Hope Amid Tragedy
Amid unspeakable tragedy, we can always find hope that there’s a new tomorrow, a new day. I was browsing some news early dawn today and I found the disaster in southern Philippines still flooding the online news. Pictures of the aftermath captured my attention. I couldn’t help but cry when I saw a picture of a man carrying his dead son/daughter. The child was about same age of my firstborn. I could feel what the father feels. The pain is excruciating when a father feels the lifeless body of his child against his skin.
After a few minutes of scanning some pictures, I moved outside to embrace the cold wind that signals the month is December. Year 2011 is about to close yet hardships and pains strike every one of us. I remember the tsunami that devastated Japan last March 2011. It’s morbidity to think that we’ll always be safe from harm. No matter what happens we are still hopeful. That’s one thing I admire with the Filipino culture. There’s always bayanihan in times of needs.
The horizon I gazed had a streak of hope. I know there’ll be a new tomorrow full of hope.
Faculty, the Most Important Factor in Education
I know not everyone will agree to this claim that the most important factor in education is faculty. I didn’t even think about that when Sutherland invited us for a seminar-workshop. Participants were put into teams and presented their responses to the questions asked at the beginning of the workshop. Based on all the answers presented, no team mentioned about the faculty factor. They had all common factor– the school infrastructure. For them the most neglected aspects in education system are the facilities, technology, and other infrastructure. They might have a point but the workshop facilitator named Vjay brought out that FACULTY is the most important. He said that he learned accounting even without having a ledger because his teacher taught him so.
CdD Intramural 2011-2012 Opens Today
No doubt, everyone of us has a game to play in life! We all have sports side. I am a blogger, researcher, and an educator. Unbeknownst to many, I was a volleyball player in high school and a runner too. I don’t remember, however, that I won a game. Never mind, I don’t mind either. What matters is I am sporty too.
This year’s CdD Intramural opening is indeed spectacular. I am fascinated with the opening salvo, simple yet striking. I caught some pictures using my ordinary camera. Here are some of them.
Issues in the present Philippine Education System
Me, presenting our answers in the workshop
Last December 01, 2011, Sutherland fetched us to attend a seminar-workshop. When we finished our lunch, they gave us 10 minutes to answer a few questions about the issues in education system of the Philippines. A day is not enough to talk about that. Yet we were only given a few minutes to reconcile our thoughts and a minute or so to present it. Issues like innovation, empowerment, and the widening gap between the academe and the corporate world.
Is the education system of the country open to innovation? Yes, it does. It has been very open to innovation. Even though we lagged behind other developed countries, we still make some changes in the education system. The K+12 is an example. We want to be in step with the rest of the world.
Does it believe in empowering students? The answer is yes. Knowledge is what schools impart. Yet these knowledge should make them exercise their free will or their freedom to choose. They become empowered if they decide on what’s the best things they could do with their life.
What factors that widen the gap between the academe and the corporate world? Poverty, facilities or infrastructure, market forces, among others. Poverty is an old problem in the education system. It is not a very debatable issue.
I couldn’t recall all the answers of the participants, they were very spontaneous. It was, however, an enjoyable learning experience.
When to Use the Mean, Median, and the Mode?
by: Sherwin Ragos
The mean, median, and the mode are all measures of central location. These descriptive measures have bit differences from one another that are important for an statistician or a learner of statistics, general or business. When will you use the mean, the median, or the mode?
The first consideration should be the type of data collected. Is the data numerical or categorical? Numerical data are those that arise from numeric responses that have meaningful value. Categorical are responses in categories or classifications. Questions like: how many TV sets do you have at home, what is your weight in kilograms, elicit numerical responses. In contrast, questions like: what is your favorite color, what is the name of your pet, elicit categorical responses. If you have identified the type of data, you can now decide on what descriptive measures to be used.
When the data is numerical, you may use mean or median. But when the data is categorical, you may use the mode as a measure of central location. You might ask again, which one from mean and median to be used if the data is numerical? That is a perfect question. Mean is a measure of central location that is very sensitive to extreme values. Consider this example: 2, 8, 200. The mean of this is 70 and the median is 8. The difference between the two is obviously great. If the observations have extreme values or outliers, use the median because it will reflect a more realistic picture of the observations. Use the mean instead if there are no outliers.
Organizational Culture and Rituals
The seed of discipline germinates in a good soil of organizational culture. Culture, in general, dictates how and why we behave in the society which we belong. It governs our thinking thus controls our actions. It can be liken to the atmosphere that envelops us and gives us air to breathe in. Without the atmosphere, every breathing organism couldn’t exist. Without culture, humans could exist but would have no identity, no personality. Better not to exist at all if that is the case. Culture has elements just like the atmosphere that consists of a mixture of many gases. These elements are life-sustaining.
