TRICIA MAE C.

CAMOTA
BSBA-III
Tagging DTI on price tags
THE prices of some basic consumer products have recently gone up following a scandalous increase in
the retail prices of garlic and ginger. The price increases made the selective implementation and
enforcement of the price tag law more obvious.
The price tag law requires merchants to place prices on every item. Many retailers, including big chain of
supermarkets, have resorted to clever, if not dishonest way, of going around the law.
As early as 1946, the law on price tag on consumer products is clear. Republic Act No. 71 covers all
articles of commerce and trade offered for sale to the public at retail. Retail items should be publicly
displayed with appropriate tags or labels to indicate the price of each article and said articles shall be sold
uniformly and without discriminations at the stated price.
The penalty is imprisonment of up to six months, or fine of P200 or less, or both upon the courts
discretion. That time P200 was a big amount.
The price tag law is in place to keep retailers from changing the prices of goods without warning. Most
retailers prefer shelf tags to individual price stickers, or barcodes that consumers cannot read. Some
retailers install price scanners in hideous corners of the store; others dont.
Some items dont have any price tag at all: no individual price tag, no shelf tag, no price list, and no
barcode. Buyers end up getting shocked upon seeing the price of untagged item once it is punched in the
counter.
In a big supermarket recently, I got two pieces of ginger that did not have any price tag. I only knew the
price when I asked. It was P330 per kilo and the two pieces I got was worth P87. When I moved to the
fruits section, I chanced upon delicious-looking persimmon. It also did not have any price tag. When I
asked, I was told it was P800 plus per kilo. I asked again why it did not have any price tag; nor was it on
the price list hanging on a post. The salesperson said the price keeps changing, that is why persimmon and
a few other high-priced items like cherry did not have price tags.
Eight years after its passage on June 12, 1954, RA 1074 amended RA 71 to specify that price tags on
lumber products should indicate the official name of the wood to enable buyers to distinguish one species
of wood from others.
It also empowered the Secretary of Commerce and Industry to, upon the recommendation of the Director
of Commerce, exempt from time to time certain articles of commerce and trade or certain classes of
establishments from the provisions of this Act.
The definition of price tagging and the penalties were unchanged.

After 38 years in April 1992 during the fifth year of the revived Congressthe same provisions were
carried but reworded with modification under Articles 81 to 83 of RA 7394, or the Consumer Act of the
Philippines.
The law defines price tag as any device, written, printed, affixed or attached to a consumer product or
displayed in a consumer repair or service. The definition has been made even clearer.
Article 81 states: It shall be unlawful to offer any consumer product for retail sale to the public without
an appropriate price tag, label or marking publicly displayed to indicate the price of each article and said
products shall not be sold at a price higher than that stated therein and without discrimination to all
buyers: Provided, That lumber sold, displayed or offered for sale to the public shall be tagged or labelled
by indicating thereon the price and the corresponding official name of the wood: Provided, further, That if
consumer products for sale are too small or the nature of which makes it impractical to place a price tag
thereon price list placed at the nearest point where the products are displayed indicating the retail price of
the same may suffice.
Article 82 prescribes the manner of placing price tags, thus: Price tags, labels or markings must be
written clearly, indicating the price of the consumer product per unit is pesos and centavos.
Article 83 mandates the concerned department, which should be no other than the Department of Trade
and Industry (DTI), to prescribe rules and regulations for the visible placement of price tags for specific
consumer products and servicesThere shall be no erasures or alterations of any sort of price tags, labels
or markings.
The penalty for violators was raised to a fine of P200 to P5, 000, or imprisonment of one to six months.
Second offense should mean revocation of business permit and license.
The price tag for consumer items like food, cosmetics, drug device or hazardous substance should include
details like expiry date, nutritive value, among others. The penalty is higher at P500 to P20, 000 or jail
term of three months to two years.
The DTI seems to have placed the enforcement of the price tag law in the backburner. Or probably it is
too busy taking care of business.
As a consumer, it is quite disheartening to see DTIs corporate identity, putting business ahead of
consumers. In its website, DTI says what it does: We create an environment which enables business to
grow, compete, and succeed, and to care for consumers so they get the best value for their money.
That is probably why DTI has been allowing business to put double price tags, shelf tags without
individual tagging, and to just install price scanners to read bar codes.
Under the implementing rules of the law posted in the DTI website, shelf pricing is allowed only when
the item for sale is too small for an individual price tag. Bar codes and price scanners are also allowed in
addition to price tags, labels or markings, or price lists or in combination with shelf pricing which when
scanned will show the price.

