Published August 27, 2012 Upstream spirituality is progressive spirituality which, according to Gordo Lynch, is driven by new beliefs in the 21st century. It is driven by feminist advocacies, environmental and ecological concerns, and quest for well-being technology-wired society.
Goddess Spirituality The feminist movement came about from a realization that women have rights. Carol Gilligan’s ethics of care is distinct from Jeremy Bentham’s utilitarianism, Immanuel Kant’s rights, and John Rawl’s justice. Feminist ethics and spirituality are based on the experience of the heart, rather than logic of the mind. Z Budapest believes that in the future men will “finally learn to follow women as leaders” because they are “way ahead in the soul department” in bringing about human transformation. Sjoo and Mor cite historical evidence of female shrines and statues, indicating that “the first God was female” during the first 200,000 years of human life on Earth. Rosemary Radford Ruther proposes a God(ess) who is neither male nor female; Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza calls for “liberation inspired by Christian feminist vision of the discipleship of equals.” Carol Christ and Z. Budapest reject institutional religion by turning to goddess spirituality.Rosemary Radford Ruther and Mary Daly anchor their spirituality “beyond the linguistic transsexual operation on the patriarchal god that would result to a matriarchal goddess.” Starhawk, an American Indian feminist, bravely declares witchcraft as a “spiritual tradition rooted in the goddess, who is the living Earth and the Earth is a living being that [is] sacred.”
Ecologic Spirituality Thomas Berry puts the universe above and beyond human concern. He says, “The human community is subordinate to the ecological community. The ecological imperative is not derivative from human ethics. Human ethics is derivative from the ecological imperative. The basic ethical norm is the well-being of the comprehensive community, not the well-being of the human community. The earth is a single ethical system, as the universe itself is a single ethical system.” Craig Sorley calls for a worldview on “ecology driven by Scripture”. Prisco Cajes suggests a Trinitarian approach: ecological theology + theology of stewardship + theology of communion. Georg Ziselsberger seeks ecological liturgy and prayers that raise the level of ecological conscience of Christians. Ecologic spirituality may give depth to corporate concern for environmental advocacy; in the workplace corporate members are challenged to connect social responsibility with global warming and ecological imbalances as a matter of spiritual activism.
Spiritual Convergence In 2004, Sr. Mananzan proposed an inter-religious, integral spirituality for women in Asia. It affirmed that “other religions which are found throughout the world attempt in their own ways to calm the hearts of men [and women] by outlining a program of life covering doctrines, moral precepts and sacred rites” (Nostra Aetate). The Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions urges “collaboration with other religions.” Mananzan’s spirituality that is compassionate, prophetic, life-giving and contemplative is a precursor of Ebner’s human race spirituality and Ken Wilber’s integral vision.
Web of Spirituality Ken Wilbur’s integral vision in All Quadrants All Lines (AQAL) is a web that seeks “to integrate, to bring together, to join, to link, to embrace…unity-in-diversity, shared commonalities along with our wonderful differences. And not just in humanity, but in the Kosmos at large… that makes legitimate room for art, morals, science, and religion, and doesn’t merely attempt to reduce them all to one’s favorite slice of the Kosmic pie.” For him, great religions need to “act as facilitators of human development from magic to mythic to rational to pluralistic to integral and to a global society that honors and includes all stations of life along the way.” Viewed as “quadrants, waves, streams” of integral spirituality, he sees the convergence of the East and West where all of the truths that have been advanced in the West and the East in premodern, modern, and postmodern times are put together, so that a system of thought can honor, acknowledge, and integrate the most number of truths from the most number of traditions. He opines, “[W]here myth and dogma are the material of metaphysical, pre-Kantian spirituality, direct experience and deep science are [now] the materials of post-metaphysical spirituality.”
Cosmic Spirituality He believes that “[T]he integral system…can better offer people a way to open their minds and hearts to the vast array of the Kosmos–its goodness, its beauty, and its many truths. But for the details, as always, we must immerse ourselves in the concrete realities and particularities of this moment. When it comes to spiritual practice, this means studying with a teacher whom you trust and working out your own salvation with care.” Quantum theologian O’Murchu propounds that the evolutionary process of the resurrection is a central coordinate of cosmic and planetary evolution. As such, “theology no longer belongs to Christianity, not even to formal religion; [instead] we are invited to do theology at the heart of the world. [T]he theological encounter becomes most creative when we engage with the pressing global issue of our time.”
Spirituality Road Map We need a spiritual intelligence that allows us “to behave with compassion and wisdom, while maintaining inner and outer peace; it is a tool to shift from ego-self to higher self.” This shift or development, according to James Fowler, goes through 7 stages. A spirituality that is: 1. preverbal/pre-differentiated, 2. projective/magical through 1st person, 3. mythic-literal/conventional-conformity dominated by 2nd person, 4. reflexive experience of a 3rd person, 5. conjunctive-multicultural sensing, 6. postconventional-universal consciousness, and 7. transpersonal experience. Corporate citizens may charter a ‘butterfly’ spirituality road map by answering the following questions: 1. At the micro level, how does a professional business person practice spirituality? 2. At the meso level, how does management promote a corporate spiritual culture? and 3. At the macro level, how can spirituality influence the global economic system?
