semiwanderer-blog

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Moving Forward.

Four years ago, I graduated from a double degree in Communication Arts and Advertising Management at one of the top universities in the Philippines, De La Salle University-Manila. Having been in college for more than 5 years, one would think that I already knew what I wanted in life and it certainly wasn’t the case for me. I knew at that point that I did not want to pursue a career in the Advertising industry. Because I had no background in other industries aside from Advertising, I knew what I had to do. Before I become employed, I wanted to know more, to enhance further my skills before I can contribute to the development of a company I will apply for. I worked for  Pilipinas Shell as an On-the-Job Trainee for 7 months after graduation to gather more experience. True enough, this new experience of working in the Gasoline/Petroleum Industry taught me what being a professional is. Having been part of only a 4-man team (2 Marketing Officers and 2 OJTs including myself) who took care of the Retail Marketing operations, I was able to launch the FuelSave and V-Power Nitro Brand being offered today at all Shell stations. Now I could have stayed and continued on but the burning desire to learn more made me decide to apply in a similar industry, Automotive. In Toyota Motor Philippines, I have started a career in Dealer Operations, Customer Satisfaction Section. My friends often times tell me that this is very far from what we’ve studied but I have no regrets as every day for the past 4 years was a challenge. This organization taught me how to lead, teach and love. Apart from the Customer Satisfaction Research Studies and Activities I was able to establish, I am also very proud to have led (and still leading) a dynamic team composed of 10 individuals and helped them grow professionally. Managing the whole dealer network also helped in unleashing the leader that I am now, being the Group Head of Customer Satisfaction Section of Toyota’s Head Office in the Philippines. 5 years from now, I would want to continue to climb up the corporate ladder and become one of the successors and respected managers of our company. But more than the position itself, I see myself as a determined individual, ready to overcome any challenges which will come my way. I see myself as a person who has developed more knowledge through constant thirst for learning and higher education, and by seeing the world from a different perspective. Related to this is one of the values of Toyota which I personally believe and currently uphold is continuous improvement. I believe that through graduate studies, my ability to think strategically and understand better our current business environment, the interconnectedness of this industry to other industries and to the development of society will be enhanced. In the long-term, I would like to contribute to the business goals of the company through safe and better quality of life. I wish to investigate further on how to streamline processes of our dealer operations to gain truly exceptional customer experience. I believe that though this is difficult to sustain, this is the heart of our business in which we should continue finding ways to solve. I would want to develop management and strategic thinking skills which will allow me to contribute to the ever growing business growth of our company while taking care of our environment and uplifting quality of life. I would like to be able to conceptualize programs to enhance Customer Experience at our dealerships. I would like to lead my team better and motivate them to perform better, and grow as individuals.

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Thank you, Speech.

My 5 years in Toyota Motor Philippines has been a very enriching experience but there were also failures and sacrifices I had to make along the way. This is why to be considered as a MOLT awardee is a dream. It’s the only way I can give back to the many people who have helped me become who I am now.

To  my parents Mina and Manny, my sister Abby, Ninong Sam and Ninang Arlene, thank you for raising me with all that you can and with all your heart. Because of this, I am able to love others like how I have received love from you.

To my mentors, Ms Cherry Bolanos, Mr Danny Cruz, Ms Josephine Villanueva, Mr Dino Arevalo and Mr Yohei Murase --- Thank you for valuing my opinions and ideas. I will always be thankful for sharing with me your wisdom and I’ll make sure to use it to achieve my vision.

To CRD, it was always a pleasure having such happy and positive people to work with everyday.

To DLSU for being my foundation and my core.

Thank you to my team, Customer Satisfaction Section, Monica, Lalaine, Mixie, Libni, Jackie, Jaena, Vanessa, Leah, Mysie, Myve and Hazel – thank you for staying with me even when it was hard, for trusting in me and allowing me to lead you.

And lastly, to God, for graciously giving me guidance, every stop of the way.

Live Jesus in our hearts, forever.

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This time, Instagram for NGOs

Now I mentioned in my other article that content marketing works for NGOs. As a start, we should select the face of the NGO. Then the story would revolve around him/her I also read once the below points when considering to use Instagram to promote NGOs.

