Name:______________________________

Course & Section:_____________________

Student Number:______________________

Time & Day:__________________________

Subject Facilitator______________________

1

COLLEGE : School of Education Arts and

Sciences

DEPARTMENT : Euthenics

COURSE NUMBER : 3

COURSE TITLE : Man As A Productive Human Being

CREDIT UNIT : 2

SEMESTER : First

CURRICULUM YEAR : Second Year Students

COURSE/CERTIFICATE/

DIPLOMA/DEGREE : General Education Curriculum

2

Modular Instruction in

EUTHENICS 3

MAN AS A PRODUCTIVE BEING

UNIVERSIDAD DE ZAMBO0ANGAEUTHENICS DEPARTMENT

UZ-City Campus, 4th floor, J.S. Alano St. ZAECQuadrangle

Zamboanga City, Philippines

APPROVAL SHEET

3

April 25, 2011

This is to certify that the contents of thisEuthenics 3 (Man As A Productive Being) Manual havebeen duly reviewed and verified and hereby approved fordistribution and use.

BASHIRUDDIN A. AJIHIL, Ed. DVice-President for Academic Affair

FOREWORD

The course aims to help the college students develop

and clarify his own personal values as a Filipino citizen

and integrate these values in his total personhood that is

relevant to the institution’s vision and mission of

producing educated, well-trained, development-oriented and

4

pro-active professionals who will not only be globally

competitive but who will also embody the character and

integrity of moral individuals living together in harmony ,

to being about peace, socio-economic and political

development. The ultimate goal of the course is to help

develop more positive, purposeful and productive individuals

who can handle moral content into moral conduct through

desirable Filipino values who understands moral principles

and accept responsibilities in applying them.

The organization and content of this module is

classified according to Man as a Productive Being,

Psychology of the Filipino Character, Weaknesses of the

Filipino Character, Roots of the Filipino Character,

Culture of Peace : Nature and Concept of Peace Education,

Education for Peace: Lists of Knowledge areas, Skills and

Attitudes/Values, Values of work, The Meaning of Work,

History of Work, Perception of Work, Factors that Affect

Work, Wanted: Filipino Entrepreneurial Spirit.

The course aims to provide the student with knowledge

and applications on the positive Filipino values needed to

develop as productive being. It also introduces and

understanding of the Filipino psychology including its

significance in the formation of Filipino Values System. It

seeks to identify the strategies to harness the indigenous

positive Filipino values for national development.

5

THE CONTRIBUTOR

MIC-Euthenics 3 Revised Edition 3

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T

The researchers and contributor of this modified

and improved modules express their deepest gratitude to

those individuals who provided input every step in the

development of this module. These dedicated scholars,

authors, professors and administrators provided a wide

range of information, knowledge, insights, concepts,

ideas, and enthusiasm of doing one’s work to share

their role in assisting us, providing a wealth of idea

and strategies. Likewise, for giving unstintingly their

time, and helped shape many aspects of this manuscript.

The contributor and researcher also deeply

appreciative of the concerted efforts of the subject

facilitators in the Euthenics Department, whom despite

of the few numbers, were able to overcome obstacles

with grace and good cheer.

We wish to express our gratitude to our loved

ones, for the inspiration; to our colleagues, for the

6

moral support; and college deans for their steadfast

help and encouragement.

We sincerely thank the U d Z family, the review

and editing committee for the untiring support in

reviewing the text and the content of this module;

exceptional teachers who are dedicated to excellence

who conscientiously reviewed this book. Their

constructive comments and suggestions have added

substantially to the quality of this piece of work.

Thank you so much.

RTS

How to use the MODULE PACKAGES

To earn the prescribed credit units for any

enrolled subject, the students must comply with the

subject requirements and time-tables. After going

through all the separately packaged modular lessons

for a given subject, the students can then submit

their activities, reflections, assignments and

7

requirements to the subject facilitators every

terms for grading purposes.

8

9

THE FILIPINO PSYCHOLOGY

PREMID-COVERAGE

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE FILIPINO

History of the term “Filipino”

What is FILIPINO? (One American who lived in the

Philippines for more than twenty years defined a

Filipino as an “Asian who wants to live in the United States”.)

Historically the term “Filipino” began in 1543 when

the Spanish explorer, RUY LOPEZ DE VILLALOBOS, decided

to name these islands of ours in honor of the Prince

who then was then to become King Philip or II U. Later,

the name was applied to the archipelago- Las Islas

Filipinas. The term “Filipino”, however, was not

applied to the natives and indigenous people of the

island who were then called Indios. During the Spanish

regime, those who had come or just arrived from Spain

were called Españoles or Spaniards. Spaniards who were

born in the peninsula of Spain and who had live long

10

in the Philippines were called Filipino Peninsulares.

Those were second-generation Spaniards or born in the

Philippines Spanish descent were given the name

Filipino Insulares. Those who were born in the

Philippines of native mother and Spanish father were

called mestizos.

Towards the close of the 19th century, the

nationalist movement headed by Jose P. Rizal and

Marcelo H. del Pilar started using the term “Filipino”

to include themselves and their countrymen. This was

the time when these pioneering nationalists were

struggling to achieve equality with the Spaniards and

to be assimilated in society like the Spaniards.

It was on October 31, 1896 when the term “Filipino”

was officially used to refer to all the inhabitants of

the Philippines, when Emilio Aquinaldo, in his

proclamation “To the Filipino people, Liberty,

Equality, and Fraternity”, appealed to all Filipinos to

rally behind the revolutionary banner at Cavite Viejo.

The Filipino National Heritage

11

Delving into the Filipino’s national heritage, we

can see that he has very reach culture. His Filipino

spirit or diwang kayumanggi shows a litany of positive

traits and characteristic that makes up the Filipino

identity. The Filipino is a natural-born citizen of

the Philippines who shows the passions, attitudes and

emotions of whose culture is a unique integration of

the indigenous and oriental and occidental cultures.

As a human being, the Filipinos are like all other

men in which, he partakes of the universal human

nature. However, as a product of a particular culture,

the Filipino is different. Take the case of a

subordinate reaction if he was slapped by his superior.

If a superior slaps a Japanese subordinate on his right

cheek, he will also offer his left cheek and leave

without any clamor or hurt feelings. If a superior

slaps an American subordinates, the latter will ask his

boss to justify his action and if the reason is valid,

the American subordinate will apologize to his boss. If

a superior slaps a Filipino subordinate, the Filipino

will run away but he soon returns a bolo to cut off the

head of his boss.

12

The Filipino is different, for him, it is tragic

to experience shame (ulaw, hiya, bain) and its

concomitant phenomenon. He is passive-aggressive. This

item of behavior belongs to the Filipino modal

personality, pattern of thinking and behaving which is

proper to the Filipino. For him, what other people may

say is more important than what he thinks is right. But

he is also passive because he is afraid of being

misunderstood by others if he acts actively and

assertively. For many Filipinos, to be assertive is to

be boastful and to be boastful is a show-off.

Cultural differences also exist among Filipino

women. Take the case of sexual relationship. What do

women say after a sexual encounter? If it is a Japanese

woman, she would just say “sayonara” and leave. If it

is a German woman who is mathematically oriented she

would say “well, you enjoyed fifty percent, I enjoyed

fifty percent.” If it is an American woman, “by the

way, may I know your name?,” if it is a Filipina, she

would say to the man, “kailan tayo magpakasal?” (When

shall we get married in the church?) There are the

religious and moral values in Filipino women.

13

The Filipino is struggling to be himself. This

value-struggle exists during the Pre-Spanish times to

the present days. While accepting the fact that he is a

product of Eastern and western culture, he must

liberate himself from the dominion of colonial rule.

One well-known educator affirmed that the Filipino is

strong with respect to faith and morals, the conference

of Islamic Nations is strong with respect to national

integration and /or segregation, and the United Sates

of America has strength with respect to business,

industry, and economy.

These three aggregations, according to this

educator, are competing to get hold of the Filipinos.

The Vatican through the foreign what stressed the

Golden values to the Filipinos, that is;

G= gratitude

O= obedience

L= loyalty

D= discipline

These values made the Filipino subservient to

them. Father Nebres, S.J. affirms. “one of the

14

tragedies of the church.” The values of the Filipinos

during the colonial times were self-sufficiency, self-

determine, justice, and freedom which the colonizers

dared not to attempt to emphasize to the Filipinos

during that epoch.

The American alienated the Filipino from

agricultural work and redirected their minds to

consumerism. Thus, they taught us how to eat the apple,

the grapes, the orange, the bubble gums but not how to

produce or grow them. The Filipino children were taught

that “planting rice is never fun for the farmer bent

from morning till sinking of the sun” and “clean little

hands are good to see.” The Filipinos were taught to

“dream of White Christmas” and that their “nipa hut was

very small”. Furthermore, it was impressed on them that

“poor born on the top of the mountain” and they were

“negritos of the mountain”.

