Central Group and Jirathivat Family Essay Example for Free

Central Group and Jirathivat Family Essay Tiang Jirathiwat moved from China to Thailand with no asset. In 1947, he started a general store in in Samphanthawong district, Bangkoks Chinatown. In 1957, his son, Samrit Jirathiwat, opened the first Central Department Store in Wangburapha and developed later on. In 1968, Central Silom was run with loss because people thought the imported items might be too expensive ! After two years, the Jirathiwats changed the strategy and made profit. Some family members (2nd Generation) were sent to study abroad and came back to develop Central Chidlom with Siblings and relatives. So, Central Chidlom made profit since its first year. Management Styles : First Generation : Tao Kae (concerned on cost of goods, loss and profit) Second Generation : Committee (concerned more on investment and finance) Third Generation : Family Council (development by family members under the family’s rules and regulations) The business transition from the first to the second generation was not complex, but from the second to the third generation was more complex, since nowadays there were much more business factors. For Central Group, which has been operating with many family members, there must be the rules and regulations besides the business issues. To be more focused on the third generation, they must work together and compromise â€Å"conservative† and with the â€Å"aggressive† styles ! Rotation and Distribution When to business turns to be more complex and operated by the larger numbers of family members, to make decisions is not simple. All Jirathiwats must know all A, B, C and D steps. Moreover, since the family members are graduated and have experiences in various fields, the work rotation and distribution are very efficient. Different families of Jirathiwats will work together, which leads to the family relation and unity. Jirathiwats is in charge of knowledge and experience of all family members. They focus both on â€Å"Drive and Control† as well as â€Å"Transition† of the family business. â€Å"The elements of strong business are Strategy, Money and People money will bring strategies successful, but without good people, there won’t be an effective implementation†. (Tos Jirathiwat, CEO of CRC since 2002) Challenges In general family business, the CEO is wearing three hats; head of the family, business owner and the administrative CEO. This person must well balance all three actions, to be more specific, if he is focusing more on business issues, the family relationship can be weak. He should support the family members to be gradually evolved the business to make the members feel with this â€Å"family business† and are willing to involve of the business continuously. Hence, the conflict of interest will not be existing among the business performance and family harmony. This will make the transition to the next (4th) Generation the most possibly efficient. â€Å"The business competition is same as the war, which needs not only the individual ability but team work ! â€Å" Preventions â€Å"We must separate into two main issues; issues among family members and issues among stakeholders† (Tos Chirathivat, CEO of CRC since 2002) 1. Family Council From this reason, Family Council has been set in order to direct all Jirathiwats and give them rights and compensations. Here are some issues on Family Council : Descriptions of a good member of Jirathiwat The Rights that all Jirathiwats will receive, for instance, funds of birth giving, education, infrastructure expenses in family house, health care and hospitality. 2. Family Business Constitution Family constitution is strategies and solutions which should be implemented to deal with family-related matters that impact on business issues. It is necessary for family business to set regulations or rules in order to prevent conflicts that can happen. By the way, conflicts are the cause that creates regulation or rules. An effective Family Business Constitution might include: criteria for joining the family business a definition of roles responsibilities of active mechanisms to be adopted for the transfer of ownership and leadership. Jirathiwat Family also has a Family Constitution which will maintain harmony and co-operation, also solve conflicts. Agreements for family business are a clear, simple, understandable and enforceable set of guidelines for the effective operation and continuance of the enterprise. The 8 following issues are the Family Constitution of Jirathiwat, which seems to be very strict, but to link all family members together and to the family business: 1. All Jirathiwat families must stay in the same house, doing all activities together. 2. Everyone must respect in seniority, for example, parents will teach children, elder brother will teach his younger siblings. 3. Ranking is more important than age. 4. Democracy comes first and everyone has a right to express ideas. 5. All boys must be sent to Assumptions, girls to Mater Dei and everyone should be sent abroad. 6. The responsibities in business will be distributed to each, based on age, not seniority. 7. A bad action will be broadcasted to all family members as a bad example. 8. Instead of giving compliments, those persons who have good outcomes, will receive more business tasks and responsibilities. Lesson Learned Joel Arthur Barker said that â€Å"a set of rules and regulations (written or unwritten) that does two things† which are 1. It establishes or defines boundaries For Central: Everyone must have 6-year-experiences outside before coming back work with family 2. It tells you how to behave inside the boundaries in order to success For Central: Not doing business that competes with family business family business or relies on the mail family business. Prevention Before Solve by setting regulations Put the right man on the right job separate people up to their potential Last but not learst, as Jirathiwat has a policy in a form of â€Å"Executive Committee† operated by CEO group, business issues are apart from family issues. This is why they can have a strong family relationship, in the meanwhile, the business has been very well operated and continuously worldwide expanded only by family members.

