In May 2017, Ben Santos, 27 Years Old Was Discussing with His Former

BEN SANTOS

In May 2017, Ben Santos, 27 years old was discussing with his former professor a set of materials he would present in a one-day planning workshop to be held by his company in Tagaytay  the following week. The workshop would deal with the institution of a corporate planning system designed by Santos and endorsed by the company president to the division of managers for compliance. Santos wanted to know the best way to present and defend his proposed corporate planning system during the workshop.

Company Background

H. Braun, Philippines (HBP) was a wholly-owned subsidiary of a West German multinational corporation which manufactured a line of medical and chemical products in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The Philippine subsidiary was organized into five operating divisions, each distributing a selected line of products to institutional and retail outlets. The organization chart of HPB is attached.

HBP had always been headed by a West German national. The current company president had no previous experience in the Philippines but was transferred from a Latin American assignment to assume the position in the Philippines in January 2017. Historically, the five operating divisions of HBP has also been headed by West German nationals who reported to their counterpart product heads at company headquarters in West Germany, as well as to the president of the Philippine operation. At the time Santos joined the company, the same procedure was being followed. Among the priorities in the announced agenda of the new head’s presidency was the institution of a corporate planning system for HBP.

Ben Santos

        Santos was an accountancy graduate from a leading university in Manila. After two years of work, he went back to school and obtained his MBA degree in 2010. Prior to joining HBP, Santos performed financial analysis and staff planning work with three financial institutions in the Philippines.

        In February 2017, Santos applied and was interviewed for the position of the assistant to the president of HBP. During the interview, he learned that the president needed someone who would assist in the design and institution of a formal corporate planning system in HBP. Santos was hired shortly after these interviews.

        Following his appointment, Santos had several discussions with the president concerning the need for a better planning system for the company. “How can we manage this company effectively if we do not have clearly stated strategies to guide us?” the president had asked Santos in one of these meetings. Santos believed that it was the president’s exposure to a corporate planning system during his Latin American assignment which influenced this thinking concerning planning for the Philippine operation. Subsequently, the president formed a Strategic Planning Committee to coordinate the effort to design a corporate planning system for HBP. The president was the chairman of the committee, with Santos, who was head of the Indent Division, as well as the head of Finance and Accounting department as members. As the head of the Indent Division and therefore the most senior of the division heads in HBP, Santos was assigned the primary task of preparing the proposals for the corporate planning system of the company.