IBM Philippines: Inspired to be the Best of Me

Ramon Yap Dimacali, chairman of IBM Philippines, is a voluble man, his words often gushing forth as so many energized streams of experience and viewpoint that his natural generosity bids him share.

It is a volubility that manifests dynamism and indefatigability, let alone a friendliness that seems to feed on an instant bestowal of trust on whomever he may be engaged with in conversation. This then usually slides into an easy give-and-take, with "Mon" ushering one in, so readily, into his world of management. To him it is a subject that is synonymous with responsibility.

"Corporate ethics is really the soul of the corporation," he says for starters, before going on into equations and formulas. "The business exists because it has principles, and these principles support the corporation to achieve its goals. The primary goal is customer satisfaction. But you cannot achieve this if you are not consistent in your application."

Dimacali even argues with himself in his often detailed exposition on any facet of business management, his avowed specialty.

"Business ethics provides the norm for everyone to move forward. Some people even call it the culture. I wouldn’t agree completely, because culture is the entirety of being a business and being a partner to your customer. I call it the practice of a norm that you impose on yourself, so that others will view you positively, as being fair."

Fairness crops up repeatedly in his discourse, which turns lengthy only because he wants to cover all grounds. And one senses that here is a man who is a veritable fount of ideas and inspiration, all indicative of a personal philosophy that has shaped him into a successful executive.

"We need ethics," he reasons out, "because it is the backbone with which you address your principles. Strategies will change over time. Customers will come and go. But what you believe in will stay. To me, that is ethics."

Ethical considerations, Dimacali continues, are essential in IBM’s conduct of business with its customers as well as business partners.

"We insist on a pact on business conduct with our partners, because they also represent us. So they should also treat customers fairly, and open up avenues for appeal and resolution. We have what we call a compliance certification, with rules on how they should conduct themselves in doing business – the way they quote prices, the way they perform or deliver... And then we have a team from the region that comes to audit them. And this is like asking: what have you done? How many proposals have you sent out? How many have you closed? Which ones have disclosures, non-disclosures? And in effect this helps them conform, to get into the groove. This isn’t the normal practice. Some people call it square. Some people call it a little bit tough. But in the end you know it’s a good relationship, because I know you’re being fair, and you know I’m being fair."
Elaborating on Principles
In his years as senior executive wth IBM Asean Region, Mon Dimacali has spread his wings to cover wide regional responsibilities apart from those involving IBM business partners, such as Small and Medium Business, Direct Marketing, PR and communications, Y2K initiatives and Customer Relationship Management.

With his current portfolio, he is also regional general manager for emerging countries, including Brunei, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

This extensive background assures any listener that Dimacali knows IBM’s business conduct like the back of his hand. He can elaborate on principles in clear and fastidious detail.

"We have three basic beliefs that govern our operations at IBM. And these I have known since I joined the company 31 years ago.

"Number One is best customer service. There’s no substitute for that. It’s expected by the customer, and is what you promised to deliver in the first place.

"Second is respect for the individual. Because we are all one family. As a team, the only way we can produce synergy is in concert, with trust and confidence in each other. And it starts with respecting each other. IBM has inculcated that in me. Whether you’re in the Philippines or anywhere else, you call each other by first name. Nobody makes coffee for you. You don’t shout at people; you speak nicely to them. Whatever has to be done, it should be a voluntary reaching out, rather than just following an order. So it’s more of inspiration and encouragement that we practice.

"The third one is of course pursuit of excellence. This is the IBM way. If you work with IBM, you better invest in yourself, improve yourself. So pursuit of excellence refers to you. How do you work? How do you manage your team? How do you grow your business from here to there? And you yourself, how do you improve your skills?

"You can sign up for various available on-line courses. Every employee has an ID and you can sign on, and learn things like pervasive computing. There are four modules you can learn from, even when you’re traveling. Because we are all so mobile. So sometimes, at the Singapore airport when I have nothing else to do, instead of reading a newspaper, I plug on my computer and sign up for a course. It’s meant for all employees to continue to improve themselves.

"This is globally available. There’s a data bank in New York where all 400,000 IBM employees are able to sign on and reach out, and it’s all for free. Through this instrument, you learn more each day, and constantly improve your skills."
Self-Improvement is Essential
IBM, he takes pains to explain, has a management organization that is an inverted triangle, with the manager’s area at the bottom, while the people are at the top. Thus, pressure is applied on the manager to lead and inspire those officially below him.

