Practices
and Opportunities:
The Loyola Schools Review
John Gokongwei School of Management
The Loyola Schools Review, the official scholarly publication of the Ateneo de Manila University – Loyola Schools, welcomes a much-awaited edition from the John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM) this year.
Edited
by Dr. Mari-Jo P. Ruiz, Professor of Mathematics and Lecturer in
Operations Research, the JGSOM edition demonstrates the wealth of
knowledge on best business practices that local business leaders can
impart and the wealth of possibilities for local researches in management.
It features papers based on original research and edited versions of talks
given by invited speakers at recent sessions of the Business Leadership
Forum, one of the most successful initiatives of JGSOM. This forum serves
as a venue for business leaders and successful entrepreneurs to share
their experiences and best practices with management educators and the
Philippine business community.
The
first session of the Forum was on the theme "Thriving in Time of
Crisis." The invited speakers at this forum included Lance
Gokongwei (President, Cebu Pacific Airlines), who narrated how Cebu
Pacific survived the crash of Flight 387; Rufino dela Rosa
(President, Chowking Foods Corporation), who discussed the transformation
of Chowking into a market leader during the Asian Crisis; Bienvenido
Tantoco III (CEO, Rustan's Supercenters, Inc.), who identified the
Shopwise strategy for survival in a crowded retail market; and Rene J.
Buenaventura (President, Equitable PCI Bank), who related how
Equitable PCI Bank survived the aftermath of the political upheaval of
2001. All four affirmed the necessity of a clear company vision, superior
costumer service, and support for the well-being and development of
people. Eduardo L. David (Managing Director, H&Q Asia Pacific
Limited) pointed to the many opportunities that exist for Philippine
Business inspite of the ongoing economic crisis. Secretary Mar Roxas
(Department of Trade and Industry) explained why the government has chosen
to focus on small and medium enterprises as the turbulence in the external
economy continues.
The theme of the second session of the Business Leadership Forum was "Competing Against Giants: Filipino Business Success Stories." Vinnie James Yu (Managing Director, Capital Strategies Limited) gave an overview based on generic strategies underlying most business success stories. The other speakers shared the winning strategies employed by their companies—Filipino enterprises that have successfully competed with multinationals. Carlos R. Araneta (Chairman, LBC Group of Companies) related how LBC expanded its market by focusing on services for overseas Filipino and their families. Jose Ma. A. Concepcion III (President and CEO, RFM Corporation), a proponent of brand building, attributed FRM Corporation's success to having the right business model and the right timing. Dr. Rolando B. Hortaleza (Chairman and CEO, Splash Corporation) explained how relative smallness gives Splash Corporation the agility and flexibility that multinationals, because of their size and culture, cannot easily duplicate. Rogelio S. Nemeño (President, Nutri-Litious Foods Corporation) asserted that companies competing with giant multinationals cannot afford to stand still, hence Nutri-Litious Foods Corporation is continually on the look out for new products, new categories, new channels, and new markets. Dr. Abraham Pascual, (Chairman and CEO, Pascual Laboraties) traced the success of Pascual Laboratories to its ability to continually introduce innovative products at a price that customers can afford, without sacrificing quality. The speakers stressed the need to insure the quality of the product, the need to continually upgrade both human and machine resources, and the importance of organizational restructuring for growth. Their expressed pride in the Filipino enterprise and hope for the Filipino encourages us all.
The papers in the third section of this [edition] deal with areas in behavioral accounting and mathematical finance. Darwin Yu, Assistant Professor and former Chair of the Finance Department (JGSOM), examines how the use of accounting information to improve managerial effectiveness is related to the level of task uncertainty faced by a manager, his age, and the level of his budgetary participation in a university setting. Victor Jose, Assistant Instructor of the Department of Quantitative Methods and Information Technology (JGSOM), discusses the applicability of the capital asset pricing model and its variants in the Philippine context using data on stocks traded in the Philippine Stock Exchange.
(An
earlier version of this article was written by Dr. Mari-Jo Ruiz as an
introduction to the Loyola Schools Review, Volume III – JGSOM.)
* * *
The Loyola Schools Review is published by the Office of Research and Publication of the Ateneo de Manila University – Loyola Schools. The first volume was launched in 2001 while the second was released in 2003. Both Volumes I and II were comprised of editions from the Schools of Humanities, Science and Engineering, and the Social Science. The current volume added an edition from the John Gokongwei School of Management. For more information, you may call 426 6001 local 5180 or e-mail orp@admu.edu.ph.