Dr. Atty. Sharon Millan, CPA | University of the Philippines Diliman (original) (raw)

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Papers by Dr. Atty. Sharon Millan, CPA

Taxes, the lifeblood of any government entity, can springboard a community into economic developm... more Taxes, the lifeblood of any government entity, can springboard a community into economic development. And one of the lucrative form of taxes are business taxes. A bustling business environment means wider tax base. A wider tax base increases collection, thereby capacitating a government to carry out programs and projects to serve its people. Governments therefore recognizes the importance of improving their country's growth potential through enhancing competitiveness at the national and local levels. This can be achieved through reforms that facilitate doing business in a country. This paper discusses the importance of the ease of doing business index and focuses on the business friendliness of Valenzuela City, Philippines and Hong Kong SAR, China in terms of their respective business permit and licensing systems (BPLS). In addition, this paper examines the advantages and challenges of the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the implementation the respective BPLS of both Valenzuela City, Philippines and Hong Kong SAR, China.

Taxation as an inherent power of the state is an effective tool for development. Taxation may be ... more Taxation as an inherent power of the state is an effective tool for development. Taxation may be extractive but it is better than borrowing and aid. Borrowing and aid have been tools of machinations by transnational organizations to interfere and even control politics and economics of recipient countries. Governments need to wean themselves from the easy yet undignified addiction to borrowing and aid. Governments need to be dependent on taxation to finance public service. An efficient and effective tax system is therefore an essential to good governance. Tax collection in turn should promote and support the human and natural capital of a country, which in turn improves tax revenue. This cycle of improved tax collection and wealth stimulating governance will propel any country to true inclusive growth.

Money does not buy happiness but the lack of money creates a memory of misery" (Daniel Kahneman) ... more Money does not buy happiness but the lack of money creates a memory of misery" (Daniel Kahneman) The pursuit of happiness is a transnational goal of every person regardless of stature, race, ethnicity, gender or age. The State through the powers vested to it by the people, seeks to enhance the happiness of the people. The State's economic and social policy are focused on the common good and the indicators measure the experienced happiness or satisfaction of the people.

In the 1950s to 1960s, Development was about the modernization of traditional societies according... more In the 1950s to 1960s, Development was about the modernization of traditional societies according to European models. However, there were arguments about the dependence of Southern countries and the corresponding exploitation by Northern Countries. Economic development revolves around industrialization and transfer of an under-developed rural labor force to more productive occupations in the urban-industrial sector. This entailed massive investment in education systems and the introduction of modern forms of time management. The size of a typical Third World family would have to be reduced, or made modern/western families.

The archipelagic nature of the Philippines has made decentralization a necessary consequence to e... more The archipelagic nature of the Philippines has made decentralization a necessary consequence to effectively disperse power, authority and responsibility from National Government (NG) to Local Government Units (LGUs).

Theories are important in understanding the Public Administration setting. The relationship betwe... more Theories are important in understanding the Public Administration setting. The relationship between theory and practice is relevant as theory makes sense of practice. Knowledge of a theory affects how policy makers and administrators approach bureaucratic problems in the delivery of public service. The following are among the theories that shaped public administration as we know it today:

Women are significantly becoming major players in the economic arena. They are beginning to enjoy... more Women are significantly becoming major players in the economic arena. They are beginning to enjoy more access to economic, health, and educational privileges. Women are now economically, socially, and sexually as powerful as men. Women have become more aggressive in their quest for individual happiness and the quality of life both for themselves and for their families.Women have acquired a status as significant influencers from the family to the business community, education, religious, professional associations, international organizations and government. This is not to downplay the role of men. Though women have been fighting for equality with men, men and women will never be alike. Women have higher verbal ability and are considered web-thinkers. Women can multi-task, can be very persuasive and can display complex sets of emotions at a given time. Men on the other hand, are more focused and display a step-by-step thinking pattern. Chemistry-wise, aggressive "male" behaviors are mediated by dopamine, whereas receptive "female" and maternal behaviors (grooming, feeding) are mediated by close-in cues, norepinephrine, and opiate and oxytocin systems.

Drafts by Dr. Atty. Sharon Millan, CPA

How do we align people’s daily needs and wants achieved through interactions with health and safe... more How do we align people’s daily needs and wants achieved through interactions with health and safety protocols? People need to interact with other people and things and safety protocols imposes limits to these needs. Limiting pandemic health and safety protocols and even cure to what is known only creates scarcity. Collectively we can come up with simple, accessible and affordable safety practices, products and services that meet and consider people’s needs, values, culture and circumstances. Do not push, observe the workarounds.

There is need for faster, accurate, efficient tracking of government personnel productivity and e... more There is need for faster, accurate, efficient tracking of government personnel productivity and efficiency in processing public requests and transactions. Currently, office productivity and efficiency can be gathered through the manual logbook receiving system. Frustration usually mounts due to processing delays which are aggravated by time consumed for hand deliveries, telephone follow-ups, and manual location of documents. The processing of requests cannot be completed in the desired speed and accuracy. Hence, the need for a tracking system that would facilitate the productivity and efficiency ratio of each government Personnel. Such tracking system should also provide a information of the number of output (productivity) and the timeliness to accomplish (efficiency) of each government Personnel.

The Innovation: a document forwarding system for requests. The system will be a network-based platform wherein users shall record only documents forwarded to the next person. This tracking system will measure the productivity and efficiency of each Personnel by providing output counts and efficiency ratios. These output counts and efficiency ratios can be reliable information as to the quantitative performance evaluation of each Personnel as well as the collective average performance of the Unit which can aid decision making on performance evaluation, equitable work distribution and delegation.

Human-time is a valuable resource, and each citizen is can spend an equal 24 hours in a day. Bein... more Human-time is a valuable resource, and each citizen is can spend an equal 24 hours in a day. Being a scarce commodity, time spent in engaging frontline government services can never be regained. Valuation of human-time spent in terms of monetary value can provide policymakers with an insight of this disregarded and unaccounted human-time economic cost of frontline government transactions. To make this valuation, the cost approach is used focussing on starting and/or maintaining a business in the Philippines. Three sets of data was gathered: (1) the current minimum wage for each region, (2) the amount of time spent for starting and maintaining business in the Philippines and (3) list of establishments by region. Information as to these annual costs of human time spent on conducting government frontline transactions will allow policymakers to identify expensive human-time citizen-government interfaces towards the end of designing reforms that would reduce human-time costs..

Thesis Chapters by Dr. Atty. Sharon Millan, CPA

One avenue for innovation creation in public services is collaboration. This study set out to det... more One avenue for innovation creation in public services is collaboration. This study set out to determine whether deliberate collaboration between government, citizen and IT practitioners using a design thinking protocol can be an intervention for creating public service innovations in the form of civic technologies. This study looked into the interaction dynamics that depict communication patterns of idea generation, knowledge sharing, sustained idea expression, sustained disagreement and even blocking between government, citizen and IT practitioner participants and how these interactions led to public service innovation design prototypes. These prototypes were then tested in terms of their usability. The collaborators were observed to have engaged in problem articulation, abductive reasoning, divergent thinking, prototyping and validating. This resulted in working clickable city mobile app prototypes that received almost wide acceptance during the usability tests.
The outcome of this study directly relates to the strategic themes of the UNDP’s Global Centre for Public Service Excellence evidence-building work on design thinking at the Public Service Innovation (PSI) Lab Singapore]. It illustrated how design thinking approaches will contribute to solving public service challenges. It outlined the format and process of implementing design thinking within public service innovations. This study provides actionable recommendations for government and civic groups to support rapid public service innovation.