There are other means by which the company keeps itself on its toes and keeps its employees happily competitive.

"Every year we have a business effectiveness survey. Individuals are asked over 30 questions which relate to how IBM’s environment is improving – for you, your career, your relations with your manager, your work environment and your over-all satisfaction – both your advancement in and satisfaction with IBM as a company to work for. So, all of this embodies respect for the individual. Probably because of this, you won’t find a union in any IBM office. Because there is no need for it. Unless it’s imposed by law, no union is ever voluntarily organized.

"One other reason is that in IBM, everyone can speak out. The doors are open to senior executives, including the chairman. Any grievance is answered immediately. If I were to write the chairman, for instance, in 36 hours somebody from the U.S. will contact me and fly in to interview me about my grievance."

Personal complaints are only one part of the picture. Another is self-assessment, which is reflective of the constant pressure to improve.

"It’s very important when you have a very dispersed creative organization that you also provide checks and balances. This isn’t a negative audit. We call it self-assessment, which is very key. Self-assessment is submitting yourself to a checklist, one that’s creatively constructed so that you realize that when you answer the questions, you can find out yourself whether you need some improvement. I myself have submitted to this, whenever I feel I need improvement in some area. And this is essential in a dispersed, multi-cultural organization."
Early focus on Discipline
Dimacali acknowledges that his initial cognizance of ethics came by way of family and early environment. His father was a military man who was also a doctor, which meant having a "double case of ethics."

Mon proudly recollects that his Dad "was very honorable, very focused on treating people equally. And my mom was a disciplinarian. I grew up in a family of six boys, where I was the fourth. My grade school days started with a clipboard memo on what my chores were. Our Mom would note down the names of those who had chores for the day – to water the plants or clean the house, scrub the floor. I grew up in the province and very often, maybe because of my height, I was assigned to do the marketing. So I love the market. Up to this day, in my family I still do the marketing.

"And because I grew up with five brothers, I learned that you have to share at all times, equally. So in the early days of my upbringing, I realized I couldn’t have it all. And if I wanted something, it had to be shared. So we all wound up with a better appreciation of what we had."

This initial influence was of course enhanced in school, especially when he got to college. Mon says he owes it to his parents that he made it to UP, where he became a Corps Commander. Despite his involvement in Reserve Officers Training, he managed well academically, becoming a scholar while also receiving an honor star in military college.

"Again it was instilled in me that if you want something in this world, you must be disciplined. Discipline dictates your behavior and your consideration for others and their time."

The attribute has certainly taken him to where he is now, a position from where he can dispense valid advice and commentary on ethical practice conducted in a larger, corporate scale.

"Focus on discipline," he stresses, "also requires you to practice ethics properly. Because you might say, ‘Okey lang yan, pwede na!’ This attitude of ‘pwede na,’ or of ‘Gawan mo ng paraan,’ is going to surface every now and then in our culture. So you ought to be upfront and estimate whether you’re headed towards that, and try to get yourself out. I say this because in business, more often than not there will be agents – people who will try to attract you, vow to speed up things, act as facilitators. So you must be careful that you don’t violate any ethics."
Passing on the Golden Rule
Being a multinational company, IBM is particular about strict compliance with the laws of the land where it conducts business, Dimacali avers.

"When you join IBM, the first thing they do is give you this handbook, so you learn about our code of conduct. We even have a special green book for people who sell to government. Because government has a bigger implication. Not that it is seen as corrupt. It’s just that there is a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that we must comply with.

"So there are special guidelines for people in IBM who work with the public sector. On what they must avoid, what they can participate in, what they can commit, what IBM can give.

"For example, I cannot buy airplane tickets for government customers as part of special treatment. I cannot do that. But I would let them come in for a special session in New York. Attend that session and I’ll take care of all your expenses. But they have to get there. This is part of the corporation’s recommendation. That if the customer is going there on his own, then he’s investing as well. It becomes an open cooperation between IBM and the customer. He values the visit and thinks he will have a return from the visit; that’s why he is willing to spend time and money for it.

"There are some countries that will allow you to invite people to go on a demonstration of equipment, let’s say in Tokyo, and you can pay for that as part of the management expense. In some countries where we operate, it would not be allowed, such as here in the Philippines.

