19 January 2022

FEU students reflect on ECAAR Dialogues on the "Ethics of the ASEAN Human-centric workplace"

By
AUN Writer Team

Prof. Leonardo F. Cada, Jr., a member of the Faculty of Business Administration, Institute of Accounts, Business and Finance, Far Eastern University, Manila-Philippines, encouraged students from his course "Leadership and Decision Making" to attend the recent ECAAR Dialogues webinar "Ethics of the ASEAN Human-centric workplace: How will ASEAN develop an ethical and sustainable workplace for future generations?” on 2 December 2021. Below is a collection of their reflection notes.

Student 1:

The speakers and leaders of Association of Southeast Asians Nation (ASEAN) discussed their plans about creating a sustainable workplace for future generations, such as those of us who are still in school, especially in this time of pandemic. They presented various plans, such as professional certification training for human development in the workplace. Furthermore, the leaders also explained their techniques to show how they manage and improve the skills of their employees to achieve the goals they set for themselves. Some demonstrated their dilemmas and as a leader, they showed how they were able to devise a plan to solve and overcome them which can also help other individuals in making a solution plan. Throughout the webinar, ASEAN leaders and speakers demonstrated their values and ethics in terms of how they lead their companies and how they were able to solve challenges on their own plans with the assistance of their organization. I believe that the speakers in the webinar are the best leaders because they were able to do what they thought was right when confronted with a dilemma.

Student 2:

I found the topics discussed enlightening. It opened my eyes to not only ethical frameworks but also actions I could take that can result and contribute to a better and more sustainable future. With the increasing number of issues surrounding the future of the workplace such as climate change and even the advancements in technology such as AI; I believe that it is the time that we address such glaring issues for the sake of the workplace of the future generations. To prepare is to adapt, it is impossible to keep things the same — things will continue to evolve and change with the coming times so it is important that we keep ourselves flexible for what may happen.

Student 3:

According to the webinar, ethics is extremely important when it comes to running an organization. Everyone in the business must be ethical for it to be successful. However, in order to have ethics, one must first establish values that are important in moral reasoning. As per Mr. Le Hong Phuc of AHDO, their mission is to promote human development at work because some companies focus on managing and treating their workers like resources rather than humans. He also stated that human development (HR) in the workplace should provide opportunity for employees to grow as well as a readiness to listen to what employees have to say. This helped me realize that the only way to prevent ethical quandaries is to have a care-based thinking.  According to the Chapter 5 module, it is comparable to the phrase "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." If the business has the same mission and values as ADHO, they may develop their followers for the greater good, from which they can benefit in order to make their firm successful.

Student 4:

I have learned that the society's employability is slowly starting to shift from the older workforce (such as boomers, and Gen Xers) to a much more younger scale of workers (Millennials), According to Mr. Adrian Tan, the employees in the current era is so many that it comes to the point that there will be no jobs for other graduates, they can however resort to marketing based workplace because millennials are technologically inept and they have sufficient knowledge in technology, they can utilize their skills to improve their performance in the organization.

Student 5:

The webinar Ethics of the ASEAN Human-Centric Workplace has taught me a lot of things through their four effective speakers. However, there was one speaker who struck me the most, Nadia Tan Abdullah. In her discussion, she talked about how evident sexual harassment is in the workplace and how we should pay more attention to it because of how important this issue is. She also mentioned how a company, or a leader should resolve this issue by collaborating with their team members. Looking back to our previous lesson, Module 5 – Values, Ethics and Characters, the Component of Moral Potency can serve us as our guide in reflecting on those solutions she has mentioned. (1) Moral Ownership gives a sense of responsibility to a leader by not condoning any inappropriate behaviors, no matter how small it is, such as whistling or staring. (2) Moral courage provides a sense of determination to resolve sexual harassment using ethical actions, such as having a strong Human Resource personnel to hire deserving employees and making sure that equality in the workplace is observed. (3) Moral efficacy gives a sense of confidence in believing in one’s leadership skills to educate people on what is ethically wrong and right and using one’s platform to help those in need to let their voices be heard. These three Component of Moral Potency would help us not just in resolving sexual harassment, but also in being an effective leader for the success of our organization.

