The Face of a Monster Essay Example For Students

The Face of a Monster Essay Physical Appearance in Mary Shellys FrankensteinIn Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein we are acquainted right off the bat in the story with one of the primary characters Victor Frankenstein and in this manner to his creation alluded to as the beast. The beast wakes up subsequent to being built by Victor utilizing body parts from cadavers. As frightful as this sounds at first we are before long up to speed in the story of the living beast. Victor the maker turns out to be quickly contrite of his choice to breath life into the huge creation and surrenders the borne animal. Victor depicts his feelings and physical portrayal of his creation as follows:â€Å"How would i be able to depict my feelings at this calamity, or how outline the fraud whom with such limitless agonies and care I had attempted to shape? His appendages were in extent, and I had chosen his highlights as wonderful. Excellent! †Great God! His yellow skin hardly secured crafted by muscles and conduits underneath; hi s hair was of a shiny dark, and streaming; his teeth of a magnificent whiteness; yet these luxuriances just shaped an increasingly appalling diverge from his watery eyes, that appeared to be nearly of a similar shading as the dun white attachments wherein they were set, his wilted composition, and straight dark lips.† (Shelley 34)Left all alone to strike out on the planet the beast before long encountered the preferences of those he came meet. Biases dependent on his shocking, or bizarre, appearance and his failure to impart at first. I immediately had compassion for the surrendered animal, regardless of the portrayals of his grim appearance, and felt blended feelings about his activities towards others in the story. Were the vicious activities of the beast towards others brought forth from their fierce dismissal of him? It appeared to be obvious to me from the earliest starting point, and Victor’s introductory response, that the monster’s destiny was foreordain due to the observation and presumptions made about him dependent on his looks. In this article I will inspect how the monster’s looks and activities mirror the dominating social emotions that the individuals who appear to be unique are terrible, malevolent or unequipped for ordinary sentiments. That some way or another on the grounds that one may appear to be unique from all of us there must be something genuinely just as truly amiss with them. We will compose a custom paper on The Face of a Monster explicitly for you for just $16.38 $13.9/page Request now As I battled to take hold of a proposal for this exposition, it at long last happened to me that my compassion for the beast truly was major in my perusing of this content. In further analyzing why I would feel along these lines, and by remarks made in class regarding this matter, I before long understood that I had a corresponding to the monster’s experience directly before me †actually. My sibling, borne with a serious split bed and lip he has persevered through twenty-three years of medical procedures and treatments to fix the structure of his face. The primary medical procedures concentrated basically on capacity of his fundamental needs: eating, breathing, talking and so on without accentuation on what he looked like. In any case, these previous hardly any years, as he moved toward his mid twenties, the medical procedures have concentrated principally on his appearance. Like the beast, he encounters numerous preferences dependent on his appearance. He is much of the time viewed dubiously in stores while shopping and has been drawn closer by security every so often. Outsiders will in general avoid him and regularly turn away and don't react in the event that he legitimately address’ them. He was scorned steadily (past standard youth remorselessness) while in school and experienced issues setting up fellowships. What others neglect to find in him is his scholarly virtuoso, his inventiveness, sympathy for other people and a fundamentally perfect, and ordinary, fellow. My brother’s encounters are not exactly as extreme as the beasts; luckily my parent’s had the option to look past his physical deformities and didn't relinquish their wondrous creation. What they do share are similar obstacles of attempting to make it in a world, or culture, that doesn't allow them to associate socially due to their appearance. This leaves them in any case avoided by the general population and uncovering their fortune just to those of us who look past appearances for what lies underneath. .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de , .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de .postImageUrl , .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de .focused content zone { min-stature: 80px; position: relative; } .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de , .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de:hover , .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de:visited , .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de:active { border:0!important; } .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de .clearfix:after { content: ; show: table; clear: both; } .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de { show: square; progress: foundation shading 250ms; webkit-change: foundation shading 250ms; width: 100%; obscurity: 1; change: haziness 250ms; webkit-progress: darkness 250ms; foundation shading: #95A5A6; } .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de:active , .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de:hover { mistiness: 1; progress: murkiness 250ms; webkit-change: haziness 250ms; foundation shading: #2C3E50; } .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de .focused content zone { width: 100%; position: relative; } .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de .ctaText { fringe base: 0 strong #fff; shading: #2980B9; text dimension: 16px; textual style weight: intense; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; content improvement: underline; } .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de .postTitle { shading: #FFFFFF; text dimension: 16px; textual style weight: 600; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; width: 100%; } .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de .ctaButton { foundation shading: #7F8C8D!important; shading: #2980B9; outskirt: none; outskirt range: 3px; box-shadow: none; text dimension: 14px; text style weight: striking; line-tallness: 26px; moz-outskirt sweep: 3px; content adjust: focus; content enhancement: none; content shadow: none; width: 80px; min-stature: 80px; foundation: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/modules/intelly-related-posts/resources/pictures/basic arrow.png)no-rehash; position: supreme; right: 0; top: 0; } .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de:hover .ctaButton { foundation shading: #34495E!important; } .u9ba40dd3b2363c8 a5fdd8511fbf326de .focused content { show: table; tallness: 80px; cushioning left: 18px; top: 0; } .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de-content { show: table-cell; edge: 0; cushioning: 0; cushioning right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-adjust: center; width: 100%; } .u9ba40dd3b2363c8a5fdd8511fbf326de:after { content: ; show: square; clear: both; } READ: About Love EssayThe other component that mirrors a social demeanor about appearance and how somebody is seen is the means by which that the absence of acknowledgment and partiality can disintegrate ones impression of themselves. The beast lights up these emotions when first getting a brief look at himself reflected in a pool of water:â€Å"I had respected the ideal types of my cottagers †their effortlessness, excellence, and fragile compositions: yet how was I alarmed, when I saw myself in a straightforward pool! From the start I began back, incapable to accept that it was without a doubt I who was reflected in the mirror; and when I turned out to be completely persuaded that I was in all actuality the beast that I am, I was loaded up with the bitterest impressions of despondence and humiliation. Oh dear! I didn't yet completely know the deadly impacts of this hopeless deformity.† (Shelley 76)Unfortunately, the monster’s â€Å"miserable deformity† and its belongings play out lamentably in Frankenstein. Because he doesn't resemble the others, the beast feels that he isn't deserving of acknowledgment and thought. He rushes to see the elements of the way of life around him, learning the language, conventions, belief systems. In his affectability to the way of life, he additionally builds up the inclination that he is terrible in light of the fact that he doesn't look, or go about as they do. Tragically about 183 years after this story was composed that it is as yet the prevalent social disposition that individuals who look and act diversely are awful. They are not viewed as typical genuinely or mentally. From the beginning of time, certain practices and physical properties are attractive and we don't generally concur or comprehend them with regards to our own way of life and time ever. Be that as it may, if your appearance isn't intelligent of what is viewed as ordinary, or you are seriously deformed, the overwhelming society will name somebody awful. Had the beast in Frankenstein be found walking the neighborhood shopping center in our contemporary occasions he absolutely would have been given a wide birth and had youngsters immediately rearranged away by their moms. Had he halted to ask bearings from a couple eating delicate pretzels by a wellspring he would have been welcomed with depressed eyes, no reaction and more regrettable yet their snappy and discourteous takeo ff. As opposed to this situation we are of a similar culture disposition that when we see a typical looking individual on the news who has been captured for slaughtering individuals, and eating portions of their bodies, we shout â€Å"but he looks so normal†¦he acted so appropriately†. In light of the presumptions he ought to have been repulsively bizarre and had visit episodes of obvious open conduct. Shelley’s Frankenstein, and explicitly the predicament of the beast, is an exactly as expected representation of social sentiments about how individuals should glance and act with regards to what is ordinary. Anything outside of typical is seen contrarily, saw with doubt and fit for the most noticeably terrible activities towards others. For this situation, it is no big surprise the beast releases his vicious rage upon those that have disregarded and discarded him. He was simply satisfying his foreordained predetermination push onto him right now he was imagined. I am as a rule to some degree wry here, however I do feel that verifiably the thoughts of what is ordinary can change. Sadly, as Shelley has uncommon

INFS1602 Assignment A Essay

The motivation behind this report was to structure a beginning up methodology and IS foundation for Ruth and Luke (R&L) Crowdsource’s business. Research for this report recognizes the center (target showcase), openings and dangers in entering the market and gives a nitty gritty plan of action. This report consolidated ongoing factual information according to online web based life, different diary articles and books acquired on the web. Research for the objective market shows that the searchers include mostly organizations of an assortment of sizes that know about the act of publicly supporting. With respect to the solvers, discoveries propose that college understudies and scholastics will be the prevailing objective market for R&L Crowdsource’s business. Utilizing the five-powers model to recognize new market contestants, substitute items and administrations, clients, providers, and serious competition, in general there is a medium-significant level of danger in entering the market. Further research suggests that R&L Crowdsource should concentrate more on accomplishing an effectively open framework with accessibility to a broad scope of crowds while raising notoriety and believability by promoting through online web-based social networking, the ‘Google’ web crawler and papers. The proficiency and adequacy of R&L Crowdsource’s business activities will be subject to the measure of speculation into the proper data frameworks, which might be financed through income got by charging an expense to searchers. Target markets (searchers/solvers) R&L Crowdsource will begin the online business activity for customers who are looking for their business issues to be illuminated through redistributing the business arrangement. To distinguish potential objective markets R&L Crowdsource needs to think about after qualities: Searchers: Kind of customers : R&L Crowdsource needs to decide the sort of business that their customer conducts for example retail organizations or IT organizations. On the web and disconnected research should be attempted to see which parts of these business sectors need R&L Crowdsource’s business arrangement administrations. This is on the grounds that an assortment of organizations experience various degrees of trouble inside the organizations tasks. As this is a moderately new sort of administration, it has not generally received it yet. Hence, R&L Crowdsource should concentrate more on the individuals who have utilized this administration already or are in a similar industry where their rivals have utilized because of the way that they are bound to be intrigued (Alzawahreh and Khasawneh, 2011). This should be possible through online research and overviews. Size of customers : Online research directed essentially from Innocentive.com (www.Innocentive.com) proposes that the size of customers ought not be organized. The examination uncovered that whether or not they are working universally or locally, a wide range of measured organizations are probably going to support redistributing their business issues. Instances of these organizations incorporate P&G (Spradlin, 2012). Solvers: So as to focus available for searchers successfully, the chiefs of R&L Crowdsource ought to consider their encounters as past searchers. Basically, various members will direct each extend and relying upon the attributes of the ventures, it might require additional time and work. Individuals who as of now make some full-memories work are not prone to want investing their extra energy in extra works except if it has either an elevated level of repayment or it is a territory of premium. In this manner, R&L