Ethical and Socially Responsive Business Essay

Some of the key areas of Chipotle’s code of conduct that are of significant importance to the business is the integrity statement and the anti-discrimination, harassment and sexual harassment policy. In the Chipotle’s Ethics and Conflicts of Interest Policy of the Integrity Statement, integrity is about being real and being honest. It means doing the right thing even when no one is watching. That means that you should do the same thing when your manager or co-workers is around or if they aren’t around. No matter what, each of them must accept personal responsibility for doing the right thing. Whether that means when someone is around or not. It also states that they should not accept gifts from competitors, suppliers, vendors, potential vendors, or business entities with which they are conducting business on behalf of Chipotle. When accepting gifts: they should never accept a gift unless it meets all of the following criteria: (1) it is not a cash gift; (2) it is consistent with customary business practices; (3) it is not excessive in value (i.e., is under $150); (4) it cannot be construed as a bribe or payoff; and (5) it does not violate any law or regulation. If you are not sure whether a gift or proposed gift is appropriate, please discuss it with your Manager/Director, who may, in isolated cases, approve your acceptance of a gift that may otherwise have violated criteria (2) or (3). Each year, employees in management positions should be prepared to submit a statement disclosing any entertainment, gifts, or services that they or members of their staff have accepted. Any items that have been accepted must be reported at that time, regardless of whether they were previously discussed with your Manager/Director. Your Manager/ Director will determine if you may keep the gift, return it, or whether it should more appropriately become Company property. You should never offer, give, or provide a gift unless it meets the following criteria: (1) it is not a cash gift; (2) it is consistent with customary business practices; (3) it is not excessive in value (i.e., is under $150); (4) it cannot be constructed as a bribe or payoff; and (5) it does no t violate any  law or regulation. Just like when receiving gifts, if you are not sure whether a gift or proposed gift is appropriate, discuss it with your Manager/Director, who may, in isolated cases, approve your giving of a gift that may otherwise have violated criteria (2) or (3). I think that this is important when receiving or giving gifts because you don’t want to lose your job over something so small. It is also a good idea to have something like this written down because for someone who doesn’t know any better, it will help them out a lot. You may accept entertainment invitations, such as business meals, if they are in line with accepted business practices, could not be constructed as potentially influencing your business judgment or creating an obligation on your part, and if public knowledge of your participation would not embarrass you or Chipotle. When such business activities occur frequently, such costs should be shared or paid for on reciprocal basis. You should always be professional. Act professionally and conscientiously when making business decisions. Personal relationships should never interfere, or give the appearance of interfering, with business actions, judgments, or decisions. When making decisions, weigh all factors impartially and without prejudice and make all decisions solely based on merit. You should honor your agreements and do not encourage or interfere with other parties’ contracts or agreements. Avoid legal speculation or conclusions in your communications. And you should not discuss areas beyond your knowledge or expertise. This is really important because I think that you should act and be professional on any job that is out here. The Anti-Discrimination, Harassment and Sexual Harassment Policy states; Chipotle believes in the value of a diverse workforce, equal opportunity, and a workplace free of discrimination and all forms of unlawful harassment. Chipotle prohibits unlawful discrimination, harassment, and sexual harassment. Employees who violate this policy may be disciplined up to and including termination. Chipotle strongly believes that employees and applicants for employment should be treated without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other prohibited basis. This applies to all employment practices. At Chipotle, no form of harassment is acceptable. This includes joking remarks or other abusive conduct (including verbal, non-verbal, or physical conduct)  that demeans or shows hostility. Sexual harassment is also prohibited because it may be intimidating or an abuse of power and it is inconsistent with their policies, practices, and management philosophy. Discrimination or harassment of an employee-whether by another employee, supplier, vendor, or customer-is strictly prohibited. This policy I think is the most important because without this policy, so many people can harassed and scared to tell someone about it. Also the anti-discrimination policy is important because of the fact that a lot of women are discriminated against a lot of jobs out here because the mangers think that they aren’t fit for them. Some of the key steps that Chipotle should take to ensure that employees follow the code of conduct would be to have them read it when they are first hired. And then every 2 or 4 months they could give them tests on it to make sure they know and understand it. They can also make sure the managers are up to date on the code of conduct as well. Some ways in which Chipotle can engage in socially responsive activities in the community within it is operated. They can donate all their unused food to homeless shelters. They can do special deals for the senior citizens and for veterans other than Veterans Day. They can build customer relationships. They can do that by having loyalty programs. They must have good customer service or their customer’s will not return. Resources (1) Chipotle Code of Conduct (2) http://www.grouponworks.com/merchant-blog/marketing/four-easy-ways-to-build-customer-relationships-resturant/ (3) http://smallbusiness.chron.com/rules-conduct-resturant-employees-18671.html

