thanchart

For us, most of the exoensive machnes (all on 1st floor were destroyed) expect thise we had moved to to an old factory (fortunately not yet sold) the day before the floods came in. Those stwuff we had place on tables (floor was akready 1m above the ground level outside) were all submerged.

I'm still amazed how the company (being Thai) manged to recover (mostly) from the flood and move on, buying new much equipment and re-startup. I can see many companies in that Industrial park still not really fully operatiional. Who says all Thai mgt are bad? My expreicne is vrey different, and ironically I have more confidence in the Mgt now than before the floods. We have moved back but retain the old factory as a smaller ooertation, just in case.

If the machinery was replaced that quickly, then it can't have been that sophisticated! The equipment lost by the big guys is likely high precision, custom made, computer controlled stuff which would need to be ordered and re-manufactured overseas. That equipment would take 9+ months to appear.

that is what you think, We are an ELectroinics manufacurer. Machines are not cheap to replace. What made the difference was a Mgt team and CEO who got right down to work the very next day when the floods came and flooded the factories to the 1st level. They did not wiut for the insurance companies or any HQ to give approval. Plans were in place and execution almost immediate. The moenies required to execute the plan was also found by the CEO (thai sure make things a lot easier), And along the way, there were modififcations made to the plans as the situtations got better or worse. Customers visited us and help shaped the direction with their perpectives. We also shifted urgent production to oiur China facitory which was forced to grow 4x in `hust 1 quarter,

For a company to be able to recover fully by April when the original target was end of the year, it is a wonderful sight to behold. Honesltly I doubt a similar Wesern or Jap company can move as qiuickly as we did, HQ approvl they need often takes time, and this to mem is money and time lost that we can never get back.

Maybe having one factory to build up, while the flooded factories were being restored has helped, but I thjnk the speed ata which decisions were made and exectuted is the big difference.

The good thing that came out of this situation is that it gave us the chanceto change how things were done - in ways we could not do before,. Some call it reegineering. Its gonna take a lot of hard work and steeely determination, but we will get there. We will coine out leaner and stronger

For us, most of the exoensive machnes (all on 1st floor were destroyed) expect thise we had moved to to an old factory (fortunately not yet sold) the day before the floods came in. Those stwuff we had place on tables (floor was akready 1m above the ground level outside) were all submerged.

I'm still amazed how the company (being Thai) manged to recover (mostly) from the flood and move on, buying new much equipment and re-startup. I can see many companies in that Industrial park still not really fully operatiional. Who says all Thai mgt are bad? My expreicne is vrey different, and ironically I have more confidence in the Mgt now than before the floods. We have moved back but retain the old factory as a smaller ooertation, just in case.

If the machinery was replaced that quickly, then it can't have been that sophisticated! The equipment lost by the big guys is likely high precision, custom made, computer controlled stuff which would need to be ordered and re-manufactured overseas. That equipment would take 9+ months to appear.

that is what you think, We are an ELectroinics manufacurer. Machines are not cheap to replace. What made the difference was a Mgt team and CEO who got right down to work the very next day when the floods came and flooded the factories to the 1st level. They did not waut for the insurance companies or any HQ to give approval. Plans were in place and execution almost immediate. And along the ways, there were modififcations made as the situtations got better or worse. Customers visited us and help shaped the direction with their perpectives.

<p>For a company to be able to recover fully by April when the original target was end of the year, it is a wonderful sight to behold. Honesltly I doubt a similar Wesern or Jap company can move as qiuickl

^ Amen to that. From everthing I have been reading Burma is the place to be right now. If I were thinking about building a plant or rebuilding from what the floods had damage here I think I would be looking elsewhere.

Go and see for yrself,. Would you risk losing all the manies you have and put them there? If yr answers is sincere Yes. then perhaps. What seems to be the place to be may not be what it really is - at least at this point in time, For a country that just opened up, its gonna take a while before they are truly so.

