Peer Assessment Essay

Introduction This paper discusses the implementation of peer assessment strategy that I carried out in a primary school in Dar es Salaam during my practicum. It consists of a background, rationale, the implementation process and conclusion. The challenges encountered and their possible solutions on how to overcome them.. Background Black and William (1998) define assessment as all those activities undertaken by teachers, and students in assessing themselves, which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged. There are two major types of assessment, formative assessment and summative assessment. And thus, Peer assessment is one of the forms of formative assessment. Besides, Higher Education Academy- UK, (2006) is an alternative form of assessment in which learners are given the opportunity to measure and evaluate each other’s compliments of the specified learning outcomes. It is used to involve students more closely in their learning and its evaluation and enable them to really understand what is required of them. (Phil et al 2006) This is a form of formative assessment which teachers can use in class assignments, tests, presentations, project based work and practical tasks. These tasks can be performed by learners either in pairs, by multiple assessors’ or in groups. It is where learners consider and specify the level, value or quality of a product or performance of other equal status learners (Topping, 2008). This therefore means that learners are able to learn better because they assess their peers work and give appropriate feedback which helps them to improve their own work. It also leads to a number of benefits in terms of the learning process for instance encouraging thinking, increasing learning and increasing students’ confidence Gardner (2006), students find it easier to make sense of criteria for their work if they examine other student’s work alongside their own. It is uniquely valuable because the interchange is in language that students themselves would naturally use, because they learn by taking roles of teachers and examiners of others (Saddler, 1998) Rationale. Eckstein and Noah (1992) argue that teachers teach to the test therefore leaving out some non-examinable but important skills set out in the curriculum. This is evident because most schools in the developing world concentrate on exams which is summative assessment and because of the backwash of this type of assessment, it impedes rather than promote social justice by locking many young people out of the education system, (Cunningham 1998). This summative assessment limits potential in enhancing teaching and learning which makes learners not to get prompt feedback to help them improve on their performance (Brooks, 2002). PA saves the teachers’ time because it takes a shorter time to mark and grade assignments using it than when a teacher marks all the books. This gives the teacher ample time to prepare for other lessons. By using PA, the teacher is able to give feedback to the pupils in a littler time than when the teacher uses traditional method of marking. PA was introduced with an intention to encourage students to take responsibility for their learning. It makes them feel valued because their suggestions are put into account. According to Irons (2008) PA encourages dialogue between the teacher and learners themselves as they negotiate the best assessment criteria when making a rubric to evaluate their work. This makes students really understand what is required of them. Phil Race et al, asserts that students learn deeply when they have a sense of ownership of the agenda and if PA is done using the students design, there tends to be a sense of ownership of the criteria used than when they apply the tutors’ criteria. Furthermore, PA allows students to learn from each other’s successes. In some instances students notice that the work they are assessing is better than their own efforts, therefore they can benefit from the work of the most able in the group. Similarly, it helps students to learn from each other’s weaknesses too. When they discover mistakes in their peers work, it is usually good for them as the awareness of ‘what not to do’ increases and therefore refrain from making the same mistake. (Phil et al 2006) Development My practicum was in a primary school in Dar es Salaam city. I was allocated standard seven to teach English. Standard 7A is rather a large class with a roll of fifty three pupils. Boys were twenty eight while girls were twenty five. All were present. This was a double English lesson of forty minutes each. The Topic was Comprehension, Sub-topic; The library; Lenders and Borrowers. My main objectives were; by the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to read, understand, formulate questions, discuss and be able to evaluate their peers work using a rubric. I made a detailed lesson plan showing the teachers and learners activities. My teaching and learning resources were standard seven text books, dictionaries, flash cards with new words written on them, pictures of a library. The lesson started at 8. 00am to 9. 20am. Implementation I introduced the lesson with a vocabulary song as a brainstorming activity that was led by one of the pupils. I explained what I expected of them throughout the lesson, then used the self-selecting method to form groups of six and told them to choose a leader. We went through the guidelines that they would follow in their discussion groups. The passage had six paragraphs so I gave each group a paragraph. The learners read the passage as they listened to one another, noted down difficult or new words, and then generated three questions from their assigned paragraph. I assisted to organise the groups and how they would present. One member quickly read their paragraph as the rest of the class listened, other members gave new words that they came across and the three questions they had formulated. As they presented their findings I was writing on the blackboard the new words they had encountered, and the questions they had constructed. Together we discussed meanings of these words as pupils tried using them in sentences and checking them out in the dictionary. I noted that discussions were being led in Kiswahili though it was an English lesson. Cummins in McKay (2008) and Ellis stated that the first language (L1) is important because sometimes learners first think in it to make meaning in English. However, the discussion was very lively and everybody tried to participate. It also concurred with Goetz (2002) that different views from learners influence the direction of a lesson creating new learning experiences for both the teacher and the learner. As a class, we discussed the questions on the blackboard then I asked them to write the work in their exercise books, collect and put them on the teachers table. Together we discussed and made a marking criterion on the blackboard. I asked the class prefect to distribute the books to the learners making sure that one did not mark his or her own book. They carefully used the rubric to mark their peers work, then returned them to the owners to check and in case of any complains i moderated and explained to their satisfaction. Finally I gave each a foolscap and asked them to write down what they felt about the new method of assessment. This exercise was mainly to analyze the learners’ reflections and to evaluate myself as a teacher. Challenges My first challenge was the English teacher assigned to me was not co-operative. He was not willing to hand over a candidate class to me. I made him understand that my input would be beneficial to his professional development and the students’ grades. During group work, some learners took it for story telling time. I had a rough time controlling the noise and putting them back to focus. The chosen group leaders helped me have order in the groups and ensured participation of all members. Code switching was common as I related with the learners and as they interacted in their discussion groups. It was a challenge because they did not have the confidence to express themselves. Very few picked courage and participated in English. The rest when picked upon would request to speak in Kiswahili. I encouraged them to have confidence and to continue speaking in English because practice makes perfect. The learning environment was not very conducive. The floor was dusty and had pot holes. This was likely to cause health problems and injury. Due to the large class, desks were not enough. Learners shared four or five per desk  which was quite uncomfortable. I advised the administration to discuss the matter with stakeholders so that the class would be repaired and desks added. This class did not have any teaching learning materials on the walls. They only had text books which were inadequate in a ratio of 1:5. Sharing was a problem because not all could access them. I advised the teacher that teaching and learning aids helped students to construct knowledge for themselves and develop effective learning strategies, thus laying a solid foundation for life-long learning. I also urged him to improvise teaching aids by using locally available materials for example, carton boxes to write on vocabularies and sentence structures and hang on the walls. I realized that peer assessment can be time consuming if practiced in a large class. Grouping learners, discussions, presentations and awarding marks consumed a lot of time which affected the next lesson. Since the school had extra classrooms, I encouraged him to create an extra stream and transfer some learners from 7A and 7B to the new stream if learners were to benefit from this kind of assessment. This is because a class of fifty three was too large putting into consideration the slow learners and learners with special needs who needed special attention. Conclusion Peer assessment had good impact on the teaching learning process where the learners and I jointly got involved in the assessment process hence owning the entire peer assessment procedures integrated in the lesson. This resulted into meaningful learning where feedback was instant. However, there were some challenges which we jointly addressed with the learners. For PA to be successful, meaningful procedures have to be put in place. References Black, P. &William. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning: Assessment in education,principles, policy and practice in Irons, A. (2008). Enhancing learning through formative assessment and feedback. London: Routledge. Cunning,G. K. (1998). Assessment in the classroom: constructing and interpreting tests. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Irons, A. (2008). Enhancing learning through formative assessment and feedback. London: Routledge. Race, P. , Brown, S. &Smith. (2006). 500 Tips on assessment (2nd edition). London: Routledge. Shepherdson, D.

