Apply Problem Solving Free Essays

Problem solving is not always an easy task to tackle. During my years of work experience I have seen and been part of several problem solving situations, and everyone is different, and everyone handles these situations differently. In order to solve them successfully sometimes you have to persuade certain people and sometimes science needs to prove it wrong or right. We will write a custom essay sample on Apply Problem Solving or any similar topic only for you Order Now Working in title and escrow can be frustrating, challenging, long hours, and most importantly extremely stressful. This was the career path I was on over nine years ago, and my thoughts were that I would be doing this position for the rest of my career. The mortgage industry was very hectic and busy at the time and people were refinancing their homes and some were refinancing twice a year. The rates were incredible and housing prices continued to rise, and it seemed as if everyone was either buying new homes or refinancing their existing homes. The economy at the time was doing well and many people were buying new items and charging them. We would cut many checks to credit card companies to pay off their balances through the refinance stage. The better the rates became the busier we became, but we didn’t higher any new employees. We were all working long hours and as the months went on instead of working until six in the evening we were working until eight or nine in the evening and sometimes on the weekends. My manager kept expressing to the higher management that we needed to higher more employees to keep up with the demand and give the same high quality of service. They continued to ignore her and continued to brush it off. Until one day when she crunched the numbers and showed them that the company was burning out their employees and spending so much money on overtime. In the last six months with all the overtime they, spent they could have hired an additional three people and still would have been less expensive for the company. The management finally realized that they needed to hire on two more people to keep up with the work and continue to strive with our quality of customer service and not burn out the employees they had. In the following two weeks we had two new assistants and we were all able to work until our scheduled time five in the evening and no more weekends. About 10 years ago I was diagnosed with gastritis which is when the lining of my stomach becomes inflamed, irritated, or erosion happens. This is caused by stress, eating spicy foods, dairy products, and eating acetic products such as tomatoes or oranges. I went through different tests to be diagnosed and when the doctors diagnosed me they wanted me to take antacid prescribed drugs such as Prevacid and Nexium. Yes these were both scientific drugs, but they were not helping the situation. I was still having nausea and stomach pains while I was taking the prescribed drugs. Eventually I spoke to a friend who was going to a holistic doctor and would not stop talking about how great she was. During this time I was married and my husband was a paramedic so of course he did not believe in alternative medicine. He was against it and thought it would never work. Even though he was not opened to alternative medicine I was. Being miserable I realized and figured out that it would not hurt to try and talk to her. I meet with her and she put me on some natural herbal release pills and probiotic pills. Within days I was benefiting from those natural herbs. I was able to slowly bring dairy and acetic products gradually back into my diet and not feel the nausea or receive the stomach cramps. Since that day I have not taken Prevacid or Nexium and I feel great. I do believe in scientific medicine, but I also believe in natural herbs that come from the ground. Through this process I learned that we cannot be closed minded and need to be opened to other possibilities at certain times. Through my experiences in title and escrow I realized that you cannot change everything, and if there are certain issues or problems that need to be changed or fixed that at times certain people need to see the facts before they believe it or change it. With my diagnosis I am very happy that I was opened to new ideas and didn’t only believe what others believed because if I did I might not have been able to manage my gastritis. In life we experience many things, and there are always problems to be solved, but what matters is how you go about solving them. How to cite Apply Problem Solving, Papers

