Thesis Chapter 3 The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations (MNCs) from Malaysia

Chapter 3

The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations (MNCs) from Malaysia

 

The emergence of Malaysia-based multinational corporations: Economic and political development 

 

Transformation from the British Colonial period to the 1970s

To understand the origins of Malaysia-based MNCs is to understand the economic and political history of Malaysia (formerly known as Malaya on that particular of time) as a British colonial heritage. The cession of Penang by Sultan of Kedah to the British East India Company in 1786, the formation of the Straits Settlements uniting Malacca, Penang and Singapore in 1826, the designation of this settlement as Crown colony in 1867, and the independence of Malaya from the British in 1957, had important implications on the emergence of the first Malaysian-based multinational corporations.

Historically, in general, the development of the Malaya economy was largely a function of the British Colonial Administrative State interest and attention (Edmund and Jomo, 1997). Prior to 1957, the Malaysian economy was heavily dependent on primary products specifically tin and rubber to generate growth, and employment. The prosperity of many British trading companies namely Sime Darby Corporation, London Tin Corporation, Anglo Malayan Tin Limited, Kinta Kellas Tin Mining Limited and Malayan Tin Dredging Limited derived from these two main products. A diversification into palm oil began in the late 1960s, and about the same time, forest resources in the form of saw logs and swan timber proved to be the leading primary commodities. During British control, a well-developed system of public administration was established, public services were extended and large-scale rubber and tin production was developed (Edmund and Jomo, 1997). Immigrants from China and India were brought to Malaysia for construction of public works and also as labourers in production sectors. They were not only needed as additional manpower but also for their skills and technology. In comparison with the indigenous population, they were found to be more advanced in nature and highly developed (Lim, 1967).

 

Development strategy: From export-oriented to import-substitution industrialisation

The 1960s for Malaysia was an era of import substitution (Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, 2003). During this period, Malaysia was faced with the problem of high unemployment when it rose to more than 8 per cent. At the same time, the economy depended largely on the export of primary commodities such as rubber and tin which rendered the country susceptible to price fluctuations in the world markets. There was the added problem of income disparity among its population. The need to diversify the economic base was therefore imperative.

The Government’s support during the 1960s was limited to providing a favourable climate for private investment. In addition to the provision of tax incentives, the Government provided infrastructure such as industrial estates, power and telecommunication facilities. The Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) was established in 1967 to promote and coordinate industrial development in the country. The Pioneer Industries (Relief from Income Tax) Ordinance in 1958 was replaced by the Investment Incentives Act 1968 which provided a wider assortment of tax incentives. During the 1960s, the private sector was left to assume the lead role in determining the pattern of industrial development and this resulted in the establishment of industries such as food, beverages & tobacco industries, printing and publishing industries, building materials industries and chemical & plastic industries, basically for the domestic market.

According to Kokko (2002), import substitution strategy was the dominant strategy from the 1950s until about 1970s, although trade barriers were significantly lower than in other developing countries. The average effective rate of protection was around 7 percent, compared with a range of 25 to 92 percent in other economies at a similar level of development (World Bank 1993:134). One reason for the relatively mild protection was the colonial tradition of a liberal stance to trade and industry (Athukorala and Menon 1997:64), but the political structure of the country was also an important determinant. The majority ethnic Malays dominated politics but had relatively little economic power, whereas the ethnic Chinese controlled most modern sector activities but had little political power. The bias against agriculture was also less serious than in many other countries, because of the economic and political importance of the mining and plantation sector.

 

From import substitution industrialisation to export-oriented strategy

The era of 1970s and thereafter saw the implementation of the export-oriented strategy in Malaysia. After an initial period of import substitution, Malaysia has gradually turned to more open and export oriented policies. The 1980s and 1990s saw the successful entrance of Malaysia into the world export market characterized by a much more complex international environment than in the last few years (Kokko, 2002).

Economic growth during this time was the result of this policy shift from import substitution to export promotion (Ramasamy, 2000). By promoting exports, initially with primary commodities and later with manufactured goods, Malaysia became an active global player. The proportion of exports to GDP, even as late as 1987 was 55.7 percent. In 1999, however, the size of exports was much larger than GDP at 107.4 percent. On the import side, in 1987, the proportion was 39.4 percent, while in 1999 it was 83.3 percent. Malaysia, thus, can be considered to be among the most open economies in the world.

The shift to an export-oriented pattern of industrialization for Malaysia proceeded relatively smoothly, according to Ramasamy, even though the above shift did not involve the introduction of a neutral trade regime (i.e., first-best trade reforms). However, even during its import-substituting phase, Malaysia has never discriminated strongly against other traded goods nor did it overvalue its currency as was the case in other developing countries pursuing import substitution policies. Though there was a wide divergence in its tariff rates, Malaysia's overall simple average tariff rate on manufactured goods was relatively low. Malaysia also did not make much use of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to protect its manufacturing sector (Naya 1988: 87).

Malaysia's major device, according to Ramasamy, for promoting manufactured exports was the establishment of export-processing zones (EPZs) in the early 1970s. In these EPZs, the exporting companies were allowed to import duty-free raw materials, parts, and components subject to the requirement that their entire output would have to be exported. Aside from Singapore, which can be considered as one whole export-processing zone, Malaysia has been the most successful country among the ASEAN countries in effectively operating its EPZs within the context of a relatively open economy, an able and generally honest bureaucracy, and a location strategy which linked these EPZs in an efficient way to the country's good transport infrastructure (Hill 1997: 8).

Malaysia also benefited from the fact that it had established its EPZs at a time when internationally integrated production of electronics goods was growing rapidly. Under this production system vertically integrated electronics transnational corporations (TNCs), particularly from the U.S., relocated the labor- intensive processes in the chain of the whole production process of an electronics product to low wage production sites in Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia, because of its good physical infrastructure and its liberal foreign investment regime which allowed foreign investors to establish fully-owned subsidiaries (Hill 1997: 8; Helleiner 1973: 26-31).

Malaysia's reliance on EPZs during its early stage of export-oriented industrialization has been criticized as they are basically export enclaves, generating little, if any, local linkages. The reason for this is that virtually all the plants in these EPZs are basically highly import-intensive assembling operations, thus generating neither significant domestic value nor extensive backward linkages with the local economy. On the other hand, EPZs are useful in providing job opportunities for low skill labour as well as in establishing a country's international reputation as a reliable exporting country by virtue of its reliance on TNCs (Hill 1995: 12).

The development of New Economic Policy

The New Economic Policy (1970-1990), otherwise known as NEP, came into effect during this period to address racial and regional imbalances in ownership and control of wealth (Kokko, 2002). According to Shamsul (1997), the NEP can be said to be the product of the effort of Tun Razak, who was Prime Minister at the time, and his “back room boys,” comprised of Malay bureaucrats, academics, and technocrats, most of whom were also responsible for the successful organization of the Kongres Ekonomi Bumiputera in 1965 and 1968. In fact, a group of them produced a book called Revolusi Mental (1970), edited by Senu A. Rahman, in an attempt to provide a kind of a conceptual framework for a plan of action for the future of the Malay cause. The 1969 ethnic riot also encouraged many Malaysians to search for explanations, and many books were published with that intention.