Why do you need to be on Instagram?

•       It’s incredibly popular, and its user base (and range of photo-editing tools) is growing.

•       Last December, Instagram’s CEO announced the product’s community topped 300 million members. From late 2013 to late 2014, Instagrammers increased from 17% to 26% of all adults online, according to Pew Research Center. Just under half of those users are on Instagram on a daily basis.

•       And among those ages 18 to 29, 53% use it to share photos of sunsets (#nofilter), peruse pics of tasty pastry, or relive sepia-toned memories of the past.

•       In the nonprofit realm, Instagram earned the #5 spot in the ranking of most important social media sites in the 2015 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report. It hopped over Pinterest and Google+ in popularity since the same survey last year.

•       With visual communication one of the biggest nonprofit technology trends this year, it’s not surprising that Instagram is drawing more focus from marketing folks.

 Get ‘Gramming

•       But what if you fanned out those colorful promotional flyers? Or you could take a 15-second video to introduce the faces on your team. And maybe on Thursdays, your executive director brings her dog in for the afternoon.

•       Your digs, your people, your materials – they all go into making your nonprofit run, and can give followers a glimpse of what makes you special.

•       Plus, everything looks better with a filter.

•       Consider posting a #selfie with a star volunteer, or go back to your roots with a #tbt (Throwback Thursday) of the organization’s first office (even tinier!) or elicit a chuckle at your board president’s ‘70’s hairdo.

 How frequently should you use Instagram?

•       A general rule: Post early, post often. Aim for at least once a day. Take advantage of the “insta” part of Instagram to cover your nonprofit’s events live, sharing multiple snapshots over the course of a day or evening

•       But Instagram is not just about broadcasting. Pay attention to the posts users like or comment on, and jump in to thank supporters or answer questions (comment with @username to respond to specific queries). If you’re engaged, your followers are more likely to be too.

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Twitter for NGOs

I came across an article once on how to maximize social media for NGOs. It's cheap and effective anyway. I highlighted below the main points of the article:

Post Regularly

•      Once you’ve set up a bomb Twitter profile for your nonprofit, this is the first key action of any successful social media effort. No one will follow a social media account which produces no content. Your Twitter account should include regular updates, retweets, and favorites to give your followers information about your nonprofit and what it stands for.

•      According to Bufferapp, you should tweet about three times a day on your account, since their figures show that around the third tweet, engagement begins to drop off.

•      If you don’t have time: Setting up tweets ahead of time can certainly work to your advantage, since you most likely won’t have time to regularly address your Twitter account multiple separate times each and every day.

•      This can be accomplished by using social media tools such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck, or automated tools like Edgar and Buffer to manage your Twitter account(s) and schedule posts ahead of time.

Hashtag, Hashtag, Hashtag!

•      The hashtag has been one of the most important additions to the realm of social media since it allows us to categorize and easily search terms and subjects across all social media platforms. It can be used to start Twitter campaigns, signify support or disapproval of a viral issue, and make your tweets more visible to the general populace.

•      But how many hashtags should you use in each tweet? Just like anything, too much of a good thing can actually work against you. According to How To Hashtag, a tweet should ONLY use about two hashtags so it doesn’t come across as “spammy” to your followers.

•      You want to inform your followers, not drive them away.

•      Building your Twitter audience also requires relevant hashtags for your audience and message.

•      These tools will help you direct your tweets to the audiences you hope to reach, especially when relevant events and topics are trending, allowing you to seize on the momentum.

Use Visuals

•      Believe it or not, books are still popular, but no one wants to read a wall of text every time they log onto Twitter, or any social network for that matter. People log onto social media to fill the free (and not so free) time in their day and entertain themselves. Your Twitter campaigns need visuals to break up the text and increase engagement, which in the end leads to more activity and followers.

•      Twitter explored engagement numbers behind the most popular tweets by verified accounts and the results were interesting:

•      Photos in tweets average a 35% boost in retweets

•      Videos averaged a 28% boost

•      Online graphic design tools like Canva are perfect for social media visuals with preset visual sizes made according to the optimal dimensions set by each social network.

