GRPundit

I am a mother, who spent 20 years working overseas, cleaning other people’s toilets, mopping other people’s floors and raising other people’s children. All in a desperate bid to make sure my own two girls graduated college. They did. Since 2006, I have owned and operated a small BPO in Davao and I am proud to be a small part of an industry that has created over 800,000 jobs. What does 800,000 jobs really mean? As a former OFW, I will tell you EXACTLY what it means. It means 800,000 Mothers, Fathers,Sons and Daughters who will now stay in the Philippines instead of being ripped from their families and shipped overseas. It means millions and millions of Filipino children will have a mother at home to kiss the hurt and tell them they are deeply loved. It means millions of Filipino children will have a father at home to offer a guiding hand. The answer to poverty in the Philippines is jobs. Whatever the shortcomings the IT-BPO industry may have, one thing...

As both a recruiter and trainer-consultant for several different call centers, I agree that the language pro/deficiency problem is getting more and more evident. With a saturated job market, recruitment teams at this point are scraping the bottom of the barrel, and agents are hopping from one employer to another, just watching out for the next good signing bonus. And I’m the guy who has to screen and train them. For a country that benefits so much from the call center industry, the Philippine government has done shockingly little towards the long-term development of the industry, ie improving the educational system that is the first real training that call center employees get towards better communication skills. This also solves the critical thinking and analysis problem that so many call center agents have. In a recent trip to the US, I asked Americans who have come across Filipino agents about their experiences. General consensus is that Filipinos are relatively good ...

In the 1980′s corporate computing became mainstream and ludicrous predictions were made about the millions of programmers who would be needed. Wrong. Technology developed at such a pace that new approaches and solutions became available. The technology graveyard is full of incorrect predictions. Companies, processes, and the nature of work are in constant change particularly as transformational structures and leadership models are established and as core processes are integrated on increasingly seamless global platforms able to rapidl adapt to new customers and changin patterns of demand. Rapid and flexible response is todays corporate mantra. Call centres/bpo are an important cog in the wheel, but what the philippines and all aspiring service providers must remember is that the future winners will be those who spot the trends, rapidly adapt, and come up with creative solutions which add value. The danger is that the philippines is demand driven and not in itself innova...

The CEO of the International Business Processing Association of the Philippines (IBAP) talks of 'serious supply side constraints' and an 'insufficient quantity of "suitable and willing talent to fuel growth" A study conducted by John Clements, where they tested 2,524 graduating students, found that only 3% had the required skills for the call centre industry, and the biggest problem identified was their level of oral English proficiency Some call centre providers talk of only 1% making the grade in terms of english language. The obvious danger is that smaller companies reduce quality if personnel, service levels decline, customers are unhappy, a bad reputation is created, new business doesn't come, established customers transfer elsewhere Quality Assurance benchmarking and new techniques in language training are not being widely utilised. The emphasis is still too much on grammar and accent neutralisation which is not as critical as customer cultur...

The BPO industry needs to rapidly adapt if it is not to lose out to the brighter, nimbler competitors abroad as the global sector moves to value-added services, and also as customers look for KPO (Knowledge processing outsourcing), 'big data', and analytics. Low margin, high volume call processing per se has little future growth, and is hostage to small changes in labour costs, overheads, and even currency fluctuations. With no capital investment in the philippines( due to constitution constraints) it is very easy for foreign call centres/customers to switch contracts to another provider in another country. Some of the more strategic thinking countries also see the provision as BPO/KPO as just one part of a holistic package they can offer to foreign investors with multiple benefits to the host country. Cloud computing, mobile apps development, and VPN's ( virtual private networks are changing the structures of businesses and with more virtual/networked organisat...

The absolute right to use money that is fairly and justly earned — or any resource, for that matter — isn't the problem. This principle is enshrined in our current constitution and the American Declaration of Independence from which it is inspired. We as individuals have the right to life, liberty and property and the pursuit of our individual interests. Moreover, these rights are held to be inviolable. The simplest interpretation of this is that EACH one of us as members of the human family are recognised to have individual rights and freedoms and are allowed to exercise them, the only limit being that no one individual shall infringe on the rights of another individual to exercise those selfsame rights. Societies and cultures founded on Judeo-Christian philosophy actually emphasise equality of opportunity NOT the equality of outcomes. We are brought up to expect that by working hard, doing your best and playing by the rules you will be rewarded for your effort. We hold the ...