China took a while to get there after Deng XiaoPing declared it open,. If obnly you jnow of the billions lost before policies were adjusted to make it work and commercial compnanies can start to make real profits.

This is sad news. I have to admit, if these figures are accurate, I truly didn't think this many companies and workers would be effected for this long. I really thought they had more time to prepare for the floods and it would just be a month of intense clean-up for many companies. I wonder if part of the issue is lack of availability of the right workers that are needed for clean-up, maintenance, electrical and all that.

Many companies in Pathum Thani (Bangkadi Ind Park) were not prepared for the floods - not to the level the water came up to. In my case, we had expected maybe 1 m of water but it went above 2~2,5m. Entire 1st floors of literally all the factories were destroyed,

For us, most of the exoensive machnes (all on 1st floor were destroyed) expect thise we had moved to to an old factory (fortunately not yet sold) the day before the floods came in. Those stwuff we had place on tables (floor was akready 1m above the ground level outside) were all submerged.

I'm still amazed how the company (being Thai) manged to recover (mostly) from the flood and move on, buying new much equipment and re-startup. I can see many companies in that Industrial park still not really fully operatiional. Who says all Thai mgt are bad? My expreicne is vrey different, and ironically I have more confidence in the Mgt now than before the floods. We have moved back but retain the old factory as a smaller ooertation, just in case.

Have driven the Innova in Philippines. It's a good car IMHO. Steady and drives far better than the Chev Optegra, the other car the comoany had.

Innova is more than just slightly bigger than the Avanza (which was presented as a Revo replacement)

Me now also had 2nd thoughts about Avanza. Had been thining if I should consider it if I were to buy a car

...rate of retention will increase tremedndously....

Personally I outsourced my memory to Google long time ago.

I've read about research that shows people who spend a lot of time online don't memorize information, they memorize the ways to access it.

Chances are that the tablets for everybody will have a different touchscreen technology from these "samples" and kids will have to use stylus to draw things.

These look like Lenovo "donations" that cost several times more than the stated budget. At some point compromise on specs ruins the whole experience and research without working prototypes or hardware at least on the same level is nearly useless.

the way we learn as adults would be very different from how kids learn. One of my most statisfying moments in my previous tablet project was seeing the kids on the "lower spectrum in terms of academic grades" put in the effort to keep trying on the tablet till they get it right. Did wonders for their self esteem and eagerness to learn and not give up. (the value of this is hard to quantify).

In the pilot test project. these kids were not even using tablets as we know them toiday, they were basically 4.3" touchscreen murtimedia devices designed for Professional Photograhers adapted for educational use. The kids were using their little figners work almost as well as the stylus provided, and many ose it 555). Results of pilot showed a > 30% increase in academic grades by kids from the lowest results classes - not something educators would want to ignore.

Anyway, it is worth notimg that NO internet was needed during the use of the courseware. Connectivity only needed when submitting test results or upgrading the courseware. As I have mentioned before in another thread, don't keep thinking "ONLINE" in the same way as we use online tools. Educational Courseware do not work that way - doing research, Yes. From the photo in the oriignal post, it is evident the kids are NOT online. One can say the application is run "local". The ability for the kids to delete and rewrite one'd hsnfetittrm words interactively has temendous benefits/advantages over paper. Plus, kids leran thru play. Learning has got to be fun 555

That project has since moved on to a locally designed low cost "modern" tablet targeted for edutcational usage but they are not deisgned to "compete"

with the commerical tablets. We actually stripped off some features to make it more unlike comcmecial tablets - intended for edcuational use, and not asa a general purpose "iPAD-wannabe". All the lessons learnt before served as a very good foundation on the way forward.

I see how the tablets work from the photo. Cut out paper to fit screen making sure you do not cut yourself or your classmates.

At least they will have low service costs.

If that is all that you see, it would be very sad.