"We always take the law into special consideration, so that sometimes we may decide not even to participate in a business activity. I myself have decided against getting involved in certain bids – whether it’s in the Philippines or Singapore, or other countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. I am particularly sensitive to high-stake biddings. It takes much longer, for one. You cannot really quantify progress and stresses covering, say, three years. That’s a bit suspect. How do you break it down? I could compromise the corporation by participating. So we balk, or we adjust, because we want to comply with the law."

Dimacali stresses that this conduct is ensured not simply because IBM is an American company. "We regard it as the universal norm," he says.

"If you read through our conduct guidelines, you’ll find that they do not pertain only to American law, but are the same guidelines that we use in Africa, Latin America and Asia. It’s all really more of a golden rule. If you do this right, the others will do it right for you as well.

"Of course one might say that the other party is doing it, so why can’t you do it too? Because it is not right. And over time you would realize that the payback when you are doing good is more than what you would have had going for a short-term goal.

"I believe in that. Over time the payback quality is strong. I believe that in terms of accounts reserve. I believe that in terms of permits we have to seek out. I believe that when we bring things through Customs. We don’t have this apprehension, because people will say, IBM yan, they’ll never pay.

"Initially it’s hard, but once you start the norm, going south, then it will always go south. So you will have to have the conviction that this will pay back in time. And that the people themselves will echo the same belief to the next ones who will come in line. So it’s actually passed from leadership to leadership, and you have people saying it from experience rather than from reading the book."
The challenge in less-developed arenas
We ask Dimacali if the Philippine situation makes it more difficult to observe corporate ethics. His reply is as instructive as it is circumspect.

"Developing nations in general provide a challenge, because the market conditions result in opportunities for a lot of agents, or operatives, who want to make a fast buck. In more developed nations, skills are better appreciated, and the value of a principled position is recognized more than the price involved.

"So it is more challenging in less-developed arenas. There is however a growing recognition of the need to promote ethics in developing nations. It’s kind of, like, let’s start the build-up process for good business practice.

"In developing nations, the professionals are less exposed to that. The business norms for exchange are less formal. So there is a tendency to make ‘tawad,’ to forge what is called an ‘ex-deal,’ or barter. And that sometimes leads to something else. Ex-deals, barters, although highly recognized as a way of facilitating fast transactions, often lead to something questionable."
Looking at Interventions
As co-chairman and trustee of the Center for Corporate Citizenship of the Philippine Business for Social Development or PBSP, promoting ethical conduct in this country comes right up Mon Dimacali’s alley.

"We look at opportunities through which member companies can focus their social responsibility. We look at interventions, or what we can recommend as a company’s socially responsive and responsible role.

"The focus is primarily on education. How do we help expand education, on a country-wide basis? So a lot of companies give us their used computers, or donate computer labs. Then we partner them with schools that need them the most, more commonly in Southern Luzon, but also some in the Visayas and in Mindanao.

"We also look at local governments. We help municipalities. How do they get and seek business advice, for instance, in the flotation of bonds, so they can collaterize their operations and manage their financing? We have some people from finance companies who help municipalities, help local governments.

"We also intervene in cleaning the air. This is a project that is going on very well now, in collaboration with my co-chair who is the president of Shell Philippines. One project involves testing smoke emission of vehicles. Our biggest achievement is at the Ateneo, where there are an estimated 30,000 cars plying the area. Before you can have entry stickers, you have to pass our test.

"We take pride in the fact that it is now the students who are espousing the cause of clean air. We have arrived, I’ve said, because now it’s the youth asking for it, and it’s really for them. Can we help monitor, they ask. Can you also do this for Miriam College? It is the students now, no longer us, asking if we can do it. So we’re just passing the torch."
‘Responsibility work’
Obviously, Dimacali believes that ethical considerations are tied up with a company’s perceived responsibility in the task of nation-building.

"Yes, definitely!" he says with much passion. "As you move forward, business will be better. Business will grow. There will be more collaboration if there is trust and support from one another. And nobody can start but from the inside. Start from your own company.

"Corporate philanthropy or the practice of social responsibility is part of being in business. It’s not because I am ethical that I have to do this. It is another view of how business should be. And corporate philanthropy is part and parcel of your being a citizen of the company, whether as a provider, manufacturer, or seller.

