• Only unique science research ideas at WriteMyPapers.org.
• Our professional team is ready to help you in creating science research topics and writing science dissertations.

Research papers are the most complicated ones among all kinds of academic papers and demand from writer a proficient knowledge of the subject, creative approach to scientific problems and perfect writing abilities and skills. We offer you a qualified solution in creating CUSTOM POLITICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH PAPER and writing science research proposal or dissertation. Our writers have a great experience and qualification in different scientific fields, which guarantees professional and qualified solution of your task. We are highly concerned about the quality of the offered services, so all our custom papers are 100% original and unique; they pass plagiarism check by up-to-date software.

Most Reliable Service for CUSTOM POLITICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH PAPER

• Innovative approach to science research proposal is offered at WriteMyPapers.org.
• Get help with science dissertation topics at WriteMyPapers.org.

Defining CUSTOM POLITICAL SCIENCE RESEARCH PAPER often brings a lot of problems to students. Choosing right science dissertation topics may take too much time and put you in frustration condition. Our professional writers with degrees in different fields of science will provide you the best solution for your science research articles and dissertations. Our writers are provided with all the up-to-date scientific materials and technologies to help you with innovative science research topic ideas. Our writers are ready to offer assistance on any stage of writing your research paper: science research topic ideas, research proposals, research articles and entire dissertations. Effective science dissertation topics are the keys to successful dissertation and successful future career.

So do not hesitate and get help at WriteMyPapers.org! We offer the best prices for custom academic papers to our customers with a discount system. Besides, we have 100% money back guarantee in case of unsatisfactory results.

We follow precisely all your requirements as to the content and deadlines. You can stay in touch with writer to follow the process of carrying-out your order. We are here for you 24 hours 7 days a week!

        

FULL TIME PROS

· A full time position means a steady set of hours per week, which gives an employee a sense of stability, both on and off.
· An employee will get, and the employer will give whatever benefits the company offers. Most companies offer a variety of benefits such as Medical Insurance, 401K, Educational Assistance, daycare, fitness reimbursements, stock options, etc…
· If a person in a full time position works over 40 hours, they will be paid overtime, which is time and a half, the regular hourly rate plus ½ more for each hour over 40.
· Salaried employees do not have any set of number of hours like employees who earn and hourly wage, but they will still get paid 40 hours even if they only work 30 hours a week.

FULL TIME CONS

· Employers can spend a good deal of time, money and benefits on a Full Time employee, and then discover this person is not right for the position or the employee will quit without notice. This is a sizable loss for the employer, which can be why many employers have gone to the general practice of hiring only Part Time employees.
· Employees can become settled in this position, not just in the workplace, but also as far as setting up their own time and money to fit their lifestyle. They come to depend on the money from this Full Time position just to pay their needs.
· Salaried employees do not have any set number of hours like employees who earn an hourly wage, so they will not get paid any overtime if they work over 40 hours.
· Full time employees are harder to get rid of because of all the different labor laws and regulations that protect workers. So, if you want to write a research paper on “Part Time vs. Full Time Employees”, our best writing service will help you.
PART TIME PROS
· In most cases, average wage rates for part time workers are significantly lower than average wage rates for full time workers.
· With several employees in the same position, employers will have more options in the scheduling of these employees, which will allow them flexibility, as the demands of the position reveal themselves.
· In some cases, employees are not totally dependent on one work position. If one does not work out for whatever reason(s), they will have a better chance to get a new position, and there are more Part Time Positions offered than Full Time so it will be easier to get one.
· Sometimes Part Time Positions let employees get a variety of experience in different industries/fields and their companies if they choose to do so.
· In some cases, part time employees can be students, or people who do not need to make a great deal of money. People who desire to do something worthwhile with some of their time, or people who only desire to supplement another income.
· For workers, part time positions may offer the chance of a better balance between working life and family responsibilities, training, leisure or civic activities.
· Part time workers are also much more likely to be in control of their own schedules and can decide what times they will work during the business day, for their own convenience. Of course this is with the employers approval.
· A part time employee has as much rights as a full time employee in terms of dismissal, contractual rights, pay, etc……
· There is the potential to get benefits as a part time employee, but it is of course at the sole discretion of the employer.

PART TIME CONS

· Employers will need to keep track of a greater number of employees, and sometimes, depending on the position, paying more than one person to work a position can be more costly than paying just one person Full Time.
· Employees will not be able to get benefits. But then, if they are able to work two, (or three), Part Time positions, they can afford to create and invest in a few benefits for themselves on their own.
· It is difficult for part time workers to get overtime rates. People working a part time can earn overtime after they have worked their hours plus however many more to make 40 hours, then be paid time and a half for each hour over 40.
· Part time workers feel they have less chance to advance than regular full time employees.
· Certain part-timers work “on call”, without any guaranteed minimum weekly or monthly number of hours and are thus in a particularly vulnerable situation.
· Co-workers of the part time employees can only conduct business with the part time employee while they are available.

Not during the entire time they are working.

· Employers are not responsible for giving any benefits to part time workers, which can be a great saving for the company but a big loss for the employees.

· A person who is working part time may not be able to secure exact hours that they need or want, they may be at the mercy of the employer’s discretion.
In conclusion, it is easy to see that there are many different issues that must be evaluated when embarking on a contract with a company. Ultimately, an employee must be well aware of all the conditions that are stipulated in the contract, and must be in full agreement. The most important thing is to ensure that each party’s needs are met.

        

Organizational culture can be best described as the personality of the organization. One can best describe a company’s organizational culture by looking at the structure of the company, its values and the leaders within. Amacco Energy is a company that places a lot of emphasis on the company’s organizational culture and focuses on trying to change things for the better. The company makes decisions by using the opinion of both upper management and the employees. Amacco makes sure that all employees understand that their feedback is used in managing the organizations strategies, products served and the image of the company.

Changing an organization can be a complicated process, but Amacco has continued to maintain it’s strong organizational values. The company was faced with many challenges during deregulation and many believed that this would hinder the success of the company. In January 2002, the company was faced with competition after many years of being a single monopoly. In spite of this challenge, the company has managed to stay on top in the industry by keeping its traditional values with the customers as well as satisfying their employees. Organizational culture is one a term that is difficult to express, but Amacco Energy’s employees know that it does exist.