Due to these influences, there were two defaults

that stymied Philippine economic development. First,

was the insistence on a purely import-substitution

strategy which led to export based industrialization.

Second, was the neglect of the countryside, which

15

failed to mobilize the masses in the rural areas in

agricultural activities that would have provided that

much linkages for export-based industrialization.

The Philippines, as a result became a market for

American cars, American canned goods, American fabrics,

and American cigarettes. In- spite of the fact that it

was a sugar land, it imported candies such ass

Hershey’s, Wrigley’s, Baby Ruth’s. Its fishes died of

old age yet the Philippines imported sardines no wonder

the greatest nation for the Filipino is America. The

Filipino’s sense of identification with American is so

strong that the Philippines is the largest (third)

English-speaking country in the world. It runs second

to the United States in the number of people enrolled

in the collegiate level on a per capital basis. Yet,

the Filipino in his own mind does not believe he is the

best of mankind but merely a second class human being.

He was made to believe that he is Tonto, the Indian,

and Americans are Lone Ranger.

But the Filipino people in layman’s terms, like

any other people, are entitled to live and work and

16

dream together in an atmosphere of freedom, justice and

human dignity. He can be number one!

STRENGTHS OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER

Pakikipagkapwa-Tao (regard for others). Filipinos

are open to others and feel one with others. We regard

others with dignity and respect, and deal with them as

fellow human beings. Pakikipagkapwa-tao is manifested in a

basic sense of justice and fairness, and in concern for

others. It is demonstrated in the Filipino's ability to

empathize with others, in helpfulness and generosity in

times of need (pakikiramay), in the practice of bayanihan

or mutual assistance, and in the famous Filipino

hospitality.

Filipinos possess sensitivity to people's feelings

or pakikiramdam, pagtitiwala or trust, and a sense of

gratitude or utang-na-loob. Because of pakikipagkapwa-tao,

Filipinos are very sensitive to the quality of

interpersonal relationships and are very dependent on

them: if our relationships are satisfactory, we are

happy and secure.

17

Pakikipagkapwa-tao results in camaraderie and a

feeling of closeness another to one. It helps promote

unity as well a sense of social justice.

Family Orientation. Filipinos possess a genuine and

deep love for the family, which includes not simply the

spouses and children, parents, and siblings, but also

grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, godparents, and

other ceremonial relatives. To the Filipino, one's

family is the source of personal identity, the source

of emotional and material support, and the person's

main commitment and responsibility.

Concern for family is manifested in the honor and

respect given to parents and elders, in the care given

to children, the generosity towards kin in need, and in

the great sacrifices one endures for the welfare of the

family. This sense of family results in a feeling of

belonging or rootedness and in a basic sense of

security.

Joy and Humor. Filipinos have a cheerful and fun-

loving approach to life and its ups and downs. There is

a pleasant disposition, a sense of humor, and a

propensity for happiness that contribute not only to

the Filipino charm, but to the indomitability of the

18

Filipino spirit. Laughing at ourselves and our trouble

is an important coping mechanism. Often playful,

sometimes cynical, sometimes disrespectful, we laugh at

those we love and at those we hate, and make jokes

about our fortune, good and bad.

This sense of joy and humor is manifested in the

Filipino love for socials and celebrations, in our

capacity to laugh even in the most trying of times, and

in the appeal of political satire.

The result is a certain emotional balance and

optimism, a healthy disrespect for power and office,

and a capacity to survive.

Flexibility, Adaptability and Creativity. Filipinos have a

great capacity to adjust, and to adapt to circumstances

and to the surrounding environment, both physical and

social. Unplanned or unanticipated events are never

overly disturbing or disorienting as the flexible

Filipino adjusts to whatever happens. We possess a

tolerance for ambiguity that enables us to remain

unfazed by uncertainty or lack of information. We are

creative, resourceful, adept at learning, and able to

improvise and make use of whatever is at hand in order

to create and produce.

19

This quality of the Filipino is manifested in the

ability to adapt to life in any part of the world; in

the ability to make new things out of scrap and to keep

old machines running; and, of course, in the creative

talent manifested in the cultural sphere. It is seen

likewise in the ability to accept change.

The result is productivity, innovation,

entrepreneurship, equanimity, and survival.

Hard work and Industry. Filipinos have the capacity

for hard work, given proper conditions. The desire to

raise one's standard of living and to possess the

essentials of a decent life for one's family, combined

with the right opportunities and incentives, stimulate

the Filipino to work very hard. This is manifested most

noticeably in a willingness to take risks with jobs

abroad, and to work there at two or three jobs. The

result is productivity and entrepreneurship for some,

and survival despite poverty for others.

Faith and Religiosity. Filipinos have a deep faith in

God. Innate religiosity enables us to comprehend and

genuinely accept reality in the context of God's will

and plan. Thus, tragedy and bad fortune are accepted

and some optimism characterizes even the poorest lives.

20

Filipinos live very intimately with religion; this is

tangible--a part of everyday life. We ascribe human

traits to a supernatural God whom we alternately

threnten and thank, call upon for mercy or forgiveness,

and appease by pledges. Prayer is an important part of

our lives.

The faith of the Filipino is related to bahala na,

which, instead of being viewed as defeatist

resignation, may be considered positively as a

reservoir of psychic energy, an important psychological

support on which we can lean during difficult times.

This pampalakas ng loob allows us to act despite

uncertainty.

Our faith and daring was manifest at EDSA and at

other times in our history when it was difficult to be

brave. It is seen also in the capacity to accept

failure and defeat without our self-concept being

devastated since we recognize forces external to

ourselves as contributing to the unfolding of events in

our lives.

The results of the Filipino's faith are courage,

daring, optimism, inner peace, as well as the capacity

to genuinely accept tragedy and death.

21

Ability to Survive. Filipinos have an ability to

survive which is manifested in our capacity for

endurance despite difficult times, and in our ability

to get by on so little. Filipinos make do with what is

available in the environment, even, e.g., by eking out

a living from a garbage dump. This survival instinct is

related to the Filipinos who bravely carry on through

the harshest economic and social circumstances.

Regretfully, one wonders what we might be able to do

under better circumstances.

WEAKNESSES OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER

Extreme Personalism. Filipinos view the world in

terms of personal relationships and the extent to which

one is able personally to relate to things and people

determines our recognition of their existence and the

value. There is no separation between an objective task

and emotional involvement. This personalism is

manifested in the tendency to give personal

interpretations to actions, i.e., to "take things

personally." Thus, a sincere question may be viewed as

a challenge to one's competence or positive feedback

may be interpreted as a sign of special affection.

22

There is, in fact, some basis for such interpretations

as Filipinos become personal in their criticism and

praise. Personalism is also manifested in the need to

establish personal relationships before any business or

work relationship can be successful.

Because of this personalistic world view,

Filipinos have difficulty dealing with all forms of

impersonal stimuli. For this reason one is

uncomfortable with bureaucracy, with rules and

regulations, and with standard procedures--all of which

tend to be impersonal. We ignore them or we ask for

exceptions.

Personal contacts are involved in any transaction

and are difficult to turn down. Preference is usually

given to family and friends in hiring, delivery of

services, and even in voting. Extreme personalism thus

leads to the graft and corruption w/c evident in, The

Philippine society.

Extreme Family-Centeredness. While concern for the

family is one of the Filipino's greatest strengths, in

the extreme it becomes a serious flaw. Excessive

concern for the family creates an in-group to which the

23

Filipino is fiercely loyal, to the detriment of

concern for the larger community or the common good.

Excessive concern for family manifests itself in

the use of one's office and power as a means of

promoting the interests of the family, in factionalism,

patronage, and political dynasties, and in the

protection of erring family members. It results in lack

of concern for the common good and acts as a block to

national consciousness.

Lack of Discipline. The Filipino's lack of discipline

encompasses several related characteristics. We have a

casual and relaxed attitude towards time and space

which manifests itself in lack of precision and

compulsiveness, in poor time management, and in

procrastination. We have an aversion to following

strictly a set of procedures, which results in lack of

standardization and quality control. We are impatient

and unable to delay gratification or reward, resulting

in the use of short cuts, skirting the rules (the

palusot syndrome) and in foolhardiness. We are guilty of

ningas cogon, starting out projects with full vigor and

interest which abruptly dies down, leaving things

unfinished.

24

Our lack of discipline often results in

inefficient and wasteful work systems, the violation of

rules leading to more serious transgressions, and a

casual work ethics leading to carelessness and lack of

follow-through.

Passivity and Lack of Initiative. Filipinos are generally

passive and lacking in initiative. One waits to be told

what has to be done. There is a strong reliance on

others, e.g., leaders and government, to do things for

us. This is related to the attitude towards authority.

