The Politics of Strategy Choice by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

All organizations are political. Unless managed, political maneuvering consumes valuable time, subverts organizational objectives, divert human energy, and results in the loss of some valuable employees. Sometimes political biases and personal preferences get unduly embedded in strategy choice. Internal politics affect the choice of strategies in all organizations. The hierarchy of command in an organization, combined with the career aspirations of different people and the need to allocate scarce resources , guarantees the formation of coalitions of individuals who strive to take care of themselves first and the organization second, third or fourth. Coalitions of individuals often form around a key strategy issues that face an enterprise. A major strategists is to guide the development of coalitions, to nurture an overall team concept, and to gain the support of key individuals and groups of individuals.

In the absence of objective analyses, strategy decisions too often are based on the politics of the moment. With development of improved strategy formation tools, political factors become less important in making strategic decisions. In the absence of objectivity, political factors sometimes dictate strategies, and this is unfortunate. Managing political relationships is an integral part of building enthusiasm and esprit de corps in an organization.

A classic study of strategic management in nine large corporations examined the political tactics of successful and unsuccessful strategists. Successful strategists were found to let weakly supported ideas and proposal die through inaction and to establish additional hurdles or tests for strongly supported ideas considered unacceptable but not openly opposed. Successful strategists kept a low political profile on unacceptable proposals and strives to let most negative decisions come from subordinates or group consensus, thereby reserving their personal vetoes for big issues and crucial moments. Successful strategists did a lot of chatting and informal questioning to stay abreast of how things were progressing and to know when to intervene. They led strategy but did not dictate it. They gave few orders, announced a few decisions, depended heavily on informal questioning , a sought to probe and clarify until a consensus emerged.

Successful strategists ensured that all major power bases within an organization were represented in , or had access to , top management. They interjected new faces and new views into considerations of major changes. This is important because new employees and managers generally have more enthusiasm and drive than employees who have been in the firm a long time. New employees do not see the world the same old way ; nor they act as screens against changes. Successful strategists minimized their own political exposure on highly controversial issues and in circumstances in which major opposition from key power centers was likely. In combination, these findings provide a basis for managing political relationships in an organization.

Because strategies must be effective in the marketplace and capable of gaining internal commitment, the following tactics used by politicians for centuries can aid strategists:

• Equifinality- It is often possible to achieve similar results using different means or paths. Strategists should recognize that achieving a successful outcome is more important than imposing the method of achieving it. It may be possible to generate new alternatives that give equal results but with far greater potential for gaining commitment.
• Satisfying- Achieving satisfactory results with an acceptable strategy is far better than failing to achieve optimal results with an unpopular strategy.
• Generalizations -Shifting focus from specific issues to more general ones may increase strategists' options for gaining organizational commitment.
• Focus on Higher Order Issues- By raising an issue to a higher level, many short term interest can be postponed in favor of long term interests. For instance , by focusing on issues of survival , the airline and automotive industries were able to persuade unions to make concessions on wage increases.
• Provide Political Access on Important Issues- Strategy and policy decisions with significant negative consequences for middle managers will motivate intervention behavior from them. If middle managers do not have an opportunity take a position on such decisions in appropriate political  forums, they are capable of successfully resisting the decisions after they are made. Providing such political access provides strategists with information that otherwise might not be available and that be useful in managing intervention behavior.

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The Balance Between Order and Flexibility by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

My Prayers to all victims of Typhoon Yolanda that devastated Leyte and Samar recently.

The delayed distribution and implementation of help and support to the victims of Typhoon Yolanda in Southern Visayas does not match power with involvement. It is a bastion of failure by the proper authority to respond immediately to the needs of survivor.

 Etzioni provides a classification of organizational relationships based on structures of control and the use of power resources as a means of ensuring compliance among members. Compliance is the relationship between the kinds of power applied by the organization to control its members and the kind of involvement developed by members of the organization.

Power differs according to the means by which members of the organization comply

• Coercive Power relies on the use of threats, or physical sanctions of force, for example, controlling the need for food and comfort.
• Remunerative power involves the manipulation of material resources and rewards, for example through salaries, wages and overtime pay.
• Normative power relies on the allocation and the manipulation of symbolic rewards , for example, esteem and prestige.