Poverty no longer exists in Britain today

There is an argument that poverty no longer exists in Britain today. Many people would say that the days when people died from lack of food, shelter or clean water ended, in this country, with the introduction of the welfare state (Chinn, 1995). Poverty, however, can be defined in two ways and depending on which definition one chooses to employ, it can be contested whether the balance of evidence shows that poverty actually does exist or not. In this piece of work it will be argued that poverty does affect many people in our society and the lack of resources of poorer people in society is at the root of inequalities in health. Furthermore it will be shown that the discrepancy between the standards of living that better off people in society enjoy and the standards of living that poorer people endure can be something that is very difficult to alter. In conclusion there will be a discussion on the role that social care professionals may play in trying to reduce the negative effects suffered by some people as a result of poverty. The first of the two identified forms of poverty is absolute or â€Å"subsistence level poverty† (Thompson and Priestly, 1996: 207). Income falls below a set level so that a person does not have the means to be able to secure the basic necessities for living, in terms of food, drink, shelter and clothing. Stephens et al (1998) argue that for some people in society, like rough sleepers, poverty in absolute terms is very real and that when older people die from hypothermia because they can't afford to heat their homes adequately it is as a result of absolute poverty. Poverty in this sense however has certainly diminished since the advent of the Welfare State. The second definition of poverty, relative poverty, is defined in terms of a ‘reasonable' standard of living generally expected by the society in which a person lives. It identifies ‘needs' as more than basic biological requirements, taking into account social and emotional needs. It is also about being excluded from taking part in activities which are widely undertaken by the rest of society. In terms of resources, relative poverty is a higher standard of living than absolute poverty but it could be argued that many things that are not strictly essential for life nevertheless could be deemed as necessities by society in general. Thus whether you adhere to an absolutist or relativist definition of it, it is clear that there are certain people in society who suffer from poverty. Modern research into poverty combines both classifications. Stevens et al (1988: 266) maintain: â€Å"it's important to capitalise on the advantages of both definitions†. There have been several pieces of well-documented research into health inequalities, both by successive governments and independent bodies, for example, The Black Report in 1980; Margaret Whitehead's ‘The health divide' in 1987 (Stephens et al, 1998) and most recently the Acheson Report in 1998. This research underlines the correlation between poverty and ill health and the disparity that exists, depending on social class. Measurements and comparisons are made in terms of morbidity and in terms of mortality. Research shows that if a person is born into poverty his/her chances of suffering ill health and a shortened life span are greater than if he/she was born into prosperity. Some of the most recent research has shown, for example that children in social class five (where five represents the least well off and one represents the most well off) are five times as likely to suffer accidental death than their peers from social class one (Roberts I. Power C, 1996). Further studies show that a baby boy from social class one can be expected to live for more than nine years longer than a baby boy from social class five (Office for National Statistics, 1998). The British Medical Journal (1999) states â€Å"Social class differences in health are seen at all ages, with lower socio-economic groups having the greater incidence of heart disease, stroke and some cancers†. The rate of pre-natal mortality is hi gher for women from lower socio-economic groups. A poorer person is more likely to die in infancy, more likely to suffer ill health, as a child and as an adult, and more likely to die prematurely than someone who has greater access to resources. It has been stated that â€Å"the most significant factor [affecting health] in poverty is†¦ the fact that poor people are denied access to possessions and services that are available to their better-off peers† (Moore, 1997). This could include: preventative medicine, early treatment when sick, a healthy diet, access to ‘keep fit' leisure activities. Other factors which could have a detrimental effect on poorer people could include things like poorly maintained housing, stress related illness and smoking, which is more prevalent among lower income groups (Office for National Statistics, 1998). Explanations for poverty tend to fall into two categories. There are individualistic explanations for poverty. That people who are in relative poverty are so because they are in some way lazy, irresponsible or ‘feckless' and they could help themselves to escape poverty if they really wanted to. Some people vocalise this way of thinking by, for example, telling the unemployed to ‘get on their bikes' and find work. This type of argument can, and often is, applied to any ‘inappropriate' or ‘wasteful' use of resources for example, by criticising people for wanting to dress their children in more expensive clothes, or by condemning women for the number of children they choose to have. Another common reaction when confronted with arguments about poverty is to be reproachful when someone chooses to smoke instead of ‘spending their money wisely'. These arguments however fail to take into account the way that society is structured and the effects that this has on people's life chances. There is an element of victim blaming and consideration is not given to the fact that some people have far more power than others to alter aspects of their lives. Structural, as opposed to individualistic, explanations focus on â€Å"the political, economic and material environment in which people find themselves† (Howe, 1997: 173). A person who is born into poverty is more likely to stay poor and their children are likely to be poor. In this way a life or poverty can be a self-perpetuating cycle of deprivation which people have very little power to change. This deprivation is exacerbated by the fact that it can be combined with other inequalities, such as those based on gender, ethnicity, and age. The fact that some people suffer from multiple disadvantages is attributable to structural inequality, which is inherent in our society. Anatole France wrote: â€Å"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread. France (1894). Clearly there is no need for wealthier people ‘to sleep under bridges' whereas there may be a justification or even a necessity for a homeless person to do it. The concept of a society where everyone has the same opportunities and all are equal is a fallacy when viewed from a structural perspective. This does not however mean that people are absolutely powerless to help themselves and assumptions sho uld not be made that because someone is in poverty they will necessarily need the help of social care professionals. People can often make changes to make their lives better, to suggest otherwise would be to disempower people. Social care professionals should be aware of the effects of poverty and the relative powerlessness of some people but not to such an extent that the power imbalance is made greater by the workers inability to treat the client as an individual. Anti-oppressive practice is â€Å"a form of social work that addresses social divisions and structural inequalities †¦ by responding to people's needs regardless of their social states† Dominelli (1993). This argument is further developed by Dalrymple and Burke (1995) when they talk about giving the client access to records so that any information is shared. Ensuring inclusion and consultation can lessen the power imbalance between social care worker and client. Government policy is geared to combating inequalities, in light of the findings of the Acheson Report. In particular it recognises the needs of those who may have multiple disadvantages, for example women, children, people with disabilities, older people and people from ethnic minority groups. Social care workers should have an awareness of combined inequalities and should have a commitment to reduce them. â€Å"Many social workers invest considerable efforts to maximise the welfare benefits of their clients and search through charitable resources to alleviate some of their acute hardships† (Jones, 1997: 121). Social care workers can work in partnership with other agencies to ensure that they refer people to organisations who are able to help, when it is not within the social carer's remit. For example, referrals could be made to: agencies who advise on health matters, or work to increase benefits, or help people back into work, or give advice on housing matters. â€Å"The best way to get rid of poverty – absolute or relative – is to forge a more genuinely equal society† Stephens et al (1998: 258). This is something that is beyond the capabilities of any one profession. In conclusion, social care workers can help to reduce the negative effects of poverty to a certain extent but, for any major improvements to be made, there needs to be a radical change (through governmental policy) in the distribution of both power and wealth.

Biography of Henry Ford Essays - Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion

Biography of Henry Ford Henry Ford was one of the most brilliant entrepreneurs in creating the automobile assembly line, it was his controversial characteristics and unorthodox approach towards administrating the Ford Motor Company which resulted in the conglomeration of one of the most successful corporations in the world. At the turn of the century everything was booming! The growth of the economy and stock market increased the job opportunities as well as morals. As a result of this industrial revolution, out of the woodwork came a humble yet driven man, Henry Ford. Between the five dollar/day plan, his policies on administrating the company, and his relations with his customers, Ford was often presented as a suspicious character. This controversial behavior epitomized the success of the company, it did not lead to his own downfall as many suspect. The Anti-Semitic accusations, and the belief that Ford was taking advantage of his customers, were by far overshadowed by his brilliance and strong hand in running his company. Of course, there were not always supporters of Henry Ford. If fact, there were many critics, critics who believed that Henry Ford was so controversial that it prevented the potential of Fords from becoming greater than it is today. By the mid twenties the Fords was already the worlds most successful automobile company, but their great reputation would soon decline. Fords $5/day plan for all employees signified the overwhelming success of the company. Many believed this success was short-lived with the new policies dealing with the workers which soon followed. With the need to increase production and lower costs, in the mid 30s Ford cut all Ford workers wages in half. Workers were expected to work faster, and harder. Department heads were ordered to ban all talking and whistling while work was in progress. All of this was a ploy by Ford to make sure he knew every move of his workers, he was very possessive. Secondly, Ford began to fire older workers and hire younger workers. His ideology was that the younger workers could work more productively and more efficiently. Which in turn would send more money flowing into his pockets. What resulted was quite humorous in fact. Black hair dye became a hot seller in the Detroit area . Older workers tried to disguise their age by dying their hair black. Fords manipulation of his workers was immoral and unjust. There was no industrial democracy, workers were forced to do what they were told or would be out of a job. Henry Fords controversial behavior reflected badly on himself and on the Ford Motor Company. The Anti-Semitic views expressed by Henry Ford could never be denied. It was common knowledge in fact that Henry Ford was prejudice. He wrote an article in the Dearborn Independent expressing his ideas that Jews were the cause of many peoples problems. Henry Ford was sued by a man by the name Aaron Sapiro in the early 1930s. Sapiro had evidence that Ford threatened himself with Anti-Semitic sentiments. Ford was recorded as saying, Sapiro is a shrewd little Jew. The bible says Jews will return to Palestine, but they want to get all the money out of America first. Sapiro should be kicked out because he is trash.. The result of the trial was humiliation for the Ford company and Henry Ford himself. After a hung jury in the first trial, the case was dropped when Ford wrote a lengthy retraction and apologized for his statements. Fords was declining in profits and production among the worlds best. All as a result of Henry Fords ego. Thus, by 1931 Ford lowered in the ranks, controlling only 28% of the market 2nd to GM with 31%. Henry Ford was the godfather of the automobile industry in the early 1900s. The development of his River Rouge plant was considered a industrial Cathedral. Hundreds waited month after month in front of the employment building hoping to be hired. To foreign immigrants it meant hope and a successful future. The River Rouge plant employed over 50,000 employees. Pols, Lithuanians, Germans, almost every western Europe country could be represented at the Ford Plant. Like a father Henry Ford began educational programs, teaching his illiterate employees how

One of the 10 amendments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

One of the 10 amendments - Essay Example Such amendments appear all the more relevant when we consider United States as a flag bearer of human rights and the government of the day tries to make sure that countries around the globe adhere to such a policy and this becomes an internationally accepted norm. The UN Human Rights day and the guidelines put forward by the United Nations for the nations of the world to follow towards ensuring the human rights of their citizens is a testimony of the importance of such rights. Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion and Petition; Right to keep and bear arms; Conditions for quarters of soldiers; Right of search and seizure regulated; Provisions concerning prosecution; Right to a speedy trial, witnesses, etc.; Right to a trial by jury; Excessive bail, cruel punishment; Rule of construction of Constitution; Rights of the States under Constitution Though some countries had such rights included in their constitution prior to US, but most of the nations were subsequently guided by these amendments towards protecting their citizens. But the passage of the Bill of Rights in US was also criticized by some congressmen in the early stages of its introduction.

Review of Academic Journal Articles on Management Essay

Review of Academic Journal Articles on Management - Essay Example Review of the first article Human resource management is thought of as a recent development which is directed at reshaping the relationships of employees. It can be considered as a tool that has replaced the conventional traditions in the field of management like industrial relations and personnel management. Human resource management is an evolving field that tackles complexities in the organizations. Human resource management is characterized as hard or soft because of its association with the business performance and strategy that has caused a thematic divide between the practices grounded in conventional methods such as personnel management and the modern management of human resource. Ivo (2006) wrote an article to explore the best perspectives about the field of human resource management. In the first section of the article, the author has made an attempt to generate a holistic understanding of the field of human resource management on the basis of various perspectives in manage ment. The author has fundamentally identified three systems of management to achieve this, namely closed or scientific management, semi open system or human relations, and the contingency system or the open system. In the second section, the author has tried to interpret human resource management in the form of a framework by thinking of it as a style. This interpretation makes it easy to perceive the hard and soft type of human resource management stylized as the utilitarian instrumentalism and developmental humanism respectively. The second section basically discusses human resource management in terms of a new discipline of management, a restatement of personnel management, a strategic function or a management discipline that is resource based. In the third section, the author has assessed the effect of human resource management upon the strategy, performance and outcome with the help of the Michigan, Harvard, Choice and Guest models. The author highlights the merits of the Choic e model for effective management of human resource. The fourth section considers senior manager in the role of a choice maker. To achieve this, the author has made use of the Japanese model of human resource management. The fifth section constitutes the conclusion in which the author has recapitulated the use of human resource management in the contemporary market as advocated by the literature. For the purpose of understanding the perceptions of human resource management, the researcher has primarily conducted a comprehensive literature review in which, he has studied and compared the findings of past researches. Finally, the author has summarized the research findings. The field of human resource management is very wide and researchers need to explore various aspects of it in order to generate a sound understanding for use by human resource professionals. Although the effects of human resource management on employment and value creation have been sufficiently studied, there is lit tle knowledge about the characteristics and developmental strategies of human resource management. The findings of research conducted by Ivo (2006) are very useful for the IHRM practice in the real world. The author has particularly placed huge emphasis on the comparison between human resource management and the conventional management practices that have been in place for decades like personnel management. Obtaining correct understanding of human resource