Conclusion Spirituality in the workplace: Quo Vadis? A plethora of research opportunities awaits those who wish to validate the influence of mainstream, newstream, and upstream spirituality in the workplace. As China and India become global economic giants, management practitioners need to take a deeper look at the cultural and ‘spiritual’ influence of these two giants. This shift, which coincides with the end of Mayan calendar cycle of 5, 125 years on December 21, 2012, brings with it a shift in our consciousness. Will the East, in particular Catholic Philippines, be able to model a work spirituality that will enable us counter-balance Western materiality?
Dr. Emiliano T. Hudtohan teaches at the Management and Organization Department. Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. College of Business and College of Education of De La Salle University, Manila; Graduate School of De La Salle Araneta University, Malabon; Far Eastern University-Makati; and Graduate School of Social Development, Philippine Women’s University, Manila. He holds a doctorate in religious and values formation from De La Salle University. For comments address to dr.eth2008@gmail.com and visit www/emilianohudtohan.com.
I was invited to give a talk on sustainable development and corporate social responsibility at Unaaha, Sulawesi, Indonesia on May 19, 2009. Without hesitation, I said yes because I teach sustainable development at the Philippine Women’s University and CSR at the De La Salle University graduate school of business.
I was more than eager to go to Sulawesi because my family tree research showed that my paternal ancestry had a Sulawesi connection. Our history tells us that the Sri Visayan Empire originating from India spread to southeast Asia reaching Indonesia. From Sulawesi island of Indonesia, Indian culture entered the Philippines in the 13th century through Palawan and eventually Leyte, Samar and Panay.
My father had a gold tooth (bansil) and tattoo on his arm, long before the LA Ink became popular. According Fr. Alcinas, these two decorative practices were considered Indonesia fashion markers. My grandfather who was a member of Papa Isyo revolutionary Bisayan group escaped persecution in Oton, Iloilo and settled as nipa gatherer in Hinigaran, Negros. This summer on our way to Unaaha [Manila-Jakarta flight 3 and one half hours, Jakarta to Makasar International Airport. Makasar, according to 17th century Philippine historian Alcinas, “Those on the islands of Cebu, Bohol and the coasts of Sirapay Island, usually called Negros Island (because there are many in the hills as black as the people of Angoloa and who have kinky hair just like them) most probable come either from the Makasar Islands or from Borneo; these are much closer to them and not far from Moluccas.”
Interestingly, in 2009 a Filipino taxi driver from Samar informed me that the island of Capul is inhabited by Judtohans, Odtohan, Hudtohans and Udtohans. According to Alcinas, “Between the Islands of Manila and Ibabao and Samar is found the Islet of Capul, lying almost in the middle of the strait between these islands. They call it embocadero and it is no doubt about four leagues in width.
This Islet of Capul or abak, for it is known by these two names, and although its population is now Bisayan and who deal and live with the rest of this ethnic group an speak the Bisayan language, also speak another language very different which they use themselves. It is so different that no Bisayan from another region can understand a word of it, for it is so different in structure and pronunciation.
They understand the Kamukun (a barbarous nation, a wretched and most despicable people). It is probable that the people of Capul may trace their origin to them. The reason is due to the similarity of language, color, physiognomy and because they are smaller in stature than the rest of the Bisayans.”
My paternal origin is traced from my grandfather, Lolo Leoncio Hudtohan, who was originally from Oton, Iloilo. He was a member of a rebel group led by Papa Isyu [Pope Isio, most likely Dionisio who was a bakero, carabao herd man]. To escape persecution, he escaped to Negros Island and settled down at Hinigaran, south of Negros.
According to Alcinas, “In the town of Oton, which is on the southern part of the Island of Panay, some of the chieftains there told me that they descend from a great settlement which existed in ancient times on the Island of Leyte and from that town they went to inhabit the coastlands of the said island. It may be concluded…that some have migrated here out of necessity or pressure of war or storms; others due to their proximity, and still others because of trade have migrated to these islands of the Pintados and began to mingle with one another. Today all of them communicate with each other in the Bisayan language.”
According to Francisco de San Antonio, Cronicas de la Provincia de San Gregorio Magno, “It is argued that the Bisayans and Pintados (who are found in Camarines, Leyte, Samar, Panay, Cebu and other territories nearby) came from the large and very powerful and populous island of Makasar which has its emperor – whom the call Sumbanko – and many chiefs…in Makasar, it is said, there are indios who adorn and paint their bodies in the same manner as the Bisayans, this being why they are called Pintados…t is therefore evident that there are painted Indios like those we call here the Painted Bisayans, who remain unconquered…”
The practice of tattooing came to an end with the preaching of the Gospel. Alcina recounts, “Today (17the Century Philippines) no one tattoos himself any longer nor is it permitted anymore by the father ministers of the Gospel, who washed away with the Baptismal waters such ugly stains – a custom so useless and so horror provoking!”