Amacco has always shared the company’s values throughout the community. The company participates in many functions, donates many company dollars and lends their employees for a worthy cause. Amacco is known for giving back to the community and supporting those that are less fortunate. Giving back to the community is the values that have contributed to the company’s success for well over 100 years. The strategy of giving is a value that the company shares with their employees. When employees work for a company that is out to help the community, it makes the employee want to open their hearts and share also.

Amacco places strong emphasis on certain shared values and teaches the employees the value of customer focus. We are taught the values of treating every customer with courtesy and respect. Next, we must always follow through in a timely manner in our commitment to our customers and not criticize, ridicule or down play our customer needs.

Amacco places a large amount of emphasis on cultural diversity also. The company sponsors events that bring employees together. With these events, employees are able to learn about other ethnical backgrounds that they are less familiar with. Not many companies encourage employees to take part in exploring other ethnical backgrounds besides their own.
Amacco is not very big on rituals within the company. The company does not have a particular event or ceremony that it performed before starting the workday. I must say that Amacco is big on expressing their success stories of about their employees. For example, if a customer calls or writes in to expresses their appreciation for the excellent customer service that an employee may have provided them, the company technically rolls out the red carpet for that employee. The employee gets a write up in the company’s newsletter and he or she is rewarded with a small token of appreciation from the company. Sometimes these little appreciations ceremonies can turn out to be big events depending on the extent the employee have went to provide exceptional customer service.

Amacco sponsors many events within the company that exhibits the success of the company. The company will provide entertainment for their employees, provide lunch for the day and hand out little gifts of appreciation that exhibit the Amacco Energy logo. Many companies do not express their appreciation for the work that many employees do and many employees feel that they are just working to make the company rich. The little gifts that Amacco provides to their employees makes them feel that they are being commended for the hard work that they contribute to the company on a daily basis.

As for management style, I feel that Amacco can use a little help in selecting certain individuals to lead within their organization. I am not familiar with any company philosophy that is rolled out on the type of managers and supervisors that they recruit, but I am sure that the company would like to feel that they have highly qualified individuals leading their employees and representing their organization. The supervisors and managers that I have come into contact with can use some knowledgeable training on how to be effective leaders. Some supervisors feel that having power over someone makes them good leaders. I have only been under my current supervisors leadership for less than a month and I have already formed a negative opinion of him. He gives you the impression that he is on your side, but the truth of the matter is, his words are priceless. He tries hard to make employees like him by sitting in on conversations and holding less than professional conversations. He uses vulgar language when he communicates with his employees in staff meetings. I am sure that this is not the type of leadership that the company would like to exhibit to their employees.

If I could take action to correct the behavior of some of the mangers and supervisors, I would give them the opportunity to take leadership classes to better themselves. Everyone needs to be given the opportunity to change. Not all personalities are the same and it can be hard for some supervisors and managers to relate to every employee. I feel adequate training can help improve certain individuals. If the training does not work, I feel that supervisors and managers should be treated the same as employees that are not performing in an effective manner. They should also go through the steps of discipline that employees go through when given warning in a certain situation or matter. I have watched many managers and leaders get away with unprofessional behavior within their workplace. Amacco tries to be a company that is fair in every situation, but we do have some leaders that have slipped through the cracks.

Not all managers and leaders within the company are unprofessional. I can truly say that the manager over my entire department is a class act. He motivates the employees. He encourages us to better ourselves by taking advantage of classes offered through the company and supports those that have decided to go back to school. He makes it a point to walk around to each employee every morning to greet him or her with a handshake. He has an open door policy that allows you to walk in and discuss matters within the company. Matters that need to be addressed, he handles them immediately and in a professional manner. He is one person that exhibits the quality that Amacco is looking for in a manager.

Amacco is very big on the code of ethics within their company. We are required every three months to attend classes on ethics in the work place and they later provide us with assessments that we have to pass. They also require us to take online classes that we have to complete and receive a completion certification on every other month. Amacco is a company that refuses to let the company fail behind anything that is less that morally right. I can admire the company for taking these kinds of precautions to see that the company is not faced with failure.

Amacco definitely follows the code of ethics and makes sure that all the employees are doing the same. Anything that has went on unethically within the company, Amacco sends out e-mails to everyone in the company informing them of the situation. Once a conclusion has been reached, all employees are again e-mailed about the procedure Amacco took in handling the matter. Amacco was recently accused of doing bad trading within the company. They look into the matter and found the individuals that were responsible for this trading and dismissed them. Amacco then went public to inform the community that the company did not tolerate illegal trading and the employees that were responsible were terminated. The company has a zero tolerance policy for anything that is done unethically within the company. This is a good thing because I make personal decisions about my life the way Amacco values their ethical system.

Amacco is a company that has many positive traits. The company has shown itself to be a leader in the energy industry. Amacco has been a positive role model throughout the community as well as a stepping-stone for many of its employees. Amacco can contribute the success of the company through positive thinking and its moral ethical values.

        

Many scholars and legal authorities who have thought deeply about the validity and appropriateness of that war, about its risks and benefits, have come to the conclusion that the war is not only not worth the effort but is counterproductive and aggravates the problem it is intended to solve. It is of interest in this regard that the United States conducted a 15-year war against alcohol (Prohibition), but abandoned it 66 years ago as a costly, wasteful, socially undesirable, counterproductive failure, and caused formation of more criminal gangs. So we are left with the question. What is wrong with criminalizing drugs and conducting a war? There are a number of answers.

1. The very expensive campaign to reduce the inflow of drugs in to the US is a demonstrable failure. More drugs than ever are coming in. Furthermore, our attempts to limit drug production at the source (e.g. Colombia) have resulted in various counterproductive foreign-policy debacles.

2. The illegality of drugs has led to the evolution of vast structure of gangs and criminal cartels in the US and elsewhere in the world, because of the immense profits to be made from the sale of illegal substances. The structure has helped perpetuate the old Mafia gangs and has led to a flowering of new Mafias of South American, Asian, and Russian origin: This course of events closely parallels the history of alcohol Prohibition, which was the principal stimulus to the evolution of the old Mafia, which did not exist before Prohibition.

3. The fights over turf between drug-dealers and their gangs has led to tremendous proliferation of hand-guns, marked increase in gun-related violence, the death of large numbers of innocent children and adults, and the blighting of large parts of the inner cities, which have become, in essence, war zones.

4. In order to expand their operations, drug dealers actively recruit and “hook” new addicts, the younger the better. These addicts, in turn, recruit others to whom they can sell drugs to support their habits.

