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March 20 & 22, 2017 CASE 7: A Marshland’s Fleeting Flourishing? and Corrupt Countries

This week we had the last Good News Monday, which was about the company, Microsoft. Microsoft’s corporate social responsibility is mainly working to apply the power of technology to ensure corporate responsibility, safeguard human rights, and protect our planet. This is a moving CSR for me because it shows how technology can also help us and not just ruin our lives. Moving on to Case 7 entitled, A Marshland’s Fleeting Flourishing?, which is about Solomon who is an engineer at an environmental engineering firm. Solomon’s task is to advise clients what actions to take when they are faced with risks and liabilities in certain projects. In one project of Solomon, a client wanted to expand their campus. With this expansion, however, it is said to be that the client must take care of his waste so that there will be minimal damage to its surroundings. The client came up with a cost-effective plan but it does not answer a sustainable plan for the environment. Solomon now has a dilemma on what he should do. In this case, we see how it is not very ethical for Solomon to go with the plan of the client because it is not ethical and he would not be doing his job as an environmental engineer consultant if he pushes through with it. The decision that we decided was for the client and Solomon to have another meeting and come up with a compromise that would satisfy both the client and the environment. This alternative would be best as it will be more ethical and would cause less damage to the environment. Moreover, the client would also still have his expansion.

The class also reported on different corrupt countries. Each group for their selected country discussed the corruption issues and solution as well as the country’s rank of corruption. Each group’s country are as follows:

Mexico 

Syria

Denmark

Philippines

South Korea

Malaysia

India

As you can see from the list, Denmark is presented by group 3. You may be wondering why the group chose this. The group said that they chose Denmark as their country because they want to show how the corrupt countries what they could do and maybe follow what Denmark is doing. Our group, on the other hand, presented the corruption in India. India’s corruption is mostly on the government side which says something. It is not entirely on the individuals why the country is said to be corrupt but for the government themselves. Sure there are some cases of individuals such as bribery but it is also the government officials who accept these. Learning about these countries, I think the corruption will not entirely disappear because of the characteristics of individuals and also those who are being influenced by others. We will not be able to control the abusing power of a high position and also we will not be able to control the actions of others. For now, I believe that we should try and minimize such corruption issues by following the laws and also by not being corrupt ourselves. If we start with ourselves, we may influence others and we would also not bring up the practice of corruption when we grow older or when we get to a higher position.

[miss-ideal-blog]

March 17, 2017 CCT Visions of Hope: Good Table Manners

For the last service learning meeting, the group basically decided to talk about table manners. The same routine was done, meet up in the morning and go together to Cabrera. This last meeting was kind of sad and also a relief. I guess it was sad since it was the last time we’ll be seeing the kids and also a relief because we wouldn’t have to go to the center every Friday. So we started with recapping on the things that we have discussed on the first two meeting which were good hygiene and good manners and right conduct. The class was still so sleepy and lacked energy at this point unlike the past 2 meetings. No one really wanted to answer our questions, maybe only like 1-2 students would. We, however, would make them active by saying “sige wala kayong Jollibee” which somehow made them participate more. The discussion went further on as we explained where the fork and spoon should be held and what not to do on the dining table. The things we taught were pretty basic just like praying before meals, not talking while chewing and no elbows on the table. These may be basic for us but it is a new learning for them. Since these kids came from the streets they did not really experience eating on dining tables or tables for that matter. It was very heart warming that they listened to us and actually learned something that will help them. In the end of our last service learning, we feed the kids Jollibee burger steak instead of just small snacks. We think that it would be best if we gave them an actual meal on the last visit and it would also be appropriate for our topic. Since we talked about table manners and using the utensils properly, we were somehow able to see it from the kids as they ate.

Overall, the service learning was tiring but also very inspiring. After 3 visits in this center, I think that the kids would be able to remember at least one thing from what we have thought and I hope that they would remember us for it. Visits like this would always feel so hassle for me but once I see the kids, it wouldn’t even matter. I like to give and don’t really expect anything in return. I believe that doing good things will help me live my life more and would make me happy. Learning and realizing things are important to me. The life lessons that each service I do brings me up and makes me a better person. This service learning activity for CSRGOVE was very uplifting and has also gave me a different perspective on those who grew up in the streets. These kids did not want to grow up like that but they didn’t really have a choice. There was no opportunity for them but this foundation gave them the opportunity to live a better life and I am very happy that I was able to help them and be part of Visions of Hope even just for a short while.

