Time and Money Management

Time and money management are integral parts of being a college student. With class, homework, and extracurricular activities, many students struggle to find enough time in the day to do everything they need to and still get enough sleep. Also, many college students are unable to manage their money while buying food and other luxuries. After reviewing the articles posted on these topics, some key ideas jumped out to help make me a more effective person. The first topic that was researched was time management.This is very important for a student to be more effective throughout their day and waste less time. Many college students have a tendency to be lethargic throughout the day and then cram their work into the night. After reading the articles on time management, the main tip to help solve this tendency is to plan your day. This will cut down on the dead time you have and will also prevent you from ever getting bored. The tips however were based upon knowing yourself including your tendencies and personality.The first step was to analyze yourself and what your goals are. By determining your goals, a person can decide how strict they want their daily routine to be and how much free time they want to allocate themself. Another tip is to identify possible time-wasters. These will change for each person but is a very helpful hint. If a person knows what their time-wasters are, they can avoid situations where they come up and also escape them easier when they are faced with a time-waster. These time-wasters include procrastination, interruptions, and lack of planning.These are all things that plague me and knowing my potential time-wasters has helped me find places to do my work that will limit my distractions. The second topic that was researched was money management. This is important for college because kids are on their own and cannot depend on their parents to track their money for them. Keeping money management tips in mind will help college students keep mon ey in their bank account and feel safe monetarily. The first tip in the article is to track your spending.This is important because many people lose track of how much they have spent and do not realize it until it is too late. The next step in managing money is getting a plan to budget your money and decide how much money will be allotted for different things. Money should be allotted for food, clothes, and hobbies or relaxing purchases such as a cd or a videogame. Another tip is to limit the use of credit cards when making purchases. Many students get in the habit of using their credit cards losing track of much they have spent.The next tips focus on realizing that you may not be able to purchase everything you want. This is tough for many people and the article suggests that even if you do make a mistake and blow your budget, just make up for it the next week. Looking ahead and saving money for bills or purchases in the future can help with money management a lot as well. The last and one of the most useful tips the article gives is recognizing how you can utilize your roommate in managing your money. You can delegate responsibilities and split expenses with your roommate as much as possible, making college much easier and cheaper.The articles posted on time and money management were very helpful. The best tip I got from the time-management article was â€Å"The 4 D’s of Time Management. † The four D’s include, â€Å"do it†, â€Å"delegate it†, â€Å"dump it†, â€Å"defer it†. Each D applies to a different situation you might encounter while trying to do work and provides a solution for dealing with it. The four D’s are easy to remember and give you basic principles to fall back on when you are faced with a distraction. The best tip I got from money management was to limit how much I use my credit card and to try and use cash more often.Studies show students spend 30% more when using a credit card becau se there is no sense of a limit like there would be if they used cash. All of these tips reminded me of the time I went out to dinner with a girl and when I tried to pay the check with my credit card, my card cancelled because I had spent all of the money in my account without knowing it. This was embarrassing and luckily I had some cash with me to pay but I learned my lesson. Now with the money management tips I have learned, this will not happen again.After reading the money and time management articles, I am more prepared to navigate through college by myself. They each gave easy tips to remember and make you a more effective manager. I would suggest these articles to all of my friends because they were helpful to me and they came from reliable sources. Most articles I came across had similar ideas but there are specific ideas that will stick to me from both articles I chose. For me, knowing my time-wasters and limiting the use of my credit card were the biggest tips I got from e ach article.

Medieval Instruments essays

Medieval Instruments essays The More Popular Instruments of the Medieval to Renaissance Period Music plays a vital role in human society. It provides entertainment and emotional release, and it accompanies activities ranging from dance to religious ceremonies. Music is heard everywhere: in auditoriums, churches, homes, elevators, sports arenas, and on the street. Recorded music, through our technology, can be heard almost anywhere at anytime. Although we have the technology to listen to whatever kind of music we desire, there is still an exciting sensation for people to watch music performed live. The musicians on stage use their skills with their instruments to produce music that stimulates the mind, excites the heart, and takes the breath away. Through the course of life, humans develop the ability to identify most instruments either by being played or just seen up close. What most people don't know is the history behind the more popular instruments of the world. Some instruments can be traced back in some form to as early as 4000 B.C. This paper will not discuss the history of instruments from the dawn of man, just the late Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Of all the instruments of the Middle Ages, the most popular had to be what is called the lute. Specifically, the lute is a stringed instrument widely played in the 14th to 18th centuries that actually had a revival in the 20th century. Generically, the lute is any stringed instrument having strings that run in a parallel plane to the soundboard and along a protruding neck (see figure one). The modern guitar is basically the descendant of the classical lute. The lute entered medieval Europe from Arabic culture as an instrument plucked by a plectrum, or pick, with four pairs of strings. It was a version of the Arabic 'ud (spelled oud by its modern Balkan players), which today is an unfretted, plectrum-plucked instrument with four to seven double courses. The lute developed i...