This is just the beginning of interactive learning, and there will be lots more progress and the rate of retention will increase tremedndously. Granted, the Thai Govt could have done better; educational coursewares could have been better prepared at a nationwide level, instead of teachers having to do much of that research. Whatever it is, there will be progress for the kids.

I am excited to see what has happened positively in Philippines in the process of being repeated here and this original article had just shown it. And you will be amazed how fast these kids wll pick up. I've seen how my own 2 kids gone beyond their years, learning Grade 5/6 subjects (using a experimental plublic school curriculum in Science and Math) when they are only in Grade 3/4 private school, all on their own. And they do understand what they have learnt, as the experimental courseware was rather

Yes, there will be lots of room for improvement; it's the biggest room in the world anyway, and never gets filled up.

Why not ask yourself - what can you do to help the process mature faster, and with less mistaks along the way? I hvae no answers to this qyestuion myself as yet, but I do hope that I will be able to contribute to this project one day, as I had done before in the other country.

The airlilne will be held responsible if you overstayed (and esp have problems) and they usually rather not take the risk. So amnyone who has managed to get in without a ticket out is just plsin lucky. Don't count on it.

An airline will never be held accountable for a person who overstays. That has absolutely nothing to do with the airline. The only reason an airline will refuse boarding is in the case where a person is travelling to Thailand without a visa and the reason for a refusal would be a concern that the person may not gain entry and would have to be flown back at the airline's expense.

Yes you are right. Now I remember thtat I was told that by the counter superivisor when I asked -"the reason for a refusal would be a concern that the person may not gain entry and would have to be flown back at the airline's expense" - literally the same words.

With a visa, even a genuine tourist visa, there is no need for a ticket out of the country.

I am confused now, this is from mfa website regarding tourist visa.

- Evidence of travel from Thailand (air ticket paid in full)

This is from the Thai embassy website in my country regarding tourist visa.

5. Evidence of travel to Thailand such as a copy of e-ticket showing arrival and departure dates for Thailand. If you wish to apply 2 or 3 entries, please note that you must show all flight tickets/e-ticket/or confirmed travel arrangement entering Thailand for every entry. We do not accept airlines staff card or stand by ticket.

Exactly. This is where the ticket reservation comes in. The booking is reflected in the ticketing sytsem that you have indeed booked a legitimate flight out. Whether u eventually confirmed that ticket iand actually fly is another story.

I doubt the Thai Embassy would advise me to to that if the practice is not acceptable.

Im sorry to disturb this topic, but not sure if its worth a new one. What if i would have an option for a work permit as soon as i arrive there. Can i go tho Thailand on Tourist Visa, one-way if i have some proof that i will get a job there? I have to make a marry visa anyway when im there.

Without a visa the airline can refuse you if you don't have a ticket out within 30 days, with a tourist visa there is no requirement to have a ticket out of Thailand.

Get a tourist visa.

It does not mean that with a tourist visa, you will be allowed to board the plane at the embarkation point if you do NOThave a return ticket or at least a ticket out of Thailand. The airlilne will be held responsible if you overstayed (and esp have problems) and they usually rather not take the risk. So amnyone who has managed to get in without a ticket out is just plsin lucky. Don't count on it.

What you can do if you have a ticketing agent (not the online type) is to hve 2 separate booklngs (1 inbound & 1 outbound). You can ask them to do a ticket booking for your return flight on the date yr Toursit Visa expires. Since no tcket was issued, you should not have to pay for that ticket unless you want to confirm it. This method is even advised to me by the Royal Thai Embassy in Manila when I flew my mother-in-law here on a Tourist Visa. I will not consume that ticket booking as I intend to extend her stay. I actuially got my company's travel agent to help me on that as I had already bought a 1-way ticket here for my mum-in-law. and did not want to pay for the return ticket as yet. Of course I plan to go thriugh the agent again whenever it makes sense for my coming (real) ticket bookings.

If you have a Non-O 90-daysVisa then a return ticket is not needed. This is what my family had when we came here.

With a visa, even a genuine tourist visa, there is no need for a ticket out of the country.

I specifically discuessed this with the Royal Thai Embassy in Manila, as I was preparing for my mum-in-law's visit (stlll her with us). They reminded me that with a Toursit Visa, prrof of a ticket out still has to been shown. That is when they also told me that a reservation is good enough - not necessary to be confirmed (and thus no paid for). The Check-in counter should be able to see this booking on their System and thus no problems, To not need a ticket out, you will need Non-O visas (whatver the sub-type).

Anything contrary to this, the airline is just taking a risk on you.

Taken from Police Order 777/2551. It is in the pinned items at the top of the page.

http://www.thaivisa....ttach_id=153821

2.20 In the case of a family

member of an alien who has been permitted temporary

stay under clauses 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6,2.7, 2.10, 2.12, 2.13,2.4, 2.15, 2.16, 2.17,

2.21, 2.22,2.26,6.29 of this Order (applicable only to parents, spouse, child, adopted child or child of

his/her spouse):

Permission will be

granted for a period of

not more than 1 year at a time.

(1) The alien has obtained a temporary visa (NON-IM);

(2) Proof of family relationship;

(3) In the case of a spouse, the marital relationship shall be de

jure (legitimate) and de facto; or

(4) In the case of a child, adopted child or child of his/her spouse, the said person must not be married, must be living with the family, and must be less than 20 years of age; or

(5) In the case of a parent, the said person shall be 50 years of age or over.

Seems that it should be not a problem if we can show:

• Marriage Certificate of my wife and I
  
• Birth certificates of my 2 kids
  
• Death Certificate of their biological father
  
• if needed I can also provide receipts for School fees, etc
  

I think it will be much more flexible for the kids to come on Dependents Visa and if we should decide the schools here as not suitable for them, they can always go back to resume schoolin Philippines after summer vacation. The cost of good English speaking chools here is quire a deterent though.Hope to find something affordable enough,

One advantage there is that the kids are under the care if their paternal grandmotger (who I trust) who is their Vice-Principal, and there is no worries over their chooling

Boyfriends, Girlfriends? No

2.20 In the case of a family member of an alien who has been permitted temporary

stay under clauses 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6,2.7, 2.10, 2.12, 2.13,2.4, 2.15, 2.16, 2.17,

2.21, 2.22,2.26,6.29 of this Order (applicable only to parents, spouse, child,

adopted child or child of his/her spouse):

Permission will be granted for a period of not more than 1 year at a time.

Hi, can you kindly tell me where did yiur get this refrence from? It is 100% applicable t me as I am working on briiging my 2 other kids to live with my wife and baby in Thailand -(applicable only to parents, spouse, child,adopted child or child of his/her spouse), Had thought of bringing them here on ED Visa but Dependents Visa is perfeect, ] as my wife and baby are aready on Dependents Visa.

Sorry if I am seen to be hijacking

Without a visa the airline can refuse you if you don't have a ticket out within 30 days, with a tourist visa there is no requirement to have a ticket out of Thailand.

Get a tourist visa.

It does not mean that with a tourist visa, you will be allowed to board the plane at the embarkation point if you do NOThave a return ticket or at least a ticket out of Thailand. The airlilne will be held responsible if you overstayed (and esp have problems) and they usually rather not take the risk. So amnyone who has managed to get in without a ticket out is just plsin lucky. Don't count on it.

What you can do if you have a ticketing agent (not the online type) is to hve 2 separate booklngs (1 inbound & 1 outbound). You can ask them to do a ticket booking for your return flight on the date yr Toursit Visa expires. Since no tcket was issued, you should not have to pay for that ticket unless you want to confirm it. This method is even advised to me by the Royal Thai Embassy in Manila when I flew my mother-in-law here on a Tourist Visa. I will not consume that ticket booking as I intend to extend her stay. I actuially got my company's travel agent to help me on that as I had already bought a 1-way ticket here for my mum-in-law. and did not want to pay for the return ticket as yet. Of course I plan to go thriugh the agent again whenever it makes sense for my coming (real) ticket bookings.

