMNI LEADERSHIP FUND
Ariel dela Cruz, MBA 2008 Triple A Club Scholar
Keep the Flame Burning! Make a difference in the lives of our future leaders. Make a gift to the AIM Alumni Leadership Fund. Alumni Fund for Scholarships Whether you wish your contribution to go to a degree or a non-degree scholarship fund, your donation will support AIM’s vision of increasing the quality of our student body. Your generous support will be an important reserve for attracting exceptional students with limited resources. Alumni Fund for Learning Space Learning Space is what we call the AIM infrastructure. This includes all rooms where continuous learning is done—the case rooms, library, dormitory, and the AIM building in general. Contributions to this fund will go to the imminent maintenance requirements of your school. Currently, these include major renovations for the dormitory and the purchase of new chairs for the case rooms. Donations in kind to help in the upgrading of equipment and other facilities are also most welcome. Alumni Fund for Faculty Development This special fund is focused specifically on the development of the Faculty, whether for increasing the number of Doctorate degree holders, upgrading the skills of the faculty, or supporting faculty exchange. The fund will ensure AIM’s growth into the future through the continuous development of an international, academically qualified, practitioner-oriented AIM Faculty. Alumni Fund for Research and Development Supporting this fund will allow AIM to develop research and write cases on Asian business and development management systems. Options are open to specific causes, depending on a graduate’s or a batch’s particular topic or school of interest.
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A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
Let me start with a simple statement: I am not a wealthy man. Less than a year ago, an AIM education was far from my reality. I finished college in the province, and not from any of the prestigious schools in Metro Manila. With diligence and perseverance, I managed to pass the CPA Board exam in October 2002. Since then, I worked and strived to be able to provide for “...someday, when some of the needs of my family. it is my turn to give Being a Certified Public Accountant back, I may be able for some time, I felt that I needed to pay it forward and an opportunity for professional become someone growth, not only for personal else’s miracle. credentials, but to enable me to offer a better life to my family as well. It’s the least I can do to express my gratitude for all my parents’ sacrifice just to be able to provide me with a good education. But, considering my economic circumstances, resignation from my current employment would be a harsh burden. The fact that my family could never afford it did not kill my spirit. It was an obstacle meant to be hurdled. I was determined to pursue a lifelong dream: to earn an MBA degree—and AIM was the only school I had in mind. With an enormous amount of faith, I sought the assistance of Sec. Jesli Lapus, who happens to be my idol, my role model. He was kind enough to recommend me to the members of the Triple A Club—some of whom I have met and had interview with—Mr. Robert Kuan, Mr. Alberto Villarosa and Mr. Art Macapagal—whose generous support paved way to making my dream a reality. And suddenly, a beautiful opportunity materialized. I could never thank them enough for granting me this chance of a lifetime. It is with honor and much appreciation that I now stand before you, a living proof of the miracle that is Triple A. It is not everyday that one is blessed with this kind of possibility—a life-changing possibility. The Triple A Club took a chance on me and believed that I will be worth it; that I will deliver; and that I will do them proud. The group represents a spark of hope. Their generosity helped me realize that the first step to making a dream come true is to wake up. Because of the Triple A Club, a brighter future for one simple Ariel dela Cruz is never too far away. The photos hanging on the walls of our classrooms serve as an inspiration and constant motivation to strive hard and aim high. The Triple A Club opens the door to success for people who might otherwise be deprived of even the sight of it. Let me end by expressing how grateful I am to the Triple A Club. Thank you for believing in me and giving me a shot in pursuit of success, so that someday, when it is my turn to give back, I may be able to pay it forward and become someone else’s miracle.
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Your gift is important to us. Your participation in the AIM Leadership Fund Campaign makes a statement about how you value your degree. Your gift counts—whatever the amount. AIM is grateful to all graduates who support the AIM Leadership Fund. As a token of gratitude, AIM has dedicated a wall at the J.V. Ongpin Quadrangle (Zen Garden) where Leadership Fund Plaques in honor of alumni donors are installed permanently. The AIM Leadership Award will also be given during the Annual Alumni Homecoming upon reaching specific landmarks in the above categories. The Flame is a revered symbol of humanity. Light. Hope. Passion. Life. The Flame represents what the AIM Alumni stand for: Leadership. Like a burning flame, leadership illuminates through vision and direction. Leadership provides a guiding light during darker moments, inspiring hope and motivating action. Ultimately, leadership, like a flame, tempers and transforms.
