Acknowledgments

I wish to express my deepest appreciation to Dr. Philip Romero of the Business Expert Press (BEP), without whose encouragements and guidance this book will never be materialized.

Many thanks go to two former students of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, who are now my colleagues. Eric Santos, chair of Social Science Department, Mahidol University International Demonstration School in Thailand, went over the details of my writings. Shaun McKim, currently a senior analyst at the CVS Pharmacy Headquarters in Rhode Island, United States, shared some of the Excel applications used in the book.

I also wish to recognize help, updated information, and comments from Stewart Mattson, Sheri Dean, Scott Isenberg, Sean Kaneski, Jeff Edwards, and David Parker. The support provided from their respective roles has been crucial.