Reaction paper (project planning and evaluation)

REPORT on FEASIBILITY STUDY Summary: A Feasibility Study (FS) is a method of operation employed to precisely describe what a project is and what strategic issue need to be considered to assess the probability of gaining success.

The following are the different types of FS: technical, economic, cultural, legal/ethical, resource, operational, marketing, real estate, and comprehensive feasibility. FS are done by companies whenever there is a new project to deal with.

It is also used as a basis for an investment decision, whether to pursue or not on a particular project or business, or to make sure that there will be a return on investment (ROI). Reaction: FS is a necessity in the Philippine setting in the sense that in this unstable economy of ours, investing in something which does not promise any substantial returns is deemed to be a suicidal act. We do know that monetary remuneration is not the only important thing that any of our investments expect in return but it is what fuels our endeavors to continue to be of service to others and give our clients what is due them.

A comprehensively conducted FS will help us determine the strengths and weaknesses of any project we are about to execute which in due course will save us money, time and effort.

REPORT on SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS Summary: Situational Analysis is the step in the formulation of a plan, formulation of objectives and targets, formulation of policies and strategies, identification of programs and projects and last is investment programming or budgeting. Problem identification identifies the issues and problems that need to be solved.

The framework for analyzing social outcomes include: outcomes, resources, services and facilities, access and utilization of services and facilities and environment. The profile of the target population describes the context which involves physical, economic, social, cultural and political environment where the population subsists. Reaction: The process of making a Situational Analysis is complex.

It has a various components which need to be analyzed. Adequate time is very much needed to make sure that the end-result is not half-baked and clearly states the reason for engaging in such study.

Collective effort of those who are involved should also be urged to arrive at a solid decision and basis for engaging regularly in the planned activity. REPORT on TECHNICAL ANALYSIS Summary: Evaluating technical feasibility has to do with a large part of determining needed and existing resources. Technical Analysis should be done to conclude whether current technical resources can be upgraded in a manner that fulfills the demand.

If existing systems cannot be upgraded, then considerations on whether there is such an existing technology that meets the specifications should be the next alternative.

Technical Analysis enables to uncover the method of production to be employed, equipment and tools, site development, amenities, factory building among others. Reaction: The practicality of a proposed or an on-going project can be measured through Technical Analysis. It is the skeleton in which your business will stand and operate. It determines if a certain business venture possesses the necessary materials for it to be operational. Also, it makes sure that even if the materials are available, it has the capacity to handle or sustain the project at hand.

Finally, it evaluates the capability of the workforce if they have the required skills needed to make the project possible. Technical Analysis encompasses the assessment of the structural components and technical aspects in running a business or sustaining a project. REPORT on ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS Summary: Environmental Analysis is the study of the threats and opportunities that may affect the Marketing Plan. It is a fundamental marketing operation used to identify outside forces that may affect the success or failure of a certain product or service.

It includes the identifying, scanning, analyzing and forecasting of the ever-changing business environment. The internal factors of environment that affect the business must first be identified, which can be done at different levels – the company, regional, domestic and global levels, making use of SWOT and PESTEL, however it can also be achieved through a very significant brainstorming assembly.

Reaction: Environmental Analysis is very much helpful in understanding the ambiance in the business arena. It enables to identify factors that greatly affect the operation and the triumph of the business venture.

Scanning is the process of recognizing which of the identified factors have the most effect because it will aid in giving back a path for improvement. Analyzing and trailing the steps will arm one with the necessary and appropriate tools to start a business of his desire. Forecasting should also be considered for it furnishes a rational basis for certain strategies to be employed which is beneficial to the business.

REPORT on FINANCIAL ANALYSIS Summary: Financial Analysis is an assessment of the viability, stability and profitability of a business, sub-business or project.

