Shaun T. Dy's Business & Economics Perspective Blog

WWD I really hate December because of the heavy traffic. Some say that people do last-minute Christmas shopping because they just live paycheck to paycheck. However, the way things go during payday can tell why they can't have the money to do some early Christmas shopping . An irony indeed that Christmas comes early in the Philippines (September) but not the Christmas shopping.  Indeed, so many should realize that living paycheck-to-paycheck should be a warning not to splurge on it (read here ). Instead, they choose to many stupid activities. Maybe, call in the one-day paycheck where they immediately go splurging the paycheck when it arrives. They would focus more on their wants than their needs. I guess that's why some fools are demanding the stupidity of higher salaries and lower price of goods aka Sahod Itaas Presyo Ibaba. I'm afraid that such a move isn't economically feasible (read here ). Even if they do get a high-income job (or even become an OFW for better inco

  2023 is about to end and it's going to be  2024  any time soon. It's very easy to talk about  New Year's Resolutions  but why is system change hardly discussed? I run into people on Facebook who love to say, "It's just common sense that it's the people, not the system, that's the problem." That's the  wrong type of thinking  that hits people whether it's business or politics. I would like to discuss how systems affect business. Back then, I was challenged, "If you manage the business, can you do better?" My only answer is, "There's no guarantee." What I should've said is, "We must create a system for the business that will force anyone, not just me, to do better." We need to define what a system is  Does a system really matter? If you look at the definition of what a system is in this context, I can give the definition from the  Merriam-Webster Dictionary : 1 :  a regularly interacting or interdependent g

Updated: December 23, 2023 I'm amazed at how I'm surrounded by people overly resistant to change. I was reminded of a former house helper (who also loved the phrase "If it's bitter then just add sugar", read the related article here ), who was overly resistant to change. She would always get mad whenever the iron, the light outlet, etc. were changed to better ones. I'm afraid the same can be true about jeepney modernization. There are some people (and even "thought leaders") who are still saying, "No to jeepney modernization! Think of the drivers!" The same people may also be those who are still against accepting of FDIs because of dumb reasons like "But only the FDIs will get rich!" or "FDIs will invade us and destroy our sovereignty type of talk."  I'd admit that driving in the Philippines isn't exactly more fun. I remembered a couple of times I cursed because of a jeepney driver. I guess the vehicle gets the n

Chinese is a tonal language and it can be very confusing. None of the overdose of memorizations in Chinese has done a thing. I tried using the Taoli application updates and found myself not hitting the 75% mark in the Pinyin lessons. I do feel I didn't master the subject until I hit 75% (passing) then tried to reach 80%. The final lesson in the Taoli Pinyin course is tonal change . If I still had that weekly report card from the Pinyin course, I think I'd get a red mark with a score I had with only 68% during my exercise last night.  It can be very confusing but here are a few rules to remember: Vivid Chinese This can be very confusing. From the Vivid Chinese , we can read this general rule of thumb to follow: 不 usually pronouns as “bù.” But it can change to “bú” when it follows by a 4th tone word. 一 pronouns as “yī.” But it can change to “yí” or “yì.” And if you see two third tone in a row, the pronunciation of the first word will change to the second tone. This can get confu

I wrote about the Filipino obsession with the iPhone a few months ago . With Christmas being a few days away, I wrote that post to address the foolishness (and hypocrisy ) of wanting imported luxury items for Christmas. One of the greatest wishlists that someone in the Philippines could have composed of imported luxury items. It shouldn't be just a bag--it should be something like the latest Prada or Hermes. It shouldn't just be a smartphone or a new tablet--it should be an iPhone or an iPad. Some Filipinos may have even pestered their OFW relatives to bring them the latest imported luxury item. Never mind that working abroad, separated from loved ones, is anything but glamorous. Ironically, some people who want imported luxury items still oppose economic reform. I mentioned  how Apple has a huge factory in Communist Vietnam . I wrote an article where I discussed Lego operating a factory in again, Communist Vietnam . Just think for the moment if I talk to them, who are either

IgnitED As Christmas vacation comes near, I remember a couple of stuff why "vacations" aren't vacations. The schools tend to give ridiculous schedules. For example, the unit test or the periodical test comes  right after Christmas vacation . Many times, the value of rest is overlooked. It's even ironic how science teachers should say, "Nobody should be sleeping at 9 P.M.  You are in high school and you should sleep even at 10 P.M. Do your work even if it breaks your biological clock." Remembering those words, I also wrote an essay on why sleep-deprived education is one of the biggest problems . Then we wonder why students end up rebelling by doing many things like too much screen time (which I did a lot to the point I lost touch with reality) or even going out with the wrong people. I wonder if the three musketeers back in high school went home late out of rebellion? Sure, they weren't the unruly crowd but they probably did some mischief out of frustrati

Net25.COM Is it me or is the Philippines' economic policy not that well-defined? One can always argue there's no need for an economic charter change, never mind that the economic legacy of the late Benigno Simeon C. Aquino had economic amendments. I was looking into Facebook and found the updates on the Senate of the Philippines' Facebook page.  The update above from the Senate of the Philippines' Facebook page has me skeptical. Now, I decided to do a little more Googling before I criticize. It would be best to get what the other party says. I would like to share a part of what Philippine Senator Sonny Angara has to say, which I might provide some constructive criticism along the way: When we came up with our Tatak Pinoy or Proudly Filipino advocacy in 2019, the overarching goal was to transform the Philippines into a progressive and vibrant economy, to help Filipino entrepreneurs and industries become more competitive, and to provide our people with more opportunitie