Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Intellectual Property Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Intellectual Property Law - Essay Example England has been slow in adopting these rights as it is perceived as clashing with the principle of Freedom of Expression. The English contend that intellectual property rights costs public good. Advances in digital technology have shaken the grounds on which intellectual property stand. This has made people to focus more attention on coming up with ways of ensuring freedom of expression that would enhance the public domain whilst rewarding creativity. Image rights promote invention and creation that promote quasi monopoly or monopoly rights so as to accord creativity the credit it deserves. Celebrities in music, sports and media world have gained profound significance in the contemporary world. Product sellers and advertisers are increasing approaching celebrities for work as they want to be associated to this fame. Competitive brand ambassadors help popularize products and increase sales. The financial benefits that accompany the status of such celebrities implore the need to have a mechanism of protecting celebrities. Red Croz would need to know that there is the need to balance between their public and private lives. They are prone to misuse and exploitation, even if indirectly, by those who live and work around them. Image rights promote the right to privacy hence upholding the human dignity of such celebrities (Passman 2012, p.2). ... A device mark logo involves an image, for example, that of an animal. Red Croz’s logo is a stylized mark. The most common way to protect a logo is using trademark. Even so, this depends on how the mark will be used. When using a logo as a combined mark, it is enough to use a single combined registration. In instances where the elements in a logo are used separately, each element is registered separately and also in combination (Kemp & Hill, 2005). Copyright registration can also be used to protect a logo. In the United Kingdom, the creator of a work gets its copyright automatically. A contract is needed to change ownership of such a work. In the United States of America, one needs to register copyright of a work through Library of Congress. Proof is needed to stop another individual or business from using another’s logo. This is because the other business or individual could claim that their logo was stolen or copied. Establishing upfront solid evidence is important if logo copyrighted through registration. This evidence would be needed in a court of law when challenging logo infringement (Passman 2012, p.4). A logo can also be registered as a design or a trademark. Registering a logo as a design is more powerful than registering it as a copyright. Registering a logo a design helps deter logo copying. This registration allows a business or individual to stop others from using logos that are too close to theirs even if they did not copy them. In the United Kingdom and in the European Union has an allowance for design registration of logos. The registration is renewable after every five years for a period of twenty five years. Design registration of a logo is given a period of one year after which

Monday, October 28, 2019

Experiment to Find the Acceleration Due to Gravity Using Free

Experiment to Find the Acceleration Due to Gravity Using Free Fall Essay As the title suggests, this experiment is to find the acceleration any object under free fall will undergo when travelling towards the earth. We presume in this experiment that we are unaware of the constant g and the basis of this experiment is to rediscover this value. Apparatus The principle behind the circuit is fairly simple. The ball is held through magnetism to the electromagnet; however when the magnetic field is no longer being created i.e. the switch is opened, the ball falls. When the switch is opened, the timer also starts as the switch is connected to one of its inputs. The ball strikes the metallic plate as it falls and breaks the contact between the metal plate and the rest of the circuit. The plate switch is also connected to the timer which then stops timing. In this way the time taken for the ball to fall a certain height is measured and hence its acceleration. The height fallen by the ball is measured by moving the plate switch up and down a wooden pole and measuring through use of a tape measure the distance between it and the bottom of the ball. All distances given in the data were from the top of the metallic plate to the bottom of the steel ball. The distance had to be standardised as the rate of acceleration depends upon the exact distance fallen in a certain amount of time. If we had not worked out two standard points that all our measurements were taken from we would not have been able to calculate the acceleration of the ball to an accurate degree. The acceleration acting upon the ball as it falls towards the earth is due to gravity. It is therefore prudent to show some understanding of the physics of the experiment before we actually look at the data itself. All following material is taken from Explaining Physics A-Level Edition by Stephen Pople. Gravity is a force of attraction between any two masses. This force is unusual as it is the only force discovered that has no repulsive effect unlike for example, magnetism which can attract and repel other masses. The Earth is surrounded by a gravitational field which exerts a force on any mass in it. In terms of this experiment the ball is attracted towards the earth as it falls. I read that experiments done in the past have shown that at a particular place all bodies falling freely under gravity in a vacuum or where air resistance is negligible have the same constant acceleration irrespective of their masses. This is why for this experiment the mass of the ball is irrelevant as long as it remains constant throughout the experiment. This is due to the fact that acceleration due to gravity is a constant for all objects irrespective of mass where air resistance is negligible. If we wish to find the acceleration due to gravity we only need to know the displacement of the ball and the time taken for it to fall that distance. This value is taken as 9.8m/s/s; that is to say that the velocity of any body travelling downwards will increase by 9.8m/s every second neglecting the effect of air resistance. As a result, my initial prediction is that the time taken for the ball to hit the plate will increase as the distance increases and as a result the acceleration will increase. This prediction is based upon the evidence found in the textbook mentioned above but also through initial examination of the data. For this experiment my partner and I decided to attach the metal plate switch at 20cm intervals from 20-200cm so a wider range of results could be calculated. We wished also to see if we could obtain the terminal velocity of an object in free fall i.e. the speed at which it will stop accelerating but the distance between the ball and the switch was not great enough. The final graph I will plot will be the displacement of the ball bearing over the time taken to open the switch squared. The two values should show positive correlation as if we arrange the equation from the textbook: S=ut + 1/2at s/t = u/t + 1/2 a Therefore: s/t = u/t + 1/2 a We know that intital velocity is Zero so: s/t = 1/2 a This rather conveniently allows us to find the acceleration due to gravity by simply doubling the gradient. g = 2( s/t) We see now how it is possible to obtain a value for g as I have data on both the displacement of the ball bearing and the time taken for it to fall that distance. An initial graph without reference to the data should be virtually straight line taking experimental error into account, perhaps looking roughly so: I have shown here the time squared for an object to fall over 50cm. I have taken g to be 10 which I have read is an approximate value. We see here that the time taken to fall increases proportionally to the displacement. I believe this will be true for the actual data also but need to plot this also. Displacement (cm) Time1(s) Time2(s) Time3(s) Average time(s) Average time Squared(s) 20 0.145 0.201 0.202 0.183 0.033 40 0.291 0.291 0.290 0.291 0.084 60 0.351 0.349 0.350 0.350 0.123 80 0.403 0.405 0.405 0.404 0.163 100 0.454 0.454 0.454 0.454 0.206 120 0.496 0.497 0.497 0.497 0.247 140 0.538 0.537 0.537 0.537 0.289 160 0.569 0.575 0.575 0.573 0.328 180 0.610 0.610 0.610 0.610 0.372 200 0.632 0.632 0.633 0.632 0.400 The highlighted result is the one I see as anomalous; I will explain later the major sources for error in the experiment. We see that the graph is almost a straight line showing that my initial prediction was correct in that the time squared had a positive correlation with the distance travelled. Let us presume now that we do not know that g is 9.8m/s/s and work it out based upon data on the graph. We know from my previous rearrangement of the equation in the textbook that the acceleration is the gradient doubled. To work out the gradient we must divide the change (delta) of they Y axis by the change of the X axis. When plotting the gradient it is wide to take it over the widest range possible to take all results into account. As a result I have decided to take the results from the extreme points of both the displacement and time. This is why I took the displacement over two metres instead of one to obtain a wider range of results. The data is taken from 20-200 cm. This is 180cm. However the modern convention is to measure length in metres which gives us a change of 1.8 m. The change along the X-axis is equal to 0.4-0.033 which comes to 0.367 If we divide 1.8 by 0.367 the result comes to 4.905 which we know is half the acceleration. If we double this value we find that (barring experimental error) the acceleration of the ball was 9.809 m/s/s which if we round up to 9.81m/s/s we find that it is very close to the conventional value for g. This does not leave us much room for experimental error as the variance between the value I obtained and the value stated in any textbook is 0.1m/s/s. However I believe there were sources of error for this experiment in general which I will now outline irrespective of the fact that they did not affect my own. The most significant factor when measuring g is that air resistance will act upon the ball. Explaining Physics tells us that we can neglect this factor as the ball itself is very dense. However, air must provide some resistance to the ball falling and could conceivably affect an experiment especially as air resistance isnt the same from one moment to the next for example, someone could open a window and cause an air current to act upon the ball. The only real remedy for this factor is to perform the experiment in a vacuum. A less likely factor to affect the experiment is the fact that the ball may display residual magnetic properties through repeatedly being attached to the electromagnet. The atoms within the ball could well have been ordered to make the ball itself be attracted to the electromagnet after the switch was thrown. Even if current was no longer flowing through the wires around the core, a weak magnetic field may have been apparent in the ball causing it to be attracted towards the iron core due to previous use. While iron is magnetically soft and would probably not have magnetic properties once the switch was opened the ball is made of steel which can retain magnetic properties. A solution for this problem would be to demagnetise the steel ball by either using a demagnetising tool or by simply heating it up by placing it in a naked flame for several seconds. One improvement I would have like to make to the experiment concerned the metal plate switch. I realised that it took a certain amount of time to actually break the contact between the plate itself and the rest of the circuit which could affect the overall time recorded by the Digital voltmeter. I believe it would be more efficient for a light sensor and a laser to replace the plate switch so the ball could fall uninterrupted and the time recorded would be more accurate. This is due to the fact that breaking a light beam can occur almost instantaneously while a metal plate is more difficult to move. If I had more time I would have liked to increase the distance over which the ball fell. This would not only provide a more accurate value for g but would also allow me to calculate the terminal velocity of a given mass. Ideally it would be interesting to see how the gravitational field of the earth varied in different locations, perhaps by obtaining data on the acceleration of the ball in various geographical locations. It would then be possible to see how g can vary due to the fact that the mass of the earth is not a constant all across the surface.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Various Shades of grey :: essays research papers

Various Shades of Grey Honesty. A small word. Barely seven letters. Its potency for explosion – infinite. Today we are at the crux of change as Europe had been during the Renaissance. Our world today is torn apart by the greed of others. It is submerged in the excesses of the rich and the powerful. As per surveys conducted by the United Nations the top ten percent of the world’s population control two thirds of the earths natural resources. Today we are racked by war, hatred, racism, genocide and terrorism. It is at this hour we need the basic tenets of morality to guide us at the epoch of civilization, an era which compromises the best of times and the worst of times. In troubled times we turn to others for help. In these days there exists no more kindred souls so we are left to turn to ourselves for help. When we turn to ourselves, let us at least be true to our conscience, so that we may escape from the sin of deceit. Today’s society demands that we compromise on our basic morality for survival. In this world deceit has taken over our lives. We lie to ourselves, our friends, to our enemies, to our employers and to our near and dear ones. We are forced to and rarely do we have a choice. Even if we had a choice, there rarely exists a person of sufficient moral fiber to exercise his or her choice. Even if we are compelled to deceit for the sake of others, let us not lie blatantly and remorsefully but take heed that what we are doing is wrong. Today many circumstances demand that we resort to deceit, so that we may eke out a decent living, live with dignity and protect those around us. The evils of globalization, terrorism, bigotry and unnecessary competition for basic necessities have ensured that. It is no more an option but a necessity for the common man to turn to deceit. Let us take a look at some fairly recent examples close to our home and in the international scenario. During the riots in Gujarat several people were killed, burnt, raped and tortured. All for the sake of religious bigotry. Now if a person wishes to escape unharmed with his or her dignity intact, and in the course of escape if should he have to lie about his religious interests to do so, cannot be condemned for every one has been given the right to live with dignity.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Analysis “Angel Pavement” by Priestley

The extract under analysis is written by an English novelist, playwright and a broadcaster, John Boynton Priestly. â€Å"Angel Pavement† is his novel published in 1930. It brought him a great success. Some problems are touched in this novel, for example, a problem of upbringing, a generation gap. Generally, Priestly touches upon problems in the society, emphasizes its inconsistency. The extract dwells upon a common dinner of a family. Mr. Smeeth, the head of a family, compares the behaviour of his children, George and Edna, today and several years ago.He does not accept their views. A protagonist, Mr. Smeeth, presents a common father who wants an atmosphere of mutual aid, understanding and warmth in his family. Initially, Mr. Smeeth is disappointed by his daughter, he can’t understand her. She seems like smthunattractive for him anymore, for instance such words as with the help of which Mr. Smeeth describes his daughter â€Å"grayish-greenish-bluish eyes†, now he ’s not sure, moreover he talks about it with some degree of disgust resorting to such kind of derivative.Actually, practically the whole extract presents thoughts of the protagonist, his inner monologue, instead of the last one where the author by himself makes a kind of conclusion. Such words as â€Å"Mr. Smeeth eyed Edna severely; Edna annoyed him these days† can demonstrate Mr. Smeeth’s attitude towards Edna. John Priestly resorts to such a technique as â€Å"flashback†. So we can observe how Mr. Smeeth treats his daughter at her different ages.A detached construction in the sentence â€Å"He had been very fond of her when she was a child – and, for that matter, he was still fond of her†, this compares his attitude in her childhood and nowadays when she is a teenager. From the point of view Mr. Smeeth, Edna is described with the help of parallel construction as â€Å"neither child nor adult, neither dependent nor independent†, agai n it proves that her father practically doesn’t know her.There is an example of gradation in description of Edna by Mr.  Smeeth’s words: â€Å"She was at her worst: languid and complaining, shrill and resentful, or sullen and tearful; Actually, the last extract presents a piece of argumentation in which the author by himself raises a problem of generation gap and gives examples. There is an example of metaphor â€Å"the product of a changing civilization†. It proves that they are people of a consumer generation. Also there is an example of parallel construction. Mr. Smeeth doesn’t consider his children as someone unique since it’s a characteristic of each parent to distinguish his child among others.For him, George â€Å"a very bright promising boy†, actually only George has positive characteristics in comparison with Edna, however father is not satisfied with his inclinations, he doesn’t see any prospects in his life, moreover he doesn’t believe in his success. There is a bright example with the help of antithesis: â€Å"George was both a disappointment and a mystery†. Mr. Smeeth considers his children to be â€Å"foreigners†, people of different views, behavior, values. Actually, generation gap is an eternal problem which existed for many centuries.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Dramatic Climax Essay