ACT Tutoring Right For You

Is Online SAT/ACT Tutoring Right For You SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You know you want tutoring, but do you go with in-person tutoring or online tutoring? Right now, I can practically hear the face some of you just made at the idea of online tutoring (yes, the face was so awful it actually made a noise). The world is full of dire warnings about the issues with online learning. â€Å"How can you possibly learn if you’re not in there in person with your teacher? Won’t you just slack off?† On the other side of the issue are people like me, whose reactions to hearing about online tutoring are more along the lines of "Woo! No travel time means I get to spend more time doing non-SAT/ACT-related things!" To help you get a better sense of whether or not online tutoring is right for you, I’ve blocked out the three areas in which there are significant differences between online and in-person tutoring. For each of these areas, I’ll explain when online tutoring is the right choice†¦and when it is not. feature image credit: Thought plus action by Ben Tesch, used under CC BY 2.0. Quality The first dimension to consider when choosing a method of tutoring is that of quality: what level of tutor do you want? This may seem to be a facetious question, since no matter the tutoring method you go with, you obviously you don't want a BAD tutor. It's important, however, when you choose a tutoring method to consider exactly what you want to get out of tutoring. We'll have an article up soon on how to find the best tutor for you. Do you want tutors to help you with new insights into test content, strategies, and more? If so, online tutoring is probably the best option for you. Why? Near, far, wherever you are in the world, online tutoring allows you to access high quality tutors. I'm going to be brutually honest: if you aren’t in a top city for education like New York or Boston, you don’t have access to the nation’s top tutors. This is even more true if you don't live near a top 5 city at all. Don't go with online tutoring if†¦ All you want is someone to monitor your test prep, making sure you're on schedule and accountable for doing your prep. In this case, you don't even really need a tutor - you need something more like a study buddy or babysitter. Or some sort of electronic surveillance. All you need is someone to explain answers to you better than answer keys can. If this is true for you, then it makes more sense for you to go with a high school student who's taken the test or understands the material. Time and Travel For online tutoring, the road not taken†¦is every road. Consider the time wasted in travel for the average tutoring session, for both parent and child: a 30 minute drive to and from tutoring for student and parent plus either an additional trip from and to the tutor and/or 1 hour of waiting for the parent. At the end of the day: 1 hour wasted for student, 2 hours wasted for parent Online tutoring also means your tutor doesn’t have to travel, which will save money for you. How? Let's say I'm a tutor, and I have to drive half an hour to and from your 2 hour tutoring session. Even if I would normally charge $40/hr to tutor students online or at my house, I'm going to have to charge you $60/hr because I'm losing an hour of potential tutoring time to travel; rather than paying me $80 for a 2 hour tutoring session, you end up paying 50% more ($120/2 hours). If I tutor online, I can charge solely for tutoring time (without having to fold in the money I'd lose from time spent traveling). With online tutoring, you only pay for the tutoring you receive. Another perk is that no need to travel means that all your study materials at your fingertips – no more forgetting things at home (not that I have extensive experience in this subject area. Nope). Finally, online tutoring lets you have more flexibility when scheduling your tutoring - you don't have to worry about when you can get a ride, or when you can fit the travel time into your busy high school schedule. Don’t go with online tutoring if†¦ You have to travel to get high-speed internet access, and a tutor will come to you/is closer by. Both parent and student have time to spare – in that case, time spent traveling may not be an issue Suburban commute by pedrik, used under CC BY 2.0. One if by land, two if by sea, three if we’re just calling to let you know we’re running late ‘cause of the after-school traffic on the highway. Technology Online video chat software and hardware have advanced substantially from just 5 years ago. Videos look sharp and are live, making online sessions equal in quality to in-person tutoring. Some presentational software even lets tutors show equations and diagrams, which in turn can make SkypeTM tutoring even more effective than in-person tutoring. Case in point: it’s way easier to draw perfect circles and diagrams and manipulate equations on a computer than on paper with a pencil and compass. Don’t go with online tutoring if†¦ You have ZERO access to high speed internet. If you live in a rural area or some area where the only internet you have is dial-up (cabin in the woods in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, for example), online tutoring will probably not work for you. You don’t have a computer and/or have never before used a webcam. Even you have the technology, but are not comfortable with it, you may want to hold off on online tutoring. Not sure if the technology is going to be a barrier? Go with online tutoring that offers a full money-back guarantee for the first session and make sure there are no hiccups. The Bottom Line There are certainly legitimate reasons to dislike online tutoring. If you... Don’t care about quality Don’t have easy access to high speed internet Aren’t comfortable with the technology used ...then it makes sense not to get online tutoring. Barring these exceptions, however, online tutoring is equally as effective as, if not more effective than, traditional in-person tutoring. We’re particularly confident of this at PrepScholar because of the quality of our tutors. What’s Next? How much should you pay for an SAT/ACT Tutor? Use our guidelines to help you form a reasonable budget. Not sure if you should go with a tutor or just do online prep? We have the article for you. For more on how to choose the best online prep, read our concise guide. Want to get serious about improving your SAT/ACT score? Our tutoring service is designed to be the most effective in the nation. We hire the best tutors from across the country. This is then paired with our exclusiveonline drillingprogramthat gives your tutor complete insight into your progress to design the most effective sessions. Think about what improving 160 points on your SAT, or 4 points on your ACT, can do for you. Learn more about tutoring now:

International Strategy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Strategy - Research Paper Example Literature review This is a vital section of this project but while conducting the literature review, care should be taken so that only the relevant information is discussed. This will keep the literature review section specific and to the point. While starting the literature review section, a well defined definition of international strategy will be discussed. For example, with time how the concept of international strategy got modified (Root & Visudtibhan, 1992, p.44). The research conducted by different scholars on multinational companies regarding international strategies used by them will be discussed (Frankenberger, 2006, p.2). In the literature review section, some vital international strategies used by the firms will be explored (Mcfarlin & Sweeney, 2008, p.266). Some of the common mode used by companies to enter in international market will also be discussed (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2009, p.225). The information strategy regarding related as well as unrelated diversificat ion will be discussed with help of some vital case studies (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington, p.285-295). Research methodology Being a descriptive research, in this project secondary research will be conducted. Data will be collected from different authenticated sources. As for example, the company website, books from renowned authors, journals and online data base will be used. The research will be a mixed one where quantitative as well as qualitative data will be collected. The aim of this research is to collect information that explains the international strategy used by the fast food industry. As for example how the company decided to avoid beef and pork products in India as these products raised religious issues. Again,... This essay streeses that Being a descriptive research, in this project secondary research will be conducted. Data will be collected from different authenticated sources. As for example, the company website, books from renowned authors, journals and online data base will be used. The research will be a mixed one where quantitative as well as qualitative data will be collected. The aim of this research is to collect information that explains the international strategy used by the fast food industry. As for example how the company decided to avoid beef and pork products in India as these products raised religious issues. Again, considering the preference of rice products over wheat product in Japan, McDonald introduced rice burgers. These are some of the unique international strategies followed by McDonald to cater unique requirement of its highly diversified customer base. The business strategy used by McDonald will be compared against other commonly used international entry model. The advantages as well as disadvantages associated with McDonald’s international business model will be discussed. This report makes a conclusion this will be closing part of the research; hence almost whole of the project will be briefed in this section. The vital finding will also be discussed once again. Finally, considering the analysis and finding of the research, some recommendation will be suggested.

Department of Human Resource Development and Performance Technologies Essay

Department of Human Resource Development and Performance Technologies - Essay Example It is anchored on sustainable development strategies which seek to provide a long term solution instead of short term measures of poverty alienation. Sustainability is a concept within the development agenda which refers to ability of people to use various resources without finishing them up for the future generation or use. These international developments have been pegged on sustainable technology campaign and this brings the above dined terms into one umbrella idea. †¢ Provide background information about your worksite and its mission. My worksite is an Islamic Center of Terre Haute which is a religious center that serves diverse roles in nurturing the future Muslim faithful and makes effort to promote peaceful co-existence with other communities from different religious faith. This institution is a learning center with an organized curriculum and the workforce deliver services of high standards (Bargach, 2002). There is a spirited management effort to champion for technologi cal application in learning and execution of various administrative issues in line with the concept of sustainable development. ... †¢ Briefly describe what you did while you were at the worksite. Describe your own thinking, understanding, and learning as your project evolved. My work in Islamic center was to help with cleaning, arranging the books in the library, also arranging the Quran books. These activities provided a great challenge which also served as a lesson to me in view of the wider concept of the society. As the project progressed, I began to reflect on the theories learnt in class and compare with the real life situation. It is worth to note that the theoretical concepts learnt in class give a guideline and appropriate hint on how to handle different issues in any situation. Practical application of learnt concepts requires patience and perseverance as they don’t automatically fit. In arranging the books in this institution for instance, there are some cases where the books have erroneous coding and their search process in the database may as well not help. At this point, critical thinki ng is required to advance book search methods. When it comes to cleaning, the effect of the litter and dust on the compound should be seen to be an environmental threat beyond the limits of the institution and this explains the need to place litter bins in places of higher population concentration. This is a sustainable approach that promotes environmental care and a perfect precedent for the future generation. †¢ Identify what was puzzling, problematic, engaging, exciting, etc. about your project. My project entail cleaning and arrangement of books which attracted several problems and equally puzzling situation. Despite my attempts to put litter bins in the

Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act Research Paper

Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act - Research Paper Example In addition, the team conducted a research of former attempts that have been made in addressing the issue in question (Payne, 2015). The subsequent part of the essay covers the stakeholder analysis where issues related to them have been discussed. The section also provides the stakeholders who are adversely affected by the problem associated with the Act. The stakeholders have different objectives that are with policies that are implemented by the relevant institutions. Conversely, the section discusses how stakeholders are affected by the implementation of the Act. The next section provides alternative solutions that can be used to resolve the issue related to the Indiana Religious Act. In addition, an evaluation of the possible outcomes of the alternatives has been provided. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the alternatives given to mitigating the problem that arise from the application of the policy in the business environment. Lastly, the last section provides the anticipated future trend of the problem (Robertson and Pà ©rez-Peà ±a, 2015). The Act was introduced in Indiana after it was enacted by the Governor of the State. One of the problems that have been widely associated with the Act is that it discriminates certain groups of people in the society. Critics argue that the move to introduce the policy was intended to exclude particular groups such as the gay community in the business sector. In the year 1993, President Bill Clinton signed a law allowing states to have their religious laws. The senators who participated passing the law voted overwhelming in support of the law. However, it was established the Indiana State operated in contrast to the legislation of the federal government. The decision to allow states to come up with their religion created a loophole in the legal system where the state of Indiana legalized gay marriage. The decision to allow gay marriage in State came with negative implications especially to

Effects of FDI in the Dominican Republic

Effects of FDI in the Dominican Republic Introduction Background and purpose The Dominican Republic has done a major shift in its economy, coming from an agricultural economy, to one based on services. An estimate of the sectors contribution to the country are, 60.2% in services (tourism, transportation, communications, finances, others), 15.5% in industry (manufacturing), 11.5% in construction, 11.3% in agriculture, and 1.5% in mining (CIA fact book). As of right now only tourism leads the service industry, but is soon to be challenged by the investment of contact centers. Because of this shift in its economy the Dominican Republic has become home to various foreign investments, but the one this study will focus on is on the foreign direct investment in contact centers, or call centers as they are also known. It is important to explore the advantages the Dominican Republic offers to attract such foreign investment, as well as to analyze the fact that although there are benefits, it could also lack the necessary infrastructure to sustain this rapidly growing industry. Due to the ongoing world financial crisis, many international companies are struggling to keep their business afloat and looking to establish their contact centers outside of their home based countries. Saving money and reducing operational cost are some of the main reason companies move and do foreign direct investment (FDI) abroad. Investing and conducting operations overseas seems to be the answer that foreign contact centers are looking for in order to meet such goals. It can be said that the Dominican Republic offers an answer to the difficulties contact centers companies are experiencing and continue to confront back at home. Some of the solutions given to these companies are a great business climate for foreign direct investment (FDI), incentives and good geographical location, among other compensations. As a result of moving abroad contact centers gain a particular advantage over their competitors. These advantages can range from cheaper operational cost, strategic location a nd skilled personnel, to a variety of options which may or may not be available in the Dominican Republic. But like everything in life not everything is perfect, the country also needs to confront a sad reality, which is that although it offers good things to investors, it also lacks of other good things. This study will provide the key aspects of contact center FDI in the Dominican Republic in order to present some of the weak and strong points the country has on this industry. By doing this the report looks at what the country has to offer to current and future investors in the contact center industry. It will also provide-from the investors point of view-what makes the Dominican Republic an attractive place to invest foreign capital in contact centers, as well as some of the problems encountered throughout the business venture. Although information provided by the governmental institutions in charge of spreading information about this industry say the country is capable, suited and ready to meet all the requirements of international investors, it is a fact that no system is perfect. This is where facts will be laid down in order to show what truly attracts, keep or loses these investments on the island. Based on those previously mentioned facts the study will look at what improveme nts can be made by the country in order to keep a competitive edge on the rapid growing industry. With this information the reader will comprehend the flaws in the system, and what measures are needed in order to correct them and generate a more positive investment climate. Along with this positive investment climate the study will show the impact call center FDI has had in the country. An efficient and effective investment climate can only be produced by pointing out the pros and cons of what the Dominican Republic has to offer to its investors. The conclusion of the study wishes to convey that these improvements can be achieved by taking action upon the recommendations given. Being that this study is based mostly on empirical knowledge, some of the observations made will be presented based on the industry expertise of the writer of over 7 years or working experience in this field. Research questions Is the Dominican Republic a good place for FDI? Have contact centers FDI created a real impact in the Dominican Republic? Research methodology In order to answer the questions mentioned above, this paper we will use a mixture of methodologies in order to analyze if the country is truly a good place for contact center FDI and if the industry has had an impact in the Dominican Republic. These methodologies include interviews, qualitative research and quantitative data. Organization of paper This document will be composed of four chapters, the first one being its introductory part. The first chapter will provide a brief introduction and background of the Dominican Republic and what sectors comprise the FDI in the country, along