The Impact of Agricultural Input Change on Gendered Decision-Making in Rice-Farming Households in Thailand and Cambodia

Here is the second abstract for the panel:

The gendered division of labour in agricultural households structures the extent and purpose of most decision-making with regards to income generation and household activities. Yet this is a dynamic rather a static situation because farming conditions vary so widely even within comparatively narrow geographical limits, while weather conditions can be unpredictable and, for those households connected with distant markets, market conditions can also affect what must be done at the household level. Additionally, technological change drives much agricultural production. When there is change of this sort, then the possibility is opened of a renegotiation between family members – perhaps on grounds of gender and perhaps on other grounds – as to what inputs are to be used and how any changes in labour provision should be managed. Clearly, where the nature of decision-making in the household changes in one direction, then that makes it possible for power relations to vary in nature in another or many other directions. This research study focuses on the results of 400 quantitative interviews conducted in Cambodia and Thailand of women in rice-farming households. Women as heads of households were identified and interviewed where possible. Variations in input use are shown in different agricultural conditions and implications are drawn from this for understanding the changing nature of gendered relations in different parts of the two countries surveyed.

Keywords: agricultural inputs, Cambodia, decision-making, gender, Thailand

Petcharat Lovichakorntikul, Doctoral Candidate, School of Management, Shinawatra University

Sirirat Ngamsang, Doctoral Candidate, School of Management, Shinawatra University

John Walsh, Assistant Professor, School of Management, Shinawatra University

Cross-Border Exchanges in the Western Mekong Region: The Role of Monks and the Laity

This paper, by Pramaha Min Putthithanasombat, Petcharat Lovichakorntikul, Sirirat Ngamsang and myself, has been accepted for presentation at the forthcoming ICGBE Conference to be held in June here in Bangkok.

Abstract:

The legacy of history, nationalism and lack of trust have contributed to the comparatively poor cross-border relations in the Mekong Region and, in particular, between Thailand and its majority Buddhist neighbours Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. These relations tend to obscure the common features that unite the people of the region. Principal among these commonalities is the tradition of Theravadin Buddhism, which is the form practiced and which places particular emphasis of the role of monks and the importance of doing virtuous works as part of the process of spiritual development that will eventually lead towards nirvana. Linguistic differences across borders are mediated by the underlying reliance on the Pali language, which is used to record and transmit Buddhist teachings. Many cross-border activities take place on an informal basis in which individual learn how to communicate with each other. One aspect of this is travel for pilgrimage and knowledge-seeking purposes, both monks and lay people cross the borders concerned, although little research has been conducted into this form of tourism. Using personal interviews of people concerned, this research study has been intended to delineate the extent to which these kinds of cross-border movements take place, their impacts in terms of improving social relations and economic growth and, also, the opportunities for enhancing educational opportunities for those involved.

Keywords: Buddhism, cross-border travel, Mekong Region, Thailand.

Uneven Development in the Mekong Region, Infrastructure and Gender Relations

Our panel proposal for the 3rd International Conference for International Relations and Development to be held at Chulalongkorn University in November has been accepted. These are the details that I submitted (and may vary slightly for the final version):

Rationale:

Uneven development in the Mekong Region is linked to the distribution of natural resources and the geographic conditions of specific areas. The unevenness of development may be mitigated or exacerbated by the creation of physical infrastructure, including road and rail links, power and telephone lines, dams and river basin management systems. While the impacts of infrastructure development may be evident at a large geographical scale, there may be a significant level of churn at a much lower level – the level of the household. Within households, gender relations may be affected by the unanticipated and sometimes unintended consequences of charges at a higher level. Previous research has shown how the opening of a bridge over the Mekong has transformed cross-border arbitrage opportunities previously available to small-scale female entrepreneurs, intensified problems and opportunities for returning female migrants and created the opportunity for the creation of para-statal areas which are beyond the effective reach of accountable governmental organizations. These changes have been accompanied by a version of the Great Transformation passing across the Mekong Region that has occurred, in part at least, through a process of accumulation by dispossession. Numerous other changes have been brought about at the household and community levels as a result of changes such as these and many are susceptible to observation from qualitative research approaches and measurement from quantitative research approaches. This panel aims to explore the nature of these changes in the Mekong Region and their impacts on gender relations within households using a mixture of methodologies and with a view to helping to understand the interrelationships between changes at the macro scale and impacts at the micro scale.

Panellists will include:

Teresita Del Rosario will present an overview of development and its impact on gender relations with specific reference to the Mekong Region.

