richard10365

Before I start, let me remind the readers that this is only my opinion and I have no scientific fact to back up anything in this post other than my experiences of being an MBA student at a Thai university.

I think where you study for an MBA depends on your abilities as a student more than the school you go to. However, some simple problems with the schools itself can make the school more of the issue than the student. Let me explain.

There are some incredibly smart students whose cognitive abilities can quickly grasp concepts and ideas they've never heard before. They can read through a chapter in a text book one time and fully understand what they've read. They are focused and have no problems with any assignments they are given by their professor. They think advanced calculus is easy. They perform exceptionally well on the GMAT. The burden of learning is more on the teacher than the student since the student is very academically talented. These students should be the ones studying in schools such as Harvard, Stanford or Wharton. Applications for these schools can be well over 20,000 per year.

Other types of students have respectable GMAT scores and their math skills are up to advanced algebra. They spend a lot of time reading the assigned text but grasping the meaning of the text is a bit of a struggle. They have no problems completing their assignments. They do have distractions in their lives but not enough to keep them from learning well. This group can study at Harvard, Stanford and Wharton and other top schools but it would be a lot of work for them. Other less challenging schools might allow them a classroom pace that would give them a better chance of understanding complicated graduate level business concepts.

The rest of us, including myself, can get an excellent MBA education at less demanding universities but the burden of learning is more on the student and not on the teacher. True, this group is harder to teach. Often in these classrooms you hear the instructor say, "it's not my responsibility to teach you math." Many in this group are math challenged (including myself). Concepts are not easy to grasp and YouTube and other online learning internet sites are frequented by the student in order to understand the material. Some of these students are not focused and often distracted by other issues in their life. Also, there is always someone in this group that should have went to Harvard and they usually expend no effort in the classroom but still are the best student(s). Maybe they don't have money for Harvard or maybe they are lazy but hopefully they will use their skills to help the others in the classroom.

There is a general idea or curriculum that is similar in all MBA programs in most university around the world. If you compare the curriculum of the MBA program at Payap University in Chiang Mai and the MBA program at Harvard University you would find a similar structure. Accounting classes, finance classes, economics classes and other elective business classes which you expect to find in an MBA program are there but usually the names of the courses are different. Often an academic writing project such as a thesis is also required. At Payap we often used Harvard case studies, American text books and often foreign instructors. Philip Kotler and Michael Parkins were the authors listed on the outside of some of my textbooks.

The main classroom differences between a high ranked university such as Harvard and Payap University is the pace or depth of the class and the talent that stands in front of the class to deliver the material. The less talented the teacher, the more the student has to work. The less talented the student, the harder the teacher has to work. Harvard has tons of money to hire the best talent in the world and they are very selective in who they accept as a student.

From my experience in an MBA program at Payap Univeristy, although expensive compared to other Thai schools, Payap pays comparatively low salaries to it's instructors and thus has the bare minimum amount of teachers required by law to keep the course open. In addition to a 5.5 IELTS or 550 TOEFL, the only requirement to study is to have a bachelor's degree in anything from an accredited university. Usually no one is turned away. At times, the instructor was not great quality. Payap outsources most of it's MBA classes to instructors from Bangkok who fly to Chiang Mai to teach on the weekend. This made office hours quite difficult to have and thus the quality of the course suffered as email often did not get answered in a reasonable amount of time. This also affects the number of elective classes a student can take. At Harvard, the student can take almost anything. At Payap, the entire class has to agree on what to take so Payap can outsource that class to a teacher from Bangkok. With that said, I think I got a good education from most of the classes at Payap but only because I worked hard for it.

The biggest drawback to Payap University's MBA program is teaching how to write an academic paper. This is their greatest weakness. Their research class was a bit weak based on talent in front of the class. It was another outsourced class taught by someone with no academic rank. There was no thesis format or written process given to the MBA students. They say it's being developed but I've been asking for a thesis format for two years now and still nothing. They have one in Thai but can't seem to afford to get that document translated into English. Payap gives the student someone else completed thesis and they're told me to write it similar to how that thesis is written. The lack of written instructions on the thesis writing process or their proposals and defenses is very frustrating. Students are told to just write and bring it to your adviser who will tell the student why it's not correct, how to fix it and to bring it back. I'm told this is normal for Thailand. I have no idea. However, it doesn't feel right.

All my classes are completed now and I only have to write my thesis. Although most of my classes were OK, based on the Payap's approach to writing a thesis, I would not recommend their MBA program to anyone. It's just that important. If I had to do it over again, I would not study in Payap's international MBA program knowing what I know now.

One of my classmates from Payap University in Chiang Mai is studying at Harvard University. Another us studying at the London School of Economics.

Wilcopops, I highly doubt that my opinion or your rant on ThaiVisa will have any effect on the tiger conservation efforts in Thailand. Policy is made in Bangkok by Thai people who could give a rats ass what posters on ThaiVisa may think about the current policy. So if you really feel the need save the tiger, start in Bangkok and not ThaiVisa. ThaiVisa posters will just piss you off and aggravate your anger management issues as they do mine.

I like your information about having enough land for 2,000 tigers. I did not know that and think it would be a good idea. Although, I'm not convinced about parts of your second and third point. I really don't believe tigers have that much of an impact on the environment in Thailand other than being a threat to people. I think people, not tigers, have the biggest impact and the people's impact on the environment is why, I believe, if tigers were not in Thailand, nothing would change.

firstly Tiger conservation doesn't start in Bangkok - the conservation of wildlife is and international affair. You may also bw surprised to learn that Tigers are completely unaware of what country of governmental system they are in.

If you want to understand the impact tigers have on the environment then follow up my comment of trophic cascade, it will show you how it works; you arguing from a standpoint that has no basis in fact 9...and what made you think tigers lived in Africa?????)....... at present Thailand already has problems that arise from a lack of apex predators and if efforts succeed to increase the population to sustainable levels then even you I suspect would notice changes.

Your ideas on the interaction between people and tigers are naive to say the least -

as for being a threat to people - the only tigers that pose a significant threat to people are the ones in captivity.

My ideas on tigers are opinions. Tourist getting bitten by a tiger in captivity is an interesting story. It's in the same category as sky diving except the sky divers are better trained to risk their lives jumping from a plane than tourist taking photos with tigers. I really don't care about the tigers.

Wilcopops, I highly doubt that my opinion or your rant on ThaiVisa will have any effect on the tiger conservation efforts in Thailand. Policy is made in Bangkok by Thai people who could give a rats ass what posters on ThaiVisa may think about the current policy. So if you really feel the need save the tiger, start in Bangkok and not ThaiVisa. ThaiVisa posters will just piss you off and aggravate your anger management issues as they do mine.

I like your information about having enough land for 2,000 tigers. I did not know that and think it would be a good idea. Although, I'm not convinced about parts of your second and third point. I really don't believe tigers have that much of an impact on the environment in Thailand other than being a threat to people. I think people, not tigers, have the biggest impact and the people's impact on the environment is why, I believe, if tigers were not in Thailand, nothing would change.

It is a bit sad for the tiger I think. People are everywhere and tigers can't be allowed to roam free. If they do, people will most likely end up as a food source for these large animals.

What is the solution? Do we have them stay on large tracks of land protected from interacting with people? Eventually, they will get out.....maybe. If they reproduce in significant numbers, then people might have to exterminate the potential threat.

Tigers are a victim of their own awesomeness. Maybe there is no room anymore for them on the planet. Maybe they should end up like the dinosaur. Can you imagine a T-Rex running around eating.....everything? Environmentalist hot on their trail screaming there are only 6 left and we need to save them!!!

Really? Is that true? Do we really miss the contribution of the T-Rex eating whatever they want? Would we equally miss the tiger in this part of the world? Other than for tourist, what benefit do they bring? They don't really have a dependable food source. At Tiger Kingdom they have a steady supply of chickens for the big game hunters. Not much of a challenge...not much of a life.

About the only thing you can do with an animal like this is to move them to some other part of the world where they can thrive. Thailand is not that place.

Damned hard nosed comments. Another critic without giving an acceptable/viable alternative?

The plight of the Tiger is not my job. I'm neither concerned nor care for the beast. Like the dinosaurs, their time in Thailand has come and gone. Send them to Africa, keep them as a tourist attraction or dispose of them. Either way, people should not complain when someone gets eaten from time to time.

It's only a matter of time before the same thing happens to the YouTube wonder boy that plays with lions.

If you are "neither concerned nor care for the beast", then why comment at all!

Did you say "keep them as a tourist attraction"? Is that not what Tiger Kingdom is?

My apoliges, I keep forgetting not everyone on ThaiVisa is a native English speaker and I should be more clear with how I state my ideas. Let me rephrase it.

There basically 3 things to do with Thailand's tigers. (1) Send them to Africa where they can roam in areas designed for animals like this. Thailand really doesn't have an area where large groups of tigers can roam freely like they do in Africa.(2) Keep them as a tourist attraction which seems to be what Thailand is choosing to do. (3) Kill all existing tigers in Thailand because Tigers and people don't mix well.