Project on Comparison of Public and Private Sector Banking

Genesis The banking sector has been undergoing a complex, but comprehensive phase of  restructuring since 1991, with a view to make it sound, efficient, and at the same time it isforging its links firmly with the real sector for promotion of savings, investment and  growth. Although a complete turnaround in banking sector performance is not expected till thecompletion of reforms, signs of improvement are visible in some indicators under theCAMELS framework. Under this bank is required to enhance capital adequacy, strengthenasset quality, improve management, increase earnings and reduce sensitivity to variousfinancial risks.The almost simultaneous nature of these developments makes it difficult todisentangle the positive impact of reform measures. In 1994, the RBI established the Board of Financial Supervision, which operates as a unit of  the RBI. The entire supervisory mechanism was realigned to suit the changing needs of astrong and stable financial system. The supervisory ju risdiction of the BFS was slowlyextended to the entire financial system barring the capital market institutions and theinsurance sector. Its mandate is to strengthen supervision of the financial system byintegrating oversight of the activities of financial services firms.The BFS has alsoestablished a sub-committee to routinely examine auditing practices, quality, and coverage. In 1995, RBI had set up a working group under the chairmanship of Shri S. Padmanabhan toreview the banking supervision system. The Committee gave certain recommendations and  based on such suggestions a rating system for domestic and foreign banks based on theinternational CAMELS model combining financial management and sensitivity to marketrisks element was introduced for the inspection cycle commencing from July 1998.Itrecommended that the banks should be rated on a five point scale (A to E) based on the linesof international CAMELS rating model. CAMELS rating model measures the relativesoundness of a bank . bj ectives of the Pro j ect Study ?To study the Financial Performance of the b anks.? y To study the strength of using CAMELS framework as a tool of Performanceevaluation for Commercial banks y To describe the CAMELS model of ranking banking institutions, so as to analyze  the  performance of various bank. R ationaleIn the recent years the financial system especially the banks have undergone numerouschanges in the form of reforms, regulations & norms. The attempt here is to see how variousratios have been used and interpreted to reveal a bank ¶s performance and how this particular  model encompasses a wide range of parameters making it a widely used and accepted modelin today ¶s scenario. Data Collection y Primary Data : Primary data was collected  from the Banks ¶ balance sheets and profitand loss statements. y Secondary Data : Secondary data on the subject was collected from ICFAI journals,Banks ¶ annual reports and RBIM ethodologyAs long as the methodology is co ncerned, we have made use of a framework calledCAMELS FRAMEWORK. There are so many models of evaluating the performance of the  banks, but I have chosen the CAMELS Model for this purpose. I have gone through several  books, journals and websites and found it the best model because it measures the  performance of the banks from each parameter i. e. Capital, Assets, Management, Earnings,Liquidity and Sensitivity to  Market risks. CAMELS evaluate banks on  the following six parameters : -? Capital Adequacy (CRAR)? Asset Quality (GNPA)? Management Soundness (MGNT)?Earnings & profitability (ROA)? Liquidity (LQD)? Sensitivity to Market  Risks (? ) websitDuring an on-site bank exam, supervisors gather private information, such as details on  problem loans, with which to evaluate a bank's financial condition and to monitor itscompliance with laws and regulatory policies. A key product of such an exam is asupervisory rating of the bank's overall condition, commonly referred to as a CAMELSrating. The acronym â€Å"CAMEL† refers to the five components of a bank's condition that areassessed : Capital adequacy, Asset quality, Management, Earnings, and Liquidity.A sixthcomponent, a bank's Sensitivity to market risk was added in 1997; hence the acronym waschanged to CAMELSAMELS is basically a ratio-based model for evaluating the performance of banks. Variousratios forming this model are explained below : Capital base of financial institutions facilitates depositors in forming their risk perceptionabout the institutions. Also, it is the key parameter for financial managers to maintainadequate levels of capitalization. The most widely used indicator of capital adequacy iscapital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRWA).According to Bank Supervision RegulationCommittee (The Basle Committee) of Bank for International Settlements, a minimum 9  percent CRWA is required. Thus, it is useful to track capital-adequacy ratios that take intoaccount the most important financial risks? foreign exchange, credit, and interest raterisks? by assigning risk weightings to the institution ¶s assets. A sound capital basestrengthens confidence of depositors. This ratio is used to protect depositors and promote thestability and efficiency of financial systems around the world. Capital R isk Adequacy R atio:CRAR is a ratio of Capital Fund to Risk Weighted Assets. Reserve Bank of India prescribesBanks to maintain a minimum Capital to risk-weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of 9 % withregard to credit risk, market risk and operational risk on an ongoing basis, as against 8 %  prescribed in Basel documents. Component-wise Capital Adequacy of ScheduledCommercial Banks (As at end- M arch) Capital to R isk W eighted Assets R atio- Bank Group-wise Total capital includes tier-I capital and Tier-II capital. Tier-I capital includes paid up equitycapital, free reserves, intangible assets etc.Tier-II capital includes long term unsecuredloans, loss reserves, hybrid debt ca pital instruments etc. The higher the CRAR, the stronger  is considered a bank, as  it ensures high safety against bankruptcy. Asset quality determines the robustness of financial institutions against loss of value in theassets. The deteriorating value of assets, being prime source of banking problems, directly  pour into other areas, as losses are eventually written off against capital, which ultimately  jeopardizes the earning capacity of the institution. With this backdrop, the asset quality isgauged n relation to the level and severity of non-performing assets, adequacy of  Ã‚  provisions, recoveries, distribution of assets etc. Popular indicators include non-performingloans to advances, loan default to total advances, and recoveries to loan default ratios. One of the indicators for asset quality is the ratio of non-performing loans to total loans(GNPA). The gross non-performing loans to gross advances ratio is more indicative of thequality of credit decisions made by bankers. Higher GNPA is indicative of poor creditdecision-making. N PA: N on-Performing Assets:Advances are classified into performing and non-performing advances (NPAs) as per RBIguidelines. NPAs are further classified into sub-standard, doubtful and loss assets based onthe criteria stipulated by RBI. An asset, including a leased asset, becomes non-performingwhen it ceases to  generate income for the Bank. An NPA is a loan or an advance where : 1. Interest and/or installment of principal remains overdue for a period of more than 90days in respect of a term loan;2. The account remains â€Å"out-of-order† in respect of an Overdraft or Cash Credit(OD/CC);3.The bill remains overdue for  a period of more than  90 days in case of bills purchasedand discounted;4. A loan granted for short duration crops will be treated as an NPA if the installmentsof principal or interest thereon remain overdue  for two crop seasons; and5. A loan granted for long duration crops will be treat ed as an NPA if the installmentsof principal or interest thereon remain overdue  for one crop season. The Bank classifies an account as an NPA only if the interest imposed during any quarter isnot fully repaid within 90 days from the end of the relevant quarter. This is a key to thestability of the banking sector.There should be no hesitation in stating that Indian bankshave done a remarkable job in containment of non-performing loans (NPL) considering theoverhang issues and overall difficult environment. For 2008, the net NPL ratio for the Indianscheduled commercial banks at 2. 9 per cent is ample testimony to the impressive efforts  being made by our banking system. In fact, recovery management is also linked to the  banks ¶ interest margins. The cost and recovery management supported by enabling legalframework hold the key to future health and competitiveness of the Indian banks.No doubt,improving recovery-management in India is an area requiring expeditious and effective actions in legal, institutional and judicial processes. Management of financial institution is generally evaluated in terms of capital adequacy,asset quality, earnings and profitability, liquidity and risk sensitivity ratings. In addition,  performance evaluation includes compliance with set norms, ability to plan and react tochanging circumstances, technical competence, leadership and administrative ability. Ineffect, management rating is just an amalgam of performance in the above-mentioned areas.Sound management is one of the most important factors behind financial institutions ¶Ã‚  performance. Indicators of quality of management, however, are primarily applicable toindividual institutions, and cannot be easily aggregated across the sector. Furthermore, giventhe qualitative nature of management, it is difficult to judge its soundness just by looking atfinancial accounts of the banks. Nevertheless, total expenditure to total income and operating expense to total expense helps in gauging the management quality of the banking institutions.Sound management is key to  bank performance but is difficult to measure. It is primarily a qualitative factor applicable toindividual institutions. Several indicators, however, can jointly serve? as, for instance,efficiency measures do-as an indicator of management  soundness. The ratio of non-interest expenditures to total assets (MGNT) can be one of the measures toassess the working of the management. . This variable, which includes a variety of expenses,such as payroll, workers compensation and training investment, reflects the management  policy stance. E fficiencyR atios demonstrate how efficiently the company uses its assets and howefficiently the company manages its operations. Indicates the relationship between assets and revenue. ? Companies with low profit margins tend to have high asset turnover, those with high  profit margins have low asset turnover – it indicates pricing strategy. ? This rati o is more useful for growth companies to check if in fact they are growingrevenue in proportion to sales. Asset Turnover Analysis: This ratio is useful to determine the amount of sales that are generated from each rupee of  assets.As noted above, companies with low profit margins tend to have high asset turnover,those with high profit margins have low asset turnover. Earnings and profitability, the prime source of increase in capital base, is examined withregards to interest rate policies and adequacy of provisioning. In addition, it also helps tosupport present and future operations of the institutions. The single best indicator used togauge earning is the Return on Assets (ROA), which is net income after taxes to total assetratio. Strong earnings and profitability profile of banks reflects the ability to support present andfuture operations.More specifically, this determines the capacity to  absorb losses, finance itsexpansion, pay dividends to its shareholders, and build up a n adequate level of capital. Being front line of defense against erosion of capital base from losses, the need for highearnings and profitability can hardly be overemphasized. Although different indicators areused to serve the purpose, the best and most widely used indicator is Return on Assets(ROA). However, for in-depth analysis, another indicator Net Interest Margins (NIM) is alsoused. Chronically unprofitable financial institutions risk insolvency.Compared with mostother indicators, trends in profitability can be more difficult to interpret-for instance,unusually high profitability can reflect excessive risk taking. R O A- R eturn on Assets: An indicator of how  profitable a company is relative to its total assets. ROA gives an  idea asto how efficient management is at using its assets to generate earnings. Calculated bydividing a company's annual earnings by its total assets, ROA is displayed as a percentage. Sometimes this is referred to as â€Å"return on investment†. ROA tells what earnings were generated from invested capital (assets).ROA for publiccompanies can vary substantially and will be highly dependent on the industry. This is why when using ROA as a comparative measure, it is best to compare it against a company's  previous ROA numbers or the  ROA of a similar company. The assets of the company are comprised of both debt and equity. Both of these types of  financing are used to fund the operations of the company. The ROA figure gives investorsan idea of how effectively the company is converting the money it has to invest into netincome. The higher the ROA number, the better, because the company is earning moremoney on less investment.For example, if one company has a net income of $1 million andtotal assets of $5 million, its ROA is 20%; however, if another company earns the sameamount but has total assets of $10 million, it has an ROA of 10%. Based on this example,the first company is better at converting its investment into profit. When you really think  about it, management's most important job is to make wise choices in allocating itsresources. Anybody can make a profit by throwing a ton of money at a problem, but veryfew managers excel at  making large profits with little investment. R eturn on Assets and R eturn on E quity of SCBs- Bank Group-wiseAn adequate liquidity position refers to a situation, where institution can obtain sufficientfunds, either by increasing liabilities or by converting its assets quickly at a reasonable cost. It is, therefore, generally assessed in terms of overall assets and liability management, asmismatching gives rise to liquidity risk. Efficient fund management refers to a situationwhere a spread between rate sensitive assets (RSA) and rate sensitive liabilities (RSL) ismaintained. The most commonly used tool to evaluate interest rate exposure is the Gap  between RSA and RSL,  while liquidity is gauged by liquid to total asset ratio.Initially solvent financial institutions may be driven toward closure by poor management of  short-term liquidity. Indicators should cover funding sources and capture large maturitymismatches. The term liquidity is used in various ways, all relating to availability of, accessto, or convertibility into cash. ? An institution is said to have liquidity if it can easily meet its needs for cash either  Ã‚  because it has cash on  hand or can otherwise raise or borrow cash. ? A market is said to be liquid if the instruments it trades can easily be bought or soldin quantity with little impact on market prices. ?An asset is said to be liquid if the  market for that asset is liquid. The common theme in all three contexts is cash. A corporation is liquid if it has ready accessto cash. A market is liquid if participants can easily convert positions into cash? or  conversely. An asset is liquid if it can easily be converted to cash. The liquidity of aninstitution depends on : y the institution's short-term need for cash; y cash on hand; y available lines of credit; y the liquidity of the  institution's assets; y The institution's reputation in the marketplace? how willing will counterparty is totransact trades with or lend to the  institution?The liquidity of a market is often measured as the size of its bid-ask spread, but this is animperfect metric at best. More generally, Kyle (1985) identifies three components of marketliquidity : ? Tightness is the bid-ask spread; ? Depth is the volume of transactions necessary to  move prices; ? Resiliency is the speed with which prices return to equilibrium following a largetrade. Examples of assets that tend to be liquid include foreign exchange; stocks traded in theStock Exchange or recently issued Treasury bonds. Assets that are often illiquid includelimited partnerships, thinly traded bonds or real estate.Cash maintained by the banks and balances with central bank, to total asset ratio (LQD) isan indicator of bank's liquidity. In general, banks with a larger volume of liquid assets are  perceived safe, since these assets would allow  banks to meet unexpected  withdrawals. Credit deposit ratio is a tool used to study the liquidity position of the bank. It is calculated  by dividing the cash held in different forms by total deposit. A high ratio shows that there ismore amounts of liquid cash with the bank to met its clients cash withdrawals. It refers to the risk that changes  in market conditions could adversely impact earnings and/or  capital.Market Risk encompasses exposures associated with changes in interest rates, foreignexchange rates, commodity prices, equity prices, etc. While all of these items are important,the primary risk in most banks is interest rate risk (IRR), which will be the focus of thismodule. The diversified nature of bank operations makes them vulnerable to various kindsof financial risks. Sensitivity analysis reflects institution ¶s exposure to interest rate risk,foreign exchange volatility and equity price risks (these risks are summed in market risk). Risk sensitivity is mostly evaluated in terms of management ¶s ability to monitor and controlmarket risk.Banks are increasingly involved in diversified operations, all of which are subject to marketrisk, particularly in the setting of interest rates and the carrying out of foreign exchangetransactions. In countries that allow banks to make trades in stock markets or commodityexchanges, there is also a  need to monitor indicators of equity and commodity price risk. Sensitivity to Market Risk is a recent addition to the ratings parameters and reflects thedegree to which changes in interest rates, exchange rates, commodity prices and equity  prices can affect earnings and  hence the bank ¶s capital. It  is measured by Beta (? . 1. ? ;1, depicts that changes in the firm are less than the changes in the market. LessSensitive2. ? =1, depicts that there is equivalent change in the firm with the changes i n themarket Equally Sensitive. 3. ? ;1, depicts that changes in the firm are more than the changes in the market. Highly Sensitive. The Bank The word bank means an organization where people and business can invest or borrowmoney; change it to foreign currency etc. According to Halsbury ? A Banker is an individual,Partnership or Corporation whose sole pre-dominant business is banking, that is the receiptof money on current or deposit ccount, and the payment of cheque drawn and the collectionof cheque paid in by a customer.  ¶Ã‚ ¶ The O rigin and Use of Banks The Word  µBank ¶ is derived from the Italian word  µBanko ¶ signifying a bench, which waserected in the market-place, where it was customary to exchange money. The Lombard Jewswere the first to practice this exchange business, the first bench having been established inItaly A. D. 808. Some authorities assert that the Lombard merchants commenced the  business of money-dealing, employing bills of exchange as remittance s, about the beginningof the thirteenth century.About the middle of the twelfth century it became evident, as the advantage of coinedmoney was gradually acknowledged, that there must be some controlling power, somecorporation which would undertake to keep the coins that were to bear the royal stamp up toa certain standard of value; as, independently of the  µsweating ¶ which invention may place tothe credit of the ingenuity of the Lombard merchants- all coins will, by wear or abrasion,  become thinner, and consequently less valuable; and it is of the last importance, not only for  the credit of a country, but for the easier regulation of commercial transactions, that themetallic currency be kept as nearly as possible up to the legal standard. Much unnecessarytrouble and annoyance has been caused formerly by negligence in this respect. The gradualmerging of the business of a goldsmith into a bank appears to have been the way in which  banking, as we now understand the term, was introduced into England; and it was not untillong after the establishment of banks in other countries-for state purposes, the regulation of  the coinage, etc. that any large or similar institution was introduced into England.It is onlywithin the last twenty years that printed cheques have  been in use in that establishment. Firstcommercial bank was Bank of Venice which was established in 1157  in Italy. Banking sector, the world over, is known for the adoption of multidimensional strategiesfrom time to time with varying degrees of success. Banks are very important for the smoothfunctioning of financial markets as they serve as repositories of vital financial informationand can potentially alleviate the problems created by information asymmetries. From acentral bank ¶s perspective, such high-quality disclosures help the early detection of  Ã‚  problems faced by banks in the market and reduce the severity of market disruptions.Consequently, the RBI as part and parcel of the financial sector deregulation, attempted toenhance the transparency of the annual reports of Indian banks by, among other things,introducing stricter income recognition and asset classification rules, enhancing the capitaladequacy norms, and by requiring a number of additional disclosures sought by investors tomake better cash flow and risk assessments. [Source : RBI Website] BAS EL – II ACC O R D Bank capital framework sponsored by the world's central banks designed to promoteuniformity, make regulatory capital more risk sensitive, and promote enhanced risk  management among large, internationally active banking organizations. The InternationalCapital Accord, as it is called, will be fully effective by January 2008 for banks active ininternational markets. Other banks can choose to â€Å"opt in,† or they can continue to follow theminimum capital guidelines in the original Basel Accord, finalized in 1988.The revisedaccord (Basel II) completely overhauls the 1988 Basel Accord and is based on threemutually supporting concepts, or  Ã¢â‚¬Å"pillars,† of capital adequacy. The first of these pillars is anexplicitly defined regulatory capital requirement, a minimum capital-to-asset ratio equal toat least 8% of risk-weighted assets. Second, bank supervisory agencies, such as theComptroller of the Currency, have authority to adjust capital levels for individual banksabove the 9% minimum when necessary. The third supporting pillar calls upon marketdiscipline to supplement reviews by banking agencies. Basel II is the second of the Basel Accords, which are recommendations on banking lawsand regulations issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.The purpose of  Basel II, which was initially published in June 2004, is to create an international standardthat banking regulators can use when creating regulations about how much capital banksneed to put aside to guard against the types of financial and operational risks banks face. Advocat es of Basel II believe that such an international standard can help protect theinternational financial system from the types of problems that might arise should a major  Ã‚  bank or a  series of banks collapse. In practice, Basel II attempts to accomplish this by settingup rigorous risk and capital management requirements designed to ensure that a bank holdscapital reserves appropriate to the risk the bank exposes itself to through its lending andinvestment practices. [Source : RBI Website] The final version aims at: 1.Ensuring that capital allocation is more risk sensitive;2. Separating operational risk from credit risk, and quantifying both;3. Attempting to align economic and regulatory capital more closely to reduce thescope for regulatory arbitrage. While the final accord has largely addressed the regulatory arbitrage issue, there are stillareas where regulatory capital requirements will diverge from the economic. Basel II has largely left unchanged the question of how to ac tually define bank capital,which diverges from accounting equity in important respects. The Basel I definition, asmodified up to the present, remains in place. The Accord in operation Basel II uses a â€Å"three pillars† concept y inimum capital requirements (addressing risk), y supervisory review and y market discipline  ± to promote greater stability in the financial system. The Basel I accord dealt with only parts of each of these pillars. For example : with respectto the first Basel II pillar, only one risk, credit risk, was dealt with in a simple manner whilemarket risk was an afterthought; operational risk was not  dealt with at all. The First Pillar The first pillar deals with maintenance of regulatory capital calculated for three major  components of risk that a bank faces : credit risk, operational risk and market risk. Other  risks are not considered fully quantifiable at this stage.The credit risk component can be calculated in three different ways of varyi ng degree of  sophistication, namely standardized approach, Foundation IRB and Advanced IRB. IRBstands for â€Å"Internal Rating-Based Approach†. For operational risk, there are three different approaches – basic indicator approach,standardized approach and advanced measurement approach. For market risk the preferredapproach is VaR (value at  risk). As the Basel II recommendations are phased in by the banking industry it will move fromstandardized requirements to more refined and specific requirements that have beendeveloped for each risk category by each individual bank. The upside for banks that dodevelop their own bespoke risk measurement systems is that they will be rewarded with  potentially lower risk capital requirements.In future there will be closer links between theconcepts of economic profit and regulatory capital. Credit Risk can be calculated by using one of three approaches : 1. Standardized Approach2. Foundation IRB (Internal Ratings Based) Approac h3. Advanced IRB ApproachThe standardized approach sets out specific risk weights for certain types of credit risk. Thestandard risk weight categories are used under Basel 1 and are 0% for short termgovernment bonds, 20% for exposures to OECD Banks, 50% for residential mortgages and 100% weighting on commercial loans. A new 150% rating comes in for borrowers with poor  credit ratings. The minimum capital requirement (the percentage of risk weighted assets to  be held as capital) has remains at  8%.For those Banks that decide to adopt the standardized ratings approach they will be forced torely on the ratings generated by external agencies. Certain Banks are developing the IRBapproach as a result. The Second Pillar The second pillar deals with the regulatory response to the first pillar, giving regulatorsmuch improved ‘tools' over those available to them under Basel I. It also provides aframework for dealing with all the other risks a bank may face, such as systemic risk,   pension risk, concentration risk, strategic risk, reputation risk, liquidity risk and legal risk,which the accord combines under the title of residual risk. It gives banks a power to reviewtheir risk management  system. The Third Pillar The third pillar greatly increases the disclosures that the bank must make.This is designedto allow the market to have a better picture of the overall risk position of the bank and toallow the counterparties of the bank to price and deal appropriately. The new Basel Accordhas its foundation on three mutually reinforcing pillars that allow banks and bank  supervisors to evaluate properly the various risks that banks face and realign regulatorycapital more closely with underlying risks. The first pillar is compatible with the credit risk,market risk and operational risk. The regulatory capital will be focused on these three risks. The second pillar gives the bank responsibility to exercise the best ways to manage the risk  specific to that ba nk. Concurrently, it also casts responsibility on the supervisors to reviewand validate banks ¶ risk measurement models.The third pillar on market discipline is usedto leverage the influence that other market players can bring. This is aimed at improving thetransparency in banks and  improves reporting. State Bank of India is the largest banking and financial services company in India, by almostevery parameter – revenues, profits, assets, market capitalization, etc. The bank traces itsancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding in 1806 of theBank of Calcutta, making it the oldest commercial bank in the Indian Subcontinent. TheGovernment of India nationalized the Imperial Bank of India in 1955, with the ReserveBank of India taking a 60% stake, and renamed it the State Bank of India.In 2008, theGovernment took over the  stake held by the Reserve Bank of India. SBI provides a range of banking products through its vast network of branches in India andoverseas, including products aimed at NRIs. The State Bank Group, with over 16,000  branches, has the largest banking branch network in India. With an asset base of $260 billionand $195 billion in deposits, it is a regional banking behemoth. It has a market share amongIndian commercial banks of about 20% in deposits and advances, and SBI accounts for  almost one-fifth of the nation's loans. The total assets of the Bank increased by 9. 23% fromRs. 9,64,432. 08 crores at the end of March 2009 to Rs. 10,53,413. 3 crores as at end March2010. The Bank ¶s aggregate liabilities (excluding capital and reserves) rose by 8. 93% fromRs. 9,06,484. 38 crores on 31st March 2009 to Rs. 9,87,464. 53 crores on 31st March 2010. K ey performance I ndicators [Source : Annual Report, 2009-10]SBI has tried to reduce over-staffing by computerizing operations and â€Å"golden handshake†schemes that led to a flight of its best and brightest managers. These managers took theretiremen t allowances and then went on to become senior managers in new private sector ICICI Bank (formerly Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) is a major  Ã‚  banking and financial services organization in India.It is the 4th largest bank in India andthe largest private sector bank in India by market capitalization. The bank also has a network  of 1,700+ branches (as on 31 March 2010) and about 4,721 ATMs in India and presence in19 countries, as well as some 24 million customers (at the end of July 2007). ICICI Bank isalso the largest issuer of credit cards in India. ICICI Bank's shares are listed on the stock  exchanges at Kolkata and Vadodara, Mumbai and the National Stock Exchange of IndiaLimited; its ADRs trade on the New  York Stock Exchange (NYSE). [Source : Annual Report, 2009-10]The Bank is expanding in overseas markets and has the largest international balance sheetamong Indian banks.ICICI Bank now has wholly-owned subsidiaries, branches andrepresentative s offices in 19 countries, including an offshore unit in Mumbai. This includeswholly owned subsidiaries in Canada, Russia and the UK (the subsidiary through which theHi SAVE savings brand is operated), offshore banking units in Bahrain and Singapore, anadvisory branch in Dubai, branches in Belgium, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka, andrepresentative offices in Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Africa, Thailand,the United Arab Emirates and USA. Overseas, the Bank is targeting the NRI (Non- ResidentIndian) population in particular. History HDFC Bank was incorporated in the year of 1994 by Housing Development FinanceCorporation Limited (HDFC), India's premier housing finance company.It was among thefirst companies to receive an ‘in principle' approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) toset up a bank in the private sector. The Bank commenced its operations as a ScheduledCommercial Bank in January 1995 with the help of RBI's liberalization policies. In a milestone transactio n in the Indian banking industry, Times Bank Limited (promoted byBennett, Coleman & Co. / Times Group) was merged with HDFC Bank Ltd. , in 2000. Thiswas the first merger of two private banks in India. As per the scheme of amalgamationapproved by the shareholders of both banks and the Reserve Bank of India, shareholders of  Times Bank received 1  share of HDFC Bank for every 5. 75  shares of Times Bank. In 2008 HDFC Bank acquired Centurion Bank of Pun j a b aking its total branches to morethan 1,000. The amalgamated bank emerged with a strong deposit base of around Rs. 1,22,000 crore and net advances of around Rs. 89,000 crore. The balance sheet size of thecombined entity is over Rs. 1,63,000 crore. The amalgamation added significant value toHDFC Bank in terms of increased branch network, geographic reach, and customer base,and a bigger pool of skilled manpower   Capital Adequacy [Source : Annual Report, 2009-10] The Industrial Development Bank of India Limited commonly known by its acronym IDBIis one of India's leading public sector banks and 4th largest Bank in overall ratings. RBIcategorized IDBI as an â€Å"other public sector bank†.It was established in 1964 by an Act of  Parliament to provide credit and other facilities for the development of the fledgling Indianindustry. It is currently 10th largest development bank in the world in terms of reach with1210 ATMs, 720 branches and 486 centers. Some of the institutions built by IDBI are the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), the  National Securities Depository Services Ltd (NSDL), the Stock Holding Corporation of  India (SHCIL), the Credit Analysis ; Research Ltd, the Export-Import Bank of India (EximBank), the Small Industries Development bank of India(SIDBI), the EntrepreneurshipDevelopment Institute of India, and IDBI BANK, which today is owned by the IndianGovernment, though for a brief period it was a private scheduled bank.The IndustrialDevelopment Bank of India (IDBI) was est ablished on July 1, 1964 under an Act of  Parliament as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India. In 16 February 1976,the ownership of IDBI was transferred to the Government of India and it was made the  principal financial institution for coordinating the activities of institutions engaged infinancing, promoting and developing industry in the country. Although Governmentshareholding in the Bank came down below 100% following IDBI ¶s public issue in July1995, the former continues to  be the major shareholder (current shareholding : 52. 3%). During the four decades of its existence, IDBI has been instrumental not only in establishinga well-developed, diversified and efficient ndustrial and institutional structure but alsoadding a qualitative dimension to the process of industrial development in the country. IDBIhas played a pioneering role in fulfilling its mission of promoting industrial growth throughfinancing of medium and long-term projects, in consonance wi th national plans and  priorities. Over the years, IDBI has enlarged its basket of products and services, coveringalmost the entire spectrum of industrial activities, including manufacturing and services. IDBI provides financial assistance, both in rupee and foreign currencies, for green-field  projects as also for expansion, modernization and diversification purposes.In the wake of  financial sector reforms unveiled by the government since 1992, IDBI evolved an array of  fund and fee-based services with a view to providing an integrated solution to meet theentire demand of financial and corporate advisory requirements of its clients Axis Bank, formally UTI Bank, is a financial services firm that had begun operations in1994, after the Government of India allowed new private banks to be established. The Bank  was promoted jointly by the Administrator of the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of  India (UTI-I), Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), General Insura nce CorporationLtd. , National Insurance Company Ltd. The New India Assurance Company, The OrientalInsurance Corporation and United India Insurance Company UTI-I holds a special positionin the Indian capital markets and has promoted many leading financial institutions in thecountry. The bank changed its name to Axis Bank in April 2007 to avoid confusion withother unrelated entities with similar name. After the Retirement of Mr. P. J. Nayak, Shikha Sharma was named as the bank's managingdirector and CEO on 20 April 2009. As on the year ended March 31, 2009 the Bank had atotal income of Rs 13,745. 04 crore (US$ 2. 93 billion) and a net profit of Rs. 1,812. 93 crore(US$ 386. 15 million). On February 24, 2010, Axis Bank announced the launch of ‘AXISCALL ; PAY on atom', a unique mobile payments solution using Axis Bank debit cards.Axis Bank is the first bank in the country to provide a secure debit card-based paymentservice over IVR. Axis Bank is one of the Big Four Banks of India, along with ICICI Bank,State Bank of India and HDFC Bank Branch Network At the end of March 2009, the Bank  has a very wide network of more than 835 branch offices and Extension Counters. Totalnumber of ATMs went up to 3595. The Bank has loans now (as of June 2007) account for asmuch as 70 per cent of the bank ¶s total loan book of Rs 2,00,000 crore. In the case of AxisBank, retail loans have declined from 30 per cent of the total loan book of Rs 25,800 crorein June 2006 to around 23 per cent of loan book of Rs. 41,280 crore (as of June 2007).Evenover a longer period,  while the overall asset growth for  Axis Bank has been quite high and has matched that of the other banks, retail exposuresgrew at a slower pace. The bank, though, appears to have insulated such pressures. Interestmargins, while they have declined from the 3. 15 per cent seen in 2003-04, are still hoveringclose to the 3 per cent mark. Axis Bank, formally UTI Bank, is a financial services firm that had begun op erations in1994, after the Government of India allowed new private banks to be established. The Bank  was promoted jointly by the Administrator of the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of  India (UTI-I), Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), General Insurance CorporationLtd. , National Insurance Company Ltd. The New India Assurance Company, The OrientalInsurance Corporation and United India Insurance Company UTI-I holds a special positionin the Indian capital markets and has promoted many leading financial institutions in thecountry. The bank changed its name to Axis Bank in April 2007 to avoid confusion withother unrelated entities with similar name. After the Retirement of Mr. P. J. Nayak, Shikha Sharma was named as the bank's managingdirector and CEO on 20 April 2009. As on the year ended March 31, 2009 the Bank had atotal income of Rs 13,745. 04 crore (US$ 2. 93 billion) and a net profit of Rs. 1,812. 93 crore(US$ 386. 15 million). On February 24, 2010, Axis Bank announced the launch of ‘AXISCALL & PAY on atom', a unique mobile payments solution using Axis Bank debit cards.Axis Bank is the first bank in the country to provide a secure debit card-based paymentservice over IVR. Axis Bank is one of the Big Four Banks of India, along with ICICI Bank,State Bank of India and HDFC Bank Branch Network At the end of March 2009, the Bank  has a very wide network of more than 835 branch offices and Extension Counters. Totalnumber of ATMs went up to 3595. The Bank has loans now (as of June 2007) account for asmuch as 70 per cent of the bank ¶s total loan book of Rs 2,00,000 crore. In the case of AxisBank, retail loans have declined from 30 per cent of the total loan book of Rs 25,800 crorein June 2006 to around 23 per cent of loan book of Rs. 41,280 crore (as of June 2007).Evenover a longer period,  while the overall asset growth for  Axis Bank has been quite high and has matched that of the other banks, retail exposuresgrew at a slower pa ce. The bank, though, appears to have insulated such pressures. Interestmargins, while they have declined from the 3. 15 per cent seen in 2003-04, are still hoveringclose to the 3 per cent mark. Reserve Bank of India prescribes Banks to maintain a minimum Capital to risk weightedAssets Ratio (CRAR) of 9 percent with regard to credit risk, market risk and operational risk  on an ongoing basis, as against 8 percent prescribed in Basel Documents. Capital adequacyratio of the ICICI Bank was well above the industry average of 13. 97% t. CAR of HDFC  bank is below the ratio of ICICI bank.HDFC Bank ¶s total Capital Adequacy stood at15. 26% as of March 31, 2010. The Bank adopted the Basel 2 framework as of March 31,2009 and the CAR computed as per Basel 2 guidelines stands higher against the regulatoryminimum of 9. 0%. HDFC CAR is gradually increased over the last 5 year and the capital adequacy ratio of  Axis bank is the increasing by every 2 year. SBI has maintained its CAR around in the rangeof 11 % to 14 %. But IDBI should reconsider their business as its CAR is falling YOY (year  on year). Higher the ratio the banks are in a comfortable position to absorb losses. So ICICIand HDFC are the strong one to absorb their loses. Gross N PA:Gross NPAs are the sum total of all loan assets that are classified as NPAs as per RBIguidelines as on Balance Sheet date. Gross NPA reflects the quality of the loans made by  banks. It consists of all the non standard  assets like as substandard, doubtful, and loss assets. It can be calculated  with the help of following ratio : SBI maintained its GNPA to 3% which is very good sign of performances as SBI is thelargest lender in INDIA. HDFC ¶s GNPA is quite good as it is low with compared to ICICIand SBI but in 2008-09 GNPA rises. The reason may be economic crises. AXIS bank haslowest GNPA which shown its management ability. ICICI has the highest GNPA in bankingindustry and rising YOY (year on  year). N et N PA:Net NPAs are those type of NPAs in which the bank has deducted the provision regarding  NPAs. Net NPA shows the actual burden of banks. Since in India, bank balance sheetscontain a huge amount of NPAs and the process of recovery and write off of loans is verytime consuming, the provisions the banks have to make against the NPAs according to thecentral bank guidelines, are quite significant. That is why the difference between gross andnet NPA is quite high. It can be calculated by following : AXIS Bank has least Net NPA and ICICI has highest NNPA among group. HDFC shown itsmanagement quality as it maintained its NNPA YOY (year on year). SBI has to keep NNPA  below. IDBI has successful to control NNPA YOY.