Crowdsource ought to at first look for college understudies and scholastics that are qualified in specific fields with the goal that the result will be progressively solid. Usage of 5 powers model New Market Entrants This kind of business activity is completely founded on the provider and they are allowed to partake and exit for the given difficulties. The organization will have a broker job, which interfaces the providers to its customers. There are not many economies of scale set up on the grounds that there is no critical capital venture required and concentrated innovation isn't required. The organization will probably experience different contenders coming into the market when it starts at some point or another. Be that as it may, its solid image improvement accomplished by fruitful and stable client relationship built up will prompt a low danger of new contestants in the market. Substitute items and administrations The individuals who demand these administrations would be less worried about the procedure, thinking just about the result. The supposition dependent on this activity is that â€Å"the shrewdness of crowds† will think of improved thoughts for the difficulties. Moreover, customers who are considered as preservationist will tend to tackle the business issues with globally all around perceived business counseling organizations as they can work cooperatively. They give progressively precise methods of tackling issues and can work intuitively with the organizations as their gathering of representatives will work for the organization with all around prepared and qualified human works while it costs more. This may result an elevated level of customer fulfillment rate. Besides, there is the probability that huge measured organizations would substitute this kind of administration by utilizing their inside assets. This implies there is a medium to significant level of dangers of substit ute administrations. Clients At the present, the haggling power lies with the clients until R&L Crowdsource has developed a trustworthy crowd comprising of the two searchers and solvers. The principle highlight of this business activity is that customers don't have the foggiest idea who will be partaking in the assignment and this will appear to be ugly to progressively preservationist organizations because of the way that they would be like to spend their assets on respectable organizations and people as opposed to facing a challenge through Crowdsourcing. Providers Providers will be the individuals who are eager to endeavor given difficulties with others cooperatively to find the perfect arrangement. Since the business has a key thought that synergistic work with others who have distinctive foundation will think of better thoughts, provider bartering force will be considered as moderately lower around here kind. This is on the grounds that advancement of Internet availability has permitted countless clients to encourage an assortment of web assets paying little mind to their topographical area. In this way, we accept that there will be countless potential members who might want to take difficulties with certain degree of repayment. Serious Rivalry This kind of an online business isn't broadly perceived up until now and just not many existing contenders have offered the types of assistance. Nonetheless, this doesn't profit the R&L Crowdsource’s business since it likewise has a disservice, which is the lower level of exchanging costs for customers. A separated element of this business from its potential rivals in the market is that the business issue will be taken a shot at by a gathering of individuals who have distinctive foundation information instead of one person. Along these lines, despite the fact that this business advertise is considered as a blue-chip business, there is medium to significant level of industry contention between contenders. Business Strategy R&L ought to use a tick just methodology to help their online business. The qualities of an online business lie with the low beginning up capital and overhead expenses, comprising of for the most part buying an area, planning the site and advancing the business. For this situation, be that as it may, we will advance the business for the most part through online web based life which no expense. So as to pick up presentation or prevalence, something fundamental for each business, in the wake of structuring the site, advertising ought to be put resources into to discover potential clients. Re-repeating the objective markets from above, solvers would fundamentally comprise of individuals who might not have all day occupations and for individuals who might be full-time contemplating. Nonetheless, realizing the objective market won't increment site traffic, ads and different strategies ought to be utilized in setting up R&L’s company’s notoriety. R&L ought to publicize right off the bat with ‘Google’s AdWords’. As ‘Google’ rules the web index showcase, with 83% of search clients utilizing ‘Google’ and just shy of 1 trillion uses for each year it stresses its notoriety. This web based publicizing project would take into account R&L’s notices to show up on ‘Google’ and its accomplice sites and will possibly charge R&L when somebody clicks their promotion. Utilizing on the web online networking is another strategy they ought to attempt so as to draw in more searchers and solvers. Making a page on ‘Facebook’ will permit R&L to declare co-creation extends and speak with general society. On the off chance that, for instance, a huge business ‘likes’ this page, it will be opened to a more prominent number of individuals, expanding validity and notoriety. Different destinations, for example, twitter may likewise be utilized for declarations and expanding fame. Promoting on papers or magazines ought to likewise be thought of. Setting notices on the business area of papers may bid more to searchers while promoting on different areas may claim more to solvers. In any case, this might be less viable in discovering solvers on the off chance that we consider our objective market for solvers to be full-time understudies in contrast with publicizing on ‘Google’ and online web based life sites. When a Crowdsourcing venture is built up and searchers are found, if the undertaking is fruitful, R&L should endeavor to expand prominence and believability through their client’s business trying to proceed with the system impact referenced before. Web 2.0 Standard and rising Web 2.0 advancements and applications have extraordinarily empowered clients to impart to and convey to the more extensive world through online media. By publicizing R&L’s business through social

The Civil War Essays (1188 words) - Reconstruction Era,

The Civil War The Civil War During both the common war and common war recreation timeframes, there were numerous progressions going on in the Union. The Emancipation Proclamation, just as enactment, for example, the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth changes, was causing another enlivening of majority rule government; while the disavowing of withdrawal by the South denoted a clear triumph for Nationalism. Too, the legislature was engaged with fights of its own. During remaking, the administrative and official branches in the end reached boiling point over the utilization of intensity. The country was being modified by powers which caused, and later fixed, a wrecked Union. The first of these powers, was the extension of majority rules system. As right on time as 1862, Lincoln was making a significant stride toward that path. On September 22, Lincoln reported the liberating of all slaves in territories not in Union control. In spite of the fact that the announcement didn't free all slaves all over, it was the activity that would push Congress to pass the thirteenth amendment in 1865. The correction, sanctioned later in 1865, expressed that Neither subjugation nor automatic bondage . . . will exist inside the United States, or wherever subject to their ward. It appeared majority rule government had triumphed by offering opportunity to slaves, however the change was not finished. It just halted subjugation, and made no arrangements for citizenship; in this way, blacks were as yet not considered United States residents. The fourteenth amendment was the law based development that fixed that issue. Initially went to put various issues outside the ability to control or tact of the president, the alteration additionally made All people conceived or naturalized in the United States . . . residents of the United States. It likewise gave that, No State will shorten the benefits or insusceptibilities of residents of the United States. This not just shined a different light on dark men's opportunity, however it additionally gave another and more extensive significance to citizenship. Those drafting the correction trusted that the broadness of would cover unexpected maltreatment, yet, the general stating was just a bit of leeway to abusers. There is no posting of the benefits or insusceptibilities offered to U.S. residents. Actually, there isn't even an explanation of what rights a resident has. These sweeping statements, and the maltreatment that went with them, provoked the selection of the fifteenth amendment in 1870. The last significant advance towards fair development during recreation, the fifteenth amendment conceded The privilege of r esidents of the United States to cast a ballot, and that right, will not be precluded on account from securing race, shading, or past state of subjugation. This correction at last took out provisos existent in the thirteenth and fourteenth alterations. The administration of the United States was coming nearer to being a legislature by the entirety of the individuals, and not simply whites. Common war recreation offered something beyond expanded majority rules system, in any case. It was likewise a period of national unification. One of the significant lifts to United States patriotism, started with the straightforward Union triumph over the alliance. Withdrawal was unlawful as indicated by the individuals who bolstered the Union. By crushing the alliance, the Union had just affirmed that reality. Too, the extreme Republican remaking plan required an official renunciation of severance, before states could be readmitted to the Union. On the off chance that severance from the Union was presently illicit, at that point Daniel Webster's hypothesis of the Constitution being a people's administration, and not a reduced of states must be valid. The Constitution . . . [begins] with the words 'We the individuals,' and it was the individuals, not the states, who . . . made it, Webster asserted in his patriot hypothesis of the Constitution. The Union turned out to be more joined than any time in recent memory, since now it genuinely was a Union, . . . presently and always, one and indistinguishable. There were changes, however, that were happening in the reproduction timeframe that were not as accommodating to the Union as vote based system and patriotism. While the country was delighting in these all the more reassuring turns of events, the Union government was having inside clashes. Congress and the president started dueling over force conveyance beginning at about the hour of Andrew Johnson's administration. Johnson became president after Lincoln's demise and quickly set the pace for the remainder of his

The General Principles of Operation Management Essay

The General Principles of Operation Management - Essay Example Being chosen by a great deal of statistical surveying and reviews as the vehicle of the year for various years it shows that, Toyota has an unbeaten record around the world. Because of the great quality Toyota's overall acclaim and achievement continued onward, in 1995, Toyota was the top vehicle in the Middle East. Additionally, TMC has fabricated amazingly great vehicles that don't make a lot of clamor or do they do deliver terrible exhaust, Toyota utilizes in excess of 40 outflow control frameworks, it likewise utilizes many innovations that have improved traveler vehicle wellbeing. 2) The second execution objective is speed, this target features the way that by getting things done on sensibly quick speed, the organization can limit the time between the request and the accessibility of the item same goes for an assistance this will in general give the client a speed advantage over different organizations. The TMC's methods are profoundly engaged activities that diminish intricacy by utilizing simple just as little machines, which are hearty and graceful. This is finished by revamping the design alongside the stream so as to improve straightforwardness improves the speed of creation. Measurements of the late 1980 show how 27 years back the yield per laborer was significantly more than US or European plants. 3) The third execution objective is needy... 3) The third execution objective is trustworthiness, this target features the way that the association has performed total its creation in the timeframe which it has guaranteed the client (David 2006). So as to show signs of improvement comprehension of this goal a genuine guide to cite here would be that TMC incorporates 'In the nick of time' (JIT) creation framework alongside laborers who are multi-gifted that fill in as a group, They use 'kanban control' which has allowed them to convey items as they have guaranteed. Improving effectiveness just as quality is the above all else worry of the directors and specialized specialists as well as of every single worker. In this way, it very well may be said that TMC is a genuine case of the third target. 4) The fourth target is 'adaptability', this goal includes the reacting to a dynamic domain of the association that gets change their items and administrations it likewise changes the way wherein they work together. An association must figure out how to adore an adjustment so as to create adaptable just as responsive associations to deal with a decent powerful business condition. (Subsides, T. 1998) Again to show the significance of these goals the case of TMC will be utilized. The TMC plant is continually embracing new and creative assembling assets, so as to dispatch new models at a quick pace. Because of this Toyota had the option to accomplish an amazingly significant level of adaptability, creating genuinely little clumps of differing models with slight or no misfortune at all of profitability or quality. TMC during the years has given a variety of alternatives from which clients can choose from.