These variations from what the law and implementing rules provide constitute amendments to the Price
Tag law and the Consumer Act that the DTI is not empowered to do. Doing so is usurping the power of
Congress to legislate.
Why is DTI so helpless in enforcing the law for the sake of the consumers? While there is a complaint
mechanism, it is too inconvenient for the consumer. It is DTIs obligation to constantly check if laws
under its jurisdiction are properly implemented.
In most appliance stores and similar establishments, the DTI has allowed the practice of retailers to
circumvent the rule against double price tags: one for cash and another for card purchases.
Go to home appliance stores and you would see cash/direct charge price that is lower than the SRP or
suggested retail price. Others use discounted price for cash, and zero-interest price for card purchases.

Why Employee Concerns Affect Productivity

Employee concerns always affect productivity, positively or negatively. Occasions when their concerns
have no effect are rare and possibly non-existent. This is not a psychologically complex reality. Most
managers have seen tangible effects of personal, if not professional issues affecting employee
performance.

Employees find new boyfriends/girlfriends, get married, receive their college or graduate degrees, or have
other wonderful events occur, and their productivity tends to improve. Conversely, people face divorce,
foreclosure, the loss of a parent, issues with children, or a variety of other personal issues, and their
productivity declines, for at least the short term.

Work-related concerns have an equal sometimes greater effect on employee productivity. Even the
issues of just one staff member often affect the performance of a team or department, once again for better
or worse. Concerns that are satisfied by management for just one team member can often uplift the
performance of the whole group. On the down side, should management not address concerns of even one
team member, performance of that employee and possibly the entire team typically suffers.

The obvious conclusion: Management should address any concerns that employees have to maintain
continuity of performance. Certainly, at times, the answers that management must provide are not what
the employee wanted. Yet, their concerns were addressed and efforts made to resolve these issues.
How to Determine Employee Concerns
Management sometimes maintains that they didnt address employee concerns because they were
unaware that one or more issues existed. While this statement may be true, it is imperative that
management stay aware of employee concerns so they can address them before small issues become

major performance detractors. How can they do this? Just ask. As long as your staff has the security of
knowing that they will not be punished or criticized for being truthful about their concerns, they normally
will be honest sometimes brutally honest. But, that is good news. Simple surveys or requests for
suggestions or concerns have proven to be sufficient.

The Top 10 Employee Concerns

There have been numerous in-house and third-party independent surveys directly addressing this issue.
The results seem to indicate that the following issues are the most common employee concerns in a cross
section of all industries. These are not listed in any particular order of importance as people have different
concerns when in different situations.
Higher salaries and compensation. Surprise! Few managers should be surprised by this concern.
Benefits programs. This is another very common and understandable concern of employees. To limit
turnover and increase retention, management typically tries to offer the best benefit program they can
afford. Should programs fall short of ideal, management should communicate their dedication to make
benefits the best they can be.
Pay increase guidelines. This concern might initially surprise you. Compensation guidelines are normally
in place for most larger companies, those with unionized workforces, and government agencies. However,
most businesses are classified as smaller companies and it appears that this group often lacks this
employee feature, generating confusion and concern from staff.
Favoritism. This important concern may be related to item number three. Most senior management would
dispute this concern, but they may be forgetting one important item: perception. Your company may be
diligent in prohibiting favoritism, yet the perception of this failing or the possibility of its existence
remains a concern of employees.
Pay equity. While this concern may appear to relate to the above two issues, employee feedback indicates
that it stems from a different source. Employees want to feel secure they are earning compensation equal
to those who are in similar positions and have comparable experience.
The Human Resource Department. Most H.R. professionals are aware of this employee concern.
Contemporary workers want and expect their H.R. departments to be fountains of knowledge about a
myriad of issues (benefits, compensation, corporate plans and goals, legal and insurance issues, positions
to be open in the future, etc.).
Excessive management. Sometimes called over management or micro management, this concern
relates to employees feeling that their every activity is separately managed and little judgment or freedom
is permitted.
Inadequate communication. Has anyone heard this concern before? Employees have a need to believe
they are in the loop by having as much information as possible on employer plans, goals, dreams, news,
etc.