Assignmet 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Assignmet 2 - Essay Example Communication refers to passing of information and getting appropriate feedback in the process. In case of communication problems, the information may not reach the intended individual or there maybe feedback failure. In other words, the recipient might fail to understand the sender or might misinterpret the message thus cause poor responses or inappropriate feedbacks. These are often experienced in various organizations and thus have effects on the effectiveness and the overall performance of the organization. My experience with the communication problem in an organization was in a milk-producing firm that had several branches, employees and managers. There was a massive communication problem between managers, the workers, the managers, and other managers. This had tremendous effect in the flow of information thus causing several negative consequences in the overall performances. The major causes of communication problems were due to many reasons including people were not aligned with the mission or vision of the organization, lack of understanding on what managers were trying to achieve. People had poor work habits, indiscipline among people about timeliness; people were not responsible for performance networking, people in the organization required micro-management. Due to the communication problems, various actions and reactions were evident among people in the organization. These symptoms included: reduced or no level of communication among the members, improper planning or increased workload, lateness that was repetitive and rampant, low quality of work, poor working atmosphere due to people lacking accommodating personality. Perception maybe defined as procedural way in which people put in order and make interpretations of their sensory impressions. This is meant to give reflection to their surroundings. It is an important in ensuring that people’s behaviors is kept on check. This is

Philosophy ( the great gialogue of plato) Essay

Philosophy ( the great gialogue of plato) - Essay Example themes of Socratic thoughts including Socratic irony, his mode of investigation and inquiry and maintenance of higher moral concerns that greatly direct Socrates’ life. According to Plato, Socrates passed on his wisdom to people with intellect. It is very interesting to note that Socrates never talked about one- sided lengthy lectures regarding his beliefs rather he preferred to present his beliefs in written accounts- in the form of proper dialogues. With the help of this inquiry, it can be well said that he did never believe on his own knowledge to put forward rather his mode of investigation always tried to identify what his interlocutor considers he knows and then gradually analyzing the hidden claims of Socratic knowledge. For Socrates two essential elements for healthier life are virtue and wisdom. These are closely connected elements and greatly participate to improve the society in the broader context. According to Socrates, if all people within a society will be wise then nothing will ever go wrong and as a result of self knowledge and wisdom will finally lead to more fulfilling and healthier lives. This is the basic reason why Socratic thoughts greatly focus on the activities of high morale rather than intangible intellectual quests. Plato explains that Socrates was accused of being guilty in the court of Athens as he was charged of recognizing new deities rather than those recognized by the state. He was charged of corrupting the new generation in Athens through his speech and conversation. This allegation put him at trial and he attempts for a powerful defense through speech. The defense opens with an appeal put forward by Socrates before the jury that the jury would listen him with great care and pardon him too if he would slip into his conventional conversational style as his opponents greatly talked against him in the courts. They adopted flowery language to defend their case. As a result of this, Socrates clearly mentioned before court that he

Financial Analysis of DBMS in Health and Social Care Organizations in Essay

Financial Analysis of DBMS in Health and Social Care Organizations in Hong Kong - Essay Example This research paper studies the options available for database management system for Health and Social Care Organizations. One improvement needed is the proper communication between the public and private health sectors of Hong Kong. There is an actual need to establish a computer system that has the ability to contain medical records and data about patients. This computer system must be able to deliver or send needed information from one health care facility to another in various locations where it is needed. This would reduce waiting time and expenses on the part of the patients, and would improve the efficiency of service provided by medical practitioners. In relation to the above-mentioned need, after Hong Kong’s transition over to the Chinese mainland, there have been some proposed reforms on its health care system. At present Hong Kong’s public healthcare sector is subsidized by the government. And since it is supported by one of the lowest tax regimes currently existing in the world, the Hong Kong government is giving good consideration on having revamps implemented on the overhaul of its entire health care system. Reforms are needed in order to continue the provision of an effective health care program (Taylor, n.d.) To be able to get ready for such a change, the clinic where I am currently employed needs to have an updated computer that is internet enabled, to facilitate effective communication and information exchange. Hong Kong’s current health care system is made up of two sectors, the public sector, and the private sector. The public healthcare sector is managed by the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority. The Department of Health provides preventive and outpatient services.

