Bachelor thesis of BA Organizational Communication students http://dspace.cas.upm.edu.ph:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/265 2026-04-09T23:40:09Z 2026-04-09T23:40:09Z Nacu, Ryan F. http://dspace.cas.upm.edu.ph:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/3604 2026-03-17T19:02:03Z 2002-03-01T00:00:00Z

Benchmarking Practices in the Philippine Context: A Descriptive/ Comparative Study in the Baliuag University and the Bulacan State University Nacu, Ryan F. Management is a process that systematizes the efforts made by the different departments of the organization in order to achieve its goals. It is done through the execution of its five basic functions that are planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. Planning is the most important of the five functions for it initializes the development plans of the organization. Management especially planning is carried out well if the objectives of the organization are clearly communicated to the members of the organization. Communication thus plays a vital part in the accomplishment of the development plans of the organization. It must be made clear what type of planning is to be used for the objective of the organization. One of the many planning tools that can be used in terms of development is benchmarking. Benchmarking is the process of studying the organization and comparing it with other leading organization of the industry in order to assess their own status and identify their needs to equal the performance of the best in the field. Through benchmarking the organization may also identify its "best practices" to improve them. It is also through benchmarking that the organization may be able to acquire and exchange information that may be the basis of improvement. A handful of benchmarking books featured successful companies from the western part of the globe. Though unrecognized, Philippine organizations conduct their own benchmarking procedures. Their benchmarking activities need to be looked into to see their unique features. To do this, the researcher formulated the problem, "What are the patterns of benchmarking in the Bulacan State University and the Baliuag University?" The study aimed to expose some of the patterns of benchmarking practiced in the Philippines through studying the benchmarking techniques, information acquisition and development plan considerations of the two universities. To acquire the necessary information, the researcher had to obtain information from the upper level of the organizational hierarchy of the two universities. This is for the reason that the management staff is the one responsible for initializing the development plans in organizations. The study focused on the communication patterns, management styles and benchmarking procedures. It was limited only to the members and to the campuses of each organization. The study covered the conditions of both universities from their start to the present. The study used the descriptive/comparative approach to gather and present the data, characteristics, components and aspects of benchmarking. It also used the evaluation approach in assessing the impacts and outcomes of the studied benchmarking processes on the two universities. Descriptive/comparative study method was also used for the better assessment and comprehension of the concept of benchmarking. An interview schedule and a checklist in were used in gathering information about the benchmarking procedures of the two universities. The data obtained from the universities were analyzed in terms of the design and implementation of the benchmarking processes. The researcher had found out that the two universities were conducting modified internal, functional and generic benchmarking processes. The researcher also discovered that the universities were able to acquire information about the leading organizations through survey and print information. In doing so, the stakeholders of the universities such as their students, professors and staff were involved. From the data gathered, the researcher concluded that the development plans made and conducted by the Bulacan State University and the Baliuag University are the manifestations of the benchmarking practices of the two institutions. The development plans of uplifting and improving the services, facilities and work of the subordinates were the specific indicators of these patterns. The internal, functional and generic benchmarking patterns were traced from the development plans of the schools and were based on the requirements for them to rise to a higher status.