In the NEP, it was specifically mentioned that within two decades (1971–90) the successful implementation of the policy should create a community of Malay entrepreneurs. This was to be done not only through direct government intervention and economic support but also through an aggressive training and educational strategy to create much needed professionally trained Malay manpower. Malays were to participate in various fields that they had not ventured before, positions involving “mental production” processes such as bureaucrats, company executives, technocrats, academics, accountants, electronics engineer, information technology specialists, and a host of other professions demanding high or specialist education and training. Within two decades, the implementation of the NEP has successfully created and expanded the Malay middle class and new rich. In fact, many of its members have become extremely rich and are now active corporate players in the country and globally.

However, according to Shamsul (1986), the NEP, through the implementation of its first objective of “poverty eradication,” has also created many new rural-based Malay entrepreneurs. Most of them are not involved in “mental production” process, like their educated urban counterparts. They are usually involved in the traditional, manually oriented small and medium businesses, such as construction, manufacturing of food products and handicrafts goods, in wholesaling of primary commodity items, or in retail activities. Most of these emerging Malay new rich have been politically active or connected to the local UMNO, and some of them are top district-level UMNO politicians. They have managed to turn rural development projects, initially aimed at eradicating poverty, into rich financial resources for themselves, by establishing their own companies and then awarding them lucrative government contracts. However, without the support, both capital and skill of local Chinese tycoons, the rural Malay new entrepreneurs could never have achieved their present level of success, and certainly not within such a short time. Of course, the Chinese towkays, like their Malay partners, benefited tremendously, in financial terms, from this fulfilling and harmonious interethnic relationship (Gomez 1990, 1991, 1994).

Moreover, under the NEP, manufacturing firms with more than 25 employees were required to get a business license, which was not granted unless NEP ownership and employment guidelines were followed. Malays were also granted privileged access to subsidized credit, share ownership, and business opportunities in the private sector (Athukorala and Menon 1997:65).

The impact of the NEP was notable. With an average growth rate of 8 percent, GDP doubled between 1971 and 1980. Foreign investment inflows to the export processing zones grew rapidly and manufactured exports expanded at a rate of nearly 29 percent per year between 1971 and 1980 (Linnemann 1987: 369). By 1980, 70 percent of manufactured exports originated in the export processing zones. Yet, Malaysia remained primarily a raw material exporter: manufactures only accounted for 19 percent of total exports. The slow structural changes in industry and export composition were seen as a reason to promote state-owned heavy industry. The first step in this direction was the establishment of the Heavy Industries Corporation of Malaysia in 1980. The government provided the Corporation’s initial capital of USD 57 million and guaranteed subsequent credits at subsidized rates, as well as protection from imports and favorable government procurement. Over the following years, the Heavy Industries Corporation set up several joint ventures with foreign firms, in areas like petrochemicals, iron and steel, cement, paper and paper products, machinery, building materials, and transport equipment. By the mid-1980s, Malaysia had 867 corporate public enterprises, more than a third of which were in manufacturing (Athukorala and Menon 1997:65). Altogether, they accounted for some 20 percent of GDP at the time.

 

Development and Characteristics of Indigenous Malaysian Multinationals

Early Contribution by the Chinese Community

According to Shamsul (1997), Chinese migrants flocked into Malaysia since the mid-nineteenth century. Many locals, particularly Malay nationalists, felt that these migrants took away some opportunities that should have been made available to them. The Malay nationalists argued that before the coming of these migrants, including the European colonialists, Malays enjoyed a period of economic independence and were involved in sophisticated commerce dealings. Native commerce, they argued, was arrested and indigenous economic development marginalized by colonial subjugation and immigrant encroachment, hence contributing to Malay economic backwardness.

Mahathir, in a series of articles written for the Sunday Times (September 1948– April 1950), also lamented about exploitation done by Chinese middlemen to rural Malays in dealing with property, land, and money issues. This was the time when most plantations, mining, and even the urban commercial sector, was dominated by the Chinese, along with the British nationals.

 

Dominance by the Government Controlled

Torii (1997) remarked that the most salient feature of the mode of implementation of the NEP was, as Tun Razak himself enunciated, the government’s “direct involvement or participation in economic activities” in such forms as direct intervention into the market by state administrative agencies and the establishment of joint ventures using state funds. All existing studies agree that state intervention in the economy was the most important characteristic of the NEP. The second characteristic was that under the NEP, the area of state intervention was expanded from agriculture and rural development as in the 1960s into the industrial and commercial sectors. Emphasis was placed on the fostering of bumiputera enterprises and entrepreneurs in the commercial and industrial sectors. The third characteristic, which reflected the first, was the establishment of systems for the creation of individual Malay shareholders as a means to achieve the goal of restructuring equity ownership in favor of Malays  (Faaland, Parkinson, and Saniman 1990).

 

Dominance by politically influential businessmen

Shamsul classified the Malaysian contemporary elite into two distinct classes: the “old,” manually oriented middle class (e.g., small business people and the self-employed) and the “new,” mentally oriented middle class (e.g., professionals and bureaucrats). The latter is mainly based in big cities, such as Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kuching, and Kota Kinabalu. But the former is based both in big cities and in rural towns and villages. There is a noticeable difference between these two categories of middle classes. Those in the “old,” manually oriented middle class, most of whom are rural based, seemed to be dominated by the rentier kind, comprised of individuals who have little or no previous background in the world of business. Most of them are children of Malay peasants. They or their family members are not seriously involved in business except as “sleeping partners” to Chinese towkays, earning large sums of money as commissions for getting government contracts using their politi-cal positions or contacts. They are between forty-five and fifty years of age, with a secondary school education but an enormous political power base, built at the local level over years of working and living in the rural areas. They became rich and joined the middle class through the business of development projects for the rural poor.

Shamsul labeled them as “accidental entrepreneurs” because they did not have any family background or experience in the world of business and commerce nor their children later became entrepreneurs. They struggled and survived to remain in the middle class mainly through political patronage and money politics. In short, their material success was solely dependent on their political success. According to a retired cabinet minister, such politicians will “ . . . continue to buy political positions in order to create more money thus creating more opportunities for himself and his clan to continue to remain in power.” They are caught in a vicious circle of money politics, or, in Frederick Bailey’s term, the politics of “stratagems and spoils.”

Shamsul called them the Malay rentier middle class politicians. Their position is described as telor dihujung tandok (literally, an egg perched precariously on a sharp horn), and their success or survival is largely dependent on personal resource, initiative, and deception. Their rise and continued existence as a class of economic and political middleman, who are not highly educated but are extremely influential and powerful in rural areas, survived heavily on patronage politics which now takes the form of money politics within the UMNO (Gomez 1990).

 

The Evolution of Malaysia-based multinational corporations: International expansion and outward investment

Development of Malaysian multinationals

Malaysia is becoming a favorite location of multinational corporations (MNCs) for regional manufacturing-related operations, according to Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Dato' Seri Rafidah Aziz. Reportedly, as of the end of May 2003, the Malaysian Government has approved 636 representative offices, 335 regional offices, 52 operational headquarters and 47 international procurement centres (IPCs). Rafidah further said that the Government would continue to facilitate foreign firms wishing to established service-related operations in the country.

