Delta: Management and Candidates Essay

Supplementary Handbook for tutors and candidates Introduction to Delta Module Three English Language Teaching Management (ELTM) may be regarded as commercially sensitive. Candidates may wish to anonymise the name of the selected language teaching operation in order to preserve confidentiality. Module Three (ELTM) is an alternative to the standard Module Three within the Delta course. It specifically aims to develop candidates’ knowledge of, and competence in: Candidates are advised to narrow down their selected ELTM specialism in order to research a specific aspect in appropriate depth; for example. Staff development within HRM, or Introducing a new course within academic management. a chosen ELT management specialism methods of situation analysis design of change proposals implementation of change proposals Overview of requirements Candidates’ work should demonstrate a sound grasp of general ELT management principles and how these relate to the work of an LTO, and specific principles related to their chosen ELT management specialism, as well as key principles of strategic management, organisational improvement and change management. To achieve these aims, candidates need to: †¢ research a chosen ELT Management specialism †¢ understand and use appropriate methods of situation analysis for the chosen specialism in a specified language teaching operation (LTO) †¢ design a change proposal to overcome issues identified in the analysis †¢ design an implementation plan for their change proposal †¢ synthesise all their learning into a project which can be coherently presented to a third party. Having considered the general principles and implications of the ELTM specialism and chosen topic area, candidates should carry out an independent situation analysis of the chosen specialism leading to the design of a change proposal relating to the area. Candidates should show how their proposal reflects the findings of the situation analysis and should consider how they would subsequently implement the proposed change bearing in mind the principles of change management. The full syllabus can be downloaded at http://www. cambridgeesol. org/exams/teac hing-awards/delta-modular. html The project will be reported in the form of an Extended Assignment (4,000-4,500 words, excluding appendices) and includes 5 parts: Module Three (ELTM) is assessed via an extended written assignment. Part Part 1 1,200 Situation analysis and commentary 1,000 Part 3 Proposal and justification 1,200 Part 4 Implementation 900 Part 5 academic management human resource management (HRM) customer service marketing Introduction: Review and key issues Part 2 Candidates must select one of the following specialisms:Length Conclusion 200 4,500 Candidates who select to do ELTM as their specialism for the Delta Module Three need to have access to a language teaching operation (LTO) e. g. a language school or institution. They also need to consider how they will have access to the data/information they will need in order to proceed with their proposal. For instance, if they are dealing with ‘Customer Service Management’, they will probably need to have access to customer feedback data, material which The total length may be between 4,000 and 4,500 words, but the proportion of words in each part should be approximately as indicated above, and must not exceed 4,500 in total. 1 Assignment outline and guidance for Candidates synthesised a number of different key sources, typically at least 5-6 in Part 1. †¢ Where two specialisms overlap, it is important that one specialism has the priority. So, for example, a candidate may choose Customer Service as a specialism and then design a proposal which includes some ideas related to Marketing. In this case Customer Service would be the specialism and this would be discussed in Part 1. †¢ See note on page 1 re advisability of narrowing down the selected ELTM specialism in order to research a specific aspect in appropriate depth. n? Part 1 Introduction Length: 1,200 words (plus or minus 10%) A brief rationale for choice of the ELTM specialism and review of the key issues. This will include a discriminating review of relevant literature and a consideration of general ELT management principles and how these relate to the work of an LTO, as well as specific principles related to their chosen ELT management specialism: academic management, human resource management, customer services or marketing). n? Part 2 Situation analysis and commentary Length: 1,000 words (plus or minus 10%) Guiding questions An explanation of how an aspect of the language teaching operation (LTO) was analysed, and how the results of this analysis were used to clarify the areas requiring attention in order to improve the current situation within the LTO. †¢ Why did you choose the ELTM option? Why did you choose this particular specialism? †¢ What theories and principles in the academic and professional ELT management literature have you found relevant, useful or  challenging? †¢ What ideas from observation and experience of LTOs have you drawn on? Guiding questions †¢ What is your educational context ? What are the main characteristics of the LTO, e. g. type of language teaching operation, size, purpose, local/national context etc.? †¢ How was the current situation analysed? What is the source of information? (e. g. was data collected by the LTO management or by yourself as part of your job? ) Why were these methods selected? (e. g. as part of institutional management routines, for compliance with accreditation requirements or as part of your own research? ) †¢ Who are the key stakeholders and what influence do they have? †¢ What were the results of the analysis of data? How did you use these results to clarify the focus of your proposal? Advice to candidates †¢ Candidates who choose this ELTM option should ideally have experience of working as an academic manager (such as programme manager, DoS/ADoS), or in a similar managerial role within an LTO. †¢ The context, background, problems, etc. of the specific LTO should not be discussed in Part 1. †¢ Candidates are expected to show understanding of the key issues related to ELTM and their chosen specialism using relevant terminology. †¢ Key issues should be critically discussed and supported with reference to reading and knowledge/experience gained from working in an LTO. †¢ It is recommended that candidates research their chosen specialism by doing relevant reading before planning/finalising Part 2 of the assignment. †¢ The review of the literature should go beyond simply finding one or two sources which describe the specialism, and should show that the candidate has read and Advice to candidates †¢ Candidates should briefly provide a reason for choosing this particular LTO, and give some brief information on their own role within it, if appropriate. †¢ Candidates need to provide a brief overview of the LTO but should avoid being overly descriptive. The purpose of Part 2 of the assignment is to analyse, not simply describe. 2 Guiding questions †¢ It is important that the analysis focuses in detail on a specific aspect of the working of the LTO in relation to the selected specialism rather than being a general analysis of the context. †¢ Candidates are expected to show awareness of principles of management data analysis (e. g. customer/stakeholder analysis). Terminology should be used and referenced to its sources. Understanding of these principles does not mean purely stating lists  of factors. Candidates need to show how awareness of these principles has influenced their choice of situation analysis procedures. †¢ Candidates are expected to choose appropriate tools/instruments to conduct their analysis. It is important to show which instruments have been used and why, and to provide examples of all instruments used in the appendix. Where many different instruments have been used, it is important to provide a summary of these in the appendix, preferably in a chart format for readers’ ease of access. †¢ It is also important to demonstrate clearly how analysis of these instruments has been conducted. Analysis of the tools used should be detailed and clearly indicate how priorities for improvement have been arrived at. A clear summary of the analysis, possibly in chart format in the appendix, should be provided, so as to show how the results have been synthesised. †¢ Candidates may make use of data which has already been gathered by others (within the LTO for example), but they would need to analyse or, if already analysed, critique this data themselves. †¢ The results of the analysis need to be highlighted here in Part 2 in brief, and then used to identify key priorities for improvement which feed into designing the  change proposal in Part 3. †¢ What priorities have you identified from the above situation analysis for improving the current situation in your educational context (LTO)? †¢ In what ways is your proposed change based on, or influenced by, your reading of relevant literature related to strategic management and organisational improvement? †¢ What are the institutional and educational aims and objectives you hope to achieve? How will the proposal improve the current situation in your LTO? †¢ What is the content of the proposed change? What are the expected outcomes? How will the proposal work in practice? †¢ What institutional requirements or other constraints have you taken into account? Advice to candidates †¢ It is essential that the change proposal is clearly influenced by the situation analysis from Part 2 of the assignment. †¢ Candidates are expected to show awareness of principles of strategic management and organisational improvement. Terminology should be used and referenced to its sources. Understanding of these principles does not mean purely stating lists of factors. Candidates need to show how awareness of these principles has influenced the design of the change proposal. †¢ The change proposal needs to clearly state the problems which are to be addressed and the aims and objectives of each component of the proposal. It should involve one specific focus rather than a range of smaller initiatives. †¢ The change proposal needs to be realistic and should acknowledge relevant institutional constraints, where appropriate. †¢ While tables or charts may be used to summarise the change proposal, sufficient prose is required to expand details and provide explanations. †¢ It is important for candidates to discuss their proposal from a management perspective and to avoid being too descriptive about the details of the proposed change (i. e.  if the topic is Introducing a new course, the focus should be on how this contributes strategically to the LTO rather than on curriculum theory). Part 3 Proposal and justification Length 1,200 words (plus or minus 10%) Discussion of the content and structure of the proposed changes in relation to the key issues and principles discussed in Part 1 and the priorities for improvement identified in the analysis in Part 2. 3 n? Part 4 Implementation intended outcomes and change management principles rather than simply describing the process. The link between the implementation plan and the change proposal is paramount. †¢ The implementation plan needs to be realistic and should acknowledge relevant institutional constraints where appropriate. †¢ It is important that candidates include some indication of how they intend to evaluate the outcomes of their implementation plan. Length: 900 words (plus or minus 10%) An explanation of how the proposed change will be implemented and why (with reference to the relevant literature) accompanied by a detailed action plan/operational plan, showing how the change will be put into practice. Guiding questions †¢ What approach to implementation will be used and why? How has your reading of  change management, decision-making, and/or project management influenced your choice of approach? †¢ What will be the impact of the proposed change on different stakeholders, internal and external? †¢ How exactly do you propose to implement your proposed change? †¢ How will people and resources be managed during the change process? †¢ In what ways, if any, are your choices of implementation constrained institutionally and contextually? †¢ How will you evaluate the outcomes of the implementation? n? Part 5 Conclusion Length: 200 words maximum Consideration of how the proposal is linked to the key issues outlined in the introduction. Guiding questions †¢ How has your proposal applied the principles you discussed in Part 1? †¢ What do you expect to be the benefits for the LTO of your proposal? †¢ What do you consider to be some of the limitations of your proposal? Advice to candidates †¢ In this section, candidates should summarise how the proposal and accompanying implementation plan will achieve the objectives identified for the LTO. †¢ This should not simply be a reiteration of everything that has been said in the assignment. Some indication should be given of the expected benefits of the proposal to the LTO and some of its limitations. †¢ It is important that all the parts of the assignment are linked and build on one another. Reference to the points made in the introduction are appropriate in this concluding section. †¢ Failure to include a conclusion will lead to the candidate losing marks for presentation and organisation. Advice to candidates †¢ Candidates are expected to show awareness of principles of change management, decision-making and/or project management. Terminology should be used and referenced to its sources. Understanding of these principles does not mean purely stating lists of factors. Candidates need to relate these factors to their choice of  implementation approach. †¢ The main emphasis in Part 4 of this assignment should be on outlining what will be done to implement the change proposal and how this will achieve the intended outcome. Change management principles should be used to justify the choices made rather than discussing these per se. †¢ It is important that candidates show, through use of a detailed operational/action plan, what actions need to be undertaken when, how and by whom in order to implement the proposed change, and that it is clear how each action leads to an intended outcome. †¢ Candidates must provide a clear rationale for their implementation plan in terms of 4 n? Appendices advised to develop and make explicit their approach to the module. It may be that a whole group chooses the same specialism, e. g. Human Resource Management’, in which case the same input can be provided for all candidates. If a range of specialisms is chosen, then input may be given by tutors with some expertise in the topic area. The purpose of appendices is to provide both supporting evidence and explanatory materials to help the reader make sense of the assignment. Appendices to be attached to main body of assignment †¢ Situation analysis results †¢ Implementation plan  Candidates may wish to register at a centre and receive individual advice and support. In this case, they should advise centres of their specialism, ensure that the centre where they are registered is able to provide this for the ELTM option and check the centre’s arrangements for this provision. Appendices to be attached as a separate document †¢ A completed sample of all analyses used Advice to candidates †¢ The summaries of the situation analysis results and the implementation plan should be attached as appendices to the main body of the assignment (and labelled Appendix 1: Situation Analysis Results; Appendix 2 Implementation Plan). †¢ All other appendices, e. g. samples of analysis instruments and other relevant documentation should be submitted as a separate document. †¢ Appendices should be numbered and included in the contents pages. They should also state what they contain, e. g. Appendix 3: Situation Analysis Instruments; Appendix 4: Suggested Marketing Brochure, etc. †¢ Candidates are not required to include copies of all completed instruments from all participants in the data analysis, but they should include