How Does Miller Create Interest in Act Three, the Dramatic Climax Of â€Å"The Crucible†?  In Act Three of Arthur Miller’s â€Å"The Crucible†, tension rises in the courtroom of Salem as John Proctor, Giles and Francis strive to save the lives and respect of their wives. As the trials progress, the audience concentrate more on certain individuals and how they struggle to maintain power and authority in the courtroom. Miller called his play â€Å"The Crucible† because a crucible is a container in which metals are heated to extract the pure element from dross or impurities. In Act 3, John Proctor is tested in a life threatening ordeal and his choice of death rather than betrayal of his conscience shows us that he too has come through the fire to be purified. This creates interest because the comparison of Proctor’s situation and going through fire to be purified is powerful. ‘Going through fire’ emphasises on the pain he must suffer. The audience sympathise for his pain and suffering and so they are interested in Act 3 to see the consequences of the dramatic climax. The main focus of Act 3 has to do with determining who will define innocence and guilt. Proctor makes one audacious gamble for this authority by finally overcoming his desire to protect his reputation, exposing an inner secret sin. He hopes to replace his wife’s blame with his own guilt and bring Abigail down as well in the process. He reveals his private life to examination, hoping to gain some authority, but he does not realise that the competition is high, people may show more energy in the delivery and presentation of their speech. Too many reputations are at stake and Proctor’s surprise comes too late to stop the avalanche. This also creates interest as Proctor is the protagonist who the audience are encouraged to focus on and sympathise with. Proctor making this audacious gamble interests the audience, builds up to whatever the outcome may be, the dramatic climax. Desperation and persuasion are emotions involved within this act. There is a great deal of climax and suspense displayed using many different dramatic devices. Dramatic devices are made to engender interest in the audience. The dramatic devices present in this act seem to follow an order of operation, of starting with the least dramatic to the most dramatic. As more devices build up, more interest is likely to develop. The development of interest is then switched to the climax (turning point). The act starts with a common device such as character interaction. Character interaction in Act 3 set in a courtroom is a lot different to usual character interaction:  GILES (beginning to plead): They be tellin’ lies about my wife, sir, I-  DANFORTH Do you take it upon yourself to determine what this court shall believe and what it shall set aside?  GILES Your Excellency, we mean no disrespect for-  DANFORTH Disrespect indeed! It is disruption, Mister. This is the highest court of the supreme government of this province, do you know it? The fact that Giles is cut off by Danforth before even managing to finish his sentence, shows that more power is on Danforth’s side whilst Giles is beginning to plead for freedom. It also shows that the pace of speech may be very quick as everyone is determined to get their message across. The effect that this gives is that questions and quick speeches build up suspense for answers. Also, Danforth interrogating Giles shows his authority and possession of power over him. The interrogation can also be seen as a dramatic device, it creates interest with the audience waiting for answers to the questions. Another dramatic device is the use of vocal variety. When characters interact in a different way of speech, it shows there is a change of behaviour. It grabs the attention and suspense of the audience and makes them wonder to where this may lead to. An example:  GILE’S VOICE (roaring) I have evidence for the court!  As Giles is roaring, there is a great sense of energy in Giles’ voice, as if he were roaring like a lion. This contributes to the idea of getting the message across to the rest of the court members and the energy makes the audience feel more alert, just like a lion would. This makes the situation more interesting as roaring isn’t usually how Giles would react, so the audience are interested to know where the roaring would lead to. In Act 3, based on the courtroom scene, body language, gestures and even facial expressions play a key role of grabbing the audience’s interest. These factors reveal the character’s personalities depending on what their actions are like. If a character’s actions are more open and broad, it may suggest that they are more confident and powerful. However, if a character’s actions are reserved and tightened, it may suggest that they are under-confident and weaker:  PARRIS (sweating): These people should be summoned. (DANFORTH looks up at him questioningly.) For questioning. As Parris is sweating, this shows that he is anxious about his decision of the people being summoned, but then gains back his confidence when Danforth looks up at him, so he answers back at Danforth’s questioningly look. This interests the audience as there is a change of behaviour within a character.  Characters are at their upmost desperation for innocence and reputation, the matter of what is at stake and how do characters react really indulges itself into the drama. Death is at stake and characters are becoming more and more desperate progressing through the scene. Since the storyline is based upon witch hunting in Salem, the girls who are shown to be witches act out in an eccentric manner. The hysteria of the girls is shown dramatic as it displays what separates the sane from the insane and really engages the interest of the audience. Being set in a courtroom would mean that character interaction is shown from all angles. There is power to be shifted from someone who is higher in authority, and has more arguments to clear themselves from any kind misjudgement to someone who is unable yet desperate to defend themselves.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Current Financial Market Events and their Implications

Current Financial Market Events and their Implications Event one The recent global financial crisis has dealt a heavy blow on the American International Group, leading to loss of mortgage-backed securities. Following this loss, AIG has filed a suit against Bank of America in a bid to recover over $ 10 billion USD (Story and Morgenson 2011).Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Current Financial Market Events and their Implications specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More AIG maintains that Bank of America, along with its Countrywide Financial units and Merrily Lynch sold to investors misrepresented mortgages that had been placed as securities. AIG is blaming banks for this historic loss and maintains that it was misled into purchasing risky securities while the property market was still faced with a housing boom. Other large financial institutions that IAG plans to sue on similar grounds include JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Deutche Bank. The US Justice Department has also receiv ed a number of credit crisis cases but because none has yet been prosecuted, consumers and investors are now apportioning blame on financial institutions for the loss (Story and Morgenson 2011). Nonetheless, the Justice Department is pushing for the prosecution of these cases, albeit at a slow pace. For example, a former chairman of Taylor, Bean Whitaker, a mortgage company, has been handed a jail sentence. Requests by investors and consumers for the Justice Department to hold investment banks accountable for the losses occasioned by the global financial crisis are being weighed in by State attorney-general. These cases mainly involve foreclosures and mortgage servicing. This is despite the fact that the government is yet to start following up on the most fundamental of these practices. Event Two President Obama is pushing a strategy to create more jobs and at the same time, ensure larger long-term deficit cuts. The proposed tax cuts are aimed at combating long-term unemployment. T herefore, new spending on the construction industry is anticipated, as well as extending tax cuts to firms hiring workers. The president is also proposing for a new deficit reduction (Calmes 2011). These moves are aimed at stimulating economic growth by encouraging consumers to spend and businesses to hire. However, the Republicans are opposed to additional stimulus proposal, blaming President Obama for lacking a detailed debt-reduction plan. They are also opposed to higher tax revenue.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The pledge by the central bank to maintain interest rates at a near zero for a minimum period of two years has received opposition from two policymakers with the US Federal Reserve. They argue that such a move is an indication that the government intends to support the stock market. The decision to reduce interest rates up to mid-2013 has also be en criticized, with opponents terming the policy as inappropriate. Event Three A strong Australian dollar in 2011 has resulted in low domestic travel and this has prompted Wotif.com, an Australian based online travel company to consider expanding its business to the Asian market. In 2009, domestic leisure travel business, which also happens to be Wotif.com’s core business, was stronger because the Australian dollar was getting weaker against the major currencies (LaFrenz 2011, p. 39). Now, a lot of Australians are opting for overseas trips, at the expense of domestic travel. This has helped to strengthen the international accommodation booking. Wotif.com has enjoyed tremendous growth since 2006, when the company was listed on the ASE (Australian Securities Exchange). However, in 2011, its growth slowed significantly. As part of its growth strategy, the company has focused on the Asian market with the adoption of novel-phone-based initiatives, a move that the company sees as h elping to facilitate its growth (LaFrenz 2011, p. 39). Already, the company does 15 percent of its bookings in Asia. Besides mobile bookings, the company also plans to enter into joint ventures with a number of travel firms in Asia in order to get a share of the expanding domestic travel market. The Asian local market boasts of a growing middle class who are not only eager to travel, but also have more disposable income. Event Four In the second quarter of 2011, the US economic expansion was below what had been forecasted, and this is a pointer to the weakness of the economy. This has forced the Federal Reserve to revise its growth forecast downwards (Willis 2011, p. 56). Between April and June, the GDP of the US is estimated to have increased at an average rate of 1 percent per annum. The previous estimates had been pegged at 1.3 percent. At the same time, the month of August recorded the lowest level of consumer sentiments since November 2008, in the face of political wrangling an d financial-market turmoil regarding the budget deficit (Willis 2011, p. 56). The country’s GDP stands at USD 13.26 trillion, and it is still below its peak before the recession.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Current Financial Market Events and their Implications specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More On a lighter note, there has been an upward revision of salaries and wages, thereby revealing the highest gain in over 4 years. At the same time, corporate profits have grown. Following the recent downgrading of US debt by S P amid concerns of a default in the euro-zone, coupled with deficit-cut measures, economists have been forced to reduce growth forecasts. Analysis The fact that the Justice Department has been slow to prosecute the culprits who initiated the recent global financial crisis has only acted to reduce investor and consumer confidence. As a result, the economy has been growing at a slower rate t han anticipated, and this has prompted the Federal Reserve Bank to revise the country’s growth rate downwards. When the economy fails to attain the predicted rate of growth, this results in low consumer sentiments. When consumers are less optimistic about the economic growth rate, their spending and saving rates are likely to decrease (Colin 2008, para. 3). Stimulus packages are therefore a way of stimulating the economy when faced with slow growth. Other measures that a government can institute to deal with a sow rate of economic growth are to impose tax cuts and facilitate temporary spending. Economists suggest that such moves add to deficits initially. In the long-term though, these measures could lower costs for safety-net programs, increase tax collections and in the end, maintain smaller deficits than would be the case with lowering unemployment and spurring growth (Cooper 2008, p. 208). Stimulus spending is supported by the Keynesian economic theory which states that w hen the government seeks to spend a huge chunk of borrowed money, this helps to boost the economy (Davidson 2009 p.18). Economic historians have maintained that the US made it through the Great Depression thanks to Keynesian-style spending. Besides stimulating the economy, there is the need also to ensure that we reduce deficits especially when faced with shrinking revenues. A stimulus package pumps money into the economy albeit temporarily, thus encouraging consumer spending. Businesses are also encouraged to hire more employees. Otherwise, businesses may be forced to consider relocating their business to other economies that have not borne the full consequence of a global economic crisis. This is the case with Wotif.com, when it decided to venture into the Asian market when domestic travel in Australia was no longer attractive to help the company maintain its hitherto spectacular growth.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Reference List Calmes, J., 2011. Obama to push for jobs, tax cuts. The New York Times, Web. Colin, B., 2008. Consumer confidence- global monitor of consumer sentiment index reports and country update on consumer confidence changes. Marshal Place  Associates, Web. Cooper, G., 2008. The origin of financial crises: central banks, credit bubbles and the  efficient market fallacy. Petersfield, Hampshire, U.K.: Harriman House. Davidson, P., 2009. The Keynes Solution: The Path to Global Economic Prosperity. London: Palgrave=McMillan. LaFrenz, C., 2011. Dollar drives wotif.com’s Asia focus. The Australian Financial  Review, 11 August. p. 39. Story, L., Morgenson, G., 2011. AIG sues bank for GFC losses. The New  York Times, Web. Willis, B., 2011. US growth forecast revised down. The Australian Financial Times, 9 August 2011. p. 56.

Monday, October 21, 2019

driving force; the road of adulthood

driving force; the road of adulthood The Driving Force: Road to AdulthoodI was excited rather than anything but nervous when about to drive for the first time, but that all changed as soon as I was about to get in the car. It was Sunday, the morning after I had just gotten my permit. Today was the day I was going to go driving for the first time. My parents and I had woken up extra early so there wouldn't be a lot of cars on the road. The sun had just woken up, the sky was a stunning light orange color and you could hear the birds singing. That day I woke up with exhilaration because I was eager to drive for the first time. The car I was going to drive was my mom's black colored Honda Accord. My Parents and I got in the car and my dad sat in the passenger seat while my mom sat in the back.custom car, shot at local car show/swap meetWhen I first sat in the car it felt a bit bizarre because I was not used to sitting in the driver's seat. In the car there were a lot of odd-looking buttons I had never used before. I felt li ke a pilot who had no idea what all the buttons in a plane meant, so my dad and I took a good fifteen minutes going through all the functions of the car and adjusting the seat and mirrors.Finally after all that commotion I put the keys in the car and started the car, and all of a sudden a wave of fear hit me like a whirling tornado. I got tensed all of a sudden. I was just excited to go drive a few seconds ago but as soon as I turned the car on I got tremendously nervous.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Fix Common Runtime Errors in Java With Careful Debugging

Fix Common Runtime Errors in Java With Careful Debugging Consider the following segment of Java code, stored in a file called JollyMessage.java: // A jolly message is written to the screen! class Jollymessage {   Ã‚  Ã‚  public static void main(String[] args) {   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  //Write the message to the terminal window   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  System.out.println(Ho Ho Ho!);   Ã‚  Ã‚  } } At program execution, this code will produce a runtime error message. In other words, a mistake has been made somewhere, but the error won’t be identified when the program is compiled, only when it is run. Debugging In the example above, notice that the class is called â€Å"Jollymessage† whereas the filename is called JollyMessage.java. Java is case sensitive. The compiler won’t complain because technically there is nothing wrong with the code. It will create a class file that matches the class name exactly (i.e., Jollymessage.class). When you run the program called JollyMessage, youll receive an error message because there is no file called JollyMessage.class. The error you receive when you run a program with the wrong name is: Exception in thread â€Å"main† java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: JollyMessage (wrong name: JollyMessage).. Common Runtime-Error Solutions If your program compiles successfully but fails at execution, review your code for common mistakes: Mismatched single and double quotesMissing quotes for stringsIncorrect comparison operators (e.g., not using double equal signs to indicate assignment)Referencing objects that dont exist, or dont exist using the capitalization supplied in the codeReferencing an object that has no properties Working within integrated development environments like Eclipse can help you avoid typo-style errors. To debug productionalized  Java programs, run your Web browsers debugger- you should see a hexadecimal error message that can assist in isolating the specific cause of the problem. In some situations, the problem may lie not in your code, but in your Java Virtual Machine. If the JVM is choking, it may kick out a runtime error despite the lack of a deficiency in the programs codebase. A browser debugger message will help isolate code-caused from JVM-caused errors.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

The mail Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The mail - Essay Example Repayment of the loan is also important to them and at what rate it will be repaid, I am planning to repay the loan in two years time since I have already registered three hundred students who are to commence their studies next year. I already have 0.5 million dollars as capital and the extra funds will enable me to rent offices, hire lecturers, buy office furniture and equipments, and advertise in the media and internet and also to obtain a license which is very expensive to obtain. The presentation is the key to the success or failure of my plans therefore after the presentation I want the audience to be confident and satisfied with my plan and offer me the money, if it's possible I would like them to ask me to consider their partnership in the company. The presentation will last for at most three hours, I will therefore need to have a visual aid which include an LCD projector, a laptop and in this case led me yours and also a hearing aid. I am therefore needed to have slides that will aid me in communicating to them.

International corporate reporting issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

International corporate reporting issues - Essay Example International corporate reporting issues The objective of this standard is to frame the foundation for the presentation of financial statements. The standard is to ensure the compatibility with the company’s financial performance in previous years as well as with that of its competitors. US GAAP is the framework that offers Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, which are used by United States organisations or the companies listed on Wall Street. This set of standards is developed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The framework is a combination of authoritative standards introduced by the responsible authorities, as well as the accepted ways to carry out accounting and reporting activities. These standards are constructed solely by input of US organisations rather than any outside influences. The key objectives of accounting standards are identification, measurement, and reporting of financial information of the organisational entities to the interested stakeholders. Financial accounting is a process culminating in the preparation of the financial reports of the organisations. These are done for the use of both the internal and external stakeholders. These financial statements include balance sheets, income statements, and statements of the owner’s equity and cash flow situation including assets and expenses. In the United States, the most significant source of influence on accounting standards is politics. The most substantial factor in the political arena is user groups. These groups include the parties most affected by accounting standards, rules, and regulations. â€Å"Accounting standards are as much a product of political action as they are of careful logic or empirical findings† (Wiley, 2002, p.14). These groups of stakeholders require accounts and re ports regarding company finances which are essential to successful business planning and strategizing. Groups know the best way to influence these standards in order to have a more favourable outcome financially is to participate in the framing of those same structures or to try to influence or persuade the authorities more directly responsible for the formulation and amending of the standards. In the US there are many authoritative bodies responsible for the formulation and development of the generally accepted financial standards; FASB is the significant and major contributor in this development. Undoubtedly, the board faces intense amounts of pressure and efforts to incorporate and influence the changes in the present standards and in the development of new ones. Moreover, the situation gets complicated with the involvement of two

Friday, October 18, 2019

Course Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Course Reflection - Essay Example s discussed in each weak indeed contributed towards acquiring rich understanding and knowledge about different aspects pertaining to strategic human resources planning. Human resource, finance and marketing and other related concepts and discussion covered in each week enhanced my knowledge base to be competent future managers. Moreover, from human resource I have gathered knowledge about organizational policies and programs and other functional activities such as forecasting, succession management, downsizing & restructuring, mergers & acquisitions, and outsourcing among others. Alongside, from marketing and finance studies I learnt about varied strategies and functional activities of management. The understanding derived in each week helped me to perform more effectively in my professional and personal life. More importantly, prior to attending the weekly session I have little knowledge about strategic human resource planning. However, the understanding that I acquired in each week together made the role of strategic human resource planning crystal-clear. Notably, with the help of human resource management, an individual can develop a positive attitude about cultural belief and value in the workplace. Therefore, I believed that human resource management helps an individual to maintain proper balance among personal and professional life. Reflecting upon the understanding and knowledge that I derived from the discussion facilitated an in-depth insights. Accordingly, f human resource management has been linked with marketing and finance. In general, sustainability of an organization in a market depends on productivity and labor force (Anderson & Nilsson, 2012). Moreover, it was learnt that human resource has helped managerial heads to perform better in market. Management functions include planning, organizing and motivating. With the help of human resource, managerial heads has implement strategy for enhancement of organizational growth. Besides, decision-making is

The nature of FDIs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The nature of FDIs - Essay Example The second commonality mentioned is usually taken to be the more important defining feature of the two. FDI denotes a degree of direct ownership whereas indirect investments are those gaining exposure to enterprises without investing directly such as listed securities, investment funds and derivatives. (Blomstrom and Globerman, 2001) Previously, FDIs referred only to physical investments made by a local company to a foreign setting. Building factories, providing machineries and equipment were considered as FDIs while portfolio investments were considered as an indirect investment. However, the rapid globalization of markets served as an impetus to broaden the definition of FDI to include the lasting ownership of shares of companies and enterprises. As such, joint ventures, alliances where a company provides technological support and licensing of intellectual property and direct acquisition of a firm are now considered to be FDIs. (Sullivan and Sheffrin, 2003) The current requirement is that an international business relationship must be formed between the local entity and the foreign affiliate. Foreign Direct Investors can either be a private or a public entity and may involve an incorporated or unincorporated organization or a lone individual. In any case, the foreign entity should provide the local entity a certain level of control in its management. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), control can come in the form of a 10% ownership as a minimum. In cases where this are not present, the investment made is known as portfolio investment. The ownership implies that the investor is afforded control in the management and decision-making of the enterprise. However, the data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Economic Development indicate that there are countries where the 10% ownership is treated in a flexible manner to accommodate local legal and business environment circumstances. There are cases where the o wnership is less than 10% but the investor is afforded an effective voice and there are cases where exercise of influence control is not given even if the investor exceeds 10% ownership. FDI Classification According to UNCTAD (2007), FDIs are classified according to certain defined factors. A classification based on the direction of FDI generates two broad types: outward-bound and inward-bound. Outward-bound FDIs are those investments provided by local entities to foreign partners while inward-bound FDIs have local entities as the beneficiary of investments from abroad. FDIs can also be classified according to the nature it is conducted. Vertical Foreign Direct Investments exist when a local entity owns some shares in a foreign enterprise and is using the business arrangement to either generate supplies or be the one supplying. Horizontal Foreign Direct Investment occurs when a local entity, usually a multinational company, establishes a similar business operation in foreign settings. FDIs can also be classified according to its motives. If the FDI was made to explore new opportunities in new markets or strengthen the existing market structure, we have a 'market-seeking FDI'. When the FDI was made because the foreign setting provides resources that are not locally available at the same degree,

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Recruitment Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Recruitment Plan - Assignment Example Date opened: Division: Department: Job Group: Contact Information: Hiring Manager: Others involved: (i) In reviewing resumes (ii) In the interview and selection Salary Gauge: Reason for Job Opening: Expansion of the company leading to opening of a production in the UK. Anticipated start date for this position: 2.2 Performance Profile Describing criteria with which to advertise, source, assess and interview. What will each candidate need to become successful These "must haves" are then converted into actions; measurable objectives. Look at the available resources, facilities and the group dynamics. Determine traits and abilities of the best people new on the job. Compare the best people already in the job and select traits that predict success. Outline additional "must haves". Includes related work experience. Industry/work setting: Educational post-graduate or certifications required. 2.3 Strategy for Diverse Recruitment Using the underutilization data focusing on the underutilized groups like Hispanics, Asian, American Indians, females or African Americans. Recruitment sources 2.3.1 In-house systems This has its own advantages and disadvantages (Buhler & D.B.A. 2002). Advantages include the fact that it costs less, it involves employees who are already familiar with the organization and its culture, it helps retain company secrets, improves employee morale and also it has a better success rate because employee track record is known. Its disadvantages include the fact that it creates a ripple effect as more job openings develop, it may lead to stagnation as no new thinking is injected into the organization and also creates negative internal competition. 2.3.2 Professional organizations and Associations 2.3.3 Target companies or...In the long run, this leads to serious frustrations. Use of a thorough recruitment process with the sophistication of the recruitment process being commensurate to the complexity of the job. As a minimum, the interview process should comprise atleast two interviews, an appropriate psychometric assessment and a thorough reference check. Use of a thorough interview, which should be highly structured and based on, proved methodologies. It's aimed at revealing levels of competency on the key areas, appropriate experience, the personality strengths, weaknesses and integrity. This has its own advantages and disadvantages (Buhler & D.B.A. 2002). Advantages include the fact that it costs less, it involves employees who are already familiar with the organization and its culture, it helps retain company secrets, improves employee morale and also it has a better success rate because employee track record is known. Its disadvantages include the fact that it creates a ripple effect as more job openings develop, it may lead to stagnation as no new thinking is injected into the organization and also creates negative internal competition. While advertising we will aim at creating interest in the post. As noted by Arue, Neil and Olga (2005), the more details given a job advert the more the more highly an organization is likely to be regarded and the more interest it will create.

Things about me that might surprise people Essay

Things about me that might surprise people - Essay Example Going out with my friends is indeed a pleasure for me so that I try my best to join them in every activity they invite me in. I love shopping with my friends, going to the mall, checking the latest fashion there is in store for us. I also love to watch movies with them which we practically do almost every time we meet. This gives us much time to know each other more as we talk about our favorite movies, actors and other things we enjoy. Spending much time with my friends allowed me to discover that we have so much in common, our likes and dislikes as well as people we would like to meet. People usually see me as outgoing and indefatigable because of this so, I guess they would be surprised to know that I am the extreme opposite of what they see in me. I usually easily get tired so that I sleep a lot to get my energy back. Whenever I get the chance to take a little rest, even a ten minute nap would be much appreciated and often times welcomed. I believe that people are a treasure that I need to keep so I consider myself sentimental in many ways. I value time spent with friends, I keep their gifts in a rather special place which I call my treasure box. In a world where friends come and go, life is fast-paced and yesterday usually seems to be a thing to be forgotten once you are in a day called today, I guess people will be surprised to find a person like me, still exists. I am basically a simple person whose sentiments are more on things that are considered back numbered.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Recruitment Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Recruitment Plan - Assignment Example Date opened: Division: Department: Job Group: Contact Information: Hiring Manager: Others involved: (i) In reviewing resumes (ii) In the interview and selection Salary Gauge: Reason for Job Opening: Expansion of the company leading to opening of a production in the UK. Anticipated start date for this position: 2.2 Performance Profile Describing criteria with which to advertise, source, assess and interview. What will each candidate need to become successful These "must haves" are then converted into actions; measurable objectives. Look at the available resources, facilities and the group dynamics. Determine traits and abilities of the best people new on the job. Compare the best people already in the job and select traits that predict success. Outline additional "must haves". Includes related work experience. Industry/work setting: Educational post-graduate or certifications required. 2.3 Strategy for Diverse Recruitment Using the underutilization data focusing on the underutilized groups like Hispanics, Asian, American Indians, females or African Americans. Recruitment sources 2.3.1 In-house systems This has its own advantages and disadvantages (Buhler & D.B.A. 2002). Advantages include the fact that it costs less, it involves employees who are already familiar with the organization and its culture, it helps retain company secrets, improves employee morale and also it has a better success rate because employee track record is known. Its disadvantages include the fact that it creates a ripple effect as more job openings develop, it may lead to stagnation as no new thinking is injected into the organization and also creates negative internal competition. 2.3.2 Professional organizations and Associations 2.3.3 Target companies or...In the long run, this leads to serious frustrations. Use of a thorough recruitment process with the sophistication of the recruitment process being commensurate to the complexity of the job. As a minimum, the interview process should comprise atleast two interviews, an appropriate psychometric assessment and a thorough reference check. Use of a thorough interview, which should be highly structured and based on, proved methodologies. It's aimed at revealing levels of competency on the key areas, appropriate experience, the personality strengths, weaknesses and integrity. This has its own advantages and disadvantages (Buhler & D.B.A. 2002). Advantages include the fact that it costs less, it involves employees who are already familiar with the organization and its culture, it helps retain company secrets, improves employee morale and also it has a better success rate because employee track record is known. Its disadvantages include the fact that it creates a ripple effect as more job openings develop, it may lead to stagnation as no new thinking is injected into the organization and also creates negative internal competition. While advertising we will aim at creating interest in the post. As noted by Arue, Neil and Olga (2005), the more details given a job advert the more the more highly an organization is likely to be regarded and the more interest it will create.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Financial Market Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Financial Market Homework - Essay Example Financial markets are usually divided into capital markets and money markets. The capital market involves exchange of long term finance (Robert, 2009). This includes stock market, which facilitates financing through issuing stocks and also exchange of stock ownership and the money market which facilitates debt financing and investment (Rose, 1994). Currently the financial sector has additional markets to facilitate financing such as commodity markets derivatives market, futures markets and foreign markets. Financial markets provide borrowers with funds to facilitate their investments (such as corporations and government institutions to obtain funds in order to finance their current operations or to finance expansion and growth) (Wurgler, 2000). It also provides the lenders a platform to channel their surplus funds in productive way (such as financial institutions that have excess funds to lend on short term and long term basis), facilitates credit creation (usually done by commercial banks through issuance of loans), provides liquidity to institutions and government organizations and promotes savings culture (the commercial banks provides financial savings services) In Qatar, the financial market is controlled by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). This is the serves as the state’s sovereign wealth fund that specializes in both local and international investments. Usually QIA manages the financial surpluses from oil and natural gas companies (which run into millions of dollars) Additionally, Qatar Holding, a branch of QIA that is in charge of international investment, receives more than $30 billion from the state. These funds are invested internationally in Europe, Asia Pacific, and United states It is estimated that QIA has assets worth over $170 billion (Hall, Kerr & Hammond, 2013). This value is expected to increase as the country continues to invest in expansion

