WEEK 4

(image from: http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/2012/7/24/when-good-cultures-go-bad.html)

       For the fourth week, we had a discussion about good vs. bad acts. What I learned was, there are some good people who engage in bad acts. People would tend to choose something beneficial but is unethical. Sometimes, people with good intention do not choose ethically. I also learned that not everything that is legal is ethical. 

       There are ethical frameworks that serve as a guide and would help us make the best decision. There were five ethical frameworks presented. First would be utilitarian, wherein decisions are made based on the consequences of the act. Second is rights, these are an individual's entitlement to something.  Third would be justice and fairness where there is a comparative treatment given to members of a group. Fourth is the ethics of care wherein people tend to care or favor those closer to them. Last would be virtue ethics which directs us to consider moral character of people and how these character and traits affect decisions or situations. 

       There was a discussion and comparison between utilitarian and deontology, which are the two major ethics theories that attempt to specify and justify moral rules and principle. Deontology states that the morality of our action depends on the intrinsic nature of the action.  While utilitarianism implies that the morality of an action is determined by its consequences.

          When we make decisions, there are always consequences whether good or bad. From the discussion, one of the things that I values doesn't look at consequences of the action. One of the examples we had was the dam in China. There are different factors that need to be considered whether it would be good or beneficial to build the dam. Some of the pros would be hydroelectric power, flood control purposes, provides reservoirs for water supply, provides recreation opportunities. However, there are also a lot of cons. Some things would be negatively affected like the people living in the area and their source of income. There are also lands that would be destroyed and there would be a harmful effect to the natural environment. Dams are usually built to benefit a lot of people but at the expense if the environment and a smaller and less influential group of people.

          This week we also had a related discussion in PERSEF2 class. The topic was about ethics and etiquette. During our PERSEF2 class, I was able to apply the things I learned from our CSRGOVE discussion. We were given certain situations wherein the class needed to identify whether it would be ethics or etiquette. The class was also assigned to do a skit showing ethics in workplace. For my group, we did a situation in the advertising agency. The situation was, sales are deckling and the company needs new promotional ideas for the product which was chips. A colleague suggests that the company makes a bigger packing but with the same content. Another person agrees to the idea. However, another colleague doesn't approve of the idea and suggests that the company should not do this because it seems that the company is cheating its customers. Based on the situation,  the head of the company thinks of a new way of promoting the product. 

sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23276267

http://prezi.com/grqb80nkbqdw/copy-of-ethical-decision-making-personal-and-professional-contexts/

WEEK 3

(image from: http://www.webgreeter.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Business-Ethics1.jpg)

        For this week, the class was able to learn more about Ethics and Business. It was very interesting to know how it can affect a business. An example that we discussed was SM Supermalls. I agree with the opinions that SM needs to improve or change their system in contractual employees. There are a lot of people who need permanent jobs and if they would apply and get accepted in SM, they would just be given a job for probably six months. After their contract ends, they are not secured they need to find a new job again. 

        The class was assigned to answer an activity called the Rokeach Value Survey about terminal and instrumental values. Each of us ranked the statements according to our personal hierarchy and compared it with our groupmates afterwards. The groups came up with a list of the most common values that we ranked highest and the common values were family security and responsible. I think that this activity is very helpful because we are able to discover the values that we prioritize. Through the activity, we were able to know ourselves more and discover more about other people. In the future, we could refer to the ranking that we did because it shows how people value the different aspects of life and could serve as a guide in making decisions.

       Giving back is one of the most important things in Corporate Social Responsibility and the class was able to discuss this topic for the week. One example given was Merck Company who discovered a cure (medicine) for the River Blindness disease. The company offers free distribution of the medicines since most of the people could not afford it. However, by giving the medicines, there would be a lot of advantages to it. First would be the value of giving back, the company would be able to help the people be cured from the sickness and they would be healthier. Second, the company would be more known since they have a good reputation because people would know that they also have good corporate social responsibility. Last would be the larger market of their brand, if the people who were given the free drug would likely patronize the brand and there would be more awareness. Giving back is something important for me, I think that businesses today are more aware about the things that they could do to give back. I would try to help other people through the products or services that I would provide. 

VISIT TO THE COMMUNITY

    

      During our first meeting, we were told about service learning and I was really looking forward to doing a project for a community. Our group was assigned to Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig. It is a well known project that ABS CBN foundation started. It aims to make rehabilitate the waterways of Metro Manila through different projects. One of the projects that they have started was Estero de Paco and an additional project was redeveloping the Paco Market.

