Articles, essays, and talks of Rey Lugtu

(Published in The Manila Times under the Managing for Society column, March 22, 2005) Foreign businessmen rank the Philippines as the second most corrupt country in Asia, according to a recent survey conducted by Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd. (PERC), a Hong Kong-based consultancy group. Also, previous studies by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Transparency International have placed the Philippines among the most corrupt countries in terms of the magnitude of irregular payments, including bribery, in public contracts. The historical background as well as the ramifications of corruption in the country has been discussed extensively in print and television. There is no doubt that it stifles investment and economic growth in the country. Given the large amount of evidence about the corruption problem, why is the progress against it moving at a snail’s pace? An explanation is that corruption is pandemic—that it is culturally ingrained. A study in 2002 by the Philippines

(Published in the Manila Standard Today under the Green Light column, Mar 14, 2005) The number and importance of “knowledge workers” has grown exponentially since the time Peter Drucker coined the term some 30 years ago. A knowledge-worker is one who relies on knowledge rather than skills to perform his or her job. Doctors, lawyers, computer programmers, and technical sales people including the respective managers are examples of knowledge workers. In the Philippines, the growth in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry led to the increase in the demand and employment of knowledge workers. At the forefront of this growth are the telecommunications and e-services such as contact centers and computer animation. The country is now envisioned to be the next ICT hub and best breeding ground of ICT professionals in Asia. Challenging managers With all the importance placed on the ICT knowledge workers, the challenge for managers now is how to improve their productivity a