Alin Chintraruck, whose paper will explore the processes and purposes of privatization in the water industry in the southern part of Thailand in the context of increasing demand and diverse sources of water and its impact on households.

Petcharat Lovichakorntikul and Sirirat Ngamsang will present the results of a comparative quantitative study on changes in agricultural production in Thailand and Cambodia associated with variations in choice of rice seeds, pesticides and fertilizers and the impact this has on gendered decision-making in the household.

John Walsh will describe the spread and intensification of industrial estates and Special Economic Zones across the Mekong Region, their interaction with the increasing physical infrastructure of, in particular, the Asian Highway Network and the changes this has led to in household and community relations.

Affiliations of Panellists:

Professor Dr. Teresita Del Rosario is Institutional Capacity Needs Assessment Specialistat Asian Development Bank, Thailand, Visiting Senior Fellow at the Center for Asian Law Studies and Visiting Associate Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

Ms. Alin Chintraruck is a doctoral candidate at the School of Management, Shinawatra University.

Ms. Petcharat Lovichakorntikul is a doctoral candidate at the School of Management, Shinawatra University.

Ms. Sirirat Ngamsang is a doctoral candidate at the School of Maangement, Shinawatra University.

Dr. John Walsh is Director of the Research Centre, Shinawatra University, Editor of the SIU Journal of Management and Assistant Professor at the School of Management, Shinawatra University.

Dharma Teaching in a High-Tech Hospital Environment

Doctoral candidate Petcharat Lovichakorntikul presenting her paper (co-authored with myself) “Dharma Teaching in a High-Tech Hospital Environment” at the ICGBE International Conference 2013 (Bangkok: February 9th-10th, 2013) earlier today.

Abstract

As part of a predominantly Buddhist society, Thai people are familiar with the teaching of Buddhist lessons (i.e. Dharma) which are aimed at providing guidelines for living in society and dealing with social relationships, among other goals. In most cases, the experience of receiving Dharma takes place in personal time away from work and the workplace experience was mostly quite removed from the lessons of the monks. However, some organisations have sought to incorporate Dharma teaching into their human resources practices. This is true of certain leading hospitals in central Thailand, where hospital management hopes to inculcate the kind of loving, mindful compassion in its nursing and medical staff that is associated with Buddhist practice. Reports from human resource management suggest that the introduction of such programmes of study and meditation have been well-received and have contributed to the high level of retention of the staff involved. The use of Dharma and related issues is employed in the areas both of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and human resource development, with the former aimed at external stakeholders and the latter mostly at internal stakeholders. This case study examines a leading hospital in Thailand with a view to identifying how the Dharma lessons and related activities have had an impact upon workplace behaviour, productivity and the degree of commitment that workers feel for their work and their employer.

Keywords: Buddha’s Teaching, Dharma, Hospital, Work-life Balance

A Comparative Study of the Corporate Social Responsibility Systems of the Samrong General Hospital and Vibhavadi Hospital, Thailand

Announcing: Lovichakorntikul, Petcharat and John Walsh, “A Comparative Study of the Corporate Social Responsibility Systems of the Samrong General Hospital and Vibhavadi Hospital, Thailand,” paper presented at the SIU International Conference (January 30-31^st, 2013).

Abstract:

The concept and practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has recently become more important in Thailand. Many businesses have concentrated more closely on their image and on establishing a good reputation. As is the case with Thai society overall, the majority of the people involved are Buddhists. Consequently, Thai people have been influenced by Buddhism and are familiar with giving and sharing, which are compatible with CSR contexts. This study will present the CSR projects that have been implemented in two Thai hospitals established in the 1990s. With their clear and transparent policies, they have created good corporate governance not only for their staff members but also for sustainable society. Outcomes from the management approaches employed both in theory and in practice are congruent with the dhamma (Buddha’s teachings). In fact, they have been performing these kinds of CSR projects since they first set up their firms, before the CSR scheme became well-known in Thailand. During the flood crisis in 2011, one of the hospitals was flooded but the other operated normally; they both provided significant help to their staff members, clients, disaster victims and society at large. This study is a qualitative research method aimed at exploring how local Thai healthcare businesses pursue CSR programs by applying dhamma lessons from Buddhism in everyday working life. The findings from this research study rest upon personal in-depth interviews and focus group interviews from top executive management levels, Human Resource managers and operational staff of the Samrong General Hospital and Vibhavadi Hospital. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews from participants selected both purposively and randomly. Body language and observation were also used to triangulate the data. It is hoped that the findings will make a significant contribution to understanding CSR as it is practiced in a Buddhist context in Thailand.