Filipinos have a need for a strong authority figure and

feel safer and more secure in the presence of such an

authority. One is generally submissive to those in

authority, and is not likely to raise issues or to

question decisions.

Filipinos tend to be complacent and there rarely

is a sense of urgency about any problem. There is a

high tolerance for inefficiency, poor service, and even

violations of one's basic rights. In many ways, it can

be said that the Filipino is too patient and long-

suffering (matiisin), too easily resigned to one's fate.

Filipinos are thus easily oppressed and exploited.

25

Colonial Mentality. Filipinos have a colonial

mentality which is made up of two dimensions: the first

is a lack of patriotism or an active awareness,

appreciation, and love of the Philippines; the second

is an actual preference for foreign things.

Filipino culture is characterized by an openness

to the outside--adapting and incorporating the foreign

elements into our image of ourselves. Yet this image is

not built around a deep core of Philippine history and

language. The result is a cultural vagueness or

weakness that makes Filipinos extraordinarily

susceptible to the wholesome acceptance of modern mass

culture which is often Western. Thus, there is

preference for foreign fashion, entertainment,

lifestyles, technology, consumer items, etc.

The Filipino colonial mentality is manifested in

the alienation of the elite from their roots and from

the masses, as well as in the basic feeling of national

inferiority that makes it difficult for Filipinos to

relate as equals to Westerners.

Kanya-Kanya Syndrome. Filipinos have a selfish,

self-serving attitude that generate a feeling of envy

and competitiveness towards others, particularly one's

26

peers, who seem to have gained some status or prestige.

Towards them, the Filipino demonstrated the so-called

"crab mentality", using the leveling instruments of

tsismis, intriga and unconstructive criticism to bring

others down. There seems to be a basic assumption that

another's gain is our loss.

The kanya-kanya syndrome is also evident in personal

ambition and drive for power and status that is

completely insensitive to the common good. Personal and

in-group interests reign supreme. This characteristic

is also evident in the lack of a sense of service among

people in the government bureaucracy. The public is

made to feel that service from these offices and from

these civil servants is an extra perk that has to be

paid for.

The kanya-kanya syndrome results in the dampening of

cooperative and community spirit and in the denial of

the rights of others.

Lack of Self-Analysis and Self-Reflection. There is a

tendency in the Filipino to be superficial and even

somewhat flighty. In the face of serious problems both

personal and social, there is lack of analysis or

reflection. Joking about the most serious matters

27

prevents us from looking deeply into the problem. There

is no felt need to validate our hypotheses or

explanations of things. Thus, we are satisfied with

superficial explanations for, and superficial solutions

to, problems.

Related to this, is the Filipino emphasis on form

(maporma) rather than upon substance. There is a

tendency to be satisfied with rhetoric and to

substitute this for reality. Empty rhetoric and endless

words are very much part of public life. As long as the

right things are said, as long as the proper documents

and reports exist, and as long as the proper

committees, task forces, or offices are formed,

Filipinos are deluded into believing that what ought to

be actually exist.

The Filipino lack of self-analysis and our

emphasis upon form is reinforced by an educational

system that is often more form than substance and a

legal system that tends to substitute law for reality.

THE MANY FACES OF THE FILIPINO

28

From this discussion of the strengths and

weaknesses of the Filipino, it is clear that there is

much that is good here, but there is also much that

needs to be changed. Many of our strong points are also

the sources of our weakness.

As a people, we are person-oriented, and

relationships with others are a very important part of

our lives. Thus, we are capable of much caring and

concern for others. On the other hand, in the extreme our

person orientation leads to lack of objectivity and a

disregard for universal rules and procedures so that

everyone, regardless of our relationship with them, is

treated equally. Our person orientation leads us to be

concerned for people, and yet unfair to some.

Our family orientation is both strength and a weakness,

giving us a sense of rooted ness and security, both

very essential to any form of reaching out to others.

At the same time, it develops in us an in-group

orientation that prevents us from reaching out beyond

the family to the larger community and the nation.

Our flexibility, adaptability, and creativity is a strength that

allows us to adjust to any set of circumstances and to

make the best of the situation. But this ability to

29

"play things by ear" leads us to compromise on the

precision and discipline necessary to accomplish many

work-oriented goals.

Our sense of joy and humor serves us well in

difficult times. It makes life more pleasant, but

serious problems do need serious analysis, and humor

can also be destructive.

Our faith in God and our religiosity are sources of

strength and courage, but they also lead to an external

orientation that keeps us passive and dependent on

forces outside ourselves.

There are other contradictions in the many faces

of the Filipino. We find pakikipagkapwa-tao and the

kanya-kanya mentality living comfortably together in us.

We are other-oriented and capable of great empathy; and

yet we are self-serving, envious of others, and

unconstructively critical of one another.

We also find the Filipino described alternately as

hardworking and lazy. Indeed, we see that we are

capable of working long and hard at any job. However,

our casual work ethic as well as our basic passivity in

the work setting is also apparent as we wait for orders

and instructions rather than taking the initiative.

30

ROOTS OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER

The strengths and weaknesses of the Filipino have

their roots in many factors such as: (1) the home

environment, (2) the social environment, (3) culture

and language, (4) history, (5) the educational system,

(6) religion, (7) the economic environment, (8) the

political environment, (9) mass media, and (10)

leadership and role models.

The Family and Home Environment. Childbearing

practices, family relations, and family attitudes and

orientation are the main components of the home

environment. Childbearing in the Filipino family is

characterized by high nurturance, low independence

training, and low discipline. The Filipino child grows

up in an atmosphere of affection and over protection,

where one learns security and trust, on one hand, and

dependence, on the other. In the indulgent atmosphere

of the Filipino home, rigid standards of behavior or

performance are not imposed, leading to a lack of

discipline. Attempts to maintain discipline come in the

form of many "no's" and "don'ts" and a system of

criticism to keep children in line. Subtle comparisons

among siblings also are used by mothers to control

31

their children. These may contribute to the "crab

mentality."

In a large family where we are encouraged to get

along with our siblings and other relatives, we learn

pakikipagkapwa-tao. In an authoritarian setting we learn

respect for age and authority; at the same time we

become passive and dependent on authority.

In the family, children are taught to value family

and to give it primary importance.

The Social Environment. The main components of the

social environment are social structures and social

systems such as interpersonal religious and community

interaction. The social environment of the Filipino is

characterized by a feudal structure with great gaps

between the rich minority and the poor majority. These

gaps are not merely economic but cultural as well, with

the elite being highly westernized and alienated from

the masses. This feudal structure develops dependence

and passivity.

The Filipino is raised in an environment where one

must depend on relationships with others in order to

survive. In a poor country where resources are scarce

and where the systems meant to respond to people's

32

needs can be insensitive, inefficient, or non-existent,

the Filipino becomes very dependent on kinship and

interpersonal relationships.

Sensitivity about hurting established

relationships controls our behavior. We are restrained

from making criticisms no matter how constructive, so

standards of quality are not imposed. We have

difficulty saying no to requests and are pressured to

favor our family and friends, that trying to get ahead

of others is not considered acceptable, exerts a strong

brake upon efforts to improve our individual

performance. The struggle for survival and our

dependence on relationships make us in-group oriented.

Culture and Language. Much has been written about

Filipino cultural values. Such characteristics as

warmth and person orientation, devotion to family, and

sense of joy and humor are part of our culture and are

reinforced by all socializing forces such as the

family, school, and peer group.

Filipino culture rewards such traits and

corresponding behavioral patterns develop because they

make one more likable and enable life to proceed more

easily.

33

Aside from emphasizing interpersonal values,

Filipino culture is also characterized by openness to

the outside which easily incorporates foreign elements

without a basic consciousness of our cultural core.

This is related to our colonial mentality and to the

use of English as the medium of instruction in schools.

The introduction of English as the medium of

education de-Filipinized the youth and taught them to

regard American culture as superior. The use of English

contributes also to a lack of self-confidence on the

part of the Filipino. The fact that doing well means

using a foreign language, which foreigners inevitably

can handle better, leads to an inferiority complex. At

a very early age, we find that our self-esteem depends

on the mastery of something foreign.

The use of a foreign language may also explain the

Filipino's unreflectiveness and mental laziness.

Thinking in our native language, but expressing

ourselves in English, results not only in a lack of

confidence, but also in a lack in our power of

expression, imprecision, and a stunted development of

one's intellectual powers.

34

History. We are the product of our colonial history,

which is regarded by many as the culprit behind our

lack of nationalism and our colonial mentality.

Colonialism developed a mind-set in the Filipino which

encouraged us to think of the colonial power as

superior and more powerful. As a second-class citizen

beneath the Spanish and then the Americans, we

developed a dependence on foreign powers that made us

believe we are not responsible for our country's fate.

The American influence is more ingrained in the

Philippines because the Americans set up a public

school system where we learned English and the American

way of life. Present-day media reinforce these colonial

influences, and the Filipino elite set the example by

their western ways.

Another vestige of our colonial past is our basic

attitude towards the government, which we have learned

to identify as foreign and apart from us. Thus, we do

not identify with government and are distrustful and

uncooperative towards it. Much time and energy is spent

trying to outsmart the government, which we have

learned from our colonial past to regard as an enemy.

35

The Educational System. Aside from the problems

inherent in the use of a foreign language in our

educational system, the educational system leads to

other problems for us as a people. The lack of suitable

local textbooks and dependence on foreign textbooks,

particularly in the higher school levels, force

Filipino students as well as their teachers to use

school materials that are irrelevant to the Philippine

setting. From thiis, comes a mind-set that things

learned in school are not related to real life.

Aside from the influences of the formal

curriculum, there are the influences of the "hidden

curriculum" i.e., the values taught informally by the

Philippine school system. Schools are highly

authoritarian, with the teacher as the central focus.

The Filipino student is taught to be dependent on the

teacher as we attempt to record verbatim what the

teacher says and to give this back during examinations

in its original form and with little processing.

Teachers reward well-behaved and obedient students and

are uncomfortable with those who ask questions and

express a different viewpoint. The Filipino student

learns passivity and conformity. Critical thinking is

not learned in the school.

36

Religion. Religion is the root of Filipino optimism

and its capacity to accept life's hardships. However,

religion also instills in the Filipino attitudes of

resignation and a pre-occupation with the afterlife. We

become vulnerable also to being victimized by

opportunism, oppression, exploitation, and

superstition.

The Economic Environment. Many Filipino traits are

rooted in poverty and hard life that is the lot of

most Filipinos. Our difficulties drive us to take

risks, impel us to work very hard, and develop in us

the ability to survive. Poverty, however, has also

become an excuse for graft and corruption, particularly

among the lower rungs of the bureaucracy. Unless things

get too difficult, passivity sets in.

The Political Environment. The Philippine political

environment is characterized by a centralization of

power. Political power and authority is concentrated in

the hands of the elite and the participation of most

Filipinos often is limited to voting in elections.

Similarly, basic services from the government are

concentrated in Manila and its outlying towns and

provinces. A great majority of Filipinos are not

37

reached by such basic services as water, electricity,

roads, and health services. Government structures and

systems--e.g., justice and education--are often

ineffective or inefficient.

Since the government often is not there to offer

basic services, we depend on our family, kin, and

neighbors for our everyday needs. The absence of

government enhances our extreme family-and even

community-centeredness. We find it difficult to

identify with a nation-family, since the government is

not there to symbolize or represent the state.

The fact that political power is still very much

concentrated in the hands of a few may lead to

passivity. The inefficiency of government structures

and systems also leads to a lack of integrity and

accountability in our public servants.

Mass Media. Mass media reinforces our colonial

mentality. Advertisements using Caucasian models and

emphasizing a product's similarity with imported brands

are part of our daily lives.

The tendency of media to produce escapist movies,

soap operas, comics, etc., feed the Filipino's

passivity. Rather than confront our poverty and

38

oppression, we fantasize instead. The propensity to use

flashy sets, designer clothes, superstars, and other

bongga features reinforce porma.

Leadership and Role Models. Filipinos look up to their

leaders as role models. Political leaders are the main

models, but all other leaders serve as role models as

well. Thus, when our leaders violate the law or show

themselves to be self-serving and driven by personal

interest--when there is lack of public accountability--

there is a negative impact on the Filipino.

MIDTERM COVERAGE

CULTURE OF PEACE

Meaning of the Culture of Peace

What is meant by culture of peace? How can it be

brought in individuals and in societies?

Building a culture of peace is a dynamic, complex,

and multidimensional process, which involves changing

values, beliefs, and behaviors. It consists of over-

coming prejudices and intolerance within the minds and

hearts of every human person in all nations and in the

39

global community, of denouncing all forms violence, and

of leading society away from cruelty and inhumanity

towards a genuine capacity of learning society to live

together in harmony. It embraces the total human

environment and the whole complex of features, material

and non-material that characterize a group in the

search of peaceful solutions to conflict and of ways to

promote the total welfare of its individual members

without discrimination as to gender, religion,

language, occupation, or status.

A culture of peace recognizes and respects all

cultures in their diversity, and at the same time seek

a common understanding of what encompasses a shared

vision of peace that leads to more just and free, more

democratic, and a human world order. A genuine culture

of peace is founded on the exercise of fundamental

freedoms, respect for humans right, and the dignity of

the human person. It cherishes and value ”otherness”

and promotes tolerance to a genuine and sustainable

culture of peace.

Deeper understanding and further insight can be

gained from the following statements taken from the

“Report of Women for a Culture of Peace”, Experts Group

40

Meeting in Manila, Philippines, April 25-28, UNISCO

Consultative Committee on Women:

A culture of peace creates an atmosphere of freedom

and universal respect, where all human rights are

upheld and protected, within the context of equality

between woman and men as peers and partners.

A culture of peace envisions a “festival of

diversities” with rich possibilities of achieving the

human potential from the wealth of world’s diverse

cultures and the different forms of expression and ways

of being human.

A culture of peace acknowledges the responsibilities

of solidarity, in which the relief of the suffering of

any group of people is taken to be the responsibility

of entire community; where the people are neither

exploitable nor expendable.

A culture of peace is built upon the recognition of

the realities of interdependence, common human needs,

and shared responsibility for the human future. There

would be an end to exclusion and to the “insider-

41

outsider” mentality. In a culture of peace, power would

be derived from collective capacities and

responsibilities. Such a culture must be legally,

politically, socially and morally inclusive and power

shared equally between women and men.

In a culture of peace, conflicts need not produce

violence. Differences would be mediated in a spirit of

mutuality and disputes settled in non-violent and

creativity and shared human feelings. There would be a

place for the sacred, acknowledging that “the grove of

trees is sacred, the river is sacred, and we ourselves…

are sacred”.

A culture of peace, values justice and pursues

sustainable development, respects the integrity of

cultures and the natural environment, and promotes a

social order based on equal human rights, the human

dignity of all person, and reverence for living

creatures and life systems.

To bring about a culture of peace, persons need to

be educated to value human solidarity, mutuality and

42

justice, and to learn the skills that enable them to

renounce violence and take peace as a way of life.

Peace Education- means developing knowledge,

values and attitudes necessary to resolve conflicts

peacefully and encouraging appropriate on the

individual, local, national and global levels.

“Peace must begin with each one of us. Through quite and

serious reflection on its meaning, new and creative

ways can be found to foster understanding, friendship

and cooperation among people”. (Javier Perez de

Cuellar, Secretary General of the UN, September 1986).

It is a truism that one cannot give what he/she

does not have. Conversely, one cannot be at peace with

others and the world if he/she is not at peace with

himself/herself. Many people find themselves in

trouble with others because of their inability to

control themselves: an inability to stay calm amidst

external pressure. Some people become easily confused,

fretful and violent when suddenly under pressure, then

wonder afterwards why in the world they have harmed

others and why they cannot seem to account for their

43

actions. Reactions of this kind may be indicative of

person’s need to look inward-harmonizing thoughts,

motives words and actions to get in touch with the

inner self where peace, strength, and truth reside.

Peace from within consists of pure thoughts, pure

feelings and pure motives and wishes.

Peace is rare commodity in today’s world. This is

evident by the dissatisfaction/worries of individuals

and through a lack of proper understanding between

people of different nations and communities.

A culture of peace is necessary for a meaningful

life together. In a world where there is great

diversity in personal, social and cultural ways of

being and living, possession of significant human

values can overcome these differences and ensures peace

and solidarity.

The process of peace-building starts from within

the heart of each individual: when it is shared with

other groups and cultures, it can lead to peace.

If there is light in the soul, there will

be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in

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The person there will be harmony in the house.

if there is harmony in the house, there will

be order in the nation. If there is order in

the nation, there will be peace in the world.

Education for Peace: List of Knowledge Areas, Skills and

Attitudes/Values

The following list is not an exhaustive or

definitive one because the field of peace education

continues to evolve with the increasing exchanges,

experience and subsequent insights of peace workers.

Knowledge/Content Areas:

Some of the knowledge or content areas, which can be

addressed, are:

1. Holistic Concept of Peace

It is important that peace is not just the absence of

direct/physical violence but also the presence will

help them analyze peace issues in an integrated way.

2. Conflicts and Violence

45

Conflicts are a natural part of a person’s social

life, but they become problems of violence depending

on the methods of conflict resolution used. Students

can study the problems of violence. They can also

examine the roots and consequences of violence.