Banisl My father sported a ‘bansil’ on his front teeth. It was made of gold with a star cut-out as decorative design. Our Indonesian connection and heritage was confirmed by Dr. Munir Muinir, my host and my former student doctor of philosophy in social development at the Philippine Women’s University in Manila. He said that ethnic Indonesian practiced the are of teed decoration by means of bansil. Alcinas observed that 17th century Bisayan women decorate their teeth as an alternative to sporting pitch-black teeth or reddish teeth rubbed with ;buyo by means of bansil, “a golden peg in triangular form and fitted on the gums from the lower portion of the toot by drrlling throught the heart of then; each peg has a little nail in the center.”
Cantius Kobak and Lucio Gutierez’ commentary on the historical work of Alcinas said that “tooth-decorating’ [bansil] was a general practice throughout the Philippine islands and practiced by some cultural minorities even today. The Calatagan excavations led Robert Fox in 1959 to conclude that “The teeth were not filled until the late teens and the practiced included males and females.” Historian Mateo Sanchez observed that in 1615 bansil was also known as pansil or halup, meaning decorating the teeth with gold.
Conclusion My trip to Unaaha municipality, Konawe Province of Sulawesi, Indonesia was not a mere academic exercise to tell the story of Philippine corporate social responsibility. It was a journey to my own historical past that geographically connected my ancestral roots to the Indonesian culture as evidence by the tattoo and bansil of my father, Federico Suangki Hudtohan.
Paper delivered before the college graduating students of Miriam College, Quezon City on December 5, 2005; also delivered at the National Convention of Career Development Association of the Philippines (CDAP) held at the Manila Peninsula Hotel on September 13, 2005 The perspective I bring to this conference goes beyond than the global frontier of our economy. As a corporate trainer, I will share with you the fundamentals of applied science in helping the new Kid adjust in a corporate environment. As an organization development consultant, I am inviting you to take the first step towards expanding the science and art of career counseling and step forward as a professional consultant. As an advocate for continuous professional learning, I will walk you through in exploring a worldview based on post-normal science to orient the Kid and his/her counselor on the impact of change in our lives.
The Kid and the career/industrial counselor are already experiencing the challenges in problem solving and decision-making in an age Dr. Christine Page (2000, 2003) calls the Great Shift of the 21st century. Post-normal science shows the uncertainty factor with zero-low-high range and value-laden decision factor with zero-low-high range.
Using applied science, theories and practices acceptable to the counselee and the organization can help the Kid at the work place. A professional consultant, because of research and experience may propose solutions that are moderately certain or uncertain with moderately high values. At times, the counselee (Kid) and management may not fully understand what the consultant is really proposing and hesitate to take action. Where uncertainty is very high and stakes are very high, the consultant is faced with a situation that is complex. This complex situation, which appears to be at the last frontier of ‘science’, is in the realm of post normal science, challenging the once tested solution or routine responses of professionals. As a worldview, post normal science deals with non-linear view of events and aperiodic manifestation of events that do not follow a pattern or defies statistical predictability (like the weather, political events or non-medical-assisted health recovery).Post normal science simply tells us that the paradigm of our discipline may not fully explain the reality of solving a problem, which we normally consider viable or non-viable. My presentation provides a sketchy road map that begins with the science of economics as background to the corporate world of the Kid, then it moves to a discussion on the science of organization behavior (practiced by consultants) to help the Kid adjust and finally it revisits some ‘old’ classical theories Newton and Darwin (Landau, 1976) to help us understand some emerging 21st century paradigms advanced by quantum physics and chaos theory.
The Corporate Scenario
Global Economic Scenario The Kid must understand that the economic environment in the Philippines is influence by American geopolitics. As an emerging market (EM), the Philippines, together with Ukraine, Egypt, Turkey, Korea, Taiwan, Mexico Poland and Pakistan, is under the protective tent of U.S. economy, When America catches cold, the Philippines gets the virus. The biggest economic threat the Philippine faces today is the “sharp slowdown in US economic activity,” which would likely reduce its risk appetite for investment abroad [in countries like the Philippines] and curtail employment in US mainland.