When you zoom out, you’ll see the culture of the society. When you zoom in, your lens focuses on the organizational culture which has the same elements of the general culture. One of the elements of organizational culture that manifests the values of the people in the organization is ritual. Ritual can be in the form of ceremony, celebration, observance, event, or activity that has special meaning to the people who are part of it. Its meaning are shared by the members of the organization. It is important because it enriches the culture which in turn enriches the people who get involved in it.
As the seed of discipline germinates in a soil of good organizational culture, the same culture which nurtures it and makes it grow. In time, it bears fruits at least hundred if not thousandfold. By its fruits you will know.
What kind of culture your organization has?
What is Business Process Outsourcing?
I recall BPO or Business Process Outsourcing is one of the ways a business can gain competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is the ability of a business to make competition irrelevant or it’s also doing better than the competition can do. BPO anchors its concept on CRM or Customer Relationship Management. It is a competitive advantage if businesses can build strong customer relationships — that is satisfying them not only during sales but also more importantly after sales. When customers buy a product, they are also interested on how it can be maintained. Support is needed to keep them satisfied and to build profitable relationship through repurchase.
The idea of BPO was made clear when Sutherland, a player in BPO industry, invited us for a seminar-workshop. BPO is a division of ITES or Information Technology Enabled Services. The seminar-facilitator provided us a background of the industry. He explained that while big businesses want to maintain their positions in the market through product innovations, they don’t want to lose their present customers. These present customers are potential future customers of future products. In order to do this, they have to build support groups across the globe which obviously very costly. What they do now is to transfer the responsibility to a third party, and that is the BPO industry. Call centers are part of that industry. It is just a speck of it. When businesses do that, they can now concentrate on research and development which is very crucial in a very competitive market. BPO is cost-effective and at the same time it satisfies present customers, and the result is profitable relationships.
Be Careful with Street Foods’ Beverages
It’s undeniable that we (especially to those belonging to classes C, D, & E), are patrons of street food vending. They have proliferated because we patronize them. We patronize them in turn because we are being satisfied by them. Who won’t anyway(except for those who have lots of money)? The price is right and affordable, food carts are accessible. Their convenience outweighs all other things. Palatable as they may seem, and enjoyable as they may suggest, be careful with street foods and beverages.
In a study conducted on the streets of Dagupan city, it is astonishing that 54% or more than half of the waters used by street food vendors for beverages do not pass the water potability test based on the Department of Health (DOH) standards. The study, however, could not ascertained which cause the water contamination. The researchers took sample from the street food vendors which they source them out from public water system and purified water refilling stations. Containers could also be the culprit of the contamination.
So next time you gulp a cup of buko juice or palamig, think twice,your chances of drinking non-potable beverage is more than half. You’re fortunate if your chance fall at the other side.
Bonifacio Day and Lessons Learnt from a History Teacher
It’s a holiday! At least a break a day before the busy month of December. Before November ends, I’d like to remember few things from negligible to more significant events in my life and the life of other people, past and present. My friend Keneth Bayani started his teaching career in the month of November 9 years ago. He’s not putting a period(.) in that chosen endeavor but intensifying it more in a different environment. The reason for his leaving is family which is really reasonable (I have a family of my own, I know the feelings, I’m sure you do too). Lesson number 1: Follow your heart when your brain says so it’s the right thing to do. Fight for it. I’ll miss you my friend.
It was November, 34 years ago, when my parents tied knot and exchanged vows as husband and wife. A year later I was born. You don’t need to guess on my age. Our family was not free from hardships (like many do). My father, who had not finished high school, had difficulty securing our material needs. My mother, an elementary graduate, was very eager to help my father to earn a living. Their willingness bore fruits. The 3 of us finished college and more. Lesson number 2: Do not give up, there’s always a place for you.
My Philippine history teacher shared lessons from the revolutionist Andres Bonifacio. Bonifacio did not win any of his more than 30 battles, yet he did not give up. He was not able to witness the fruits of what he was fighting for but his faith moved him to continue. Unlike Rizal, Bonifacio was expressive in his revolution. Violent as it seemed to be, but sparked the freedom that we enjoy today. Lesson number 3: Believe on the things unseen, that’s the true meaning of faith.
First YMAP Day
There is always a first. You won’t get into the second if you don’t have the first first. Last November 25, 2011, Young Management Professionals Society had its first ever YMAP Day. The Audio Visual Theater of Colegio de Dagupan was filled with YMAP members and laughter. The YMAP advisers and faculty of CBA including the Dean were also present to witness the not-so-prepared presentations (literally) of the BSBA students.
The theme of the presentations was set by one of the judges. He (because he is a he, oftentimes a she) opened the program in an interpretative dance with the song “Tuwing Umuulan.” The expectations about the show were also made clear by the emcees who by nature comic. It was obvious that stand-up comedy was the overall theme of the show.
Below are some of the scenes in the YMAP Day 2011.