Have you ever wondered what my... free essay sample

Have you ever wondered what my children, the trees would say if they could speak? They are sad, angry, disappointed yet somehow manage to be compassionate and forgiving, which is truly the saddest of all. My children watch while you cut down their siblings. You merciless humans, plow down such beautiful creations, and all for what? A little more elbow room? You deprive them of their basic needs; obstruct their path to find water with your plastic wastes. They suffocate themselves so that you can breathe without any obstructions. You dont even let them mourn in peace. That is what happens in autumn. Perhaps when my children shed their leaves, they are weeping for all they have lost, all they have been unjustly robbed off as you just watch them wail. You watch them mourn and you think that its beautiful.You, who are destroyers at heart, riot through life with torches and pitchforks in your hands, leaving bones and fire and rotting flesh in your wake. It is a shame that we have to face your gratuitous wrath. If only my children could speak. If only they could testify you. If only they could be granted justice. If only they could strike back. Broken shrieks of despair and fury would erupt from their throats. We were here first, You havent the right, After all we have done for you, they would say. Their branches would blaze with fire, rage dancing in the flames as you steal their existence, leaving only a stump of life before swiping that away, too. Lifeless bare branches would cast their haunting shadows over the ground, wishing they could trap you in their livid hold. Take my word. They could trample you; they would win and I would be glad when they do.Humans are the most disappointing creation. Trees, after all of their long years, would be wise enough to realize this. Pride and greed blind you, and you do not see past your selfish needs. The green monster in your heads sputters out demands for more, more, more. The trees only give. They provide oxygen and shade and something truly beautiful to look at. If they could speak, they would say, You should all be ashamed of yourselves. And you should be.Despite all that you are guilty of, the trees express compassion. They give you shade when you are too hot. They stand over you like watchdogs, wishing away the heat. Even so, you complain of the uncomfortable ground that they reside in. You ungrateful beasts, even when they let you ogle at their beauty while they are weeping in the sad autumn months asking what they did to deserve their undoing, they allow you to scrape together the remains of their grief and they only watch as you have the audacity to play with their leaves as if they came from joy.My children are so forgiving. It is a mystery to me, why they excuse you after all that you have done. They mourn in autumn, thrive in summer and become leafless and lifeless in winter. Yet spring will always come again, without fail. My children will forgive you, it is in their nature. They will bloom for you again, and you will remain oblivious to the absolution they grant you. Their leaves will stretch down, offering a gentle caress that can only be saying: We forgive you. I wish they were not so kind. You do not deserve their mercy. Perhaps that is why trees are so much taller than you. They tower over you and you are forced to look up at them. No wonder you are so small. As your fellow human, Maggie Stiefvater said, If I were a tree, I would have no reason to love a human, and yes, my children have no reason to love you, to purify the air you breathe, to give you shade, wood or their products. Yet, they do. They love you and let you rejoice at the cost of their sorrow.Who has not looked on the flowering laburnum and laughed in sheer joy? Who has not watched the red orange burst of the flame of the forest and been inspired? Who has not stolen mangoes, climbed banyans and tamarind trees and then taken respite in the shade? Can you ever just look at a tree in its prime, with the wind in its leaves, or the light spilling through its branches, or the rain sweeping down its trunk and not be moved? How can one not feel protective of a young gentle sapling struggling in a storm, knowing it has a long way to go?One blessed human, Rabindranath Tagore, wrote:The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and of death, in ebb and in flow. I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life. And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment. If that remnant of compassion still remains alive within you, leave us alone. Start recycling paper. Reduce pollution. We cannot take more of your toxins. Come to us for the products we willingly give you. Dont force my children to consume your artificial fertilizers. To build your houses, you have destroyed the homes of my animal friends. Let them survive. Dont make them suffer the same fate we were doomed to so far. We share the same space that the Mother Earth has graciously given us. Let us not compete, because whoever wins, it will be you who will take up the heavier losses. Thank you.

