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Managers Are Made, Not Born
By Loy Palapos
Sunday Post

      Management skills are not inherited, they are learned. A manager does not necessarily produce an offspring who is also a manager. If not exposed to the management craft, and he inherits the position of the father, the son may end up a square peg in a round hole… a managerial nightmare.

      On the other hand, he who is fathered by a lowly worker, without any administrative know-how, who starts from scratch and climbs up the ropes of the trade, may evolve into a good administrator and manager. If given the appropriate environment.

      The case of Ma. Maulitte Maglajos Yap takes the mold of the latter. Never in her wildest imagination did she entertain the thought of one day becoming a Manager. Now, she manages the prime Supermarket which revolutionalized retail and wholesale trading in the province of Bohol. She epitomizes the ordinary college graduate who, through sheer efforts and competence, rose from the ranks.

      She wanted to be a teacher, and if not… a nun. She wanted to enroll in a teaching course, but ended up enrolling in a Commerce degree. She applied at Jollibee, but ended up as Management Trainee at the Human Resource Development (HRD) office. The rest that took place followed the same pattern of sudden twists.

      This interview that took place last Wednesday acquainted me with a reluctant Manager. But Ma. Maulitte Maglajos Yap (MMY) has long learned to take things in stride. She accepts unplanned outcomes sans complaints. She knows everything cannot be chartered. Yet, she has developed the ability to tackle things unflinchingly.

LMP: Was it really your plan to become a Manager?

      MMY: No, Sir. My first plan gyod was to take up Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education. Ganahan man gyod ko mag-tudlo. Second choice nako was mag-madre. Wala gyod ko magdahom nga mag-manage ug dakong tindahan.

LMP: Unsa man ang naka-inspire nimo nga mahimong teacher?

      MMY: Every formal and informal themes nga suwaton nako during elementary, pag-teach gyod akong isuwat. Mao man god na akong kalingaw makit-an. Ganahan pod ko mag-sige ug paminaw sa among maestra.

LMP: Wala ba ka makahuna-huna nga kapoy ang pag-maestra?

      MMY: Wala man, Sir. After graduation sa high school, didto na nako na-assess nga lisod man di-ay. So nangayo ko ug advice sa among Principal kon unsa nga kurso ang angay kuhaon. Ingon siya nga Commerce kay flexible kono. Bisan asa ka pwede ibutang.

LMP: Second choice nimo is mag-madre. Unsa man pod ang nakadani nimo ani?

      MMY: Ang among silingan, murag ate-ate nako, religious kaayo. Siya maoy naka-encourage nako.

LMP: Why chose Commerce, then?

      MMY: Ang among silingan, Sir, Commerce ang gikuha nga kurso. Giubanan nako siya sa Dean’s office that time. Gamay ra kaayo ang linya. Pag-adto namo sa Teachers College, gikapuyan ko kay taas kaayo ang linya. Sa Commerce kay gamay ra man, so naka-decide ko adtong puntoha nga mag-Commerce na lang ko.

      LMP: Wala man kaha miabot sa imong paminsar nga nasayop ka sa imong kurso?

      MMY: Wala man pod, Sir. Pag first year, first semester, Accountancy akong gikuha. I shifted to Management sa second year.

      LMP: By the time nga mi-graduate ka, nasulod na gyod sa imong huna-huna nga posibleng mag-Manager ka?

      MMY: Wala gihapon, Sir. Nag-start man god to sa dihang nangompra mi kuyog sa akong Mama sa Alturas kay naa man siya’y gamay nga tindahan sa Catigbian. Dihay gi-post nga nangita ang Jollibee ug Management Trainee. Nakahuna-huna ko nga mosuway ug apply kay labong wala pa koy nakit-an nga trabaho. Nagtabang-tabang pa ko ni Mama sa tindahan. After ko nag-apply, gipadad-an ko nila ug telegrama nga nadawat ko. Pero wala ko ma-assign sa Jollibee. Didto ko sa Recruitment sa HR-Alturas for pioneering crew sa Jollibee and Greenwich.   

LMP: You were never able to work at Jollibee?

MMY: Wala gyod, Sir.

LMP: After HRD Alturas, where were you assigned?

      MMY: Gibalhin ko, Sir, sa Grocery Check-out Counter of Plaza Marcela as Junior Supervisor.  After that, as Senior Supervisor at Kris-Lyn Shop n’ Dine; then I was promoted as Assistant Store Manager for Alturas Supermarket. I became the Store Manager on January 2006.

      LMP: You have been assigned at Plaza Marcela before. What are the differences between Plaza Marcela and Alturas Supermarket?

      MMY: Humot pa ang Plaza Marcela sa mga tawo before, Sir, kay bag-o pa man. Ang duha ka tindahan way kalainan, ilabi na sa customer service. Lain-lain lang ilang location. 