5. To support their habits, drug users often have to resort to crimes of all kinds, including burglary, mugging, etc. An extremely high proportion of all persons arrested for violent crimes are found to be drug addicts: the prisons fill up with persons who might well not have committed crimes if not for the constant need for money to buy drugs.

6. Tremendous numbers of arrests are made for mere possession and use of drugs, which has necessitated a vast and expensive expansion of our prison system. Unreasonably long sentences are given for what are essentially victimless “crimes” which causes overfilling of prison, disrupts often poor families, and breeds disrespect for the law.

7. The effects of the drug laws are racist to the core. There is a clear double standard wherein middle- and upper-class drug users, usually white, are given a slap on the wrist while poor users, usually black or Hispanic, are jailed for unreasonably long terms for the same or even lesser offenses. The fact that our prison population is so heavily tilted towards minorities is a direct consequence of this distorted justice.

Against these negative consequences of society’s war against drug use, it is hard to discern any real benefits or justification. Certain things are often cited, but are not very convincing:

1. Use of drugs has undesirable medical consequences. In point of fact, such consequences are hard to document. There are rare kidney problems with heroin and cardiac problems with cocaine, but these pale into insignificance next to the deleterious medical effects of legal “drugs” such as alcohol and tobacco.
2. Drugs breed violence. It is, of course, not the drugs themselves but their illegality that breeds the violence. The enormous sums of money to be made by selling anything illegal fuel the entire violent drug-dealing community.
3. Children have to be protected. Certainly we don’t want children using drugs, but the drug war simply doesn’t work to prevent it. Spending the money on education about drugs would be far more effective.
4. Use of “soft” drugs (e.g. marijuana) leads to use of “hard drugs” (e.g. cocaine and heroin). There is virtually no evidence that this is so. Actually the use of alcohol is more likely to lead to use of hard drugs.
5. When one peels away the façade of unconvincing reasons, there remains a core of Puritan moralizing: “it’s just not right.” The dubious luxury of indulging our feeling of moral superiority does not balance the downside of the war, as described above.

What, then, can we propose:

1. The possession and use of all drugs should be decriminalized. Existing laws that criminalize them should be repealed.
2. Persons currently incarcerated solely for drug possession should be released to education/rehabilitation programs.
3. Drugs should be available by regulated sale, like alcohol, and should be freely prescribable by physicians.
4. Persons who use drugs should be encouraged to join rehabilitation programs that will encourage a drug-free life, but should not be coerced to join them.
5. A broad educational effort should be mounted to dissuade people, especially children, from using drugs, but because it is self-destructive and counterproductive, not because it is illegal.
6. I am gratified that such disparate groups such as the State of Arizona, the Catholic Bishops Conference of New York, California’s Prop 36, and many distinguished active and retired judges have joined in this approach.

        

As a tourist you make sure that everything is said and done, all of the tours have been taken, and all of the markets have been shopped in. But, how does the other side feel? How do the people feel of the country you are visiting, since they live like this 365 days of the year? In the essay “A Small Place” by Jamaica Kincaid, she explains to her readers how tourists affect the lives of the citizens of the country Antigua. Along with Mutabaruka and his poem, “dis poem”, show how his country has been stereotyped. These two authors want to inform their readers that their countries are much more then what people generalize them to be.

I have never been to the Caribbean and I will not lie when I say this, but I followed along with the generalizations. As I stated in the introduction, “…sandy beaches, tropical drinks, and the sound of the ocean in the background” is the picture I get when I think of the Caribbean. Now that I have read works from citizens of Caribbean countries, I am now informed of how the citizens of Antigua and Jamaica really feel about tourists’ stereotypes and I look at these countries in a whole new light. From the first chapter of Kincaid’s essay she goes on a rant about how her people drive around very expensive Japanese cars, but fuel them with the wrong type of gas, which in turn, ruins the car. Also, that their houses are worth less than what the car is actually worth. This is how these people have to live, but the tourists do not really understand why. She also talks about the people who have lived in Antigua all their life, and how their ancestors lived there. “The people in Antigua now, the people who really think of themselves as Antiguans are the descendants of those noble and exalted people, the slaves.”, and even though some people today do not like living in Antigua, the true citizens of the country and true Antiguans. On a different view of the same subject, Mutabaruka writes about generalizations, not tourism, but the same point gets across to the reader after he has written, “dis poem will not change things/ dis poem need to be changed/ dis poem is a rebirth of a people”. He writes these words to show the reader that after someone has been informed, they can read the poem from a different point-of-view. I believe that these three examples justify completely with Kincaid’s strategy, which I think is: inform the reader and change their perspective. After that has been done, the reader can feel what the author is writing and not just pass over it like an unimportant piece of information.

Jamaica Kincaid and Mutabaruka just want their stories to be told strait. They want the generalizations to stop so that their readers are able to fully understand the words they have written. If every single tourist were like the one in Kincaid’s essay, to travel to Antigua for the climate and not to learn more about the culture, I would write an essay about the “ugly tourists” also. And if all people were as ignorant as Mutabaruka writes them to be in his poem, I would also write a poem about all of the ignorant people I come across. These stereotypes are never going to come to an end, but if they were never there in the first place, this poem and essay would never have been written. As for the readers, we are now all informed as to how the people of these countries actually feel about tourism. Even though it may be a small percent, these authors would be happy to know that all tourists are not like the ones they have described, and that some people want to learn more about their countries. If I were Kincaid or Mutabaruka, I would be content just knowing that somebody out in this world knows how I feel, and would stop generalizing and try to change the way they looked at my country.

        

There are many advantages of living in a multi-racial society. One very successful example is Singapore. The people here are able to live in harmony despite their racial and cultural differences. We are able to achieve all these as the citizens are able to give way to one another. Singapore has various ethnic groups. As a result, Singaporeans enjoy an abundance of festivals of the different ethnic groups. But all these did not come easy as there were clashes between racial groups along the way. Take for example the racial riots that took place in July 1964. What was supposed to be a happy procession erupted into a racial riot that left 23 killed and 454 injured. But, the different racial groups are able to live together harmoniously now as they have learnt to accept each other differences.

If you live in a homogenous society, does it mean you cut off all ties and shut yourself out from the outside world? Living in a homogenous society, you do not face racial riots as the people there are of the same kind. They do not have racial differences and clashes between one another can be minimized. Due to similarities in their language, culture and beliefs, people in a homogenous society are able to live together without worries of a racial conflict. On the other hand, it can be quite boring to live in a homogenous society. You are not able to interact with other racial groups since you have no knowledge of them. Therefore, you have little grasp of what events are taking place in another society.

