COVER VOL 7 copy JPAIR: Multidisciplinary Journal 172 Management Foundations and Global Readiness Index of School Heads of the Philippines FRUCTUOSO C. BALITON totsbaliton_67@yahoo.com DepEd, Division of Leyte (Eastern Visayas) Abstract - An understanding of personality contributes to an understanding of organizational behavior in that we expect a predictable interplay between an individual’s personality and his or her tendency to behave in certain ways (Jacob 1995). Most organizations today must achieve high performance in the context of a competitive and complex global environment (Porter 1998). This descriptive survey- correlation method of research aimed to determine whether the management foundations of secondary school heads were related to their global readiness index. The findings of this study may serve as a basis to take their strong personal characteristics as skills that should be nurtured and to take their good points as starting points to consider where and how to further pursue the development of their managerial skills and competencies. This may also serve as a feedback to work hard to grow and develop continually in the management foundations considering that their successes as 21st century managers may well rest on an initial awareness of the importance of these basic Vol. 7 · January 2012 Print ISSN 20123981 • Electronic ISSN 2244-0445 International Peer Reviewed Journal doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7719/jpair.v7i1.160 JPAIR Multidisciplinary Journal International Peer Reviewed Journal 173 management foundations and that they must be comfortable with the global economy and the global diversity that it holds. Chi-square established that their management foundations are not significantly related to their global readiness index. Keywords – management, personal characteristics, globalization, global awareness and cultural sensitivity INTRODUCTION Management is the attainment of organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling organizational resources. These functions of management form a framework for managerial action (Schermerhorn 1999). In what has become a classic study of management behavior, Henry Mintzberg (1989) moved beyond this functional description and identified three sets of roles namely: 1) interpersonal roles, 2) informational roles, and 3) decisional roles that managers must be prepared to perform on a daily basis. Essential to these roles and to all managerial work are good interpersonal relationships with a wide variety of people, both inside and outside the organization (Kotter 1982). Managers are formally responsible for supporting the work efforts of other people. Anyone who serves as a manager or team leader assumes a unique responsibility for work that is accomplished largely through the efforts of other people. The result is a very demanding and complicated job that has been described by researchers in the following terms(Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn2000).Managers work long hours. A work week of more than the standard 40 hours is typical. The length of the work week tends to increase as one advance to higher managerial levels; heads of organizations often work the longest hours. Managers are busy people. Their work is intense and involves doing many different things on any given work day. The busy day of a manager includes a shifting mix of incidents that require attention, with the number of incidents being greatest for lower-level managers. Managers are often interrupted. Their work is fragmented JPAIR: Multidisciplinary Journal 174 and variable. Interruptions are frequent, and many tasks must be completed quickly. Managers work mostly with other people. In fact, they spend little time working alone. Time spent with others includes working with bosses, peers, subordinates, subordinates of their subordinates, as well as outsiders, such as customers, suppliers, and the like. Managers are communicators. In general, managers spend a lot of time getting, giving, and processing information. Their work is often face-to-face verbal communication that takes place during formal and informal meetings. Higher level managers typically spend more time in scheduled meetings that do lower level managers. The Department of Education of the Philippines is mandated by Republic Act 9155, otherwise known as the “Governance of Basic Education Act of 2001,” that the principals, school administrators and teachers-in-charge (collectively referred to as school heads) must exercise instructional leadership and sound administrative management of the school. Moreover, the Mission Statement of the Medium-Term Development Plan for Basic Education declares: We shall decentralize educational management so that the school becomes the focus for enhancing initiative, creativity, innovation and effectiveness. Our efforts at educational quality improvement shall originate from the school and redound to its own benefit and that of the community. Subsequently, the Department of Education further defined decentralization to mean: promotion of school-based management; transfer of authority and decision-making from central and regional offices to the divisions and schools; sharing education management responsibilities with other stakeholders; and devolution of education functions. In other words, decentralization gives school heads and other movers of the school decision-making power, where previously, such power rested only on central, regional and division level officials. Power given to the schools in such that decision-making will be made by all those who are closely involved with resolving the challenges of the individual schools, so that the specific needs of the students will be served more effectively. Educational institutions that are managed by the school heads are not