It is generally accepted that socioeconomic problems and a host of social dysfunctions that persist in human society are "evils" which need to be addressed. In the Philippines and Latin America, we have some of the highest levels of economic inequality. Persistent poverty has in turn bred other kinds of social dysfunctions — organised crime, pervasive violence, narco-trafficking, and on a more individualised level, mental illness, imprisonment, teenage pregnancy, obesity, drug abuse, and poor education. But these "evils" persist not because society has failed to ensure equality of outcomes where the "haves" are made to share their wealth with the "have nots" to make everything simple and fair. Rather, we have poor people in the world because WE FAIL TO PROVIDE THE EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME WEALTHY. Every economic success story since the 1950s — from South Korea and Singapore in East Asia to Europe, and more recently, in Latin Am...

There is actually something worse than being a loser – somebody that doesn't even try. If the vast majority of filipinos are resigned to their fate then so be it. Maybe better that the rest of the world invests in countries/people who care and have some passion rather than complete subservience, and that is already happening. Look at the difference in thailand and india. They will suffer short term problems/difficulties but come out of it all the better/stronger. Myanmar is another example, and are being rewarded for their spirit and progress. The begging bowl syndrome and victim mentality of the philippines is old hat. People are tired of it, the world has moved on, and is regarding the philippines as an inconsequential nuisance. The signs are that even american aid/support will change/decrease given the current thinking and long term strategy in washington. Then the philippines is really up the creek without a paddle. The rest of the world will always need cleaner...

...when young/idealistic and also when older/(wiser) '1984' – george orwell – still an amazon bestseller ( sales up 7000% post edward snowden revelations). It was one of my course books at school and remains as relevant as ever. 'Brave New World' – aldous huxley – still challenging to read! Orwell postulated – what you hate will ruin the country, ( dictatorship), whilst huxley had a different take – what you love will ruin the country. ( superficial pleasure/pursuits) 5 years before orwell wrote 1984 he wrote a letter in 1943 which outlined his thesis. This is a short extract from the letter "All the national movements everywhere, seem to take non-democratic forms, to group themselves round some superhuman leader ( no wonder pnoy liked the 'man of steel' award) , and to adopt the theory that the end justifies the means. Everywhere the world such movements seems to be in the direction of centralised control which can be made to 'work'...

I am really disappointed when my son and daughter in elementary say that the Aquinos are heroes (or something to that effect) because that is what their school is leading them to think so. This should not be allowed in any way. I have sent e-mail to their school already, stressing the fact that they should not have any political affiliations, instead they should tell history as it is and allow the children to think freely. This is in a private school, how much more wrong in government schools. I have had enough of the Aquinos, they have caused too much suffering in our country. Source: http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2014/01/president-noynoy-aquino-has-become-the-most-divisive-philippine-president-in-history/comment-page-1/#comment-204131

“Through pride we are ever deceiving ourselves.” ― C.G. Jung False pride ( i.e. delusional beliefs) are a barrier to progress Such people/cultures/countries are not able to - readily admit to mistakes or apologise - ask for help - say ‘i don’t know’ - listen and learn from others/outsiders with more knowledge/experience. Instead pride is used as a compensation for low self-esteem, a lack of confidence, a sense of not belonging/fitting in, and consequently the need to exaggerate everything, simply make things up, or try to feel better about their failings by basking in the success of others At a national level it is pure propaganda aimed at diverting thoughts from the reality of peoples day to day misery and tribulations through emotional appeals, and also politicians trying to associate with others successes to cover up their own failures. A government pushing ‘pride’ is afraid of criticism and one of image not su...

Before coming to the US to work as a P.T., I was told by a fellow therapist who was ahead of us of coming in the US by few years that Filipinos are the best therapists and workers. That everyone likes us. Well, my first job was in the middle of the US and majority of the people have this "Midwestern work ethics" so I did not really see myself as the best worker or better therapist. I often hear from many Filipinos that we are better than Americans. Then, when I asked a question, so why our country still 3rd world country and the US is way ahead us in everything? There is no answer to my question… Source: http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2014/01/aquino-admin-pinoy-pride/comment-page-1/#comment-202750

1) When the President is selective of whom he considers corrupt, and when he either does nothing about corruption or is powerless to stop it, the significance of his own personal incorruptibility shrinks , if not goes out the window entirely ; - What good is Benigno Simeon "BS" Aquino's own supposedly "incorruptible" nature if others cannot be "infected" with this so-called "incorruptibility"? So much for promising change. 2) Incompetence overshadows incorruptibility any day of the week (twice on Sunday, I’m told), and boy is BS Aquino's government incompetent, which reflects very badly on him as a leader, and; 3) By now, BS Aquino should already have been able to stand on his own two feet, because it’s been three (3) years (almost four, really) into his term, yet he still keeps blaming others for things that his government should have been able to prepare for, and should have already been accountable for.