Career Orientation - Free Essay Example

Career Orientation January 30, 2010, 3:00pm to 5:00pm AVR 3 ASSESSMENT The seminar was presented by some former Mapua students which are know very successful in their respective careers. Mr. Ferdinand Iquina talked about his experiences on how he applied to the company his is currently working. He said that at first he tried applying to other companies just to have an idea on how a job interview is held. He tried researching about the company to have a background. He said that his employer was amazed by one of his project which is a running led display. Mr. Joel Dizon, one of the guest speakers, shared his experiences in the Graduating Class such as his employment to a publishing company. He told the Graduating Class about his work a how he was asked to work in a technical magazine for his ability to explain technical terms to the layman. The last speaker was Ms. Jasmine Po-Sayo, she is know a vice-president on the company that she applied a decade ago. She also shared her experiences and gave the Graduating Class tips on how she attained her position. Introduction to Cisco Unified Communication February 6, 2010, 5:00pm to 7:00pm AVR 2 ASSESSMENT The seminar was presented by Engr. Frederick Chua which is about Cisco’s innovations regarding their products. The presenter discussed the different products that are being manufactured which can greatly help the masses. At first, the Graduating Class cannot relate to what the presenter is saying because it is too technical. Some of the class does not have Cisco classes since there are enrolled in Unix as there track. The presenter showed the Graduating Class how to make calls abroad using the internet. The presenter called a friend in Singapore using his laptop. The Graduating Class was really amazed on how that particular software is working. Unfortunately, the software is very expensive. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) March 6, 2010, 10:00am to 12:00nn SB 1 ASSESSMENT The seminar was suppose to be held at NB1 but was move to SB1 for some technical reasons. The seminar was facilitated by Engr. Rainier Veral. The seminar is about a certain specification of images which is superior to jpeg, bitmap and other types of images. During the seminar, the presenter demonstrated the differences of images written in the said formats. The images which are made using svg can be zoomed without destroying the credibility of the images. The zooming does not make the image pixelated. The presenter also mentioned the application of svg in business such as advertising. The Graduating Class did not have the chance to do the hands on because of the restriction on the computers regarding the use of Mozilla Firefox which is needed to run and view the images in svg format. Career Development Seminar February 27, 2010, 7:30pm to 4:30pm AVR 2 ASSESSMENT The seminar was held by Center for Career Services. The seminar was attended by the Graduating Class of Electrical, Mechanical, Industrial and Computer Engineering. The seminar lasted for about a day. The seminar is about job interviews and resume. The first speaker talked about the resume that should be submitted to an employer such as the details that the resume should contain and the different layouts that should be used. The speaker also showed the Graduating Class two videos which show a freshly graduate student that is being interviewed for a job. The other video is about a person who is prepared for an interview. The speaker elaborated which what are the things that should be avoided in an interview. He also mentioned the questions that are usually asked in an interview. The speaker, having an experience of interviewing job applicants, gave the Graduating Class some tips which can be helpful in an interview. During the seminar, some people from a maritime company also presented their business to recruit Electrical Engineers and Mechanical Engineers. On the last part of the seminar, a representative from Sutherland, a business product outsourcing company, gave an inspirational talk regarding job interviews. They also held a mock interview in which all the Graduating Class will be interviewed as if it was an actual interview. PLANT VISIT: HITACHI Terminals Mechatronics Philippines Corporation (HTMP) February 19, 2010 ASSESSMENT The field trip was held on February 19, 2010 at Hitachi Terminals Mechatronics Philippines Corporation in Subic Techno Park. The field trip is scheduled from 9:00 am to 10:00 am. The Graduating Class left Manila at 5:45 am and arrived at Hitachi at 8:45. The staffs of Hitachi gave the graduating class a short talked about the company’s profile. The staffs of Hitachi divided the graduating class in groups before doing the tour. During the tour, the Graduating Class saw how the products were made such as the card readers for ATM machines and the equipments used. The tour lasted only a few minutes and the stay in Hitachi did not last as long as the scheduled time. After the tour the officers of the Graduating Class gave the staffs of Hitachi tokens of appreciation. After leaving Hitachi, the Graduating Class was given a tour around Subic Bay Freeport Zone by a representative from Department of Tourism in Subic.

Corporate Financial Analysis Of Dee Valley Group Plc Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

INTRODUCTION This project is base on the corporate financial analysis of Dee Valley Group PLC at the end of the financial year which ends on the 13th June 2007. Dee valley group is a water company established in 1994 as a holding company for Wrexham water plc (formally Wrexham and East Denbighshire Water Company). In 1997, Chester waterworks was acquired by Dee valley group and the two companies combined to form Dee Valley water plc with head office established at Wrexham. The company supply potable and non-potable water to 106,000 households and 8,250 commercial, industrial and business customers within North east Wales and Cheshire. Following disposal of non water operation in 2002, the group now comprises of Dee Valley group plc and its wholly subsidiary, Dee valley plc. Dee valley is an independent public company and is fully listed on the London stock exchange. Corporate governance analysis: At Dee valley group, there is separation between the management and the ownership of the company, with the evidence of the existence of 5 Board of Directors which comprises of the Graham Scott (Chairman) and 2 other non executive directors namely Andrew bird and David Weir .The executive directors are Bryn Bellis (Managing Director) and David Guest (Finance Director and Secretary). The Board is committed to high standard of corporate governance; the board is responsible for the overall management of the group and determining long term objectives and strategy. Though, the executive directors take active part in the running of the company, but the power resides on the stockholders, with the facts that the directors interest is about 0.53% of the total stock and the existence of a larger institutional stockholder, also the non executive directors are more than the executive directors. The management of the group business is delegated to the executive directors subject to formal schedule of matter specifically reserve to the board. The board attaches high importance to communicating with all shareholders by encouraging shareholders participation in annual general meetings. The policy of the board is to be available for meetings with institutional shareholders in order to explain the groups results, policies and future strategy. The meetings are normally attended by all directors where they make themselves available to answer question either formally or informally in respect of their responsibilities as a board member. Also shareholders receive the full annual and interim report of the company. Dee valley group provides estimates of companys earnings per share and future growth, with the substantial amount of information provided about its earnings report, though there were no clear analyst reports to show that the company is a well followed firm, so there is no information from external sources about the companys earnings report, expert that it is listed in the FTSE 100 index. This fact could lead us to bias in the information that is available about the firm. During the year the group contributed 1,895 to water Aid in the economy in which it operate and have the intention of doing more in the coming years. And the company aim is also to reduce, as far as possible, the negative effects of its operations on the environment. Water abstraction is kept to a minimum by ensuring that leakage levels are maintained at the lowest economic level and that water efficiency activities are proportionate to the supply position. Stockholder Analysis: Dee valley group as at the end of last year, has different stockholders, out of which are basically are mutual funds, other investors (pension funds), individual investors and very small insider interest. The analysis of the stockholders is presented in the bar chart and tables below. The substantial institutional holder is AXA Managers UK ltd. The framework of the shareholders holding is presented in a table format below. HOLDERS NUMBERS OF SHARES HELD % NUMBER OF SHARES HELD AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS UK LTD 1.45 MILLIONS 35.14% GARTMORE INVESTMENTS LTD 125.00 THOUSANDS 3.02% RATHBONE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LTD 119.00 THOUSANDS 2.88% CHELVERTON ASSETS MANAGEMENT 85.00 THOUSANDS 2.05% EL ORO EXPLORATION CO. LTD (INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT) 80.00 THOUSANDS 1.93% DEE VALLEY DIRECTORS INTEREST 22.06 THOUSANDS 0.53% OTHERS 2.25 MILLIONS 54.45% Most of these are domestic investment management companies, though diversified into other markets. The highest institutional investor is an Axa investment manager UK LTD which owns about 35.1% of the total stock and other investors as presented above. The average institutional investor at Dee valley group is a domestic institutional investor which is an investment management firm, and also the company is the marginal investor as it owns the majority stock of the company. RISK AND RETURN: Analyzing the risk profile of the Dee valley water, I plot the monthly stock prices of the valley group between 2002 and 2007, which is a five year period. The stock prices show an upward trend over the last 5 years, though there is a considerable volatility in the prices. To analyze how much of this volatility can be attributed to market forces; we have to run a regression of Dee valley stock prices against the FTSE 100 index: In our regression result, I found out that Slope of the regression = 0.2184. This is the beta for Dee valley group, based on the monthly return from 2002 2007. Intercept of the regression = 0.0065%. This measures the performance of Dee valley group between these periods, when it is compared with RF (1-ÃÆ'Ã… ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ²). Since the regression result are based on monthly returns between the periods, which averaged 0.31%[1]. This will result in rate of performance for Dee valley group estimated below. RF (1-ÃÆ'Ã… ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ²) = 0.31% (1-0.22) = 0.2418 % Intercept RF (1-ÃÆ'Ã… ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ²) =0.0065% (0.2418%) = -0.2353% This analysis suggests that Dee valley group performance for this time period between 2002 and 2007 is performed -0.2353% worst than expected based on the CAPM. This result in an annualized excess loss of approximately -0.96 % Annualized excess return = (1 + monthly excess return) 12 -1 Since we have a negative return, it shows the company has a negative excess return for the year 2002 2007. We now have to calculate the Annualized excess return for Dee valley Group. Annualized excess return = (1 + monthly excess loss) 12 -1 = (1 + (-0.2353)) 12 1 = -0.96 % (negative annual excess return) (C) R squared of the regression: In our regression result, we found out that the value of our R2 is 0.0229 at 95% confidence level, which means or suggest that 2.29% of the risk (variance) in Dee valley water comes from market sources (interest rate risk, inflation and others), and the remaining 97.71% of the risk is comes from firm-specific components. I believe this was as a result of the kind of industry the firm is that makes the risk from the market so low, because of the utility service the company (water) produced. The firm specific risk can be diversified, and therefore be rewarded in the CAPM. Dee valley group is said to be very risky and has done worse than expected during the period of this study. It also has a very small portion of its risk coming from the market, which is not diversifiable. Calculating Dee valley expected return: We use the levered beta, estimated market value of equity and debt Market value of equity = share price * No of shares, (10.05 * 1,454,407) = 14,616, 790 Using the share price for the company as at December 2007 = 10.05, no of shares = 1,454,407 Market value of debt: To get this we find Book value of debt = 45.12million, interest expenses = 1.624million, and assuming 3yrs maturity Cost of borrowings = risk free rate + default spread Where risk free rate=3.75(10yrs uk treasury bond rate), default spread=1.80%, Interest coverage ratio = EBIT/ interest expenses, where EBIT= (net income/1-t) + interest expenses EBIT= (4.27/1-0.30) + 1.624= 7.724, interest coverage ratio = 7.724/1.624 = 4.756 falls in the default spread of 1.80% Therefore cost of borrowings (pre tax cost of debt) = 3.75 + 1.80% = 5.55% Estimated value of debt = 1.624((1-1/ (1+0.0555)3))/0.0555) + 45.12m/ (1.0.055)3 Estimated value of debt = 57.434million Calculating cost of equity Expected return = rf + beta (risk premium), = 3.75% + 0.22(4.50) = 4.75% (return that potential investors will require as a rate for investing in Dee valley stock and also the cost for Dee valley) Where 4.75 is the UK risk premium gotten from the Damodaran A. website. Cost of Debt After tax cost of debt = (Riskfreerate + default spread)(1-t), = (3.75% + 1.80%)(1-0.30), = 3.885% Dee weight for debt and equity, using the market value of debt and equity Equity ratio= 14.62/72.05 = 20% Debt ratio= 57.43/72.05 = 80% Dee valley cost of capital Cost of equity = 4.75% After tax cost of debt = 3.89% Cost of capital = 4.75 %( 0.20) + 3.89(0.80), = 4.06% Capital Structure Choices: Dee valley group is financed with both mixture of equity and debt, with the company cost of equity the expected rate of return, there were are evidence from the companys report about the source of debt to include commercial papers, debentures and others. The firm uses banks overdraft of 7300, current borrowing under revolving credit facilities of 2500 and irredeemable debenture stock of 99(all in 000) and others totaling to 37772 as at March 2007. The company falls in the A rating and uses more of debt finance to equity finance. The earning of the company is volatile as they change from year to year. One would expect Dee valley to have a more tax benefit, though the company is finance more of debt finance. Optimal Capital Choices: Current cost of capital/financing mix Using the market value of equity (14.62million) and estimated market value of debt (57.43million) calculated earlier on hurdle rate. Cost of equity (4.75%) and after tax cost of borrowings of (3.89%). Cost of capital = 4.75 %( 0.20) + 3.89% (0.80), = 4.06% Then we have to unlevered our beta. Bu = Bcurrent / (1+ b/s (1-t)) = 0.22 / (1+ 4(0.7), = 0.06 DEBT RATIO D/E RATIO BETA COST OF EQUITY 0% 0% 0.06 4.02% 10% 11% 0.20 4.65% 20% 25% 0.19 4.61% 30% 43% 0.17 4.52% 40% 67% 0.15 4.43% 50% 100% 0.31 5.15% 60% 150% 0.11 4.25% 70% 233% 0.08 4.11% 80% 400% 0.06 4.02% 90% 900% 0.03 3.89% Based on the objectives of cost of capital minimization, the optimal debt ratio for Dee valley is 90% and the firms value at optimal in which Dee valley would have saved if the optimal cost of capital was used is at 3.89 than that of 4.06% used. Firm value before the change= 14,617 + 57,434 =72,051 WACCb = 4.06% Annual cost = 72,051 * 4.06% = 292,527 WACCa = 3.89% Annual cost = 72,051 * 3.89% = 280,278 Change in WACC = 0.17% change in Annual cost = 12,249 Optimal cost of debt. The below table shows the calculations of the after tax cost of debt at different levels, where the lowest depict the cost that will be inquired by Dee valley group if they take into consideration different financial mix. D/E 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% D/E 11.11% 25% 43% 66% 100% 150% 233% 400% 900% Debt 0 7205 14410 21615 28820 36025 43230 50436 57641 64846 Int.exp 0 404 562 824 890 844 1764 1911 2201 2342 Tax Y 7724 7718 7162 7134 6834 6880 6960 5813 5723 5382 Pt.intcov ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒâ€¹Ã¢â‚¬  Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚ ¾ 19.12 13.7 9.3 8.7 9.15 4.3 4.0 3.5 3.2 Rating AAA AAA AAA AA AA AA A- BBB BB+ BB Aftertax cost of debt 2.77% 2.77% 3.0% 3.15% 3.35% 3.40% 3.68% 4.0% 5.1% 5.4% The table above shows that the optimal cost of debt in which Dee valley group should have used is that of 10% debt in the firms finance mix. I will recommend Dee valley group to increase its debt from the formal 20% debt to 80% equity to the 10% debt and 90% equity because by doing this the cost inquired reduces and this leads to cost saving and increase profit for Dee valley group. Relating Dee valley debt to the sector, Other firms in the water providing industries in the UK use more of debt in their finance mix, I think using more debt finance and little equity is common within the water producing industries in the country, but the debt /equity mix differs from one water firm to the other. The market analysis will involve using all firms listed on the UK market, to yield a regression of debt ratio against the variance in the market prices. The result from this result will help us to analyze Dee valley debt in relative to the market, but we dont have enough data to execute this. Dividend Policy: Dee valley has made profit available for distribution and resolved to be distributed by the company in respect of the financial year are distributed amongst the holder of ordinary shares and non-voting shares(parri pasu as if they constitute one class of shares) ratably according to the amount paid up for such share. The company has returned cash to its owner through dividend paid to stockholder every end of the financial year. The table below shows the companys dividend paid for the last 4 years Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 Dividend paid (000) 1897 1978 2103 2186 EPS 66.5 68.7 76.4 65.6 Dividend per share(ordinary and non voting ordinary share) 48.7p Based on dee valley decision of paying dividend at the end of all financial year, they can bought back more stock from the stock holder, this l believe will increase the finance through equity to the firm and possibly leads to higher profit even if they have enough cash. Dividend Analysis: In analyzing the dividend policy of the company, we have take into consideration the amount of earnings, retained profit and the dividend paid over the 5 years under consideration. We examine the capacity of the company to pay and how much was actually paid. 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Earnings 2677 3208 3295 3539 3029 Dividend paid 1897 1978 2103 2186 Retained earnings 1311 1317 1436 843 Capital expenditure 11.2m 5.42m Depreciation 2949 2887 The above table gives the earnings, dividend, retained earnings, capital expenditure and depreciation for Dee valley group, we used the formula below for calculating the FCFE to get the Dee valley capacity to pay dividend. FCFE = Net income (cap.ex Deprc) (1-DR) chg WC (1-DR) Where change in non working capital= 1.33m, depreciation =2887, capital expenditure= 5.42m, and Net income of 3029 for the year 2007. FCFE 2007 = 3029-(5.42-2887) (1-0.80)-1.33(1-0.80) = 3,606 The free cash flow for Dee valley group for the year 2007 is 3,606 and a dividend of 2186 was paid and the balance remains as reserves for the company. The FCFE was composing using the debt ratio of Dee valley group. Given the dividend policy of Dee valley, in which they pay some of the return in terms of dividend and some others bought as stock, I will advice Dee valley should more cash to the owner because Dee is a utility service provider firm and more of their capital comes from debt. Valuation: Here, we get the type of cash flow Dee valley would use to discount. Using the FCFF for Dee valley to discount the cash flow, we use the formula below. FCFF 2007 = EBIT (1-t) (cap.Exp. Depr) chgWC Where EBIT = 7.724, t= 30%, capital expenditure = 5.420m, depreciation = 2.887, change in working = 1.33. FCFF= 7.724 (1-.30) (5.420 2.887) 1.330 = 1.544 The free cash flow for Dee valley is 1.544m for the year 2007; we used the FCFF to discount for Dee because the leverage at Dee valley is expected to change. Total reinvestment = Net capital exp. + change in working cap. Where Net capital exp. = cap. Exp. Depreciation, = 5.420 2.887= 2.533 and change in working cap. = 1.33 Total reinvestment =2.533 + 1.33, = 3.863 Reinvestment rate = Total reinvestment/EBIT (1-t), = 3.863/7.724 (0.70) = 45.86% Calculating the Growth rate using the operating income g = reinvestment rate * return on capital g = (net cap exp + chg in WC/EBIT (1-t)) * (EBIT (1-t)/ BV of capital) g = 458.86 * (7.724(0.70)/54.49), = 4.59% To calculate the firms value = FCFF (1-g)/ cost of capital -g Where the cost of capital is 4.06%, g = 4.59% and FCFF is 1.544 Firm value = 1.544(1-4.59)/ (4.06 4.59) = 10.452 The key variable driving the value of Dee valley group is the leverage, Dee valley group has a substantial fund gotten from the bank in terms of long term debt this shows in their capital structure and the finance mix for the firm. This fund has added value to the firm and remain a key competing firm in the water industries that operates in Wales. If hired as to help enhance the value of the firm, I will implement an appropriate finance mix that will leads to a reduced cost of capital used in the investment. If more debt leads to increase in the firms profits compared to that of equity and enhance the value then debt finance will be considered more. Conclusion: The essay gives an analytical report of Dee valley group, a water producing firm in Wales based on the data gotten from its annual report of 2007 in calcuting key corporate financial analysis of the company. The accuracy of this report may not be the actual figure as they are lack of data to give accurate report and assumptions were made too in the analysis of this report.

The Challenge - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 34 Words: 10115 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Objective This document sets out a final and comprehensive report for all stakeholders and partners of The Challenge Reality TV Project initiated by British Council Ghana in June 2007. The Council co-produced and co-sponsored the reality TV to deliver a programme which mixes academic excellence and the competitive spirit to create an intelligent, powerful and thought-provoking show. Preface The concept of The Challenge was created by the British Council as a competition that provides opportunity for three Ghanaian university graduates to win full scholarships for postgraduate study at three prestigious universities in the UK. The winners of the competition are also guaranteed management positions with Ghana Club 100 companies on completion of their courses, while the first prize winner also receives a brand new saloon car. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Challenge" essay for you Create order The vision above was only achieved by creating a collaborative partnership between the British Council, Charterhouse Productions and three Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in the UK, namely the Universities of Westminster, Thames Valley and London Metropolitan, with commercial sponsorships from tiGo (Millicom Ghana) and Zenith Bank Ghana. A number of Ghanaian corporate organizations namely, Virgin Nigeria, PHC Motors, TV3 Media and BusinessGhana.com also supported the project with substantial in-kind sponsorships; while donors included FairGreen Computers, Woolworth Stores, Simbins Funiture, Joy FM and RVI. A key strategic thrust of the British Council is to ensure that a high number of the Ghanaian populace becomes aware of its work in promoting UK Education, professional development and in facilitating cultural relations between Ghana and the UK. Through The Challenge we specifically sought to aggressively achieve our Corporate Outputs of promoting the UK as offering a wide range of high quality, inspirational opportunities for personal development while encouraging return of UK university alumni back to Ghana to contribute to Ghanas development). A related intent for British Council Ghana was to pilot an event to commemorate the 50th Anniversary celebration of Ghanas independence. The association of our HEI and commercial partners with this innovative project was to provide a platform to market services to socio-economic group ABC aged 18 45, thereby reinforcing corporate image while increasing appeal to the target. Through this we envisaged that sponsor organizations raise the profile of company as a corporate establishment supporting a worthy educational/ human developmental cause in Ghana. The Search This stage was the preliminary one where prospective participants were invited to submit applications. This was achieved through the institution of a web-based application system that automatically screened all applicants on the basis pre-set eligibility criteria. The use of this system, apart from being cost effective, allowed us to accept applications from all the regions in Ghana in a relatively short time. Close to 2000 applications were received from first-degree graduates within the first two weeks of going live; out of these, 900 applications met the eligibility criteria and these were invited to two pre-selection auditions in Kumasi and Accra. The Pre-Selection Auditions The first audition was held at Miklin Hotel, Kumasi on Saturday 3rd November 2007. Although 240 eligible applicants from the Northern sector of the country were invited, only 70 turned up by the end of the day. Remarkably, only two female applicants turned up. In sharp contrast, the audition held at the British Council office in Accra on 11th November had close to 700 applicants turning up. About 40% of these applicants were women. Screening Process The process of screening applicants to arrive at a short-listed pool of 100 applicants involved two stages. All the applicants were required to write an aptitude test made up of ten quantitative and qualitative questions. All applicants who obtained a pass-mark of 50% and above qualified to go through the second stage. Stage two of pre-selection involved an interview with three members of The Faculty, namely Messrs Ebow Spio, Kwasi Appiah and Ms Diana Yanney. While in Kumasi, this stage was concluded in a day that of Accra spanned two full days in consideration of the sheer number of applicants. During the interviews applicants were required to provide evidence of their academic qualifications. They also had to demonstrate creativity and good presentation skills. * Observations Learning More than 90% of applicants in Northern Ghana were products of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Clearly the fact the Kumasi audition was held just within just ten days of advertising the programme gave unfair advantage to applicants who were based in Kumasi. The question of holding the pre-selection auditions in just two locations requires a second look in future. Further, an innovative solution would have to be found to ensuring that all regions of Ghana are proportionately represented in the preliminary pool. In sharp contrast to the Northern sector, the Southern sector auditions turned out an impressive number of nearly six hundred candidates with an appreciable increase in the number of female applicants. In subsequent editions of the project, cognisance needs to be taken of the dearth of female participation in Northern Ghana, and affirmative measures would have to be taken in this regard. At the end of the two week audition sessions, 102 applicants were short-listed for the semi-finals stage of the competition. Semi Finals Held at the British Council Monday 12th November 2007 The 102 pre-selected candidates were divided into