Planning for our Service Learning

Today, we are on the stage of finalizing our Service Learning activity. We have selected Bethany House Sto. Nino, an orphanage based in Bulacan and is run by nuns and the Diocese of Malolos. They have around 35-40 children housed on the orphanage with 4 on their high school. I had the chance of speaking to Sister Anna, one of the in charge in Bethany. She gladly accommodated our group on the 17th of August. We prefer an earlier date however, there are other groups scheduled before hand to visit the orphanage. More importantly, our group needed to identify what needs to be done for us to help the children. A number of good ideas came up during initial discussion of the group - health orientation, catechism, how to make loom bands and turn them into simple income source. I asked Sister Anna what she thinks is needed by the children. She recommended that we do a painting class. According to her, there was a group who went to the orphanage and taught the children basic painting. The children enjoyed the activity and they wanted more of it. The group told her that they will come back for another activity. However, up until now, they have not come back. I went back to the group and asked if there is any who knows how to paint. Good thing we have 1 in the group who knows how to! So, we have confirmed our Service Learning with Sister Anna on the 17th and our group is so looking forward to that day. At the moment we are sourcing out resources needed for the activity and hopefully we would be able to have a very effective session.

Ford - Firestone Case (Tire Controversy)

The case of Ford and Firestone is something I would consider a good eye opener for many businesses. Two important keywords that popped in my mind after the group presented the case - accountability and ownership. On this case, a lot of lives were lost yet the two companies involved seemed to point fingers as to who should take accountability. No one wants to take the responsibility. A key learning point on this case is businesses no matter how big and good they are must recognize the fact that they are responsible to all stakeholders most especially the consumers. A lot of lives were lost because of accidents involving Firestone tires and Ford Explorers. At the first few instance, both Companies should have met and took partnership in resolving the issue instead of pointing fingers and giving reasons to the public and the government. Should they have sat down early on, further accidents and deaths could have been avoided. 

On a CSR viewpoint, companies and businesses must take good care of its consumers even after the sales stage. They must protect the welfare of their customers by ensuring that the products and services purchased from them will not give any harm. I hope that all companies would have the same thinking. I guess taking good care of customer welfare is already a basic CSR initiative a company can carry out. A company might be regularly conducting outreach activities to its community but if it fails to take good care of its customer welfare, then I guess it still fails on the area of CSR. 

Brian's Franchise

I would say that this is the most unique case study I have encountered. The case of Brian's Franchise highlights one businessman's action towards the restrictions imposed by the Government on marijuana farming mainly due to the its effect to users. It is a very lucrative business and I guess any businessman would not hesitate to venture and invest. Science has proven that marijuana had medical benefits however, excessive use lead to addiction which triggered Government to regulate and ban it at a certain point. Brian, profited with his marijuana business and had to face regulations which potentially means a decline or loss on his earnings. Instead of complying with the Government, Brian resorted to finding other means to continue doing his business without him getting affected by the regulation. He was able to continue a profitable business however, it seemed that it became an underground. I guess this case is a good example of a business that is highly profitable but unethical. Some businessmen would often say that they are just doing business and making money and there is nothing bad about it. Similar to the case, Brian had the same objective but he did not see the value of complying to the regulations and the ethical implications of his actions. He may be satisfying his own objectives but on the other hand, unknowingly, he is starting to become an instrument to others' addiction and potentially ruin lives and families. I guess the main lesson on this case is that as businessman and as business leaders, we should be able to look onto how our actions affect the bigger picture. More than profit and revenue, we should be able to examine if what we do would have a positive impact to the stakeholders and even to the environment.

Family Plan

(http://money.msn.co.nz/img/article/life-balance-tips.jpg)

As of this writing, I am still single and have no plans of starting my own family in the next 3-5 years. Maybe because I am still enjoying my current status and I don’t think I am ready yet. Anyway, I am creating a Family plan that I can use in the future when I decide to settle down and get married. I hope this can become useful and will turn into reality in 5 years time.

Assumptions:

I envision my family to be composed of 4 members including my self. This means I only intend to have 2 kids (max) if God permits. My wife will be working too and both of us will be taking care of the kids. Our kids will be sent to reputable educational institutions (not necessarily the best and most expensive in town!). There will be regular family bonding and vacation days.

Income and Expense Budget

FAMILY BUDGET
Household	Home Ammortization	30%
	Cable/TV
	Phone/Internet
	Electricity
Car	Car Ammortization	20%
	Insurance
	Registration
	Maintenance
	Gasoline Expenses
Education	Tuition Fees	30%
	Miscellaneous
Recreation	Family Travel Fund	10%
	Family Bonding (Movie, Mall, Dine out)
Investments	Savings Account	10%
	Investments (high Yielding)
TOTAL		100%

I only indicated percentages for each budget items and attempted to list down details or particulars for each item. The assumption for the budget is that the source is a combined income of my wife and myself.

Work and Family Schedule

Below is the schedule plan between work and family. Weekdays will primarily be devoted to work but time is allotted for family especially during dinnertime. It is the time of the day when both my wife and myself can catch up with the family and to check on how the kids are doing. In the event that work doesn’t permit us to go home exactly after 8 hours, a phone call must be made at home to speak to the kids and let them know that we will be going home. Weekends are purely family days. Both days will be dedicated to activities that will allow all of to bond together and go out as a family.

Work and Family Schedule
Weekdays
Travel time from home to office	1 hour	8am - 9am
Work hours	8 hours	9am - 6pm
Travel tome from office to home	1 hour	6pm - 7pm
Family Dinner	1 hour	7:30pm - 8:30pm
Weekends
a. Saturday
Family Sports Day	4 hours	6am - 10am
Family Lunch	2 hours	12pm - 2pm
Family Bonding Time (Mall, Movie, or Park)	6 hours	3pm - 9pm
b. Sunday
Sunday Mass	1 hours	10am - 11am
Lunch with Relatives	3 hours	12pm - 3pm
Quality Time at Home
Lesson Review for Kids	2 hours	5pm - 7pm
Family Dinner	1 hour	7pm - 8pm

Ethics vs Profit

The class lecture and discussion held last June 21most especially about the case of Ford Pinto is a great eye opener on the importance of Ethics. Ethics may be seen as a very idealistic topic and may not be popular for many. Again, leaders tend to look only at financial success which often times are referred to as revenue and/or profit. What happened to Ford when they launched Pinto changed their game field. Since the beginning they knew already that the Pinto had a design flaw which costed so many lives. What is disturbing is that Ford decided not to recall the cars they sold and even if there would be fatalities, they saw paying for the victims as a more feasible option. All because of profit, they decided for lives to be lost due to the design flaw of the vehicle. After so many accidents that have happened to Pinto cars, Ford has lost its glory and market leadership. Customers lost their confidence with Ford all because of a single design flaw which they decided not to change due to monetary reasons. I think this case reminds leaders to always put first what is right. If things are done right and in accordance to our Ethical values, everything will fall into their right place. I can relate this to the concept of Karma - what you give to others will also be given back to you.