i also know of someone who used to work at the same fastfood chain as a dining area crewmember. i learned that he purposely worked there to lfamiliarize himself with the ins and outs of the business.he now owns a number of fastfood outlets, which he established himself.

obviously, there’s a big difference between me and this other guy (he’s a client of the-master-and-kumander btw). i was there for the measly salary, which for a young, clueless student back then already seemed like a windfall. but this other guy was there for the experience and learning, which he later used to set up his own business.

the point i’m trying to make here is that this fastfood opportunity can either be a waste of time or a great learning experience. it all depends on the person in the situation. however, i think we can safely say that of all the young people who work in these fastfoods only a handful probably have dreams of setting up their own restaurants. majority are there just for the extra cash and, perhaps, the illusory feeling of independence.

while it’s good these fastfoods offer an option for those who can’t find better jobs elsewhere, this situation is really quite indicative of a problem that needs to be addressed. there ought to be more and better employment opportunitiesfor everyone and there should be better matching of jobs and skills/qualifications.

Here’s the situation as I see it, there are no jobs or not enough for the millions of kids that graduate from college each year. It has been this way in the Philippines for the longest time and still is.

It’s a buyers market.

There is actually no effort at all on the part of government to regulate the private school system.

When computers were the big thing, what happened? There were computer schools everywhere and not enough computer companies to hire the graduates.

When the physical therapy was the big thing, you guessed it! Physical therapy schools up the kazooo and whatsits!

I’ve actually lived long enough to see the first and second Nursing school bonanzas. The first was in the 1980′s and then the second one happened just two or three years ago.

LPGD and I even have a friend who left his job as a writer to finish a nursing degree so that he can migrate to the US. Guess what? He is still here and because of his age, he can’t get a job as a nurse — EVEN IF HE VOLUNTEERS FOR IT!

I think, as far as jobs are concerned, you’d have to be pretty darned good or connected to get the good positions. Otherwise, you better get whatever job you can.

It isn’t a lack of ambition, it’s simply being practical about things.

Class D jobs going to class B and C people, that is the status quo.

On the other hand, this seems totally unjust considering that Joseph Estrada can be the President of the Philippines and some UP students who graduate with degrees in Nuclear Physics have to find a job abroad.

After getting certified as a phlebotomist, my uncle got a job at a hospital and now earns more than a high level executive here in the Philippines.

I wouldn’t say that he is rich but he is immensely comfortable and he can afford everything he needs.

He clocks in at 8 AM and clocks out at 5PM. Has three days off and has paid leave.

In the Philippines however, just to make ends meet, you’d have to have two jobs — if it is at all possible to do that. Some people work all week.

Those who have higher paying jobs cannot afford to take vacations.

We could, of course, debate how much of a priority that needs to be to either McDonald’s or Starbuck’s or any other company that follows the same pattern. From a business standpoint, it is highly effective. When I worked with Starbuck’s, my job was to help them be more profitable and competitive, not more corporately-responsible. Even so, the whole “McDonald’s concept” has a couple of (probably) unintended negative consequences:

-It’s lowering the already-pathetic standards of academic achievement. When enough companies set employment qualifications that are so far beyond the functional requirements for jobs, the education system responds by teaching to that level of function.
-It’s taking D class jobs and giving them to B and C class people. Indeed, the unemployment situation has a lot to do with that; there is an over-supply of workers, so the market is skewed in favor of employers. BUT, if D class jobs went to D class people, and the education system was training new workers to be competitive at a logical level — knowing that they will have to be, because the low-hanging fruit is going to get picked before they reach the job market — then those students are going to have a better chance of being able to develop new businesses and jobs. And you won’t have as many engineers driving taxis for a living in the States.

Long-range thinking. What a concept.

Sorry for the lateness of this response, I’ve been busy with another advocacy and it’s kinda hairy.

When McDonald’s opened its store number 2 on Morayta (which is in the University Belt) sometime in the mid 80s, McDonald’s had to train part time staff composed mostly for Filipino college level kids.

The usual Filipino work ethic usually entails a lot of slacking off and inattentiveness to the details of their jobs — be it cleaning a street or being a high level government executive.

Now, when McDonald’s introduced their system to Filipinos and trained them in that system, something remarkable happened. At first, there was resistance (as can be expected), but eventually, the dissenters were weeded out and those that were left adapted to a new way of delivering fast food service. After some more time, McDonald’s became known in the Philippines for being the best companies in the fastfood service in the Philippines.

Filipino college kids were trained in a system where there was an exact way of doing everything and a prescribed time to accomplish everything. Work was made to comply to standards, everything from frying french fries to cleaning windows had an exact procedure and employees’ performance were assessed according to those standards. Every employee was trained to master one job at a time before being rotated and given another job to master. After mastering all the jobs, they were then given the opportunity to train as a supervisor and thereafter, as store manager.

Moreover, McDonald’s paid its employees by the minute (deducting pay for the number of minutes they were late to report for work or late to resume their duties after a fifteen minute break). The employees were issued uniforms, their meals were subsidized, and were given non-monetary rewards just for doing ordinary jobs extra-ordinarily well.

The morale of the story here is this, Filipinos thrive in well thought out systems that are balanced to serve the company’s interests as well as the interests of the employees.

The college level kids that were working in McDonald’s at that time were not after just money, they were in there to learn how to run and manage a fast food company while getting paid for it. A lot of the kids that got jobs at McDonald’s at that time came from middle class backgrounds and were pretty well educated. They were working for McDonald’s to serve higher needs on the Maslownian pyramid of needs.

I think McDonald’s is a small example of how Filipinos can thrive and be the best they can be under a good system that rewards hardwork and fulfills higher human needs — above that of food, shelter, and security.

Subic is a bigger example, but I don’t want to get into this because LPGD already has had his fill of my hero’s stories. (Dick Gordon can walk on water!)

But, let me give you one more example of what happens to a Filipino when he or she works under the right system.

My Uncle was a truck driver for Goodyear Philippines for ten years. He relocated to the United States after my Aunt got a job there as a nurse. My Uncle barely finished high school and while he had a lot of skills (apart form being a truck driver, he was also a diesel engine mechanic, a carpenter, a plumber, an electrician, etcetera), he couldn’t get a job because he didn’t have certification for the skills that he had. For some reason, or another, instead of getting certified for the skills he already had, he decided to get training as a phlebotomy technician (someone who takes blood samples and analyzes it) and he eventually got certified for that skill.

In the Philippines, everything is set up against the average Filipino.

Normally, most Filipinos go through public education in a system that barely teaches them the basics. Most of those that get through college have the intellectual skills of a high school graduate and they naturally end up with lower paying jobs. Some even end up as teachers in the public school system.

Even those that go through private school from elementary to college find it tough to make any head way. After all those years of education, they eventually find themselves battling it out for entry level jobs which give basic pay.

It’s great that we have call centers nowadays, but really, I have a lot of friends working in the BPO industry. They were more interesting before they entered it, something bad happens to the brain when you answer the phone all day and keep repeating the same script.

Anyway, perhaps the flaw of the “Philippine system” is not that it does not reward good behavior, but that it rewards bad behavior better.

Slightly disturbing in a Twilight Zone kind of way?

i’ve been thinking about your comment and i must admit it caused my head to spin a bit. could you elaborate.