REVISITING MALASAKIT

Reflections on a Filipino Value most akin to Enterprise First Greg V. Barcelon, Jr., Ph.D.

While reading the most recent initiative of the Shell Group CMD, called Enterprise First, I could not help but wonder whether indeed this Filipino value has finally been recognised and is rubbing on to the bigger Shell world. True or not, the essence is there in statements like1: The name Enterprise First refers to a culture in which everyone acts for the benefit of the Group as a whole, rather than for individual silos or for him or herself. There is no benefit in Shell in people maximizing local profits if they do it at others expense, for example by adding cost elsewhere in Shell. The key to individual success will not only be did you deliver, but also did you take decisions that benefited the Group as a whole, or did you succeed at others expense? In the future, Joren believes Enterprise First will drive many aspects of the way Shell does business including the criteria used for recruitment and promotion. Malasakit comes from the root word sakit meaning pain and the prefix mala meaning, in the likelihood of. Loosely translated it means having a predisposition to care for something or someone, even if it may mean having to incur the likelihood of experiencing pain. There is really no direct equivalent of Malasakit in the English language. It may be described, however, as taking
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Shell World, October 2004

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a first partys interest on anything, such that when a job is done, it is done with the interest of the owner and the interest of pursuing his/her goals, rather than for ones selfish interest. Thinking Enterprise First fits right into this Filipino value (Malasakit), and vice-versa. It may, however, not be so in line with cultures that highlight the I or the ego, or personal achievement so much. In any case, without having to dwell too much into the sociological ramifications of Malasakit, here are some ways it will help Filipinos make the most out of the globalised structure the Group has taken. AS INDIVIDUALS Every individual responds to change differently. But the following are virtual prerequisites to participating in Enterprise First fully. Note how Malasakit is an integral part of each one of them: 1. Going beyond mediocrity. When one has Malasakit, it is a contradiction to settle for a life of mediocrity marked by a minimalistic set of activities and shallow commitment. As Managers are confronted by unfamiliar paradigms, they can get caught in viewing the changes negatively and behave in ways that neither benefit them nor the company. For a more detailed discussion on ways Managers respond to changes such as Enterprise First, see What Sort of Global Manager Will You Be?2 By going back to Malasakit, a person can transcend the potential pull of negativism and, instead, move on towards contributing positively in spite uncertainties. 2. Embracing the global paradigm. It is interesting how Engagement Sessions conducted to soften the impact of a major change effort, can sometimes, produce objections or concerns from people, based on the old paradigm. The key is really to realise that everything will work out well, based on a specific paradigm. Conversely, things will not work out if the wrong paradigm is applied to it. Thus, a new set-up must have the corresponding new paradigm with it. If an individuals Malasakit is genuine, then the paradigm shift, during a change process, is almost instantaneous with true Malasakit comes some degree of faith and trust on the leaders of the change. What most Managers have to quickly accept is that the entry of a new paradigm requires such paradigm shift. In the case of a globalised set-up, Managers have to adapt the Global Mindset. The Manager with a global mindset has the ability to see across multiple territories and focuses on commonalities across many markets rather than emphasizing the differences among countries.3 The truth and impact of this statement cannot be overemphasized, particularly, for Managers of organisations gone global. 3. Managing local performance for global profitability, using standardized systems. Those terms can, on the surface, appear to contradict each other. But very much like the mandate of producing something faster, cheaper, and better, which used to be an utter impossibility, yet used as commonplace today, holding the interest of a local market with
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http://www.eastwest-consultants.com/shell/globalman.pdf Jeane-Pierre Jeannet, Managing With A Global Mindset: London, Pearson Education Limited, 2000, p. 11