single completed samples. Similarly, candidates are expected to include samples of any relevant documents which  support the change proposal. For the ELTM Extended Assignment, candidates need to have a breadth and depth of knowledge and awareness of issues related to ELT Management. For this reason, it is important that candidates read widely before starting the assignment. Candidates should also read and be familiar with the key principles and issues in the following areas: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ management data analysis strategic management and organisational improvement change management project management n? Choice of topic for the assignment The focus of the assignment will be on ELT Management. It is the prerogative of the centre to  decide if they are able/willing to supervise this ELTM option. Candidates will also need to have access to an LTO and data relating to the area chosen as a focus for the assignment so that Parts 2-4 of the assignment can be completed. They will need to consider their own role within the LTO carefully before choosing this ELTM option and before deciding on the specific focus of their specialism. Candidates’ status within an LTO determines their access to information and, for candidates already in a management role, the scope of their responsibilities and limits to their authority. For instance, even someone at middle management  level, such as an academic manager, (e. g. Director of Studies (DoS)), may have little or no influence over organisational structure or HRM policies, while the language teaching operation (LTO) itself Guidance for tutors and candidates General advice Candidates are not required to follow a course to prepare for the Delta Module Three ELTM Extended Assignment. However, candidates who do receive support from their centres will benefit from having a structured approach to their preparation for this assignment. Such support may be in the form of a course, individual/group tutorials, or online packages, and may be provided in parallel with, or separately from, Delta Modules One and Two. Where the ELTM Extended Assignment is supervised as part of a course, each centre is 5 may be constrained by compliance with accreditation or legislative requirements. †¢ Candidates should ensure that the file size does not exceed 10MB. It is especially important that the file containing appendices is not too large as this may cause problems for online uploading and downloading of assignments. Candidates must choose from the list of four specialisms provided. If a candidate wishes to focus on a specialist area not included in the list, the centre may contact the Cambridge ESOL Helpdesk for advice: ESOLHelpdesk@CambridgeESOL. org †¢ Candidates are expected to proof their assignments for presentation and language errors. †¢ The title page should contain details of centre and candidate number, ELTM specialism and topic chosen and the word count. †¢ A contents page listing headings/sub-headings and including page numbers should be provided immediately after the cover page. †¢ Pages should be numbered by using the ‘insert page number’ function in Word. †¢ A running footer should be inserted with candidate name and assignment title. †¢ Headings should be used for sections in the body of the assignment. Sub-headings should be used where appropriate for sub-sections. †¢ The word limit is very important as it provides a form of standardisation for the assignment. Candidates should therefore plan their assignment to cover the criteria within the word limit. Assignments which exceed the word limit will be penalised during marking. Assignments more than 100 words over-length will be returned to candidates unmarked. The Suggested word limits for each section will help candidates organise themselves accordingly. Candidates should use the ‘word count’ function in ‘Word’ (by highlighting all their text between the end of the contents  pages and the start of the bibliography section) to monitor the number of words, and they are advised to note that examiners will automatically check all word counts before marking. (The version of Word used to check the word count should be indicated with the word count on the front cover of the assignment. ) †¢ Footnotes should not be used at all for this assignment. All references and terminology are to be included in the text, and count towards the overall word limit. †¢ Summaries of key data, (e. g. charts which summarise the situation analysis results, overview of the implementation plan, etc. ) may be included  in the text itself for readers’ ease of reference, but further detail, (e. g. questionnaires, analysis of specific instruments used etc. ) should be put into the appendix. n? Staging and planning It is recommended that candidates be advised to address the various stages of the assignment separately, and that a study plan be drawn up so that candidates clearly carry out the necessary background work for each stage before moving on to the subsequent stage. Tutorials may be built into this planning to provide more structured guidance. n? Presentation of the assignment Advice to candidates †¢ The assignment is to be submitted electronically as two (and no more than two) documents with 2. 50 cm margins †¢ The first document should be submitted as a Word (. doc) document and entitled as follows: centre number_candidate number_surname_Delta3_ELTM_month year. doc e. g. 11111_001_smith_Delta3_ELTM_1211. doc The collation of situation analysis results and the implementation plan should be included as appendices in this document. This is to help markers locate essential information and to ensure that all original work is included in any plagiarism check. †¢ The second document may be submitted as a word document or as a pdf. It should be  entitled as follows; centre number_candidate number_surname_Delta3_appendices_ month year. doc or . pdf e. g. 11111_001_smith_Delta3_appendices_1211 .doc (. pdf) Samples of customer/stakeholder analysis instruments should be scanned electronically and included in the second document. 6 n? Reading, bibliography and referencing Edited book: Advice to candidates Bush, T. & Bell, L. (Eds. ) (2002). Educational Management: Principles and Practice. London: Paul Chapman. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Candidates should refer to an extensive range of reading resources. There should be explicit evidence of background reading in  all of the first four sections of the assignment. This will typically include four to six different sources for each section. Some sources may be referred to in more than one section of the assignment but overall reference should be made to at least 8-10 different sources. Candidates are expected to do appropriate research into: ELT Management and their chosen specialism; management data analysis, (e. g. customer/stakeholder analysis); strategic management; organisational improvement; change management and decision-making. Appropriate terminology should be used and sources referred to where necessary. These should be clearly referenced in the text, (e. g. White et al. 1991). If specific quotes are used, they should be referenced using author(s)’ surname(s), year of publication and page numbers quoted (e. g. Fullan 2001:98). Page numbers are not required if direct quotes are not used. The bibliography needs to be presented appropriately in alphabetical order of author’s surname (see examples below). Year of publication, city and publisher should be included. This should be presented after the body of the assignment and before the appendices, and should only include publications referred to in the text itself. The second line of each bibliography entry should be indented. Referencing should follow a recognised format throughout the assignment. It is recommended that this be done according to the APA Publication Manual, (5th ed. , 2001); for more information see www. apastyle. org. Examples of several references are given below. Section of edited book: Stoll, L. (2003). School culture and improvement. In M. Preedy, R. Glatter & C. Wise (Eds. ) Strategic Leadership and Educational Improvement (pp 92-108). London: Paul Chapman. Electronic source: British Educational Research Association. (1992). Ethical Guidelines. Retrieved 19 July, 2011, from: http://www. bera. ac. uk/guidelines. html Associations and corporate authors: American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed. ). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Note on plagiarism Plagiarised work will not be accepted. Candidates should be advised on what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it. Centres should advise candidates that assignments are checked electronically for plagiarism and that plagiarism will be penalised. Plagiarism checks include checks against previously submitted assignments  as well as assignments or parts of assignments which include passages copied from online resources or books. Plagiarism includes: †¢ copying another’s language or ideas as if they were your own †¢ unauthorised collusion †¢ quoting directly without making it clear by standard referencing and the use of quotation marks and/or layout, (e. g. indented paragraphs) that you are doing so †¢ using text downloaded from the internet without referencing the source conventionally †¢ closely paraphrasing a text †¢ submitting work which has been undertaken wholly or in part by someone else. Single author book: Mintzberg, H. (2001). Strategic Safari. Eaglewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. Centres should inform candidates that submission of assignments which have been plagiarised will lead to the candidate’s disqualification and a ban on re-entry of up to three years. Journal article: Srikathan, G. & Dalrymple, J. (2003). Developing alternative perspectives for quality in higher education. International Journal of Educational Management 17(3), 126-136. 7 Assessment Presentation and organisation – maximum 14 marks n? The Module Three ELTM Extended Assignment is assessed with reference to a detailed Mark Scheme which allocates marks for  the five assessment categories, each of which is divided into three sub-categories. The total number of marks available is 140, divided as follows: †¢ Academic writing, language and referencing †¢ Presentation, coherence and organisation †¢ Clarity of argument and quality of ideas n? Marking A Principal Examiner guides and monitors the marking process. The process begins with coordination procedures, whereby the Principal Examiner and a team of examiners establish a common standard of assessment through the selection and marking of sample assignments. These are chosen to represent a range of performance across the different ELTM specialisms selected for this assignment. During marking, each examiner is apportioned randomly chosen assignments. A rigorous process of coordination and checking is carried out before, during and after the marking process. Grasp of relevant issues for ELTM maximum 35 marks n? †¢ Review of the relevant general and ELT management literature †¢ Understanding of key issues in the chosen specialism †¢ Application of relevant management knowledge to practice and identification of key issues Situation analysis and commentary maximum 28 marks n? n? Grading †¢ Understanding and application of key principles of management data analysis †¢ Analysis of the instruments used and identification of areas for improvement †¢ Discussion and justification of prioritised areas for improvement in the LTO supported by the analysis Results are recorded as three passing grades (Pass with Distinction, Pass with Merit, Pass) and one failing grade (Fail). The marks required to obtain each grade are: Pass approximately 80 marks Pass with Merit approximately 100 marks Proposal and justification – maximum 35 marks Pass with Distinction approximately 120 marks †¢ Understanding and application of key principles of strategic management and organisational improvement †¢ Justification of the change proposal in terms of ELTM and identified requirements †¢ Specification of the change and its intended effects, and of managing institutional constraints At the end of the marking process, there is a grading meeting to check scores around the grade boundaries. The grade boundaries are set in a way that ensures that the level of knowledge required to obtain the three passing grades: n? n? †¢ is consistent with the grade descriptions on page 9 of this handbook †¢ is the same from one session to the next. Implementation – maximum 28 marks The following information is used in the grading: †¢ Understanding and application of key principles of change management and decision-making †¢ Justification of implementation procedures in terms of ELTM and identified needs †¢ Designing an implementation plan and thinking through its impact on stakeholders †¢ comparison with statistics from previous years’ examination performance and candidature †¢ recommendations of examiners, based on the performance of candidates. 8 Grade descriptions Pass with Distinction Excellent piece of work which shows a very high level of understanding, analysis and application, and which displays originality and critical insight. Very high standard in all of the following areas: †¢ Understanding of: the selected specialism; principles of situation analysis; principles of change management; principles of decision-making †¢ Analysis of key issues in the topic area and the LTO; justification of the change proposal and implementation plan †¢ Identification of key priorities for change; design of implementation plan †¢ Academic writing, presentation and organisation, clarity of argument and quality of ideas. Pass with Merit Very good piece of work which shows a high level of understanding, analysis and application, and which displays some originality and critical insight. High standard in most of the following areas, but with some room for improvement: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Understanding of: the selected specialism; principles of situation analysis; principles of change management; principles of decision-making Analysis of key issues in the topic area and the LTO; justification of the change proposal and implementation plan Identification of key priorities for change; design of implementation plan Academic writing, presentation and organisation, clarity of argument and quality of ideas. Pass Satisfactory piece of work which shows an acceptable level of understanding, analysis and application, and which meets the requirements of the assignment. Good standard in some areas, but some room for improvement in most of the following areas: †¢ Understanding of: the selected specialism; principles of situation analysis; principles of change management; principles of decision-making †¢ Analysis of key issues in the topic area and the LTO; justification of the change proposal and implementation plan †¢ Identification of key priorities for change; design of implementation plan †¢ Academic writing, presentation and organisation, clarity of argument and quality of ideas. Fail Inadequate piece of work which fails to show an acceptable level of understanding, analysis and application. Substantial room for improvement in some or all of the following areas: †¢ Understanding of: the selected specialism; principles of situation analysis; principles of change management; principles of decision-making †¢ Analysis of key issues in the topic area and the LTO; justification of the change proposal and implementation plan †¢ Identification of key priorities for change; design of implementation plan †¢ Academic writing, presentation and organisation, clarity of argument and quality of ideas. 9 Cambridge English Teaching Qualificationds Delta Supplementary Handbook for tutors and candidates Cambridge English Teaching Qualifications Teaching Qualifications University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations 1 Hills Road Cambridge CB1 2EU United Kingdom Tel: +44 1223 553997 Email: ESOLhelpdesk@CambridgeESOL. org www. CambridgeESOL. org  © UCLES 2011 | EMC/7861/1Y07

