The strategic role of the College of Business and Economics in the national development of the Philippines is defined in its mission of maintaining a reputation of academic excellence, pursuance of scholarly research, fostering a high level of professionalism among its members and developing a Lasallian culture of social commitment to the poor, honesty and integrity, loyalty and responsibility to the institution and dedication to teaching.
Enhancement of Quality Education
Access to jobs is largely determined by the quality of an individual’s education. The CBE is committed to firmly establish its reputation of academic excellence. Hence through the years, it has intensified its search for competent and excellent teachers. Younger, more creative and dynamic teachers have dominated the line-up of the faculty roster of the College during the past two years. The purpose is to complement the more mature and experienced practitioners of business and industry. New ideas and strategies of management have been introduced to provide a more effective program to students.
There is a continuous training of teachers either through graduate and post-graduate programs, seminars, workshops and conventions in different areas in business. Compared to the previous years, there is a marked improvement in the qualification of teachers handling business courses. As of the latest statistics, Master’s degree holders in the College of Business and Economics constitute 81%, DBA holders, 4%, and Bachelor’s degree holders, 15% of total full-time faculty. Moreover, five (5) faculty members are currently in the dissertation stage of the DBA program. In the Accountancy department, all full-time faculty members have Master’s degrees. This is a far cry from the 1986 faculty data which recorded the following statistics: DBA – 2%, Master’s degree – 71% and Bachelors degree – 27%. The department of accountancy had the largest number of bachelor’s degree holders (56% of total accounting faculty).
A more active involvement of faculty members in professional organizations is equally encouraged. CBE faculty members not only are members of professional organizations such as the Philippine Marketing Association, Council of Management Educators, Association of Counselor Educators, Entrepreneurship Society of the Philippines, Personnel Management Association of the Philippines, the Philippine Association of Collegiate Schools of Business and many others but are elected officers of these organizations. A number of them end up as head of the above organizations.
CBE equally maintains strong linkages with business firms and corporations. It has tapped experts in the field of business and has even invited them to compose its Board of Advisers. The current Board of Advisers are Dr. Mario Lamberte, Vice President, Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS), Cesar Purisima, Managing Partner, Sycip, Gorres, Velayo & Co., Vicente Castillo, Senior Vice President, Bank of Philippine Islands, Robert McDonald, President, Procter and Gamble Philippines and Josiah Go, President, Mansmith & Fielders, Inc.
Faculty members contribute to the quality of education by sharing their expertise with other schools. Invited as speakers, they deliver lectures to their areas of specialization, conduct seminars, workshops and training modules not only in schools and professional organizations in NCR but also in other regions of the Philippines.
Programs Relevant to the Needs of Business and Industry
Students of CBE specialize in six areas of specialization: Accountancy, Business Management, Legal Management, Management of Financial Institutions, Marketing Management and Applied Economics. Graduates of these programs are conferred the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, the Bachelor of Science in Commerce or the Bachelor of Science in Applied Economics. A double degree program which combines a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy or a Bachelor of Science in Commerce major in any of the other programs provides students with theoretical as well as empirical exposure in economics blended with practical orientation of the tools in business analysis, management science, finance, accountancy, law and marketing.
The best evidence of the high quality of the DLSU Business and Economics Program is the large number of graduates who have assumed top level positions in business and industry and who have helped make the country more self-reliant by contributing to its economic growth.
The roster of companies that have established linkages with CBE is quite impressive. In Accountancy for example, representatives from Sycip, Gorres, Velayo & Co. have helped build our accounting curriculum to make it more relevant. Together with Joaquin Cunanan, Carlos Valdez and other reputable accounting firms, they have been the recipient of many of our graduates. Their high expectations of our graduates were matched by the performance of these graduates. Eighty percent of the topnotchers in the CPA exams are our graduates. We are aiming for a 100% passing in addition to garnering the top 20 places. The current 70% to 80% passing average of our graduates is viewed as inconsistent with our mission of academic excellence. Continuous efforts are being made to review plans, policies, programs and evaluation instruments for further improvement and enrichment.
“The Search for Excellence” campaign by such leading multinationals as Philippine Refining Company, Procter and Gamble, Colgate Philippines, Palmolive and Johnson and Johnson have galvanized the faculty members particularly those in the marketing department to involve their students in the further improvement of the delivery system of their programs. Students are required to render 400 hours of actual marketing work in a company or organization accredited by the department.
