The Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines, in its thrust to further strengthen its role in the furniture industry, held a successful Strategic Planning Workshop last May 27, 2010 at the Millenia Suites, Pasig City. The whole day activity was attended by CFIP President Joy C. Cancio, Board of Trustees Emmanuel P. Padiernos, Antonio C. Gomez, Narciso dela Merced and Florante T. Escalante, former CFIP President Ed Baluyot and the CFIP Secretariat.

The exchange of ideas among the participants revealed various interesting points, as well as diverse observations and reactions from the group. Noted Professor Oscar L. Morado facilitated the workshop using the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) technique which proved to be a very useful management tool.

SWOT analysis is a structure for assessing an organization’s strengths and weaknesses as well as its potential opportunities and threats. Its method confines strengths and weaknesses to the company’s internal workings, while opportunities and threats refer to the external environment. Once completed, SWOT analysis identifies what may assist the organization in accomplishing its objectives, and what obstacles must be overcome or minimized to achieve desired results.

During the discussion, Mr. dela Merced emphasized that all activities should be directed towards the Chamber’s main objective. The SWOT analysis revealed the need to improve on various operations of the Chamber, and everyone’s input was certainly a welcome contribution.

Before the workshop ended, the participants were able to draft the Chamber’s plan of action for the year ahead. A list of specific projects with details on key persons, time frame and resources will be submitted for finalization within the next 15 days.

It was indeed a successful activity, both a learning experience and a challenge for the Chamber to carry out its mission: as the catalyst and advocate of the Philippine furniture industry, striving to achieve sustainable growth and global competitiveness consistent with the individual needs and aspirations of its growing membership.