If you have a Non-O 90-daysVisa then a return ticket is not needed. This is what my family had when we came here.

First 150K are not taxed, so he'll pay 10% on 210-150 = 60K => Tax will be 6,000THB

Great, this is what I had expected. Maybe ,my office Accountant was not able to explain to me probably - sounded like its 30% on the whole taxable income; My figuresabove are fictitious but conecept here applies.

According to the website of the Revenue Department, it is listed that Progressive Tax Rates is applied.

The table is as follows:

Taxable Income (Baht) ...................Tax Rate %

0 - 150,000 ........................................Exempt

150,001 - 500,000 .......................... .10%

500,001 - 1,000,000........................... 20%

1,000,001 - 4,000,000 ........................30%

4,000,001 and over..............................37%

However it is not clear if the tax is calculated at a flat rate (based in the whole Taxabkle Income), or is it applied progressively?

For example, if a person's Taxable Income for last year is say, 1.2 million baht, is he taxed progressively at 10% for the 1st 500.000 baht, then at 20% for the next 500,000 baht and for the next 200,000 baht, he pays 30% (this is the system used in Singapore which seemjs very fair and equitable).

Or does the person get taxed at 30% fflat or the whole 1.2 million baht?

What if the person has only been earning an income for 3 months? Is he going to be taxed based on what he has earned in the 3 months (tax reate based on the amount earned in 3 months) or is the tax rate based on what he would have earned in 1 year (had he otten the chance to work for 1 full year - monthly income x 12)?.

How about dededictibles adn allowance? Are they allowed iin full (1 year) or they are pro-rated for 3 months?

Hope TV members cam share their knowledge

Does this mean my 2 kids have to leave Thailand 1st, and go somewhere else to apply for an ED visa? Can the prospective school do something about this?

or can they even apply for ED visa if they have not yet gotten into a school? The idea was for them to come here and then we scout for for an appropriate school for next acedemic year.

If they have to leave Thailand, where would be a cost-effective country to go to 9for 2-3 days)? Are there companies in Thailand doing such visa runs? I can accompany them or bring the while family for a short holiday I guess. since my family (3 of us) here will be on a 1-year Muitlple entry Non-O by then.

As for the reason why I cannot claim tax deduction for my 2 older kids. it is because they are not my biological children (even if I see/love them as 100% my own) and if the thai man cannot do it for his own nonbiological childrean (as per my company Accounts staff), I doubt I will be able to. Any one had a difference experience?

I am planning bring my 2 older kids (grades6 and 4 this coming academic year and now in Philippines) to join my wife (their Filipina motheI), me and their 2 yr old brother for their summer vacaton. I will be applying for Tourist Visa for them. If it makes sense (if english-speaking private chools are affordable enough) and they like it enough, we are thinking of then applying for Student visas for them beofre tgheor Toursit Visa expire. Is this possible or would there be problems?

Unfortunatelty I cannot bring them here on Dependent's Visa (ideal in my opinion), like I did for ther toddler brother, as they are not my biolological offsprings . For the same reason, I also cannot claim tax deduction for them , even though to me, they are my own kids just like the baby.

My little famiily is settling down even as our 1 year Non B Visa is being process. The prcess seems different from what I have been reading about.

As our 90-day Non-B visa approaches the Expiry date. we went with the HP personnel to the Pathum Thai Immigration branvj to get the 1-year extension. Seems what the Immigration Dept did was to give a temporary 1=month extension as it completes the necessary procesiing and then will give a 1 -year extension (for my Non-O & wife/baby's Dependents Visa).

Is this how it nomally goes?

There is a fee for a tourist visa, what they mean that is free is that there is no fee for a visa exempt entry.