Involvement is the degree of commitment by members to the organization
  

•  Alienative involvement- occurs where members are involved against their wishes.
• Calculative involvement occurs where attachment to the organization is motivated by extrinsic rewards. There is either a negative orientation or a low positive orientation towards the organization.
• Moral Involvement is based on the individual's  belief in , and value placed on , the goals of the organization. There is a high positive orientation towards the organization.  

The matching of these kind of power and involvement is congruent with each other and represents the most common form of compliance in organization. The other six types of organizational relationships are incongruent. Padilla suggests that organizations with congruent compliance structures will be more effective than organizations with more incongruent structure.

Stewart refers to the classic dilemma that underlies the nature of control; finding the right balance for present conditions between order and flexibility. This involves the trade off between trying to improve predictability of people's actions against the desirability of encouraging individual and local responsiveness to changing situations. The organization may need a "tight -loose " structure with certain departments or areas of work closely controlled (tight) while other departments or areas of work should be left fluid and flexible("loose")

According to Jolito Ortizo Padilla control can- and should - be exercised in different ways. He identifies three main forms of control:

•  Direct control by orders, direct supervision and rules and regulations. Direct controls maybe necessary , and more readily acceptable, in crisis situation. But in organizations where people expect to participate in decision-making , such forms of control may be unacceptable. Rules and regulations which are not accepted as reasonable or at least not unreasonable, will offer some people a challenge to use their ingenuity in finding ways round them.

•  Control through standardization and specialization. This is achieved through clear definition of inputs to a job , the methods to be used and the required outputs. Such bureaucratic control makes clear the parameters within which can act and paradoxically makes decentralization easier. Provided the parameters are not unduly restrictive they can increase the sense of freedom. For example , within clearly defined limits which ensure that one retail chain looks like another, individual manager may have freedom to do the job as they wish.

• Control through influencing the way that people think about what they should do. This is often the most effective method of exercising control. It may be achieved through selective recruitment of people who seem likely to share similar approach, through the training and socialization of people into thinking the organization's way, and through peer pressure. Where an organization has a strong culture , people who do not fit in, or learn to adapt, are likely to pushed out, even though they may appear to leave their own volition.

As Padilla says: " The broad objective of the control function is to effectively enjoy all the resources committed to an organization's operations. However, the fact that non-human resources depend on human effort for their utilization makes control, in the final analysis, the regulation of human performance."

 

 

 

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The Philippines Business Climate by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

Philippines is a highly educated English speaking country, the Philippines overtook India in  early 2011 in call center jobs, employing 350,000 compared with India's 330,000. Call centers in the Philippines produced $7.4 billion in revenue in 2011, and that figure is growing about 15 percent annually. The Philippines recently overtook Indonesia as the world's biggest supplier of voice-based call center services. Citigroup and Chase are just two companies outsourcing customer calls , back office work, and other operations to the Philippines. A major reason why the Philippines is an attractive place for call centers is the country's overall culture " to deliver absolutely fantastic service". An associate professor at the City University of Hongkong , John Lockhead , says "Filipinos go out of their way, not just in call centers, but in tourism and events management, to ensure people are well looked after.

The Philippines has about 98 million people, making the country the world's largest in population. Located in Southeast Asia , the Philippines was a founding member of the United Nations and is very active in that organization. Filipinos love Americans who rescued them in WW11. Thousands of Filipinos today work all-night shifts to accomodate normal 8 am to 5 pm business time zone in the United States.

Unemployment is at 6.9 percent in the Philippines , but underemployment -defined as people who work only part time or with minimal incomes - is 18 percent. The average capita income of Filipinos is about $1,790 a year , so hundreds of thousand of Filipinos work outside the country. In fact  , the Philippines economy depends greatly on outside workers sending money back to the country and also travelling to and from the country.