with the research questions and research methodology. The second chapter will present an overview of foreign direct investment, inflows, trends, performances and investment climate that pertains the country, as well as the promotion agency in charge of FDI in the country. This information will be in comparison with selected economies from the Caribbean, Latin America and others. The third chapter will cover a more in-depth analysis of contact centers in the Dominican Republic, flaws and investor perspective. The study will also look at a specific company from which the study will depict the impact this specific center has had in the country. The concluding and fourth chapter will provide key findings from the study and recommend future improvement s based on those findings. Overview of FDI in the Dominican Republic FDI trends and performance in Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic, like many other developing countries, is actively seeking to attract FDI. They are not only seeking FDI as an important factor in creating employment opportunities and additional source of income, but rather for the reason of potential spillovers of knowledge and technology. The strong public support for FDI in the Dominican Republic is expressed through the creation of the Center for Exports and Investment of the Dominican Republic, institution in charge of all exports and investment, along with other measures taken by the government. Some of these measures include simplification of administrative procedures, aid from the CEI-RD in logistics and information, subsidies, tax breaks, exemptions and other instruments that facilitate FDI. Before addressing the question of whether FDI in the Dominican Republic has led to development, spillovers of knowledge and technology, as well as, if it is a good place for contact centers to establish and invest, the study will provide an overview of FDI inflows and trends in the Dominican Republic. FDI inflows in the Dominican Republic have made a miraculous recovery from 2004 to 2008 according to the data by the World Bank (World Bank, World Development Indicators). As any other developing country, the inflow of foreign capital was affected by the political environment, which reflected in an average loss of almost 200 million dollars per year during the 2000-2004 governmental period. During this period the collapse of a major bank caused financial turmoil and many investors were forced to leave the country. After a change of government and the macro stability was placed back in track by the new authorities, the country received an average foreign capital inflow of 450 million dollars a year, to earn a total of over two billion dollars in FDI inflows (See figure below). This great recovery happened during the 2004-2008 period, as it was first mentioned, and it is still improving as the country keeps positioning itself as a preferred destination for FDI. Although contact centers are not the main reason for this fast recovery in the FDI, the new rapid industry of contact centers are playing a very important role as it continues to evolve into a leading industry in the service field. In President Fernandez first governmental period (2004-2008) the country recovered from the worst financial crisis in many years. During 2005 the country predicted a GDP growth of 9.3% and inflation to be brought under control at 7.3% throughout the 2004-2008 years. By managing these issues President Fernandez said We have rescued the confidence of investors by achieving macroeconomic stability (Leonel Fernandez, 2004). Having achieved macroeconomic stability, the Dominican Republic received US$1 billion worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2005, up 40% from 2004, and U.S. investment accounted for around 40% of the total (CEI-RD, 2006). This led to an improvement of FDI inflows and mechanisms to continue attracting and sustaining this newly found investments. Below are the net inflows of FDI for various Latin American and the Caribbean countries, including the Dominican Republic. Investment climate When one thinks of the Dominican Republic, images of tropical beaches and all-inclusive resorts may come to mind, but this ten million-strong nation, occupying two thirds of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, also has one of the Americas fastest growing economies and diverse scenery in the Caribbean (BusinessWeek, 2006). The briefing paper Foreign Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2008 is one of the latest editions of a series issued annually by the Unit of Investment and Corporate Strategies of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Division of Production, Productivity and Management. This report presents-in a very detail manner-the foreign investment done in Latin American and Caribbean countries, showing their relative differences and investment climate among other indicators. This report also touches on the contact center industry, which has contributed greatly to the ever increasing FDI inflow of the Dominican Republic. Comparing to oth er countries the Dominican Republic shows one of the best FDI inflows by reflecting a relative difference of 83%. What this means is that FDI activities has been constantly growing in the country, thus reflecting good initiatives from the country and a positive improving investment climate (see image below). A good investment climate is not created by simple marketing; it takes hard work, good economic policies and first-class governance on behalf of the government and its Head of State. Because many countries offer desirable investment conditions companies frequently ask themselves, where they should invest their capital. The answer needs to be provided by the country that wishes to be the host of the foreign investments these companies wish to make. The Dominican Republic has characteristics that make it a desirable place to make an investment of any kind, but the question that still lingers around is if the country can really sustain an investment of great magnitude. Offering the right investment climate in the Caribbean is something that the country wishes to achieve, but is not always successful on doing so. With a long history of attracting considerable FDI in a variety of sectors, the Dominican Republic is a regional leader in attracting contact center foreign investment. Longstan ding political stability and a diversifying economy have led many foreign firms to choose the Dominican Republic as an investment destination. Recent success in attracting FDI is due to the countrys investor-friendly legal regime, generous incentives, and infrastructure capable of supporting new technologies, including information technology (FDI Magazine. Financial