 

Distribution of Malaysia Outward investment (1970 – present)

According to Ramasamy, Malaysia’s investments abroad is about US$1 billion. A larger portion of these investments (between 57 and 83 percent) have gone to other Asian economies while a relatively smaller portion to the developed Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) economies. Specifically, Malaysia’s investment mainly went to Singapore and Australia. Its investments in other ASEAN economies accounted for about 7 percent.

 

Experts say that Malaysia's outward investments in the past 12 years have gone on a rollercoaster ride. They began low in number and declined some before rising and reaching its peak. The decline in outward investments, according to many, is due the slowing economy in the United States. They say that Malaysia’s outward investments will only continue to improve only if U.S. economy improves.

Present and Future Challenges

Ramasamy said that with the advent of globalization, the Malaysian domestic market is only temporary. The true potential of a company, he says, can be proven only if it is not swept away by the currents of globalization. As a matter of fact, firms need not go overseas to compete with foreign multinationals. Many experts agree that local firms should benchmark against successful multinationals and find a niche in the local that these MNCs have overlooked.

Moreover, experts said that there is a need to emphasize the need to build on cultural strengths rather than clashing with its weakness. The strong inter-personal relationships that exist in the Malaysian setting, as is in the case of Latin America, need to be capitalized to create a new business culture which will emphasize cooperation rather than competition. This, they said, goes on to say that mindset change can only be acquired by “internal motivation, not by external injection”. In other words, managers have to be convinced that a mind set change is inevitable if they want to survive in the globalization process. Once the commitment is there, the question of how to change is secondary. This can be done by practicing more a democratic style of management and control (for example, listening more to subordinates, allowing more participation and involvement of subordinates etc.) and undergoing relevant training (confidence building, team building etc.).

 

Summary

This literature review provided an overview of the Malaysian economic journey, from the nation’s transformation from the British colonial period, to its shifts in development strategy: from export-oriented to import-substitution industrialization in the 1960s, then returning to export-oriented strategy in the 1970s, and finally, to the establishment of the New Economic Policy. These phases in Malaysia’s economic development were not without the main actors that played major roles in their respective eras: there were the Chinese immigrants in the early days, the government, and the influential businessmen-politicians. The evolution of these Malaysian MNCs were also tackled, specifically their expansion and outward investments.

Finally, this review gathered the opinions of economists on Malaysia MNCs potential in surviving the globalization era. With this, experts said that there is a need to emphasize the need to build on Malaysian cultural strengths rather than clashing with its weakness. The strong inter-personal relationships that exist in the Malaysian setting, as is in the case of Latin America, need to be capitalized to create a new business culture which will emphasize cooperation rather than competition.

References

Athukorala, P. and J. Menon. 1997. Export-Led Industrialisation, Employment and Equity: The Malaysian Case. Agenda, Vol. 4 (1), 63-76.

Business Times.2000. Malaysia Gaining Favour among MNCs.

CIA World Factbook.  www.odic.gov/cia/publication/factbook/idex.html (9 April)

Edmund T. G. and Jomo K. S.1997. Malaysia’s political economy: politics, patronage and profits. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge: United Kingdom.

 

Faaland, J., J. R. Parkinson, and R. Saniman. 1990. Growth and Ethnic Inequality: Malaysia’s New Economic Policy. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

 

Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers. 2003. The Malaysian Economy.
Gomez, E.T. 1990. Politics in Business: UMNO’s Corporate Investments.Kuala Lumpur: Forum.

 

Gomez, E.T. 1991. Money Politics in the Barisan Nasional. Kuala Lumpur: Forum.

 

Gomez, E.T. 1994. Political Business: Corporate Involvement of Malaysian Political Parties. Townsville, Australia: James Cook University of North Queensland.

Hill, H. 1995, ASEAN Industrialisation: A Stocktake, Paper presented at the Seminar '50 Tahun Indonesia Merdeka dan 40 Tahun Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, 15-16 September.

Hill, H. 1997. Rapid Industrialisation in ASEAN: Some Analytical and Policy Lessons, Mimeo.

Kokko, A. 2002. Export-Led Growth in East Asia: Lessons for Europe’s Transition Economies. European Institute of Japanese Studies. Stockholm School of Economics. Paper prepared for the Workshop on Asia-Pacific Studies in Australia and Europe: A Research Agenda for the Future, Australian National University, 5-6 July 2002.

 

Lim C. Y. 1967. Economic development of modern Malaya. Oxford University Press: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, pp. 230.

 

Linnemann, H., ed. (1987), Export-Oriented Industrialization in Developing Countries, Singapore University Press; Singapore.

 

Mohammed, M.  series of articles written for the Sunday Times, September 1948– April 1950.

Naya, Seiji, 1988, The Role of Trade Policies in the Industrialisation of Rapidly Growing Asia Developing Countries, in : Hughes, 1988, pp. 65-94.

Rahman, S.A. 1970. Revolusi mental (Mental revolution). Kuala Lumpur: Utusan Publications.

 

Rahman, S.A.. 1986. From British to Bumiputera Rule: Local Politics and Rural Development in Peninsular Malaysia. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

Ramasamy, B. 2000. Gear up for globalization: Practical Guidelines for Managers.

Ramasamy, B. and V.T. Viana. 1995. ASEAN’s Foreign Direct Investment into the People’s Republic Of China. Discussion Paper No. 95.12 - September 1995.

 

Shamsul, A.B. The Economic Dimension of Malay Nationalism -The Socio-Historical Roots of the New Economic Policy and Its Contemporary Implications. The Developing Economies, XXXV-3 (September 1997): 240–61.

 

Takashi, T. 1997. The new economic policy and the United Malays National Organization - With special reference to the restructuring of Malaysian society.The Developing Economies, XXXV-3 (September 1997): 209–39.

Wie, T.K. n.d. Export-Oriented Industrialisation And Foreign Direct Investment n the ASEAN Countries. United Nations University.

World Bank.1993. The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy, Oxford University Press for the World Bank; New York.

 

 

 

Sample Research Proposal on Financial Institutions

Introduction

            Financial institutions are subject to many sources of risk. Risk can be broadly defined as the degree of uncertainty about future net returns. A common classification reflects the fundamental sources of this uncertainty. Accordingly, the literature distinguishes four main types of risk. Credit risk relates to the potential loss due to the inability of a counterpart to meet its obligations. It has three basic components: credit exposure, probability of default and loss in the event of default. Operational risk takes into account the errors that can be made in instructing payments or settling transactions, and includes the risk of fraud and regulatory risks. Liquidity risk is caused by an unexpected large and stressful negative cash flow over a short period. If a firm has highly illiquid assets and suddenly needs some liquidity, it may be compelled to sell some of its assets at a discount. Market risk estimates the uncertainty of future earnings, due to the changes in market conditions. The most prominent of these risks in trading is market risk, since it reflects the potential economic loss caused by the decrease in the market value of a portfolio. Value at Risk (VaR) has become the standard measure that financial analysts use to quantify this risk. It is defined as the maximum potential loss in value of a portfolio of financial instruments with a given probability over a certain horizon. In simpler words, it is a number that indicates how much a financial institution can lose with probability θ over a given time horizon. The great popularity that this instrument has achieved among financial practitioners is essentially due to its conceptual simplicity: VaR reduces the (market) risk associated with any portfolio to just one number, which is the loss associated with a given probability.

