Manalo, Andrei

BSSW 3A

Most of us know that several families function well with an authoritative figure,
particularly a male persona. It has a broad effect on how we view women who have long been
boxed out of household duties, such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for their children. Women
were often compared to men in the management environment as not capable of performing tasks
in a satisfactory way. This mentality that stems from household results in the sexism of Filipino
managers. The system of "Utang na Loob" is extremely ingrained in our community, it is
assumed that the favors we ask of our friends or colleagues will be compensated in the
future.This arises several occasions when you want to find a job in the workplace and you
encounter someone who owes you a favor, and then you ask him or her to pull some strings for
your employment.This is similar to the "Backer System" which, as we all know, prevents equal
opportunities for all those who deserve the position. Even if you are a manager who is hard
working, task-oriented, and people-oriented, there is a possibility that you will fail due to this
culture. As Filipinos in our culture, we don’t always speak our mind frankly and avoid shaming
our peers or the “amor propio”. In management, it is essential to critique to recognize your
mistakes and to improve yourself. Therefore, the pervasive sense of shame would force Filipino
managers to defend themselves and thus obstruct problem solving. Managers will have to take
responsibility and avoid using pride as a scapegoat to overcome this mindset.

On a positive note, strong family ties and emotional closeness are Filipino cultures that
have a good effect on managers. When someone realizes the importance of his/her parent’s
sacrifices and support for his/her education, he will value his job more. The manager will treat
his co-workers as his or her second family, which will have a good performance result. And if a
person has a good family upbringing, it will reflect on how he/she treats his/her coworkers, how
he/she manages to overcome obstacles at work, and how he or she handles failure. His
commitment and integrity to his work, his trust in his colleagues, will be based upon the notion
of mutual cohesion. By recognizing his efforts and his co-workers to achieve a shared objective
and eagerness to learn, managers who believe in the Bayanihan system would foster productivity
and camaraderie. Filipinos love to get along with other people, especially in workplace setting.
We often have the back of each other and being a manager can help strengthen our relations and
have a smooth sailing partnership. We strive to avoid confrontations as much as possible so that
the atmosphere will not be hostile, as it may influence our work ethics. We would want to
mitigate conflicts through the use of mediation and listening to the sides of both parties. In a
nutshell, Filipino cultures have great contributions to Filipino managers, depending on what you
will believe will help you develop yourself to become successful. What culture, traditions, or
values we will integrate into our daily and corporate lives will be entirely up to us.