Artificial Vs. Natural In A Separate Peace :: essays research papers

Someone once said that being yourself, being who you are, is a successful rebellion. Gene Forrester, one of the main characters in John Knowles's novel, A Separate Peace should have taken this advice. Throughout the novel, Gene acted artificially, disguising his true self. He lived in fear of people finding out what he was really like. Phineas, Gene's best friend and the other main character in this novel, on the other hand, acted naturally around people. He was not afraid of people seeing who he really was. In John Knowles's novel, A Separate Peace, Gene acted artificially, while Phineas acted naturally. To begin with, Gene Forrester acted artificially. There are several instances throughout the novel where Gene disguises himself or is influenced by artificial things. Towards the beginning of the novel Gene tells the reader that he was a half inch taller than Finny ("I had been claiming five feet nine inches before he became my roommate..." (Gene Pg. 8) and that Finny weighed ten pounds more than he did. "He weighed a hundred and fifty pounds, a galling ten pounds more than I did..." (Gene Pg. 8) Because Gene mentioned those facts, the reader can tell that even having a slight height and weight advantage or disadvantage to Finny were important to him. What people, especially Finny, thought about him worried him. "...I would have lost face with Phineas, and that would have been unthinkable." (Gene Pg. 26) Later in the novel, when Finny wanted to wear a pink shirt to school, Gene told him it would make him look like a "fairy". "Pink! It make s you look like a fairy!' (Gene Pg. 17) Gene knew that people might question Finny's masculinity and ridicule him so he spoke up. Gene would have never taken such a risk as wearing a pink shirt because it was not socially acceptable at Devon School. This again points out Gene's obsession with what people thought of him. Gene had a cautious, competitive nature and let grades and trying to outdo Finny run his life. When Finny broke the school's swimming record, Gene did not understand why he did not want people to know about it. "The worst thing is that there weren't any witnesses. Tomorrow. We'll get the coach here, and all the official timekeepers, and I'll call up the Devonian and send a reporter and a photographer-...Not say anything about it! When you broke the school record!" (Gene Pg.

A brief history of science education in ghana from the colonial era to present day Essay

Science education is the cultivation and disciplining the mind and other faculties of an individual to utilize science for improving his life, cope with an increasingly technological world, or pursue science academically and professionally, and for dealing responsibly with science related social issues (Akpan, 1992). Ghana, formerly known as the Gold Coast, was the first African country to the south of the Sahara to gain political independence from colonial rule in 1957. This former British colony of 92,000 square miles (about 238,000 square kilometers) shares boundaries with three French-speaking nations: the Cote d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north and Togo to the east. The Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean is to the south of the country. EARLY HISTORY OF EDUCATION BEFORE INDEPENDENCE As was the case in many colonies during the early colonial period, the main goal of education was to ‘make civilization march hand-in-hand with evangelization’ (Anum –Odoom, 2013). This statement gives a clear description of how education in Ghana was implemented at that time. The formal, western-style education in Ghana is directly associated with the history of European activities on the Gold Coast The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive at the Guinea coast in 1471. Their intention to establish schools was expressed in imperial instructions that, in 1529, encouraged the Governor of the Portuguese Castle at Elmina to teach reading, writing, and the Catholic religion to the people. It is imply proven that the Danish, Dutch and the English merchants also set up schools in their forts and castle to educate their mulatto children by native women. Unmistakably linked to the implementation of formal education in Ghana with the Christian missionaries, who realized that in order to spread the word of God, they needed well- educated local assistants. Following the consolidation of the coastal region as the British Gold Coast Colony, the administration became more aggressive in pursuit of its educational policy. This was precipitated by the British purchase of the Danish property at Christiansborg in 1850 and the Dutch Elmina Castle in 1872. To help redress problems faced by the mission schools—such as training local teachers and improving the quality of education—the administration made grants to both the Wesleyan and Basel missions in 1874. In the Educational Ordinance of 1882, government grants to denominational schools were made dependent on an assessment of the level of efficiency. The schools receiving grant-in-aid were defined as â€Å"government assisted schools,† but their primary funding was to come from the missions themselves and from other private sources. On the Gold Coast, the appointment of Brigadier General Gordon Guggisberg as governor brought its own advantages. During his tenure from 1919 through 1927, Governor Guggisberg initiated several major developmental programs that included educational improvements as a critical ingredient in his construction of a modern Gold Coast. While the previous administration had seen the provision of elementary schools by the various Christian missions as adequate, Guggisberg was of the conviction that the current system could not sustain future developments. In fact, only a few months after his arrival, the governor presented a 10-year development plan for the Gold Coast. Among other things, funding was aggressively sought for post elementary education for boys and girls. Even though the administration proposed a technical college for Accra, the Prince of Wales College (now Achimota College) was the real trophy of the administration’s educational program. This non denominational school catered for students from kindergarten to the pre university level. THE BIRTH OF SCIENCE EDUCATION The inadequacies inherent in the system of education were observed in the post-World War I appeal made by the Foreign Missions Conference of North America to the Phelps-Stokes Funds for a review of the state of education in Africa. The Phelps-Stokes Commission on Africa issued reports in 1922 and 1925 in which educators were criticized for inadequately catering to the social and economic needs of the continent. The commission of which James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey was a member, called for instructions in the mechanical operations necessary for the improvement of the condition of the mass majority of the people. This included science education and character training. The Phelps-Stokes fund’s founded in 1920, is an African Education Commission represented one of the early attempts to link black Africa with Negro America. The attempt to forge this link represented a concerted policy on the part of a number of missionary and philanthropic groups in the United Kingdom and the United States to draw attention to what seemed to be analogous situations-politically, socially, and economically. Ghana is said to be the first independent sub-Saharan African country outside South Africa to embark on a comprehensive drive to promote science education and the application of science in industrial and social development (Anamuah-Mensah, 1999). Science Education after Independence After Phelps- stokes commission had pushed for the birth of science education in Africa in general and in particular, Gold Coast, there has not been any clear cut national policy for science education in Ghana up to date (Ahmed, 2013). Dr Kwame Nkrumah who aimed at achieving Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education instituted an Act called 1961 Act, (Act 87) . This Act was to make Basic education free and Compulsory and anyone who fails to send his or her child to school was made to pay a fund by the Minister for education. The education system at that point consisted of six year of primary education, followed by four-years of secondary education. At the end of the four years suitable students went on to do a two-year sixth form course that could lead to a three year University course. Students, who were not suitable to continue, completed two- year of pre-vocational classes. The Nkrumah government encouraged the learning of science by instituting a special scholarship scheme which enabled science and agriculture undergraduates to enjoy scholarships a little higher than those of their counterparts in the humanities. This facility was withdrawn after 1966. Science and mathematics teachers were also paid a little more than their colleagues in the humanities. (Djangmah, 2007) The Reforms The seven year development plan instituted by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was short lived. The system was later regarded as too long and too academic. Thus Dzobo Education Reforms of 1974 saw a reform of the system, instating the Junior Secondary School (now Junior High School) on an experimental basis. The Junior Secondary School introduced practical subjects and activities allowing students to acquire occupational skills, which after an apprenticeship lead to the qualification for self-employment. Due to a wide range of factors such as the economic decline, bureaucracy and sheer lack of interest the JSS-system never went beyond the experimental phase. By 1983 the education system was in a state of crisis. It faced drastic reductions in Government financing, lack of educational materials, and deterioration of school structures, low enrollment levels and high dropout rates. With the assistance of several development partners (World Bank, Department for International Development (ODA) and international grants) the education system was reviewed and proposals were implemented in 1987 known as Evans-Anfom reforms. In 1987, Ghana’s Ministry of Education introduced a restructured educational system that gradually replaced the British-based O-level and A-level system. The transition was completed in June, 1996, when the last class took A-level exams. The last O-level exams were administered in June 1994, although a remedial exam was offered through 1999 (Keteku, 2013) The 1987 Reforms had strengths as well as weaknesses. One of the strengths was that it provided a comprehensive Basic Education which improved access to education for more children of school-going age. Junior Secondary Schools were provided throughout the country and this helped to increase literacy levels. The reform also introduced Continuous Assessment which formed part of the final examination. This ensured that internal assessment in schools was included in the final examinations and this ended the single-shot examination existing in the old system. The Anamuah-Mensah Report recommended similar structure of education just like the Evans-Anfom Report of 1986. The difference was the inclusion of two (2) years of Kindergarten education as part of Basic Education and Apprenticeship training for leavers of the Junior Secondary School who unable to or do not want to continue in the formal sector. The implementation of the Anamuah-Mensah Reforms began in September 2007, and it was faced with initial problems. These problems included delay in the supply of syllabuses and textbooks for the smooth take-off of the programme, and teachers were not adequately prepared in terms of training to implement the reforms. These problems were later dealt with as the implementation of the reforms progressed. The next major problem being anticipated is the inadequate classrooms and other facilities as students will enter the fourth year of Senior High School in September 2010. The Way Forward For Science Education Promotion of science education in the country will depend on three drivers of change, namely, funding, teaching and interventions, and research (Akyeampong ,2007) Funding Knowledge is not cheap. Science, technology and mathematics knowledge required to move