Role Of Icts For Improving Efficiency And Relevance Of Airlines Essay

Role Of Icts For Improving Efficiency And Relevance Of Airlines Services For Tourists - Essay Example In this direction it has become quite crucial for the organisation to undertake some crucial, new and innovative strategic and tactic moves. In this direction adoption of new and competent Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) has become an important and effective way for the business organisations to enhance their overall capabilities in existing challenging business environment (Konig and Strauss 2000). The importance of ICTs can be sighted in different industries across the world. In this context, international airline industry has also been adopted ICTs quite significantly. The proliferation of Internet as an important channel of communication between business organisation and customers has provided some important and effective measures related with ICTs to international Airlines for enhancing quality of services provided to passengers (Sarmento 2011). In direction to this, the paper aims to ICTs relaed trends prevailing within the International Airlines Industry. The paper also elaborates different new technologies and trends related with information and communication technologies (ICT) that are quite prominently followed within airlines industry. The impact and role ICT related practices and trends in advancing customer expectations is also an important point of discussion made in the paper. On the basis of entire findings, the paper also presents some crucial recommendations for airlines industry for using ICT in the more tactical and strategic way so that efficiency and productivity of the industry can be enhanced. ICTs acceptance within airlines industry Like other business industries, the growth of internet and technological advancement of business environment has also affected trends and practices followed in airlines industry. In order to enhance efficiency of services provided to passengers and providing some intensive an d value added experience to them, airlines companies has adopted ICT as one of the most effective tools. The history of ICT acceptance by different Airlines is quite old. Since 1970s, Airlines companies have been using different variants of ICT for facilitating its customers. The availability of telephone availability within this decade has changed the trend of enquiring about availability, reservation and confirmation (Sarmento 2011). In regard to this, first of all American Airlines introduced SABRE Computer Reservation System (CRS) in the year 1962, for the purpose of providing fast and effective facilities regarding reservations and bookings. Afterwards, the system was started to be used for inventory control function within the organisation. This system allowed the company to schedule its crew effectively, track spare parts requirements, and have effective decision support systems for management (Knowles and Garland 1994). The revolution regarding ICTs in Airline industry can b e spotted from mid 1990s. The development of internet and intranet facilities within the market place has allowed the airline industry to have some effective strategies on technological innovations in their ICTs infrastructure. In this regard, British Airways has spent ?1.1 billion on its ICT infrastructure for the purpose of making its distribution channels more effective and responsive. Increasing competitive pressure has imposed business organisations to have enhanced the level of interaction with customers so that their trust and loyalty can be won (Noakes and Coulter 2002). In this concern, effective communication and information technologies used by the company has been considered as effective gateways. In addition to this,

Macroeconomics Of Japan Essay Example for Free

Macroeconomics Of Japan Essay Japan is the greatest economy in Asia, in terms of GDP, as well as human resources and technology. The nation was once predicted to be the next superpower nation exceeding the United Sates and countries of the European Union. Today, it is the world’s third-largest economy after the United States and People’s Republic of China. It is also the second-largest economy by real GDP and market exchange rates. The economy is highly efficient and competitive especially in the services industry, which is originated from a good cooperation between the government and the industry, a strong work ethic and the mastery of high technology. Recent analysis however, revealed that the economy is currently under serious problems. Observers and even Japan’s own officials have admitted that the economy is no longer ‘first class’. There are even worries that Japan has no longer sustain the capacity to be one of the world’s greatest economies anymore, and the economy will slowly degrade into one of the typical Asian economies. Analysts stated that such an occurrence has happened before, when Argentina which were once considered one of the strongest economies in the world degraded into typical third world economies today. Is this the case with Japan? In this paper I am discussing the problems that stayed within Japan’s economy and elaborating their probable causes. Afterwards, I will elaborate the macroeconomic policies which have been performed by the Japanese government in response to these issues and how these policies have affected the economy. The period of discussion is 1997 -2007, which are the years after the ‘Japan economic bubble’ bursts, to the present day. II. Japan Economic Issues 1997-2007 II. 1. Background of the Issues – Japan Economic Bubble Japanese growth rates have been nothing less than spectacular for decades. In the 60’s the average real economic growth rate was 10%, in the 70’s it was 5% and in the 80’s it was 4%. Japanese financial system however, was based on a bureaucratic fiat. The government believes that by injecting sufficient amount of capital into the market, the economy will experience a rapid rate of growth. Thus, the financial system was set to inject cheap capital into the business sector (Hamada, 2004). In support of this policy, banks even reluctant to report –in bad loans. In short, companies were encouraged to borrow and expand continuously. Companies would then borrow using assets like land and then invest the money into the stock market. After the market rises, the company would have latent profits which will be used to buy more land and therefore, the cycle continues. These cycles were the origins of the huge real estate and stock market bubbles. These bubbles however, cannot be sustained forever, and when the Bank of Japan (BOJ) raised interests rates, the bubble bursts in 1989 and leaving commercial banks in Japan with a mountain of bad loans. II. 2. Stagnant Economic Growth Afterwards, assets prices began to decline rapidly. Japan’s economy was going through a long period of deflation since then, partly caused by the appreciation of yen. Because of this appreciation, the CPI increase rate dropped into negative in 1995. The expanding deflation caused Japan’s economy to remain in a static condition. Moreover, the deepening deflation was accompanied with weakening state of real economy like growth rates declines and increased unemployment rates. Between 1992 and 1994, real growth rates are below 1%. It even dropped toward a negative range in 1998. Jobless rate have also suffered a rise of 3. 4 % from 2 % in 1990 to 5. 4% in 2003. The economic downsizing in 1997 put Japanese economy into a new state of deflation (Oliver, 2002). II. 3. Deflationary Trap It was not considered serious until the inflation rate slipped to below zero in 1997. In this phase, observers believed that Japan was in a ‘deflationary trap’. However, because of various long-term considerations, the government has implemented policies to maintain inflation stable near the zero mark. In this situation however, the central bank cannot use its traditional instruments to deal with the issue. As a result, deflation deepens even further and the market intensified expectations toward further and longer period of deflation. Due to the increase in real rate of interest, consumer spending and corporate investments were discouraged. Unfortunately, the shrinking total demand in the macro economy further worsen the deflation. If not dealt with accordingly, this could lead into self-sustaining deflationary process (Campbell, 1992).

Maus :: essays research papers

Maus is one of the most famous of recent graphic novels. Winner of the prestigious Pulitzer prize for literature, it's the harrowing true story of a Jewish holocaust survivor, retold to his son decades later. The story has two main threads. The first is the true story of Holocaust survivor Vladek Spiegelman's experiences as a young Jewish man during the horrors leading up to and including his confinement in Auschwitz. The second intertwining story is about Vladek as an old man, recounting his history to his son Art, the author of the book, and the complicated relationship between the two of them. It's a difficult process for both father and son, as Vladek tries to make sense of his twighlight years, indelibly marked by his experiences and a slave to the processes he had to resort to in order to make it through. On this level, it's also about Art, as he comes to terms with what his father went through, while still finding the more irritating aspects of his father's personality difficult to live with. Maus uses anthropomorphic characters, using different species of animal to represent the different characters' race or nationality - Jews are mice, Germans are cats, Americans are dogs and the Polish are pigs. This doesn't always quite work, though Spiegleman is acutely aware of this as he struggles with whether or not to make his French wife, converted to Judaism before they got married, into a mouse or some other species. Please don't instantly dismiss this as childish nonsense though - it owes more to Animal Farm than Mickey Mouse. It's a sad tale, as although Vladek survives the Holocaust, the shadow of the great swathe of humanity that was butchered by the Nazi killing factories hangs over the entire book. It is also haunted by the ghosts of Vladek's first wife Anja and their son Richieu; the former surviving Auchwitz but eventually committing suicide, the latter not making it out of Poland. This book, originally a two volume work is now available in an excellent 'complete' edition in the UK, which binds both chilling volumes into one and is an excellent way for new readers to get hold of this classic work of literature.

Biofoam: Not Just Peanuts Essay

Summer Internship Program State bank of India 7/27/2013 [Type the author name] A SUMMER INTERNSHIP REPORT ON Merchant Acquiring Business Point of Sale (P.o.s.) Submitted to L.J. Institute of Management studies In requirement of partial fulfillment of Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) 2 year full time Program of Gujarat Technological University Submitted on: 27th July 2013 Submitted by: Batch No: 2012-14 DECLARATION 1. Objective of the Study 2. Company Profile History OVERVIEW OF SBI PROFILE MISSION VISION ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE BOARD OF DIRECTORS HISTORY ACHIEVEMENTS AND AWARDS SOCIAL ACTIVITIES OF SBI Owners Products Current Scenario 3. Organization Overview a. Organisation Structure b. Employee Profile c. Departmentation Information i. Finance ii. System iii. Marketing iv. HR 4. Strategies Adopted a. Finance b. Operations/ Production c. Marketing d. HR 5. Research a. Problems Identified b. Hypothesis c. Research Methodology d. Data Analysis e. Conclusions / Observations / Findings f. Suggestions / Comments OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The objective of the study is TOWARDS THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE IN MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (2ND YEAR, SEM-3) The major objective of the study is : COMPANY OVERVIEW ( study of the various departments of the organization ) & MARKET RESEARCH ON ARE THE CUSTOMERS OF HOME LOAN DEPARTMENT SATISFIED WITH THE PROCESSES INVOLVED IN GETTING LOAN FROM SBI ? HISTORY OF SBI EVOLUTION OF SBI The origin of the State Bank of India goes back to the first decade of the nineteenth century with the establishment of the Bank of Calcutta in Calcutta on 2 June 1806. Three years later the bank received its charter and was re-designed as the Bank of Bengal (2 January 1809), the first joint-stock bank of British India sponsored by the Government of Bengal. The Bank of Bombay (15 April 1840) and the Bank of Madras (1 July 1843) followed the Bank of Bengal. These three banks remained at the apex of modern banking in India. On 27 January 1921,they were amalgamated as the Imperial Bank of India. The three presidency banks came into existence either as a result of the compulsions of imperial finance or by the felt needs of local European commerce and were not imposed from outside in an arbitrary manner to modernise India’s economy. Their evolution was, however, shaped by ideas culled from similar developments in Europe and England, and was influenced by changes occurring in the st ructure of both the local trading environment and those in the relations of the Indian economy to the economy of Europe and the global economic framework. Establishment The establishment of the Bank of Bengal marked the advent of limited liability, joint-stock banking in India. It was the associated innovation in banking, viz. the decision to allow the Bank of Bengal to issue notes, which would be accepted for payment of public revenues within a restricted geographical area. This right of note issue was very valuable not only for the Bank of Bengal but also for the Banks of Bombay and Madras. The concept of deposit banking was also an innovation because the practice of accepting money for safekeeping (and in some cases, even investment on behalf of the clients) by the indigenous bankers had not spread as a general habit in most parts of India. But, for a long time, and especially upto the time that the three presidency banks had a right of note issue, bank notes and government balances made up the bulk of the investible resources of the banks. The three banks were governed by royal charters, which were revised from time to time. Each charter provided for a share capital, four-fifth of which were privately subscribed and the rest owned by the provincial government. Presidency Banks Act The presidency Banks Act came into operation on 1 May 1876. This brought the three presidency banks under a common statute with similar restrictions on business. The proprietary connection of the Government was, however, terminated, though the banks continued to hold charge of the public debt offices in the three presidency towns, and the custody of a part of the government balances. Bank of Madras The decision of the Government to keep the surplus balances in Reserve Treasuries outside the normal control of the presidency banks and the connected decision not to guarantee minimum government balances at new places where branches were to be opened effectively checked the growth of new branches after 1876. The pace of expansion witnessed in the previous decade fell sharply although, in the case of the Bank of Madras, it continued on a modest scale as the profits of that bank were mainly derived from trade dispersed among a number of port towns and inland Centers of the presidency. Bank of Bombay Presidency Banks of Bengal The presidency Banks of Bengal, Bombay and Madras with their 70 branches were merged in 1921 to form the Imperial Bank of India. The triad had been transformed into a monolith and a giant among Indian commercial banks had emerged. The new bank took on the triple role of a commercial bank, a banker’s bank and a banker to the government. But this creation was preceded by years of deliberations on the need for a ‘State Bank of India’. What eventually emerged was a ‘half-way house’ combining the functions of a commercial bank and a quasi-central bank. The establishment of the Reserve Bank of India as the central bank of the country in 1935 ended the quasi-central banking role of the Imperial Bank. The latter ceased to be bankers to the Government of India and instead became agent of the Reserve Bank for the transaction of government business at centres at which the central bank was not established. But it continued to maintain currency chests and small coin depots and operate the remittance facilities scheme for other banks and the public on terms stipulated by the Reserve Bank. It also acted as a bankers’ bank by holding their surplus cash and granting them advances against authorised securities. The management of the bank clearing houses also continued with it at many places where the Reserve Bank did not have offices. The bank was also the biggest tenderer at the Treasury bill auctions conducted by the Reserve Bank on behalf of the Government. The establishment of the Reserve Bank simultaneously saw important amendments being made to the constitution of the Imperial Bank converting it into a  purely commercial bank. The earlier restrictions on its business were removed and the bank was permitted to undertake foreign exchange business and executor and trustee business for the first time. Imperial Bank The Imperial Bank during the three and a half decades of its existence recorded an impressive growth in terms of offices, reserves, deposits, investments and advances, the increases in some cases amounting to more than six-fold. The financial status and security inherited from its forerunners no doubt provided a firm and durable platform. The lofty traditions of banking which the Imperial Bank consistently maintained and the high standard of integrity it observed in its operations inspired confidence in its depositors that no other bank in India could perhaps then equal. All these enabled the Imperial Bank to acquire a pre-eminent position in the Indian banking industry and also secure a vital place in the country’s economic life. Stamp of Imperial Bank of India When India attained freedom, the Imperial Bank had a capital base (including reserves) of Rs.11.85 crores, deposits and advances of Rs.275.14 crores and Rs.72.94 crores respectively and a network of 172 branches and more than 200 sub offices extending all over the country. S B I – THE PROFILE REGISTERED NAME: STATE BANK OF INDIA CHAIRMAN: SHRI ARUN KUMAR PURWAR DATE OF ESTBLISHMENT: 1ST JULY 1955 FORM OF ORGANISATION: NATIONALISED BANK CENTRAL OFFICE: CORPORATE CENTRE APEX ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE, MUMBAI. REGISTERD OFFICE: CENTRAL ACCOUNTS OFFICE Number of domestic branches: 9,177 Number of foreign brances: 70 SYMBOL OF SBI The new symbol of the State Bank of India is circular representing the simplest and the most symmetrical of gometrical shapes. The circular shape of the symbol suggests the continual expansion like the ring in the water, to cover the entire country. From the ancient times, the roundness was considered as the fullness of the man’s being and his growing consciousness. The small circle in the center connotes that despite the SBI’s size it is small man who hold the center of State Bank stage. OVERVIEW OF THE BANK * State Bank of India is the nation’s largest bank, accounting for about 20% of India’s deposit and loan activities. * The bank operates more than 13,500 branches and over 5,000 ATMs within India and more than 50 offices in some 30 other countries. * The bank owns an asset base of $126 billion. * While its size has slowed modernization of both its services and its products, the bank has become more computerized. * Its international banking services include shipping and export financing and merchant banking. * The Reserve Bank of India owns about 60% of State Bank of India. MISSION OF SBI * To retain the bank’s position as the premier Indian financial service group, with the world class standards and significant global business, committed. * To excellence in customer, shareholder and employee satisfaction, and to play a leading role in the expanding and diversifying financial services sector, while continuing emphasis on its development banking role. VISION OF SBI * Premier Indian financial services group with global perspective, world- class standards of efficiency and professionalism and core institutional values. * Retain its position in the country as a pioneer in development banking. * Maximize shareholder value through high sustained earning per share. * An institution with a culture of mutual care and commitment, a satisfying and exciting work environment and continuous learning opportunities. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Directors on the Bank’s Central Board as on 1st July 2006 DIRECTORS Prof. M.S. Swaminathan Shri. Ajay G. Piramal Shri. Suman Kumar Bery Dr. Ashok Junjhunwala Shri. A. C. Kalita Shri. Amar Pal Shri. Arun Singh Shri. Rajiv Pandey Shri. Piyush Goyal Shri. Ashok K Jha Smt. Shyamala Gopinath Shri. O. P. Bhatt Chairman MANAGING DIRECTOR Shri T. S. Bhattacharya PRODUCTS AND SERVICIES OF SBI 1. SERVICES 1. SBI VISHWA YATRA FOREIGN TRAVEL CARD 2. FOREIGN INWARD REMITTANCE 3. ATM SERVICES 4. INTERNET BANKING 5. LOCKER 6. GIFT CHEQUES 7. PUBLIC PROVIDENT FUND (PPF) 2. DEPOSIT SCHEMES 1. CURRENT ACCOUNT 2. BASIC BANKING 3. SAVINGS BANK ACCOUNT 4. TERM DEPOSITS 3. PERSONAL FINANCE 1. SBI SARAL PERSONAL LOAN 2. HOUSING LOAN 3. SHORT TERM HOUSING LOAN 4. EASY TRAVEL LOAN 5. GRAM NIVAS SCHEME 6. CAR LOAN 7. EDUCATION LOAN 8. SCHOLAR LOANS 9. PROPERTY LOAN 10. LOAN TO PENSIONERS 11. LOAN AGAINST SHARES DEBENTURES 12. LOAN FOR EARNEST MONEY DEPOSIT 13. FESTIVAL LOANS 14. MEDI-PLUS SCHEME 15. TEACHERS-PLUS SCHEME 16. SAINIK-PLUS SCHEME 17. TRIBAL-PLUS SCHEME 18. CREDIT KHAZANA 19. RENT PLUS CURRENT SCENARIO * State Bank of India is focusing on internal accruals through competitive and efficient operations to increase profitability in the coming years. * SBI has moved up in terms of processes and technology in working systems. There has been concerted efforts to push up commercial lending, especially credit to SMEs (small and medium enterprises), besides cashing in on real estate boom with focus on improving housing loans. * SBI was focused on deploying capital to improve agriculture sector ‘in a viable way and not as a one-time basis’. * Retail credit alone stood at Rs 50,000 crore for the year ended 31 March 2006. * SBI has teamed up with GE Capital Services to market its credit cards, being showcased as an important product in personal banking. * At present, the bank has over 2.5 million credit cards in circulation * At present, the bank has around 6,000 ATMs across the country with an average disbursement of Rs 10 crore per day. * SBI Life, a joint venture with French company, Cardiff, adopts banc assurance model to expand its business in life insurance. * Through bundling SBI Life with other products, the bank offered protection to customers. Similarly, SBI Mutual Fund through multiple schemes had received overwhelming response from investors. * To facilitate transactions of  salary in labour intensive companies and factories, the bank has introduced Payroll cards, an ATM card for employees to draw salary from banks after the same has been remitted by the employers. They don’t need to have SB accounts for availing Payroll cards. * The bank has targeted 16 per cent growth in deposits and 20 per cent growth in lending for the region in the current fiscal. * Recently, the newly opened branches have received good response from customers as efforts were taken to improve the ambience of banking experience. ORGANISATION OVERVIEW ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE CHAIRMAN (ARUN KUMAR PURVAR) ↓ MANAGING DIRACTOR (SHRI C. BHATTACHARYA) (SHRI K. ASHOK KINI) ↓ DIRACTORS (ED-3, NED-13) ↓ CHIEF GENERAL MANAGER ↓ GENERAL MANAGER ↓ DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER ↓ ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER (MR S. MANKODI, REGIONAL BUSINESS OFFICE, SAURASTRA)↓ (MR. V. SUBRAMAIAN, MAIN BRANCH, RAJKOT) (MR. JAGDISH JOSHI, PFC, RAJKOT) ↓ CHIEF MANAGER ↓ DEPUTY MANAGER ↓ ASSISTANT MANAGER ↓ EMPLOYEES ↓ CLERKS ↓ MASSENGERS DEPARTMENTATION INFORMATION 1. MARKETING DEPARTMENT 2. FINANCE DEPARTMENT 3. SYSTEM DEPARTMENT 4. HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT MARKETING MDEPARTMENT MARKETING DEPARTMENT 1. MARKETING – AN INTRODUCTION 2. BANKING SECTOR AND THE ROLE OF MARKETING 3. MARKETING IN SBI 4. 