The fee for a tourist visa is 1,000 baht per entry in local currency.

That is not for the Visa Exempt Entry, which does not need to be applied for at the embassy. Whether the Tourist Visa Fee is waived because both countries are in ASEAN I am not sure. anyway we shall see when we go to the embassy to make the applucant early January

Confirmed. The 60-day Tourist Visa is indeed FREE for a Philippines Passport Holder applypng at the Royal Thai Embassy in Manila. <y mum-in-law has aklrdaty arrived yesterfsy.

30 years ago the Philippines were ahead of Thailand and now it is opposite. Thailand had its chances over the last 25 years and missed it due to tremendous corruption, oligarch structures and medieval thinking. Even Burmese, having been militarized for the last 50 years, have a better understanding of English.

Thailand is going down the halligalli in overdrive; fine for me, bad for business!

Honestly if u compare the chances that Thailand has over Philippines (English or may I say Taglish speaking), I think Thailand has a better chance. for many reasons. Infrastructure is far far better, though there is room for improvement. It is not the end of the world but there is not much time, I agree.

What can we do as English-speaking folks to make a difference in terms of speaking English for the Thai people ariound us? Surely there is something we can do to make some difference? It only takes a Spark to get a Fire going...

I see it happening in the Thai company I am in. During meetings, English is the language used. Thai is only allowed occassionally - it works to a large extent. All the leaders attending thre meeting are able to communicate in English, though not neccessarily perfect English.

One of the security guards at my residence speaks to me in English whenver he gets the chance. Not good but we are communicating, and he's slowly getting better over the last 2+ months. His "Good Morning" is also used as "Good Evening", but who cares? What's important is I understand him. Even the food stall vendor I buy my "chok" and "kway chap" from, tries to speak English to my Filipna wife. She is using us as practice and I encourage her. Perfect spoken English is not a requirement to communicate.It's also, if not more about giving chances, and that's where we all come in.

But of course if we do nothing to influence the Thais around us and only hang around with those who speak English, then there is NO contribution on our part.

So, Engkish speaking TV members who can also speak Thai (fluent or not) we all have a part to play, don't we?

Crazy bloody tailgaters, all the van drivers in this country need much, much, more driver training... They're a JOKE! Think they're F1 drivers risking people lives everyday.

Fell very sorry for all (and their families) but the driver!

R.I.P. and condolences to the loved ones.

To think that more training is the answer is naive. Everybody knows the drivers must be more diligent in updating their amulets.

Training sounds nice, but it will not be the answer. These guys are aware of the dangers but they think it will not happen to them. What is needed is a really heavy punishment, esp jail term (and yes, caning if Thailand has this - trust me,.it is a better deterrent than a jail sentence). And a Ban on driving for life - the guy has taken lives!

Crazy bloody tailgaters, all the van drivers in this country need much, much, more driver training... They're a JOKE! Think they're F1 drivers risking people lives everyday.

Fell very sorry for all (and their families) but the driver!

Yes, without doubt as my wife and I tut around on our scooter, we realized that in general, these public vans are the most reckless and dangerous drivers on the road. They often move out of the left lane without looking out for oncoming vehicles, especially the 2-wheelers (or more probably ignored the oncoming bike). Several times already we had to brake had to avoid crashing into them as they swerve out to the 2nd and even 3rd lane. Indeed they are the counterpart of the Jeeps in the Philippines. Iro9nical the real counterpart of the jeep - the Song Taew are very tame in comparison,

I really wonder why the police allow the obvious bad behavior of these Van drivers. They are really a danger to other drivers, even at bus-stops. Buses re forced to stop outside the bus-stops as the Vans are stationary at the bus tops.

but she could not play all the feelings, she loved me, but i guess not so strong.

After we have been together 1 year, she pushed me to buy her a ring. I chose a gild ring, for like 3000 bht, it was not big enough, huge fight errupted, even her mother said, i was not good for her if i not buy her better ring.