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spotlight
TR IPLE A AWA R DEES ON SPOTLIGHT AGU IL A R , A ZIZ A ND BAJPA E E A R E NOW A MONG T H E E LITE GROU P OF OU TSTA NDI NG A LU M NI —T HE T R IPL E A . TO DATE , T H E A SI A N I NST IT U TE OF M A NAGE MENT A ND T H E FEDER AT ION OF A IM A LU M NI A SSOCI AT IONS H AV E CONFER R ED T HE A IM A LU M NI ACHI E V E MENT AWA R D OR T R IPL E A TO 110 I NDI V IDUA L S. T HE T R IPL E A IS T HE HIGH E ST AWA R D GI V EN BY T HE I NST IT U TE I N R ECOGNIT ION TO ITS E XCEP T IONA L A LU M NI W HO H AV E E X HIBITED E XCE L L ENT PER FOR M A NCE S I N VA R IOUS FIE LDS OF PROFE SSIONA L , ENT R EPR ENEU R I A L , OR DE V E LOPMENTA L ENDE AVOR .
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PUNO ANDRES JOSE BY PHOTOGRAPH ‘ 89 MM BAHAROM, Z U L K I F LY H AJI BY WORDS
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A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
Business of The Battlefield Y BHG . G E N. TA N SR I DATO’ SR I H AJ I A BDU L A Z I Z BI N H AJ I Z A I N A L , M M 1996
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t high noon on January 9, 2003, while serving as Commander of the 3rd Malaysian Infantry Division based at Terendak Camp in Melaka, Gen. Tan Sri Haji Abdul Aziz Haji Zainal (then a Datuk and Major General) received an urgent phone call from the Army Chief, Gen. Datuk Seri Shahrom Nordin. Gen. Aziz was used to these kinds of phone calls. Thanks to his training at the prestigious Royal Military College (RMC) and the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), he had plenty of energy to respond to such calls with speed, excellence, and clarity of thinking. “I need your help!” Gen. Shahrom said. “The CEO of Malaysian Airlines (MAS) Datuk (now Tan Sri) Md Nor Yusof (Old Boy of RMC) invited me to address his top 100 managers at the launching of the MAS one-week Corporate War-game on January 10, 2003 at 0800 hour.” Gen. Aziz was calm. Having heard the instructions, he responded, “Yes, sir! What is the topic that the CEO wanted the Army Chief to speak about?” “We need you to talk about ‘The Principles of War and Its Applicability to Business,’” the Army Chief told Gen. Aziz, and he needed a quality presentation done at the MAS Academy in Kuala Lumpur (200 km from Melaka). Gen. Aziz recalls, “I had to spend the whole Thursday afternoon searching for research references on the computer, and a couple of hours later, a peaceful resolution was in sight. To meet the Friday deadline, I typed up 25 Powerpoint slides and sent it to my staff officer for some animation work and multimedia flavour.” Thirty-six years of service in the military had seen the rise of Gen. “Success does not Aziz’s career. In September 2004, he was promoted to Army Chief with the happen by accident rank of four-star General. On Febru- but by design.” ary 1, 2007, he was again promoted as the Armed Forces Chief, the highest military position at the Ministry of Defense. When he completed his Master in Management program in 1996 at the AIM, he was assigned to an international post for two years, to serve under the Command of NATO in Bosnia Herzegovina as Head of the Malaysian Contingent. Over the years Gen. Aziz developed ways of making himself available to anyone—his superiors, peers and staff, who might want to share a problem or idea with him. When he was the Commander of the 4th Army Mechanised Brigade (1998-2000), he made a habit of walking a fixed route at the same time each day. Everyone kept an eye on the boss and his habits, and soldiers quickly learned to take advantage of this valuable “face time” with him.
spotlight
Fighting the Right Battles
Triple A 2007 awardee Gen. Aziz has been the recipient of numerous Federal Honors and State Orders of Chivalry including the Armed Forces Gallantry Decorations and Medals. He regularly shared valuable insights with business managers about professional functions and its orderly application in the armed forces. “It is known that all management practices are derived from the military. Look at leadership, strategy, quality, benchmarking or even branding. All these have intimate relationships with the military. One society that has held this thought religiously, are the Japanese. It is inspirational to learn that Musashi, a famous Ninja who had never lost a fight had a deeply strategic mind. “Japanese companies are known to conduct annual or regular management camps for employees and managers. These camps are run in the most militaristic manner and include rituals such as meditation, teamwork and survival techniques. Those who survive and win are reportedly more able to become better managers and decision makers,” Gen. Aziz aptly articulated. Gen. Aziz made references to Carl Von Clausewitz (1780-1831) that “war is an instrument of national policy and military power is an option to gain political objectives.” He even recalls Niccolo Machiavelli “Business of the Battlefield” cont. on page 52 >>
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t
The Art of Management A RT H U R AGU I L A R , M BM 1972
here is no short cut to successful management, but the long and rough road can be made easier if the manager has the right tools—so said Arthur N. Aguilar, who holds a Master in Business Management degree from the Asian Institute of Management (1972). He is one of this year’s recipients of the Triple A award for outstanding alumni. Aguilar has been working by this “rule” for the past 35 years and still swears by it. “The principles of management are the same. The only difference is in the industry,” said Aguilar, who successfully spearheaded development efforts in the private and public sector of fields as various as finance, mining, milling, and infrastructure. “I learned this over the years, and AIM enhanced it, teaching me to break down tasks into components.” Aguilar has since devised his own guidelines for his successful turnaround efforts, and taking firms through privatization, re-engineering, and selling. First is to immerse oneself. “Get to know the jargon of the business and its systems. In every business, in every industry, there is a set of terms, a set of references, a set of jargon that people use to communicate. When you switch areas, learn the basic jargon first, so you can understand your team and they can understand you,” he says. While learning the jargon, the other thing a manager has to