Corporate Social Responsibility

My personal definition of corporate social responsibility is sharing the  fruits of  your labor, initially within your own organization, as charity begins at home, then to the other people in your community.

A more sophisticated definition is shared by the Financial Times wherein it defines  corporate social responsibility  (CSR) as  a business approach that  drive change towards  sustainable development through the delivery of   economic, social and environmental  advantage and benefits  for all stakeholders.

Our company, IDESS Maritime Centre,   is a  world renowned training center located inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. It is a socially responsible company engaging in many programs that benefit the many surrounding communities and beyond.

Our company should engage in CSR to be able to help and give back to our own people, the community and society in general; it will create good image for the company; be more profitable; be more of a blessing to all our stakeholders; set the company apart from its competitors.

When I interviewed our Head of HR Department, she said that IDESS has created a CSR Committee and is responsible for organizing the  different CSR activities for the company in collaboration with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA)  and other private and local government offices. Based on my CSR audit and assessment, the current state of IDESS' CSR in the CSR Continuum is already engaged in philanthropic giving as it is doing more than what is required.

For 2017, IDESS has participated in several CSR activities such as the following: (1). Tree Planting:  On June 28, 2017, IDESS has sent its volunteer  employees to the  Arbor Day celebration organized by the SBMA.  It was participated  by representatives from the SBMA registered companies.Planted by the volunteers  were 5,000 seedlings of narra and fruit bearing species in a graded 2.2 hectare in  a forested area in Bangal. This tree planting activity is part of the SBMA's  program on environmental preservation  and conservation which revived the Arbor Day under Republic Act  10716;

SBMA Administrator  and CEO, Wilma T. Eisma together with  SBMA Director,  Tomas Lahom III, led the   tree planting activity at  the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in observance  of the  Arbor Day  together with the representatives from the various company locators inside the SBMA. Photo credit: SBMA

(2).  Donations for the earthquake victims:  In the aftermath of the 6.5 magnitude earthquake in the Visayas, the SBMA sought assistance from the company locators inside the SBMA.   On June 23, 2017, IDESS participated and sent donations to the SBMA to help families  alleviate their current situation in the evacuation areas by way of donating hygiene kits consisting of toothbrush, toothpaste, face towel,  bath soap, shampoo, and other basic items such as mosquito nets, clothes, blankets, canned goods, rice, milk,  drinking water, etc. (3). Mobile Blood Donation: On July 22, 2017,   IDESS employee volunteers participated in the non-remunerated blood donation organized by the Philippine Red Cross with the theme: " What can you do? Give blood, Give Now, Give Often."

Furthermore, our  management has developed a new external CSR programme for the cadet students of Maritime Schools. Thus, on  July 6, 2017, our Training Manager sent a letter to MARINA  asking for permission for our company to  conduct Basic Training (8.5 day course)  for the  cadets of the various Maritime Schools in the Philippines  as part of our CSR. IDESS is proposing to conduct the 6.5 day lectures  at the school premises of the students and then the remaining 2 days practical at IDESS main training complex in Subic as all the required  equipment and facilities are all here. IDESS shall endeavor to  partner with maritime  schools in the country that shares the same values and  vision.

The Basic Training is composed of four modules as follows:  Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting (2 days); Elementary First Aid (2 days);  Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities (2.5 days) ; and Personal Survival Techniques (2 days). In this programme, our Instructors and Technicians will not be charging any salaries. The only fees to be collected from the cadets are their two day stay at our dormitories, their food, consumable materials and electricity during their stay.

In line with this, I also have a  new potential CSR initiative i.e., for the company to provide scholarship grants to  qualified  and deserving personnel of the company who wants to continue and or finish their schooling and enroll in any of the following: Undergraduate Degree Course or Master's Degree Course. Based on the record of our HR Department, 68 percent comprises the workforce.This only shows that majority of the staff are in the lowest level of the hierarchy and in order for them to move up the corporate ladder they should be properly educated and have the corresponding experience in the next level of position.

I believe that education is the great equalizer and  by providing our workforce with golden opportunities to prosper in life such as this scholarship grants to our employees, they would surely seize this and be grateful to the management for this privilege.  This will also enhance their loyalty to the company and management as this will enable the employees to increase their knowledge, technical know how and  skills in the performance of their work.

My strategies will be as follows: (1) Discuss with top management about the proposal and share with them my personal experience as one of the full scholarship grantees of the Philippine Tourism Authority, a government corporation where I started as a working student  and where I chose the De La Salle University to finish my college degree. (2) Get management's  buy-in  and approval. (3) Appoint the CSR Committee to  oversee the planning  and development of the project details and Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) in collaboration with the Accounting and HR Heads. (4) have the memo announcement be signed by the President. (5) Disseminate through email the approval and the details of the IRR. (6) the applicant employees  to be interviewed by the HR Head and the release of the scholarship grant fund will be through the Accounting Head. (7) Periodic review by the CSR Committee of the grantee's performance every end of the semester, for their next semester's grant to be approved, to be conducted all throughout the duration of the scholarship until such time that the employee finishes his/her degree. (8) Have the grantee sign a contract that they will serve the company for another three years to cover the expenses for their  scholarship grants.

In the final analysis, the total CSR of a company should make effort to make a profit, follow the rule of law, be ethical and at the same time be a good corporate citizen. Since IDESS is already engaged and has started its philanthropic giving externally to the student cadets of the maritime schools in the Philippines, then the phrase " charity begins at home" will be highly appreciated by its employees  as soon as the approval of this new CSR initiative of giving scholarship grants  to deserving and qualified employees is announced and executed.

PNOC Energy Development Corporation

The Philippine National Oil Company Energy Development Corporation (PNOC EDC) was a subsidiary of the  Philippine national Oil Company,  created in 1976  to provide viable solutions to increasing   the nation's  potential  to produce indigenous energy while diminishing   its dependence on imported  fuel.

Paul A. Aquino, CEO and President of PNOC EDC
Photo Credit: www.geni.com

The CEO and President of PNOC EDC was Paul A. Aquino. He was the brother of former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., and uncle of Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, III, who served as the President of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. Paul is also the father of the present Philippine Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino, IV.

PNOC EDC was the Philippines' largest geothermal producer and the acknowledged global leader in wet steamfield technology. The company provides  for about 60% of our nation's  total installed geothermal energy capacity, supplying fuel to  12 power plants. One out of every eight Philippine households get its electricity from the company.

The firm considered itself as part of the communities where it does business  and participated in their development. The company ensured  balance between its operations and the  community interests with strong Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs on environmental protection as early as 1978  and local community development by 1987.