Resilient Philippine Economy: The Kid (new employee) scrambles for a job in a market where Philippine business is competing globally. It means company size makes a difference. Thus, companies merge to dominate the market. Others downsize to remain in the market. The result: corporate mergers (Packman effect) and downsizing to survive (Slimmer’s exercise). There are signs of recovery in Philippine economy. The graduate of SY 2005-2006 will definitely be in for a surprise. Think ‘post-normal’ science! The Kid has to use rational and super-rational means in choosing a corporate shelter. I purposely do not use ‘home’ because job permanence and comfortable workloads are rare to find these days. The company that employs the Kid is here today; it may be gone tomorrow. Our shrinking economy is threatening the security of tenured employees, including corporate and school counselors. New employees are not assured of long-term working relationship that promises a golden pot of retirement at 55, 60 or 65, whether corporate or government pension plan. Corporate sustainability of an employee is more of survival at the workplace. Will the Kid survive in the corporate world? How can we help the Kid made it through in a shrinking economy? How can the Kid think positive amidst gloomy economic indicator and negative media about our un-abundant attitude about ourselves?
Staging One’s Career
Creative Career Option This means getting the best deal on what is available. At times, the Kid may have to take a job s/he is not too specialized in. After all, education in the Philippines is still general education. Professional entrepreneurship means looking at corporate employment as a job that is broken into tasks or activities that may not make sense to an engineering, management, or accounting graduate. Personal sustainability means creating opportunities to ‘expand’ the job or ‘expand’ with the job. It is not only doing a job but also making something out of the job. For example, a unit or a section will eventually become a department if cumulative tasks are found critical to business operation. Sometimes, s/he must be willing to ‘contract’ like an accordion and expand by learning new tasks formerly assigned to others.
The Career Trajectory Intentionally, the term trajectory is used and not career path. The rapid changes in job descriptions due to the economy of scale and the impact of technology do not anymore guarantee the Kid a secure path in the corporate jungle. Passively waiting for a promotion as one becomes a senior employee is no longer the rule. The Kid may have to try a Bullet Train, Snail Approach, Frog Leap, and MBA paradigm to propel him/her to a trajectory of career choice. 1. Bullet Train: Fast tract entry of the Kid as a management trainee gives him/her a better chance to move up the ladder. How does a Kid get to be picked as a trainee? S/he has to have academic and non-academic record of excellence, and the network to link him/her to the corporate world. Off hand, I am familiar with the Ayala youth leadership program, Unilever business week and Accenture youth leadership program. In networking, unless there is ‘pure talent’ a political workhorse will not launch the Kid’s career. 2. Snail Approach: The long and winding road of an office clerk begins at ground level at a comfortable pace. Corporate managers may not have the mechanism to push him/her up the ladder. With lean work force, chances of creating new units or departments may not happen at all. Mergers create an oversupply of potential officers. Downsizing means also oversupply of manpower. Unless s/he endeavors to make an impression as the best among the best, it will be a long wait for promotion. 3. Frog Leap is jumping from one job to another, using the first job as a stepping stone to a next higher paying job or more satisfying job. In today’s mergers and shrinking corporate personnel, this approach appears to be most popular. Though it does not guarantee long-term benefits like retirement pay and long-term loans, the take home pay looks attractive enough to compensate for the slow-moving career path in one corporation. 4. MBA is Marriage By Association. Literally, it means marrying the job and its owner. This means, the employee marries the key figure or better still, the owner of a corporation. This model is that of a carpetbagger or a gold-digger. While the terms used are derogatory, high stakes in high society do require some kind of a trade affiliation where corporate relationship ends up in a personal (family) relationship. If money is the sole concern of a relationship, it will seek to rise or sink to that level. There is a close relationship between sex and money. Money and power. Power and sex. If that is the only value in a work relationship, then when money is no longer flowing, the employee swings to a corporate setting where it pays more. You have to play it smart. A growing corporation has a lot of room for growth. A big corporation has a lot of compensation for slower progress up the ladder. Success formula at the workplace is being a professional [PRO]. Performance predicts the future. This means producing results; results come by being on the job (attendance) and getting it done on time or ahead of time, even beyond the 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM schedule (overtime, even without pay). Yes, the Kid assigned as clerk is ready based on performance. Relationship builds synergy and is key to producing results through and with others. Opportunity is a decisive moment. It indicates that it is the Kid’s turn in God’s time to move up the ladder. Be a Pro, Kid.