exempted from the concept of globalization. Just as today’s International Peer Reviewed Journal 175 organizations need managers with global awareness and cultural sensitivity so do schools need school heads who must know how to deal with people from other countries and cultures. Personality is an important attribute in management. It represents the overall profile or combination of characteristics that capture the unique nature of a person as that person reacts and interacts with others. An understanding of personality contributes to an understanding of organizational behavior in that we expect a predictable interplay between an individual’s personality and his or her tendency to behave in certain ways (Jacob 1995). To demonstrate leadership qualities, to develop a culture of peace and respect for cultural diversity in oneself, and to implement policies that promote a culture of peace and respect for cultural diversity are but few management attribute profile or characteristics from among the competency framework for Southeast Asian school heads developed by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) on 23 October 2009. Most organizations today must achieve high performance in the context of a competitive and complex global environment (Porter 1998). A global manager has the international awareness and cultural sensitivity needed to work well across national borders (Moran and Riesenberger 1999) and according to Houlder (1996), experienced international managers indicate that a “global mindset” of cultural adaptability, patience, flexibility, and tolerance are indispensable. School heads must understand first their own personal characteristics and culture in order to work well with people from different cultures hence this assessment on their self-described management foundations profile and to establish a baseline measurement of their readiness to participate in the global work environment. This study aimed at finding out whether the management foundations of public secondary school heads of the Philippines were related to their global readiness index or the extent of their readiness to participate in the global work environment. The findings of this study may serve as a basis for this group of public secondary school heads of the Philippines to take their strong JPAIR: Multidisciplinary Journal 176 personal characteristics as skills that should be nurtured by them and to take their good points, but still have room to grow, as starting points to consider where and how to further pursue the development of their managerial skills and competencies. This may also serve as a feedback for all public secondary school heads of the Philippines to work hard to grow and develop continually in the management foundations considering that their successes as 21st century managers may well rest on an initial awareness of the importance of these basic management foundations as well as a willingness to strive continually to strengthen them throughout their work career and for them to be aware that to be successful in the 21st century work environment, they must be comfortable with the global economy and the global diversity that it holds. Finally, for the Bureau of Secondary Education of the Department of Education to consider the findings of this study as a partial basis for assessment of the personal characteristics and the readiness to participate in the global work environment of public secondary school heads. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Specifically, this study sought answers to the following objectives: 1. To describe the management foundations of public secondary school heads of the Philippines in each of the following personal characteristics: resistance to stress, tolerance for uncertainty, social objectivity, inner work standard, stamina, adaptability, self- confidence, self-objectivity, introspection, and entrepreneurism; 2. To determine their global readiness index in terms of the following dimensions: global mindset, global knowledge, and global work skills; and, 3. To determine significant relationships between their management foundations and their global readiness index. International Peer Reviewed Journal 177 MATERIALS AND METHODS Figure 1 presents the data of the respondents by region. Figure 1: Data of the respondents by region Region Total National Capital Region 6 Region I 10 Region II 6 Region III 12 Region IV-A 8 Region IV-B 10 Region V 24 Region VI 24 Region VIII 44 Region IX 4 Region XI 2 Region XII 2 Region XIII 6 TOTAL 158 Figure 2 presents the data of the respondents by position/ designation. Figure 2: Data of the respondents by position/designation Position / Designation Total Secondary School Principal IV 8 Secondary School Principal III 22 Secondary School Principal II 28 Secondary School Principal I 82 Head Teacher III 6 Head Teacher II 4 Head Teacher I 4 Teacher In-Charge/Teacher III 4 TOTAL 158 JPAIR: Multidisciplinary Journal 178 The respondents of this study were 60 male and 98 female or a total of 158 public secondary school heads of the Philippines which comprises 65.83% of the total population of 240. These are the school heads who have returned the questionnaire to the researcher. A set of data-gathering questionnaire which is composed of two parts was prepared by the writer. Part I of the questionnaire measured the management foundations profile of the respondents in each of the following personal characteristics: resistance to stress, tolerance for uncertainty, social objectivity, inner work standard, stamina, adaptability, self-confidence, self-objectivity, introspection, and entrepreneurism which was adapted from the A 21st Century Manager Assessment Instrument of Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn (2000). The items on the list are recommended