 ENHANCING PHILIPPINE GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH PEOPLE
President Gloria M. Arroyo created the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) to help reverse the declining global competitiveness of the Philippines. The People Management Association of the Philippines, one of the private sector members of the Council, facilitated the creation of a National HR Competitiveness Agenda after it was commissioned to lead the Competitive HR Work Group.
Our association’s theme this year – Enhancing Philippine Global Competitiveness through People – aligns the entire PMAP organization with the national competitiveness strategy. Furthermore, the theme supports PMAP’s aspiration and vision of
“becoming a strategic partner in nation-building through active advocacy on people and institutional
effectiveness”. In pursuit of this vision, PMAP will continue to play its leadership role in the NCC.
The National HR Competitiveness Agenda targets breakthroughs by 2010 in: 1) addressing the talent mismatch, 2) upgrading of the image and quality of the teaching profession, 3) increasing proficiencies in English, Science and Mathematics; 4) enhancing the basic education track; and 5) championing a nutrition program for Grade 1-3 students. Other work groups of the National Competitiveness Council are: Efficient Public/Private Sector Management; Access to Financing; Seamless Infrastructure Network; Improved Transaction Flow and Costs; and Energy Self-sufficiency.
In addition to our role in the NCC, a second thrust that gives life to our 2008 theme is PMAP’s advocacy of the Investor in People standards. This advocacy aims to build strong business organizations through the adoption of best-in-class people practices, thereby enhancing Philippine global competitiveness.
The Philippine business community is our nation’s primary growth engine. To be competitive, business firms must compete on a strategic and value-adding platform. This platform can only be realized if people become the centerpiece of value-creation. Towards this end, PMAP’s mission is most appropriate:
“Enabling individuals and organizations to achieve their goals by providing thought leadership and practice-based learnings on – peak people performance; work and employment systems and productivity improvement tools.”
The Investors in People, PMAP’s flagship program to build a strong and highly competitive business sector through people management, aims to spread practical and world-class standards of effective people management. Through this program, Philippine businesses will be able to develop and empower its human capital, thereby sustaining productivity and long-term value creation.
People are the new source of wealth, more accurately, people with the right skills and attitudes, otherwise called talent. The confluence of information technology, globalization and changing demographics is creating a new era ---the era of talent. A noted economist calls this new economy “the human capital economy”. As the world moves towards this new economy, the dictum that a knowledge-based and talented society is more likely to succeed in this highly competitive and global world is gaining widespread acceptance.
The thesis that every Philippine organization must now implement effective approaches to improve its human capital becomes of utmost importance in nation-building. Each organization must now recognize the importance of creating workplaces where all its members feel motivated to give their best. Each must now understand that enhancing their own productivity and long-term competitiveness is their contribution towards creating a prosperous Philippines. And each must now understand that a country with exceptional and talented human and organizational capital is more likely to compete successfully in this global market.
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