International Forum TIP October 1999

The International Forum column continues to travel the world to explore the practice of our field outside the United States. In this issue, Regina Hechanova-Alampay and Elena L. Samonte introduce us to the field in the Philippines. For your comments and suggestions concerning this column, contact me at: Dirk Steiner; Dpartement de Psychologie; Universit de Nice_Sophia Antipolis 24, Avenue des Diables Bleus; 06357 Nice Cedex 4; France. E-mail: steiner@unice.fr. Phone: (33) 492_00_11_91. Fax: (33) 492_00_12_97.

I-O Psychology in the Philippines
Ma. Regina Hechanova-Alampay
Department of Psychology
Central Michigan University
|Mt. Pleasant, MI, 48858
m.alampay@cmich.edu

Elena L. Samonte
Department of Psychology
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
els@upd.edu.ph

The Philippines is an archipelago in South East Asia. Its people are generally of Malay descent although its history has created a culture rich with Spanish, Chinese, and American influences. Colonization by the U.S., for example, brought about many lasting influences such as the English language, the system of government, and the educational system. The latter, in addition to industrialization in the country, has given rise to the emergence of I-O psychology as a field of study.

Psychology was first introduced in 1926 as a field of study at the University of the Philippines, with other universities soon following suit (Tan, 1998). Today, psychology is offered as a degree program in almost all major universities in the country. The field of I-O psychology, however, did not emerge as a separate field of study until the 1960s. Fr. Jaime Bulatao, one of the founding fathers of psychology in the Philippines, introduced the science of group processes to the Ateneo de Manila University (Ortigas, 1990a). The Philippine Institute of Applied Behavioral Science was established in the 1970s by Fr. Eugene Moran, together with Carmencita Abella, Teresita Nitorreda, and Jose de Jesus. It was one of the pioneer groups in adult education methodologies in the Philippines and introduced such alternative modes of intervention such as laboratory or experiential training, sensitivity training (T-groups), and structured learning exercises (Ortigas, 1990a).

In the 1970s, with the boom in the exodus of the overseas contract workers (OCWs), the need for practicing psychologists grew. There was also a greater interest in the psychological aspects of worker morale and productivity (Torres, 1990), styles of management, and human resource development (Tan, 1998).

To date, graduate degrees in Industrial/Organizational Psychology or Organizational Development are offered in the Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Southeast Asian Interdisciplinary Institute (SAIDI), and the University of the Philippines (Ortigas, 1990b).

Although it is slowly gaining awareness in the community of psychologists in the country, the term "I-O" is still largely alien to most lay people. "Human resource management" (HRM) is recognized more, especially in the business community. The growing number of multinational corporations, human resource consultancies, and HRM practitioner organizations in the country have resulted in a relatively short time lag for the arrival in the Philippines of U.S. management practices.

The last two decades have seen a growing interest in I-O related research. Various studies on I-O related topics have dealt with the concept of work and productivity (Mirto-Flor, 1992; Carlota et al., 1988); the Filipino workertheir performance, problems, working conditions, and satisfaction (de Jesus, 1985; Ibarra, 1979; SyCip, 1982; Torres, 1981, 1988); work improvement teams (Agra, 1990; Galang, 1986; Gonzalez, Sosa, and Tongco, 1986); the influence of Filipino managers (Martinez, 1996); corporate culture (Gonzalez, 1987; Jocano, 1988); and organization development (Hechanova, 1992). Despite this, a survey of psychology publications reveals that only 5% of research in the Philippines is done in I-O (Bernardo, 1997). Bernardo (1997) attributes such a dearth to factors such as lack of research resources and the lack of a critical mass of researchers.

Such a dearth in I-O research is unfortunate because there are many potential areas for research in the Philippines. One such area is on the impact of geographical diversity in this country of more than 3,000 islands. The country is also known to have a large pool of overseas workers. The impact of domestic and international expatriation on the workers and their families is an area ripe for research.

To date, only 38% of the labor force in the Philippines is comprised of women (National Census and Statistics Office, 1998). Thus, the emergence of dual-career households is a relatively new phenomenon. The impact of work arrangements on individual and family well-being in the context of the culture is another area for research. In addition, whereas discrimination on the basis of age, sex, and handicap is prohibited under the Philippine constitution, the actual implementation and adherence to law needs to be studied more thoroughly.