Student 6:

The webinar was very insightful as well as for showing us the perspectives of each ASEAN country with regards to worth ethics as well as showing us some problems that are still prevalent in modern society’s work culture such as sexism within the workplace or talking about the efficiency of the usage of technology to increase work productivity as well as tackling the worries of technology replacing humans for more efficient work, reducing the available jobs. The guest speakers were able to deliver their intended points clearly, although some were shown to quite obviously be inexperienced due to their inability to adapt to questions made by Bob Aubrey and the audience. The webinar did a great job in showing the economic and cultural differences between different countries in both ethics and norms. These ethical views provided by the speakers as well as their insights would prove useful in creating a thought-provoking way of thinking and would no doubt prove helpful for when the time comes that we would be in a similar work environment ourselves.

Student 7:

The people of the ASEAN region are very diverse, but at the same time, we do share some cultural commonalities. One of them is that our society is very much based on hierarchy, on respect, and the power base is quite high. However, it is moving and evolving as a result of education and time. In her discussion, she cited how she had noticed that her children have different perspectives about life as compared to her; this phenomenon can be attributed to the kind of environment in which her children grew up, which according to her was very different from the conservative and traditional household she grew up in. The main point is that there has been a significant shift in people’s behavior, as well as differences in values and beliefs between people of different generations. One example of this is that people who belong to the category of Millennials or Generation Z are evidently more knowledgeable of the new technologies than Gen Xers. Moreover, she emphasized that culture is very important because it influences a person’s behavior. As a person who has experienced working in local and multinational companies, she has seen the cultural differences in both local and multinational workplaces. Working with multinational corporations means that you are working with global nationalities, so the openness to transparency is very different when compared to local companies that have this power-based hierarchy. With this, I realized that the reason why sometimes people are afraid to speak up is because of this hierarchy thing that exists in the workplace. This hierarchy system, in my opinion, can be a bit problematic, especially when we relate it with ethics, because it holds back people from speaking up when something is not morally right.

Student 8:

Overall, the webinar was excellent; it provided us with ideas and insights into the depth and dynamics of work ethics, as well as the future of work in the ASEAN region. Every speaker covered a range of topics from which we may learn and gain knowledge. However, as a youth, I was particularly interested in the topic presented by the fourth speaker, Ms. Kalian Tea, who spoke about the youth work vision. According to her, the mindset of youth in the workplace is purpose-driven and has a feeling of belonging; previously, it was all about doing what their families wanted, but that has changed due to this new mindset. Additionally, self-leadership is the next phase after having a positive mindset, being aware of their surroundings, knowing about their society, being able to communicate, and having empathy for others. But, most significantly, she stated that it all comes down to a youth’s own vocation, or what they desire. She then proceeded to talk about enabling youth to contribute to companies. We talked about values and ethics in this subject before, and I can see how it relates to this topic. Transparency and openness should be promoted by leaders because they foster trust and commitment. A leader can understand one's vocation and have a good influence by believing in the vision of a youth.  Second, through sustained structure, it establishes a strong root and a sense of belonging. Lastly, being open as a leader involves aiding and allowing others to discover, practice, try, and learn. To conclude, being ethical is all about a person's mindset; we don't need a degree or a certain title to recognize what is good and wrong.

Student 9:

As Jesse Jackson said, “Leadership cannot just go along to get along. Leadership must meet the moral challenge of the day.” Having a human-centric workplace can help create a positive, pleasant, and hard-working environment in workplaces today and for future generations. A survey by the Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends in 2020 about the factors affecting the increased importance of managing ethical issues related to future work revealed that the dominant factor is the legal and regulatory requirements and the rapid adoption of AI technologies in the workplace. In accordance with this, we need solutions like focusing more on giving protection to workers and reskilling the workforce to have a better work environment that practices ethical works. But, as change became rampant, different AI technologies are now replacing our work from doing simple things like making coffee to complicated stuff like driving.

