Saturday, August 9, 2014

Silent Initiative: Pedro’s Commitment to the Hearing Impaired


Today, our group reported the case of Lamoiyan Corp. I would say that the case is actually a good read and heart warming. Dr Cecilio K. Pedro, the CEO started with an aluminum container manufacturing business and successfully ran the business by supplying key toothpaste manufacturers in the country. However, challenges came in the 1980s and he needed to close the company as his suppliers shifted to a different packaging material. Despite of the misfortune, Dr Pedro saw an opportunity to build another business and that is to start his own toothpaste manufacturing company and brand. Thus, Lamoiyan Corp was established, and the brand "Hapee" was born. What made things better for Dr Pedro's business is that he took the effort in providing the deaf and hearing impaired with job opportunities in his company. These people would often times have difficulty finding jobs because of their condition. But Dr. Pedro believed in providing equal opportunity and saw this as a way of giving back to the community and serving God as well. The deaf and mute employees are assigned to production lines. 


Dr. Cecilio Kwok Pedro - CEO and President, Lamoiyan Corp.

The deaf and mute employees of Lamoiyan Corp.

Modern business trend seems to be threatening this initiative as perceived by Dr. Perdo. Most companies now are outsourcing certain business processes like production operations, accounting, and marketing. Dr. Pedro is worried that such trends may potentially eliminate the need for jobs that the deaf and mute can do thereby displacing them. This is a future challenge Lamoiyan Corp. must prepare for. On our analysis of the case, we recommended that Lamoiyan should ultimately explore expanding its market reach to other countries apart from the Philippines. This is their primary way to expand the business and provide more jobs and opportunities for the deaf and mute. In addition, Lamoiyan can explore the possibility of training the deaf and mute to perform other office based jobs and not just the production line job. This way, the impact of outsourcing can be lessened. At the same time, morale, dignity, and self esteem of these people will be uplifted as they will be doing jobs that can be considered as a level higher on what they currently have.

To sum up, no matter how committed a person is to his mission and vision, challenges will come to test us. Dr. Pedro is a good example of a person who is so focused that despite of challenges, he is able to overcome them and still manage to attain his goals. The future challenges faced by Lamoiyan and its deaf and mute employees is something that Dr. Pedro and his team should prepare and plan out for. 


No comments: