Sample Accountable Plan

It is the policy of the company to reimburse any officer or employee for company expenses paid for by such individuals from their own personal funds on the Company’s behalf, in the pursuit of company business. It is the intent of this resolution to satisfy the Accountable Plan requirements under Internal Revenue Code Section 61(c) and the substantiation requirements under Internal Revenue Code Section 274(d). Moreover, Section 1. 2-2(c)(1) of the Income Tax Regulations provides that a reimbursement or other expense allowance arrangement for business expenses paid or incurred by an employee are paid under an accountable plan if the arrangement meets the three requirements of a business connection, substantiation, and returning amounts in excess of expenses. Therefore, all reimbursements will follow these simple guidelines: 1) All individuals seeking reimbursement shall substantiate the expense by providing proof of payment in the form of an invoice to the company prior to any r eimbursement. Accordingly, employees are required to submit detailed expense reports describing each element of an expenditure with the necessary receipts within 30 days of returning from a business trip or incurring an entertainment expense but no later than 60 days after it is paid or incurred. 2) All expenses must be determined to have a direct business connection relating to the operations of the Company, personal expenses will not be reimbursed. Personal expenses if reimbursed will be treated as W-2 wages to the employee. ) All reimbursements by the Corporation shall be made for the expended amounts, pursuant to substantiated business expenses approved from employee expense reports or the proper invoices being submitted by the individual employee seeking reimbursement. The reimbursement relating to travel and entertainment expenses requires employees to describe each expense, the business purpose it served, and, for entertainment expenses, the names and business relationship of the persons entertained in addition to the date of, place of, duration of, and participants in any business discussion that occurred directly before or after the entertainment. ) Reimbursements may be made prior to and in anticipation of the individual incurring the expense out of personal funds, however, upon incurring such expense, the individual will produce the invoice related to such expense and reimburse the company for any excess funds paid exceeding the invoice amount. In cases where the reimbursement of the excess funds is not paid back to the Company, the excess will be reported as W-2 wages pursuant to Section 1. 62-2(c)(3) of the Income Tax Regulations for that individual at the end of the accounting period.

Describe the Learning Organization Utilizing

According to Pedler, Burgoyne, & Boydell (1991) a learning organization is defined as a company that facilitates the learning of its members and continuously transforms itself . With that definition, certain characteristics must be evident in the organization. Learning organizations are adaptive to their surroundings, encourage collective and individual learning, constructively utilizes feedback to achieve better results, and has enhanced adaptability (Fargo & Skyrme, 1995). Applying the brain metaphor to organizations, allows us to see how companies operate and how knowledge is shared and disbursed. This metaphor also demonstrates how this knowledge network is critical to the flow of information. Social networking is a key component in the way learning organizations grow and function in today’s budget conscious environment. Roughly 50% of corporate performance is attributed to responding to change and complexity intelligently (Halal, 1997). A learning organization is more than the sum of all knowledge from individual members because all information is not accessed equally. All information that is stored or processed by members is only accessed when needed. A learning organization involves the development of higher levels of knowledge and skill and encompasses four levels of learning. This goes from the learning basic facts, processes and procedures (level 1); learning transferrable jobs skills (level 2); learning to adapt (level 3); and learning to learn which corresponds to innovation and creativity (level 4 ) (Fargo & Skyrme, 1995). The last two levels are the types of learning that is preferred in learning organizations. Smaller networks being only partially connected increases the possibilities of a learning organization by leading to better utilization of internal and external knowledge . An organization’s real edge comes from having complex, content sensitive knowledge. This core knowledge is found in individual, communities of interest and their connections (Krebs, 1998). Due to the wide use of social networks, employees are raising the bar for company learning systems. With the ease of use and familiarity of the common social networking applications available i. e. MySpace, facebook, blogger, they have something to compare it to. They expect it to be at that level or better. Social networks such as twitter and facebook are allowing people to connect with each other very readily. Applications are becoming simple and easy to understand. With this is mind it is easier to locate information which is a huge benefit and part of how a learning organization functions. Information must be accessible when it is needed by whomever. Bottom line if the apps are complex and difficult to utilize, people will not use them. In learning organizations social media can serve four purposes: easy contact, information dissemination, rating and tagging, and expert advice. First, most social networking sites allow easy accessibility to information with their search functions. Second, employees are able to provide suggestions and disseminate information rapidly. Third, information can be rated and tagged for future reference. Lastly, experts are able to share expertise in their field to a large forum (Bersin, 2008). This customer specific is very narrow in its scope and limits the number of personnel who would look for this type of information. This narrow audience makes it have much more impact. This is basically what a learning organization needs, smaller networks connected to other smaller networks. Everyone is not going to be connected to everyone. This would not be logical or how an organization functions. People are going to connect with people who have the information they require. Just like a brain, all the neurons and synapses don’t all fire off when you listen to music or read a book. Different areas are responsible for those functions and are stimulated as needed. When there are abnormalities in the brain problems can result in people’s behavior i. . Tourette’s syndrome. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke current research points to abnormalities in certain brain regions (including the basal ganglia, frontal lobes, and cortex), the circuits that interconnect these regions, and the neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine) responsible for communication among nerve cells (â€Å"Tourette Synd rome Fact Sheet,† NINDS,2005). Smaller networks that are partially connected to each other are more functional in a learning organization. Otherwise there would be too much information to process and nothing would get accomplished. Social networking helps employees connect and share information and by doing this they are better able to utilize corporate resources. Employees who are central in key networks learn faster, perform better and are more committed to the organization. It has been shown that both individuals and groups are in the midst of organizational network who are not overwhelmed by direct ties are the most effective (Krebs, 1998). Hierarchy structure plays a huge role in the way learning organization functions. Learning organizations have flat decentralized organizational structures. This interconnected network of networks facilitates the dissemination of information across organizational boundaries; a dramatic change from bureaucratic way of doing things. With today’s advancement of information technology, flat organizations are able to use employee knowledge to solve operating problems more directly and quickly (Halal, 1997). Employee knowledge plays a great advantage in the corporate environment. In 1997, this knowledge accounted for 80% of all corporate assets. Yet despite this fact only 20% of this resource is used. (Halal, 1997). Advances in communications and technology have given rise to network organizations. A network organization breaks down the hierarchical organizational chart (boxes) to one level and then connects each box to every other box. When decision making and operations are decentralized this allows initiative and autonomy to flourish (Friel, 2002). I don’t see any potential downside to using social media in a corporate environment. I think that social media can help facilitate earning by allowing users to connect with each other by using forums where they can share information, opinions and expertise. This is exactly what we are doing here at TUIU. Through these online courses we are connecting with other students and the professors via the threaded discussions and the water cooler. We leave comments and then someone responds to what we wrote. His is a cyclical process, it goes back and forth. In the end we all learn from each other in the process. To me each course would be a small network and we are connected to the larger organization (TUIU) via our professors. Although there are many courses in session the only one that is of interest to me is the one I’m currently in. It wouldn’t make much sense to participate in threaded discussions in Business Ethics 501. There is no need to do so. Being that TUIU is a widely distributed and has a narrowed scope and audience makes a powerful impact on how information is processed. Using the brain metaphor has added a great deal to how companies operate in regards to networking, people and how thing get accomplished. Information sharing is a big component in how learning organization performs. Each part does its own thing, but when information is needed it is readily available. The brain is very specific, time and energy is not wasted. Only those paths that are needed are activated which saves money. Machines are geared toward precision, organisms are self regulating, and brains are centered on connectivity.References http://karlalbrecht.com/downloads/OI-WhitePaper-Albrecht.pdf http://www.espen.com/papers/orgbrain.htm http://www.skyrme.com/insights/3lrnorg.htm http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~rxv/kmoi/orgint.htm

MCdonald vs Taco Bell Essay

Since the last decades the fast-food industry has been developing rapidly and has effectively penetrated majority of the market internationally. MC Donald, started in 1954, is now the world leading global food service retailer generating a revenue of 28.11 billion U.S dollars in 2013 (MC Donald’s revenue 2013). Contrarily, due to the poor managerial function, Taco Bell , an American chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962, hits upon a weak sales during 2000 (Taco Bell corporation). This essay will discuss about the different managerial skills namely planning, organizing, leading and controlling adopted by these two organizations. Planning refers to the most important means, which one must use to ensure success of an organization (Wren, Bredeian and Breeze 2002, 906-918). Changing their Big Mac into Maharaja Mac show how Mc Donald is being actively engaged in building strong customer relations. In comparising, Taco Bell were not respecting the quality of their product as it contained genetically modified corn which results in lower sales (Dorey 2000, 1136-7) Organizing are building strong labour forced to help the business to perform in a competitive way. In order to make improvements, MC Donald focus mainly on training his workforce professionally, they also delivered training programs up to 40 languages to help employees to adapt to different cultures. Taco Bell, in 1988 due to his poor labour management, sales were being lost (Hueter and Swart 1998, 75-91) Leading is the use of influence to motivate employees to achieve organizational goals (Richard Daft, quoted in Rysward Barnat, 2014). Donald Thompson, CEO of MC Donald, has led the company thought a very competitive period and maintains their market share. Taco Bell was engaged in infringing stage laws as they were not paying employees who work overtime for them (New York Times 1997). Controlling is an ongoing process which determines whether the film on target towards its goals. MC Donald make their employees work according to standards. Each franchise must abide the severe supplier policies. Taco Bell following a pressure campaign launched against them, they had to increase the wages of the farm workers who supply them tomatoes. Through strict and clear approaches under the winning leadership and planning of Donald Thompson, the CEO of MC Donald has created a good image for the company and therefore these results in loyal customers. Conversely, Taco Bell with his poor managerial skills,  they suffer a lot from weak sales for their products. A perfect combination of the four management function of Fayol has been the key driver behind the success of MC Donald.