Times Magazine. August 2005). As mentioned earlier, this success is fairly new and the Dominican Republic still faces the challenge of maintaining and attracting this foreign investments. A great way to see how well positioned is the country and the investment climate it offers is to do a comparison of economies. Doing Business 2010: Reforming Through Difficult Times is the seventh in a series of annual reports investigating regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. The report presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, over time (Doing business, 2010). Looking at this specialize report the Dominican Republic reflects its ranking in ease of doing business and other important world ranking criterias that foreign investors consider necessary to know before investing in any. Although this report is using specific economies, the data compares the Dominican Republic to the economies of countries around its region, as well as others from a distant hemisphere and much more developed than the island. One basic criterion for investment is the ease of doing business, the chart below reflects a clear weakness for the Dominican Republic in this area by ranking lower than a Puerto Rico and Jamaica. Puerto Rico and Jamaica are much smaller countries, which may contribute to more agile processes, but the fact that they are neighboring countries there should be a bigger similitude among them in terms of how business is handle. This is a clear sign that depending on how a country handles its business will reflect how efficient their mechanisms are, therefore providing a bigger ease of doing business. Another factor that should not be of much importance is the fact that Jamaica and Puerto Rico receive assistance, guidance and at times are regulated by developed countries. This should not be an excuse for why the Dominican Republic is falling behind in such a basic and important principle. (Doing business, 2010). The chart below, which has also been extracted from the Doing Business 2010: Reforming Through Difficult Times Report, touches on another very important factor for investors when they consider making an investment abroad. The ranking given in this chart is compared to the selected economies of Haiti, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Rwanda and others. This comparison is done once again in order to show how the Dominican Republic presents itself as a favorable investment location. Yet again this favorable climate for investors is not providing the best climate because is falling behind to neighboring economies which only advantage seems to be a more organize and efficient system. The Dominican Republic continues to improve, but is weak in its bureaucratic process, which as a result continues to slow down its progress. Dominican Republics ranking in doing business (Doing business, 2010) Once an investment is done, one of the biggest-if not the main concern of any investor-is how secure is their investment in a foreign country, meaning how are they protected from any unwanted situation. The Dominican Republic has recently passed a new legislation which provides a greater protection to its investors, thus providing investors with a contingency plan if anything happens. The graph below shows the global ranking of the Dominican Republic in terms or protecting its investors, which is a great improvement from other areas already mentioned. Although this is a very important concern for investors, it still addresses a post-investment situation. What this mean is that it does not really provide an immediate impact in attracting a foreign investment if the other factors are encouraging, but it does boost investors confidence in the country they plan to invest as well as adding to a better investment climate. (Doing business, 2010) In an interview to CEI-RD Minister Eddy Martinez in the renowned Dominican daily show Hoy Mismo, transmitted by channel 9, he talks about the investment climate in the Dominican Republic and mentions key factors that make the country a great place to invest-compared to other countries in the region. He talks about establishing incentive mechanisms in order to attract those capitals which appraise the value of the investment not only for the amount, but for the impact these investments will have in terms of technology transfer, creation of employment, type of employment, quality of products produced in the country and if they will carry out Research Development activities. Although this mechanism is something the country whishes to implement, it is still not fully incorporated, thus leaving room for error. The institution is still trying to educate and integrate the contact center community so they can share these incentives and goals with other investors who want to do future busine ss based on the country incentive structure. To disseminate this information the CEI-RD has done seminars concerning these incentives, and is moving forward to the implementation of those incentive policies. During the interview CEI-RD Minister mentioned that many investments come through different ministries, therefore many investors are not sure who and how their investment are handle. This reflects a clear disorganization in the governmental mechanisms, which translates into a weakness. Minister Martinez suggests the government creates an integrated mechanism of investment. What this means is that no matter the origin of the investment or ministry, it will end up in a single place. This will allow proper follow up of the investment, and in case a project gets stuck, the institution can determine where being detained due to bureaucracy or lack of project handling. Based on that integrated mechanism the country can increase its FDI inflows by having all projects in a single place, thus providing one more reason to invest in th e Dominican Republic. Promotion agency (CEI-RD) and incentives offered The Dominican Republics government has implemented a liberal framework for attracting FDI. It makes no distinction between foreign and local companies in terms of ownership restrictions and ability to qualify for investment incentives. Foreign investment is permitted in all sectors except those related to public health and the environment (such as storage and disposal of hazardous or radioactive waste), as well as national security. The Dominican Republic government also offers full exemption from all taxes, duties, charges, and fees that affect production and export activities in free trade zones, which it introduced in 1969. The free trade zones aim to attract high-tech manufacturing (including electronics and electrical components) as well as more traditional manufacturing-such as of automotive