The process of globalization and culture in Cape Town Essay

The process of globalization and culture in Cape Town - Essay Example People have forgotten their own culture and their own suffering. Critics take globalization as a factor which is changing their culture and imposing new cultures. What values and cultures did people adapt The high level of interconnectedness among nations, countries and cultures is referred to as globalization. The technological advancement has made the world a small place with almost every thing accessible to mankind (Globalization101, n.p). This high interaction and interdependence causes cultural mix up or cultural hybridization. Some people take consider this as a positive outcome of globalization. According to Rathkopf, globalization is the only way to a better and a more stable world. It is true, that globalization not only reduces cultural barriers but removes the negative aspects of any culture (Rathkopf, n.p). Many other people take globalization as a bargain to their culture and heritage, which is not acceptable to them. These people say that globalization is destroying their roots and their identity i.e. culture (Barlow, n.p). The globalization of products and commodities is considered to be a good thing; however this also has its own negative points. It not only declines the sales of locally made products but also disrupts the local economy. Hence it can be noted that globalization has both positive and negative outcomes. Thi... It not only declines the sales of locally made products but also disrupts the local economy. Hence it can be noted that globalization has both positive and negative outcomes. ABOUT THE REPORT This report will discuss the processes and effects of globalization in Cape Town, South Africa. The first part of the report will discuss the culture of the place and how it is organized. Moreover, how the place runs, will also be discussed. In the second part the effect of globalization on the culture of the place will be discussed. The conclusion will give an overview of what the future holds for the people in Cape Town. THE PLACE Cape Town is the provincial capital of the Western Cape and is probably one of the most beautiful cities of the world. Due to its beautiful beaches and scenery it attracts more tourists than any other place in South Africa. The total population of the city is almost 3.5 million (Statistics of South Africa, n.p). Even though this is a big number, but due to a larger area, the population density of the city is still low. Almost 80% of the households in Cape Town use electricity. Cape Town consists of almost 31% local black Africans. The rest are whites and Asians. This demography clearly states that there are more people from other nations, and hence they have their cultural influence in the area. Moreover, female population in the city is more than male population. Almost 58% of the native blacks are unemployed (Statistics of South Africa, n.p; City of Cape Town, 3-7). Almost 41% of the people in Cape Town speak Afrikaans. The rest speak Xhosa and English. Majority of the population is Christian with almost 10% having no religion at all. Cape Town can be called as the oldest city of South Africa, and it really is. Its oldest building Posthuys

Science Reported in Media vs. Scholarly Sources Research Paper

Science Reported in Media vs. Scholarly Sources - Research Paper Example the inner part of the eyelid can become so scarred in such a severe fashion that the whole eyelid could actually turn inwards and cause the lashes to rub on the eyeball which results in the scarring of the front part of the eye- the cornea. If this infection is not treated repeatedly and timely, this infection can even lead to the development of an irreversible corneal opacities and eventually even blindness. Trachoma is a rather common infection affecting a total of about 21.4 million people all over the world out of which some 2.2 million have become visually impaired and some 1.2 million are completely blind. The severity of this disease is clear from the fact that it was considered an epidemic and not only any infection outbreak. Trachoma is presently responsible for an overly large 3% of the total world’s blindness. This number however keeps varying because of socio-economic development effects and several different control programmes put in place for curbing the threat of this disease. In spite of several measures being placed, trachoma still widely carry its status of an hyper endemic in several of the extremely poor and very remote and poor rural areas in the continent of Asia, Africa, Australia, Central and South America and the Middle East. The patterns of active trachoma emerge majorly during the early adulthood and during middle-ages. In hyper endemic areas, trachoma is most common in children who ate attending preschool and the rates of prevalence of trachoma are as high as 60-90%. It like most diseased has the potential to majorly affect the most vulnerable members of the society and has a severe affect on children and women. Surprisingly, adult women as compared to men are at a huger risk of being affected by the complication that results in trachoma leading to eventual blindness. The major reason for this trend is that perhaps women spend greater amount of time with young children who are considered the major source of this heinous

SUSTAINABLE MARKETING- critical analyze an organization Essay

SUSTAINABLE MARKETING- critical analyze an organization - Essay Example As far as the triple bottom line is concerned, the airline has made a number of steps towards achieving these three requirements. According to its official website (Emirates), it has a foundation called the Emirates Airline Foundation. This foundation has the task of providing funding in a number of crucial projects within the developing world. This has thus helped to improve the livelihoods of the people living within these countries. The airline has also committed itself to follow the four pillar strategy set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). These are aimed at ensuring that the levels of carbon emissions come down. The airline has done this through a number of strategies such as the adoption of technology that is advanced. It has also committed itself to use of efficient aircrafts that reduce the amounts of emissions, as well as, the noise in the environment. This has helped the company maintain an emission level that is 30% lower than the average airline emis sions. The company has also employed a strategy of recycling and waste reduction, staff education, lower energy use and greater communication. Equally, it has the ‘environmental champions’ program, which empowers staff to be environmentally conscious at home, at work and any other place they visit (Emirates). As far as profitability is concerned, the company’s website states that it has sought to ensure this is maintained through its policy of being an ecologically efficient organization. This means that the company will try to reduce pollution and use fewer resources. This will enable it to conserve the already dwindling natural resources. As far as a customer relation is concerned, the airline has ensured that comfort throughout the travel is assured. This is ensured through a number of strategies such as the cuisine served in the plane, the seats as well as the polite staff on the plane (Emirates). An affirmation of the airlines efforts can be seen in the numb er of awards it has been granted. In 2010, the company won the 2010 World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) conservation award for its Emirates Hotels and Resorts. It also got the 2010 Skytrax Airline award for its airline in-flight entertainment. The steps that the company has taken have made it the second most profitable airline globally (Graham et al., 2008). In light with this, the company has been successful in maintaining itself commercially through its competitive advantage strategies. The company has, however, issued a profit warning of a 76% drop in its profit in the 2012-2013 financial years, mainly due to the cost of fuel (Emirates). 2 Stakeholder Analysis There are a number of stakeholders who relate to the Emirates airlines. These are the customers, the competition, the company itself and the community around it. Analysis of these stake holders is deliberated on in the following section in a bid to understand the company better. 3 Customer Analysis The company has three categories of customer accommodation. These are first class, business class and economy class. These three forms of accommodations represent three different types of individuals. The first class customer is the one who is willing to pay a large sum

Is Britain becoming too diverse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Is Britain becoming too diverse - Essay Example Multi Cultural Britain – Land of Immigrants VIII. Conclusion IX. Work Cited. Introduction The greater cause of concern in Britain these days has been the ever increasing diversity. This can be sense from the range of ways through which people might experience a unique group of identity; this includes gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and age. Any countries’ ethnic and racial differences are very much significant for its political position. Considering these variations this paper has been written to focus on the diversity that exists in British society and how Britain is approaching the phase of too much diversity. The ever increasing number of people from different ethnic and racial backgrounds and countries was among most significant a change occurring in Britain from 1950’s to until now, as it stands today claiming the title of the world in one city. When describing London in his work Mayor Ken Livingstone says that London is as if à ¢â‚¬Ëœone sees the world being gathered in just one city, living harmoniously, setting example for all’ (in Freedland 2005). ... eral The condition of being or having composed of different sets of elements: that is variety; especially: the inclusion of various types of people (as of people of different cultures or races) in organization or group programs that intend to promote diversity in several schools. It can even be defined as an instance of being composed of different sets of qualities or elements: a moment of being diverse (diversity in opinion). Diversity (politics) If we look at in the political arena, we may find that the term diversity (or the word diverse) is used to primarily describe political entities (student bodies, neighborhoods, etc) with several members having identifiable differences in their lifestyles or backgrounds. The term covers differences in age, gender, religion, racial or ethnic classifications, philosophy, socioeconomic background, genetic attributes, behavior, intelligence, mental health, physical health, sexual orientation, physical abilities, , gender identity, attractiveness , or other identifying features. For measuring human diversity, one may makes use of a diversity index that measures the probability of any two residents, randomly chosen, would have different ethnicities. If all the residents are from the same ethnic group then the diversity is zero. If half of the residents are from one group and half are from another it's then 50. (Diversity Index) Ideology Political creeds that support the idea that diversity is desirable and valuable hold that promoting and recognizing these diverse cultures may help communication among people of different lifestyles and backgrounds, resulting in greater understanding, knowledge, and peaceful coexistence. For instance, "Respect for Diversity" is one of those six principles from Global Greens Charter, a a public

The Clinical Practice Council Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Clinical Practice Council - Essay Example The Clinical Practice Council In keeping with the present increasing development in the healthcare service of the modern healthcare institutions, it becomes more essential to develop the operations as well as to exploit advanced methods to provide an ultimate satisfaction to each patient. With regard to the responsibilities and services of these two groups, this paper intends to briefly describe the main groups’ functions and the roles of their leaders. Moreover, the paper will also focus on describing decision making process and identifying roles and responsibilities that are observed among the members of each group. In addition, the different roles of each individual member in each group have also been highlighted within the discussion. Purpose of Each Group The Clinical Practice Council focuses on providing evidence-based practice in clinical nursing activities in order to implement an advanced nursing practice for each client within the organization. The support group considerably engages to maintain an advanced clinical nursing practice as well as reliable patient care programs in keeping with American Nurses Association Scope and Standards of Practice. In contrast, A.A. is a relatively small support group which focuses on practising various effective ways preventing alcohol addiction. The group is a worldwide fellowship of men and women which is structured with around 25 members. ... The leader of this group has to make an effective decision of developing policies through depending upon the appropriate recommendations from the members of the group (Queensland Govt., 2012). In this context, the leader of the group provides a topic for discussion with the members and identifies the appropriate solutions of the raised issues. In the similar context, the role of the leader in A.A is to focus on the presentation of the members communicating in order to motivate and renounce alcohol addiction. In order to motivate the members, the leader of this group guides an effective method of communicating by encouraging the participants to talk freely and in an orderly way. The leaders also listen carefully to the problems of the participants and come up with proper solution and motivation for encouraging the participants to carry on their fights against alcohol addiction. Decision Making Process of Each Group The decision making process can be considered as one of the major step s for the leader in order to direct his/her team towards an effective and efficient way to achieve the goals and the objectives of the team. Moreover, the decision making process is also a crucial step for an organization in terms of identifying appropriate initiatives for the organization and enhancing performance of the team members in order to effectively achieve competitive advantage with the organizational offerings (Edwards & Elwyn, 2009). According to the observation of the case, it can be stated that the leaders of both the groups are significantly contributing by providing an effective support in order to enhance their performance to offer healthcare services to the patients. In the