do is to know what questions to ask. “Of course you wouldn’t know everything—and you don’t have to. But you have to be aware of the unique mechanics of your industry to be able to make good decisions. Especially when a manager changes industry, asking the questions that will give him or her the crucial information for making decisions is “You have to an important skill,” Aguilar said. spot not only Even with the right questions in mind, competence but however, a manager has one more step to take also sincerity. before formulating a strategy or making a That’s the balanced decision. That is, a manager must people side of find trustworthy sources of information who management... can answer key questions competently. sincerity is “You have to know how and where to find especially hard the answers. Know whom to turn to for help, information, and expertise. Choose those who to find...” are sincere and have expertise,” Aguilar shares. He also notes that the third rule has an underlying challenge: in order to choose who to ask, a business leader needs to be a good judge of character. “You have to spot not only competence but also sincerity. That’s the people side of management,” he said. “Sincerity is especially hard to find. It does not matter whether you are in government or not, although there is an impression that it is harder to find trustworthy people in public service.” “The Art of Management” continued on page 52 >>
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A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
WORDS
BY
RIZA
OLCHONDRA
PHOTOGRAPH
BY
JOSE
ANDRES
PUNO
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PU NO ANDRES WORDS
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RIZA
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OLCHONDRA
PH OTOG RAPH
BY
R AJ A ISH B AJ PA E E , M M 198 0
J OSE
Transcendence In Management
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A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
or Rajaish Bajpaee, success comes only when one discovers the purpose of his or her existence, goals and work. This conviction guided him in turning Eurasia Group from an in-house ship management firm into an internationally respected company over the past 25 years. Bajpaee started as a qualified marine engineer, joining the Scindia Steam Navigation Co., DDG Hansa and Barber Ship Management. Even then, he said, he strove to excel. However, his work did not provide him with as much fulfillment as he wanted to. There was a deeper kind of satisfaction that he yearned for, and he found it when he continued his education. It was when he took up a Master in Management at the Asian Institute of Management and obtained his degree in 1980 that his learnings came together and enabled him to see the “bigger picture,” so to speak. “AIM expanded my horizons, gave me the ability to think, and look at issues from a 360-degree view,” Bajpaee reminisced. Bajpaee said that he has since applied what he learned in everything that he did, though more so in his work for Eurasia. He tapped into practical lessons that he gathered from the caserooms and from his classmates, as well as from his own experiences, to achieve a vision and strategy for Eurasia that combines the traditions of shipping, the best practices of quality management, and the creation of value-added services. He threw in constant innovation and new ideas to fulfill and exceed customer expectations. On top of serving his company, the lighthearted Bajpaee also lent a hand to the international shipping community. “Before AIM I had a limited view of things. When I had a problem, I immediately wanted a solution—that was success for me then. But later I learned that to be successful you have to have pur- “...you must pose other than money,” he said. touch people’s Driven by this paradigm shift, Ba- lives for your jpaee set about transforming the way achievements he and his company did business. to have real From being a quick-draw in deci- meaning.” sion making, he began exploring possibilities other than using the first solution that pops into his mind. From applying his experiences in his immediate area, he began looking at the experiences of other cultures and other countries to find nuggets of wisdom that he could apply to his circumstances and that of his company. “AIM taught me through its multicultural classes how to heal wounds by sharing, communicating. Your way is not the only way,” he said. “You must listen, you must touch people’s lives for your achievements to have real meaning.” “Transcendence in Management” cont. on page 52 >>
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SPOTLIGHT >> “Business of the Battlefield” cont. from page 47 (1469 - 1527) who wrote “the aim of war must be to meet the enemy in the field and defeat him there, and this is the only way to bring a happy conclusion.” At the MAS speaking engagement, Gen. Aziz went on to draw the parallel, “The business world is like a battlefield. Even marketing is like war where competitors are the enemies, and dominating the market is the objective of war. Success does not happen by accident but by design.” “Even the Chinese have used military strategies in their business practices, in the way they took on the world markets in products (electrical, consumer goods) and industries (electronics). This conquest of world markets is very much like a well orchestrated military campaign, and very much resembled military strategies. It is said that Sun Tzu’s Art of War (500 BC) is the inspiration for much of China’s economic success in the world.” Building the 21st Century Armed Forces The Royal Malaysian Armed Forces has evolved from its former counterinsurgency role to face the realities and challenges of modern and electronic warfare. The development of Information >> “The Art of Management” cont. from page 48 However, he notes that this recipe for successful management does not have a magic formula, and would only work when combined with perseverance and passion. “I speak about these things with confidence only because I have been living it and working at it for 35 years in the government,” Aguilar said. “It is, and has never been, easy. But at the end of the day these are the things that have to be done, wherever you are serving.” Aguilar has served as general manager of the National Development Corporation and has held different posts in its affiliates and subsidiaries. He was also at the helm of the Philippine National Construction Corporation. In September 2006, he was appointed as president and chief executive officer of the National Transmission Corporation, which the government aims to privatize and turn into a big revenue generator. Aguilar sees both his jobs in the PNCC and Transco as opportunities to leave something that would benefit the country. Indeed, with his vast experience in helping the government improve and even turn a profit from its agencies,