No Kidding on the Block The Kid meets the Boss. She needs to study the leadership style of her boss. The managerial grid of Blake and Mutton (1985) is a good place to start. It talks about five styles: 1.1 Puro Utos (work-oriented), 9.9 Paki Sama (team player), 1.9 Puro Kape (country club) 1.1 Walang Paki (apathetic) and 5.5 Pa Tama-tama (average performer). 1. Three Interaction Principles. How shall we help the Kid survive with his/her boss and co-employees? Development Dimension International (DDI) sets three guiding principles: First, s/he must maintain and enhance the self-esteem of others. Second, s/he must listen and respond with empathy. And third, s/he learns to ask for help to solve a problem. 2. Four Steps to Job Maturity. To relate with the Boss, the Kid needs to mature. How do we get the Kid to mature on the job? The road to job maturity according to Hersey & Blanchard (1982) entails: First, the Kid listens to the Boss to learn; executes what s/he is told to do. Second, s/he is willing to be part of a team; cooperate with the Boss and officemates. Third, s/he must have the guts to participate and contribute his/her talent. Fourth, as job mastery comes along, s/he must learn to accept responsibility and accountability. 3. Five Ways to Resolve Conflict. The must be trained to face conflict at the workplace by learning to find win-win solution. Other options are open: I win-you lose, I lose-you win, and I give half-you take half. The Kid must learn how to play the corporate game with finesse. Kenneth Blanchard’s situational leadership operates on employee maturity based on three factors: 1. High production goals, 2. Education and training skills, and 3. Willingness to take responsibility. Situational leadership has Blake and Mouton’s four styles: 1. Telling – similar to Puro utos, 2. Selling – Kasama, 3. Participatory – Puro Kape, and 4. Delegation – Walang Paki. 4. Seven Personality Skills. The Kid needs to have an inventory of skills related to attitude towards work. The Personality and Preference Inventory is a useful tool to help the Kid discover her work preference related to the following factors: 1. Active dominance, 2. Conscientious persistence, 3. Openness to experience, 4. Sociability, 5. Work tempo, 6. Aggressiveness, and 7. Seeking to achieve. High and low scores in these factors will prepare the Kid to discover her strength and weaknesses in these areas. Remember balance is key to personality development.
Exploring Possibilities The Kid and the counselor need to have faith in exploring the 4th window of Johari (1961). Fear of the unknown is a most common deterrent in moving forward in a corporate setting. Where sacrifice is involved, especially when it comes to the family, women employees would sometimes prefer to sacrifice their career promotion for the sake of the children. We have to encourage both male and female corporate members to take the opportunity build their career. Post normal science invites us to explore possibilities of the unknown in order to have a handle on a complex, out-of-the ordinary situation that calls for solutions on a personal, global and even cosmic scale.
Worldviews on Financial Sustainability It’s not just attitude anymore that matters. A wider perspective on what our world is may help dispel the dark clouds that veil our vision. When the counselor is confronted with a seemingly unsolvable case or if both counselor and counselee are faced with the impossible, post normal science tells them that what used to be need not happen again. Let me take you to some basics in how we see our world. Sustainability may be viewed from a Newtonian and Darwinian organizational model or from a Quantum Physics and Chaos Theory perspective.
1. The Newtonian model views the solar system as being held together by the gravitation pull of the sun at the center with the planets in their respective places whirling around. Newtonian management is based on ‘check and balance.’ An office is centered on the boss and s/he holds everything together and puts everything in place. The boss is controlled by manager as a matter of check and balance.
2. The Darwinian model upholds the survival of the fittest. For the Kid in a corporate jungle, this means the brute has the force to have his/her way of getting things done. On a personal level, the Kid may have to learn to be in harmony with others at work as a matter of survival. From an organization development point of view, business survival requires that the company as a living organism must remain compatible with its environment (customers, competitors, suppliers, etc) as things change over a period of time or else it will die. This the Kid must understand at a macro level.
3. Quantum Physics provides a perspective beyond the physical science. It is in fact metaphysics. Its basic tenet provides us the power of quanta, which is smaller than the atom, structurally broken down quarks. Quarks when observed behave differently. In organizational behavior, Hawthorne Effect proves that attention to a particular work group increases productivity. Quarks, the basic-basic element of matter, is energy within us and is controlled by the power of our mind. Chopra’s (1993, 2006) quantum healing is a manifestation of this power. Easier when explained from our personal experience of coincidence or thought-creating immediate realization. Examples: Have you wished someone would call you and immediately the phone rings? Have you wished you had extra Pesos and someone handed it to you? Do you know that the flapping of butterfly wings in the Philippines can cause an avalanche in Switzerland? Apparently, quarks are thinking particles. 1. Common sense tells us that an electron in a box has a definite location even if we do not know where it is (A). The Copenhagen interpretation says that the electron exists as a wave filling the box, and could be anywhere inside (B). Now we look for the electron, the wave function collapses at a certain location (A). 2. Common sense tells us that if we slide a partition into the box without looking, the electron must be in one half of the box (C). The Copenhagen interpretation says that as long as we do not look, the electron wave still occupies both halves of the box (D), and it only collapses on one side of the barrier when we look inside (C). 3. As long as we don’t look, even if we move the two halves of the box far apart the wave still fills both boxes E. Even if the boxes are light years apart, it is only when we look into either one that the electron wave function collapses, instantaneously, and the electron ‘decides’ which box it is in (E (Gribbin: 1998).