parts, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, plastics, metals, injection molding, textiles and footwear, jewelry, tobacco and of course contact centers. The incentives offered last up to 25 years for zones on the Haitian border, and up to 15 years for all other zones. In May 2006 there were 59 industrial parks and free trade zones in the Dominican Republic, hosting more than 600 companies, providing over 190,000 direct jobs, and occupying 2.1 million square meters. Although there are no performance requirements for foreign investors, few sector-specific incentives are offered to them. (World Bank Group, MIGA, Snapshot of the Caribbean, 2007) All of the benefits mentioned above and the continuing inflow of investment is happening thanks to efforts from the government and the institution in charge of carrying out FDI promotion. The institution carrying out this very important task is the Dominican Republics Export and Investment Center (CEI-RD), which is headed by Eddy Martinez, as the Minister and Executive Director of this government institution that promotes national strategic export and foreign investment opportunities and works hands-on with local and foreign enterprise to facilitate business activity. Because the institution knows the importance of investment they are aggressively targeting investors through offices in New York, Miami and California, and because of the nations entry into the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA-DR. The Centro de Exportacià ³n e Inversià ³n de la Repà ºblica Dominicana (CEI-RD) as it is called in Spanish, is the countrys one-stop investment promotion intermediary. It has three main departments: Export Promotion, Investment Promotion, and a Training Center. The CEI-RD aims to strategically promote the valuable conditions that the Dominican Republic offers as an investment destination and foreign trade developer, by pursuing priority areas as defined by the Government, to increase employment, technological transfer and the social welfare of the Nation. The agency organizes and participates in trade missions both overseas and locally as well as provides tools to assist investors, such as an export directory. (World Bank Group, MIGA, Snapshot of the Caribbean) The CEI-RD is the official organization responsible for the promotion of international trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). It was created as a product of the fusion of the Center for the Promotion of Exports of the Dominican Republic (CEDOPEX) and the Office for the Promotion of Investments of the Dominican Republic (OPI-RD), according to Law 98-03, effective on June 17, 2003. The CEI-RD is comprised of two main operational areas, export promotion and foreign investment promotion and its functions include many promotions, but some of the more relevant to this study are promotion of the countrys advantages to attract foreign investment, coordination with other government institution related to foreign trade in the interest of achieving an expedient and efficient flow of exports and investments in the country, promotion and development of FDI and business from the CEI-RD offices abroad, currently in Miami, New York and Chicago, participating actively in trade negotiations and ad ministration of resulting agreements, contribute to the improvement of the legal framework and its proper application. Also throughout the Foreign Service network, new offices will be opening soon in Puerto Rico and Silicon Valley The institution services are available for local and foreign companies to facilitate the exports and investments of the country which is an advantage to any investor. Among the services the CEI-RD offers, and which are relevant to this study, they have specialized consulting, technical assistance in meeting the regulations and norms required for the export of goods and services, which is helpful to new investor who are not familiar with the legal framework. They also have validation of certificates of origin, technical assistance relating to trade agreements, recommendations for improving the production process and benefiting from tariff preferences. The new investor can also benefit from visits on behalf of the CEI-RD specialized staff to their companies in order to evaluate the production process under trade agreements and preferential programs. One very important service the CEI-RD offers is that they ensure the correct application of norms relating to export and investment proced ures by administrating Law 84-99 on the reactivation and promotion of exports and Law 16-95 on foreign investment. Other services, although not specific to the industry, offered by the CEI-RD and from which investors could benefit are product profiles and market analysis, business intelligence, legal and economic information, registration of exports and foreign direct investment, facilitation of a network of representatives abroad and foreign trade documentation center. As any other promotion agency the CEI-RD has several promotion programs that make the Dominican Republic attractive for FDI. These programs include National and International Trade shows and expos where it presents companies, local and foreign, can showcase their products. The CEI-RD also coordinates trade missions in order to ensure a successful transaction as well as training programs relating to international trade. In these specific programs-relating to international trade-local companies can get educated and learn how to export their products and foreign investors can learn about the local market and opportunities. Another very important promotion program-and the one of the most significant-is the coordination of business meetings to present what the countrys has to offer, as well as to contact potential investors and exporters. With this two-way program, foreign and local investors will have a mutual gain by making the necessary contacts to get their business started, thus gene rating future FDI. (CEI-RD, 2010) Contact center FDI in Dominican Republic Overview of contact center FDI As it was previously mentioned, this study looks at the pros and cons of contact center FDI from various angles, one been from the host country point of view and the other the investors point of view. From the host country the study takes into consideration a report created by the economist Jonathan Aragonez, from the Center of Export and Investment of the Dominican Republic (CEI-RD), as well as other documentation of contact centers from the CEI-RD. These documents will provide the necessary data to point out the countrys benefit and disadvantages. Do to the lack of published papers that truly criticize or analyze the contact center industry, this study will support many of its facts on three things. These three key