Monday, October 14, 2019

Cebu Philippines - Queen City of the South Essay Example for Free

Cebu Philippines Queen City of the South Essay Cebu is one of the most developed provinces in the Philippines and the main center of industry, commerce, trade and education in the central and southern parts of the archipelago. Cebu-City Cebu-City is also called as the Queen City of the South and has become one of the great tourist destinations in the Philippines. It is the capital and the main city of the island of Cebu and one of the oldest cities of the country Cebu, aside from being a growing city also provides a great quality of life and relaxed atmosphere within a tropical paradise. The people of Cebu The people living in Cebu speak Cebuano but can also speak Tagalog and English. So its easy for you to communicate with them. Cebus people are open minded towards foreigners, hospitable, patient and very friendly. Tourism Holidaymakers come from all over the world to enjoy the long stretches of white sand beaches and clear turquoise waters. The beach resorts of Cebu are unrivaled in the world. Nature Unlike the barren mountainous part of the island, the coastal zones are extraordinarily fertile. Maize, coconuts, bananas und a lot of other fruits grow here, as do the world famos Philippine mangoes. Luxurious vegetation which could not be more tropical anywhere, and countles rivers and lakes form the bizarre, dreamy, sublime landscape of the island. Fiesta Sinulog St. Nino de Cebu Festival Philippines The big annual attraction in Cebu City is the Sinulog Festival,held every third Sunday in January. The Sinulog is Cebus biggest and showiest fiesta in honor of the Infant Jesus or Seà ±or Santo Nià ±o. To the sound of the drums the dance moves two steps forward and one step backward. The 9-day fiesta celebration of sinulog in honor of Santo Nino starts on a Saturday followed by the grand street parade on the next day. The exact route varies every year as the festival grows. Visit www.sinulog.ph for more information. Hotels in Cebu ara usually full during sinulog. Before His grand day the image of the Child Jasus will be leaving His home in the Basilica del Santo Nino and will be stay with His foster father in the St. Joseph Parish in Mandaue City for a day and a night. After these stay with His father, He will be voyaging the way to His mother in Lapu-Lapu. In a glas case decorated with blossoming flowers the Holy Child Jesus will be carried by a spanish galleon toward His destination. The exact route varies every year as the festival grows. Visit www.sinulog.ph for more information. Every barrio and barangay trains its school children for months. And the boys on these days? Its not easy for them to come in the picture. Origin | Page 1 of 3 Sinulog is a dance ritual in honor of the miraculous image of the Santo Nino. The dance moves to the sound of the drums and this resembles the current (Sinulog) of what was then known as Cebus Pahina River. Thus, in Cebuano, they say its Sinulog. More than just the meaning of the word is the significance of the dance. Historians now say that Sinulog, which is of pagan origin, is the link between the countrys pagan past and its Christian present. Lets trace its history. Historical accounts say that before Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan came to Cebu on April 7, 1521 to plant the cross on its shore and claim the country for the King of Spain, Sinulog was already danced by the natives in honor of their wooden idols and anitos. Then Magellan came and introduced Christianity. He gave the Santo Nino (image of the Child Jesus) as baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Cebus Rajah Humabon who was later named Queen Juana. At that time, not only the rulers were baptized but also about 800 of their subjects. Unfortunately, however, shortly after the conversion, Magellan went into a reckless adventure by fighting the reigning ruler of Mactan, Rajah Lapulapu, with only a handful of men. He died in the encounter. That was on April 27, 1521. The remnants of Magellans men were however able to return to Spain to report the incident and the possibility of conquest. It took 44 years before a new group came and started the formal Christianization of the islands. Miguel Lopez de Legaspi arrived in Cebu on April 28, 1565. His ships bombarded the village and in one of the burning huts, one of his soldiers named Juan Camus found inside a wooden box the image of the Santo Nino lying side by side with native idols. Historians now say that during the 44 years between the coming of Magellan and Legaspi, the natives continued to dance the Sinulog. This time however, they danced it no longer to worship their native idols but a sign of reverence to the Santo Nino which is now enshrined at the San Agustin Church ( renamed Basilica Minore del Santo Nino). Of course, through the years since 1521, the dance was a small ritual danced by a few in front of wooden idols or before the Santo Nino. In fact, at the Santo Nino Church where the image is consecrated, only the candle vendors could be seen dancing the Sinulog and making offerings. During the Santo Nino fiesta which falls on the third Sunday of January, children dressed moro-moro costumes also dance the Sinulog. This was really no big event for Cebu City. In 1980, however, David S. Odilao Jr., then Regional Director of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Development (MYSD), organized the first ever Sinulog parade. He invited the physical education teachers for a meeting to discuss the organization of a Sinulog street dance parade. Nang Titang Diola of Mabolo was invited to give a demonstration at the Cebu Doctors College. The steps were analyzed and further enhanced by steps used by the candle vendors who performed in front of the church– The Basilica del Sto. Nià ±o. With seven schools and universities, the physical education teachers spearheaded the first Sinulog Street Dance Parade. With financial support from then MYSD Regional Director David Odilao and Department of Education Culture and Sports, the schools were given an era to represent the history of Cebu from the primitive times to the present. Member schools of the Cebu Physical Education Association the University of San Carlos, Southwestern University, University of San Jose-Recoletos, University of Cebu, University of Southern Philippines, Cebu Institute of Technology and Cebu Doctors University. The street dance parade started from the Plaza Independencia and caught the imagination of the City of Cebu, which then thought of making the Sinulog a festival that would rival other festivals being held yearly in the country. Thus, under the direction of Cebu City Mayor Florentino S. Solon and through the help of Manuel S. Satorre Jr., the late Juan B. Aquino Jr., also late Xavier Ledesma, Robert Grimalt and Antonio R. Aseniero Jr., Odilao turned over the Sinulog project to the Cebu City Hstorical Committee under Kagawad Jesus B. Garcia Jr. through Garcias committee, the Sinulog organization came into being. The first task of the organizing committee was how to conceptualize the festival and make it a big event. The committee then came up with the idea of having a Sinulog logo that would identify the event yearly if it were to be institutionalized. The group didnt however want to use the Santo Nino image itself because this would have been a sacrilege. And it had to look for something that would identify the project. This was the coat of arms of the Santo Nino, which is quite visible as they are being embossed in the benches, architecture and banners of the old San Agustin Church. The coat of arms of the Santo Nino bears a two-headed hawk, the mark of the House of Hapsburg (Hamburg) in Europe which then ruled most of the known world from the 15th century to 20th century. Spain was under the Hapsburg dynasty when it sent the expeditions out across the globe to spread the Faith and expand the influence of the dynastic house to be unknown lands beyond the oceans. The royal origin of the Hapsburg started with the ruling family on Austria in 1276 and for centuries until the 20th century the house rule most of the kingdoms in Europe. The Hapsburg established the Holy Roman Empire in 14552 and it was at the height of their power under Charles 1 of Spain (who was also Holy Roman Emperor Known as Charles V1) the first expedition under Ferdinand Magellan which discovered the Philippines for Spain was sent initially to look for the Spice Island. His son, Philip 11 who ruled Spain for 42 years from 1556, sent Legaspi the second expedition under Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. In fact, the Hapsburg rulers continued to hold power until 1700 not only in Spain but also in the colonies under the Spanish regime while the Austrian line of the Hapsburg dynasty also ruled Central Europe until about the same time. Thus, the Hapsburg emblem, now the coat of arms of the Santo Nino, was influential in many kingdoms in that time. The two-headed hawk emblem was in some of the banners brought by Magellans men to Cebu settlement in 1521. The same emblem was carried all the way from that time, through the Legaspi expedition of 44 years after Magellan and the others that would come to the country in those days such as Loaisa, Saavedra and the Villalobos expeditions. The emblem of the two-headed hawk at the peak of the power of the Hapsburg dynasty represented the twin purpose of the House, which was to stand as Champion of Catholicism and Defender of the Faith. With the background, the Sinulog committee used a native warriors shield on whose face is imprinted the coat of arms of the House of Hapsburg that now represents the Sinulog logo as interpreted by Ms Olive Templa, who coincidentally is a Cebuana. The native shield figure symbolizes the countrys continued resistance to colonization. It speaks of the Filipinos readiness to defend the country from all forms of foreign incursion and to resist any move that may endanger the countrys self-determination. The coat of arms of the Santo Nino on the face of the shield on the other hand, traditionally symbolizes the countrys acceptance of Christianity as European rulers brought it to the settlements in 1521. Sinulog 81 was then organized. Practically all sectors in the Cebuano community got involved. To distinguish the festival from the popular Ati-atihan Festival in Aklan, the organizers decided to use the parade to depict the history of the Sinulog which, as had been said, is the dance, which links the countrys pagan past and Christian present. Seven floats were created to depict seven different periods of history. Dancers wearing costumes depicting the periods followed each float. They all danced the same beat. The Sinulog parade started at 1 P.M. at the Cebu Provincial Capitol and ended about past midnight at the Fort San Pedro-Plaza Independencia area. And the show continued until the wee hours of the morning. To the credit of the Sinulog Foundation prime movers, particularly Executive Director Juan Dodong Aquino, Jr. the Sinulog Festival always jazzes up every year or so with new features, all meant to invite wider participation. Theres always something in there for everyone, be he a participant or spectator, be she a verbalist or visualist, an artist or symbolist. Government agencies, the private sector, commercial and industrial establishments, academic institutions and barangays can pit their skills in making float, the paper mache higantes on route arches, on-site decors, fluvial contests and photography. Organizations could also compete in discovering pulchritude via the Miss Sinulog 88 now known as Ms. Cebu which was eventually taken as an annual project of the Cebu City Tourism Commission. The quality of participation definitely gets better year after year. In 1983, the Sinulog project was still relatively new. Naturally, it had its complement of dents and scrapes, among which were participants on floats and on the streets wearing highly inappropriate and outspoken costumes. Wisened by that, the judges thereafter fine-tuned the qualifications to avert any form of irreverence. Irrelevance, too, was pre-empted. In the first five years the contingents also included guests who, as the afternoon drew and grew, reveled too much after having one too many. Also kibitizers weaved themselves through, sometimes against, the flow, smearing black paint on the spectators. The former have been weeded out of the parade, and the latter are thinning out in number. An improvised detention cell right smack by the roadside has been an effective deterrent. n the early years, Sinulog the ritual and the beat was a total strangers to young and new participants. Too often, it was mistaken for Aklans Ati-Atihan, complete with painted faces and war-like, martial beat. Too