By FIDEL V. RAMOS, Former Philippine President
At this time of economic and political flux in major power centers around the world, this columnist has been privileged to visit India once more to perform an important task. The Malaysia-based “Asia Human Resources Development Congress” is holding its 2012 International Conference, Exhibit and Awards at Bangalore on 10-12 July with the theme “So You Want To Succeed?” and has invited FVR as keynote speaker.
Under the guidance of founder Dato’ Dr. R. Palan, the Asia HRD Congress – surprising to many – is managed by Malaysian graduates of our Asian Institute of Management who have attained national prominence in their respective professional fields and in government service.
Its most eminent sponsor is Malaysia’s First Lady, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, herself an AIM alumna. Indians, on the other hand, constitute the largest number of foreign AIM graduates – including several now in government ministerial positions and in Parliament.
Silicon Valley of India
The capital of the southern State of Karnataka, Bangalore (aka Bengaluru) is India’s proud showcase, and among the world’s top 10 preferred entrepreneurial locations.
As an Asian metropolis, Bangalore is home to many famous universities and research institutions plus numerous heavy industries, software companies, aerospace, telecommunications, and defense organizations. Bangalore is known as the “Silicon Valley of India” because of its position as the nation’s leading IT exporter. A demographically diverse city, Bangalore is the second fastest growing metropolis in India, next to Mumbai.
Blessed with a salubrious climate (at 3,000 feet elevation) and a legacy of the ancient Mysore maharajahs consisting of gardens, parks, natural lakes, and architectural landmarks, Bangalore is the ideal gateway to modern India for business opportunities.
In crafting its 2012 theme, the Asia HRD Congress explains that: “Today’s Human Capital (or HRD) is seen as the ‘DNA’ of organizational and professional success and consists of ‘competencies, knowledge, and personal attributes embodied in the ability to perform labor to produce economic value.’ At the individual talent level, it points to qualities gained through education, training, and experience.”
Human capital management is closely connected to employee passion, increased productivity, and superior performance to achieve organizational success.
India And The Philippines
Like many other Filipinos, we empathize with India because it is so like the Philippines – multiplied a dozen times. Our countries are very similar – as vibrant and “disorderly” democracies with colorful cultures, intense factionalism, dysfunctional politics, and even the gap between the few who are very rich and the many who are very poor among our peoples.
India today is unique in its immense pool of world-class young people in science and technology. But there was a time – not too long ago – when India’s economy and educational system were so out of synch that its renowned universities and management institutes were, in effect, producing engineers, scientists, doctors, and economists for export to the US and Europe.
The Philippines, too, exports professionals and workpeople instead of goods; our 10 million migrants and overseas workers are spread out in some 135 countries – although they remit home well over 18% of our annual GNP.
While the bustling Philippine call centers have apparently overtaken those of India, we hire only 3 to 5 applicants out of every one hundred interviewed. Joblessness remains high at 7.1% compared to regional rates.
New Perspectives In HRD
Since the world is turning into a global village because of revolutionary information/communication technologies, it is time now for India, the Philippines, and other ASEAN countries to enhance formation of socio-economic, cultural, and professional networks; encourage mobility of talent across borders; and expand our cooperation to insure a brighter future for younger generations.
The Asia HRD Congress offers a dynamic learning platform from which to understand emerging issues and chart success paths for organizations. Everywhere, government agencies and corporate entities need to comprehensively assess and change approaches to human capital management. For instance, what new parameters must be brought in? What old ways must be discarded? Which “best practices” are to be adopted? What national policies should be crafted to encourage healthy competition?
Will this new learning culture encourage innovation and knowledge production? Relatedly, how will leaders balance: (a) purchasing power and markets, (b) inclusiveness and economic efficiency, (c) environmental conservation and economic production, and (d) people empowerment and economic growth?