by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business as skills and personal characteristics that should be nurtured in college and university students of business administration. The researcher believes that the same items should also be nurtured in the public secondary school heads as their skills and personal characteristics. It was determined by requesting them to rate themselves on theirpersonal characteristics using this scale: S = Strong, I am very confident with this one. G = Good, but I still have room to grow. W = Weak, I really need work on this one. ? = Unsure, I just don’t know. One point is given to each Strong answer, and ½ point for each Good answer. No points for Weak and Unsure answers. The total score is the management foundations profile of each respondent which was interpreted using the following table: 7.5 - 10 = Strong 5.0 - 7.49 = Good 2.5 - 4.49 = Weak 0.5 - 2.49 = Unsure International Peer Reviewed Journal 179 Part II of the questionnaire measured their global readiness index or the extent of their readiness to participate in the global work environment in terms of the following dimensions: global mindset, global knowledge, and global work skills. This was adapted from the Global Readiness Index Instrument of Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn (2000) which they developed from “Is Your Company Really Global,” Business Week (December 1, 1997). It was determined by requesting them to measure their readiness to participate in the global work environment. The respondents rated themselves on each of the ten items to establish a baseline measurement of their readiness to participate in the global work environment by using the following scale: 5 = Very Good 4 = Good 3 = Acceptable 2 = Poor 1 = Very Poor Their scores were developed as follows: The average score of items 1, 2, 3, and 4 is the Global Mind-set Score of each respondent which was interpreted using the following table: 4.26 - 5.0 = Very Good 3.26 - 4.25 = Good 2.26 - 3.25 = Acceptable 1.26 - 2.25 = Poor 1.0 - 1.25 = Very Poor The average score of items 5, 6, and 7; and the average score of items 8, 9, and 10 are the Global Knowledge Score and the Global Work Skills Score, respectively,of each respondent which was interpreted using the following table: 4.34 - 5.0 = Very Good 3.34 - 4.33 = Good JPAIR: Multidisciplinary Journal 180 2.34 - 3.33 = Acceptable 1.34 - 2.33 = Poor 1.0 - 1.33 = Very Poor In interpreting the overall global readiness index of each respondent, codes were utilized. Coding was done to facilitate the analysis of the data. The dimension having the highest code was considered the index of the respondents or the extent of their readiness to participate in the global work environment. The descriptive survey-correlation method of research was used in this study using a questionnaire to collect data. Permission to gather the data was secured from the National Association of Public Secondary Schools of the Philippines (NAPSSPHIL) Executive Board and the distribution of questionnaire has been undertaken personally by the researcher, who was the chair of the secretariat, during the first day and the registration of participants to the 2nd NAPSSPHIL Public SecondarySchool Heads’ Congress at Puerto Princesa City, Palawan on January 20 – 22, 2010. The retrieval of the questionnaires lasted until the end of the closing ceremony on January 22, 2010. Frequency counts determined their profile in each of the ten personal characteristics and the extent of their readiness to participate in the global work environment. Average scores determined the overall profile of both variables. Chi-square was used in testing the null hypothesis that there are no significant relationships between their management foundations profile and their global readiness index that was tested at the 0.05 level of significance. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION On the management foundations profile of public secondary school heads of the Philippines Table 1 shows the management foundations profile of public secondary school heads of the Philippines. International Peer Reviewed Journal 181 Table 1: The management foundations profile of public secondary school heads of the Philippines Strong Good Total Personal Characteristics F % F % F % Resistance to stress 86 54.43 72 45.57 158 100 Tolerance for uncertainty 52 32.91 106 67.09 158 100 Social objectivity 64 40.51 94 59.49 158 100 Inner work standards 72 45.57 86 54.43 158 100 Stamina 92 58.23 66 41.77 158 100 Adaptability 106 67.09 52 32.91 158 100 Self-confidence 86 54.43 72 45.57 158 100 Self-objectivity 80 50.63 78 49.37 158 100 Introspection 94 59.49 64 40.51 158 100 Entrepreneurism 76 48.10 82 51.90 158 100 Overall Profile 86 54.43 72 45.57 158 100 It can be gleaned from table 1 that majority of the respondents have strong management foundations profile on the following personal characteristics: resistance to stress (54.43%), stamina (58.23%), adaptability (67.09%), self-confidence (54.43%), self-objectivity (50.63%), and introspection (59.49%). On the other hand, the majority of them have good management foundations profile on the personal JPAIR: Multidisciplinary Journal 182 characteristics of tolerance for uncertainty (67.09%), social objectivity (59.49%), inner work standards (54.43%), and entrepreneurism (51.90%). Overall, the profile shows that majority or 54.43% of the respondents have strong management foundations profile while the 45.57% of them have good management foundations profile. The findings of this study resembles to the investigation of Salgado (1997), as cited by Greenberg and Baron (1999), that examined the relationship between the standing of the big five dimensions of personality and job performance. The results were clear: High degrees of consciousness and emotional stability were