It is performed by professionals who prepare reports using ratios that make use of information taken from financial statements and other reports relative to it. These reports are usually presented to top management as one of their bases in making business decisions. The following are examples of reports and documents necessary in making a sound analysis: (a) Financial statements report the company’s financial status to interested parties; (b) Balance sheets show a corporation’s financial status at a certain point in time; (c) Income statements show a corporation’s profits and losses for a fixed eriod; (d) Cash flow represents the flow of cash over a fixed period, by how much cash on hand at the start of the period and how much is left at the end. Reaction: No business entity will materialize without appropriate funding and financial back-up.

Although there is enough monetary capital maintained by the company, it will gradually collapse when there is no proper financial accounting. Financial Analysis guarantees the realization of your ultimate goal in starting up a business venture that is to earn profit. With proper financial assessment, the business will definitely survive the competition.

REPORT on ECONOMIC ANALYSIS Summary: Economic Analysis is examining in detail the economy. The objective of which is to assess the over-all impact of a project on improving the economic welfare of the citizens of the country concerned. It is for the national economy rather than for project participants.

The objectives of economic analysis are to bring out a better allocation of resources that leads to increased incomes for investments or consumptions and to choose the means using the least resources for a given output.

The Project Framework is of great importance because both the directly productive and indirectly productive projects are analyzed, it aids to prevent misallocation of resources. It is also an appraisal tool to examine the implementation efficiency, operational effectiveness, testing and impact significance. Reaction: Understanding economic analysis entails a careful system of study to ensure the sustainability of a particular project and its success.

Two components that should complement with each other are the Financial and Economic analyses to uphold the goal of sustaining the project.

It should also be in consonance with the national objectives of economic recovery for it to be truly feasible in uplifting the country’s economy and national development. REPORT on CULTURAL and SOCIAL ANALYSIS Summary: Cultural Analysis is the study of people’s way of life intended to gather date on remarkable fact or event to obtain new knowledge by way of analyzing the given data. The main subject to cultural analysis are adaptation and change.

Social Analysis, on the other hand, is the study of the development and structure of society and relationships. This has direct bearing on social theories which are used to study and interpret social phenomena within a particular school of thought.

Reaction: Taking into consideration the cultural background of the people or the society, makes an entrepreneur sensitive to the needs of the clients and helps in determining what is appropriate and what is not to be pursued in order to push through the business without predicament.

Also, it is very interesting to note that people comprising a society are involved in remarkable or outstanding events, how human behavior or discipline affects relationships, economics and politics. Therefore, understanding the society and its culture will develop a harmonious interaction between and within people involve. REPORT on POLITICAL ANALYSIS Summary: Political Analysis the study of the state, government and politics and its relation to the business community. It is about the wide scope of theory and practice of politics and the study of political systems and political behavior.

It has three fields – Political Philosophy, Comparative Politics and International Relations.

Political Science uses methods and techniques that connect to the kinds of questions which are tried to be obtained or achieved. Reaction: Considering the kind of political scenario prevailing in this country, it is of great importance to consider political analysis, an in-depth treatment will enable you to deal with circumstances which are within the bounds of political concerns of the nation nowadays.

Economic stability rest on the pillars of political stability as well and it will be of major importance to study the predominant political science your are in to blend in and be on safe grounds. REPORT on PROJECT APPRAISAL and PROJECT IDENTIFICATION Summary: Project Appraisal is a process of assessing the case for proceeding with a proposal or a project itself. It includes six (6) major points which starts with Project Identification process wherein collection, compilation and analysis of data to locate potential opportunities to start and development opportunities are done.

Defining Project Goals and Objectives relate two (2) different ideas.

Goals serve as the “ what” in the process and objectives serve as the “ how”. Project Appraisal also consists of financial assessment – money, profitability and eligibility while technical assessment includes whether a project is keeping with its objectives or is strategic in nature. Reaction: Clearly defined goals and objectives is what really count in pursuing a remarkable project. The formulation of the said goals and objectives should be given enough time and thinking before a project is to be undertaken.