•      Think of Facebook and blogs as your outlets for long form posts, while Twitter is your source for quick news and topics. Keep it short, simple, and visually engaging!

Setup Automated Follow Messages

•      This is one area that users often overlook, even I did before learning the error of my ways. Sending a direct message over Twitter after someone follows you is important, not only to solidify that follower for your Twitter account, but to also provide them with basic information about your nonprofit, such as your website or information about a new campaign. But just like scheduled tweets, you probably don’t have time to type out a message to each new follower.

•      With Crowdfire, you can setup automated follower messages which send as soon as a new follower joins your ranks. When setting up the message, be sure to include a link to either your website or some other important information you want your followers to know about.

•      With automated messaging you can avoid typing messages all day and ending up like this poor soul.

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The Possible Future of Project Bantu

Project Bantu is in need of help, of funding, immediately. But looking at it in the long run, it needs to paint out a vision for the organization. Based on my own assessment, Project Bantu, once stable, can market its services and use the funds to helpout the streetchildren it currently teaches.

This is for the future

Strategy:                    Market the Capoeira Classes

How:                           Utilize information technology to get closer target audience

Opportunities:

① Partner  with Fitness Package Apps

-GuavaPass

-KFit

② Increase Social Media Presence through Content Marketing

-Twitter (Written, Captions/Verses)

-Instagram (Visual, Photography)

-Facebook (Both, Relationships

According to the Content Marketing Institute, “content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience—with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”

 EFFECTIVE CONTENT MARKETING CAMPAIGNS FOR NGOs

1. March of Dime

•      Helped in saving thousands of babies

•      Use of the Internet: People could follow the life of its 2012 national ambassador

•      Content: Inspirational and life-changing stories

•      Multi-dimensional approach: Blog, share stories on Facebook, uploaded videos on YouTube, and shared announcements on Twitter. This campaign helps to raise awareness and contributes to funding their mission.

•      Sharing of stories online by people affected: Aligned with its mission: ensuring that every single baby gets a good and healthy start in life.

 2. “The Big Dig”

•      Youtube channel and Blogs: To push their content as a way to draw donors

•      Instagram: to document their progress in bringing clean water to Malawi.

•      Their photo diary of progress on “@thebigdig” gave WaterAid the opportunity to reach millions of Instagram users through photos and hashtags which prompt the viewers to either donate resources or money.

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CSR at Toyota PH

I truly enjoyed assessing and knowing what are the CSR efforts of Toyota Philippines. I have always been active in college and because I was busy with work all throughout the years, I guess I haven't had the time to spare some time for community service. And there was always something missing. Although the projects I handle have a big impact on Toyota business operations, I guess the fulfilling part is when you are able to touch lives of other people. I can say that through this activity, my inner desire to help was somehow ignited.

Toyota is one of the most admired companies as it values sustainable development as its core.As defined in our readings, sustainable development is sustainable where it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” It is visualized through the diagram below wherein there are 3 major portions constituting a sustainable community: Environment, Social and Economic.

In the case of Toyota, all 3 major portions in the above diagram is satisfied. In fact, Toyota even does more than what the abovementioned areas.

Global Toyota aims to lessen the impact of its manufacturing operations to Mother Earth and in the Philippines, the demand for locally-produced vehicles continues to increase, driving TMP to expand its manufacturing operations and produce more. With this, Toyota maintains its commitment to its strong CSR Activities, composed of 4 Main Areas: Environment, Health Care, Education and Community Service

Because of its commitment to giving back to the community, Toyota is able to lead the industry and other businesses with best practices – even branching out to teach dealers and suppliers on Corporate Social Responsibility. 

Though Toyota’s CSR Activities is a very established arm of the company, there are still areas where we can greatly improve on such as the topic of safety, this aspect is very essential in every car we manufacture. From my point of view, Toyota needs to be more present in the daily lives of its consumers and take part in addressing other relevant issues such as livelihood, easing traffic, and road widening projects as part of its future CSR Activities.