I hope that clears up any confusion about my opinion.

It is a bit sad for the tiger I think. People are everywhere and tigers can't be allowed to roam free. If they do, people will most likely end up as a food source for these large animals.

What is the solution? Do we have them stay on large tracks of land protected from interacting with people? Eventually, they will get out.....maybe. If they reproduce in significant numbers, then people might have to exterminate the potential threat.

Tigers are a victim of their own awesomeness. Maybe there is no room anymore for them on the planet. Maybe they should end up like the dinosaur. Can you imagine a T-Rex running around eating.....everything? Environmentalist hot on their trail screaming there are only 6 left and we need to save them!!!

Really? Is that true? Do we really miss the contribution of the T-Rex eating whatever they want? Would we equally miss the tiger in this part of the world? Other than for tourist, what benefit do they bring? They don't really have a dependable food source. At Tiger Kingdom they have a steady supply of chickens for the big game hunters. Not much of a challenge...not much of a life.

About the only thing you can do with an animal like this is to move them to some other part of the world where they can thrive. Thailand is not that place.

Damned hard nosed comments. Another critic without giving an acceptable/viable alternative?

The plight of the Tiger is not my job. I'm neither concerned nor care for the beast. Like the dinosaurs, their time in Thailand has come and gone. Send them to Africa, keep them as a tourist attraction or dispose of them. Either way, people should not complain when someone gets eaten from time to time.

It's only a matter of time before the same thing happens to the YouTube wonder boy that plays with lions.

What is the time frame for that 9 billion? Is that for one year, 10 years, 20 years etc? The amount of jobs created, 747,000, also seems a bit excessive. I would interested in reading their research.

It is a bit sad for the tiger I think. People are everywhere and tigers can't be allowed to roam free. If they do, people will most likely end up as a food source for these large animals.

What is the solution? Do we have them stay on large tracks of land protected from interacting with people? Eventually, they will get out.....maybe. If they reproduce in significant numbers, then people might have to exterminate the potential threat.

Tigers are a victim of their own awesomeness. Maybe there is no room anymore for them on the planet. Maybe they should end up like the dinosaur. Can you imagine a T-Rex running around eating.....everything? Environmentalist hot on their trail screaming there are only 6 left and we need to save them!!!

Really? Is that true? Do we really miss the contribution of the T-Rex eating whatever they want? Would we equally miss the tiger in this part of the world? Other than for tourist, what benefit do they bring? They don't really have a dependable food source. At Tiger Kingdom they have a steady supply of chickens for the big game hunters. Not much of a challenge...not much of a life.

About the only thing you can do with an animal like this is to move them to some other part of the world where they can thrive. Thailand is not that place.

Also, Please show me one person that actually came to Thailand to study.

99.9% would have used it only as a 2nd option to prolong their stay with no intention to study.

Sent from my LG-D858

In 2012, there were 16,000+ foreigners studying in international bachelor's, master's and PhD programs through out Thailand. Some, like me, were here prior to starting school. But like myself, they've completed the degree and moved on to other things. Having an education creates opportunities and options an uneducated person might not have. The cost to study in the west is incredibly high and Thailand offers an option that is affordable and, depending on the student, of decent quality.

More than 150,000 Thai students study along side these 16,000+ foreign students because it's cheaper than studying abroad and the foreigners in the classroom add to the diversity of the education for the Thai student. If the average international program cost 25,000 baht, then about 400 million baht in revenue is generated. Most international programs in Thailand are much more than 25,000 baht.

I can't speak for the Thai language schools because I don't know much about them.

Good thing for fast forward.

Common Sense

You're not the only one. I found this book online. It is helpful and I'm using it to write my thesis. Good luck........by the way, I did your survey.

How to Write a Master's Thesis

One of my classmates from Payap University in Chiang Mai is doing her masters degree at Harvard University in the United States. No bridging course required.

There is constructive criticism and there is a whiny banter that gets quite old as it is repeated over and over again in these forums. There is no surprise as to the environment you CHOOSE to work in before you start working. Don't apply for a job then complain about it after you get it and act like things are not what you thought they would be. Then come on to a public forum and complain about how you suffer the indignity of the cultural exposure that you're not use to.

There is nothing I hate more than to see a teacher stand up in front of students and complain about the system they have been entrusted to perpetuate. Even worse when they come from another country than the one they are teaching in and complain in front of students. Can you imagine how this would play out in a western country if an Asian teacher were to complain publicly about the system in front of students?

