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1) What is the event all about?

The event I attended was the 2 nd Human Resource Development Management Student
Convention with the theme, HR Readiness Towards ASEAN Integration: Crossing
Borders and Scaling New Heights which was held during September 5-6, 2014 at the
JCentre Mall. It composed a variety of activities such as discussions from chosen
speakers with Q&A after their presentation, raffle prizes, and multiple intermission
numbers. This convention would allow professional to present to us their insights,
lessons, and experiences of their career in hopes of improving our way of doing business
and, in other aspects, our way of living. Their main focus was to help us understand the
upcoming ASEAN Integration that will be effective this coming 2015 and what we can
do as students to help prepare the Philippines for this event that will bring about rapid and
dynamic competition to the country.
2) Who were the audience, the organizers, and the speakers?
The audience consisted of numerous schools such as the University of Visayas, the Asian
College of Technology, University of San Jose- Recollectos, University of Cebu, and the
University of San Carlos. The organizers were SYBEE, USC, and PEOPLE and the
speakers were the following, Professor Bobbie Co-Laguitao, Dr. Jeane Sanchez, Attorney
Joel Mangubat Seno, Ms. Vera Villamor, Mrs. Hermie Go, Ms. Marian Sionzon, and Mr.
Philip Tan.
3) Summarize the topics of each speaker.
First Day Speakers:
1st speaker: Prof. Bobbie Co Laguitao
She explained that ASEAN had three communities: the political and security community,
the economic community, and the cultural community. She also emphasized about
leadership.
She mentioned that a leader of todays generation possessed certain characteristics like
kindness, humility, determination, charisma, charm, and the ability to strive for
excellence. She also mentioned that leaders required skill in order to perform their
particular duties and he would have to know his strengths and weaknesses to be able to
assess the level of his current skills. Some of the mentioned skills include diligence,
persistence, understanding, confronting, public speaking, problem-solving, role model,
disposition, flexibility, ambition, organization, punctuality, loyalty, street smarts, and
versatility.
He/she possess personal attributes like behaving ethically, thinking strategically,
gathering information, supporting corporate goals, communicating effectively, making
decisions, developing effective teams, behaving assertively, concentrating on results,
managing himself, and presenting a positive image.
She also differentiated management and leadership. While management revolves around
people (applying the PLOC principle) leadership is referring to a personal journey. You

make your own decisions on how you will be able to lead your team and your
organization into success; its all about you.
She presented numerous development programs that can help improve a persons leader
skills. It includes training to be a team player, Failure to reach your target is not generally
a failure, lead others by your own personal example, carry out self-assessment, knowing
about body language, and respecting others.
The 4 qualities to aspire are:
Judgment
Integrity
Character
Courage
Lastly, since our world is in a globalization phase, we might encounter a culturally
diverse workforce. It will require studying different cultures in all angles and learning
how to handle conflicts decisively.
2nd speaker: Dr. Jeane Sanchez:
She states that by 2015, ASEAN will implement its economic blueprint in the region. She
divided her discussion into different parts to help us understand the importance of HR in
the ASEAN itegration.
She started with the rationale of the ASEAN integration which involved some key
characteristics of the AEC: it will be a single market and a production base, it will be a
highly competitive market, it will be a region of equitable economic development, and it
will be fully integrated to the global economy
It is concerned with the free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labor, and
capital. In the context of human development, more focus should be placed on skilled
labor. By then, foreign talent will be present in the country which is necessary for
competitive synergy of talent. ASEAN Integration will allow the facilitation of VISAs,
cooperation of ASEAN institutes, and concordance of service skills and qualifications. In
order for the Philippines to be recognized as a competitive player by the other ASEAN
nations, we must know how to prepare ourselves in grabbing the numerous opportunities
that ASEAN Integration offers.
The second portion involves the importance of core competencies. Competency is the
ability to carry out a task to a certain standard acquired through experience. It has five
dimensions which include task skills, task management, competence management skills,
environment skills, and transfer skills. Four types of competencies were also stated,
namely, personal, foundational, reflective, and applied. Dr. Sanchez showed us a total of
31 core competencies that were essential for our businesses. They were separated into 3
groups: the first that deals with people, the second cluster that deals with business, and
the third that is focused on self-management. Personal Motivation was an interesting