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An Inconvenient Truth

An Inconvenient Truth was a movie I saw many years back on the effect of global warming and how humans are the ones responsible for it. I remember a few statements strongly claimed by the film:

1. Deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years to 300k people a year.

2. More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction in just half a century as a result of global warming.

3. Global warming will also cause the introduction of new, invasive species.

4. Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet (6 meters) with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide.

5. The Arctic Ocean could be ice-free in summer by 2050.

I remember this movie causing a lot of buzz however, what did mankind ever do afterwards? Just a though after a lecture on environmental sustainability.

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Go green!

The 10 blogs and digital media on environment and sustainability 

The Climate Reality Project brings the cold hard facts about the climate crisis into the mainstream and engages the public in conversation about how to solve it. They want to help people around the world to take the steps to bring about change.

Cop21 Blog This is the official blog of the 2015 Conference on Climate Change in Paris (cop21), bringing all the latest news on the event and on sustainable innovation.

 CSR Europe is the European business network for Corporate Social Responsibility. It allows companies to share best practices and work together to innovate within this field.

Eco Friend is an online news organization that uses humour to interpret green issues, promoting an eco-friendly lifestyle and hoping to inspire environmental action. It has cool ideas on how to repurpose your old things.

Grist is a funny, witty site for environmental news and commentary that has been around since the stone age (i.e.1999) The topics on their radar include climate, energy, food, cities, business and green living.

The Guardian’s environment blog This blog from The Guardian newspaper looks at issues related to environment, climate change and global warming.

Planet Ark is filled with homegrown news, ideas and views. They have loads of fantastic ideas on how you can do something positive for the planet and show how small changes in your lifestyle can make a big difference to the planet.

#PorElClima The #ForTheClimate blog from the 1 million compromisos initiative which was launched by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment and is supported by Ferrovial. You can find out what everyday changes you can make to help fight climate change.

Recycle NowRecycle Now is a government funded national recycling campaign for England. The site gives you loads of useful tips on how to recycle all those random things that you have lying around your house.

Sustain Ability The Sustain Ability blog looks at different trends within the field of sustainability and how different governments and countries are approaching environmental issues.

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Serving the Community Once Again

Back in college, I was part of the Student Council and was the Vice President for Research of the College of Liberal Arts. While my function was not directly related to CSR activities, all officers were active in the activities of the whole college. I took part in a few Gawad Kalinga Building Homes Project in Manila, Tree Planting Activities, PAWS Feeding Program in Marikina and Feeding Programs for Children in Tondo. Since I took up a double degree in BA Communication Arts and BS Advertising Management and also because photography is one of my hobbies, I contributed a few pictures taken during these activities and the organizations used these for their promotions (posters, signages, info boards).

Though I am not active anymore, I wish to be involved in community service once again. I am happy that I have the opportunity through my MBA degree as we are starting a community service work which involves helping NGOs, orphanages, church groups, etc. Our goal is to improve on management of their own organizations using the different skill set we have (e.g. Marketing, Finance, Information Systems). I believe that this aspect is essential in molding an ideal business leader. In the company I work for, I am open to participate and will provide any assistance should there be a need for volunteers for the company's CSR activities.

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Ethical Business Cases

The discussion today was quite interesting. Little didn’t we know that we perform unethical acts in the workplace, no matter how small these may seem: lying to supervisors, falsifying records, alcohol and drug abuse, conflict of interest and gift/entertainment receipt in violation of company policy.

On another note, when I read the Ford Pinto Case, one thing came to my mind is its modern version, the recent issue on the Mitsubishi Montero Sudden Unintended Acceleration Case. Now working in the automotive industry, it is our responsibility not to let the same case happen to our brand. Just to differentiate between the Ford Pinto case, the Mitsubishi Montero SUA has recently been proven by a third party agency to be untrue after a few tests conducted. However, throughout the investigation issues, the company has done a few doubtful moves that made everyone doubt the credibility of the brand and its management. I will just wait for this issue to be one of the case studies we will study someday.

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What scares you the most?

It is quite surprising that of all the papers and reports I was tasked to do, creating a 25-year life plan is the most challenging one. The instruction give to us was to create a paper indicating what are our life plans in terms of many aspects: artistic, attitude, career, education family, financial, physical, pleasure, public service and social. Apart from that, we also had to determine our Vision and mission Statements. I think what makes it hard for me is because at the state I am currently in, I have honestly never seriously thought about it.