[miss-ideal-blog]

March 13 & 15, 2017 CASE 5: A Lengthy Dilemma and CASE 6: Giving In or Giving Up

We only had 1 class for this week and it was on March 13, Monday. March 15 was a scheduled “free cut” for our service learning activity. This week Case 5 and Case 6 was both discussed since there was not enough time last week for the Case presentation. Case 5 entitled, a lengthy dilemma, is about Monica who works at a medical company that reviews lab procedures on blood samples. Monica is instructed to return the blood samples if there is no signed consent form. Almost a year after she started working, she comes across an unsigned consent form of 14 pages. Upon noticing this she found it necessary to give back the forms to be signed, however, after reading through the forms, she believes that it is not sufficient to inform the patient because it is too technical and very long.  She puts in to thought on how the draft of the consent form was approved by the board. This case is all about doing what you think would be the best for the patient. Even if Monica, return the form to get it signed, the patient would not understand the risks because of the technical consent form. Our decision for this case was for Monica to go to her boss and ask for the validity of the form. I think that this should also be the alternative to do because it would benefit the company and also the patient. It would further help the company notice such incident and fix it as well as showing concern to the patient’s risks.

Case 6, on the other hand, entitled Giving In or Giving Up is about Ashton who has a project that would be established in East Africa. Ashton is thrilled about her project; however, she realizes that in East Africa the local government expects you to practice bribery. Her dilemma is that if she does not bribe the local government, her project might be a failure. If she continues with bribery however, she could face jail time and could be fined millions. This case really brought to my attention that it can happen to me when I work. In the future, if such incident happens, what would I do? Would I risk myself and the company for a project? It will be hard to decide on this since the dilemma is very hard to solve. Some alternatives would be 1) Bribing the government 2) Dropping the project 3) Convince the local government. Now all the alternatives given are harsh. It is very obvious that bribing and dropping the project would be an unacceptable choice so we go with the 3rd alternative. Alternative 3, which is convincing the local government to give permits without bribery, would be a good option but it would be hard. It may be hard but it is the most ethical choice. I believe, however, sometimes we may find ourselves choosing an unethical option so for a greater good. It may not be easy but you will be able to accomplish something. I think that in the future, when I start to work I will be faced with many challenges and I think that not all my choices may be ethical since there is no other way around it.

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March 10, 2017 CCT Visions of Hope: Good Manners and Right Conduct

In today’s service learning, our group prepared a discussion on good manners and right conduct. The kids today came a bit late since most of them just woke up and had to get ready. It was very heartening that these little kids wake up so early just to learn from us (our session is from 8AM-10AM). We started off by asking the children what they learned last time and I was very amazed by one of the kids since he would always answer and remember what we would say. I do not really remember his name but I will ask him in the next visit. The discussion began with the lesson on respecting elders; why we say “po” and “opo” and why we bless our parents or those older than us. When we started talking about this topic, the kids knew that it was the right thing to say “po” and “opo” and to bless the elderly but then they did not know why they were doing it. They were just taught to do it so they would do it. We explained to them that doing these certain acts are a sign of respect, which is a value that we should always uphold. Not only should we respect those older than us but even those younger than us. We concluded the lesson on this by showing them a video on the topic. The video some how also helped the children understand the lesson more since it was thoroughly explained and was also in Tagalog. Since sometimes we do not know the proper Tagalog vocabulary, it would be as clear to the kids so this video really helped. Another lesson that we explained was good manners and right conduct in school. We basically discussed that greeting the teachers all the time and helping them was the right thing to do because it shows respect. We also taught them the English translation of ‘thank you’ and ‘your welcome’. It seems that these kids do not really know English since they were take from the streets, they only know a few English words. The kids were really active and participated, which made us even motivated to teach them. The lesson on good manners and right conduct in school was also concluded with a video, which further explained what we discussed.

To further interact with the kids we also did some role-playing about the lesson so that they would really get to practice what we have explained. We divided the kids into 2 groups. The first group had the topic of respecting elders and the second group on good manners in school. It was very hard for us to make most of the kids act because they were very shy and were very makulit but in the end we got them to present a short skit, which they enjoyed and also learned something from. This role-play activity was a sum up and end of our main discussion. For the remaining time in our visit we taught the kids some dances, which they enjoyed and they also taught us a dance. This was a very good experience because I know that these kids came from the streets and did not really have such kind of interaction. The kids definitely loved what we were doing for them. Before we left, we also gave the kids some snacks wherein we inserted on our lesson by saying “thank you” and “your welcome” when they received their snacks. Overall, I think that this second visit was more enjoyable and successful.