Over-work. Employees are often afraid that their efforts and high performance may only result in
management asking them to do more for the same compensation. Extra efforts should be rewarded by
additional compensation (if possible) and/or a sincere Thank you at a minimum. Concern addressed.
Workplace conditions and cleanliness. Management is sometimes caught off guard when advised that this
concern consistently appears. But, upon reflection, it is perfectly logical. With more and more people
committed to improved health and quality of life in general, it is not surprising that there is deep interest
in their workplace physical conditions.
It is important to remember that these items are concerns, not necessarily complaints. Senior management
in most companies regularly satisfies these and other employee concerns. This compilation of many
statistics, however, does display the most common items of interest to the general workforce.

Asking your staff to advise you of their concerns gives management the opportunity to address issues of
importance to their employees. Studies indicate that addressing employee concerns regardless of the
answers is the most important activity. Management displays their sincerity, their own concern, and
their respect for their workforce. Making an honest attempt to address employee concerns typically results
in improved staff performance.

LAIKA U. ARCEGA
BSBA- III
Addressing Shareholder Concerns
If you have even one shareholder other than yourself, you have an obligation to deal with shareholder
concerns. Your shareholders can include spouses, partners, employees receiving sweat equity, friends and
family investors, venture investors, or vendors who have exchanged their work for shares of your
company. If you have any of these, someone on your team should be tasked with the responsibility of
maintaining good investor relations.
Trends in Shareholder Concerns
People become shareholders in a company because they believe the company will be successful and, as a
result, they will make money. Major trends in shareholder concerns, as identified by Ernst and Young,
include how the company responds to social and environmental issues, the selection and compensation of
the board of directors, the company's merger or acquisition potential, and executive compensation. Public
companies are seeing an increase in shareholder initiatives involving these concerns, but they are also
seen in startups with investor shareholders and in small privately held companies. Shareholders are
becoming more vocal and active in questioning what is going on in the companies they own.
Be Aware of the Developing Issues
One of the advantages of having a member of your management team handle shareholder relations lies in
having a central point where shareholder questions and comments can be monitored before they become
shareholder initiatives. Shareholders talk to other shareholders and build consensus before they take
action against a company, so pay attention to their concerns before they reach a crisis point that threatens
to lead to legal action. Even the shareholder you think of as an annoying complainer can influence others
to take action that creates headaches for your management as well as potential expense and loss of
management control over the company.
Communicate With Your Shareholders
Monthly or quarterly shareholder letters or meetings summarizing the activities of your company serve to
quell many shareholder concerns, but even a hint of spin can backfire by actually raising concerns.
Shareholders usually understand periods of slow business and errors in judgement as long as you propose
ways to productively handle your company's problems. In fact, shareholders can be a major source of
business development, solutions to problems and even additional investment if your communications
carry the image of management transparency. After all, your shareholders are owners of your company,
too.
Don't Slam the Door
The best way to create additional problems for your company is to deny information to your shareholders.
They have legal rights to inspect your financials and to receive serious answers to their questions. In a
small company, information spreads and secrets come out. Sometimes your management team is working
on a project that must be kept confidential. Tell your shareholders that the results of the project will be