3. Some Peaceful Alternatives

a. Disarmament- Students can be introduced to the

goal of abolishing war and reducing global armed

forces and armaments. It is good for them to see

the folly of excessive arms and military

expenditures and the logic of reallocating

resources toward the satisfaction of people’s

basic needs (e.g. food, housing care and

education).

b. Non-Violent Conflict Resolution- Students can

study cases of individuals and group who adopted

non-violent conflict resolution and non-violent

methods in working for change. They can examine

the ways in which non-violent conflict resolution

methods can be applied into their lives.

c. Human Rights- It is important for students to have

an integral understanding of human rights and to

reject all forms of perception and discrimination

based on beliefs, race, ethnicity, gender, and

46

social class. They should be encouraged to respect

the dignity of all especially the weak and

powerless.

d. Human Solidarity- Many commonalties bind together

divergent cultural, local, and national groups.

All humans have common basic needs and aspirations

and a shared membership in an interdependent

human/global community. We have only one home

(planet earth) and a common future. Students can

look at how to increase intercultural and inter-

group trust, empathy and respect, as well as

discourage stereotyping and prejudice.

e. Development Based on Justice- Students can be made

critically aware of the realities and tragic

consequences of structural violence and how a

philosophy of development based on justice is a

preferred alternative. They need to understand

that development is not economic growth alone but

also equitable sharing of its fruits.

f. Democratization- It is important for students that

democracy provides the environment within people’s

fundamental rights, interests and wishes are

respected.

47

g. Sustainable Development- Students need to

understand the interdependent relationship between

humans as the natural environment and understand

the changes that are necessary to ensure the well-

being of the earth’s ecosystem such as that it can

continue to meet future and present needs. They

need to discover the wisdom of our indigenous

peoples who have respected nature.

Attitudes/Values

It is suggested that the following attitudes and

values must instill among the students:

1. Self-respect

Having a sense of their own worth and a sense of

pride in their own particular social, culture and

family background as well as a sense of their own

power and goodness which will enable them to

contribute towards positive change

2. Respect for Others

Having a sense of worth and inherent dignity of

other people, including those with social,

48

cultural and family background different from

their own.

3. Respect for Life/Non-violence

Valuing human life and refusal to respond to an

adversary or conflict situation with

violence :preference for non-violent processes

such as collaborative problem solving and other

positive techniques as against the use of physical

force and weapons.

4. Compassion

sensitivity to the difficult condition and

suffering of other people and acting with deep

empathy and kindness to those who are “the last,

the least and the lost.”

5. Global Concern

caring for the whole human community transcending

or going beyond the concern, which they have for

their nation or local/ethnic community.

6. Ecological Concern

Caring a natural environment, preference living and

simple lifestyle.

7. Cooperation

49

Valuing of cooperative processes and the principle

of working together towards the pursuit of common

goals.

8. Openness/tolerance

Openness to the processes of growth and change as

well as willingness to approach and receive other

people’s ideals and experiences with a critical

but open mind; respecting the richness of our

world’s cultures and forms of expansions.

9. Social Responsibility

willingness to take action to contribute to the

shaping of a society characterized by justice,

nonviolence and well-being, sense of

responsibility towards the present, and future

generation.

10. Positive Vision

Imagining the kind of future they prefer with a

sense of hope and pursuing its realization in ways

that they can.

Skills

Some of the skills that need to be developed by the

students are:

50

1. Reflection

The use of reflective thinking or reasoning, through

which they deepen their understanding of themselves

and their conceitedness to others and to the living

earth.

2. Critical Thinking and Analysis

ability to approach issues with an open but critical

mind; knowing how to research, question, evaluate and

interpret evidence; ability to recognize and

challenge prejudices and unwarranted claims as well

as change opinions in the face of evidence and

rational arguments.

3. Decision-making

ability to analyze problems, develop alternative

solutions, considering advantages and disadvantages,

and having arrived at the preferred decision. It is

also the ability to prepare a plan for implementation

of the decision.

4. Imagination

creating and imagining new paradigms and new

preferred ways of living and relating.

5. Communication

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listening attentively and with empathy as well as the

ability to express idea and needs clearly.

6. Conflict Resolution

ability to analyze conflicts in an objective in a

systematic way and to suggest a range of non-violent

solution. Conflict resolution skills include

appropriate assertiveness and collaborative problem-

solving. Communication skills are important

foundational skills in conflict resolution.

7. Group Building

working cooperatively with one another in order to

achieve common goals (Cooperation and group building

are facilitated by mutual affirmation and

encouragement by the members. The assumption is that

everyone has something to contribute, everyone is

part of the solution).

THE PEACEFUL TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS

Cognitive Phase

52

( knowing, Understanding)

Active Phase

Affective Phase

(Responding, Valuing)

(Taking practical action)

Some Elements:

Mutual respect between teacher and students, and

among students (despite differences)

Cooperation, rather than aggressive competition

Good communication (emphatic listening, expressing

oneself in a non-threatening way)

A teaching-learning process that is;

-dialogical, where each is simultaneously a

teacher and a learner (“non-banking pedagogy”)

-participatory, where full participation is

encouraged regardless of gender, cultural and

socio-economic background-both reflective and

active

Some-Teaching-Learning Strategies for Peace Education

53

The general training methodology that appears

consistent with the goals of peace education is that

which is participatory and experiential. The

participants learn by doing. Hence, lectures or inputs

are kept to a minimum. Activities are structured so

that the participants are involved. Furthermore, the

experiences of the participants are considered

valuable and thus they are utilized in the workshop

learning process.

The consistent use of cooperative learning groups

also promotes attitudes needed in peace education.

Cooperative learning helps break down communication,

cultural, and other barriers. It also enables to group

to gain a better understanding of concepts and

processes because of the helpful and cooperative

stance of group members. This stands in contrast to

competitive methods.

Below is a list of some of the teaching-learning

strategies that can be utilized:

1.Discussion

The small group discussion is strategy that is

used on a number of activities throughout the work

because it enables the individual participant’s voice

to be heard. To be most effective, a discussion has to

54

be based on factual information and good thought-out

ideas.

2. Listening

The pair-share strategy is also used. In this

strategy, Person A listens attentively to Persons B,

without interrupting the latter, and vice-versa and

later the listener repeats to the big group the

information from the other. This activity improves the

listening skill of the participants and encourages them

to listen empathetically to the other.

3. Visualization/Imagination Exercise

The visualization exercise helps the participants to

use their imagination. It allows them to draw either to

draw from their reservoir of image and feelings or to

image alternatives.

4. Perspective-taking

In this particular workshop, the participants are

asked to take the perspective of another, in this case

the victim of prejudice. This device if often used,

develops empathy and tolerance.

55

5. Role-playing

This strategy is used in this workshop to provide the

participants with the opportunity to “feel” the

situation rather than merely intellectualizing the

cognitive and affective learning.

6. Problem-solving

Problem solving is one of the most valuable learning

strategies. It enables the person to use other valuable

cognitive skills such as analyzing, generating options, and

evaluating options.

7. Considering positions

This activity is used to surface the differing positions of

participants to a controversial statement as in the case of

the statement, “Whether we like it or not, wars will happen

in the future.” There can be at least three positions vis-

à-vis controversial statement: agree, not sure/neutral,

disagree.

8. Encouraging action

Whenever appropriate, the participants are asked to express

a resolution or commitment to certain actions as a form of

application of the learnings.

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FINAL COVERAGE

THE VALUES OF WORK

The duty to preserve one’s life implies the duty

to work. Work is a creative process for self-

development. When properly combined with leisure, it is

healthful and promotes both mental and physical well-

being.

Work is not a personal activity. It is a social

process with the preservation of human society as its

ultimate purpose. Work therefore has its moral and

legal implications. Thus, Andres Bonifacio reminds us:

“Diligence in your work which sustains you is the basic

of love, love for oneself, love for the wife and

children, love for the brothers and countrymen.”

(Deberes de Hijos del pueblo, no.9). Therefore, Manuel

57

Quezon admonished us to: “ Work well and with

enthusiasm.” (codigo de honor)

The Meaning of Work

Work is the legitimate use of mental and bodily

powers for economic gain or profit.

1. Work is the “use” or application or our

physical powers to accomplish a certain

task. It is the “use” because nobody can

work own another man’s body, nor can anyone

sell his body or any part of it, for

purpose of material advantage and gain. The

sanctity of human life demands

preservation, care, and proper use of our

daily faculties. In this sense,

prostitution is not a work, for it consists

of selling a bodily function for economic

consideration.

2. Work is for the purpose of obtaining an

economic gain for the laborer. It belongs

to the essence of work that it can be

compensated. Such compensation is based on

58

justice and can take the form of wages,

share in harvest or commercial goods.