       Today, our group visited the site and I was really impressed because Estero de Paco was cleaner compared to the other esteros we've seen in other parts of Metro Manila. Estero de Paco has really improved from the past years as seen in the tarpaulins that showed the before photo wherein there were illegal settlers and trash.  Along the estero, there are already plants that help absorb the wastes and there are also walkways that were placed as part of the project. There are also volunteers who are known as river warriors that help protect the estero and they make sure that the people are aware about the policies in keeping the estero clean. We went around the stretch of Estero de Paco to observe and think of the possible projects we could do.

      In the Paco Market, the groups gathered and planned the projects to be proposed. Some suggested projects was a new design for coloring books, flyers and other visual aids; additional signages and tarpaulins. Our group  thought of different proposals such as signages, tree planting, labeled waste bins, etc. but we decided to go beyond this and proposed a to give additional funds to the river warriors which are the volunteers of Estero de Paco. The river warriors are already starting their catering business for additional income and our group would like to contribute in the expansion of this business or give a starting capital in putting up an additional business. Our group would be selling tshirts to raise funds. We would also be giving the river warrior officers the tshirts that we would design so that they could have uniforms.

       Someday I would also want to start a project that would make a big impact to help the environment. I really look up to Ms. Gina Lopez because she gave an initiative and did action to rehabilitate the waterways in Metro Manila. What Ms. Lopez did was really beneficial because it gave an opportunity for the people to enjoy a cleaner place, most of them were also given better homes and lives. Lastly, the rehabilitation of the esteros and the river was good for the environment. The waterways improved and hopefully in the future we could restore the waterways to its original condition wherein there would be fishes in these rivers. 

WEEK 2

     

           (images from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:An_Inconvenient_Truth_Film_Poster.jpg)                                

     For this week, the class talked and discussed about Climate change and the Environment. I think that this topic is very important to know and understand because it affects/ concerns us in different ways. God has given us the responsibility of taking care of the earth and granted us the privilege of using the natural resources. However through the years, man has been neglecting and abusing nature. Today, there are different problems and situations that man is facing because the actions he did to nature.

     A documentary was shown which was entitled "An Inconvenient Truth." Al Gore presented facts and information about climate change and it showed what is happening or what would happen to nature. It is a sad fact that most of the people today neglect the problem about the environment. Even if they are aware about the problem, they choose not to do anything or worse, they contribute more to the problem. I think that the documentary would be a great medium in showing the current situations of the environment. Hopefully, the speaker could open the eyes of people in our society and show them the current situation of the environment. 

    By watching the documentary, I was able to learn more about the things that is happening to nature. I learned that what we do today can affect our future. We should not only think of ourselves, we need to be generous and think of the future. We need to save the environment/earth not only for us but for the people in the future. We would want to make them see and feel the beauty of nature. To be able to do this, we need to start immediately and protect the environment.

      For our second meeting this week, we had the orientation for our service learning. The community assigned for my group, was Kabig Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig. I am looking forward to our first visit this Saturday because I would want to make a good project plan or proposal so that we could help them and hopefully change their lives in our own little way.

WEEK 1

   

(background of image from: http://www.clker.com/clipart-circle-holding-hands-stick-people-multi-coloured.html)

   
      This would be the third term of my second year in college and the first week of our classes started already. I decided to take CSRGOVE in advance because I wanted to know more about the course. At first, I was nervous to take CSRGOVE because I do not really know much about the subject. What I know about Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance is that companies have the duty to make responsible decisions that would benefit the people and the company. They need to do what is right, give back or give an opportunity to others especially the employees or people involved or affected by their business. 

       During the introduction of CSRGOVE, I learned that the class or the groups would be assigned different tasks for the course. There would be tests, presentations, and activities. One of the activities that I am looking forward to is what they call service learning, which would be the project for our community. When I learned that there would be a community service, I became excited because it would be a good opportunity for me to give back to others. I am looking forward to visiting the communities and helping people because I think that it would be a great experience to help them in our own little way. It is a good feeling when you give importance to others and make them happy. Through this activity,  I would be able to apply the things I learned in MANAORG and the things that I would learn in CSRGOVE. I would be able to enhance my knowledge, skills, creative and gain more experience.

       I find the course CSRGOVE interesting because it would be different from the other management subjects I took. I think that it would focus more on responsibilities of the companies to the different aspects such as society, environment, etc. I think that CSRGOVE would be challenging but fun because of the tasks that are being assigned. I would try my best to accomplish and complete the tasks/requirements.