Road to Zambales: Impressions of barrio immersion as a training and development technique in the Philippines
| Author | M. K. Shams |
| Date | 01 April 1985 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.4230050206 |
| Published date | 01 April 1985 |
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT,
VO~.
5,
NO.
2,
157-167
1985)
Road to Zambales
:
impressions
of
barrio immersion as a
training and development technique in the Philippines
M.
K.
SHAMS
Ministry
of
Finance, Bangladesh
SUMMARY
The wide range of management training programmes for public servants in the Philippines is
closely integrated into career development plans and involves practical work by trainees at
village level. Trainees are required to reside in a village
for
varying periods
of
time to
familiarize themselves with life among the rural poor. The aim is to train local people in self-
reliant project management as well as to train civil servants in rural development. Close
relations with villagers provides an invaluable experience for city-based officials. However,
little effort is made to identify the needs
of
the rural
poor.
Client groups are selected at
meetings dominated by local officials. Officials tend to be ‘hosted’ by relatively wealthy
families. Linkages with government agencies at the local level are not made and there is little
organizational development among the rural poor
to
ensure the continuation of projects after
the withdrawal
of
trainees. Nevertheless, the ‘barangay immersion’ approach to management
training for rural development has considerable potential.
INTRODUCTION
Management training is taken very seriously in the Philippines. This is evidenced by
the large number of management and executive development programmes which are
offered by training institutions located in the government as well as the universities.
The Civil Service Commission, the Development Academy
of
the Philippines and
numerous institutes within the University
of
the Philippines offer some
of
the best
known management development programmes
for
mid-career and senior civil
servants. The Philippines Executive Academy offers the Senior Executive
Development Programme (SEDP), a ten-week-long course, for top level executives,
who are expected to play a major role in development management efforts. A
similar course, known as the Career Executive Service Development Programme
(CESDP) is also offered by the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP).
But
the DAP is concerned exclusively with training senior civil servants in the public
sector and in
a
sense functions as an administrative staff college. The Civil Service
Commission (CSC) which integrates and manages all personnel functions in the
government, including recruitment, training, development, promotions and career
planning, organizes many training courses for junior and mid-level managers.
Among these are the Junior Executive Training (JET) and the Executive Leadership
and Management (ELM) courses which are immensely popular. Academic courses
Mr. Shams
is
Joint Secretary
of
the External Resources Division, Ministry
of
Finance, Sher e Bangla
Nagar, Dacca
7,
Bangladesh.
0271-2075/85/020157-11$01.10
0
1985
by John Wiley
&
Sons, Ltd.
To continue reading
Request your trial