3. Work basically entails conscious and

sustains physical or mental efforts to do.

Usually, it is performed for remuneration,

that is, as means of livelihood. As such,

work is sometimes understood as employment,

occupation, or profession.

Employment implies work for which one has been

hired and is being paid by an employment. It is

called occupation if work is the result of

training and performed on a regular basic. An

employed worker is formally called employee, and

a worker who is paid in exchange primarily for

his physical labor, is called laborer.

A form of occupation which makes use of a

specialized type of work is what we call a

profession. Profession has been defined, in a

general way, as a calling in which its members

profess to have acquired special knowledge by

training or experience or by both, so that they

may guide or advice or service others in that

59

special field (titus 296). It implies professed

attainments in special knowledge, as

distinguished from a mere skill , a practical

dealing with affairs, as distinguished from mere

study or investigation, and an application of

such knowledge to uses for others as a vocation,

as distinguished from its pursuit for one’s own

purposes (Robles 21). Professional workers

include teachers, lawyers, physician, engineers,

etc.

All these forms of work point to the fact that

work is essentially a social activity. It is not

performed in a vacuum; it happens in a social

setting where the life of the worker and the

lives of those who employ him are affected by how

the work is done and how the worker performs his

work. It is, therefore, important that work is

performed in a way that serves the personal

interest of the worker while promoting the good

of all.

THE HISTORY OF WORK

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Through the ages, man works in various forms and

under various conditions. Hunting and gathering

food were the first known activities of early humans.

But when primitive people discovered agriculture

simple, gathering and, to a certain extent, hunting

have been replaced as the major source of food supply.

Agriculture had proven to be more stable and

efficient, as it had resulted in modest surplus of

food-hereby, frees members of the tribe to do

pottery, textile, metallurgy and others craft.

The advancement in agriculture and improvement in

metallurgy paved the way for significant changes in

the nature of early societies and the nature of work.

Sufficient food supply and the discovery and

development of copper and bronze tools, for instance,

have laid the foundations for the emergence of more

complex societies that could support larger

populations. This development brought with it more

specialized occupation such as medicine, law,

commerce, and defense. With economies becoming more

complex, the need for permanent records was

recognized. Thus, writing and bookkeeping evolved as

new skilled occupations.

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This rudimentary form of specialization and

division of labor led to the formation of rigid,

hereditary and hierarchical class structures. Kings

and nobles, with their warriors ruled, priest catered

to people’s need for the supernatural, merchants sold

in cathedrals, and slaves toiled in the mines.

Mechanization has dramatically changed all these. The

introduction of power machines and the expansion of

markets led to greater specialization and efficiency

in work, and to the multiplication and division of

labor:

Machinery, as instrument of production, enhanced

man’s capacity for work, allowing him to produce goods

in quantities and qualities never before though

possible. The introduction of these amazing tools

ushered in the dawn of the revolution in industrial

production. From these new conditions, two social

classes-best known in political science and economics-

are the working class (workers or paid laborers) and

the ruling class (capitalist businessmen, i.e.

employers).

Today, continuing progress in technology allows

workers to perform greater and more complicated work,

62

as technology expands their muscle power, the reach of

their hands, widens their senses, and multiplies the

capacity of their mind.

With progress in education and specialization of

knowledge (e,g., law, medicine, engineering, etc.),

work has become far more specialized, performed with

greater skill, expertise and professionalism. Along

with this development was the greater possibility of

abuse as ordinary people had lesser knowledge of the

new and technical aspects of work.

PERCEPTIONS OF WORK

Different accounts have been advanced at various

times to describe the nature and purpose of work vis-à-

vis the continued existence of mind and society. A

selected number are presented here.

1.Work as Divine Punishment.

In early Christian tradition, God regarded work as

punishment to human being for their pride and

disobedience. The story in the Book of genesis tells

63

how Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden

and doomed to toil for the rest of their lives because

of their disobedience to God’s will. Work then was

perceived as punishment, a course which man was fated

to suffer. Later, Church enunciated a more benevolent

perception of work. Rather than regarding it as a form

of punishment, work began to be perceived as a form of

paying, a way of fulfilling one’s duty to God or a

means of salvation. Protestantism, most notably

Calvinism, is known for its teaching about the divine

nature of work. In the Calvinist view, the value

attached to hard work, thrift and efficiency in one’s

worldly calling is eternal salvation. This notion of

work adding spiritual rewards to physical survival

prevails to this day. Many people still believe that

wealth through hard work is a sign of an individual’s

election to God’s favor. Hard work, together with faith

in a benevolent God expresses the Filipino formula for

worldly success: Nasa tao ang gawa, nasa Diyos ang awa.

2. Work as a Right.

Work is perceived as a matter of right. Everyone

has the right to work based on man’s natural right to

self-preservation. To preserve one’s life requires one

64

to have a right over the means with which to satisfy

his basic needs for food, clothing and shelter. And

since man derives his subsistence from his work, his

right to preserve his life necessitates his right to

work.

The right of a person to work also entails his

full and real right over the fruits that proceed from

his labors. The remuneration to a worker expects from

doing work should be treated as his property- having

the right over it and enjoying the right to dispose it

in whatever way he so chooses. This perception of work

is best reflected in our Constitution, the fundamental

law of our land. The right of a person to his labor is

deemed a property within the meaning of constitutional

guarantees (De Leon, 1991). And, no one can be deprived

of his property without due process of law (Art. 111,

Sec. I).

3. Work as a Source of Self-pride and Self-respect.

Work is necessary not only for self-preservation,

but also for personal growth and self-improvement. By

working, a person derives material goods necessary for

65

him to live a comfortable and satisfying life. Work

affords a person with a greater sense of independence,

self-worth and self-respect. To work is to live ably

and independently of another. If work is denied him, he

will be forced to rely on and be a burden to another

person-a situation that is not favorable to one’s self-

respect and personal development.

4.Work as a Determinant of Personal Qualities.

Work is also perceived today for its social

significance in defining a person. The quality of a

worker is reflected by the quality of the work. Well-

organized work and work done on schedule imply a

reliable, disciplined, and conscientious worker. As

personal goodness is measured by how a person does his

work, society comes to admire workers who do their jobs

with utmost prudence, skill, and dedication.

5.Work as a Determinant of Social Class.

Work defines the social status of people. Modern

political and economic theorists, most notably Karl

Marx, classify people into two classes, each

identifiable by the general nature of their work. Those

66

who sell their physical labor for wages in order to

live belong to the working class, the proletarian- they are

called laborers or proletariats. Those who manage the

business, or control the activity of the firm are

called capitalists or bourgeoisie.

Through the years, the evolution of work from

labor extended into knowledge and seems to have created

another class to workers, called knowledge workers. The

nature and importance of their work, and their

indispensability as general staff of the industrial

system, make them think that they form a class wholly

distinct from what Marx calls, the labor class. the

include: IT professionals, software developers and

engineers, including lawyer, doctors and professional

researchers.

6. Work as a Basic for Cooperation.

Workers work not only to survive but also to prosper

materially. Businessmen do business primarily for

profit. They employ workers because they cannot run the

business alone. Workers, in turn, offer their services,

because they lack capital. In such a relationship,

workers need the businessmen just as businessmen need

the workers- if one does not prosper, none of them

67

will. Hence, the social and economic nature of work

implies that it can be a basic for cooperation between

different people belonging to two different social

classes, each pursuing different interest for working.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT WORK

Certain factors regulate the conduct of work.

These are important in promoting and maintaining work

quality for the benefit of society at large. They

include:

1. Personal and societal values

2. Code of ethics

3. Law

4. Professional

5. Policies enforce in the workplace

6. Public opinion and perception

7. Religion

1. Personal and Societal Values. A worker enters

the world of work equipped with certain values.

The nature of his values determines how he

performs his work and guides his action. Much of

his personal values are derived from the society

he moves around in. He may opt to internalize

68

some of the values of this society and perceive

them as his personal values. The value system

that a worker upholds determines his perception

towards work, the types of decisions he makes

and the actions he performs in relation to his

duties and obligations as worker. As such,

personal and societal values are effective for

the regulation of work.

2. Code of Ethics. What determines the morality

attached to work is the Code of Ethics which a

company or a particular profession adopts as

embodiments of their moral ideals. An act

involved in the performance of a particular kind

of work may be perfectly legal, but this does

not necessarily imply that it is ethical. An act

which a worker can lawfully do may be prohibited

by ethical codes. Failure to observe codes of

ethics may result in public distrust, loss of

confidence, becoming an outcast in profession,

or being ostracized in the workplace. If the

moral violations are grounds for administrative

liability, the unethical worker may lose his

employment, and for the immoral professional,

his license to practice his profession. Codes of

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ethics help ensure the development of workers

and professionals who are not only competent in

their respective work and professions, but also

as persons who work with a sense of morality and

decency.

