The Business Cluster of the UST Graduate School held a symposium on October 22, 2016 at the Auditorium of the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex organized by the combined classes in International Business and Global Strategy under Dr. Elizabeth O. Recio, Marketing Management taught by Dr. Eduardo G. Ong, and Global Business Development, Problems and Strategy handled by Dr. Jose C. Benedicto. The symposium provided student participants under the PhD and MBA programs with updates on international business environment, including cultural diversity which can affect competitiveness, modern finance, as well as social media that can enhance marketing effectiveness. About 200 students and faculty members under the Business cluster attended the symposium.
The first speaker, Department of Trade and Industry Export Marketing Bureau Director Senen M. Perlada, explained the DTI’s role on trade and investment promotion in the global market. He clarified the importance of global value chain, the import and export, tariffs and non-disclosure agreement. He emphasized that importing from and exporting to countries are no longer a constraint.
The second speaker, PASAR Corporation Human Resources and Corporate Affairs Senior Vice President Atty. Manuel Del Rosario, shared his experience as a Filipino Manager in a multi-cultural business environment. In particular, he narrated his stint as a former overseas worker where he faced several challenges, namely, communications problem, cultural diversity, and food, among others. He then recalled the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey and highlighed Habit No. 5 on ‘’Seek first to understand, than to be understood.” According to him, most people do not listen with the intent to understand, but rather to reply. He explained further on how to deal with problems, manage anger, express an opinion and have own personal branding. Del Rosario also presented the common Filipino character, their noted strengths and weaknesses, and cultural intelligence. He mentioned that Filipinos generally have many positive characteristics which are helpful in achieving competitiveness like adaptability, flexibility, acceptance of diversity, hard work, ability to survive, and a strong faith in God. He reminded the participants to be readily adaptable while working for or with other peers or subordinates who may have different beliefs and cultures.
The third speaker was Massachusettes-based Mr. Reynaldo J. Sermonia, an alumnus of the MBA Finance program of the University of Chicago and Fellow of Advance Study Program at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology. He is the CEO of RJ Sermonia Financial Consultants based in Boston, Massachusettes. His talk centered on the evolution of Modern Finance where he presented a number of formulas in managing investments, and pointed out the importance of theories applied in investment which include the Modern Portfolio Theory, Capital Structure Theory and Capital Asset Model. His advice was to choose the right combination of stocks, with maximum potential return.
The symposium also included talks on the power of social media in enhancing marketing effectiveness. The resource persons were Mobile LG Electronics Philippines Product Marketing Manager Variane Faith Mijares, who is also the General Manager of Annie and Lori; Founder and Owner of TechPinas Mark Milan Macanas; and WheninManila, Inc. CEO Ms. Sky Gavin.
Mijares discussed the success factors and struggles of social media marketing for business, Macanas for his part presented the importance of tapping social media, bloggers, and on-line influencers in marketing technology products and services in the Philippines; while Gavin shared his thoughts and experiences on online business