History: Questions Essay

5. Compare and contrast policies, factors influencing success and outcomes achieved by the following â€Å"Asian Miracle† countries: Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Laos. After the end of World War 2, East Asia experienced a rapid economic growth which lasted till 1990; before the Asian Financial Crisis. The countries that achieved substantial growth were Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong,  Singapore and Japan. These countries were referred to as the Asian Tigers and they were known for achieving and maintaining incomparably high growth rates and rapid industrialization between 1960 and 1990 (Lall, 1996). By the 21st century, the Asian Tigers had grown into high-income and advanced economies (Page, 1994). Initially, these countries were not expected to achieve such rapid growth as compared to Western countries (Amsden,1993). The other countries which were not far behind from the five miracle economies were Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. These countries were known as the Second-Generation Tigers. However, less fortunate countries such as the former French Indochina (Focusing on Vietnam and Laos) remained lagged in terms of development. Source: Summers and Heston (1991). Barro (1989). World Bank data. Figure 1 shows the eight HPAEs; all have a positive outlier in the income-growth distribution. While Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia are closer to the predicted values, the other five economies, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, are significantly above the predicted Gross Domestic Product growth rates on the basis of relative income level. From this chart, it is concluded that all of the HPAEs were catching up to the more developed countries. This essay analyses the causes that led to the difference in development between the Asian Tigers (5 miracle countries), Second-Generation Tigers (Second-tier countries) and the least developed ones. This essay will also state the multiple factors which led to the countries’ divergent paths and compare and analyse the impacts of each factor. The factors that will be expounded on are: (1) Economic Policies, (3) Factors influencing success and lastly, (4) Domestic and Regional Political outcomes. In 1960, the companies that achieved high growth rates and rapid industrialization were addressed as High Performing Asian Economies of Northeast Asia (HPEAs) of Northeast Asia and the Second-tier were referred to as Newly Industrialising Economies (NIEs) of Southeast Asia (Fisher & Rotemberg, 1994). Key events such as colonialism, decolonisation and the  cold war played a part in this phenomenon as it contributed to the building of HPEAs and NIEs economies. Colonialism Majority of HPEAs and NIEs countries used to be under colonial rule except for Thailand and Japan. Both Thailand and Japan used various methods to run their country; two of their main methods where their geographical location and resources available (Andressen, 2002). During the colonial era, majority of Southeast Asian countries used to have higher GDPs than Northeast Asian miracles; in the early 19th century, countries like Burma and Vietnam were wealthier than Taiwan, which GDP was $499 in 1820. During that period, both Malaysia and Indonesia’s GDP topped Taiwan and Korea until the 1940s, during the fall of colonisation. Burma and Vietnam owed most of its achievements to colonial institutions and natural resources. Unfortunately, colonialism did everything but good for both countries’ welfare (Easterly, 1994). The aim of colonialism was to acquiring full or partial political control over both countries, occupy it with settlers and exploit it economically. The Dutch, for example, introduced social classification and applied a divide-and-rule method to attain superiority over the indigenous people while exploiting them to work in plantations. The Dutch did not teach the colonies any form of manufacturing as they had no intention to invest in human resources. Similarly, British Malaya had its resources drained by colonists and when the colonist left, the countries that made up British Malaya declared independence. These independent countries continued to carry out the colonial style of administration; as this once produced significant profits, and system without the knowledge of manufacturing. The Asian Tigers: Korea & Taiwan In contrast, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, which were colonised by Japan and Britain, did not own many natural resources. Little was to be exploited from those colonies as the colonist only found their geographical  location and labourers of use. Unlike Korea and Taiwan, which were the main hub of food production and labour-intensive industries, Singapore and Hong Kong were used as import harbours. This put Singapore and Hong Kong at an advantage as basic education was provided and allowed them to gain the upper hand in industrialization when they gained independence. In 1960, during the Cold War, when political and military tension grew between both Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc, the economies of Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore were not affected. These Asian countries were not affected as they had leaders who put communal interests over personal benefits. Both private companies and governments of HPEAs worked together and collaborated. This act is attributed to the Confucian culture which majority of Asian countries practice. The Confucian culture emphasises on prioritising of community over individual (Johnson, 1982). Their economic strategies constituted of advanced industries supported by exceptional human resources, export-oriented, market-adjusting state interventions, efficient bureaucrats and institutional cooperation consisting of both government and certain companies. Korea and Taiwan, both former Japanese colonies, promoted their local companies and invested in improving their human resources skill and technological capability by following the Japanese model with their own adaptation (Beasley, 1987). They also used protectionist policies; such as tariffs, to ensure that their immature domestic market would not be forced to compete with foreign products. For the Koreans, their post-war economic strategy was to obtain knowledge from developed countries to adopt foreign technology. This was done to provide a foundation for its domestic industries (Woronoff, 1992). Korea’s oligopolistic development model was founded in 1960, under authoritative administration of Park Chung Hee. This development model was made up of collaboration between conglomerates called chaebols. Chaebols consisted of successful exporting companies that were chosen and given privileges (Wad, 2002). Korea’s development was also supported by its human resources. Its human resource were organised in military-like discipline. Gradually, after gaining independence from Japan, Taiwan entered into industrialisation stage by allowing government bodies to  supervise its development. In 1950, the Economic Planning Institution was started. The Economic Stabilisation Board executed the first four-years of economic plans, continued by Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) who was tasked with national and regional planning (Kuznets, 1959). CEPD coordinated with ministries to ensure that development would be done according to plan but they had no authority to supervise. Government involvement could also be seen through the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ role in outlining which subdivision should be supported and this included industries of which Taiwan is reputable for: machinery, electronics, and telecommunications. In mid 1960, the government built export-allocated zones which were easy to access from harbours and airports. To stimulate export, customs and taxes were reduced and low interest loans were promoted. In 1980, labour skills gradually improved and this also resulted in the improvement of the education sector. Meanwhile, the NIEs and other less fortunate countries such as Vietnam and Laos; although predicted to be the next tigers following the success of their Northeast Asian counterparts, could not catch up with HPEAs. Some of the NIEs formed a ‘neo-patrimonial’ state. Neo-patrimonial is classified by having inefficient bureaucracy, nepotistic leaders and unstable authority. These nepotistic leaders show favouritism and public interest becomes second priority. This leads to poor economic growth along with disorganised policies. Furthermore, unlike the HPEAs that benefited from having a relatively homogenous ethnicity, Southeast Asian countries were diverse. This diversity in ethnic groups made it difficult for the ethnic groups to understand each other. In addition, due to the Cold War, the former French Indochina suffered severe political instability and economic collapse. The Second Generation Tigers: Thailand & Malaysia Similarly, Thailand and Malaysia both failed to achieve HPEAs success. In 1980, Malaysia tried to adapt HPEAs intervention model, but failed implement their policies. Thailand, on the other hand, was hindered by political  instability (Unger, 1995). In Malaysia’s case, participation of local companies was low and foreign companies played a greater role in Malaysia’s economy (Lubeck, 1992). Also, local companies depended on foreign technology and the country’s demand for advanced technical skills was not fulfilled. Furthermore, there was an ethnic divide between the indigenous people and Chinese. This prevented cohesive cooperation in both Thailand and Malaysia As for Thailand, the government, shareholders and military were unable to cooperate. The military would occasionally launch coup attempts and such attempts disrupted both political stability and economic activities. Vietnam & Laos Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were the main Southeast Asian countries with poor economies. These countries’ economic problems were the result of internal conflicts (Tran Van Tho, 2003). The conflicts in Vietnam and Laos resulted in the victory of the communist party and as for Cambodia, the democratic government ruled. In 1970s, Vietnam was exhausted and isolated due to its involvement with the conflict between Cambodia and USA. Due to the conflict, Vietnam became one of the poorest countries in the region. Realising the need to fix their economic condition, Vietnam adapted a reformist pace by allowing private ownership in small to medium enterprises and opened itself to investments (Brown, 1995). This move led to Vietnam’s economic prospers, though lagging behind its capitalist neighbours. Vietnam currently relies on raw and secondary products (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2014). Cambodia and Laos were both alienated from being one of the Asian Miracle. Laos, being in between Thailand and Vietnam became a heated political theatre during the Cold War. Although Laos reformed it’s economic sector simultaneously with Vietnam, its economic growth pace was slow as the country relied on natural resources, agriculture and low skilled labourers. Only in early 1990 did Laos manage to expand its industry and attract foreign investors. To summarise, this essay has argued that the Asian miracle was an uneven phenomenon that only happened to some countries. It also states how rapid economic growth occurred in the eight East Asian countries; mainly focussing on Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Thailand. Furthermore, the common denominators of success: (1) maintaining macroeconomic stability, (2) broad-based educational strategies, (3) export growth, and (4) insignificance of industrial policy have been discussed upon. This essay argues that export push was a successful strategy, while industrial policy was â€Å"insignificant.† In conclusion, the substantial achievements of the HPEAs were owed to the collaboration of both companies and the government whose goal was to build a sustainable economy for the country. Majority of the Asian Tigers (First- tiers) were not blessed with plenty of natural resources but they managed to improve by investing in human resources and value-added goods. In addition, these countries also showed a strong unity among the society, government, and businessmen. The government’s authoritative nature created stability and helped to bring about positive impacts on the economy. The second-tier managed to get closer to the first-tiers due to the resources available. However, the second-tiers did not manage to draw alongside or surpass the first-tiers as they relied on low value-added goods, raw materials and low wage labourers. Also, their governments personal interests and corruption hindered the countries development. Citation Amsden, A. H. (1993). Why isn’t the whole world experimenting with the East Asian model to develop? Review of the World Bank’s East Asian Miracle Report, to appear in Symposium on the World Bank’s East Asian Miracle Report, in World Development. Andressen, C. A. (2002). Short History of Japan: from Samurai to Sony, Allen & Unwin. St. Leonards. Beasley, W. G.(1987). Japanese Imperialism 1894-1945, Oxford University Press, New York. Brown, FZ ‘The Economic Development of Vietnam Laos, and Cambodia’ in Young C Kim (ed.), The Southeast Asian Economic Miracle, Transaction Publishers, London, 1995 pp. 85-104 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, The New ASEANS: Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia, & Laos, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 2014. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.dfat.gov.au/publications/catalogue/new_asia.pdf. [Accessed 03 September 2014]. Easterly, W. (1994). Explaining miracles: Growth regressions meet the gang of four. In NBER, East Asian seminar on economics 1993, T. Ito and A. O. Krueger (eds.). Johnson, C. (1982). MITI and The Japanese Miracle: The Growth of Industrial Policy, 1925-1975, Stanford University Press, Stanford. Kuznets, S. (1959). Six lectures on economic growth. Glencoe, IL: Free Press. Lall, S.(1996). Learning from the Asian Tigers, Macmillan Press Ltd., London. Lubeck, PM ‘Malaysian Industrialization, Ethnic Division, and the NIC Model’, in RP Appelbaum & J Henderson (eds.), States and Development in Asia Pacific Rim, Sage Publications, London, 1992, p.177-181 Page, J. ‘The East Asian Miracle: Four Lessons for Development Policy’, in S Fisher & J J Rotemberg (eds.), NBER Macroeconomics Annual, MIT Press 1994, pp. 219-282 Tran Van Tho. (2003). ‘Economic development in Vietnam during the second half of the 20th century: How to avoid the danger of lagging behind’ in Binh Tran Nam and Chi Do Pham (eds) The Vietnamese Economy: Awakening the dorming dragon. RoutledCurzon. Unger, D. (1995). ‘Government and Business in Thailand’, in Young C Kim (ed.), The Southeast Asian Economic Miracle, Transaction Publishers, London, 1995 pp.137-158 Wad, P ‘The Political Business of Development in South Korea’, in Edmund Terrence Gomez (ed.) Political Business in East Asia, Routledge, London & New York, 2002 pp. 182-215 World Bank, The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, New York, 1993, pp. 90-92 Woronoff, J.(1992). Asia’s Miracle Economies, 2nd ed., M. E. Sharpe Publisher. New York.

Summarize Political Leadership Readings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Summarize Political Leadership Readings - Essay Example Third dynamics is the changing shape of the political regimes, which links presidents past and present at parallel junctures in "political time". This third dynamic is the point of departure for our investigation. The dominant coalition operates the federal government and perpetuates its position through the development of a distinctive set of institutional arrangements and approaches to public policy questions. Conflicts among interest within the dominant coalition threaten to cause political disaffection and may weaken regime support. As the nation changes, the regime's traditional approach to problems appear increasingly outmoded. The government it dominates appears increasingly hostaged to sectarian interests with myopic concerns, insufferable demands, and momentary loyalties. The longer a regime survives, the more it becomes encumbered and distorted, and becomes less competent in addressing the manifest governing demands. One can distinguish many different political contexts for presidential leadership within a given historical period. Leadership situations might be characterized by the president's posture vis--vis the dominant political coalition. Leadership situation might be differentiated according to political time, that is, when in a regime sequence the president engages the political institutional order. This changing relationship between the p... First, the presidents who traditionally make the historians' roster of America's greatest came to power in an abrupt break from a long-established political-institutional regime. Each led a movement of new political forces into control of the federal government. Second, after the initial break with the past and the consolidation of a new system of government control, a general decline in the political effectiveness of regime insiders is notable. Taking different regimes into account simultaneously, this essay will group presidents together on the basis of the parallel positions they hold in political time. The analysis focuses on three pairs of presidents drawn from the New Deal and Jacksonian regimes. All were Democrats and thus affiliated with the dominant coalition of their respective periods. Each aspired to great national leadership. Coming to power on the displacement of an old ruling coalition, these presidents became mired in remarkably similar political struggles. Although separated by more than a century of history, they both faced the distinctive challenge of constructing a new regime. Leadership became a matter of securing the political and institutional infrastructure of a new governmental order. All six of these presidents had to grapple with the erosion of political support that inevitably comes with executive action. New economic and social conflicts had been festering in the US since the financial panic of 1819, but Jackson's campaign gained its special meaning from the confusion and outrage unleashed by the election of 1824. In that election, the Congressional Caucus collapsed as the engine of national political unity, and the once monolithic