3. Law. The law sets standards of how work is to be

done. The Law regulates work as it imposes

certain limitations to workers. Violating these

limitations may lead a person to be criminally

or legally liable, risking his employment or

profession, his freedom, even his limbs. Thus, a

worker is not absolute freedom to determine how

he will perform his work. He is, for instance,

prohibited to disregard his official duties and

obligations, and to refrain from performing

other act as prohibited by the law when doing

his work. For the professional worker, his

education does not excuse him from his duty to

observe the limitations imposed by law –rather,

it makes his legal responsibility greater. It

may even aggravate his criminal liability. (The

legal aspect of work and the criminal liability

of workers are discussed in Unit 4.)

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4. Professional Associations. The promotion of

higher standards for the practice of

professional work is the main reason why

professional societies are formed. Thus, medical

associations are formed to preserve and enforce

higher standards of medical practice, and legal

associations are for setting higher standards of

legal practice. The moment a person becomes a

professional and is accepted into a professional

association, he is bound to comply with the

rules and regulations, and assumes all the

duties and obligations of all association as

stipulated in the association’s constitution and

by-laws. He is morally and legally obliged to

perform his craft with skill and competence.

(Ethical codes and professional associations are

discussed in further detail in Unit 2 )

5. Policies Enforced in the Workplace. Policies do

not only mean rule, and regulations; they also

express a set of expectation from workers. The

company expects the best from its workers, and

provides them with principles to guide them in

the conduct of their work. The company strictly

enforces rules and regulations which workers are

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duly bound to observe and respect, otherwise,

they can be suspended or dismissed from

employment. Policies and their enforcement help

guarantee quality output from workers.

6. Public Opinion and Perception. The most

important factor that determines not only the

success or failure of a worker, but the success

and failure of his company or employer as well,

is the impression he creates on people. A worker

who not only has the skill, but is equally

blessed with a sense of morality, good public

relations, and dedication is well-loved and

respected by the people. He wines the patronage

of more customers and the trust and comfort of

more clients, compared to a worker who may had

excellent scales but lacks the necessary

manners, moral behavior, warmth or good public

relations. Clearly, public perceptions help

maintain the quality of work, as workers and

employers try to protect their positive images

by being friendlier and by working harder and

better.

7.Religion. Religion plays an important role in

the development of values that determine how a believer

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perceives the purpose and meaning of work. Religious

beliefs of workers exert considerable effect on how

well they perform their work. People who possess

religious values tend to work honestly and diligently.

They tend to be more respectful of others, specially

their employers and clients. They tend to be more

obedient to law and authority. They give more respect

and dignity to work, and tend to be stronger against

that temptations of earthly riches, compare to those

who find the cultivation of spiritual values to be

unimportant. The perception that work is an act of

service to God makes a whole lot of difference, most

specially in the quality of a person’s work.

INTEREST WORK AND WORKING

Successful workers are those who are interested in

the work they perform. It is important that we enjoy

what we do, once we are in the wold of work. If our

sole criterion in choosing an occupation is monetary,

in all probability, we will be prone to frustration and

disappointment. Work has its own rewards. It is the

satisfaction we gain in performing work. We should

asses our interests and engage in the training of an

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occupation we truly believe to be in line with our

interest and talents.

PERSONALITY TYPES OF INDIVIDUALS/WORKERS

Prof. John Holland developed a format for

determining interests, which in turn helps determine

the appropriate occupation for an individual. He

believes that one way of looking at occupations is to

measure them in terms of data, people, things and idea.

Prof. Holland classified workers into six personality

types :

1. Realistic ( R )2. Investigative ( I ) 3. Artistic (A)4. Social ( S )5. Enterprising ( E )6. Conventional ( C )

Realistic ( R ). Realistic people like working with

things, in occupations such as chefs, air traffic

controllers, carpenters and builders.

Interest Skills PersonalityWork with machines Fix mechanical

ObjectMechanical

Work outdoors Plant a garden Nature loverWork with hands Operate machineryPracticalBuildings Read a blueprintProblem solver

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Investigative ( I ). Investigative people like

working with data, in occupations such medical

technician, computer programmer, engineering and

science.

Interest Skills PersonalityExplore Do science experiment InquisitiveAnalyze data Solve math problems PreciseUse computers Perform basic ProgrammingAbstract thinkerRead science frictionInterpret formulas Independent

Artistic ( A ). Artistic people like working with

ideas, in occupations such as commercial artist,

musician and interior designer.

Interest Skill PersonalityRead fiction, plays Write stories ImaginativeWork on crafts Design new things InnovativeAct, sing, listen tomusic

Play or compose musicCreative

Take photographs Sketch, draw or paintInitiative

Social ( S ). Social people like working with people in

occupation such as teaching counseling and caring

for elderly people.

Interests Skill PersonalityHelp People Teach/Train others HelpfulDo volunteer work Plan activities OutgoingPlay team sports Host and event InsightfulWork in group Lead meetings Friendly

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Enterprising ( E ). Enterprising people like working

with people and data, in occupations such as

business leadership, marketing, entrepreneurship

and politics

Interest Skill PersonalityMeet people Initiate projectsAssertiveMake decisions that affectothers

Sell or promotePersuasive

Negotiate sales/deals Make speechesEnthusiasticParticipate in politicalactivities

Convince othersPersistent

Conventional ( E ). Conventional people like working

with data, in such occupations as accounting assistance

and paralegal assistance.

Interest Skill PersonalityWork with numbers Keep accurate recordsOrganizedEye for detail Statistical work MathematicalLearn computer programsOperate computers EfficientFollow directions Write business lettersConscientious

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FINAL COVERAGE

Wanted: Filipino Entrepreneurial Spirit

Some Filipinos “take-off” into rapid economic and

social growth, while others stand still or decline.

Psychologist termed this as “mental virus” named n Arch

(Short for “need for achievement”). This is a certain

way of thinking that is relatively rare but which, when

it occurs in an individual, tends to make him behave in

a peculiarly energetic way, because this was identified

with a person’s thoughts, whether the thoughts had to

do with “doing something well” or “doing something

better” than it had been done before; more efficiency,

more equally, with less labor, with a better result,

etc.

History reveals that an Arch of early Greek

Literature was higher than for later Greek Literature,

which accounts that the early Greek n Arch might be a

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part of the impulse to economic growth- an

identifiable, measurable part.

A course at Kakinada, India was introduced making

use of every scrap of information about the nature and

functioning of Arch. Participants were encourage to

think, act in life-like games with high n Arch to

reconcile n Arch with self-image and conflicting

cultural values, to form a self-perpetuating interest

groups that would keep the idea alive. The outcome of

the course shows signs of unusual or innovative

business activity as follows (McClel-land, David C.,

The Achieving Society, Prenceton, New Jersey: O Van Nostrand

C., 1996):

( 1 ) Many of the men paid more attention to

business after the course. Businessmen were driven to

work hard not by profits ( they have enough to live

comfortably) but because they were determine to do a

better job, to make a letter showing for themselves,

for Kaknada, and India. Love of work or

industriousness was not inculcated for the interest

of the project. They worked longer hours because that

seemed the appropriate way for them to do a better job

and get more satisfaction out of life.

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( 2 ) Innovations were made. These men started

doing something new or different for a particular time

of situation. Most and innovations were the extension

of the work that already had been doing. These were

intensively active in searching for new ways of doing

old things at lesser expenses and simply motivated by

the desire to find a better way of getting the work

done.

( 3 ) Several men began investing money

differently. A Norka whose basis for lending his money

was based solely in terms of the security provided, how

to tent money also in terms of the quality of the

person requesting the fund and the viability of the

project for which if he would be investing the money.

( 4 ) A few started new ventures/enterprises.

Example was a radioshop owner who decided to set up a

paint and varnish factory.

Businessmen have tended to be unpopular from Plato’s

time to the present, because they break with tradition

when infected with n Arch. N Arch is only one key to

modernization, they have to redirect their normal

traditionalism with a concern for the welfare of others

who might even be stronger than them.

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FILIPINO VALUES

The Philippines, having been influenced by the

culture of so many races and with a long history of

dealing with other peoples, posses a greater potential

for successful adaptation of strong and new features

from other cultures. By this contacts, Filipinos

generally have resultant flexibility and corporate some

new ways. But the changing process in almost any

situation is most likely to be accepted if they presume

the self-esteem to those who must be willing to undergo

the change. The net effect of the change has to be

either neutral or positive- for it to be readily

acceptable.

The Filipino, in order to hasten the Philippines

socioeconomic development, must change his orientation

from an employee mentality to one of an entrepreneur.