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and Communication Technology (ICT) has brought positive changes to the nation’s communications and defense systems. The ICT would help armed forces personnel in handling more hazardous and delicate tasks. It would also help the armed forces to achieve information and decision superiority, an important factor in the battle field. In his First Order of Command as AFC, Gen. Aziz has clearly specified seven approaches to realize the effectiveness of National Defense Policy and the National Military Strategy as follows: First: Leadership and management based on centralized planning with decentralized execution by empowering the front lines Second: Development of the Armed Forces by inculcating futuristic continuous learning for the Regulars and Reserve units ready for deployment Third: Capability and capacity-based development Fourth: Joint Armed Forces Headquarters for Network Centric Warfare and Military Operation Other Than War (MOOTM) Fifth: Internalizing warriorship values Sixth: Enhancing quality of life Seventh: Improving civil-military relations for nation building
Aguilar could command huge sums from prospective corporate employers. Yet, crazy as it seems, he chooses to find fulfillment in public service. “I am aware that I could have been paid more in private companies. But I guess public service was my calling, even if from a financial point of view it sometimes seems like a crazy choice. When you’re serving in government, you need a lot of sense of humor and a little insanity,” he says with a chuckle. Aguilar also noted that he continues to learn while in office, both from the practical situations at work, from his colleagues, and from school, such as AIM. “There are many good, competent and well-educated people in government. And that figures because all public servants must continue learning in order to serve better, “ he said. After public service, however, what would Art Aguilar be doing? Aguilar is quick to respond, as if the answer nags him every busy day. “Read books, spend lots of time with my family, read books, and play with my dogs,” he said. “And read books.” What about writing books? “Oh, I could write a book on how to walk the tightrope of government service,” he quipped. “But really, when I retire, I would rather spend more time with my family and my books.”
A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
Being the head of a successful Armed Forces today is a lot different than it was 50 years ago. Iron fists and inflexible organizational visions are things of the past. What skills do the officers need to be able to execute the seven core approaches to success—not just for today, but also for the next 50 years? Gen. Aziz has listed well thought out enablers as follows: • Authentic and visionary leadership • Spirit of camaraderie, tolerance and commitment • Knowledgeable and projecting high professionalism • High moral values and discipline • Ethical and prudent financial management • Maximize the concept of a joint Armed Forces Headquarters for Network Centric Warfare and MOOTM • Consolidating activities with all government agencies, statutory bodies and the people at large. Some Things Don’t Change One of the biggest leadership gaps these days is between vision and execution. We find that vision doesn’t drive execution to attain the business results. We need to develop an operations strategy and execute that strategy. What is Gen. >> “Transcendence in Management” cont. from page 51 One step at a time, Bajpaee saw Eurasia transform into one of the leading ship management firms with over 100 client vessels, including tankers, LNG carriers, container ships, and bulk carriers, accounting for over USD 2.6 billion in asset value. With Bajpaee’s help, the company facilitated the direct employment of over 2,500 seamen onboard the fleet that it manages. Bajpaee is also credited with helping Indian seafarers achieve the preferred status that they enjoy today. “Aside from being open, you must also have purpose. Making a decision and achieving your goal or getting recognition is not as satisfying when it is empty, when there is no purpose beyond the immediate need or target,” Bajpee said. And through Bajpaee’s purposedriven style of management, the shipping industry and beyond are taking notice. In 2002, he was awarded for his exemplary personal achievement in the maritime field by “Sailor Today” and he was again awarded in 2004 for creating maximum jobs for Indian seafarers. He currently serves as president of the International Ship Managers’ Association - InterManager, an active member of the Hong Kong Marine Department’s Shipping Consultative and Port Welfare committees,
Aziz leadership style? President of Kelab AIM Malaysia, Datuk Ir. (Dr.) Mohd Annas recalled, “Gen. Aziz served for one term of two years (1998-2000) as a board member of the Kelab. One thing everyone in the board loves about him is his ability to be involved with details. He also likes to seek and reach out to people at every level, and always demonstrates his appreciation for what we do and for what we have to say.” It is still fresh in our minds that at one of the Board Meetings, Gen. Aziz said, “...we’re supposed to discuss with each other, we’re supposed to examine issues fully and without filters to help President Datuk Annas in organizing programs and activities for the benefit of our alumni. As a board member, I’ve made a point of making myself accountable. I’m making sure that I am engaged as deeply as I need to be in the key execution pieces.” Gen. Aziz is happily married to Puan Sri Rositah Md Mawi and blessed with four children- two sons and two daughters. His success has always been about combining a big-picture focus with a drive to accomplishing it by doing his best everyday, day after day, year after year. Finally, his excellence and perseverance got him to the top.
