Lydia B. Echauz (Ph. D.)
President of Far Eastern University
Introduction
Prior to my assuming the presidency of Far Eastern University in 2003, I was dean of the Graduate School of Business of De La Salle University for 16 of my 17 years of stay there. When I became dean in 1986, I was made a member of the Association of
Deans of Southeast Asian Graduate Schools of Management (ADSGM), a one-year old association established with the assistance of the Canadian Federation of Deans of
Management and Administrative Studies. The programs of this Association, ADSGM, were generously funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), beginning with the workshop in Manila of 22 deans of Southeast Asia and Canadian schools of management in 1984 up to the completion of its final project in 2002. The funding of the major program, which was meant to last for six years, from 1991-1997, was stretched out to last for another five years, up to 2002. At present, with the support of CIDA over, the Association is studying ways to fund its future programs.
This is the model I had experience in for years I was dean at De La Salle University from 1986 to 2003. For some five years, I was made the Executive Director of ADSGM, after the stint of a Thai Executive Director, and then I was made Treasurer up to the end of my stay with De La Salle, which coincided with the completion of the major programs of ADSGM.
Rationale for ADSGM
Before the ADSGM was established, the graduate schools of management were on their own individually, with many running management programs that were copied from the West, mainly the US or the UK model. There was hardly any networking done among the schools in Asean and even among the schools within each country.
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Then Southeast Asia started to develop into a dynamic region of growing economic success. The demand for management education grew stronger, and the need for management curricula that took into account the socio-cultural environment of ASEANs was more and more apparent.
The ASEAN schools of management felt the need to get to know each other and about each other’s schools, to exchange notes on their management programs, to produce research studies that were appropriate and more useful to the region, to build human resources capacity through the doctorate program in business, and to link up with the business sector.
Organizing and program planning
What steps were taken to organize the association and what programs did the association embark on?
First, the Canadian Federation of Deans of Management and Administrative Studies encouraged the establishment of an association of deans of the ASEAN graduate schools of management. The members/deans were then identified . They were those of the following academic institutions:
Indonesia:
Gadjah Mada University
Indonesian Institute for Management Development
Lembaga Pendidikan dan Pembinaan Manajemen
University of Indonesia
Malaysia:
Universiti Utara Malaysia
University of Malaya
Philippines:
Asian Institute of Management
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Ateneo de Manila University
De La Salle University
University of the Philippines
Hong Kong (a non-funded member):
The University of Hongkong
Singapore:
National University of Singapore
Thailand:
Chulalongkorn University
The SASIN Graduate School of Business Administration, Chulalongkorn University
National Institute of Development Administration
Thammasat University
Vietnam:
National Economics University
Second, the linkage with a consortium of experts/deans of Canadian graduate schools of management, to assist and guide the Asean deans, was established. The consortium consisted of the deans of McGill University, York University, and the
University of Ottawa.
Third, an annual fee was assessed of each member school. The fee was much more like a supplement as the main funding came from CIDA.
Fourth, the Association decided that no less than the decision-maker for the unit should attend the meetings. Thus, only the dean, director, or the head of the graduate
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school of management could attend the meetings; an alternate was not acceptable. If the dean could not attend the meeting, then the academic institution was not represented.
Fifth, the deans elected the officers of the association, taking into consideration the location of the secretariat and the balance of representation among the big schools and the smaller schools.
Sixth, the Association decided to hold meetings twice a year to hasten its planning and implementation of projects. Because the Canadian deans and the CIDA representative also attended the meetings, the best months for the meetings were usually
April and November. These meetings were held on rotation in the various member schools’ cities, although the most common were Manila and Bangkok due to accessibility and lower costs of airfare and hotel accommodations . A few meetings were also held in Montreal and Ottawa, Canada, and even in the US where the wellacclaimed global fora of management education were being held.
Seventh, ADSGM, with the guidance of the Canadian deans set its long-term agenda , which consisted of the following:

To produce 20 research studies, preferably multi-country (Asean) and jointly prepared by Asean faculty and Canadian faculty

To build human resource capability in the schools by producing more DBA faculty members through creating a Doctor in Business Administration Program in Bangkok, jointly run by the three Thai academic institutions, and by supporting the already-established DBA Programs of the University of the Philippines and
De La Salle University

To bring in Canadian faculty members for technical assistance in teaching selected courses in the Regional DBA programs of Bangkok and Manila

To send selected Asean students to Canada for the DBA/PhD in Business
Program
Eventually, more projects were developed and incorporated into the long-term agenda, which included the following:

To present all the research studies completed by the Program as well as those prepared by the graduate students in two international business research conferences, one before and the other after the Asian crisis of 1997
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
To host the prestigious Global Forum on Management Education in Asean in
2002 (after those held in Europe in 1994 and the US in 1998)

To develop executive leadership courses of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC)

To assist in organizing and conducting training courses for top city executives with the assistance of APEC experts

To develop networks of resources for Corporate Social Responsibility
Program implementation, monitoring and evaluation
Eighth, the programs were implemented, reported on on a quarterly basis, and closely monitored throughout and finally evaluated . Every program had a beginning and an end or a closure.
Some lessons learned
Valuable observations:
1.
Funding is critical. Sources of funding an organization and funding it long-term must be established early and clearly.
2.
Organization is key. The start-up time can be quite long, given the fact that the personalities are just beginning to know each other, often on a long-distance basis.
E-mail and mobile phones, however, are a big boost to a regional organization.
3.
The leadership is most important. It must be chosen carefully as it sets the tone of the organization and inspires the planning and organizing.
4.
Program planning is central to the organization. The membership must be involved in deciding the programs and plans of the organization so that its sense of ownership of such is strong.
5.
Program implementation is the indicator of the life of the organization. The leadership must get the cooperation of key members for successful program implementation.
6.
The secretariat and its location for a regional association must be well chosen, for efficiency and effectivity.
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7.
The reports on program status must be regular, comprehensive, and timely.
8.
Program monitoring must be consistent.
9.
Program evaluation must be done on a regular basis and must be quick to take corrective action.
10.
The organization must be flexible and reasonable for possible changes of plans.
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