7 PILLARS OF MARKETING 5. CUSTOMER SERVICE AT SBI MARKETING – AN INRTODUCTION Marketing is a multi-faceted subject covering the areas of production, consumption and distribution which can be viewed narrowly as activities that occur in the transfer of services to customers or broadly as all processes  by which the society meets its requirements. Marketing seeks to convert customer deeds into products and offers it to the market so as to fulfill the needs of the customers. Marketing communication is considered as a tool to communicate the benefits of the product to the customer. Marketing management is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals. Marketing department is one of the most important departments of any business organization. Whether its business unit, service unit, manufacturing unit, non government unit, tourism, country etc., competition has left no sector but to push itself to survive. The world has become global village and constant research and development, technology up gradation has made the market full of services and products and new ideas for customers. Scope of marketing is ever changing and everlasting. Brand management, event marketing, e-marketing, relationship marketing etc. are the new jargons in this area. MARKETING IN BANKING SECTOR â€Å"THE ROLE OF MARKETING IS TO DELIVER A HIGHER STANDARD OF LIVING† Marketing in banking sector is expressed as, â€Å"Putting People First† Banking – a word that brings the picture of money, economy cheques, drafts, savings, deposits, investments, and today.. it may bring more pictures of debit card, credit card, ATMs., Mutual funds, loans for 2 wheelers, 4 wheelers, homes, education, traveling, etc. The scope of banking activities has increased and therefore the role of Marketing in banking sector also has undergone rapid changes. Core banking, Net banking, e-banking, mobile banking, phone banking, are the new awtaars of banking today. BANKING ENVIRONMENT IN INDIA The mantra of today’s marketers is â€Å"Catch the customer and cash the customer† â€Å"Love the customer and not the product† The growth in aggregate deposits of scheduled commercial banks at 17.3% in 2003-2004 was higher than 13.4% in 2002-2003, adjusted for mergers. However, scheduled commercial banks’ credit recorded a lower rise of 14.6% during 2003- in food credit following higher off take of food grains. MARKETING IN SBI Marketing activities in SBI are centralized. Basically there are 14 circles all over the country zone wise. Namely, 1. Ahmedabad Circle 8. Hyderabad Circle 2. Banglore Circle 9. Kolkata Circle 3. Bhopal Circle10. Lucknow Circle 4. Bhubaneshwar Circle11. Mumbai Circle 5. Chandigarh Circle12. Delhi Circle 6. Chennai Circle13. Patna Circle 7. Guvahati Circle14. Kerala Circle Under each circle there is one local head office and few Zonal offices which take care of marketing activities of respective local branches of SBI. At L.H.O., there is one marketing head and good staff who plans & executes all the activities of marketing of SBI & its products for that particular region. The Central office at Mumbai decides the budget of marketing for all different circles and according to the allotted budget and requirements, heads at circle designs and develops the needed marketing strategies. So here, at SBI main branch, Rajkot, AGM of Main Branch, PFC & Regional head, carry out marketing functions under the supervision of L.H.O. Ahmedabad. THE CONSTANT MARKETING ACTIVITIES AT SBI MARKET RESEARCH DESIGNING AND REDESIGNING PRODUCTS & SERVICIES PRICING (setting interest rates) PROMOTION DISTRIBUTION AFTER SALES SERVICES etc. MARKETING MIX OF SBI PRICE The second important pillar of marketing or marketing mix of SBI is â€Å"PRICE†. It is important because other P’s are expense making whereas only this P fetches money. Banking sector is a service sector therefore in this sector there is no physical existence of product but here services are delivered and priced. It can be the interest on loan or charges collected for providing different facilities to its customers. Interest rate is the word used instead of price in banking sector. As far as deposits are concerned the public funds are used by bank and interest is paid to the account holders. As far as loans are concerned the interest is paid by the customer to the bank for using the funds of the bank. Interest rates are decided by the corporate office, MUMBAI under the supervision of RBI. In fact, decision regarding interest rates is all affected by monetary policies, capital market, availability of funds to commercial banks and economic conditions of country. PLACE Distribution or execution of products and services at any bank is mostly through its outlets or branches themselves. Yes today, ATMs are the most dynamic retail channel in terms of transformation they are bringing about in banking habits and about popularity with customers and branch staff alike. Depending on the size o market, city, town, state, country and need, the number and place of Zonal offices and branches are determined. As far as SBI is concerned, most of the branches and offices are located at the heart of the city. SBI has huge network of outlets and ATMs through out the world form where it serves its customers. STRUCTURE OF PLANING & EXECUTION PREMISES CORPORATE CENTER (MUMBAI) LHOs ZONAL OFFICE REGIONAL BUSINESS OFFICE BRANCHES Depending on the size of market, city, town, state and country need, the number and place of Zonal offices and branches are determined. As far as SBI is concerned most of the branches and offices are located at the heart of the city. IN RAJKOT THERE ARE 5 BRANCHES OF SBI: 1. RAJKOT MAIN BRANCH 2. BHAKTINAGAR BRANCH 3. JAGNATH BRANCH 4. LAKHAJIRAJ ROAD BRANCH 5. MARKETING YARD BRANCH PROMOTION GENERAL PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES AT SBI: At every branch of SBI they put hoardings of their different products, not only in branches but also on crowded roads of the city. They give advertisement in TELEVISION and NEWSPAPERS for their different products and special schemes if any.  SBI organized WORKSHOPS on securities market awareness campaign (SMAC) at eight centers and educated about 1675 investors in these workshops. They even give advertisement in national level MAGAZINES. PRODUCTWISE PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES 1. EDUCATION LOAN : For advertising at national level SBI put HOARDING and took help of TELEVISION. At local level they give LEAFLET to all the customers that visit the personal finance cell. Recently they have also started giving SEMINARS and PRESENTATIONS in colleges and coaching classes, where potential customers are found. 2. HOUSING LOAN : To increase the sales and for creating awareness about housing loan, SBI conducted a property fair. For that they took help of print media by giving advertisement in local newspapers and by distributing leaflets. 3. AUTO LOAN : As far as marketing of Auto Loan is concerned bank was in general impression that there was no need of doing. But as the time passed SBI started realizing that there rate are little bit higher in market. They decreased their rate & started doing marketing by giving advertising in the in local newspaper. They are doing promotion jointly with the dealers and also keeping stall at fair or other places. FINANCE DEPARTMENT FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE YEAR| 2005- 06| 2004-05| % change| Total Income (Rs. Crore)| 43,184| 39,548| 9.19| Total Expenditure (Rs. Crore)| 38,777| 35,243| 10.03| Net Profit (Rs. Crore)| 4,407| 4,305| 2.37| Earning Per Share (Rs.)| 83.73| 81.79| 2.37| Return on Average Assets (%)| 0.89| 0.99| (-) 10.10| Return on Equity (%)| 15.47| 18.10| (-) 14.53| Profit Per Employee (Rs. Thousands)| 216.76| 207.50| 4.46| AT THE END OF| March 2006| March 2005| (%) change| Paid up Capital andReserves & Surplus| 27,644| 24,072| 14.84| Deposites (Rs. Crore)| 3,80,046| 3,67,048| 3.54| Advances (Rs. Crore)| 2,61,642| 2,02,374| 29.29| BALANCE SHEET OF THE STATE BANK OF INDIA AS ON 31ST MARCH 2006 (Rs. in billion)| MARCH 2005| MARCH 2006| CAPITAL & LIABILITIES| | | Capital| 5.26| 5.26| Reserves & Surplus| 320.26| 366.80| Minority Interest| 13.04| 14.30| Deposits| 5061.05| 5440.24| Borrowings| 229.30| 369.75| Other Liabilities & Provisions| 656.87| 771.96| Total| 6285.78| 6968.32| ASSETS| | | Cash & balances with Reserve Bank of India | 256.16| 311.29| Balances with banks and money at call & short notice | 253.41| 262.08| Investments| 2619.62| 2279.31| Advances| 2869.87| 3743.17| Fixed Assets| 35.74| 39.58| Other Assets| 250.98| 332.92| Total| 6285.78| 6968.32| Contingent Liabilities| 2017.46| 2930.77| Bills for Collection | 316.90| 247.81| STATE BANK OF INDIA MARKET RELATED RATIOS MARKET RELATED RATIOS| MAR 03| MAR 04| MAR 05| MAR 06| Market Price (Rs) (as on last day of the year/quarter)| 270 | 606| 657 | 968 | Price to Book Ratio (%)| 0.83| 1.58| 1.44| 1.79| Market Capitalization (Rs in Billion)| 142.05| 318.78| 345.75| 509.48| Earning Per Share ( Rs)| 59.00| 69.94| 81.79| 83.73| P/E Ratio (%) | 4.58| 8.66| 8.03| 10.40| Analysis of Performance financial * Level of domestic investments remained stable during the half-year of FY 2005-2006. * Investment Fluctuation Reserve amounted to 5.30% of eligible Investments. * During the half-year the Bank divested its stake in (Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd. (CIBIL) from 40% to 10% and booked a profit of Rs.7.50 crores as a result of this disinvestment. * During the period, forex business on account of customers registered a growth of 28.80% on Year-on-Year basis. * NII of the Bank went up by 24.11% from Rs.6,333.89 crore in H1 of 2004-05 to Rs.7,861.19 crore in H1 of 2005-06. * Staff costs registered a growth of 9.11% due to wage revision. Other Operating Expenses of the Bank showed a growth of 10.41% in in H1 of 2005-06 as compared to H1 of 2004-05 * Total provisions made for this half year were higher at Rs.2,984.21 crore as compared to Rs.2,536.02 crore made in H1 of 2004-05. Major provisions are as under: * Provision for NPAs at Rs.246.74 crore for the current half year (as agains t Rs.508.45 crore during H1 of 2004-05). * Higher Provision for depreciation on investment Rs.2,397.07 crore (as against Rs.344.03 crore in H1 of 2004-05). * Provision for tax at Rs.400.09 crore (including deferred tax debit) as compared to Rs.1,449.97 crore in H1 of 2004-05. Provision for tax is lower mainly due to higher provision for depreciation on Investment. * The provision & contingencies for the Current Quarter (Q2 only) stood at Rs.767.56 crores, as against Rs.1,523.04 crores in the corresponding period of the previous year. SYSTEM DEPARTMENT Information Technology ATM Project * The Bank’s ATM network includes 5479 ATMs in India, which is the largest ATM network in the country. The Bank continues to expand this network rapidly. Customers can transact free of cost at the ATMs of the State Bank Group. * The agreement with VISA and Master Card International for acquiring ATM transactions has resulted in another revenue generation stream. Core Banking Solution (CBS) * The Bank is moving towards a centralized database and a Core Banking Solution, with capability for on-line, real-time transaction processing. The Bank has brought 2165 branches at 437 centers under Core Banking Solution in all Circles, covering 38% business. * Implementation of CBS would substantially enhance the Bank’s capability in introduction of new and innovative products at very short intervals across branches and other value-added services to customers on a 24X7 basis, tone up internal efficiency through straight-through transaction processing capabilities on a centralized database and improve operational effectiveness in the areas, such as, integration of multiple delivery channels, single window for meeting all needs of a customer, better MIS and improved security.This will take the Bank to a superior technology platform leading to near-zero branch level system administration, centralized generation of reports and zero-effort reconciliation of inter-branch entries a s more and more branches shift to core banking platform. * Core banking would integrate the trade finance, Treasury and ALM applications enabling efficient funds management and risk management capabilities. Value Added Services * College/Hostel Fee Payment† through ATMs – Covered more than 67 Institutions sunder this scheme. * Topping up of Mobile phones of Idea, Orange and Airtel transactions. * Opening of Internet Banking accounts through ATMs for cardholders. * ATM is increasingly used as cash point for SBI cards. * Issue of monthly/quarterly season tickets for suburban trains of Central Railway at CST Mumbai. * Cash as well as Cheque Deposit on ATM – Facility has been made Operational on a pilot basis. * Temple trust Donation facility now available for Vaishnodevi, Shri Sai Sansthan, Shirdi and Gurudwara Sahib, Nanded.Devotees can now offer their donations to these Temples through ATM. * Online collection of Application fees for GATE & JMET 2006. * MTNL, Mumbai Bill payment through ATM. PERSONAL BANKING FINANCE CELL : To give focused attention to retail loans at branches, cells have been set up at 182 branches with many more to come. BUSINESS PROCESS RE-ENGINEERING (BPR) : The bank has undertaken BPR exercise and has engaged an international consultant as Advisor for the project. The objective of BPR initiative is to strengthen the bank’s ability to acquire new customers, build lasting relationship with existing customers and increase customer satisfaction through world-class service quality. The BPR team is simplifying and redesigning processes to leverage the core banking solution platform. Strategies are being evolved for migrating transactions to full set of alternate channels namely, ATMs, Internet and Call Centers. The objective is to transform branches into sales and service focused outfits with all back-offices, non-customer facing transactions being moved out of branches to central processing cells. SINGLE WINDOW SYSTEM : To improve customer service and to free the staff for marketing, single window delivery system has been introduced at 7446 branches. HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT 1. Introduction 2. Human Resource Management at SBI 3. Recruitment 4. selection 5. Promotion 6. Training 7. IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT It has become the necessity for the organizations to keep HR Department because EMPLOYEES are the valuable asset of any organization. Each and every organization is concerned with personnel functions and that is the reason for keeping a separate Human Resource Department. The personnel manager has the ultimate responsibility for all personnel and labor polices. This department helps the management in securing, utilizing and developing appropriate manpower to achieve the organizational objectives. For this purpose, it performs several functions like recruitment, selection, compensation, promotion, transfer, training etc. It also relates to the maintenance of industrial peace and harmony, Industrial Relations, labor welfare activities, etc. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AT SBI The bank proposes to automate its HR processes with business objectives. Thus the bank has decided to implement an HRM solution which would handle all aspects of HRM, including payment of wages and salaries, CTC, performance management, training management, fixed assets etc. STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP PROGRAMMES Such programmes for officers in Senior Management grade, and Strategic HR initiatives were launched, and in addition, Revamping of the Training System It was undertaken to meet future needs of the Bank which is under implementation. INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS: Industrial Relations includes maintaining the relations with the employees and colleague to maintain the industrial harmony and peace. In order to increase the responsibilities of Senior or Special Assistants, their passing powers have been enhanced and duties enlarged. RECRUITMENT AT SBI As SBI is the government oranisation here for higher level of designation or post SBI prefers to follow the internal source of recruitment that is Promotion, Transfers, and demotion within the organization. As far as other clerical job is concerned there is no recruitment going on for the post of officers and middle level jobs. The External source of recruitment is used that is Advertisement in newspapers, magazines and web sites. Here, major decisions regarding recruitment are taken by SBI Central Recruitment Board, Bombay. SELECTION AT SBI RECEIPT OF APPLICATION SCRUTINISING APPLICATIONS RECEIVED INVITING RIGHT CANDIDATES FOR INTERVIEW DIFFERENT TESTS FOR SELECTION SELECTION OF THE RIGHT CANDIDATE PROMOTIONS The usual policy for promotion is to promote the person on the basis of seniority or merit. Length of service, education, training course completed, previous work history etc. are factors, which are given weitht while deciding on a operativeness, merit, honesty, many informal influences are powerful determinants of a promotional policy. PROMOTIONS AT SBI There are three types of promotions at SBI : * Fast Track Promotion * Normal Channel Promotion * Seniority Channel Promotion FAST TRACK PROMOTION It is applicable to the employees who have completed 2 years of job. Such employees have to undergo * A written test and * Then group discussion and * Personal interviews respectively. More over, every employee should have secured 90 % and more marks and grade A in confidential performance appraisal report. NORMAL CHANNEL PROMOTION In this channel of promotion employees who have completed four or five years of their job are eligible and they have to udergo written test and group discussion and personal interview. Depending on personal records, performance appraisal, requirement of staff, grades and percentage in test, employees and promoted. SENIORITY CHANNEL PROMOTION It is basedon as the name suggests seniority level of an employee The promotion is given to them. As this type of promotion is only given to senior employees for the higher level of posts and designations, at times they have to also go for written test and at times they have to directly go for oral exams and interviews. Four scale of promotion are there. In this type of promotion, employees who have done 12 years of job are eligible for scale 1 and scale 2 promotion while employees who have completed 14 year of job and carries minimum 50% marks are eligible for scale 3 and scale 4 promotion, Training Bank’s Training Philosophy â€Å"Training in State Bank is a proactive, planned and continuous process as an integral part of organisational development. It seeks to impart knowledge, improve skills and reorient attitudes for individual growth and organisational effectiveness†. State Bank of India†s experience in training spans more than four decades and is based on an in-depth understanding of the business and banking environment, domestic as well as international. TRAINING SYSTEM GOALS * Training * Feedback to corporate office to assist in policy formulation, product development * To act as a think-tank * An internal consultant * Organisational development interventions * To conduct customised on-site programmes at our branches * Interventions at branch level for organisational development * Research & Development TRAINING METHODOLOGY * Knowledge * Lectures * Exercises * Questionnaires * Quiz * Group work * Interface/panel discussions * Skills * Case studies * Exercises * Group work * Attitudes * Small group Work * Role play * Exercises * Interface/panel discussions * Customer interaction * Training media: Audio-visual teaching aids and computer aided learning MARKET RESEARCH -IN HOME LOAN DEPARTMENT VARIOUS STAGES IN RESEARCH Stage-1: PROBLEM IDENTIFIED At the very first stage in research the researcher has to clearly identify and define the problem. A well defined problem helps the researcher in the research. As it said that â€Å"A PROBLEM WELL DEFINED IS HALF SOLVED.† My research problem is â€Å"What are the experiences & difficulties faced by customers in getting Housing loan from SBI?† Stage-2: IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVE Identification of Research objective is very essential in any research because if the researcher fails to identify the research objective he may fail in his research and the researcher can not achieve ultimate results. Research objectives are the end results.It directs and provides the base for the research plan. The objectives of this research are: 1. Primary Objective : To identify the difficulties faced by the customers in getting Housing loan from SBI and to find the gape. 2. Secondary Objective : * To identify the expectations of the loan holders. * Based on the opinions and experiences of the customers, to give suggestions to remove this gape. Stage-3: RESEARCH PLAN For gathering the needed information the researcher needs to draw out the most efficient research plan based on well defined research objective. Designing of research plan includes the following: 1. Data source 2. Research Approaches 3. Research Instruments 4. Research Methods [1]Data Source: In market research data can be of two types: Primary data: In primary data the information is obtained from the original source by researcher. Here, information needed is â€Å"the perception of the loan holders from SBI regarding the processes involved in housing loans†, which is only possible through personal meets with them so it is primary data source. Secondary data: The data, which is already collected and used, previously, is secondary data. For meeting the loan holders I got the personal information like name, address, telephone number etc. from their accounts so that is secondary data. [2]Research Approaches: Primary data can be collected in four ways: Focus groups Surveys Observation Experiments Observational research and survey research are two approaches, which have been used to meet the objectives of research. Observational research has been carried out simultaneously with survey research. [3]Instruments Used in Research : Researchers have a choice of two main research instruments in collecting primary data. * Questionnaires and * Mechanical Devices For surveying the housing loan holders of SBI, the research instrument used is questionnaires for each of them individually. [4]Survey Methods: There are two methods of survey: * Survey of population * Survey of samples selected from the whole To carry out the research, the method adopted here is the survey of the samples. First step to Sample Survey is designing the Sample Plan. Sampling Plan basically deals with the following: * Sample Size * Sampling Method Sampling Plan * Sample size-100 * Sampling method -Simple Random sampling * Instrument used For survey -Questionnaire & Personal Interviews QUESTIONNAIRE Instruction: a) The purpose is to make survey only. b) Information provided will be kept confidential NAME: _________________________________________ CONTACT NO.: _________________________________________ OCCUPATION:ââ€" ¡ Business ââ€" ¡ Profession ââ€" ¡ Service MONTHLY INCOME:ââ€" ¡ 8000 to 15000ââ€" ¡ Above 25000 ââ€" ¡ 15000 to 25000 * Had you visited other banks before taking loan from SBI? ââ€" ¡ Yesââ€" ¡ No * Reason for selecting SBI : ââ€" ¡ Nationalized bank ââ€" ¡ Lower interest rate ââ€" ¡ Good facilities ââ€" ¡ Lower cost ââ€" ¡ Speedy sanction * How you received the related information? ââ€" ¡ In a single piece ââ€" ¡ In bit of pieces * What was the gape between date of application and sanction of loan? ââ€" ¡ 1 to 5daysââ€" ¡ 5 to 10 days ââ€" ¡ 10 to 15daysââ€" ¡ 15 to 20 days ââ€" ¡ More than 20 days * In your opinion, comparatively sanction process is: ââ€" ¡ Speedyââ€" ¡ Moderate ââ€" ¡ Low * Within how many days loan amount was disbursed? ââ€" ¡ 1 to 2ââ€" ¡ 11 to 15 ââ€" ¡ 3 to 5ââ€" ¡ 16 to 20 ââ€" ¡ 6 to10ââ€" ¡ More than 20 * Did you face any difficulty in receiving disbursement? ââ€" ¡ Yesââ€" ¡ No * In comparison with other banks the interest rates of SBI are: ââ€" ¡ Higherââ€" ¡ Lower ââ€" ¡ Equal to other banks * Your suggestion: _______________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY DEPENDING ON THE VIEWS OF THE HOME LOAN HOLDERS OF SBI BASED ON THE QUESTIONNAIRE PREPARED. OCCUPATION OF DIFFERENT CUSTOMERS The above indicated results shows that more of the home loan holders are Businessmen. There is not much variation between service and profession class as the number of both the class of the customers are nearly similler. CLASSIFICATION OF THE CUSTOMERS ON THE BASES OF THEIR INCOME LEVEL BY DIVIDING THEM INTO SPECIFIC INCOME CLASS The above graph shows that there is not much deviation among the different classes. More of the home loan holders are having the monthly income between 15000 to 25000. Those having monthly income more than 25000 are lesser. But looking to the overall scenario there is equal distribution among all the  three income class. NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS WHO HAD VISITED OTHER BANKS BEFORE TAKING LOAN FROM SBI The graph shows that more of the loan holders had inquired, directly or through other sources like friends or relatives, other banks before taking loan from SBI. THIS SHOWS HOW THEY RECEIVED BASIC INFORMATION To the response of this question, more of the customers replied that they faced a little difficulty in receiving different information regarding basic information or the information about documentation. REASONS GIVEN BY CUSTOMERS FOR SELECTING SBI The above graph looks very unevenly distributed but it is due to the reason that the respondents gave more than one answer to this question. Some told that more than one reason are there for selecting SBI. One of the reasons not mentioned through graph is â€Å"TRUSTWORTHYNESS† stated by some of the respondents. GRAPH SHOWING THE TIME DURATION BETWEEN APPLICATION GIVEN BY CUSTOMERS AND LOAN SANCTIONED BY THE BANK The above result is full of variations. During the survey, It was found that some of the first 22% customers got the loan sanctioned even within one day. On the contradictory part, some of 11% customers did not get the loan sanctioned even after 40 days of application. This was also due to the delay in submission of required documents by customer. IF THE SANCTION OF LOAN WAS SPEEDY FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF CUSTOMERS TIME TAKEN BY THE BANK TO DISBURSE THE LOAN AMOUNT TO THE CUSTOMERS AFTER SANCTIONING Gape between sanction and disbursement is generally found to be 2 to 8 days after sanction of the loan. Some of the customer faced difficulty in receiving the disbursement of the loan. Few got the payment after a long wait of approximately a month. CUSTOMERS WHO FACED DIFFICULTY IN RECEIVING THE DISBURSEMENT OF THEIR LOAN AMOUNT INTEREST RATES IN VIEW OF THE CUSTOMERS OF HOMELOAN DEPARTMENT RESEARCH FINDINGS 1. Liberalization in the loans is needed. 2. It was found that most of the customers who got the loans sanctioned fast, received the disbursement faster and those who got the loan sanctioned late, got the payment late than the average time. Of course, this can be due to unclarity on the part of customer. 3. Customers want that they should be able to get all the information from one person only so that they need not to run here and there. 4. Core banking should be fully helpful to the customers. In spite of core banking customers are still facing difficulty regarding flexibility for payment of installment. 5. Lower documentation should be there for the loans. As per customers view only really needed documents should be asked for. 6. Customers who got delayed sanction or delayed disbursement were dissatisfied and suggested to faster the operations of the bank. 7. Most of the customers expressed view that they prefer SBI more for the home loans as it is very good, as compared to the other private banks also, as far as the home loan’s aspect is considered 8. Dissatisfied customers told that the operations involved in sanction and disbursement needs to be made faster like that of private banks. 9. Fast response to the various inquiries of the customers is needed. Some customers as shown in the results complained that they got the information from more than one person. 10. The infrastructure facilities like good interior and air-conditioned branches should be there. 11. Customers expect to be treated with politeness and respect. 12. Customer care should be given more importance. 13. More attracting facilities are needed. 14. Customers should be given full knowledge about the services inquired. 15. More connectivity with other banks. 16. Better front desk services are yet needed, customers are not yet fully satisfied with it. 17. For all the new coming schemes awareness should be created among people. 18. For entertainment of the waiting customers small T.V., Newspapers, Magazines etc should be there. SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS * Nationalized Bank * Safety and security of money * Highest number of ATMs * Years of experience – Century * Large Network * Government Support * Transparency in charges. * Experienced employees WEAKNESSES * Rigid work culture * Lake of young employees * Excessive Documentation * Bureaucracy * All branches and Head offices are not having fully modern infrastructure. OPPORTUNITIES * Constant fear in the minds of customers towards Private Banks. * Ever expanding rural, urban, and international market. THREATES * Private Banks provides more facilities at low charges. * Shifting customer preference towards private banks. * Dynamic employees and greater technological product of private banks. * Customer satisfaction is high in private banks. SUGGESTIONS 1. PEOPLE : * Good suggestions coming from employees side should be appreciated and implemented. * Motivational package for excellent work at the bank should be offered. * Employee integrity and sincerity should be rewarded. * Make duty a desire of employees through Satisfying sociological, financial, status need of employees. * Work culture of employees should be like that of private banks employees. * Young and enthusiastic employees should be recruited for customer care services. All nationalized bank can join hands in this regard and can even seek approval from RBI. * System of hire and fire should be there for this new young employees up to particular age limit. 2. PROMOTION : * To increase the young customers step-ins, SBI can install in house cyber cafes to attract the young customers in premises of SBI. * New schemes and constant recorded announcement of the products in the bank premises itself can attract the attention of customers visiting the bank at least during peak hours. * SBI is flooded by new generation products but they need intensive marketing especially for products like demat A/c, insurance, mutual fund and e-banking. 3. PRODUCT : * Mobile banking, bill payment services, online tax payments, NRI tax advisory, Investment solutions should be given importance. * SBI should have tie up with big industries, schools, NGOs, hospitals, commercial complex, colleges etc for opening the salary A/C of their employees. * Too much documentation and complex procedure should be reduced to greater extent. For example, if a customer is having A/C with any nationalized bank then a simple check can be used for cross checking of their identity. * Women’s A/C : At SBI study of profiles show that lesser number of women prefers SBI, while the fact is number of working women in Rajkot is improving day by day.  To capture this section of society, saving A/c offering with different schemes for women can be planed out. 4. PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT : * Each and every counter should be named properly above the desk through hanging sign boards and name boards to minimize customer quarries. * Renovation is the need of SBI branches and good interior with pleasing environment is the demand of today’s competitive edge. * Cabin system should be destroyed and customer-employee interaction should be without any glass partition between them. This reduces the status gap and offers warm helping hands to customers’ problem solution. * Departmentation in the banks should be such that customers don’t need to ask anybody to search for required counter. * Chart showing the designation and department of concerned persons should be there inside the bank.