associated with high degrees of performance across all occupational groups and all measures of performance. On the global readiness index or the extent of readiness to participate in the global work environment of public secondary school heads of the Philippines Table 2 shows the global readiness index or the extent of readiness to participate in the global work environment of public secondary school heads of the Philippines. Table 2: The global readiness index or the extent of readiness to participate in the global work environment of public secondary school heads of the Philippines Very Good Good Ac- cept- able Total Dimensions F % F % F % F % Global mind-set 82 51.90 72 45.57 4 2.53 158 100 Global knowledge 42 26.58 74 46.84 42 26.58 158 100 International Peer Reviewed Journal 183 Global work skills 54 34.18 78 49.37 26 16.45 158 100 Overall Index 54 34.18 90 56.96 14 8.86 158 100 Table 2 revealed that majority of the respondents or 51.90% of them indicated that they have a very good global mind-set to participate in the global work environment. In the other two dimensions, however, only 26.58% and 34.18% of them have indicated that they have a very good global knowledge and global work skills readiness index, respectively. Almost one half of them have indicated to have a good global mind-set (45.57%), global knowledge (46.84%), and global work skills (49.37%) readiness to participate in the global work environment. The other respondents indicated to have an acceptable global mind-set (2.53%), global knowledge (26.58%), and global work skills (16.45%) readiness index. The overall index shows that majority or 56.96% of the respondents have good global readiness index. Only 34.18% of them have very good global readiness index while 8.86% of them have acceptable global readiness index. The chi-square established that there are no significant relationships between the management foundations profile and the global readiness index of public secondary school heads since the obtained value of X, which is 2.742, is lesser than the tabular/critical value of X at the 0.05 level of significance of 5.991. The null hypothesis that there are no significant relationships between the management foundations and the global readiness index of public secondary school heads, therefore, is accepted. The non significant relationships between the management foundations and the global readiness index of public secondary school heads imply that it does not follow that if they have strong management foundations they also have very good global readiness index. Continuation of Table 2 JPAIR: Multidisciplinary Journal 184 CONCLUSIONS This research finally concluded that majority of the respondents are very confident with their ability to get work done even under stressful condition; to sustain long work hours; to be flexible and adapt to changes; to be consistently decisive and display one’s personal presence; to evaluate personal strengths and weaknesses and to understand one’s motives and skills to a job; and to learn from experience, awareness, and self-study. In their ability to get work done even under ambiguous and uncertain conditions; to act free of racial, ethnic, gender, and other prejudices or biases; to personally set and work to high-performance standards; and to address problems and take advantage of opportunities for constructive change majority of the respondents are confident but believe that they still have room to grow. This research also concluded that while public secondary school heads are very comfortable to receive and respect cultural differences they are only comfortable in continuing quest to know and learn more about other nations and cultures as well as in allowing themselves to work effectively across cultures. The management foundations of public secondary school heads of the Philippines are not significantly related to their global readiness index or the extent of their readiness to participate in the global work environment. LITERATURE CITED Competency Framework for Southeast Asian School Heads Developed for the LEARNTECH Multi-modal Flexible Learning Action Research Project, Version: 23 October 2009. Greenberg, Jerald and Robert A. Baron 1999 Behavior in Organizations Understanding and Managing the Human Side of Work, 7th Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Houlder, V. 1996 Foreign culture shocks,Financial Times (March 22, 1996), p.12, as cited bySchermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn. International Peer Reviewed Journal 185 Jacob, R. 1995 The resurrection of Michael Dell,Fortune (August 1995), p. 117, as cited bySchermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn. Kotter, John P. 1982 “What Effective General Managers Really Do,” Harvard Business Review, 60 (November/December 1982): 161, as cited by Mintzberg, Mintzberg, Henry 1989 Management. New York: Free Press. Moran, R. and J. Riesenberger 1999 Making Globalization Work: Solutions for Implementation. New York: McGraw-Hill. Porter, M. 1998 The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Competitive Advantage, and Competitive Strategy. New York: The Free Press. Republic Act 9155 2001 An Act Instituting a Frame Work of Governance for Basic Education, Establishing Authority and Accountability, Renaming the Department of Education, Culture and Sports as the Department of Education, and for other purposes. Salgado, J. F. 1997 The five-factor model of personality and job performance in the European community. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 30-43, as cited by Greenberg and Baron Schermerhorn, John R. 1999 Management, Sixth Edition. New York: Wiley & Sons, Inc. Schermerhorn, John R., James G. Hunt, and Richard N. Osborn 2000 Organizational Behavior, SeventhEdition.New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.