communicated when it is finished, but don't tell them it's none of their business or you might find a court
order on your desk.
How to Avoid Common Investing Problems
It has happened to most of us at some time or another: You're at a cocktail party enjoying your drink and
hors d'oeuvres, and "the blowhard" happens your way. You know he's going to brag about his latest "giant
accomplishment." This time, he's taken a long position in Widgets Plus.com, the latest, greatest online
marketer of household gadgets. You come to find he knows nothing about the company, is still completely
enamored with it and has invested 25% of his portfolio in it hoping he can double his money quickly.
Despite your resistance to hearing him drone on, you start to feel comfortable and smug in knowing that
he has committed at least four common investing mistakes and that hopefully, this time he'll learn his
lesson. This article will address eight of those common mistakes, including: investing in something you
don't understand, falling in love with a company, lack of patience, turning over your portfolio too often,
market-timing, waiting to get even, failing to diversify and letting your emotions rule the process.
1. Investing in Something You Don't Understand
One of the world's most successful investors, Warren Buffett, cautions against investing in businesses you
don't understand. This means that you should not be buying stock in companies if you don't understand
the business models. The best way to avoid this is to build a diversified portfolio of exchange-traded
funds (ETFs) or mutual funds. If you do invest in individual stocks, make sure you thoroughly understand
each company those stocks represent before you invest.
2. Falling in Love with a Company
Too often, when we see a company we've invested in do well, it's easy to fall in love with it and forget
that we bought the stock as an investment. Remember: you bought this stock to make money. If any of the
fundamentals that prompted you to buy into the company change, consider selling the stock.
3. Lack of Patience
How many times has the power of slow and steady progress become imminently clear? Slow and steady
usually comes out on top - be it at the gym, in school or in your career. Why, then, do we expect it to be
different with investing? A slow, steady and disciplined approach will go a lot farther over the long haul
than going for the "Hail Mary" last-minute plays. Expecting our portfolios to do something other than
what they're designed to do is a recipe for disaster. This means you need to keep your expectations
realistic in regard to the length, time and growth that each stock will encounter.
4. Too Much Investment Turnover
Turnover, or jumping in and out of positions, is another return killer. Unless you're an institutional
investor with the benefit of low commission rates, the transaction costs can eat you alive - not to mention
the short-term tax rates and the opportunity cost of missing out on the long-term gains of good
investments.
5. Market Timing
Market timing, turnover's evil cousin, also kills returns. Successfully timing the market is extremely
difficult to do. Even institutional investors often fail to do it successfully. A well-known study,

"Determinants Of Portfolio Performance" (Financial Analysts Journal, 1986), conducted by Gary P.

Brinson, L. Randolph Hood and Gilbert Beerbower covered American pension-fund returns. This study
showed that, on average, nearly 94% of the variation of returns over time was explained by the
investment policy decision. In layman's terms, this indicates that, normally, most of a portfolio's return
can be explained by the asset allocation decisions you make, not by timing or even security selection.
6. Waiting to Get Even
Getting even is just another way to ensure you lose any profit you might have made. This means you are
waiting to sell a loser until it gets back to its original cost basis. Behavioral finance calls this a "cognitive
error." By failing to realize a loss, investors are actually losing in two ways: first, they avoid selling a
loser, which may continue to slide until it's worthless. Also, there's the opportunity cost of what may be a
better use for those investment dollars.
7. Failing to Diversify
While professional investors may be able to generate alpha, (or, excess return over a benchmark) by
investing in a few concentrated positions, common investors should not try to do this. Stick to the
principal of diversification. In building an ETF or mutual fund portfolio, remember to allocate an
exposure to all major spaces. In building an individual stock portfolio, allocate to all major sectors, and
selectively to underweight sectors you feel might have potential. Do not allocate more than 5 to 10% to
any one investment.
8. Letting Your Emotions Rule the Process
Perhaps the No.1 killer of investment return is your emotions. The axiom that fear and greed rule the
market is true. Do not let fear or greed overtake you. Focus on the bigger picture. Stock market returns
may deviate wildly over a shorter time frame, but over the long term, historical returns for large cap
stocks can average 10 to 11%. Realize that, over a long time horizon, your portfolio's returns should not
deviate much from those averages. In fact, you may benefit from the irrational decisions of other
investors.