Hallstead Jewelers

We see an increase in the break-even point, both in dollars and in sales tickets, from year 2003 to 2006. This increase is not as dramatic between the years 2003 and 2004 as it is between 2004 and 2006. The increase in break-even point in sales tickets is 1615,80 and 7623,90 respectively. The increase in the first year is due to the increase in fixed costs and also the decrease in sales. The increase between 2004-2006 is due to the dramatic increase of fixed costs because of the bigger store and higher rent and the decrease in contribution margin that is caused by the greater increase in variable costs than sales.The margin of safety on the other hand gradually decreased. The decrease between 2003-04 and 2004-06 are 20% and 47% respectively. The reason for that is the huge increase in break-even point between 2004 and 2006 and the decrease in sales for the years 2003-2004.If the company were to pursue that new idea, the net income of the company would increase to $917,01. The new bre ak-even point would be 9105,56 in sales tickets and $8.203,20 in dollar amount.Assuming that everything stays constant, because sales commissions are variable costs, if will increase the contribution margin per unit which will end up decreasing the break-even sales volume compared to 2006. The new break-even point would be 11 570,86 in sales tickets and $9487 in sales dollars.Because advertising is a fixed cost, an increase in advertising will cause an increase in break-even point. The new break-even point, everything else staying the same, would be 17 912,28 in sales tickets and $ 14.687,17 in sales dollars. Because the outcome of advertising is not certain, it carries a certain amount of risk. I would not recommend that the sisters try this because it is risky for the situation that they are in now.  The average sales ticket have to increase to $840 from $819 ($21 increase) to break-even if the fixed costs remained the same in 2007 as it was 2006.I would recommend the managers a t Hallstead Jewelers to go with the idea of the consultant, the %10 price reduction in order to increase the number of  people visiting the store. If everything goes according to the plan, they can have a profit of $900,90 and even if it doesn’t goes as smoothly as planned, this option has a 39% margin of safety, so it has a large portion of the break even sales to fall back on. Among the options given, this one is the safest and the one that will provide the highest profit.

World War I

When World War I came to a close in mid-November of 1918, many ideas were circulating in Europe as to what the peace settlement should entail. In Britain, leaders were thinking about how to increase British colonial power. In France, many wanted to permanently punish the Germans, partly in revenge for Germany's aggression in World War I, but also, perhaps subliminally, for the Franco-Prussian war in 1871. In Germany, citizens were worried about how radical changes after the war could affect their daily lives. Finally, in the United States, President Wilson was already concocting a system of permanently preserving European peace. All these biases, worries, plans, and ideas came together in Paris in 1919, with the Treaty of Versailles, establishing the post-war peace in Europe. Yet just twenty years later, war would once again break out in Europe. So why were the peace settlements of World War I unable to prevent the outbreak of war twenty years later in World War II? To underst! and this, one must first have a detailed understanding of the World War I peace settlement at Versailles. The first and most significant treaty signed after World War I was the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty, signed on the 28th of June 1919, was mainly orchestrated by David Lloyd George, representing Britain and Georges Clemenceau, representing France. Woodrow Wilson was the official representative of the United States, though he was often unable to attend due to sickness or other problems. When Wilson was in absentia, Secretary of State Robert Lansing represented the U.S. Italy also sent their Foreign Minister Sonnino to the negotiations. The Treaty of Versailles had two main issues on which it focused: Germany's post war territory and also the amount of reparations Germany must pay. In the East, Germany was literally split into two parts. The Allies decided that the nation of Poland should be given access to the sea, so they formed the "Polish Corrid...