concept that can help propel us to take action. It is divided into 6 categories: aesthetic,
individualistic, social, theoretical, traditional, and economic.
The third part is about the intercultural focus. As it was mentioned earlier, there is a
possibility of encountering a culturally diverse workforce. Therefore, our focus must be
deeper and more intercultural. Some practices may not be the same as others and that
may cause noise or conflict in the workplace. Some examples would be direct social
interaction is not encouraged, different methods in dealing between businesses, priority of
cultural values, etc. Traditions are considered important for employees so managers must
be able to know their customs well.
The fourth part involves self- promotion. We must master the art of self-promotion. It
pertains with how we can expose an image/brand to the market. The people who turn
dreams into reality are the only ones who accept the responsibility of self-development
and their career growth. There are many ways to practice this such as gaining contacts,
establishing relationships with quality professionals/ a mentor, and developing and
showing growth in professional growth which can be done by joining associations,
volunteering in community projects, doing part-time jobs, and applying for extra
education and training.
She concludes her discussion by challenging everyone to go the extra mile and succeed in
the future. She encouraged us to be serious in our studies, work hard and have self-belief
in excelling in order to gain opportunities, and waste time wisely.
3rd speaker: Attorney Joel Mangubat Seno
First of all, he explained what ASEAN was all about first. The ASEAN community was
established in order to develop peace between nations, prosperity in the multiple
economies, and respect to people and to be able to care for one another.
He stated the difference between the Asian Economic Comunnity (AEC) and the
European Commission. The AEC is purely market driven and the separation of countries
by water shows certain challenges in integrating a truly competitive market. Meanwhile
the European Commission is government driven, which mean that there is politics
involved, and its nations are connected to one another which provides convenience in
execution of their activities. The goal of 2015 is to see ASEAN with no walls (e.g. tariffs,
visas).
There are numerous challenges that the Philippine faces with the implementation of the
ASEAN Integration. One is that the Philippines will allow skilled workers form other
ASEAN nations to render their contracted services here. That will bring bad news for our
domestic workers as they will compete for job employment. Higher production cost
compared to other countries is also a disadvantage that has been noticed, along with
skilled labor and critical professionals. And an insufficient overall education policy
coordination body prevents us from being as equally compared in terms of knowledge
and skills as our other ASEAN nation counterparts.
Industrial relations is the study of the employee-employer relationship and this is very
important in the effect of the ASEAN Integration. Guidelines were shown that employers

must observe economic security and equal opportunities for all employees, and respect
the cultural differences of each nation.
Movement of Natural Persons (MNP) - is the agreement of the implementation of the
ASEAN Framework Agreement of Services (AFAS) and that means that permanent entry
is prohibited for all people even on a temporary basis. Skilled labor is reciprocal so it is
like a give and take relationship. In short, ASEAN nations trade skilled labor and
talents with one another. Four priorities currently in demand in the service sector are
transportation and logistics, tourism and healthcare, research and HRDM. If the
Philippines wants to be at par with other markets, these sectors should be placed with
more emphasis. We also have to standardize the syllabus of Philippine universities by
improving quality education and developing cultural barrier textbooks. One advantage
cited was that Philippines has a large workforce that can speak English and has areas
which has lower wages compared to others.
Second Day Speakers:
1st speaker: Ms. Vera Villamor
She explained the needs for employees such as employability, communication capacity,
roles, lifelong learning, short term commitment, meaningful work, and cross-functional
work. Employees are needed in order for a company to function and these are a few ways
to recruit the right people: planning activities and engaging in corporate citizenship
through corporate social responsibility (CSR), branding, publishing the companys
mission, vision, and philosophy in their website, showing video clips of employees about
their experience in working with the company, making a list of internet job boards. She
gave us the additional tip of advertising definite features and describing specific benefits
of the product in order to sell more and generate profit.
She introduced to us to the idea of Fast Track Career Advancement, which is selfexplanatory by the term itself, through the use of opportunities and using websites to
hasten the hiring process. While she earlier explained benefits in recruiting methods, it is
a different story in terms of attracting possible candidates, which she was able to provide
to the audience. The key features for successful attraction are attracting people with high
performance with high salary, allowing people to grow using freedom and challenge,
adopting flexibility, and countering chaos with high level talent. Another point in her
discussion was that in order to be an employer of choice, you have to create a working
culture that attract and retain people. Failure to acknowledge employees needs are one of
the main reason why many companies today are failing. Other companies who
understand and implement this concept are gaining the human capital needed to strive in
a competitive market and todays talents wait for no one.
She also mentioned that having passion in your work is important. Engagement allows a
more flexible working environment and allows employees to be happy or satisfied with
their employment place of choice. It builds an emotional commitment of employees to an
organizations goals. Saying positive things, which may not seem much, can have a major
impact on employees, allowing them to be passionate with their job, committed to the
organization, and perform effortful work. She also gave us advice that will help us do