Financial Management Principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Financial Management Principles - Essay Example It should be noted that a lender cannot simply lend his excess fund to potential borrower without making sure that the latter will not default on his payment. In this situation, an intermediary should exist in order to gather information about both parties and mitigate risk (Mishkin 2004). Financial institutions are able to minimize the risk of information asymmetry by building their reputation in the industry. Thus, individuals are not cautious in putting their money in a bank’s savings account which are then lend to parties who are in need of funds. Financial institutions like banks, as stated above, carry out the important function of making financial resources available to parties who need them. By building expertise in information search and reputation in undertaking their financial functions, financial institutions serve as a great help for individuals and business organizations which require help in financing. On the other hand, individuals and companies who want to invest their money can trust in the efficiency of financial institutions in ensuring return to their investments. As the illustration above shows, as financial institutions carry out their role in the financial system, they take on the risk which should be handled by the borrower and lender. Thus, financial institutions also take measures in minimizing the risk that they take by ensuring that their borrowers will not default on their payment obligations. This scrutiny is even more highlighted when a company which borrows from the financial institution conducted its Initial Public Offering. As the company becomes public, it exposes itself from the critical eye of its current and potential creditors. A company can cope with this increased financial intermediation scrutiny by adhering to the standards set by accounting institutions. It should also instill tighter measures in ensuring the truthfulness of its financial reports and accounts.

Business Operation Training Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Operation Training - Research Paper Example In essence, a vision statement indicates the future of the company while a mission statement demonstrates ways of achieving a predetermined future. A vision statement answers the questions ‘what,’ when,’ and ‘why’ whereas a mission statement answers the questions ‘how’ and the impact (Sabrautzki, 2010).   Henry Ford Health System has a simple vision statement that has one aim, which is to enhance the health of people. Its mission statements provide avenues through which the organization will achieve its vision. It entails transforming individual health of people in order to improve the overall health of society. On the other hand, The Coca-Cola Company has vision and mission statements that are more elaborate. In essence, the Coca-Cola Company has three objectives in its mission statement that will fulfill vision, which revolves around stakeholder satisfaction, high productivity, and betterment of the world. Fundamentally, the vision statements of the two companies are geared towards enhancing the lives of people across the globe although the Coca-Cola Company has a vision statement that transcends beyond its boundaries. Both business strategy and business model enable an organization to formulate the best ways of working towards its goals in order to gain competitive advantage in the market. Although they sound, the same, the two business terms differ in their applications and purpose. For example, the main purpose of a business strategy is to ensure that an organization achieves its long-term plans. On the other hand, a business model has the sole purpose of generating revenue for an organization and making sure that its profitability continues to rise (Mathur,  Mathur,  S. & Kenyon, 2012). Unlike a business model that is concerned with profitability issues, a business strategy deals majorly with the key resource issues. For example, an organization can adopt a strategy that will enable it to expand through the establishment of a new

What Customers Don't Know Won't Hurt Them, Will It Case Study

What Customers Don't Know Won't Hurt Them, Will It - Case Study Example Thirdly, there is another cause of conflict in that there is a clash in goals and objectives. The objective of the company is to maximize profit while the objective of Elena is to work hard and transparently so that she can climb the management hierarchy. This causes the conflict since the objective of Elena is hampered by the lies the management is employing. This leads to another cause of conflict, which is the substandard job performance by Elena. Another source of conflict is the difference over procedures and methods used by the management. Elena prefers being truthful but the management prefers using lies to please customers. The last major cause of conflict is non-compliance with the set rules and principles. The management recommends using lies while Elena prefers being truthful. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Identify two conflict resolution strategies that would be effective in the short-term and two that would be effective in the long-term in this situation. Discuss why these strategies would be effective, given the sources of conflict you have identified. Two conflict resolution strategies can be used in this case for a short term. One of them is compromise where Elena can compromise with the situation in the company to save her job. The second strategy that she can employ is collaboration. Elena can collaborate with the company in order to save her career. These decisions will have impacts in both the long term and short term (Aryan college). The sources of power according to Elena’s case reward power. Elena works hard in the company knowing very well that hard work will be rewarded by climbing the management hierarchy. The second source of power and that raises conflict is the coercive power. Elena is afraid of her supervisor using this power against her since it can lead to demotion or loss of the job. The third source of power that Elena encounters which involves her supervisor is the referent power. Elena works

The Oil Supply Dependence Of The Automobile Industry Research Paper

The Oil Supply Dependence Of The Automobile Industry - Research Paper Example The paper tells that considering the rising oil prices worldwide, there were recent attempts to pave the way to alternative sources of energy so as to gradually reduce the demand for oil. In 2010, Li, Xiaogu, Clark, Christopher, et. al. conducted a survey of the peoples’ likelihood that they will prefer flexible-fuel or hybrid automobile given the choice when they purchase one. The result showed positive response to less dependence on oil for automobiles. Statistics show a declining dependence on foreign petroleum since 2005, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration in mid-2011. Nonetheless, what has been the actual situation pertaining to a dependence on automotive oil? There was an increase in the use of domestically produced biodiesel, ethanol, and natural gas. However, by the mere fact that crude oil from domestic production realized increase in demand, dependence on oil as source of energy remains high. Imported oil declined. As can be seen from Figure A, c onsumption of oil also declined in 2010. But there will be a growing demand for liquid fuels including oil in the coming years as shown in Figure B. For automobiles, the trend in demand for Motor Gasoline also shows a projected increase in demand. See Figure C. Even as the production volume of crude oil will be increased in the USA, the prices of oil will also increase in the coming years. This can be clearly seen in Figure D. Apparently, the people are feeling the financial impact of the seemingly endless price increases of oil in the world market as well as in the local market. There is a domino effect on even the prices of basic goods whenever oil price increases are announced. Oil price increases eventually jack up the prices of goods and services since sources of energy like gasoline, motor oil, and liquefied petroleum gas are part of the cost of production and operating expenses like transportation or travelling expenses. It reduces the value of family income because each doll ar will have a lower value in the sense that the same amount of money can only buy less and less as the prices of oil increase to push up the prices of prime commodities. Thus, people have been adjusting to these trends by finding ways and means to reduce dependence on oil. Many have resorted to alternative energy sources. 2. Analysis of the Problem The world has limited supply of oil while there has been increasing demand for oil. Tverberg, Gail E. wrote that oil supply of our world had stopped increasing since 2005 (Abstract). As a matter of fact, his report mentioned (3): â€Å"We show in this section that world oil supply constriction started about 2004 based on price trends, and that restriction affected primarily OECD countries†. It will take about 20 years to mitigate the decline in oil supply by producing alternative sources and by replacing vehicles capable of utilizing alternative sources (4). It was estimated that wind and solar energy sources can only contribute a n insignificant capacity for the production of energy compared to the total energy supplied by oil-based power generators. â€Å"Growth of emerging economies† (1) certainly led to an oil shortage given such a fact about no more rise in the production of oil supply. To confirm this phenomenon as of a very recent date, January 3, 2012, Brad Plumer of the Washington Post reported the prediction of Goldman Sach’s Investment Bank pertaining to oil production in the world, which says that demand will hit the production capacity of oil by the year 2013. China and India have reached 2.5 billion population. Their demand for oil in order to achieve economic growth was reported to be rising as a result of these two countries’ fast developments. In contrast, oil supply production

Muscle Dysmorphia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Muscle Dysmorphia - Research Paper Example pite injuries, extreme dieting plus diet supplements and steroids for increasing lean muscles and lack of personal relationships due to limited time required for engaging socially (Grieve & Shacklette, 2012). A driving force behind men developing MD is a sense of them being dissatisfied with their bodies. This occurs when an individual is obese or over weight and has the desire to lose weight or is underweight as well as having the desire to gain some weight. Body distortion is also another factor contributing to contraction of this problem MD. People who feel and believe that they are smaller or bigger than their actual size are at an increased risk of developing MD. The media also plays a big role in development of MD. This is because it depicts the ideal body shape, which has negative effects on body satisfaction in men. Ideal body internalization is the acceptance of the ideal body shape for which all males should strive to achieve and leads to MD (Grieve, Truba & Bowersox, 2009). Men participating in sports have a likelihood of developing MD especially where they have to maintain a certain weight or where they need to increase muscle mass or body size. Low self-esteem is another factor that independently influences the development of MD. People whose self-esteem depends on appearance have a high likelihood of developing MD (Grieve, Truba & Bowersox, 2009). Studies also show that feelings of anxiety and depression directly influence the development of Muscle Dysmorphia. This is because MD provides an individual with the motivation to change appearance and/or behavior (Grieve & Shacklette, 2012). MD is problematic because of the prevalence of sex hormones, anabolic-androgenic steroids and other muscle enhancing substances. As much as anabolic-androgenic steroids increase muscle mass, they have serious psychological and physical side effects that include cholestatic jaundice, stroke, hypertension, pulmonary embolism, blood clots, mood changes, psychotic

