RajahJun

A hot topic today is China’s encroachment of Philippine  territory.  This has been going on for quite a while and now it is getting to be serious.  China recently established a municipality with a duly elected mayor.  This is just a few nautical miles away from us. A metaphor can best describe this encroachment.  It's like a distant neighbor who sets up his home right on our own backyard without any forewarning.  Then (he) shrugs it off when we complain and we can't do anything about it. Unfortunately the Philippines (my country) seems incapable of dealing with this issue head on.  It is simply because China is strong and mighty compared to our country, small and weak.  The Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs, from news reports, has filed countless diplomatic protest through formal diplomatic channels but apparently ignored by China.  The only option the Philippines has right now regarding this issue is to rely heavily on its ...

After product development, social enterprises in the Philippines will be looking for markets to sell their products.  Market development is the next task on the list.  This task is important because it will decide the fate of the social enterprise. This blog, for now, will focus on the definitions of the various market segments.  Having an idea of the market will answer the question on where to sell the products. Below is a list of possible markets for social enterprise products.  It is important that products should fill the needs of the markets.  Sari Sari Stores - these are the typical mom and pop stores Wet market - market stalls inside public market Groceries - small groceries owned by owner Convenience stores - chains of convenience stores either operated by large retailers or individuals Institutions - companies that are usually industrial accounts requiring raw materials Export - countries with markets requiring social enterprise product ...

The pork barrel corruption in the Philippines continues to occupy media space this September 2013.  The news broke out last month saying that billions of pesos from pork barrel funds of lawmakers were diverted to fictitious foundations and were siphoned off to who knows where and that we do not know.  It will be revealed eventually. Whistle blowers opened the can of worms for the public, media and government to become aware of the billion pesos corruption. Pork barrel corruption by lawmakers have been a nagging problem even during the 60's and 70's.  Since I was a kid, I always see a caricature depiction of the pork barrel corruption in the editorial page of the leading dailies during those days.  It had always been debated in the halls of senate and congress in the past and up to now.  Why doesn't it end.?  Probably, selfish political interest prevents abolition of the pork barrel. But this recent corruption is already over the top.  Millions of...

Mel Fonollera, blogger Revised August 12, 2017 Bohol island is different from the other islands in the Philippines.  It remains verdant and in pristine condition, as if untouched by human hands.  Lush forest still covers the mountains; and along the shoreline thick mangroves abound as well. The green hues of vegetation on land and surrounding blue waters of the sea offers a feast to the eyes with enthralling contrast. How is this wonder of nature's art even possible?  With people living below, consuming natural resources to the brink of exhaustion.  Nature as a resource, as always, is at the beck and call of man to be extracted as he pleases. That is not the case for Bohol. Imagine man and environment existing harmoniously side by side. That's only the view from the air, wait till you see what's in store when you travel inside Bohol.  I only got to see two spots but it was worth seeing. I dozed off when the plane left Manila. Then what seemed like an ho...

Accounting is the systematic recording of an enterprise’s economic transactions and activities.  It is also the language of business.  Accounting for a small social enterprise is equally as important for large enterprises.  Reliability and relevance of accounting records is important to effectively manage a small social enterprise.  It helps guide the  entrepreneurs  of  small enterprises  to dispense decisions for the improvement of the enterprise. An unreliable accounting record is detrimental to the  health and well being of the social enterprise. As an analogy, it is difficult for a driver to know where he or she is going if the windshield is dirty.  An accident is bound to happen.  This can be compared to an entrepreneur naively relying on an unreliable accounting record.  Decisions  premised on unreliable accounting records would definitely result in unfavorable consequences.  Accounting  is the langua...

Enterprises, as their beacon to the future, need to craft their visions for the next five years. Unfortunately, change is happening at a blistering pace such as shifts in economy; shifts in local and global market; emerging technologies; climate change; economic upheavals from developed countries affecting developing countries. Furthermore, the internet revolution spawning new business models and replacing obsolete models. These are rather to heady for those who are running social enterprises. Large enterprises, on the other hand can afford to have a team of highly paid and highly educated strategic planners armed with MBAs and PhDs, and probably working with think-tank partner organizations to jointly craft a large enterprise's strategic direction blueprint. Social enterprises, on the other hand, may also be crafting their own strategic direction, but most probably, without the help of highly paid and highly educated specialists on strategic planning.  Social enterprises, more...