As I come to the end of my argument, I still think that it is better to live in a multi-racial society than a homogenous society. The benefits of living in a multi-racial society far surpass that of a homogenous society. Moreover, I have provided enough evidence to show that it is better to live in a multi-racial society. I believe my argument will put a rest to all future disagreements.

        

That was the first part, then it was off to McDonalds for my annual, spirited attempt at enjoying their food during the holiday season. Luck would have it I get behind a nice lexus SUV with I think 32 kids inside, and the dad didn’t know how to talk very well, so the whole order went entirely too slow. Mind you, I was focusing on the crack on my windshield as my meditative crystal and it was doing wonders for me, nobody’s gonna ruin my wonderful day of shopping. So I finally got my crispy chicken sandwich value meal, which was perfectly fried might I add, restoring my loose faith in getting a tasty, quality, good for you meal at one of our nations institutions. Fries were hot, damn, things are turning for the better. Off to OfficeMax, where they don’t have the smart card reader I want, with the salesman openly admitting they make more money off you by having 3 separate ones rather than them stocking and selling the universal all-in-one model. OK, fair enough, thanks for the honesty, I’ll just take this CD for my brothers computer and hope to hell I somehow convince a company to grant me the rebate offer I may or may not send in.

To spice up the festive office supply shopping mood, they had Christmas music playing from one jukebox in the middle of the warehouse sized building, so you couldn’t hear it from the outskirts, but boy when you got near the middle, Rudolph sure had a red fucking nose. Besides these issues, the store was relatively empty, aisles wide, and a bountiful amount of clerks up at the register area. I left with a smile and a bounce in my step. The holidays ROCK!! Let’s find a Fondue Pot, any one will do! After sitting behind some guy who preferred to be in 2 lanes rather than one at the stoplight, I waded through a small string of traffic and a few poorly timed stoplights, took a wrong turn, made a U turn, got stuck behind some people filling up the parking lot, and woalla!! A spot right in front of a store that would have a fondue pot. But alas, no pot. Luckily there were 17 other stores exactly like the one I just went in and after going into 10 of them, I found the perfect fondue pot. The store was full of glass wear and mirrors. The thought of winning the lotto popped in my head, renting out the store, buying everything in it and run through with a golf club and full-on hockey equipment, see what could be done. Fantasies though and I had to run around more to see what else these wonderful “almost discount prices” Outlet Stores had to offer, after all, the radio said it’s my one stop shopping place, so I best shop as much as possible.

Now these wonderful stores are split up into 4 different areas that require a lot of walking, and I was pooped already, so I took the spin in the little sports car, wheeling through lots, narrowly dodging kids, dogs, newly and wrongly planted trees, and yes clueless old ladies. Nothing looked good and I actually got lost trying to find one of these 4 areas, which to my amazement didn’t actually have a parking lot. You had to park, cross a rope bridge across an icy snowy river, give the gargoyle gatekeeper the correct password, and then dodge some giant swinging blades. After this was all done, I couldn’t pick out anything from the 114 stores there and had to get back home.

On the way back over the river, they make you swim, there isn’t enough room on the bridge and the gatekeeper (who’s been employed for 152 years and cannot, by law, through his union, be fired) has a one way train of thought, so after people started getting fried with his medieval laser sword, administration thought it to be better for the customers to swim, figuring everyone would be close to going home to their warm houses anyway. I got back in my car, sopping wet, heat on full blast and dove back into traffic and faulty traffic lights. Made a few wrong turns, dodged some shopping carts and bargain hunters, and 45 minutes later I was back on the highway, headed home to watch the Broncos flail once again. So now that I have 10% of my shopping done I feel pretty damn good about things.

Safeway was competing in imperfect competition. Because of the structure of monopolistic competition Safeway had to look for new and improving ways to be able to compete with new chains.

Another challenge for the firm was its old and outdated stores that needed major renovations. Because of negative financial situation Safeway was not in a position to be able to remodel all of its stores. My recommendation would be to start with most profitable stores in urban areas where the competition is the highest and then to move to less profitable stores.

Safeway was highly unionized and it didn’t have enough room to squeeze out enough cost savings to offset the higher cost/wage structure. To compete with nonunion shops, it had to either trim labor cost or jobs. In my opinion, Safeway’s management was not persuasive enough when it came to negotiations with unions, and because of that had to close many more stores than were planning.

In the pre-LBO stage management was able to realize that changes are needed to be part of the best in the industry; however, in my opinion, the strategy that was used was not completely appropriate. Instead, of selling some stores right away, I would recommend first to take a closer look at the reasons why the stores were not performing to the standards; then I would have the real estate to be appraised before making sale.

In my opinion Safeway’s management did a good job looking into different options before selecting LBO as its final decision.
When it comes to selling assets I disagree with the management and it sales of the U.K. division. My criteria for selling assets would include wage premium, higher cost structure, age of stores, difference between market and book value of assets.

BODY OF ANALYSIS

Economic Structure

From the economic structure Safeway Inc, competed in imperfect competition. Monopolistic competition combines the features of a competitive market structure (many small buyers and sellers, similar cost, no significant entry/exit cost, no information costs) with product differentiation. In this model all firms compete equally for all consumers.

Safeway was an example of monopolistic competition; it was one of many existing with many new potential entrant stores. It had very similar or sometimes even identical cost of products as its competitors.

In 1980s it was not easy to be a part of monopolistic competition. With low entry barriers competition was increasing rapidly. To keep its customers Safeway had to look for new ways to improve consumer service. In 1980, Safeway’s strategy revolved around superior quality, superior selection, superior service, and competitive prices. The four pillars strategy was good before 1980 but was not enough in 1980’s, with increasing numbers of new chains and new stores coming to the market Safeway had to reevaluate its current situation. In my opinion, Safeway’s management was not aggressive enough and was too afraid to make radical changes. With its long tradition Safeway already had high number of customers but too keep them coming back Safeway’s management job was to look for new product and service innovation. Of course, there are always some consumers that shop at this same store for years and are afraid of trying new products; however, it is people’s nature to be able to expand and to see “the world”, for them it is very easy to change their shopping habits especially if they could find better selection of products and better price somewhere else.

Market trends that were affecting Safeway in 1980 were de-unionization, store modernization and increased competition from regional chains.