Dodge Challenger Essay Example

Dodge Challenger Essay Example Dodge Challenger Essay Dodge Challenger Essay length: 197. 7 in. , width: 75. in. , height: 57. 1 in. , and curb weight is 4203 lb. They have a standard 20 in. wheel. The Hemi V-8 just got bigger and all 392 cubic inches will be found first in the 2011 Dodge Challenger. The horsepower is 470. The gearbox is a five speed automatic and it goes 0-60 mph in 4. 5 seconds. The SRT is a 19 gallon fuel tank. The fuel mileage on the car is14mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway. The alternator is 220 amps, axles for the rear are 226 mm, and the battery is 730 amps. The SRT have a battery saver feature to turn off headlights and other lights when the ignition is turned off. It has a heavy duty engine cooling. It has an optional feature of an engine block heater. Stainless steel performance dual exhaust with low-restriction bottle resonators, 2. 75-inch diameter piping with dual chromed exhaust tips. The brake system is high-performance, four-wheel disc with vented 14. 2-in. front and 13. 8-in. rear discs, has an anti-lock brake system, and electronic stability control. The steering is performance-tuned hydraulic power steering. The performance SRT-tuned, fully-hydraulic steering system also has been improved with a new, heavy-duty pump and revised gearing to give drivers more direct feel and on-center response. There are a lot of safety and security measures made with this car. Just to name a few is the traction control system, brake assist, and tire- pressure monitoring. The Dodge Challenger SRT8 uses Brembo four-piston calipers on all four wheels, for a 60 to zero mph stopping distance of approximately 110 feet. Since the car has been improved and revised, it has larger valves and ports for a beefier crankshaft. SRT engineers recalibrated the suspension geometry to improve Challenger’s balance, cornering ability and steering responsiveness. Quicker steering ratios dramatically improve the Challenger’s high-speed cornering. The type of oil you would use would be SAE-OW-40 or SAE 5W-40 which is preferred for use in all operating temperatures. Their one piece, four layer, cotton-gauze air filter provides high filtration and air flow. There were a lot of new revisions to the parts to make better improvements.

Dependent Variable Definition and Examples

Dependent Variable Definition and Examples A dependent variable is the variable being tested in a scientific experiment. The dependent variable is dependent on the independent variable. As the experimenter changes the independent variable, the change in the dependent variable is observed and recorded. When you take data in an experiment, the dependent variable is the one being measured. Common Misspellings: dependant variable Dependent Variable Examples A scientist is testing the effect of light and dark on the behavior of moths by turning a light on and off. The independent variable is the amount of light and the moths reaction is the dependent variable.  A change in the independent variable (amount of light) directly causes a change in the dependent variable (moth behavior).You are interested in learning which kind of chicken produces the largest eggs. The size of the eggs depends on the breed of chicken, so breed is the independent variable and egg size is the dependent variable.You want to know whether or not stress affects heart rate. Your independent variable is the stress, while the dependent variable would be the heart rate. To perform an experiment, you would provide stress and measure the subjects heartbeat. Note in a good experiment, youd want to choose a stress you could control and quantify. Your choice could lead you to perform additional experiments since it might turn out the change in heart rate after exposure to a decrease in temperature 40 degrees (physical stress) might be different from the heart rate after failing a test (psychological stress). Even though your independent variable might be a number that you measure, its one you control, so its not dependent. Distinguishing Between Dependent and Independent Variables Sometimes its easy to tell the two types of variables apart, but if you get confused, here are tips to help keep them straight: If you change one variable, which is affected? If youre studying the rate of growth of plants using different fertilizers, can you identify the variables? Start by thinking about what you are controlling and what you will be measuring. The type of fertilizer is the independent variable. The rate of growth is the dependent variable. So, to perform an experiment, you would fertilize plants with one fertilizer and measure the change in height of the plant over time, then switch fertilizers and measure the height of plants over the same span of time. You might be tempted to identify time or height as your variable, not the rate of growth (distance per time). It may help to look at your hypothesis or purpose to remember your goal.Write out your variables as a sentence stating cause and effect. The (independent variable) causes a change in the (dependent variable). Usually, the sentence wont make sense if you get them wrong. For example:(Taking vitamins) affects the numbers of (birth defec ts). makes sense(Birth defects) affects the number of (vitamins). probably not so much Graphing the Dependent Variable When you graph data, the independent variable is on the x-axis, while the dependent variable is on the y-axis. You can use the DRY MIX acronym to remember this: D - dependent variableR - responds to changeY - Y-axis M - manipulated variable (one you change)I - independent variableX - X-axis

History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 32

History - Assignment Example For instance, the American mixed martial arts (MMA) is one such sport whereby two competitors fight it out to see who has the better skill, determination and athleticism to beat down their opponent, just the way the gladiators used to do in Rome (DeCosemo 1). As events of modern day sport, it’s not all about the game, there are other things included such as involvement of characters, determination, technical skill and the personal drama (DeCosemo 1). A few good examples of this would be present day football or soccer, American football, Basketball, and baseball. So during the Roman Empire it was gladiator fights that brought spectators or people together to sit and watch gladiators fight and kill each other. While everything else remains the same from the Roman times to present day sports such as the intensity, cheering, and shouts of spectators or fans, the only difference in modern sports is that they is no killings in the name of being victorious as was the case in gladiator fights (DeCosemo 1). It can safely be said that sports have changed over the centuries since the era of the Roman Empire. Not any more do we find men sword fighting or even fighting wild animals. Yet, there are still several similarities between the Roman Empire sports and the modern day sports, especially in terms of spectators and fans. In both the ancient and modern day sports, there are people who adore the game and

To What Extent Have the Literacy Practices of English Speakers Been Essay

To What Extent Have the Literacy Practices of English Speakers Been Shaped by Communication Technology - Essay Example In the start, the books were written for a specific class and were handwritten and expensive, therefore were only accessible to a specific class of readers. With the invention of printing machines and later digital communication technology made reading books more common. The production and reproduction of the physical form of text experienced a great deal of changes from its initial stage to the current form, resulting in gradual enhancement of the literacy practice. In the ancient world the words were inscribed in wax or clay tablets but now this carving technique is only used for decorative purposes. The alphabets taken from the Roman and Latin worlds did not allow much convenience with the pronunciation so they also went through change. The written language was more for the religious elite with no space among the words and an audible effort was made to apprehend the words. The Irish invention of word spacing and silent reading made it easy to be read and freed it from its conventi onal purposes (Allington, 2012). In the twelfth century the woodblock printing, which was originally invented in China, made the Europeans copy only the pictures on the page, later full text was also brought onto the page. The radical development came with the invention of hand press by Johannes Gutenberg in the fifteenth century which consisted of metal blocks containing letters on them, and in spite of it being very  expensive it was used to fulfil the demand of books to the western society (Allington, 2012). This print culture was not cherished by all members of the society as the British politicians were afraid of mass literacy, before then the lower class had access only to chapbooks which contained outdated content. Church authorities attempted to deprive the common people of the literature. Newspapers were imposed with heavy tax by the British government to keep them out of the reach of the poor people with the Stamp Act of 1712. Despite all the hurdles put on mass literacy practice, English language was widely printed and literacy practice had increased enormously by the nineteenth century. It is stated (Eliot, 2007) that the literacy rate was 60 per cent in males and 45 per cent in females in 1800 which progressed to 94 per cent and 93 per cent by 1891. The printing press also went through rapid development in nineteenth century. The twentieth century brought more technological development as metal type printing vanished and photographic and chemical processing was established, this brought easy and fast reproduction of text in bulk setting up a wider range of readers by it being economical and accessible to all classes of the society. The industry of book production was in Edinburgh, Scotland in the seventeenth century and through printing English they managed to keep the English readers and readers from other colonies which maintained their British Empire. The less familiarity of the English language for Scottish people gave way to the publication of the first dictionary of the Scots and later with the political and national movements, the vernacular speeches and the ingenuity of writers made other languages to become print-language (Anderson, 2006, in Allington, 2012). The access to the books helped the writers from different regions to convey all the political, economic and

Utilitarianism and Deontology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Utilitarianism and Deontology - Assignment Example There are many different philosophical perspectives that one could apply to the issue of human cloning; it is the utilitarian and deontological perspective that offer two interesting comparative views. Human cloning has dominated science fiction for decades with scenarios revealing how the practice could go terribly wrong. Ethical debates have proposed many other unique issues with cloning; everything from the development of unforeseen genetic flaws, to the devaluation of life, to whether, or not, a cloned being will have rights and even a soul. (McGee) However, it is the incredible potential of medical â€Å"miracles† that cloning might allow, in all its forms, which includes, ending infertility, eradicating genetic diseases, curing illnesses, replacing damaged organs, and last but not least, the ability to create life as they see fit, that continues to lure supporters. The potential positives and plausible negatives of human cloning are not an easy controversy to weigh. Utilitarianism essentially takes an ultimate stand of; do the ends justify the means? The philosophy cares less about how you accomplish something as long as the overall outcome leads to the greatest amount of overall good and happiness. (Moreland 1) While deontology considers less the outcomes and more about the intention behind doing it. The moral intent is more important in deciding whether something is good or bad, or right or wrong, has greater than the outcomes and results. The ideology embraces the â€Å"Categorical Imperatives,† which include a "universality" within the principles, all humans are rational agents, and must be treated as such.