            VaR measures can have many applications, such as in risk management, to evaluate the performance of risk takers and for regulatory requirements. In particular, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (1996) at the Bank for International Settlements imposes to financial institutions such as banks and investment firms to meet capitalrequirements based on VaR estimates. Providing accurate estimates is of crucial importance. If the underlying risk is not properly estimated, this may lead to a sub-optimal capital allocation with consequences on the profitability or the financial stability of the institutions.  From a statistical point of view, VaR estimation entails the estimation of a quantile of the distribution of returns. The fact that return distributions are not constant over time poses exceptional challenges in the estimation. While VaR is a very easy and intuitive concept, its measurement is a very challenging statistical problem. Although the existing models for calculating VaR employ different methodologies, they all follow a common general structure, which can be summarised in three points: 1) Mark-to-market the portfolio, 2) Estimate the distribution of portfolio returns, 3) Compute the VaR of the portfolio.

 

Methodology

The planned methodology is secondary research. The researcher will make use of published materials such as books, magazines and newspapers to collect data and information regarding the topic. The researcher will also make use of the internet to obtain information about the company such as its background and other related information. For the research, the researcher will mainly rely on secondary data in obtaining the information. Due to inaccessibility of the subject or the case study, other research methods are not applicable. Secondary data are data that have been collected for some other purpose. Secondary data can provide a useful source from which to answer the research question(s). Punch (1998) mentions several advantages of using existing data. Expenditure on obtaining data can be significantly reduced and data analysis can begin immediately, so saving time. Also, the quality of some data may be superior to anything the researcher could have created alone (Thomas, 2004, p. 191). On the other hand, the chosen research method also has several disadvantages. Data that have been gathered by others for their own purposes can be difficult to interpret when they are taken out of their original context. It is also much more difficult to appreciate the weak points in data that have been obtained by others. The data may be only partially relevant to the current research question (Thomas, 2004, p. 191).

 

           

 

 

The Impact of Conflict Management Strategies on Organizational Climate

 

The impact of conflict management strategies on organizational climate

 

 

Statement of the problem

 

            In every organization, several conflicts are visible from every essential areas and functions of the organization and that there lacks proper handling of people and the organization is without strategies of conflict management, managing the impact of conflict into the organization. Ideally, the ability to take business control of conflict is important as the purpose of this study is to investigate whether the use of certain conflict management strategies, will predict reductions in into workplace conflict as well as role ambiguity, also work overload and time pressure. Research outcomes will indicate that, such conflict management strategies do significantly predict low scores on several specific conflict examples as tested and on levels of overall conflict management impacts.

 

            There can be issues on conflict management effectiveness and how to achieve them according to the principles of the organization and its climate adaptations. The constructive conflict management is a vital concern for every manager. When conflicts are managed constructively they can help identify and solve problems, develop and maintain strong relationships, and sustain member loyalty and motivation. When conflicts are poorly managed they waste time and resources, damage member loyalty and motivation, undermine teamwork, and distort decision-making and planning. Strong productive teams can be maintained only when their members manage their conflicts well.  The organizations attempt to influence members' beliefs and skills by providing training in conflict management. When team relationships become seriously problematic, some organizations conduct off-site retreats for teambuilding synergy and success, unless the organization's climate promotes constructive conflict management behaviors, training tends to have frustratingly limited impact, and the beneficial effects of teambuilding retreats prove to be both limited and temporary. It is clear, there should address the impact of organizational climate on the conflict management behavior of members.

 

Background of the study

            The ability to successfully minimize and resolve conflict is an important skill for the organization to develop, as faced with the classic confrontation between individual needs and organizational needs, requiring them to spend a major part of their time attempting conflict mediation.  The "appropriate" management strategy in a given situation requires accurate identification of both the conflict origin and participants and their relationships, in order to apply effective resolution technique.  Ideally, this technique must reduce the dysfunctional dimension of conflict so as to capitalize on its functionality for the good of the organization concerned.  Consequently, there is conflict anticipation and detection should always constitute the first two phases of good conflict management, the pro-action rather than reaction of the issues if there is any. Furthermore, strategies for conflict resolution will vary according to philosophical bases of the ones involved and encompasses win-lose, lose-lose and win-win approaches to conflict management, the impact can be overused as strategy for solving conflicts. 

Methodology

            The methodology will include usage of organization climate influence as well as power to bring about compliance and compromise. The need to realize win-win approach, the method yields solutions satisfactory to organization team to the conflict wins something, and the conflict is resolved in a constructive manner. An important point must be borne in mind when attempting to deal effectively with organizational conflict, for insurance one method will not apply to situations, as given in various approaches to conflict management. The conflict has been effectively managed when it no longer interferes with the ongoing activities of those involved.  Conflict management is therefore the process of removing cognitive barriers to agreement (1986).  Depending on the situation, conflict management techniques often focus on changing structure, changing process or both. Indeed, structural modifications are not very creative, and the response to conflict is simply more rules and hardening of the role structure. 

 

            Aside, if the basis of conflict is lack of trust or suspicion of motives, an effective approach is to bring the parties together and let them get to know each other.  However, if the conflict is rooted in differences in principle, increased interaction could exacerbate the situation, the modifying of reward system can be effective if inequity in extrinsic or intrinsic rewards is the cause of conflict.  An approach to conflict management is predicated upon the idea that diagnosis of the situation is necessary as a basis of action.  The contingency view is that there is not one best way of managing conflict under all conditions, but that there are optimal ways of managing it under certain conditions ( 1987).  An important aspect of conflict management is: alternative ways of managing conflict and kinds of situations in which each of these various alternatives might be expected to be the most effective. 

            The one good step is to assess the influence of an organization's climate on members' conflict management behavior. The Conflict Climate Inventory was designed to assist in this assessment, identified sixteen elements of organizational climate that have been shown to influence the behavior of members when they experience conflict. In interpreting the results of the conflict climate inventory, however, it will be important to bear in mind that "climate" is a holistic concept. Climate acts on individual members as an undifferentiated whole, affecting how they feel, what they notice and think about, and how they behave. Thus, while scores for each of the elements can be very helpful in diagnosing the climate and identifying specific ways to improve it, no score can tell in complete story, the understanding and enhancing of organizational climate remains noted.