Student 10:

When the hosts were asked about what behavior they think is essential in a workplace that their countries need best, they answered respect among diversity, inclusivity, collaboration, empathy, and communication. Their answers are ideal for a harmonious social relationship. These values are investments that will build strong roots to the society that is why it is stated in the e-book, these values are "... generalized behaviors considered essential"(Hughes et. al., 2022). Therefore, as a human that has a role in society, I should behave morally in both interpersonal and intrapersonal interactions to have a friendly life and to prevent causing harm. Being ethical is a learning process that we can gradually achieve through education, experiences, and networking as Miss Kaliane Tea said at the conference (AUN Secretariat Official, 2021). And so, my skills will be aided by my conscience to have the right judgment when faced with moral challenges. The talk enlightened me about how we each have not only responsibility but also purpose and if we are already clear about it, we should begin a legacy, a good one that the future generations will learn from.

Student 11:

The webinar primarily taught me a variety of things, most notably ASEAN's Human Development at Work, which addresses a variety of issues through its various dimensions and which I believe can benefit students, particularly because I can relate it to what I learned in our Leadership and Decision-Making subject. One of the topics discussed in the webinar is ongoing growth and independence in the workplace, which I believe is very necessary for a human person to love his or her job and to continue developing as an employee. As well as ASEAN's human development at work has a specific goal of establishing a sustainable work environment from which everyone may benefit to not only deliver a world-class service to the workplace, but also something creative. That would also impact the leadership diversity of human development at work. One of the things that is emphasized on the webinar are the words collaboration and humanity; for me as a student, these two words are extremely beneficial to the workplace because they are what the leader uses to maintain a positive relationship with his or her subordinates as well as effective collaboration within the workplace, which is one of the things a leader and his subordinates can do to improve their performance. This kind of webinar reminded me of a lot of the topics we had in Leadership since showing humanity to your subordinates and establishing positive relationships with them enables the leader to influence his team.

Student 12:

It was reassuring to hear that there are still organizations, such as the AUN Secretariat, that recognize its significance and are eager to educate the public about it. Their webinar entitled "Ethics of the ASEAN Human-centric workplace: How will ASEAN develop an ethical and sustainable workplace for future generations?" is an educational and praiseworthy discussion that focuses on ethics and its relationship to sustainability. To begin, the webinar underlined that corporate culture does centralize ethics - the concept of what constitutes right and wrong, good and bad behavior in the workplace. I've discovered that having a strong work ethic is vital for creating strong networking connections and growing in one's own job. It is also one of the characteristics that influence workplace productivity, which means that the more ethical colleague or subordinates you have, the more successful your firm will be. Finally, ethics is a type of evaluation of the situation in which action occurs; it answers the question, "Does the action support or degrade the system or environment that allows the behavior to be possible and relevant in the first place?”. To summarize, ethics which is about achieving all the virtues, righteousness, and responsibility together leads to sustainability.

Student 13:

The webinar about the “Ethics of the ASEAN vision of a Human-centric workplace” focuses on the notion of the future of work in relation to ethics. Among the discussions by the speakers, I would like to emphasize Ms. Kaliane Tea’s discussion about the role of the youth in developing an ASEAN human-centric workplace for the coming years. The current generation is the next occupants of the workforce; hence, the youth must undergo developments that will shape them to be better workers in the future. They should develop by themselves, but external forces like the academe and the government must also facilitate their growth and development. The youth should be in an environment where they can discover and learn every career opportunity and, in turn, embrace the career that suits them. The seedlings should be cultivated carefully in order to create a place of well-grown trees. By developing the youth, future workplaces will be filled with fine workers.

Student 14:

To be a listener of the webinar was a great opportunity, I gained more understanding of how to develop a sustainable and ethical work environment for future generations along with the value of becoming a leader.  Ms. Kaliane Tea’s portion has struck me as she talks about how youth can also contribute to the betterment of a human-centric workplace. The youth of today have the voice to impact others, thus, earning self-leadership would assist oneself to develop confidence, fortitude, and the ability to influence one's own behavior and emotion. Allow youth to maximize their own potential, in that way, they will be able to construct a well-built foundation surrounded by expertise that’ll shape the future.

Student 15:

As I watched the webinar “Ethics of the ASEAN vision of a human-centric workplace” I've noticed that each speaker fits into "The Gen Xers” category since they are digitally savvy, self-sufficient, and skeptical. They are very knowledgeable about technology, as evident by their presentations. Aside from that, I loved what Nadiah Tan Abdullah discussed during the webinar.  She brought up the issue of workplace inequality. She recommended that when it comes to women in the office, everyone should be treated equally. She also advised leaders to educate their followers about these issues and to intervene or launch an investigation if a woman is sexually abused at work. As she noted there have been examples of women being sexually assaulted by males in the office. When I relate this topic to one of our modules, I notice that she comes within the interpersonal behaviors category in the four general categories of attitudes and behaviors since she demonstrates care and concern for others, particularly women in the workplace. She wanted to assist all women in the workplace and encourage them to speak up if they are treated unpleasantly. Overall, watching the webinar is a great way to learn more about how ASEAN is working to produce a more ethical and sustainable workplace for future generations. I hope to see more of these types of webinars in the future.

Student 16:

 Each speaker allowed us to focus our attention to the ethical issues arising in the ASEAN workplace, like inequality and the new ways of working. Today, we continuously push to refine our technology and test out its capability by introducing machines into the workforce. Regardless of its effectiveness in carrying out tasks in the future, we are also in the path of failing to acknowledge how it is destroying job opportunities for the people. As a leader, these issues reveal our stand, values, and belief because it challenges the leaders’ by how they respond to these situations. As Ms. Nadiah Tan Abdullah said in her portion of the webinar, speaking up is also ethical, revealing her passion in creating a change that would better suit women or at the least give them equal opportunity to compete. Thus, the whole talk was enlightening, and it sparked my interest to look into these issues as it affects us all. The speakers have reminded me of our power and role as people and leaders of our own future.

Student 17:

One of the given functions stated during the webinar is that "To work with relevant ASEAN bodies on how to develop and implement future skills strategies, policies, and work plans that are in line with the needs of business and industry." It is important to make continuous enhancements in the corporate world because nothing is constant, and progression is a must. The policies and work plans should always be matched up with ethics because it is the standard for having morals while operating the business and leading people to success. With the right mind and moral principles, anyone can achieve victory not just about the company and its people but also about oneself. 

Student 18:

I learned a lot in the webinar regarding the Ethics of the ASEAN Vision of Human-Centric as it focuses on discussing the different aspects of leadership and social responsibility in various countries in South-East Asia. I gained many valuable insights into how the different countries respond to the challenges that they face in their workplace. The session of Ms. Kaliane Tea of Cambodia for me is one of the relevant topics as it aims to educate youth about the perspective that we need to acquire in our future profession. As Ms. Tea said that mindset, self-leadership, and knowing your vocation plays a huge role in how you can be an effective individual in your line of work and excel in everything that you do. In which I can relate to the lesson in Chapter 7 about Leadership Behavior as it explains that having the right attitude and exhibiting needed behaviors in your life can contribute to building your leadership skills. Furthermore, the Competency Models in Chapter 7, stated that individuals that aligned their mission, vision, and direction to their organization, fosters a high level of motivation. This statement further implies that as a youth, it’s significant for me to develop my behavior early on and know my own goals as it will inspire me to do better in life. Thus, the webinar taught me that understanding my behavior can help build my career aspirations and enhance my leadership skills.

Student 19:

The webinar “Ethics of the ASEAN vision of a Human-centric workplace” taught me a lot of things especially when it comes to being a leader. One of those is that you don’t have to join any organizations like NGOs to become ethical as a leader. If you have good intentions, you can simply radiate positivity in your own ways. As a result, regardless of circumstances, you can always behave ethically. As indicated in Chapter 5, a leader's personal principles and ethical code may be the most crucial factors of how he or she wields available powers. Hence, each leader has a certain role to play – it is just a matter of their mindset, heart, and initiative if they really want to contribute. In conclusion, if leaders want to have their own impact, then, they will do everything they can to create one. 

Student 20:

I learned that the way you lead your team's atmosphere are all influenced by the values you hold. It is important to remember that the values you demonstrate as a leader will impact your organization's success. Team members admire and trust leaders that stick to their principles. Those who lead by example may encourage others to accept their ideas as their own, rather than merely follow them. Accepting the idea that you may improve your leadership abilities opens the door to the possibility of developing certain leadership ideals. The combination of formal leadership training and regular, in-depth meditation makes this attainable. Leaders have a clear sense of what is important to them. They are also aware of how critical it is to conduct oneself ethically. Ethics and values go hand in hand with the leadership style and behaviors of the most influential people in the world. Your leadership principles and values should be evident since you embody them daily in your activities. Your values and ethics shape your character as a leader, so select the most essential to you. Then, put ideas into action every day at work by displaying them. One of your most effective strategies for leading and influencing people is living according to your principles. Do not miss out on your most excellent chance!

Student 21:

The Ethics of the ASEAN Human-centric Workplace webinar brought me enlightenment with how ethics play a part in a sustainable work environment. There were six respective speakers, known for their field of expertise, who shared their insights and gave notable advice on how ASEAN countries will be able to develop the workplace in an ethical and sustainable manner for the betterment of future generations. It has been a privilege for me to join this very informative and well-explained webinar. Indeed, I acquired learnings from the speakers which will serve as my guide towards excellence and efficiency at work. As a youth of today, it is very important that as early as now, we practice having ethical behavior in all aspects of our lives. During the webinar, the discussion of Ms. Kaliane Tea had really caught my attention. Ms. Kaliane Tea, Chief Marketing at Soma Group and Deputy Chief of Soma Initiative Program, emphasized on how youth can be able to contribute and be part of the change in the workplace. This aims to educate and prepare current and next generations as they enter and face their future endeavors in the corporate world. Therefore, I conclude that the lessons in Chapter 7 are somehow interconnected with Ms. Tea’s discussion in which they explain the essence of having the right attitude and manifesting good behaviors to the development of leadership skills and competency in the work environment. Overall, my experience in the webinar gave me an idea that despite having diversity in perspectives, culture, beliefs, and others, initiating respect, inclusivity, collaboration, empathy, and communication can make things work and establish a healthy relationship with others towards organizational success.

Student 22:

The webinar entitled: Ethics of the ASEAN vision of a Human-centric workplace was discussed and clearly interpreted. However, the other speakers also mentioned how it’s difficult to engage with other people in a workplace because every one of them is different in terms of races, ethnicity, and as well as beliefs. There’s also one thing about ethics that caught my attention. This is where speaker Dato Palani says that ethics can maintain a positive relation within a region. In his talk he also emphasizes the essence of ethics not just in a workplace rather in a much bigger picture. 

Furthermore, based on my understanding from Module 4 ethics is a principle of right conduct or a system of moral values; with these maintaining ethics in a workplace or environment could be an incredibly important part of forming a successful organization with satisfied and loyal team members. In addition, having high ethical standards can assist stakeholders, like employees, investors, customers, and other individuals involved with the workplace operations hence they may feel that the organization is safeguarding their interests. By purposefully building ethical guidelines in their structure, organizations can keep their employees' while sustaining a positive influence on those they impact through their processes. Therefore, the webinar helped me to widen my understanding of what ethics is all about including its purposes. I've realized that even if we’re different from each other, especially when working with other people, we can still be united with those ethics being set and followed.

Student 23:

 The webinar called the Ethics of the ASEAN vision of a Human-centric workplace was held last December 02, 2021, and as I watch and focus on the webinar’s discussion, I am suddenly reminded of one of the concepts we have learned in the course leadership and decision making, particularly discussed in Chapter 5. It is all about the values, ethics, and character of a leader. In the webinar, there are six distinguished speakers who are known in their fields and have sentiments on how ASEAN will develop an ethical and sustainable workplace for future generations. Among the six speakers, two of them particularly made an impact on me as a listener. The first one is Le Hong Phuc, chairman of the ASEAN Human Development Organization. He mentioned that the mission of their organization, AHDO, is to promote human development at work across ASEAN Member Nations. He also emphasized that HR should not manage people as human resources, instead, human development in the workplace means people are an end, as well as means of production. The other speaker I am talking about is Ms. Seiz Jerry, a group leader, social investment at PT Freeport Indonesia. They are one of the world’s leading mining companies. I loved her talk since she thoroughly explained different factors that affect the values, ethics, and character that their company holds. As a mining company, she explained that there can be a lot of challenges such as limited access to transport and communication, being prone to natural disasters and climate change, and security issues. Despite these challenges, I am amazed at how their company is managing it well. They are indeed living with their core values that can be abbreviated to SINCERE: Safety, Integrity, Commitment, Respect, and Excellence. Overall, this webinar showed concrete examples of how the concept of values, ethics, and characters are applied in an actual workplace.

