Dissecting NEA

>> Thursday, September 23, 2021

 LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

David March L. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY -- Should the National Electrification Administration under Presidential Decree 269 think with a corporate mind? This question was posed in an article that was written by none other but my cousin Abello Kollin Fernando, Ph.D., a professor of economics, rural development, management and development of cooperatives which is the hottest and electrifying issue today, considering the disturbance at the Benguet Electric Cooperative compound.
    I give a “thumbs up” to the insights cited by Insan Bello in his article which I am sharing with our readers in this opinion space. Dr. Fernando had organized and trained cooperatives for the last 30 years and presently heads the CCDC Credit Cooperative as board chair and I am confident that many would agree with him after reading his article.
For lack of space, I edited portions of it. Here it goes:
    I would like to look at the issue of the endorsement of the General Manager of Beneco from a corporate management perspective and set aside politics. 
    Electric cooperatives are highly technical. The nature of this industry is in the distribution of electricity which requires 24-hour services to cater to the needs of consumer-members. Therefore, management skills are not enough to run this field, as it should be coupled with high technical skills with lengthy experience in electric distribution.
    In the recruitment, screening alone in the corporate world, documents submitted by the applicants must be complete. If one applicant did not submit the pertinent documents to prove that he or she is worth to be recruited, the application is set aside or disqualified outright and other applications with complete documents are continued to be processed.
    This was where the NEA’s Board of Administrators (BOA) committed an error. Considering that the needed document is the 5-year experience of working in a successful electric cooperative, (watch the Baguio City Council, this was a question by Hon. Councilor Lulu Tabanda) this should have been given big points and importance since we are screening for general manager (GM) for an electric cooperative. This requirement is very crucial because the life of the EC depends on the experience of an applicant.
    Set aside recommendations from politicians and high-ranking officials. This reminded me of one who just passed the Electrical Board Exam in the late 1950s. As a young engineer, he immediately filed an application to the National Power Corporation with the ongoing construction of Ambuclao Dam in Bokod. He submitted his documents but during the screening and processing of his papers, the manager noticed one document – an endorsement coming from someone.
    Take note that most of the managers at that time were Americans. The American manager said: “Why do you need an endorsement? Is he a labor lawyer? Why? Can you not stand on your own?” To further explain that, you have to stand on your own and present yourself based on your qualifications.
    After all, the one that endorses you is not the one who will work in the company. What I’m saying is, this should be the mindset of every HRD, or for that matter, the NEA-BOA in the processing of the application and disqualify outright the other applicants with incomplete documents and not to be influenced by anybody.
    Emotional Intelligence (EQ). One factor that caught my attention is the result of their emotional intelligence exams. What is EQ? Why is it important in management? Why is it important in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of applicants? Emotional intelligence or EI/EQ is the ability to “understand and manage your own emotions, and those of the people around you,” according to Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist renowned as the Godfather of EQ.
    Why is EQ important? It is important because leaders should work well with others. The EQ can foster individual, team and organizational success. When we are in touch with our emotions we have a choice. We are able to take control of our emotions and our actions, rather than letting our emotions control us. Furthermore, Daniel Goleman emphasizes that 80%-90% of the competencies that differentiate top performers are in the domain of emotional intelligence.
    To sum it up: IQ + EQ = Success. A corporate man will give emphasis on this because he wants success. What is glaring is the recommendation from the University of the Philippines (UP) experts that one candidate is not recommended for GM. If only the NEA-BOA are corporate people, the one that passed the EQ exam should have been the basis for the endorsement of the most qualified applicant. What is the point of taking an examination if you will just set aside and base your endorsement on the final interview?
    Interview as I said, is subjective because the questions asked by the different members of the NEA-BOA vary, so that they require different answers, while the examination is objective because your score is your score. In fact, most of their answers might be opinions or ideas that are not substantiated by way of research or study. Examination, coupled with experience is still the best way to measure the total package of the applicant.
    The final interview may just be a confirmation of who will be endorsed and tell honestly to the other applicant that s/he did not make it based on their initial interview, qualification, performance, experience, and the result of their examination. If the NEA-BOA has a corporate mind, the right choice for Beneco GM is Engr. Melchor S. Licoben.
It's time to abolish NEA, if not, change the members of the NEA-BOA to corporate people who have extensive knowledge and experience about industry operation so they can endorse the most qualified and competent applicants for GMs in any EC. - Abello K. Fernando 
 

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