Beliefs In The Existence Of Ghosts And Poltergeists Term Paper

Beliefs In The Existence Of Ghosts And Poltergeists - Term Paper Example Saul was inclined to fits and visions, and perhaps in this instance, all that happened was that his imagination took over at a time when he was desperate. The prediction wasn’t even totally correct, although Saul would die at the hand of the Philistines – but that is likely to have happened anyway he was so disheartened. Webster’s Dictionary defines a ghost as being ‘a spirit or a demon, a disembodied soul.’ believed to be an inhabitant of an unseen world. Kipling, whose son died in the Ist World War and who might well have wanted contact with him, is warning people to leave well alone. The ghost of Samuel is not, of course, the only well known literary ghost. In the Odyssey, Homer describes how Circe advises Odysseus to consult the spirits of the dead. ( Odyssey 11 v 23-28.) There is also Hamlet’s father in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Banquo in his Macbeth., the ghosts being devices to explain a character’s inner feelings or move the story on. ‘Whethering Heights’ by Emily Brontà © ( 1847) has its Kathy clawing at the windows. Dickens, of course, had Marley appearing to Scrooge ( A Christmas Carol, 1843), one of the few instances in literature where some good resulted. In modern-day films, we have the Ghostbusters and of course the Harry Potter films, both of which show ghosts as being evil things, although J.K. Rowling also portrays more gentle beings such as Harry’s parents. In C.S. Lewis’s ‘The Great Divorce’ (1945) the author describes ghosts who have to choose whether to give up their sins and go to he aven or whether they prefer to retain them and go to hell. Stevie Smith in her 1953 poem ‘ Not waving but drowning’ has the dead man explaining his predicament.

Using examples from recent case law, critically evaluate what is meant Essay

Using examples from recent case law, critically evaluate what is meant by 'market access' and the merits and problems of this approach in the area of free movement of goods - Essay Example The main intention of the Articles 28-31 is to stop member states from involving in the quantitative restrictions. It is to be observed that Article 28 can be extended even when there is no discrimination. In the celebrated Cassis de Dijon case, ECJ held that Article 28 can nibble, where the rule prohibits the free flow of products within the EU subject to certain exceptions when the analogues’ rule extends to both imports and domestic products. Hence, discrimination is therefore, an adequate, but not essential, condition for the invocation of Article 28. Thus, the Article 28 can be said to be a mechanism for policing the periphery between the illegitimate and legitimate national regulation, and the nature of this border may well be challengeable. (Craig & Burca 2008:669). Article 34 of the TFEU pertains to Intra –EU imports and bars quantitative limitations and all initiatives having analogues’ impact between member nations. Immediately after the entry into forc e of the Lisbon Treaty, the EC Treaty has been altered and rechristened as the â€Å"Treaty on Functioning of the European Union.† (TFEU). The provisions of free movement of products got new numbering as Article 34-36 from that of 28-30. (Wolf & Stanley 2010:106). Article 23(9) stresses the free movement of products arising in the Member states and goods from third nations, which are in free movement in the Member States. By making EU as a region without internal borders, there has been removal of all barriers for free movement of product through calling off excise and customs’ duties, creating a common external tariff for the whole of the community, the quantitative limits on trade and equivalent steps. (Moens & Trone 2010:57). Market access can be regarded from the angle of both consumer and manufacturer. For the manufacture angle, free movement of their products helps to enter into various national markets with their sole aim of confronting local manufacturers in th e country of import and the derivative aim of permitting economies of scale to be enjoyed. Market access may be a way to an outcome, the outcome being to exploit maximum revenue /turnover for the individual manufacturer and to improve the best possible distribution of resources for the EU as a whole. If Germans are given an opportunity to drink British beer, then some German may prefer it to the British product, than the local product and this is known as market access mechanism. For instance, an airline operating from any member states is having unrestricted and open access to any air routes within the EU as there had been removal of virtually all price and capacity controls. (Doganis 2006:13). Until the Keck and Mithouard case, the Court perused an analysis of the rule of free movement of goods that made liable any national law to an evaluation of proportionality analogues to cost/benefit evaluation. Due to this approach, any public regulation of the market would be under close wa tch, and this kindled deregulation of the market at the national level. (Shaw 2000:332). In Keck and Mithouard case, they marketed the products like Sati Rouge coffee and Picon beer in France at a price which is well below the wholesale-price or at a loss. There had been a bar in selling products at a loss under French law, prosecution against them was initiated. Keck and Mithouard defended that French law was incompatible with the Article 28

Study guide - short answer Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Study guide - short answer - Assignment Example Prices play a significant role in influencing inflation/deflation and setting up demand and supply. There is minimal or no government intervention in free market economies. The forces of demand and supply determine how much should be produced and establish the income distribution curve. The price mechanism in a free market economy represents a cycle of real income from consumers to producers and back. For example; if the government prints out money to pay war contractors, the prices of equipments used in war will increase. The money incomes of the war contractors and their employees will significantly increase. The increase in their spending power will induce them to consume more commodities. The sellers will be compelled to increase their prices to match the increased demand. The war contractors and employees will be willing to spend their money income to pay for the higher prices rather than do without the commodities. Increased money incomes mean that a dollar will have a lower subjective value. Illustration: Let the war contractors and employees be, ‘W,’ and those who directly supply the commodities to them be, ‘X.’ Group X will increase its purchases from its wholesalers (Y). Group Y will have more income to purchase more commodities from the producers (Z). The cycle is continuous such that the increase in money incomes and prices covers the whole nation. When the cycle is complete, almost everyone will indicate higher incomes in terms of

Using examples from recent case law, critically evaluate what is meant Essay

Using examples from recent case law, critically evaluate what is meant by 'market access' and the merits and problems of this approach in the area of free movement of goods - Essay Example The main intention of the Articles 28-31 is to stop member states from involving in the quantitative restrictions. It is to be observed that Article 28 can be extended even when there is no discrimination. In the celebrated Cassis de Dijon case, ECJ held that Article 28 can nibble, where the rule prohibits the free flow of products within the EU subject to certain exceptions when the analogues’ rule extends to both imports and domestic products. Hence, discrimination is therefore, an adequate, but not essential, condition for the invocation of Article 28. Thus, the Article 28 can be said to be a mechanism for policing the periphery between the illegitimate and legitimate national regulation, and the nature of this border may well be challengeable. (Craig & Burca 2008:669). Article 34 of the TFEU pertains to Intra –EU imports and bars quantitative limitations and all initiatives having analogues’ impact between member nations. Immediately after the entry into forc e of the Lisbon Treaty, the EC Treaty has been altered and rechristened as the â€Å"Treaty on Functioning of the European Union.† (TFEU). The provisions of free movement of products got new numbering as Article 34-36 from that of 28-30. (Wolf & Stanley 2010:106). Article 23(9) stresses the free movement of products arising in the Member states and goods from third nations, which are in free movement in the Member States. By making EU as a region without internal borders, there has been removal of all barriers for free movement of product through calling off excise and customs’ duties, creating a common external tariff for the whole of the community, the quantitative limits on trade and equivalent steps. (Moens & Trone 2010:57). Market access can be regarded from the angle of both consumer and manufacturer. For the manufacture angle, free movement of their products helps to enter into various national markets with their sole aim of confronting local manufacturers in th e country of import and the derivative aim of permitting economies of scale to be enjoyed. Market access may be a way to an outcome, the outcome being to exploit maximum revenue /turnover for the individual manufacturer and to improve the best possible distribution of resources for the EU as a whole. If Germans are given an opportunity to drink British beer, then some German may prefer it to the British product, than the local product and this is known as market access mechanism. For instance, an airline operating from any member states is having unrestricted and open access to any air routes within the EU as there had been removal of virtually all price and capacity controls. (Doganis 2006:13). Until the Keck and Mithouard case, the Court perused an analysis of the rule of free movement of goods that made liable any national law to an evaluation of proportionality analogues to cost/benefit evaluation. Due to this approach, any public regulation of the market would be under close wa tch, and this kindled deregulation of the market at the national level. (Shaw 2000:332). In Keck and Mithouard case, they marketed the products like Sati Rouge coffee and Picon beer in France at a price which is well below the wholesale-price or at a loss. There had been a bar in selling products at a loss under French law, prosecution against them was initiated. Keck and Mithouard defended that French law was incompatible with the Article 28

Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Criminal Justice - Essay Example The following are some of the factors that predict spousal abuse (Bowen, para1-2). Social environment is one of the predictive factors. Bowen reports that findings published by University of Bristol in 1999 indicated that women who live in the most societal adversity are up to 15 times more likely to be victims of domestic violence when their child is three years. Women living in slums and rural areas are highly vulnerable to spousal abuse. Age of the woman is another predictor of domestic violence. The number of young women who go through abuse is more than that of old women. Research has shown that women at their prime child bearing age are at more risk that the older ones. Preidt notes that according to the U.S. health department, more than 30% of women screened at the antenatal clinics have confirmed to receive a spousal abuse at a certain point. Social status of a woman is also a good indicator of whether she has domestic abuse issues or not. Women holding influential positions in the society do not receive spousal abuse as their counterparts with low societal profile (Preidt, para3-4). In addition, the level of education of the partners affects the relationship. Poorly educated women experience family-based violence. This is worst if there is a gap in education between her and the husband. Another factor is family size and composition. Some men get married with some expectations from their wives. When these expectations fail to come, they develop a negative image of their wives and start mistreating them. For example, a husband may go into marriage expecting the wife to bear a son. After some years, the wife only gives him daughters. This culminates into spousal abuse. History of depression on the partners can also indicate possibility of abuse since it affects human capacity in many areas of life. If the woman or the man has a history of depression, it is likely that he/she shall take it

How Do the Sacred Texts and Beliefs of Islam or Christianity Essay Example for Free