five groups and assigned case-studies developed from real management challenges facing the organizations that were in our major sponsor category. Apart from the obvious value of providing orientation into the operations of our sponsors, it enabled recall and mention for purposes of TV broadcast. The groups were tasked to present their results of their analysis and solutions to the three-member faculty, after which all members of the group were randomly picked to answer questions or explain concepts and issues that the faculty deemed appropriate. The faculty members then scored individuals in the group on ability to think quickly on ones feet, analytical thinking, power of communication and articulation. The Faculty also looked out which members of the group demonstrated leadership potential. Through this exercise, 25 semi-finalists were selected to compete in the next round. * Observation Learning The structure adopted for this stage of the selection process made it difficult for the faculty to ascertain the top performers in the group without equivocation. In the process, it is likely that some good performers were dropped at this stage. The structure and mode of selection at this stage needs a re-think in subsequent productions. The Finale 12 The process to determine the 12 finalists involved three components: All 25 semi finalists were required to demonstrate qualification for post-graduate courses and scholarships at all three sponsor HEIs. In all of these cases, the applicants submitted an essay to make a pitch for the scholarships. The Universities applied their standard selection criteria and systems to determine which of the 25 finalists qualified to read for a Masters Programme as well as qualified for a scholarship. To make it to top 12, an applicants had to be given the heads-up by all three universities. British Council conducted background checks of all 25 applicants. Upon receipt of feedback from the partner universities regarding the applications, and the background checks, the 25 participants attended a workshop facilitated by Options Group (Dolores Acolatse Faculty Member) on public speaking and delivering effective presentations. After this workshop, each of the 25 selected a topic through ballot for which they had to prepare presentations and deliver to a panel of two made of British Council Representative and an Interaction facilitator. The results of the three components above formed the basis for determining the twelve finalists to be out-doored to the public at the official public launch of The Challenge 2007. The Launch Held at the British Council, Accra Friday 16th November 2007 The official launch of The Challenge was successful notably due to the attendance of most invited VIPs among whom were two high ranking Ministers of State, The out-going British High Commissioner, Gordon Wetherell, Senior Entry Clearance Managers of UK Visas, Senior Managers of Westminster University and all the corporate sponsors. The British Council auditorium where the event was held was filled to capacity. Conservative estimates put total attendance at over 300. The event was nearly marred by a later than scheduled start due to the late arrival of the Master of Ceremony, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah. The tiGO marketing team also came in late to mount branding materials when guests were seated. There were also minor but numerous technical hitches that affected the smooth flow of the event; these are attributable to the late set up of set and equipment, as well as sloppy coordination in some respects. It was also clear that the Master of Ceremony, due to the late arrival, had not been adequately briefed and therefore made mistakes in some of his presentations. Further, he neglected or was not cued to bring in the audience and family/friends of the semi finalists in hyping up excitement and tension which would have made the show more engaging for the audience. Taken as a whole however, the launch was an impressive event with good entertainment from a renowned up and coming RB act Irene and Jane. The 12 finalists were announced and decorated by the Honourable Minister for Manpower, Youth and Employment, Hon, Nana Akomeah. Again, it was clear that that segment of the programme had not been properly planned to the detail. The 12 finalists were: * Belinda * Esther Quaofio * Joan Tsorhe * Jojo Quansah * Joshua * Junior * Lily Atutigaba * Lisboa Quarshie * Nana Afia Twum Barima * Seth Miah * Sheila * Thomas Abor The Challenge House Accommodation Production Base Activities Eviction The intent for The Challenge House at the planning stage was for a location that would serve the purposes outlined above. The plan was for the finalists to move into the Challenge House immediately after the launch event. However this arrangement did not materialise on account of the fact that no suitable facility had been secured and readied for the stated purpose. An apartment was hurriedly rented in East Legon, but the suitability of this facility was questionable. This compelled the production team to jettison the original arrangements and only sequester the contesting finalists for 2-3 days in the week in line with activity and filming. Indeed, by the time the Challenge House was ready for full occupancy, the first finalist had been evicted. The candidates checked in on Wednesdays, sometimes Tuesdays depending on the recording schedule and checked out Saturdays. This approach presented production challenges and inconvenienced the contestants, as they had to leave for home late o n some days when filming was finished late. On one occasion, Belinda was severely attacked by robbers on her way home late after an episode filming. This may have had potentially negative PR consequences had this issue found its way to the press. The legal implications for both British Council and Charterhouse may also have not been welcome. It is also noteworthy that the general up-keep, maintenance and security of the facility left much to be desired. No systems were put in place for cleaning, laundry and general maintenance of the house. Quite disappointing was the fact that none of the contestants took leadership of this issue to galvanize their colleagues to maintain high standard of cleanliness in the house. In sum, cleaning and maintenance was ad-hoc. Security in the house was an issue of prime concern throughout the duration of the show. The lock systems to the major entrance of the house were porous, put mildly. While security guards were posted to the facility, they were absent for long periods during days and nights, visiting other security guards in the neighbourhood or simply fallen asleep. It was therefore not surprising that the house was robbed twice during our sojourn, with electrical and electronic items made away with. There were numerous instances when the landlord of the facility visited without notice to conduct unwarranted inspection of the rooms (in most cases without knocking). On one occasion he entered one of the female contestants bedroom whiles she was undressing. He would also constantly complain to the participants that he was not happy with the condition of the house The lax control and commuting arrangements also meant that friends and family of the contestants visited the house regularly. The exposure of the contestants to such loose security arrangements could have had dire PR and legal consequences for the British Council and Charterhouse. The Board The contestants were judged by a three member scholarship committee: named The board made up of Madam Esther Cobbah, Dr. Kwasi Appiah and Mr. Keli Gadzekpo. The role of the Board was to: * Assess performance of participants against set criteria * Provide feedback to participants on basis of assessment * Nominate two participants for weekly SMS voting/evictions * Provide input into development of tasks and criteria * Serve as jury during the grand finale event * Make input into personal professional development modules Very high commendations are extended to the Board members for their commitment to this endeavor, particularly considering the heavy responsibilities they shoulder at their various organizations. Worthy of special mention is Dr. Kwasi Appiah for his unflinching dedication, consistency and engagement across all levels of production. He went an extra mile by visiting the participants in the house, joining in on training sessions, and editing of the scripts before they were presented to the public. Since the Board members were the moving force behind the show it may be advisable to get a ONE face of the board, supported by a pool of board members (say 6) with a rotating schedule. This will also enable their involvement in the weekly task to give them a better understanding of participants performances, attitude and behaviors The Faculty In-between weekly episodes and tasks, the finalists were taken through a number of personal and professional development training modules facilitated by experts in the respective fields. This was facilalted by a number of seasoned resource persons known as the faculty. Members of the faculty were: Mr. Ebow Spio Mrs. Zayna Taiwo Mrs. Grace Amey Obeng Mr. Martin Mensah Ms. Dolores Acolatse The role of the faculty members was: 1. Assess performance of participants against set criteria 2. Provide feedback to participants on basis of assessment 3. Provide input into development of tasks and criteria 4. Serve as jury during grand finale event 5. Make input into personal professional development modules Most of the Faculty members were very dedicated and this helped in the success of the event. Ebow Spio, Dolores Acolatse and Zayna Taiwo were the faculty members consistently supportive throughout the duration of the project. The Tasks There were seven main tasks that were designed to test the intelligence, creativity, innovation and knowledge of the Challenge participants. Through SMS voting 7 out of the 12 contestants were evicted over the eight week period. Profiling (Vision Board) This was an introduction stage of the show. The purpose of the task was to give the participants a platform to introduce themselves with the use of a vision board and pictures to the public. This was an important stage since voting formed an important part of the show, therefore the need for the public to get to know the participants. This crucial stage in the future could be made more interesting by allowing participants to decide on the different presentation styles such as the use of film, audio and multi media instead of restricting them to the use of the vision board. The shooting of the task started at about 10pm and ended around 4am. This was due to the late start of production and filming, a feature that was to dog the rest of the production. Sponsor Visit This stage was to help create mileage for our sponsors and media partners. This was also to make the participants aware of the job opportunity that awaits the winner upon return from the UK. Among the sponsors given this privilege include Virgin Nigeria, PHC Motors, TV3, Graphic Communication and Joy FM. At TV3 participants were made to assume the role of the news editors and readers after they had been given an insight into news editing and presentation. At Joy FM, participants were made to experience how to develop headline stories and also review daily newspapers. Although the purpose of this task was to create mileage for sponsors, it was difficult to arrange visits. For instance, Zenith Bank was given short notice of the visit, thereby creating an inconvenience for the Managers on the day of the appointment. 1. Business Simulation Task The objective of this task was to help participants understand the impact of marketing strategies on business performance and appreciate how to measure and generate cash and profit to prepare them for the corporate world. Participants attended a business management practical workshop facilitated by Suganthan Allotey of BizLiteracy Solutions. They were then put into four groups of three and made to run a pen manufacturing company for the second and third years as well as forecast for the fourth year. The groups came up with business names for their companies namely, WriteRite Company Ltd, Jet Corporation, Increaz Ltd and Web. Based on the task, Jet Corporation was found to be the strongest team and Write rite Ltd was found to be the weakest team. From that team Sheila was evicted from the show. This was a good learning platform for all business men and students as it addressed key issues pertaining to the business world. We propose more of such task be designed as it prepares the participants for the corporate world. 2. Smart Brains Quiz The quiz was designed to test participants knowledge on current affairs and global socio-economic development. Before the quiz, participants had the opportunity of having Uncle Ebow Whyte, a renowned motivational speaker visit them at the Challenge House. Ebow Whyte shared some words of wisdom with them in preparation for the quiz. Some issues that were addressed were gratitude, being pleasant, etc. He encouraged them to use their knowledge to make the world a better place. The structure of the quiz was a three-round competition. Round 1 concentrated on Africa-related issues. Round 2 was about identifying prominent faces while Round 3 was about identifying popular speeches and quotes. With the absence of the quiz master, Dr Appiah, a Board member was called in to serve as the moderator of the event. This however affected the show as he did not have time to prepare for his role. The questions were too simplistic considering that it had been titled Smart Brains. Further, the participants were given areas to study, this did not reflect their knowledge in the areas addressed and did not bring out the competitive spirit among them. Joshua performed poorly, with only one mark he became the second nominee for eviction. Nana Afia and Seth however proved themselves by scoring 7 points out of 8 and for that week both of them worn the Gold Medallist award. 3. Charity Task The task required The Challengers to bring Christmas to the children of two orphanages in Accra. The main objectives of the task however were: 1) to test their creativity 2) to ascertain their ability to work under extreme pressure 3) to test their ability to derive value from minimal resources 4) to determine their organizational and team working competencies. They were put into two groups of four, and assigned to the Osu Childrens home and Teshie Orphanage, each group was given seed capital of GH100. At the completion of the task the Group A, made up Jojo, Belinda, Joan, Esther and Lisboa, assigned to the Osu Childrens Home was identified as the strongest team. This is on account of the adoption by the group of a strategy that delivered results to meet objectives of the project. This task, according to the participants, brought fulfilment into their lives knowing they were able to make a difference in anothers life. According to Nana Afia, this task made her realise that success is not about attaining set targets but about your sense of accomplishment. 4. Speech Day The Speech Days objective was use awareness of global issues ranging from economic, social and political topics to identify which of the participants had good communication and public-speaking/oratory skills. The discussion demonstrated intelligence and desire to make a difference in the economy. This was staged in front of the public and the media. Participants were prepared in advance to take stands on various issues, after which they were asked questions based on their presentation. The topics that were discussed included Unemployment of University Graduates, Brain Drain in Africa and Achieving a cashless economy in Ghana to name but a few. This task really demonstrated real intelligence and must be encouraged as it serves as a learning platform for the viewers and the participants. For Seth, this was the task that taught him a great lesson In life one is expected to take a stand and stick to it, because people must know what you stand for and what your principles are. It was just a shame that the lesson he stood by that week was the task that sent him to the eviction room. For many people the choice of topics was stimulating and addressed very important issues in the world at large. The media interaction being a vital tool as it enriched the show and highlighted the knowledge of various issues 5. Film Task The film task was aimed at challenging the participants to bring to life creative ideas as they address issues of sanitation in Ghana. They were expected to produce a 10 minute audio visual that would impact positively on societys attitude towards sanitation. A session by Jim Awindor was organised to equip participants with the technical skills to enable them to undertake the task. They were put into two groups of four. The first group known as SLOAN production settled on narrative documentary to address sanitation issues at the Madina market. The second group known as Oasis production produced a docu-drama to address sanitation issues in the urban areas. The market sanitation documentary produced by SLOAN productions carried very powerful visuals of a typical open market in urban Ghana. Felicia Nyame, one of the reporters of the Challenge website www.thechallengeghana.com wrote: the film footage captured choked gutters in very disturbing proximity to food vendors, dilapidated toilet facilities, ineffective and inefficient waste-disposal systems; and what was really evident in the video was the manner in which buyers and sellers and market authorities carried on with a business-as-usual attitude, seemingly oblivious to the health risks posed by the unsanitary conditions. Seth Mia, who wrote the script, says: We knew at the beginning that this was an issue that had received a lot of attention without any identified change or impact. We therefore decided to adopt a new strategy of using the stakeholders, that is, buyers, sellers and market authorities, as our main characters to describe the problems and prescribe solutions to improve sa nitation 6. Great Debate The debate was designed to test the participants power of analysis, persuasion and ability to debate on points of view in a lucid succinct manner. The moderator was Ghanas renowned TV host, Paul Adom Okyere. The debate sought to put participants argumentative skills into play as they challenged each other by airing out their views on various topics ranging from education, crime and law enforcement, politics and leadership as well as the environment. The debate was to test the participant on various aspects. They were assessed on the following criteria: * Presentation style in addressing the key issues * Speaker is engaging and holds audience interest * Demonstrates clarity of thought * Is eloquent * Provides credible facts and s to support argument * Powers of analysis The way the debate was structured did not reflect the theme of the task as a great debate. It was more about expressing ones opinion as opposed to an interactive debate. The moderator did not know the nature of the task until an hour before the show was due to air. Having little time to prepare he contributed little in creating a lively upbeat debate. . 7. Interview Task The main objective of the interview task was for the sponsors to access the participants and identify those who could qualify for the managerial role that will be offered to the winner upon return. The panel was made of Heads of Human Resource from Millicom Ghana and Zenith Bank and Martin Mensah, faculty member. The interviews were conducted in two stages. The first stage involved leaderless discussion on the topic Cash is king, profit is vanity. This was followed by a group debate with the panel, who sought to challenge the participants on viewpoints and positions taken during the discussion. The second stage was an individual interview by the panel to ascertain their respective skills, competencies and ability to perform on the job. This task proved very popular with the young followers/audience of the Challenge on TV as it exposed the audience to rudiments of effective interviewing and behind-the-scenes discussions/negotiations of a job interview panel. The Evictions Video clips of weekly tasks and faculty assessments were sent to the Board prior to filming of evictions. The eviction episodes were always preceded by the in-camera Board deliberations of the outcomes of the tasks. The purpose of the eviction was to eliminate the weakest performer from the show on a weekly basis to arrive at the shortlist of five for the final show. The evictions were a thirty minute show that took place on Wednesdays and broadcast on Thursdays. The eviction process was structured in such a way that the board, after interviewing the participants, would put up the bottom 2-3 performers of the weeks task up for eviction. After this stage the public vote is used to evict the person with the least votes. The voting system played an important role in the eviction process as it was the final determiner of who should be evicted. The voting was such that the person with the highest votes was automatically immune from eviction and the person with the lowest votes automatically gets evicted. Below are a list of the evictions and the individual tasks the contestants were evicted from. EVICTION TASK NAME Eviction 1 Business Simulating Task Sheila Addo Eviction 2 Smart Brains Quiz Joshua Adom Eviction 3 Charity Task Thomas Arboh Eviction 4 Speech day Lily Atutiga Eviction 5 Film Task Lisboa Yemotiokor Quashie Eviction 6 Great Debate Belinder Oduro Eviction 7 Interviewing task John Kesse Jnr The Finals Held at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel 1st February 2007 Seated audience: 600+. Esther Quaofio, Jojo Chartei Quansah, Joan Selorm Tsorhe, Seth Miah and Nana Afia Twum Barimah were the five candidates who made it to the grand finale event. The show in itself was fantastic with few, though quite long speeches. One significant quandary though, was the fact that we didnt expect such a positive turnout and under estimated the audience size. A lot of visitors could not find seats nor was there standing room. A large number of invited guests had to be turned away. The need for a larger venue was made apparent. That not withstanding, the performances were nicely coordinated and at the end of it all, the combined efforts of the candidates themselves, KPMG, the faculty, the board and the general public crowned Jojo Chartei Quansah winner of the challenge 2007. He received a prize package with a total value of 40,000 made up of full scholarship from the University of Westminster, fully paid accommodation in an international student hostel, a monthly living allowance, return air ticket to the UK valid for one year and a brand new laptop computer. On completion of the graduate course he will return to Ghana to pick up a pre arranged lucrative job placement and a brand new TATA Safari SUV Car. The 1st and 2nd runners-up were Nana Afia Twum Barima and Seth Miah respectively. They received a one-year Post Graduate Scholarship and accommodation from London Metropolitan University and Thames Valley University. In addition they also received return air tickets from Virgin Nigeria and living allowance from British Council. Broadcast The Challenge was broadcast at prime-time on TV3 three times a week. The main episode was shown for one hour on Sundays at 4pm. There were two 30 minute broadcasts on Thursday at 8.30pm and Saturdays 11am. A typical weeks broadcast resulted in potentially 989,700 households with total a total of five million people watching the programme across the country. Despite strenuous efforts to achieve the contrary, the production teams relationship with TV3, our television partner was dogged by numerous challenges, with dire consequences for consistency of transmission and quality delivery. The extent of cooperation and support received from (production section of) TV3 did not lend credence to the tenets of the partnership. Indeed, the posturing of TV3 at times was reminiscent of a competitor rather than a partner. While in limited instances the intervention of the head and members of TV3 Marketing department did make a difference, by and large TV3s posture was as if they were doing the Challenge a favour. This is unfortunate, considering that TV3, having produced in-house reality TV were aware of the challenges that reality TV posed. To be fair to TV3, they also articulated legitimate concerns regarding Charterhouses blatant disregard to deliver tapes per mutually agreed deadlines. It took a number of meetings between TV3, British Council and Charter House before the former became flexible on what they termed company policy on transmission ( all tapes to be aired on the network had to be submitted at least 24 hours before transmission time). Then again, TV3 without any regard to our viewers took off and aired some episodes as and when they pleased, especially at the inception of the football season when they changed their transmission schedules to favour the 26th edition of the MTN African Cup of Nations. Then again there was that issue of their refusal to air all voting promos unless the voting revenue was shared with them. TV3 was also not generous in its offer of programme (broadcast) support and publicity, particularly in the initial stages of the show. Promos, teasers, etc to drive audience awareness and vie wer ship was very scanty and ineffectual. Given the partnership status of TV3, it is appropriate to benchmark this against the programme support that TV3s in-house production receives. Publicity and Advertising Mileage After having a successful launch, the Challenge TV programme was fast in gaining a niche following across the country, through the various publicity coverage and media exposure. Television Based on independent media Survey reports, The Challenges 3 weekly episodes were watched by an average of 5 million people across the country. This transfers into an in home penetration of 900,000+ urban and semi-urban households in 6 regions of the countrys 10 regions. The broadcast episodes featured the following: * Up to Two 45-60 second commercials of all the major sponsors * Logo insertions of all sponsors and donors * Sponsor/donor mentions * Sponsor/donor acknowledgements in credits roll Radio Weekly updates of The Challenge were featured on Joy FMs popular super-morning show and drive-time programmes both of which reach up to 1 million people daily in Accra (mostly students and young professionals). Numerous interviews were conducted on the Start Breakfast Show on TV3 with British Council officials, contestants, and faculty and production crew. All interviews featured sponsor mentions Internet The Challenge website www.TheChallengeGhana.com received a total of 1,824,079 hits from September 2007 to February 2008. The average daily hits are 14,664 and 16,249 for December and January. The site continued to provide a live on-going platform of engagement with our audience and free mileage for all sponsors as the links to all sponsors are still active. The internet also gave us the added advantage to branch out via links to other websites such as www.Ghanaweb.com and www.myjoyonline.com which showed a live broadcast of the programme. Usage Statistics for thechallenge.com Publicity, especially before the auditions was vibrant and well delivered by the media. As the show progressed, however, publicity started to slack. A prompt meeting was arranged and the issue of exposure was efficiently rectified during the latter episodes of the program leading to the final event. Regular interviews at Joy FM and TV3 plus press reviews in the print media were all adopted. For future series a need to adopt a media coverage time line in advancement of the event is of paramount importance to maintain high interest and constant hype around the show. In furtherance of this, it is proposed that the linkages are maintained but direct delivery executed independent of the production team. This will enable a fleet-footed approach to using print and electronic media to drive top-of-mind awareness, interest and participation by the target audience. The Guardian Newspaper in the UK will published a story in Week 2 of January 2008 about The Challenge and this story featured interviews with Steve Berridge of the University of Westminster and quotes from BC Ghana officials. Sponsors The Challenge was made possible by the partnership with diverse organizations which are leaders/prominent players in their respective field. This therefore created an