The success of any project or business endeavor lies in a well-defined and factual goals and objectives. REPORT on CONTEMPORARY ISSUES in PROJECT MANAGEMENT Summary: The first thing to do in putting up as business is deciding what kind of business you are going to venture in.

And it will be normal to think of a business that will be patronized strongly by the masses. Considering the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that you might encounter in the process will help you deal with the future issues and potential problems you might encounter on the way.

Some of these problems are the following: low capital, limited resources, shift in consumer behavior, availability of raw materials, transportation, labor, marketing, location, laying the ground work, and branding. But despite all these, solutions can be applied in order to avoid encountering the said problems in running a business. Some of these precautionary measures are as follows: establishing a realistic mission, picking a business that is in demand, committing to running business, having enough working capital, and finally, choosing the right marketing campaign.

Reaction: It may be said that we can all be business owners but not all of us will succeed in the business endeavors we ought to put up and operate.

There are many factors to consider during the process of planning your desired business venture, running it, and maintaining its superiority over the market. It may be deduced that to be able to attain success, one must have the passion and dedication in what he/she is doing. The desire to always to better will make sure that you are on the right track. REPORT on PROJECT MONITORING and MONITORING TOOLS

Summary: The primary purpose Project Monitoring is to compare the way things are actually planned to the way things are actually done in a specific project. Employing the use of Project Monitoring Tools like performance indicators, logical framework approach, theory-based evaluation, formal surveys, rapid appraisal method, participatory methods, public expenditure tracking surveys cost-benefit and cost effectiveness and impact evaluation will give project managers the essential information to continue, improve or terminate a certain project.

Such monitoring and evaluation of development activities will provide them with better means to improve service delivery, planning and allocating resources and demonstrating results as part of accountability to key stakeholders.

Reaction: Project Monitoring is very indispensable in any and every project to engage with. It all starts with cautious planning associated with proper execution of established goals and objectives and close supervision and monitoring which will determine the success of any project. The use of the project monitoring tools will alleviate the burden of handling projects.

Proper utilization of tools suitable for the project is vital to the fulfillment of the project goals and will eventually generate prolific results. REPORT on DIAGNOSTIC EVALUATION Summary: Diagnostic evaluation is administered not only to identify problems or deficiencies, but also to identify strengths and special talents of students.

It also determines the readiness of a student to begin school and if a student in any level of the curriculum has mastered some or all of the objectives he is about to take.

The need of the students, especially those disadvantage ones, to acquire first some prerequisite skills is determined through diagnostic evaluation. Proper placement of students is another reason for the need to administer diagnostic evaluation because it will help eliminate boredom for those who have already mastered a certain objective and can avoid discouragement for those lacking them. Diagnostic evaluation makes learning easy for the learners to acquire. Reaction: Good diagnostic is a must because it helps teachers to place students properly in the instructional sequence and to identify causes of repeated failure to learn.

But making an appropriate and sound diagnostic material should be taken into consideration because it will make or break the true essence of giving diagnostic evaluation. Teachers should make the implicit assumption that all students bring similar cognitive and affective skills, prerequisites and experiences to their class or subject at the beginning of each year. A teacher should really take time and effort in identifying the presence or absence of prerequisites skills, attitudes, and habits; those students who have already mastered some or all of the objectives; and those gifted or talented individuals who need special attention.

The success of learning depends on the accuracy and depth of the diagnosis administered to students. REPORT on FORMATIVE EVALUATION Summary: Formative evaluation is said to be useful not only for curriculum construction but also for instruction and students learning.

Formative assessments are focused on the learning process as well as the learning progress. While other assessments may only focus on the end result, formative assessments check the student’s progress consistently so that adjustments can be made to reach learning goals.

Both teachers and students participate in formative assessment while learning is taking place through things such as informal observation, immediate feedback and student self-assessment. A formative assessment is consistent and ongoing throughout the learning process. It also provides immediate feedback to both teachers and students due to ongoing assessment practices. Reaction: Formative evaluations is important to meet the goals of a particular educational institution.

