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Five-Year Growth Business Plan in Oil Downstream Segment in the Philippines

Helping oil & gas companies to achieve its vision through a five-year growth business plan in the Philippines.

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Top 40 Most Popular Case Studies of 2021

Two cases about Hertz claimed top spots in 2021's Top 40 Most Popular Case Studies

Two cases on the uses of debt and equity at Hertz claimed top spots in the CRDT’s (Case Research and Development Team) 2021 top 40 review of cases.

Hertz (A) took the top spot. The case details the financial structure of the rental car company through the end of 2019. Hertz (B), which ranked third in CRDT’s list, describes the company’s struggles during the early part of the COVID pandemic and its eventual need to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

The success of the Hertz cases was unprecedented for the top 40 list. Usually, cases take a number of years to gain popularity, but the Hertz cases claimed top spots in their first year of release. Hertz (A) also became the first ‘cooked’ case to top the annual review, as all of the other winners had been web-based ‘raw’ cases.

Besides introducing students to the complicated financing required to maintain an enormous fleet of cars, the Hertz cases also expanded the diversity of case protagonists. Kathyrn Marinello was the CEO of Hertz during this period and the CFO, Jamere Jackson is black.

Sandwiched between the two Hertz cases, Coffee 2016, a perennial best seller, finished second. “Glory, Glory, Man United!” a case about an English football team’s IPO made a surprise move to number four.  Cases on search fund boards, the future of malls,  Norway’s Sovereign Wealth fund, Prodigy Finance, the Mayo Clinic, and Cadbury rounded out the top ten.

Other year-end data for 2021 showed:

• Online “raw” case usage remained steady as compared to 2020 with over 35K users from 170 countries and all 50 U.S. states interacting with 196 cases.
• Fifty four percent of raw case users came from outside the U.S..
• The Yale School of Management (SOM) case study directory pages received over 160K page views from 177 countries with approximately a third originating in India followed by the U.S. and the Philippines.
• Twenty-six of the cases in the list are raw cases.
• A third of the cases feature a woman protagonist.
• Orders for Yale SOM case studies increased by almost 50% compared to 2020.
• The top 40 cases were supervised by 19 different Yale SOM faculty members, several supervising multiple cases.

CRDT compiled the Top 40 list by combining data from its case store, Google Analytics, and other measures of interest and adoption.

All of this year’s Top 40 cases are available for purchase from the Yale Management Media store .

And the Top 40 cases studies of 2021 are:

1.   Hertz Global Holdings (A): Uses of Debt and Equity

2.   Coffee 2016

3.   Hertz Global Holdings (B): Uses of Debt and Equity 2020

4.   Glory, Glory Man United!

5.   Search Fund Company Boards: How CEOs Can Build Boards to Help Them Thrive

6.   The Future of Malls: Was Decline Inevitable?

7.   Strategy for Norway's Pension Fund Global

8.   Prodigy Finance

9.   Design at Mayo

10. Cadbury

11. City Hospital Emergency Room

13. Volkswagen

14. Marina Bay Sands

15. Shake Shack IPO

16. Mastercard

17. Netflix

18. Ant Financial

19. AXA: Creating the New CR Metrics

20. IBM Corporate Service Corps

21. Business Leadership in South Africa's 1994 Reforms

22. Alternative Meat Industry

23. Children's Premier

24. Khalil Tawil and Umi (A)

25. Palm Oil 2016

26. Teach For All: Designing a Global Network

27. What's Next? Search Fund Entrepreneurs Reflect on Life After Exit

28. Searching for a Search Fund Structure: A Student Takes a Tour of Various Options

30. Project Sammaan

31. Commonfund ESG

32. Polaroid

33. Connecticut Green Bank 2018: After the Raid

34. FieldFresh Foods

35. The Alibaba Group

36. 360 State Street: Real Options

37. Herman Miller

38. AgBiome

39. Nathan Cummings Foundation

40. Toyota 2010

Case Studies - Canon Philippines

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Marlborough College Malaysia

September 2018 — The clincher for us is the Canon team’s dedication to service, meeting all our specific requirements to the best of their ability. Working with Canon is a truly delightful experience.

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Food & Beverage Industry

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September 2018 — Since implementing Therefore™ in its operations, Ferrero Asia has seen a 50% reduction in document processing workload and a 20% increase in productivity level.

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May 2019 — As one of Singapore’s most prestigious 5-star hotels, Grand Hyatt Singapore has clearly mastered the art of hospitality. Upholding the reputation of being a globally renowned brand, Grand Hyatt Singapore prides itself on being an ideal accommodation choice.

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May 2019 — Comprising five resort complexes that sprawl over 400 hectares, The Grand Ho Tram Strip is truly a sight to behold. Inaugurated in 2012, the grounds include The Grand Ho Tram Strip, a resort complex with 1,100 five-star hotel rooms; The Bluffs, an international golf course; as well as a second compound that contains another three five-star resort complexes.

Singapore Swimming Club

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Marina Mandarin Singapore

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Insurance Industry

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Case Study: Philippines. Recognising Green Skills for Environmental and Sustainable Development in Four Selected Industries

• Open Access
• First Online: 05 August 2022

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• Elmer Talavera 6 , 7 , 8  

Part of the book series: Education for Sustainability ((EDFSU,volume 5))

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This chapter presents a study on the identification and recognition of knowledge, skills and competencies required to convert and maintain green enterprises in a Philippine context and in the light of Philippine policies, legislation and investments to stimulate the development of new green markets. It examines the use of ‘green’ practices in enterprises, the benefits and challenges in the application of such practices, the extent to which respondent micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have identified the green skills requirements and whether skills recognition mechanisms such as job cards or other portfolio systems have been put in place as part of recognition processes and workplace training programmes. This chapter begins by giving an overview of the Philippine economy and society and the role of MSMEs in four dynamically developing industry sectors namely, automotive, catering, PVC manufacturing and waste management. Given the environmental challenges and problems faced by enterprises in these sectors, the study looks at the extent to which the government’s green job policies, laws, qualifications framework, training regulations and standards address environmental challenges and problems faced by enterprises. The study thus examines connections between macro policies, rules, laws and regulations and micro-level application through practices and green skills and their recognition through recognition mechanisms.

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Environmental challenges

• Industries and services
• Green practices
• Green skills
• Workplace training

Assessment and certification

• Greening TVET

1 Introduction

A basic premise of the study is that if green skills and green practices are to be promoted and recognised, firms need to understand green skills requirements and the recognition of these skills as an important part of workplace training programmes. There is a lack of interest among micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to recognise environmentally friendly practices. However, this could change with the Philippine government’s Green Jobs Act of 2016, which provides tax reduction and other incentives for MSMEs.

Thus, this paper will put an emphasis on the voices of employers, employees and enterprises that are largely absent from analysis and policy-making. It is important to know what workers in MSMEs think and are learning about green skills in their workplaces. Most notably, they reported that increasing changes around green skills are being implemented into both work roles but not equally in training.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) through its National Institute for Technical Education and Skills Development (NITESD) conducted the fieldwork for this study. The data considered stakeholder perspectives at all levels. The analysis will begin by studying the national government standpoint in addressing workplace environment-related issues in all sectors, and then move to obtaining insights on frameworks and standards established by government authorities in collaboration with industry associations or trade unions and other private sector agencies. Finally, it will look at green skills inclusion in recognition practices from the perspective of enterprises.

Rationale for conducting the empirical study in enterprises

While policies and environmental laws, as well as green standards, competences and qualifications have been developed, there is little information on whether they are implemented at the level of MSMEs or in promoting cleaner production processes in the workplace. In many MSMEs, workers involved in the everyday practice of production do not comply with new regulations and standards. However, the questions of compliance of environmentally friendly regulations should not only concern managers and executives, rather, compliance should concern each worker. Another neglected issue is non-formal education or workplace learning, which is believed to be the core element in meeting the training needs of workers. The training must be conducted on the job and in the working environment, adapting teaching methods to the learning abilities of workers, as well as addressing the issues of access and costs. The learning process must address the entire value chain to build an understanding of causalities, interdependencies and environmental impacts. Promoting green skills is not only about automation and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), but also about tracing compliance with environmental regulations at every step in the production process.