From 1992 to 2005, it has paid P1.6 billion in royalties  to the local government of its host communities.  A total of P497 million went to the funding of local livelihood, electrification environmental,  and other related  developmental projects.

The CSR case of the PNOC EDC was one of the cases discussed during our De La Salle University, Master of Business Administration class on Leadership, Ethics and CSR. This case is also of interest for me as currently, one of my clients is the other subsidiary of the PNOC which is the PNOC Exploration Corporation (PNOC EC). According to their website (www.pnoc-ec.com.ph),   the  PNOC EC is the upstream oil, gas and coal subsidiary of the state   owned Philippine National Oil Company. A government  owned and controlled corporation, the firm was incorporated on April 20, 1976 and is mandated by the state  through the Department of Energy to lead the  exploration, development and production of the Philippines' oil, gas and  coal resources.

The PNOC EDC case was an equity issue which started when a staff  from the head office at Bonifacio Global City in Makati  wondered aloud if the P600,000 being considered as budget for the energy camps to be run in 2007 for the teenage children in the host communities of the company's project sites could be spent instead for the benefit of the firm's workforce rather than for other people.  Another employee  remarked " after all, charity begins at home" and also felt that PNOC EDC  is spending too much for the people around the company's geothermal sites.

The CEO and President, Paul Aquino  rationalized: "But which is home? Is home what is within the confines of these walls,  or this building within the PNOC complex here in Fort Bonifacio?
Doesn't home include the communities where the company draws energy? The communities have given us so much of their natural resources, it is important that we share some of our own resources with them. True, P600,000 is considerable. But we should not forget that is it only a fraction of our total gross. Besides, if we used the amount for employee benefits, it would be divided among so many employees and the benefit that each employee would get would be a measly sum. But the same amount spent for the camps organized for the community folk would mean a lot to them. In most cases, there is no government where our geothermal plants are. In those places PNOC EDC has become the government."

Since 2004, the firm has been running energy camps  and the  pilot camp was set up in Dumaguete.  The first batch of campers consisted of 16 boys and 16 girls, all children of employees. The staff of the Community Partnership Department (CPD) handles the camp with help from employee volunteers. The participants  engaged in sports and in the routine chores of daily life. Physical activities included hiking, rappelling, swimming and sports like tae kwon do, volleyball and basketball. Lectures on the environment, nature trips and tree planting were conducted to show campers the value of environment protection.

Campers were made to interact with local farmers and townsfolk to give them better understanding  of how the community create  sustainable livelihood programs while taking care of  the environment. A tour and lecture  on the geothermal plants and its operations were conducted  to impart to  the participants  the value of clean and renewable energy. The day was highlighted  by an amazing race around the camp. The program took 12 days.

Due to the success of the pilot camp,  in 2005 the firm opened 5 camps for 48 children from the host community with a new team of employee volunteers who took over running the camps.

In 2006, the activities were conducted for a 10 days to include ballroom dancing  and  fine dining to  improve the  social graces of the campers.  Upon  return to their respective schools, the participants shared their fun stories and great learning experiences which inspired their teachers to request for invitations to go to the camps. Thus, on May 2006,  a five day parallel  camp activities   were conducted for the teachers,  with total expenses amounting to P400,000.

After three energy camps and other CSR programs conducted  by the firm, some personnel at the head office began questioning the  wisdom of providing subsidy for the camps.

As the energy camp is the brain child of Aquino, who wanted to initiate a program that would ensure fun and  experiential  learning for the youth, Aquino then thought of  getting the buy- in of the PNOC EDC head office employees by including and sending also their children to the energy camps to address the inequity issue. He said that, " we envisioned a program where teenagers can learn about life, the environment and geothermal energy as they all have fun. All these, we hope that they can pass on to others when they go back to their families and communities."

Energy Camp 2007 - Batch 1 of PNOC-BACMAN Energy Camp held in Bacman Geothermal Production Field last April 2007. Photo Credit: Manny Ferrer

Through this move of  Aquino,  he was able to hit two birds with one stone by giving back to the community in their project sites and by ensuring equity between the home office and the plant sites. He was able to explain well to all the stakeholders the value of sharing their blessings not only within the firm but also to the townsfolk at their community project sites. The children coming home from the energy camps got to know the people from the project sites, experienced how good the PNOC EDC as a company and brought good will to both the children in the community and the children of the head office employees in Manila.

On November 29, 2007, PNOC EDC was fully privatized after the successful sale of 60% of its controlling stakes and  and sold to the  Lopez-led group of Red Vulcan Holdings Corporation  with the highest bid of P58.5 billion. It is now known as the ENERGY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.

Shell in Nigeria: CSR and the Ogoni Crisis

Shell logo
Source: http://www.logodesignlove.com/shell-logo-design-evolution

One of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) cases  that we have discussed during our Leadership, Ethics and CSR class at the DLSU MBA is the case of the Shell in Nigeria: CSR and the Ogoni Crisis.

My personal definition of corporate social responsibility is sharing the  fruits of  your labor, initially within your own organization and sphere of influence and  then to the other people in your community.

A more sophisticated definition of CSR is shared by the Financial Times wherein it defines corporate social responsibility  as a business approach that drive change towards sustainable development through the delivery of economic, social and environmental  advantage and benefits for all stakeholders

This case is very interesting for me personally as one of my current top clients  is  Shell Philippines Exploration BV (SPEX). According to its website (www. shell.com.ph), Shell is an integrated energy company that aims to meet the world's growing demand for energy in ways that are economically, environmentally and socially responsible. SPEX draws its expertise from an extensive global experience in deep water oil and gas exploration and production.

This case is about the CSR  case of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited  (SPDC). According to the website of the  SPDC (www.shell.com.ng), SPDC is the pioneer and leader of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. It has the largest accreage in the country from which it produces some 39 percent of the nation's oil. The company's operations are concentrated in the Niger Delta and adjoining shallow offshore areas where it operates in an oil mining lease area of around 31,000 square kilometers.

In this case, there were environment and human rights issues. On environment  issues: there were reported contamination of drinking water,  gas flaring, oil spills and deforestation. On human rights issues: there were reports of  employee harassment, human detention, complicit in the violation of due process, and extra judicial  executions. Thus, how should Shell redeem  its good corporate  image
based on the the above mentioned issues it was involved in?