"Corporate philanthropy should exist because business exists. Without it, business will die. Because there will be no appreciation of the business putting back something where it benefits from."

He is personally active in social work, or what he calls "responsibility work." Apart from his involvement in PBSP, he is chair of the Asia Pacific College, which works with industry partners like IBM Philippines and SM (Shoemart) Foundation toward producing graduates ready to meet the demands of the Information Technology industry.

He proudly claims that "we have the best curriculum course for high school, using IT for teaching mathematics and science." The program networks other high schools, like that of Makati. "So we out-source. We provide teachers, machines, course ware, and we integrate the syllabus. We are serving 45 high schools today. Then we have our partners, like Eduquest, to help speed up learning. We need this, because half our population is the youth, and we have to prepare them to become the knowledge workers of tomorrow."
Fire in the belly
Asked whether he sees any possible evolution of business ethics in the new millennium, Dimacali stresses unwaveringly that the principles will remain the same, for "ethics is ethics."

He elaborates: "You cannot define it any other way, even if there are new channels of business engagement, such as in the Worldwide Web. Companies that participate there must now exercise measures that will ensure that the same core belief of being an ethical company will continue to exist. You can’t modify ethics by saying that you no longer need to be ethical, only because you no longer see the guy who is buying. In fact, it’s the other way around. The more difficult the perception will be, because now you don’t know the guy. Admittedly, it’ll become more challenging. As you perform as an ethical company, and you do business with somebody whom you don’t see, you now have to take measures to ensure that the other guy will also be doing business with you in the same ethical manner as you are. So it is a challenge more than a question of whether ethics should or may change."

Dimacali defines integrity, very simply, as "espousing the truth no matter no matter how it hurts."

"As an individual," he adds, "you can only claim to have integrity if you believe in the truth."

We ask him about the devised slogan that turns IBM into another acronym which stands for "Inspired to be the Best of Me." Is it true that he coined this slogan himself? He smiles and nods modestly before replying tangentially. But it is not so tangential after all, for again he makes a strong point, and we see how he got there, and took us all the way with him.

"Having been 31 years in the company, I may have reached the apex of my career. One can survive through the years, through the changes of time. But there are very young people joining in. And I may not be able to discipline them the way they should be. They’re the X Generation, and I’ve studied them. They belong to a different group, and the best way to make them move is to make them believe in themselves, in what they can do.

"IBM, I tell them, has excellent opportunities for you. IBM is not the restrictive box that people used to associate us with. There is so much opportunity, but you have to be inspired, you have to be fired up in the belly to move forward in IBM. Precisely, the opportunities are so plentiful that it would require you to invest in yourself to get where you want to be, and where you deserve to be. It will not be handed to you by IBM.

"Now the competition for the job is global. They are not just looking at you for the Philippines, they are looking at you for the regional arena. There are people who are burning the midnight oil in Vietnam. You know, the Vietnamese do not read comic books, they read books. Do you know that 80 percent of the Vietnamese are 22 years and below, of 78 million people? Think of it that way: that the global competition is here.

"The way to get IBM ahead is to inspire them – that you will have your place in the company, that you will have to start today, and that the focus should be on looking inside you – what do you have and where you want to be. Then you’ll move on and you will look at that gap.

"IBM is known for that. The IBM methodology is where are we going, where we are, what is the gap, and what is the solution. Because we are a solution company. So we have to show everyone that there is a way to move forward in this company. And since I cannot set a template, because it can never be the same for everybody anyway, the best way is to get their hearts pumping. This is my company, where I belong, and the company takes care of me. That’s what I mean by inspiration.

"That’s why IBM can mean Inspired to be the Best of Me."
* * *
From Paragons: 23 CEOs on Corporate Ethics, a book project of the Ethics Committee of the Financial Executives of the Philippines or FINEX. Designed and developed by multi-awarded book designer and publisher Studio 5 Designs, the coffeetable book will have an initial limited edition of 1,000 copies, the sale of which will finance the printing of a softcover textbook edition which FINEX will donate to schools offering business courses. The hardcover edition will be launched in September.

The feature-interview that appeared on Wednesday, June 27, 2001, titled "Jaime Zobel de Ayala on the ‘Ayala way of doing things,’" is part of the series being excerpted in the Business Life section.

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