often, therefore, many a would-be winner, while beautiful in execution and precision, eventually got sidelined by such criteria as relevance and over-all impact. To prevent repetitions of such sorry instances, Sinulog workshops and demonstrations have been conducted annually thru the help of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the National Commission Culure and the Arts (NCCA) and the Philippine Folk Dacne Society. Greatly instrumental in this activity is Ms.Dolores Suzara, another mainstay Sinulog judge, and P.E. instructor/choreographer. The incidences of misplaced contingents have definitely waned since then. For the first five years, judging was a test of true grit lasting 20 hours. So that the contest could begin, judges had to be up with the birds. And so that the results could officially sign for the next days news, the judges had to stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning, bird or no bird. But all judges complained not. They, too, paid homage to the Santo Nià ±o in ways requested of us. The entry of TMXs Engr. Rogelio Q. Lim and naturally, technology introduced system and speed in results identification breathe better. In 1988, the plum prize for first prize winners in the parade participation was only P12,000.00. In the year 2005, it has risen to P500,000. Grand total is close to P8,000,000.00. Contest participants used to be purely from Cebu City. For about two decades now, the Festival has brought forth dramatic performances (and eventual winners) from all over the country, such as Surigao City, San Carlos City, Southern Leyte, Agusan del Sur, Camiguin, Iligan City , Tangub City , Tacloban, Ilo-ilo, Paranaque City, Naga City, Masbate, Sultan Kudarat , Iligan, Butuan among others. Prior to 1986, spectators came from Cebu City and province. Since the Balik-Cebu program in 1986, however, creating direct Cebu-San Francisco flights, the festival has packed in a million pilgrims and thousands of overseas visitors. With the present set up of the Sinulog Foundation Inc. introduced new contest categories such as the search for the Festival Queen (Sinulog lead dancer), the Puppeteers category, Visual Merchandising Contest (malls and department stores), Photo Contest , the Sinulog Short Film Festivals, the See Cebu on Carousel , huge lighted billboards which features various tourism and historical sites in Cebu displayed along the Carousel parade route. . The Foundation also commissioned artists to come up with a distinct Sinulog music, to date, the Foundation has produced varied Sinulog music, from the traditional beat, to techno funky beat and the overture of Sinulog (music provided by the Philippine Peace Philharmonic orchestra). For the past three years, since 2006, the Sinulog Grand parade can now be seen live in international audiences thru live TV broadcast and Webcast, reaching out as far as US mainland, Australia , some parts in Europe and some parts in Asia. Website, sinulog.ph has also been updated regularly and promotional videos uploaded in Youtube and internet. At present the word Sinulog and the logo is now patented and registered in the Intellectual Property Office, the first ever granted to a Festival. Crowd control has been the Sinulog organizers perennial headache. Varied, tried and tested, the approach and strategies have so far been elusive, however. And yet, this could be the dark side of the moon, the light side being that as the crowd swells year after year by millions, the Sinulog parade and activities became bigger and better. This made Sinulog the countrys biggest and grandest cultural festival. What began as a revival of an old dance brought government, business establishments, schools, pilgrims, artists and private individual together like never before. The attempt to enhance cultural awareness gave the Cebuanos a shared passion, a collective identity. In the end the Sinulog did give Cebu a culure. And a name. Pit Senyor! The Sinulog is an annual festival held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City, Maasin City, Southern Leyte, Philippines and Balingasag, Misamis Oriental[1] The festival commemorates the Filipino peoples pagan origin, and their acceptance of Roman Catholicism. The main feature is a street parade with participants in bright coloured costumes dancing to the rhythm of drums, trumpets and native gongs. Smaller versions of the festival are held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor the Santo Nià ±o. There is also a Sinulog sa Kabataan performed by the youths of Cebu a week before the parade. Recently, the festival has been promoted as a tourist attraction, with a contest featuring contingents from various parts of the country. The Sinulog Contest is usually held in the Cebu City Sports Complex. Festival The Sinulog celebration lasts for nine days, culminating on the final day with the Sinulog Grand Parade. The day before the parade, the Fluvial Procession is held at dawn with a statue of the Santo Nià ±o carried on a pump boat from Mandaue City to Cebu City, decked with hundreds of flowers and candles. The procession ends at the Basilica where a re-enactment of the Christianizing (that is, the acceptance of Roman Catholicism) of Cebu is performed. In the afternoon, a more solemn procession takes place along the major streets of the city, which last for hours due to large crowd participating in the event. Background | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| The word Sinulog comes from the Cebuano adverb sulog which roughly means like water current movement; it describes the forward-backward movement of the Sinulog dance. The dance consists of two steps forward and one step backward, done to the sound of drums. The dance is categorized into Sinulog-base, Free-Interpretation. Candle vendors at the Basilica continue to perform the traditional version of the dance when lighting a candle for the customer, usually accompanied by songs in the native language. The Sinulog dance steps are believed to originate from Rajah Humabons adviser, Baladhay. It was during Humabons grief when Baladhay was driven sick. Humabon ordered his native tribe to bring Baladhay into a room where the Santo Nià ±o was enthroned, along with the other pagan gods of the native Cebuanos. After a few days passed, Baladhay was heard shouting and was found dancing with utmost alertness. Baladhay was questioned as to why was he awake and shouting. Pointing to the image of the Santo Nià ±o, Baladhay explained that he had found on top of him a small child trying to wake him and tickling him with the midrib of the coconut. Greatly astonished, he scared the child away by shouting. The little child got up and started making fun of Baladhay. In turn, Baladhay danced with the little child and explained that he was dancing the movements of the river. To this day, the two-steps forward, one-step backward movement is still used by Santo Nià ±o devotees who believe that it was the Santo Nià ±os choice to have Baladhay dance. History | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| On April 15, 1521, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived and planted the cross on the shores of Cebu, claiming the territory for Spain. He presented the image of the child Jesus, the Santo Nià ±o, as baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Rajah Humabon. Hara Amihan was later named, Queen Juana in honor of Juana, mother of Carlos I. Along with the rulers of the island, some 800 natives were also baptized to the Roman Catholic Church. At the moment of receiving the holy image, it was said that Queen Juana danced with joy bearing this image of the child Jesus. With the other natives following her example, this moment was regarded as the first Sinulog. This event is frequently used as basis for most Sinulog dances, which dramatize the coming of the Spaniards and the presentation of the Santo Nià ±o to the Queen. A popular theme among Sinulog dances is Queen Juana holding the Santo Nià ±o in her arms and using it to bless her people who are often afflicted by sickness caused by demons and other evil spirits. Arrival of Là ³pez de Legazpi | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| After Magellan died on April 27, 1521 on the shores of Mactan, the remnants of his men returned to Spain. The Spanish explorer Miguel Là ³pez de Legazpi arrived in Cebu on April 28, 1565 and occupied the villages ruled by Rajah Tupas. In one of the huts of the burning village, one of Là ³pez de Legazpis soldiers named Juan Camus found a wooden box containing the statue of the Santo Nià ±o lying amongst several other native idols. Historians later said that during the 44 years between the arrival of Magellan and Là ³pez de Legazpi, the natives of Cebu continued to dance the Sinulog but no longer to worship their anitos (god) but to show their reverence to the Santo Nià ±o. The Augustinian friars that accompanied Là ³pez de Legazpi in his expedition proclaimed the statue performed miracles and built a church on the site where it was found. The church was called San Agustin Church, later renamed to Basilica Minore del Santo Nià ±o. Letter to the King of Spain | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| After Juan Camus found the Santo Nià ±o in the burning village, Là ³pez de Legazpi was said to have included the incident in his report, entitled Relation of Voyage to the Philippine Islands: Your Excellency should know that on that day when we entered this village (Cebu City), one of the soldiers went into a large and well-built house of an indio where he found an image of the Child Jesus (whose most holy name I pray may be universally worshipped). This was kept in its cradle, all gilded, just as if it were brought from Spain: and only the little cross, which is generally placed upon the globe in his hands, was lacking. The image was well kept in that house, and many flowers were found before it, and no one knows for what object or purpose. The soldier bowed down before it with all reverence and wonder, and brought the image to the place where the other soldiers were. I pray to the Holy Name of his image, which we found here, to help us and to grant us victory, in order that these lost people who are ignorant of the precious and rich treasure, which was in their possession, may come to knowledge to him Today | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| Since 1521, devotion to the Santo Nià ±o has grown and has taken root in Philippine popular piety, particularly in the Visayas; pilgrims from different parts of Cebu and the rest of the Philippines make their yearly journey to the church to take part in the procession and festival. Starting in 1980, the Cebu City government organized the Sinulog Festival and eventually gave incentives to tribal dance groups. The first Sinulog parade was held in 1980, organized by Dà ¡vid Odilao, then Regional Director of the Ministry of Sports, and Youth Development. The parade was composed of students dressed in Moro costumes, dancing the Sinulog to the beating of drums. The idea caught and thus, under the direction of the Cebu City Mayor Florentino Solon with the help of several influential Cebuanos, Odilao turned over the Sinulog project to the Cebu City Historical Committee under Kagawad Jesus Garcia. It was the task of the Committee to conceptualize the Sinulog festival and make it into a yearly event from then on. In 1981 the following year, the concept of the Sinulog Parade was actualized involving not just Cebu but also representatives from other provinces in the Philippines . Marking its difference from another popular festival, the Ati-Atihan in Aklan, the Sinulog focuses not on the ritual itself but on the historical aspects of the dance, which, as it has been said, represents the link the countrys embrace of Christian faith. Sinulog coat of arms | This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2011)| The Cebu City Historical Committee, which was responsible for the conceptualization of the Sinulog as a provincial event, decided to adopt a logo for the Sinulog to identify it as an institutionalized yearly event. They turned to the coat of arms of the Santo Nià ±o which consisted of a two-headed hawk that was the mark of the ruling House of Habsburg in Europe. The emblem represented the twin purpose of the Habsburg dynasty as Champion of Catholicism and Defender of the Faith. At the time when Spain sent expeditions to the Philippines, they were under the Habsburg dynasty. The Sinulog committee then incorporated the two-headed eagle to a native warriors shield. The native shield is supposed to symbolize the Philippines resistance to colonization while the Santo Nià ±os coat of arms printed on its face represented the countrys acceptance of Roman Catholicism.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