well in careers, which helps develop employees and gives them more confidence, such as
clarity in job descriptions and congratulating employees for their achievements.
She also cited values of creative and engaging leadership. In the generation today, leaders
will want creativity and innovation of ideas, perform their duties with integrity and
dedication, and open communication and interact with the new generation of employees.
She explained that a true leader can come in many definitions but one which she found
particularly effective was that he takes genuine joy in success of those under him. She
also discussed about the 3 employee types: engaged (helps company move forward), not
engaged (stagnating), and actively disengaged (busy and not happy with his work). She
motioned us to keep connected employees as they are a great asset to the human capital
of a company. She ended her topic by saying that change is essential through a quote, If
an opportunity doesnt knock, build a door, which I found quite inspiring.
2nd speaker: Mrs. Hermie Go
She discussed her topic by introducing us with career myths, which I found quite
impressive seeing that discussions were taking in a different direction. The first one was
that learning only happens in classrooms. Learning is done in two ways: pedalogy
(teacher-student relationship focused) and andralogy (learning centered). Learning
happens continuously in our lives no matter where we are. Every day, we learn something
new that helps us grow more in our chosen path. She validated her reasoning with her
learnings in AON: experience covers 70%, feedback at 20%, and education at 10%.
The second myth was that good grades were the equivalent of success. It is quite clear
that this speculation is false. She cited her experience and brought to mind successful
people that didnt depend or less likely achieved good grades. The formula of success is a
good education, a wide network, and the seize of opportunities. The third myth argued
that we, as individuals, always act based on our beliefs and opinions. She mentioned that
we must understand peer influence to acknowledge this statement and career
development and opportunities are important for our future. She also mentioned the what
employees want: a clear career path, making work decisions, necessary development,
career development, and teamwork.
The fourth myth states that a job is a job is a job. She explains that skills of employees
should be aligned with the challenges he/she faces in his/her position and that learning of
employees should be enhanced. The final myth is that success leads to happiness. Success
can come in many definitions but one she mentioned in particular was that success in the
number of people whose lives change because of you. It involves the practice of integrity
in the workplace, which is doing the right thing when no one is looking.

3rd speaker: Ms. Marian Sionzon


She discussed about how statistics can aid in the acquiring of results. She begins with the
elements involved in the planning of research, problem search and problem
conceptualization. Problem search means identifying factors linked to the preparation of
research (research agenda, area of study, and variables) and stating a tentative research

title while problem conceptualization pertains to the formulation and evaluation of


