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Friday, March 29, 2024

Rosemarie Bosch-Ong: ‘Iron Lady’ from the Rock

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All jobs are challenging for one reason or another. But some fields are more notorious for the lack of women because people believe that only men can deliver the work or men have dominated the industry.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics data from 2019 revealed 10 male-dominated occupations. Among those jobs, women workers account for only 9.9 percent in the construction field. I believe this phenomenon exists in most countries, and the Philippines is no exception to this.

Rosemarie Bosch-Ong, however, has inspired many female workers by showing how significant an influence a woman can give in the male-dominated field. She is the senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Wilcon Depot Inc. This company has grown from a small hardware store to become a famous home improvement and construction supply retailer, with over 50 stores nationwide.

Due to COVID-19, the company has encountered difficulties, but it has rapidly adapted to these difficult times. Although it is early to proclaim a victory, she shared the strategies the company used to overcome the pandemic and attain leadership in the home improvement and construction supplies industry, where women are underrepresented.

WIN strategy of Wilcon Depot

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The WIN strategy refers to Withstand with the people and the community, Innovate methods and products, and Navigate for the route of the business. This strategy is simple, but it was impressive to learn how she managed through the difficulties in the hard times.

The most impressive strategy for me was that the company has chosen to “Withstand” with their people. I took Corporate Social Responsibility course few terms ago. Writing a CSR proposal for the final paper, I learned that it is vital to keep important stakeholders involved to make CSR valuable for the community and the organization. While companies, in general, are easily tempted by strategies that can directly maximize their company’s profit only, Wilcon Depot did not forget to protect its various stakeholders, especially in critical moments.

That’s why I was touched when I learned that the Wilcon Depot stood up to prioritize their employees and the community where they live in. Moreover, Ms. Bosch-Ong addressed them as “the most important stakeholders,” showing how the company valued the welfare of people and society.

Before she introduced the strategy, she told us the story of two wolves. The story gives wisdom that the one we feed wins the fight. This pandemic is one of the biggest crises the company has faced. Depending on the company’s strategies and goals, the result will make it a winner or a loser. The company chose to feed the people and the community.

I believe that a company that stands with them will earn a victory as they triumph against the pandemic. My organization also has struggled to serve the community as the COVID-19 broke out. It didn’t benefit us financially nor brought an outcome we wanted, but we are serving them continually. And this has motivated me to work harder and to stay strong with the organization. I can’t tell if we are winning versus the pandemic for now, but my organization won my heart for sure!

The Law of Harvest

Ms. Bosch-Ong also introduced the law of the harvest. This law illustrates how she managed to survive in the male-dominated industry. She was a mere purchasing manager 36 years ago when she first joined the company. But she believed in the law that hard work and perseverance would bear fruits, a lesson she learned from the founder of Wilcon. As she emphasized, there are no shortcuts in business as well as in her career. There is no magic ingredient for surviving and succeeding in the tough industry. Yet, she assured the class that a lot of hard work she planted yielded good returns over the years.

Since joining my organization, I couldn’t see the fruits of my hard work for many years. Even worse, due to the pandemic, I had to close a center I opened with my own hands. It was heartbreaking. But her assurance of the law encouraged me greatly to keep running and seeking opportunity and innovation persistently.

In addition, her success in a male-dominated industry encouraged my dream. South Korea ranked the lowest on The Economist’s latest glass-ceiling index among OECD. (The Economist, 2019). In my organization, it is also hard to meet married women in high positions. I always wanted to work at the international headquarter of my organization. My dream is not just to attain a higher position but to be an inspiration to female workers that we can still be good influencers in the organization as we are at home.

Conclusion

The world is more unpredictable than ever. The future is uncertain. But I learned that the values I planted with perseverance and sweat would bring me a victory one day.

Will our dreams come true? Let’s feed the good wolf first; then let the law of the harvest work for us.

The author is an MBA student of the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. This article is part of her blog, a requirement of the course, Trends and Issues in Business and Management: CEO Series. Visit her blog at  https://blog.naver.com/yura_park.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

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