Filipinos, in general, are necktie or white-collar-job-

oriented. They prefer to work behind the desk in an

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air-conditioned room, rather than sweating it out in

the outside business world, where the real challenge

is. Consider the Chinese in the Philippines; they are

covering almost every segment of industries the

manufacturing concerns from textiles to chemicals, to

food, to trading, the stock market, automobile

assembly, and now the banking field. The Chinese

Community supports one another. They are people who

value hard work, thrifty, frugality, and manual work.

They are “matiyaga”. They don’t mind getting their

hands dirty, and not ashamed to do even the lowest

painstaking and sacrificial efforts in pursuing their

own fate. They engage in entrepreneurial endeavors as

much as form “bote-garapa” to huge manufacturing

concerns.

Many Filipinos don’t think entrepreneurial because

they don’t have capital. Having capital is a

misconception; it is not the be-all in becoming an

entrepreneur. Capital is relative, relative to the

needs as to the size of the firm. The best way to

start is to start small. The best capital is to start

with is “utak”. Business entrepreneurship is hard work

and “Utakan”.

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Security-oriented Filipinos opine that they’d

rather work for a big firm than venture on their own,

for they might lose their investment. However, working

for a company too does not guarantee us from being

ousted should the company retrench. Business

corporations are jungle of men each one fighting for

survival. These aspects and dimensions are involved

within a company. Entrepreneurship is where the

security lies because it is where the money is.

Based on his own extensive research, Mr. Raymond A

Reyes, owner of a family corporation, The Plaza,

identifies the following as the most essential elements

towards entrepreneurship (“GE+H ) + Unified Field=

Entrepreneurship” ( Balance Sheet, Ateneo Graduate School

of Business, Oct,-Dec. 1984, p. 10): hard work,

entrepreneurial mentality, perseverance, determination,

foresight (not merely opportunity), drive,

resourcefulness, timing goal, luck, and faith.

The positive orientation of values tends to be a

longer term proposition than some other kinds of change

that usually precede it. Instrumental techniques and

the means of achieving certain values and the goals

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tend to change more readily than the values and the

goals themselves. Cultural lag specifies that sound

structure and values fail to keep up with the changing

pace of techniques and behavior. Taking into

consideration the Filipino social structure and values

for positive change to take place, two ( 2 ) conditions

remain to be satisfied: ( 1 ) The element being

introduced has to be perceive as potentially preserving

self-esteem and providing prestige, and ( 2 ) the

element being subjected to change has a better chance

if it is seen as involving more technical and

instrumental status rather than value revisions. The

degree of success accorded to any change attempt,

varies directly with its position on a continuum

ranging from pure instrumental to pure basic values and

goals; the greater the distance from the basic values

end, the greater the chances of success.

Where there is chaos, there is opportunity.

Between an interaction of positive and negative forces,

another element exists, and that is opportunity or

entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are the captains of

industry. The greatest and true asset of any country

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lies on the various products that it produces. And it

is the entrepreneurs who make these products.

How to Develop Entrepreneurship in the Filipino

The Filipino is caught in a whirlpool of endless

searches for self-identity and the delicate quest of

his goal in life. This is typically true with the

Filipino who is employed. He starts asking himself the

reasons why he is employed with this or that company

when he really wants to be somewhere else. This is not

to deny that, perhaps, the amount of “satisfaction” one

is presently achieving may not all be congruent with

his expectations. Have we really sat down at one time

to asses our true capacities? Can we really view the

employment atmosphere we are presently stuck with as

supportive and one that can bring about and maintain

our sense of personal worth and importance?

The need for us to know our goals plays an equally

important role with the kind of environment that man-

agreement brings about in the satisfaction of these

goals. Definitely, the integration of these two

factors, that is, not only to achieve our goals but

84

also by directing our efforts towards the objectives of

the organization will provide the necessary for a

mutually fulfilling environment.

The principal driving force for the economic

growth of developing countries like the Philippines is

the upsurge of small entrepreneurs rather than big mass

of mediocre employees. What we need in the Philippines

is an entrepreneurial economy.

The behavioral dimensions one must develop within

himself to develop entrepreneurship are the following:

( 1 ) Stress Tolerance.

This is stability of performance under pressure

and opposition. Entrepreneurship is a unique business.

There are few routine things. Every activity is a new

activity using new insights and involving new

constraints. As a result, an entrepreneur frequently

finds himself squeezed under tremendous pressure to

perform well by his own management, by his clients and

even by natural event. Inspite of all this, an

entrepreneur must still be able to work given this

condition.

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A person who has a low tolerance for ambiguity,

for opposition, for pressure will quickly degenerate

into a psychiatric case.

( 2 )Decisiveness.

This is defined as readily making decisions,

rendering judgment, taking action, or committing

oneself when necessary not covered by policies or by

any procedures. In fact, one frequently encounters

difficult procedures, the situation may even be one

that nobody has enumerated before. Unless the

entrepreneur is decisive, he may refuse to take action

on critical problems. In unnecessary delays, higher

cost, and even losing propositions.

( 3 ) Risk-Taking.

This is the ability to weigh alternative and make

decisions in which calculated and logically defensible

risks are taken.

( 4 ) Judgment.

This is defined as making logical decisions which

are based on valid assumptions and/or information

available.

Decisiveness, risk-taking and judgment are closely

related to one another. But people possess them in

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different degrees. Some people are extremely decisive

but are afraid to take risk, and so on.

The development of an entrepreneur requires a

curriculum that is contextual, adaptive and flexible.

It must expose the Filipino to educative experiences

with practical economics ends and where old skills

become the bases for the development of new abilities.

A developing country’s rate of progress can accurately

be measured only by the self-sufficiency of its

smallest unit, the family. Entrepreneurship

development, to be able to contribute to national

development must be able to transform the family and

its members into a reliable self-determination unit.

How to Develop a Career Plan to Reach the Top

There are many ways of getting ahead in one’s

career and of plotting a route to the top. There are

those who advocate the Cream Theory which says that the

most tolerated will automatically rise to the top. Some

advocate the Puritan Ethics; “Work hard and you are

bound to be rewarded.” Many believe in the Jungle

Theory of Survival of the Fittest. Others believe in

the Starlet Theory: a woman’s sexual appeal will lead

her to progress.

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I In spite of all these prevailing beliefs, there is

no other substitute for a self-development program as

means of getting ahead in one’s career.

Self-Development Program

The first thing to do in a self-development

program is to make inventory of one’s qualifications,

abilities, talents, and potentialities. Factors to be

considered in this self-evaluation are knowledge of the

job, skills in doing the job, proper attitude,

personality, and sense of responsibility among others.

The second step is to map up a self-development

objective to increase one’s strength and to transform

one’s weaknesses from a restraining force to a driving

force. Then, identify concrete methods of developing

oneself-such as joining study groups, attending

graduate classes, participating in seminars/workshops,

studying problems and their solutions, taking every

opportunity to stand in for the boss, and accepting

committee works and assignments.

There is a saying that when one is at his

twenties, he must study books; when at his thirties, he

must study the job; but when at his forties, he must

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study people. When one is young, he needs to absorb all

what were researched, discovered and known for the

fast. As one ascends the career ladder and becomes

responsible for more difficult responsibilities, he

needs to know more fully the content of the job for

which he is accountable. As one researches to the top

of the career ladder, the opportunities to meet,

negotiate and socialize with people increase. Here,

proper relations with people is most important. In this

way, one need not be a ruthless opportunist, climbing

gingerly over fallen bodies in order to reach the top.

Goal setting is most important in self-development

program. One needs to know what he wants in life to set

his career goal. Wanting a promotion or a new job

should be done on the basis of a career goal rather

than superficial pros and cons. The career path will

depend on one’s career goals. The target position and

rank should be plotted with in a specified number of

years. One must know the things he likes best and how

hard he is willing to work physically and mentally for

it.

Career Planning

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Career planning can simply be defined as thinking

smart and looking ahead. It is having a sense of

mission and of pride in one’s God-given talents. It is

looking at the steps of those who are already at the

peak of their careers and deciding whether one wants to

go there or not. The earlier one moves through several

functions, the easier it will be for one to reach the

top. The move mobile one is in his job, the better are

his chances to move up. One who has gained experience

at three or five companies has a broader perspective

and more developed coping ability.

References:

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Making Filipino work for you

Author: Tomas Quintin D. Andres

Pilar Corazon B. Ilada-Andres

Copyright @ 1986 by: St. Paul Publications

Values and Work Ethics

Author: Archimedes c. Articulo

Gloria G. Florendo, Ph. D.

Copyright @ 2003 by: Trinitas Publishing, Inc.

Archimedes C. Articulo

and Gloria G. Florendo.

Choice of Chance

Author: Grainer Stark

Copyright 1979 by: Mac. Graw – Hill,

91