English is a second language among Filipinos and is widely used in the business community. It is thus common to find Western I-O tools and programs being used in Philippine organizations. However, the question of how applicable Western management concepts and programs, such as 360 degree feedback, empowerment, and self-managed groups, are to management in the Philippine culture is another area that needs more study. The emergence of the Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology) movement in the 1970s raised such issues. As a result, some effort has been made to translate and/or develop indigenous instruments on personality and cognitive ability. However, there appears a need not only to develop more instruments, but also to validate their usefulness in predicting job performance.

Despite the uphill climb required before I-O psychology is firmly rooted as a productive and vital area of research and practice in the Philippines, there are also some bright prospects and opportunities that bode well for the discipline. In recent years, the demand for I-O training and enrollment in I-O graduate programs has increased steadily. Bernardo (1997) cites a clear and visible increase in demand for research leading to theory/models from non-academic sectors. Dayan and Bernardo (1997) also observe more cooperation between psychologists in academe and those in industry and private practice in the recent years. Finally, the emergence of information technology will allow Filipino I-O researchers more access to information and more opportunities for research collaboration with researchers outside their country.

References

Agra, A. C. (1990). Facilitating and impeding factors affecting the activation of work improvement teams in government agencies, Philippine Journal of Psychology, 23, 39_50.

Bernardo, A. B. I. (1997). Psychology research in the Philippines: Observations and prospects. Philippine Journal of Psychology, 30, 39_58.

Dayan, N. A. & Bernardo, A. B. I. (1997, July). Psychology in the Philippines. Paper presented at the International Council of Psychologists 55^th Annual Convention, Graz, Austria.

De Jesus, L. V. (1985). Explaining and predicting Filipino industrial workers' performance and satisfaction: The socio-psychological perspective. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Department of Psychology, University of the Philippines.

Galang, C. A. (1986). An assessment of the quality control/productivity improvement circles program in the Philippines. Unpublished master's thesis, University of the Philippines.

Gonzalez, J. T., Sosa, L. M., Tongco, A. (1986). Introduction to work improvement teams. Pasig: Development Academy of the Philippines.

Gonzalez, R. L. (1987). Corporate culture modification: A guide for managers. Manila: National Book Store, Inc.

Hechanova, M. R. (1992). Development and validation of an organizational assessement survey. Unpublished master's thesis, University of the Philippines.

Ibarra, T. E. (1979). Women Migrants: Focus on domestic helpers. Philippine Sociological Review, 27, 77_92.

Jocano, F. L. (1988). Filipino corporate culture. Quezon City: Punlad Research House.

Martinez, A. F. (1996). Methods of influence of Filipino managers. Unpublished master's thesis, Department of Psychology, University of the Philippines.

Mirto-Flor, M. S. (1992). The concept of work among Filipino workers in selected manufacturing and service settings. Unpublished master's thesis, Department of Psychology, University of the Philippines.

National Census and Statistics Office (1998). Press release [on-line], Available: www.census.gov.ph/data/sectordata/H980412.tbl

Ortigas, C. D. (1990a). Group process and the inductive method. Theory and practice in the Philippines. 2^nd Edition. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Ortigas, C. D. (1990b). Human (Resource) Development: A conceptual and operational framework for Philippine practitioners. Philippine Journal of Psychology, 23, 60_74.

SyCip, L. M. (1982). Working mothers: Their problems and coping strategies, an exploratory study. Unpublished master's thesis, Department of Psychology, University of the Philippines.

Tan, A. (1998). Philippine psychology: Growth and becoming. Paper presented at The History and Development of Social Science Disciplines in the Philippines, January 30_31, 1998, Philippine Social Science Council, Quezon City.

Torres, A. T. (1981). The Filipino worker in a transforming society: Socio-psychological perspectives. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. College of Arts and Sciences. University of the Philippines.

Torres, A. T. (1990). Work motivation and productivity of government workers. Philippine Journal of Psychology, 23, 30_38.

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