Most effective CIO strategy for effective strategic IT planning Research Paper

Most effective CIO strategy for effective strategic IT planning - Research Paper Example This is because different countries world wide have their various policies which may affect the organization’s strategic objectives. Security of international operations and the organization’s planned information is another problem of creating an organization’s information technology plan. This is because the process involves the organizations infrastructure and its quality of information. Moreover in the world where technology is almost interconnected there is a probability of the organization to interfere with or illegitimately fake other organizations objectives as suggested by Schwalbe (2009). However the organization’s strategic objectives can also be interfered with due to the insecurity of information technology resulting from the connectedness. The cost of using information technology as well as the balance sheet implication has been a problem in developing an organizations information technology plan for its strategic objectives. This can be attributed to the fact that creating such a plan may need the organization to employ IT professionals or offer more training to its experts. This is costly as might not be within the organizations budget plan. As a result the organization ends up suffering more expenses which affect its operation as they are planned. The organization may also face the problem of integrating new technology with existing technology in data collection in order to create the information technology plan. This is due to the increasing web based applications, imaging systems, cellular and mobile phones, and electronic filing among others. The organization’s Information technology experts may not be familiar with the new technology hence end up developing a substandard IT Plan. The environment of the organization may not be conducive for developing an information technology plan for some

Cultural Organization in Vienna Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cultural Organization in Vienna - Essay Example They need to consider the physical resources such as tools, bricks and the human resources who are the workers. A mission statement is a short sentence that describes the main purpose of setting up a particular organization. It is a statement that gives the general public and the employees themselves reasons why an organization exits in the first place. It is highly confused with vision that simply means the future plans and objectives that an organization wants to achieve. In setting up a museum, the general public and the employees must have reasons for the existence of the museum. Thus the mission statement for the museum must be guided by the objective of the museum. Having a mission enables an organization to know its external and internal situations. This will help it in analyzing its weaknesses and strengths that enable it to come up with ways to counter the weaknesses. This will definitely make the organization gain competitiveness. It is also gives the organization the opportunity to know the threats and opportunities it has (Lorenzen, pp. 22-29). The fundamental goal of the museum i s to be an interactive and educational centre. Its main target is to educate people about their history and other peoples' history and more so, current affairs. The mission statement is, "to enhance education to every individual on important history and current affairs, increase the socialization process within the society, at the same time providing incentives for the general public by ensuring that they are employed to put their acquired knowledge and skills in practice". This mission statement will tells the strengths of the museum which are a social and educative place. It is a place where anybody can go to because it is both a social and educational place. The fact that young people have the interest of knowing where they came from is a great opportunity for the museum to gain popularity. It will only be threatened by the coming up of other museums and any economical or political instability which have been maintained for quite sometime now. Structure of the museum Structure of the museum can be divided in two forms; the physical plant and the organizational structure. The physical plant entails the general building of the museum. First of all it will be located in the first district because it is a place where many tourists visit and it has very many hotels. This will attract very many individuals to the museum. How will it look like It will definitely have the modern designs. This will give it a unique look unlike all other museums that have ancient designs. It will be built of bricks but at the same time have wooden bridges that connect the different parts of the museum. The building will have numerous parts like the library, ancient tools that were used, different artistic works like paintings, sculptors and drawings, very huge halls for video showings and lectures and theatre halls. The museum will also have a caf for the sake of enhancing socialization. It will also have a parking allowance with very high security. There will be video cam eras for surveillance purposes; this is mainly to reduce insecurity. An organizational structure is an informal or formal framework that entails all rules and policies in which an organization can arrange ways of communication, leadership and authority and distribute duties and responsibilities. It shows how much power one holds within the organization, roles that one is supposed to play. It is a

The Dimensions of Inter-Professional Practice Essay

The Dimensions of Inter-Professional Practice - Essay Example The role of inter professional practice protective meal times in UK hospitals The term protected mealtimes can be described to imply periods within the hospital setting when there are completely no urgent issues or activities at hand. During these times, patients are able to take their meals without interruption and staffs are readily available to offer help to those who need it. Research shows that patients whose mealtimes are protected eat more and are better nourished with improved chances of recovery. Protected meal times can influence achievement of benchmarks including conducive environment, assistance to eat and drink, obtaining food, and food presentation, monitoring, and eating to promote health. Older people admitted to hospital have malnutrition on arrival and most of them are at risk of becoming malnourished or their current nutritional state worsening in hospital, if precautions are not taken. Facilitation of protected meal times Inter-professional working team should fa cilitate implementation of protected mealtimes through the following ways. First, is by ensuring that patients are served with all the three basic meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have to follow each mealtime with a one hour rest period for interaction with visitors, relatives and supporters. The team should also alter the drug delivery time so that patients are given food only after taking their meals and allowed to have enough rest. No other activity should be scheduled during mealtimes to ensure that all patients dedicate their time to meals and no other business. The team should plan to enhance service delivery by recommending a balanced diet and enhancing availability of patient assistants to offer services to patients who are not able to eat by themselves or in need varying assistance. The team should recommend that an audit be carried out after every two weeks to verify whether these rules and procedures of protected meal times are being followed (Rolfe, Freshwater & Jasper 2001). The following measures will be taken by our inter-professional team: There should be medical staff moving rounds, radiology focusing lunchtime slots on other areas, nurse routine- nurses want to get everything done, junior staff reluctant to challenge visitors and staff. The areas intended to put more emphasis include surgical areas, considering how protected mealtimes will interact with theatre lists, and wards which have greater impact on other departments like radiology. This should be followed by an audit to measure and review success in all these areas. There should be an arranged meeting with the hospital management to collaborate and ensure that the whole process is implemented. The unique role of the Inter-professional officials in the Inter-Professional Practice team is both individual and collective in that it takes one’s own conviction and commitment compounded by knowledge and professional experience to mould together with others like minded profes sional colleagues in order to achieve a set collective objective; which in our context is superior delivery of service in protected

Strategies for Improving Efficiency and Cost Reduction Essay

Strategies for Improving Efficiency and Cost Reduction - Essay Example As the shareholders are the legal owners of the company, therefore management has the fiduciary obligation to act in the best interest of the shareholders. Stockholders are often called shock absorbers as they provide risk capital to the company. The stockholders cushion the claims of other stakeholders. The value of any company can decline by as much as the value of equity capital. Without shareholders and their equity, the companies would have all been financed by debts and would continuously face financial anguish which results in liquidation or bankruptcy. The shareholder value approaches favorable strategies, by compelling managers to review business strategies based on prospective cash flows. The more company ability to generate cash, the more it can distribute to its shareholders. In short maximizing shareholders, wealth is equivalent to maximizing company's price. In order to attract the capital equity easily, many companies focus more on establishing shareholder value. Capit al equity is especially sensitive in those companies which are seeking to grow and operates in a risky environment. Every business profit is calculated by deducting expenses from the business incomes. The profit margin varies from business to business as the nature and size of the business requires different kinds of resources. The business needs resources for its development and each of this development has a cost to bear. No matter what type of business is your need human and financial resources needed to establish it. It is the utmost responsibility of the management of any company to provide quality resources at reasonable costs because they play the vital role in the business. The more company ability to generate cash, the more it can distribute to its shareholders. In short maximizing shareholders, wealth is equivalent to maximizing company's price. In order to attract the capital equity easily, many companies focus more on establishing shareholder value. Capital equity is esp ecially sensitive in those companies which are seeking to grow and operates in a risky environment. The profit margin varies from business to business as the nature and size of the business requires different kinds of resources. The business needs resources for its development and each of this development has a cost to bear. No matter what type of business is your need human and financial resources needed to establish it. It is the utmost responsibility of the management of any company to provide quality resources at reasonable costs because they play a vital role in the business.

The art of the impressionists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The art of the impressionists - Essay Example The light and color effects can also be noticed in Camille Pissarro's works wherein the lights and colors vary depending on the specific time of the day. In "The Stage Coach at Louveciennes," the artist painted the scene in dark lighting conditions possessing complementary colors of reds and greens generously used by the artist while in "Le verger (The Orchard)," the noticeable brightness of the day light and the complementing colors of violet with shades of yellow and the blue sky in contrast to the hint of orange shade of the soil. In the "Village Path," the red lighting of the painting can be clearly seen which in turn complements the dominantly green color of the scenery. In addition to the attribute of light and color effects of the impressionist style, impressionistic paintings are also characterized by concentration on the general impression produced by a scene or object and the use of unmixed primary colors, as explained with the examples previously mentioned, and small strokes to simulate actual reflected light (Pioch).

Personal statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Personal statement - Essay Example I am deeply aware that any interest in life can best translate into a real-time success only through impeccable academic credentials. My father himself built his military career on the foundation of his study at Sandhurst Academy in the UK. In line with this belief, I chose to pursue my Bachelor of Science in International Business Management at Lynn University. As a senior, I can confidently say that this is indeed what I want to do with my life. I have enjoyed all my undergraduate courses, particularly Operations, Management, Marketing and Finance. I perceive that Masters in Information Technology from a reputed university like Pace is the logical next step to open the doors to my entry into the tech industry. Right from High School, I have grabbed every opportunity to gain computer related knowledge. My internship with the Gardeniya Ladies Centre at Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia, gave me valuable exposure to customer relations. I learned that interpersonal communication is the bedrock of any commercial venture. I went on to another internship at the Click Travel Agency in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where I scheduled flight arrivals and departures, and honed my organizational prowess. I am confident that my internships have given me valuable skills in time management, dispute resolution and innovative packages design. At Lynn, I am a faithful and interested participant in the numerous CEO presentations on campus, absorbing the invaluable, first-hand inputs of professional businessmen and entrepreneurs. I also made use of the opportunity to be a part of the preparation for the 2012 Presidential Debate hosted at Lynn. What a learning experience that was! I believe that volunteer work is the ideal way to self-fulfillment. One of the most enriching periods of my life is the time I spent as a student volunteer at the Senior Nursing Home/ Orphanage Facility for Children at Dammam, Saudi Arabia. I was part of a social media campaign to

Why should anyone be led by me Personal Statement

Why should anyone be led by me - Personal Statement Example It focuses on my traits and competencies as a leader. In essence it answers the fundamental question why anyone should be led by me. Why Should Anyone Be Led By Me? If there is one thing that I can claim having very good knowledge of, it is me. I have often heard that the ultimate end of education is ‘self-discovery’ (19). In my own case, thankfully, I think it happened to a substantial degree and I presume that is what gives me the aptitude for leadership. Besides my parents and teachers, several of my friends and a number of books that I read allowed me a lot of reflection and introspection as to what I was and what I ought to be. Thus they have been of immense help in taking a close look at my values, strengths, weaknesses, talents, relationships, passions and interests. In short they let me find my voice. At the same time, I am aware that the discovery is an ongoing process and the description in the current document is a portrait of what I am at the moment. In my ex perience as a manager, I made a conscious effort not to be overcome by frustration or disappointment at the end of an unsuccessful business encounter or presentation (31). I saw them rather as learning experiences and indicators of the dots that I missed. I was careful not to let my command be confined just to my area of specialization. I was prepared to go that extra mile to gain knowledge of other departments to the extent they would be needed so that my business acumen would become complete and credible. It also helped me to answer with conviction any questions regarding the business decisions that I had made. I constantly reminded myself that gaining access to the C suite in itself did not mean anything and there would a long way to go beyond that. A very useful tip given by my first boss was to think afresh always. I must say I took it to its letter and spirit. Before that, I remember having done the mistake of applying ‘one of the old solutions’ to a new problem t hat appeared to resemble an old problem. My first boss’s suggestion meant that each solution was bound to be as unique as the problem itself. Over the years, I have cultivated the practice of contemplating multiple options and applying mind-map sketches whenever I had to mull over one. It meant a little more labor to focus on the most significant parts of the data and then to identify the patterns. But then, it saved me from the unpleasant task of resorting to self-deception or depending on false reasoning and rationalization (180). Not that this method was entirely without risk, but it stood the best chance for success for the simple reason that the approach was as honest as it could be. I am glad I made mistakes. They gave me the chance to act in time and strengthen myself as a leader. On one occasion, when I was in high spirits following excellent pay off on one of the project ideas that clicked, it was actually one of my subordinates, a young man, who warned me, subtly th ough, not to be carried away by short-term success but to be prepared for future scenarios and contingencies. It took me some time to appreciate precisely what he meant. When I got the essence, I have begun to force myself and my team to stay away from the comfort zone and look at each project from an R & D perspective. It was one of the first lessons but one of the finest too. The first few months of my career caused me insomnia literally because too many deadlines seemed to accumulate at a time leading to stress (143). After a couple of experiences of sophisticated reproach by my superiors, I figured out how the daily grind affected my priorities and important and urgent tasks would inadvertently get overlooked. I realized that I was dwelling mostly with the tasks that I inherently liked and in

Secret Intelligence Service and National Security Essay Example for Free

Secret Intelligence Service and National Security Essay The revolution in military affairs has given rise to powerful strategic tools such as effects based operations (EBO), mirrored by the concept of intelligence-led policing in law enforcement. Some advocates of intelligence change argue that the role of intelligence be expanded to provide the analytical power-house for ‘whole of government’ decision-making in relation not just to traditional threats, but also to this new range of threats—a kind of EBO for the whole of government. This article argues for a more limited view of intelligence and its role—one that recognises the inherently human, and hence secretive, quality of intelligence as a means for dealing with human-generated competition. A nation’s intelligence apparatus is only one small part of the wider machinery for delivering policy and executive action. Traditionally, the role of intelligence within this wider structure was to counter threat from some kind of human collective opposition—whether a country, a crime group or a terrorist organisation. Intelligence was regarded as a highly specific undertaking to give advantage over that threat in the form of knowledge, insight and predictive capacity. According to this model, advantage was sought over a human threat capable of learning and adapting. Intelligence therefore needed to be secret to deliver an advantage. To protect the ‘intelligence advantage’, countries also developed counter-intelligence organizations such as the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and MI5 and encoding and decoding organizations such as the US National Security Agency and the Australian Defence Signals Directorate. Today there is broad consensus that the threats we confront have expanded beyond the typical military or counter-intelligence threats of the past, especially those of the Cold War. This expanded range of threat falls into a major category and two sub-categories. The major category can be termed ‘non-conventional’ threats, ones that do not fall into the state-on-state category. They include environmental threats, threats of pandemic disease, terrorism and transnational crime. Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) 55 Security Challenges This broad category of non-conventional threat can be further divided between those threats of a human agency (terrorism, crime, people smuggling and trafficking) and those of a non-human agency (climate change and other types of environmental threat, natural disasters, pandemic disease). These two sub-categories are, however, closely linked, as demonstrated by Thomas Homer-Dixon and others. 1 They are linked in two ways. First, they are linked in the sense that so-called non-human agency threats such as climate change can give rise to instability. Instability can in turn give rise to many of the human generated conventional and non-conventional threats mentioned above. Second, threats like climate change are also linked with human agency in that they are often caused by human intervention. Changes in human behaviour are therefore necessary to remedy such threats. Even though these two sub-categories of threat are linked, they give rise to very different implications for the role of intelligence. On the one hand, the role of intelligence in countering human-related, nonconventional threat is relatively clear-cut and traditional. It includes counterterrorism, police intelligence, customs intelligence, coast watch intelligence and so on. All of these intelligence activities are characterised by the fact that they involve secret information that would be compromised if it were to leak out, and through its compromise would give the opposition (or threat) an intelligence advantage, or sacrifice the advantage enjoyed by the state. On the other hand, the non-conventional threats such as climate change, natural disasters or pandemic disease, entail no such secret, tightly held intelligence response. On the contrary, to counter such threats, especially in a liberal democracy like Australia, governments need to engage in a public dialogue with experts on the threat, whether those experts are scientists, journalists, medical or other experts operating in the public domain. This dialogue has to be public because the public needs to be taken along with the broad strategic changes required to deal with this type of threat. It also needs to be public and transparent because the scientific method is evidence based and depends on the capacity for peer review. Moreover, it is often difficult to achieve major changes in attitude to such threats in liberal democracies unless there is some kind of ‘tipping point’, either in terms of the concrete effects of the threat (catastrophic drought, for example, in the case of climate change) or public consensus on the science, or both. The concept of threat needs to be actualised right through the 1 Thomas Homer-Dixon and Jessica Blitt (eds), Ecoviolence: Links Among Environment, Population and Security, Lanham, MD, Bowman and Littlefield, 1998, ‘Introduction: A Theoretical Overview’. 56 Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) Security Challenges community before radical behavioural change can occur. This is because the political system of liberal democracies is usually geared to the short-term advantage of governments according to the political cycle rather than the long-term advantage of the nation. In order to move beyond populist politics, the whole community needs to be aware of the circumstances and prepared to make sacrifices to deal with the threat. Indeed, it is well known by intelligence specialists that long-term assessments, while they may eventually prove accurate, are almost never acted upon by policy. For example, nearly twenty-five years ago a leading Australian intelligence assessment agency employed a scientist—the only person in the organization working on scientific issues at that time. The scientist predicted that overpopulation, scarcity of water and climate change would result in vast changes for the worse in the Middle East, South East Asia and South Asia, forcing major, economically induced out-migration. Such events, he assessed, would eventually challenge Australia’s security. Today such an assessment would be commonplace. But at the time, no action was taken. Although the mandate of the organization was to predict long-term change, the political system was not equipped to deal with uncertain judgements about what was then considered the ‘deep future’. Nor could a secret intelligence report enable governments to deal with such predictions through debate in the public domain. Further, since threats like climate change constitute threats to the ‘global commons’, by definition they can only be addressed by global cooperation rather than competition. A ‘beggar your neighbour’ approach will only lead the globe deeper into trouble. The implications for intelligence are significant. In terms of threats like climate change, pandemic disease and catastrophic economic change, intelligence ceases to concern itself with achieving an advantage over an enemy or competitor. So the question therefore arises: are secret intelligence agencies appropriate organizations to advise on such threats? Despite the intrinsic problems associated with the use of intelligence to analyse threats of this nature, increasingly, intelligence agencies are being coopted to advise on them. For example, we learn from the Sydney Morning Herald of 10 April 2007 that the Office of National Assessments (ONA) has been commissioned by the government to determine the security implications of climate change. We further learn from the ABC news on 23 May 2006, which describes the ONA Director General being quizzed by the Senate Estimates Committee, that ONA has received multiple taskings of this nature. But the public are prevented from accessing the outcome on the grounds that the ONA is an intelligence organization operating in the secret realm. Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) 57 Security Challenges True, the ONA is being asked to look at the security implications. But to do so, it would need to make a sound assessment of the nature and extent of climate change. No doubt the ONA now has a few scientifically trained people working on this and similar issues. But no doubt also, it will be locked in earnest consultation with the Commonwealth Science and Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) and similar agencies and institutions. And it will also be carefully perusing the reports of the International Panel on Climate Change. In other words, ONA is not, in itself, able to report on this issue. Its role is, rather, to organize, validate and valorize all the noise out in the public domain concerning the issue. The same evidently applies in the US. According to Anne Harrington, Director of the Committee of International Security in the National Academy of Science in Washington, If you get the intelligence community to apply some of its analytical capabilities to this issue [climate change], it could be compelling to whoever 2 is sitting in the White House. But why should the Central Intelligence Agency suddenly have authority on this issue when the world’s leading scientific specialists, who have spent lifetimes working on the issue, have been studiously ignored—and some even silenced—by the White House for the past seven years? All this leads us to ask what, exactly, should be the role of intelligence in the so-called ‘new security environment’? And how should intelligence fit in with other government structures to provide an analytical capacity in these areas? Intelligence and Its Purposes The narrower view of intelligence agencies suggested above—that is, organizations that deal fundamentally with human competition and therefore by nature exist in the secret domain—has not so far been widely accepted. The advent of non-conventional threat has generated considerable discussion in the ranks of those advocating intelligence reform. Various commentators have called for a broadening of the informational base of the traditionally tightly held intelligence agencies and a more ‘whole-ofgovernment’ approach. However, very little of this discussion has drawn the distinction between human-induced and non-human induced threat in relation to the role of intelligence. Nor has it distinguished between longterm threat to society and the ‘global commons’ caused by environmental issues and short-term threat generated by problems such as transnational crime and terrorism. 2 Tom Allard, Mark Forbes and agencies, ‘US braces for global warring’, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 April 2007. 58 Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) Security Challenges That is not to say that reform is not necessary, but rather that we need to be very clear what role intelligence should play in dealing with such threats and also where it should fit in to the wider ‘machinery of government’. Nor is it to claim that intelligence has no role at all in these matters: one very important role is to assess the security implications of issues like climate change, in order to prepare the state to meet those potential threats. Such a position does not imply, moreover, that some broader reform of the machinery of government would not be advantageous. But in deciding on the nature of that reform, we need to ensure that the tail of intelligence reform does not wag the dog of machinery of government reform. Nor is it to say that a discussion of intelligence reform should be considered in isolation from a discussion of wider issues to do with the machinery of government. Intelligence obviously has to be fitted in with the machinery of government, and how it fits in is important. Rogers correctly argues that the â€Å"practice of strategic intelligence is at its best when it is in counterpoise with strategic thinking [on the part of decision-makers and policy makers]†. 3 It follows that correct structure in the machinery of government should facilitate the connectivity between intelligence and policy on the one hand, and the consequent practice of strategic thinking in policy development on the other. But the problem here is that those involved with structuring intelligence do not necessarily have a say in the structuring of the machinery of government. And in any case, in a liberal democratic, federal structure such as Australia’s, a considerable proportion of government process is dictated by relatively immutable conventions and constitutions. We should also note that this issue of where intelligence sits in organisational structures is relevant both within a particular organization that uses intelligence, and also within the wider structures of state as supported by intelligence. In one case intelligence is embedded within the agency, in the other, it is embedded within the machinery of government. These two types and uses of intelligence may require very different structural approaches. In the case of the latter (intelligence agencies embedded in the machinery of government) it is the role of intelligence agencies to draw intelligence up and enable it effectively to be used in national policy-making. The structures used to ‘draw intelligence up’ are entirely proper considerations of a paper such as this on intelligence. This issue of the drawing up of intelligence covers the question of how a peak agency such as the ONA can best garner the wide range of intelligence that is required in today’s expanded threat environment. This expanded 3 Kevin Rogers ‘Developments in Australian Strategic Criminal Intelligence’ in Ratcliffe (ed) Strategic Thinking in Criminal Intelligence (Sydney: The Federation Press, 2004), p23. Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) 59 Security Challenges environment requires that the entire range of agencies producing intelligence be included—agencies such as the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Customs, Immigration, Coastwatch, Quarantine and the Australian Crime Commission (ACC). Structures to support this expanded role were discussed in an earlier paper by this author. But (alluding to the issues raised above), the expanded role for intelligence does not—or rather should not—include agencies such as the CSIRO, ABARE, the Productivity Commission, Geosciences Australia, the Department of Health, and so on. Unfortunately, this distinction is not always recognised or agreed in discussions about intelligence reform. For example, some have begun to questio n whether concepts like effects based operations (EBO), which in turn have been spawned by the new intelligence environment and new technologies, cannot be applied in a ‘whole-of-government’ way. According to this view, the three-way relationship between intelligence, policy and operations could be seen to apply across the spectrum of government decision-making, thus incorporating all departments of state and agencies in an endeavour to achieve a strategic outcome. Although such a project would be ambitious, ‘whole-of-government’ possibly can and should be made to function in a strategic sense. But it should be recognised that intelligence is not central to the process in the same way as it is central to EBO in a military setting or to intelligence-led policing in law enforcement. Indeed, in the author’s view, intelligence is a highly specific function to do with human competition and human enemies. It is not only inappropriate for wider use, but such use could be positively harmful in terms of the needed outcomes in government decision making in a democratic setting. Certainly, good strategic intelligence should be suggestive of courses of action, but only suggestive in the sense that the knowledge brought forward is suggestive. Intelligence can also comment on implications of actions when specifically asked to do so, but should not go the extra step of recommending options. It is not the role of intelligence to present analytical options to decision-makers in the same way as that is the role of a department of state or ministerial staff. The temptation to use intelligence agencies to support a strategic, ‘whole-ofgovernment’ approach is quite strong, however. Traditionally, intelligence agencies have been very close to the seat of power. Indeed, they were born Sandy Gordon, ‘Re-Shaping Australian Intelligence’, Security Challenges, vol. 1, no. 1 (November 2005), pp. 27-58. Brice Pacey, ‘National Effects-Based Approach: A Policy Discussion Paper’, Working Paper, no. 381, Canberra, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, 2003, passim. Pacey is not, however, arguing for a central role for intelligence in this enterprise. . 