Time Value of Money Paper Essay Example for Free

Time Value of Money Paper Essay INTRODUCTION The concept of Time Value of Money Paper has sprung from the concept of the depreciation in the value of money paper with time. It is the concept of the reduction n the purchasing power of the same quantity of money in a future period. Put another way, it is the theory that a certain quantity of money held today will have a more purchasing power than the same quantity of money in a future period due to the depreciating value of money caused by the interest rate and inflation, There are various financial applications for TVM. In fact, financial calculations, assumptions and business is primarily based on the concept of TVM. Because it is this factor which has to be taken into account during long-term loans, annual borrowings and lending, in order for the business to recover the time costs it incurred for the period. [Ross E. (2006)]    APPLICATION 1 A football club is borrowing $1,000,000 from ABC Bank for the purchase of new training equipment. The entire loan is paid back in 4 semi-annual installments. The interest rate is 10% compounded semi-monthly. We want to investigate the â€Å"value† that this money will hold at the end of two years so that we can devise an appropriate interest rate to recover the â€Å"lost value† as well as get some markup. 1st payment: 250,000 * (1-0.05) = 237,500 2nd payment: 250,000 * (1-0.05)2 = 225,625 3rd payment: 250,000 * (1-0.05)3 = 214,343.8 4th payment: 250,000 * (1-0.05)4 = 203,626.6 Total Value; $881,095.3125 We can see that the flat $1 million paid back is not worth the ‘original† amount due to the changes in â€Å"value with time†. Thus the bank can levy a higher interest rate to recover the money lent as well as some markup. [http://www.executivecaliber.ws/sys-tmpl/timevalueofmoney/] APPLICATION 2 A mother is saving for her daughter’s college education for 10 years from now. She knows that it will costs her $500,000 for her daughters’ entire college expenses. She does not know how much she should save today in order to get $500,000 after 10 years, if the interest rate is 8% compounded annually. Using the formula: FV=PV(1 + r)t FV=500,000 r=0.08 t=10 PV=? Therefore, PV=FV(1+r)-t PV=500,000(1.05)-10 PV=$306956.6 Thus, she has only to deposit $306,956.6 in her account for a period of 10 years compounded annually at 8% to be sure that she will be able to have the amount necessary for her child’s education when required. APPLICATION 3: You want to purchase a new car and you are willing to pay $20,000. If you can invest at 10% compounded annually and you currently can invest $15,000, how long will it take you to generate enough cash to pay for the car?    FV=20,000 PV=15,000 r=0.01 t=? Rearranging the basic formula [FV={PV(1+r)t] t = ;n (FV/PV) / (1+r) t = ln(20,000 / 15,000) / ln(1.1) = 3.02 years So, it will take approximately 3 years for this amount to be able to pay for the car through compounding.    COMPONENTS OF DISCOUNT/INTEREST RATE As we saw in the previous applications that the value of money depreciates as time progresses forwards, financial lenders and institutions are always looking to earn back the exact â€Å"value† of the money that they lent over the period of lending plus a service charge, which will be the actual profit for the lender. Therefore, there are two components in the interest rate: The actual capital recovery factor The profit factor    EXAMPLE A Man borrows $1,000 from a bank. He pays it back in 10 monthly installments.   What interest rate will the bank charge if the bank wants to make a net real 10% profit on the lent amount? The inflation rate is 5%. Payment 1: 100 * (1-0.05/12)1=99.58 Payment 2: 100 * (1-0.05/12)2=99.17 Payment 3: 100 * (1-0.05/12)3=98.76 Payment 4: 100 * (1-0.05/12)4=98.34 Payment 5: 100 * (1-0.05/12)5=97.93 Payment 6: 100 * (1-0.05/12)6=97.53 Payment 7: 100 * (1-0.05/12)7=97.52 Payment 8: 100 * (1-0.05/12)8=96.72 Payment 9: 100 * (1-0.05/12)9=96.31 Payment 10: 100 * (1-0.05/12)10=95.91 Total = $977.37 There is a difference of $22.63 between the lent amount and the value of the recovered amount. To make the â€Å"value† equal, the bank has to adjust the interest rate so that they earn $22.63 more to break-even. Further they have to earn an additional $100 as profit. They need a net $1100. So, the difference is $123.63 which has to be adjusted into the monthly installment to result in the desired figures. Therefore, with an effective interest rate of 13% compounded annually, this amount can be generated sufficiently. There are various methods for determining this interest rate: Implicit Rate Return on Investment Method Weighted Capital Opportunity Cost [Block, Hirt (2005)]                            REFERENCES: Block, Hirt (2005). Foundations of Financial Management (11th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.   Chapters 9 and 14.    Ross, E. (2006). Fundamentals of Corporate Finance (6th ed.) New York: Westerfield and Jordan.   Chapter 5. Time Value of Money. Retrieved April 20, 2008, from Leasing and Time Value of Money Web site: http://www.executivecaliber.ws/sys-tmpl/timevalueofmoney/

Culture Competency Essay Example for Free

Culture Competency Essay In the aspect of interacting with the global community, it is important for an individual to understand the cultural aspect of the subject society and relate to this factor in terms of their interactive business. As the aspect of culture manifest to be a significant part in the characteristics and qualities of each individual and collective society, understanding this identity factor is indeed important in the pursuit of establishing an effective interaction with the different people in the global community. In particular to the healthcare profession, the aspect of culture competency manifests to be an important concern in healthcare education as having the ability for interacting, understanding and relating to different cultures can effectively enhance the services rendered by healthcare professional. Indeed, the general concern of the healthcare profession is to render effective healthcare assistance and services to people of different culture thus, the global community is the main subject in this mission. In part though, cultural background resembles an important part in the personal identity of each person or patient thus, the healthcare profession must incorporate this in his or her pursuit of relating effectively the said matter for the benefit of the patient. In the actual practice of the healthcare profession, the concept of culture competency manifest particularly in the personal interaction between the healthcare professional and the patient. In this scenario, the two parties are often with different cultural background yet, in best effort, the health professional must overcome this difference in the process or realizing his or her responsibilities. For example, some of the common barriers are the language factor, the cultural awareness and acceptability, perception and understanding, and others. At some point, the healthcare professional must incorporate the cultural factor in the profile identity of the subject thus, adjusting his or her pursuit and interaction based on this element. Forwarding the healthcare service and assistance through relating it with the cultural background of the patient can effectively influence the understanding and acceptance of the subject in this pursuit. For example, acknowledging the cultural limitations and the preferences of the subject in his treatment and medication can indeed influence his acceptance towards the process. Through this approach, the healthcare practitioner can effectively motivate active participation and encourage interest from the patient towards the success of the treatment and the healthcare program. Due to the importance of culture competency, healthcare practitioner must assess and realize in themselves their individual strengths and weaknesses in this aspect and develop their flexibility towards the different cultures in the global community. In this aspect, the author of this paper realizes certain weaknesses in terms of cultural awareness due to the social limitations he has experienced in his upbringing. Raising from a rural town with a small community and having only experienced interacting with people from different culture during only college years, culture competency has developed late in this author as such it is important to focus much attention towards developing this skill. However, continuing the effort of developing social relationship with people from other cultures and building up academic information from researches and reading can indeed contribute in developing culture competency. With this effort, one can effectively develop awareness and understanding of various cultures and undermine cultural difference towards the mission of providing quality healthcare service towards the global community from different races and cultural society. Bibliography Zwell, Michael (2000). Creating a Culture of Competence. Wiley Publication. 1st Edition. ISBN-10: 0471350745.