And then wedding. I needed to pay fat momma 1 million bht, but she would only keep it one day to show her neighbours, and then she would give it back.

Like her daughter is a mule, ready for sale.

SOund just absurd.

I asked her to send me the gold ring back so I will smash it with hammer and post it on youtube.

I am done with love, if this girl tricked me so much, i dont stand a chance next time

It is obvious she does NOT love you. She just loves what she can get from you. If you had been thinking with the head that's on yr shoulders, you would have seen through her long ago. Sometimes its good to have some Thai lady friends - just friends who care for u as friend. No Intimacy. They would have told you the truth.

By the way this happens in may countries too. U just happen to experience it here,

I had my kids in Thai Private school from Kindergarten through 3rd grade before switching to International. I wanted my (Look Croong - half Thai kids) to learn Thai and Thai culture. Although I do not regret my decision at the early stages of their education, some of the patterns as described by NOITOM above became all too apparent. I agree with some of NOITOM's comments because we must remember it's a system - a culture - a way of life without much worldly influence. Thai education is indelibly influenced entirely by Thai society and despite many that want to change it – unfortunately corruption a major part of the problem. We will have to leave that to another topic, but in a class society like Thailand has – corruption is part of the problem for change

This is absolutely interesting for me, as I was thinking of doing the same with my 2 kids in Philippines who I wanted to bring here next academic year. Was thinking of supplementing with my own motivational style that encourages them to think and tell me what's on their mind, so they are OK with English and I do not allow them to do rote learning too. Maybe I should rethink my plans? Baby's schooling (now almost 2) might be a bigger worry?

What many do not know is that it is highly competitive in the schools. The kids from early grades call each other stupid and compete for the top spot in the class. If one does not catch on in class, the teachers often ridicule him or her in front of everyone. It often turns hopeless – these kids are under tremendous stress, if not to make their grades but just to be accepted by their classmates. Humiliation is a major component in the classroom, not a very fruitful way to teach a society, wouldn’t you say?

Oh no, the teacher can expect me to see him/her personally if this happens to my kids. And we will have a long talk in her native language.

To make a long story short – I noted that even applicants coming from the top three Universities; were not very impressive in the ways of the world. What do I mean the ways of the world? The only reference is akin to a four year college or University graduate from the West. In that way I refer to a worldly person, a student who has gained some prospective on the world, who has had to read and write sufficient papers expressing his or her opinions or defending a point of view. In that way there is no comparison between the two worlds. The level of reasoning, the reading background and most apparent to me, the assertiveness of the Thai graduate is completely different than a Western based undergraduate

Ironically I see the same problem in Phili8ppines, an English speaking country, though I believe it should be on a lesser extent. So it may not be language, Watch their TV programs and one will see why. It's largely local news (and ,lots of Taglish) and mostly on entertainment, variety shows. Of course I refer to over-the-air TV. There is so little news about the world, even Asia and South East Asia. Thailand TV is the same, except even less English.

On the contrary to my above statements, I also have learned some very positive aspects about the graduates that have graced our small company. The level of sophistication might at first be a hindrance but depending on the person, that was no longer a factor. I found more often than not the eagerness to learn and to succeed in a majority of our early staff members was a refreshing surprise. I did find it common of the applicants to be smart, engaging and clever. Most had a fond interest to learn and the people we hired became valuable assets to our company

This is good news. I am in the process of building a team, using maybe 2 imported leaders for quicker kick-off. This tea, has to be a "think-out-of-the-box" team. Done that with China/PRC and Filipino engineers, and looking to repeat or even better the results with the Thais. With what u said, it confirms what I've observed and think I stand a good chance to succeed.