4 60 Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) Security Challenges of a one-to-one relationship, in which the intelligence chief sat at the leader’s right hand. This was both to provide immediacy and preserve secrecy. The idea of a separation between intelligence and policy is a relatively recent one. The only separation that was once required was that between master and servant. The temptation to use intelligence agencies as analytical determinants of policy is even stronger in situations where there is no real alternative to the analytical powerhouses that some intelligence agencies can bring to bear. Moreover, governments that use intelligence agencies to consider politically sensitive issues like climate change have the added advantage of keeping such consideration outside the public domain and the scrutiny of oppositions. This is because once a matter is within the purview of intelligence, governments can claim they can ‘neither confirm or deny’ questions in respect of them. But as argued above, this is essentially a misuse of intelligence. Intelligence in National Strategic Decision-Making At the moment in Australia, national intelligence exists within a relatively tight framework of the Australian Intelligence Community (AIC), oversighted by a small and powerful group of departments and ministers, particularly Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC), Defence, Foreign Affairs and AttorneyGeneral’s Department. This tight structure is reinforced by the restricted membership of the National Security Committee of Cabinet (NSCC) and the Secretaries’ Committee on National Security (SCONS), which proffers advice to the NSCC. It is a structure that in its essence was bequeathed by the Cold War, with minor modifications as a result of the Flood Report and other developments. As such, it was designed to deal with state-on-state threat and the threat of spying and political violence rather than the broader range of threats we now confront. Such a tight structure has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that the intelligence agencies of the AIC are well plugged in to the Canberra policy environment and have a nuanced appreciation of what the government wants to know. Equally, this tight structure allows for rapid, consensus decision-making when needed. Further, the agencies of the AIC, particularly the ONA, represent a collection of individuals capable of high-level strategic thinking. The disadvantages of such a tight system are well known. The 9/11 Commission and Butler report chronicled the distortion of the intelligence process to serve particular policy needs, or at least perceived needs. Given the tight inter-relationship between the government, key departments and intelligence agencies in Australia, such distortions are also possible here. Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) 61 Security Challenges The Butler committee report also emphasised the dangers of a filtration system such as the UK Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) standing between the judgements of experts and policy-making bodies. Some of the worst errors evident in the so-called ‘Dirty Dossier’ arose because the expertise in the Defence Intelligence Staff was filtered out or distorted, either as a result of a classic ‘broken telephone’ situation or through pre-judging the policy bias on the part of the JIC. In Australia, the system would be equally vulnerable should the findings of organizations like ABARE and the CSIRO be filtered through a small, nonexpert (in the disciplines involved) organization like the ONA. How suitable is the present Australian structure in light of the changes to the regional, global and technological environments? Before considering this important issue, let us consider the needs of a system designed effectively to operate in the new environment. x As discussed above, such a system would need to delineate a specific role for intelligence, one that relates to human-on-human competition, and that in turn necessitates a secret approach to intelligence. Such a system would also need to be capable of melding the intelligence product with product from other agencies working on issues that do not require secret intelligence and with other open sources. It would need to be flexible. That is, it would need the capacity to draw to a greater or lesser degree on a ‘whole-of-government’ approach for supporting information and judgment, depending on the urgency and nature of the threat and degree of secrecy needed. In other words, it would need to have the administrative means to ‘slide up and down the scale’ between a narrow, decision-making capacity at the top and a broad consensus model below, one that included information and analysis from a range of agencies, not only intelligence agencies but also economic and scientific agencies. In some instances, it would need to shape decisions for the longerterm. Yet it would also need to be capable of making adjustments in light of the evolving evidence. Such decisions would need to be maintained well outside the life span of a typical Australian Government. At times it would need to draw in two, or perhaps even three, levels of government, as already evident in the case of terrorism and pandemic threats such as SARS and ‘Bird Flu’. It would need to be well connected internationally in order to draw on available information and assessment. x x x x 62 Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) Security Challenges x Above all, it would need a powerful apex analytical and organisational capacity containing a range of expertise in order to bring together diverse lines of information, identify real problems, set priorities between them and devise viable strategies to deal with those priorities. This role should not be undertaken by existing intelligence agencies, because their role should be confined to the analysis and dissemination of intelligence. To use them in the dual role of policy advice and intelligence analysis and dissemination would be unduly to compromise the intelligence role. How well does the present system meet the needs outlined above? In some respects, quite well. It basically consists of a tight core capable of being expanded to meet a broadening of threat, with the NSCC providing a sort of ‘inner cabinet’, surrounded by a tight supportive framework consisting of key departments, SCONS and the AIC. It is a highly functional arrangement for an environment requiring a high degree of secrecy and relatively rapid decision-making. Where the nature of threat broadens, for example in the case of climate change, the current system is capable of rapid expansion. Members of Cabinet, such as the environment minister, can be brought into the NSCC where necessary. The AFP Commissioner, CEO of Customs and others can also be inducted into the SCONS when necessary. Within PMC, the National Security Division (established in 2003) provides a potential analytical unit that is not confined to intelligence, but that can range over the available government and non-government agencies, given its location on the ‘commanding heights’ of PMC. The present system falls down in a number of respects, however. It is deficient in that certain information deemed intelligence in the narrower sense outlined above is still not fully drawn into the AIC information network and database (AICNET). Nor are the organizations generating this intelligence (such as the AFP, Customs and the ACC) included in the tight deliberative network at the apex of government decision-making, at least not on a day-today basis. These exclusions cause a deficit in knowledge and a nalysis of non-conventional, but human-induced, threat. This deficit was discussed in greater detail in an earlier paper. 6 6 Gordon, op cit. At the time of final preparation of this paper, the government has announced a new system of combining the databases of Customs, Immigration and ASIO. One might well ask why this is only being done now, six years after the events of 9/11? Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) 63 Security Challenges x It is not capable of adopting strategic thinking across all levels of government in the federal structure—the so-called ‘EBO of governance’. Because of the requirements of the liberal democratic federal structure, however, this problem may not be amenable to an entirely satisfactory solution. Even given the restraints imposed by our political system, there is inadequate capacity at the top to analyse, identify and give priority order to threat. Although the National Security Division of PMC seems to be set up to undertake this role, according to Pacey, the division is still limited by coordination roles and the need to deal with immediate crises rather than provide long-term analysis. 7 In counter-terrorism, for example, the role of PMC is to provide a multi-government and multi-disciplinary platform. One suspects that this demanding role diminishes its capacity to deliver long-term policy advice. In the absence of an appropriate analytical unit outside the confines of intelligence, there currently seems to be a growing de facto move to recruit the ONA for this top-level analytical role, as discussed above. But, as also argued above, the ‘heavy lifting’ on matters like climate change should not be conducted by a secret intelligence organization at all, but through transparent, evidence-based techniques that are well tried and understood in scientific organizations. Moreover, to place an organization like the ONA at the apex of the policy advice structure is, at least in a de facto sense, to bring it directly into the policy-making apparatus—hitherto considered anathema for an intelligence organization. x x Therefore, if we accept the more limited role for intelligence advocated in this paper, we are left with a potential deficit in terms of an apex analytical unit— the intellectual powerhouse of ‘EBO of governance’. The main candidate for fulfilling such a role seems to be the National Security Division of PMC. And in fact, more and more of the capacity relating to security in areas requiring a multi-disciplinary approach is now located in PMC. This includes terrorism, energy security, pandemic disease, nuclear energy and intelligence. Conclusion and Issues for the Next Government In light of the profound changes in the security environment we have witnessed in recent years, those responsible for shaping the way governments will deal with long-term structural change confront a choice. 7 Pacey, op. cit. , p. 5. 64 Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) Security Challenges On the one hand, they can advocate an expansion of the role of intelligence to cover the broader nature of the threat we now confront. In a de facto sense, the current arrangement seems to be drifting toward this kind of arrangement. On the other, they can continue to regard intelligence as an essentially secret function designed to give advantage and deny advantage in terms of human competition, whether of the state-on-state variety or threats from criminal and terrorist groups. In this paper we have argued the latter position. We have done so because of concerns about the nature of intelligence and how it differs from policy analysis, the nature of scientific inquiry and the democratic need for debate and consensus. We have further argued that, while it may be possible to achieve something close to a strategic process on a ‘whole-of-government’ basis, such a process cannot be driven by intelligence; and nor is it correctly placed within a discussion of intelligence and its role. We are of the view that additional analytical capacity required to support ‘EBO of governance’ should exist in the form of an expanded staff specifically advising the NSCC. While the National Security Division of PMC would seem to be the logical candidate for such a role, several changes would be needed to provide the kind of analytical capacity described above. Ideally, a unit of this nature should be administratively removed from the day-to-day, short-term contingencies and coordination functions normally undertaken by a division of PMC. That is not to say that the unit should be entirely administratively removed from PMC. But it might be a statutory body linked in a similar way to the ONA. Or it might be more directly associated with the Cabinet Division. Further, the unit would require an expanded ability to provide advice on a ‘holistic’ basis, with a range of expertise covering scientific, health, intelligence, economic and defence issues. Already the germ of such a capability is contained within National Security Division. The existence of such a support unit would act as a buffer between the Cabinet and intelligence agencies and ensure that the latter continue to function as providers of intelligence rather than strategic advice. It would provide the capacity to meld factual and analytical work from both the intelligence agencies and those agencies outside the AIC, such as the various government scientific and economic agencies and non-government agencies. Its interface with such agencies would be far easier than between intelligence and outside agencies, given the role of intelligence in protecting information from human competition. Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007) 65 Security Challenges In light of this position, the following issues emerge for the next government: x Australia’s national intelligence database should be expanded more fully to incorporate information and intelligence from agencies outside the AIC, such as the AFP, Customs, Coastwatch and the ACC. Details of how this might be accomplished are set out in an earlier paper by this author. 8 Leaving aside the security aspects of issues like climate change, pandemic disease and radical economic change, government should recognise that such issues in themselves are not conducive to analysis and advice from intelligence agencies. Rather, a ‘whole of government’ analytical and strategic capacity should be incorporated into the advice mechanisms serving the NSCC. This unit should incorporate the work of intelligence agencies, but also range far more broadly across government and non-government agencies. It should posses a ‘holistic’ capability— that is, it should include scientific, health and economic professionals as well as national security experts. It should not be constrained by the day-to-day needs of servicing a busy department like PMC. x Sandy Gordon joined the Australian Public Service in 1977, subsequently working in the Office of National Assessments, AusAID and as Executive Director of the Asian Studies Council and Australian Literacy Council. In 1990 he became a Fellow at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, where he worked on South Asia and the Indian Ocean. In 1997 he was appointed head of intelligence in the AFP, a position he held until 2000. He then became Co-Chair of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Transnational Crime Working Group and a member of the National Expert Advisory Committee on Illicit Drugs. Between 2003 and 2005, he lectured on terrorism and transnational crime at the Australian Defence Force Academy, University of New South Wales. He is currently Associate Professor, Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention, University of Wollongong. [emailprotected] com. au. 8 Gordon, op. cit. 66 Volume 3 Number 3 (August 2007)