The Strategy Used By Munchys Make The Company Marketing Essay

The Strategy Used By Munchys Make The Company Marketing Essay Strategic management is the process which refers to strategy formulating, implementing, and evaluating cross functional decisions to enable an organization to achieve its objectives. A strategy is about long-term planning and it must be implemented and the organization resources as well as its capabilities properly harnessed so as to achieve the planned outcome. Strategic management focuses on integrating management, marketing, finance or accounting, production or operation, research and development, and computer information system to achieve organization success. 2.0 Munchys Background Munchys is known as Malaysias No.1 homegrown biscuit brand which is a remarkable Malaysian success story of five brothers from Muar, Johor. Besides that, Munchy was a company which gains Super brands Status of year 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, and 2009. Actually the name Munchys was derived from the Mandarin term Mai Qi which Mai is the meaning of flour or wheat and Qi is refers to the magical quality found in the delicious wafers that are made from only the finest ingredients. In the beginning, this business is started by two elder brothers from Tan family who asked their father to allow them to start their own company. With his agreement, their business started out as a cottage operation in Johor back in 1991 with producing wafers, wafer sticks and biscuits with an Austrian-made second-hand wafer stick machine costing RM80, 000. With their high spirits they try their best to produce the highest quality wafer sticks around and they make it as Malaysias No.1 homegrown biscuit brand. From an Original Equipment Manufacturer to a household name, the Munchys brand was born in 1993. In year 2006, Munchy was recorded in Malaysia Book of Records as Largest Wafer Manufacturer in 2005. During 1997 till 1998, Munchy almost went bankrupt during the Asian financial crisis but luckily the company was survived from the Asian financial crisis and its revenue jumped from RM20mil in 1998 to RM50mil in 1999. According to a Nielsen Retail Index Corporate Value Share report in 2008, Munchys was ranked Malaysias No.1 homegrown biscuit brand excluding Sabah and Sarawak from June 2006 to 2008. Besides that, Munchys is keep looking forward at new potential products and innovations as it works towards keeping up its standing in Malaysia as the countrys most innovative and success biscuit brand. They have an entire RD department that specifically focuses on this aspect, so as to always stay at the forefront of innovation. Munchys major markets are in Asia, such as Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan being its key markets, their vision is to be significant in 100 countries by 2020. On the other hand, Munchys mission is to bring joy and add flavor to every occasion with their high quality, affordable and fun-eating snacks. The companys CEO, C.K Tan always believed in the power of branding and automation and technology will gain benefits in a business. He spent RM500, 000 on IT systems for Munchys in 1997 and now a day he still investing on it because he believe that computerization will makes the productivity of company more efficient. 3.0 PEST in Strategic Analysis The PEST analysis is an analysis which concerned with the environmental influences on a business. It is a business measurement tool for understanding market growth or decline, and as such the position, potential and direction for a business. PEST analysis is also an acronym stand for Political, Economic, Social and Technological issues that could affect the strategic development of a business to assess the market. 3.0.1 Political Munchys have always recognized the important of manufacturing only Halal product since the government of Malaysia focusing on turning the nation into an international Halal Hub. That is a reason why Munchys have a dedicated committee that deals with all things Halal. The Committee is made up of representatives from each key section that contributes to the making of the products. Munchys is setting its sights on a greater share of the regional pie while the tariff and trade barriers are trimmed with the formation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). In fact of this, Munchy have been opened a new branch offices in ASEAN neighbors. 3.0.2 Economic Nowadays, Munchys sales in ASEAN have seen a clear uptrend because of the proactive approach of Munchys done in sales and distribution, For instance, Mr. Tan reveals that sales in Singapore have grown by more than 50% since 2003, making the island Munchys third largest export market. Besides that, The Company has experienced double-digit growth not only within Malaysia but also in Japan, Singapore and other Asian countries. Still, Munchys export growth has been broad-based and their exports have been grown by close to 60% within this year. The local market is also growing, as Malaysias population expands. 3.0.3 Social Nowadays, health as a prime concern is now increasingly by many consumers, accordingly, Munchys have been reformulating their range to feature less sugar, less salt, lower fat and high nutrient content. Munchys believes that it must be a balance achieved between good taste and health. The CEO of the company Mr. Tan frequently used Teamwork as the key word to describe how the company has evolved and transformed. In order to work for teamwork, the staff from all levels must believe and have confidence with the brand of the company and be able to deliver the brand promise effectively to consumers. Munchys has various CSR (corporate social responsibility) programmes in place which mainly aid to orphanages and hospices for children. Munchy Food also aims to produce more quality products on par with international brands but reflecting a typical Malaysian identity by carrying the spirit of Malaysia Boleh. 3.0.4 Technology Munchys tried to keeping up its standing in Malaysia as the countrys most innovative and success biscuit brand, in fact Munchys keep looking forward at new potential products and innovations as it works towards. They have an entire RD department that specifically focuses on new potential products and innovations to ensure the company always stay at the forefront of innovation. They believes that with the technologies and know-how todays, they could probably walk three steps ahead compared to the old days when they could only do things step by step. Actually, Mr. Tan has been started its regional expansion plans where Munchys has sales and marketing teams in Singapore and Indonesia, while establishing teams in a number of other Asian countries. Munchys always believed in the power of branding and automation and technology will gain benefits in a business. He spent RM500, 000 on IT systems for Munchys in 1997 and now a day he still investing on it because he believe that computerizatio n will makes the productivity of company more efficient. 3.1 SWOT analysis SWOT analysis is a basic, straightforward model that provides direction and serves as a basis for the development of marketing plans. It is an acronym used to describe the particular Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that are strategic factors for a specific company. It is the first stage of planning and helps marketers to focus on key issues. SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and threats are external factors. 3.1.1 Strength Munchys always emphasizes the delicious wafers that are made from only the finest ingredients. They believe that the only way to produce the highest quality wafer sticks is using the finest ingredients. Besides owning state-of-the-art machines, have a good and committed management team with a strong multinational background assist Munchys investment in talent and that is a factor that sets Munchys apart from the rest of the competition. Another area of strength is their focus on brand-building, Mr. Tan engaged an international branding consultant to establish Munchys as a distinct brand in 2004. Although Mr. Tan believes in continuous product development and he knows that everything starts from the product so he put a lot of innovative ideas into designing the products from the packaging to brand image, the sharp and weight of the products, basically from all aspects. Until now, Munchys company still keeps thinking on how to make the existing products better in innovative. 3.1.2 Weaknesses Although Munchys company always thinking about how to make their product become more innovative, but what they done is just put effort on the wrapping of their product but not in the flavor and the varieties of the product. Munchys should put effort on the variety of their product. For example like Nestle Company, their production such as Milo drinks, ice cream, Chocolate and so on. The varieties of their products on the market strengthen the value of their product in the market. 3.1.3 Opportunities In laying the groundwork for their Asian expansion, Tan started to transform the company three years ago. This included bringing in an impressive senior management team with a strong MNC (Multinational Corporation) background. The idea is to eventually allow Malaysia to run without him as CEO so that he can focus on its regional plans. With the need to bring in new skill sets, Munchys structured a supervising board which is filled by some of the brothers and also some very experienced former chief executives to help guide the company forward. To produce better products, Munchys claims that it is the market leader in the wafer category and the top three in the biscuits market share ranking. Invests substantially in RD, adding that research is an important aspect of branding and it is imperative to work closely with consumers to understand their wants and needs. 3.1.4 Threats Munchys intention to re-brand or remodel Munchys into an international brand which aimed at establishing home-grown Munchys as a global brand in line with its new business directives of aggressively expanding into foreign markets. Besides that they also plan to increase their export sales by 25% to RM50mil in year 2010 and the company is heading towards a new business direction for further market expansion. Munchy Food maintains its competitiveness through endless upgrading of its operations, marketing, sales and distribution, research and development, and most importantly, capital-intensive investments. Most of these heavy investments derive from world-class machinery and automation, computerization, and ERP engagement for its management. 3.2 Benchmarking analysis Benchmarking analysis is an analysis contributes lessons are learned. This analysis is a process of continual improvement which helps a company who is still growing to identify their trouble spots and provides a systematic approach to improving production efficiency and profitability. Nestle is the worlds largest food and beverage company which leading in Nutrition, Health and Wellness and they employs over a quarter of a million workers. Compare with Munchys, Nestle strategy is based on a broad range which the company overcome cultural barriers and customer resentments to foreign brands by purchases local brand names which the consumer is accustomed to. After these niches of basic food supply are filled Nestle moves on into the more upscale segments such as chocolate, soft drinks and the like. Their strategy is to establish a basis and then expand into more niches as demand rises. Connected to the rising demand is the rising income level as the population can afford to spend more money on food products. As mentioned in the book, Nestle provides about 8500 brand names, but only 750 of them are registered in more than one country and only 80 are registered in more than ten countries. Many household names such as Nescafe, KitKat and Nesquik were Nestle produces and some other brands are also well known by consumers just they might not have realized that they were Nestle products. In 2002 Nestle had a sales turnover of over  £38.3 billion on which it made a net profit of over  £3.2 billion. The majority of this profit was re-invested in the business whilst the remainder was paid out to shareholders in dividends. Munchys put more effort in RD on their wrapping and brand-building. They have spending close to RM4 million on branding and ads every year and this budget is increasing. Besides that, the company also invested RM10 million to buy packaging machines from Japan. Munchys always thinking about how to make their product become more innovative, but what they done is just put effort on the wrapping of their product but not in the flavor and the varieties of the product. Munchys should have a broad range to improve their performance in production efficiency and profitability. 4.0 Strategy Formulation Strategy formulation is the second phase in the strategic management process which produces a clear set of recommendations and supporting justification that revises as necessary the mission and objectives of the organization, and supplies the strategies for accomplishing them. Strategy formulation is the process of planning strategies such as corporate strategies and business strategies. Sometimes it is useful to think of corporate-level strategies as where to compete and the business-level strategies as how to compete in those areas.Strategy formulation includes the planning and decision making that lead to the establishment of the firms goal and the development of a specific strategic plan by assessing the external environment and internal problem and integrate the result into goals and strategy. 4.1 Corporate Strategic A corporate strategy depicts the corporate cultures perception of progress and growth. Besides that, this strategy is comprises a directional strategy through a corporate vision and a mission statement. One of the most important roles of this strategy is to define a companys domain of activity through selection of business areas in which the companys domain of activity through selection of business areas in which the company will compete. Portfolio analysis is an analysis which combines internal and external factors and could be dealt with in the discussion of strategy in a company. Besides that, portfolio analysis is an enterprise strategy development tool based primarily on the market share of business and the growth of market in which company business exists. Munchys boasts a great range of portfolio that includes biscuits, wafers and wafer sticks. In order to achieve the best product quality, Munchys has invested in fully-integrated conveyer system to state-of-the-art warehouses for its commitment to have facilities of the highest quality. This includes two wafer plants with the capacity to manufacture up to 740 tonnes per month, four biscuit plants which can produce up to 3,400 tonnes per month, and four wafer-stick machines with 16 production lines that have the capacity to produce up to 250 tonnes per month. These manufacture enable Munchys maximize their production and now reach the capacity of 5,000 tonnes up wards per month. Few years ago, Munchys have the launch their new product, new Munchys Mini crackers and it affect the company in expecting export sales from RM90mil to RM100mil and a total revenue of over RM300mil, against RM250mil. In fact of this, Munchys had invested about RM75mil in new equipment in two years before launching this product and it resulted in the production of the new Munchys Mini crackers. 4.2 Business Strategic Business-level strategy formulation pertains to domain direction and navigation, or how business should compete in the areas they have selected. Low-cost provider strategy is using by a company which securing a competitive advantage by serving a lower price than rival competitors. This is a strategy is an integrated of actions taken to produce goods or services with features that are acceptable by customers at the lowest cost compare to the competitors which just with features that are acceptable to customers. This strategy maintain present price, be content with present market share, and use lower-cost edge to earn a higher profit margin on each unit sold, thereby increasing total profits. Munchys mission is to bring joy and add flavor to every occasion with their high quality, affordable fun-eating snacks. Munchys make an achievement in low overall cost which by manufacturing nutritional biscuits in convenient packets as well as coated and cube wafers at lower prices than rivals. The products that Munchys produce are currently include approximately of the consumers across all segments like kids, teenagers, and adults. So t hat Munchys product is offering the buyers consider essential with their various types of product. Differentiation Strategy is an Action which set an acceptable cost that let customers perceives the different on the produce goods or services. The objective of this strategy is to affect buyers to prefer Munchys product or service over brand of rivals. On the other way, it means that a company has to take an initiative action such as creative idea on what is important to customer. With the constant line-up of new products and product innovation constantly introduced to the market, Munchys has become synonymous with innovation. Most recently Munchys was launched in response to the current trend and desire for healthy snacks. This kind of healthy snack filled with healthy and scrumptious fruit, oats, and more, the Oat Krunch makes a delectable, healthy biscuit that one will reach out for anytime of the day. In the second quarter of 2009, Munchys launched the irresistible Captain Munch which aimed their targeted at teenagers and kids. This product is enriched with Energy Plus that cont ains Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6 and B12. This makes Captain Munch a source of vitamin and nutrition, as well as the perfect nutritious health snack solution for smart and active kids and teens. These recent additions products, Oat Krunch and Captain Munch have been reinforce Munchys commitment to providing more great-tasting snacks that help consumers strike a healthy balance in their daily lives. With their product which differentiating in features cause their rivals not easily to copy or matched. So, it may cause the buyers to prefer Munchys product or service over brand than rivals. Best-cost provider strategy is a combination of a strategic which emphasis on low-cost strategy and differentiation strategy. In this strategy, company must make an upscale product at a lower cost to prove the customer that its benefit for the value. It works on deliver comparable features at a lower price than rivals or matches rivals on prices and provides better features. Munchys brand mission is to produce all kinds of fun-eating snacks for every home all over the world. Presently, its strength lies in its high quality and diverse product range which Coupled with marketing strategies like manufacturing nutritional biscuits in convenient packets as well as coated and cube wafers at lower prices than competitors. Munchys Food also aims to produce more quality products on par with international brands but reflecting a typical Malaysian identity. Besides selling products at lower prices, Munchys always ensure that its products always in good quality, Munchys Quality Assurance and Qua lity Control Department ensures that all production procedures that are in place are constantly adhered to. According to the international standards set by the many regulatory boards from which Munchys has received official certification. With their good-to-excellent performance at a lower cost than rivals, they may affect consumers who are sensitive to price and value. 5.0 Strategy implementation Strategy implementation is the most important and most difficult part of the strategic management process which requires the organizations employees and managers at all levels to turn strategies into action. Actually, strategy formulation is described what a company going to do but strategy implementation is doing it. A successful strategy implementation requires support, discipline, motivation, and hard work from all managers and employees. In the aspect of management issues, Munchys has its own policies to operate on Munchys daily operation. Munchys prefer to focus on company and product development which boast a great range on produce its products with world class quality and build a long term brand. To produce the high quality product, Munchys has invested in full-integrated conveyer system to state-of-the-art warehouse which have two wafer plants, four biscuit plants and four wafer-stick machines with 16 production lines. With these systems, Munchys can have maximum production c apacity of 5000 tonnes upwards per month. To keeping up its standing in Malaysia most innovative biscuit brand, Munchys always looking at potential new products and innovations. Although Munchys has already a strong presence in Malaysia, it still continues to raise the bar by constantly strengthening their product appeal and market network in Asia and around the world. Besides that, Munchys believes in strong and effective in brand building, and achieves this through its strategic consumer-led promotions. To achieve this, Munchys is regularly brand-building through their numerous innovations and new products. One of the Munchys key on drivers in brand building is its active in sponsorship role. Munchys is a big player and firm believer in sponsorship and now being the proud sponsor of major concerts organized by top concert and event organizers, television and radio stations. Before this, Munchys has sponsored the Miss Chinese Cosmos Southeast Asia Pageant with created its very own title Miss Munchys Fun Fit. The title is in line with the launch of its new health range of product, Oat Krunch. Nowadays, sponsorships help Munchys increased in its mileage and the brand image is easily recognizable as one that offers high quality products. To ensure consumer can taste its keep supporting Munchys high quality products, Munchys Quality Assurance and Quality Control Department played an important role. This department ensures that all the production procedures that are in place are constantly adhered to the international standards set by the many regulatory boards from which Munchys has received official. The department is function in three categories which is in-process quality control, incoming control and laboratories. In-Process Quality Control is used on monitoring the product quality parameters at various processing stages from raw material until finished goods. Incoming Control is to monitoring of raw material and packaging at the entry level. The third category is the Laboratories and this category is divided to 2 part which is Microbiology Laboratory that responsibility on analyze and minimize microbiology contamination of products, processing lines, operators and general environment, thus ensuring the products a re free from harmful bacteria contamination. General Laboratory is responsibility to ensure that all the products meet legislative requirements, and are up to its consumers expectations. Munchys today boasts state-of-the-art manufacturing and warehousing facilities which cover more than 400,000 square feet in Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia. Besides that, Munchys products can be found in approximately 60 countries around the world. In fact of this, MunchWorld Marketing Sdn Bhd which set up in 1996 was played an important role as the marketing arm of all Munchys products. Munchys vantage point was its in-depth know-how into the successful marketing of fast-moving consumer goods or FMCGs, both locally and internationally. Munchys marketing prowess was proven through its own well-known, established and popular products among consumers. Besides that, MunchWorld was able to impart invaluable insights into product development, having grown Munchys from scratch with our endless pool of resources and knowledge. This made us feel it was time to share our skills and expertise with other reputable brands that understood the potential and value of good marketeering. To strengthening their product appeal and market from rivals, Munchys products always attract consumers across all segments such as kids, teenagers, adults. For example, Munchys launched the irresistible Captain Munch which aimed their targeted at teenagers and kids. This product is enriched with source of vitamin and nutrition as well as the perfect nutritious health snack solution for smart and active kids and teens. These products have been reinforce Munchys commitment to providing more great-tasting snacks that help consumers strike a healthy balance in their daily lives. 6.0 Conclusion The strategy used by Munchys make the company become stronger and stronger. The product their product are aimed on the teenagers and kids which enrich with health sources, and halal which mean the products are available to Islamic. Their RD which specifically focuses on new potential products and innovations will ensure the company always stays at the forefront of innovation. Every new products come out from Munchys are always supported by their chocolate lover. The main reason why the customers always supporting their product is Munchys always emphasize on using the high quality ingredient to process the high quality product. The effort on using the high quality ingredient on process the high quality product ensures Munchys become successful. Referencing: http://www.munchys.com/MY/html/history.aspx http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/strategy_formulation.html http://www.munchys.com/MY/main.aspx http://www.batupahat.org/?p=942 http://www.nestle.com/AllAbout/AllAboutNestle.htm Author by CATHY A.ENZ, Hospitality Strategic Management (concept and cases), second edition, page 18. Author by Richard L. Daft, Patricia Lane, Management, page 191.