Components Of HRD
Foremost among the learning tracks identified by the Asia HRD Congress are:
Transformational Leadership. “Transformation” may be a much abused word, but in the context of human capital, it means reaching out beyond mundane transactions that result in incremental change. It is about motivating people to achieve goals that may appear impossible or beyond reach. Such leaders do not wait for things to happen but instead face risks and dive into the unknown to make transformations reality.
Performance Pipeline (Talent). Effective managers who enable workers to perform efficiently make the difference between success and failure. They reward innovation and drive growth. Successful players know how to unlock human potential and insure long-term success by creating a continuous talent pipeline.
Active Learning. Organizations need “learner engagement.” With engaged learners, “learning cycle” time is reduced, retention is enhanced, and transfer of learning to the workplace is accelerated dramatically.
Human Capital Frameworks. Strategic management of human capital is necessary to ensure that human resources are effectively developed – because optimizing human capital is more demanding than ever. An organization’s mission/vision may require fundamental shifts in the way employees and organizations interact. Positivism in human capital management provides comprehensive support to elevate team performance.
Passion/Purpose/Engagement. Bringing passion to work in a job is vital to individual and organizational productivity. It will overcome the “Thank God It’s Friday” syndrome. With passion, the workplace can be fun, challenging and rewarding, and the entire organization surpasses competition.
Striving For Excellence
Among the recurring themes in FVR’s speeches, writings, and interaction with others, especially the younger generations (to whom we must pass on accumulated wisdom), is the virtue of striving for excellence in everything that we do. Excellence should become the driving force to become globally competitive.
As Kuya (elder brother) in the extended Filipino family of almost 100,000,000 souls, FVR has pushed many to raise the bar of achievement in their respective fields, guided by a culture of excellence in every aspect of their professions, business operations, and personal relations.
Recall FVR’s mantra: “People empowerment leads to a culture of excellence, and results in global competitiveness.” Excellence simply means being better than the others.
Our intent in sharing “best practices” is not the “who,” but the “why” and the “how.” It is not to imitate but rather to learn from each other’s experiences and to improve upon them.
Diplomats like to talk about increasing global opportunities in our time. As modern technology brings far-flung or untapped markets closer to people’s doorsteps, we do believe that – by that very fact – our chances toward global success automatically increase.
Only The Best Is Good Enough
The Ramos Peace and Development Foundation (RPDEV) has continued to keep in touch with the rest of the world, particularly with those countries that have become our partners in win-win endeavors, and whose successes and “best practices” could serve as worthy role models.
We have seen that transformative decision-makers never settle for what is easy and convenient, or for what is contrived and merely improvised. They study, analyze, and plan until what they wish to achieve is clearly configured and understood in the minds of all who must help bring about success. They align their resources and focus these on the attainment of the mission/vision. They are relentless and unforgiving about unnecessary distractions and diversions. They forego small comforts and instant gratification because only the best is good enough for them. They keep learning from previous experience and constantly search for ways to do better next time around.
They keep track of what the competition is doing and have the humility to accept where they may be falling short so that they can quickly make necessary adjustments to stay apace or even take the lead.
Nurturing Philippine Excellence
Such is the “Culture of Excellence” that has enabled some nations that are smaller than ours, or whose natural resources are more limited than our own, to achieve much more than we have done – in terms of economic development and, as a consequence, people’s quality of life.
IF WE PERSIST IN INCORPORATING THIS “CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE” INTO EVERY FACET OF OUR LIVES, AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS IN OUR FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES, AND ORGANIZATIONS TO SETTLE FOR NOTHING LESS THAN THE BEST THAT WE CAN DO OR BECOME, THEN THE OVERALL IMPROVEMENT OF OUR LIVES WILL LIKELY BECOME A REALITY AND NOT JUST AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM.
TO BE BETTER THAN THE OTHERS IN ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, AND PEOPLE’S QUALITY IS EVERY NATION’S AIM. INDEED, A.I.M. IS MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES!!!
Please send any comments to fvr@rpdev.org. Copies of articles are available at www.rpdev.org.
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