The View from Taft
November 2, 2006
Sudoku Ethics
Marissa C. Marasigan
I started playing Conceptis Sudoku a few months ago, and have been hooked ever since. For those
who are not familiar with it, Sudoku is a logic puzzle made up of a 9x9 grid, broken down into 3x3
sub-grids. Sudoku, originally Suuji Wa Dokushin Ni Kagiru, according to conceptispuzzles.com,
means "the numbers must be single." Every column, row, and 3x3 grid must contain only one
instance of the digits 1 to 9. A set of clues, or "givens," helps the player fill out the puzzle. The
player only needs to know how to count from 1 to 9. No additional math skills are required, just
logic.
When I introduced Sudoku to a colleague, he, highly ethical
person that he is, immediately saw it as a wonderful way to teach
ethics and corporate social responsibility. During our brief but
animated discussion, we came up with the following principles:
Each sub-grid represents a different stakeholder of the
organization. Most organizations start off by thinking of their
responsibilities only to their shareholders or owners. This
represents the traditional shareholder concept of business. But
the more encompassing stakeholder concept recognizes the need
to address the interests of other parties – employees, customers, end-users, suppliers, the local
community, the government, society in general, future generations, the environment, etc. – since
an organization and its owners do not exist in a vacuum.
Thinking beyond our own 3x3 sub-grid requires imagination and a broader vision. When I
started playing Sudoku, Daryl, my seven-year-old nephew, wanting to imitate me, randomly wrote
the missing numbers in the different sub-grids. He worked on each sub-grid exclusively, without
regard for duplicated or missing numbers in columns and rows. (He can now finish easy puzzles
on his own.)
A successful manager or leader is one who is able to find the solution that will benefit the most, if
not all, stakeholders. Such a solution requires greater imagination and a broader vision (not to
mention more time, effort, and resources), but results in greater benefits to all stakeholders. One
benefit to the organization is, of course, a positive image, which translates into goodwill, greater
patronage of its products and services, and a healthy bottom line.
Manila Water is one company that exemplifies the Sudoku way of
thinking, as captured by its motto, "We don't just lay pipes; we improve
lives." In August 1997, this Ayala-led company took over the East Zone
of Metro Manila as agent and contractor of the government-owned
Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System under a 25-year
concession agreement. Some of Manila Water's programs that benefit different stakeholders, as
listed in its Sustainability Report for 2005, are as follows:
1. Lingap Barangay (Caring for the Community): In
2005 alone, the company's flagship program, Tubig
para sa Barangay (Water for the Community), enabled
an additional 10,930 people from low-income
communities to connect to the network, bringing the
total urban poor served to 848,646 since 1998.
Ninety-five percent of the East Zone population now
enjoys 24- hour water availability, as compared with 26% in 1997. This program has also
increased access to water supply to an additional population of more than 50,000 in 2005,
as well as the volume of water delivered to customers – from 825 million liters per day in
2004, to 865 in 2005.
2. Lingap Kalusugan (Caring for Health and Safety): In 2005, Manila Water completed the
construction of sewage treatment plants. Since 90% of the households in the East Zone
rely heavily on septic tanks, the company continues with its desludging activities. By the
end of 2005, 106,015 septic tanks had been desludged.
The company also launched, in partnership with national and local government agencies,
water supply improvement programs in basic institutions within its concession area such
as schools, hospitals, markets, and city jails.
3. Lingap Kabuhayan (Caring for Livelihood): For its water supply improvement programs,
the company extensively uses small- and medium-scale service providers, which, as of
2005, generated more than 10,000 jobs. Also, under its Kabuhayan para sa Barangay
(Livelihood for the Community) program, families receive small loans to start their own
businesses.
4. Lingap Kalikasan (Caring for the Environment): Manila Water has partnered with
environmental NGOs, the business community, academe, and local governments to halt
further degradation of our forests. It is also pursuing a groundwater protection program in
coordination with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the National
Water Resources Board.
5. Lingap Manggagawa (Caring for the Employees): Manila Water gives its employees
training opportunities that are strategically aligned with corporate needs and geared
towards further improvement and excellence. These opportunities include management
development programs, cross-postings in the organization, and immersion courses in other
countries. It is no wonder, then, that the company recently bagged the 2006 Outstanding
Employer of the Year Award from the Personnel Management Association of the
Philippines.
A Sudoku solution requires working within the parameters. Given practice, patience, and the
application of logic, Sudoku players eventually are able to solve the puzzle within the "numbers
must be single" parameter.
Similarly, organization leaders and managers can arrive at solutions that benefit many stakeholders
even within the "constraints" of laws, without having to cheat, pay bribes, or resort to other
underhanded, unethical practices.
Over time, and with constant practice, Sudoku thinking becomes second nature. It's like riding a
bike or driving a car. Both activities require a driver to be constantly alert. But an experienced
driver is better able to handle more challenging situations.
Some Sudoku puzzles require that the two middle diagonal lines each have only one occurrence
of the numbers 1 to 9. Monster Sudoku puzzles feature 16x16 grids, broken down into 4x4 subgrids. An organization's leader or manager who has gotten used to thinking of more than one
stakeholder in "simpler" situations can tackle more "difficult" situations involving more and more
stakeholders.
Sudoku thinking is best learned from Sudoku addicts. A person can always learn Sudoku on
his or her own. But Sudoku addicts can share tips that can minimize the learning curve and allow
neophytes to progress more quickly to "fiendish" levels. In the same way, leaders or managers
who want to implement the stakeholder concept in their organization don't have to reinvent the
wheel. They can look at how successful Sudoku-thinking organizations implement their solutions,
and see how such solutions can be adapted to their situations.
The writer is not connected with Manila Water in any way, but won't mind moving to the East Zone
just to be serviced by the company. She is vice-dean of the Taft Campus of De La Salle Professional
Schools Graduate School of Business, and teaches Business Communication. She may be reached
at marissa.marasigan@dlsps.edu.ph.
Indexing (document details)
Publication title:
BusinessWorld. Manila: Nov 2, 2006. pg. 1
Source type:
Periodical
ISSN:
01163930
ProQuest document ID: 1155656421
Text Word Count
1106
Document URL:
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1155656421&Fmt=3&clientId=47883&RQT=3