the country into the knowledge society can never be cheap. Government’s commitment to science education should be demonstrated in the level of resources allocated to science and technology. Laboratories and workshops in the schools, teacher training colleges, universities and polytechnics should be well equipped and new ones constructed to take into consideration the increasing student population. Research The knowledge society thrives on the creation of new knowledge. Research provides the means by which new knowledge is created. Resources, both material and human, for research in science and technology are woefully inadequate or non-existent. This has had a profound effect on the development of post graduate research in the universities. A number of measures need to be taken to strengthen research in science and technology in order to meet the demands of the country. The following are being suggested: †¢Research in research institutions and the universities should be adequately funded. †¢Most researches carried out in the universities are those that interest the researchers and are hence supply-driven; the Government should challenge our scientists and provide funds to carry out research on problems confronting the country. This can be done through the provision of research funds to be competed for by all scientists in the country. †¢Establish a National Science Research Facilities Centre equipped with world class specialized facilities which are normally expensive and therefore beyond the means of single institutions, to provide opportunities for Ghanaian researchers to carry out scientific research and development and retain local researchers as well as attract foreign ones. †¢To improve the quality of science education at all levels, research in science and technology should include research on teaching and learning science, technology and mathematics. †¢Institute special awards for best researchers and science teachers. This could be termed the President’s Award for Science to be given annually. We need to celebrate achievement. †¢Set up a formal scheme for mentoring the Youth- This is critical to the development of a career path in science for the youth. Mentors excite interest in junior colleagues and help them to â€Å"walk the path†. This experience is however rare in the universities. These days, newly recruited scientists struggle to keep afloat with little or no support. A formal mentoring system should be established in all institutions to ensure that young scientists recruited into the universities or research institutions are attached to professors and senior scientists in their fields of study to receive advice and support. The mentoring can take the form of joint research, publications and presentations at conferences and seminars. †¢To raise the level of awareness of science and technology innovation (research) and foster a synergy among education, industry and research institutes, a project referred to as SMART MOVES in some countries should be established in secondary schools. This project will involve encouraging schools through visits, presentations and seminars to work on problem solving projects with support from the community. The projects will be assessed and students with innovative and creative projects will be invited to present their projects at a Junior Scientist Conference which will be attended by senior scientists who can later act as mentors for the students. Prizes will be given to students based on the quality of project and presentation. The Ghana Academy of Science and Arts can take up this. Conclusion The vision of the National Science and Technology Policy is: â€Å"to support national socio-economic development goals with a view to lifting Ghana to a middle income status by the year 2020 through the perpetuation of a science and technology culture at all the levels of society, which is driven by the promotion of innovation and the mastery of known and proven technologies and their application in industry, and other sectors of the economy†. (MEST, 2000) This vision can become a reality when science education is given a boost at all levels of education. It has been suggested that the promotion of science education hinges on three pillars – funding, teaching and intervention, and research. Without adequate funding, quality teachers, supportive intervention activities and research to illuminate our understanding, science education will have no impact on the everyday lives of Ghanaians; and the observation made by the National Development Planning Commission will remain true. Our national vision for science and technology will be therefore be meaningless. REFERENCES Ahmed, M. (2012). Ghana to launch National Science policy. Retrieved 4th October, 2013, from http://www. ghanaweb. com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel. php? ID=235350. Akpan, O. E. (1992) Toward Creative Science teaching and learning in West African school. Ghana: catholic Press Akyeampong, K. (Centre for International Education, University of Sussex, England) in his lecture on â€Å"50 Years of Educational Progress and Challenge in Ghana†, at Parliament House, London, England; 2007 Anamuah-Mensah, J. (1999). Science and Technology Education in Ghana. A paper delivered at the National education Forum on the theme: Towards Sustaining an Effective National Education System, held at the Accra International Conference Centre, Accra, 17-19th November. Anum-Odoom, A. K. M . Educational Reforms in Ghana, 1974-2007. Retrieved on 12th October, 2013, from http://www. ghanaweb. com/GhanaHomePage/blogs/blog. article. php? blog=2091&ID=1000004125- Djangmah, J. S. Clarifying Ghana’s national vision for the application of science and technology to development. Retrieved on 12th October, 2013, from http://www. ghanansem. org/index. php? option=com_content&task=view&id=234 Keteku, N. W (EDUCATIONAL REFORM IN GHANA: THE SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL). Retrieved 10th October, 2013, from http://www. bibl. u-szeged. hu/oseas_adsec/ghana. htm Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST) (2000). National Science and Technology Policy Document. Accra: MEST.

