Should Target open a chain in Cambodia?

Introduction

Cambodia is a small country which has its own language, alphabet, culture, tradition and custom. Cambodia is approximately 181,035 sq Km. The country was divided into 23 provinces and 1 city; Phnom Penh is the capital city. (BDLINK: 14)

Cultural Attitudes Toward Women And Children

Only 19 percent of women use modern methods of contraception, and although abortion has been legal in Cambodia since 1997, due to many barriers to providers a substantial number of women either seek to terminate their own pregnancies or seek the procedure from unsafe service providers. A randomized study in 2008 found that in 2005, over 30,000 Cambodian women were treated in health care facilities for complications of miscarriage or abortion, and 40 percent of these disclosed or showed strong evidence of prior termination attempts as well. The researchers projected a ratio of abortion/miscarriage complications to live births in Cambodia as 93 per 1,000. (Chen: 138)

Education Level Of Workers In The Country

Cambodia's higher education system consists of universities, institutes or technical institutes, and a Royal academy. These institutions offer associate degrees, bachelor degrees, master degrees and doctors of philosophy degrees based on the field of expertise of each education provider. Surprisingly, no less than nine government ministries and agencies are providing higher education services in Cambodia, making it difficult to coordinate among government agencies in terms of scope of work, administration overlap and information sharing. Higher education fees appear to be affordable by majority of Grade 12 graduate students. The average annual unit cost of a Cambodia student is below Cambodia's GDP per capita which is on the low side among least developed countries, leading to limited educational services. With regard to expenditure, the share of the GDP dedicated to public expenditure for high education in 2008 is far below the world average of 1%, in 2008, the share can be estimated at 0.13% of GDP. Importantly, it appears that the emphasis has been weighted too strongly towards expanding the system (coverage and quantity), with insufficient regard for improving the system (quality and labor market responsiveness). (Lall: 45-61)

On the demand side, there is little doubt of the importance of estimating labor market demand for higher education graduates in Cambodia. Equally, however, there is little doubt of the difficulties involved in attempting this exercise. The study team has made what we believe to be the first attempt in Cambodia at estimating labor market demand for graduates, by sector and by field of study. As such, it should be seen as the first step - not the final step - in building a comprehensive labor market information system for Cambodia. Total demand for graduates is projected to be relatively low in 2009, with just over 5,000 new positions. This reflects the pronounced slowdown in the Cambodian economy through 2008 and 2009, particularly in the Garment, Construction and Tourism sectors. Demand for graduates is projected to pick up in 2010 as the Cambodian economy begins to recover, with a total of around 10,000 ...