2002-03-01T00:00:00Z Panganiban, Alejandro B. Jr. http://dspace.cas.upm.edu.ph:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/3601 2026-03-17T19:01:57Z 2002-03-01T00:00:00Z

Various Public Perceptions on the Effectiveness of the Department of Tourism (DOT) Campaigns in Uplifting and Promoting Philippine Image Panganiban, Alejandro B. Jr. Communication has always been an integral part of civilization because of the various functions it performs. People are informed of the facts of life and living through communication. It is evident that communication will remain a pivotal process for humankind. Due to its impact, various fields have emerged to explain and further understand the complexity of this process. A major field that transpired from the concept of communication is Public Relations or PR. It is concerned with what information should be transmitted to whom, when, where and how. In this endeavor, it utilizes various tools and strategies. Inherent in the process of public relations is the task of image-building, that is creating a reputation, maintaining it, and protecting it. Consequently, it is not only concerned with information but persuasion as well. This has been the major concern of all individuals and organizations at present. An organization that is tremendously burdened with the task of image-building is the tourism organization. It facilitates the development and growth of a country's tourism industry. In order to achieve these, it should ensure that the country has a favorable image and should strenuously work to maintain, protect and promote this. In the Philippines, the Department of Tourism (DOT) is the institution primarily responsible of guaranteeing the country's positive image. Recently, the DOT has been criticized for ineffectiveness because of the low tourism growth rate of the country. Many have compared the Philippines with neighboring countries such as Thailand and Singapore, and stated that the country has a great tourism potential. But, to the dismay of many, the Philippines failed to achieve Thailand's eight (8) million tourist arrivals in the year 2000. In fact, the country could not even maintain the two (2) million mark it achieved in 1996. Furthermore, the tourism growth rate of the country has been declining for the past three (3) years. Many have associated these events with the inefficacy of the DOT. Thus ii is the goal of this study to analyze this issue concerning doubt and controversy on the effectiveness of the Department of Tourism. One way of doing this is by scrutinizing the campaigns formulated and implemented by the DOT in promoting the Philippines. In this light, the study aims to discover "What are the various public perceptions on the effectiveness of DOT campaigns in uplifting and promoting Philippine image?" The sub-problems are: (1) What is the nature of DOT? (2) Whal campaign strategies were employed by the DOT in different periods? What were the reasons behind their choice of strategy for each period? How did the sociopolitical context of the Philippines affect their choice of strategy? (3) What are the different perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the DOT campaigns in uplifting and promoting Philippine image? and (4) Among the campaign strategies implemented by the DOT, which were perceived to be effective by the different publics? The paper is focused primarily on communication, specifically on public relations and how ii is applied in the tourism context. The Department of Tourism was the organization in focus and its campaigns were analyzed. Public opinion about the campaigns and organization was gathered to discover their effectiveness. The data gathering was from October 2001 till January 2002. The research utilized both qualitative and quantitative methods of data gathering. It used descriptive research design in discovering aspects of the issue concerned and evaluation followed to discern the implications. Library research was used to learn about the history of the department and some data about the campaigns they have implemented. Content analysis was used to compare the three most recent campaigns. Surveys were used to acquire public perception on the Philippines, the department and the campaigns. A scheduled interview with a DOT official was requested to reinforce the data obtained from the other research methods. A checklist for the content analysis of the campaigns was formulated to obtain data regarding certain aspects of a particular campaign and to compare it with another. Two DOT officials were tapped to answer the checklist together with the researcher. A scheduled interview with a director at the DOT took place and this provided the facts about the department and how it performs its duties, Two survey questionnaires were created to discern public perception from one hundred (100) DOT employees and sixty-five (65) local and sixty-five (65) foreign tourists chosen through convenience sampling. Statistical and componential analyses were used to evaluate the data. Based on the data obtained and analyzed, it appeared that the Department of Tourism is the government's arm in facilitating the tourism industry. It is aided by its four attached agencies in its task of policy formulation, strategic and marketing planning, legislative liaison, inter-agency and intra-governmental coordination, regulatory control of the industry sectors, and delivery of support services for domestic and international tourism promotion. It is mandated to encourage, promote and develop tourism as a major socio-economic activity with the support of both private and public sectors. It is guided by the 20-year Tourism Master Plan of positioning the Philippines as a prime tourist destination and spreading the benefits of tourism to the wider segment of the population. From 1985 to the present there have been five (5) administrations, from Ex-President Ferdinand Marcos to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Within those eighteen (1 B) years, the Department of Tourism had ten (10) secretaries from Mr. Jose Aspiras to Mr. Richard Gordon. And within this span of time, there have been ten (10) major campaigns and programs. The DOT does not have any standards or criteria in formulating the campaigns but they do consult certain experts and market statistics for advice. Among the campaigns, excluding the current campaigns, Ms. Mina Gabor's "Best of the Islands" Campaign and "Bring Home A Friend" Program were perceived to be the most effective. On the other hand, Ms. Gemma Cruz-Araneta's "Rediscovery Philippines" Campaign and "Balikbayani" Program were perceived to be least effective. The current campaigns of Mr. Gordon are the "WOW! Philippines" campaign and the "Volunteer 12" program, promised to revitalize the ailing tourism industry. Most of the respondents believe that the Philippines has a negative image and the campaigns have failed to reach their supposed target audience, thus, they have been regarded as ineffective. Furthermore, because of the campaigns inability to reach several expectations, the implementing organization, which is the , is perceived ineffective.