problems which supports the research focus. She also mentioned research design which
requires selecting a research methodology and gathering the means (sampling technique,
instruments, and procedures) to implement them.
Another part of her lecture was the stages of research work. The first was preparing a
research proposal which involves the what, why and hows of the research. Next is the
organizing and the conducting of research, which leads to writing a research report based
on the data gathered. The fourth and final stage is evaluating research through the results,
finding gaps and weaknesses present in the activity.
She also mentioned the capabilities in making a research problem which involves
selecting and defining the problem, selecting the right methodology, collecting data, and
analyzing and interpreting the results. She also explains that the reason why data is
collected is to assess the effectiveness of the product and determine companys
compliance to policies.
4th speaker: Mr. Philip Tan
His lecture involved his life and the challenges he faced. He shared the lessons he learned
and was willing to hear what problems/challenges the next generation of future
professionals was facing. He explains that we should help others, reach out to the
community in your own special no matter how small it may seem. This also includes the
employees who can help companies succeed. He mentioned to be a good listener in order
to understand what they want. He says that life is not all about money, that there are
many things that money can never buy and that money is about the person you are and
not simply the delivery of the product. Other lesson in his discussion included operations
being the most important organizational function as it contains all organization aspects,
creating value while being successful and that respecting others will earn you the
respect/help you deserve. One of the most important advices was to take care of myself
first, then take care of your family. They are two most important things in the world and
they will help you achieve in life.
4) Which topic did the speakers talk about which you find relevant with your career?
Each speaker had interesting topics and I know they can help me in many ways in my
life. But if I were to be truthful, I would say that that the lectures of Prof. Bobbie Co
Laguitao, Dr. Jeane Sanchez, Ms. Vera Villamor, Ms. Hermie Go and Mr Philip Tans
were the most influential. I will explain why I find a number of these lectures beneficial
to my career.
Prof. Bobbie Co Laguitao focuses on factors of leadership, especially those for this
generation. Managers will need to establish leadership to coordinate the activities and
schedules of their employees. I will need to acquire certain skills and knowledge to
effectively ran the operations in a company and understand employee needs.
Dr. Jeane Sanchez explained much about what will happen in the upcoming ASEAN
2015. It will bring large competition to the region and affect businesses everywhere.

While I dont expect the shift to happen directly, I know that I have to be ready and grab
the opportunities that arise to bring profitability. As a manager, I will effectively manage
my business and ensure that it exceeds in terms of competitiveness. And to stay ahead of
competitors, I need to learn what I can do to improve myself, my employees and
everyone else involved in the organization.
Ms. Vera Villamor highlights attracting and retaining the current workforce. People will
always be involved in business. Finding the right people will help the productivity and
efficiency of the company while cutting down on hiring costs. By satisfying employee
needs, I can ensure that the human capital which they possess stays with the company as
it is a valuable asset that the employees themselves own.
Ms. Hermie Go discussed about certain topics that help choose a suitable career path for
you. While I may have an idea of what awaits in the future, I am still unsure whether my
chosen career as a manager is the one that is right for me. By understanding the career
myths she presented, I hope to choose the career that gives meaning to my life.
Mr. Philip Tan engaged in an interaction with the audience about learning about the truly
important things in life. I expect many challenges in the future and focusing on goals may
make me blind of my surrounding along with the people present. Knowing what comes
first and balancing work-life relationship is a must in order for me to achieve my goals.
5) I would have to rate this convention as a 4. The venue was quite large and accommodated
a lot of people. The kit is effective in helping us bring our supplies around. The food
provided was quite sufficient in satisfying my hunger, the activities were quite enjoyable
and enabled the participants to directly join in the program, and the topics were all useful
in their own way which many can implement to make better decisions in life. However, I
found some of them not particularly in line with the theme. Some of the speakers should
find methods to draw the participants undivided attention to their discussion. If I were to
be honest, there were a lot of requirements involved in the convention and I believe it
would have been more enjoyable if I were able to gain insights and knowledge in my own
pace. But these do not undermine the fact that the convention was a huge success and I
hope to experience more similar, if not better, than this.
To make this convention reach the next level, I have few ideas of my own. When
choosing the line-up of speakers, select those that are very willing to share the lessons
they learned and the knowledge they gained from challenges aside from discussing only
about the topic. If possible, choose those who are familiar with the situation of the
participants and can use topics that we can relate. It can help people be more inspired to
do more and allow them to be more active in the discussion. Achieve a lively atmosphere
in the venue making the participants energize as they enter the doors. Use a medium like
music or an activity around the entrance area to emit positive feelings to the participants
and allowing them to expect better events to happen in the remainder of the day. Improve
the orderliness during the end of each day to enable an orderly exit of the participants.
Gather sponsors whose products/services interact greatly with the participants. And
improve on the rest of the factors such as food, speakers, etc. to make a better impression.

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