and a representative of the Asian committee member of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Bajpaee is also a council member of the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners, and a member of the board of directions of the International Maritime Employer’s Committee Ltd. In recognition of his achievements, Bajpaee was voted by the alumni community as one of this year’s recipients of the AIM Triple A award for outstanding alumni. Despite the many positions he is holding, the recognition he has received and the different people he deals with everyday, Bajpaee remains cool. With his feet planted firmly on the ground, he strikes a balance between appreciating external recognition and finding internal fulfillment. “There are two sides to acknowledgement. One is external, such as an award. It is more like a snapshot, a blip, not a continuous process. It is good, but it is only one side. The other side is internal. It is a bigger view, a continuous process, because you have to live with yourself everyday,” he said. Bajpaee stressed that he does appreciate being appreciated, so to speak. Yet, he is also quick to point out that one should not rest on his or her laurels. “It is good to try to beat your own standard, to challenge the status quo,” he said. “That is how you earn the two sides of acknowledgement.”
ClassNotes From Corporate to Academe by Ma. Liza Matias Calizo MBM 1983
M B M / M BA
Ofelia Odilao-Bisnar MBM 1988 writes: “We had our most recent get-together last January 12 with Ann (and husband Lars and 5-year old daughter Isabel), Maritess, Bing (and husband Ferdie), Omar, Ric, Jo, Cesar, Beng, Bess, Olga, Rufo, Noel Fresco, me and Norman. It was surely so much fun exchanging and updating stories.
Sugar Han MBM 1984 writes: “AIM alumni from Korea had a gathering last November 20 at COEX InterContinental Seoul. The woman in red in the picture, Ms. Ham Mee-ja, returned from Manila lately. She served at the Asian Development Bank for 13 years as a project specialist. She also served as the ADB representative to East Timor. It was a good occasion to listen to her to learn about other Asian lifestyles as well as to hear some stories about the Philippines. There was a Filipino band playing “Anak “ and “Dahil Sa Iyo” during our gathering and it was quite pleasant to revive memories about the Philippines.
Roy Reyes MBM 2000 writes: “The (OGMBM2000) Ortigas Group of MBM 2000 has been actively keeping in touch since 2003, now holding a permanent venue at Metro Walk Ortigas Avenue. This is a twice a month session; usually first and last Wednesday of the month between 12:00 noon till 3:30 in the afternoon. It is a no-obligation and no-commitment affair to come on time. One can join for lunch, dessert or even mid-afternoon for coffee. AIM alumni are invited, just email or yahoo messenger senyores2000@yahoo. com (Roy Reyes) for confirmation. WIFM – maybe some bragging rights to inspire us. “Topics discussed ranges from family, business, corporate culture, industry trends, and quirks in life. You
BELONGING TO MBM’83, I HAVE experienced a difficult employment search because there were no job opportunities. At that time, the prevailing Philippine economic health deteriorated brought about by the grave misuse of financial institutions’ facilities by our political leaders and cronies and worsened by the ballooning foreign borrowings. This scenario prevailed through 1985 and hiring was on a “wait and see” mode. In the last quarter of 1983, I was luckily accepted as corporate planner of one of the biggest athletic shoe manufacturer/exporter. However, doing the financial diagnostic for the company, it made me aware that it will soon fold up. I then transferred and built my career with Zuellig Pharmaceutical, a distributor of top pharmaceutical companies. For 10 years starting as a supervisor, I climbed the ladder through small steps to various managerial positions in logistics. Career opportunities were not leaps but tough climbing steps. After availing of an optional retirement, the principles in pharmaceutical operation became a strong baseline knowledge in transferring to a foreign franchised food chain where I spent six years in operation reaching a vice president position. Then, I practiced my profession as a Certified Public Accountant in financial and management consultancy where I had clients for school >>
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ClassNotes >> turnaround which opened the way to school administration career option. I now hold the post as Dean of Manila Central University-College of Business Administration. What is the difference between the corporate world and the academe? Management processes are with the same application: 1. operation covers classroom and related activity management and faculty development; 2. marketing applies for the program branding, info campaign, and recruitment; 3. product research is program and curriculum development and 4. financial control are ROI of various activities and facility upgrades. The challenges are the same but on a different perspective. A business manager plans, leads, organizes, and controls to deliver the product or service. An educational leader does the same but to hone the students in accordance with their targeted profile where frontliners are our faculty. For us, we try to transform students into business professionals where the skills developed are with a fit to the evolving organization. The latter is a challenge to bring into classroom discussions the real business scenarios. A business manager is confined to the industry and its peripherals of his organization while a business education leader has to know the trends of major industries i.e. BPO, IT innovative solutions and trends, web service (B to B and B to C) marketing, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), web marketing, medical tourism, technopreneruship etc. Thus, an educational leader has to update his knowledge through wide range of learning media i.e. formal trainings, coursewares, e-learning, and industry linkages. The business world is moving very fast and the school is trying to catch-up soon with all of these. Focused on quality education where there is connectedness with the real business world, MCU-CBA embarks on the following: 1. International internship program where students have the option to undertake their required 200 hour practicum in the USA under the cultural exchange program platform. This is experiential learning on multicultural management principles. 2. Industry practitioners of top 100 Philippine corporations act as consultants to student business plan preparation, operating a mini-company, and marketing the product. 3. Continuous professional education of 54
can seek advice share about your new job, politics in office, career shift, business venture, and relationship endeavors. Get brilliant insights and make things happen. Bottomline— no need for CPs fellow masters—your presence is enough to grace the session. A pleasant 2007 to all. Live well!