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that of the global business is not only possible but done by every other industry that has gone global. No doubt there will be conflicts that needs ironing out from time to time. But these conflicts are precisely the key interfaces that humans do best and are not (as yet) relegated to systems (machines). To a person with Malasakit, yielding to others in a conflict situation in order to achieve a common good, or something positive for the bigger system, is automatic. 4. Finding a new WI3FM (What is in it for me?). In as much as Managers can sometimes be blinded to opportunities behind seemingly negative situations, there are new motivations in a globalised organisation. Naturally, it will not be possible to benefit from it if a person were to stay in the old paradigm and insist on doing things the way they were done before. See Enterprise First What Blocks Managers to See the Global View.4 The ability to see new opportunities come with the Malasakit of the Manager to see to it that the new initiatives of the company become a success. The biggest motivation to learn the Global Mindset is global employability. In the case of Filipinos this might still require a lot of work. Somehow, many of our well experienced and well-educated Managers are not yet able to go beyond the boundaries of Makati or the Philippines. . See How to Train Leaders for Global Perspective.5 While Royal Dutch/Shell Group has been lauded as one of the companies leading in Global Management Development6, the number of Filipinos in Global jobs (relative to other nationalities) is a good indicator of the extent to which local executives have become global in perspective. 5. Starting over again to meet the new challenges. Before global employability becomes a possibility for a Manager, he/she has to first accept the change, including its corresponding challenge which in most cases will mean letting go of comfort, power, seniority, etc., and embracing novelty, apprenticeship, re-learning, etc. This is, perhaps, the most difficult part of the whole change process. Many Managers at Job Groups that are already rather senior may not be prepared enough to take on the task. Theyd rather wallow in reminiscing the past, digging in their heels and/or waiting until they are finally offered some special packages for early retirement. On the other hand, to a person with Malasakit, starting over is really no big deal any discomfort or inconvenience called for is taken as part of it all. AS COUNTRY TEAM While the whole idea of globalization is aimed at having one orchestrated approach to doing business, at the country level different businesses might end up being stirred from different

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http://www.eastwest-consultants.com/shell/globalview.pdf http://hbsworkingknowledge.hbs.edu/pubitem.jhtml?id=2732&sid=0&pid=0&t=globalization 6 The companies that have long histories in the global business arena are typically better at producing global leaders Royal Dutch/Shell, Unilever, Ericsson, ABB, for example. They have global business strategies and have incorporated global executive development into their businessRoyal Dutch/Shell expects their high flyers to be global, and in fact 95 percent of their senior executives have had experience outside their home country. (McCall and Hollenbeck - Harvard)

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directions. For full benefit to be derived from this set-up, there is a need for people in the country to work as a team. Here are some requirements. Again, note the linkage to Malasakit. 1. Presenting a common face. Malasakit, in the team context, requires the discipline to look at the consistency of the face the organisation presents to the external public. Even if Shell in the Philippines may be diversified into different businesses, the customer outside recognize only one Shell. When members of the team are not coordinated enough to project a common image then the results can be disastrous. It is not sufficient therefore that a Manager is able to perform well in his/her line of business without any regard to how other Managers in other Line of Businesses may be doing. This is specially applicable in the areas of HSSE and application of the SGBP. 2. Working as one. Given that the many components of the organisation are made up of different businesses with different ownership structures, it truly would be a challenge for Shell to work as one organisation in a country like Philippines. On the other hand, there is really no choice. The whole team (Enterprise) has to find its core purpose, tight enough to cover everyone yet loose enough to allow the different Business Managers to work according to the needs of their markets. While everyone is expected to exhibit Malasakit to their line of business leadership, they must also see the value of exhibiting a similar Malasakit to the Country Leadership. 3. Cementing relationships. Malasakit cannot exist without relationships. In many ways, Malasakit is developed through the initiative of a significant person telling someone about the merits of exhibiting it. In most cases, it develops with a Boss, a Parent or someone higher in status demanding it from someone who is in a subordinate relationship. This demand or expectation makes it desirable and compelling. The attractiveness of putting the Enterprise First is only achieved through demands from proximate or local Managers who have direct relationships with members of the organisation. No campaign from the Group level will be effective unless the local Managers themselves articulate and model what is expected of members in the country. 4. Building communities. Recently, management literature has become more focused on the concept of building communities something that goes beyond just having a team. Renowned Harvard Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter describes community as having things in common, a range of shared understandings transcending specific fields. Shared understandings permit relatively seamless processes, interchangeability among people, smooth formation of teams that know how to work together even if they have never previously met, and rapid transmission of information.7 Such is also the product of people having Malasakit it creates another positive Filipino value, i.e., the spirit of Bayanihan8. 5. Celebrating individual accomplishments. One indication of the loss of Malasakit is the prevalence of the infamous Filipino crab mentality.9 This happens when people
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Rosabeth Moss Kanter, E-volve. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2001. p. 169 Communal volunteerism without expecting anything in return, resulting in freely giving ones time, talent and treasure to others in the community. 9 The practice of pulling down each other as people climb up the ladder of success.