At work, we were just recently tasked to create a mid-term plan which covers the next 5 years. It was hard enough to think about what we would like to aim for the next 5 years, what more if we start thinking about the next 25 years. I was honestly scared that my life doesn’t have a direction since the thought of writing a plan scared me to my insides.

Frankly speaking, I only have a a plan for this year, or maybe 1.5 years from now. But the succeeding years? None honestly.

So anyway, I finished it, I had to. Surprisingly, I discovered a lot of things about myself. I didn’t realize that I wanted those things to happen if it weren’t because I had to write a plan for an MBA course. Just 3 main points that surprised me:

1.                          Having a partner and my stance on relationships and commitment is a contributing factor on why having my own family in the future seems gray to me. However, I have always believed that relationships should be selfless and true, and I don’t need to have one to be able to truly love someone. I can create a happy family with or without a partner.

2.                          My passion for traveling is because nothing changes my perception about my own life experience like seeing the way other people live. Travel enhances my perspective. I learn to value experience more than other material things and it’s satisfyingly self-rewarding. I am more appreciative about life with a sense of empathy to other people. Traveling helps me slow down and live for a moment, see things clearly and be less materialistic.

3.                          While I hope that my current job will eventually lead me to helping out a much bigger cause, a part of me believes that it currently only satisfies my current professional and personal needs. I would like to be able to one day make a significant impact on the lives of other people using the skills I have acquired. I believe that everything I have now and probably what I will be doing for the next 10 years is only temporary. These are simply means to an end, to eventually reach an ultimate goal to give back to society and to the Filipino people.

I can tell you more about it over beer one night, or day.

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The Sad but Fulfilling Part of not having Work-Life Balance

Throughout my 5 years working in Toyota Motor Philippines, I have been part of numerous projects which helped in ensuring that we are still the market leader in the automotive industry. However, the negative side of this was I had to give up my personal time. Since then, I have been struggling to achieve what we all know as ‘Work-Life Balance’. Ms Pia would call it rather, ‘Work Life Harmony’. Even until know, I am still unsure how to achieve this but it got me thinking whether everything was all worth it.  I came to realize that despite what I had lost, this experience has brought me my most significant achievement, my team.

I was only in my 1st year at work when all 3 senior members of Customer Satisfaction Section left the company. I was on my own, clueless, and with only 2 contractual TMs to support me. I was worried of the impact of this situation to my department, to my dept manager at that time, to the section and to the dealers and suppliers we've always worked closely with. So even if I knew that it will not be easy, I committed myself to serving the team. As an initial step, I had to learn everything on my own and as fast as I can. Even if there were no manuals to guide me, i studied the filed documents and bravely requested for coaching even from other departments.

I then started building a stronger team and for 3 years now, I have been taking on the role of a Group Head handling Customer Satisfaction Section even if i am not officially declared as one. Since then, I would like to believe that I have helped 7 Regular TMs and 5 Contractual TMs to become better professionals and individuals. From the time they first entered the company, they have overcome their weaknesses and I have pushed them to achieve more that what they are capable of and this is because of the below techniques:

> Step-by-step and strategic teaching methods

> Frequent one-on-one coaching (Own projects handled)

> Consultation/discussions/pep talk (Non-work related matters)

> Reflection exercises (Creating book reports/reflection papers to improve efficiency & productivity)

> Team building activities (From eating together during breaks/overtime work, to other activities and saving up to treat my team to dinner/ coffee)

> Alignment of thought process with the Toyota Way of thinking, data organization and use of visuals

> Openly sharing with them my own vision for the team to collaborate with one another and my vision for them to become 1) responsible professionals and 2) wise, reflective & ethical business leaders

> Lastly, in simply believing that they can, even if they can't

I would like to believe this is not something anyone can and would do. Of course, this was not an easy feat. In order to achieve this, i had to delay some personal plans (incl. taking up an MBA course, building own family) and sacrificed my personal time. I devoted my regular hours (8-5pm) to teaching and coaching and started doing my own tasks by 6pm. I plan for the team's tasks for the week every Sunday and I have only enrolled in an MBA course just last year.