Many of Safeway’s stores were old and outdated. Incorporation was not able to upgrade all of its 2600 stores and management’s role was to decide which stores should have been updated with new equipment and technology. Because of changes in the work force location of stores was also very important. Before 1980 many more women were stay home mothers who had time to drive to their favorite grocery store. With many more women going to work in corporate world in 1980’s their priorities and habits had change. Many people were shopping on their way home. It was important for Safeway to be able to focus on stores location and starts any innovations with stores with the highest number of customers. In my opinion, first they should have upgraded most profitable stores in high urban areas where the competition was the highest, then focus on stores that are profitable and have a good future. I would not have touch stores in the country with small number of customers until the last to make sure that the firm is not wasting its money on something that was not needed. Instead of remodeling it could have been much more profitable to sell the real estate.
Another market trend that affected Safeway at that time was increasing number of new stores that were non-unionized which help them reduce labor cost and higher additional employees to increase customer’s service. Safeway by being highly unionize was in a great disadvantage. The only solution to this problem was to negotiate with unions on wage issues and productivity increase.

When it comes to competition from regional chains Safeway was also loosing at that time. The Robinson-Patman Act prohibited national chains from discounts that were available to regional chains. The Act was passed back in 1936 when the situation in market place was much different than situation in 1980s. Solution here would have been to try for legislatives body to revise the Robinson-Patman Act. Safeway could have also tried to take products from vendors on consignment- in other words, not pay for goods until they have been sold to consumers. This strategy would have free up some short term cash.

Financial performance measures

As a key performance measure in the preinitial restructuring period Safeway management used growth in sales, profitability, and number of stores. In my opinion, measures used by management were appropriate. It allowed them to realize which stores and divisions were profitable and should have been kept open.

By comparing its operations to operations of other national grocery chains it helped Safeway to find out that the average of net income as percentage of sale was way below national average for Safeway. This showed the management that changes were needed and Safeway will not be able to exist in this situation for much longer. I think that it was great that Safeway was looking at 10 best chains in the USA by doing that the management was able to come up with few ideas to improve their situation. What I would have recommended for them at that time was to take a closer look at the best two chains in the market and see what they were doing to make them the best. Was it new products, location of their stores, management, etc.? In my opinion, it would very helpful to have a strategy in place that would have reflected Safeway goals. Was it to be the best of the best or was it to be one of 10 best chains in the US?

Pre- LBO

Safeway pre-LBO mission was to increase income as a percentage of sales and be able to pay dividends to its shareholders.

Safeway’s strategy was to close some of its poorest performing stores and consolidating U.S divisions which helped managing geographical dispersion. When it comes to pricing strategy Safeway goal was to keep prices within 5% of its major competitors and also used selective discounts. By opening its own bakeries, new delis and pharmacies management was able to increase income and safe on cost. New updated scanning system attracted customers and helped earning growth.

The pre-LBO strategy was effective for Safeway, net income increased from .79% in 1980 to 1.17% in 1985 with dividends increased five years in a row. Safeway was able to achieve its goal; however, in my opinion the goal was set too low. There were stores in 1980 with net income as a percentage of sales with as high as 1.33 and 1.39.
In general, firm’s initial response to poor performance was appropriate. With over 2439 store in 1980 it was hard for Safeway to manage and upgrade all if its stores. By looking at performance the firm was able to determinate stores with low profitability and sells the ones that were loosing money.

The overall plan was good; however, they should have paid more attention to operating and administrative expensed. Wages and benefits were made over 60% of the expenses.
In my opinion, speed of the changes could have been better. Of course, it takes time to come up with good strategy and implement changes; however, once Safeway, was done with the pre-LBO strategy its financial situation was well know in the business world which made Safeway loosing profit on some of sells from its real estate because buyers already knew that the firm would need to sell it anyway.

When it comes to performance of different divisions, the one that were underperforming were closed. I’m not sure if the management spent enough time trying to find out why they were not performing. What I would recommend instead of selling them right away is to take a closer look at the regions potential. If there were any potential that the price of real estate could go up because of building new neighborhoods or potential new corporations coming into region I would try to lease those stores instead of selling them. It is hard to believe it that management did not schedule any appraisals before selling many of its stores. By not doing that many of them were sold below their market price.

Cost/wage structure

The current cost/wage structure was not economically sustainable in view of the market structure and new market trends even with substantial productivity increase. For unionize Safeway it was very hard to compete with non-unionized chains with lower labor cost. For Safeway labor cost was approximately two-thirds of a store’s non-merchandise operating expense. Between 1980 and 1985 Safeway average hourly cost increased from 13.3% to more than 33% in 1985. With the cost increasing in this speed Safeway would not have been able to compete with other chains.

With Safeway competing in monopolistic competition there was not enough room to squeeze out enough cost savings to offset the higher cost/wage structure. To compete with nonunion shops, the choice was between trimming labor cost or jobs. And cutting jobs would mean long waits at the checkout. With plenty of alternatives for cost- and time-conscious shoppers, that was the last thing Safeway needed. The only option was to negotiate with unions. Some of the ideas that could save Safeway money would have been to stretch out periods between raises, lower percentage of wage increase, and offer lower hourly rate for new hire. For higher paid clerks offer other benefits as store gift certificates instead of hourly increases. Also cross training for employees could have benefit the firm by saving money; however, unions were not concerned with financial situation. Unions leaders were looking at increasing profits and dividends being paid but was did not understand the firm economic and financial problems. In December of 1986, the meat cutlers union in Huston TX agreed to $1.50 pay cut to Kroger but refused to Safeway. In my opinion, Safeway’s management was not persuasive enough when it comes to negotiations with unions. It should have follow Kroger’s steps and just as Kroger did Safeway’s management should have also threatened to close stores unless unions agreed to concession. By extending in to longer hours and lower pay. Those wage roll backs would have add up to an annual savings on million of dollars that’s why if management interest was too keep profits up they should have been more aggressive. Sometimes even if you status quo incorporation it is hard to survive without making changes.

Alternative tactic strategies:

Safeway management was looking at different strategy to reorganize the firm. The first that was considered was “white Knight.” They were willing to be bough put in positive friendly way; however, all of potential buyers were interested only in picies of the corporation and its land. Safeway s management was willing to close some of the stores but in general it wanted to keep the business together that’s why “white knight “was not an option for Safeway.
Second option that was considered was to pay “greenmail” to Haft family. By buying back Haft’s family shares it would have only prevented Haft family of buying more hares but it could not have stopped takeovers attempts by other investors. In addition, Standstill agreement was very costly.