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unilaterally put their own self interest first over those of others. In the beginning it may be fuelled by trying to do better than ones past performance, but more often than not, it leads to unfriendly competition, backbiting, jostling and dragging down anyone who may be ahead of the pack. People with Malasakit behave in the opposite way, i.e., they feel good with the accomplishments and success of others, just as they would with their own accomplishments. One area where this is definitely called for, in the case of the Filipinos, is in encouraging more members of the Shell Philippines community to take on global jobs. Conversely, Filipino Executives who have already made it to the global network need to encourage, assist, mentor or even sponsor as many of the local Executives to get to where they now are. SUMMARY The consistent and constant practice of Enterprise First behaviours will lead to a certain attitude or pre-occupation, which at its height will likely approximate the Filipino value of Malasakit. In the same way, re-living the value of Malasakit will definitely help the organisation consistently exhibit Enterprise First behaviours. Second, while people from other cultures may need to make a total turn around in terms of their value system (e.g., cultures that put a premium on rugged individualism typified by the famous TV reality show Survivor10), Filipinos, who have not been so contaminated yet with modernism, already have a big head start. They just need to revisit Malasakit and then all that remains to be done is to translate such advantage into actual outcomes.

[Greg is a Management Consultant from East-West Management Consultants, Canada. He worked with Pilipinas Shell for 10 years, before he moved to take on Consulting jobs for Shell in the Asean Region. For the past two decades he was a main Teaching Resource in the EA Regional Training Scheme. He continues to serve different Shell country
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With its motto of Outwit, Outplay, Outlast participants compete to eliminate everyone else and be the one to win the pot moneythe ultimate in me-first.

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locations in the region in the areas of Executive Development, Organisation Development, Work-Life Balance, Negotiations, etc.]

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QUESTIONS TO PONDER FOR INDIVIDUALS 1. What is it that you are now missing most from the old organisational set-up?

2. Why is that important to you?

3. How might you still be able to get the same thing from doing something else, either inside or outside of Shell?

4. If there was an Award to be given to Team Members excelling in any of the 5 Elements of the Globalised set-up (Operational Excellence, Process and System Standardization, Portfolio Management, Organisation, Behaviours) which one would you work on? What new activity, behaviour, competence, etc., would you need to drastically alter in your ways of doing things in order to achieve this?

5. How do you intend to make other Managers in the Philippine Organisation benefit and flourish from the global set up? QUESTIONS TO PONDER FOR COUNTRY COORDINATING TEAM 7

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1. How might we capture our new face and commitment to the Philippine Market as one organisation, by way of a mission statement?

2. What do we need to do in order to instill the following among our members? Pride in Shell Trust in Leadership Improved Change Process

3. What are some recurrent sources of cross-business conflict, which if address will drastically improve the working environment in Shell Philippines?

4. How can we make the development and promotion of Filipino talents to the global pool be a winning edge for our team? What measurable targets can we set on this?

5. How might we improve our sense of community within the organisation? 8