Do not think for an instance there are no students or their parents in this forum. There were 16,000+ international students studying in universities across Thailand in 2012. Along side those international students were 155,000+ Thai students also studying in these same programs. On top of these numbers are a multitude of students, international and Thai, studying in K-12 international schools. Do you think they don't read this forum? There are more than 180,000 members of this forum and in the last 60 minutes there were 6,000+ members on line. Of course they read this forum and see how you complain about being their teacher.

As a student in an international program I'm asking you to stop complaining publicly if it upsets you. You're not helping. If you want to share ideas about how to improve something please be professional and tactful about it and not sound like a backpacker teacher on a summer internship.

I doubt that immigration would stop you guys if you wanted to leave the country. If you guys are not happy, it doesn't make sense to stay.

Politics is scaring tourist away not dual pricing. Tourism numbers have been going up every year in Thailand and dual pricing has no influence on this. The only reason the numbers are down this year is because of politics.

I can just as easily claim that the 2 inch floor toilets are also causing tourist to avoid Thailand because westerners don't know how to squat over the toilet without getting their pants wet. Tourism statistics for 2014 can support this argument. In fact, why not throw in, Thai food is too spicy and tourist are going elsewhere because of it. Or maybe, toilet paper being installed backwards in hotels and guest houses across Thailand are causing tourist go go elsewhere. This year would be a great year to come up with off the wall reasons why tourist numbers are low.

However, the reality is, politics and the coup have people worried about security and this year only, they choose other destinations for their holiday. Next year, if the political situation is calmer, things will return to normal.

There is no limitation on whether US suppliers are allowed to supply to foreign markets. That doesn't mean they have an obligation to.

I do agree but if you open the service to one country, should you open it to another in accordance with GATS Article II - Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment?Paragraph 1 says, "With respect to any measure covered by this Agreement, each Member shall accord immediately and unconditionally to services and service suppliers of any other Member treatment no less favourable than that it accords to like services and service suppliers of any other country." ??

I appreciate your comments guys but this is about trade in service by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO is an international organization dealing with trade rules and agreements to trade by negotiations.

The U.S. agreed, via an international trade agreement, to allow TV and Radio service to consumers abroad in Thailand.

I'm hoping for the opinions of other international trade experts to see if this is a GATS violation or not.

Get an IP Blocker program run it and you can watch whatever you want

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Like I mentioned in my opening post, this is an international trade question and not a "how to do something" question. However, thank you for your reply.

NOTE: This is an international trade question based on GATS and not a question on how to do something.

I would like to watch American TV in Thailand over the internet. When I try, I get the message the service is not available In Thailand. When I look at the trade agreements between Thailand and the USA (Schedule of Specific commitments) for TV and Radio service, mode 1 is "none".

According to this, shouldn't I be able to view American TV in Thailand? Is this a violation of the GATS agreement?

I appreciate every ones opinion on this.

I am not moving. I like the new government. I like the tighter controls on the media. I'm indifferent about the alcohol changes because I don't drink. All in all, I think it is better after the coup than before the coup. Democratically elected ineffective governments are overrated. To be a politician you should have to get a license to make rules for millions of people instead of getting elected just because you are popular. However, if your popular and have a license to be elected to public office, then that's ok. Many countries would benefit if all their politicians had a license to practice government.

License issued by the army?

Good question. I think it would have to be something put together by academics around the world. Perhaps even have it be a United Nations involved project. If you think about it, it's crazy to have someone who's only qualification is they can convince people in their district to elect them to public office. Once they get there, the educated and experienced politicians convince them to vote on something they don't even understand. The rest of us have to live with the result of that vote. Perhaps democracy is the last holdout to globalization. At one time it was needed and it did good. Now democracy means you have a government that can't resolve the important issues for a country......and I'm not talking about Thailand. Although it could apply. The world needs a 21st century style of global educated democracy.

I got a B.B.A. in International Business Management at Payap University in Chiang Mai. We used western international textbooks and taught by a 50/50 ratio of Thai/International instructors. We did a lot of group work, case studies and presentations. You have 6 classes per semester (2 semester/year) except for the final year. We have midterms and final exams and students who fail the course have to repeat it if they want to graduate. Last year 2 of our business students got accepted to Harvard and the London School of Economics to do their master degree.

Plenty of Thai university graduates who study a Thai program do master's degree abroad so I can't really say it limits them in that regard. However, from what I can see from Thai students in the classroom, studying in an international environment does give the student that confidence and cultural knowledge to operate in an international environment better than a Thai only student would.

With the AEC complete in 2015, an international business degree might be beneficial for her......if she is a good student. If she is not a good student, it really doesn't matter where she studies.

I wonder how they are doing with the ASEAN MRA-TP?