ideal partnership between the sponsors, the show and the British Council as they shared similar target audiences young, upwardly mobile people striving to obtain and be the best each mirroring a reflection of the others success and achievements. The categories of sponsorships are represented below: Platinum Sponsor Gold Sponsor Silver Sponsor Donor University of Westminster tiGO (Millicom Ghana) Zenith Bank Virgin Nigeria Airways PHC Motors London Metropolitan Thames Valley BusinessGhana.com Intl. Students House Fair-green Limited Simbins Furniture Woolworth Stores 3E Quantum BizLiteracy Solutions Holy Trinity Spa FC Group Reality Vacations Databank Joy FM The table below provides a comparative analysis of the sponsor benefits promised in the sponsorship proposal and the actual delivered. Category Benefits Proposed Benefits Delivered General Communication Plan applicable to all sponsors signed on before launch of the program Two-phase publicity blitz running on all the major Fm Stations in all urban towns Over 100 Advertising spots on GTV and all Charterhouse produced programs Over 10 Full Page Advertising pages in the Major Daily Newspapers Deployment of two thousand (2000) A3 Posters nation-wide Deployment of five thousand (5000) A5 Double sided flyers Web advertising on all popular Ghanaian web portals Regular write-ups and program updates and coverage in all the major newspapers 10 Banners displayed at major youth centres like; busy internet, SMS updates sent regularly to contestant fan clubs National awareness was driven largely by print media and internet. Radio was limited to Accra and Kumasi Over 200 Advertising spots were placed on TV3 through crawlers promotional clips 6 Full page advertisements were placed in Graphic and Mirror; all featured logos of all sponsors Not done. Spend was rather re-assigned to production of 25,000 fliers for more impact Over 25,000 flyers were produced and distributed nation-wide. This had logos and/or mentions of all sponsors This was achieved through programme dedicated website ref in other portals Not consistent in the earlier stages, but this improved in the 2nd month onwards Achieved Spend was re-allocated to SMS promos Platinum All communication will feature adverts, logos, artwork, web links, as well as general information of corporate sponsors One 30 45 second TV commercial spot in 30 minute mid-weekly episodes a minimum period of eight weeks Two 30 45 second TV commercial spots in 1 hour weekend episodes for a minimum period of eight weeks. Delayed broadcast on Africa Magic on DSTV for additional mileage. Achieved Where available Platinum sponsors were allocated two 45-60 second commercial spots in all the episodes over a 14 week period. In absence of TVC, voice-over mentions were used Where available Platinum sponsors were allocated two 45-60 second commercial spots in all the episodes over a 14 week period. In absence of TVC, voice-over mentions were used Not achieved yet Gold All communication will feature adverts, logos, artwork, web links, as well as general information of corporate sponsors One 30 45 second TV commercial spot in 30 minute mid-weekly episodes a minimum period of eight weeks One 30 45 second TV commercial spots in 1 hour weekend episodes for a minimum period of eight weeks. Delayed broadcast on Africa Magic on DSTV for additional mileage Achieved Where available Gold sponsors were allocated One 45-60 second commercial spots in all the episodes over a 14 week period. In absence of TVC, voice-over mentions were used Where available Gold sponsors were allocated One 45-60 second commercial spots in all the episodes over a 14 week period. In some instances, two spots were allocated Not achieved yet Silver All communication will feature adverts, artwork, web links and general information of corporate sponsors. One 30 45 second TV commercial spots in 1 hour weekend episodes for a minimum period of eight weeks. Delayed broadcast on AfricaMagic on DSTV for additional mileage. Achieved None of the silver sponsors provided TV commercials to be used. . In absence of TVC, voice-over mentions were used Not achieved yet Donor Donor clips in all episode broadcasts Acknowledgements by presenter in all episode broadcasts Acknowledgement in credits roll Reference to donor when prize package is mentioned Achieved Achieved Achieved Achieved ` What is the impact The Challenge has made so far? a few examples Social change the case of Madina Open Market in Accra The article below, culled from a report at the British Council Africa website was an adaptation of a story reported at www.thechallengeghana.com What began as just another task on The Challenge has surely come a long way. writes Felicia Nyame (Press Liaison Officer Reporter of www.thechallengeghana.com ) British Council in Ghana staff member Felicia Nyame writes on The Challenge website: When the SLOAN production team decided to do a story on market sanitation for their creativity task, little did they anticipate the impact this 10-minute video would have on the community of Madina in Accra. Felicia continues The car park is now taking shape with pavement blocks providing a more welcoming appearance to the market entrance. That is not all, there are more refuse containers, the abattoir is in better shape now, and the general sanitation has improved. The video obviously has had an impact on sanitation in the market. According to Seth Mia, he was told by a friend at church to visit the Madina market since a change was taking place. When I got here I was surprised, there were pavement blocks all over, cars were parked in an orderly manner it seemed too good to be true! So I went to the K.V.I.P section and realised the place was cleaner, even though some tomato sellers were still too close to the toilet facility. There were more containers it was a pleasant surprise, and I felt good about it, considering the part I played in the change. Some of the traders were quick to point out that the video had an immediate impact. Others assert that there were plans to sanitise the market but The Challenge reality show fast-tracked it. Bystander at market -The video obviously has had an impact on sanitation in the market. WhenI got hereI was surprised, there were pavement blocks all over, cars were parked in an orderly manner it seemed too good to be true! So I went to theK.V.I.P section and realised the place was cleaner, even though some tomato sellers were still too close to the toilet facility. There were more containers it was a pleasant surprise What credit do other people give us for what happened? In his keynote speech during the official launch event, the Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment Hon. Nana Akomeah, described The Challenge as the most effective and productive TV event which has ever taken place in the country. He said The Challenge is very unique and different from all other competitions in and out of the country and Africa as a whole. Hon. Nana Akomeah said the fact that The Challenge is a competition which requires raw intellectual and mental power of the contestants makes it even more different from any other competition. The British High Commissioner, His Excellency Gordon Wetherell who was also present at the launch said the relationship between Ghana and Britain for the past years have been very strong and I hope with the British Councils effort to initiate an educative programme like The Challenge, the relationship would even grow more stronger. Mr. Wetherell described Britain as a country with the leading International educational system. He further stated that Britain is doing its best to extend their level of education to developing countries in Africa. He said 70,000 students worldwide have been given scholarships to study in leading Universities in Britain and that keeps the standard and reputation of British Universities very high. Mr. Wetherell advised the winners to make good use of the opportunity while studying in Britain. He concluded with the hope that The Challenge would make the relationship between Ghana and Britain grows stronger. Dr. K. Appiah, Chairman of Civic Foundation and Board member of the Challenge remarked This is a good stand that the British council has initiated and is undertaking, I hope this effort is not wasted and that the candidate who wins makes Ghana and British Council happy and proud by making an impact when given the opportunity. Nana Afia Twum-Barimah, one of the 12 finalists remarked I think this program will be great for challenging young optimistic students. It will give us a chance to show how much we care for our education. The prizes are also very promising for us graduates and our future Diana, a guest at the launch More grease to the elbows of the innovators and organisers of the Challenge. It is pretty outstanding and inspirational. I believe programmes of this sort will help whip up the zeal and enthusiasm in education to the farthest extent. I am particularly glad Interest and recognition from other BC offices across EWA beyond There has been a considerable amount of interest shown by other British Councils offices across East and West Africa who are seeking to replicate our success in their countries. We have been inundated with emails requesting information and reports with the hope of emulating The Challenge as a possible future venture. The Challenge Team from Ghana won an award in the recent BC-EWA Regional Recognition Award Scheme for impact and income. .Albert Eliason, Diana Yanney, Roy Aboku and Angelina Diyuoh in Ghana for the Challenge Ghana Reality TV initiative. This initiative attracted 169,000 in sponsorship and promoted Education UK much more effectively than the usual advertisements. With almost 2 million web hits and 5 million viewers, this is really a lesson for us all. Well done! 500 to share! Congratulations! E-mail circulated to all BC EWA staff on 2nd April 2008 by Philip Goodwin Regional Director British Council, East West Africa Region. Elements of The Challenge have been incorporated in the PMI Marketing strategy for 2008-2011 periods. The Challenge Reality TV has also recently been nominated for the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) Award in the category BEST TELEVISION PROGRAMME OF THE YEAR 2007 Increase in awareness and patronage of sponsors operations ..Finally, so far and the deadline is not until 31st May, Ghana has supplied more scholarship applications than any other country, up c.40% on last year. Regards, Colin Colin Matheson Director of Scholarships, University of Westminster in an e-mail he sent to Albert Eliason, Business Director, British Council Ghana and leader of The Challenge team. The winner of the London Metropolitan University scholarship-Nana Afia had her first shot at being ambassadors of the universities she would be attending this summer! The opportunity was presented through the British Councils Education UK Exhibition from 15th to 16th February. The Education UK exhibition is organised annually by the British Council with the aim of giving Ghanaian students desirous of studying in the UK the opportunity to interact with academics and representatives of reputable higher educational institutions in the UK. Through this exhibition details of courses and scholarship opportunities are also exposed. During the fair on Friday, Nana Afia was also assigned to the stand of London Metropolitan University. It was an interesting sight to watch them her work as ambassador for the very institutions she will be attending in August 2008. Not only did people join long queues to make enquiries at her stand but also to have photo taken with her. Nana Afia Twum-Barima said The exhibition has been very interesting, meeting all these people who came to my stand for enquiries. I feel so lucky knowing that without the Challenge I could be one of them .Most of them were also looking for scholarship opportunities and knowing that not all of them will be getting what they want, just shows how lucky I am. I am glad I was able to get students for my school. Most of them were anxious to fill the application form and also book appointments. I enjoyed myself. I am looking forward to doing more of this for my school Production Administration what worked well what didnt The Challenge 2007 was co-produced and administered by British Council and Charterhouse Productions. This collaboration general worked well and led to the launch of a project within very tight deadlines. There were also challenges and areas of improvement that ought to be highlighted. What worked well? * The delivery of the project to very tight deadlines, especially considering the relatively limited budget, is worthy of mention. This was as a result of spirit of understanding and compromise exhibited by principal managers of the two organizations. * The flexible approach to decision making also allowed for an alternative to GTV to be agreed upon quickly. This allowed for the development of technical and non-technical support to be derived for the production and broadcasting of the programme. * Development of media /technical partnerships to ensure credible selection/eviction methods through panel judging and audience use of SMS text message and web forms for voting/eviction * The design and build of performance stages for most of the shoots by Charterhouse was well executed. The sets looked very professional and contemporary. * Provision by Charterhouse of all technical requirements, including lights, sound equipment and visual equipment needed to execute the project was very remarkable. * Willingness of the technical and production team to work long and in most cases late hours to ensure delivery is also commendable. * By and large the production of a technically sound programme involving live events, pre and post production work regarding all episodes of the Reality TV show * Provision of technical logistics to support participants of the show, implement projects/tasks set them by the Board or Faculty. Arranging with third-parties for facilities, logistics and permits required to implement participants projects, as well as filming and post-production. What didnt work so well? * The provision of transport to ensure safe commute of participants from Challenge House to home after weekly eviction was completed. * Pre-production