Re-Thinking Organization and Management

The basis of wealth creation has changed. There was a time when wealth was measured in terms of natural resources. During the industrial age, wealth was measured in terms of production capability. Now, we are in the knowledge economy. The basis of wealth creation is the proper use of knowledge and information. During the last decade, there have been debates on whether the Philippines will enter the knowledge economy or not. Actually, it is not a choice. It is a global phenomenon, which is part of the evolution of the economic system of man. We are in the knowledge age and we should re-think our way of management as dictated by change.

Sharpening of the business competitive edge rests to a large extent on the ability of the enterprise to constantly monitor the macro-environment, identify opportunities for growth and constantly re-engineered its business processes to face new challenges. In large enterprises, they have a Corporate Planning division that guides them in their growth. Filipino SMEs do not have this luxury. However, if they are to re-live the life of Sony, Apple, Microsoft and Toyota that started from a garage office to global prominence, resources to analyze and develop business strategies suited for the concrete capabilities and limitations of Filipino entrepreneurs must be made available to them.

The cost of maintaining a department that will conduct regular industry studies and market analysis would be too high for a single local SME. However, it is possible to form a non-stock, non-profit organization that will perform that task not just for one entity but also for Filipino SMEs in general.

This will not be easy. We have to analyze the current and past basic management practices and integrate new management theories such as technology management, total quality management and knowledge management. Technology Management espouses the concept that the proper management of technology is the key to competitiveness and wealth creation of enterprises. Total Quality Management dictates that quality is the key. Knowledge Management dictates that the proper management of knowledge is the key. Actually, they are all different aspects of competitiveness and the entrepreneur has to be able to properly incorporate them in his current operations to enable his company to become competitive.

Filipino entrepreneurs understand the importance of integrating these concepts into their business model for them to grow and become globally competitive. However, they do not have the luxury of implementing them the traditional way. They can’t spare resources in hiring technology managers and knowledge managers. They would also like to take seminars or graduate courses on the said topics but their needs are immediate. Their company might collapse during the six months to a few years they would need to finish a graduate degree. We need to help them – NOW! We must develop these new management styles not as an academic exercise but through close interaction with SMEs as we deal with the opportunities and limitation they encounter.