4. Chaos Theory defies the linear statistical program of events around us. It says that there are two forces around us: order and chaos. Without chaos, there is no order. Have you experienced something extremely difficult before you attained a victorious, triumphant undertaking? This has happened many times, but we do not learn that before order, there are difficult tasks, seemingly insurmountable disorder that must be addressed. The second key point of Chaos Theory is that there is an aperiodic manifestation of an incident/event in a series of recurring, regular events. We want our lives to be predictable and yet there are events that defy logic. Seen positively, Chaos Theory brings serendipity into our lives. There is a breakthrough, something out of the ordinary happens. Post-normal science is the brainchild of two philosophers of science, Silvio Fonowicz and Jerry Ravetz.
Ravetz: In pre-chaos days, it was assumed that values were irrelevant to scientific inference, and that all uncertainties could be tamed. That was the ‘normal science’ in which almost all research, engineering and none-engineering was done. There was always a special class of ‘professional consultants’ who used science, but who confronted special uncertainties and value-choices in their work. In post-normal science, quality replaces Truth as the organizing principles.
Fontowicz: But in a world dominated by chaos, we are removed from the securities of traditional practice. In many important cases, we do not know, and we cannot know, what will happen, or whether our system is safe. We confront issues where facts are uncertain, values in dispute, stakes high and decisions urgent. The only way forward is to recognize that this is where we are at. In the relevant sciences, the style of discourse can no longer by demonstration as from empirical data to true conclusions. Rather, it must be dialogue, recognizing uncertainty, value-commitments, and a plurality of legitimate perspectives. These are the basis of post-normal science.
Fontowicz: In the heuristic plane of post-normal science, no particular view can encompass the whole. The task now is no longer one accredited expert discovering ‘true facts’ for the determination of ‘good policies.’ Post-normal science accepts the legitimacy of difference perspectives and value-commitment from all those stakeholders around the table on a policy issue. Among those in the dialogue, there will be people with formal accreditation as scientists or experts. They are essential to the process, for their special experience is used on the quality control process as the input. The housewife, the patient, and the investigative journalist, can assess the quality of the scientific results in the context of real-life situation.
Fontowicz: We call these people an ‘extended peer community.” And they bring ‘extended facts,” including their own personal experience, surveys, and scientific information that otherwise might not lave been in the public domain.
Post-normal science does not replace good quality traditional science and technology. It reiterates or feedbacks, their products in an integrating social process. In this way, the scientific system will become a useful input to novel forms of policy-making and governance.
For the New Kid on the Block, s/he must be ready to interact and speak out his/her truth to be able to contribute to the development of the organization. S/he cannot just be a receiver or order taker. S/he must have the courage to think things through, make stand and present his/her point of view. The New Kid Takes a Leap The graduate takes a leap of faith and lands in a corporate world — from an academic greenhouse to a real world. S/he may creep like a snail in the beginning but I will not underestimate the hand of nature and the hand of super nature. Who knows s/he will do a frog leap. (She needs to develop those frog legs). Who knows she meets her Prince Charming, the CEO or chairman of the board! (He was once a frog?). I encouraged once a young graduate to take what is available in the market to get his feet wet. He took the job and made a frog leap to an ice cream factory. Then another leap to a cigarette manufacturer that gave her a brand new car, a powerful cell phone and a trip to Singapore for training. In three years’ time, her trajectory overshot everyone’s expectation. I trained a marine biologist in a non-insurance company to become an assistant manager for marine hull and cargo. Before her training was over, she decided to leave. A year later, I met her and she handed me a calling card. Her title was Vice President of XYZ non-life insurance company. Overjoyed, I congratulated her and asked how she got there. She proudly told me, ‘I am the wife of the owner!” Indeed, she married a career and the insurance carrier. Dear graduates, the world is in your hands. In addition, the world awaits your hands that will toil for your own survival, your family and ultimately this country. Embrace the world of work with confidence in your academic skills, personality traits, and God-given gifts.
Prosperity in a Shrinking Economy In spite of the global threat of an economic overheat and meltdown, there are plenty of reasons why we should think prosperous. As Christian nation, I invite you to turn to the Holy Book for inspiration. As counselors, we know how powerful words can be. The Word says:
Happy are they who obey the commands of the Lord;
Your work will provide for all your needs.
Your spouse shall be like a fruitful vine;
Your children like olive branches around your table;
And you see your children’s children.
Psalm 128
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In August, we celebrated National Heroes Day to honor the founding fathers of our nation and in September, we celebrate Teachers’ Month in honor of our mentors. Our national heroes gave their lives to our nation; our heroic teachers devoted their lives to fulfill the dreams of our national heroes. And “We are the heroes that we need,” according to Lasallian Scholarum awardee Rachel Barawid. This heroism within us comes from our DNA, nature’s gift from our parents and our education, nurture and care of our teachers. Today, I honor my teachers at home and in school for they have become an intimate fabric of my life. They are my heroes within me.