Why Did a Stalemate Develop on the Western Front free essay sample

Why did a stalemate develop on the Western Front? Stalemate during war is when no action can be taken or progress made. The Stalemate on the Western front, a line of trenches stretching from the Swiss Alps all the way across France to Nieuwpoort in Belgium, was a dilemma that was not foreseen by either the allies or Germany. Originally it had been predicted that the war would be over after a quick and decisive battle, this perception was quickly diminished once the war had begun. No one reason explains why the situation on the western front developed into a stalemate but many factors can be considered. The developments in weaponry have been said to have contributed to the Stalemate. In the early twentieth century many new and effective weapons were being developed. Long range heavy artillery had been proved much more effective than the mounted rifle wielding soldiers of previous centuries. We will write a custom essay sample on Why Did a Stalemate Develop on the Western Front? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The allies and Germany were both caught up in this weaponry boom. This â€Å"race† for new technology led to the two sides being approximately evenly matched, because of this neither side could make much head way. Also, the Generals in charge of the troops were mostly aged officers whose knowledge of modern weapons was limited. The fast moving nature of modern warfare had taken them by and led to rather outdated methods being used. So even though new weapons were evadible if they were not used effectively they were useless. The problem with advanced warfare and having similar types of weapons was that it was really machine against machine thus getting an upper hand was virtually impossible. Problems in communications also contributed towards the stalemate because the connections between the front line, the artillery and the Commanders were very poor. Most of the Generals were stationed several miles away from the front line, due to this they could not get a clear idea of what was going on amongst the troops. This delay and confusion on the battlefield made it hard to get an objective perspective on the battle. Sometimes the different nationalities such as the French and British found it hard communicating with one another this made it difficult to co-ordinate and pass on orders. As a result of all this the messages taken from the commanders to the front line were often out of date by the time they reached the trenches. The failure of the Schlieffen plan played one of the most important roles in bringing about the stalemate on the western front. Firstly, Russian forces had mobilised much faster than previously supposed they would, this miscalculation meant that Germany had to redeploy troops to the eastern front when they still needed the force to defeat France. Due to this Germanys forces were stretched and did not have the man power to break the French lines, all they could do to stop themselves from being pushed back through the Franco-German border was entrench. This resulted in the two forces entering a state of static warfare, fighting in this way makes it virtually impossible to gain any land. Secondly, the Germany army was slowed down by Belgium. The Germans had assumed that the Belgians would not put up a fight because their country was neutral. This was not the case as Belgium decided to fight, poorly equipped as they were. This did not stop the Germans but it did give the French troops time to prepare, thus losing the German troops the element of surprise. Lastly, because the German troops had advanced so fast through Belgium their supply trains had found it hard to keep up with the troops this resulted in them being under equipped and poorly prepared. The outcome of the battle of the Marne was one of the most important causes of the stalemate. As the French effort to attack across the border failed they resorted to a retreat to defend Paris. As a result of this the German forces were obliged to quit their arcing motion to meet the French at the river Marne. The relatively well equipped French were fighting on their own land and the Germans, as explained above were poorly prepared and had a severe shortage of men. When a gap was spotted between the German Second and First Armies by reconnaissance planes the French and British forces took advantage of the situation by launching a night time attack which served to separate the two armies even further. When it looked like the Germany would be almost entirely encircled and destroyed, they retreated, pursued by the French and British, to just north of the river Aisne where they built trenches that were to last for several years. This act effectively destroyed the Schlieffen plan and ended the so called war of movement. After the First Battle of the Marne, both Allied and German forces began a series of outflanking manoeuvres to try to get behind the enemy. As each manoeuvre was blocked they moved further through France and eventually reached the coast. This later became known as the â€Å"Race to the sea†. As neither force could break the others lines the offensive came to a relative standstill. This would remain so for approximately the next four years. This lack of progress obviously played a major part in the route to the development of a stalemate on the western front. I have come to realise that there is no single cause behind the Stalemate that began in 1914 on the Western Front but many which all contributed to the eventual outcome. The long term effects of the failure of the Schlieffen plan however lead me to believe that this is the most important reason the stalemate developed as it did. Bibliography History in Focus, GCSE Modern World History (second edition)

mark twain essays

mark twain essays Charles Goodyear was born in New Haven, Connecticut on December 29, 1800 to Amasa and Cynthia Goodyear. Charless father was a hardware manufacture and a merchant. Amasa Goodyear built mainly farming tools like hayforks and scythes, which he invented. When Charles was a teenager he wanted to go into the ministry and become a pastor, but his father convinced him that he was a good business man and placed him in the hardware store of the Rogers brothers in Philadelphia at the age of seventeen. He worked there until he was twenty-one years old. At that time he returned to New Haven to join his fathers business, making farm tools. For five years he worked for his father, building up the family business. On August 24, 1824, while he was still working for his father he married Clarissa Beecher who also lived in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1826 Charles Goodyear decided to move to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There he opened a hardware store where he sold the products that his father made. Four years after opening this store both Amasa and Charles Goodyear were bankrupt because they would extend credit to customers and the customers would never pay back the money that they owed. Charless health started to decline and both father and son owed tens of thousands of dollars. For the next thirty years Charles Goodyear was thrown in prison over ten times because he didnt pay his debts. In 1834 when he was in New York, on a business trip, the Roxbury India Rubber Company caught his eye. He decided to go inside the store and take a look around. While he was in the store he saw an India rubber valve on one of the products in the store. He thought that a better valve on a product of his fathers might help them pay off some of their debt. He decided to make a better valve with Indian rubber. A few days later he showed it to the manager of the Roxbury India Rubber Company, who was very impressed with valve, but ...

