NEW YORK, 18 October 2018 – The Philippine Consulate General in New York, in cooperation with the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) East Coast Alumni chapter, hosted a master class on Management led by AIM Professor and former Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Federico Macaranas, PhD held at the Philippine Center last 17 October.

In the AIM-style of instruction, Professor Macaranas used the written analysis of the case (WAC) method to illustrate the Game Theory framework as portrayed in the Hollywood film Crazy Rich Asians to understand international affairs, particularly the Philippine-US-China “tri-lemma” in the West Philippine Sea.

In his lecture, Professor Macaranas prefaced his analysis with the assumption that none of the countries want a conflict in the WPS, a major trade route where about $5.3 billion worth of goods pass through each year. He added that in today’s global affairs, it is wise to keep friends and “frenemies,” to find an agreeable resolution in any conflict.

Successful managers undergo scenario planning, with a context, a clash, and the climax.   The winning strategy must contain these three components, with the end goal of resolution in mind.

Professor Macaranas assigned each of the three countries a character in the movie closely representing their interest. In his application of the Game Theory, a “trilemma” problem will always have a “blind party,” such that two are parties in a conversation, while the other one is, whether voluntarily or not, left out. While being “out,” the third party must make itself valuable to the tri-lemma to ultimately end with a win-win solution for all.

Consul General Claro S. Cristobal expressed his gratitude to Professor Macaranas, his mentor at the Economic Diplomacy Unit during his early years at the Department of Foreign Affairs for sharing his expertise in management, applicable not only in business and industry, but also in governance and administration.