LMP: Are you the type of person nga ganahan ug challenges?

      MMY: Yes, Sir. Sa nag-eskuwela pa ko, very timid gyod ko kaayo. But I realized nga dili pwede ug ana ra ko kutob. Kinahanglan nga mo-open up ko sa uban. Mao nga naninguha ko nga mawala ang akong pagkamanggiuwawon. Although it took some time for me to become more sociable.

LMP: What is your feeling pagkahimo nimong Manager?

      MMY: Gikulbaan ko kay dako kaayo ang responsibility, Sir. Sa mga previous departments nga gi-handle nako, lahi ra kay a portion of the store ra man. Karon, tibuok tindahan na. But I accepted the challenge. I believe I made the right decision.

LMP: Unsa nga tindahan ang naka-encounter ka ug dako nga problema?

      MMY: Sa Alturas, Sir. Tungod kay daghan na ang sections nga gi-handle unya diverse pod kaayo ang mga tawo. Misamot kadako ang akong responsibilidad. 

      LMP: Sa imong tan-aw, unsa pa ang angay nga i-improve sa Alturas Supermarket?

      MMY: Ang structure sa tindahan, Sir, aron mas competitive tan-awon. Nagkadaghan ang mga tawo, nagkagamay ang tindahan; dili na makaya ang traffic.  Expansion will partly solve the problem. Sa side sa personnel wala na kaayo’y problema labi na nga dugay na sila.

LMP: What is your biggest problem in Alturas right now?

      MMY: Monitoring on people, Sir. Tungod kay dako na ta ug gi-handle nga tindahan, maglisod ta ug monitor sa tanang mga employees.

      LMP: What activities are you preparing for the 23rd anniversary of Alturas Supermarket?

      MMY: Daghan ta ug mga in-house activities nga gi-andam, Sir. We have Product Sampling on November 22, 23, and 24; free clinic for 3 days, Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the Food Center. Naa pod ‘tay Customers of the Day. Kining mga napili nga customers will receive gift packs. There will be 12 customers per day. Then we have the Computer Game Promo from November 5 to December 5.

LMP: Do you still have activities involving the development of the youth?

      MMY: Naa, Sir. Every Saturday starting October 18, naa ‘tay Inter-School Quiz Bowl and Dance Showdown. Kining Quiz Bowl is a battle of brains between different elementary and high schools around Bohol. It covers General Information, History, Sports, Entertainment, Arts and Culture, Mathematics and Science. There will be 4 eliminations prior to the Finals on November 22. Five schools both from elementary and secondary will compete per elimination. With the Dance Showdown, there will be seven groups with five members up per elimination. Only two groups will qualify to the Finals. We also have Little Miss Alturas and Bulilit Singing Star every Sunday starting October 19. Girls aged 4 to 6 years old are qualified to join. Kinahanglan pod nga ang ilang height is 4 ft. and 6 inches. For the Bulilit Singing Star, ang qualification lang is kids 6 to 12 years old. Mura ra ni siya ug videoke challenge, Sir, mao nga ganahan gyod ang mga bata ani. It’s also good to note, Sir, that all of these events are already sponsored. But, of course, the biggest activity is the Alturas Drum and Bugle Corps Showdown, now on its 21st year. This year, we have contingents from Zamboanga del Norte, Cagayan de Oro City, Cebu City, and possibly, Dumaguete City, aside from the ones in Bohol.   

LMP: How do you envision this year’s anniversary?

      MMY: It would be livelier than last year, Sir. The traffic and transactions will triple for sure. 

LMP: Are you already contented with your life right now?

      MMY: I am, Sir. With all the blessings my family and I have been receiving, I couldn’t ask for more. Ang ako lang, Sir, is good health for me and my family. I want to grow more at Alturas.

      How does a young wife and a mother succeed in the ever-competitive world of business? Surely, what Maulitte Yap is experiencing now is not a joy-ride to nowhere, but a roller-coaster episode wrought with anxiety and jubilation, depending on her capabilities and how she adjusts to a situation.

      Maulitte acknowledges that what she is into is not the usual route for a run-of-the-mill woman. She also recognizes the perils of her job, while simultaneously aware that she has to play smart all the time. Her main concern is competition, and she knows that she has to resort to innovations in order to succeed in her endeavors.

      The Lady Manager, true to form, is not one-hundred percent sure about the outcomes of all her moves. But she is learning, and all indications show that she is a fast learner. One good trait the Lady has is her awareness that a few times mistakes are unavoidable; and better still, she readily acknowledges when she makes an error and corrects herself.

      But most grateful is she to the top management of the Alturas Group of Companies who has brought her up to what she is now. For at Alturas, even a common employee from the bottom ranks can rise up, if given the opportunity to be a good Manager.

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