"In our seeking for economic and political progress, we all go up - or else we all go down."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

The Slow World

“You can either be in the fast world, or in the slow world”, predicted Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Thomas Friedman. In his insightful book ‘The Lexus and the Olive Tree’, Friedman observed that the world is "increasingly experiencing three democratizations:

• the democratization of technology;
• the democratization of finance; and
• the democratization of information”.

Thus, in this rapidly changing world, he prophesied that instead of capitalistic, communist or third world countries, there would be only two kinds of worlds – the fast world and the slow world. To excel and be in the fast world status, a country must evolve its economy into one which is driven, among others, by the private sector, low inflation, balanced budget, increasing exports, privatization of state owned business and an honest government.

Transcending the slow world

Despite our trials and tribulations, we as a nation have always collectively dreamed (and hoped) that eventually, we will transcend this state of existence and progress to an elevated level of national competitiveness. Clearly the economic and social challenges faced by the Philippines are complex. There is no simplistic, ‘black and white’ solution, but the direction is clear. What we need is economic development with a ‘human face’ pursued by a lean efficient government and partnered by a competitive private sector:

• An efficient, honest government – An honest government, which implements the programs it crafts, which encourages results oriented performance and which proactively manages its budget and promotes transparency can realize this nation’s aspiration.
  
  
• Economic development with a human face – The Government must aggressively promote economic reform and development with a 'human face', and introduce economic policy that focuses towards an efficient eradication of poverty and regionally distributed infrastructure and social development. Progress needs to reach the grassroots level, and the only way that can be managed is through good governance, active participation of the LGU's and a strong stand against corruption.
  
  
• An efficient, competitive private sector - A country’s prosperity depends upon its competitiveness, which is based on the productivity with which it produces goods and services, according to Michael Porter (reknown Harvard professor and father of modern strategy field). National competitiveness requires a combination of sound microeconomic fundamentals and the sophistication of the operations and strategies of the companies operating in that country.

In other words, a country cannot be competitive without its corporations being competitive. As employees, entrepreneurs and stakeholders in corporations, it is incumbent upon each of us to ensure that corporations operate efficiently and effectively, that productivity is optimal and that innovation and excellence are a constant pursuit.

Dr. Conchita L. Manabat is the President of the Development Center for Finance and a Trustee-Treasurer of Children’s Hour Foundation. A past Chair of the International Association of Financial Executives Institutes (IAFEI), she now serves as the Chairperson of the Advisory Council of the said organization. She is also a member of the Consultative Advisory Groups of the International Auditing & Assurance Standards Board and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants. She can be reached at clm@clmanabat.com