Free

Free Primary Education in Kenya Essay Acknowledgement I acknowledge my God for provision of good health, sound mind and in tender caring. I also express the same to my lecturer Mr. Malel for his diligent and industrious work he did to me in the process of writing up the project. I also acknowledge the contributions of my colleagues and my family for the patience and encouragement that they have given me since I begun the project. I also acknowledge the free access to the Kenya National Library Service in Kericho. Dedication I dedicate this report to my Almighty Father for His countless Mercies and Eternal Providence. I also dedicate it to my family, my parents and my children. Abstract The study investigated the statistical relationship between the introduction of FPE and the enrolment of kids in ECD centers. The paper begins by assessing the changes in enrolment prior and after the introduction of FPE in 2002. It then delves into the question of why this happens. The covered Mogogosiek Zone although the findings is relevant for the whole country. The researcher sampled six schools as the sample to represent twenty schools in the zone. The random sample technique was used since all schools are homogeneous. The researcher used questionnaires and observation to collect data in the field. The project is useful for the stakeholders in the ECD sector ranging from school heads to government administrators involved with ECD work. Table of Contents DECLARATION BY CANDIDATEii DECLARATION BY THE SUPERVISORii Acknowledgementiii Dedicationiv Abstractv Abbreviations and Acronymsviii CHAPTER ONE1 Introduction1 1. 1Background of the Problem1 1. 2 Statement of the Problem3 1. 3Objectives of the Study4 1. 4 Purpose of the Study5 1. 5 Justification of the Project6 1. 6 Significance of the Study7 1. 7 Limitations8 1. 8 Delimitations9 CHAPTER TWO10 Literature Review10 2. 1 The effects of the introduction of FPE on enrollment10 2. 2 Factors that have led to low enrolment as a result of introduction of FPE in Kenya13 2. 3 Impact of FPE on enrolment in ECDs16 CHAPTER THREE18 Methodology18 3. 1 Research Design18 3. 2 Location of the Study19 3. 3 Target Population20 3. 4 Sample Population21 3. 5 Sampling Method22 3. 6 Research Instruments23 CHAPTER FOUR24 Data Representation24 4. 1 The Extent to Which ECD Enrolment Declined as a Result Of Introduction of Fpe in the ten Sampled Institutions24. 4. 2 Reasons for the Decline Of ECD Enrolment as a Result Of Introduction Of FPE26 4. 3 Impact of FPE on ECD Enrolment per Economic Class27 CHAPTER FIVE28 Conclusions28 5. 1 The Relationship between the Introduction of FPE and Enrolment in ECDS Attached to Public Primary schools28 5. 2 The Effects of Introduction of FPE on Enrolment in ECDS in Private Primary Schools28 5. 3 Causes for the Low Enrolment of Pupils in Public Primary School ECDS as A Result of Introduction Of FPE. 28 5. 4 Effects of Introduction of FPES on ECD per Economic Class29 APPENDIX A30 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ECD TEACHERS30. APPENDIX B35 BIBLIOGRAPHY35 APPENDIX C36 Work Schedule36 APPENDIX D37 Budget37 APPENDIX D38 Introduction letter38 Abbreviations and Acronyms ECD = Early Childhood Development ECDE = Early Childhood Development and Education. MDG = Millennium Development Goals. UN = United Nations FPE = Free Primary Education. GER=Gross Enrolment Rate is calculated by dividing the number of children of whatever age enrolled in preschool by the estimated number of 3-5 year olds. UNESCO= United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural organization. OECD=Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. MOEST=Ministry of Education, Science and Technology CHAPTER ONE Introduction This chapter introduces the research topic. It begins with an introduction followed by a statement of the problem and finally the purpose of the study. 1. 1Background of the Problem As part of his campaign manifesto, President Kibaki introduced the Free Primary Education program in Primary schools. The program was meant to lead to high enrollment of pupils in both primary school and ECD centers in Kenya. The natural corollary was that the ECD enrollment would rise as a result of the introduction of FPE. However, statistics show the contrary. The rate of enrolment in ECD centers has reduced following the introduction of FPE. This shows a negative correlation between enrolment and FPE. This project sought to establish the fact that indeed enrollment in FPE has declined since the introduction of FPE in schools. Paper also sought to give reasons why the rate of enrolment in ECD bears a negative correlation with the FPE funding. This has been a surprise finding given that the aim of the government is to develop education in Kenya holistically. The project also assessed the likely statistical relationship between enrolment in primary and ECD It showed that . the higher the enrolment rate in primary school the lower the enrolment in ECD. This project sought to give reasons for that relationship and provide for suggestions on how the problem can be solved. 1. 2 Statement of the Problem The problem was to study the effects that FPE has had on enrollment in ECDCs. The project also studied the causes of the negative relationship between FPE funding and low enrollment in ECDCs. The problem is that due to the introduction of FPE, pupils have been joining class one without going through the ECD classes. This is a worrying trend as it suggests a low level of preparedness of the pupils in lower primary school. It also points to the need to consider ECD in public funding 1. 3Objectives of the Study The project studied the following objectives: [a] To establish the effect of the introduction of FPE on enrolment in ECDS attached to public primary schools. [b]To establish the effects of the introduction of FPE on enrolment of pupils in ECDS attached to private primary schools. [c] To determine the extent to which enrollment in ECDCs have declined in Mogogosiek zone as a result of the introduction of FPE. [d] To determine the effects of introduction of FPEs on enrolment in ECDS per economic class. 1. 4 Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of the introduction of Free Primary Education on enrolment in ECDs in primary schools in Kenya. 1. 5 Justification of the Project This project is justified on the following grounds. First, little attempt has been made to determine the relationship between the introduction of FPE nationally and enrollment of pupils in ECDs locally. There is also need to determine the causes of the decline in enrolment in ECDs as a result of introduction of FPE. The decline has mostly affected the poor who consist of the most vulnerable group. That the introduction of FPE has negatively affected the poor in terms of taking their children to the ECD has great implications to fighting poverty in the country. It shows that the children of the poor have poor foundation and will most likely perform poorly later in life thereby widening the poverty gap wider still 1. 6 Significance of the Study This study is important because of a number of reasons. First, the government must know the impacts of its funding primary schools or other institutions. The FPE is an integrated development program and it should lead to a holistic development of the education sector in general and not a lopsided development of the country. Secondly, the government will get information on the level of foundational education in rural areas and design effective policies that will aid the state in ensuring high standards of education in ECD and ensure effective transition from ECD to primary school. Thirdly, there is an ongoing pressure on the government to fund the ECD sector in Kenya. This paper is meant to ensure that this goal is attained. Lastly, educational practitioners particularly ECD teachers and administrators will be reminded of the need to ensure a high level of enrolment in ECDs and effective transition to primary schools 1. 7 Limitations During the study, the researchers were limited by the following factors. First and foremost, rural ECD managers were not willing to talk about the low enrolment in ECD centers. They feared that releasing the information would lead to negative publicity. Secondly, most residents were not very open to give information on where their children were learning to outsiders. Thirdly, the county is very large and expansive. It was not very easy for the researchers to travel from one location to another due to poor and rugged terrain. Fourth, most residents have just recovered from the post electoral violence that affected most of the Republic. They are very suspicious of new comers and more so even residents asking questions. They easily take such gestures as police investigations. Fifth, though not least, the researcher was affected by lack of enough funds to carry out an in depth analysis covering the entire zone. Even if funds were availed, there was still the need for more time to carry out the work. The researchers were affected by lack of sufficient time since they are full time teachers who need time to run their institutions apart from conducting research work. The project was also be affected by low literacy rate since most parents are not literate enough to interpret and respond to questionnaires. 1. 8 Delimitations The delimiting factor is that the researchers come from the study location and are highly familiar with the area. Secondly, the researchers being ECD and Primary teachers, have long and extensive experience and contact with ECD and primary school children. They are also conversant the running of ECD centers in the country. Thirdly, the researchers used written questionnaires distributed to schools. This minimized the time needed to move from one institution to another and effectively reduce the time needed to talk with an interviewee. CHAPTER TWO Literature Review 2. 