contributions are empirical knowledge of the writer, interview conducted to the economist previously mentioned, and interview with a contact center owner who is doing FDI in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic has had strong export services for many years, and as a result there are 40 to 50 call centers registered with the Dominican Call Center Association. Investors currently operating in the country cited skilled workers, most of whom are bilingual, as their main reason for choosing it as their investment location (Dominican Republic Contact Center Association, 2010). The country has a large, well-trained labor force and although Spanish is the countrys official language, investors can find workers that also speak English. Apart from the stable, fast growing economy, attractive cost structure and near shore location, it can be said that people are the primary competitive advantage in the Dominican Republic. Investors in the Dominican Republic always emphasize the Dominicans high learning ability and proficiency in English. (Eddy Martinez, 2006). The countrys large size means that land is available for green field investment-if one was to be done-although most investors opt to rent or lease a work space for their operations. The country also offers great access to all markets being that is one of the six countries in the world that has a free trade agreement with the U.S. and Europe. Some of the other countries that have such a privilege are Israel, Jordan, Chile and Mexico (Office of the United States Trade Representative, 2010). Other favorable investment factors included the countrys well-developed, affordable telecommunications infrastructure which is the only one in the Caribbean with access four international cables through the Americas Region Caribbean Optical-Ring System Cable (ARCOS-1). What this means is that the Dominican Republic connection to the U.S. or any other country is redundant, thus ensuring contact center businesses to always be connected. Contact centers in the Dominican Republic generate 25,000 direct jobs, from the 57 companies registered and operating in the country. In the next two years those centers are expected to create 30,000 additional jobs, which when added to the indirect ones are more than 150,000 in. This information comes from the CEI-RD, which also says almost all of the data and information technology centers have been installed in the country in the past three years, meaning this great progress has been done in record time. This year alone-and not including centers outside of free trade zones-Contact Centers constituted 15% of approved companies in the free trade zones of the Dominican Republic, being matched only by textile companies (Approved companies by the Free Trade Zone and Export Committee, 2010). In previous reports the committee also shows how these companies add to the countrys GDP year after year, reflecting in a steady and secure growth of this industry. Companies approved in 2010 Free Trade Zone and Export Committee, 2010) The contact center industry in the Dominican Republic is one that has maintained a steady and significant growth. By doing so it has provided a great deal of jobs in the Dominican labor market, citing that for the year 2009 the industry counted with 22,000 jobs. Taking into consideration that the growth of this industry will be of about 27% and 36% annual growth during the next five years, it means that by 2014 the number of jobs can grow to an astonishing 150,000 jobs if the average annual growth rate is of only 27%. If the industry grows at an average of 37% annually, we are talking about having 250,000 jobs, which is almost double of the previous projection. (Jonathan Aragonez, 2010) Strengths, weaknesses and investors perspective of contact centers FDI Deciding whether to invest or not in a country is a decision which is influenced by what the country has offered and showed you, and what other investors say their experience has been. Investors will most likely take other investors input as the reality of how business works in a country. With that being said, one of the biggest disadvantages mentioned by investors is that the Dominican Republic doesnt count with a large enough English speaking community to hold growing operations. This statement comes from the interview with Mr. Blake Janover, contact center owner who has experienced the lack of English speaking representatives. He mentions that the Dominican Republic is a great place to invest, but not the best in the world due to some more important flaws than not enough English personnel. The main weaknesses mentioned by this contact center owner are banking, finance, and overall infrastructure, which is why he runs everything through an external company abroad instead of legally constituting a Dominican company. He also says that it takes time to get things rolling in the country, but he likes the Dominican Republic because it offers a huge tax benefit, as the US offers almost none (Blake Janover, 2010). Further details given by Mr. Janover can be seen in the Appendix. As for the interview with Mr. Jonathan Aragonez, an economist for the Center of Export and Investment of the Dominican Republic, he explains that the Dominican Republic offers contact center investors a great deal of benefits. In his interview he mentions some of the exclusivity of Dominican Republic, its treaty and skilled labor force. The most significant interpretation I could gather form the interview was that an investor is usually winning when investing in a contact center. This is an industry that is expected to grow at a steady 27 to 36 percent in average in the next 5 years, so the investor is bound to make a great profit in the business.(Jonathan Aragonez, 2010) Both the investor and the host country agree in one thing, the Dominican Republic offers advantages that many other countries dont have, and that is why the country is becoming a leader in the industry. These advantages are not only extended to the country and the investor, but are also transferable to the workforce. The average starting salaries in the contact centers are between RD$18,000 to RD$22,000 pesos. This amount is three times more than the average salary of RD$6,000 pesos-established by law-for people working office jobs such as law clerk, assistant or financial analyst (Ministry of Labor of the Dominican Republic, 2007). The contact center salaries are only matched by those of Doctors or Engineers in production plants, which is very demanding professional field in comparison with being a contact center agent. Although this is good for an individual whose only skill may be to speak English, it affects other labor markets due to the fact that the salary is so much