PARTIES AND Pageants are the events which the School of Management (SOM) Week is most commonly associated with, according to a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) conducted by the Steering Committee.
The Steering Committee, composed of the SOM School Board and the Business Cluster (BC), conducted FGDs to learn how the organizers could effectively execute this year’s SOM Week.
BC Secretary-Treasurer Bianca Baluyut said, “This was a challenge for us heads to [ascertain] that SOM Week should be able to open opportunities for business leadership.”
It was then that the Steering Committee decided to change SOM Week’s format.
Different, bigger, better
BC Head Michelle Georgette Ayroso said that SOM Dean Rudy Ang wanted them to create a new framework for the week-long event.
“For the past 10 years, the same events happen, so he wanted for the 11th year…to be different, bigger and better,” she said.
Running on the theme “HeroiSOM: It All Begins With Me,” the week-long celebration was held from December 6 to 10.
Aside from the SOM Night, the culminating event, and Mr. and Ms. SOM, the pageant, new events that would engage students in entrepreneurship were introduced.
These include SOMallville: Rise of the Super Entrepreneurs, RobinSOM’s SuperMarketing Challenge and an improved HeroiSOM Lecture Series.
Business in real-time
The RobinSOM’s SuperMarketing Challenge involved the eight BC organizations. They were asked to sell Healthy You, the health food line of Robinsons Supermarket.
According to Project Head Aileen Clarice Ang, the activity tested the participants’ marketing skills. She added that beyond promoting the product, they would have to use strategies they’ve learned in marketing, and apply the concepts to actual practice.
“They will learn how to think out of the box and maximize the limited resources that they have,” she said.
Winners of the activity gained a tentative job offer as Robinsons’ PR Officers and received Robinsons’ gift certificates.
Advocating social entrepreneurship, franchising
Meanwhile, the SOM Bazaar, dubbed “SOMallville: Rise of the Super Entrepreneurs” featured participants selling their products to the Loyola Schools (LS) community.
Aside from BC orgs, the SOM Business Accelerator, LS student concessionaires, Gawad Kalinga, and the Association of Filipino Franchisers, Inc. also showcased their products and services.
According to Baluyut, this event promoted social entrepreneurship. “This shows that JGSOM heavily advocates social entrepreneurship and is encouraging undergraduates to consider becoming franchisees of successful enterprises.”
Raffle prizes and discount coupons were given to the shoppers while a JSEC stall or LS Bookstore spot was given to the winning org. Twenty percent of the bazaar’s proceeds also went to the Ateneo Scholarship Fund.
Forming altruistic leaders
The Lecture Series was unlike typical classroom discussions as Chief Executive Officers and other known individuals gave the lectures. And instead of theories, speakers shared real-life experiences.
According to Project Head Arianne Antonette Aguenza, the Lecture Series aimed “to form altruistic and ethical business leaders.”
Department of Interior Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo discussed “Transformational Leadership,” while European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Executive Vice President Henry Schumacher talked about “Ethics: It Begins With Me.”
Meanwhile, Ateneo Blue Eagles Head Coach Norman Black spoke during the “Building a Champion Team” while Human Heart Foundation Founder Dylan Wilk and Southeast Asian Airlines owners Nick Gitsis and Iren Dornier were the speakers for the portion “Competing with the Giants.”
Finally, ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc. Managing Director Regina Paz Lopez and Hapinoy Co-Founder Mark Ruiz discussed the topic “I Can Make a Difference.”
This year’s Lecture Series was a departure from previous ones. Project Head Julio Ingco III said, “It is different this year because we targeted a whole week. From the last years, it was done once per semester.”
However, these adjustments resulted in SOM Week’s postponement. Ayroso added that they opted to postpone SOM Week instead of executing a half-baked project.
She said that really wanted the event to be polished so that things would go according to plan.