MBM 2000 Class year ender Session at Metro Walk. From left Sammy Montecastro: General Manager M Mitchell Madison Group, Business Advisory/Mgmt. Consulting, Roy Reyes: Asst. Manager - Directories Phils. Corp., Multimedia/Consulting, Richard De Castro: Senior Manager (Int’l Services) Digitel Mobile, Business Solutions/Partnership Program and other matters, Jambee David: Entrepreneur GOPED ASIA, Mobile Solutions Scooters, and Jake Mendiola: Proprietor Currency Center, Foreign Exchange advisory/trader
M M
Mrinal Som MM 1975 Mrinal Som, MM 1975 writes: “After thirty years, I visited AIM on the 2nd and 3rd of November 2006. I graduated from AIM, in 1975 with a degree in the Masters in Management program. I understand this was the first MM program of AIM. During my visit, my wife Dolon Dom, and my son Jeet accompanied me and I showed them around the campus, bringing them to the dorm where I stayed, and my classrooms. I also had the opportunity to meet my professors, Fil Alfonso and Vic Lim. I stayed at the Inter-Continental Makati where I used to have coffee with my friends during my AIM days. It was a most enjoyable trip and everyone in AIM that I met, the professors, staff and students were very nice to us. My wife of thirty years has always been mistaken in Manila as a Filipina. In the USA where we reside, she is always mistaken as a Filipina but is actually from India. I have to teach her Tagalog next time.
A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
It was good to visit AIM again, which brings back memories of 30 years ago when I was still a student taking the MM program.
Partha Chowdhury MM 2006 writes: “Greetings! I have become the General Manager of an Indian medical device (cardiology) company, Sahajanand Technologies Ltd., which currently sells products in Latin America, Dubai, East Europe, China, South Asia and of course, India. Our turnover from two products (drug eluting stents & cobalt cromium stent) is Rs 90 crore or 920 million pesos. Domestic sales contributed (as of December 31, 2006) is Rs 50 crore or 510 million pesos, and export contributed is Rs 40 crore or 410 million pesos. Among the physicians, our product is more popularly known as Millinium. The company started its operations in 2000. We are opening subsidiaries in Brazil and in China in the first week of April 2007. In 2008, the company plans to start its operation in South East Asia with headquarters in Singapore. “As GM, I have to look after the sales and marketing of my company both nationally and internationally. I also look after the clinical trials of our next generation products. Currently all our products are CE approved. We can sell anywhere in the world except in Japan and USA where it requires F.D.A. approval. I will work with top cardiologists of the world like Dr. Patrick Surreys of the Netherlands, Dr Fazaday of France, and Dr. Martin Leon of the Washington Heart Centre, so that our future products can get CE approval at the earliest possible time. I will also look after the regulatory approval of products in different countries. I am going to the Netherlands for a three-week cardiolysis training. We have a manufacturing unit in Surat where I will coordinate with R and D people . We are also establishing a manufacturing unit in UK which will hopefully start operations this year end. If you read the Bombay Times dated January 1, 2007, an article came out entitled ”Clogged arteries? Drug covered balloons to the rescue”. This is our product. “I am grateful to my professors in AIM and I believe I got this job because of my degree. The company’s chairman knows about AIM very well and when he got my CV he called me on December 23, interviewed me and selected me. “ M D M
Sultan Mohammed Giasuddin (Manik) MDM 1999
MRINAL SOM
writes: “I wrote a book ‘Days in Philippines’, which is called - ‘Philipiner Dingulo’ in Bangla version. This is an unpretentious portrait of my life in Philippines and my life as an MDM student in AIM, with my paraplegic body, however filled with the soul of fire and spirit.
