Developing a Filipino Organizational Paradigm
Llewelyn Muriel Austria-del Rosario
August 29, 2006
I went to a seminar recently and the British guest speakers were so insensitive to local culture that my colleagues and I decided against joining. They managed to offend us on three counts in a span of thirty minutes. When we arrived, one of the speakers said in a loud, harsh voice—"Participants, we will start with or without you. I see you." She was referring to some men who were milling about since the rest of the participants were only beginning to trickle in. And then she goes on to say, again in a loud, harsh voice—"Can you keep it down?" This time, referring to people in the back engaged in lighthearted banter. As if that´s not enough, they started the seminar with a straight lecture and individual work conducted in complete silence.
To their credit, they had very brilliant ideas. Unfortunately, the cultural faux pas was difficult to ignore. We scurried out of there as fast as we could. The enforced silence reminded me of the kind that falls right after disaster strikes!
From the perspective of the foreign speakers, the participants were being "rude and unprofessional." Unknown to them, the feeling was mutual.
What went wrong in this situation? Nearly everything.
From the vantage point of the Britons, time is very concrete. Hence they found it rude and unprofessional for people to hang out outside the conference hall, when the seminar was about to start. For most Filipinos, time is still a feeling and is abstract. We tend to think of schedules in terms of umaga(morning), hapon (afternoon), gabi (night) rather than 7:00 in the morning, 4:00 in the afternoon or 9:00 in the evening.
In general, Brits tend to be a lot more formal and individualistic whereas we are very light-hearted and relational. It is not uncommon for our meetings and seminars to be punctuated with loud, boisterous laughter. Even our wakes, funerals and remembrance of the dead are more often used as an excuse to party!
Cultural and individual frames of reference—the perspective from which we operate from and see the world, define our relationships. On a larger context, our organizational paradigms define our organizational health.
As Filipinos, there is a need to develop an organizational model that maximizes our strengths as a people and provides allowances for our weaknesses. Instead of trying to mold ourselves into the kind of professionals that westerners envision, we need to determine which ones are worth arguing about and which ones are too trifle to dignify with a comment.
As a human resource professional, I have four recommendations towards developing a Filipino Organizational Paradigm. First, whenever possible, I recommend what is known as flexi-time. Essentially this means that employees can come in at 10 but have to log out at 7 instead of the standard 8-5 work day. Now I recognize that not all offices have that liberty, that´s why I qualify this recommendation with "whenever possible."
Second, Filipino work spaces should allow for our deeply relational make-up. Cubicles and individual offices are fine only if the job requires it—for example if you´re a school counselor and need a counseling room to ensure a counselee´s privacy.
Third, bureaucracies are the worst possible organizational model for our culture. Whenever possible, make room for creativity, flexibility and synergy in the organization.
Fourth and most importantly, it is important for leaders to be immersed in the shared experience of the people he leads. Contemporary leaders have the added disadvantage of having to deal with the social distance that being in authority puts him in. It is important to note that for over 300 hundred years those in authority have been foreigners and considered outsiders. Hence, there is a deep-seated tendency to be socially distant around those in positions of authority. This is a stark contrast to pre-Hispanic culture where the Maharlika fought and farmed side by side with his subjects. This kind of collaborative, facilitative leadership is typically what works best in our culture.
Ultimately, developing a Filipino organizational paradigm simply entails taking the time to really get to know the heart and pulse of your work force. This will earn their trust and loyalty. Employees who trust their bosses are easier to train. Loyal employees tend to own the organization´s vision and are more likely to invest their lives in its success.
To their credit, they had very brilliant ideas. Unfortunately, the cultural faux pas was difficult to ignore. We scurried out of there as fast as we could. The enforced silence reminded me of the kind that falls right after disaster strikes!
From the perspective of the foreign speakers, the participants were being "rude and unprofessional." Unknown to them, the feeling was mutual.
What went wrong in this situation? Nearly everything.
From the vantage point of the Britons, time is very concrete. Hence they found it rude and unprofessional for people to hang out outside the conference hall, when the seminar was about to start. For most Filipinos, time is still a feeling and is abstract. We tend to think of schedules in terms of umaga(morning), hapon (afternoon), gabi (night) rather than 7:00 in the morning, 4:00 in the afternoon or 9:00 in the evening.
In general, Brits tend to be a lot more formal and individualistic whereas we are very light-hearted and relational. It is not uncommon for our meetings and seminars to be punctuated with loud, boisterous laughter. Even our wakes, funerals and remembrance of the dead are more often used as an excuse to party!
Cultural and individual frames of reference—the perspective from which we operate from and see the world, define our relationships. On a larger context, our organizational paradigms define our organizational health.
As Filipinos, there is a need to develop an organizational model that maximizes our strengths as a people and provides allowances for our weaknesses. Instead of trying to mold ourselves into the kind of professionals that westerners envision, we need to determine which ones are worth arguing about and which ones are too trifle to dignify with a comment.
As a human resource professional, I have four recommendations towards developing a Filipino Organizational Paradigm. First, whenever possible, I recommend what is known as flexi-time. Essentially this means that employees can come in at 10 but have to log out at 7 instead of the standard 8-5 work day. Now I recognize that not all offices have that liberty, that´s why I qualify this recommendation with "whenever possible."
Second, Filipino work spaces should allow for our deeply relational make-up. Cubicles and individual offices are fine only if the job requires it—for example if you´re a school counselor and need a counseling room to ensure a counselee´s privacy.
Third, bureaucracies are the worst possible organizational model for our culture. Whenever possible, make room for creativity, flexibility and synergy in the organization.
Fourth and most importantly, it is important for leaders to be immersed in the shared experience of the people he leads. Contemporary leaders have the added disadvantage of having to deal with the social distance that being in authority puts him in. It is important to note that for over 300 hundred years those in authority have been foreigners and considered outsiders. Hence, there is a deep-seated tendency to be socially distant around those in positions of authority. This is a stark contrast to pre-Hispanic culture where the Maharlika fought and farmed side by side with his subjects. This kind of collaborative, facilitative leadership is typically what works best in our culture.
Ultimately, developing a Filipino organizational paradigm simply entails taking the time to really get to know the heart and pulse of your work force. This will earn their trust and loyalty. Employees who trust their bosses are easier to train. Loyal employees tend to own the organization´s vision and are more likely to invest their lives in its success.