Family teachers The home as a classroom was primarily ruled by Lola Tesang Clavel vda de Torrecarion. She taught me life skills: going home before the 6 p.m. oracion, personal care and rosary before dinner, backyard industry by raising pet chicken and pigs; planting root crops in our garden, and learning to cook embotido, morcon, and estofado. My religious formation under her included daily rosary with a litany of the saints, Saturday confession, and Sunday mass.In the 50s, when pupil-centered learning was unheard of, Tita Odes Torrecarion Aspiras, my Grade I public school teacher at Bacolod East Elementary School, allowed me to write with my left hand. Tito Eyong Torrecarion and Tito Junior Torrecarion taught me to use the speedball pen and India ink to do lettering in Old English. Tita Jo Torrecarion Bautista, University of Santo Tomas ballet instructress, introduced me to the art of dancing, and at the age 14, I was doing the boogie-woogie with my elder sister Day Vick as my partner.
My profession as a teacher was greatly influenced by my mother, Luz Torrecarion Hudtohan. On school days, she left home before 6 a.m. and she came home after 6 p.m. As a public school teacher, she began her career as a classroom teacher and retired with a rank of principal 4. After World War II, she earned her elementary teacher’s corticated (ETC) at La Consolacion College Bacolod. During summer, she was persistent in her studies at the Teachers’ Camp in Baguio City until she earned her MA in teaching elementary agriculture. When she died at the age 96, she was directress of her own pre-school, Haven Learning Center—a teacher to her last breath!
I owe my Lasallian education to her and the Brothers. It started with the scholarship program of Br. Francis Cody, FSC for the public school teachers opened a new horizon for my career as a Lasallian professor. Br. Francis as champion of the poor also convinced the sugar planters of Negros to build schools for the children of their workers [sacadas] and he taught me to give up my merienda money for the education of the poor in Villamonte and elsewhere. In 1967, upon high school graduation, he convinced me, Br. Roly Dizon FSC, Br. Ceci Hojilla FSC, Br. Crisanto Moreno FSC, Br. Manny Hilado FSC, Ricky Pijuan, and Philip Belzunce to join the Brothers. If I may, Br. Francis was a golden jubilee Lasallian vocation recruiter who got 12 young men to enter the De La Salle novitiate and he is the father of hacienda schools that gave birth to the Lasallian supervised schools.
Lasallian mentors Speaking in English did not come easy for an Ilonggo like me. But my exposure to American speakers since 1957 at La Salle Bacolod helped me mimic their diction and pronunciation. Gradually, my ears became attuned to the sound of English through the voice of Br. Felix Masson, FSC; Br. Francis Cody, FSC; Br. Dominic Fournier, FSC; Br. Vernon Poore, FSC; Br. Leander Fidelis, FSC; Br. Alexis, FSC; and Br. Bonaventure Richard, FSC. However, it was Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC, a Kapangpangan, who helped me distinguish the pronunciation variants of the vowels (a, e, i, o, u), the difference between ‘t’ and ‘d’, ‘sh’ and ‘ch’, ‘t’ and ‘th’. O, those days of tongue-twisting exercises!
In 1961, Dr. Marcelino Foronda, college history teacher, taught me the importance of footnotes, using Turabian citation. I did not realize then that plagiarism would be such an issue in the 21st century. For example, his essay on oral history, Playing It By Ear, was littered numbers (footnotes); such was his respect for the ideas of other people. There was Robert Lane, an American, who taught me English grammar which has served me well in my writings. Cecilia Jalandoni, an Ilongga who studied in America; she further refined my written and oral English. Dr. Aurelio Calderon, a Southeast Asian professor and a journalist, inspired me to write for the Lasallian newspaper and much later in a national broadsheet. I cannot forget Dr. Ariston Estrada who trained me in logic and demanded precision penmanship; a missing dot for letter “I” or an uncrossed letter “t” meant forfeiture of a test paper.
Br. Andrew Gonzalez FSC, my La Salle Bacolod English teacher and professor in college, taught me to love literature. He got me to read cover to cover The Brothers Karamazov and the other Russian classics. As my doctoral adviser, he taught me to be a practical researcher. In 2004, when my dissertation proposal on quantum healing was rejected, he told me, “Propose a doable topic; when you are done you can write anything.” Later, I also followed his advice for all university academicians to “publish or perish.” For this, I consider him the father of Lasallian academic research.
21st Century visionaries His close friend James Ebner, who was my theology professor at the Christian Brothers Center, New Mexico, USA, told me, “Writing as fun; get published.” I remember these words every time I get stuck in doing a newspaper article or writing an academic paper. I somehow get a nudge from him and Br. Andrew. Most importantly, the creative vision and modern hermeneutics of these two Brothers [Bender’s God as Mystery Present, and Gonzalez’s Towards an Adult Faith] inspire me to transcend my Baltimore catechism in the 50s to a 21st century worldview.
To my Lasallian and family mentors from 1957 to 2005, I thank you all for teaching me; your respective legacies live on because you are my heroes within me
Congratulations to George SK Ty, founder of Metrobank, on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Metrobank and to Aniceto Sobrepeña, president of Metrobank Foundation, for the foundation’s continued advocacy for teachers’ excellence and support for the celebration of Teacher’s Month.