Organizational Behavior Essay Example for Free

Organizational Behavior Essay With the advancement in technology the operations and scales of most business have become global in nature. Aside from this the target market of the corporations has also increased to include regional as well as international customers. This has requires the culture in most multination enterprises to change and adapt to diversification. Corporations have as a result invested in a diversified workforce that represents the various types of customers it targets and help create a much better understanding about the constantly changing and evolving target market. With the changing market dynamics the companies have also had to change their management styles. The most apparent trend for corporations has been to create a value based culture where the values are derived from the customer and business point of view the procurement training of employees is based on this value system. The best way to do this is by hiring people who have the desired talent and values required by the company. This reduces the cost of training and development for the company in the initial stages and contributes to a much better workforce which is intone with the organizations objectives and value system. However in most cases the new employees do require formal orientations where they are specifically informed about culture in place ion the organization and how the business conducts its operations. Yet again hiring people who share similar values as the organization does provides more harmony and direction for the workforce. Organization and Culture: Before establishing on a code of conduct of devising a formal culture for the organization, it is essential to define what organizational culture is. The culture at any organization is how the operations are performed in the entity and how the employees perform their specific jobs. Whenever the company is formally writing the essence of the culture it is acknowledging the core values of its operations and the company itself. As a result the culture should be representative of everyone in the organization and the values derived from it should benefit the company and its stakeholders as a whole. Therefore it is critically important for organizations to fully comprehend and understand the organizational culture in place in their organization before defining the values for the company or hiring personnel depending on their shared values with the business. Cameron and Quinn have designed a framework for the culture based on competing values. This framework identifies that there are essentially four kinds of cultures in an organization and any company can have either one of them or a combination as their organizational structure. These cultures have been specifically identified as the market culture, hierarchy culture and the adhocracy culture and the clan culture. Companies who have a clan type of a culture are organizations that operate based on their loyalty and relationship with others. Tradition and loyalty count as high priorities here and as a result employee commitment is a strong factor. Examples of organization that have this type of a corporate culture are the Japanese Companies. The market culture is characteristic of supermarkets and those companies operating in the retail sector. These kinds of organizations are result oriented and focus on getting the job done. The people usually employed in this company are competitive and goal oriented. The new hired sought by the company are leaders who can be tough and respond to the demanding nature of the organization. The company deems the pricing policies and intense competition as integral to the business. The vision of such organizations is to attain a large portion of the market share. Another form of an organizational cultures the hierarchy culture which is formalized in nature and structured according to rank and priority. The leaders in the organization are responsible for getting the work done and there is an essence of pride amongst the employees about their positioning the company. These companies are relatively predictable and they focus on hiring employees who are dependable and committed to long term employment in the company. The perfect examples of such organization are government organizations and public institutions. The last type of culture identified in the framework is the adhocracy culture which features entrepreneurship and creativity in the workplace. Organizations have this kind of a culture are usually dynamic and harbor innovation. They seek employees who are risk takers, creative and can be focus on the long term productivity and growth of the organization. The essence of this culture is innovation and commitment to change and diversification. An example of such a company is Google. Discussion: The main hotspots for cultural integration and diversification for Multinational Enterprises exist in the European, Asian and Middle East regions. A recent study was conducted to analyze the cultural orientation of the workforce and the similarities and differences for a multicultural workforce in Oman. The data for this research was conducted from about 700 employees employed in 6 large firms in Oman. â€Å"The results demonstrate a clear link between value orientations and preferences for particular HRM policies and practices. Group-oriented HRM practices are preferred by those who scored high on collectivism and being orientations, and those who scored low on thinking and doing orientations. Hierarchy-oriented HRM practices are preferred by those scoring high on hierarchy, subjugation and human nature-as-bad orientations, and those scoring low on thinking and mastery orientations. Finally, preference for loose and informal HRM practices was positively associated with being, and negatively associated with thinking, doing and harmony orientations. (Aycan, (et al), 2007) The HR employment policies and the recruitment process comprises of job identification and job design. When the specific characteristics of the job have been identified it becomes easier to document the requirements for the job. In market oriented firms companies seek prospective employees who are competitive and willing to embrace the values of the company. Colin Shaw conducted a research in association with the Marketing forum about employment in marketing. The research showed that â€Å"71 per cent of business leaders see customer experience as the next competitive battleground to be fought in a commercial marketplace — yet few are doing anything about it. Seven out of 10 customers say that emotions count for more than half of their customer experience. But most companies have not even thought through the emotions they are trying to evoke and will, therefore, struggle to recruit people who are able to evoke the positive emotions the company has identified. †(Shaw, 2002) Aside form simply managing diversity in the work force by creating a value based culture in the organization and hiring personnel on the basis of their value characteristics, the companies in multinational sectors can also develop relationship with their strategic partners, suppliers and affiliates on the basis of their organizational values. This is formally termed as Supply Relationship Orientation. Using this approach the organization can target a much diverse target market more efficiently and can also internalize most of its operations. The internal and external integration leads to strategic advantage for the company therefore further creating barriers to entry in the industry and making the organization more competitive. Job satisfaction is highly dependent upon the values that the employees have. These values can be cultural in nature or those endorsed by the organization. A study concerning the impact of cultural diversity on the employed job satisfaction showed that it is possible for people from different backgrounds and regions to have different values and work environment expectations. This specific study studied the Chinese nd Taiwanese organizations and depicted that â€Å"Integration, Confucian Work Dynamism and Human-heartedness are significantly different between Taiwanese and Chinese employees, while Moral discipline is not; Taiwanese employees have higher ES than Chinese employees; Taiwanese employees view career planning is the most important, while Chinese employees think management system is most important; For Taiwanese employees, Salary and benefit, Working load and Management system have effects on ES; Age and Education have effects on Chinese employees† (Chuan-Cheng Yu-Chen, 2007) Some cases of prominent organizations taking sides on their HRM and recruitment policies are depicted in the following examples. â€Å"Sears, for example, developed a strong culture based on its successes through the 1960s that kept later CEOs from making radical changes that were needed to respond to shifting consumer preferences. On the other hand, Wal-Mart, which was less restrained by its past, prospered during the same time period. † (Powell, 1998) When hiring new employees the bottom-line is to make way for a cohesive organization which is diversified in nature and its workforce yet is united in its structure, values and objectives. This is what has been termed as a model organization with an effective organizational perspective. Essentially the organization has two roles for an employee when it is hiring prospective personnel. These are that the organization needs employees who can help the organization grow and follow what is already in place in the organization. This is required to bring continuity into the business. However the other goal of the organization when recruiting new employees is to hire those candidates who are entrepreneurial in nature, risk takers and innovative, i. e. are willing to do what has never ever been done in the market or sector. In such situations the company needs to identify what are its core values and how it can attain both of its goals simultaneously. This requires identifying which values of the company fit the personal attributes of the company, and fit the situation the company is in. Then it needs to hire those employees which are suited to the values, goals and the job description in the company. â€Å"Searching for reinforcing fit on pivotal values is a good way for an organization to preserve the key elements of its culture. In fact, adherence to similar process values such as mutual respect, openness, participation, and consideration of alternative points of view facilitates a multicultural approach to diversity. On the other hand, searching for either reinforcing or extending fit on peripheral values seems unnecessary. Employees need to be allowed to express themselves as they wish, as long as they exhibit the pivotal values that support the organizations mission. † (Powell, 1998) Another view regarding value based recruitment of personnel is that the diversified and multinational corporations can invest in both kinds of employees by hiring those which are essential for the continuum of the organization as well as hiring those who fit the organization’s values and goals. This will enable corporations to have variety in the workplace and will aid in management of the diversified workforce by the use of actions teams. Aside from this there is another view which states that it may not be in the best interests of any organization to invest in the same values and culture over a long period of time. This is because the external and internal environment for the business is constantly changing and this requires the culture, and values of the organizations to also reflect change with the passage of time. â€Å"To be ready to play fundamentally different games at short notice, organizations need to keep themselves from being overly committed to one particular strategy. † (Powell, 1998) One way of adopting diversity in an organization and building a value based culture to sustain objectives is through the sequential process. The reason for using this process for managing diversity is due to the fact that the external environment is in a continuous change and the main stakeholders of any company are also facing similar changes in their lives. This makes the purchase decisions to be made on the basis of the vales of the company and therefore the employees and people in the organization are also required to work in accordance with the values of the company. An article by Steve Schuller in 2005 stated that merging diversification and value based culture the organization requires the company to adopt a focused hiring policy. This means that the company should strive to hire like minded people who share the values of the company. This can require employing on traditionally recruiting methods which can take the form of partnering with similar organization or organizations having similar technology and objectives. â€Å"Hiring is only the first step. Educating employees to understand and appreciate cultural differences and providing them with guidance about what diversity means to the organization is the most effective way to create an inclusive culture. Timing is critical. Dont make the mistake of marketing to diverse groups before providing your employees with the support and training they need to service these guests, who might have unique needs. Doing so could create negative guest experiences or hurt your efforts in the community. (Schuller, 2005). This text provides answers to the question whether only hiring personnel who share the values of the company is sufficient or should they be trained or not. The article states that even for newly hired personnel who share the values of the company it is essential for the business to provide them with orientation, mentoring and customer service training for leadership development according to the business ethics and the organizational culture in place in the company. Aside from this it is also important to communicate the values of the business and the company to the customers as well as to the employees. â€Å"Values are communicated to employees via overt internal communications, the ripple effect, senior management example/involvement, HR activities and external communications. While for consumers, values are communicated via their holistic experiences of the brand, interactions with employees, external brand communications and the tangible elements of the service offering. (De Chernatony, Cottam Segal-Horn, 2006) Conclusion: It can be derived from the above illustrated discussion that in order to manage diversity in the workplace and in the operations it is best to manage the company according to its salient nd existing value structure. This is the best recommended method for managing diversity as it does not contain any bias and conforms to the legal laws of the state and the personal values of the employees and the staff in the organization. The best way for establishing a value based organization culture is to first identify the culture for the organization and highlight its main points. The key values which give the company a comparative advantage and a competitive edge can be focused upon and these values can be derived top establish a new culture which is adaptable, innovative and in accordance with the changes taking place in the internal as well as the eternal environment of the business. Most companies seek to retain and manage the value based culture of the organization by hiring those individuals who share the commitment and the values of the organization. However it should be realized that even like minded people can end up having conflicts and as a result a base period of training has to be established in the organization for successfully managing the organization and its human capital.

Important information Essay Example for Free

Important information Essay Unstructured Interviews are a method of interviews where questions can be twisted or adapted to meet the interviewee intelligence, understanding or belief. They do not offer a limited, pre-set range of answers for a respondent to choose from as by structured interviews, but instead like listening to how each individual person responds to the question. â€Å" The emphasis here is on acquiring deep knowledge and authenticity of peoples life experiences â€Å" (Gubrium and Holstein, 2001) . Unstructured Interviews have a lot of set backs as compared with structured interviews, which make this stlye invalid and unreliable,some of these are ; . Unstructured interviews are time consuming as the conversation can go on and on,there is interviewer effect, this is when the interviewee answer is effected by the interviewer presence of the due to either his/her race, ethnicity, colour, or answer to certain questions, the information collected is prone to digression and much of the data collected could be unnecessary,unstructured interviews are usually small scale so it is hard to generalise with the results as only a small number of the interviewees can be interviewed, data collected is hard to categorise as there is likely to be a variety of different answers, coding will require more work when choosing categories for the respondents. Unstructured interviews has continued to be used by many employers since the data collect is said to be valid as it is an exact account of what the interviewee has said, the interviewer can also find out important information which didnt seem relevant before the interview and ask the interviewee to go further into the new topic,unstructured interviews are also more suitable for sensitive subjects such as domestic violence† (http://en. wikipedia. org ) as many people would lie in a more formal interview and also their answer may not be on the preset questioner . â€Å" Often, the subject matter is personal, intimate and emotional, and the objective is to achieve some kind of deep disclosure â€Å"(Johnson, 2001) In general structure or unstructured interviews depend wholely on the the interviewer Refference 1) http://en. wikipedia. org 2) (Gubrium and Holstein, 2001) . 3) â€Å"(Johnson, 2001).

SWOT Analysis of Fischertechnik

SWOT Analysis of Fischertechnik ABOUT THE COMPANY The name fischertechnik comes from an original construction toy brand, which was invented by Artur Fischer in 1964. Initially, this brand was intended to be a Christmas novelty gift in Germany for industrial client level engineers and buyers.It proved to be a massive success and thus, the company introduced its first building block construction toy in 1965. From there on, there has been no looking back. The official name of the whole group of companies is fischerwerke GmbH Co. KG. It is based in Waldachtal near Stuggart Germany and started operations officially from 1965. Fans usually refer to the company as FT or ft. The total turnover of the entire fischer group of companies is over 545 million Euros with over 3,800 employees worldwide. fischertechnik is one of the divisions in the group of companies, concerned with the design and manufacturing of innovative engineering based construction toys. The company has its operations spread over many countries in the world, 33 to be precise, in which the most significant ones in terms of presence therein, are United States of America (USA), Japan, and of course, the home country Germany. The company has production centers in 16 countries and distribution in over 100 countries. It is currently headed by Klaus Fischer (59), who is the owner and CEO of the entire fisher group. fischertechnik claims to produce world-renowned engineering-based construction toys, so as to foster interest in these subjects among the young which is why it is no surprise that the companys tag line is building blocks for life. Building blocks refer to the pieces or parts of the complete toy, which are usually marketed in a disconnected form. Such toys are called construction toys, since the purchaser of the product is expected to connect the parts in a logical manner so as to construct the complete model. This sort of marketing is very attractive, especially for young kids, who derive a sense of accomplishment from constructing such toys. And it definitely does kindle a scientific interest and encourage creativity in the minds of youngsters. In the following paragraphs, only the fischertechnik division of the fischer group of companies is discussed, and all the facts, figures, strategies and suggestions provided in the text are related only to this division. Product History and Present Scenario As mentioned earlier, the basic line of fischertechnik is the creation of construction toys, which consists of building blocks that can be connected together to form a certain toy model. However, this is a grossly incomplete description of the gigantic range and types of products that the company produces. Initially, the company started off with the basic construction toy model, invented by Artur Fischer. However, in the 1970s, the company started manufacturing on a large scale, models with large number of pieces or building blocks, of channel and groove design, in which pegs protruding from the sides of the blocks could be used to connect to other blocks and construct the complete model. Of course, original models were completely of a mechanical nature, with no electrical or electronic elements to perform any automatic control tasks. Soon, the company started producing sophisticated mechanical models such as trains and bridges, and even included relatively simple measurement devices to calculate various relevant parameters related to the toys such as angles and distances. These toys used mostly hard nylon as material for the pieces or building blocks. As time moved on, the company started manufacturing automotive vehicle models such as tower cranes, and included electric motors, power sources and gears to mobilize the same. These products were used primarily by engineers to simulate and teach industrial robotics. These products were further advanced by the incorporation of electrical and electronic components of the likes of micro-switches and photocells for the purpose of position sensing and feedback control. Later, the company launched its first basic electronic block called the Grundbaustein, which consisted of Op-Amps and Schmitt Triggers, so that Delay Line circuits could be built. In the later part of 1970s, electronic binary-logic modules such as OR, NOR, AND, NAND, Flip-Flops were also included so as to provide means for making elementary branching decisions. Around the late 1980s, CPU modules that could perform process-control were also included so that sequential movements could be pre-programmed. This was first execute d using the Lucky-Logic (LLWIN) software, developed by the company. Today, the company uses all state of the art technologies that the engineering and scientific world has produced in the fields of process control and automation, in a variety of its products. These products include ROBO TX Explorer kit and Robo-pro software (which is the successor to LLWIN), amongst many others. COMPETITION The major world-wide competitor of fischertechnik is Lego, which is far more popular and easily available in USA and even Europe. Although initially in the three major lines, namely Expert, Technic and Mindstorm, Lego was unable to match the technical and flexibility level of fischertechnik, but soon after the launch of Lego Mindstorms NXT in 2006, the former surpassed the latter in a number of technical areas such as color sensing. After this, Lego overtook fischertechnik in the production of the most advanced construction toy models in the world and the latter moved down to the production of less technical, simplified and fun toys, primary for educational purposes. However, on its own, fischertechnik is a huge brand and has a strong presence in the construction toy market all over the world and is much bigger than any other brand apart from Lego. ENTERING UAE: ADVANTAGES It is well known that UAE is one of the most prosperous countries of the world, and for the past few years, has been developing at a lightening pace. This pace continues to increase by the day. In general, the people in UAE are wealthy and have tremendous monetary resources, ready to be tapped and mobilized. Not only is the wealth tremendous, but the total population especially in the metropolitan cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi is also very large. Thus, demand for all sorts of products in UAE is huge. This makes UAE an attractive market for a number of multinational corporations. A number of world famous brands have set up operations of production as well as distribution all over UAE, to tap this huge demand. And as time passes, more and more companies would continue to enter. Due to this huge monetary reserve in the hands of the common people, and a ready demand for all kinds of products, as mentioned earlier, a new trend amongst corporations working in all spheres of business has come about. This is, to start a new enterprise (for new entrepreneurs) or to launch a brand (for existing corporations) in UAE. This is no surprise, since the early sales figures of products of such is very large, and creates an impression in the minds of consumers everywhere in the world. Thus, UAE has become an extremely attractive location for the launch of new companies or products of existing ones. The aforementioned reasons are enough to imply that a brand, especially one as big as fischertechnik does not need to think twice before entering UAE. Of course, there are a number of pre-requisites and formalities that need to be fulfilled before business can be setup in the country. This is discussed in the next section. In the present section, we limit our discussion to the specific advantages and constraints attached to entering UAE. Regarding this, we discuss the kind of demand that is likely to be there in UAE by analyzing the present demand and import scenario in the toy industry, the kinds of consumers that can be targeted, and the kind of problems that the company would be likely to face. Due to the huge amount of developmental activities, migration has been tremendous in the UAE. Thus, there has been a population explosion in the UAE in the past decade or so. This is particularly true in the case of bigger cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The growing economy of the country has led to a fast increasing population rate, which has in-turn led to a huge increase in the demand for all kinds of products, which is the case with construction toy products as well. The total import of toys, which includes baby accessories in Dubai alone, was valued over 603 million Dirham in 2009. There has been an increasing demand for toys, as mentioned earlier, due to the great population in the country for the past few years, and this has led to a corresponding steady increase in the total import of toys in the country. It is interesting to note that in 2007 alone, the total rise in the import of toys was 16%. Another important indicator of the increase in demand for toys in UAE is the rapid decrease in the re-export of toys. However, what is significant to note here is that a major part of the demand for toys is met from import only, as there are hardly any local toy manufacturers in UAE. Companies like Lego and Toys R Us, have been selling their products in UAE, to take advantage of this deficit in local demand and supply. Thus there is great scope for foreign companies exporting into UAE. A smarter exercise, however, for such foreign companies would be to set up local production facilities, such as industrial plants, so that products could be produced domestically to avoid extra costs incurred during export of goods. This applies most appropriately to fischertechnik, because it is a very progressive company with a good financial standing and also because it has very little presence or popularity presently in the UAE. This lack of presence could be used as an advantage by fischertechnik, through, say for instance, a mega initial launch. However, a discussion of the implementation of this strategy is presented in detail later. Another very important point to be noted here is that presently most of the toys are imported by UAE from Asian countries like China, and a small portion is from Europe, USA and Canada. The total share in terms of import is approximately 90% from Asia and 10% from others. On top of this, there is presently, a great deal of diffidence in the minds of consumers towards purchasing Asian goods, since the quality and safety of such goods has been in question in the recent days. This further provides a good opportunity for foreign companies especially from Europe such as fischertechnik to enter the UAE markets, to establish themselves and beat a dying, or at least falling competition from their Asian counterparts. An analysis of the type of consumers who are most likely to purchase products of companies like fischertechnik is an extremely important pre-requisite for beginning or expanding operations into a new country. As mentioned earlier, the high population of UAE provides a huge pool of kids who are potential consumers of toys. However, there is a specific advantage connected to UAE in this regard. UAE is at the zenith of its development, and in the days to come, there will be a huge requirement of engineers and scientists in the country. Of course, it is best for any developing country, if this requirement is fulfilled domestically itself. Most parents in UAE, along with the government understand this present and future need, which is clearly exemplified from the fact that a number of excellent centers of technical education are have been set up over the years in the country. However, it is well known that simply providing good higher education is not enough. Kids have to be nurtured from a very young age, if this demand has to be met. For most parents, it is a dream to see their child become an engineer or a scientist because, and this is particularly true in UAE, they know that it would prove to be a prosperous career. This emotion can be utilized by fischertechnik for its expansion, the strategy for which is discussed later. Thus, to reach the ultimate consumers, i.e., young children, a route through their parents needs to be exploited. Thus, strategies have to be devised so that parents can be induced into buying the toys for their children. Another class of consumer consists of industrial level engineers and teachers who can use high-tech simulation type toy models, to provide for their employees and students respectively, better insight into the working of practical machines. For instance, teachers in a mechanical engineering class could use vehicle simulation toy models for showing the students the real working of such machines. This would make learning more effective and at the same time more enjoyable. Even for big companies, project relate discussions can be made more effective through simulation as well as modelling of the final project, for instance a model of a building when a construction project is being discussed. The existence of Free Trade Zones is a great advantage for any foreign company to setup operations in UAE. Many companies in various sectors such as networking, communications etc have already setup their business centers in UAE. These Free Trade Zones provide access to over 1.5 billion consumers in various countries of Africa, Asia and Europe, since ports in UAE are big trading centers and lie on many of the important trade routes of the world. This allows a great scope of future expansion of companies to nearby nations. However, this is just a secondary advantage of setting up operations in UAE. The Free Trade Zones have one hundred percent corporate tax exemption, zero taxes applicable on personal income, whether domestic or foreign, and no commercial levies. For a company having 51% domestic ownership there is no import duty applicable, however, companies having full foreign ownership are subjected to a 4% import duty. But this can be avoided through a collaborative setup or even through the setup of production centers within the country itself. There are no foreign exchange control or currency restrictions either. Apart from this, there is one hundred percent repatriation of capital as well as profit for foreign investors, which allows them to transfer their entire funds without any hassles. Such great incentives have been provided to foreign investors to speed up the process of development of the country through entry of huge amount of foreign capital. All these can be easily exploited by fischertechnik for its businesses in UAE. The legislative framework within the country is also very favorable for foreign investors. So, setting up of new businesses becomes an extremely simple process for most people. The laws regarding formal aspects of business setup or even expansion are very client friendly, which makes UAE an attractive location for new entrepreneurs since they do not have to face any obstacles. An example of the favorable laws is that companies can operate 24 hours a day, unlike those in most other countries. Plus, the regulation of businesses is extremely efficient which aims to protect the interests of all investors. Apart from the above, another huge advantage of expanding business into UAE is that the banking sector is very sophisticated and provides state of the art services and schemes to their clients. Such an ultra-modern and progressive banking sector has developed due to easing of laws are regulations for speeding up developmental activities in the country. The banking sector is highly confidential which ensures that all high risk financial matters are private. Also, the financial sector of UAE is extremely modern and provides all the best available products for corporations to use. For instance, corporations have easy access to modern financial instruments such as futures and options that can be used to hedge any risks arising in business. On top of this, a number of top financial consultancy firms and hedge funds have setup their offices in UAE, and provide services to other corporations. Thus, financial services of the best possible kind are easily available to companies. The stock mar kets in UAE are also extremely developed and provide easy access to all financial instruments and cheap and effective trading. Moving on to the infrastructure facilities available to companies, it is well known that UAE provides excellent and most diverse infrastructure available anywhere in the world. There are extremely sophisticated communication facilities available to companies. Apart from this, the security related services provided to corporate firms are also very advanced. All of the aforementioned advantages of expanding into UAE make it obvious that fischertechnik must enter the UAE markets as soon as possible, seeing the great benefits that it offers and the fact that till now these advantages have not been fully exploited by similar countries yet. FORMAL PRE-REQUISITES For performing business related activities in the UAE, any company needs to acquire a license. This license can be of three types namely, commercial, which is for all kinds of trading activities, industrial, which is for production or manufacturing activities and lastly, professional, for professional services and craftsmen. However, with regard to fischertechnik, only the first two types are of significance, since a major strategy for expansion would be to setup production and manufacturing activities in UAE, for which trading activities for purposes of hedging etc would be indispensable. Apart from this, the ownership of companies within UAE can be of two types. The first is partnership type of company, in which 51% of the ownership of the company is with a UAE national and the rest 49% is owned by the investor. Thus, for setting up such a company, fischertechnik would have to for a collaborative alliance with a domestic company in UAE. The second type of ownership is called Sole ownership, in which the investor has full control over the company. For this, the company has to setup its business within a Free Trade Zone only. There are, however, some restrictions on the type of business transactions that can be done outside the designated Free Trade Zone. For fischertechnik, a combination of the two ownership types would be most beneficial. For its production activities, it could form a joint venture company with another UAE based corporation, which performs a related business, while for its marketing activities, it could use the Sole Ownership type of company setup, and distribute its products through authorized dealers, since companies having Sole Ownership cannot directly sell their products in domestic markets. This sort of a combination would help fischertechnik in marketing its own brand, while maintaining steady production in collaboration with another company. SWOT ANANLYSIS OF FISCHERTECHNIK The SWOT analysis of fischertechnik is presented as follows: Strengths: fischertechnik has much significant strengths which are presented here one by one. Firstly, it is a huge brand, renowned all over the world, in the field of construction toys and is the best known brand specifically for constructions toys for educational purposes. It has an excellent record of financial performance in the past and has ownership of huge amount of monetary resources, which can be channelized into production and marketing related activities in business in UAE. This financial record gives fischertechnik excellent credit rating, which in-turn can help it to obtain local financing from domestic banks in UAE in the form of loans, very easily. This can help in hastening the start of business by quick setup of industrial and manufacturing plants as well as corporate offices. fischertechnik is the second biggest company in the field of construction toys, second only to Lego, thus it would not face competition from any other company in the area. Since Lego has very l imited operations presently in UAE, it would make fischertechnik an unsurpassable brand once it begins operations. It should be noted that although fischertechnik is next to Lego but the difference between the two is very less and if the former is able to establish a good image in UAE first, then the latter would not be able to overcome this image by entering the UAE market afterwards. Also, it is important to mention that fischertechnik is a very old company, 45 years to be exact, and thus has a pool of experienced and skilled staff possessing excellent technical expertise in the field of process control, which includes aspects of electrical, mechanical, electronics and computer engineering. The company uses the most sophisticated technologies in engineering and specifically in process control in its products, and the technical department, consisting of both experienced engineers as well as innovative minded freshers, who are recruited through an excellent selection process, of fis chertechnik continuously work towards discovering new technologies and incorporating innovative ideas into its products. Apart from these, the company produces a wide range of products for many all age groups including children and adults. Lastly, it is relevant to mention that the company has tremendous managerial expertise and organizational stability. Weaknesses: Although fischertechnik has very few weaknesses, it is relevant to mention them here. Fischertechnik has very small presence in UAE. Its business operations in UAE are very limited and in the inaugural phase. Although its small presence can be used as an advantage, this discussion is presented in the next section. However, limited presence can prove to be disastrous if business operations are not established speedily. This means that if a company like Lego which is the major competitor of fischertechnik senses the slowness in establishment of business operation of the latter, through speedy operation it can surpass and destroy the competitive advantage of the limited presence of the same. Since fischertechnik is a German company, the core employees of the same may not be able to adjust easily to the corporate practices and consumer behavior of the domestic markets of UAE. As a solution to this, the company would probably resort to the recruitment of local staff. Another r eason for recruitment of local staff is that it is mandatory for foreign companies to maintain a certain percentage of local employees within the total workforce. However, this local staff would face difficulty in adjusting to the corporate practices of a foreign company. Of course, this problem would need to be solved through an effective Human Resource Management strategy on the part of the company, which is definitely not an insurmountable task for a company of the likes of fischertechnik. Opportunities: As mentioned earlier, due to the huge amount of developmental activities in UAE, there has been a population explosion in the country. This automatically implies that there is a huge demand for consumer goods such as construction toys, due to the existence of a large number of families. Apart from this, because of setting up of a large number of institutes of higher education in the recent past, the demand for simulation models as educational tools would also be high. This means that fischertechnik has huge scope of revenue generation by supplying this huge demand. Again, setting up of new businesses and expansion thereafter is very simple in UAE, due to the liberal trade policies followed by the government. This is because UAE is a liberal economy and is extremely committed to free trade. Thus, these provide significant opportunities to fischertechnik to begin its operations at an appropriately fast pace. Also, as given in detail in the next section, the limited prese nce of fischertechnik in UAE presently can be used as a significant advantage. Threats: The most important threat is that if fischertechnik is slow in setting up its initial operations, no matter how sound its business plan may be, its rival competitor Lego can detect its main intentions and adopt strategies to work fast and finish the competitive advantage of the former. This is also because Lego already has some presence in UAE and for expansion it would take less time as compared to the time fischertechnik would take to establish itself from scratch. Another major threat that fischertechnik is likely to face is that the core employees of the company, who are mostly German, would find it difficult to adapt to the local conditions and similarly, the local staff would not be able to adapt to the corporate practices of the company. This problem is extremely significant and if an effective Human Resource Management strategy is not adopted, it could destroy all scope of existence of the company in UAE. PESTEL ANALYSIS OF FISCHERTECHNIK The PESTEL analysis of fischertechnik is as given below. It consists of all the macro-economic factors that affect the growth of fischertechnik in UAE. Political Factors: The present political environment of UAE is conducive to the growth of any company, and fischertechnik is no exception to the rule. The company should take full advantage of the liberal regulatory setup, which promotes the development of the economy, which automatically implies the growth of the company as well. As mentioned earlier, various tax exemptions which include exemption on corporate as well as personal earnings, free trade zones etc clearly exemplify this pro-development attitude of the UAE government. Fischertechnik, being a huge company would obviously receive a warm welcome and special treatment from the government of UAE, since its presence in the market would greatly increase the overall development of the country. Economic Factors: The great financial record of fischertechnik would undoubtedly help its initial setup. The overall consumer attitude in UAE is excellent from the point of view of any company, and consumers are always looking to buy products of companies which are reliable and have a good past record. The worldwide brand image of fischertechnik would help it to take advantage of such consumer attitude. If the company pays attention and highlights that it uses local resources, generates employment and works in a manner keeping sustainability, the confidence of consumers is greatly increased. fischertechnik needs to use such a marketing strategy to promote itself so as to strongly setup its business operations in UAE. Social Factors: The population of UAE is diverse, especially due to the great amount of developmental activities going on in the country. Thus, the population consists of all types of consumers. But in general, the populace of UAE is pro-development and if the company keeps in mind not to delve into controversies that affect the religious or spiritual aspects of the life of the people of the country, a rapid growth rate is virtually assured. Technological Factors: Again, due to the tremendous amount of developmental work going on in the country, a number of companies have set themselves up in UAE. This has resulted in a near perfect competition in the domestic markets of UAE. Such competition always promotes the use of latest technology and to an extent, healthy sharing of technologies between companies engaged in the same business. With such a scenario in the market and with the strong technological experience of the fischertechnik, which is known to be a company that perpetually comes out with new and innovative products, there is no doubt that the company would be able to establish itself in UAE within no time. Legal Factors: As mentioned earlier, the pro-development attitude of the UAE government has resulted in a relaxed set of laws and regulations governing the corporate sector. In the past, fischertechnik has not been involved in any controversies that involve legal issues and need to maintain such a record during its operations in UAE. With many Asian toy companies facing legal problems presently, in light of allegations from various entities within UAE that the goods they have exported to UAE are not safe, it is the perfect opportunity for fischertechnik to once and for all destroy its competition by promoting itself as a safe toymaker. Environmental Factors: fischertechnik needs to adopt a pro-environment attitude that promotes sustainability. As a company that promotes science and engineering, it has already established its technological dominance over many companies in the same business. However, a business setup that keeps in mind the environment, which includes green building for its corporate offices and manufacturing facilities that have reduced carbon emissions etc, on the part of fischertechnik can go a long way in the growth of the company in UAE. WAYS TO ENTER: STRATEGIES After the completion of the pre-requisite formalities, the following strategies would be most effective for fischertechnik for its expansion in UAE. fischertechnik should begin its operations by setting up multiple manufacturing facilities and industrial plants at various locations in UAE. The number of corporate offices should be kept low and distributional activity should be outsourced to a large number of authorized dealers and distributors. Such a strategy for the initial setup of business would be very effective because it would remove any scope of import duty and the cost incurred in movement of goods from outside the country would be avoided. This has not been done by any of the toy companies including Lego in their operations in UAE and thus they have to incorporate the extra cost in the prices of their products. Therefore, fischertechnik products would be priced lower compared to others and this would provide a definite competitive advantage to the company. Complete financing should not be from the personal savings of the company and a large part of the financing should be obtained in the form of loans from banks and other financial institutions. This is because corporate savings need to be retained for payment of dividends etc and to take care of any sudden cash payment liabilities that may arise. Also, since UAE has an extremely sophisticated and well established banking system, the loans for setting up business are offered at lower rates, and are usually coupled with attractive and profitable schemes. This should definitely be exploited. The initial target locations should be the metropolitan cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This is because they have the highest population density and thus the biggest pool of prospective consumers. Through multiple authorized dealers for distribution, the volume of products supplied to the cities should be high from the beginning itself. This would generate high revenue from the beginning and would also provide valuable information about the consumer behavior in the domestic market of UAE. After this initial phase, the subsequent targets should be smaller cities which include the capitals of the seven Emirates of UAE amongst others. Next, the strategy to be used to take advantage of the limited presence of fischertechnik in UAE currently is presented. The first aim should be the organization of multiple mega-launch events simultaneously across various parts of the two metropolitan cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This includes large scale exhibitions and sale offers. For such events, special attention needs to be given to the ambience of the same, through the use of attractive banners, posters and pamphlets. This should be coupled with an attractive exhibition of toys, which would include the best products of fischertechnik. Special toys, exclusively for consumers of UAE could also be prepared. A good looking inaugural event is very important to make an impression in the minds of consumers. This effect is much more effective on kids, who would be the ultimate consumers of fischertechnik products. To cater to the special needs and demands of the consumers, a survey should be conducted before these events to find ou t the same, so tha SWOT Analysis of Fischertechnik SWOT Analysis of Fischertechnik ABOUT THE COMPANY The name fischertechnik comes from an original construction toy brand, which was invented by Artur Fischer in 1964. Initially, this brand was intended to be a Christmas novelty gift in Germany for industrial client level engineers and buyers.It proved to be a massive success and thus, the company introduced its first building block construction toy in 1965. From there on, there has been no looking back. The official name of the whole group of companies is fischerwerke GmbH Co. KG. It is based in Waldachtal near Stuggart Germany and started operations officially from 1965. Fans usually refer to the company as FT or ft. The total turnover of the entire fischer group of companies is over 545 million Euros with over 3,800 employees worldwide. fischertechnik is one of the divisions in the group of companies, concerned with the design and manufacturing of innovative engineering based construction toys. The company has its operations spread over many countries in the world, 33 to be precise, in which the most significant ones in terms of presence therein, are United States of America (USA), Japan, and of course, the home country Germany. The company has production centers in 16 countries and distribution in over 100 countries. It is currently headed by Klaus Fischer (59), who is the owner and CEO of the entire fisher group. fischertechnik claims to produce world-renowned engineering-based construction toys, so as to foster interest in these subjects among the young which is why it is no surprise that the companys tag line is building blocks for life. Building blocks refer to the pieces or parts of the complete toy, which are usually marketed in a disconnected form. Such toys are called construction toys, since the purchaser of the product is expected to connect the parts in a logical manner so as to construct the complete model. This sort of marketing is very attractive, especially for young kids, who derive a sense of accomplishment from constructing such toys. And it definitely does kindle a scientific interest and encourage creativity in the minds of youngsters. In the following paragraphs, only the fischertechnik division of the fischer group of companies is discussed, and all the facts, figures, strategies and suggestions provided in the text are related only to this division. Product History and Present Scenario As mentioned earlier, the basic line of fischertechnik is the creation of construction toys, which consists of building blocks that can be connected together to form a certain toy model. However, this is a grossly incomplete description of the gigantic range and types of products that the company produces. Initially, the company started off with the basic construction toy model, invented by Artur Fischer. However, in the 1970s, the company started manufacturing on a large scale, models with large number of pieces or building blocks, of channel and groove design, in which pegs protruding from the sides of the blocks could be used to connect to other blocks and construct the complete model. Of course, original models were completely of a mechanical nature, with no electrical or electronic elements to perform any automatic control tasks. Soon, the company started producing sophisticated mechanical models such as trains and bridges, and even included relatively simple measurement devices to calculate various relevant parameters related to the toys such as angles and distances. These toys used mostly hard nylon as material for the pieces or building blocks. As time moved on, the company started manufacturing automotive vehicle models such as tower cranes, and included electric motors, power sources and gears to mobilize the same. These products were used primarily by engineers to simulate and teach industrial robotics. These products were further advanced by the incorporation of electrical and electronic components of the likes of micro-switches and photocells for the purpose of position sensing and feedback control. Later, the company launched its first basic electronic block called the Grundbaustein, which consisted of Op-Amps and Schmitt Triggers, so that Delay Line circuits could be built. In the later part of 1970s, electronic binary-logic modules such as OR, NOR, AND, NAND, Flip-Flops were also included so as to provide means for making elementary branching decisions. Around the late 1980s, CPU modules that could perform process-control were also included so that sequential movements could be pre-programmed. This was first execute d using the Lucky-Logic (LLWIN) software, developed by the company. Today, the company uses all state of the art technologies that the engineering and scientific world has produced in the fields of process control and automation, in a variety of its products. These products include ROBO TX Explorer kit and Robo-pro software (which is the successor to LLWIN), amongst many others. COMPETITION The major world-wide competitor of fischertechnik is Lego, which is far more popular and easily available in USA and even Europe. Although initially in the three major lines, namely Expert, Technic and Mindstorm, Lego was unable to match the technical and flexibility level of fischertechnik, but soon after the launch of Lego Mindstorms NXT in 2006, the former surpassed the latter in a number of technical areas such as color sensing. After this, Lego overtook fischertechnik in the production of the most advanced construction toy models in the world and the latter moved down to the production of less technical, simplified and fun toys, primary for educational purposes. However, on its own, fischertechnik is a huge brand and has a strong presence in the construction toy market all over the world and is much bigger than any other brand apart from Lego. ENTERING UAE: ADVANTAGES It is well known that UAE is one of the most prosperous countries of the world, and for the past few years, has been developing at a lightening pace. This pace continues to increase by the day. In general, the people in UAE are wealthy and have tremendous monetary resources, ready to be tapped and mobilized. Not only is the wealth tremendous, but the total population especially in the metropolitan cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi is also very large. Thus, demand for all sorts of products in UAE is huge. This makes UAE an attractive market for a number of multinational corporations. A number of world famous brands have set up operations of production as well as distribution all over UAE, to tap this huge demand. And as time passes, more and more companies would continue to enter. Due to this huge monetary reserve in the hands of the common people, and a ready demand for all kinds of products, as mentioned earlier, a new trend amongst corporations working in all spheres of business has come about. This is, to start a new enterprise (for new entrepreneurs) or to launch a brand (for existing corporations) in UAE. This is no surprise, since the early sales figures of products of such is very large, and creates an impression in the minds of consumers everywhere in the world. Thus, UAE has become an extremely attractive location for the launch of new companies or products of existing ones. The aforementioned reasons are enough to imply that a brand, especially one as big as fischertechnik does not need to think twice before entering UAE. Of course, there are a number of pre-requisites and formalities that need to be fulfilled before business can be setup in the country. This is discussed in the next section. In the present section, we limit our discussion to the specific advantages and constraints attached to entering UAE. Regarding this, we discuss the kind of demand that is likely to be there in UAE by analyzing the present demand and import scenario in the toy industry, the kinds of consumers that can be targeted, and the kind of problems that the company would be likely to face. Due to the huge amount of developmental activities, migration has been tremendous in the UAE. Thus, there has been a population explosion in the UAE in the past decade or so. This is particularly true in the case of bigger cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The growing economy of the country has led to a fast increasing population rate, which has in-turn led to a huge increase in the demand for all kinds of products, which is the case with construction toy products as well. The total import of toys, which includes baby accessories in Dubai alone, was valued over 603 million Dirham in 2009. There has been an increasing demand for toys, as mentioned earlier, due to the great population in the country for the past few years, and this has led to a corresponding steady increase in the total import of toys in the country. It is interesting to note that in 2007 alone, the total rise in the import of toys was 16%. Another important indicator of the increase in demand for toys in UAE is the rapid decrease in the re-export of toys. However, what is significant to note here is that a major part of the demand for toys is met from import only, as there are hardly any local toy manufacturers in UAE. Companies like Lego and Toys R Us, have been selling their products in UAE, to take advantage of this deficit in local demand and supply. Thus there is great scope for foreign companies exporting into UAE. A smarter exercise, however, for such foreign companies would be to set up local production facilities, such as industrial plants, so that products could be produced domestically to avoid extra costs incurred during export of goods. This applies most appropriately to fischertechnik, because it is a very progressive company with a good financial standing and also because it has very little presence or popularity presently in the UAE. This lack of presence could be used as an advantage by fischertechnik, through, say for instance, a mega initial launch. However, a discussion of the implementation of this strategy is presented in detail later. Another very important point to be noted here is that presently most of the toys are imported by UAE from Asian countries like China, and a small portion is from Europe, USA and Canada. The total share in terms of import is approximately 90% from Asia and 10% from others. On top of this, there is presently, a great deal of diffidence in the minds of consumers towards purchasing Asian goods, since the quality and safety of such goods has been in question in the recent days. This further provides a good opportunity for foreign companies especially from Europe such as fischertechnik to enter the UAE markets, to establish themselves and beat a dying, or at least falling competition from their Asian counterparts. An analysis of the type of consumers who are most likely to purchase products of companies like fischertechnik is an extremely important pre-requisite for beginning or expanding operations into a new country. As mentioned earlier, the high population of UAE provides a huge pool of kids who are potential consumers of toys. However, there is a specific advantage connected to UAE in this regard. UAE is at the zenith of its development, and in the days to come, there will be a huge requirement of engineers and scientists in the country. Of course, it is best for any developing country, if this requirement is fulfilled domestically itself. Most parents in UAE, along with the government understand this present and future need, which is clearly exemplified from the fact that a number of excellent centers of technical education are have been set up over the years in the country. However, it is well known that simply providing good higher education is not enough. Kids have to be nurtured from a very young age, if this demand has to be met. For most parents, it is a dream to see their child become an engineer or a scientist because, and this is particularly true in UAE, they know that it would prove to be a prosperous career. This emotion can be utilized by fischertechnik for its expansion, the strategy for which is discussed later. Thus, to reach the ultimate consumers, i.e., young children, a route through their parents needs to be exploited. Thus, strategies have to be devised so that parents can be induced into buying the toys for their children. Another class of consumer consists of industrial level engineers and teachers who can use high-tech simulation type toy models, to provide for their employees and students respectively, better insight into the working of practical machines. For instance, teachers in a mechanical engineering class could use vehicle simulation toy models for showing the students the real working of such machines. This would make learning more effective and at the same time more enjoyable. Even for big companies, project relate discussions can be made more effective through simulation as well as modelling of the final project, for instance a model of a building when a construction project is being discussed. The existence of Free Trade Zones is a great advantage for any foreign company to setup operations in UAE. Many companies in various sectors such as networking, communications etc have already setup their business centers in UAE. These Free Trade Zones provide access to over 1.5 billion consumers in various countries of Africa, Asia and Europe, since ports in UAE are big trading centers and lie on many of the important trade routes of the world. This allows a great scope of future expansion of companies to nearby nations. However, this is just a secondary advantage of setting up operations in UAE. The Free Trade Zones have one hundred percent corporate tax exemption, zero taxes applicable on personal income, whether domestic or foreign, and no commercial levies. For a company having 51% domestic ownership there is no import duty applicable, however, companies having full foreign ownership are subjected to a 4% import duty. But this can be avoided through a collaborative setup or even through the setup of production centers within the country itself. There are no foreign exchange control or currency restrictions either. Apart from this, there is one hundred percent repatriation of capital as well as profit for foreign investors, which allows them to transfer their entire funds without any hassles. Such great incentives have been provided to foreign investors to speed up the process of development of the country through entry of huge amount of foreign capital. All these can be easily exploited by fischertechnik for its businesses in UAE. The legislative framework within the country is also very favorable for foreign investors. So, setting up of new businesses becomes an extremely simple process for most people. The laws regarding formal aspects of business setup or even expansion are very client friendly, which makes UAE an attractive location for new entrepreneurs since they do not have to face any obstacles. An example of the favorable laws is that companies can operate 24 hours a day, unlike those in most other countries. Plus, the regulation of businesses is extremely efficient which aims to protect the interests of all investors. Apart from the above, another huge advantage of expanding business into UAE is that the banking sector is very sophisticated and provides state of the art services and schemes to their clients. Such an ultra-modern and progressive banking sector has developed due to easing of laws are regulations for speeding up developmental activities in the country. The banking sector is highly confidential which ensures that all high risk financial matters are private. Also, the financial sector of UAE is extremely modern and provides all the best available products for corporations to use. For instance, corporations have easy access to modern financial instruments such as futures and options that can be used to hedge any risks arising in business. On top of this, a number of top financial consultancy firms and hedge funds have setup their