[miss-ideal-blog]

March 6 & 8, 2017 The Spilled Coffee Case

Our week started with a schedule free cut period in exchange for the service learning activity. It was sort of a nice time for a free cut because it was somehow a much needed break from all the stress so thank you to our prof. The class, however, spent most of the time of this week in having the second quiz and finishing the debate about the Spilled Coffee Case. From seeing the second quiz from the beginning, I already thought that it was difficult. Reading some of the questions made me think if we even discussed these topics. It was that hard for me. I did my best to review and I hope that this time I did better than the first. I was also somehow irritated when we were taking the quiz because of all the noise in front of the class, they were just laughing at something that I did not know which somehow distracted me and kept me unfocused during the quiz. Nevertheless, I was still able to complete the quiz even if some of the items I was not sure if what I answered was correct. We were also not able to check the quiz because we had to allot time for the debate, which is why I would not know if I did better than my first quiz.

The debate left off with the point on liability and how hot the coffee was served. In this continuation, Mcdo started off with saying that they had to pay damages of 2.7 million as extra punishment to the compensatory damages. While, the US Code says that such should not exceed 3x the amount. On the other hand, the side of Mrs. Liebeck rebutted with saying that they only asked for payment for hospital bills and it was the judge/jury who declares the imputative damages. This debate, however, did not really turn out to be a good one since most of the points just kept repeating and going around. There were a lot of other points that could have been discussed which could strengthen both sides, especially on the side of Mrs. Liebeck. The side of Mrs. Liebeck did not even have a substantial closing statement that could have helped their stand one last time. As part of the jury, in the end we decided that Mcdo wins since they had more concrete facts and arguments as compared to the side of Mrs. Liebeck. I think that this debate was somehow a waste of time for the class since it was not as knowledgeable as we expected it to be. The class was somehow not into the debate and did not really prepare as much. I also think that this debate was rushed and could have been better if we had more time for it. There should have also been like a preparation day or a set of more definite instructions on how the debate would go since we just began with the debate with no clue on what to do.

[miss-ideal-blog]

March 3, 2017 CCT Visions of Hope: Good Hygiene

Our first visit in Center for Community Transformation - Visions of Hope Foundation in Cabrera was very enlightening. Our group started the day off with meeting in MCDO Taft and then heading straight to the location together. As we got to the place, we were welcomed by teacher Lanilyn and were lead to a room where Kuya Angel also welcomed us. Kuya Angel was the one who briefed us and explain what the organization is for. He talked about how CCT is a place wherein they help transform the lives of those who grew up and lived in the streets. The community aims to help these people, they do not call them “taong grasa” but call them “kaibigan” (friends). Furthermore, we learned that these people who were reached out to go through several phases to get their lives back on track. 1st phase: Trust building, 2nd phase: Invite to center, 3rd phase: Bringing them to Cabanatuan for Rehab, 4th phase: Skill Training. After they have gone through these phases, they will be given a job and a home wherein they can grow food. The children of this foundation, on the other hand, are brought to the center for a month to process identification and documents. Afterwards, they are brought to boarding school and soon receive jobs as well when they have passed the stages.

After we were introduced to what CCT is all about, we were then accompanied to the classroom where the kids of the community greeted us. We began our service with introducing ourselves and also letting the kids introduce themselves. The kids seemed very cheerful and willing to participate. Our main topic was all about good hygiene, specifically in how to wash their hands and how to take a bath. First we discussed about proper hand wash. We started off by showing them a video about washing hands then afterwards we talked about how we should wash our hands before eating or after playing or doing any activity because if not, germs will go to us and would cause us to get sick. We also demonstrated what to do when washing your hands: 1) Turn on the faucet, 2) Wet hands, 3) Get soap, 4) Wash hands with soap thoroughly through the tips and in between fingers, 5) Wash also the tip of your nails, 6) Rinse hands, 7) Turn off the faucet, 8) Wipe hands with clean towel. Second, we discussed about how to take a bath. We also began the discussion with another video on taking a bath. Afterwards, we explained why there is a need to take a shower everyday. It is so that we would not smell and would be appealing to others. We told the kids that if you do not shower, you will get body odor and would not have friends to play with because of your smell, so it is important to always keep yourself fresh and clean. Following the main discussions was a game of musical chairs for an entertainment to the kids and also snacks were given after the game. In the end we gave out alcohol for sanitary measures as a reminder of our discussion and was also sung to by the kids before our departure.