2002-03-01T00:00:00Z Pineda, Enrique E. Jr http://dspace.cas.upm.edu.ph:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/3599 2026-03-17T19:01:58Z 2002-03-01T00:00:00Z

Computer-Mediated Communication in Medical Consultation: A Case Study of Doctorgeorge.com Pineda, Enrique E. Jr In the early stages of human medical history, physical and psychological disorders were treated through quasi-religious rites rather than through scientifically based procedures. The application of the scientific method to problems of human health and illnesses began at the time of ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, around the 5th century BC. By the 21" century, medicine, the treatment of human illnesses and disease, has advanced so dramatically with the rapid development in information in the medical sciences. Central to the practice and successful pursuit of medicine is communication with a stress on communication with the patient. Communication is used for the purposes of diagnosis, cooperation, counseling, education, and a more recent view of it having a direct impact on the recovery of patients. The primary form in the doctor-patient communication relationship is the medical consultation wherein a patient seeks the professional advice and opinion of a doctor for recourse and instruction regarding his health or medical condition. Effective communication during the medical consultation is of utmost importance, since the doctor's competent diagnosis and the patient's eventual compliance is based upon it. There are three factors affecting effective doctor-patient communication namely: patient related (physical symptoms of the illness, psychological factors such as anxiety and denial, previous and current experience in medical care); doctor related (training in communication skills, self-confidence in ability to communicate, personality, physical factors such as tiredness, and psychological factors such as anxiety); and interview setting requirements (comfortable surroundings, and an appropriate seating arrangement). Traditionally, medical consultations have been face-to-face interactions. In this age of the development of the computer, communication technology, and the Internet, society is faced with medical consultation using computer-mediated communication, otherwise known as on-line medical consultation. Computer mediated communication is defined as any communication wherein a computer or network of computers is used as a means or medium of communication. The most often used types of on-line medical consultation is via e-mail and via chat; both text-based forms of computer mediated communication. On-line medical consultation can either be through the patient's personal doctor or through on-line doctors from e-medicine websites that offer on-line medical consultation. Only one Philippine based e-medicine website offers on-line medical consultation via chat and this is DoctorGeorge.com. The newness of the technology and the phenomena, particularly in the Philippine setting, makes one cast doubt upon the effectiveness of DoctorGeorge.com to provide medical consultation via on-line chat to Filipino patients. Thus, the author posed the main problem, "ls DoctorGeorge.com an effective medium for medical consultation as perceived by its patients?" The subproblems were: "What is the nature of DoctorGeorge.com and its services?"; "What is the profile of the Filipino patients of DoctorGeorge.com?"; "What is the profile of the Filipino doctors of DoctorGeorge.com?"; "How often do patients consult DoctorGeorge.com?"; and "What are the perceived advantages/disadvantages of computer mediated communication (DoctorGeorge.com) in medical consultation?" The study's general objective was to determine whether or not DoctorGeorge.com is an effective medium for medical consultation. Also known as the clinical interview, medical consultation has traditionally been in the form of face-to-face interpersonal communication. Being the primary form of doctor-patient communication, medical consultation is the original basis of all other steps in curing a patient. Society is now faced with a very novel situation where computer mediated communication through the Internet is fast becoming a part of their daily lives and on-line 'everything' is daily fare. This situation gives scholars an unlimited area of study for communication. This study focused on the use of computer mediated communication in medical consultation via on-line chat, more conveniently referred to as on-line medical consultation, as offered by DoctorGeorge.com. This study will try to discover a deeper understanding in this new field of on-line medical consultation, the profile of the people who participate in it, as well as their experience with it. Its key informants were exclusively Filipino patients of DoctorGeorge.com and only those patients who have consulted on-line via DoctorGeorge.com's medical chatroom. As far as the researcher knows, this is the first time that a study which focuses on the Filipinos' use of computer mediated communication in medical consultation was undertaken. In this situation where there is a dearth in information regarding this novel phenomenon in the Philippine setting, an exploratory descriptive approach was taken. Now that there is a limited number of Filipinos who use on-line medical consultation via the medical chatroom of DoctorGeorge.com, a non-probability convenience sampling procedure was used. Primarily, the data was gathered through a survey questionnaire sent via e-mail, to facilitate questions regarding the respondents' profile and their experience with DoctorGeorge.com. It was found that DoctoGeorge.com is a California established, Philippine based e-medicine website, which among other things, offers on-line medical consultation via chat and e-mail 24-hours a day. Filipino patients are mostly college educated, computer and Internet proficient, relatively well-to-do adults. Majority of them are comfortable and satisfied in consulting via DoctorGeorge.com's medical chatroom and would recommend the service to their friends and acquaintances. Majority of the doctors are young, well schooled (majority of whom are UP College of Medicine graduates), and Internet proficient individuals. The competency of the doctors in providing on-line medical advice is guaranteed through a stringent recruitment, qualification and training process. Most of the Filipino patients have consulted one to four (1-4) times, while an average of20 Filipino patients a day consult through the medical chatroom. The perceived advantages of on-line medical consultation via DoctorGeorge.com are convenience, practicality, being free, immediacy, anonymity, privacy, informativeness, detailness comprehensiveness, comfortability, reliability, being a good source of second opinion, good for emergency purposes, and more patients having more time for questions. The perceived disadvantages are that there are no actual physical check-ups, no face-to-face encounter, no real diagnosis, no medical tests, no prescription, and unknown doctor's credentials, coupled with technical difficulties, the possibility of miscommunication, doubts in reliability and accuracy, being generalized in nature, being too careful in giving advice, being time consuming, time limitations, and inappropriateness for difficult cases.