Keywords: Buddhism, comparative study, corporate social responsibility, hospital, Thailand

A Comparative Study of the Corporate Social Responsibility Systems of the Samrong General Hospital and Vibhavadi Hospital, Thailand

Another paper to be presented at the forthcoming SIU International Conference at the end of January and written and presented by Petcharat Lovichakorntikul and myself. Here is the abstract:

The concept and practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has recently become more important in Thailand. Many businesses have concentrated more closely on their image and on establishing a good reputation. As is the case with Thai society overall, the majority of the people involved are Buddhists. Consequently, Thai people have been influenced by Buddhism and are familiar with giving and sharing, which are compatible with CSR contexts. This study will present the CSR projects that have been implemented in two Thai hospitals established in the 1990s. With their clear and transparent policies, they have created good corporate governance not only for their staff members but also for sustainable society. Outcomes from the management approaches employed both in theory and in practice are congruent with the dhamma (Buddha’s teachings). In fact, they have been performing these kinds of CSR projects since they first set up their firms, before the CSR scheme became well-known in Thailand. During the flood crisis in Thailand in 2011, one of the hospitals was flooded but the other one was operating normally; they both provided significant help to their staff members, clients, disaster victims and society at large. This study is a qualitative research method exploring how local Thai healthcare businesses pursue CSR programs by apply dhamma sermons from Buddhism to everyday working life. The findings from this research study rest upon personal in-depth interviews and focus group interviews from top executive management levels, Human Resource managers, and operational staff of the Samrong General Hospital and Vibhavadi Hospital. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews of the participants, both selectively and randomly. Body language and observation were also used to triangulate the data in this study. Discussions and conclusions were addressed in this research as well. It is hoped that the findings will make a significant contribution understanding CSR as it is practiced in a Buddhist context in Thailand.

The Virtuous Life of a Thai Buddhist Nun

PhD Candidate K Petcharat Lovichakorntikul and I submitted an abstract for a new book project concerning Women and Asian Religion, which has now been accepted. The short and extended abstract are as follows:

Abstract

The life of Khun Yai Chandra Konnokyoong (1910-2002) mirrors changes in the lives of Buddhist women in Thailand as the country entered the modern age. Born into a poor agricultural family, she rejected familial claims to become a maid in Bangkok and subsequently started a temple and religious centre that has become an extremely successful organization which is aimed at uniting the sentiments and ideas of the past with the present. Her career combines traditional values with the modern means of bringing them about, thereby indicating the role that technology has had in freeing women from domestic labour and enabling them to follow other pursuits.

Extended Abstract

Thai society continues to view women as the ‘rear legs of the elephant,’ who should follow and support their husbands who are the front legs. Yet this traditional lifestyle has been challenged by the spread of capitalism through globalization and has been transformed, particularly in urban areas. The expectations and aspirations of women have been significantly altered and their ability and willingness to work outside the house, which have had clear impacts upon their duties within families and households. This changing role for women is matched by the increased importance, particularly in Bangkok, of the figure of Guan Im (Guan Yin), originally a Chinese goddess now imported as a symbol of middle class hopes and fears. Thai Buddhist society does not recognize Bhikkuni or female monk status but does accept women becoming nuns and following the eight precepts. One woman who followed this route and founded the Phra Dhammakaya Temple, lived a long and virtuous life which in many ways parallels the changes in women’s status during this period and approximates the role of Guan Im for her followers. Khun Yai Chandra Konnokyoong (1910-2002) was born into a farming family and received no formal education. As her family prospered, she left and rejected her familial duties to become a maid in a rich household in Bangkok and, ultimately, the freedom to devote her life to being a nun. She devoted herself to meditation as a means of making merit for her father and family, despite not being present in the household so that, in 1970, with just $100, she was able to establish her own temple. Within twenty years, her followers were spreading her teaching around the world and now there are some 200 temples or branches of the original Phra Dhammakaya Temple nationwide and 60 meditation centres around the world. She has instructed thousands of people both Thai and foreign in her methods. She focuses on spiritual development and the purification of the mind and body: more than 50,000 teenagers have joined programmes to avoid drugs and alcohol and volunteer for public service because of her influence. Some 2,000 monks and 1,000 Ubasokas and Ubasikas devote their lives to Buddhism at her temple. On Buddhist holidays, as many as 50-100,000 people come together to meditate in silence. In common with the inspiration of Guan Im, she provides a community of peace and obedience (without questioning), with new generations ready to build lives in the new world with the methods and traditions of the old.