The television advertising market in the Philippines is nearly $4 billion annually , larger than India's and on par with Indonesia's . Television is the most enjoyed media among the Philippines 7,100 island people, whereas newspapers are the most important media outlet in India. Television ads comprise 75% of advertising spending in the Philippines.

Among major emerging economies, the Philippines has only a 9 percent Internet penetration rate among its population, which is very low compared to China (28.9%) , Nigeria (28.4%), Mexico (28.3%) , and Russia (29.0%) . But the Philippines' 9 percent rate is above the Internet penetration rate among Indonesia's population (8.7%) and India's population (5.1%). These percentages reveal the percentage of the country's people that could shop online.

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On Non Verbal Communication and Body Language by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

 

The significance of non-verbal communication and body language includes inferences drawn from posture, gestures, touch, invasions of personal space , extent of eye contact , tone of voice or facial expression.People are the only animal that speak, laugh and weep. Actions are more cogent than speech and humans rely on body language to convey their true feelings and meanings. It is interesting to note how emotions are woven creatively into email messages. Using keyboard signs in new combinations has led to new e-language- to signal pleasure :), or unhappiness:-c, or send a rose -{---@ encapsulates feelings as well as words. The growth of this practice has led to an upsurge of web pages replete with examples.

According to Padilla , in our face to face communication with other people the messages about our feelings and attitudes come only 7 percent from words we use, 38 percent from our voice and 55 percent from body language, including facial expressions. Significantly, when body language such as gestures and body tone of voice conflicts with the words, greater emphasis is likely to be placed on the non verbal message.

Although actual percentages may vary, there appears to be general support for this contention. According to Pivcevic, "It is commonly agreed that 80 percent of communication is non-verbal; it is carried in your posture and gestures , and in the tone, pace and energy behind what you say. McGuire suggests that when verbal and non verbal messages are in conflict, "Accepted wisdom from the that the non verbal signals should be the ones to rely on, and what is not said is frequently louder than what it said, revealing attitudes and feelings in a way words can't express."

Padilla suggests that in a sense , we are all experts in body language already and this is part of survival instinct:

"Even in  a safe environment like an office or meeting room you will feel a pull on your gaze each time someone new enters the room. And whatever you want to or not, you will start to form opinions about a person in as little as three seconds. You can try to be fair and objective in your evaluation, but you will have a little choice. This is an area where the subconscious mind bullies the conscious into submission. Like, dislike, trust , love or lust can be promoted in as long as it takes to clear your throat. In fact most of these responses will be based on your perception of how the person looks."

In our perceptions and judgement of others it is important therefore to watch and take careful note of their non verbal communication,. Managers should also be aware of the subconscious message that their own body language conveys to member of staff. For example, Kennett points out that we take signals from our leaders and if managers are inhibiting signs of anxiety their body language and critical talk will amplify employees' susceptibility to stress. However, although body language may be a guide to personality , errors can easily arise if too much is inferred from a single message rather than a related cluster of actions. Consider the simple action of handshake and the extent to which this can provide a meaningful insight into personality. Does a firm handshake by itself necessarily indicate friendship and confidence? And is a limp handshake a sign of shyness or lack of engagement with the other person? According to Fletcher, " You won't learn to interpret people's body language accurately, and use your own maximum effect, without working at it. If you consciously spend half an hour a day analyzing people's subconscious movements, you'll soon learn how to do it-almost unconsciously. However, as Padilla points out, with a little knowledge about the subject it as all too easy to become body conscious.Posture and gesture can unmasked deceivers, but it would be dangerous to assume that everyone who avoid eye contact or rubs their nose is a fibber.

According yo Akehurst the advice to anyone trying to spot a liar is simple. "Close your eyes. Don't look at them. Listen to what they are saying . Non verbal cues are very misleading and we use too many stereotypes.

The reality is body language is not a precise science. One gesture can be interpreted in several ways. It may be a possible indication of a particular meaning but by itself cannot be interrupted with any certainty. Crossing your arms is often taken as a sign of defensiveness but could equally mean that the person is cold or finds this a comfortable position.

Despite these limitations, it is essential that managers have an understanding of non verbal communication and body language and are fully cognisant of the possible messages they are giving out.