Jigsaw Dinosaurs :: essays research papers

Jigsaw Dinosaurs Jigsaw Dinosaurs is a non-fiction book as well as a child’s toy under one hard cover. The non-fiction aspect of it offers some introductory detail on the physical appearance and social behavior of six different dinosaurs: Allosaurus, Stegosaurus, Diplodocus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Triceratops and Oviraptor. These are presented on each left-hand page along with information inserts about some of the smaller dinosaurs: Ornitholestes, Lesothosaurus, Compsognathus, Protoceratops, Velociraptors and Quetzalcoatlus. To complete the left-hand page is a 'stone-age' information rock sign, on each page, offering a little-known dinosaur fact under the title: Did you know? The toy aspect of it involves six different jigsaw puzzles elaborating on the main dinosaur being discussed on the left-hand page. The puzzles, illustrated by Anne Sharp, fully occupy each right page in the book. These puzzles make learning for the younger children easier, and more fun because of the clear simplicity of them. The last double page of the book is an illustrated time line following the common dinosaurs through the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. This sums up the dinosaur period quite nicely. The illustrations are colored in highly appealing blue and green, red and yellow, purple and orange. The colors are moody, evoking the eeriness of the Mesozoic period. The illustrations fit the large text nicely so if this is being read aloud children will be able to follow lovely detail in the illustration, which will assist with gaining memory retention. Children will be able to track dinosaurs mentioned in text on one page, in illustrations on another: another fun game for dinosaur recognition. There is a nice sense of action about the illustrations, which is also reflected in the text. For example, the text asks: "Do you think the Struthiomimus will see the T Rex in time?" and Anne Sharp draws a distracted Struthiomimus and a T Rex ready to pounce. Very effectively. These could be used as hypothetical scenarios to encourage young kids to create their own imaginative plots to fit the illustration and the text question: Do you think... And what will happen next...? As there is no definitive ending supplied. So, this book offers some great catalysts for developing creative thinking in children. And even on re-reading, children could be encouraged to offer different responses, and even dramatize the very scenarios they create, further intensifying their pleasure in what they have read here. There are strong and weak points associated with having a book that is also a puzzle.