SWOT and PEST Analysis of Indias Telecom Sector

SWOT and PEST Analysis of Indias Telecom Sector INTRO Indian telecom industry worlds fastest growing industry(last three years 42%) and adding millions of customer monthly and reach to mark of more than 700 million customer mark in the end of year 2010. It is the most dynamic industry and based on the tough competition, price war emerged in the 3rd quarter of 2010. It has lowest tariffs in the world and highest telephone density. It also suffers from highest churn rate 2% and 5% for postpaid and prepaid respectively. It also has lowest ARPU (average revenue per user). It is second largest network in the world (in terms of number of subscriber #1st china) The wireless sector has become so dominant that it is has almost made the landline part dormant with no new happenings/activities/technology in that domain of telecommunication services. A look at their contribution to the total telephone services shows the rapidly change face of the telecommunication industry in India. This sea change has been caused by a number of factors varying from reduction in tariffs and cost of mobile handsets to change in government policies to mindset of the general public. Market Structure Indian telecommunication market is divided into a total of 23 circles, which include 4 metros, and 19 other circles. These circles are further classified into A, B and C type of circles base in the certain economic parameters and revenue potential. Circles were categorized as A,B, C based on the revenue potential as per the 1st auction in 1995. Total Market Size: US $ 60 Billion Telecommunication Services can be broadly classified under 3 heads: Telephone, Broadcasting and Internet. An exponential growth in the number of subscribers has been witnessed over the recent years with the annual growth going as high as 47%. Indian tariffs are very low in comparison to world standards. The COMPANIES which I am going to analyze is top 5 as per the market share shown by above table BHARTI AIRTEL IDEA VODAFONE BSNL AIRCEL PEST ANALYSIS It is the frame work designed to assess the macro environment of any country, organization or company. It is basically include the following four factors but now days it extends further to PESTELED the extension denotes as ENVIROMENT -LEGAL-ETHICS-DEMOGRAPHICS. This analysis tries to find all details related to its four heads, which has some meaning to business and affect business activities.it is the part of external analysis while conducting strategic analysis for business. It is useful tool to understand business growth opportunities and if any previous decline why was decline. With the increase of competition and fast changing global scenario each firm is doing this to be dynamic in its position. POLITICAL FACTORS GOVERNMENT TYPE LABOUR LAW, FREEDOM OF PRESS, RULES OF LAW, BUREAUCRACY, CORRUPTION TRADE RESTRICTIONS/ TARIFFS POLITICAL STABILITY ECONOMIC FACTORS ECONOMIC GROWTH INTEREST RATES EXCHANGE RATES INFLATION RATE BUSINESS CYCLE STAGE SOCIAL FACTOR CULTURAL ASPECTS BUYING BEHAVIOR POPULATION GROWTH RATE AGE DISTRIBUTION INCOME DISTRIBUTION LEVEL OF EDUCATION TECHNOLOGICAL FACTOR RATE OF OBSOLESCENCE RD FACILITIES SPEED OF TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFER POLITICAL FACTOR- these factors are related to the politics of the country, it has huge impact as India has close environment before 1991 and its difficult or impossible to set up a business. Government type the current UPA government of India is progressive and liberal which laying path to economic development SWOT ANALYSIS It denotes STRENGTH -WEAKNESS-OPPERTUNITY-THREAT and this technique used to analyze a company during strategic planning. This technique is credited to Albert Humphery who led a convention at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies. BHARTI AIRTEL: Bharti airtel limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa. The company offers mobile voice data services, fixed line, high speed broadband, IPTV, DTH, turnkey telecom solutions for enterprises and national international long distance services to carriers. bharti airtel has been ranked among the six best performing technology companies in the world by business week. bharti airtel had 200 million customers across its operations. STRENGTH Bharti Airtel has more than 65 million customers (July 2008). It is the largest cellular provider in India, and also supplies broadband and telephone services as well as many other telecommunications services to both domestic and corporate customers. Other stakeholders in Bharti Airtel include Sony-Ericsson, Nokia and Sing Tel, with whom they hold a strategic alliance. This means that the business has access to knowledge and technology from other parts of the telecommunications world. The company has covered the entire Indian nation with its network. This has underpinned its large and rising customer base. Weaknesses An often cited original weakness is that when the business was started by Sunil Bharti Mittal over 15 years ago, the business has little knowledge and experience of how a cellular telephone system actually worked. So the start-up business had to outsource to industry experts in the field. Until recently Airtel did not own its own towers, which was a particular strength of some of its competitors such as Hutchison Essar. Towers are important if your company wishes to provide wide coverage nationally. The fact that the Airtel has not pulled off a deal with South Africas MTN could signal the lack of any real emerging market investment opportunity for the business once the Indian market has become mature. Opportunities The company possesses a customized version of the Google search engine which will enhance broadband services to customers. The tie-up with Google can only enhance the Airtel brand, and also provides advertising opportunities in Indian for Google. Global telecommunications and new technology brands see Airtel as a key strategic player in the Indian market. The new iPhone will be launched in India via an Airtel distributorship. Another strategic partnership is held with BlackBerry Wireless Solutions. Despite being forced to outsource much of its technical operations in the early days, this allowed Airtel to work from its own blank sheet of paper, and to question industry approaches and practices for example replacing the Revenue-Per-Customer model with a Revenue-Per-Minute model which is better suited to India, as the company moved into small and remote villages and towns. The company is investing in its operation in 120,000 to 160,000 small villages every year. It sees that less well-off consumers may only be able to afford a few tens of Rupees per call, and also so that the business benefits are scalable using its Matchbox strategy. Bharti Airtel is embarking on another joint venture with Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular to create a new independent tower company called Indus Towers. This new business will control more than 60% of Indias network towers. IPTV is another potential new service that could underpin the companys long-term strategy. Threats Airtel and Vodafone seem to be having an on/off relationship. Vodafone which owned a 5.6% stake in the Airtel business sold it back to Airtel, and instead invested in its rival Hutchison Essar. Knowledge and technology previously available to Airtel now moves into the hands of one of its competitors. The quickly changing pace of the global telecommunications industry could tempt Airtel to go along the acquisition trail which may make it vulnerable if the world goes into recession. Perhaps this was an impact upon the decision not to proceed with talks about the potential purchase of South Africas MTN in May 2008. This opened the door for talks between Reliance Communications Anil Ambani and MTN, allowing a competing Inidan industrialist to invest in the new emerging African telecommunications market. Bharti Airtel could also be the target for the takeover vision of other global telecommunications players that wish to move into the Indian market. VODAFONE- Vodafone Essar is the Indian subsidiary of Vodafone Group and commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular license for Mumbai. The company now has operations across the country with over 127.34 million customers. In a survey conducted by Indias leading business weekly, Vodafone Essar was awarded Most Respected Company in the Telecom Sector for 2010.Vodafone is one of the worlds leading international mobile communication group STRENGTH Presence in many countries and backed by number one telecom country. Provider of 3G and blackberry services and business solution. Number one gainer due to MNP 50,000 customer. WEAKNESS THREAT OPPORTUNITIES Emerging markets and expansion abroad Innovation Product and services expansion Growing data business and 3G auctioning VAS as a means to increase ARPU (big boss, Zoo Z00) Growing Enterprise solution market (10.2% in 2009 anticipated) Large capital can be raised by listing Vodafone on Indian Stock Exchange(IPO) Tower sharing business with Indus Towers iDEA- idea is the 3rd largest mobile services operator in India, in revenue terms, and recorded a subscriber base of over 78 million as on end November 10. It became a pan-India integrated GSM operator covering the entire telephony landscape of the country, and expanded its NLD and ILD operations in FY 2010. During the year, Idea increased its revenue market share by over 1%, despite stiff tariff war in the market. The company has won license to offer 3G services in 11 service areas, which generate over 81% of the companys total revenue. Ideas 3G services will be launched in the year 2011. STRENGTH WEAKNESS THREAT OPPORTUNITIES AIRCEL The Aircel group is a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad of Malaysia and Sindya Securities Investments Private Limited, whose current shareholders are the Reddy family of Apollo Hospitals Group of India, with Maxis Communications holding a majority stake of 74% .Aircel commenced operations in 1999 and became the leading mobile operator in Tamil Nadu within 18 months. In December 2003, it launched commercially in Chennai and quickly established itself as a market leader a position it has held since. STRENGTH WEAKNESS THREAT OPPERTUNITIES BSNL Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. formed in October, 2000, is Worlds 7th largest Telecommunications Company providing comprehensive range of telecom services in India: Wire line, CDMA mobile, GSM Mobile, Internet, Broadband, Carrier service, MPLS-VPN, VSAT, VoIP services, IN Services etc. Presently it is one of the largest leading public sector unit in India. STRENGTH WEAKNESS THREAT OPPERTUNITIES Industry- pestel, porter, 7s Firm- swot,sap,etop,competitor, internal,externalpestel external factor external factor etop industry analysis competitors analysis competitors analysis mraketing analysis internal factor analysis swot pestel external factor external factor etop industry analysis competitors analysis competitors analysis mraketing analysis internal factor analysis swot pestel external factor external factor etop industry analysis competitors analysis competitors analysis mraketing analysis internal factor analysis swot

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Educating Rita :: essays research papers

In Willy Russel’s play "Educating Rita," some marks of a love story are to be noticed between both characters. They each show marks of affection for each other. The main aspect of a love story is to have two characters of opposite sex, being attracted to one another. The attraction of two people especially deals with having a relationship. In "Educating Rita," this is not the case because only the male character is attracted to the female. In a love story, both characters are dependent on each other. They cannot live without their mate. At the beginning of the play, Rita is dependent on Frank, although she is not attracted to him. "What do you want to know? – Everything." Later on however, she becomes independent, and does not need him to live with. This point in the play divides the love in the story since Rita does not see Frank as often, and seems to care less about him. Throughout the play, Frank has the completely opposite aspect. He doesn’t need her at the beginning, only giving her literature lessons, and after a while, feels very attracted to her and will find it extremely hard to keep on living without her. "Rita. Don’t go." In the beginning of the play, both characters start out living with someone else. Rita is married and lives with her husband, and Frank lives with his girlfriend. This is unusual, because a love story never starts this way. In a love story, the couple usually agrees on every point discussed, however not always, or generally shares all of their common interests. These two characters do not share all the same common interests. One loves the drink, the other hates it. "Y’ wanna be careful with that stuff, it kills y’ brain cells." A perfect example of a love story is "Sleeping Beauty." The two main characters contain all of the characteristics to make a perfect couple. "Romeo and Juliet" is also a very good love story, however ending in a tragedy. In "Educating Rita," the two characters only present a few of these attributes. The first time that Rita meets Frank, she tells him everything that passes through her mind. She talks about her problems and her future, and tries to learn the most she can about her teacher. Frank respects Rita very much because she tells him everything. He admires her for that quality that he has never seen in any other person.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Problems and Prospects of MIS in Bangladesh Essay