The socio-economic environment and the role of industry sectors

The 2019 International Monetary Fund (IMF) statistics ranked the Philippine economy as the 36th largest in the world (IMF 2019 ). The Philippines is considered one of the largest emerging markets and fastest-growing economies in Asia. The Philippine economy, which used to be agriculture-based, is transitioning to services and manufacturing. Its gross domestic product (GDP) based on purchasing power parity in 2016 was estimated at around US $304 billion. The primary exports include semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oil and fruits. Major trading partners include the United States, Japan, the People’s Republic of China, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Germany and Thailand.

Box 11.1 The economic contributions of the industry and services sectors

Automotive industry

The Philippine automotive manufacturing industry (PAMI)—composed of two core sectors, namely manufacturing of parts and accessories for motor vehicles and the manufacturing of motor vehicles—is one of the major drivers of the Philippine industry, generating approximately P248.5 billion (US$5 billion) sales in 2013;

The industry roadmap has targeted 300,000 quality jobs by 2022;

The local vehicle manufacturing industry is expected to attract P27 billion (US$500 million) in fresh investments, manufacture 600,000 more vehicles and add P300 billion to the domestic economy (equivalent to 1.7% of GDP). This has the approval of the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) programme in 2016;

The comprehensive operation of the automotive industry extends to other complementary sectors such as textiles, glass, plastics, electronics, rubber, iron and steel. Hence, increasing PAMI’s productivity would likewise increase the economic activity of supporting industries, and the Philippine economy (Palaña 2014 ).

Catering services

As tourism serves as the main market for hotel and restaurant services, the increase in visitor traffic over the past 10 years resulted in a corresponding boom in the catering industry;

Catering services include hotels, motels, restaurants, fast food establishments and educational institutions that provide training and other types of organisations responsible for the promotion of hospitality services;

Businesses also purchase food, tools and supplies to help their establishments to generate revenue for supporting businesses;

The economy is stimulated by employing locals for jobs such as food preparation. In turn, these workers earn wages and become tax payers and contribute to economic growth;

The total income in 2012 by the road service (catering) industry reached P267.5 billion (about US$5 billion). More than half of the total income of the Philippines was earned by the National Capital Region (NCR) amounting to P151.6 billion (US$3 billion) (PSA 2012 ).

PVC manufacturing

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a versatile thermoplastic material used in the production of hundreds of everyday consumer products. International and local investments have generated thousands of jobs for Filipinos since 2000.

The Philippine Resins Industries, Inc. (PRII) is embarking on a P1.68 billion (US$50 million) expansion of its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) manufacturing plant in Mariveles, Baatan (Ferriols 2001 ).

Waste management industry

The Philippine waste management sector, which has created many jobs, includes the following activities:

Water collection, treatment, and supply;

Waste removal and disposal services;

Formal recovery of recyclable;

Informal valorisation Footnote 1 of waste products; and

Sewage and remediation activities.

Output value of the different activities

Water collection, treatment and supply: PHP55.1 billion (about US$100 million) (91.1%);

Material recovery: PHP2.3 billion (about US$40 million) (3.8%);

Waste collection: PHP1.9 billion (about US$33 million) (3.1%);

Sewage and remediation activities and other waste management services: PHP0.8 billion (about US$15 million) (1.3%);

Waste treatment and disposal: PHP0.4 billion (about US$7.5 million) (0.6%) (PSA 2014 ).

Source: Authors

Formal sector enterprises

Data for formal sector establishments from the 2010 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) highlighted 148,266 formal sector establishments. In terms of employment, data collated by TESDA indicates that waste management had the highest employment figures at 47,176 people, followed by manufacturing at 41,528, automotive at 18,337 and catering at 7,479 people. However, many jobs are precarious or casual and operate on a contractual basis. Not all these jobs are salaried; often they are contractual (PSA 2010 ). Thus, despite considerable industrial development in the country, there are major income and growth disparities between the country's different regions and socio-economic classes. The challenges facing the government are high poverty incidence (33% of the population), increased unemployment rate (6.3% of the active population), and persistent inequality in wealth distribution (PSA 2014 ).

There are several challenges that come with greening the economy. Since 1990, the Philippines has seen significant growth in the services sector (55% of the labour force market), followed by agriculture (29%) and manufacturing/ industry (16%) (Central Intelligence Agency 2017 ). Thus, more green practices in the service sector are particularly important to address.

Challenges to achieving more inclusive growth remain. Even though the economy has grown and the unemployment rate has declined somewhat in recent years, it remains high at around 6.5%; underemployment is also high, ranging from 18 to 19% of the employed. At least 40% of the employed work in the informal sector (Central Intelligence Agency 2017 ). This means that most of the people working in the informal sector have achieved their skills through informal or non-formal education and training while on the job or outside the workplace.

Environmental challenges and national policy responses

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that seven million people worldwide die annually from air pollution—over six million of them were recorded in Asia. Most of these cases are in the People’s Republic of China and India, but experts warned that the Philippines might not be far behind (Montano 2016 ). The Philippines is affected by the increasing density of air pollutants, particularly in cities caused by emissions from vehicles and factories; non-compliance of environmental standards; and incineration (Congress of the Philippines 1990 ). Incineration is defined as the burning of municipal, biomedical and hazardous wastes whose process emits toxic and poisonous fumes. Industry and enterprises are contributing greatly to these environmental hazards.

The increasing volume of household, commercial, institutional, and industrial wastes is an increasing concern. A single resident in Manila produces an average of 0.7 kg of waste a day, about 130% higher than the global average of 0.3 kg per person per day. According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Metro Manila alone produced about 8,400 to 8,600 tonnes of trash per day in 2011. In addition, street sweeping, construction debris, agricultural waste and other non-hazardous/non-toxic waste products continued to pile up in many areas of the country. The lack of strict public compliance and enforcement powers of those in authority were identified as factors for improper waste management. Other salient issues related to the collection and segregation of solid wastes and monitoring of solid waste management.

Another pressing environmental challenge is the worldwide six-fold increase in consumer good production and subsequent increase in global waste generation by 900% since the 1990s according to the World Trade Organization (WTO). However, due to high costs, developed countries could only recycle 11% of their waste. Footnote 2 The rest were exported to developing countries like the Philippines, where environmental laws were weak and where these toxic and hazardous wastes were accepted as additional livelihood opportunities. In addition, the technological revolution has given rise to a new and growing form of toxic and hazardous waste, e-waste (waste electrical and electronic equipment or WEEE), a consequence of the prodigious growth in the number of computers, cell phones and electronic gadgets that started in the 1990s. The Philippines has continued to be one of the leading destinations for chemical products and toxic substances from developing countries and has become one of the leading importers of ‘persistent organic pollutants’ (POPs), which continually pollute agricultural lands and poison the rivers, lakes, and seas (Ilagan et al. 2015 ).

National policy responses to environmental challenge

The leading role of the government in terms of greening has been highlighted by researchers (e.g. Pavlova 2016 ). The Philippines is a good example. Several governmental policies address environmental challenges. The Philippines addressed its plans for a greener future in the 1990 Philippine Strategy for Sustainable Development (PSSD) supplemented in 2004 with the Enhanced Philippine agenda (EPA) 21. In the Philippine development plan (PDP) 2011–2016, the conservation, protection and rehabilitation of the environment and natural resources were highlighted (Baumgarten and Kunz 2016 ).