 

Modernization Theory

              Modernization theory is an internalized process which looks at the social values in a society to determine which of these values promote social progress. It embraces modern thinking and modern values. Modernization theory would therefore be an ideal theory for promoting the empowerment of women and families. Traditional Zimbabwean society has a patriarchal orientation where opportunities are awarded to the male children while girl children are prepared for wifehood, motherhood and the eventual caregivers of the families. Even though times have changed and many girl children are now being educated, there are still many situations where the paradigm of gender inequality is continually upheld. Modernization theory presents an opportunity to change mindsets and ensure that the girl child is given an opportunity to be educated and to make choices in her life. Furthermore, modernization theory tends to give an overview on the problems back in the industrialization of poor countries, including Zimbabwe, and their way of finding solutions. Because of the involvement on the growth stages, there is a significant evolution and development of the society. Women, as an example, plays a complex role within an ordinary household, as a daughter, as a wife, as a mother, and even as workers. Various studies had been created bearing the theme of empowering the woman within a society in order to contribute in the development process of their country. Aside from the physical attributes, woman is beautiful in their own way. Lin Yutang said, “Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother”, which give values of the woman’s role as a guardian of her family. However, in the growing interest of the countries pertaining to development, it is proposed that every woman should have a career outside the home. Bringing the power in the hands of women can contribute for the socioeconomic growth of their families. For such, the support of financial institutions and their influence towards lending and investment is one of the after sought actions. The evolution of the said theory is however, based on the two concepts of social changes - opposing tradition and achievement of a modern society. The modernization of the traditional societies is achieved through rationalizing resource allocation systems and eliminating cultural, institutional, and organizational challenges that prevents the continuous development of the countries, and this is highly influenced from the Western Society (Trujillo, 2002). The impact of the Western world serves as an inspiration for the Third World and then, challenged them to take a step towards the progress. It is suggested that Zimbabwe and its society should be open to new approaches and experience. The mass media plays a very important role in exporting the modernization theory to from Western countries to the Third World. Sometimes even medicine and science play in this transfusion role (Yin, 2008). The macro-structural forces that may include in the urbanization are important in explaining the variety of the social behavior in the society. Broadly, there are many evidences in gender inequality –not only in education but also in work that males are more dominant than females. Problems arise on different sides that indicate the regression in education and such dilemmas involved the income of each family. The women in the society are discriminated through the assumptions that men and women aren’t equal and thus, the women have different responsibilities than men, especially when it comes in housework. In analyzing this kind of behavior from the developed countries, the assumption is not strongly justified because the development created an impact in the lives of the women (Hori, 2007). Conversely, the tradition and cultural values in Modernization and the influence in the society is considered to be dependent variables for the development.

How to Maintain APPLE as the Market Leader in the Technology Industry through Effective Merchandising

APPLE EFFECTIVE MERCHANDISING TECHNIQUE

 

      Apple or Mac technology has been one of the most preferred and trusted computer in business and household today. They offered a wide range of products and services for general use, their software and hardware is included in one package that is why the price is considerable for the costumers. The streamline of products are the variation of unique technology that the company offered are the fastest speed, the best in shape, less power consumption, stylish design, using recyclable materials and valuable price. They are setting the trends in standard practice to meet the basic needs of their customers in computing and gaming console. The company is the second top ranking developer of hardware and software products.

      The features of their technology for today is highly adoptable and integrated in some Microsoft software programs such as MS office for Mac that gives more functionality and adoptability in the changing course of computing. They featured and release highly effective new products at least twice a year. They have come up with a very effective merchandising technique that is highly appreciated by customers, thus maintaining their market leadership in the history of technology. As of today they have already maintain their strong marketing ranking but the industry evolve and demand more, that is why they are ready to continue their legacy for more than 20 years in setting the trends in the industry.

      Try visiting their retail store and you can see the different marketing and merchandising technique that they have used that are highly effective to customers. These techniques definitely add up to their revenue expectedly.

      First you will see the looks of their stores that has an inviting appeal and it has a wide variety of product selection that are displayed according to section that is easy to find at the right place to ensure visibility to customers. A well balance shelves that are supported and highlighted in attractive glass or metallic materials that has an easy pull and easy to reach items to guide their customers respectively or to create a special interest to the customers to come closer and choose a product conveniently.

      Some are products are lighted to create a special effects and glamour in the sense of customers, although sometimes this kind of merchandising technique is highly expensive they create a special illusion and may highlight the products about their personification and functionality features that serves and creates a value of interest in the customers first hand. This has been proven highly effective to higher socio-economic class customers who do not prefer much about price but style and prestige.    

      Basically inside the store there are ready sales people to greet and support you as you enter the premise, just like in a restaurant. If you are looking for a particular brand, you can easily ask anyone to teach you where to look for it and there are experts that will assist you the about their product so you are free to tour around the area of which products soothes your needs. Some of their stores even have readily accessible computers to guide you for your search about the products and their features. Whether they buy or not, they are assure that they have served well and customer will be proud to visit again simply because of the services and products that they have rendered. This is a Special Operating Procedure (SOP) in most stores that customers have been looking for, If you have not found the product you been looking they can make a deal to find it for you on call basis for delivery. They can even offer a wholesale package for companies or schools for a discounted price of volume orders. And they are happy to serve well immediately.     

      In their stores include technical support and customer service section that you can approach if ever you have found technical difficulty of the products and service you have just bought. They can even offer a worldwide support services but this may require a thorough inspection and products specified documentation of imported goods beforehand since some laws and regulation may apply in various countries.

      They also offer an online merchandising technique so that you can choose products and services at home using your PC. Simply search on their websites for the product of your choice by paying through credit card just visit www.store.apple.com and you will surely find your way around. One of the best features you will surely like is the engraving system. This system lets you design and include text in your newly bought iPod or Mac you can include your name or any other text you want for personalization and most of all engraving is free.

      All this and more has been their marketing and merchandising practices. This ends a cycle of negotiation and basically gain the customers respect for repeat orders and basically maintaining and gaining their market position in the eyes of the customers. 

CASE STUDY: ADVANCE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT - CISCO

Advanced Supply Chain Management

 

Assessment - Business Report – 1,200 words

 

Format:

²         Cover Sheet

²         Executive Summary

²         Table of contents

²         Assumptions made (if any)

²         Report including

u        Introduction

u        Aim

u        Discussion

l          Background

l          Major issues/problems

l          Option/solution development

u        Conclusion

u        Recommendation

²         Annexes (if any)

 

Marking scheme

 

l          Executive Summary

l          Analysis

l          Recommendations

l          Language

l          Reference

 

Requirements

 

²         Define the purpose of the business report

²         Clear to the intended readers

²         Identify the needs and problems

²         Simplicity and directly

²         Clear and Concise

²         Avoid repetition & personal pronouns

²         Spelling and Grammar

 

Topic: Case Study – Cisco Systems (The Supply Chain Story)

 

l          Answer all three question in the form of a business report

l          Do not re write the case study

l          Ensure the work is original, multiple submissions with the same content will be penalized 

 

 

Case Study

 

Cisco Systems: The Supply chain Story

 

A Company in Trouble

 

In August 2001, the San Jose, California-based, computer-networking company Cisco Systems Inc. surprised industry observers by announcing its first ever negative earnings in more than a decade.  In the third quarter of fiscal 2001, the company’s sales had decreased by 30 percent, Cisco had to write off inventory worth $2.2 billion and lay off 8,500 people.  By the end of 2001, the market capitalization of the company was down to $154 billion and per employee profit was $240,000 (down from $700,000 in 2000).  This was in sharp contrast to the situation in early 2000, when Cisco was one of the most successful companies in the Internet world with a market capitalization of $579 billion.

 

Cisco – The Networked Supply Chain

 

Cisco was founded in 1984 by a group of computer scientists at Stanford.  They designed operating software called Internet Operating System (IOS) that could route streams of data from one computer to another.  The software was loaded into a box containing micro-processors specially designed for routing.  This was the router, a machine that made Cisco a hugely successful venture over the next two decades.