Third option was to do a recapitalization by borrowing money and/or selling assets to finance larger dividends to shareholder. It was a good option for some companies but not for Safeway. On one hand process of a recapitalization make the company unattractive to hostile takeover because the hostile company would need to pay of debt first, and of course Safeway’s management wanted to prevent hostile takeover. However, this is very risky process and that’s why not too many companies choose to do so.

Fourth options, was possible spin-off between West Cost and east cost; however, this was not an option because management wanted the company to be national chain.

LBO

The final option for Safeway was the leveraged buyout and was option that the management decided to go with. The expectation of the LBO was to increase firm value under private ownership. By changing ownership structure Safeway was able to save on administrative cost. LBO also allowed the firm to increase managerial incentives and flexibility as well as shareholders participation. Negative side of the LBO was that it was financed mostly through debt which needed to be paid off and this required management to start selling assets.

Safeway’s management was faced with many obstacles in asset sales. Market knew that Safeway has to sell assets to meet debt service so they have an incentive to bid low and delay the process. It was in the buyer’s interest to delay the process as much as possible to get the best price for them even if the assets were attractive. When it comes to Safeway they had to move as quickly as possible or it will face financial distress. In my opinion, Safeway’s management even with knowledge of it financial situation was not moving fast enough. They were concern about their employees and wanted to make sure that they find good buyers who would provide jobs for its employees. I was good to know that management cares about future of stores that were going to be sold but on another hand there was no time especially with unions not being willing to cooperate.

Sales of U.K. operations

Safeway after LBO sold 132 its stores in U.K to the Bormans at a lower overall price than selling the division piecemeal. This division not only was sold undervalue but it was the most profitable of Safeway’s divisions. I completely disagree with sale of U.K division. In my opinion, Safeway management was too much pro quo and too concern about its people. There intentions were too show U.S. employees that they would do everything in their power to keep stores open in U.S. If I was a part of that management team I would not have sold the U.K division. It was not only very profitable but international unions were willing to work towards wage reduction where American unions did not care. By looking at different companies in 1980 there is a beginning of globalization trend with corporations moving off shore to save on labor cost, and at this same time Safeway was closing its profitable operations oversees only to “fight” with labor unions in U.S.

The Dallas division

Sale of the Dallas division was probably much better for the community than keeping old Safeway stores open. With Safeway position not being able to remodeled all of its stores, sale of this division would allowed potential buyer to not only remodeled them but also but not being unionize lower prices which would have positive impact on entire community. Safeway knew that it would not be able to offer lower prices because unions were not willing to cooperate even at the time when stores were already on sale.

Sales of assets

My criteria for selling assets would include wage premium, higher cost structure, age of stores and their locations. By looking at table 7 I could tell much about location of the divisions; however, location is very important if most of the stores were located in the country with low profits I would probably sell those stores first especially if then needed remodeling and I did not see future for any business in the area.

By looking at wage premium with $4 Division Alpha and Psi would next with their operating profit around 6millions annually and negative trend in rank of market share. The I would sold PHI with $3.00 wage premium, only 1 million in annual operating profit, apprised assets value 10 million below book value, and negative trend in rank of market share. After that, I would sell Beta with negative annual operating income and appraised asset value lower than book value of assets.

SUMMARY

For any financial restructuring to be successful is important that managers understand the fundamental business and strategies problems as well as opportunities that their company faces. Safeway’s management was able to realize that there is a need for restructuring and was able to implement some solutions.
In my opinion, Safeway’s top management was lacking from a good financial and operation analyst, person who would be not afraid of changes. By looking at some of their decision that were made I would say that Safeway’s top executives included more “food” people than “money” people. Some of the stores and real estate was sold without appraisal which made the company to loose its money. The firm was undervalued because its assets were not representing true market value. Then, they sold most profitable chain way under value only to show American unions that they would keep the U.S stores open which did not make too much sense, especially that union in the U.S. was not willing to cooperate.
When it comes to wage negotiations, Safeway’s management was not persuasive enough, which cost them profits. By looking at unions attitude at that time Safeway needed someone more aggressive to convey negotiations. Employee’s morale was also down. In my opinion, to boost employee morale it would be helpful to set up “roundtable” meetings to solicit suggestions and ideas which wasn’t done,

Safeway management did not look into moving some of its costs onto vendors. Example could include paying for shelf space or asking vendors to put its own tags on fruits to free produce clerks for other tasks.

When it comes to restructuring alternatives Safeway management did a good job by looking into different options before making its final decisions. Most of the alternatives did not fit Safeway’s management style.

By choosing LBO management was expecting to increase firm value under private ownership with increasing financial leverage and decreasing administrative cost savings. When it comes to selling assets I would focus on wage premium with labor cost being 60% of a store’s nonmerchandise operating expense; then look into age of store and cost structure to upgrade them; after, that on annual operating profits, appraised and book value of assets. After LBO being done,

Safeway’s management did not have too much to say when it came to the sale price of its assets. Potential buyers knew that Safeway had to sell its assets to be able to pay off its debt that’s why many of the buyers were not willing to pay asking price.

        

Cooperation with the alien race, The Grey’s as they are commonly referred to in abduction accounts, consisted of three elements. First, the human race needed to be catalogued, so that everyone could be accounted for when colonization took place. This cataloging took place under the combined oversight of the Social Security Administration and the Smallpox Eradication Program. Each human being innoculated for smallpox was secretly given a DNA marker, injected into their smallpox injection site. This DNA marker would positively identify every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth.

Records of the Smallpox Eradication Program’s (SEP) DNA marker catalogue were secretly kept in encoded files at the Social Security Administration. Jonathan Smith, one of the shape-changing aliens, worked at the Social Security Administration and kept these SEP records. In fact, there were several Jonathan Smith’s at various SSA offices throughout the country, all keeping records. Records were also kept in a huge underground facility in West Virginia. This facility may have been another repository of SEP data or it could have been concerned moreso with records of abductees (test subjects). It is unclear at present.

The second requirement of cooperation with the alien race was the alien-human hybridization project. It seems that the aliens wanted there to remain a human contigent on the planet after colonization took place. The only way for humans to survive the coming colonization was if an alien-human hybrid could be developed. This project seemed to involve several separate projects at different times, with varying degrees of success. The level of cooperation between the humans and aliens varied depending on the project in question.