ClassNotes The funds raised from selling the book ‘Days in Philippines’ is now spent on physically disabled school boys and girls. I raised a small amount of through sales this book. So many readers in Bangladesh, the faculty and students of AIM assisted me lot to initiate the fund raising. Based on this fund and other sources, I have already arranged and provided support with wheel chair donations, medical treatment, financial and other support to the students and children those who are physically disabled. You will be happy to know that I have provided one wheel chair to a little school girl Rushni. She is physically disabled by birth. She comes to school regularly on her mother’s shoulders. But since she’s growing up fast, it has become difficult to carry her, so her parents and the school management sent me a letter and asked for a wheel chair. I have arranged to buy a wheel chair for Rushni with the money my friend Zaka sent me from Indonesia to
support disabled children, as it is the mission of my book “Days in the Philippines.” Rushni looks like Zaka’s little daughter Gladys who passed away while we were both living at dorm 507 at the AIM in 1999 while studying for our MDM program. The photo was taken during the wheelchair hand over ceremony organized by the school teachers and our CODEC Project in Bagerhat District (southern part of Bangladesh).
Abdul Rachim MDM 1990
writes: “I graduated with the 1st Batch of MDM in 1990. AIM provided me concepts and strategies of sustainability and ‘replicability’ for development. My favorite professors in AIM are Prof. Ed Morato and Prof. Mayo Lopez. The book on Strategic Intervention for Development Manager by Prof. Morato is the reference I use most for community development. For the past six years, I have worked as an independent consultant in GOI and ADB projects. Currently I am working as consultant (social safeguard specialist) in the ADB grant for the Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Support Project, Irrigation Component of Rehabilitation and reconstruction of Aceh & Nias, Indonesia.
faculty to put them online with various business transactions. 4. Partnering with companies for employment opportunities as early as junior level to ensure feeder trainings from partners will ensure fit with its organization. Working in the academe has pronounced internal and external community awareness where relationships and interdependencies are nurtured with highest respect. A company may identify a beneficiary but often lacks sustained immersion while the school social awareness to the adopted community is translated to involvement. In a business organization, relationships are more identifiable through hierarchies and empowerment is related to shared decision making and site-based management. In the school community, empowerment focuses more on commitments. Tasks are completed out of commitment, while in business, it translates most often with monetary compensation, incentives, performance appraisal, and a vision of climbing the corporate ladder. In school, you feel that the collegial advocacy and leadership is more of bonding and binding which is of a higher order desire for purpose. The measure of success of business educational leaders in bringing the fast changing business right inside the classroom is when students have put across the quality education in their workplace. This I can say to my alma mater, AIM!
Few Words for AIM
Min Bahadur Ranabhat MDM, Batch 16
FORMAL MANAGEMENT EDUCATION to me—fortunately it was at a world class, prestigious and excellent management school, the Asian Institute of Management—was a life transforming experience. It was so in two specific ways. I did not know that learning in the case rooms could be made so relevant to what was happening in the real world. And I did not know that the students learn so much more when they take the responsibility of learning upon themselves, and do not expect the school
and the teachers to spoon-feed them. It has been extremely heartening to observe students undergoing transformation by the various programs being offered by AIM. In some the transformation is distinctly evident. Some share and articulate their transformational experience during the program and after having gone through the program. And many more quietly carry their experiences away with them. Has AIM now become a student-centered learning center? The answer is “Yes, but not as much as we would like to.” The student-centered learning approach is more demanding—both for the students and the faculty. Students today, because of the sophistication of information technology, are much better equipped to take the responsibility of learning on their own. According to the changed context, environment and demand by the market allows AIM to adopt their courses and teaching methodology in accordance with real-life situations. And unlike the teacher-centered learning, which constrains the students within a certain boundary, the student-centered learning facilitated by open-minded teachers broadens the scope and widens the horizon of learning. Slowly, the idea and its impact are sinking in among the students and the teachers. Does AIM impart education that has strong relevance to real life? The answer again is “Yes, but not as much as we would like to.” Many components of our evaluation reward only the ‘book learning’. Consequently, it is difficult to engage students in more practical work when immediate reward is not aligned to such activities. Nevertheless, all programmes at AIM do not glamorize grades. The value of conceptual understanding and the ability to translate those understandings in real life matters much more than the grades. AIM’s effort in making a studentcentered learning center will continue unabated. And AIM will continue to strive to make our education relevant.