 

In 1985, the company started a customer support site through which customers could download software and also upgrade the downloaded software.  It also provided technical support through e-mail to its customers.  By 1991, Cisco’s support center was receiving around 3,000 calls a month.  This figure increased to 12,000 by 1992.  In order to deal with the large volume of transactions, the company built a customer support system on its Web site.  In 1993, Cisco installed an Internet-based system for its large multinational customers.  The system allowed customers to post queries about their software problems.

 

Encouraged by the success of its customer support site, Cisco launched Cisco Information Online in 1994.  This on-line service offered not only company and product information but also technical and customer support to Cisco’s customers.  By 1995, the company introduced applications for selling products or services on its Web site.  The main idea behind this initiative was to transfer paper, fax, e-mail and CD-ROM distribution of technical documentation and training materials to the Web, thus saving time for employees, customers and trading partners and broadening Cisco’s market reach.

 

In 1996, the company introduced a new Internet initiative called the “Networked Strategy” to leverage its network for fostering interactive relationships with customers, partners, suppliers and employees. Cisco wanted to ensure enhanced customer satisfaction through on-line order entry and configuration.  Customer’s order information flowed through the supply chain network, which consisted of Cisco employees, resellers, manufacturers, suppliers, customers and distributors.

 

Orders from customers were stored in Cisco’s enterprise resource planning database and sent to contract manufacturers over their Virtual Private Network VPN2. Cisco’s suppliers could clearly see the order information as their own production schedule was connected to Cisco’s ERP system.  According to the requirements, the suppliers shipped the needed components to manufacturers and replenished their stocks.  The business model aimed at enabling Cisco’s contract manufacturers to start manufacturing build-to-order products within fifteen minutes of receiving an order.

 

Cisco gave top priority to order fulfillment and project management to achieve on-time delivery to customers.  Third-party logistics providers were plugged into Cisco’s database via the Internet.  As a result, Cisco could, at any time, provide customers with information regarding the status of their order.  Direct fulfillment led to a reduction in inventories, labor costs, and shipping expenses. Through direct fulfillment, Cisco saved $12 million annually.

 

Cisco’s Internet-linked supply chain network enabled the automatic testing of products from any of its locations worldwide.  While earlier prototyping used to take weeks, Cisco engineers were now able to do the same within a matter of days.  This was because prototyping could take place at the manufacturer’s site itself.  After manufacturing the product was connected to one of Cisco’s 700 servers worldwide.  Because of rapid sharing of demand information across the supply chain, customers could receive products faster.  To sum up, this networked supply chain ensured

 

l          Shorter engineering-to-production cycle times;

l          Flexibility in designing, revamping, and retiring products in response to market demand;

 

And

 

l          Product quality, though major portions of the fulfillment process were outsourced.

 

Even though Cisco dealt with technically complex products like routers, it did not hesitate to hand over the manufacturing to a set of contract manufactures.  In order to ensure the quality of its products, Cisco relied on automatic testing.  The company developed test cells on supplier lines and ensured that the test cells automatically configured test procedures when an order arrived.  Cisco defined its core competence as product designing and delegated the rest – manufacturing, assembly, product configuration, and distribution – to its partners.

 

In August 1996, Cisco launched transactional facilities like product configuration and on-line order placement.  These facilities were connected to its ERP systems.  In the same year, Cisco upgraded its network infrastructure to better handle the increasing number of transactions.  By the end of 2000, more than 75 percent of the orders for Cisco’s products were being placed over the Internet.  Aided by Cisco’s Internet initiatives, the company’s net sales grew at an impressive 78 percent annual growth rate, from $2 billion in 1995 to $9 billion in 1998. The company’s fourth-quarter revenues in 2000 were $5.7 billion, up 61 percent from the same period in 1999.  Operating profits also went up from $710 million in 1999 to $1.2 billion in 2000.

 

According to many analysts, the company’s networking strategy had played a major role in its success over the years.  Industry observers noted that ever since its inception, Cisco had demonstrated the power of networking and the benefits it could offer.  Cisco owned just two of the forty facilities that manufactured its products.  It did not own the distribution system that delivered the products to its customers; but through its network of suppliers, distributors, partners and resellers and customers, it successfully coordinated all the activities necessary to provide products to it customers on time.

 

In spite of an efficient supply chain network, Cisco ran into some problems.  Cisco’s partners typically worked out their supply-and-demand forecasts from multiple points in the company’s supply chain.  Transactions between suppliers and contract manufacturers were not always smooth.  There were time lags in delivery and payment and, thus, greater opportunity for error.  As a result, suppliers were plagued by long order-to-payment cycles.  In June 2000, Cisco discovered, to its alarm, that it was running short of some key components for some of its equipment.

 

Due to the shortage of components, shipments to customers were delayed by three to four weeks.  Though demand for Cisco’s products remained healthy, the revenues of customers who were used to delivery within two weeks were affected badly.  The delivery performance was out of character for a company that prided itself on its relationships with customers and even compensated many of its executives on the basis of customer satisfaction.

 

The Cisco Connection Online and Integrated Commerce Solution Initiatives

 

In order to address the aforementioned problems, Cisco revamped its supply chain management system to reduce the long ordering cycles.  The company launched Cisco connection Online (CCO), which connected Cisco with all its suppliers and contract manufacturers on-line.  As a result, when a customer placed an order it was instantly communicated to all of Cisco’s suppliers and manufacturers.  In most cases, a third-party logistics company shipped the product to the customer.

 

CCO ensured increased coordination and connectivity between supply partners, thus reducing the operating costs of all constituents.  Automated processes within the supply chain removed redundant steps and added efficiencies.  For instance, changes in market demand were communicated automatically throughout the supply chain.  

This enabled the networked supply chain suppliers to respond appropriately.

 

CCO reduced payment cycles for suppliers and eliminated paper-based purchasing.  As a result, suppliers agreed to charge lower product markups.  Consequently, Cisco saved more than $24 million in material costs and $51 million in labor costs annually.  CCO enabled Cisco’s contract manufacturers to find out the exact position of demand and inventory at any given points of time.  As a result, they could manage replenishment of inventory with ease.  This resulted in a 45 percent reduction in inventory and a doubling of the inventory turnover.  Cisco slashed the inventory holding of its suppliers and manufactures and brought it down from 13,000 units (approx.) to 6,000 units within three months.

 

To get the most out of CCO, Cisco used Intranets and Extranets extensively.  The Extranet was used for communicating with suppliers, manufactures, customers, and resellers, while employees used the Intranet for communicating about the status of orders. Thus, through an on on-line information and communication system, Cisco linked suppliers, manufacturers, customers, resellers, and employees seamlessly.