This first service-learning visit was a very enlightening and inspiring one. I was very overwhelmed by what the community does. It is amazing how this foundation has a self-sustaining community and can help one another grow and help others relive their lives. Not only did their community inspire me but also I am very grateful for what I have now. Compared to those who have started off in the streets, I cannot express my gratitude for what I have. I also am very happy that I was able to help the children of this community even in such a small way of teaching good hygiene. They were very accommodating and courteous.

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February 27 & March 1, 2017 CASE 4: To Ship or Not to Ship & Spilled Coffee Case 

Yet again, another transportation strike occurred in this week’s Monday suspending all work and class in campus. In short, we did not meet for class on February 27. Wednesday, however, is when we start the week officially. We began with the Good News Monday, Smart Communications presented by our group. Smart is a wireless communications and digital services subsidiary of PLDT, one of the Philippine’s leading telecommunications and digital services provider. Smart’s mission is to lead and inspire Filipinos to create a better tomorrow and their vision is to empower Filipinos everywhere with customer-focused digital innovations that unlock and share their infinite potential. In terms of Smart’s Corporate Social Responsibility, they are committed in strengthening community service initiatives on various fronts. Their main community partnership is Smart Kabalikat. This partnership is Smart’s initiative in involving themselves to work hand in hand with the community. Smart Kabalikat is about the community’s development in Edukasyon, Kabuhayan, Kaligtasan, Kalikasan and Kalusugan.

After the Good News Monday, group 4 presented the 4th case entitled, To Ship or Not to Ship. This case is about Rachel who is a quality assurance engineer at a large electronics company. She is also in charge of final testing and approving any products ready to be shipped to distributors for sale. Rachel also works with another company, which produces chips that is incorporated with the servers of Rachel’s other company. Rachel only has a limited time frame to conduct her quality control tests for the new servers that is released every 6 months. The Quality and Assurance department cannot perform tests on all the servers to ensure that they are not defective. Rachel will not ship any product that has not passed this testing but she will ship these products despite them to be possibly defective because if she doesn’t, her company’s competitor will. Here, we see the ethical issues of legal measure, employee morale, work ethics, company integrity and a violation in the “quality and assurance” of the products. Rachel in this case will not be the only one at stake but also both companies, the employees, the customers, the quality assurance team, their families and also the competitors. The decision made for this case was to suggest a new work schedule as it weighed a better option among the other two alternatives which is to suggest giving customers a warranty for the products and do nothing.

In addition to this, the class also started with the debate on the spilled coffee case. The spilled coffee case is basically about an elderly woman named Stella Liebeck who bought a coffee at a McDonald’s drive thru and spilled it on her lap. She sued McDonald’s and won the case with nearly $3 million for the damages and burns she suffered. As the group that is the jury, we were the ones who listened mostly to what both sides had to say and their arguments revolved around the liability of the customer and the temperature of the coffee. The debate, however, is not yet finished as the class lacked time and will continue on the next meeting.

Even though we only had a day for this week, we talked about a lot of things. From the arguments on some the alternatives on the case, I realized that in a factory or company, they check the products by batch and not per piece. With this I can say that it is not the best thing to do since you wouldn’t know if each item itself is defective or not, but then it is a rational way to check on a product since it is more convenient for them to check the products by batch and just take not on the batches that has defect. Moreover, I learned that from a debate there can be many arguments but we have to say the important ones and get to the point and state more facts and points since from the debate we started only a few points were raised that did not lead to as much detail for the jury’s decision.

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February 20 & 22, 2017 CASE 3: Off the Clock & Ethical Issues in Marketing

We started this week with the Akaba Ltd Design Co. for Good News Monday. Akaba is a lifestyle company, which designs bags made from hand woven textile from the Ilocos provinces. This company is a profit-oriented business but helps local designers grow. Akaba aims to achieve social impact in terms of producing quality products but not compromising the price. The company has four directions: 1) Provenance, 2) Social Artistry, 3) Inclusive Development and 4) Sustainable Impact. The company mostly helps out the Gawad Kalinga program.