offices in UAE, and provide services to other corporations. Thus, financial services of the best possible kind are easily available to companies. The stock mar kets in UAE are also extremely developed and provide easy access to all financial instruments and cheap and effective trading. Moving on to the infrastructure facilities available to companies, it is well known that UAE provides excellent and most diverse infrastructure available anywhere in the world. There are extremely sophisticated communication facilities available to companies. Apart from this, the security related services provided to corporate firms are also very advanced. All of the aforementioned advantages of expanding into UAE make it obvious that fischertechnik must enter the UAE markets as soon as possible, seeing the great benefits that it offers and the fact that till now these advantages have not been fully exploited by similar countries yet. FORMAL PRE-REQUISITES For performing business related activities in the UAE, any company needs to acquire a license. This license can be of three types namely, commercial, which is for all kinds of trading activities, industrial, which is for production or manufacturing activities and lastly, professional, for professional services and craftsmen. However, with regard to fischertechnik, only the first two types are of significance, since a major strategy for expansion would be to setup production and manufacturing activities in UAE, for which trading activities for purposes of hedging etc would be indispensable. Apart from this, the ownership of companies within UAE can be of two types. The first is partnership type of company, in which 51% of the ownership of the company is with a UAE national and the rest 49% is owned by the investor. Thus, for setting up such a company, fischertechnik would have to for a collaborative alliance with a domestic company in UAE. The second type of ownership is called Sole ownership, in which the investor has full control over the company. For this, the company has to setup its business within a Free Trade Zone only. There are, however, some restrictions on the type of business transactions that can be done outside the designated Free Trade Zone. For fischertechnik, a combination of the two ownership types would be most beneficial. For its production activities, it could form a joint venture company with another UAE based corporation, which performs a related business, while for its marketing activities, it could use the Sole Ownership type of company setup, and distribute its products through authorized dealers, since companies having Sole Ownership cannot directly sell their products in domestic markets. This sort of a combination would help fischertechnik in marketing its own brand, while maintaining steady production in collaboration with another company. SWOT ANANLYSIS OF FISCHERTECHNIK The SWOT analysis of fischertechnik is presented as follows: Strengths: fischertechnik has much significant strengths which are presented here one by one. Firstly, it is a huge brand, renowned all over the world, in the field of construction toys and is the best known brand specifically for constructions toys for educational purposes. It has an excellent record of financial performance in the past and has ownership of huge amount of monetary resources, which can be channelized into production and marketing related activities in business in UAE. This financial record gives fischertechnik excellent credit rating, which in-turn can help it to obtain local financing from domestic banks in UAE in the form of loans, very easily. This can help in hastening the start of business by quick setup of industrial and manufacturing plants as well as corporate offices. fischertechnik is the second biggest company in the field of construction toys, second only to Lego, thus it would not face competition from any other company in the area. Since Lego has very l imited operations presently in UAE, it would make fischertechnik an unsurpassable brand once it begins operations. It should be noted that although fischertechnik is next to Lego but the difference between the two is very less and if the former is able to establish a good image in UAE first, then the latter would not be able to overcome this image by entering the UAE market afterwards. Also, it is important to mention that fischertechnik is a very old company, 45 years to be exact, and thus has a pool of experienced and skilled staff possessing excellent technical expertise in the field of process control, which includes aspects of electrical, mechanical, electronics and computer engineering. The company uses the most sophisticated technologies in engineering and specifically in process control in its products, and the technical department, consisting of both experienced engineers as well as innovative minded freshers, who are recruited through an excellent selection process, of fis chertechnik continuously work towards discovering new technologies and incorporating innovative ideas into its products. Apart from these, the company produces a wide range of products for many all age groups including children and adults. Lastly, it is relevant to mention that the company has tremendous managerial expertise and organizational stability. Weaknesses: Although fischertechnik has very few weaknesses, it is relevant to mention them here. Fischertechnik has very small presence in UAE. Its business operations in UAE are very limited and in the inaugural phase. Although its small presence can be used as an advantage, this discussion is presented in the next section. However, limited presence can prove to be disastrous if business operations are not established speedily. This means that if a company like Lego which is the major competitor of fischertechnik senses the slowness in establishment of business operation of the latter, through speedy operation it can surpass and destroy the competitive advantage of the limited presence of the same. Since fischertechnik is a German company, the core employees of the same may not be able to adjust easily to the corporate practices and consumer behavior of the domestic markets of UAE. As a solution to this, the company would probably resort to the recruitment of local staff. Another r eason for recruitment of local staff is that it is mandatory for foreign companies to maintain a certain percentage of local employees within the total workforce. However, this local staff would face difficulty in adjusting to the corporate practices of a foreign company. Of course, this problem would need to be solved through an effective Human Resource Management strategy on the part of the company, which is definitely not an insurmountable task for a company of the likes of fischertechnik. Opportunities: As mentioned earlier, due to the huge amount of developmental activities in UAE, there has been a population explosion in the country. This automatically implies that there is a huge demand for consumer goods such as construction toys, due to the existence of a large number of families. Apart from this, because of setting up of a large number of institutes of higher education in the recent past, the demand for simulation models as educational tools would also be high. This means that fischertechnik has huge scope of revenue generation by supplying this huge demand. Again, setting up of new businesses and expansion thereafter is very simple in UAE, due to the liberal trade policies followed by the government. This is because UAE is a liberal economy and is extremely committed to free trade. Thus, these provide significant opportunities to fischertechnik to begin its operations at an appropriately fast pace. Also, as given in detail in the next section, the limited prese nce of fischertechnik in UAE presently can be used as a significant advantage. Threats: The most important threat is that if fischertechnik is slow in setting up its initial operations, no matter how sound its business plan may be, its rival competitor Lego can detect its main intentions and adopt strategies to work fast and finish the competitive advantage of the former. This is also because Lego already has some presence in UAE and for expansion it would take less time as compared to the time fischertechnik would take to establish itself from scratch. Another major threat that fischertechnik is likely to face is that the core employees of the company, who are mostly German, would find it difficult to adapt to the local conditions and similarly, the local staff would not be able to adapt to the corporate practices of the company. This problem is extremely significant and if an effective Human Resource Management strategy is not adopted, it could destroy all scope of existence of the company in UAE. PESTEL ANALYSIS OF FISCHERTECHNIK The PESTEL analysis of fischertechnik is as given below. It consists of all the macro-economic factors that affect the growth of fischertechnik in UAE. Political Factors: The present political environment of UAE is conducive to the growth of any company, and fischertechnik is no exception to the rule. The company should take full advantage of the liberal regulatory setup, which promotes the development of the economy, which automatically implies the growth of the company as well. As mentioned earlier, various tax exemptions which include exemption on corporate as well as personal earnings, free trade zones etc clearly exemplify this pro-development attitude of the UAE government. Fischertechnik, being a huge company would obviously receive a warm welcome and special treatment from the government of UAE, since its presence in the market would greatly increase the overall development of the country. Economic Factors: The great financial record of fischertechnik would undoubtedly help its initial setup. The overall consumer attitude in UAE is excellent from the point of view of any company, and consumers are always looking to buy products of companies which are reliable and have a good past record. The worldwide brand image of fischertechnik would help it to take advantage of such consumer attitude. If the company pays attention and highlights that it uses local resources, generates employment and works in a manner keeping sustainability, the confidence of consumers is greatly increased. fischertechnik needs to use such a marketing strategy to promote itself so as to strongly setup its business operations in UAE. Social Factors: The population of UAE is diverse, especially due to the great amount of developmental activities going on in the country. Thus, the population consists of all types of consumers. But in general, the populace of UAE is pro-development and if the company keeps in mind not to delve into controversies that affect the religious or spiritual aspects of the life of the people of the country, a rapid growth rate is virtually assured. Technological Factors: Again, due to the tremendous amount of developmental work going on in the country, a number of companies have set themselves up in UAE. This has resulted in a near perfect competition in the domestic markets of UAE. Such competition always promotes the use of latest technology and to an extent, healthy sharing of technologies between companies engaged in the same business. With such a scenario in the market and with the strong technological experience of the fischertechnik, which is known to be a company that perpetually comes out with new and innovative products, there is no doubt that the company would be able to establish itself in UAE within no time. Legal Factors: As mentioned earlier, the pro-development attitude of the UAE government has resulted in a relaxed set of laws and regulations governing the corporate sector. In the past, fischertechnik has not been involved in any controversies that involve legal issues and need to maintain such a record during its operations in UAE. With many Asian toy companies facing legal problems presently, in light of allegations from various entities within UAE that the goods they have exported to UAE are not safe, it is the perfect opportunity for fischertechnik to once and for all destroy its competition by promoting itself as a safe toymaker. Environmental Factors: fischertechnik needs to adopt a pro-environment attitude that promotes sustainability. As a company that promotes science and engineering, it has already established its technological dominance over many companies in the same business. However, a business setup that keeps in mind the environment, which includes green building for its corporate offices and manufacturing facilities that have reduced carbon emissions etc, on the part of fischertechnik can go a long way in the growth of the company in UAE. WAYS TO ENTER: STRATEGIES After the completion of the pre-requisite formalities, the following strategies would be most effective for fischertechnik for its expansion in UAE. fischertechnik should begin its operations by setting up multiple manufacturing facilities and industrial plants at various locations in UAE. The number of corporate offices should be kept low and distributional activity should be outsourced to a large number of authorized dealers and distributors. Such a strategy for the initial setup of business would be very effective because it would remove any scope of import duty and the cost incurred in movement of goods from outside the country would be avoided. This has not been done by any of the toy companies including Lego in their operations in UAE and thus they have to incorporate the extra cost in the prices of their products. Therefore, fischertechnik products would be priced lower compared to others and this would provide a definite competitive advantage to the company. Complete financing should not be from the personal savings of the company and a large part of the financing should be obtained in the form of loans from banks and other financial institutions. This is because corporate savings need to be retained for payment of dividends etc and to take care of any sudden cash payment liabilities that may arise. Also, since UAE has an extremely sophisticated and well established banking system, the loans for setting up business are offered at lower rates, and are usually coupled with attractive and profitable schemes. This should definitely be exploited. The initial target locations should be the metropolitan cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This is because they have the highest population density and thus the biggest pool of prospective consumers. Through multiple authorized dealers for distribution, the volume of products supplied to the cities should be high from the beginning itself. This would generate high revenue from the beginning and would also provide valuable information about the consumer behavior in the domestic market of UAE. After this initial phase, the subsequent targets should be smaller cities which include the capitals of the seven Emirates of UAE amongst others. Next, the strategy to be used to take advantage of the limited presence of fischertechnik in UAE currently is presented. The first aim should be the organization of multiple mega-launch events simultaneously across various parts of the two metropolitan cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This includes large scale exhibitions and sale offers. For such events, special attention needs to be given to the ambience of the same, through the use of attractive banners, posters and pamphlets. This should be coupled with an attractive exhibition of toys, which would include the best products of fischertechnik. Special toys, exclusively for consumers of UAE could also be prepared. A good looking inaugural event is very important to make an impression in the minds of consumers. This effect is much more effective on kids, who would be the ultimate consumers of fischertechnik products. To cater to the special needs and demands of the consumers, a survey should be conducted before these events to find ou t the same, so tha