Published December 27, 2010 As 2010 comes to an end, 2011 ushers in a new beginning. This ending-beginning calendar cycle also occurs in human activities; when a single action ends, a succeeding bigger activity begins to accomplish a given goal. In corporate setting, an input becomes an output in a series of means-end operations that ultimately achieve an overall purpose or mission. These outputs are measured daily, monthly, quarterly, and annually and at year-end, corporations become aware of their new cycle, new beginning
The end of 2010 in the Gregorian calendar brings us closer to 2012. The Mayan calendar marks December 21, 2012 as the end of a 5,125-year cycle; the end time of a cycle and a beginning of a new one. Over a long, long time, our consciousness has growing to help us understand our ‘old’ ways and discover new beginnings. If the light of our consciousness through these years is passed through a prism of our humanity, then a rainbow of perspectives would make us see things in more ways than one
Scientific Way As early as 600 BC, the Greek philosophers saw the light and showed mankind the path to civil life; soon after, the Romans built on the Greek civilization and by 400 AD a theocratic view on life slowly emerged under the Catholic church. By the 17th century, the Enlightenment thinkers gave rise to ‘discoveryism’ in physical science. Thus, Rene Descartes’ ‘Je pense donc je suis’ became a popular postulate. According to M. Budd he “brought to medicine a mechanistic way of thinking about worldly things and events, including the function of the human body [and] proposed that qualities like emotion, values, goodness, courage, evil were functions of the mind, governed by separate principles from those of the machinelike body. Three hundred years later, his truths were still carried by our culture.”
But some thinkers challenge Descarte’s paradigm. In 1987, Maturana and Varela showed that the ‘Cogito ergo sum’ is flawed by indicating that human life might have arisen from biologic processes alone. In 2003, J. Chanciosi asked about feelings, emotions, desires and aspirations that are all transient; and where do they come from, how they arise, and where do they go? In 2005, A. Damasio in Descartes Error concluded that “the comprehensive understanding of the human mind requires an organismic perspective; that not only must the mind move from a non-physical cogitum to the realm of biological tissue, but it must also be related to a whole organism possessed of integrated body proper and brain and fully interactive with the physical and social environment.” In the same year, Clawson & Newburg in The Future of Human Resource Management observed that “Most managers and leaders assume that professionals will do what they have to do and not let their feelings get in the way…Feelings affect our performance…Descartes’ error was not recognizing that fundamental fact when he established scientific method and rational thinking”. These are some of the new writings on the impregnable scientific wall that signal an end to an ‘old’ accepted scientific idea.
But to replace ‘Cogito ergo sum’ with ‘I feel; therefore I am’ may also prove erroneous. A ‘thinking-feeling’ view may serve as an expansive paradigm for ‘being’ alive. For example, Taylorism and Theory X inspired by the Industrial Revolution is challenged today by C.S. Jacobs’ Management Rewired and D. H. Pink’s Drive on new corporate motivation and productivity. They propose a subordinate-centered corporate life and advocate that managers become people champions and work facilitators in a thinking-feeling organization.
Quantum Age In 1970, T.S. Khun talked about paradigm shift, a preview of the end of traditional science and the coming of a new science. Almost forty years later, F.Karakas gives us a glimpse of a paradigm shift in organization and management development.
He says that 1. The new knowledge economy requires adaptive skills and agility through networks and interdependence. Thus, organizations have to find new ways to balance work and family through flexible-time and telecommuting [the cellphone will eventually become a virtual office and home]. 2. The new era of technology has ushered the Quantum Age; the unpredictable and random behavior of quarks violates Newton’s physical laws. 3. Researchers conclude that human beings are, indeed, quantum beings; a quantum approach to management calls for corporations to engage whole person [body, mind and spirit that bridge analytical and artistic talents] for innovation and creativity.
In 2006, M. Wheatley considered physical science which influenced organizations and management based on Newtonian laws an ‘old’ paradigm when compared with a new science based on quantum physics. She challenges management gurus to rethink and reinvent management theories based on the implication of the new science. For example, J. Meister and K. Willerd in The 2020 Workplace predict that future CEOs will blog to be in touch with the customers, market and employees; social media network will flourish within corporate settings; and corporate social responsibility will be a key indicator for a company of choice.
Conclusion Modern management had its beginnings in Cartesian scientific thought. The Age of Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution propelled humanity to the Age of Science which initiated a revolutionary approach to management which led to the use rational syllogisms, paradigms and systems.
With the emergence of New Science, managers may ask: What does Quantum Age mean to me? The answer begs for seeking new ways of managing; and ultimately it means discarding the old ways of doing things. In so doing, a paradigm shift is in the making — Ending is Beginning. After all, the last frontier, according to the New Science, is not outer space but our inner mind.