Case 3 entitled, Off the Clock, was also discussed by group 3. The case is all about Sarah who was recently promoted to a managerial position at her industrial engineering company. Sarah does not have any experience in running a factory but is excited with her new position. Sarah, however, finds out that the workers in the factory still continue to work past their 8-hour shift. She then brings this up to the supervisor but she already is aware of what is happening in the factory. Sarah is shocked by this illegal practice and does not know what to do. Ethical issues arise from this situation as the factory workers are working past normal working hours without pay, which violates the labor code. Sarah also knows that what the company is doing is illegal and her job and life is at risk because of this. It is not only Sarah who is at stake in this situation but also the factory workers, the CEO, the supervisor, their families and the company itself. From this, we come up with alternatives on what can be done in the situation. 1) Sarah should just obey the company’s illegal act, 2) Talk to the boss and convince him to change the company’s unethical practices and 3) Sarah will report to the municipal about the illegal practice. Following the consideration of these alternatives, we decided that the best decision is to convince the boss about changing the unethical practice in the workplace.

After the discussion of the case, our professor proceeded in discussing on the relationship between employer and employees. The main duty here of both employer and employees is to work towards the goal of the firm and to do this there must be obedience and avoidance of activities that may be harmful to these goals. Downsizing can also happen in a company. This is when many employees are let go from the company rather than just a single termination. This is not necessarily unethical but it raises ethical quandaries. Besides from this discussion, groups also presented different unethical ads, which violate not only work values but also individual values.

I have realized that there can be many instances that ads can seem ethical but there are unethical meanings to it if you look closely. From class discussions, I can see that it will not be easy in marketing your company. As a marketing student, I learned that, we must be careful of the strategies we make and consider the possible outcomes it may lead to. Making marketing decisions, I must always remember that there is an ethical judgment and that values are brought upon it. There will be many opportunities out there but I must remember to always keep my mind on track. I must keep in mind that whatever I release, whatever marketing strategy I release should not only about presenting our product but also be ethical and informative and have values.

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February 13 & 15, 2017 CASE 2: Apathy over Anonymity

This week’s Good News Monday focuses on the company, Meadjohnson. Meadjohnson is a company responsible for developing high quality and innovative products that aim to meet nutritional needs of infants and children. This company handles Enfa, Sustagen, Lactum and Alacta. For Meadjohnson’s Corporate Social Responsibility, they seek out ways to foster strong communities and a healthy environment for generations to come. The company’s corporate citizenship programs are tied to 3 pillars: 1) Serving the marketplace, 2) Protecting the environment and 3) Nurturing communities. This company also deals with programs such as A Child’s Best Start Program, Feeding Hope Supplemental Feeding Program and Orphan Disease Program.

Group 2 also reported case two. Case 2 entitled Apathy over Anonymity is about Satomi, Max and 2 other interns who work as interns in a research facility that provides statistical results for a bioengineering firm, TechCureCase. Halfway through the testing, Satomi finds out that some samples were not anonymized because Max failed to verify them. Satomi considers whether she tells the supervisor about it or not but the other interns tell her not to speak up and just remove the information from the non-anonymized samples. For this, ethical issues arise such as Max deciding whether he should tell the supervisor or not and what the interns’ plan of action is. Here, there are a lot at stake like Satomi, Max, the 2 other interns, their families, the firm, the research facility, and the patients. From this we identify the alternatives that they can do. 1) Satomi tells the supervisor, 2) Max tells the supervisor and 3) The interns do not tell the supervisor and remove the information. After considering these alternatives, in the end, we think that the best choice was for Max to tell the supervisor. This alternative was the most ethical because it was most advantageous to almost all.

Aside from the Good News Monday and the case, the 7 groups also presented skits about unethical practices in the workplace which showed me somehow a view at what can happen in a workplace. Furthermore, we also watched 3 videos. The first video is about human rights saying that human rights are universal and equality is to everyone. The video also states that there is 3 dimensions to this. The first the dimension is all about protection from torture and ban from discrimination. The second is about wage, equality of men and women, right to decent standard living and right to education. Third is about the rights of groups meaning self-determination and peace. The second video is about Apple exposed. This video is mainly about how Apple uses workers from China who are young and also don’t get much benefits. Last video that we watch is about the royal treatment of SAS. This video is all about SAS giving the best workplace for their employees and giving them good benefits.

I can say that this week showed me that it’s not all rainbows and butterflies in a work environment. It can be tough and there will be challenges. Some companies that I may work with may do unethical activities but from this week I learned what I can do about it. I believe that in a workplace no one should be discriminated. All positions must be respected. Corporate Social Responsibility is not only about the sole welfare of the company but it can also direct to the needs and respect to and for the employees.