1 The effects of the introduction of FPE on enrollment Many studies have been conducted to ascertain the actual effect of FPE on ECD enrolment. Most of the studies have been conducted by International development Agencies such as USAID and DANIDA. The most comprehensive overview, however, are the studies conducted by UNESCO and approved by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. A UNESCO Policy Review Report, UNESCO/OECD Early Childhood Policy Review Project, 2005, hereafter to be referred simply to as the UNESCO report 2005, reports that, ‘A 1969 survey counted about 200,000 children enrolled in 4800 ECD centers with about 5,000 teachers. The number of ECD Centers and teachers have been growing steadily and, after a stalled increase of only 15% between 1993 and 2000, the enrolment ratio leaped by 50% over the next three years. The current (2001/02) GER in preschool is officially 35%, although the Government’s own statistics appear to show a GER of 48% in 1998, falling to 41% in 2002. † Such a report shows a decline in GER in ECD. The year in which the FPE was introduced is 2002. Therefore, changes occurring between 2001 and 2002 truly indicate effects of FPE on enrolment. A UNESCO Policy brief on Early Childhood entitled the Impacts of Free Primary Education on Early Childhood Development in Kenya, Jan. to Feb. 2006, by Yoshie Kaga, claims that the overall effect of FPE has been the reduction of enrollment in ECD. Here is an excerpt from the report, â€Å"Studies have been conducted to assess the effects of FPE on ECD centers. Some report on negative effects, while others note no major draw backs. While the overall impact of the policy is yet to be determined, the UNESCO/OECD Early Childhood Policy Review Mission, which took place in September 2004, observed that the policy did have a negative impact of FPE on ECD in Kenya and outline two major options that may mitigate possible negative impact. † EFA Global Monitoring report, 2005, UNESCO Publishing reports that the gross enrollment rate for the age group 3 to 5 was 44. 4% in 2001. However, the theory that enrollment rates declined as a result of the introduction of FPEs is not automatically to be accepted. Some reports indicate that the GER increased as a result of the introduction of FPE. The UNESCO/OECD Report, 2005, reports in item number 3. 4. 1, â€Å"The Background Report of Kenya shows that, while enrollment increased substantially from 1,076,606 to 1,281,846 between 1998 and 2002. A closer look at the figures, however, suggests two rather disturbing trends. First, GER’s in preschool have clearly declined since 1998 from 48% to 41%, and the major overall decline took place between 1998 and 1999 before the FPE option arose. In fact, a small increase occurred from 2002 to 2003, after FPE was introduced in January 2003. Second, while he 1998 GER was about the same for boys and girls, a gap of about 4% in favor of boys opened up in 2001 and grew to 6% in 2002. â€Å" The figures in the above report are not the same as other documents. According to the Quantitative Study of the Early Childhood Development Project : Final report to MOEST statistics, the 2002 figure is 1,416,048 and not 1,281,846. These dissenting views and conflicting figures show that the inverse relationship between FPE and ECD needs to be verified by qualified actuarial review. The extent of the relationship may need other factors to explain other than the factors stated above. 2. 2 Factors that have led to low enrolment as a result of introduction of FPE in Kenya Many workers have tried to give reasons for the decline in ECD enrolment as a result of the introduction of FPE. However, these are not in the form of complex scientific theories. The UNESCO Policy Brief on Early Childhood is one such document. It explains the phenomenon in the following terms, â€Å"The main reason for this phenomenon is that since the implementation of FPE, poor parents are choosing to withdraw their children from ECD centers and/or keep them at home until they reach the age of primary school entry. They refuse to pay the fees for ECD on the grounds that ECD, lie primary education, should be free. † However, this assertion needs to be corroborated by more extensive scientific studies on the causes of the inverse relationship. Economic theories may help to describe the situation better. According to Ricardian analysis, low cost items such as table salt are already sold cheaply and are therefore associated with poor sections of the population. If the price of salt, for example is reduced further, it becomes too cheap and the buyers may shift for more costly brand of salt. This theory seems to hold true for the ECDs in rural areas of Kenya. They are considered very cheap. Due to government subsidy, the parents may actually feel that the quality of primary education in public primary schools will decline. They see children who have been idle at home, such as street children being brought to school. This makes them to hate public school education and instead opt for the costly private schools. As a basic strategy, they decide to enrol their children in private ECDs with the reasoning that by the time the child enters primary school, he or she will have laid a strong foundation in ECDE. The UNESCO/OECD Report in section 3. 3. 5. Reports that, â€Å"Meanwhile, an assessment study of FPE on ECD carried out jointly by the MOEST and UNESCO in February 2004 found that ECD programmes had almost collapsed because children’s enrolment had decreased after the introduction of FPE. The study found that parents opted to send their children straight to standard one, which became free, without having them go through ECD, which was still fees paying. Moreover, Standard one teacher reported that children who skipped ECD had difficulty coping with lessons in primary school and poorly performed. † Section 3. 3. 4 reports that, â€Å"The Review Team found widespread anecdotal evidence of drops in enrolment at ECD centres, especially in poor provinces such as North Eastern†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ many parents have by passed ECD altogether ; many others send their children only to pre-unit class of ECD to prepare them for primary school. In some areas, parents are keeping their children at home until they reach the age of 6 entitling them to free education. † Yet other factors have been suggested by the UNESCO Policy Briefs on ECD. Calling it the unintended consequence on ECD, the report went on to report that, â€Å"ECD classrooms set up on the premises of public primary schools have been shut down in order to accommodate the surge of enrolment in primary schools sparked by FPE. In some cases, ECD children and teachers must put up with reduced space; in others, they have been moved to the worst classrooms in the premises. At the district level, inspection and supervision of ECD centres some of which is carried out by the district based Zonal Inspector of schools, have reportedly become less frequent. † The UNESCO/OECD report presents a critique of the situation thus: ‘Despite these observations, the impact of FPE on ECD is still subject to dispute. For example, it is unclear whether FPE has been the main cause of falling ECD enrolments, given the evidence that the decline may well have begun well before the introduction of the policy. Also, it is yet to be determined how many of the unprepared pupils newly flowing into standard one would have gone to ECD centres if FPE had not been in place. The influx could simply be explained by a rising enrolment of at risk children who would not have been able to afford primary education when it was fee paying, let alone ECD centres. 2. 3 Impact of FPE on enrolment in ECDs There is an indication that poverty may be a great factor determining patterns of enrolment in ECDs. The UNESCO/OECD Report 2005, reports in section 3. 3. 8. Suggest that there is no direct relationship between FPE and ECD. Otherwise, such relationship could exist between FPE and other factors that mitigate leading to low enrolment. The paper points at poverty as one of the factors that lead to low enrolment as a result of the introduction of FPE. Section 3. 4. 3 on inequalities in the same report shows that, â€Å"There are obvious geographical inequalities. In Nairobi, for instance, far more children are likely to be enrolled in ECD than in other provinces with similar poverty levels. Meanwhile, North Eastern Province has the highest poverty level and the lowest enrolment rates. There are also gender disparities. In Nairobi, girls are more likely to be enrolled whereas in North Eastern province, the reverse is observed. ‘The report claims that the poor are generally not able to access ECD services. â€Å"Even within Nairobi, middle and upper class children benefit most from preschool experiences. Overall, those lacking access to preschool services tend to be children from disadvantages communities such as semi arid and arid areas and urban slums. This observation is reinforced by the findings of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey. (UNICEF/Government Survey, 2000) showing that 29. 5% of children whose mothers had secondary education were enrolled in some form of ECD compared to 10. 7% of those whose mothers had only completed primary school and 12. 4% of 2002 of those whose mothers had no schooling. There is also a clear association between GERs in 1998 and 2002 and the absolute poverty index (1997) at the district level, with eight of the ten correlations being negative and statistically significant though not very large. ’ The table below was meant to encapsulate the correlation between poverty index and Ger at district level. If these reports are anything to go by, the researcher expects to find the decline in ECD enrolment to affect mainly the public ECD centres as opposed to the private ECD units. | 1998| 1999| 2000| 2001| 2002| Boys| -0. 355| -0. 252| +0. 145| -0. 096| -0. 271| Girls| +0. 007| -0. 287| -0. 272| -0. 048| -0. 290| Correlations between poverty index (1997) and GERs at District Level Ref: Kenya Human development report (2001). UNDP/Background Report of Kenya for the UNESCO/OECD Early Childhood Policy Review Project (2005). MOEST , Govt of Kenya. Statistically significant p is less than 0. 05. The researcher will therefore study the impacts of socio economic status on enrolment in ECD centres. CHAPTER THREE Methodology 3. 1 Research Design The researcher adopted the diagnostic research design. According to Kothari, diagnostic research studies are necessary to establish causality and causal nexus of two or three phenomena. The diagnostic research design was be inevitable as the researcher was needed to establish causality among variables: school enrolment and enrolment. 3. 2 Location of the Study. The study was carried out in Konoin District, Mogogosiek Zone. It targeted three schoo 3. 3 Target Population The study targeted ECD children, ECD teachers and primary school Head Teachers in Early Childhood Development centres. 