Review of film Surviving Picasso Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Review of film Surviving Picasso - Essay Example The essay "Review of film Surviving Picasso" will explore the film "Surviving Picasso" by James Ivory. The genre of film provides an amazingly rich opportunity for artistic expression. The study will find out how effectively this movie portrays the artist's life and work, and why Picasso's life served as a good base for a commercial fare in the first place. First of all, it should be mentioned that Pablo Ruiz Picasso, or just Picasso as the artist preferred to call himself, belongs to the list of the most outstanding persons of the last century, who was as famous during his turbulent life as he is famous now. In the purely artistic terms, Picasso is known as one of the principal founders of cubism, a style of art in which the natural forms of subjects are represented as geometrical shapes. But in his personal life Picasso was known for his relations with numerous women, and this fact played quite a significant role in the artist’s art and in his own vision of himself. It is on this ground that the film â€Å"Surviving Picasso† finds its main theme as it attempts to help the audience better understand the life of this controversial figure. More specifically, the film`s plot is centered on the relationships between Picasso and one of his mistresses Francoise Gilot, with whom Picasso had a relationship since meeting her as a young student of art in 1944 in Paris, and who eventually left him in 1953, which was an unprecedented case for the artist and therefore deeply shook him. This event would be much less significant.... What is interesting is that these women, which in a certain way can be perceived as victims of an evil genius, were apparently drawn to him not unlike moth is attracted by fire. As one of Picasso mistresses Dora Maar puts it in the film: "Without him [Picasso] there is nothing" (Ivory, 1997), and another woman silently confirms this attitude as she saves Picasso's cut hair and nail clippings. In this light, the story of Francoise Gilot is an account of a person who was not overcame by the artist, and who even later had to withstand his attempts for revenge. In the very beginning of their relationship a lot of symbolism is present - Picasso leaves Dora Maars table in order to join Francoise Gilot, which was quite typical for the artist frivolous character, and when she enters the studio of Picasso, he warns that from that moment she was in the labyrinth of Minotaur who had to devour at least two young girls a day in order not to perish. And even a servant of Picasso tells Gilot that i t would be better for her to go home. At this point in the film a question arises as to why Picasso was so irresistible in womens opinion. One of the evident answers offered in the movie, and confirmed by biographic accounts of Picasso, is that it was the inner perception of irresistibility filling him that he was able to easily project on other people as well. Of course, the ability of Picasso not only to create but to constantly maintain his reputation of the greatest artist of his time added to his almost mythical appeal. Still, despite of presence of numerous accurate observations in the film of elements of Picasso's character, the picture does not fully avoid the

Analysis of Vitamin C content of Soft Fruit Drinks Coursework

Analysis of Vitamin C content of Soft Fruit Drinks - Coursework Example Titration is a commonly performed experiment which is used to determine the exact concentration of a particular substance in solution. This is achieved by adding increasing amounts of a standard solution of known concentration (the titrant) to a measured quantity of the solution whose concentration one intends to ascertain (the analyte), and determining the end point of the reaction by means of a substance termed as an indicator. Titration can be used to determine the concentration of various substances including several acids and bases. Vitamin C has been found to turn a blue dye clear. Thus, the amount of Vitamin C in a solution can be worked out by titrating the different soft drinks against a fixed amount of the blue dye, which serves as both the titrant and the indicator in this experiment.   Materials Available: Blue dye A solution containing a known amount of Vitamin C (Solution A) A selection of old products: a lemon, orange and blackcurrant drink A selection of new product s: a lemon, orange and blackcurrant drink Equipment needed: Burette Pipette, graduated Pipette filler Ehrlenmeyer flask or Beaker Distilled water Burette clamp Stirring rod Procedure: To begin the experiment, the amount of solution which has a known quantity of Vitamin C (labeled as Solution A) needed to turn 1 cm3 of the blue dye colorless has to be determined. To achieve this, a measured quantity, i.e. 1 cm3 of the dye is added to an Ehrlenmeyer flask or beaker with the help of a pipette. Before using the pipette, it is important to  ensure that it is thoroughly cleaned and conditioned before being used  in order to remove any water droplets or impurities.  Conditioning  is achieved by rinsing the pipette with  a small volume of  the solution being transferred  (the stock solution) and disposing of the rinsing solution. The pipette is then filled up to the calibration mark with the help of a pipette filler. It is important to remember that most solutions would form a concave meniscus. Thus, while reading a meniscus, the bottom of the meniscus should be read and the meniscus should be kept at eye level in order to avoid parallax errors. Moreover, the meniscus should be read against a uniform background, which can be achieved by placing a white sheet of paper behind the level of the liquid. The dye is now transferred to the conical flask. Once all the solution has drained, the experimenter should touch the tip of the pipette to the side of the flask. This helps in removing the last drop of solution from the pipette and helps in avoiding errors. It is important to keep in mind that one does not need to blow the last drop of solution out of the pipette. As pointed out previously, in this experiment the blue dye serves as both the titrant and the indicator. An indicator is a substance which indicates the pH of a substance and is commonly used to determine the end point of a reaction, which is denoted by a color change of the indicator. The next step is to add the solution A into the beaker drop by drop by means of a burette. The burette is an apparatus which helps in slowly and precisely deliver small measured volumes of a solution to another. It is most commonly used in titration experiments and measures solutions up to an accuracy of

Megacities in Asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Megacities in Asia - Essay Example Oxidation causes arseno-pyrite minerals to release arsenic. Further, when the water table is lowered by over exploiting groundwater in irrigation procedures, more arsenic is released (Karim, 2000). The most likely remediation strategy to be implemented is the use of innovative alternative drinking water sources. Although restoring the natural flow of rivers and level of ground water would have been the ideal situation, the time implications in achieving such goals are not practical. Examples would include harvesting rainwater, pond sand filters, Ranney wells and infiltration galleries. These methods are recommended because they are less costly than most of the proposed solutions. Secondly, they have the potential of providing drinking water for longer terms than the rest of the proposals. For example, harvesting rain water may incur an initial cost of putting up the structures, but once that is done, no more expenses are expected. The same applies for ponds, which require minimum

Toyota - The Rise of a Global Corporation Essay

Toyota - The Rise of a Global Corporation - Essay Example In this paper provides the answers to five questions of the case study Toyota: The Rise of a Global Corporation. 1. Toyota after the 1950’s when its production began to increase that it could not afford to follow the American model of manufacturing most parts in-house. The firm did not like the American model because it created numerous inefficiencies. Toyota decided that to follow a model of outsourcing work and keeping close relationships with its suppliers. Among the inefficiencies that Toyota identified from the American model that the company could avoid by outsourcing are: 1) high capital expenditures need to increase the manufacturing capacity to create components and parts, 2) reduce the risk by maintaining low manufacturing capacity in case of a slump in auto sales, 3) Ability to take advantage of lower labor costs of small firms (Hill, 2007). The company created the tight relationship with its suppliers. The company when a step further by investing between 20% to 40% stake in the operations of many of its suppliers. This allowed to company to work in alliance with the suppliers and implement its Kaban system with the suppliers to share information and minimize inventory stocks. The company practically eliminated the need for a buffer inventory count. Outsourcing in the 21st century has become a vital strategy in order to take full advantage of the globalization movement (Kotler, 2002) Some of the drawbacks of the system were the need to invest money in other companies. Another drawback of the system is that buying auto parts ends up raising the cost of the vehicle since the parts themselves is a cheaper alternative. 2. In 1981 the United States government put a strain on the capacity of Japanese auto manufacturers to import autos by establishing a voluntary import quota. The quota places a limit on the amount of auto import that could enter the US market. The agreement the Japanese government entered into limited the number of Japanese auto imports to 1,680,000 units per year (Copper, 2009)Â  

E-Procurement Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

E-Procurement - Literature review Example Usual methods of procurement have lots of paper work processing, which requires a huge amount of money and time. E-procurement has reduced this work largely. E-procurement is a chief element of B2B ecommerce and it can be used in markets and industries in wide range. Business organizations buy many products of diverse varieties, ranging from paper clips to computer systems and from steel to equipments. They buy raw material inputs, which directly go in manufacturing process and the raw materials that need some repairing and maintenance before going into manufacturing process. There are thousands of other items purchased by an organization and keeping their receipts in record is very necessary for organizations to maintain professionalism. The main driver of e-procurement is cost-reduction attained from competencies resulting in less staff time spent in looking for and ordering products and integrating deliveries with invoices. Savings also take place with automatic corroboration of p re approved expenditure budgets for individuals or organizations leading to less time necessary for processing each order (Turban, pp.251-252, 2010). Automatic ordering, delivery, confirmations, payment, and inventory information diminish paper work, costs of paper-based ordering forms, storage space for credentials, records, and better information management. Indirect benefits of e-procurement include a shorter cycle time between order and use of supplies, greater suppleness in ordering products from different suppliers, amplified buyer productivity, and lower prices through product standardization and union of buyers (Havaldar, pp.379-382, 2010). Benefits to buyers of e-procurement include gain from improved pricing of goods and services, cost savings in the running of procurement processes, merger of buyer's sub entities into a single buying unit, and minimized costs through purchasing aggregation for some items. Other intangible benefits include enhancement in operations support , employee efficiency, evident purchasing behavior of business partners and supplier performance. Decline in procurement-to-pay cycle time and costs associated with outsourcing procurement and it helps maintaining smooth procurement operations. It also causes huge savings in invoice, finance, goods insurance, and delivery (Gay, Charlesworth & Esen, pp.474-475, 2007). Conversely, suppliers benefit from lower managerial costs, use of standard online catalogues that can be quickly updated with new product information, more effectual targeting, and access to a wider range of buyers (Babin & Weiss, pp.89-91, 2009). Additionally, lower inventory and warehousing costs are also the advantages of suppliers. Other opportunities contain lesser advertising, selling and service costs, extended product and service offerings, enhanced cash flow through better inventory returns and accounts receivables, a more thorough anticipation about a buyer's purchasing needs, and immediate responsiveness to a buyer's needs (N, pp.28-29, 2004). Nevertheless, for each e-marketplace contributor, the benefits will differ according to the contributor’s position. As buyers go for e- procurement, suppliers may not have any other option rather than joining in. The majority of suppliers are also buyers; therefore, net result is an increased involvement in e-procurement. E-procurement offers benefits in many

Grapes of Wrath Essay Example for Free

Grapes of Wrath Essay The exodus of the Joad family from Oklahoma to the promised land of California. They were cheated by tradesmen along Highway 66, harassed by border guards at state boundaries, and on arrival were burned out of their makeshift camp by police deputies. One dark night the Joads wandered into Weedpatch Camp, a government refuge for migratory farm workers, where they found clean beds, indoor privies, food, friendship, and hope. Oh! Praise God, whispered Ma Joad. God Almighty, I cant hardly believe it! pronounced Tom. (p. 390) Their praises were addressed to Providence, but were intended for Washington. Here, they believed, for the first time in their lives, was hard visible proof that their government, whatever and wherever it was, really cared about them and the hundreds of thousands of people like themlandless, homeless, penniless victims of a fickle climate, an unstable economy, and a pernicious way of life. Between the Lesters of Georgia and the Joads of Oklahoma, a profound change of spirit had come upon the land. The great revolution of the twentieth century, not only in the United States but also in the emerging nations abroad, is the kindling of an extravagant hope that the human condition of man can and should be improved, through the harnessing of the power, resources, and machinery of government, not in some distant millennium, but during the lifetime of those now living. The effective response of modern governments to this enormous challenge depends not only on the dreaming of dreams and the preaching of hope, but also on the capacity to convert the pictures in mens heads into the realities in their lives. 4. Considering the characters in the novel, which actions do you find admirable, and why? Which do you find reprehensible, and why? Admirable A considerable indecisiveness emerges from the novel about how radical the problem is: whether the circumstances of class war exist likely from the interchapters or whether there is a clear-cut villain in the Farmers Association with no broader implications—likely from the chapters and their limited point of view. The problem is partly compounded by the pragmatism of the Joads themselves, in many ways admirable in the face of degenerating circumstances but also dangerous in their willingness to lower their expectations: at the beginning Ma Joad dreams of a white house in California after a few months on the road, she hopes they may one day afford a tent that does not leak; Rose of Sharon plans early in her pregnancy a comfortable future for her child at the end she is sulking for a little milk so that her baby may be born alive. The disadvantages of nonteleological thinking are apparent when the result is a perpetual readjustment to straitened conditions: while we are told that the metaphysical grapes of wrath are ripening for the vintage, what we see among the poor is stoicism, sacrifice, and one supreme act of charity. Reprehensible Rose of Sharon and Connie think only of themselves and of now they will break from the group, and when difficulties arise Connie wishes that he had stayed in Oklahoma to man a tractor driving the people from the land. Later, alone, Rose of Sharon complains of her plight and frets about the coming child, and instead of sharing the family responsibility she adds to family worries. Uncle John is similarly preoccupied with his guilt and his personal problems and is almost useless to the group, picking cotton at only half the rate of the other men. Both he and Al withhold money from the family treasury. Noah, thoughtless of the others, wanders away. Connie, leaving a pregnant wife, also deserts. Even the children show a teasing selfishness. Ruthie eats her crackerjacks slowly so that she can taunt the other children when theirs is gone, and at croquet she ignores the rules and tries to play by herself. 5. Describe the role women play throughout the novel The seemingly gratuitous details of the truck driver and the woman driver may intentionally suggest Steinbecks awareness that men are often destructive while women are usually more protective: Tom Joad has just been revealed as having committed manslaughter; later we shall see that Ma Joad and Rose of Sharon try to preserve the family and nurture life. Ma Joad would be womanly and maternal in any station. If she had been a duchess, she would have labored with heroism for the integrity of the family and would have had a comprehensive vision of the serious social obligations of her class. The scene of her farewell to Tom is of the pure essence of motherhood. The pathos is profound and free from a taint of sentimentality. The courage and devotion of the woman are sublime In Ma Joad, Steinbeck created one of the most memorable characters in American fiction of the twentieth century. It is her courage which sustains the family through the almost overwhelming distresses suffered during their epic migration to the West. She voices the authors belief in the common folks invincible will to survive. Ma is a tower of strength to her group, like Pilar in Hemingways For Whom the Bell Tolls though less articulate. She is a kind of pagan earth mother, kind to her father-in-law and her mother-in-law, anxious to let her husband Pa lead the family but quickly assuming the reins when he lets them slip through weakness and lack of understanding, firm but sympathetic with her children, friendly with deserving strangers. Ma holds her family together far longer than anyone else in the group could have done. She suffers intensely when she sees Grampa die, then Noah disappear, then Granma die, and then Tom obliged to hide and then go away. But she almost never reveals the degree of her misery. She knows that while she holds, the unit will hold unless mans inhumanity to man and natures indifference put pressure upon her which simply cannot be endured. She goads Pa into near frenzy, knowing that it will make him stronger. She threatens to slap Rose of Sharon at times, but when the poor, pregnant, abandoned girl needs comfort, Ma is there with it in full measure. She knows that she can rely on Tom, not Al. She lets Uncle John have money for one quick drunken spree, knowing that without it he might crack. References Steinbeck John, (1939) The Grapes of Wrath New York: Viking.

Polar Bears Essay Example for Free

Polar Bears Essay Class: Ursidae. 9bPhysical characteristics: Bears have big heads, round ears, small eyes that face forward, very short tails, and stocky legs. They are plantigrade, walking on the heels and soles of their feet like humans do. Each paw has five curved claws that are not retractable, or cannot be pulled back. Habitat: The polar bear habitats encompass the entire Arctic region. Polar bears have adapted to be able to live in the water and on land. Unlike other bear species, the polar bear are excellent swimmers, and have been spotted more than 100 miles away from land or ice. The polar bear habitat is that of the entire Arctic region. Life cycle: Female polar bears reach sexual maturity at about four to five years. Male polar bears reach sexual maturity at about six years. Breeding takes place from March to June on the sea ice, but most occurs during April and May. During the breeding season, males and females find each other by congregating in the best seal-hunting habitats. Male polar bears have been seen following the tracks of breeding female polar bears for more than 100 km Competition for females is intense. Females breed about once every three years; therefore, there are about three adult males to every breeding female. Before mating, a female polar bear may be accompanied by several males. The males fight fiercely among themselves until the strongest or largest male succeeds in chasing the others away. Dominant males may succeed in mating with several females in a season. Females have babies in the den while hibernating. Polar bears life span is about 15-18 years. Prey: The Polar bear’s main prey is the Arctic seal which is a rich source of high-fat blubber. They have a very interesting way of catching their prey. A Polar bear would make a breathing hole somewhere in the middle of a vast ice expanse. Seals would often come out of these holes to breath. The Polar bear would patiently lie on its stomach with its mouth near the hole, waiting for any unfortunate seal to appear. This wait could sometimes last for several hours before a Polar bear could have his meal. Polar bears also prey on bearded seals and harp seals. When this prey is difficult to find, Polar bears would attack young walrus, narwhal, fish, seabirds and eggs. Species status: Polar bears were added to the list of threatened species because polar bears are vulnerable to this loss of habitat. Hunting of polar bears as a food source by certain native people and trade in native handicrafts made from polar bears will also continue. However, importing polar bear products from Canada (where trophy hunting is legal) will be banned. Pollution from man-made kills polar bears also Use for humans past and present- pas was they were hunted for food and fur. Present still hunted but also hunted for trophies but that has been banned Interesting facts: Polar bear cubs learn to freeze and remain still while their mother hunts. If they move, the mother disciples them, with a whack to the head. A polar bears fur is not white!! It is hollow. The fur reflects light. The hollow fur also traps the suns heat to help keep the polar bear warm. Known as the king of the artic.