It provides a venue for the goals to be shared and observations and feedbacks are used by both students and teachers to improve the teaching and learning process.

It also gives an opportunity for teachers and students to make adjustments to the teaching and learning strategies uses so learning will ultimately take place. The experiences the students have encountered can also serve as a motivating factor for further learning to ensue. REPORT on EVALUATION TECHNIQUES for KNOWLEDGE and COMPREHENSION OBEJECTIVES Summary: Knowledge objectives imply recall and recognition of the specific elements in a subject area. The two main classes of knowledge items are supply and choice.

Examples of supply items are completion item, definition of terms, identification, enumeration, and essay. The following can be administered in using choice items – multiple choice, true or false, and matching type. Comprehension objectives are widely accepted since they indicate understanding, described in terms of the three levels of operations, namely; translation, interpretation, and extrapolation. Reaction: Knowledge is important for the development of ideas and learning to recall or recognize during formal instruction. It should go hand in hand with comprehension because it entails understanding.

For teachers to be sure that learning took place in a particular teaching/learning scenario, formulation of evaluation materials which both uses knowledge and comprehension objectives is a must. Another thing which can be incorporated during the construction of the said evaluation materials is the technical know-how of the teacher making the test questions, be it knowledge or comprehension. The “ art of question” should be taken into consideration which will eventually result to a valid and reliable test material. REPORT on ITEM WRITING and SELECTION Summary:

Item writing and selection aims to determine what the students learn from teachers; look for different resources to know the topic where will the item came from. There are different kinds of items to construct. These are supply items like essay and short answered item, selection type such as true or false, matching type, multiple choice among others.

Item analysis is a process of examining a class who perform individually in a certain test item. Difficulty index is the calculation of proportion of students who got an item correct. Discrimination index is to know the ability to discriminate between high and low performance of the students.

Analysis of responses helps the teacher to know what item or topic do students find hard in answering. Reaction: Item writing and selection is an important part of evaluation. It is a process of creating and selecting a set of test to be utilized to determine the learners’ status after the learning process.

Items may vary depending upon the lesson or subject taken. It must really test the skills that were taught appropriately so it will be valid. Suggestions given must be followed to achieve the desired result. This will also help the teacher to teach easily and give the appropriate approach to the students based from the results acquired.

REPORT on NATURE of SMALL BUSINESS Summary: Businesses touch our lives on a daily basis. We meet them anywhere we go.

We are confronted by their outputs every time we move. All of them affect our economy in one way or another. Their success of failure spells growth or decline in the economic well-being of our country. This very important sector of our economy is of various kinds. They may be classified according to products sold, activity, or size.

According to size, they may be further classified as small, medium, or large. In many ways, they complement each other.

Among the three, it is small business that is most readily seen although in some ways, it may not be so. A small business is one which is “ independently owned and operated and which is not dominant in its field of operation. ” The term “ independently owned” means ownership is by a private individual, a partnership, or a corporation. The term “ not dominant” indicates that a small business does not control a sizeable share of its market.

Reaction: Business, may it be small or large scale is very helpful in our economy. They are like the backbone of the economy. They support the country in many ways like giving employment.

Business can be classified into different types. Each type provides different assistance not only to the economy but to the country.

Putting up a business needs a careful planning because it involves investments. REPORT on ANALYSIS of ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES to EVALUATION Summary: Evaluation is systematic study that is designed, conducted and reported in order to assist a client group to judge and/or improve the worth and/or merit of some object. Using the proposed definition, the study types presented in this book was examined to see whether it fitted into one (or perhaps more) of three broad distinct groups.

Covert investigations are the first type is labeled “ covert evaluation,” although it might just as well be called politically controlled evaluation. Its advance organizers are implicit or explicit threats faced by the client for evaluation money. Public-relations inspired studies is a similar case of pseudo evaluation is the study that is planned, conducted, and used to serve public-relations purposes.