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February 6 & 8, 2017 CASE 1: Trouble With Training

Unfortunately, this week’s Monday class session was suspended because of a transportation strike. When we got to class, our professor just collected our first case and then after that we all were dismissed. On the Wednesday of the week, we resumed to regular class sessions. First we began with the Good News Monday, ABS-CBN Corporation. ABS-CBN Corporation is a leading media and entertainment organization. Its mission and vision is to be of service to countrymen. ABS-CBN follows values such as excellence, teamwork, teaching & learning, honesty, integrity & respect, mentocracy, and service orientation. ABS has corporate social responsibility activities like ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Bantay Bata 168, Operation Sagip and Bantay Kalikasan. These programs of ABS are mostly for the welfare of the community. Kids, families and the environment are what ABS-CBN foundation focuses on.

Group 1 also presented about Case 1 entitled Trouble with Training this week. This case is all about Sherry, a long time employee at a computer hardware store, who has to train new hires. However, Sherry feels like instead of training these newly hired graduates, she could be using her time to finish and complete her projects. Here we see how the ethical issues involve are how established employees invest a lot of their time to train recruits rather than working on their own projects. Sherry is also unsure if her concern is important enough to be brought up to the management. If Sherry does not bring this up, she may not be focused on her work, which can also affect her performance in the company. In this case the stakeholders would be Sherry, The 3 newly hired employees, the company, the manager, the Ethics Department, Clients/Customers, Sherry’s family and the 3 newly hired employees’ family. Given the information above, we now suggest for alternatives that can be done in the case. 1) Sherry asks for the management for some help, 2) Sherry brings her concern to the department and 3) Sherry does nothing and goes on with her job. In the end after discussing the alternatives, we think that Sherry should bring up the concern to the department because they might fix the situation better and also it seems as if it’s the most advantageous alternative.

The class also watched a video about corporate social responsibility. The video talks about how CSR is made to prevent corporate fraud, bribery and other immoral practices. CSR is not only risk management but also a compliance management. It is how companies make profits. It is about both the individual ethics and institutional ethics; the good and bad, the right and wrong.

From this week, I can say that CSR has started to be a bit challenging. With the first case, I can see that it has to be discussed by the group thoroughly as it is hard to just make up random alternatives. Choosing a decision in the end can also be hard because you have to weigh out the option and really see which is the best one for the case. Moreover, I learned from this week that Business Ethicists say that from CSR we should seek for what the world is like and what the world should be. We shouldn’t just say, “that’s the bad thing to do”. What is the good thing? We must determine what this should be and our standard for it.

[miss-ideal-blog]

January 30 & February 1, 2017 The Parable of the Sadhu

This week’s Good News Monday was Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney is not all about fairytales and cartoons but also has a lot of subsidiaries and wealth. Its vision and mission is to make people happy/be one of the worlds leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Walt Disney’s corporate governance is all about operating business with utmost integrity. Walt Disney Company has done a few things for their corporate social responsibility such as the Disney worldwide conservation fund, Disney volunteers program, Friends for change which help kids help the planet, Earth month which improve local parks, Feeding America which support food banks and the Disney college program.

In practicing more about making an ethical decision, the class accomplished Case 0, which is the Parable of the Sadhu. The Parable of the Sadhu is about a group of climbers of different ethnicity who find an unconscious and almost naked Sadhu on their climb. Each group gave some help to the Sadhu such as clothing and food but none actually helped the Sadhu get down. The climbers were all almost at the top and they cannot risk going back down with the Sadhu because such once in a lifetime experience. We begin the steps of making an ethical decision with looking at the facts and then we head on to determining the ethical issues. The ethical issues identified in this parable by the class were: ·      Pursuit of ambition vs. values ·      The Sadhu being a burden ·      Limit of ethical responsibilities ·      Differences in values ·      Individual ethics vs group ethics ·      Cultural differences ·      Was it ethical for the group to leave the sadhu knowing his current condition? After this step we identify the stakeholders involved in the situation. In the Parable of the Sadhu the stakeholders would be the community where the sadhu lives and family of sadhu, the company of Mr Macoy & Stephen, the New Zealanders, the Japanese, the Swiss, Mr. Macoy and Stephen, the Porters & Sherpas, and the Sadhu. Upon knowing all of these, we lead to making alternatives. We consider alternatives that can be the most beneficial to all. The class came up with five alternatives, which are: 1.     Help the Sadhu 2.     Kill the Sadhu 3.     1 member from each group help the Sadhu 4.     Abandon the Sadhu 5.     Do nothing In the end after considering each alternative, we made a decision that 1 member from each group should help the Sadhu. This alternative was somehow the most favorable to all since it is advantageous in all the ethical aspects. 