Criticisms of Utilitarianism

Criticisms of Utilitarianism Essentially, utilitarianism holds that the correct course of action is that which will create the greatest level of happiness. Bentham called this the greatest happiness principle or the greatest felicity principle. He wrote the greatest happiness of all those whose interests are in question, as being right and proper, and only right and proper and universally desirable, end of human action. Utilitarians seek an empirical basis for morality through the measurement of happiness. The question that a utilitarian will ask himself is will this, of all possible actions, contribute most to the general happiness? Happiness is seen as the only thing that is good in itself and unhappiness the only thing that is bad in itself. Utilitarianism has broadly been categorised as either act utilitarianism, which is the form upon which Bentham founded his hypotheses and rule utilitarianism, which was developed by John Stuart Mill. Act utilitarianism envisages that the best course of action in any given situation is the act that will result in the greatest utility (i.e. the greatest benefit). Rule utilitarianism, on the other hand, holds that the correct course of action is that which follows the general rule which gives rise to the greatest utility. So, for example, it might be justifiable in terms of act utilitarianism for a group of friends to rob a person and share the money between themselves, but if this was to be the rule applied in every such situation then the effect on society as a whole would be such as to outweigh any happiness created by the act. CRITICISMS OF UTILITARIANISM Intuitively speaking, utilitarianism appears to be an extremely attractive philosophy. It offers a simplicity that many other philosophical approaches lack and in particular cuts through the mish mash of moral rules favoured by deontological thinkers. It is reconcilable with the majoritarianism favoured by democratic systems of government. Moreover, utilitarianism offers an obvious answer to the question of why we should act in a certain way in the absence of a religious justification. Despite this, the theory has attracted copious criticism. On a practical level, utilitarianism has been derided as unworkable, and even absurd. It has been argued that there is no adequate means of defining happiness, nor any suitable method for quantifying levels of happiness. Even if the theory can be made to work on a practical level, others argue, the results are morally wrong. Others object to the reduction of the human experience to the pursuit of pleasure. The various criticisms are too numerous and intricate to discuss in detail here and as such I will confine my discussion to two criticisms that are particularly prevalent in philosophical literature: the first relating to practical problems in applying the utilitarian concept and the second dealing with concerns arising from the results of utilitarian analysis. (1) Impossibility the untenability of the felicific calculus One of the most obvious problems with utilitarianism is that happiness, which lies at the heart of the theory, is an abstract concept. How can we hope to measure a quality that exists only in our minds? Furthermore, if we cannot measure happiness, how can we tell the effects that an action will have on the amount of happiness within a society? Bentham proposed a mathematical formula for calculating how an action will affect levels of happiness, which he called the felicific calculus, or utility calculus. In Chapter 4 of An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, Bentham sets out his formula in detail. In spite of this attempt at mathematisation, it is clear, as Smart points out, that the weighing of consequences seems more often a matter of vague intuition than of scientific calculation. The felicific calculus cannot really account for different degrees of happiness nor of the fact that different people are made happy by different things, and to different degrees. It cannot scan the minds of the population and know for certain what will increase their happiness. It is often impossible to predict even what the consequences of an action will be, so any attempt to predict the effects on happiness are presumably equally unfeasible. For example, a utilitarian might argue that, if it were possible to travel back in time, then it would be entirely permissible to murder Hitler in order to prevent the deaths of millions of people. However, it is impossible for us to know what the results of this would have been. Perhaps an even more wicked dictator would win power in his place and this could result in the suffering and death of twice as many people. Based on this difficulty, Bernard Williams, among others, ridicules the felicific calculus as absurd. He argues that utilitarians would be trapped in an eternal process of calculation in an effort to determine every tiny consequence of their actions. One utilitarian response to this accusation is that utilitarian calculations should be carried out subject to reasonable limits. If the calculation procedure was left to rattle on ad infinitum then it in itself would become too costly and would itself outweigh the benefits to be derived from the calculation. Allison said that utilitarians should adopt the summary rules approach taken by Rawls in A Theory of Justice. A pragmatic approach seems reasonable. J S Mill argued that, although the calculations were crucial, they have already been carried out in the whole past duration of the human species and have now come to form part of our moral rules. Therefore, we do not require to sit calculating the outcome of every action before we make it. Of course, to some extent it will be possible to tell instinctively what will result in the greatest happiness. Unfortunately, this does rather undermine the empirical approach that utilitarians seem to be aiming for. In any event, the felicific calculus is unconvincing as a tool of genuine usefulness and even modern utilitarians appear to have come to reject it. (2) Conflict with the concept of individual rights Utilitarianism, as has previously been remarked upon, is primarily concerned with the interests of the majority of the community. This is anathema to those who support the concept of individual rights as paramount. Dworkin, for example, believed that rights are trumps that overwhelm all other moral considerations. Although he noted the apparent egalitarian and impartial nature of utilitarianism, and acknowledged that utilitarian argument not only respects, but embodies, the right of each citizen to be treated as the equal of any other he goes on to point out that this was deceptive and could easily lead to the infringement of individual rights. He gives the example of how racial segregation might be justified under the happiness principle on the basis that segregation might be of benefit to a white law student as it would protect his interests even though a minority would suffer. Dworkin neatly summarises his position when he writes If someone has a right to do something then it is wrong for the government to try to deny it to him even though it would be in the general interest to do so. It has been argued that the consequentialist nature of theory means that all manner of rights violations and atrocities might be justified by utilitarian analysis. If the end justifies the means then, to give a topical example, is it acceptable to torture a terrorist in order to obtain information as to the whereabouts of a bomb? Is it acceptable to torture his family to pressurise the terrorist into talking? If the torture results in the finding of a bomb, which is then defused, saving many lives, then the utilitarian position would presumably support the torture in both cases. Rights-based theorists, on the other hand, would consider torture to be a violation of the terrorists rights that could never be justified. Moreover, at an instinctive level the average person would be revolted at the thought of torture, if not of the terrorist then certainly of the terrorists family. It is difficult to see how utilitarianism can be reconciled with human instinct in such circumstances. A rule-utilitarian would seek to circumvent this problem by arguing that torture, if applied as a general rule, would have such a detrimental effect on society that its use cannot be justified under the greatest happiness principle. Torture in a single situation might be justified, but the fear and shame that would arise in the community at large as a result of a widely used policy of torture would outweigh the immediate benefit in this situation. John Stuart Mill also argued that there was utilitarian value in the protection of rights, since this would increase overall happiness. This is a compelling argument. The act-utilitarian, however, would seemingly be bound to accept the torture as morally legitimate. What, then, of large-scale atrocities? It could be argued that a consequentialist approach has been used to justify many of the worlds worst crimes against humanity. Smart concedes that, under a strict utilitarian analysis, it would be justifiable to cause suffering and death to a large number of people on the grounds that an even larger number would ultimately benefit. However, he points out that it would be necessary in utilitarian terms to be very sure that the future generation would benefit and, since it would almost certainly be impossible to be so certain of the future, utilitarianism would not in fact sanction the atrocity. Moreover, he says, even if we could predict the future with absolute certainty, the chance that a large-scale atrocity would result in a benefit of sufficient scale to outweigh the horror it causes is so remote that utilitarians would almost certainly condemn the atrocity. Unfortunately, this defensive argument serves to re-iterate one of the criticisms previously alluded to allude: namely, the difficulties inherent in predicting the consequences of ones actions. By admitting that we cannot predict the outcome of, for example, genocide, Smart leaves utilitarian theory open to the accusation that there are many actions for which we cannot predict the outcome, which would suggest that it is too risky to ever take any action at all. Smart confesses that a utilitarian may have to confess doubt and ignorance is of course in accordance with his empirical attitude, however this seems to be passing the buck somewhat given the staunchly empirical tradition that underlies utilitarianism. CONCLUSION The classical conception of utilitarianism as presented by its early adherents is certainly flawed and, with such keystone concepts as the felicific calculus having been undermined, it might appear that utilitarianism as a philosophical position is otiose. Moreover, it is difficult to see where utilitarianism can sit comfortably within our contemporary culture of individual rights and freedoms. Modern utilitarians, however, continue to argue their corner. Raymond Frey, also quoted by Allison, argues that utilitarianism has never ceased to occupy a central place in moral theorising [and] has come to have a significant impact on the thinking of many laymen. The actions of governments, both in this country and abroad, in response to a perceived increase in the threat of terrorism is arguably testimony to extent to which utilitarianism influences current political thinking. Of course, it may be some time before we discover whether these actions are ultimately successful in ter ms of the maximisation of happiness or whether they have the opposite effect.

The Social Interaction of a Men’s Soccer Team Essay -- Anthropology Sp

The Social Interaction of a Men’s Soccer Team In the field of Anthropology, there have been numerous studies on soccer and the different social plays that the sport contains. Groundbreaking and controversial writings such as Marcelo Mario Suarez-Orozco’s, A Study of Argentine Soccer: The Dynamics of Its Fans and Their Folklore (1982) study the fans and symbolism that surround the game. However, a key element that is often disregarded by anthropologists is the players themselves. Dismissed as the realm of journalists, most studies seem to shy away from the social interaction and symbolism that occurs within the team, and instead focus on how the fans view the game and the games role and symbolism within society as a whole. As a senior soccer player on the Occidental College men’s soccer team, I have a unique insider’s viewpoint on the social world inside a soccer squad, and this perspective can add much to the current argument about the presence of latent homosexuality within the world of soccer. Soccer at Occidental is an intercollegiate NCAA division three sport. During the season, â€Å"the boys† practice together, eat together, hang out together, take road trips together, and many live together. As an example of this closeness, during the season I lived with the six other seniors on the soccer team in a small, cramped house. In the off-season, the team is not as tight, but teammates remain friends, hang out, party, and play soccer a couple of times a week. As a lifetime soccer player and fan, as well as a senior on the Occidental team, I can provide a unique insider’s perspective to the world of soccer. This insider’s view into the social lives and interactions of soccer players offers a contrastive view to some of ... ...ritique or response to Suarez-Orozco’s theories. I merely wanted to examine whether they existed in the lives of the players at Occidental. I found no evidence to support his theories that the goal symbolizes the anus of the opponent, but I did find considerable evidence to support his secondary theories on masculinity and femininity. Other than sharing the love for a sport, I do not see much connection between what he studied, the fans in Argentina, versus what I studied, college players at Oxy. I was merely interested to see how his theories existed here. Therefore, I am not saying that he was wrong in any way, just that in America, soccer is slightly different. Bibliography Suarez-Orozco, Marcelo Mario. 1982. A Study of Argentine Soccer: The Dynamics of its Fans and Their Folklore. The Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology 5 (1):8-28.

Essay --

Why would a married man pursue a woman in hopes of gaining more than a platonic relationship? Dmitri Gurov is a Russian womanizer that spent two weeks on a vacation resort in Yalta. During his stay, Dmitri always took interest in the new women that arrived in Yalta. He discovered a young lady with a dog walking along the sea-front. Whenever he saw her approaching the public garden, he would always make a presence to meet her there. There are definitely characteristics of his personality that caused Dmitri to venture beyond his marriage. Dmitri was married at a young age. Dmitri was not happy in his marriage. His wife considered herself very intelligent. However, Dmitri considered her unintelligent, non- attractive, and did not like to be home with her. He had been unfaithful to her for a long time. Due to the lost love Dmitri had for his wife, his view for all women took a negative stand. Whenever women were discussed in his presence, he spoke about them in a negative manner. He referred to them as â€Å"the lower race† (252). Dmitri did not like to affiliate with members of the same sex. In the presence of men, he was he was bored and uncommunicative. Although he spoke negatively about women, he felt comfortable in their presence and knew what to say to them. The way he conducted himself in public, as well as his personal appearance grabbed the women attention and lured them to him. However, something about women got his attention and drew him to them. Dmitri meets the lady with the dog while dining in the gardens. While waiting at a table to be served, the lady with the red beret took the table next to him. Dmitri assumed the lady was married by the way she walked; the way she dressed, the way she did her hair, and her expression. ... ... All awhile Anna had been deceived by the man she fell in love with, not knowing Dmitri true feelings for women. However, the two of them shared a common bond. Regardless of how Dmitri felt about other women, his compassion for Anna was something he never experienced with any other woman. To conclude, While on vacation at a resort in Yalta; two people of the opposite sex both married and unhappy, meet and establish a relationship beyond their imagination. When they departed the resort, their relationship never ended. However, it continued to grow. The two would occasionally visit each other to rekindle the relationship previously established. Throughout this man’s life, his view of women took a negative stand. For he had deceived himself by thinking he could never have the feelings of love for a woman. The women that he fell deeply in love with had proven him wrong.

American Treatment of the Indian Tribes Essay -- essays research paper

American Treatment of the Indian Tribes The American Indian lived a life being one with nature. In their way, they understood the ecological demands of the land and knew that if they took care of the land the land would take care of them. They possessed an untouched wisdom living in harmony with the environment. They hunted the land for buffalo, which provided food and clothing for the ages to come. In time they would almost become non existent at the hands of the â€Å"white† man. They would come to lose their land, lose the buffalo and lose their self being and their way of life. Towards the end of the 1800s the Indian territories were reduced by about 95 percent. The U.S. government along with greedy white settlers was the main reason behind this loss of land. The government placed treaty upon treaty on the Native Americans and would not uphold to any of them. Some treaties were made to guarantee safety and permanent reserve for the Indians, but they were not followed through. In most cases the Indians were driven off the land by white settlers looking for gold or rich farmlands. The U. S. government broke some of the treaties by expanding through the promised lands looking for valuable minerals and making way for the expansion of the railways. The U.S. Government in seeking rights to control the land and its natural resources reverted to â€Å"legal† manipulation. In cases were they were met with resistance, the Army was called in to settle the score. The relocation of the Indians from lands east of the Mississippi River to the West represents a dark phase in American history. In the first treaties signed, there were promises of stability for the Indians. One of these sagas is known as the â€Å"Trail of Tears†. This relates to the removal of the Cherokee Indians by the U.S. Army from their native lands in North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. During the journey they were held in camps and then forced to travel over 1,000 miles during adverse weather. This trail led them to the Indian Territory, which is now Oklahoma. This was a catalyst towards the devastation of the American Indian culture... ...mises such as owning their land â€Å"as long waters run and the grass shall grow.† The Indians would have continued to live "until the end of time" if the white settlers had not intervened. The white settlers created conditions that threatened the existence of the Indians. By the late 1800s, most of the tribes had now been almost completely abolished. The Indians were either beaten into submission or succumbed to the many contagious diseases brought on by the settlers. By the start of the 1900s there were less than one quarter million Native American Indians in the country. These numbers dwindled from over half a million in the early 1880s and over five million since Columbus first set foot on these lands. Most of the Indians now were living in the small reservations. Beaten, tired and humiliated, they lived in poverty, alcoholism, and unemployment. They were now forced to live off the government as wards of the state. Once the rulers of the West they now a lost culture, having lost their identities and sense of being. Although the freedom of their ancient way of life has been lost, the religion, culture, legends, and spirit of the Native American Indian will always endure.