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ClassNotes My EMBA Experience Clarence C. Yu, EMBA 2002
I APPLIED INTO THE EMBA PROGRAM in the year 2000 without fully knowing what I was about to get into. At the time, I was an operations purist looking for the holy grail of “truth”—I was waist deep in operations problems at work and wanted
to see a different perspective—and thought naturally of getting an MBA to cap off my Industrial Engineering degree. I chose AIM primarily for its reputation and by the recommendation of several of my friends who were enrolled in the MBM program at the time. I briefly considered the MBM program but due to work constraints I decided to take the EMBA instead. I had doubts about the education that the EMBA program could give me since I really did not consider it as a real MBA program at the time, despite the stringent requirements for application, the application exam and the interview. I couldn’t have been more wrong on the first day of orientation. We were all given case packs and reading materials for week one. Having a case pack is one thing, but actually reading it through and through is a different experience altogether. The level of detail, the diversity of topics and subjects, and the teaching methodology immediately dispelled all my doubts about this being a real MBA program. At the time, it certainly was a struggle, juggling school and work at the same time, but in hindsight I believe that was one of the criteria in the program design—to discipline the student into effective multi-tasking. One of the things I liked most about the program was the diversity of the class in terms of the individuals’ experiences in different fields of business. This gave me a chance to listen to viewpoints that 56
I really wouldn’t have thought of on my own. The experiences and different teaching styles of our professors also greatly contributed to this diversity. The combination of class work, case work and WAC’s over the 18 months deconstructed, refined and ultimately re-constructed my whole way of looking at business from a single operations viewpoint to a holistic and systemic viewpoint. Furthermore, the program design exceptionally allowed me to immediately apply learnings to my work at the time. The change management concept of the program was put to good use here. Another matter of great importance was the way the program opened my eyes to certain terminologies used in the business world, i.e. “planning = strategic thinking,” or “loop thinking=systems thinking,” “accounting=the language of business.” Simply by changing the terminologies, the program reduced the number of question marks in my head and gave me a more robust outlook, not to mention an open mind, when it came to attacking certain problems at work. The best tool the program equipped me with was the knowledge that the tools taught were just exactly that—“only tools.” Properly used, it could solve any problem you are confronted with, be it in business or life in general. Not used, it is meaningless. In the final analysis, I would recommend the EMBA program to anyone interested in receiving top-notch education coupled with emphasis on continuous learning. My operations problems did not disappear overnight, nor did they ever really go away completely. What changed was the way the EMBA taught me in terms of looking at the problem in different ways, giving me as a decision-maker several options in solving these problems. We never stop learning. It is the actual experience of continuous learning itself that is the most educational and the most self-gratifying, and the best gift that the EMBA program experience gave me.
A I M A LU MNI LEADERSHIP MAGAZINE January to March 2007
ANNOUNCEMENT
Asia’s foremost Conference and Expo on Corporate Social Responsibility to be held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in September 2007 The sixth annual regional Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (AFCSR) and the Asian CSR Awards will be held for the first time in Vietnam at the Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers in Ho Chi Minh City on September 27 & 28, 2007. The theme of AFCSR 2007 is CSR - A Driving Force for Growth and Development: How CSR Can Reduce Poverty, Generate investments and Trade, and Improve Business Performance. Dr. Vo-Tong Xuan, Rector, An Giang University will co-chair the event with Mr. Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Advisors, AIM-Ramon V. del Rosario, Sr. Center for Corporate Responsibility (AIM-RVR Center). For further information on the Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility and the Asian CSR Awards, please visit www.asianforumcsr.com.
Please send your latest Class Notes and photos to the AIM Alumni Leadership Magazine at aimleader@gmail.com. Should you need to contact our alumni, please contact the Alumni Relations Office at aimalumni@aim.edu.
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Ronaldo de Lara, EMBA 2004 JA N UA R Y 1 9, 2 0 0 7
END NOTES
“The future will lie with those Asian societies most able to acquire and apply knowledge, most nurturing of creativity and innovation, most able to retain their best and brightest people.” Dato Paduka Timothy Ong Teck Mong
“After observing the Asia setting the last 60 years, I am more than ever convinced that for poor nations with per capita income levels below $2,000 or $3,000, the western model, with its emphasis on democracy and political freedom, slows down economic growth.” Washington SyCip
“The New Economy has resulted in manufacturing being globally sourced and several services being carried out remotely. Over the past couple of years, another important global trend in innovation is catching up. Firms worldwide are linking up their entire supply chain right from the conception of ideas and innovation to manufacturing and placing the product in the market.” Dr. N.R. Narayana Murthy
“It is no longer an issue of the vision of Asian economic integration, but rather in practice it is the pace and pragmatism we apply in achieving it.” Haruhiko Kuroda
“What is more important than knowing how to recruit employees is knowing how to train them... Because of a shortage of qualified professional manpower and a mismatch between university education and industrial demand, management education and training is especially important.” Dr. Yoon-Dae Euh
“Over the last 15 years or so, in terms of Asian reactions to competing in a globalizing world, I noticed increasingly that concern has given way to confidence and that anxiety has given way to ambition.” Mark Fuller
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