  However looking back, i have no regrets. In a heartbeat, I would still choose to serve my team as seeing where they are right now is my pride and happiness. 

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Strength of Character

During the 2nd session, the topic was about what is a lasallian business leader and determining what are one’s core values. I personally believe that to be able to become one, strength of character and attitude plays a big part. As an individual, I live by and act according to the ff. core values:

1. Wisdom - Maintaining soundness of judgment in making tough decisions at work and in life based on own understanding, experiences, insights and knowledge.

2. Inner Harmony - Though faced with challenges, both work and personal, I display inner/emotional strength and approach any matter in a mature way. I also take time to self-reflect through meditation, art viewing, simply saying daily prayers, weekly personal time and solo travels.

3. Family Security - The reason behind all of my efforts to succeed is because I have always put the family as my top priority. My mission in life is to put my family in a good place, reciprocate the sacrifices they've made and ensure that they live a comfortable life.

Because of this, I am able to translate the abovementioned values into a positive work attitude. When taking on any challenge, i try to think of how it will contribute to my professional career and personal development. I also maintain an enthusiastic aura even when faced with stressful situations. Also, I maintain strong work ethics by ensuring that I work smart and efficient through unending small kaizen activities. I am also able to apply learnings from my MBA degree by becoming a ethical business leader that both my university and my company can be proud of.

The reason why I am devoted to the work that I do is because I strongly believe that if there is something that I must do everyday, it should be something that I love. This is what allows me to motivate others TMs, become a role model and create an environment of good will not only in my section but also to the whole department. Because of this, I keep  a close relationship with my peers and subordinates. We treat each other like family, even calling each other "Ate", "Kuya", and in a loving manner. This has helped in creating a workplace which has a light atmosphere, with respect to one another and initiates close collaboration in all projects. I also openly extend any help I can offer even to other departments and divisions.

While with my superiors, I maintain a professional relationship with them, always with high respect, communicating in a considerate and logical manner. I show value to their directions by trying to view the situation or issue from the management's perspective/way of thinking. Through this, I can understand how difficult decisions were made and i will be able to explain such to others, apply this in making important decisions, transfer the way of thinking to my subordinates/peers.

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My Ideal Self as a Lasallian Business Leader

It is my 2nd term as a DLSU-MBA student and I kind of regret that I didn’t take this class during my first term. My workload doesn’t permit me to take more than one subject a term and because I enrolled late, I chose another subject which was still open. During the first session, it was discussed to us that this subject is to help support the MBA goal to form Lasallian Business leaders who are competent, humanistic, nationalistic and socially responsible change agents in business organizations and society. This course aims to develop among management students the knowledge, skills, mindset ad values needed for responsible and ethical leadership which I am totally interested in. Even before I started with my MBA degree, I may have encountered both ethical and unethical decisions made in the workplace, without me being aware of it. And on my own, I formed an ideal professional which served as a guide to me in managing my own team, making business decisions and suggesting any improvement point. With this, I am very much looking forward to the succeeding sessions mainly because I would like to be:

1.       A critical and creative thinker

Being one for me means that I am able to analyze data and situations properly and think of the appropriate solutions which will be beneficial for the whole business organization, incorporating my own personal values in the decision making process

2.       Effective communicator

Able to listen effectively on others’ feedback, explain ideas clearly and adjust one’s own style depending on the audience. 

3.       Reflective lifelong learner

Continuously reflecting whether on personal or business matters, always open and willing to admit mistakes if any, always searching for additional knowledge and answers to problems. One who believes that there is a higher purpose and deeper meaning.

4.       Service-driven, ethical and socially responsible citizen

Someone who can someday work for an organization which serves the people and who has good intentions for humanity, while applying the skills she has acquired and the values she was able to form as an individual

5.       Technically proficient and competent professional

Someone who believes that she can help the business grow in means that are ethical. She is competent because she is a socially responsible business leader who believes in improving other people’s lives.

What I am also looking forward to this subject is how I can incorporate Catholic Social Teachings and Lasallian Guiding Principles in the work that I do. I want God to be the center of everything that I do.