" All things are not what it seem. The ability to work out what is really happening with a person is simple- not easy, but simple. It's about matching what you see and hear to the environment in which it all happens and drawing possible conclusions. Most people , however, only see the things they think they are seeing"- Jolito Ortizo Padilla

  

Coping With Stress by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

 

 

There are a number of measures by which individuals and organizations can attempt to reduce the causes and harmful effects of stress. There are also many suggested techniques to help individuals bring stress under control- for example changing one's viewpoint , identifying causes of distress  effective time management, expanding one's social network laughing and telling jokes, relaxation training, working on stress reduction and appreciating that some stress can be useful. However, there are not always easy remedies for stress and much depends upon the personality of the individual. Techniques such as relaxation therapy may help some people , although not others , but still tend to address the symptoms rather than the cause.

Dr. Justin Luzuriaga Padilla, Internist/Cardiologist/ Surgeon of Mayo Clinic point out, stress inducing hazards are hard to pin down , much less eliminate. It is important to know how people feel about the things that cause them stress as well as which "stressors" are most common in the industry and occupation. Human resource policy should include several stress management building blocks within the organization structure including management education , employee education, counselling and, critical incident briefing and good sound management.

Effective two way communications at all levels of the organization are clearly important in helping to reduce or overcome the level of stress, Staff should feel able to express their true feelings openly and know they will be listened to. However to good communications, Padilla refers to the importance of conversation for maintaining relationships and suggests a case of  a conversation culture. The ability to hold a good quality conversations is becoming a core organizational and individual skill.  Unlike communication, conversations are intrinsically creative and and roam freely across personal issues, corporate gossip and work projects. Conversations are a defense against stress and other mental health problems. People with good social relationships at work are much less likely to be stressed or anxious.

A growing number of organizations are introducing an email-free day to encourage staff to use the telephone or walk across the corridors to talk more with one another. Informing members of staff in the first place about what is happening especially at times of major change, involving them proactively in the change process , and allowing people to feel control and exercise their own discretion reduces uncertainty and can help minimize the potential for stress.

Managers can do much to create a psychologically supportive and healthy work environment. Treating people with consideration , respect and trust, giving full recognition and credit, getting to know members of staff s individuals, and place emphasis on end results can all help to reduce stress. Managers should attempt to be role models and through their language and body language indicate to others that they are dealing effectively with their own work pressures.

As part of its "Fit for Work, Fit for Life, Fit for Tomorrow" strategic programme , the GA Consultancy is working with businesses on health issues , including work related stress , to enable them to  be managed effectively in the workplace. With input from a range of businesses, professional bodies and trade unions, the GA Consultancy has developed a new approach to tackle this problem. The Management Standard for work related Stress encourage employers and employees to work in partnership to adopt agreed standards of good management practice to prevent stress at an organizational level.

The adoption of the the Management Standards is a key element in bringing about reductions in worker ill-health absence. The standard provide a framework that allows an assessment to be made about a degree of exposure to six key areas of work design-demands, control, support, relationships, role and change-that , if not properly managed are associated with poor health and well being, lower productivity and increased sickness absence.

Another interesting approach to reducing stress is through the use of the Japanese Kaizen principles. Applying the Kaizen 5S method translated to English as sort, straighten, shine, standardise and sustain can help increase efficiency and productivity m raise morale and lower an individuals stress level. "The busier you are the tidier your desk should be; that is if you wish to get ahead and deliver more with less stress.

 

The Immaculate Heart of  Mary Stands Above the Ruin

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Consumer Rights: Economic Torts...by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

 

Defining Torts is not an easy matter and one has to be careful not to define it broadly so as to encompass matters other than torts or define it narrowly so as to exclude some torts. Two contrasting definitions of tort are offered; one by Salmond, the other by Professor Winfield. They represent different school of thoughts:

Salmon defines a tort as " a civil wrong for which the remedy is a common law action for unliquidated damages , and which is not exclusively the breach of a contract or a breach of trust or other merely equitable obligation.

