A Strange Visitor

I was turning on my computer last night to start doing my plates (projects) when I heard the voice of my father over my shoulder. I didn’t pay attention ‘coz I thought it was nothing. But he came in and showed me a little bird. He said he found it near our dirty kitchen. We thought that somebody, perhaps a kid, had captured and lost it. So he handed me the little creature and intended to keep it until tomorrow. It seemed tired and exhausted, obviously looking for its mother, I guess.

I don’t exactly know the name of its species, but it is one of the common types of birds I see in our yard. (Actually, we call it “Tamsi” (local term), the kind of bird that clings in small branches of plants.) It’s a long-beaked bird with dark gray-and-green feathers with a black spot on its yellow breast. Oh, just take a look at the picture. It’s a good thing I didn’t forget to capture the moment. 

The tiny creature doesn’t seem to be very friendly. As if I had expected! Well, I never had any experience of having birds as pets for a long period of time. But I still give tender loving care to any creature of Mother Nature. (--.) This cute little bird just behaved as I examined it and introduced myself. (Haha, I actually talked to the birdie. It’s just me, you see. That’s how fond I am to animals. ) About a couple of times too, that it tried to fly away from my gentle grasp while I took its pictures. No, I should say our pictures. I kept seizing it back. I could see that it’s catching its breath. Poor birdie, I guess he’s hungry.

So I handed the bird back to my father when he came in. He said we should let it fly but I guess it couldn’t fly away that much coz it has to restore its energy to go back outdoors the next day. I told my dad to spare him some food, (and I don’t even know what should be given to the bird coz I think a small grain of rice would make it hard for him to swallow). But my father brought the bird outside and placed him near the plants. The little creature jumped to a small branch of a certain shrub and it disappeared from my father’s sight, never to return again.

[HRM]: The First Experiences in NEDA XI

I just want to share the first experiences of our group in our adopted company...

NEDA XI [National Economic and Development Authority-Region XI] is our adopted company for Human Resource Management(HRM) subject field study.

The First Visit

Perhaps a memorable day to us. Because we didn't had a glimpse of what would happen as much as we don't really know the exact location of our adopted company - except the address of their building. You see, none of us had been there in such place. So we were all scouting for the perfect spot. Because of the uncertainty we felt during the moment we were riding in the jeepney, we stopped at a certain spot where I knew we can 'trace' the building - by walking. Sigh. There are no particular jeepney which could pass by the said road. And so, we hiked. Each of us looking for roadsigns in crossings we passed. Whew! We never expected it would be a looong day. What made it 'memorable' was that one of my groupmates ruined her shoe in the long run. She was complaining that she can't walk long enough and so we bought a rugby in on of the hardwares on the street. After that we continued our journey. (-_-) Finally, we got into the office (it was on a not-so-exposed location - so unfamiliar place) and handed the letter asking permission to let us do a study to their HR department. "-) The person who received the letter told us to call again for the schedule of the interview. Boy, they thought we were applying for an OJT.

The Day of the Supposed-to-be Interview

My groupmates and I had already prepared for the 'actual interview' in NEDA XI. I must admit its not actually a perfect timing for all of us. The company made the schedule for the interview, and so, since we didn't have a choice, we have to consider their vacant period. But when we got there, the person-in-charge of the interview referred us to another person to be interviewed who, at that moment, was nowhere to be seen. [We should finish the interview in time, you see, coz we still have classes after.] We just spent time there waiting - in vain. The person-in-charge of us (what I mean is the person we just called to) came out and announced that the interview would be postponed because the person she was referring to was not around and was not sure if he could come. In short, the interview was postponed on the next Monday. (-_-)

The Day of the Actual Interview
July 7, Monday

Only four of us (one of my groupmates had a class and she couldn't come) went to NEDA. But with us is a 'companion', the incharge of the documentation procedure. Lol. I'm referring to one of my classmates who was not actually enrolled in the subject but volunteered to help us. Thanks to her, we focused on the interview and she managed to capture the moment - on cam.

The one who made the appointment, NEDA XI Administrative Officer IV of the said institution, greeted us and asked for some sample questions about our interview. She then referred us to their boss, the Chief Administrative Officer, who would be our interviewee. (--,) Gee, we expect to have the HR manager (who happened to be the Admin Officer IV) as our interviewee since we want the HR Manager / Dept. Head of the institution but well, her reason was that he knows everything. (",)

The unexpected twist happened when NEDA XI Admin Chief said to us that he just wanted to give us the printed copy of whatever questions we had in our paper (actually that was made by Kate for the interviewer and NOT for the eyes of the interviewee). But since the HR Manager inspected the questions beforehand and passed it to him so we didn't have any choice. Plus, we thought that it would be an advantage to our part since we will be having a hard copy of their opinion. Chief's concern was that he wanted to see to it that whatever we will be discussing would be exactly what they imparted to us, so to say, the word-for-word statements he would be saying. Well, I understand their part, but maybe they just wanted to play safe you know.

So to cut the story short (now that this has gone long) we just 'played' as if we were actually interviewing Chief on cam. That was for the sake of documentation however. But it was the better part than the verbatim hard copy he gave to us. Later you will know the rest of the story about the outcome of our interview with NEDA XI.

Web Forum[HRM]: .."Human beings are the most important, potent and critical, resource of any organization..."

[Note: This is a reflection based on the posted quote in Mr. G.'s Web Forum[HRM]- Assignment 6: Make a reflection on this statement .."Human beings are the most important, potent and critical, resource of any organization, and yet the least understood and the worst managed of its resources"]

The HR department is the information center for the most important assets of any organization – the employees. (http://humanresources.about.com/od/new/Most_Recent_Articles_and_Site_Recommendations.htm) Truly because they composed as the most essential aspect as the workforce of the company. And so, they are the most influential and critical resource of any organization. Yet maintaining a well-organized HR department is, I guess, the most tedious task to do. For manpower is the worst managed of all resources. Unlike documents and computers, people have their own minds, emotions, and principles, especially at work. You can't just tell them to shut up when they wanted to brag about the tons of officeworks you gave to them. Much more, they are a lot more than machines which can't voice out their grievances and just do exactly what you tell them to do. Echoing the words of Mr. Stephen G. Basilio, Chief Administrative Officer of our adopted company, NEDA XI, it's not impossible to have cases like that, especially if you are dealing with HUMAN resources. Knowing people, each has his/her own personality/character. They differ in their own ways. Much alike, they have also their own behavior at work - their skills/potentials, and how they perceive your instructions. One can't actually impose this or that kind of management style without taking into account the kind of people he/she is dealing with, particularly the behavior of his employees. For when you hire this person, it's not only the skills and abilities of this person which you needed in work and have to address with. It's an all-in-one package. Admit it or not, you have to deal with them professionally, AND personally. Leading a team is a difficult job. (Experience tells!) You must first be a follower before you could win the hearts of your subordinates and earn their support. And you just can't put limitations to them. It's their human rights. And that's how hard it is to manage human beings. It's complicated.