In a survey conducted by ITEO of 109 alumni and 36 supervisors, the marketing undergraduate training is found to be very relevant. The technical performance, professional competence, work attitudes and human relations of our graduates were viewed as better than other graduates of leading schools. Most marketing graduates surveyed indicated the ease of job-hunting, regular employment and promotion to managerial or supervisory positions here and abroad. As of 1990, those surveyed indicated a gross income of P11,500/month. The alumni rated the relevance of the marketing program to actual demands of industry as very satisfactory.
To meet the needs of business for paralegal services, the legal management program was introduced in 1987. Graduates of this program may opt to pursue law or get employed in business requiring their services. A number of them have joined their family firms. They found the study of Philippine laws particularly on labor and social legislations very relevant and highly informative. The expertise of practicing lawyers in both the private and public sectors contribute a great deal in enriching the discussions and analysis of many facets of Philippine laws. Our roster boasts of reputable practitioners in both the private and government sectors. We have as in our faculty judges in regional and metropolitan trial courts and officials in the following government offices: Agrarian Reform Presidential Legal Counsel of the Philippines, Manila Fiscal’s Office, Civil Service Commission and many others.
The Business Management program is considered to be one of the two most popular programs in the College. It prepares students to become managers and entrepreneurs who are fully aware of their social responsibility in the field of business. Students are taught the basic operations of various forms of business ventures as well as the development of attitudes, knowledge and skills critical to the success of small business enterprises. The program among others, covers environmental scanning, three terms of practicum, agricultural business and international business.
Graduates of this program have expressed satisfaction on the practicum programs where they are trained not only to start a small business but also to work as a team and be exposed to a lot of pressures initially experienced by entrepreneurs. These pressures coupled with schoolwork, prepare them to meet the challenges of the real world of work.
Providing Manpower Needs
In a survey conducted by ITEO in 1992, it was revealed that half of the graduates in business management surveyed are employed in various jobs ranging from clerical jobs to officers of the firm. For those who has the courage to start their business, the kinds of business currently handled by graduates include auto and heavy equipment, food and beverage, printing, groceries, retail and wholesale operations, agribusiness, healthcare, manufacturing and trading. Graduates in Accountancy, Applied Economics and in Marketing and in large corporations particularly in multinational corporations, end up in supervisory positions in merely a year or two.
Graduates of the program on management of financial institutions have landed jobs in banks and other financial institutions. Some ended in government financial institutions. A few opted to join the academe and train more students to become financial analysts.
Pursuance of Scholarly and Relevant Research
The research thrusts of the College of Business and Economics center on economic issues, policy analysis, program evaluation. Among the researches undertaken and completed to name a few, are the following: The Bataan Export Processing Zone; A Review o f Literature; Implications of a Closed Economy in the Mindanao Region; Input-Output Analysis Approach; Philippine and Australian Perceptions of Issues Related to the New Economic Order; Food Security and Commodity Trade; Poverty and Income Distribution in the Philippines; the Land Reform Program; Problems and Cases; Metro Manila Small Scale Entrepreneur in the Expansion Stage: An Analysis and many others.
Another research thrust is the development of materials for use by the students in their courses. A lot of books were written on different fields of business and economics. We have books on criminal law, administrative law, and labor laws; management, accounting, finance, marketing and economics. A number of these books are used either as textbooks or reference books in other colleges and universities. A book on economics written in Pilipino for high schools by a faculty member in our College who was awarded the most outstanding faculty member in NCR by the Metrobank Foundation is currently being used by many public high schools. These works have eased the dearth of Philippine books and have facilitated the expansion of knowledge in these different areas.
Assistance to Families in Depressed Areas Through Technology Transfer
The CBE has assisted a number of barangays in Metro Manila through technology transfer. Poor families are taught paper maché, paper making, batik and other technologies to enable them to have other sources of income. CBE assists them not only in the processes involved in these projects but also in the marketing of their products. Heads of families are trained in the rudiments of cooperatives and small business as well as principles of marketing, pricing and product promotion.
The faculty members and CBE guidance counselors have cooperated with COSCA in providing assistance to street children and the children of families in barangays they have adopted. The CBE currently has adopted Barangay 770, composed of 2000 families. A number of livelihood projects are being planned for the group. It is believed that in some small way, CBE has contributed in reducing the incidence of poverty in the areas it has penetrated.
Conclusion
The growth and development of human capital is the single most potent factor in the national development of the Philippines. The contribution of CBE in the expansion of knowledge and propagation of quality business education as well as the provision of necessary services for the furtherance of human equality, human dignity and human development in the highest standards possible has the great potential for inducing corresponding social and economic reform. Competent and skillful graduates molded in the traditional Lasallian culture who take their places in society create an impact on the quality of the development of this country.