The late Professor Winfield contended that" all tortious  liability arises from the breach of a duty primarily fixed by law; such duty is towards persons generally, and its breach is redressable by an action for unliquidated damages.

Both these definitions refer to unliquidated damages. Damages are unliquidated when they are not predetermined or pro-estimated (as they are, for example, in an action in contract to recover a debt) but are determined at the absolute discretion of the court.

One school maintains that there is a "law of torts" which consists of a number of specific torts and to succeed in an action you must show that the alleged wrong falls within the scope of one or more torts. The other school maintains that there is a "law of tort" (not torts) based on a general principle of liability and all harm is actionable per se  unless the defendant can show a just cause or excuse. There are no inherent contradictions between the two school of thought as both accept the new categories of torts may be created and the existing law can be expanded to bring new wrongs within its confines. As Professor Glanville Williams puts it: To say that the law can be collected into pigeon- holes does not mean that those pigeon-holes may not be capacious , nor does it mean that they are incapable of being added into.

There is a large number of recognized and listed torts and these will be looked at individually like negligence, liability of occupiers of premises, strict liability, trespass to property, nuisance, defamation, and miscellaneous torts of conspiracy, deceit and injurious falsehood.

However, we may focus on the Miscellaneous torts which we described as economic torts , in that their effect is to harm the plaintiff economically. They maybe listed as conspiracy, deceit or fraud and malicious or injurious falsehood.

Conspiracy
This tort is committed when two or more persons intentionally and without lawful justification combine together to injure the plaintiff , or do unlawful acts that result in injury to the plaintiff. To succeed in an action the plaintiff must prove that the predominant purpose of the defendants was to combine together unlawfully to cause him economic damage. If , however the defendants had combined together to further their own interests, e.g. to defend the interests of the union members, and economic damage was a consequence , no action for conspiracy will succeed. In Crofter Hand Woven Harris Tweed Co. Ltd. vs. Veitch (1942) it was held that the action of the members of a union to refuse to load cheaper tweed made from mainland yarn in order to protect the member's interest was not a conspiracy to inflict damage on the plaintiffs, If overall objective of a combination is put forward or defend the trade of those who enter into it then no wrong results despite damage to the plaintiff (Sorrel vs. Smith, 1956).

Deceit or Fraud
This tort is committed when a person acts to his detriment relying on a fraudulent misrepresentation of another. The essential requirements are a false representation is made which must be a statement of fact, the person making the representation knows it to be false or does not believe it to be true or is reckless about it, not caring whether it is true or false, misrepresentation is intended to be acted upon and the person to whom the misrepresentation is made has acted upon it.

Injurious falsehood
Whereas in deceit and defamation damage is done to a plaintiff's reputation , in injurious falsehood a tort is committed against the plaintiff's business interest. An injurious falsehood is a false statement , made maliciously about a plaintiffs business interests whereby other persons are deceived, thereby causing damage to the plaintiff. The word "maliciously" means "from improper motive". Types of injurious falsehood are as follows:

• Slander of title and goods. This arises when doubts are cast through the action of the defendant on the plaintiff's title to real or personal property, patents and copyrights, the quality of his goods or products. (Wren vs. Weild, 1948). According to the Defamation Act , 1952, no special damage need to be proved by a plaintiff in an action for malicious falsehood. Puffs and mere sales talk in general terms , although untrue, may not be injurious falsehood e,g, to say your products are superior quality to those of your competitors. The test is that if a reasonable man takes a statement seriously it is slanderous. (De Beers Abrasive Products Ltd. vs. International Electric Co. of New York Ltd, 1975)
• Slander of plaintiff;s trade or business. It is actionable to imply in a newspaper or other published material that a plaintiffs has gone out of the business with the result that the plaintiff's trade suffer. (Radcliffe vs. Evans, 1907)
• Passing off. This consists of a deliberate act of the defendant to mislead others into believing that the defendant's goods are those of the plaintiff. In doing so the defendant takes on unfair advantage of the plaintiff's trade or business. The tort may take the form of a statement that the business of the plaintiff is the defendant, Marketing under the plaintiff's trade name, using the plaintiff's trademark especially unregistered trade marks, since statutory protection is given to registered trademarks under the Trade Marks Act, 1938 and the trademarks amendment Act 0f 1984 and imitating the presentation or appearance of the plaintiff's goods (J Bollinger vs, Costa Brava Wine Ltd. , 1960).