Student 24:
 
First and foremost, the webinar was very informative and engaging as it offered diverse perspectives from leaders of global companies to government, and to civil service societies regarding the ethics of the future of work. Upon watching the webinar, the topic or perspective that caught my attention the most was about the gender discrimination or gender biases in the workplace presented by Ms. Nadia Tan Abdullah, the Chair of AHDO Malaysia and Chief Human Resources Officer at SP Setia Berhad. Her research focused on “The Ethics of Human Development: Diversity, Women, and ASEAN Mobility”, however, she only tackled five different points during the webinar and one of those points was about gender, which was basically under the category of “Women”. She pinpointed the importance of making sure that there is equality in the workplace that is related to ethics. According to her, there are factors that drive inequalities in the workplace and mostly women are the ones who suffer from this kind of issue. Globally, women hold just 24% of senior leadership positions (Medland, 2016). It shows that women are still seen “less than” men in the workplace. In relation to ethics, it is evident that when we talk about ethics, it correlates to how we should speak up when something is not right and be the voice for the right. If we want to recognize and eradicate gender gaps in the workplace, the Department for International Development (DIFD) of the United Kingdom (2007, 2) notes that women must have the same rights as men and discrimination must stop. In that way, we could create a better environment for both women and men in the workplace and would not foster any negative behavior in the future. As a woman who will be involved in the workplace soon, I will stand up for what is right and spread awareness until workplaces acknowledge equalities in gender. Thus, I firmly believe that gender inclusivity is a powerful way to promote gender equality not just in the ASEAN, but also in the whole world.

Student 25:

Ethics, as defined in our 5th module, refers to the principles of right conduct that incorporate a system of moral values. And as I’ve watched the webinar “Ethics of the ASEAN Human-centric Workplace” by the ASEAN University Network (AUN), I’ve learned that our region epitomizes unity in diversity wherein the different key traits rooted in the culture of each country in ASEAN are being practiced and integrated in their work for the common good. For example, here in the Philippines, we are known for our Humanity (malasakit). In Indonesia, they do Gotong Royong, which means collaboration. The same goes with Thailand, where they value the essence of Sanook in work which translates to fun in English. While in Malaysia, they exemplify Merdeka or freedom, and lastly, Kiên Cường or resilience in Vietnam. When it comes to the speakers, my takeaway from Mrs. Nadiah Tan Abdullah is the need to stand and express our concern when it comes to work as it helps in forging healthy and meaningful relationships within the workplace. Second, what I’ve learned from Mr. Adrian Tan is that, as time passes and as the region progresses, there is a need to adapt to technological advancements that could help make work more efficient. Third, my learning from Mrs. Sizs Jerry is that respect should always exist in a workplace. Also, companies should seek sustainability efforts to save the environment because, in that way, we can measure if they have ethical behavior or not. Lastly, being purpose-driven and connecting with others are the main points that I’ve grasped from the talk of Ms. Kaliane Tea. She reminded me that I should enjoy my journey and progress as I walk through life. To sum up, despite the differences in perspectives and culture, the ASEAN stands its ground in harnessing and cultivating solutions in building a more conducive work environment across the region.