2002-03-01T00:00:00Z Tabisaura, Andrea P. http://dspace.cas.upm.edu.ph:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/3592 2026-03-16T19:02:17Z 2002-01-01T00:00:00Z

The Perceived Role of Computer-Mediated Communication in the Emergence of an Organizational Culture: A Case Study of the Bureau of Internal Revenue-Information Systems Group (BIR-ISG) Tabisaura, Andrea P. Every organization has an organizational culture. Organizational culture consists of the commonly held values, beliefs, attitudes and behavior of organizational members. It is manifested in their unique language, created symbols, shared narratives, and organizational practices. Cultures vary across organizations and they are formed, maintained and altered through the process of communication. Recent developments in Information Technology (IT) had paved the way for networked computers. These enable users not only to exchange information, but also to engage in meaningful communication. This led to the advent of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC). Companies and organizations who recognize the advantages of networked communication had adopted these CMC technologies in their day-to-day activities. It is recognized that byaltering the way people communicate in an organization, the organization's culture changes as well. Foreign studies on this matter, however, analyzed CMC and culture in the public level only, that is, the Internet. Local empirical studies on CMC, on the other hand, have so far been limited to its effects on worker efficiency, public relations and sales. Hence, there is gap in knowledge as to the link between CMC-use in the organization, and organizational culture. Given the above context, this study therefore aimed to answer this general problem: “Whatis the perceived role of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) in the emergence of the existing organizational culture in Bureau of Internal Revenue-Information Systems Group (BIR-ISG)?” It likewise aimed to provide answers to the following specific problems: 1)Whatis the organizational profile of BIR ~ ISG?; 2) What CMC tools are currently used in BIR-ISG?; 3) How do the employees of BIR-ISG use these CMC tools?; 4) What is the present organizational culture of BIR-ISG?; 5) What was BIR-ISG’s organizational culture prior to the introduction of CMC in the workplace?; 6) Is there a significant difference between the present and the past organizational culture of BIR-ISG?; 7) What is the perceived role of CMC-use in the emergence of the existing organizational culture in BIRISG? This study aimed to fulfill this general objective: To discover the perceived role of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) in the emergence of the existing organizational culture in Bureau of Internal Revenue-Information Systems Group (BIR-ISG). In particular, it aimed to fulfill the following specific objectives: 1) To describe the organizational profile of BIR-ISG; 2) To identify the CMC technologies that are currently used in BIR-ISG; 3) To describe how the employees of BIR-ISG use these CMC tools; 4) To find out what is the present organizational culture of BIR-ISG; 5) To find out what was the organizational culture of BIR-ISG prior to the introduction of CMC in the workplace; 6) To find out if there is a significant difference between the present and the past organizational culture of BIR-ISG and; 7) To investigate what is the perceived role of CMC-use in the emergence of the existing organizational culture in BIR-ISG. This research tried to shed light into the issues regarding CMC in the workplace and its relation to organizational culture. Organizational culture is significant to companies as it provides a sense of identity, belongingness and commitment for employees. CMC, on the other hand has potential for a variety of consequences for the organization, some of which anticipated, some not. An understanding of what its role is in the emergence of an organization’s culture is essential to yield a better understanding of how an organizations CMC tools shape and maintain organization members’ most prized commonality, which is their organizational culture. The study utilized the exploratory-descriptive research design in answering the problem. In particular, a case study was followed in characterizing only one organization, the Bureau of Internal Revenue-Information Systems Group (BIR-ISG). The employees of BIR-ISG served as the subjects for the research. For the qualitative data, five (5) BIR-ISG key persons were purposively picked and interviewed. This group includes an ISOS Senior Network Administrator, an IPQS Division Chief, an ISDS Division Chief, an ISDS Cell head, and a Senior Information Technology Officer. They have been employed in BIR-ISG for a range of eight to ten years and their ages range from thirty two (32) to thirty eight (38) years. For the quantitative data, the target was a census of all CMC users who have been employed at least a year prior to the installation of LAN and other CMC tools in the workplace. Out of the five hundred (500) CMC users in BIR-ISG, only seventy-eight (78) were qualified in this category. A questionnaire was distributed to all of them but only sixty five (65) or eighty three percent (83%) have been filled out and returned. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages and ranking. Inferential statistics such as the weighted mean and chi square (x?) were further applied to determine whether there is a significant difference between the perceived existing culture and perceived past culture of the organization. The results of the study showed that BIR-ISG is the Revenue Group responsible for the Bureau’s Information Technology systems. Its functions include information systems development, information systems operations and information systems planning and quality service. BIR-ISG has a Local Area Network that enables the LAN, e-mail, e-group, Winpop and the Unix Groupware to run in the workplace. Among the CMC tools available, E-mail is the most frequently used by everybody in communicating to their superiors, subordinates and peers. The Unix Groupware on the other hand, is what basically enables them to collaborate on authoring and editing documents, which is part of their daily routine. Among the many topics available for communication, organizational information and task information are always on top of their priority to communicate with people in the organization. This is followed by problem solving, conflict-resolution and motivation. It was also revealed that relational information such as employee satisfaction, personal information and grapevine information are the least frequently exchanged messages through CMC. From an analysis of the qualitative data, it appears that the culture of BIR-ISG is characterized by its organizational members’ commonly shared positive attitudes towards work that are guided by their values such as honesty, integrity, commitment to work, respect and camaraderie. They believe that their desire to serve the country through efficient delivery of duties is their ultimate motivation to work. Their norms for behavior are simply doing what is expected of them and being tactful when talking about a co-worker. Their organizational culture is further manifested in their organizational logo; office lay-out such as equal cubicle space for employees and larger office space for superiors; jargons such as “database,” “support” and “deliverables; shared narratives about employees who rose from the ranks and corrupt examiners who have been expelled from office; and organizational practices such as “team building.” However from the analysis of the quantitative data, it seems that the culture of BIRISG is characterized by being “moderate” in the three cultural dimensions namely power distance (specifically the outsiders’ distinction of managers from employees, unequal treatment of organization towards bosses and employees, employees level of discouragement from questioning authority, and level of employee slavery); uncertainty avoidance (specifically the management’s level of entrusting employees with access to information, management's preference for predictability to risk-taking and flexibility, and level of employees’ restriction to rigid organizational rules and structures); and individualism (specifically the management’s preference for individual performance to group collaboration, level of employees’ motivation from personal concerns, level of employee collaboration, and management’s impersonal treatment of employees); but “low” in masculinity (specifically the kind of values rewarded in the organization, qualification of women in the workplace, extent to which management interferes with employees’ private lives, and differentiation of sex roles). From a comparison of the quantitative data dealing with the before and after dimensions of culture, it appears that the introduction of CMC did not affect the levels of power distance and uncertainty avoidance which remained moderate, and masculinity which remained low. The individualism dimension however seemed to have changed due to CMC in that it moved from low to moderate. When the three dimensions were further analyzed, it appears that there are decreasing trends within the moderate level range of power distance and uncertainty avoidance, but an increasing trend within the low level range of masculinity femininity dimension. How these changes came about may be further explained by the roles that CMC played in the organization. It appears that CMC has been associated with the level of centralization, formalization, and upward communication in the organization, the extent of employees’ mutual trust, collaboration with one another or isolation of members from the group, flexibility in task delegation, as well as the extent of equality of their male and female members.

2002-01-01T00:00:00Z