The purpose of the study is to help the client to create a positive image for an institution, program, process, and the like. Reaction:

In business, everything can happen and can be done. One kind of evaluation that caught my attention is the pseudo evaluation among other kinds of evaluation discuss. It is a kind of evaluation that gives false results just for the business to survive. People should really be aware of this because it may affect other business.

REPORT on SUCHMAN and the SCIENTIFIC APPROACH to EVALUATION Summary: Suchman and the scientific approach to evaluation have three main aspects such as conceptual, methodological and administrative aspects.

Suchman supported the purposes of evaluation listed by Bigman (1961) which are to discover whether and how well objectives are being fulfilled, to determine the reasons for specific successes and failures, to uncover the principles underlying a successful program, to direct course of experiments with techniques for increasing effectiveness, to lay the basis for further research on the reasons for the relative success of alternative techniques and to redefine the means to be used for attaining objectives, and even to redefine sub goals, in the light of research findings.

The types of evaluation are ultimate evaluation, pre-evaluative research and short term evaluation. Categories of evaluation are effort, performance, and adequacy of performance, efficiency and process. Reaction: Suchman’s scientific approach to evaluation focuses on the conceptual, methodological and administrative aspects.

It is a process that is scientifically design to have a reliable and valid outcome. REPORT on PROJECT EVALUATION Summary: Project is an investment activity where we expand capital resources to create a producing asset from which we can expect to realize benefits over an extended period of time.

Evaluation is a step by step process of collecting, recording and organizing information about project results including short-term outputs and immediate and longer term project outcomes. There are many reasons why we perform evaluation, here are some: selection, monitoring, justifying, validating, improving and research. Purposes of evaluation are: to find out how well community or participants needs were met, to improve the initiative, to assess the outcomes or impacts, to understand why it does or does not work, to find out how it is operating, to assess whether its objectives were met and to assess its efficiency or cost-effectiveness.

There are two types of evaluation which are formative and summative.

Evaluations in relation to education are oral quizzes, written tests and performance tests. Guides in making an evaluation report are executive summary, tables of contents, background, project description, evaluation designs and methods, analysis, limitations, results and discussions and recommendations. Reaction: Project evaluation is necessary because it diminishes errors in your project.

It refines your project in a way that if the results or evaluation fails due to uncertainties, you can go back to your objectives or processes and make some pencil pushing to achieve the desired outcomes. In relation to education, if the teacher, at the end of the lesson and evaluation of students, found that the results of the evaluation through examination or quiz fail, she can make some revisions perhaps in her procedure, teaching style or objectives that had been set if the learners cannot achieve it. If changes have taken place, it is for the achievement of the better outcomes.

REPORT on STUFFLEBEAM’S IMPROVEMENT-ORIENTED EVALUATION Summary: Stufflebeam’s improvement-oriented evaluation has a CIPP model. The basic framework of the CIPP was: Complete Evaluation, Input Evaluation, Proper Evaluation, Product Evaluation Symptomatic Illness of Educational Evaluation by the PDK ( Phi Delta Kappa) Committee, Avoidance, Anxiety, Immobilization, Skepticism, Lack of guidelines, Poor advice, Problems that needed to addressed in improving the conceptual base for evaluation work are definition, values, level, research design.

Evaluation is the process of delineating, obtaining, and providing descriptive and Judgmental information about the worth and merit of some object’s goals, design, implementation, and impacts in order to guide decision making, serve needs for accountability, and promote understanding of the involved phenomena. The relevance of four evaluation types of decision making are context, input, process and product.

An overview of the CIPP categories is the primary orientation of context evaluation is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of some object, such as an institution, a program, a target population, or a person, and to provide direction for improvement. Reaction: Stufflebeam’s improvement-oriented evaluation is a process of evaluation that follows a CIPP model or Complete, Input, Product, and Process approach.

This aims to guide the implement evaluation.