The first project involved family members of the human conspirators, who by now appeared to be working outside the realm of the State Department. Each member of the Majestic Group, as it was called, appears to have given up one family member to the aliens for hybridization. They did this willingly (mostly, Bill Mulder was the lone disenter) and it seems as though it was their only hope of having their family members safely returned once colonization occured. This “abduction” took place in November, 1973 and included Cassandra Spender and Samantha Mulder, Fox Mulder’s sister. C.G.M. Spender apparantly had something to do with this project as he says he was responsible for the testing done on his wife and he shows a clone of Samantha to Mulder in an attempt to get Mulder to join him.

Another phase of this hybridization project involved “alien abductions” that were really “government abductions”. The alien race had given an alien fetus to the Majestic Group so that they could have access to alien DNA in their own hybridization project. Women, including Dana Scully, were abducted, not by aliens but by agents of the Majestic Group. They were taken to government facilities and given medication causing them to super-ovulate. The harvested eggs were then used in combination with the alien fetus DNA in various hybridization projects. It is assumed that this phase of the project ultimately failed, either because children born from this combination either did not live long enough or were perhaps sterile. Emily was an offspring of these experiments on Dana Scully. The Kurt Crawford’s were also a product of this program and, with Mulder’s help, attempted to put a stop to it.

The women who were abducted each received a small metal implant in the base of their neck that was used to simplify their reabduction by “calling them” to abduction sights. This implant also seemed capable of recording the subjects memories for some future purpose. Removal of this implant resulted in fatal cancers in all of the test subjects. Cassandra Spender never had her implant removed. Dana Scully had her implant removed, developed inoperable cancer, and was only saved when C.G.M. Spender directed Fox Mulder to the location of another implant. Once the substitue implant was inserted in Dana’s neck, her cancer disappeared.

Other phases of these experiments took place on medically equipped railroad cars and were led by Japanese scientists who had come to America after World War II and allowed to continue their genetics experiments. This group of Japanese scientists was called “731″. The work of 731 seems to have been shut down by the Majestic Group.

It seems that at least one phase of the hybridization project operated outside the approval of the aliens. A group led by clones, including Samantha Mulder clones, was eliminated by the alien bounty hunter. This group seemed to be concerned with creating clone that didn’t resemble each other in order to aid their assimilation into the general population.

Finally, it appears that the alien-human hybridization project was successful with the final processing of Cassandra Spender. She is termed the first successful hybrid and created a crisis among the Majestic Group. If the aliens learn that the hybridization project has been successfully completed, they will begin colonization. Several members of Majestic support eliminating Cassandra in order to continue their policy of stalling. C.G.M. Spender, however, supports letting the aliens find out about Cassandra and beginning the colonization process. He sees it as inevitable and feels the Majestic group is prepared to survive colonization. His arguement seems to win out over stalling, however, this all becomes a moot point as Cassandra Spender and all of the members of the Majestic Group except for C.G.M. Spender and Alex Krycek are burned to death by the faceless alien rebels.

It can be assumed at this point that, at least from the standpoint of the human conspirators, that the hybridization project is over and cooperation with the aliens is at an end. Whether the remaining members of the Majestic Group can either pick up the pieces of their hybridization attempts, or perhaps ally themselves with the faceless alien rebels remains to be seen.

The third area of cooperation between the aliens and the Majestic Group concerned the method of colonization itself. The aliens exhibit the capability of being able to survive for extremely long periods of time (millions of years) in a latent viral state. They appear as a black oily substance in this state, but have their own means of movement and can invade a human host easily through bodily orifices.

In order to spread the black oil to the general population, an ingeneous plan was devised. Corn plants were genetically altered to incorporate the alien virus into their genetic make-up. Bees were used to pollinate the corn plants, thus delivering the alien virus to the bees. An extremely aggressive strain of bees was developed at a secret government research facility in Canada. The bees had been tested for effectiveness using a modified smallpox virus strain on school children in the United States. Once released from containment facilities, the infected bees would spread the alien virus to the population through their sting. In this way, the alien virus could be spread to the population quickly. The effectiveness of this method of delivery was demonstrated when Dana Scully was stung by a bee that had become trapped in her clothing. The effect of the bee sting was almost instantaneous.

Once infected with the alien virus, the transformation of the infected human is very fast. Within eight to ten hours, assuming the proper environmental conditions, an alien completely develops inside its human host and bursts from the thoracic cavity, killing its host. This “spontaneous repopulation” came as a complete surprise to the Majestic Group, who thought the alien takeover would be more along the lines of mind-control of the human host. These “newborn aliens” appear quite capable of defending themselves with razor sharp teeth and claws. They also seem quite immune to extreme heat and radiation, indeed they thrive on such conditions.

Additional “human incubators” were stored on board a buried alien ship in Antarctica. Kept at very low temperature, the development process could be slowed to a halt until the alien takeover began. This frozen supply of aliens was destroyed when Fox Mulder rescued Dana Scully from the frozen ship through the use of the newly developed vaccine against the black oil.

The aliens double-crossed the Majestic group by misrepresenting the effects of colonization on the population. At the same time, the Majestic Group, and a group of scientists in Russia were double-crossing the aliens by attempting to develop a vaccine to the black oil.

The Russians acquired a supply of black oil to study from rocks near the Tunguska River in Siberia, the site of a supposed alien ship crash in 1908. By studying the virus and its effects on a group of gulag prisoners, Russian scientists were able to develop a vaccine to the alien virus that appears to be totally effective. This vaccine was injected into Fox Mulder when he was imprisoned in the gulag and he was exposed to the black oil with no ill effects.

Alex Krycek was able to steal the vaccine and return to America with it on board a Russian ship. This vaccine was used to successfully innoculate Marita Covarrubias after her exposure to the black oil. Apparantly, Marita then became a test subject of the Majestic Group and they have been able to reproduce the vaccine. The original American attempts to develop their own vaccine had not been successful, probably because they did not have enough of the black oil to study.