SPDC'S Nigerian content development workers inspecting natural gas flow.
Photo credit: www.shell.com.ng

Facts of the case:

The Oil Industry in Nigeria

 Nigeria is the biggest oil producer in Africa and  ranks no. eight in the world. Commercial quantities of oil was first found in Nigeria in 1956. Since then, its crude oil output has been  two million barrels of crude oil a day. This has provided 80 percent of federal reserves and 90 percent of forex for the government since 1970's.However, under a military rule, politics became an exercise in organized corruption especially around the oil industry itself  where large commissions and percentage cuts in oil contracts resulted in politicians and military officers to amass unexplained wealth  while the greater number of the population fell deeper below the poverty threshold level.

The Ogoni Crisis in Nigeria

On November  10, 1995 - Ken Saro-Wiwa, a world renowned  Nigerian author and spokesperson for the  Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni Peple (MOSOP) was   hanged in Port Harcourt, in  Nigeria, together with eight other Ogoni militants who lead the  protests against the oil industry. The " Ogoni Nine" had been tried and sentenced to death by  a special court  appointed by the military junta  whose procedures were not in accordance to  the  international standards of fair treatment through the normal judicial system.

The Saro-Wiwa case brought into the global  headlines a debate over the role played by the oil transnationals  in Nigeria that had already been raging for so many years.  Even before the executions, the oil industry had been criticized for its alleged support for successive military juntas
 that had scrapped plans of transition to civilian rule and stopped protest actions against the oil industry.

Shell in particular, the biggest oil producer in Nigeria had been the target of attacks  by the MOSOP, in a strategic campaign that successfully shut  down  Shell's production in Ogoniland in 1993. In turn Shell was blamed both nationally and  internationally as the military junta first brutally stopped
protests by MOSOP and finally tried and  sentenced to death the group's  main leaders.

Following the  death by hanging of the Ogoni Nine, on  December 15,1995, SPDC publicly declared that the  Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas  (LNG) project construction, of which Shell is a 25.6 percent shareholder, had been approved and signed - a diplomatic coup for the Nigerian government. 

The following were the corporate strategic moves  executed by Shell  in the succeeding years  in Nigeria, in facing the challenge on demands   that it takes its business to the next level of CSR and
beyond maximizing profits and redeem its good corporate image in both  national and international level:

Shell in Nigeria

1977 March

• Royal Dutch/Shell Group espoused a  new Statement of General Business Principles which identified  five "areas of responsibility," to shareholders, to employees, to customers,  to external providers and to society.
• In the above mentioned document, Shell has included for the first time, a general commitment to human rights principles  and standards to  achieve sustainable development.
• The firm has  published the first yearly  report on the operations of SPDC looking at problems of environmental standards and human rights. Included also is the  initial group wide report on  safety, health  and the environment. 
• Shell  integrated in the company management procedures,  its commitment and support for fundamental human rights by  making it mandatory for the directors of the Shell group of companies  to submit annual reports  to Shell headquarters advising that they have complied with  the requirements of the Statement of General Business Principles.
• A " Management Primer"  on human rights issues was also prepared by Shell for distribution throughout the group

1998

• Shell  officially published its initial  social responsibility report. It "describes how we, the people, companies and businesses that make up the Royal Dutch/Shell Group are striving to live up to our responsibilities - financial,  social and  environmental." 
• The firm  also conducted the first of the many series of  workshops to discuss issues regarding the   environment and development  in line with  its Nigerian operations with local representatives and other interested parties in attendance.

1999

• May 1999,  Shell stated that it had engaged in "meetings and consultations, with a range of Ogoni groups and organizations" with the end view of   building "trust and understanding as a basis for addressing substantive issues of development and environmental management."
• In its 1999 report, "People, Planet and Profits: An Act of Commitment," Shell described the " Sustainable Development Management Framework" it had developed  and indicated that the organization  was developing a set of key performance indicators" on these  issues to enable stakeholders to compare the relative performance of companies in terms of environmental, financial and social indicators.

By the end of the  year 1999,   Shell brought out its Sustainability Report and stated that it was not complicit to any of the human rights abuses being a good citizen to the host country ever since it has started doing business in Nigeria.

Shell has also  made a lot of efforts to improve community relations with the local oil producing areas  of the Niger Delta by way of increasing  development spending and professionalizing the management and staff of all its  developmental  projects in the region.

Through  all of the above mentioned initiatives, Shell went on to become a  sectoral leader in the oil and gas industry, with regard to the development of  policies that pertains to  corporate social responsibility.

The Significance of Sharing our Blessings with Bahay Aruga (Service Learning - Post Event Reflection)

                                                                                   
Weekends are special  days that we all look forward to so we can be with our loved ones, family and friends. However, we should also find time to reach out to our other brothers and sisters in Christ and be men and women for others.

On Sunday, June 25,2017 was the  appointed "special day" that our DLSU MBA group for our Leadership, Ethics and CSR class converged  as  a team to share our blessings at Bahay Aruga in San Marcelino Manila.

Our DLSU MBA Team.
 First row, from left to right: Jennilyn, Zyrine, Marichu, Anne, Salia, Josh. Second row, from left to right: Liza, Mark and Apryl.

Bahay Aruga is a half-way house for pediatric cancer patients. Bahay Aruga  is the vernacular for shelter care. This is a place opened  because of the good heart of the founder, Ms. Mayette Bonilla. As Ms. Bonilla was not able to share her detailed stories about the founding of Bahay Aruga, I have gathered from  an article in the Manila Bulletin dated January 3, 2016,  by Monch Misagal that " It was Bonilla's exposure to a few relatives who succumbed to cancer that got her into thinking of putting up Bahay Aruga. Her niece and nephew died of brain tumor; a cousin died of breast cancer; and she lost her sister -in-law to leukemia. Before establishing Bahay Aruga, Bonilla was a regular donor of medical supplies and equipment to government hospitals and health centers. After she opened that facility two years ago, she relied on the Lord to help her meet the daily expenses and challenges."

Our DLSU MBA Team with family and friends joining us in our Service Learning Activity at Bahay Aruga.

During our "special day with the kids" Ms. Bonilla was busy with some urgent matter, thus we proceeded  at once to start the program with our DLSU MBA Team of nine classmates who also brought three friends, one daughter and one sister to help us in this sharing.

Here are the reflections of my team members as shared in our activity video:

Jennilyn: " The SL activity made me better appreciate life, especially the second life God has blessed me with."

Josh: " Nothing is comparable to what the parents of a child with cancer are going through. Truly blessed to have a day with Bahay Aruga family."

Mark: " It is more than the time spent but how we spent moments of our life to be with them and I think I just touched some of angel's hands."

Marichu: " It is not just the tangible gifts that you give but it is the joy in their hearts that you bring in .... Bahay Aruga experience was indeed a mission of extending the  young children's happy moments. #MissionFulfilled #HappytoServe"

Zyrine: " Spending time with the kids at Bahay Aruga made me realized that we should make time to do such activity more often. Happy to see cheerful and hopeful kids."

Liza: " We have our burdens which turns into blessings. At first sight it might be seen oblique but God is working towards our renewed life with Him. Keep the faith."

Salia: " This beyond words, let's continue helping the kids in our own little way."

Anne: " I was amazed by the strength of spirit and joyful hearts that our little friends at Bahay Aruga have shown us during our special day with them.  I will continue to pray for their healing and early recovery so they can truly be happy with their loved ones."

The DLSU MBA Team with the kids and their families.

Significance of the Games for the Kids:
The games that we have conducted for the kids
signified our heartfelt wishes and prayers

The Games Team posing for the camera with the game's winner.
 Standing from left to right: Sahlia, Anne, Liza and Marichu

for them to live a happy and memorable
lives. The games and the prizes that we have brought  were all meant for the children to enjoy and have fun. We know that they are in pain and are suffering because of the serious ailment that they have. But because of the joy and happiness that we have given them on that special day with them, we know  that even for a moment, they have forgotten about their conditions and have appreciated the time that we have spent with them. Likewise, we consider it a privilege for us that they were available to meet them personally and have fun with us especially those who are celebrating their birthdays in June.

The healthy snacks and cake served to the kids.

Significance of the Healthy Snacks and Birthday Cake: The healthy snacks that our Food Team prepared where all well thought of. We served bread slices with strawberry jam, fresh bananas, slices of cake and juices. All of these signified that we wish them healthy long lives, free from sickness and sufferings. These snacks also offers them a refreshing and healthy choice of food as we saw boxes of instant noodles in a nearby area.The birthday cake which was donated by one of the generous friends of one of the team members, signified long life for all of them and that we want them to continuously celebrate their birthdays until they reached their  old age. We want them to  count the many long years that they will still be enjoying together with their loved ones, family and friends.

Gardening Activity

Significance of Planting Activity: Ms. Bonilla requested for our final activity to be the planting of  vegetables for the vertical garden.  She wants us to plant vegetable seeds with the children so that we can have additional interaction with them. She wants the kids to experience how to tend and grow a garden while they are at Bahay Aruga. This signified hopefulness which all of us wants to leave with the children. We taught them how to plant the different vegetable seeds and then water them afterwards. We told them that they have to take care and water the seeds everyday. If they do this everyday then the seeds will grow and they can harvest and cook them. This will give them something to look forward to and remove their minds from their worries.

All of these activities were very significant to all of the team members and the children as these enjoyable activities bonded us together and the memories that were created will be in our hearts forever. Hopefully God will grant all our hearts wishes and prayers for all of our new small friends to be healed and live normal happy lives once again. May God bless us all!

Our Team's Donations

Our team has prepared and compiled a video of our sharing and reflections. Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4v8rDmY3fM

Firestone's Tire Recall

                                                 

Harvey Samuel  Firestone , Founder of  Firestone
Tire and Rubber Company
Photo credit:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Samuel_Firestone 

The Firestone's Tire Recall case's central point is on ethical decision making during a  company crisis and our DLSU MBA BUS560M-2017 case team  was assigned to be the Interrogating Group. Here are the highlights of my  reflection on the case analysis of our team.

In 1900,  Harvey Firestone established the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company while Henry Ford founded  the Ford Motor Company and started doing business with his Detroit neighbor, Firestone in 1906.

Both companies became major industry players in their own fields, with Firestone later on merging with  Bridgestone Americas Inc., a company that supplies tires for  motorcycles,  light trucks, vehicles for passenger, commercial, off road and  agricultural purposes. Ford on the other hand became a   global auto manufacturer and owner of premium and luxury vehicle brands such as Ford,  Volvo, Lincoln and Mercury.

In 1978, the largest tire recall  in history happened wherein  Firestone  recalled 14.5 million tires  and paid $500,000 fine for concealing safety problems.

Furthermore, in early 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)  started to take action on complaints of Firestone's tire  tread separation most of them on Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles (SUV). On August 9, 2000, a recall of  6.5 million tires was announced by  both Ford and Firestone.

Henry Ford, an American industrialist and
 founder of Ford Motor Company
Photo Credit:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford

On our SWOT Analysis.Ford's Strengths: Ford has a strong position in the US market; Ford has a good financial performance; Ford has a significant growth in China;

Firestone's Strengths: It has a well established brand name; Its products are well diversified.

On Ford's Weakness: It had a high cost structure; It has poor performance in European sales; It has weak environmental records.

On Firestone's Weakness: It has limited market share; It was known in the past for its largest tire recall in history at 14.5 million tires in 1978; the tire recall  has weakened the financial position of the company.


On Ford' s Opportunities: It has strategic partnership with companies needed for its production.
On Firestone's Opportunities: Globalization; Growing initiatives in promoting pro-environment friendly  products.

On Ford's Threats: Rising raw materials prices; Increasing competition of car dealers; Government regulations are becoming more strict  and complex;

On Firestone's Threats: Government regulations are becoming more strict and complex; Increased competition.

Our  group's statement of the problem was:  How could Ford and Firestone manage the crisis on their product's safety issues ethically?

Our objectives are as follows: To be able to manage the crisis on the  safety features of the company's products; To rebuild the  trust of their customers and general public; To identify the issues resulting from unethical practices in their processes; To  build continuing trust and  confidence with the key stakeholders.

Organizational behavior: Both companies are not admitting to any fault and they are trying to save their own companies from the  growing issues.

Business Ethics: It is clear that there is violation of good business ethics by both companies. They neglected certain early warning  signs about their respective products which could have been prevented if they addressed the early signs. Moreover, the responsibilities that were not  shared by Ford  and Firestone affected their businesses and resulted to loss of customers  and loss of trust for the partnership of both companies.

For the best alternative course of action (ACA): We highly recommend the: The total recall of the defective products, collaborate with each other in designing safer products and structure after sales  service.

Pros: This ACA could possible prevent the occurrence of the accidents to the customers; Trust and confidence to the companies by its customers will be regained. No further issue affecting the companies'  name and  reputation; Total quality of the products will be assured and monitored.

Cons: Conflicts may result due to diversified opinions; the companies may need to put a large amount of investment into research and development; Total recall would mean additional cost to the company; Development of new designs to replace the recalled items  require additional costs or more.

Best solution, Recommendation and Conclusion: Both companies should do a  total recall of the defective products, collaborate with each other in designing safer products and structure after sales service.

Action Plan: Do the Plan - Do- Check - Action (PDCA) cycle or the  Deming Cycle.

Plan: Identify the  strategies for total recall of the products by both companies;Identify other necessary counter measures and legal implications of the action to be  taken; Identify the manpower availability to be part of the team designing safer products and structure after sales service.

PDCA Cycle
Source: The W. Edwards Deming Institute/
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_89.htm

Do:  (1) Involve all the responsible leaders  and others in action  to be taken and the design of safer products  and structure  for an after sales service. (2) Provide proper training to all members of the team and revisit company policies  as to operations  and handling of the same issue. (3) Release an internal communication to all employees  and internal  audiences regarding  the new policies, if any, to make everyone be aware of the actions taken. (4) Develop series of scenarios that anticipate the crisis the organization may face, for exercise purposes,  and also consult with lawyers for any further implications.

Check: (1) Review the plan regularly; (2) Consider meeting between Ford and Firestone and ensure open  communication as to responsibilities and avoid blaming each other ; (3) Conduct surveys internally  and externally regarding result of the plan.

Act: (1) Strive for a timely and consistent flow of information to both internal and external audiences; (2) Continue collaborating with the stakeholders  and work on partnership between Ford and Firestone  to work on the action plan.

Since this is a cycle, if in case the changes were not successful, learning should be taken into consideration before starting the PDCA cycle again. Also while doing the each action in the cycle, continuous improvement remains to be a constant.

Silent Initiative: Pedro's Commitment to the Hearing Impaired

Our De La Salle University,   Master of Business Administration,  BUS560M-2017 Case Group  under the class  of Ms. Pia Manalastas, analyzed and presented the case of  the Silent Initiative: Pedro’s Commitment to the Hearing Impaired by Ms. Maria Cristina I. Alarilla. 

I salute Mr. Cecilio Kwok Pedro,  CEO and President of Lamoiyan Corporation for his  magnanimous heart for the hearing impaired. He is an exceptional leader  in the Philippine business world because he has shared not only his resources for the upliftment of the lives of the hearing impaired but also made them realized their true worth as a human being.

Cecilio Kwok Pedro, CEO of Lamoiyan Corporation (Photo credit: http://www.lamoiyan.com)

Mr. Pedro,  born in 1953 to a  Filipino Chinese family, has learned from his father  the value of discipline and entrepreneurial spirit.  After graduating from Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in  B. S. Management in 1975, he went into the hardware store business together with his classmate but did not succeed. He then went to Japan with his friends and was able to buy  an equipment with the P50,000.00 that he borrowed  from his father.

In 1978 he set up the Aluminum Container, Inc. (ACI) which became an accredited supplier of aluminum tubes for Colgate Palmolive Philippines (manufacturer of  Colgate) and Unilever (maker of Close-Up) for ten years. He also became a member of the United Evangelical Church in 1983, joined the Deaf Evangelical Alliance Foundation (DEAF)  in the same year, then became DEAF’s Chairman in 1993.

However, the above mentioned  client companies shifted  to laminated plastic tubes, which resulted to the closing of ACI in 1986 and the layoff of his 200  employees. Since he had the machinery for the production of aluminum tubes, it was Sun Star, Japan’s  biggest toothbrush manufacturer which trained and provided him with the  technology and training  in toothpaste production.

Thus, Lamoiyan Corporation was  born,  with Hapee as its primary product. He priced Hapee  30% cheaper than the  other  two toothpaste giants which  enabled him to capture 20% of the market share. As part of Lamoiyan's strategic move  to improve on their brand awareness, Mr. Pedro  sponsored the 1988 Philippine Olympic Team  and this resulted to making Hapee the number three toothpaste brand in the Philippines. In 2004, Mr. Pedro invested P100 million and another round of P150 million in 2006 to 2007 as part of his vision  to be a major player in the manufacturing  industry.

Hapee Classic White (Photo credit: http://www.lamoiyan.com/?page_id=263)

Mr. Pedro's principle of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can be seen  in the following statements which he always shared with his fellow businessmen: " Corporations should not only focus on making profits but should also contribute to the environment, the community and especially the  persons with disabilities (PWD's)" ; "We are held accountable to our creator. When we die, it doesn't matter how much our money is, what matters is how much we have done for the community." ; " My primary intention is to encourage more businessmen to be socially responsible - to help people and to give back to the community."

The  Equal Employment Program for the hearing impaired  was started by Mr. Pedro at ACI in 1978, which he also  implemented when he established Lamoiyan Corporation in 1988 and  integrated this in the company operations.   At Lamoiyan,  the hearing impaired employees  enjoyed the same benefits and privileges as the regular employees and they are treated equally in all aspects. The company  provided sign language training to hearing employees to enable them to interact and communicate effectively with the hearing impaired.

However, Mr. Pedro's personal  mission  of propagating the hiring of the hearing impaired  was threatened with the new innovations in machines,  current trends in outsourcing  services and hiring of contractual employees in the manufacturing industry.

Thus, in our group's analysis of this case, we chose the  position and point of view of Lamoiyan Corporation and  the best alternative course of action that we chose was:  Lamoiyan Corporation will establish strong partnership with various  professional business associations and foundations in the country to buy-in to the idea of establishing a Training Academy that would produce competent hearing impaired  workforce which can be employed by the different companies or associations in the country.

We highly recommend the above mentioned alternative course of action because this has a multiplier effect. Meaning, if we get the buy-in of a big number of member companies of the various associations, organizations and foundations in the country, such as the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries (PCCI)  with 400 active members,  the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) with 105 chapters nationwide and the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF)  with a membership of more than 80 of the Philippines'  biggest grant making corporate foundations and corporations,  then Mr. Pedro will be able to help the hearing impaired which he considers the poorest of the poor because they are PWDs and they are having a hard time finding work.

Through the  strategic partnership with these organizations, the personal mission of Mr. Pedro will bear much fruit and the magnitude of impact that this endeavor will bring to the hearing impaired people at large will be very significant in terms of giving back to the community.  Based on research, he found out that there are close to half a million people who are hearing impaired and from these, only 10 to 15 percent have work.