Besides the discussion of the Parable of the Sadhu, we also had our first quiz for CSRGOVE. It was somehow tricky and it also two points each, which made it more challenging. I believe, however, that I can do much better and I will do my best to get a better score in the next quiz. This week made me see that coming up with an ethical decision is hard because some alternatives that we think of may not even be beneficial to the situation. It may sound as if it has an advantage but when we deliberately consider it, it may not be so. I think in making an ethical decision we should all contribute our minds to it because 2 or more heads are better than 1. With more help, we can think of more alternatives. Furthermore, I start to see that a decision would affect more people than we would expect. From the internal individuals, it could lead to external ones. It is very tough to find the best decision but in the end we have to choose the one with the least disadvantage.

[miss-ideal-blog]

January 23 & 25, 2017 Ethical Dilemma and Ethical Frameworks

This week’s Good News Monday is all about the SM Investments Corporation or as we know it, SM. SM enhances shareholder value, sustain growth and deepen public trust through its long help corporate governance practices. Some involvements of SM are SM Foundation, SM Cares and BDO Foundation, which help different individuals in different ways. Aside from the Good News Monday, the class also pondered upon Ethical Dilemmas and Ethical frameworks. We talked about how the most serious challenge we all face is making ethically responsible decisions throughout one’s life. The dynamics of ethical principles are centered on virtues or what we say “kabutihan ng kalooban”. In this moral compass, the virtue leads to individual rights, care, justice and the common good (utilitarianism). These 4 are some of the frameworks also discussed. With the ethical frameworks, we have defined Utilitarian as something that directs us to decide based on an overall consequence of our acts. Rights is said to be an individual’s entitlement to something and Justice and Fairness is a comparative treatment given to members of a group. Ethics of care, on the other hand, contradicts utilitarianism and justice and fairness. Ethics of care is all about not being able to exist in isolation from caring relationships with others.

Furthermore, we’ve discussed the steps in decision-making. Due to the fact that the projector and computer would not cooperate with us, our professor had to discuss this without presentation. She began with giving us the steps which is as follows:

1.    Determine the facts

2.    Identify the ethical issues

3.    Identify stakeholders

4.    Consider alternatives

5.    Consider how a decision affects stakeholders

6.    Make a decision

7.    Monitor and learn from outcomes

In the first step, which is determining the facts, this is where we get the important facts of the case. This is the basis wherein we come up with our ethical issues. Second, we identify the ethical issues. Here, we determine ethical issues such as conflicts in the case. Next, we identify stakeholders. We identify those who are at stake with the outcome and what is at stake for them. In addition to this, we also consider the stakeholders that maybe also be affected indirectly from the case. Fourth step, we consider the alternatives. This step is closely aligned with the ethical issues. In considering the alternatives, we construct a matrix and we present the advantages and disadvantages of at least 3 alternatives. After considering the alternatives, we then consider how a decision affects stakeholders by coming up with a table that would show us the different outcomes through the different ethical frameworks. Sixth step would be making a decision by choosing and justifying the best alternative for the case. Lastly, you monitor and learn from the outcomes. You check if the decision you’ve made turned out well enough.

With this week, I am honestly overwhelmed with all the different terms but I can say that I learned a lot. From ethical frameworks to ethical decision making. I have realized that virtue is a great part of our lives as it can affect not only our own self but also those around us. We must always remember to think of the best decision for each situation because we never know who will be affected and how much consequence is at stake. I think that the steps in ethical decision making is also a great way to determine problems in a company because it exhausts all information and ideas which may be of help to the case. Ethical dilemmas will be solved if one carefully studies the situation and take note of each fact and suggestions.

[miss-ideal-blog]

January 16 & 18, 2017 Ethics and Business

This week we started with a Good News Monday. The first group presented their company, Ayala Corporation, which takes the path of “meaningful giving”. Ayala empowers the values of integrity, long-term vision, empowering leadership and commitment to National development. The class also engaged in the discussion of Ethics and Business. The topic focused on what was wrong or not. Basically, the conscience was discussed as something that commands us wrongly or not at all. Religion sometimes commands wrongly also because some of such religion’s beliefs and practices. And, the golden rule isn’t always interpreted the same way as they say “different strokes for different folks”. Ethics, as discussed, is the activity of examining one’s moral standards. It is how we should act towards others. Ethics itself is different from Business Ethics but somewhat similar, it is just that Business Ethics is the normative study of moral standards as they apply to business policies, institutions and behavior. We study Ethics because unethical behavior creates financial and marketing risks, it can provide a competitive advantage and disadvantage and more. In short, we should care about Ethics because it can greatly affect not only ourselves but also the people around our own businesses and us.