planning (with British Council team) was either not done or things changed last minute without notification. Setup for most programmes in the auditorium was mostly late and this contributed to the delay in the shooting of the main task. * The requirements, output and deliverables some of the tasks were sometimes not well-thought out or coordinated. Some tasks were set without agreement and publication of a comprehensive assessment criteria. * Communication between Charter house and British Council was not always effective as changes and decisions were not communicated in good time. * Centre of co-ordination between Chartehouse and TV3 was missing. This was manifested in the TV station and Charter House changes of broadcasts were not communicated in time to reach all parties and sponsors involved. Most importantly viewers were not given timely and adequate notification of changes/cancellations of scheduled broadcasts. * The nature of some of the tasks, and their overall output/quality seemed to be limited by technical/logistical challenges. In some of these instances, creative solutions would have delivered top class outputs, but the team limited its achievement on account of undue focus on financial limitations. * We did not maximise the use of media and the internet to generate a massive following for The Challenge. This was due to the teams unwillingness or inability to implement agreed strategy for media and web support. Technical Output A number of technical difficulties were encountered and this affected the quality of the show. A number are highlighted below: * Inadequate number of (lapel) microphones. The effect may have been imperceptible but did take a lot of the quality and professional output. This also delayed shooting as hand-held cordless microphones were passed on from one contestant to the other in most of the episode filming, and where a contestant forgot to pass on the microphone, this called for re-takes. This depreciated the professional output of the production. * There were an inadequate number of cameras for group/syndicate work off-site; this posed production challenges when participants were split up on different assignment and locations. * There were a limited number of instances where the camera crew were left to cover activities without hands-on direction. Even though a general brief was provided to the camera team, this was inadequate as the case of the Business Simulation Exercise proved. The output of some episodes also belied conformity to effective production planning. * The need to pre-shoot episodes in considerable advance of studio editing is of paramount importance, leaving enough time for the editing of all episodes before broadcast. * The lack of a permanent venue for shooting all the episodes brought to bear logistic and organizational nightmares for all parties. There is the need for all venues to be secured ahead of time before the day of shooting. * There were inconsistencies in the broadcast of the show, sometimes exacerbated by the poor communication between Directorial/Editing team of Charterhouse and TV3. TV3 on the other hand did not promote the show consistent with the outputs of a media partner. It is proposed that in future TV stations should bid for the show to ensure a better delivery. There is also need to select a TV station with national coverage to create a better impact and reach a much larger audience. * The show did not benefit from the execution of a well-thought out media support intended to generate public interest and understanding of the concepts as played out on TV. It is proposed that a team independent of Charterhouse be engaged to take a lead on execution of this in future production. Recommendations Coverage To ensure that The Challenge achieves the desired impact, national broadcast is an imperative. It is proposed that in future selected media partners have national coverage of their network or present a combination of network partnerships that deliver complete/near-to national coverage. Media support Trend analysis of web hits at www.thechallengeghana.com demonstrates the potential for this reality show to generate a massive following and larger audience s. An integrated media support strategy that dovetails press, radio and web formats to TV broadcasts will reinforce the impact and coverage of the show. To achieve this, the imperative to have a third-party working in tandem with Charterhouse is paramount. Review of press stories of The Challenge over the entire period of Season1 production and broadcast reveals numerous inaccuracies and factual misrepresentations. To prevent this in season2 it is expected that the proposed third-party media liaison/agency be made responsible for writing and circulating stories to all press houses. Further, this will ensure consistency as well as control and direction over what is written in each article for all media forms. An obvious need is to focus more Media attention in regions other than Greater Accra especially in the weeks leading up to the auditions to generate a higher number of applicants would be necessary; with a desirable component homing in to address the need for greater female participation. Production To address the production challenges and outputs referred to in earlier pages of this report: * Central direction is required at all times to provide linkage between concept development, execution and coordination between camera/sound crew and the editing bench. * Director and production team (inclusive of the editing bench) be guided/quality-controlled by input of three distinct panels. a) Concept Development Panel. This should be made up of representatives of BC, Charterhouse, Faculty, Board and external consultants who will be co-opted to contribute to concept development, inclusive of tasks and content of episodes. The panel will feed-back into proposals by production/technical team with a view to providing guidelines for the director, producer and technical crew. b) Quality Assurance Panel. It is proposed that this panel be made up of one or two technical experts from the TV station partner, Director and Editor, who will review all finished tapes of episodes to confirm/advice on conformity to all quality benchmarks, viz sound, light, cinematography, etc. Tapes that are sent for broadcast should pass the assessment of the QA panel. c) Audience Focus Group Panel. This would be made up of a core group of target audience who will pre-view episodes to determine suitability to audience preference, interest and appreciation. The bottom line is to establish appeal of recorded episodes to target audience. Ultimately input and feedback from the 3 proposed panels is to ensure that final output that is presented for broadcast delivers on all quality benchmarks. * A major challenge in season 1 was the use of an ideal venue to house contestants and provide a central/control point that serves as a fulcrum for effective production work. It is highly recommended that a permanent suitable venue be identified and secure in time for the show so that equipment is not moved back and forth unnecessarily. At best the production crew have a clear two day access to the recording venue for setting up, thus saving a great deal of production time. Consistency of broadcast The lack of consistency of broadcasts in season 1 brought into question the professionalism of Charterhouse and British Council and affected the overall quality of output. The causal factors that culminated in the shortcoming have been analysed from all perspectives. To ensure consistency of broadcasts in season 2, it is recommended that at least four episodes to be recorded and canned before the airing on the show. Research on advanced program scheduling is needed when evaluating air time availability /slotting, especially when important national and local events, and other reality shows are being aired as these shows compete with our target audience. This could be achieved by inviting TV stations to bid for the broadcast rights to The Challenge. Ratings, audience feedback and assessment of impact With regards to determining the ratings and popularity of the show, its extremely important we gain a clear understanding of the impact each episode/ task has on the audience. In future it is suggested that a system be developed to capture and store sufficient data to make this analysis possible. Market research in the form of questionnaires, polls at www.thechallenegghana.com for viewers, interviews and phone-in data could be captured and uploaded onto a data system. Analysis of this information could form the basis of a SWOT, fine-tuning of tasks and expanding to capture larger audience ratings. Furthermore, an in-depth weekly review should be incorporated, this can then be edited to compose a highlights version to be added to the challenge website. For future series statistics from our channel broadcaster is required not just for the broadcast of the entire show but for each individual episode aired. This could be cross-referenced and cost-analysed relative to popularity of individual tasks. The Tasks To achieve a good balance between the educational aspect and entertainment impact it is recommended that all tasks be thoroughly discussed by all parties involved in the recording process. The institution of the proposed Concept Development Panel will facilitate this to a much greater extent. This should enable a smooth and acceptable interpretation of the tasks recorded on the show Inspired Research A scan of business reality shows such as The Apprentice may provide useful pointers of many interesting tasks (ref. www.nbc.com/The_Apprentice) which have in-depth comprehensive links of the show, episode recaps, weekly tracker, lessons learned, etc.For example a task could be based loosely around the format of The Dragons Den show which, consists of entrepreneurs pitching their ideas to secure investment finance from business experts. Wardrobe The general feeling from all contestants was the issue regarding business attire. A number of them felt they hadnt been informed prior to the airing of the show of relevant clothing needed, with the attendant cost implications. It would be an unfair advantage for someone to be eliminated due to the fact they looked less professional. It would be advised that consideration be given to bringing on board a sponsor from a fashion house or reputable tailoring firm/entrepreneur to provide comprehensive wardrobe for contestants. Security and insurance The need for improved security and care/well-being of all contestants has been highlighted against the background of the Belinda-incident. Not only did she have to pay for her own medical expenses, but no after-care was offered on behalf of the British Council such as counselling or a follow up medicals. The potential for negative PR if this were to occur in the future should not be under-estimated. At least one person should remain on call in case of any emergency, with basic insurance granted for each contestant while on the programme. This also demands the imperative of full sequester of all contestants for the entire duration of the programme. A full check of the facility to serve as Challenge House should be conducted to ensure compliance with to BC Health and Safety regulations. Incidental expenses Contestants felt they had to cover a lot of minor costs related to tasks they had been given, for example transport and mobile phone top-up cards. A number of the assigned tasks required considerable research which came with attendant costs. Allocating a driver and people carrier for the contestants, (which could be heavily covered with the show and sponsors logos) would not only solve this problem but also create a great opportunity for free advertising. For mobile-phone top-ups, it might be useful to include an additional term to the existing mobile contract, stipulating all contestants are given top-up cards and mobile phones in return for specific advertising mileage in the use of the service. Appreciation and Gratitude The successful execution of The Challenge is due to the immense contribution of the following institutions and personalities, to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude: University of Westminster London Metropolitan University Thames Valley University Steve Berridge Catherine Downes Cliff Condell Colin Matheson Alex Malley Catherine Spargo Paula Robles Ian Jones TiGO Millicom Ghana Zenith Bank Ghana Limited Virgin Nigeria Airways Anita Erskine Andy Oje Jilly Holley Ransford Nyarko Eva Richter-Addo Sodie Osei-Bonsu Angela Okyere-Fosu Gwendoline Okwabi Joy FM Frederick Quainoo Kojo Oppong Nkrumah Percy Grundy Bola Ray Eric Meijer Edward Owusu The Board BusinessGhana.com PHC Motors Esther Cobbah JE Allotey Managing Director Kwasi Appiah Kweku Regional Sales Manager Keli Gadzekpo Emmanuel Marketing Manager The Faculty British Council Donors Ebow Spio Christine Bateman AVI Reality Vacations Dolores Acolatse Arlene Griffiths FairGreen Limited Martin Mensah Jean Kamara Woolworth Stores Zayna Taiwo Philip Goodwin 3E Quantum Grace Amey-Obeng Ann Russell BizLiteracy Ghana Suganthan Allotey Simbins Furniture Holy Trinity Spa FC Group Databank TV3 British High Commission ISH Nana Kutin Karen Rogers Chris Hutty Derrick Degboe Andy Holden Kevin Coyne Nana Adjoa Amanda Lambert Peter Anwyl Gordon Wetherell Carol Sutcliffe Nick Wescott Others Eugenia Appiah Nina Chachu Aisha Etrew Uncle Ebow Whyte Felicia Nyame Irene Mensah Conclusion This report is the product of interviews and consultations of stakeholders of The Challenge Reality TV Show, made up primarily of representatives of: * British Council * Charterhouse * Sponsors * Contestants * The Board * The Faculty * Viewers * UK Visas The last word The three scholarship prize winners and technical crew have had visas approved to travel to the United Kingdom from the 20th September. An elaborate itinerary has been agreed with the UK HEI Sponsors and British Councils Welcome UK team to ensure that our winners are accorded a fitting welcome. The weeks PR activities will include: Meetings with dignitaries and VIPs Receptions in their honour Guided tour of London Press engagements All the engagements will be filmed by the crew and footage will be used for production of documentary that will precede The Challenge Season II.