Administrative order No. 17 issued by the DENR in 2002 provides the national policy context for the analysis of skills for sustainability and the greening of the economy and society. A major authority for the implementation of environmental policies is the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) (Department of Environment and Natural Resources 2002 ).

Box 11.2 Philippine environmental legislation

National laws were enacted in four broad areas.

Republic Act 6969—Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990 provides for a legal framework to control and manage the importation, manufacture, processing, distribution, use, transport, treatment and disposal of toxic substances and hazardous and nuclear wastes. The law prohibits, limits, and regulates the use, manufacture, import, export, transport, processing, storage, possession, and wholesale of priority chemicals that are determined to be regulated, phased-out, or banned because of the serious risks they pose to public health and the environment. The swelling issues of industrial waste, proliferation and waste dumping in the Philippines prompted the implementation of this Act (Congress of the Philippines 1990 ).

Republic Act 8749—Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 provides a comprehensive air quality management policy and programme that aims to achieve and maintain cleaner air for all Filipinos. The law covers all potential sources of air pollution: (1) mobile sources such as motor vehicles; (2) point or stationary sources such as industrial plants; and (3) area sources such as wood or coal burning. Gas/diesel powered vehicles on the road will undergo emission testing, and violators will be subjected to penalties. The law also directs the complete phase-out of leaded gasoline; lowering the sulphur content of industrial and automotive diesel; and lowering aromatics and benzene in unleaded gasoline. All stationary sources must comply with the National Emission Standards for Source Air Pollutants (NESSAP) and National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and must secure their permission to operate, prior to operations (Congress of the Philippines, 1999 ).

Republic Act 9003–Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 provides for a legal framework for the country’s systematic, comprehensive, and ecological solid waste management programme that shall ensure the protection of public health and the environment. Under this law, there are several provisions to manage solid wastes (SW) in the country: (1) Mandatory segregation of SW to be conducted at the source; (2) Systematic collection and transport of wastes and proper protection of garbage collector’s health; (3) Establishment of reclamation programmes and buy-back centres for recyclable and toxic materials; (4) Promotion of eco-labelling and prohibition on non-environmentally acceptable products and packaging; and (5) Prohibition against the use of open dumps and establishment of controlled dumps and sanitary landfills, among others (Congress of the Philippines, 2001 ).

RA 9275–Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 deals with poor water quality management in all surrounding bodies of water, pollution from land-based sources and ineffective enforcement of water quality standards. It also tackles improper collection, treatment, and disposal of domestic sewage, and wastewater charge systems (Congress of the Philippines, 2004 ).

Source: Authors’ compilation based on the Congress of the Philippines legal enactments

2 Terminology and Definitions

Republic Act (RA) 10,771, otherwise known as the Philippine Green Jobs Act of 2016, is the country’s legal mandate for promoting green economies amongst enterprises. The law also grants business incentives, such as special tax deductions from their taxable income and duty-free importation of capital equipment on top of the fiscal and non-fiscal incentives already provided for by existing laws, orders, rules and regulations of the government to encourage them to help generate and sustain ‘green jobs’ (Department of Labour and Employment 2017 ).

The law defines ‘green jobs’ as employment that contributes to preserving or restoring the quality of the environment, be it in the agriculture, industry or the services sector. ‘Green jobs’ shall produce ‘green goods and services’ that would benefit the environment or conserve natural resources. The Law envisions a ‘green economy’ which is low-carbon and resource-efficient, resulting in improved human well-being and social equity in the reduction of environmental risks and ecological scarcities.

The Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011–2016 (NEDA 2014 ) stipulated that green jobs can exist and flourish in all sectors. Green jobs can be found where there are measures taken to: (1) introduce low-carbon policies; (2) adapt to climate change; (3) reduce resource use and energy; and (4) protect biodiversity. The plan prioritised key areas identified as mainstream activities affected by climate change: agriculture, fisheries, forestry, energy, construction, transport (including automotive), manufacturing (including PVC production), services (including catering), tourism and waste management.

The pilot application of ‘Policy guidelines on the just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all’ that is being conducted in three countries, including the Philippines, adopted by the ILO Governing Body in October 2015, enables the government, together with employers, workers, organizations and other stakeholders, to leverage the process of structural change towards a sustainable, low-carbon, climate-resilient economy to create decent jobs on a significant scale (ILO 2017 ).

The Philippines adopts the Cedefop notion of ‘green skills’ defined in terms of the technical skills, knowledge, values, and attitudes needed in the workforce to develop and support sustainable social, economic, and environmental outcomes in business, industry and the community.

Stakeholder involvement in green skills development in the Philippines

Several stakeholders are responsible for implementing the Green Jobs Law. Green jobs and green skills are being promoted through several departments: the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) for formulating the National Green Jobs Human Resource Development Plan (NGJHRDP) on the development, enhancement and utilisation of the labour force; the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to establish and maintain a climate-change information management system and network; the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for ensuring the mainstreaming of green jobs concerns in the development plans; the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for developing a special business facilitation programme for enterprises; the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to encourage more investments in public infrastructure and services that foster green growth; the Climate Change Commission (CCC) for developing and administering standards for the assessment and certification of green goods and services of enterprises; and the Department of Finance (DOF) to administer the grant of incentives to qualified enterprises. In relation to the education system, three entities are responsible for implementing respectively green standards, the green curriculum and green skills. These are the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and TESDA. In addition, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) is responsible for facilitating the recognition of knowledge, skills and competency of professionals working in the green economy. The TESDA, the DOLE, and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will also analyse skills, training and retraining needs in relation to the use of green technology that has the potential to create new green occupations.

Meanwhile, the DTI, which has promoted the three-year Green Economic Development (ProGED) Project jointly with the GIZ of Germany since January 2013, aims to enhance the competitiveness of MSMEs by helping them adopt climate-smart and environmentally friendly strategies through a value chain approach (Silva 2016 ).

Challenges of greening TVET

TVET has been called upon to make a pivotal contribution to the national goals of inclusive growth, poverty reduction and greening of skills in the context of the Third cycle (2011–2016) of the National Technical Education and Skills Development Plan (NTESDP) anchored on the PDP. Under Strategic Direction 15, TVET needs to ‘develop and implement programmes intended for green jobs.’ This is pursued through the development of new training regulations (TRs) or amendment/ review of existing TRs for green jobs and sustainable development, including agro-forestry, developing the capacity of trainers and administrators to implement ‘green skills’ programmes and linking-up with local and international agencies in the design, implementation and monitoring of ‘green skills’ programmes. ( www.tesda.gov.ph ). TESDA is responsible for formulating the necessary TRs for the implementation of skills training, programme registration and assessment, and certification in support of the requirements for skilled manpower for the ‘green economy’ (Department of Labour and Employment 2017 ).

TVET plays a crucial role in enhancing workers’ productivity and employability and facilitates the active and meaningful participation of workers in the development process. The plan highlighted strategies that will address issues pertaining to innovation and the greening of skills. Most of all, TVET will be responsible for mitigating the effects of climate change in the world of work and workplaces. In this regard, TVET has the aims of (1) ‘greening’ existing jobs to meet the current demand for retrofitting and the retooling of the industry to ensure that existing industries continue to grow; and (2) training new workers with the appropriate green skills particularly for the renewable industries and emergent ‘green’ technology sectors. The challenge, therefore, is to strategise environmental education and skills development in anticipation of a green shift in the priority sectors that include agriculture, forestry, fishery, manufacturing (electronics and automotive) services, solid waste and waste water management, energy, transportation and construction (based on the draft NGJHRDP of DOLE 2017 ).

TVET has a big role to play to support the government policy of protecting and caring the environment. New competences need to be developed relevant to this concern. Going into ‘green jobs’ will require the retooling of skilled workers in sectors with high environmental impacts.