Big Bazaar Report

INTRODUCTION Big bazaar is a hyper market chain owned by the Pantaloons Retail India Limited, with currently more than 50 outlets in metros, medium, and small cities. Big Bazaar combines the look and feel of Indian bazaars with aspect of modern retail like choice, convenience, and hygiene. It works on the same economy model like Wal Mart, and has had considerable success in many Indian cities and small towns. The idea was pioneered by entrepreneur Kishore Biyani, the head of Pantaloons Retail India Limited. Big Bazaar is not just another hyper market, it caters to every need of your family.Where Big Bazaar scores over other stores is its value for money proposition for the Indian customers . At Big Bazaar, you will definitely get the best products at the best prices – That is what they guarantee. With the ever increasing array of private labels, it has opened the doors into the world of fashion and general merchandise including home furnishings, utensils, crockery, cutlery, sp orts goods and much more at prices that will surprise you. And this is just the beginning. Big Bazaar plans to add much more to complete your shopping experience. Living up to its motto of   Isse sasta aur accha kahin nahi† All products in Big Bazaar will be available at prices lower than the MRP, often up to 60% discount. In addition to this, various offers, discounts and promotions will be regularly held at the store. The consumer will experience a new level of standard in price, convenience and comfort, quality, quantity, and store service levels. BIG BAZAAR in its true hyper market model will offer all of the above for both leading brands and also for its private labels. There are many types of retail format available in India like grocery store to mall.They have different types of market for the business. Among of all this format of retail big bazaar is the successful retail format in Indian retail industry. In past Indian customer only familiar with the nearby convince store but day to day innovation and customer awareness. Now in a day’s customer are more aware about shopping. Kishor biyani create a bench mark in Indian retail industry by entering in Indian retail business. Big bazaar is one of them format of future group. Big bazaar deal with all kind of human being products starting from children to adult.Products are selling by the big bazaar like Grocery, plastic, electronics, apparels, footwear, food etc. Mainly these sections are there in big bazaar: * Food Bazaar: Different departments Of Food Bazaar are as follow: * Vegetable * Chill Station * Golden Harvest * Head To Toe * Fruit * Ready To Eat * General Merchandise In General Merchandise Department different departments are as follow: * Crockery * Plastic * Utensil * Home leanon * Electronics * Depot * Stationery * Mobile * Apparels In Apparels Department different departments are as follows: * Footwear * Mans and ladies accessories Toys * Kid’s ware * Men’s ware * Ladies ware * Imitation jewellery The heart of the big bazaar is its ware house. Operation is start from the ware house. It is very important part of entire big bazaar process. â€Å"Is se sasta aur accha kahin nahi† punch line of the big bazaar suggest itself that good quality at lowest price products are sell by the big bazaar There are 89 BIG BAZAAR are available in india. Big Bazaar is not just another hypermarket. It caters to every need of your family. Where Big Bazaar scores over other stores is its value for money proposition for the Indian customers.At Big Bazaar, you will definitely get the best products at the best prices – that’s what they guarantee. With the ever increasing array of private labels, it has opened the doors into the world of fashion and general merchandise including home furnishings, utensils, crockery, cutlery, sports goods and much more as mentioned above at prices that will surprise you. And this is just the beginning. Big Bazaar p lans are to add much more to complete your shopping experience. TIMELINE 2001 Three Big Bazaar stores launched within a span of 22 days in Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad. 2002Big Bazaar – ICICI Bank Card is launched. Food Bazaar becomes part of Big Bazaar with the launch of the first store in Mumbai at High Street Phoenix. 2003 Big Bazaar enters Tier II cities with the launch of the store in Nagpur. Big Bazaar welcomes its 10 million-th customer at its new store in Gurgaon. 2004 Big Bazaar wins its first award and national recognition. Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar awarded the country’s most admired retailer award in value retailing and Food retailing segment at the India Retail Forum. A day before Diwali, the store at Lower Parel becomes the first to touch `. 10million turnovers on a single day. 005 Initiates the implementation of SAP and pilots a RFID project at its central warehouse in Tarapur. Launches a unique shopping program: the Big Bazaar Exchange Offer, inviti ng customers to exchange household junk at Big Bazaar. Electronic Bazaar and Furniture Bazaar are launched. 2006 Mohan Jadhav sets a national record at Big Bazaar Sangli with a `. 1,37,367 shopping bill. The Sangli farmer becomes Big Bazaar’s largest ever customer. Big Bazaar launches Shakti, India’s first credit card program tailored for   housewives. Navaras–  the jewellery store launched within Big Bazaar stores. 007 The 50th Big Bazaar store is launched in Kanpur. Big Bazaar partners with Futurebazaar. com to launch India's most popular shopping portal. Big Bazaar initiates the Power of One campaign to help raise funds for the Save the Children India Fund. Pantaloon Retail wins the International Retailer of the Year at US-based National Retail Federation convention in New York and Emerging Retailer of the Year award at the World Retail Congress held in Barcelona. 2008 Big Bazaar becomes the fastest growing hypermarket format in the world with the launch of its 101st store within 7 years of launch.Big Bazaar dons a new look with a fresh new section, Fashion @ Big Bazaar. Big Bazaar joins the league of India’s Business Super brands. It is voted among the top ten service brands in the country in the latest Pitch-IMRB international survey. 2009 Big Bazaar initiates Maha Annasantarpane program at its stores in South India,   a unique initiative to offer meals to visitors and support local social organizations. Big Bazaar captures almost one-third share in food and grocery products sold through modern retail in India. 2010Future Value Retail Limited is formed as a specialized subsidiary to spearhead the Group’s value retail business through Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar and other formats. Big Bazaar wins CNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards for the third consecutive year. Adjudged the most preferred Most Preferred Multi Brand Food ; Beverage Chain, Most Preferred Multi Brand Retail Outlet and Most Preferred Multi Brand One Stop Shop. Big Bazaar connects over 30,000 small and medium Indian manufacturers and entrepreneurs with around 200 million customers visiting its stores. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AT BIG BAZAARBIG BAZAAR MANIFESTO (Future Group) â€Å"Future† – the word which signifies optimism, growth, achievement, strength, beauty, rewards and perfection. Future encourages us to explore areas yet unexplored, write rules yet unwritten; create new opportunities and new successes. To strive for a glorious future brings to us our strength, our ability to learn, unlearn and re-learn, our ability to evolve. In Future Group will not wait for the Future to unfold itself but create future scenarios in the consumer space and facilitate consumption because consumption is development.Thereby, it will effect socio-economic development for our customers, employees, shareholders, associates and partners. Group vision Future Group shall deliver Everything, Everywhere, Every time for Every Indian Consumer in the mo st profitable manner. Group mission They share the vision and belief that their customers and stakeholders shall be served only by creating and executing future scenarios in the consumption space leading to economic development. They are infusing Indian brands with confidence and renewed ambition. They are efficient, cost- conscious and committed to quality in whatever they do.They ensure that their positive attitude, sincerity, humility and united determination shall be the driving force to make us successful. RECENT CHANGE IN RETAIL SECTOR March 21, 2013, ET The government plans to significantly liberalize Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms for single-brand retail to attract big bucks into the sector. The Finance ministry has asked the Department of Industrial policy and Promotion (DIPP) to amend the policy to allow single-brand retailers to bring different brands belonging to the same product line under one company.It has also asked DIPP – the government department that frames foreign investment rules in the country – to allow these retailers to sell different brands in the same store. A government official said the wordings of the present guidelines prevent, for example, a foreign high-street retailer from selling men's and women's clothes in the same store if their brand names are different. Moreover, the retailer needs to submit two different proposals under two different companies if it wants to sell both men's and women's apparel. If the same owner has an identical product line under a different brand name, why should he be required to set up a different company,† said a government official privy to the thinking of the finance ministry. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board, or FIPB, the inter-ministerial body that approves FDI proposals in the country, has received 63 proposals from single-brand retailers after FDI was allowed in the sector. While the rush of applications clearly signals the interest of foreign investors in the sector, most retailers want the policy to clearly allow them to sell their different brands in the same store. Any policy has to have that dynamism to address the requirements of the changing business requirement,† said the official quoted earlier. Independent experts welcomed the government rethink on the issue. â€Å"Ownership of several brands by an investor does not make it a multi-brand retailer†¦ The requirement to have separate companies for each brand merely creates incremental compliance and inefficiency of operations through multiple companies,† said Akash Gupt, executive director, PricewaterhouseCoopers.Several retailers such as Gap and Louis vuitto own multiple brands under a single company or investment group. Gap Inc. owns the Old Navy, Banana Republic, Piper lime and Athleta apparel brands besides the flagship Gap brand. Similarly, Louis Vuitton owns Fendi and Labelux owns Jimmy Choo and Belle. The government raised the FDI limit in single-brand ret ail to 100% in January 2012. The single-brand investment norms have already been tweaked once after Swedish furnishing major IKEA sought several changes while proposing its `. 0,000-crore investment. DDIP did away with the mandatory 30% sourcing requirement from small industries and also said the brand need not be owned by the investing company. Any entity with a valid agreement to sell the brand in India could seek a license under the policy. The government is keen to attract FDI as it will help it bridge the large current account deficit, and is taking measures to make the regime friendlier for foreign investors. It has decided to review and possibly abolish FDI caps in many sectors. FUTURE PLANS MUMBAI:Retail baron Kishor Biyani K Radhakrishnan has handpicked to drive a massive scale-up of his neighborhood stores chain KB's Fair Price, which he hopes will be as influential as Big Bazaar in a couple of years. Radhakrishnan, 54, who has been Future Fresh Food president, will now ta ke over as the CEO of KB's Fair Price, which plans to open more than 1,000 outlets in the next two years in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, up from around 200 stores at present. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES * To study the services of Big Bazar. * To know the customers satisfaction level. * To know the expectation of customers.