Dear Sir, I would like to thank you for assigning us this subject to prepare the report. This task has given me the opportunity to explore one of the most important aspects of the MIS field which is its use in the SME activities. The topic of our assignment is â€Å"Problems and Prospects of MIS in Bangladesh† which contains a comprehensive study on the small and medium enterprise activities in BRAC Bank, Dhaka Bank and Mercantile Bank Limited. It was a great pleasure for me to work on the above-mentioned subject. I tried my best to put meticulous effort for the preparation of this assignment. Any shortcomings or flaw may arise as I am very much novice in this aspect. I would be grateful if you consider those from excusable manner. I will wholeheartedly welcome any clarification and suggestion about any view and conception disseminated in my assignment. Sincerely yours, Acknowledgement All praises to almighty Allah who has created us and has given us opportunities and strength to work with people. This report might never have been completed without the necessary practical knowledge, assistance of many books, articles, websites, and primary data. It enhanced our knowledge on SME activities of different banks as well as the problems of implementing MIS in those banks. Thanks to all those persons, who have assisted me, providing me co-operation, books and articles. I would like to express my special gratitude to our Sir, Rahimullah Miah for his supervision, co-operation and advises. The members of BRAC Bank, Dhaka Bank and Mercantile Bank management were very co-operative and helpful. They helped me through providing various data, guidance and direction. I am also grateful to all other employees of SME Reconciliation Department for their support and assistance. I would like to express my gratitude to all the people that were involved both directly and indirectly in the preparation of this report. I apologize to the people whose names that I have not mentioned, and their contribution is highly appreciated by me. Objectives of the study: The broad objective of this study includes the following: * To have a clear understanding about the concept of SME (Small & Medium Enterprises) * To know how SMEs work and operate in Bangladesh * To highlight the use and implementation of MIS (Management Information Systems) in the field of SME * To know and compare how different banks operate SME banking operation around the country though their extensive networks * To articulate major problems and challenges for implementing MIS in the SME sector Limitations of the study: The study has suffered from a number of limitations – * Limited time is a big constraint for this research. The topic of this report is vast in compared to the given time * More relevant data and information could not be collected due to non-availability of sufficient books and journals. Information in websites of banks is also insufficient. * Current and detail information about various SME sectors could not be found * Data from different banks is highly confidential for the outside people and access to software is not provided * Being females, we found many difficulties to gather necessary data and to prepare this report Methodology: Methodology is the process or system through which a study is being carried out for the purpose of collection of information that is required for reaching a conclusion on that study. In our study, information has been collected by using multiple tools. Much necessary information has been collected by from the personal observation and one to one discussion with the relevant officials. A questionnaire was designed to collect information on the use of SME loans, access to SME credit facilities and revenue-expenditure of the enterprises. Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were used to get a broader view of the business environment for SMEs, their major drawbacks, labor market mechanisms, demand for other complimentary services, the strengths and weaknesses of SME services of different banks and a comparison with other players providing similar services. Complimentary information on indirect employment generation, governance problems and the costs of operation for SMEs was put together from in dividual case studies conducted at the branch offices of different banks that offer only SME credit services. Three practical banks, named BRAC Bank, Dhaka Bank and Mercantile Bank Ltd were selected as sample banks purposively considering the amount of loan size, interest rate, loan processing fees, period of loans, mode of finance and management. Policies relating to SME financing such as fiscal policy, monetary policy and internal policies of these banks were examined thoroughly with a view to find out the influence of existing policies on SME financing. Trend and pattern of bank financing to SME was analyzed by classifying the financing in terms of areas, rate of interest, types, category, and banks. The total methodology of the report is shown below for better clarity and easier understanding through flowchart construction. Figure 1: The Flow chart construction Primary data collection: Primary data of this assignment has been collected from: Branch Manager & Second Officer of different banks. Face to face conversation with SME department employees and staffs of different banks. Face to face conversation with clients of SME loans. Secondary data collection: Secondary data of this assignment has been collected from: Annual Reports and published financial statements of BRAC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Shahjalal Islamic Bank Limited. Various prescribed forms of bank investment in SME Different Research Paper regarding SMEs, Different Publications on SMEs of different banks Different text books, brochures, leaflets, files, research papers & materials. Official website of the three banks Data Analysis: The whole report is being prepared with the help of different computer applications such as MS Word, MS Excel, MS Access and MS PowerPoint. Data Compilation: The data required for this study were collected from both primary and secondary sources; however, majority of the information was collected from secondary sources. These two methods are discussed below- Chapter One 1.1 Introduction: Today it is widely recognized that information systems knowledge is essential for managers as most organizations need information systems to survive and prosper. An information system has many applications, MIS is one of them. Management information systems (MIS) is a specific category of information system that provides the required information to the management on a regular basis. It can be defined as collecting and processing of raw data into useful information and its dissemination to the user in the required format. In fact a full MIS includes all the systems that are designed to furnish management with information to assist in making decisions and to manage organizations efficiently and effectively. Today, the term MIS is used broadly in a number of contexts and includes decision support systems, resource and people management applications, enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise performance management (EPM), supply chain management (SCM), customer relationship managemen t (CRM), project management and database retrieval applications. In Bangladesh, the use of MIS in different organizations can be evidently found. However we will give our special focus on the small and medium enterprises. First of all, we need to know what is meant by an SME. An SME is defined as, â€Å"A firm managed in a personalized way by its owners or partners, which has only a small share of its market and is not sufficiently large to have access to the stock exchange for raising capital†. SMEs ordinarily have few accesses to formal channels of finance and depend  primarily upon savings of their owners, their families & friends. Consequently, most SMEs are sole proprietorships & partnerships. SMEs can be defined against various criteria. The three parameters that are generally applied by the Government of Bangladesh to define SMEs are: Capital investment in plant and machinery ï€  Number of workers employed ï€  Volume of production or turnover of business Again, according to the industrial Policy 1999 (IP- 1999), â€Å"Small Industries† are defined as industrial enterprises employing less than 50 workers and/or having a fixed capital investment of less than Tk.100 million. â€Å"Medium industry† covers enterprises employing between 50 and 99 workers and/or having a fixed capital investment between Tk. 100 and 300 million. â€Å"Cottage Industry† covers household-based industrial units operated mainly with family labour Role of SMEs in Bangladesh: SMEs are recognized as engines of economic growth and employment generation for sustainable industrialization in both developed and developing countries of the world. In context of Bangladesh, there is no alternative of small and medium enterprises for rapid industrialization and national economic growth through lower capital investment and employment generation. The commonly perceived merits often emphasized for their promotion especially in a developing country like Bangladesh include their relatively high labour intensity, dependence on indigenous skills and technology, contributions to entrepreneurship development and innovativeness and growth of industrial linkages. The case for fostering SME growth in Bangladesh is irrefutable as these industries offer bright prospects for creating large-scale employment and income earning opportunities at relatively low cost for the un-and unemployed especially in the rural areas strengthening the efforts towards achieving high and sustained economic growth which are critically important  prerequisites for triggering an exit from endemic poverty and socio-economic deprivation. SMEs in the economy of Bangladesh: In Bangladesh about 90% of the manufacturing and service industries are fallen under SMEs category. SMEs account for about 45% of manufacturing value addition in Bangladesh. They account for about 80% of industrial employment, about 90% of total industrial units and about 25% of total labour force. Its total contribution to export earnings varies from 75- 80% based on the Economic Census 2001-2003 (The New Nation, 2008). According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, SME’s provide about 44 percent employment of the country. It contributes Tk 14,940 crore (149.40 billion) to the GDP during the fiscal year 2006-07. In another statistics we find that the total number of SMEs is estimated at 79754 establishments, of which 93.6% are small and 6.4% are medium. The 2003 Private Sector Survey estimated that about 6 million micro, small, and medium enterprises defined as enterprises with fewer than 100 employees, contributed around 20-25% of GDP (The New Nation, 2008). On the above statistics it is evident that the small business enterprises are very strong in terms of the number and their contributions, thus the overall development of Bangladesh’s SMEs are depending largely on the development of small scale enterprises. Higher growth of the SMEs can help eradicate poverty to a satisfactory level by removing various prejudices against labor intensive approach and creating jobs for the skilled manpower. Uses of MIS in SME: MIS can offer small and medium businesses a number of advantages. Today, leading companies and organizations are using information technology as a competitive tool to develop new products and services, forge new relationships with suppliers, edge out competitors, and radically change their internal operations and organizations. For example, using MIS strategically can help a company to become a market innovator. By providing  a unique product or service to meet the needs of customers, a company can raise the cost of market entry for potential competitors and thus gain a competitive advantage. Another strategic use of MIS involves forging electronic linkages to customers and suppliers. This can help companies to lock in business and increase switching costs. Finally, it is possible to use MIS to change the overall basis of competition in an industry. For example, in an industry characterized by price wars, a business with a new means of processing customer data may be able to create unique product features that change the basis of competition to differentiation. The successful MIS supports a business’s long range plans, providing reports based upon performance analysis in areas critical to those plans, with feedback loops that allow for titivation of every aspect of the enterprise, including recruitment and training regimens. MIS not only indicate how things are going, but why and where performance is failing to meet the plan. These reports include near-real-time performance of cost centers and projects with detail sufficient for individual accountability. Although SMEs have the potentials, at the rapidly increasing age of internet, to utilize the newly emerged technology dependent communication and information mediums, in acquiring their competitiveness, the slow rate of adoption is evident. Great opportunities can be cre ated in the SME sector through the operation and usage of different connected technologies, such as computer, internet and other information and communication technologies. In Bangladesh, the development of effective Management Information Systems holds a number of challenges for small and medium businesses. It is not exercised in these businesses although the technology is existent and the Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh has declared the information and communication technology as one of the thirst sectors of the country and taken diversified initiatives to motivate different enterprises to be connected and start operation of the technology. The newly elected government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh has declared their mission to develop the digital Bangladesh by 2021. On the abovementioned context it is evident that small businesses of our country are slow to apply technology to improve their competitiveness as they are affected by their sheer small size and limited resources Problems of implementing MIS in the SME sector: In a developing country like Bangladesh, building, operating, and maintaining appropriate Management information systems are challenging for a number of reasons. For example, some information cannot be captured and put into a system. Computers often cannot be programmed to take into account competitor responses to marketing tactics or changes in economic conditions, among other things. In addition, the value of information erodes over time, and rapid changes in technology can make systems become obsolete very quickly. Finally, many companies find systems development to be problematic because the services of skilled programmers are at a premium. However, considering the situation of our country, we can summarize these problems in the following points: 1) It is not easy to use workable information systems in the small and medium enterprises and to keep the flow of information system in the right way 2) The body of knowledge in MIS is relatively recent and scarce. Many of the terms used in MIS environments are unpractical, imprecise and controversial. 3) MIS problems often are not easy to define or structure 4) MIS implementation and installation can be very expensive for small size companies looking to manage their operations more effectively. 5) Properly trained employees are a critical part of an MIS. New employee hiring or employee training related to the MIS function adds to the implementation costs. 6) The online services of MIS are absent in the small and medium enterprises. For example, there is no scope for transferring accounts online or through ATM booth. 7) A lack of rapport often exists between MIS personnel and management and also between MIS personnel and users of an organization 8) Once an MIS is created and installed in a company, it may prove to be an inflexible system. Making changes quickly to reflect fluctuating business operations may not be possible depending on the MIS style and functionality. 9) Major business changes will require major changes to the MIS, leading to increased costs and downtime of information reporting. 10) The biggest flaw an MIS can have is pulling incorrect or inadequate information for management. This problem results in wasted time and money for the small and medium enterprises. SME in banking: Most SME ventures in Bangladesh depend on personal savings, family or other informal credit sources. In recognition of this failure of the financial market, attempts have recently been made to cater to it. Financial and development assistance designed specially for small and medium enterprises in Bangladesh is a new and upcoming trend. After the surge of micro-finance in the last two decades, small and medium enterprises have come to the limelight in the financial sector on account of their contribution to economy and yet limited access to finance. It was not until 2010 that the government and policymakers recognized the importance of providing extensive credit facilities to small and medium sector entrepreneurs to promote various initiatives, especially start-up enterprises as well as ones looking to scale up. The banks and other financial institutions, however, have been providing loans to such enterprises for long, though not in the nomenclature of SME Financing. Both micro-financ e institutions and banks are beginning to realize the potential of this market and designing new financial products for it. Now a days the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Financing has become an important area for Commercial Banks in Bangladesh. To align its corporate policy with the regulation of Central Bank, banks have become more concerned about SME and opened windows to conduct business in this particular area. Today, almost all banks and non-bank financial institutions (NBFI) in the country are providing loans to the sector, under different governmental schemes as well as through their own product portfolios. Some specialized financial organizations such as Basic Bank are also providing financial services to the SME sector. Since this segment of the market is relatively underserved, a number of formal financial institutions (e.g. Exim Bank, Islami Bank, NCC Bank) are gradually scaling down and designing financial products for them. In the financial sector reform program of Government of Bangladesh, increased financing for SMEs by banks is a major component. Bangladesh Bank, the national bank, has introduced $16 million  refinancing scheme to promote lending to SMEs by banks and financial institutions. In January 2005 , the bank had agreement with six banks and eight financial institutions and about 2,000 SMEs have benefited from the scheme upto the end of January (Bangladesh Bank). ‘Small and Medium Enterprise Sector Development Programme’, a $30 million project of Government of Bangladesh and ADB, is also in progress. However, these initiatives are still quite inadequate. Moreover, being an overlooked market for long, there is lack of knowledge about the clients and their needs reflecting in absence of appropriate lending methodology. Chapter Two Literature review: * In Bangladesh about 90% of the manufacturing and service industries are fallen under SMEs category. SMEs account for about 45% of manufacturing value addition in Bangladesh. They account for about 80% of industrial employment, about 90% of total industrial units and about 25% of total labour force. Its total contribution to export earnings varies from 75- 80% based on the Economic Census 2001-2003. (The New Nation, 2008). * According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, SME’s provide about 44 percent employment of the country. It contributes Tk 14,940 crore (149.40 billion) to the GDP during the fiscal year 2006-07. In another statistics we find that the total number of SMEs is estimated at 79754 establishments, of which 93.6% are small and 6.4% are medium. The 2003 Private Sector Survey estimated that about 6 million micro, small, and medium enterprises defined as enterprises with fewer than 100 employees, contributed around 20-25% of GDP – (The New Nation, 2008). * Today, the term MIS is used broadly in a number of contexts and includes decision support systems, resource and people management applications, enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise performance management (EPM), supply chain management (SCM), customer relationship management (CRM), project management and database retrieval applications. –Kenneth C. Laudon & Jane P. Laudon. Now in this part, we will discuss about the SME services of three different banks that operate within our country. 