The status of the recognition of green skills

In the Philippines, recognition, validation and accreditation of learning outcomes and competencies of workers in enterprises (i.e. in non-formal learning) is one of the components of competency-based TVET and is part of the strategic directions of the National TESD Plan 2005–2009 (NTESDP) ( www.tesda.gov.ph ). As of December 2017, TESDA had 33 qualifications/TRs out of 2589 promulgated TRs covering environment-related knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the TRs and curricula. In catering services, automotive, PVC manufacturing and waste management sectors, 5S (sort, set in order, shine, standardise and sustain) and 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) are included in the required knowledge and skills which were considered ‘green’. The 5S methodology is also a ‘must’ for all TVET trainers. TESDA likewise amended the TRs for automotive servicing NC III to include LPG conversion and repowering in the set of competences to promote cleaner emissions of vehicles. Ship’s catering takes precautions to prevent pollution in the marine environment by implementing waste management and disposal systems. See Table 11.1 for the list of TESDA TRs with a ‘green’ outlook related to the four industries.

TESDA also conducted a training programme in collaboration with the Department of Energy (DOE) to integrate the use of energy-efficient lighting in the TR for electrical installation and maintenance qualifications. All the qualifications with a green outlook have been accommodated in the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF). The Competency Standards are aligned with the PQF, a national policy describing the levels of educational qualifications and setting the standards for qualification outcomes. It is competency-based and labour market driven. It consists of eight levels of education and training that encourage lifelong learning to allow individuals to start at the level that suits them and then build-up their qualifications as their needs and interests develop and change over time ( www.gov.ph ). The Philippine TVET Qualification and Certification System (PTQCS), consistent with the PQF, has five different levels of complexity across the three different domains. The qualification levels under PTQCS start from NC I to Diploma.

Development of green qualifications

In accordance with international requirements, TESDA developed qualifications related to refrigeration and air-conditioning. This was done in partnership with DENR and practitioners as part of the national CFC phase-out plan and in accordance with the Montreal Protocol and the Clean Air Act. Through the TESDA training regulations (TRs) on the refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) sectors, competences for technicians are identified and addressed during training programmes on recovery, recycling, and retrofitting of RAC systems, which are major sources of ozone-depleting CFCs. In line with this, a code of practice (COP) for RAC was developed by the project with some funding from the World Bank and the Government of Sweden. The TRs promote safety parameters for workers, customers, tools/equipment, and most importantly environmental concerns.

The competency standards of the PQF follow the ILO Regional Model of Competency Standards (RMCS), which prescribes three types of competences, namely: (1) basic competences all workers in all sectors must possess; (2) common competences workers in a sector must possess; and (3) core competences workers in a qualification must possess. Environmental concerns/ concepts are integrated into the basic competences of the TRs. The three learning domains of the competency standards are aligned to the principles of lifelong learning: learning to live together, learning to be, learning to do, and learning to know, as well as to the twenty-first-century skills.

Inviting experts from industry to develop training regulations

TESDA invites experts from industry and/or industry associations who follow guidelines and procedures on how to align each unit of competency to the PQF descriptors. The TRs have four major parts: (1) description of the qualification and job title; (2) competency standards, including the basic, common and core competences; (3) training standards; and (4) national assessment and certification arrangements.

The competency-based TVET (CBT) system recognises various delivery modes in different learning settings – both on- and off-the-job – if CBT specified by the industry drives the training. TVET has developed three delivery modes: (1) Institution-based, which delivers training programmes in public and private TVET institutions, including regional, provincial, and specialised training centres; (2) Enterprise-based, which implements training programmes within enterprises/firms; and (3) Community-based, which delivers training programmes at the local/community level, mostly in partnership with LGUs and NGOs.

For every unit of competency that is completed by a learner during training, a certificate of training achievement is awarded, and after completing all the required units of competency, he/she is awarded with a Certificate of Training. The latter indicates the title of the course, the qualification level according to the PQF descriptors, and the units of competency that the learner has acquired. The attainment of each unit of competency is pre-conditioned on the attainment of specific learning outcomes as described in the competency standards. As a prerequisite for graduation, a learner undergoes the national competency assessment, and he/she is given a certificate of competency (COC) after satisfactorily demonstrating competence in a cluster of units of competency or a national certificate (NC) after satisfactorily demonstrating all units of competency comprising a qualification using the assessment criteria provided by the TR/CS computed by an accredited competency assessor.

Assessment and certification also include the recognition, validation, and accreditation of competences and learning and work experience. This system observes two major principles: (1) competency assessment to collect evidence relative to a unit or cluster of units of competency, and (2) RPL to give recognition to an individual’s skill, knowledge, and attitudes acquired through previous training, work, or life experiences.

3 Methodology of Primary Data Collection

The study adopts the overall methodology developed by the project for all participating jurisdictions and used the developed instruments such as survey/interview questions, the observation list and the list of generic green skills to collect data (see Chap. 1 ). This country study reflects results from 29 of 32 enterprises (targeting eight companies in each sector). The study was confined within the National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila, given that in this area there were enterprises representing the four targeted industries (catering, automobile, PVC and waste management). Of the 29 respondent firms, seven were from the automotive industry, six from PVC manufacturing, eight from catering services and eight from waste management. Sixteen enterprises from the formal sector were interviewed and five from the informal sector. Given the limited size of the sample, the study does not pretend to generalise across the four industries. It is exploratory in nature and draws on preliminary insights into the recognition and development of greener skills in the identified industry sectors.

Box 11.3 General information on the enterprises

Enterprises in waste management undertook testing of used oil and waste products; microbiological and mechanical testing; verification and certification of public and private firms; and buying and selling recyclable materials such as plastics, meats and paper products.

Enterprises in automotive services and sales undertook servicing of new vehicles and restoration and sale of used vehicles.

Catering services included food delivery, fast food restaurants, stalls and eateries.

PVC enterprises included the sale and installation of plastic pipes and piping systems.

4 Results and Discussion

Educational attainment of the employees

Analysis of the educational attainment of 1,490 employees in the 29 firms showed that overall, the four industries displayed a very high level of education of personnel—81% of employees across all sectors had higher education, 9–10% had attained a secondary education and TVET qualification, and only 1% was below secondary. Enterprises in PVC manufacturing had 92% (454 out of 495) of their employees with a higher education qualification, followed by waste management, 78% (415 out of 529), automotive industry 76% (296 out of 391) and catering services, 55% (41 out of 75).

Environmentally friendly practices in the enterprises

On the question, ‘What environmentally friendly practices enterprises are followed?’ only 11 (42%) out of 26 respondent enterprises had ‘green jobs’ such as waste water management, renewable energy, energy saving and pollution minimisation. Waste management firms ranked the highest, with seven out of seven respondent enterprises attesting to having such ‘green jobs’, whereas only two of the four firms in PVC manufacturing claimed to have ‘green’ jobs and only one out of seven automotive enterprises had ‘green’ jobs. Only one out of the eight catering enterprises had ‘green jobs’. However, environmentally friendly practices were not only restricted to green jobs. This became clear when firms were asked about the various practices, illustrated in Table 11.2 , reflecting environmental sustainability at work in the four industries.

Promoting green practices

Respondents were asked to give their perceptions on how much importance they attached to the theme of green skills in their enterprises on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 meant low consideration and 10 meant high consideration to these issues. Twenty-five out of 29 responses fell under the scale of 6–10. Four enterprises answered between scales 2–5. However, while high importance is placed on ‘green skills’, there is only a modest promotion of the required skills for the implementation of environment-friendly practices as illustrated in Table 11.3 . PVC enterprises employed the highest number of methods for promoting green skills.

Skill requirements for the implementation of environmentally friendly practices

Enterprises in the four industries described important green skills required for the daily operations undertaken by employees (Table 11.4 ).

How do the respondents acquire their skills?

The employees in the 29 firms across the four industries acquired their green skills in a variety of ways. Both the automotive and PVC manufacturing enterprises identified all the contexts of acquisition. In the catering services and waste management, employees acquired their skills predominantly through self-directed training (seven out of eight) and three out of five respectively (Table 11.5 ).

Benefits of practising green jobs and skills

On the question of whether including green skills in RVA mechanisms could be beneficial, responses from 25 firms showed that 36 per cent of respondents expected the recognition of green skills to be beneficial for enterprises. They said that it could improve productivity and make enterprises more competitive. On the other hand, 32 per cent of these enterprises expected green skills recognition to benefit the individual in strengthening confidence and motivation, and in promoting core generic skills, social inclusion, higher earnings and better career prospects. Another 32 per cent highlighted benefits for the country by recognising skills that are environmentally friendly.

The benefits of green practices and green skills were also confirmed by a 2012 survey conducted by the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) in collaboration with ILO (ECOP & ILO, 2012 ) covering three areas (NCR, Cagayan De Oro, and Cebu) in the Philippines. Forty-three participants, representing enterprises from manufacturing, food and beverage, land development and real estate enumerated benefits at the level of enterprise, individuals and the nation (Table 11.6 ).

Reasons for not having ‘green’ jobs with ‘green’ practices

This study also examined the reasons for not adopting green practices. The background research by the ECOP and ILO ( 2012 ) pointed out the disadvantages of adopting green projects. They were:

Restrictive in terms of the permitted practices (38 per cent of survey respondents);

Threat of reducing the profit (25 per cent);

Causing job loss (13 per cent);

High start-up costs to implement initially (13 per cent);

Risk of business shut-downs (13 per cent).

The participants of that project further elaborated that, aside from financial considerations, there is also a lack of awareness and expertise in the Philippines on climate change, environmental issues and green jobs. Additional and appropriate financial and technical support is needed to shift towards green initiatives or launch environmentally friendly practices.

The current study revealed the following reasons why some enterprises did not have green jobs or green practices:

Lack of oversight due to sub-contracting especially in waste management and automotive, where a lot of jobs are outsourced to external contractors;

Lack of money to buy expensive equipment. This was mentioned by enterprises in the automotive and PVC manufacturing sectors;

Presence of policies (i.e. city ordinance) that prohibit the use of environmentally harmful materials, such as plastics, in the case of the catering sector.

Mechanisms for recognising skills, prior learning and work experience in the enterprises

Awareness of RVA frameworks

Very few firms (both employers and employees) said they were aware of the existence and use of RVA frameworks. Only two (1.67 per cent) of 120 respondents said they had heard of frameworks such as the Philippine Qualifications Framework, or other competency-based training frameworks or guidelines prepared by DENR. Only one (0.83 per cent) respondent was aware of a framework developed for human resource development.

Methods used to assess green skills

Only seven out of 30 total responses on methods used to assess green skills alluded to having a job-card system in which employees’ skills were documented. The identified green skills were in waste segregation and disposal, energy conservation, and knowledge of environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act and recycling, among others. In terms of the different sectors, six respondents highlighted the use of different methods, as illustrated in Table 11.7 .

The green skills that are not assessed include: the theoretical understanding of green practice; research and development; waste disposal and familiarity with hazardous waste products.

Enterprises did not have a systematic use of RVA mechanisms, in the absence of which, four respondents stated, the use of ad hoc examples such as ‘mentoring’, coaching and apprenticeships acted as approaches to RVA.

Vision for green skills recognition as part of workplace training

Most of the respondents in the four industry sectors talked about their enterprises’ increasing initiatives to implement ‘green’ training programmes for protecting the environment:

Box 11.4 Importance of green training programmes for protecting the environment

Automotive sector

Upgrading automotive technology to meet the demand for fuel efficiency and reduce emissions;

Providing green customer services;

Learning to use eco-friendly equipment and materials.

Important for recognising green skills;

Updating existing training manuals;

Waste management

Promoting sanitation standards;

Promoting the systematic collection of waste;

Promoting more programmes and incentives at the international level;

Promoting compliance with governmental efforts and standards (i.e. DENR and Laguna Lake Development Authority).

Prospects of staff training and RVA

In September 2017, the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the Philippine Green Jobs Law was signed. Clearly, the potential for the inclusion of the green skills in RVA is great, not only at the macro level but also at the individual level. Enterprises made suggestions on the prospects of improving skills training and RVA as shown in Table 11.8 . Only 12 (41.38 per cent) out of 29 firms cited recommendations for the inclusion of green skills in RPL. All recommendations called for staff training programmes.

5 Conclusions and Recommendations

This chapter, based on research conducted by TESDA, has examined issues pertaining to skills recognition as a tool to improve the environmental and sustainable development in the four industry sectors, namely, automotive, catering services, PVC manufacturing, and waste management.

The Green Jobs Law of 2016 has been pivotal in the increase of green jobs and green practices in enterprises participating in this research. Most of the enterprises remarked on the absence of jobs specifically dealing with green practices before the promulgation of this law. Despite this, a huge majority of these firms observed several practices reflecting environmental sustainability in the workplace, such as waste segregation, waste management disposal, and compliance with environmental rules. The importance given to the topic of green skills and environmentally friendly practices is high, especially in the catering sector. However, the promotion of required skills for the implementation of environment-friendly practices is still modest and there is low utilisation of strategies such as the use of brochures and events, innovations, and incentives for cleaner products/ services and marketing.

Interestingly, employers perceived that the creation of green jobs would lead to improved competitiveness of workers, promotion of decent jobs, and additional employment. Some of them, however, cited disadvantages such as a reduction in profit, and increased costs related to the financial and technical support of green initiatives.

Assessment of RPL in some enterprises involves the verification of certificates. In other enterprises, documentation is undertaken with a job-card system while the certification of RPL is carried out by government agencies (e.g., some environmental authority), the mother company, or training institutions.

Employees’ green skills included technical, cognitive, intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. Employers appreciated the cognitive skills of their employees, the most prominent of which were environmental awareness and willingness to undertake green practices. However, both intra-personal and inter-personal competences registered low appreciation from the employees participating in the research.

The enterprises were not knowledgeable about the national RPL framework, and this was evident given the low utilisation of learning outcomes described in the Philippines Qualifications Framework, competency-based training, HRD frameworks and guidelines designed by the EMB-DENR.

A small number of these enterprises have mechanisms to recognise/assess existing green skills that employees acquire in the workplace, community, or through non-formal education and training programmes. There is no systematic use of RPL; rather, RPL is based on ad hoc examples such as mentoring, coaching and apprenticeship.

It was found that employers used simple methods of RPL assessment (i.e. self-evaluation and interview). Through such methods, employers noticed gaps and deficits in the green skills of workers. The areas where these gaps were most prominent were research and development, waste disposal and familiarity with hazardous waste products, among others.

Most workers acquired their skills non-formally or informally through self-directed learning or on the job or in-company training. Only a few workers had acquired their skills through initial and continuing vocational education and training.

Enterprises believed that green skills had a great potential if enterprises, associations and organizations would support their inclusion in RPL mechanisms. Green skills inclusion in RPL needs to be complemented by other elements such as awareness raising, efficient information dissemination, and technical and financial assistance. Such support activities must be implemented through governmental and societal support.

Factors, in order of prominence, contributing to the effective inclusion of green skills in RVA include: laws/ government policies; business opportunities; environmental and economic realities; support/funding/incentives from the government; international conventions; strong LGU enforcement. All these factors are predicated upon sustained information, education and communication (IEC) actions; advocacy; and social marketing.

The passage of the Green Jobs Law, which provides incentives and tax and duty-free importation of capital equipment, makes the potential for green skills inclusion in recognition in the Philippines realisable.

This study, which includes the participation of seven other Asian countries and one Asian territory, should provide valuable inputs in designing and implementing rules and regulations for the recently enacted Green Jobs Law in the Philippines. Specifically, the mechanisms in the identification of green jobs and the attendant green skills leading to the design of training and assessment and certification of programmes should investigate the different models, not only from the Philippines, but also from the international community.

International development organizations can strategically support the development and distribution of learning/ instructional materials – preferably with formats – that can be shared to facilitate massive and immediate learning to benefit the developing economies and the micro-enterprises of/ in the informal sector.

Individual, family, micro-, small-, and medium enterprises that extract valuable materials from the waste system and valorise them for own use, repair and sale, fabrication, or recycling.

The figure pertains only to the US because of unavailability of global data, and given that the US is the biggest producer of industrial waste, this figure is taken as some kind of watermark for all other industrialized countries for purposes of this study (see E. Stewards at http://e-stewards.org/learn-more/for-consumers/effects-of-e-waste/who-gets-stepped-on/ ).

Abbreviations

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry

Board of Investment

Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy

Competency-based TVET

Centre Européen pour le Développement de la Formation Professionnelle

Commission on Higher Education

Compact Mobile Unit

Certificate of Competency

Code of Practice

Competency Standards

Department of Environment and Natural Resource

Department of Education

Department of Energy

Department of Labour and Employment

Department of Public Works and Highways

Department of Science and Technology

Department of Tourism

Department of Transportation and Communication

Department of Trade and Industry

Environmental Compliance Certificate

Employers Confederation of the Philippines

Environmental Management Bureau

Enhanced Philippine Agenda 21

Gross Domestic Product

Green Our DOLE Programme

Information, Education, and Communication

International Labour Organization

International Monetary Fund

Implementing Rules and Regulations

Information Technology

Local Government Unit

Laguna Lake Development Authority

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises

National Ambient Air Quality Standards

National Certificate

National Capital Region

National Economic and Development Authority

National Emission Standards for Source Air Pollutants

Non-governmental Organization

National Institute for Technical Education and Skills Development

National Technical Education and Skills Development Plan

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

Philippine Automotive Manufacturing Industry

Philippine Development Plan

Philippine Peso

Persistent Organic Pollutants

Philippine Qualifications Framework

Professional Regulation Commission

Philippine Resins Industries, Inc.

Promotion of Green Economic Development

Philippine Statistics Authority

Philippines Strategy for Sustainable Development

Philippine TVET Qualification and Certification System

Polyvinyl chloride

Refrigeration and Air Conditioning

Regional Model of Competency Standards

Recognition of Prior Learning

Recognition, Validation, and Accreditation

Solid Waste/s

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority

Toyota Motor Philippines

Training Regulations

Technical Vocational Education and Training

United Nations

United Nations Environment Programme

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

World Health Organization

World Trade Organization

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Talavera, E. (2022). Case Study: Philippines. Recognising Green Skills for Environmental and Sustainable Development in Four Selected Industries. In: Pavlova, M., Singh, M. (eds) Recognizing Green Skills Through Non-formal Learning. Education for Sustainability, vol 5. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2072-1_11

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Solar data finds home in a cloud.

Established in 1994, Hanergy is a multinational clean energy company and the world's largest producer of thin-film solar technology. Through global technical integration and independent innovation, the company serves thousands of residential and industrial customers worldwide providing them with cutting-edge alternative power solutions.

Customer : Hanergy Global Solar PV Application Pte Ltd Group Company : ICT Solutions Business Group, Hitachi Asia Ltd.

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Water Solution

Advanced water treatment system in kandy city.

Further growth and development of the Greater Kandy region of Sri Lanka called for the construction of an advanced water treatment system to meet the demands of the increasing population. The project required durable pumps and a system to monitor and control the process of water treatment over multiple sites in the region. Hitachi had successfully delivered a reliable water treatment system facility that included a state-of-the-art supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system that monitors the supply of water. The facility had been functioning at its peak performance since the project's completion in 2006.

Customer : National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) Group Company : Hitachi Plant Technologies Ltd. (Sri Lanka)

Broadcasting

Technological advancements in broadcasting industry.

As the broadcasting industry went through a digitization period, significant advancements were made in the technology used by broadcasters. MediaCorp recognized this as an opportunity to upgrade its technology. With Digital Microwave Link, Hitachi Kokusai Electric ensures broadcast leaders to stay at the forefront of digital broadcasting industry.

Customer : MediaCorp Pte Ltd Group Company : Hitachi Kokusai Electric Inc.

Improving Work Environment with New Screw Compressor

Singapore Epson Industrial Pte Ltd (SEP) needed a solution to overcome the cumbersome maintenance as well as the environmental pollutions emitted from its air compressors. Using Hitachi Screw Compressor, Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems helped to keep the loud noise and vibrations to a minimum while ensuring simple maintenance for the compressor.

Customer : Singapore Epson Industrial Pte Ltd. (SEP) Group Company : Industrial Components & Equipment Division, Hitachi Asia Ltd.

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Entrepreneurship from an Emerging Nation: A Case Study from Cebu, Philippines

• Tiffany Adelaine Tan
• Ernesto Yap
• Allen Vicente

This study looked at entrepreneurship from the entrepreneurs’ viewpoint on what enabled them to start their businesses. A semi-structured survey was used on 124 respondents – all business owners of micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises – who were selected via purposive and snowball sampling. Cross-tabulation, the Mann-Whitney U test (or Wilcoxon Rank Sum test), odds ratio, and logistic regression were performed to analyze the data and determine their enabling factors.

The results reveal that those who planned to become entrepreneurs and those who did not have a similar personality, come from diverse educational backgrounds, and have social support and network. These findings highlight the importance of self-confidence, being inspired by successful entrepreneurs, and belonging to a peer group engaged in business. The results also reveal that the entrepreneurs’ confidence to start their businesses is triggered by the positive motivation from their social support and network. The motivation is enough to surmount their perceived obstacles to entrepreneurship – the lack of capital and government support.

Most read articles by the same author(s)

• Tiffany Adelaine Tan, Stock Market Integration: Case of the Philippines , Philippine Management Review: Vol 19 (2012)

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A publication of the Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business , University of the Philippines in cooperation with the U.P. Business Research Foundation, Inc.

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Case study - Integrating Sustainability at Taal Vista Hotel Philippines

• Published on March 30, 2023

Case study developped as part of the Transforming Tourism Value Chains project

The Taal Vista Hotel is owned and managed by SM Hotels and Conventions Corporation (SMHCC). In line with SMHCC’s sustainability strategy, the hotel’s advocacy started in 2019, with the aim to conduct operations to lead responsible behavior, create shared value at an economic, social, and environmental level. SMHCC, through Taal Vista Hotel and its other properties, shared information and promoted ethical and responsible practices in their hotel business.

GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Value Chain Stage(s):

Programme(s):, share your work on sustainable consumption and production, you might also be interested in.

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Overview of Business Environment in the Philippines Analytical Essay

Introduction, pest analysis, recommendations.

The Philippines is one of the progressive countries in Southeast Asia. Its present growth can be attributed to the resilience of the Filipino spirit and the industry of millions of overseas workers, added with a popular and enigmatic president, Benigno S. Aquino III, son of former president Corazon Aquino, one of the heroes of the EDSA Revolution and martyred Benigno Aquino.

The rich culture and a people who want to rise above underdevelopment can make a business venture promising and challenging. The economy depends much on Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) remittances and export products like sugar, pineapple, coconut, and electronic products which are being exported to major countries like the United States, Europe and other Asian countries.

Overseas remittances remain the lifeblood of the economy; if it were not for the billions of dollars sent by Filipinos from the Middle East and other countries, the economy could have suffered much. Presently, Filipinos are united to rise from political crises that have plagued the nation for years.

The Philippines experienced two colonizing periods in its long history – four centuries of Spanish colonization which introduced Christianity, and the takeover of the Americans which introduced education and the bulwarks of democracy. Through these periods, the Philippines experienced political upheavals, repression, and a little growth.

After years of instability due to the emergence of different political factions, the Philippines now has a stable political system under the administration of President Benigno Aquino or Pinoy as he is popularly known. President Aquino has opened the floodgates of investments coming from major investors from the United States and Europe.

In the recent past, it was put in a stagnant position because of politics and quest of a few greedy politicians for power. It deteriorated during the reign of the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled with impunity and countless human rights violation. There were other factors that affected the downward trend of the economy, such as the SARS scare and Islamic terrorism. (Beirman, 2003, p. 254)

The Philippines is a developing country although in some respect it has been observed as more developed than some countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The country is blessed with abundance of natural resources and a big and industrious workforce presently employed in the Middle East, the United States, Europe and other progressive countries in Asia.

The Philippine economy has continued to be strong and growing despite the many challenges, both political and economic, that it has encountered all through the years. (Tetangco, 2006)

The present global economic crisis did not have much effect on the Philippines because of the OFW remittances. Skilled labor is one of its valuable economic assets. The level of unemployment has gone down (Trading Economics, 2011) due to skilled labor being exported to countries wanting for talented and experienced labor force.

The vast natural resources could have been a major asset of the economy if it were tapped with utmost diligence and care. Mining could be a major contributor considering that recent mines have been discovered in its islands, but thanks to the militancy and awareness of the people, there are oppositions trying to save the environment.

The Philippines can be the number one destination in Asia because of its rich heritage, historic spots, rich natural resources, and hospitable people willing to receive any guest who enters in their shore lines.

Social factors are in favour of foreign investments. Filipinos are hospitable, they welcome every foreign national into the country; this is the reason why tourism is thriving and is also one of the major dollar earners of the country.

The people are ‘westernized’, due to years of American colonization, so that entry of a UK company is very much welcome. UK products are welcome. Filipinos patronize ‘imported’ products, or those coming from western countries because they have this colonial mentality and the fact that they are used to Western products brought to them by relatives who come home from abroad.

Technological

Technology plays an important role in this new venture to the Philippines as the next destination of a UK supermarket chain. Information technology and the Internet have been introduced. Young graduates from first class universities and thriving technical schools in the country are equipped with IT expertise and other technical courses. IT professionals also dominate the labor force. The Internet is not new to Filipinos.

Almost all major businesses and organizations in the Philippines have their websites and they make use of computers and the Internet.

Porter’s Five Forces

Porter’s five forces will also shape the entry of a UK firm in the Philippines. Profitability will be determined by these five sources of competitive pressure. (Grant, 2005, p. 173)

Threat of New Entrants

There are a number of supermarkets in the Philippines and our entry will be a threat, although this will depend on the kind of products the UK supermarket will bring. Existing supermarkets also bring with them imported products coming from the UK, U.S. and Europe

Bargaining power of suppliers

Outsourcing companies from China can supply the UK supermarket for its store in the Philippines. However, this is what existing stores and supermarkets are doing. Chinese products are flooding Philippine stores. Products will have to come from local suppliers.

Bargaining power of buyers

Filipino customers are meticulous and want low cost products. In order to remedy the situation, supermarket products will have to be sourced locally, but some imported ones will be mixed with local products, such as fruits coming from UK and the US, in order to make the store competitive.

Threat of substitute products

This is one of the problematic areas that the UK store will have to tackle. Local products will be a major threat. The Philippines has an abundance of fruits, vegetables, fish, and different kinds of meat products. These are cheap and are supplied locally.

Cultural Dimensions

The Philippines has a rich cultural heritage, from the Malay race to the European and American cultures introduced to Filipinos. There are also various ethnic groups comprising the Filipino culture.

The UK supermarket management will have to adjust to the Filipino culture, but it is not too difficult. Filipinos are receptive of foreign culture. They are hospitable and love to be with other nationalities. Most families have members abroad; many come from the UK doing different professional jobs. Employees will not have difficult time adjusting to the Filipino culture.

The Philippines is an important country in Asia and to have a UK supermarket in that country is recommended. It is a growing and dynamic economy.

Management decision making will be influenced by the local cultures, for example the kinds of products and foods that should be available all the time. (Cray and Mallory, 1998, p. 71)

Management will have to adjust with the Filipino culture although, as stated above, Filipino culture is already a mixture of ethnic and foreign culture. There are a number of foreign nationals in the Philippines and many of them are Europeans, Americans, and mostly ethnic Chinese.

Beirman, D., 2003. A comparative assessment of three Southeast Asian tourism recovery: Singapore roars: Post SARS 2003, Bali Post – the October 12, 2002 Bombing, and WOW Philippines 2003. In: Y. Mansfeld and a. Pizam (eds.), 2006. Tourism security and safety: from theory to practice. Oxford, UK: Elsevier Inc. p. 254.

Cray, D. and Mallory, G., 1998. Managing culture . UK; US: International Thomson Business Press.

Grant, R., 2005. Contemporary strategy analysis , fifth ed. United States of America: Blackwell Publishing.

Tetangco, A., 2006. The state of the Philippine economy and policy directions of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Bank for International Settlements. Web.

Trading Economics, 2011. Philippines unemployment rate . Web.

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IvyPanda. (2024, April 23). Overview of Business Environment in the Philippines. https://ivypanda.com/essays/business-environment-case-study-the-philippines/

"Overview of Business Environment in the Philippines." IvyPanda , 23 Apr. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/business-environment-case-study-the-philippines/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'Overview of Business Environment in the Philippines'. 23 April.

IvyPanda . 2024. "Overview of Business Environment in the Philippines." April 23, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/business-environment-case-study-the-philippines/.

1. IvyPanda . "Overview of Business Environment in the Philippines." April 23, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/business-environment-case-study-the-philippines/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Overview of Business Environment in the Philippines." April 23, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/business-environment-case-study-the-philippines/.

• Philippines Dressing Culture and Customs
• Korean and Filipino Migrants in the US and Hawaii
• Filipinos in America: Comparison of Experiences
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MSI Integrity

Good Practice Case Study: Local Community Engagement in the Philippines

The following case study provides examples of good practices that were observed and detailed in, Protecting the Cornerstone: Assessing the Governance of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Multi-Stakeholder Groups , published in February 2015.

This case study describes good practices and shows the benefits of engaging with communities and local actors, as observed in the Compostela Valley, Philippines. This case is in the report in Box 9, on page 61.

Good Practices for Engaging Communities and Local Actors in EITI (from “Box 9: The Philippines – The immense benefits of engaging communities and local actors in EITI”)

Compostela Valley is one of the 81 provinces in the Philippines. Although less than 1% of the country’s population live in the province, it accounts for a significant amount of the country’s extraction of gold.

According to national law, mining that occurs on areas determined to be “ancestral lands” first requires the free, prior, and informed consent of indigenous Filipinos in the area, and royalties of a minimum of 1% must be paid to the relevant indigenous council [FN 110]. Local communities became concerned in recent years about mismanagement of these royalties and government misuse of revenue, and began to demand greater transparency about extractive revenue related to proposed and existing large-scale mining operations, as well as the hundreds of existing small-scale operations.

Bantay Kita, the PWYP-affiliated CSO network that conducted regional consultations on EITI (see Box III in the Civil Society Guidance Note ), had invited attendees from Compostela Valley to CSO consultations when EITI was introduced in the Philippines in Through these and other exposures, local government and indigenous leaders in Compostela decided to advance their own transparency initiative modeled on the reporting requirements of EITI, but extending far beyond the minimum requirements of the EITI Standard.

Under Executive Orders issued in 2012 and 2013, the provincial government established a “provincial multi-stakeholder council for extractive industry transparency and accountability” [FN 111].  The council is made up of small-scale and large-scale companies, local government officials, national government agencies, as well as four representatives from the provincial tribal council and five locally operating NGOs. The Governor of the province chairs the council, and the vice-chairperson is a provincial government representative of the indigenous people. The council is funded by revenue collected by the provincial government from mining operations. It meets at least once every quarter and makes decisions by consensus.

