The
Philippines, subjugated by the West and East, can be termed as an amalgam of both
worlds. In business practices as well. "Learn
the good, discard the bad" is a dictum Filipino businessmen should view some
of the foreign business practices.
After all, the Europeans through Spain, ruled the country with an iron hand for
400 years and the Americans had their turn - culturally - for about 50 years.
The Chinese, on the other hand, had always been around - long before Spain - as
traders and pirates. The Japanese ruled briefly in forgettable years in the 40s.
Americans
then brought science into business and taught us to use OPM (Other People's Money)
that brought the importance of banking as an adjunct to private sector business
growth. Citibank and Bank of America held sway for many post-war years molding
Filipino bankers and businessmen into their mode of thinking. At
least, the G.I. Joes taught us about respect for time and appointments - away
from Spain's siesta and mañana habits. And the shameful "Filipino
time".
Excellent working habits and loyalty to chain of command and the corporation are
what the Japanese can best teach us. While they visit night clubs before going
home daily - this is really to keep their sanity - having worn themselves thin
in working very long, effective hours. The
Japanese are "imitative, creative" geniuses where they improve in making
everything the West churns into versions that are "small" and "better".
Smallest cars, smallest watches, smallest cellphones. The Japs are so patient
- they know that if you try all the bunch of keys to the lock, eventually you
will find the right key that fits. On
the other hand, the Zaibatsus taught us that in exchange for loyalty and efficiency,
one person and his family in Japan can be "provided for" for life. The
Chinese are the epitome of the "small profit, huge volume" philosophy.
They are also a frugal lot - and become spend-free only when the business has
reached its zenith. The Chinese also help one another - financially or by not
competing directly with friends. They are therefore, very good at making cartels
and "standardized pricing" - sometimes to the prejudice of the consumers. They
can also be very shrewd and to be called a "Chinese Jew" is the highest
compliment and derision - at being good or ruthless in business. Depending on
who is looking. The
next phenomenon Filipinos should watch is the so-called "Korean Invasion"
,according to businessman Ted Estacio. In
2006, 570,000 Korean tourists arrived in the country - and nobody knows how many
have stayed illegally in the country. It is said that 46,000 Korean families are
now settled in the country - in Manila, Makati, Parañaque and smaller cities
like Cebu, Bacolod, Subic, Davao and Baguio. They
are now engaged in various industries in the SME (small and medium enterprise)
as well as large construction companies (Hanjin) and in automobile and appliances:
Daewoo, Hyundai, Samsung and others. In
small business, they simply take over floundering Filipino businesses and then
enhance them a bit into a Korean mode so that they now have versions of the "lechon
manok", massage and spa centers, their own "7'11s" and Bi Wo restaurants,
Estacio claims. One
goes to suburban places and one see Korean barber shops, groceries, snack bars,
second hand appliances, motor shops, boutiques, churches, travel and leisure,
sports stores, and even medical services. Korean invasion? Many
of the Korean restaurants are clean and without clutter of too many tarpaulins
and waiters. It's usually a family affair - with parents and children running
the enterprise. They are very strict about menus, time usage and honesty. Unlike
the Americans, they start with their own savings or pool from relatives. Not from
borrowings. Koreans
are now scattered all over the Southeast Asia - being dubbed as biggest number
of foreign nationals in this region. In
the country, they first came as missionaries, then as "war brides" of
Filipino soldiers in the Korean War (footnote: Ninoy Aquino covered this war as
a teenage journalist). In the 1980s Korean firms gained foothold in the country
followed by their executives to run them in the 1990s. Starting
in 2000, Korean students and their families came to learn English here - and then
many became immigrants to the USA and Canada. Or stay in town. Whatever
their style and modality of businesses, the world had indeed shrank and it is
good enough that while Filipinos welcome foreigners, it would be to our best interest
that we retain some of their "best business practices". It's
a small world, after all.
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