Keywords: Buddhist Nun, Dhammakaya, Self-development, Thailand

 

Buddhist Social Work: A Case Study of the Samrong General Hospital

Congratulations to K Petcharat, who has now successfully presented: Lovichakorntikul, Petcharat and John Walsh, “Buddhist Social Work: A Case Study of the Samrong General Hospital,” paper presented at the International Buddhist Conference (Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Ayutthaya: December 2011), available at: http://www.undv.org/vesak2012/iabudoc/03PetcharatFINAL.pdf.

Abstract:

Human Resource Development (HRD) is a crucial element in contemporary organizations and determines their future to a significant extent, especially in the healthcare business, which has been changing and developing according to emerging trends such as the problems of insufficiency and the inequitable distribution of healthcare professionals, as well as certain morality and ethical issues. While the public perception is that healthcare professionals who are working to heal patients and save lives must have kind and generous minds, this is not always the case and, in HRD, it remains necessary to develop the minds, attitudes and perceptions of healthcare professionals to be ready to serve others. Many Thai people are very familiar with Buddhism because most ceremonies and ways of life are related to Buddhist cultural practices. Buddhist teachings are implanted into their minds as well as the understanding that their ancestors followed the same methods and principles. Some believe that the nature of belied is changing along with changes in contemporary society, which privileges material goods above spiritual ones. In response, it is necessary to reinvigorate Dhamma teaching so that it speaks more clearly to present generations. This research is, therefore, based on certain Buddhist ethical principles, such as the five precepts (Pañcasīla), the basis of success (Iddhipada 4), the sublime states of mind (Brahmavihāra 4), and meditation. These have been implemented in a Samut Prakan province hospital since its inception. Hospital founders concentrated on creating ethical and potential human resources rather than creating task specific activities. This is a qualitative research study featuring management level and operational level employees in in-depth face-to-face interviews together with a focus group with relevant participants exploring the Buddhist social work scheme in this hospital. Findings and recommendations from the research are presented.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Sangahavatthudhamma 4 in Practice of Human Resource Development Aspect: A Case Study of the Vibhavadi Hospital

Announcing: Lovichakorntikul, Petcharat and John Walsh, “Corporate Social Responsibility and Sangahavatthudhamma 4 in Practice of Human Resource Development Aspect: A Case Study of the Vibhavadi Hospital,” paper presented at the 4th Mahidol HR International Conference (Bangkok: January 18-20th, 2012).

This conference was due to be held last year but was postponed as a result of the floods here in Bangkok. I was unable to attend but I know Khun Petcharat is quite capable of representing us well and she seemed pleased about the reception. Here is the abstract:

In recent years, many businesses have focused more closely on their images and good reputation. They have, to some extent, recognized that revenues and profit are not the ultimate goal in doing business. Much publicity has been sparked by periodic donations to charity contributed to organizations, associations and needy individuals. These activities are known collectively as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR activities seem to be developing more meaningful perspectives than have been witnessed in the past. In Buddhism, the concept of CSR is similar to the Buddhist principle called Sangahavatthudhamma 4, which is composed of sharing (Dāna), pleasant speech (Piyavācā), useful conduct (Atthacariyā) and promoting equality (Samānattatā). It is a method rooted in social welfare and one which creates good corporate governance as a sustainable development in society. This way of life shows the approach of assimilation in terms of both material and spiritual dimensions. This research will explore the connection between CSR and Sangahavatthudhamma 4 conducted in one of the hospitals in Thailand both in theory and practice. This approach has called for not only reflection in individuals but also in team working as a whole. Consequently, this may be an important method to develop and manage people in organizations as well. The findings rest upon personal in-depth interviews. Conclusions and recommendations are drawn from the research.

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Sangahavatthudhamma 4, Human Resource Development, Hospital

I believe the proceedings and conference details are available online too, if anyone should wish to see the full text and other papers presented.

Cases on Technological Change and Organizational Development

I have posted the first batch of abstracts for the IGI Book on Case Studies on Technological Change and Organizational Development (here). They are:

1. Perseverance and Enthusiasm Form Roads for Success: A Case Study in a Developing Country – Elias Farzali

2. PTCL in an Era of Technological Change – Kashif Saeed

3. Village Farm and Winery – Wilaiporn Lao-Hakosol and John Walsh

4. Dharma Teaching in a High-Tech Hospital Environment – Petcharat Lovichakorntikul and John Walsh

5. Thailand’s Industrial Estates and the Floods of 2011 – John Walsh

I’ll be putting up more abstracts in due course. Do, please, let me know if you would be interested in contributing to this exciting project (please email jcwalsh@siu.ac.th before the end of November for more details).