3. 4 Sample Population The study sampled ten schools from a total of twenty two in Mogogosiek Zone, Konoin District, Bomet County. 3. 5 Sampling Method The researcher used simple stratified sampling. The listed schools were classified as boarding and day schools. Two schools were picked from private and three schools will be picked from day public schools category. The proportion was used since there are only 1 out of 5 boarding schools in the zone 3. 6 Research Instruments The researcher used questionnaires and study schedules as the basic research instruments. The questionnaires will be designed and tested on a school that is not part of the samples. The test will enable the researchers to determine the efficacy of the questionnaire. The researcher then wrote to the heads of the sampled schools seeking permission to conduct research in their institutions. The researcher sampled three schools representing all types of primary schools in the study locale. CHAPTER FOUR Data Representation 4. 1 The Extent to Which ECD Enrolment Declined as a Result Of Introduction of Fpe in the ten Sampled Institutions The researcher studied the data from ten schools relating to the rate of enrolment just before and after the introduction of FPE. The results were as under: SCHOOL| ECD ENROLMENT IN 2000| ECD ENRLMENT IN 2001| ECD ENROLMENT IN 2002| ECD ENROLMENT IN 2003| 1| 51| 50| 53| 43| 2| 48| 47| 53| 44| 3| 67| 69| 71| 58| A| 41| 43| 44| 61| B| 47| 52| 51| 58| The graph below depicts these data. The results show that there was a general trend for the enrolment in ECD in public primary schools to decline in the year following the introduction of FPE in 2002. There was increase of the number of pupils enrolling in ECDs manned by private schools following the introduction of FPE. 4. 2 Reasons for the Decline Of ECD Enrolment as a Result Of Introduction Of FPE The researcher sought to establish the causes of declined enrolment in public ECDs following the introduction of FPE in 2002. The following responses were established. REASON GIVEN| % OF RESPONDENTS| | Fear of low quality due to high enrolment in class| 44%| | Fear of poor foundation in public ECDs| 23%| | Need to give children good ECD foundation before joining private ECDs| 76%| | Decline in the status of public ECDs| 39%| | Demand for free education in class one | 17%| | These data show that most parents preferred private school ECDs to public school ECDs due to the reasons above: fear that the free primary education would lead to high enrolment hence low quality of education; the fear that the public school ECDs were not preparing pupils adequately for primary  school education; need to children good ECD foundation and the decline of the status of public school ECD. This was aggravated by the introduction of street boys enrolling in public primary schools. 17% wished to get free education in class one hence skips the ECD class in order to achieve this. 4. 3 Impact of FPE on ECD Enrolment per Economic Class The researcher sought to establish the effects that the introduction of FPE has led to decreased enrolment in ECD by economic class. She studied the composition of ten pupils in each sampled school to determine their economic class. It is found that most of the high class parents of course send their children to schools A to D. However, the following statistics relate to the composition of the pupils in the ECDs attached to public primary schools. The parents were classified as either poor [earning less than 3000 per month] or average [earning between 3001 and 6000] per month. The statistics below show the effect that the introduction of FPE affected the composition of pupils enrolling in public school ECDs. SCHOOL| POOR| AVERAGE| LOWER MIDDLE| 1| 88%| 8%| 4%| 2| 78%| 9%| 13%| 3| 91%| 5%| 4%| CHAPTER FIVE. Conclusions 5. 1 The Relationship between the Introduction of FPE and Enrolment in ECDS Attached to Public Primary schools The study established that there is a negative relationship between the introduction of FPE and the enrolment in ECD centres in ECDs attached to public primary schools. The introduction of FPE led to reduced enrolment in primary schools in these schools. 5. 2 The Effects of Introduction of FPE on Enrolment in ECDS in Private Primary Schools The study established that the introduction of FPE in 2002 led to increased enrolment in ECDS in private primary school 5. 3 Causes for the Low Enrolment of Pupils in Public Primary School ECDS as A Result of Introduction Of FPE. The study established that the introduction of FPEs led to low enrolment in ECDS in public primary schools due to the following reasons: First, most parents feared that the admission of many pupils in primary schools will lead to low quality of education. They therefore sought to enrol their children in private institutions to escape from the low quality education to be experienced in public primary schools. Secondly, the parents associated the introduction of FPE in public primary schools to low prestige. The poor class could now take their children to school. This was not possible before. Those in the average class sought to take their children to better schools in order to maintain their status ahead of the poor class. Thirdly, the introduction of free education in primary school led to the poor class parents taking their children direct to class one in order to escape the fees paid in ECD and directly benefit from the FPE program 5. 4 Effects of Introduction of FPES on ECD per Economic Class. The introduction of FPE led to decline in the number of the children of the economically poor members of the community as compared to the middle class and the rich who continued to take their children to private school ECDs. APPENDIX A Questionnaire for ECD Teachers This questionnaire is part of a research project carried out by the researcher in partial fulfilment for award of the Diploma in ECD. The information obtained will be used for academic purposes only and will not be divulged to third parties. PART ONE General Information 1. Number of Years You have worked in the station:____________________ Current position held:_______________ 2. Kindly give the pupils enrolment in your class by filling the form below: YEAR| BOYS| GIRLS| TOTAL| STREAMS| 2002| | | | | 2003| | | | | 2004| | | | | 2005| | | | | 2006| | | | | 2007| | | | | 2008| | | | | 2009| | | | | 2010| | | | | 2011| | | | | 3. Who pays for your wages? Parents NGO County Council 4. Who collects the fees? Heat Teacher Pre-School Teacher 5. How is the fee collected if parents fail to pay? Sending pupils Teachers visiting parents 6. How are you paid your wages? Monthly Quarterly 7. Are parents willing to pay school fees? Yes No 8. Is the fees paid enough for your wages? Yes No 9. Are defaulters of fees common? Yes No 10. If yes, what reason do they give for defaulting? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 11. Are head teachers supportive in dealing with defaulters? Yes No 12. - What is your suggestion to the government in relation to free primary education and the way it affects preschool parents? - ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 13. Briefly give the age range of the pupils in your current class. SEX| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| BOYS| | | | | | | | GIRLS| | | | | | | | TOTAL| | | | | | | | 14. Briefly give the range of pupils in 2003 class. SEX| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| BOYS| | | | | | | | GIRLS| | | | | | | | TOTAL| | | | | | | | 15. In your opinion, has the entry age changed since introduction of FPE? Yes No 16. Do your pre school classes have a committee? Yes No 17. How often are parents meetings held? Once a term. Once a year. 18. Do you keep financial records of fees collected? Yes No 19. If yes, how many pupils failed to complete fees in the previous year ? _____________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ Thank you very much for responding to questionnaire truthfully and for being mindful of our research. God bless you. APPENDIX B. Bibliography 1. Economics Simplified, 2009, Saleemi Publications, Kenya. 2. EFA Global Monitoring Report(2004). New York: UNDP. S 3. MOEST, Government of Kenya,2005, Background report of Kenya for the UNESCO/OECD Early Chidhood Policy Review Project, Government of Kenya. 4. Ngwere M. W. et al (2004). Quantitative Study of the Kenya Early Childhood Development Project, final report to the MOEST, June 2004. Nakuru: Sermon educational Consultants. 5. UNESCO/OECD Early Childhood Policy Review Project, Policy Review Report: Early Childhood Care and Education in Kenya, by UNESCO, Paris, February, 2005. 6. Yoshie Kaga, 2006,UNESCO Policy Brief on Early Childhood, Impacts of Free Primary Education o Early Childhood development in Kenya, Paris. APPENDIX C Work Schedule MONTH | YEAR| ACTIVITY TO BE DONE| December | 2010| Preparation for the research proposal and budgeting| January-March| 2011| Writing of the proposal| April| 2011| Approval for the proposal| May| 2011| Compiling and revising of the research proposal| June-July| 2011| Collection of the data| August| 2011| Analyzing of the data| September-December| 2011| Compiling and presenting the final project. | APPENDIX D Budget. ACTIVITY| PLACE/ITEM/USE| AMOUNT KSH| Travelling | For Literature review during data collection while typing and compiling the project. | 5001,5002,000| Stationery| Papers, pens, ruler, books, foolscaps, stapler, paper bunches | 2,000| Typing/photocopying | Research proposal and final project. | 3,500| Food| Lunch, tea break, snacks| 1,500| Miscellaneous Expenses| Emergencies| 2,500| TOTAL| | 13,500| APPENDIX D Introduction letter CHEBET JOYCE, KIRIMOSE PRIMARY SCHOOL, P. O BOX 174 , LITEIN. 25TH JUNE 2011. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN Dear Sir/Madam, REF: PERMISSION TO CONDUCT RESEARCH IN MOGOGOSIEK ZONE. I wish to seek for permission to conduct a research in your pre-school centre on THE EFFECTS OF INTRODUCTION OF FREE PRIMARY EDUCATION PROGRAM ON ENROLMENT IN ECD CENTERS in MOGOGOSIEK zone. I am a Diploma Student at Valley Teachers Training College The Kenya National Examination Council is requiring a research as part of examination from me. I am therefore required to collect data from your E. C. D. E teachers, parents, and head teachers of the selected school. I look forward for your positive respond. Thanks in advance Yours Faithfully Chebet Joyce.

