FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY
Ka IkingSeñeres
Computerization does not
necessarily mean automation. However, automation could mean modernization if it
is done properly. Basically, computerization means using a computer to replace
a manual task. Putting it another way, computerization is also the transition
from analogue to digital; therefore computerization is also the same as
digitalization. By definition, automation means the process of doing something
without any manual intervention; therefore automation is also akin to turning
something into an automatic process. Taken collectively, computerization and
automation would cause the transition from old ways to new ways; and that is
the reason why it is associated with modernization.
If computerization is
not done properly, it would have the minimal effect of replacing a manual
typewriter with a personal computer, and nothing more. To some extent, a
spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel could replace a paper worksheet, but
that would also be like replacing a ballpoint pen with a word processor. The
better alternative of course is accounting software like Microsoft Great Plains
because it would automatically produce balance sheets after manually encoding
the data fields. By comparison, Excel would computerize the accounting process,
Great Plains would automate it. Assuming that this would cause a complete
departure from paper based processes, then it could be said that it would
already have the effect of modernization.
The cooperatives law is
a good law, and there appears to be nothing wrong with it now. According to
that law, the members and officers of cooperatives are supposed to hire
professional managers to run their organizations. In actual practice however,
this particular provision of the law is not being followed by the majority of
the coops, because they would rather hire their own relatives and friends as
managers. That is not the only problem, because there is another problem, and
that is the lack of management software that could put their businesses in the
right order.
The other mistake in the
practice of many coops is that they allow their board members to also serve as
the line managers, therefore laying the ground for conflicts of interest. This
also happens the other way around; they allow their line managers to serve as
board members. Aside from problems about conflicts of interest, this practice
also weakens the systems of checks and balances that are important in any
organization that has accountable funds. What complicates this further is the
lack of good accounting systems.
In order for the coops
to increase the accountability and efficiency of their systems, it would be
best for them to computerize their operations, going all the way to automating
and modernizing all of these systems. Office automation is just a starting
point, because they should also move up to factory automation if they are
making anything of value. Needless to say, they should also move up to
electronic commerce. As the saying goes, if businesses do not go into
e-commerce nowadays, it is as if they are not going into commerce at all.
Out of the 30,000
estimated numbers of coops in this country, only about 10,000 are said to be
viable, meaning to say that these are relatively well managed. It appears that
these viable coops have either professional managers or computerized systems or
both as the reasons for their success. The bottom line here of course is good
training, specifically management training and computer training. Fortunately,
many organizations have offered to conduct these training programs, among which
are the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), the French Chamber of Commerce
(FCC) and Microsoft Philippines.
The offers of AIM and
FCC came separately, the former involving foreign graduate students in the
Philippines and the former involving French graduate students who will come
here to fulfil their internship requirements. These two groups of students will
not only conduct management training, they will also teach the coop members how
to prepare financial reports and feasibility studies. These two types of
documents would be useful in applying for loans from banks and other financial
institutions. Of course, these documents could also be used in reporting to all
the coop members, a factor that could also improve accountability.
In the final analysis,
computer software applications are just management tools that could improve
management practices. The basic requirement is still to have good professional
managers who would know how to use these tools. This could be a chicken and the
egg situation, because it is also possible that computer software could also
enable some managers who are not too good, to become better. What is also
important is for the data to become transparent to everyone, so that the
managers will be always on their feet, careful always to report properly and
regularly to the members and directors.
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