Annotated bibliography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Annotated bibliography - Essay Example Their hypothesis is that closer peer groups directly influence marijuana consumption. They used the results of the Spanish Survey on Drug Use in the School Population in 2004 that included 24,561 informants. They created a probit model, where two alternative peer variables are used in their formula. They discovered that when factors of peer pressure are controlled, peer group effects on marijuana consumption are significant, and that closer peers can affect marijuana usage more than other peer variables. Education Economics is a valid source, because it aims to study educational issues using economics as a framework. Duarte, Escario, and Molina are credible authors, because they instruct in the field of economics. The article is a secondary source that uses information from a comprehensive survey. The findings can be applied to students 12 to 18 years old, although cultural and contextual factors have to be considered. This article is linked to my research question, because the intro duction part provides the negative effects of marijuana in the health and academic conditions of students. It suggests that legalizing marijuana will be bad for students in general, because of negative impacts on mental health and academic achievement. ... â€Å"Prevalence and Intensity of Basic Symptoms among Cannabis Users: An Observational Study.† American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse 37.2 (2011): 111-116. Martinotti et al. wanted to know if cannabis use results to psychosis, or if psychosis draws people to cannabis consumption. They also studied the relationship between family history of psychosis and experience of subjective experiences. They examined a sample of 502 healthy university students by studying the presence and level of subjective experiences (SEs) and their connection to cannabis use. Subjective experiences pertain to psychotic-like experiences, such as changes in perceptions and having magical skills or seeing magic. Findings showed that 114 subjects smoked cannabis, and that 20.5 percent smoked one joint every week, while 71.9 percent used it sporadically for a year. The authors learned that cannabis use did not result to greater SEs, whether it is smoked daily or protracted within one year. Furthermore, t hey discovered that SEs are higher for users with a history of psychiatric problems in the family. American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse is a valid source, because it is a peer-reviewed journal, and it uses clinical and other empirical methods in studying drug and alcohol abuse issues. The authors are also reliable, because they are part of different public and educational institutions and they have knowledge in studying and teaching this topic. The article is related to my research question, since it provides evidence that marijuana does not always lead to psychosis, although it can increase psychotic risks for people who come from families that have psychiatric illnesses. Like Duarte, Escario, and Molina, this article suggests that legalizing marijuana

Business CourseWork (Should NewPostcom Introduce a 10-day military Essay

Business CourseWork (Should NewPostcom Introduce a 10-day military training course) - Essay Example mployees declared the training beneficial for their discipline, confidence and incentive to work as well as for future teamwork collaborations, something that is evident from their professional record as well. The costs of the military training were recorded, as well as the difficulties in the way of the launch of such a training course. However, in view of the great benefits of such a program, as well as keeping in mind the positive results and cost effectiveness thereof, it is recommended that the training course be launched. This project will undertake to discover whether it is practical for telecommunications firms, such as New Postcom, to introduce a 10 day military training course for its new employees. It was observed that some firms have concluded that the new generation of Chinese professionals lacks the professionalism to function effectively at work. Some of the senior managers have laid the blame on the pampering of the new generation that was brought up under the One-child policy of China; being the only child at home, the young professionals were pampered a great deal by their parents and, consequently, did not develop a responsible and independent character. Therefore, some of these employees, who lacked the incentive to work hard professionally, underwent a 10 day military training course in order to improve their professional skills: motivation, confidence and hard work. The project aims at finding out whether such a military course would, indeed, be so beneficial. This would be done by surveying the employees who have underwent such a training course to find out if they felt any benefits of the training course. They will be handed questionnaires to answer that would help gauge their feelings concerning the course. Direct interviews, both of the employees and the employers who are supervising them, will also be conducted. The first set of interviews, as well as the questionnaires, will shed light on what benefits the course had on the employees,

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