 

However, some of Cisco’s large customers were not able to access CCO because it did not connect seamlessly to their back-end or electronic data interchange systems.  These firms, typically telecom equipment distributors or network operators, lacked the time to visit the supplier Web site to order the equipment they needed.  So, Cisco introduced the Integrated Commerce Solution (ICS) for these customers.  ICS provided a dedicated server fully integrated into the customer’s, resellers’ Intranet and back-end ERP systems.  It facilitated information exchange between Cisco and them, besides speeding up transactions.  It had all the e-commerce applications of CCO, with the additional capability of pulling order-related data directly from Cisco’s back-end ERP systems on-line.  At the same time, as the server was integrated into the customer’s and resellers’ back-end ERP systems, the end users needed to enter the order information only once; this order was simultaneously distributed to both resellers and Cisco’s back –end systems, eliminating the need for double entry.

 

With these new Internet initiatives and sound financials for fiscal 2000, Cisco seemed all set to register even higher growth figures.  However, in early 2001, the global IT business slowdown and the dotcom bust altered the situation.  Reportedly, Cisco failed to foresee the changing trends in the industry and by mid-2001 had to cope with the problems of excess inventory.  As a result, the company had to write off inventory worth $2.2 billion in May 2001.  Cisco blamed the problem on the “plunge in technology spending” which Chambers called us unforeseeable as “a 100 year flood”.  Company sources said that if their forecasters had been able to see the downturn, the supply chain system would have worked perfectly.

 

The Problem and the Remedy

 

Analysts felt that the flaws in Cisco’s systems had contributed significantly to the break-down.  During the late 1990s, Cisco had become famous for “being the hardware maker that did not make hardware.” Its products were manufactured only by contract manufacturers and the company shipped fully assembled machines directly from the factory to buyers.  This arrangement led to major troubles later on.

 

According to analysts, Cisco’s supply chain was structured like a pyramid, with the company at the central point.  On the second tier, there were a handful of contract manufacturers who were responsible for final assembly.  These manufacturers were dependent on large sub-tier companies for components such as processor chips and optical gear.  Those companies in turn were dependent on an even larger base of commodity suppliers who were scattered all over the globe.  The communication gaps between these4 tiers created problems for Cisco.  In order to lock in supplies of scarce components during the boom period, Cisco ordered large quantities in advance on the basis of demand projections made by the company’s sales force.  To make sure that it got components when it needed them, Cisco entered into long-term commitments with its manufacturing partners and certain key component makers.

 

These arrangements led to an inventory pile-up since Cisco’s forecasters had failed to notice that their projections were artificially inflated.  Many of Cisco’s customers had ordered similar equipment from Cisco’s competitors, planning to eventually close the deal with the party that delivered the goods first.  This resulted in double and triple ordering, which artificially inflated Cisco’s demand forecasts.  Cisco’s supply chain management system failed to show the increase in demand, which represented overlapping orders.  For instance, if three manufacturers competed to build 10,000 routers, to chipmakers it looked like a sudden demand for 30,000 machines.  As Cisco was committed to honor its deals with its suppliers, it was caught in a vicious cycle of artificially inflated demand for key components, higher costs, and bad communication throughout the supply chain.

 

Cisco’s inventory cycle reportedly rose from 54.90 days to around 88.3 days. According to analysts, Cisco’s systems failed to model what would happen if one critical assumption – growth –was removed from their forecasts.  They felt that if Cisco had tried to run modest declining demand models, and then it might have seen the consequences of betting on more inventories.  They felt that Cisco should not have assumed that there would be continuous growth.  Having realized these problems, Cisco began taking steps to set things right.  The company formed a group of executives and engineers to work n an “e-Hub” remedial program.  Work on e-Hub began in late 2000.  The project was intended to help eliminate bidding wars for scarce components.  According to Cisco sources, e-Hub was expected to eliminate the need for human intervention and automate the flow of information between Cisco, its contract manufacturers, and its component suppliers.  E-Hub used a technology called Partner Interface Process (PIP) that indicated whether a document required a response of not.  For instance, a PIP purchase order could stipulate that the recipient’s system must send a confirmation tow hours after receipt and a confirmed acceptance within twenty-four hours.  If the recipient’s system failed to meet those deadlines, the purchase order would be considered null.  This would help Cisco to find out the exact number of manufacturers who would be bidding for the order.

 

According to the e-Hub setup, Cisco production cycle began when a demand forecast PIP was sent out showing cumulative orders.  The forecast went not only to contract manufacturers but also to chipmakers like Philips semiconductors and Altera Corp.  Thus overlapping orders were avoided and chipmakers knew the exact demand figure. E-Hub searched for inventory shortfalls and production blackouts almost as fast as they occurred.       

 

However, work on e-Hub fell behind schedule due to its complexity and the costs involved.  According to Cisco sources, the company originally planned to connect 250 contractors and suppliers by the end of 2001, but it could link only sixty.  It was reported that the number might rise to around 150 by mid-2002 .  Company sources said that e-Hub was just the first stage of its plans for automating the whole process of ordering and purchasing.

 

Meanwhile, the company’s poor financial performance prompted analysts to comment that if the inputs were wrong, even the world’s best supply chain could fail.  They added that only the next boom phase in the IT business would prove the efficiency of e-Hub.

 

Questions

 

1.          Study the networked supply chain concept as implemented by Cisco.  What ate its strengths and weakness?

 

2.          Analyze why Cisco landed in financial trouble in early 2001.  Would you agree that Cisco’s problems were largely caused by inherent defects in the company’s systems? Or possibly was it just because they had failed to forecast a market downturn?  Give reasons to justify your stand.

 

3.          Aside from the information systems problems referred to, what other specific problems did you see in the case?

 

 

 

 

My View on Primary School Science

            Education in Australia, regulated by the individual state governments, follows three-tier model as Primary education (Primary Schools), Secondary education (Secondary Schools/High Schools) and Tertiary education (Universities and TAFE [Technical and Further Education] Colleges). Education is compulsory at an age designated by legislation. The academic year in Australia varies between states and institutions. Generally, it runs from late January until mid-December for primary and secondary schools and TAFE colleges. For universities, it starts from late February until mid-November (Education in Australia).

            The major goals of primary education are achieving basic literacy and numeracy amongst all pupils. This level of education focuses on establishing foundations in science, geography, history and other social sciences. Typically, the pupils are placed in a class with one teacher who will be basically responsible for their education and welfare for a school year. Continuity with a single teacher and opportunity to build a close relationship are the most notable feature of the primary education system.

            As of 2006, there is a total of 3.3 million (17% of total population) enrolled pupils in primary schools. The normal age of pupils enrolled is between ages 6-7 to 12-13 years. In between these school years, various areas and the methods used to teach them are relatively broad. Science, for example, is narrowed into two categories such as natural sciences and social sciences. Knowledge, application, researches, observations and so on encompasses these various areas of science. The teacher shall prepare for teaching methodologies and learning technologies and productivity tools in between (Education in Australia).

            To wit, the goal of science impacts on society and individuals. It is to produce useful models of reality. As a useful tool and a growing body of understanding, one can distinguish more effectively with surroundings to better adapt and evolve individual as a social whole as well as independently. Thus saying, through science we can now teach and learn science on a more adaptive, responsive and interactive ways. The teaching methodologies which are incorporated in class rooms are delivered by science developments such as on-line teachings and software-activated modules and lectures.

            We cannot question the usefulness of computers and perhaps, the Internet, in school works but many people, specifically parents, argued about the educational value of Internet. Indeed, e-porns, dangerous and aggressive racist messages, dishonest and immoral information, and harmful advertising are dominating the Internet society (2004). Still, students as well as parents believe that the Internet is the best learning tool ever introduced.

