Simple Arithmetic & Education Woes

I'm back and I hope my post sparks your interest.

In a different blog, I earlier wrote that the quality of Philippine education can be accurately assessed by the people who man (or wo-man) the department stores. Today, I realized that the cashier can also be a good indicator. In two separate instances (actually two fastfood joints), I was reminded that the quality of education in the Philippines is continually degenerating.

Probably this is my version of Freakonomics, but just by observing them you learn a lot of things. During lunch time today, I was with a friend and we went to a restaurant to (obviously) eat. It was already 1:00 in the afternoon so people were sparse and some tables were not yet cleaned.

We found a place to settle in and proceeded to the counter to order. After ordering, the comely cashier politely said, "Sir, total bill is Php 210.00."

I leafed through the bills on my breast pocket and realized that I had a 500.00 bill. I also knew that I had a couple of coins in my infamous coin purse (people who have seen it swear at me because I also store bills in it. It's a quirk).

So I replied, "I'll just give you Php 510.00."

The cashier just stared at me then accepted my bill. The cash register opened up and she took out Php 280.00 and gave it to me. "Here's your change."

For a moment there, I froze and my neurons sparked like wildfire sending signals to my mouth as it uttered the words, "Miss, shouldn't I get Php 300.00?"

The cashier was taken aback so her colleague came over and realized the situation. She asked her how much I gave and how much the bill was. The error was rectified thereafter. In what would be an embarrasing situation, her colleague took out a calculator and gently showed her why it was 300.00.

I thought that was that... who would have thought?

During the afternoon, I was to have a light snack with somebody.

Same scene, except that the restaurant was packed because it was mid-afternoon. After finding a quaint table, we decided to order already. After finishing our order, the cashier told me, "Your bill is Php 202.00."

I gave her a 1,000 bill, and she asked if I had 2.00 coins to which I answered in the affirmative.

The cash register opens and she gives me - surprise surprise - 790.00. What the...?

Anyway, it was resolved shortly thereafter.

Two times in a day? Maybe it's because of their harried state. But in the first instance, I and my friend were the only customer in line. I would believe this to be so for the second instance, but still....

People talk about the brain drain here and I couldn't agree more. In my current work, it's been a month already but I've only gotten a mishmash of so-so applicants for critical positions in my division. I thought that there are many people out there looking for jobs? It's either applicants are picky or there's no pool of quality applicants to pick from. So the story continues...

Investmenployment Part II

This is the follow up post to my earlier post on employment.

I purposely left hanging my earlier post with this last comment -

So Mr. Guerilla Investor, are you saying that a security guard, a janitor, or a driver should go to work to build a career? Don't they go to work for practical reasons?

In my almost 8 odd years of working, I have come to understand that initially, people work for practical reasons. Yes, you must work in order to live (unless you're sitting on a pile of cash), but when work becomes routine, when it becomes a requirement already, you get burnt out. And before you know it, you're writing your resignation letter for God knows what you created for a reason.

If you're a leader of others (i.e. a manager with staff under you), you have to be aware of the telltale signs that your staff is unmotivated or worse, on the verge of resignation. I've read and been coached that one sign is tardiness. The other is frequent absences. Of course, that's not the only sign you have to watch out for. You must get to the bottom of the subordinate's behavior.

Anyway, going back...

Lacking any factual evidence at this point, I will use empirical data instead, citing examples to establish my point.

The principle of being a career person is to have a goal. It's been said everywhere else and a lot of textbooks and career coaching books will tell you the same thing. Having a goal is an important tool for you to take a step ahead of the pack.

But I would add this point - at the core of having a goal is the word called driven. And with no pun intended, my first example is a rent a car driver I used to deal a lot with during my previous work.

More on it in the next post.

(I know I've been delayed two days since my scheduled post, forgiveness is not too much to ask right? ^^ Thanks for dropping by)

Investmenployment

I didn't notice time flying by until I visited the blog and noticed that my last post was March 21. I was busy writing a couple of articles for some publications that at some point, my creative juices were drained dry. Apart from that is the fact that I also now have an 8-5 job.

My brain cells are in splinters and I realized that I haven't posted anything new in the recent past. This isn't my normal schedule (I post something new every Friday) but I think I owe you to post something brilliant... I hope.

Having an 8-5 job is a good thing. The mind needs to be constantly nurtured and sharpened, and there is none place better than at work. You are there to strategize, to solve problems and to seek alliances. The best part? You get paid to do that.

Not everyone feels that way. I'm no organizational behavior guru and I'm not here to preach about a new management philosophy. Instead, I'm here today to offer you the perspective that employment - just like the other E called entrepreneurship - is an investment.

There's this common thread among employees that go to work for a handful of reasons - pay the rent, for the children, etc etc. Work is the means to an end. While that is correct, people need to be educated and taught that while work is important, it is having a career that matters.

Sure, I speak like an idealistic fresh graduate. But too many times, I've noticed that people leave organizations because they entered looking for work, not to build their career. Although I've read elsewhere that people leave organizations because of their (problems with their) managers. I agree with that also.

So Mr. Guerilla Investor, are you saying that a security guard, a janitor, or a driver should go to work to build a career? Don't they go to work for practical reasons?

I'll share with you my insight this coming Friday.

The Unemployed

I was watching the evening news and I caught an ABS-CBN clip showing a job fair. In view of the whole republic, the lady behind the desk asks a man,

"Okay lang ba sa inyo maging janitor?" (Do you want to work as a janitor?)

Tears slowly trickling down his eyes, the man weepingly replies, "Opo maam, basta lang matulungan ko ang nanay ko. May diabetes siya, wala kasi siyang pambili ng gamot."(Yes maam so that I can help my mother buy medicines for her diabetes.)

I find that so disconcerting that I still can't think straight about the Waves of Philippines Business I'm supposed to blog about. According to news, the country expects about 800,000 in LOST jobs this year. Let's make a tally of the reported losses to date -

FEDEX - 500 jobs cut
Intel - 1,800 jobs (It's a small small world, probably as small as the current job market. I recently found out that a friend's sister worked there, and she was one of those who lost their jobs)
Accenture - 500 jobs (I scoured the internet and found this from Yugatech.)

Anybody else who has their own tallies, please share. It is estimated that there will be 60,000 people who'll be out of work in the IT sector.

60,000 out of 800,000 is how many? 7 and a half percent. It makes you wonder where the other 92% of job cuts will be coming from. This coupled with the ominous return of displaced OFWs and people who have lost money to pyramiding rural banks and unscrupulous preneed firms make for a grim picture doesn't it? I can't help becoming a Yogi bearish person.

So amidst this, what can we do? What CAN we do?

I don't want to be like Dr. Doom, who today in CNBC proclaimed GE (the company that owns CNBC) and the United States as JUNK BONDS, live and within ear shot of those who watched the show this morning. He also states that the US could follow the Zimbabwean road, and that is 200% inflation rate. He isn't called Dr. Doom for nothing. Heh.

Manage your paycheck now. Control your spending. While it's good to spend (it boosts the economy), you don't want to overdo it. The next thing you will be holding might not be a paycheck but a pink slip. Stay safe.

Preneed in Need of Capital

I wanted to go back to the Waves of Philippine Business but the recent wave of bad news convinced me otherwise. Preneed firms under water, export manufacturing companies shedding labor, and a cement plant temporarily shutting down. I fear that the effects of the global recession are yet to be fully felt in the Philippines.

The response of the Philippine government is to pass its responsibility to other countries. Note this sad fact -

"Job creation is tough in the Philippines, where some 27 million people live on a US dollar a day or less and where one in three adults are unemployed or underemployed, according to official data.

Jennifer Manalili, head of the labour department's Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, said that as a last resort Manila could export more of its work force."

That's been the solution of the Philippine Government for many administrations already. Instead of thinking of creative solutions to spur local small businesses to prosper, politicians are busy eating away at their pork barrel and praising OFW's as heroes to cover up for their own shortcomings. There has got to be a more concerted effort to spur small business lending.

There are plenty of reasons why there are more sari-sari stores than supermarkets or groceries in the country. There are also plenty reasons why carinderias stay carinderias for eternity here. I am sure that one reason is poor lending practices or just common place ignorance about what is available out there. This deserves a post by itself at a future date.

I attended the "Meeting of Major Business Organizations on the 2009 Economic Roadmap" (Yes, that is the title verbatim) held two weeks back. The takeaway there was that the government would set up a support fund for returning OFWs. We just don't know when this will be in place or how this will be distributed. Maybe they will provide information soon.

Apart from that, the government is banking on the BPO sector to absorb the expected job cuts coming from the manufacturing/export industries. The BPO sector is expected to continue to grow this year. I wonder if President Obama will push through with his "bring jobs back to America" call.

What was not indicated (nor expected I believe) was the recent closure of three preneed companies - Legacy Consolidated Plans, Scholarship Plan Philippines, and All Asia Plans Corp. Before that, Pacific Plans of the Yuchengco group (now owned by Noel Oñate) also faced similar problems. There is something wrong with the business model of preneed firms, particularly those dealing with education pension plans.

(To know Noel Oñate's background check this.)

I wonder if schools in the country ever experienced recession? If I remember my corporation law right, I know for a fact that schools are not charged any income tax. So if they are not paying higher taxes, what merits their annual hike in tuition fees? Hmmm...

While it may sound like an excuse to some, Mr. Oñate's assessment is equally true - "He cites that while tuition has gone up by 30-40%, purchased educational plans earn only 10%."

In fact, just ask yourself, where do you invest money your money? Savings, mutual funds, the stock market, bonds, property, insurance. Now, assess all of these -

Those that give guaranteed returns are at the low single digits.

Those like mutual funds and the stock market are volatile and market dependent.

Bonds are below inflation rate (especially vs. last year), and most of them do not give you compound interest benefits.

Properties on the other hand are cyclical and depend very much on location (don't listen to your real estate broker about property as the best investment) and pretty much the rest of what happens to the value of your property rests on the FUTURE. Something you don't have any hold over.

Insurance on the other hand has a big return on your premiums invested. However, it requires that the planholder die first. So who enjoys the benefit? Definitely not the planholder.

So you see, where can you invest your money in the Philippines? These are probably the same questions the management team of preneed companies ask themselves.

While much of the anger and fury has been directed at preneed firms, there should be even more levied on schools. Private education is one of the major expenses in a family's budget. If tuition rate hikes are in the double digit areas, do you think that on wages alone, you'll be able to send your children to school? I don't want to wake up one day and see my tuition bill rise to 500,000 per semester. You should wonder about that too.