Student 26:

As the years continually pass, changes are indeed visible in the human eyes. These changes inevitably affect the lifestyle of everyone. Especially in the labor force, the workplace is now slowly being driven by technology. This inevitable, steady shift starts the need for new skills, eradication of rurality, and present jobs. Much worse when the COVID-19 pandemic expedited and generated new social issues that affected the daily lives of everyone, remarkably the workforce. Through this webinar, I have learned that work would eventually take a lot of years of our lives, but it is entirely up to us if we would view life as work to live or live to work. At the present time, there are undeniably a lot of ethical issues that have been arising due to the development of technology. As mentioned by speaker, Nadiah Abdullah, the expansion of social media sites, such as Facebook and YouTube is becoming a part now of the daily living of individuals. But not all countries have the same access to these technological advancements and are considered as the “lost generation”. In my own perspective, it is alarming as there would be countries that would be left behind. Especially now that most workplaces are being slowly driven by technology that contributes a lot to one country's economy. It is comforting to know that there are organizations like ASEAN that also thought about this issue and thought about how we could face and end these ethical issues together. Indeed, true leaders do the right things. 

Student 27:

Ethics is one of the aspects that every workplace should possess and should learn more about. A healthy working environment starts with having an ethical code and a guided vision or a direction towards a specific goal. I love how this webinar have taught us ASEAN Human Development at Work in which they exemplify the word “Humanity” or “Malasakit” and “Collaboration” because it promotes inclusivity, diversity, and openness to everyone – providing a non-toxic kind of environment in a workplace.


Student 28:

As a college student who is preparing for my future profession and corporate life, learning on ethical issues and across countries with various cultures, values, and challenges is important. Through their talks, I have learned that working in a culturally diverse organization, it is important to speak up when issues of harassment and inequalities arise. As a solution, leadership comes in. A leader should educate his people on ethical standards, condone harassment, promote inclusivity, and respect in the workplace. Next, having an equitable opportunity for education is also one of the challenges faced by most of ASEAN countries like Malaysia and to solve this, the government should intervene and create more policies to assist students for a quality education. Lastly, are gender inequalities, wherein women only make a small portion of managerial and executive positions in the company and to solve this, the government should also institutionalize policies for it. On the other hand, I have also learned that investing in myself for future work is vital and the key elements in this process are my mindset, self-leadership, and vocation. And through these, it will enable me to contribute to our workforce, develop communities, and serve as a catalyst of change in the country. Therefore, as a future professional, I will instill these learnings, experience, and values in my studies as preparation for my corporate life.

Student 29:

As underlined throughout the webinar, ethics contributes to the critical growth that occurs in the workplace. This includes sensitivity and decency in accordance with the stated ideals that should be considered by all employees.  Ethics is defined in our Module 5 as a strong collection of principles that  promote  ethical behavior  and  moral  ideals.  While the individual speakers expressed their perspectives and proposals in certain nations, leading to a conclusion about the necessity for adjustment even though dynamic developments such as technology and generational disparities continue to occur in the workplace.  While these adjustments may have benefited the firms’ other operational requirements at some time, they must also alter their approach to protecting their employees’ rights.  In this regard, human resources (HR) have a significant role to play in determining the basic rights that every employee should have. This can be accomplished through the correct development and use of moral hardship in the workplace. Perhaps fairness and rationality of character will occur as a result  of  achieving moral  power. However, presenters and listeners alike may assert that prejudices and other influencing variables influence an individual's judgment, as is frequently the case in the workplace. In our lesson 5, we refer to this as an ethical dilemma, which  occurs  when employees, human  resources,  or  even employers are unsure whose side to take in certain working situations with the context of ethics. After all, a consistent approach to sustaining ethics in the workplace for our future generation must begin with being a professional whose character and objectives are adequate to qualify as a set of ethical models, and therefore a key to a future workplace that is better than today.

Student 30:

The webinar was held on December 2, 2021 and was titled  "Ethics  of  the ASEAN  vision  of a Human-centric workplace."  I learned that ethics should be considered, and it also plays a significant role in  the  workplace.  According to the speakers, education is necessary since it provides opportunities for many individuals to learn information and values.  Several challenges arise in a company since it employs a diversified workforce. As a result, there are certain instances of conflict. The speakers mentioned that respect is valuable for them whenever they encounter differences in background, culture, religion, etc. I realized that aside from the issues from the company, there were also conflicts as an individual and one of the pieces of advice that I have learned from the speaker is we should adjust and have empathy.   