Importance of strategic alliances

Importance of strategic alliances Introduction Strategic Alliances are becoming very popular in present scenario. In business environment these days alliances are becoming essential building blocks for companies to achieve more effective and efficient market place. This kind of cooperative arrangement helps organizations to achieve goals and objectives better through cooperation rather than competition. Seeing the importance of strategic alliances it is very important for the partners to form effective business relationship which helps in achieving cooperative objectives. Formation of alliances may encounter several problems that can affect further business relationships. This essay is divided into 3 parts. First part defines strategic alliances and steps in their formation. Second part identifies major problems in alliance formation with the help of academic theories and case studies. Third part discusses the importance of partner selection and gives examples of successful partner selection. Strategic Alliance Strategic alliance is an agreement between two or more firms or companies reaching on the objective of common interest. Strategic alliance is a trading partnership that enhances the effectiveness of the competitive strategies of the participating firms by providing for the mutually beneficial trade of technologies, skill, or products based upon them. These alliances can range from informal agreement to formal contract depends on the length of contract in which partners are involved in transfer of capital, technologies, and personnel. Alliances between partners consist of basically four necessary characteristics: 1 The two or more companies remain independent even after forming an alliance to pursue their objectives. The companies involved in the alliance share the common benefit, competitive advantage and manage the performance of task. The partner firms get involved in achieving common objective by contributing on a regular basis in one or more key areas of alliance, e.g. technology, product, personnel, etc. Trust is another characteristic that can evolves and develop between partners during the operation of an alliance which comes from the selection of right partner. Stages in Alliance formation 1). Purpose of alliance: There are various factors which are driving the companies to enter into alliances which are globalization of market, rapid change in technology, increased in competition, high cost of RD etc. Out of various corporative purposes there are eight purposes (Figure.1) on which companies are focusing for alliance formation. Four out of eight strategies- as strategic because these purpose impact on the competitiveness and future position of alliances. Other four purpose deal with the operational purpose. Purpose of Business Alliance Strategic Operation Figure 1. Purpose of Alliance 2). Motives and objectives of Alliance: Motive describes various reasons for which companies are going for alliances formation and how they achieve the desired objective. Motive for alliance formation can consist of cost advantages, decreasing risk and uncertainty, organizational learning, managing industry structure and timing. Objective of alliance deals with the outcome of the process. 3). Partner Selection: Partner selection plays a very important and vital role in the formation of alliance between the companies. Note: Please refer to the third part of this essay for more information about the importance of partner selection and relevant theories. 4). Types of alliances: Strategic Alliances are basically identified into two types: Alliances between non-competing firms Alliances between competing firms These both alliances are further divided into four types which are: Cartels, Competitive alliances, Co-operatives and Collaborative. Cartels This type of alliance is basically comes under competing firms involves in the operation purpose. This alliance operate in the businesses like diamond, petroleum, semi conductor chips producers dealing in field of product supply, price fixing or sharing common infrastructure. Competitive alliance This kind of alliance is generally between the companies or firms who are very strong rivals and basically competitors. It serves the strategic purpose and is specially designed for the companies dealing in global or regional geographical area. The companies in this alliance enjoy the competitive advantage. Some of the examples of competitive alliances are: GM and Toyota who are assembling automobiles; Siemens and Philips developing semiconductors etc. Co-operative alliance This alliance is applicable for non-competing firms focusing on operational purpose. companies share cost and facilities with customers or suppliers. They are involved in co-development or distribution of goods and services. Collaborative Collaborative alliances are common in non-competing companies involves in strategic objectives. The main purpose of this alliances is in the collaboration of activities like joint marketing efforts, entering new market, and developments of new technologies or new product between the companies. 5). Decision making and coordination between management: Many of the alliances fail due to the poor decision making by the management. For the success of alliance it is important that all members should agree on the specific decision, policy, rule etc. in the formation of alliance. Problems Encountered in Alliance Formation Strategic alliance is a popular choice for a company who wants to grow. Careful consideration on forming an alliance is a very crucial part for its success. Many recent studies discuss success factors of alliances and give less importance to the problems encountered in its formation. There is a danger for alliance to break because of problems arising at the very beginning of its formation. Seven of the major problems encountered in the formation of alliances are discussed below. 1). Difference in culture and attitude One of the biggest problems encountered by the partners in the alliance is the difference in culture. Alliance brings together two different international companies with their cultural differences like language, ego, manners, attitudes and approaches. Language barrier is an important problem in cultural mismatch. In alliance formation process companies have to communicate to each other. Language is one of the communication means. Companies are also differently operated based on lets say western and eastern manners. For example, companies in the USA evaluate their performance on the basis of profit and market share whereas companies in Japan evaluate their performance based on operations that they choose to make. Example case: The Rover/Honda Alliance Rover Honda alliance was formed in 1979. Poor management of Rover would need a good managerial example like for instance from Japan. Honda received the huge network of suppliers and got chance to learn European style. This alliance was formed for the strategic purpose and falls under competing type of alliance. These two companies are from different cultural backgrounds. According to Rover it took 6 years out of 10 to understand the business style of Honda. This alliance shows the importance of cultural background. Honda claims to waste this time in learning the culture of the company instead of putting all attention on business production and its introduction to the market. Thus the problem of cultural difference may be time consuming process and has to be considered at the time of formation of alliance. 2). Lack of Trust Lack of trust between the companies may cause firms not to make an alliance at all or to end it in a later process. Lack of trust brings the problem of lack of commitment in alliance. In order to form an alliance, companies have to see if they can trust each other. Trust reduces the uncertainty and risk in the alliance. Suzuki-Maruti Alliance This alliance was formed on October 2, 1982. Suzuki-Maruti alliance is a collaborative alliance. At the starting point Maruti had 74% of shares and Suzuki had 26%. However, after India opened the door for globalization venture, shares were changed into 50-50 partnership. However, after competitors entered Indian market the new expansion plan with 15 billion rupees was made. Suzuki requested raising the equity shares which gave wrong impression for Indian government that Suzuki wanted to take over them. However, as both companies realize the importance of trust, they decided that in every 5 years if chairman is chosen from Suzuki than managing director must be from Maruti and vice versa. This agreement was not followed by Maruti so courts had to solve this problem. This example case shows that trust can be broken later on. Its negative side resulted in the involvement of court. The reason for this situation may be poor trust at the start which grew into greater conflict or the trust was broken with time. In any case, companies have to consider the dangers and negative effects of lack of trust during the alliance formation or even afterwards. 3) Lack of Coordination between management Many alliances fail due to the poor decision making by the management. This is caused by the lack of coordination between management teams in alliances. In business practice it happens that members in alliance do not agree on the specific decisions. It happens sometimes that companies go for some major project on its own by applying their own marketing strategy for products without considering the other firm. In the formation of alliance it is usually agreed to decide on the commitments of top managements, but due to the poor management it may sometime affect the alliances in long term and results in failure. Example case: Queensland Minerals Limited At the time of venture it has been agreed that Boards of Director for Queensland Mineral must be 4 equally from both parent companies. And out of which VHI is responsible for managing the staff. Apart from that Amcon is responsible for sound financial practice and is more efficient than VHI. Further problem started with the management process in the alliance as Amcon wanted to expand Queensland Mineral Ltd. Whereas VHI did not want the expansion. As there was no proper coordination between management of both companies this resulted in the change of management structure. So finally they came up the result to make 50-50 management structure. 4). Operational risk This kind of problem arises in the later part of alliances but in order to come over this problem and for the successful alliance partners should monitor the operational risk. This problem is encountered by partners when they are involved in different trade practices. The main aim of alliances is to pursue the business to achieve the common goal. But when partners involved in business for the self interest like delay in production of good or not delivering goods on time may affect the other partner. This situation causes breakup of alliance or take over. Example case: Goodyear-Sumi-tomo Goodyear has a Joint production alliance with Japans Sumi-tomo. These two companies produce tyres for each other in different area, one in Asia and other in North America. They remain competitors in many markets. Being a competitors alliance will be in danger side and have more chances of failure because competitor will always remain competitors even if they have alliance. 5). Performance risk It consists of chance of failure of alliance if companies fulfil all the aspects for successful alliance formation. This performance risk may evolve from various environmental conditions like introduction of new policies by government, war, market condition like recession or demand and supply gap. On the other hand long term orientation has its own value in alliance. In this partner view the alliance as least semi permanent which means the condition which comes in future should be adapted as it is by partners. In order to come out of this problem partners should settle a reasonable, concrete objective at each stage of formation of alliance. Vodaphone and China Alliance These companies formed alliance on January 9, 2002. They made this alliance of RD of wireless data services. These companies consider all the possible forward-looking statement with known and unknown risks and uncertainty. They carefully consider the performance risk that there is a chance of unexpected events which may break alliance. In the annual report on year ended on 31 December 2000, the registration filed by the China mobile described uncertainty and risk for the future. If any of risk, uncertainty or assumptions were wrong it affects the future results and may differ from the expected. Still they were doing well in the alliance. This kind of alliance comes under competitive alliance type where both company serves the strategic purpose. 6). Relational Risk Relational risk deals with the chance that partners may lack commitment of the alliance and the partners are more intended to fulfil the self interest rather than common alliance interest. Relational risk is very important and unique in strategic alliance. At the formation of alliance companies should agree on certain points to overcome relational risk. If any decision is taken on marketing of product or new product development, the firms should not serve their own interests; rather they need to cooperate with each other. Example case: In 1993 U S West invested $2.5 billion in Time Warner Entertainment which a part of Time Warner Inc. This alliance went into problem in later part when Time Warner Entertainment signed various other contracts with other telecommunication industries like AT T. This will affect the U S West as these companies were come from its own local competitors. These all proposals are vetoed by U S West. 7). Risk of partner selection The last but not the least and consider to be very important problem or risk faced in alliances is partner selection. This is not an easy decision to take on selection as there are various criteria for choosing good partner. It happened in the past and present that most of the alliances fail just because due to the choice of wrong partner. It may happen when alliances were formed between competitors, between weak and strong firms. Before forming an alliance partners should go for strong equal equity and very high level of trust an commitment is requires in the selection of partners. When partners are selecting a partner at the time of alliance the partner should be both resource fit and strategic fit and serve the need of alliance. Importance of Partner Selection Selection of partners in the alliance considers to be the most important part. When partners enter into any alliance they have certain expectations and objectives. So it is very crucial for the management of companies to identify and understand the effective partner selection criteria before going for any alliance. It is a very complex decision to take. Basically poor decision taken on the partner selection may lead to fail of alliances. A successful alliance leads to the combination of partners serving towards the same goal. With the selection of right partner company may help themselves to grow more in future by the introduction of new technology, skill, personnel, access to new market, dividing risks. Selection of appropriate partners is the intensive process in the formation of alliance. Before going to any alliance partners must consider three features which helps in selecting right partner. Partners should have resources and capabilities to serve companies in achieving strategic goals. Partners must share long-term goals for the alliance Partners should not use the alliance just to learn new technology, relationship between customers and client without the equal contribution of strategies. As it is told before also that selection of partner is is very complex thing as a small decision may leed to failure of alliance. Companies may face problem in selection of partner due to some reason like: Lack of Information of partner Overestimation of capability Managerial Differences Lack of mutual trust between partners Cultural difference According to one of the theory called 3C in Business International (1992), in order to measure the potential resources and capabilities of partners, it is necessary to reduce this criteria to bring it down to three requisites C: Compatibility, Capability, Commitment which is very important in the selection of partner. Compatibility While selecting the partners it is easy to identify the good partner by seeing the compatibility of of partner from the past alliances. It has been seen that most of the alliance come from past tie-ups between the partners. Looking at the compatibility of the partner and forming an alliance is very simple and easy. It has been seen that building alliances with the known partner reduces the risk of failure in alliance. Capability Every partner when going into selection process partner it basically looks for the capability of the other partner. It depends on how they can serve the objective of alliance. It can may happen that one is good in technology, one is better in geographical area. So partner can serve the area in which he capable and cover that particular area whether geographical area, production, distribution etc. Commitment The parents may have capabilities and compatibility within but they must have believed in the alliance. Partners should have commitment towards the alliances, so any partner coming into alliance should have trust on other partners. They have to find the ways to come over any risks in future by serving towards the same goal. When talking about the selection of partners, partner firm should be resource fit and strategic fit. Resource fir refers to the degree of to which partners possess compatible resources. It is important for alliance partner because resources and capabilities are the main thing responsible for the alliance performance. For example: HP and Nokia form alliance to develop hand-held communication device that combine mobile phone with computer, where both companies draw the resources and capabilities. Strategic fit refers to the alliance where firms know each other real objective and that these objectives can accommodate in the alliance without harming the partner firm of alliance itself. For example: GM and Daewoo formed an alliance where GM interested mainly to remain with same model and keeping cost down and Daewoo wants to upgrade technology and design. Due to the mismatch of RD orientation and cost orientation alliance got failed. Conclusion This essay consist of three parts where in first part it explains about the strategic alliance and the stages involved, second part consist of problem encountered in the formation of alliance and final part covers the importance of partner selection. Strategic alliance is an important tool for attaining and maintaining competitive advantages. Many companies are forming alliance for the best quality and technologies or cheap labour and production cost. But sometimes company form an alliance without analysing capabilities and resources of partners of the life of alliance or lack with the objectives which may results in the failure of alliance.