We were lucky to get our kids into a top private Thai school on Sukhumvit, considered the best. I can say I am glad to get them out of there once they had a few years of it. It's a brain washing that is no one's fault; it's just the system at large that is the problem. That is why you will not find a lot of Thais with ideas of how to change and they sure as hell are not going to listen to falong’s to change their system. The rich kids lucky enough to be educated oversees; they normally do not want a low government job after returning to Thailand - which is exactly what is needed to begin making changes to the system.

The final decision to pull my kids out of Thai private school was when we started noticing the rote memory exercises being introduced in the daily lesson plans. My unique prospective of having kids in the system and hiring young Thais out of University got me thinking about the educators themselves. Just have a look at the teachers they hire in the schools, many of these nice people (and many are) are rather simple themselves. I frequently encountered dedicated individuals with a good heart that cared about their students. The problem was their lack of worldly vision as mentioned above. Their being products of the system, they did not know how to encourage creative thinking or problem solving within the classroom. My kids would come home and tell me “the teacher said to memorize this for the test” pointing at a photo copied page of some text book. I can recall the kids having to remember 25 English words a week for a spelling test. This was a Thai school, so there was no teaching phonics or the basics of sounding out of words. We all know there is no long term memory by utilizing this way of learning

So maybe I really need to think this over. So English Speaking Thai private school may not be he answer and I need to look at International school instead? What about Thai private schools with Filipino teachers? have met some here. Do they not give a different perceptive?

As a whole my experience with Thai graduates is that they are eager to learn and can be good learners. The Thai are smart and can be ambitious if motivated. Remember the average Thai out there is a product of the system, his lack of prospective or interest in reading is not entirely his fault.

Great, I will give them he chance/ My Top Mgt expects them to learn. To be fair, my Singapore suppliers have told me the Mgt of this Thai company is not like the typical Thai Mgt.

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Ok, I said, ask the students a simple question: Why do you come to school? What is the point of coming to school?

The thing is, the subject of the question is not as important as the mere fact of being ASKED a question, a question that involves having to THINK before answering, thinking creatively not trying to regurgitate something learned by rote.

It's amazing, actually, how adults in Thailand have a kind of "prepared answer" to most of life's questions, often passing the answer off as "Thai culture".

555 my Thai team of design engineers are going to have a hard time working with me in the 1st few months. Prepared Answers? Fat hope. I will tell them. I will be telling them that:

• if they have not made mistakes in their work in say 1 year or 2 while working with me, something has to be wrong with them. I expect mistakes, as long as they are not due to negligence. Making mistakes is not a problem; repeating them is a BIG problem.
  
• If they made mistakes and hide them and cover up, they are dead meat. If they share their mistakes so that others can learn to avoid the same, they have grown as a leader. Face is nothing; wisdom to share lessons learned from mistakes is everything. This will be reflected in the rewards they get.
  
• Mediocrity has no place in my team. If all they want to do is what others have already done often, they are not needed. In my team, the minimum performance level is Very Good. Excellent is what I want. Good is a Failure.
  
• I will be challenging them to ask "Why Not?". Asking "Why?" is OK but not sufficient for me.
  
• It is OK to challenge me and my proposals/suggestions. I expect strong designers to stand up for their ideas. They will know I hate yes-men and these will not remain very long in my team.
  
• I do not pay for inflation - if what they do this year is the same (in terms of value-add) as what they did last year, and will be doing next year, don't expect any increment, In fact, with inflation, they may just get a pay-cut.
  
• To lead people forward, I will hold their hands, and if that don't work. I will pull their arm to move them. If they still wanna get stuck, expect a knock the head. Still prefer to stay rooted to the spot? I will chop them off.
  

I've transformed what was called a" bunch of useless, irresponsible China-men" (PRC engineers) into the pillars of he company, a team of clueless Filipinos into Filipino+ (Filipinos but more than just Filipinos - they can compete with the top elsewhere - hehe, they too get head-hunted). What can I do with the Thais? There will be a process of education for them, even as I have also got to learn how to motivate these guys. Let's see.... it will have to be on a fast train, not a slow coach, as I don;t have the time to waste