The council has been involved in drafting an ordinance that includes a reporting template to cover these issues. According to the executive order, the reporting template must address issues that extend well beyond EITI. These include disclosure of:

• The level of public consultations or “free and prior consent process” undertaken, and an assessment of its sufficiency;
• Results of monitoring of the environmental, health, and cultural impact of the mining operations;
• Revenue collected by various local actors from extractive industries; and,
• How collected revenues were allocated and utilized at the local level.

As of October 1, 2014, the ordinance had not yet been finalized or released for public review. However, if it is approved, the reporting system will operate completely independently of EITI and will have considerably greater value at the local level.

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Study Suggests Genetics as a Cause, Not Just a Risk, for Some Alzheimer’s

People with two copies of the gene variant APOE4 are almost certain to get Alzheimer’s, say researchers, who proposed a framework under which such patients could be diagnosed years before symptoms.

By Pam Belluck

Scientists are proposing a new way of understanding the genetics of Alzheimer’s that would mean that up to a fifth of patients would be considered to have a genetically caused form of the disease.

Currently, the vast majority of Alzheimer’s cases do not have a clearly identified cause. The new designation, proposed in a study published Monday, could broaden the scope of efforts to develop treatments, including gene therapy, and affect the design of clinical trials.

It could also mean that hundreds of thousands of people in the United States alone could, if they chose, receive a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s before developing any symptoms of cognitive decline, although there currently are no treatments for people at that stage.

The new classification would make this type of Alzheimer’s one of the most common genetic disorders in the world, medical experts said.

“This reconceptualization that we’re proposing affects not a small minority of people,” said Dr. Juan Fortea, an author of the study and the director of the Sant Pau Memory Unit in Barcelona, Spain. “Sometimes we say that we don’t know the cause of Alzheimer’s disease,” but, he said, this would mean that about 15 to 20 percent of cases “can be tracked back to a cause, and the cause is in the genes.”

The idea involves a gene variant called APOE4. Scientists have long known that inheriting one copy of the variant increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s, and that people with two copies, inherited from each parent, have vastly increased risk.

The new study , published in the journal Nature Medicine, analyzed data from over 500 people with two copies of APOE4, a significantly larger pool than in previous studies. The researchers found that almost all of those patients developed the biological pathology of Alzheimer’s, and the authors say that two copies of APOE4 should now be considered a cause of Alzheimer’s — not simply a risk factor.

The patients also developed Alzheimer’s pathology relatively young, the study found. By age 55, over 95 percent had biological markers associated with the disease. By 65, almost all had abnormal levels of a protein called amyloid that forms plaques in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. And many started developing symptoms of cognitive decline at age 65, younger than most people without the APOE4 variant.

“The critical thing is that these individuals are often symptomatic 10 years earlier than other forms of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Reisa Sperling, a neurologist at Mass General Brigham in Boston and an author of the study.

She added, “By the time they are picked up and clinically diagnosed, because they’re often younger, they have more pathology.”

People with two copies, known as APOE4 homozygotes, make up 2 to 3 percent of the general population, but are an estimated 15 to 20 percent of people with Alzheimer’s dementia, experts said. People with one copy make up about 15 to 25 percent of the general population, and about 50 percent of Alzheimer’s dementia patients.

The most common variant is called APOE3, which seems to have a neutral effect on Alzheimer’s risk. About 75 percent of the general population has one copy of APOE3, and more than half of the general population has two copies.

Alzheimer’s experts not involved in the study said classifying the two-copy condition as genetically determined Alzheimer’s could have significant implications, including encouraging drug development beyond the field’s recent major focus on treatments that target and reduce amyloid.

Dr. Samuel Gandy, an Alzheimer’s researcher at Mount Sinai in New York, who was not involved in the study, said that patients with two copies of APOE4 faced much higher safety risks from anti-amyloid drugs.

When the Food and Drug Administration approved the anti-amyloid drug Leqembi last year, it required a black-box warning on the label saying that the medication can cause “serious and life-threatening events” such as swelling and bleeding in the brain, especially for people with two copies of APOE4. Some treatment centers decided not to offer Leqembi, an intravenous infusion, to such patients.

Dr. Gandy and other experts said that classifying these patients as having a distinct genetic form of Alzheimer’s would galvanize interest in developing drugs that are safe and effective for them and add urgency to current efforts to prevent cognitive decline in people who do not yet have symptoms.

“Rather than say we have nothing for you, let’s look for a trial,” Dr. Gandy said, adding that such patients should be included in trials at younger ages, given how early their pathology starts.

Besides trying to develop drugs, some researchers are exploring gene editing to transform APOE4 into a variant called APOE2, which appears to protect against Alzheimer’s. Another gene-therapy approach being studied involves injecting APOE2 into patients’ brains.

The new study had some limitations, including a lack of diversity that might make the findings less generalizable. Most patients in the study had European ancestry. While two copies of APOE4 also greatly increase Alzheimer’s risk in other ethnicities, the risk levels differ, said Dr. Michael Greicius, a neurologist at Stanford University School of Medicine who was not involved in the research.

“One important argument against their interpretation is that the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in APOE4 homozygotes varies substantially across different genetic ancestries,” said Dr. Greicius, who cowrote a study that found that white people with two copies of APOE4 had 13 times the risk of white people with two copies of APOE3, while Black people with two copies of APOE4 had 6.5 times the risk of Black people with two copies of APOE3.

“This has critical implications when counseling patients about their ancestry-informed genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease,” he said, “and it also speaks to some yet-to-be-discovered genetics and biology that presumably drive this massive difference in risk.”

Under the current genetic understanding of Alzheimer’s, less than 2 percent of cases are considered genetically caused. Some of those patients inherited a mutation in one of three genes and can develop symptoms as early as their 30s or 40s. Others are people with Down syndrome, who have three copies of a chromosome containing a protein that often leads to what is called Down syndrome-associated Alzheimer’s disease .

Dr. Sperling said the genetic alterations in those cases are believed to fuel buildup of amyloid, while APOE4 is believed to interfere with clearing amyloid buildup.

Under the researchers’ proposal, having one copy of APOE4 would continue to be considered a risk factor, not enough to cause Alzheimer’s, Dr. Fortea said. It is unusual for diseases to follow that genetic pattern, called “semidominance,” with two copies of a variant causing the disease, but one copy only increasing risk, experts said.

The new recommendation will prompt questions about whether people should get tested to determine if they have the APOE4 variant.

Dr. Greicius said that until there were treatments for people with two copies of APOE4 or trials of therapies to prevent them from developing dementia, “My recommendation is if you don’t have symptoms, you should definitely not figure out your APOE status.”

He added, “It will only cause grief at this point.”

Finding ways to help these patients cannot come soon enough, Dr. Sperling said, adding, “These individuals are desperate, they’ve seen it in both of their parents often and really need therapies.”

Pam Belluck is a health and science reporter, covering a range of subjects, including reproductive health, long Covid, brain science, neurological disorders, mental health and genetics. More about Pam Belluck

The Fight Against Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, but much remains unknown about this daunting disease..

How is Alzheimer’s diagnosed? What causes Alzheimer’s? We answered some common questions .

A study suggests that genetics can be a cause of Alzheimer’s , not just a risk, raising the prospect of diagnosis years before symptoms appear.

Determining whether someone has Alzheimer’s usually requires an extended diagnostic process . But new criteria could lead to a diagnosis on the basis of a simple blood test .

The F.D.A. has given full approval to the Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi. Here is what to know about i t.

Alzheimer’s can make communicating difficult. We asked experts for tips on how to talk to someone with the disease .