The remedies for torts of this kind are injunctions to restrain the falsehood or unfair practice and/images. Damages will reflect not only the economic loss (if any) suffered, but also compensation for loss of reputation and ill-will caused by the behavior of the defendant in misleading potential customers.

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A Series of Consumer Rights: Misrepresentation

Representations are statements made in order to induce party to enter into a contract. They differ from conditions or warranties in that they do not form a part of the contract themselves. However, they are extremely important, for without such representations the contract might not be entered into at all. They may distinguished from mere puffs, which are statements made in the course of the negotiations which are intended but by then the practice  to be taken seriously but are recognized by both parties as being mere hyperbole (exaggeration for the sake of effect). Thus to say that a horse is "the finest creature on four legs today " is a mere puff, and not intended to lead a legal action should the other party find a finer animal. A representation does lead to legal action. A misrepresentation is a false statement made in the course of negotiations leading to a contract which was intended to induce, and did induce , the other party to enter into that contract.

 As a general rule , there must be a positive statement; this is often expressed by saying that "silence is not a misrepresentation". This was shown in the case of Keates vs. Lord Cadogan (1921) . Here a landlord was held not liable when he failed to inform a tenant that the house being let was in dilapidated condition-even though he knew that it was required for immediate occupation. In some circumstances this rule operates unjustly , and the courts have long recognized exceptions to it.

 When the silence distorts or falsifies a positive representation. Thus if the vendor of land states that the farms are let , he must not  omit to state the further fact that the tenants have given notice to quit. This is illustrated by Dimmock vs. Hallet (1966).

A vendor of farms induced their sale by saying that they are let. Whilst this was true the statement was held to be misrepresentation because the tenants had given notice.

The principle also applies even if the original statement was full and correct., but subsequent events make it incorrect:

With vs. O' Flanagan (1955). In January 1955 a medical practice was represented to the plaintiffs by the doctor selling it as worth $2000 per annum. In May 1952, the plaintiff contracted to buy , but by then was producing less than $5 per week due to the illness of the defendant). The court of Appeal held that duty to disclose  had been broken -rescission of the contract was allowed, and to defendant had to repay.

The statement need not be expressed in words, but can be made by conduct. Thus it could be "a nod" or a wink" or a shake of the head or a smile.

The statement must be one one of fact and not of law , opinion, or intention. However, if a person expresses an opinion fraudulently, this is regarded as a statement of fact and therefore actionable. Here we can contrast  the cases of Biset vs. Wilkinson (1957) and Smith vs. Land and House Property Corporation (1959)

The appellant sought to recover the purchase money under the agreements for the sale of certain land but the respondents claimed to be entitled to rescind the contract on the ground of misrepresentation. It was shown that the appellant had stated that it was his belief that the land in question would carry 2000 sheep of property worked but in fact it had never been able to support that number. The contract would not be rescinded on the ground of misrepresentation as the statement as to carrying capacity of the land was merely an opinion which the appellants honestly entertained. (  Cracknell"s Law Students' Companion)

In similar fashion a fraudulent statement of intention can lead to misrepresentation:

Edginton vs. Fitzmaurice (1907), The directors of a company issued a prospectus inviting subscriptions for debentures and stating that their purpose in issuing debentures was to complete alterations to the company's premises, purchase horses and vans develop trade. The plaintiff advanced money on certain of these debentures in reliance upon the statements in the prospectus and in the erroneous belief that the real object of the loan was to enable the directors to pay off the pressing liabilities. The mis-statement of the objects for which the debentures were issued was a material mis-statement of fact which rendered the directors liable in deceit although the plaintiff was influenced by his own mistake as to effect of the transaction. (Cracknell's Law Students' Companion).




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