Terminal values and instrumental values were also tackled during the week. The class had an activity wherein each person in class lists their top 5 terminal and instrumental values then each group will choose their top 5 based on the individual answers of the group members. Our group’s top 5 terminal values were: 1) Happiness 2) Sense of Accomplishment 3) True Friendship 4) Equality 5) Salvation and our top 5 instrumental values were: 1) Forgiving 2) Helpful 3) Loving 4) Responsible 5) Logical/Cheerful/Ambitious. As we presented these to the class, we noticed that our answers were very different from the other groups. This just shows that our group’s thinking is different and we show interest in different things. In addition to this, we also went through social justice values, which tackled basic human needs, intergenerational equity and human rights.

With the week’s discussion I believe that we all think differently. How do we know something is wrong or right if we are taught differently? I think the main lesson or insight that I learned from this week is that there will always be that feeling inside of you the will tell you something is not right. For me, conscience is very much real because I can feel it, its guilt whenever I do something supposedly bad. Ethics is an eye-opener to us because it is what others see us for. It shows how we act towards something and it shows who we are as a person. Not only that but values are also important because this is the standard of our behavior. Values are instilled in us to be of character. On top of all that, I think that the activity we did also help me see who I wanted to be. It showed me the ideal characteristics that I want to achieve and appreciate. The activity gave me understanding on what I’ve learned throughout my life about values. I was able to determine the most important values that I want to uphold.

[miss-ideal-blog]

January 4 & 11, 2017 Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance

On the first week of classes, we had an introduction on what CSRGOVE is. A discussion on the definition of the subject was held giving us information on describing Corporate Social Responsibility a long-term strategy. It is aligned in business strategy and operations with specific values. Corporate Social Responsibility is known to go beyond profit-maximization. Moreover, we also explored Carroll’s Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility. This pyramid projects four responsibilities. First, found on top of the pyramid is Philanthropic Responsibilities, which talks about being a good corporate citizen. It mainly is about resource contribution to the society and improving quality of life. Second, Ethical Responsibilities discusses on being ethical. Knowing to do what is right, just and fair. Third is the Legal Responsibilities, which mainly deals with obeying the law. One has to know that the law is society’s codification of right and wrong, meaning you have to play by the rules of the game. Lastly, on the bottom of the pyramid is Economic Responsibilities, which focuses on being profitable. This is the responsibility that is considered as the foundation wherein all others rest. 

Not only did we discuss Carroll’s Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility, but we also talked about the Corporate Social Responsibility Pyramid 2.0, which contains the three stages of Corporate Social Responsibility. The three stages of the Corporate Social Responsibility Pyramid 2.0 are CSR as Value Creation (top), CSR as Risk Management, and CSR as Corporate Philanthropy (bottom). CSR as Value Creation focuses on the innovation sustainable business models while CSR as Risk Management focuses on compliance. CSR as Corporate Philanthropy provides the funding and skills. In addition to this, the service-learning project was also discussed. The service-learning project is when we, the students, meet with an organization, which we can help through different activities such as teaching sports or tutoring. This project is supposedly a form of “Learning by doing” that exposes students in teaching what they have learned to others.

With this week’s session, I realized that there is more to Corporate Social Responsibility. At first I thought that this subject was all about the responsibilities you have in the corporate world but after the discussion I was able to see that it is also about my actions and myself. One’s values are at stake in Corporate Social Responsibility, which makes me appreciate it more. Corporate Social Responsibility is something that we should learn because it can help with business strategy. With this knowledge, we will be able to easily figure out the best decision for one’s company. Furthermore, with the service-learning project, I think that it is good that DLSU is giving us another opportunity to help out others with the blessings that we have received. It may be hard and hassle for us to be going to a community but I think it is the best way to reach out and give back. I think that this service-learning project is different because we choose from a larger range of activities to do. Unlike the past, all we would do is teach or do a feeding program. I think that in this project, we will be able to share some of our talents, which we will definitely enjoy.