The original plan for colonization would have been successful, despite the best efforts of Fox Mulder, were it not for a previously unknown race of alien rebels. This group, who had deliberately mutilated themselves in order to be immune to invasion by the black oil, have taken up a postion of opposition to the grey aliens and the Majestic Group. Their purposes and origins remain unclear but nevertheless, they appear to have been successful at thwarting colonization at the present time, so they can only be thought of as allies of the human race. Whether or not they remain so is yet to be seen. However, they have worked to destroy those “test subjects” with implants in their necks to prevent further testing. They have also destroyed Cassandra Spender, thereby killing the only successful alien-human hybrid. They also appear to have killed off the scientists responsible for the success of the hybridization project, severely damaging and possibly destroying the project altogether. In addition, they nearly succeeded in exterminating the entire Majestic Group, missing only C.G.B. Spender, who escaped with Diane Fowley at the last moment, and Alex Krycek. All in all, it appears that the faceless alien rebels are “fighting the future” and should be considered allies.

So, where does this bring us? The aliens surely won’t give up on colonization just because of a few setbacks, although their timetable appears to have been severely upset. The Majestic Group is gone, but the vaccine to fight colonization still exists. C.G.B. Spender and Alex Krycek are still around, as is Diane Fowley. Whether they continue working with the grey aliens, or join forces with the faceless alien rebels remains to be seen. And what about Strughold and his bees in Tunisia? Is that project continuing?

And what of Fox Mulder? With agent Jeffrey Spender dead by his father’s hand, and Mulder’s stock having risen in the eyes of AD Kersh in the wake of the massacre of the Majestic Group, it appears that Mulder and Scully’s reassignment to the X-Files is inevitable. Will he join forces with the Cigarette Smoking Man? Will he attempt to contact the faceless alien rebels on his own? The only sure thing is that Mulder and Scully will continue to “fight the future.”

        

Agro Tourism is a relatively new concept in the east, especially so in Malaysia. Although it is widely practiced in other regions of the world, it has yet to catch on in Malaysia. Nevertheless, there is no shortage in demand for it. As the world is more aware of the need to preserve the environment or to experience cultural diversity, more and more tourists are seeking such tours.

This trend of travel favouring over other forms of consumption is more evident with increases in personal disposable income and rising affluence even among domestic travellers.

Newco’s Agro Tourism Packages are categorised and based on commodities viz:

A. Agricultural / Horticultural Tours
B. Aquacultural / Marine Tours
C. Ecological Tours
D. Rural / Cultural ours
E. Zoological Tours

Organised Half-Day / Full Day / 2 Days & 1 Night Package Tours, covering:

A. Agriculture / Horticulture

- Fruit orchards, Food production areas – paddy / rice cultivation, vegetables, cash crops holding, e,g. smallholders’ durian farms, private Tropical Fruits Farm in Balik Pulau
- Industrial crops plantations e,g, oil palm, rubber, coconut, cocoa in Seberang Perai
- Horticultural and floral farms
- Herbal, medicinal and spice plantations e.g. Balik Pulau
- Visits to food processing centres, cottage industries and factories
- Visits to private or government agricultural research stations
- Visits to coincide with major agricultural and horticulural events such as Floral Shows and Competitions, Farmers Day Celebrations, Malaysian Agricultural and Horticultural Association (MAHA) Show & Exhibition, etc.

B. Aquaculture / Marine

- Caged Fish culture off Pulau Aman
- Cockles farms in the vicinty of Pulau Aman
- Prawn farms in Juru, Sg, Acheh
- Sport Fishing off Pulau Gedong
- Ornamental Fish breeding / rearing on Penang island
- Cottage industries for sea food production, processing of prawn paste, handicrafts from seashells and fish scales, marine canning industries

C. Ecological

- Mangrove swamps off coastal areas of Seberang Perai e.g. Air Hitam Dalam
- Wetlands of Briah swamps in hinterland Kerian
- Forest Aboreteum / Hutan Lipur and Forest trails at Teluk Bahang and Tasik , Pantai Acheh Forest Reserve,
- Taman Rimba Rekreasi at Titi Krawang
- Pantai Kerachut Beach / Turtle Beach
- Perlis caves
- Penang Botanical Gardens
- Bird Sanctuaries at Bukit Tambun, Bukit Gemuroh and Kuala Kurau

D. Rural / Cultural

- Traditional Malay village at Kampung Mengkuang Titi
- Typical Malaysian Fishing villages at Pulau Aman
- Tranquil seasides villages of Tanjung Asam / Tanjung Bayu
- Comprehensive experience of Malay culture in minature at Kampung Seronok
- Scenic visits to Mengkuang Dam or Teluk Bahang Dam

E. Zoological

- Bird Park in Seberang Jaya, Perai
- Butterfly Farm in Teluk Bahang
- Pusat Unggas Veterinery at Bukit Tengah
- Taiping Zoo

The range of packages that have been planned are shown in the appendix.

Capital Structure

We are inviting an investment of RM 500,000 from interested investors in return for 30% equity in the proposed newco to set the plan in motion.

Share Holders Listing

The proposed shareholding structure:

Shareholder A : Promoter of this Business Plan 70%
Shareholder B : Investor 30%

Financial Plan

The cashflow forecast is enclosed in the Appendix.

Action Plan

-Set up Newco with the agreed shareholding structure and necessary paid up capital.
-Appoint one of the Key Personnel as the Operations Director in charge of coming up with the operating business pla with action plan and timescale, and leading the company towards realizing the objectives.
-Newco objectives shall focus on the packaging, networking and marketing of agrotourism products and tour packages to capitalise on on the potential of agricutural resources and activities as tourists’ attractions.
-The initial role and functions of Newco is that of an events organiser and provider of agro-based tourism packages, to bridge the gap between the demand for agrotourism and rural tourism packages and the current lack of planned and coordinated promotion of agrotourism packages by local tour operators.

Other business options include the global promotion and marketing of the agrotourism packages to be developed as well as other tourism related products (e.g. souvenirs) to be offered through the company website on the internet.

Time Scale

We estimate that a period of six (6)months is required to put everything in place before we can launch the first programme.

Major milestones are as follows:

-Listing of probable destinations
-Selection of destinations
-Design / development of tour packages and their pricing
-Finalisation of arrangements with plantation/site operators
-Provision of basic amenities and other infrastructure
-Printing of leaflets / promosional brochures
-Agency agreement with selected tour operators /and hoteliers
-Launching

Malaysia as a tourism driven country can do with an Agro Tourism industry. However, until today, there is no agency in Malaysia, be they government agencies or private ones, which are offering such tours on an organized and continuous basis.

For the vibrant development of the tourism industry, there is a need to diversify the tourism base to provide a wider range of attractions, facilities and services to cater for different interests and preferences of both international and local tourists. Agro Tourism provides an attractive and fresh opportunity for tourism product diversification.