Student 31: 

The webinar that was sponsored by the ASEAN University Network is not only helpful to the managers and decision makers, but it is also very helpful for us students especially in the field of business. Through this webinar we can apply the different lessons and knowledge about handling and approaching the people and as a future manager we were oriented to be human resource managers who manage people in an efficient and effective way. Our responsibility is not only producing and generating work for the people but on how we can help them in their development as a person with the provisions of the ASEAN Human Development Work Model. I also learned the idea that the advancement of technology can also give us a development and increase in our economy. As a business student, I realize that investing in different assets that can help productivity can help our organization as well as our country in terms of GDP.

Student 32:

The part of the webinar entitled, “Ethics of the ASEAN vision of a Human-centric workplace 
(Webinar)” that really caught my attention was Ms. Nadiah Tan Abdulah's answer was related to our lesson in Leadership and Decision Making, specifically in module 5 “Values, Ethics, and Character. Ms. Abdulah stated the values we have as Southeast Asian wherein we somehow restrict ourselves from speaking up to elders in any situation, including the workplace. Another is gender inequality in the workplace wherein women are still underpaid compared to their male partners. That is why she emphasized that in a company or any workplace, it should not only focus on the money or profit that the company will make but instead, it should focus first on the condition of the workplace mainly in making sure that values, ethics, and character is observed so that it will result to a healthier and more efficient workplace.

Student 33:

First and foremost, the webinar was very detailed, and I learned so many things on how I/We develop an ethical and sustainable workplace. The different speakers of different countries have their styles in how they develop values in the workplace. As I remember, most of them said that ethics and having good values as a leader plays an important role in the workplace, everything starts with the leader, especially on how he/she handles his/her subordinates. In my perspective, as a student  and  a  future  leader,  I  agree  with them  that  as  a  leader  you  must  have  good  values  and attitudes  towards  your  business/organization  and  also  to  your  people.  Ethics plays  an  important role wherein it guides the employees in terms of their behavior and knowing what is right and what is wrong in line with the decision-making, but ethics should be started from the leader and how the leader influences his/her subordinates.

Student 34:

Ethics is very important. It is all about speaking up when we think that something a person does isn't right. I have learned from the speakers that we have the freedom to choose our actions, but we need to be careful. There are different values that can be seen in a workplace. It was also said that it differs based on the generations they belong to. You can encounter many interventions during work. You need to come up with a solution that you think will have a good outcome and ethics must be applied all the time. Be considerate of the people around you.

Student 35:

Reflection: some workers aren’t satisfied with the environment of their workplace and it hasn’t been suitable for others. There are still wrongdoings of behavior and unhealthy relationships between co-worker and the leader. ASEAN is a regional organization of 10 members: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. ASEAN was founded in August 1967 with the goal of increasing the region's economic growth, social improvement, and cultural development while also supporting regional peace and stability. In the webinar, to develop the ethical and sustainable development ASEAN has compromised the following objectives: it had to focus on the future workforce network, collect, identify and share the best practices of Business and Industry Cooperation and support, and etc. One of the panelists, Adrian Tan, has specified to focus on automation. Automation will further widen sustainability of the business and improve the cost savings lessening the headcount of the workforce and making jobs easier. In this pandemic, people hadn’t had the chance to get to work and their skills. Mr. Tan said that more companies should offer (Re)skilling to improve the quality and motivation of the workforce not just permanent employees but also to the gig workers or freelancers, this includes (skills framework, skills future credit, career conversion program, career coaching services and getting to know 21st century competencies). Moving to relationships in the workplace that includes ethical factors, one of the issues that hasn’t been tackled is gender equality in the workplace will be accomplished when all employees, regardless of gender, have equal access to and enjoyment of equal incentives, resources, and opportunities. Workplaces will be required to give equal remuneration for labor of equal or equivalent value. Lastly, Ms. Kaliane has tackled the perspectives of youth and the future of work.  That the future (Gen X) workers need a purpose-driven and sense of belonging in the workplace. Asking the question of what is it that we truly want?
 

Some comments have been editted for clarity.