How Do the Sacred Texts and Beliefs of Islam or Christianity Essay How do the Sacred Texts and beliefs of Islam OR Christianity, inform a Religion that is relevant to contemporary adherents? In todays society, unlike many years ago religion is not seen as an important part of peoples lives. People are way to busy or so they think to be ‘wasting their time’ with religion, and church. But for those who do believe in a religion, especially those from the Islamic religion, they take part in a religion that was formed hundreds of years ago, still using and believing in the same scared texts and beliefs. Islamic environmental ethics are drawn from the 3 underpinning principle beliefs, that are the 3 central concepts of Islam and the pillars of Islamic environmental ethics. Tawhid a belief brought upon many many years ago, is the belief of Unity. It believes in the Unity and oneness of all created by Allah and that unity is reflected in the created world, thus the Tawhid demands that the integrity of the created world be maintained by balance and harmony. â€Å"The whole earth has been created a place of worship, pure and clean. Hadith The Khalifa, belief in Stewardship, is the belief that Allah has made humans responsible for all creation and with this involves appropriate use of resources for human needs. â€Å"It is He that has made you custodians; inheritors of the earth. † (Qur’an Surah 6:165) Akrah is the belief of accountability, Muslims believe that they will be judged on how they have acted, and ones treatment of gods created world. The sources of ethical tea chings, and the relationship between humans and the universe is outlined in the Qur’an, Hadith and Shari’a. It is defined in Qur’an as based on meditation of the universe and what it contains, sustainable utilization and development for human benefit, care and nurture extended beyond humans to the benefit of created beings. The Hajj is an obligation which fulfils one of the five pillars of Islam required of a Muslim at least once in a lifetime for those financially and physically able â€Å"those who can make their way there†. It is a faithful submission to the will of Allah. And pilgrimage to the House is incumbent upon men for the sake of Allah† – Surah 3:96. Before embarking on this miraculous journey, pilgrims must redress all wrongs, organise funds for the journey and the family being left behind, and prepare themselves for good conduct during the Hajj. The Journey then goes for 5 full days, starting officially on the 8th day of Dhul-Hijjah. After completing the Hajj with all rites performed, pilgrims have earned the right to be called al-Hajj or al-Hajji. The Hajj expresses the beliefs of Islam through commemorating important religious events. These include Abraham and his son Ishmael built the Ka’ba, and established the rituals of the Hajj to reflect his life, Muhammad’s last sermon on Arafat, Jamra symbolises Abraham throwing stones at Satan who tried to dissuade him from sacrificing Isaac, and Nahr reflects Allah replacing Isaac with a sacrificial lamb. The Hajj reinforces fundamental islamic concepts with the Five Pillars of Faith. Shahada, the declaration of faith that there is no god but Allah and Muhammed is the messenger of Allah is expressed through the Hajj by Talbiya (a prayer that states the pilgrimage is only for the glory of Allah) and through Mount Arafat (the place of Muhammads last sermon, where all are closest to Allah) Salat, the 5 daily prayers is expressed through the Hajj as the Hajj is a period where pilgrims are directly communicating with Allah and Muslims are in actual proximity of the Ka’ba. Zakat, Almsgiving is shown through the Hajj as the meat sacrificed or money given for nahr is distributed amongst family, friends and the poor, it also shows the obligation of the wealthy to the poor and Ihram, which means that money and status are not a factor for pilgrims and that all are equal. Sawm, fasting is expressed through the Hajj as it is a time of prayer, meditation and asking for forgiveness, as well as the Sa’y as it re-enacts Hajar’s search for food; empathy for hunger. Al-Akhira is believed to be the world to come, Muslims believe in an afterlife where they will be held accountable for their lives (Akhra), they believe that by participating in the Hajj there is a greater prospect of reward in the afterlife. The Hajj is not only significant to the individual but also to the community. The Hajj is significant to the individual as the Hajj is an opportunity for Muslims to experience spiritual rebirth and develop a sense of consciousness in Allah. It is also opportunity to reassess and confirm their Islamic beliefs. The Hajj provides opportunity for the pilgrim to improve their spirituality through worship, hardship and salat. It focuses the individual on jihad; sacrificing time, skills, money and struggling against external evils. Enables the pilgrim’s renewal through cleansing from sin. â€Å"whoever performs the Hajj will come home like a newborn†. The Hajj reinforces Allah’s mercy and compassion as it exceeds His anger by forgiving the sins of the sinful creation by declaring an absolute pardon for every pilgrim upon completion of the accepted rituals of Hajj. The individual strengthens their relationship with Allah and gains a greater understanding of Islamic history and has a better prospect of reward in the afterlife. The Hajj is significant to the community as the Hajj is a sign of unity, equality and a sense of pride in the global umma as they pray together and are equal in the ihram garments. It brings together Muslims of all races to from a fellowship for such a significant practice in the Islamic faith, and the hajj acts as a universal reminder of the blessing of Allah on humanity of our diversity and the brotherhood to worship the one Allah. As the Hajj and Environmental ethics apply themselves with todays contemporary society, the beliefs and sacred texts are used to form ideas of how to look after the environment and why it is necessary to participate in the Hajj.

Impact of Directly Observed Treatment on Tuberculosis

Impact of Directly Observed Treatment on Tuberculosis Description of the condition Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) is defined as Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains with in vitro resistance to at least both isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RFP) (Johnston 2009;WHO;WHO 2013). Emergence of this strain since the 1980s has represented a major barrier towards successful TB control (Johnston 2009;WHO 2013). Among the newly diagnosed TB patients in 2012, 3.6% had MDR TB while the percentage was approximately six times higher among those previously treated cases (20.2%) (WHO 2013).In 2012, it was estimated that 450000 incident cases and 170000 mortality cases of MDR TB occurred globally (WHO 2013). Compared with drug-susceptible strains, treatment of MDR TB is much more complex. According to the WHO guidelines, MDR TB treatment regimen requires a minimum duration of 18 months with two treatment phases, the intensive and the continuation phase (WHO). The first six months of treatment is usually considered the intensive phase since a patient needs to receive both oral and injectable drugs (WHO). After this period, the injectable agent is discontinued and patients receive the oral drugs for another 12-18 months (termed as the continuation phase) (WHO). Management of MDR TB is challenging for that patients are normally in advanced stages of disease with thick-walled cavities and chronic lung lesions which are hard for the drugs to penetrate (Orenstein 2009). Also, the longer treatment duration, high out-of-pocket cost, together with the more frequent adverse reactions that are associated with second line drugs are all contribution factors to poor treatment adherence (Bassili 2013;Toczek 2012;Volmink 2007). As a result, treatment success rate of MDR TB was much lower compared to drug sensitive strains. According to the WHO, the pooled treatment success rate of MDR TB patients diagnosed in 2009 was about 48%, whereas it exceeded 85% among non-MDR TB patients (Johnston 2009). Description of the intervention Directly observed treatment (DOT) refers to the use of an appointed agent (a professional health worker, a community volunteer, or a family member) to directly monitor people taking their anti-tuberculosis drugs (Mukherjee 2004). Initially, this concept was proposed as a key component of Directly Observed Therapy, Short Course (DOTS) by the WHO in 1994 to ensure cure of TB (WHO). In addition to the provision of standardized 6-8 months short-course directly observed chemotherapy regimen, other components of DOTS include: political commitment, case detection through quality-assured bacteriology, maintenance of an effective drug supply and management system, and evaluation of performance and impact (WHO). Implementation of DOTS in non-MDR TB treatment demonstrates significant effectiveness, as the strategy has helped to treat 37 million TB cases and cured more than 80% of them by 2007(WHO 2013). However, the standardized short-course chemotherapy is usually not applicable to cases of MD R TB. To improve patients’ adherence to MDR TB treatment, in 2000, WHO and its international partners further developed DOTS-Plus strategy by adding the components of MDR-TB diagnosis, treatment and management into the DOTS (WHO 2008;WHO 2011). In this DOTS-Plus strategy, DOT is highly recommended by the WHO to be delivered to all MDR-TB patients (WHO 2008;WHO 2011). However, treatment of MDR-TB patients requires at least 18 months, therefore, delievering DOT to MDR-TB patients would be more challenge than for drug-suspectible TB patients. There are two types of DOT according to its implementation length. In full DOT, anti-TB drugs were administered under direct observation throughout the treatment duration (including both the intensive and continuation phase) whereas it is directly observed only during the intensive phase for partial DOT (WHO 2008;WHO 2011). Effectiveness of DOT is commonly demonstrated through comparison with SAT, a traditional management modality in which anti-TB drugs were self-administered by patients without any observation (WHO 2008;WHO 2011). Currently, many countries have incorporated full DOT into their national TB control programs (NTPs) according to suggestions from the WHO guidelines (Bassili 2013). However, there are still countries that adopt partial DOT or even self-administrated treatment (SAT) as the management modality in their NTPs. How the intervention might work A better understanding of how DOT improves treatment outcomes of MDR TB could have important management implications. First, knowing the type(s) of DOT provider and location that is associated with a higher treatment success rate could allow one to make evidence-based decisions when designing DOT for MDR TB treatment. Second, studying the influence of other characteristics on successful treatment outcomes of MDR TB could provide a conservative yet more objective conclusion of the effectiveness of DOT. Third, comparing DOT with other strategies for the improvement of treatment adherence could advise policy makers to balance resources between DOT and these other strategies so that treatment could be delivered in a more cost-effective way. Why it is important to do this review Impact of DOT on successful TB treatment has been controversial throughout the years. Previous observational studies suggested that DOT ensured timely adherence management as well as day-to-day monitoring of adverse effects (Orenstein 2009). One meta-analysis revealed that treatment completion rate among pulmonary TB patients could exceed 90% when DOT was implemented throughout the treatment course(Bassili 2013). However, results from a recent meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials showed no significant difference in treatment success rate between DOT and SAT among drug-susceptible TB cases(Mukherjee 2004). Moreover, previous meta-analyses almost exclusively focused on the role of DOT in the treatment of non-MDR TB; little has been examined systematically regarding its role in effective MDR TB treatment.

The Complex Character of Iago of Shakespeares Othello Essay -- Othell

The Complex Character of Iago of Othello      Ã‚   Iago can be clearly characterized as the villain in Shakespeare’s Othello.   The notion of the "honest" Iago does at times appear not to be a misnomer.   In this essay I shall attempt to explore the complexities contained within the character of Iago.    One of the most interesting questions that crops up is the one concerning Iago’s motives. What are his reasons to kill every major Venetian in Cyprus? Shakespeare seemingly sets the stage for Iago’s actions, giving him two distinct reasons to avenge Othello. The first is the fact that Othello promotes Cassio, an "arithmetician" to the rank of lieutenant and passes over Iago who is but a sergeant. Secondly, Iago is suspicious of his wife, Emilia and thinks she is sleeping with every other man but him—including Othello. There are other reasons that Iago talks about in his soliloquies—the primary one being jealousy or "the green-eyed monster." Iago resents the love that Othello and Desdemona share and also takes offence at the fact that Othello is older, yet he has a young and beautiful wife, power, and respect, all that Iago desires. However, all these reasons seem to be false and made-up just for the sake of being excuses for his malice or perhaps they seem to sum up a sense of paranoia. Furthermore he uses these reasons to convince Roderigo to hate Othello. The real motive seems but a slip on Iago’s part w... ... Works Cited and Consulted Bradley, A. C.. Shakespearean Tragedy. New York: Penguin, 1991. Di Yanni, Robert. â€Å"Character Revealed Through Dialogue.† Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Literature. N. p.: Random House, 1986. Mack, Maynard. Everybody’s Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993. Shakespeare. Othello. The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Ed. Rossi. New York: Longman, 1999. 312-379. Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.