            Due to technology upgrades, schools including primaries are prompt to go wireless. More schools are adopting one-to-one laptop computer choices (2006).  “Computer software is helping students to improve their reading kills and new video games are helping kids concentrate better (2006, 2007). Cyber swapping and electronic textbooks are also becoming more popular among teachers and students. As a cost-effective alternative, the access of data improves student achievement. Virginian teachers are learning how to get their students involve and excited about math and science by building robots and playing with high-tech toys (2007). Through podcasting, students are getting more engage in conversations about what they are learning in schools. Easy teaching cliparts and classroom management software are also available online for the teachers. In addition, a primary school science website is established in the United Kingdom. It serves as an on-line learning site in lesson plan- and worksheet-making.

            These are the approaches in American and European primary schools. However, practitioners are concern about the science performance of Australian primary school students ( 2001). “Australian science mentors appear to be the key factor in enhancing science teaching and eventually implementing a science education reform”, said . The Australian science community is calling for a new approach.

            Mentor’s practices are in need to be remodelled.  Understanding own practices (1990) and developing knowledge, skills and self-efficacy (1981) can enhanced teachers’ self-confidence. A developed self-confidence can deliver well-planned and modelled science lessons.

            To enable the transfer of knowledge from teachers to learners, pedagogical knowledge is the key. It differs from one subject area to another (1998). Lack of this knowledge can create relationship problems between mentoring how to teach primary science and the mentor’s skills. Thus, modelling teaching practices allow a visual, more effective teaching.

            Personal attributes, system requirements, pedagogical knowledge, modelling and feedback and practices are the five factors for mentoring. “Modelling” practices that are to be poured over to the mentees, which are the primary school science teachers, includes:

ü  Enthusiasm when teaching science

ü  Modelling effective science teaching practices

ü  Demonstrate a rapport

ü  Demonstrate well-designed science lessons

ü  Demonstrate hands-on lessons

ü  Effective classroom management demonstrations

ü  Use science languages

            Whether in Europe, America or Australia, teaching primary school science is tough and broad. The maximum utilization of various science materials and resources must be a priority. Internet provides a great tool and influence to teaching and learning not only in primary school but also in whole education system worldwide. Science, as broad as it can get, can be narrowed and be detailed to primary students thinking and adapting abilities. Its consistency with the current educational system is a requirement though. Personally, the role of Internet and primary school science will not hinder the capabilities of the educational officials and administrants. Perhaps, it can be a strength wherein they can design new approaches in teaching science to primary schools. Furthermore, tech-savvy students can engage to participate more and communicate their needs and concerns to the education officials.

            Enthusiasm, effective science teaching practices, rapport, well-designed science lessons, hands-on lessons, classroom management and the use of science language while teaching contribute positively to learning processes of students specifically those in primary level whether it passes from the mentor to the mentees or the teachers to the learners. A well-established foundation for science and other subjects is achieved at the primary level of education and continuity must evolve between the pupils, teachers and technology.

            The primary school science, as it enters the modern times, must keep pace with the ever-changing environment. Otherwise, obsolesce might enter the picture. We can take advantage of such developments as long as it meant to not sacrificing the goals of primary school science and goal of science in general which is basic literacy and application. Through technology, which is a product of science and technology, teaching and learning science in primary level proves to be very beneficial and providential for pupils, parents and teachers.

            Teaching primary science must be child active and child focused. It should develop both the manipulative and mental activities of the pupils. In addition, the primary science must concentrate on an aspect child experiences into which the child can display an interest ( 2003). With this, all the necessary elements of classroom learning must be properly incorporated from teaching methods, attitudes of the teacher, assessment of science learnings and etc.

            Towards science learning, constructivists approach is relatively being evident. Therefore, learning proves to be active rather than a passive process and it places the child at the center of the learning process. The children’s alternative frameworks and existing knowledge are identified by the teacher (2003). Quite simply, it is a teacher’s duty to specifically translate such knowledge to become more scientific taking in regards of the different frameworks or perceptions of each student.

            Being scientific means exploring science issues that interests them or to apply science knowledge in designing things and/or finding ways to solve everyday life problems (2004).

            More practically, primary science teaching coordinates the hands-on and minds-on approaches. The support on the pupils who spent little or no time planning and interpreting their findings must be required to make sense of a concept by relating it to their own experiences (2003). In connection, a variety of methods must be used since pupils demonstrate their abilities differently (2004). What is more important is their participation while inside the classroom.    

            The role of the primary school teachers are haunted by different problems. These are insufficient scientific knowledge background and their lack of confidence in teaching science. The teaching process which involves scientific concepts (2004) purports through the teachers’ importance. Their knowledge and teaching skills must lead to the pupil’s broader understanding. Remodelling and retraining of the current primary teachers must be also a priority along with revisiting the teaching practices.

            The teacher’s dialogue must be effective and must be carried-out collaboratively. The pupil’s activities such as inquiry, investigation and problem-solving bring about understanding of scientific concepts (2003). Thus, it must be delivered appropriate and constructively.   

            The children’s interest and attitude towards science is also crucial for effective learning. Particularly, confidence in dealing with curiosity and methodical inquiry must be develop. The enjoyment of science stemmed from the primary school (2003). However, as the child develops positive attitudes on other subjects, their interest in science diminishes.

            There are so many reasons why a primary student loses interest in science. These may include the transition between primary and post-primary schooling ( 2003). In between these years, the authority must be carefully guarded and think of ways of the pupils can retain their interest for the subject. We can start by inflicting the importance of studying science and acknowledge the importance of the subject in everyday life.

            Other reasons: the content-driven nature of the science curriculum, the perceived difficulty of school science and ineffective science teaching (2003). Among the three, the perception of the pupils regarding science can be altered at least through making them understand the value of learning science and its long-term effects.

            Further, the ineffective science teaching is changeable. There are so many things to consider such as the availability of resources for demonstration and the pupils’ ‘how we see’ concept. The primary teachers are somewhat pressured meeting the literacy and numeracy benchmarks and preparing their students for the examinations.

            Regarding the curriculum, educational authorities should capitalize on flexibility of the primary curriculum (2003). Primary science curriculum shall deal with longer-term experiments. Experiments are fun and it encourages the mind to think. With this, teachers can make science more enjoyable though self- discovery of the things around.

            More practically, teaching and learning science teaches us to be more practical and experimental. More than just being a ‘body of knowledge’, the application and importance of science in our daily lives is incontestable. Whether to use different teaching methods in demonstration, using science language in teaching science, being enthusiastic while teaching, there are so many factors why science must be taught and learned.

            As such, primary science teaching and learning deals with three actors: the teachers, the pupils and the educational system authority. The initiative must be played by the teachers in communicating their needs to the schools administrators. The results of collaboration between the two must be centered to the effective learning and broader understanding of the pupils.

            In such a way that the conceptual development of the pupils will not be suffered, the elements of effective teaching and learning must work side-by-side to achieve the goals of primary science as: developing scientific process skills, fostering the acquisition of concepts and developing particular attitudes (2003).