We have totaled the number of member companies of the above organizations and it totaled 585 companies, corporate foundations and chapter organizations. Thus, if each entity hires at a minimum of 30 hearing impaired employees, then there will be an initial group of 17, 550 who  will have decent jobs and this will just be the start of great things to come for the advocacy with a heart of Mr. Cecilio Kwok Pedro. May God continue to shower him with blessings.

Sharing of Our Blessings at Bahay Aruga (Service Learning- Event Proper)

On Sunday, June 25, 2017, I woke up early as this was the agreed day with Ms. Mayette Bonilla, Founder and President of BahayAruga that our De La Salle University (DLSU) Master of Business Administration (MBA)  BUS560M-2017 Class Group will share our blessings to the pediatric cancer patients.

After breakfast, donned with white t-shirt with Green Archers printed in front and my blue jeans and black rubber shoes, I have  gatheredall the  items that I can share like new folding umbrella,six pieces of white face towels,  one purse, one pouch  and a small black bag (from Watsons) and a black back pack (my Christmas gift from  our client Court Meridian Hotel, Subic).

 I went straight to the plant store near our village.  I as I was the lead person for the requested vertical gardening activity of Ms. Bonilla, I purchased all the required materials and tools assigned for me to buy.  Thus,  I bought six half sacks of garden soil and had it loaded at the trunk of my car. Then I went to the nearby Handyman Store inside the  Robinson’s Townsville and bought three pieces of garden tools for my team,  various vegetable seeds in packets,  three small chairs and three pairs of  hand gloves. As there was no available water can, then I bought   one small pail and one small water dipper. 

With all of the required materials already completed, I had a quick lunch at Army Navy  along the way and then proceeded to BahayAruga  at San Marcelino, Manila. The traffic was light that’s why I was able to arrive at the agreed time of 12:30 pm. Some team members were already there while the rest of the  team arrived one after the other.  My team member , Josh  and his sister were  there already so they  helped me unload the sacks of the garden soil,  the bags of prizes, and the other paper bags of seeds, and plastic wares for gardening. Mark was still on his way because he had lunch with his family.

When I went inside the multipurpose area, I was surprised that all the kids and  their mothers were already seated on the chairs and were waiting for us. The agreed time with Ms. Bonilla for the event proper was 3:00pm based on our site ocular and meeting with her  last June 2017.  We arrived early at 12:30pm to give each of our groupstime  to prepare. Like for thevertical  gardening activity,  my team mates (Josh and Mark) and I planned  to just put ahead of time,  the garden soil on the plastic pots (that Mark will purchase and bring to the site) so that the kids will just put the seeds, then Josh will water the plants and then Mark will facilitate the hanging of the plastic pots on the vertical garden mesh wire.

When I learned from our team that the parents said that Ms. Bonilla said that they were instructed by Ms. Bonilla to proceed to the activity area as the program will start at 1:00pm. Thus, I talked to the parents and informed them  that the agreed start time for the program will be at 3:00pm. We were just there early as we need to prepare everything beforehand. But they said that the kids will already sleep at 3:00pm. With this, I had a quick meeting with our team and we agreed that we will already start with our games with prizes, while the team in charge of the food, i.e., Jennelyn, Josh and Apryl  will prepare the food already and then after eating, we will proceed with the gardening activity. Marichu brought her friend, while Josh invited  his sister and Liza came with her daughter too to join us.  These three angels helped us to take pictures and videos to document  our activities.   Mark also brought his video cam so he can take videos for our team.

I promised Marichu (the lead person and host  for the games), that I will help her with the games and distribution of prizes. Zyrine, Zalia and Liza also helped in the games. Originally, Marichu prepared just three games, i.e., Bring Me with six winners; Stop Dance  with three winners; and Hep-hep Hurray with one winner. However, we had lots and lots of prizes after these three games, so I suggested to Marichu that we also do a Trip to Jerusalem, then conduct a Raffle and give numbers to  25 kids so we can give away all our prizes. Zyrine and I prepared the two sets of small papers with numbers 1 to 25. I put the first set of 25 numbers in a paper bag and the other set, I asked each and every kid to get a number for the Raffle Game.

The kids and their respective mothers enjoyed all the games conducted by our team for them. They were able to get all sorts of gifts from us such as different colors of bath towels, face towels, umbrella,  drinking tumblers, packs of notebooks with crayons,  bags, purse, back packs, etc.

The Games Team during the Hep-hep Hurray game.

Enjoying the Hep-hep Hurray Game with the kids.

Anne posing with the winner of the game.

We were only given two hours to do the whole program, i.e., form 1:00pm to 3:00pm. Thus, right after the games, the Food Team who were preparing their healthy snack of bread with strawberry jam and fresh banana took their turn to announce the snack time. They were also able to get a donation of a birthday cake for the kiddie celebrants for June and July.  Everyone  sang the  happy birthday song and the celebrants were able to blow their candles on the cake.

The Food Team, busy preparing our healthy snacks.

Our healthy snack treats.

Right after the games were over, I proceeded right away to the gardening area to prepare and put soil   on the pots brought by Mark. Josh, Mark and I used the green gloves and  the  small  green kiddie chairs that I bought. Liza also helped us in putting garden soils in all the 50 small plastic pots. The sister of Josh helped us put stick-on labels  on the pots to help identify the kinds of vegetable seeds that we planted on each pot. After a few minutes, the children began surrounding us, as they were curious on what we were doing. I have informed them that we are creating a garden for them to take care of and that they can help us by putting the seeds on the soil. So our team had a bunch of kiddie surrounding each of us and we all helped them one by one put the seeds on the soil. They also helped us water the pots with seeds. Then when all the said pots were done, Mark hanged them one by one until all the pots were hanging on the vertical mesh wire of Ms. Bonilla.

Anne with Kyza during our gardening activity.

All these time, Ms. Bonilla was not present during the whole program. She only appeared during the start and end of the activities. I think that she was not interested in what we had to share as they  were all in kind and not cash.  Each segment was done in 30 minutes time. Thus, by 3:00pm, we  were done with all the activities and clean up.

The team members were all  happy that we had a successful execution of what we had planned. One parent requested us to buy some souvenir key chains which were handmade by all the patients and their parents to help them with their expenses. These keychains were all beautifully made from the white and  yellow pages of telephone directories. The parents even requested us to bring them Telephone directories so they can be made into paper keychains to raise funds for their children.

The DLSU-MBA BUS560-2017 Team together with the pediatric cancer patients at Bahay Aruga after our Service Learning Activity.

With this, we  liquidated with Zyrine all our cash advances so that we can determine how much cash was left so we can use it to purchase the beautiful keychains priced at P50.00 per piece. 

With the left over cash, all of the team members including family members and friends  chose three keychains each as our souvenirs  for a job well done from this heavenly place called Bahay Aruga. 

MY TOP 5 TERMINAL AND INSTRUMENTAL VALUES

MY TOP 5 TERMINAL VALUES AND INSTRUMENTAL 

TERMINAL VALUES

SALVATION

Salvation  is my number one priority in terms of terminal values because as a Catholic,    it is my earnest desire and prayer to go to heaven. Thus, I will do everything to be able to make this a reality. I will attend the Holy Mass every Sunday and other days of obligations. I will also go to regular confessions so I can receive the Holy Communion every Holy Mass.  I will pray the rosary everyday. I will be devoted to our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and seek her intercession when the time comes that I will leave this world.

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal's  apparition to St. Catherine Laboure. (Photo credit: Association of the Miraculous Medal)

FAMILY
Family is my second priority after my soul because they are the reason for my existence. My family and my children inspires me to be a  better person and to be an achiever because I want them to be proud of me and my achievements. My family is my source of joy and inspiration. I love them very much.

My family

HAPPINESS
This is my third most desirable terminal goal because I know that money cannot buy happiness that's why I have to create this and make this happen. Happiness is a state of mind. And this is found inside you. You cannot depend on other people to give you happiness. You have to achieve this yourself.

I think the secret to happiness is contentment and having a grateful heart.   It is also found in doing the things that you love to do every day. Like in my case, I love to go hunting, collecting  and reading John Grisham's hardcover legal thrillers. I also collect English love stories/movies  with happy ending in CDs and DVDs. I also love to go shopping and traveling. Gardening is also a great source of joy, especially when your plants have new growths/plant shoots. This means that you have to separate  and transfer the baby plant in a new small pot and replant the mother plant back into its pot. Like last week, I had six new plant shoots. Thus, I have six  new baby shoots.

COMFORTABLE LIFE
Living a comfortable Life is my goal and  I have already finished paying for my house and my car.

Thus, my focus now is in creating and building my retirement fund. My monthly  contribution with SSS is in the maximum range allowable. I have also increased my contribution to the PAG-IBIG FUND so I can get back all my contributions in accordance to the new program of PAG-IBIG  of return of contributions when you retire. Likewise, I have also increased my contributions to our company Provident Fund. On my own, I am saving with the bank so I am liquid and can move flexibly under  any circumstances. 

SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT

A Sense of Accomplishment is my fifth priority because after I have achieved the first four terminal values, then I know that I have done something about my top personal goals. My three children whom I sent to Lasallian schools  are now all professionals and have lives of their own. They  are on the top list of my accomplishments. My eldest son now works with Australian New Zealand Bank (ANZ) and was promoted to Assistant Vice President of the company last year. My nurse daughter now works at the Singapore Red Cross and with prior working experience as an ICU nurse at the National University Hospital in Singapore. And my youngest son will start work this July 15, 2017  with an American BPO company. As for me, I'm currently working for an international maritime training center owned by Norwegians and will be celebrating my fifth year with this company by September of this year.

INSTRUMENTAL VALUES

INDEPENDENT
I am a  highly  independent person ever since I was small because I was the eldest daughter  and my parents are always out of town doing their business. Thus, I was already both mother and father to my younger brother and sister as early as Grade 6. I take care of  my siblings. I tutor them with their school assignments. I cook for them. I attended their PTA meetings in school when required. So when I got married, I already knew what to do and how to make good decisions for me and my children even though my husband was working in a bank in Jeddah, KSA.

AMBITIOUS

I have lofty goals like after finishing my MBA from the De La Salle University (DLSU)  in Manila   I would like to enroll in Law School too. It's only now that I am able to pursue my MBA because of family and financial  concerns. Now that all my children are already independent and living their own lives, I thought that this is the right time for me to pursue my other dreams.

RESPONSIBLE

I am a highly responsible person. I was both mother and father to my children and I was able to finance and send them to De La Salle University in Manila  (for my eldest son) and De La Salle Health and Sciences Institute in Dasmarinas (for my nurse  daughter)  and College of St. Benilde (for my youngest son) for their college schooling.

LOVING 
I am a very loving and caring person to my family and children. I work hard to be able to provide for all the needs of my children. I always walk the extra mile for all of them. I support them in all their endeavors. Like when my eldest son was building his house in Paranaque and the bank has not yet released their second tranche of loan, he asked me if he can borrow  money from his grandmother (my mother) and I said no need to call my mom because I will be the one to lend him the money that he needs. And this made him very happy and thankful.

When my nurse daughter was applying in Singapore, she informed me that she needed a big amount of money to pay her placement fee with the local agency and I said I will finance her placement fee. She said that she will pay me back within six months from the time she starts working. And I said no need to pay me as that was my gift to her. But my daughter insisted in paying and I said alright, you can pay within one year. But she said that she will pay me in  six months time and I agreed.

My youngest son has been on his own right after graduating from college. He has been renting an apartment near Lasalle Manila. When he is in between jobs, I give him an allowance so he is able to pay for his apartment and utilities.

Thus, my son informed me yesterday that he has been accepted in an American  Business Process Outsourcing company already and he was asked to undergo his medical examination and report to work on July 15, 2017. I was so happy that all of us have jobs now. This means that we can already continue pursuing  all our  other dreams.

HELPFUL

I  always help other people in any way that I can. I'm a very generous person. I treat my staff in the office as my family. So if they have any personal  concerns, they can easily approach me and ask for my help or assistance. I always understand their predicament and I try to put myself in their shoes. Therefore, they value this very much.

In my own humble way, I also help the street children and poor beggars by giving them alms, i.e., money, food and donations of clothes. I usually gather all my left over food from my refrigerator and pack them each night in one or several paper bags so that I can distribute them to needy beggars which I usually find along the streets that I pass everyday going to work.

I also  gather and put together in bags all old clothes which are not anymore being  used by my children and give or donate them to needy people in our community.

FILIPINO VALUES REVISITED

Filipino Values are standards of behavior or beliefs   which most Filipinos regard as sacred  in their lives and are passed down from generations to generations. The following are some of the most noteworthy principles that Filipinos care about deeply and take pride in themselves.

Closeness and Solidarity

Filipinos are a closely knit family. They all live together under one roof and sometimes even though the children are married already and with children of their own,  they are still living with their parents. They are all united as one family and one clan. Most of the time the clan lives in a compound or just near each other. When the parents grow old, the children takes care of them and provides for all their personal and medical  needs.

Unlike in the Western Countries where they send their parents to home for the aged  or residential nursing facilities.  The Westerners  cannot take care of their parents as they are  busy with their work. They don't have a maid to look after their parents that's why sending them to nursing homes is their best option.

Politeness
Children are taught early in life  to be polite by saying "po" and "opo" as a sign of respect for the elderly. Politeness, i.e., being considerate and respectful of other people  is also being preached in school. This way, this good behavior will be ingrained in them while they are still young and will be something that they can cultivate, develop and bring with them when they grow up.

Hospitality
Filipinos are  known for their hospitality worldwide. This is one trait of Filipinos which endears them to co-Filipinos and foreigners. When a guest is invited to a Filipino home, they are treated with kindness, warmth and respect. The guest will be offered the best food in the house and will be treated like a royalty. The guest will be served to the utmost even though there will be no more food left for the other members of the family.

During town fiestas, the traditional  Filipino family will prepare and cook roasted pig called "lechon" early in the  the day as they will request their relatives  to help them with the cooking. Then during the fiesta proper, their clan, friends and other relatives will visit them and eat from their feast. The prominent  Filipino host will offer all the best cuisines and lay them all on the long dining table. He will welcome the town mayor, the parish priest and all the other prominent officials in the barangay.

Gratitude
This is  one value which is very unique to Filipinos. We call it "utang na loob." This kind of gratitude is returned to the other person when the time comes that it is the other person's turn to pay it forward. It is supposed to be a positive Filipino value. However, when it is applied in politics it takes on a different color.

Social Acceptance
Filipinos value social acceptance and this is called in the vernacular as "pakikisama." This means that they will do everything in their power just to have a smooth interpersonal relationship within their sphere of influence. They use nice persuasive words, soft voice, gentle manners just to be in good terms with everyone around them.

Economic Security
For the love of family, Filipinos opt to go work abroad just to be able to provide for their families and ensure economic security. They will not think of the  hardships and sacrifices that they are encountering just for them to be able to send money to their respective families in the Philippines. I have experienced this first hand as my husband became an Overseas Filipino Worker and went to work in big bank in Jeddah, KSA.

Trust in God
The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country brought about by the 333 years of Spanish colonial rule. Thus, more than 86%  of the population knows about God and trusts in Him. We have a lot of private Catholic schools in the Philippines initially established by various foreign  missionaries from different congregations, that's why majority of us Filipinos  are Christians.

We have witnessed and experienced two great miracles in the Philippines attributed to the intercession of God and the Holy Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the EDSA Revolution of 1986 popularly known as the " The People Power" and the peaceful oust of President Joseph Estrada in January of  2001, who was accused of corruption and inept leadership.

LEISURE AS CONTEMPLATION

One of the topics that has inspired me during our class discussion was  the topic on  "Leisure as contemplation." Our De Lasalle University Professor for Master of Business Administration subject -  BUS560M,  Ms. Pia Manalastas said that " in our leisure time, we refill and we allow for the grace of receiving."

 Likewise, she also mentioned that there are three habits of leisure/resting and receiving and these are: " Habit of solitude (daily silence); Habit of celebration: Weekly Sabbath and Worship; and  Habit of service: Going to the Margins."

HABIT OF SOLITUDE:
This is my daily habit of solitude. In the morning upon waking up, I pray the Morning Offering to the Sacred Heart  which goes:  "O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings for this day, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart, the salvation of souls, the forgiveness of sins  and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for all the intentions of our bishops, priests and all apostleship of prayers and in particular for the intention of our Holy Father for this month and my own personal intentions." Then I enumerate  my personal intentions for God's blessings.

I also offer  this prayer to all the "poor souls in the purgatory" so that in my own little way, I may be able to help them in their purification,  through my daily  prayers, works, joys and sufferings. I pray that whatever little merit that my sacrifices receive, I will also offer it to them to help hasten their going to heaven to be with God.

A photo of my new Holy Rosary.

On my way to work, instead of listening to music or the radio while driving,  I pray my favorite prayer, i.e.,  the Holy Rosary  and contemplate on the mysteries of our salvation. Sometimes when there is traffic, I sing  all the Hail Mary  and Our Father prayers as I believe that  just like in the HIGH MASS  where all the responses and prayers are sang, then this is my version of an elevated praying  of the Holy Rosary. I know that my  Mama Mary will surely smile and be happy with my humble offerings for the day. As each Hail Mary that I recite is like giving Mama Mary a  beautiful white rose and for every Our Father that I pray is just like giving her  a red rose. Thus, praying the complete Holy Rosary is like giving her  a beautiful   crown of roses and the Holy Rosary of five decades is a small wreath  of roses which we are giving her and  our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  As our priests and nuns say, " To Jesus through Mary" as Mama Mary is our Mediatrix. She is the Mediatrix of all graces. As Jesus bestows all graces through His Beloved Mother Mary.

In spite of my busy day at home and at work, I pray the Hail Mary whenever I get the chance, like while washing  the dishes, while sweeping the floor,  while doing my gardening, when I step out of the car and walk towards the elevator, while riding the elevator, while walking towards my office and every way I can pray, I pray the Hail Mary. It is my salute to my dear Mama Mary for all the love and care that she has showered upon me and my family. For always being there for me in every minute of my life. For if we love Mama Mary, Jesus will surely  bless and shower us with His love too, as Mama Mary is His beloved Mother.

HABIT OF CELEBRATION
In accordance to the teachings of the Catholic Church, it is our obligation to attend the celebrations of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass every Sunday. We all need to refill our body and soul with the many graces that only God can bestow upon us. So we should all praise and  adore Jesus during the entire celebration as He is present in the  Holy Eucharist and in the celebration of each Holy Sacrifice of the  Mass. 

We should attend  and receive as many Holy Mass and Holy Communion  as we can in our lifetime, because each Holy Mass that we attend and each Holy Communion that we receive,  will plead for us before God, when its time for us to go to heaven.\

HABIT OF SERVICE:

Is all about serving and sharing our blessings to the poorest of the poor. It means doing our Service Learning advocacy and reaching out  to the margins. As I am busy everyday with work and school at night time and weekend, I try  to pack any left over food from my refrigerator and hand it out to street children and beggars who I encounter on my way to work. This way, helping them out becomes an everyday thing and not just on special scheduled service learning activity.

We should really find time to help the marginals i.e., the homeless,  the orphans, the starving, people with special needs as helping all of them will make us realize that we  are  truly blessed, therefore, we should share these blessings.