In 1986, Cory Aquino presided over the passage of a constitution that effectively bars the easy entrance of foreign direct direct investment into the Philippines. Then proceeds to craft an onerous regulatory framework that prevents locals from easily starting new businesses and limits market participation to the established oligarchy. Those companies that remain open are eventually taxed to death and local entrepreneurs are unable to turn a profit unless they participate in the black market. Instead of encouraging innovation or fostering a competitive business climate, the Philippine government tells "heroic" professionals (like joeld) to become part of a ballooning immigrant community that sends remittances to prop up the economy. At home, instead of encouraging the growth of an investment friendly business environment, the Ramos administration creates special economic zones to bypass the labyrinth of local business regulations. Why no administration has ever come to t...

I am British, and moved to the Philippines from Hong Kong in May 2001, with a Filipina I met there. After my divorce was finalised, we married in June 2002 and I obtained 13A Visa in November of that year. I was Engineering Manager – Asia Pacific, earning US$85,000pa, but effectively retired early in Cebu Philippines. I was obtaining good income from Peso Time Deposits in Rural Banks. That is until the Monetary Board closed all 12 Banks of the Legacy Group in December 2008. It took the PDIC from 6 months to 22 months to pay out the Insured Deposits in 5 x Rural Banks. I invested in a local company, that was supposedly importing Chinese motorcycles (Zongshen) assembling them and supposedly selling via a growing chain of shops to market, sell, service and support with spares (as well as Appliances). We filled a 'Syndicated Estafa' Court Case against Catherine L. Soronio in May 2008. She no doubt used the funds (up to Php350M allegedly?) we (the investors) had given ...

(Featured comment) I know this comment that I'm about to make will elicit violent reactions from many, but I must say that my previous prejudice against movie stars running for elective positions in the country was wiped out when I watched Batangas governor Vilma Santos-Recto being interviewed on TV. She's about the only politician I've ever heard speaking who didn't sound like a politician at all. She sounded very sincere and matter-of-fact, and certainly not politically correct, even saying that the people would have to do something about their attitudes, and even castigating a town mayor in Batangas for not considering the traffic situation in the area where a public market was to be erected before constructing it, saying that before constructing any building, a thorough study including even the traffic that will emanate from it has to be conducted. She even said that she thinks that the country's political parties, including her own, should not be highly...

When Australia and the United Kingdom granted independence to Melanesia (Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, etc.) in the 1970s, they established parliamentary style democracies there. According to our local "CORRECT" Movement, this should have set them on the path to socioeconomic development. It should have made Melanesia one of the most progressive regions in this part of the world. In fact, the exact opposite happened. When this political system was transplanted to Melanesia, their societies became more chaotic. The reason? Most Melanesian voters do not vote for political programs or ideologies. They vote for political PERSONALITIES. Usually this was the "Big Man" of the local "wantok" (tribe). If the Big Man (or occasionally "Big Woman") is elected to parliament, it is the understanding that the new MP will use his or her influence to direct government resources back to the wantok, to help supporters with "projects" like c...

If production C takes far less effort to earn a greater amount of money than production A, then production C naturally is chosen over A. Same goes for Pinoy movies these days. It takes far less effort to produce Crap while earning more than it is to produce good quality films that have a smaller market. The masa are more likely to watch Pinoy movies than other foreign films given the language barriers, so they have limited tastes when it comes to movies. Given that the Pinoy film studios are aware of that, they cater to that demand and rarely attempt to diversify or expand the preferences of their masa market by showing them a different kind of film, due to other factors involved such as the Pinoy masa's reluctance to change, or politics. And so it's a vicious cycle – the masa's taste in films remain limited and the Pinoy film studios are reluctant to innovate because there's greater guaranteed profit in remaking and recycling the same old trashy movies the masa w...

Pnoy aquino, in his typical 'ostrich head in the sand' approach to life, has said that he will ignore his critics in 2014. ( very revealing that this is his main 2014 resolution. Nothing to do with helping others or the country, just about protecting his own low self-esteem/image, and abysmal performance. He is so screwed up - Every utterance gives him away, without him even realising it. Hello baldy, these 'critics' now constitute circa 75% of the population, and growing - i.e those who you used to hypocritically call your bosses, and you say you are going to ignore them. How arrogant and divisive, and the height of stupidity. A sham president of a sham democracy where politicians are simply scam merchants. And pnoy aquino is the enabler. It makes him just as guilty. So the reality is what we already knew. Pnoy aquino will only serve the cojuangco-aquino self interests, his oligarch paymasters such as the lopez's etc., and those intellectual pygmies who w...