1) BRAC Bank: BRAC Bank, being the youngest bank, took a step to break away from usual tradition and tapped into the true suburb entrepreneurial initiatives. Today, with over 14,500 crores of loans disbursed till date, BRAC Bank is country’s largest SME financier that has made more than 320,000 dreams come true. SME Products of BRAC Bank: Name of Bank Product Loan size BRAC Bank Prapti account Any institution can open this account in the name of the Institution Opening balance only BDT. 10,000.00 & BDT. 5000 Anonno Rin From BDT 3 lac to BDT 9.5 lac Prothoma Rin From minimum BDT 3 lac up to maximum of BDT 9.5 lac Digoon Rin Minimum of 5 lac to maximum of 30 lac BDT Apurbo Rin Starting from BDT 8 lac to maximum of BDT 30 lac Pathshala Rin Minimum BDT 3 lac to maximum BDT 30 lac Aroggo Rin Minimum of 3 lac to maximum of 30 lac Anonno Rin: This is a small scale loan designed to finance small scale trading, manufacturing and service ventures, especially to aid the purchase of fixed assets and to finance working capital. Eligibility Entrepreneurs aged between 18 to 60 years Entrepreneurs with minimum 2 years experience in the same line of business A business which must be a going-concern with more than 1 year in operation Maximum Amount From minimum BDT 3 lac up to maximum of BDT 8 lac Features Loan without mortgage For excellent borrowers who have paid or paying in due times, we offer discounted rates Quick, quality banking throughout the country Potential women entrepreneurs will also get the facilities of this loan Apurbo Rin: In order to help our SME borrowers for financing working capital or to purchase fixed assets, BRAC Bank offers APURBO. It caters to the need of entrepreneurs who are operating in trading, manufacturing, service, agriculture, non-farm activities, agro- based industries and other sectors of our economy. Eligibility Entrepreneurs having a minimum of 3 years of some business activities A business which must be a going concern for 3 years Age minimum 25 years and maximum up to 60 years Maximum Amount Starting from BDT 8 lac to maximum of BDT 30 lac Features Without mortgage loan below 10 lac Simple loan processing for expanding your business Quick disbursement Disbursement in one or two installment Flexible monthly repayment loan Pathshala Rin: This is a loan designed to meet the needs of small and medium sized private educational institutions, such as kindergartens, schools and colleges etc. Eligibility A small & medium educational institute that is in operation for minimum 3 years The institution should be sole proprietorship, partnership, private limited company or society The educational institute must be a profit making concern Maximum Amount Minimum BDT 3 lac to maximum BDT 30 lac Features Without mortgage for loan below 10 lac Laon for fixed assets purchase & civil construction Loan repayment can be spread up to 4 years Minimum documentation Monthly repayment loan Quick disbursement Flexible interest rate based on security Aroggo Rin: This loan is suitable for private clinics, diagnostics centers and doctors’ chambers to purchase fixed assets under equated monthly installments. Eligibility Institutions with at least 2 years in operation & profit making concern Doctors having 5 years of experience Maximum Amount Minimum of 3 lac to maximum of 30 lac Features Loan without mortgage up to 8 lac Easy loan processing Loan repayment schedule is spread up to 3 years 1% loan processing fee Flexible interest rate based on security Digoon Rin: It is a loan facility for Small and Medium enterprise. This product’s main objective is to help various Small and Medium entrepreneurs to meet their short-study cash flow shortages or bridge the fund-flow gaps. Eligibility Entrepreneur having minimum 2 years of business activities he business which must be going concern for 2 years Aged between 18 years to 55 years Maximum Amount Minimum of 5 lac to maximum of 30 lac BDT Features Double amount of loan on your deposit Attractive return against the deposit Flexible repayment plan monthly installment and single installments Quick disbursement Highlights of SME Banking Division of BRAC Bank Number of Unit offices 429 Number of Staff 2,104 No of Loan disbursed (cumulative) 202,101 Cumulative Disbursement (in million BDT) 84,170.31 No. of outstanding Account 120,685 Portfolio in amount (in million BDT) 32,996.18 Amount of Deposit (in million BDT) 3,352.6 No of SME Sales & service Center 30 Sector wise Distribution of SMEs 2) Dhaka Bank Ltd: Since inception, the Dhaka Bank has held socio-economic development in high esteem and was among the first to recognize the potentials of SMEs. Dhaka Bank’s Involvement: Recognizing the SME segment’s value additions and employment generation capabilities quite early, the Bank has pioneered SME financing in Bangladesh in 2003, focusing on stimulating the manufacturing sector and actively promoting trading and service businesses. Story of a successful Branch in SME Financing: The Bank started branch operations at Belkuchi Sirajgonj in April 2003. Prior to the Bank’s intervention, the weaving community did not have the financial strength to stock their products till â€Å"Eid ul Fitr† when the annual sale takes place. Traders were taking advantage to the situation by buying up entire productions at low prices and liquidating stocks just before â€Å"Eid†. With financial services from Dhaka Bank Limited, the weavers have converted to power looms, significantly increased profitability and reduced the involvement of middlemen. The bank is now working on institutionalizing the learnings and applying them in other areas across Bangladesh, particularly in textiles, light engineering and other manufacturing clusters. Already it has identified several clusters and is working on improving access to finance within these clusters. Experience & Learnings A problem behind the lower end of the SME sector of Dhaka Bank is that it is unable to fully understand its needs. Even if these needs are understood, they are seldom met with the right product mix. Small business owners are unable to provide banks with required information of the right type and quality. This has created a gap between the borrower and the banks and has served to limit the outreach of SME financial products. In order to overcome this obstacle, Dhaka Bank SME Unit provides comprehensive support to prospective clients in evaluating their business and preparing the required documents in acceptable formats. In this regard, the Dhaka Bank SME Unit has been working in close collaboration with the USAID, the South Asia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF) an International Finance Corporation (IFC) managed multidonor facility and the World Bank. The bank has recently been provided technical assistance by the World Bank and is also working with other development agencies and donors for continuous improvements in the products and services it offers. SME Transactions of Dhaka Bank: Product Cash Credit Eligibility All SME businesses where the key personnel have 2 years experience in the line of business. Satisfactory credit report Method of Appraisal The clients business experience, expertise, business volumes and monthly cash flow are used in the assessment process. Margins (indicative) The quality of receivables would be of importance in fixing margins up to which working capital is made available. Tenor Maximum 12 months (renewable) Pricing Risk based pricing strategy, in line with the market rates. Security Primary: †¢ Charge on the inventory and receivables. †¢ Charge on other current assets †¢ Personal guarantee of proprietor /partners/ directors. †¢ Charge on fixed assets. Secondary: †¢ Collateral security on a case-to-case basis. Interest Fixed Rate, typically for 12 months. Review Facility terms & pricing are both reviewed at least annually Processing fee Processing fee of 1% is generally charged on small loans. Actual fee charged is determined on a case-to-case basis. 3) Mercantile Bank Ltd : Mercantile Bank Limited provides Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) loan facilities to experienced and inexperienced entrepreneurs located in the urban and sub-urban areas to encourage new and educated young entrepreneurs to undertake productive ventures, to assist them to take part in the economic activities. A special credit scheme under the name and style â€Å"Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Scheme† has been introduced to extend credit facilities to the small and medium entrepreneurs of the country. It’s SME products are: CHAKA (Term Loan). ANANYA (Women Entrepreneur’s Loan). CHALTI MULDHAN (Continuous Loan). SINGLE PAYMENT LOAN (Short Term Seasonal Loan) Subject SME Products CHAKA ANANYA CHALTI MULDHAN SINGLE PAYMENT LOAN Size Tk 0.50 -50.00 lac for SE Tk 0.50 -50.00 lac for SE Tk 0.50 -50.00 lac for SE Tk 0.50 -50.00 lac for SE & ME Tk 0.50 -500.00 lac for ME Tk 0.50 -500.00 lac for ME Segment SE & ME SE SE & ME SE & ME Tenure 1 – 5 years 1 – 5 years 1 year Maximum 9 months Grace period Maximum 6 months Maximum 6 months for term loan Nil N/A Interest rate 13%-15% p.a applicable as per mode of financing. 10% p.a 13% p.a 15% p.a Penal interest 1 % higher on overdue amount 1 % higher over the usual rate on overdue amount. 2 % higher on overdue amount. 1 % higher on overdue amount. Repayment EMI or at lum sum on or before expiry as applicable EMI or at lum sum on or before expiry as applicable At lum sum on or before expiry At lum sum on or before expiry Security PG, Cheques plus others as applicable PG, Cheques plus others as applicable PG, Cheques plus others as applicable PG, Cheques plus others as applicable Ù ­SME = Small & Medium Enterprise Ù ­SE=Small Enterprise Ù ­ME=Medium Enterprise Ù ­EMI=Equal Monthly Installment Ù ­ PG = Personal Guarantee Repayment of Loan: 1. Term Loan: Maximum 60 installments. 2. Working Capital: Maximum 12 installments, 40% of the loan amount should be recovered within 1st 6 months and remaining 60% should be recovered within next 6 months. At maturity the loan will be fully adjusted. After repayment of 75% of the loan the customer may apply for new credit facility. Selection of Borrower: 1. Small and medium enterprise financing, like other credit facilities must be subject to the Bank’s management process setup for this particular business. The process may include, identifying source of repayment and assessing customer’s ability to repay, expected future cash flows, his/her past dealings with the bank, the net worth and information from CIB. The bank must identify the key drivers of their borrowers business, the key risks to their business. 2. At the time of sanctioning facility under various modes of SME financing, a written declaration shall be obtained from the borrower disclosing details  of various facilities already obtained from other institutions to ensure that the total exposure in relation to the repayment capacity of the customer does not exceed the reasonable limits as laid down in the approved policies of the bank as well as to help avoid exposure having multiple facilities. 3. Age limit: The age of the proprietor / partners / directors must range between 21 years to 60 years. Fees and Charges of SME Financing: 1. Interest Rate: 15% (for women entrepreneur 10%) 2. Risk Fund: 1% 3. Service charge: 1% 4. Application Fee: Tk. 200.00 5. Loan Processing Fee: Tk. 500.00 Limit for Loan: Maximum Limit for small enterprises is Tk. 20.00 lac (Term loan and Working Capital) and Medium Enterprises is Tk. 50.00 lac (Term Loan and Working Capital). ATM Booth and SME Service Centre: The bank serves the customers by providing ATM Booth and SME Service Centre facilities. A number of ATM Booths and SME Service centers have been unlocked at different commercially significant places of the country to serve the customers, to save their time, consequently, to make them free from hassle. Target Segments for SME Financing: 1. Hospitals and Clinics 2. It related business 3.Agricultural and Agricultural Development items 4.Fishing and fishing business promotion 5.Transportation and Communication 6.Forestry and furniture 7.Construction business and housing development 8.Leather marketing and leather goods 9.Knitwear and ready made garments 10.Plastic and other synthetics 11.Entertainment 12.Photography 13.Hotel and tourism 14.Warehouse and container services 15.Printing and packaging 16.Gunning and Bailing 17.Pathological Laboratories 18.Cold Storage 19.Horticulture- Flower growing and Marketing 20.Food and oil processing plants 21.Higher education and expertise knowledge society 22.Telecommunication 3.22. Portfolio of SME Loan Sector Amount % of total disbursement Manufacturing 44,584,784 5.05% Service 57,562,928 6.52% Trading 780,719,288 88.43% Total disbursement 882,867,000 1000% From this above diagram we can say that, of SME loan mercantile bank give more preference in trading sector but they can finance over manufacturing and service sector to expand service and Manufacturing sector. Manufacturing sector is very important for a country to improve economic growth and as well as service generation and create employment. Chapter Three Result and Discussion: In this part, we will make a comparison of the SME activities of the three selected banks as shown below: Comparative analysis of SME loans of three different banks The banks for comparative analysis have been chosen in the basis of the following criterion: * Loan Size: BRAC Bank Limited Dhaka Bank Limited Mercantile bank Limited 3lac – 30 lac 1 lac- 50 lac 2lac – 50 lac Among the banks, Mercantile bank offers the highest loan amount to customer where as BRAC Bank offers the lowest loan to its customer. * Rate of Interest: BRAC Bank Limited Dhaka Bank Limited Mercantile bank Limited 15% 17% 15% In terms of interest rate, Mercantile bank and BRAC bank offer the lower rate of interest to its customers. The highest rate is charged by Dhaka bank limited. * Loan Processing Fee: BRAC Bank Limited Dhaka Bank Limited Mercantile bank Limited 0.50% of the loan amount Free TK 500.00 The BRAC Bank limited only charges .50% as loan processing and Mercantile Bank charges TK. 500 for loan processing. * Period of loan: BRAC Bank Limited Dhaka Bank Limited Mercantile bank Limited 1 year to 3 years 1 year to 3 years Upto 2-5 years Among the banks, the highest loan maturity date is offered by Mercantile bank Limited. * Mode of Finance: BRAC Bank Limited Dhaka Bank Limited Mercantile bank Limited Only Term loan Term loan and working capital loan Only Term loan All the banks provide SME financing facilities but do not provide long term loan to its customers. Among the banks Dhaka bank provides both term loan and working capital loan to their customer. Other banks provide only term loan to its customers. Portfolio size of different banks in SME sector: name of Bank Portfolio Size BRAC Bank Limited 25.72 Dhaka Bank Limited 18.00 Mercantile Bank Limited 16.38 From the table we can see that BRAC bank has the highest investment in the SME sector. Overall Comparison of three banks Particulars BRAC Bank Limited Dhaka Bank Limited Mercantile Bank Limited Loan size 3lac-30lac 1ac-50lac 2lac-50lac Rate of interest 15% p.a 17% p.a 15% p.a Loan processing fee .50% of the loan amount —— TK 500 Risk fund —– 1%-2% of loan amount 1%of loan amount Supervision fee —– 1%-2% of loan amount 1%of loan amount Utilization fee —– 1.5% quarterly —– Period of loan 1yr – 3 yr 1yr – 3 yr Upto 2-5 yrs Mode of finance Term loan Only term loan Term loan as well as working capital Security primary Personal guarantee Personal guarantee Personal guarantee secondary Upto 8 lac collateral free & above 8 lac collateral is mandatory Upto 5 lac collateral free(case to case above 5 lac and collateral mandatory ) Above 10.00 Lac Collateral security mandatory Table: Comparative analysis of SME loan of different bank: Comparative performance analysis of SME loan of different banks: Performance BRAC Bank Limited Dhaka Bank Limited Mercantile Bank Limited Year of operation 2009 2009 2009 Disbursement 950 crore 115.72 crore 127.70 crore Rate of recover 92% 87% 87% From the above analysis and findings of the study, it is obvious that there is a lot of market potential for Mercantile Bank Limited in SME loan. As we came to know from the analysis that BRAC bank is the most dominant player in the market and except BRAC bank other players are more or less similar category. But since the market yields a high growth potential and BRAC bank having basic infrastructure and a larger customer base it is very difficult for the other bank to cope with BRAC bank unless they build some alliances to develop such infrastructure to serve the client at better service. Initially, it will require a huge concentration, but the bank is financially sound to incur such amount of investment in new line of business. Other than the investment Mercantile Bank Limited should improve their credit facilities, customer service, and add attractive features to the product to attract every class of people. Chapter Four Recommendations: Considering the existing situation, the following suggestions are put forward for present and future sustainability of the Management Information Systems in the SME sectors of Bangladesh: * The modern computer technologies should be used appropriately to develop the Small & Medium Enterprises of the country * Information systems designers, whether internal to the company or part of an outside firm should assure the technical quality of the MIS system and the ease of the user interface. * System designers must oversee the process of system design and implementation, assess the impact of the new system on the organization, and develop ways to protect the system from abuse after it is installed. * Small business owners and managers must plan what type of MIS systems to implement and to ensure that the underlying data are accurate and useful. * Selection, acquisition and application of the appropriate technology should be ensured that would enable production of goods of competitive quality and competitive price, maintaining optimum productivity, while environmentally  not injurious. * People of our country should be provided with adequate education, training skill and technical knowledge of the field of MIS so that they are unable to implement it in the SME sector. * Better and improved MIS facilities must be provided in the SME sector * SME Loan sanctioning and disbursement procedure should be easy and flexible being considered the requirements of different classes of people. * Bottlenecks or barriers should be removed by taking advanced steps in mode of disbursement, charge documents and approval process. * Business Power for sanctioning loans and advances can be increased at branch level. * The use of MIS should be extended to the rural areas of our country. * The Government of the country should ensure the use and implementation of MIS technology in order to develop the SME sector * More SME service centers need to be added to fully take the advantage of the huge potential customer segments. Conclusion: In the conclusion, we can state that, SME is the most emerging sector to expand the scientific and technological capabilities of an organization. However such SMEs should be equipped with better computer facilities and implementation strategies like the MIS. The opportunities of using the appropriate Management Information Systems are not sufficient considering the small and medium enterprises of our country. Many small and medium enterprises are using this technology, but the scope  is very limited. It is thus very clear that MIS development should proceed hand in hand with micro enterprise development. It is interesting to observe that the conditions for small industry development that we find today, being at the threshold of total globalization, are very much the same as observed several-decades ago. In spite of the criticism and neglect of the SME sector on the grounds of inefficiency and non-optimal use of productive factors compared to larger industries, SMEs are beginning to be extolled for their greater dependence on labour-intensive production techniques, lower requirements of imported inputs and better geographical dispersion. So, proper initiatives should be taken in order to develop the flow of Management information system it the small and medium enterprises of our country. References: 1. Laudon, K., & Laudon, J. (2010). â€Å"Management Information Systems†- Managing the Digital Firm, 11th Edition. Prentice Hall/CourseSmart, 12/30/2008.) 2. Hossain, N. (1998), â€Å"Constraints to SME development in Bangladesh), Jobs project, USAID 3. Meagher, P (1998), â€Å"Secured Finance for SMEs in Bangladesh†, Jobs project, USAID 4. Ahmed, Z. U. (1999), â€Å"Problems of Access to Credit for Small and Medium Enterprises in Bangladesh†, Jobs project, USAID 5. Baldwin, J. and Picot, G. (1994), â€Å"Employment Generation by Small Producers in Canadian Manufacturing Sector†, Journal for Small Business Economics 6. CPD (2003), â€Å"Industrial Policy, Privatization and SME†, National Policy Review Forum, Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh 7. SEAF (2004), â€Å"The Development Impact of Small and Medium Enterprises: Lessons Learned from SEAF Investment†, Small Enterprise Assistance Fund, Washington. 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