A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen - 1099 Words

A commonality in society is the portrayal of women as the ones who always â€Å"take the fall† for others. It is women who, on most occasions, give themselves up for the benefit of others, which negatively impacts their welfare. In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, the characters of Nora Helmer, Mrs. Linde and Anne-Marie each exemplify the sacrificial qualities often implemented by women. They show that the negative effects of womanhood occur regardless of age, economic status, or social class. From the onset of the play, Nora reveals to the audience that she has a secret, which is the source of the burden she carries for the majority of her relationship with Torvald. She broke the law and â€Å"procured† money from Krogstad using her father’s forged signature, as a remedy for her sickly husband, who knew nothing about this (Act I). She did this behind his back because he wanted to live a â€Å"no debt, no borrowing† lifestyle (Act I). Her tone is seen to be cheerful, which is a direct contradiction, because although she appears happy on the outside, she is fighting a war with guilt on the inside. This is an example of a major sacrifice that Nora executes merely to save health of her husband, and the audience is shown through her use of words like â€Å"wonderful† and â€Å"lovely† that then transgress to words like â€Å"dreadfully difficult† just how she wore a type of mask that made her appear happy and worry free, but she was in fact full of anxiety and anguish (Act I). These emotions were all aShow MoreRelatedDoll’s House by Henrik Ibsen1126 Words   |  4 PagesHenrik Ibsen wrote the book, Doll’s House, in the late 1870s about the life of the common woman in Norway during the 1870s. The book gave society an inside of look of the life women in general. Woman during this time were oppressed and men were contemptuous towards women. Women that opposed their husband were considered men tally insane and sent to a mental institution. The book is about a domesticated woman named Nora. Nora lives in a house with her husband and their three kids. Nora main job toRead MoreA Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen1725 Words   |  7 Pagessuffrage, took place from 1848-1920. In the drama A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, readers are presented with what seems to be the perfect little American dream home. Anti-feminist values are presented immediately in the first scenes of the play and carry out until the end. The play was written in 1879, a time when the feminist movement was just starting to take shape and become well known. The drama A Doll’s House has feminist themes that indicate Henrik Ibsen to be a supporter of the feminist movement throughRead MoreA Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen1492 Words   |  6 PagesA Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen was written in 1879 during the Victorian Era. The story is written as a play to be performed on stage. 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A Doll’s House takes place in the 1880s in Europe/Norway and based on a married couple, Torvald Nora, who are considered to be middle class. The main character Nora in Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House, seems to give this false installment of her identity. She is both unpredictable and childlike. The entire first and second act she spends giving this hidden subtext that she is unreliableRead MoreA Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen868 Words   |  3 Pagesmoney is considered to hold the most power. In the case of the household, the person who holds the most power is the person who handles the money, and in our man-centric world, it is usually the man who holds both money and power. In Henrik Ibsens play A Doll’s House, the theme of money is used to establish power roles between the characters of the play, and how the theme contributes to typical gender roles in the 19th century. 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It was around this time that many different Social, cultural and historical moments were changing through time, leaving the end result to change not only one country but had an effect on most of the world. For this section of the work I will be carefully discussing with you the issues of; * Social events Read More A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen Essay1111 Words   |  5 PagesA Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen The play â€Å"A Doll’s House† by Henrik Ibsen is about a wife that is hiding a big secret from her overprotective husband. The play takes place on Christmas Eve till the day after Christmas. Nora Helmer and Torvald Helmer have been married for 8 years, yet Nora is hiding something from Torvald that she thinks would ruin everything if he found out. It opens up with Nora coming home and decorating the house for Christmas and making preparations. They have 3 children: