Gandhi’s Contribution to World War I Essay

Why? 1)He had begun to approve of the idea of home rule, but he had no interest in exchanging government by British elite for rule by an Anglicized Indian elite. If swaraj was to come to India, he argued, it must come as part of a wholesale social transformation that stripped away the old burdens of caste and crippling poverty. 2)Gandhi had said – â€Å"I felt then that it was more the fault of individual officials than of the British system, and that we could convert them by love. If we would improve our status through the help and cooperation of the British, it was our duty to win their help by standing by them in their hour of need.† 3)He had been almost alone among Indian leaders who had argued for unconditional support to Britain in her hour of need in the hope of a worthy gesture at the end of the war. 4)The issue in Champaran involved European traders forcing illegal dues and payments upon the peasants; Ahmedabad’s problem was centred on the unfair treatment of industrial workers; and the predicament in Kheda was caused by the government ignoring the farmers’ appeals for the remission of land revenue. Gandhi solved each dilemma using unique, yet effective methods which gained him the respect and commitment of many political workers. These events depict the growing unrest in India very clearly. India was itching to fight for independence, which would be a very bloody battle indeed. Gandhi, therefore, decided to support the British Empire in the war, hoping that in return, India would gain independence. What? 1)In April 1918, during the latter part of World War I, the Viceroy invited Gandhi to a War Conference in Delhi. Gandhi agreed to actively recruit Indians for the war effort.[43] In contrast to the Zulu War of 1906 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914, when he recruited volunteers for the Ambulance Corps, this time Gandhi attempted to recruit combatants. In a June 1918 leaflet entitled â€Å"Appeal for Enlistment†, Gandhi wrote â€Å"To bring about such a state of things we should have the ability to defend ourselves, that is, the ability to bear arms and to use them†¦If we want to learn the use of arms with the greatest possible dispatch, it is our duty to enlist ourselves in the army.† 2)Early in 1918, the war seemed to be going badly for the Allies; a German thrust was expected on the western front, and the Viceroy summoned prominent leaders of Indian opinion to a War Conference in Delhi. Gandhi supported the resolution on recruitment with a single sentence in Hindi: â€Å"With a full sense of my responsibility, I beg to support the resolution.† 3)When World War I broke out, Gandhi was on the high seas, he was homeward bound, though he hoped to spend a few weeks in England. On August 6, 1914, he landed on English soil and lost no time in calling a meeting of his Indian friends to raise an ambulance unit Public opinion 1)Gandhi did not favour a bargain with the government by offering cooperation at a price and said: â€Å"That we have been loyal at a time of stress is no test of fitness for swaraj (self-government). Loyalty is no merit. It is a necessity of citizenship all the world over.† 2)During the years 1916-18, Gandhi did not take active part in politics. The Moderates did not like his extra-constitutional methods of Satyagraha, the Extremists did not like his studied tenderness to the British Government during the war Consequence And having fought a war whose supposed purpose was to protect the rights of small states and independent peoples from tyranny, the rhetoric of British rule in India had begun to ring hollow 1)In this atmosphere, the harried British government made a frightful mistake. They elected to follow the recommendations of the Rowlatt Committee, which advocated the retention of wartime restrictions in India–including curfews and the suppression of free speech. Gandhi, reading the soon-to-be-passed Rowlatt Act in his sickbed, was too weak to mount a protest, but his loyalty to the Empire, which he had long viewed as the guarantor of Indian liberties, suffered a major blow. 2)Gandhi learned through the Sedition Committee Report that the government of India was going to introduce legislation to curb civil liberties. All of the Indian soldiers lost their lives in vain because the British Empire had absolutely no plans to give India its freedom. 3)Heartbroken, India grew more and more restless. When General Dryer heartlessly slaughtered 379 people at Jallianwala Bagh, the country could take no more. Awhile later, Gandhi launched a nation-wide struggle. And finally, on August 15th, 1947, India finally won its independence. 1)Charlie Andrews confirms, â€Å"Personally I have never been able to reconcile this with his own conduct in other respects, and it is one of the points where I have found myself in painful disagreement.†[46] Gandhi’s private secretary also had acknowledged that â€Å"The question of the consistency between his creed of ‘Ahimsa’` (non-violence) and his recruiting campaign was raised not only then but has been discussed ever since. 2)They wondered, could the apostle of peace ask them to take up arms in defense of the Raj? About 1.3 million Indian soldiers fought in the war. 47, 746 soldiers died and 65, 126 were wounded from the Indian army. This doesn’t seem like something Gandhi would want, right? Many people wonder why Gandhi wanted Indians to fight, since he always strictly adhered to non-violence. His support for India’s involvement in World War One causes us to question his consistency and perhaps even his belief in ahimsa. 3)He did, however, stipulate in a letter to the Viceroy’s private secretary that he â€Å"personally will not kill or injure anybody, friend or foe

Organisational structure of British Airways Essay

1.0 Introduction The following assignment aims to highlight the organizational structure of a major player in the aeronautical sector which is BRITISH AIRWAYS. For that purpose, it is necessary to consider fundamental management’s principles in order to understand at best the factors which may influence the result of the company, without forgetting the importance of the interactions between the internal and external environments which play a major role in the success or the failure of the strategies undertaken by the company. It will be then necessary to find aspects to be improved by the company to propose solutions and so optimize the general performances of British airways. 1.1 British airways â€Å"to fly, to serve† With more than 93 years of existence, British Airways acts as an expert of aeronautical services whether it is at the airport or aboard the planes which compose the fleet of the company or for the business trips. The  company employs more than 39 900 persons in 2010 in UK and overseas while the head office is based in Waterside. Web 1: http://www.britishairways.com/cms/global/microsites/ba_reports0910/financial/notes/note7.html 2.0 The organizational structure 2.1 Definition According to H. Mintzberg  «The organizational structure is the total sum of the employees to divide the work into different tasks and to insure then the coordination between the tasks ». The organizational structure can also be defined as the way the authority is considered through the relations hierarchical or the way the activities are specified and distributed and still the way the systems of communication inside organizations are established. The organizational structure can be divided into macrostructure and into microstructure: while the macrostructure relates to the totality of the divisions or the organization, the microstructure relates to the organization of the activities and the hierarchical relations inside a certain department of the organization. 2.2 How to determine the best organizational structure for British Airways? In order to determine the organizational structure which will meet the needs at best of the company and which will allow her to use its resources in a effective and efficient way it is important to estimate two important aspects which are the departmentalization as well as the amplitude of control. The departmentalization consists in group the common resources to exploit them at best whereas the amplitude of control determines the degree of authority which exercises an immediate superior in front of his subordinate. There are several organizational structures offered to companies to respond to their needs such as the tall structure, the flat one or the functional organization. 3.0 Which are the organizational structures adopted by British Airways? 3.1 The tall structure: Having made a current inventory of fixtures of the resources that possess the company, managers decided to opt for a tall structural organization to remain long-lasting. This structure distinguishes the various levels of decision where the highest person in the organization chart detains most power. As for executives, they take care to oversee the work of the subordinates. So, they act as intermediary as shows hit the organization chart below which reveals the position of every manager in the organization chart of the company. The structure consists of three levels where Willie Wash is the chief executive; he controls the customer and operations executive which group the communications sector which is important because the brand image depends on this department, the customer service which is always trying to improve this service, the engineering one, the flight operations and the operations. There is also the management board which includes two departments of customer and operations executive, which are customer and engineering, and also the finance and performance sector, people and organisational effectiveness which verifies if the employees make correctly the tasks which were attributed to them by their superiors, sales and marketing and strategy and business units. Finally, investments, legal and government and industry affairs and safety and security are directly supervised by the chief executive in order to improve these important sectors. British airways organizational structure: Web 2: http://www.britishairways.com/cms/global/microsites/ba_reports0809/our_business/workplace.html 3.1.1 How this structure helps the company to achieve it goals? This structure chosen by the company allows every employee of British Airways to be situated in the organization chart in a clear and detailed way without any ambiguity. So, it allows avoiding any misunderstanding as for the authority which detains every employee on his colleague or his hierarchical  superior what pulls a healthy climate and thus urges the employees to put a lot at best into their tasks. These tasks are determined through the objectives fixed by the managers so every employee is in front of his responsibilities and feels as being a part of the project of the company. This structure also allows the managers to optimize at most the performances of their human resources through trainings offered to the employees to be constantly up to date at the level of the skills. Indeed, it is more and more asked to the employees to be versatile and efficient at the same time. Finally, this structure allows the managers to supervise in a direct way their subordinates what allows t o adjust the problems if they exist. 3.2 The customer structure: This structure considers the importance which represent the customers without whom, no organization can remain long-lasting and show good results. This structure consists in determining need for every specific category of customers of the company to satisfy them at best. The structure which adopts British Airways articulates around the baptized project â€Å"Compete 2012† to answer the bigger and bigger customer requirements and to become eventually the leader regarding customer service in the aeronautical sector. This program turns around three essential entities in the survival of the company which are the partners with whom the relations must be stable and cordial. We also find the colleagues who play an important role there because they represent the direct contact between the company and the customers. And finally the customers among whom needs and expectations must be clearly defined to satisfy them at best and so create a relation on the long term between the parts. Thi s project thus bases itself on two essential qualities that are the excellence as well as the performance as summarizes it the figure below. British airways customer structure: Web 3: http://www.britishairways.com/cms/global/microsites/ba_reports0910/our_business/strategy.html 3.2.1 How this structure helps the company to achieve it goals? This structure contributes largely to the success of the objective of the company which is to become the world’s leading global premium airline world. To reach this objective and in spite of a difficult context there, the company put on the excellence of the services proposed to the passengers and by developing new projects to satisfy them at best. Beyond that, this project contains 5 strategic objectives: Be the airline of choice for long haul premium customers, Deliver an outstanding service for customers at every touch point Grow our presence in key global cities Build on our leading position in London Meet our customers’ needs and improve margins through new revenue streams. Web 4: http://www.britishairways.com/cms/global/microsites/ba_reports0910/pdfs/Strategy.pdf 4.0 Recommendations The tall organizational structure has to be improved because we find inconveniences such as the slowness of decision-making; a decision has to pass by all the hierarchical levels before being approved or rejected. This considers a brake when we know the importance of the speed of transmission of information and data within organizations. So, they can change for a flat organizational structure which will accelerate the time of decision-making. The responsibilities as well as the freedom of the employees are restricted because they have to conform to the decisions taken by their immediate superiors without being necessarily consulted. This entails a lack of motivation or investment on behalf of the employees, so managers have to empower employees by increasing bonuses. The implementation of this structure turns out very expensive because of the administrative costs. In view of the context current, it would be recommended to the company to reduce its costs by opting for a cheaper structure.

Markrting plan coca cola Essay

The Coca-Cola Company is a global business enterprise and one of two main soft drink sellers. Study of this report helps the reader to know that how Coca2 Cola has achieved its current market position. This report enlightens those factors that company has adopted during its long journey of 52 years in Pakistan. This report includes the introduction, micro and macro environment factors affecting coke. The reader of this report can expect that after having complete study he/she can certainly have a broader view the marketing environment of Coca-Cola that who are the competitors what are the company’s internal factors & customers, its external factors like economic, natural & technological are affecting Coca-Cola Company. 1. Introduction The Coca-Cola Company began operating in Pakistan in 1953. Coke, Fanta Sprite & Kinley are the brands with whom Coca-Cola is operating in Pakistan. The Coca-Cola System in Pakistan operates through eight bottlers, four of which are majority-owned by Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited (CCBPL). The CCBPL plants are in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Rahim Yar Khan, Multan and Lahore. The remaining two plants, independently owned, are in Rawalpindi and Peshawar. The Coca-Cola System in Pakistan serves 70,000 customers/retail outlets. The Coca-Cola System in Pakistan employs 1,800 people working constantly for the company. During the last two years, The Coca-Cola Company in Pakistan has invested over $130 million (U.S) and coke has successfully provided 51 years of dedicated service to its customers in Pakistan. Since the beginning of Coke Company the firm has been continuously changing its slogans (Appendix.1) and that’s a very creative idea to get the attention of the customers. 1.1 Mission, Vision & Values of Coca Cola (Reference 1) The world is changing all around us. To continue to thrive as a business over the next ten years and beyond, we must look ahead, understand the trends and forces that will shape our business in the future and move swiftly to prepare for what’s to come. We must get ready for tomorrow today. That’s what our 2020 Vision is all about. It creates a long-term destination for our business and provides us with a â€Å"Roadmap† for winning together with our bottling partners. Our Mission Our Roadmap starts with our mission, which is enduring. It declares our purpose as a company and serves as the standard against which we weigh our actions and decisions. 3 †¢ †¢ To refresh the world†¦ To inspire moments of optimism and happiness†¦ †¢ To create value and make a difference. Our Vision Our vision serves as the framework for our Roadmap and guides every aspect of our business by describing what we need to accomplish in order to continue achieving sustainable, quality growth. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be. Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people’s desires and needs. Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value. Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities. Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities. †¢ Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization. Our Winning Culture Our Winning Culture defines the attitudes and behaviors that will be required of us to make our 2020 Vision a reality. Live Our Values Our values serve as a compass for our actions and describe how we behave in the world. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Leadership: The courage to shape a better future Collaboration: Leverage collective genius Integrity: Be real Accountability: If it is to be, it’s up to me Passion: Committed in heart and mind Diversity: As inclusive as our brands Quality: What we do, we do well Focus on the Market †¢ †¢ †¢ Focus on needs of our consumers, customers and franchise partners Get out into the market and listen, observe and learn Possess a world view 4 †¢ Focus on execution in the marketplace every day †¢ Be insatiably curious Work Smart †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Act with urgency Remain responsive to change Have the courage to change course when needed Remain constructively discontent Work efficiently Act Like Owners †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Be accountable for our actions and inactions Steward system assets and focus on building value Reward our people for taking risks and finding better ways to solve problems Learn from our outcomes — what worked and what didn’t Be the Brand †¢ †¢ Inspire creativity, passion, optimism and fun 1.2 Objectives Of Coca-Cola The company has sales based objective .Every thing else (marketing plan, advertising plan, production etc.) is derived from this objective. Currently the company‘s objective is to â€Å"Increase the volume of sales up to the maximum level as much as possible during the current fiscal year.† The company sets its objective keeping in view the past performance, Historical trends, current market position, economic condition, macro environment and micro environment factors, social values, market size and growth rate ,future expectations and predictions. Chapter# 1 Marketing Environments 5 The forces outside marketing that affect marketing management ability to develop and maintain successful relationships with its target customers. There are two types of marketing environments that may affect any company’s operation, Microenvironment and the Macro environment. The Coca-Cola Company also has its Marketing Environments which affect on its business. Chapter# 2 Micro environment factors affecting Coca Cola Micro Environments are the internal environments of any company like company itself, marketing intermediaries, suppliers, customers, competitors & Public following are the major micro environmental factors which are affecting Coca-Cola. I. The Company Muhtar Kent Chairman of Board & Chief Executive Officer Joseph V. Tripodi Chief Marketing & Commercial Officer (EVP) Coca-Cola Operates in more than 200 countries and a market portfolio of 3000 beverage products including Carbonated Drinks, Sparkling Drinks and still beverages like mineral water, juices, coffee & Energy Drinks (Appendix. 2). Head quarters in Atlanta, Georgia Coca-Cola have more than 92400 associates across six operating groups Eurasia, Latin America, North America, Pacific & bottling Investment as Corporate. (Reference 2) In Pakistan Coca-Cola working under the Eurasia group Coca-Cola business Strategy is based on local marketing they establish there plant in the country where they want to do business instead of exporting. In Pakistan they have there production plants in. Karachi, Lahore, Hyderabad, Rhim yar Khan, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot, Gujranwala & Peshawer. There marketing Department working close with other departments like purchase, accounts, distribution etc to achieve there goal. Following is the organizational Departments of Coca-Cola. (Reference 3) a. MARKETING DEPARTMENT The Coca Cola marketing department develops core strategies for company brands to ensure that all communication is consistent in every market. With this cohesive effort, the Coca-Cola system maximizes its resources for market leadership and profitable 6 growth. The marketing departments are responsible for marketing the products and advertising the products and promoting the products. If all these departments perform their duty firmly then the objectives of The Coca-Cola Company will meets. b. FINANCE DEPARTMENT The finance department of the Coca Cola Company is responsible for financial record keeping. This involves keeping records of money received and paid out. The financial records will be used to produce the annual reports for the shareholders so that they can see the company performance. The Finance department is also responsible for the management accounts of the business like marketing etc. The Coca-Cola Company finance department is also responsible for making budget of the company and for each department like marketing department or research and development department. They will also be involved in the planning process like taking over or any major decision. c. PACKAGING DEPARTMENT The packaging department of Coca-Cola Company is responsible for the packaging of the products. They have to make the packaging attractive so that that product meets the eyes of the consumers. Bringing new products package is their responsibility. It works with the companies bottling partners to produce an attractive combination. d. SALES DEPARTMENT The sales department of the Coca Cola Company is to coordinate the selling program. They also have to make the distribution methods, etc. Also, decide how much to sell and how much to store in the warehouse and to choose the transporting method which is the most cost efficient and the quickest way. e. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT This department has their budget given by the finance department and their responsibility is to investigate new products. They work closely with marketing by looking at marketing research findings. They have to bring new products in the market for the change because the consumer cannot stick with the same old products. If necessary then they also have to improve the quality of the products. The Coca-Cola Company research department has done a lot of research and recently they have launched many new products like Diet coke with lemon, Fanta Tropical, Minute maids, Fanta raspberry, Fanta blue berry etc. f. ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT This department is essential for keeping the business going. They act as a help support of the company, it is not the central purpose the business but every business organization would need this department. Most businesses rely on administration to be organized. They deal with enquiries, give messages produce documents and give 7 information to any customer. The complaints that this department will get would be transferred to the research and development department to make the product better or fix the problem that the consumer is having. These departments are the most important department of The Coca-Cola Company because they helps the company to meets the objectives of The Coca-Cola Company i.e. surviving, customer satisfaction and make more profits. As I said that the help desk department satisfies the customer by providing the information they needs and taking the complaints and passing to the research and development departments who improves the products. II. Marketing Intermediaries Marketing intermediaries help the company to promote, sell and distribute its goods to the end users. Intermediaries include resellers, distribution firms and marketing agencies. When we talk about coke, Coke Company in Pakistan as well as abroad have recognized the importance of working with their intermediaries. For example recently Coke signed ten years deal with US based company Wendy that it will provide coke to all the fast food chains located in US. Wendy in this case is a big example of intermediary for coke. In Pakistan other than various resellers, McDonald is one big party that is reseller of coke and also Subway is a big reseller of coke. Similarly there are thousands of private agencies (intermediaries) that are working for coke to distribute the product to the shopkeepers and retailers all over the country. Currently there are 46 distributors working in Lahore. Coke Company uses two techniques for distribution, direct distribution and indirect distribution. In direct distribution company uses no agencies or middlemen to distribute the soft drinks but company has its own system of distribution that includes Company’s trucks and labor as well. The other way is indirect distribution in which company opts for various distributors that take the product from factory to the retailers and resellers. III. Suppliers Suppliers always play an important role in any company’s operation. Suppliers provide resources and raw material that company requires to produce the goods and services. Coke company suppliers in Pakistan vary with respect to the raw material they provide. Following is a brief list of different suppliers of coke. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Baluchistan Glass Limited provides glass bottles of all sizes that are used in bottling. (Reference. 4) ShangHai Plato chemical co. Ltd provides pet bottles with the labels. Labels are designed by the Packages Ltd. (Reference. 5) Saharan Mills Limited provides the quality sugar in hygienic packets. Vanillin Intercool Pakistan provides the machinery such as visicoolers and chest coolers for the chilled coco-cola. 8 †¢ Dynamic Equipment and Controls (PVT) Limited provides industrial refrigeration solutions, dispensing equipments, complete bottle line and capping machines. (Reference. 6) IV. Customers Recent survey shows that coke is the only product in the world with which more than 85% of the population is well aware of. All the companies have to keep updated study of their customers and in case of coke the company has always maintained excellent customer retention. Value of customers for coke can be understood by these factors that coke spends lot of efforts (financial and human resource) on customer research. For example, Coke knows through market survey that we put 3.2 ice cubes in a glass and one million of US population drinks coke with breakfast every day. This is how coke has been favorite drink of customers for centuries. Coke customers vary massively in terms of age. From kids to youngsters, from youngsters to elders and from elders to older, coke has always captured high customer attention from decades. We can divide coke customers in different categories. a. Consumer Market: This is the group of consumer from where coke purchases are at the highest level because consumer market includes individuals and households. Households mostly buy coke for daily use in large number and purchasing by individuals is also the case of repeat purchase. Healthy consumer market is a big advantage for the company. b. Reseller Market Reseller market of coke is very large all over the world. This is the market, which buy the product from company and resell it at profit. In Pakistan McDonald is the biggest example of reseller of coke. McDonald purchases coke from the company and sell it with each fast food deal served at restaurant. The survey shows that each branch of McDonald located in Lahore & Karachi sells approximately 500-700 liters of coke daily to its customers. Subway is also has contract with Coca-Cola to serve coke with its every salad & sandwich. c. International Market International market consists of those buyers who are in other countries. Coke is worldwide known product and every country where coke is been sold has a manufacturing unit of its own. Similar is the case in Pakistan. Coke manufacturing plants are in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Rahimyar Khan, 9 Multan and Lahore and these plants are producing the drink for the local use. So in Pakistan there are no international buyers of coke. v. Competitors All over world there are two soft drink giants, Coke and Pepsi. The competition between two companies has always been neck to neck. Both these companies keep on try to take lead in terms of pricing, packaging, promoting and placing. Pepsi is a world leader in convenient foods and beverages, with revenues of about $27 billion and over 143,000 employees. Pepsi brands are available in nearly 200 countries and territories. As we compare the products of these two competitors we come to know that Coke has two flavors in Pakistan that is coke plain and coke diet where as similar is the case with Pepsi as only these two flavors are available of Pepsi as well. So in this perspective both parties have equal strength. However competition is at its peak in terms of pricing. So many times we see that as soon as Pepsi lower downs the price of 1 liter pet bottle or disposable drink, Coke adjusts its price right away so that they may not loose their customers. Although both these brands have sufficient amount of buyers all over the world but still both the companies strive to achieve the market leader position. Coke even after 99 successful years in US still trying best to be more innovative. Coke manufacturers spent two years and 4 Million $ on research before settling on a new formula and finally came up with â€Å"sweeter new coke† and later on with â€Å"cherry coke†. Companies make all these efforts to give more customer value and satisfaction than its competitors. In Pakistan recently a few other beverages are also introduced such as Mecca-Cola and Amrat-Cola but currently these soft drinks are not a threat for coke due to their very low market share and secondly due to brand loyalty of customers for coke. Competition Worldwide Competition in Pakistan 10 ., 10% 60% ., 36% Coca-cola Coca-Cola Pepsi 30% 10% Pepsi Other Others 54% vi. Public Every country has different type of public which effect any business in the country most effective public for Coca-Cola is media public. Media plays a vital role in Coca-Cola in Pakistan. Media Public The field of advertisement is one area where Coca-Cola has always emphasized. In year 2000 Coca-Cola unveiled the biggest advertising billboards in the history of Pakistan. Each unveiling was marked by entertainment and light shows watched by thousands of people. Similarly in July 2000 Coca-Cola launched its first under the crown promotion by the name of Dream Vacations in which the consumers could collect caps of promotional bottles of Coca-Cola like Sprite, Fanta and Coke. Internal Public Our company is built around two core assets, its brands and its people. That’s what makes working here so special. We believe that work is more than a place you go every day. It should be a place of exploration, creativity, professional growth and interpersonal relationships. It’s about being inspired and motivated to achieve extraordinary things. We want our people to take pride in their work and in building brands others love. After all, it’s the combined talents, skills, knowledge, experience and passion of our people that make us who we are. Our 92,800 associates around the world live and work in the markets we serve — more than 87 percent of them outside the U.S. In this geographically diverse environment, we learn from each market and share those learn quickly. As a result, our Company culture is ever more collaborative. From beverage concept and development to merchandising, our associates are sharing ideas across departments and markets in new ways. Consequently, our associates are increasingly enthusiastic about their work and inspired to turn plans into action. (Reference 7) 11 Macro environment factors affecting Coca Cola 1. Demographics Coca cola knows its people very well. It offers different flavors & packaging according to its customer’s taste. It offers following sizes & every size is targeting different slots of customers. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. SSRB (Standard size returnable bottle) LRB (Large size returnable bottle) NRD (Non-returnable/ Disposable bottle) PET (Plastic Bottle 500 ml) PET (Plastic Bottle 1.5 liter) CANS (tin pack 330 ml) It targets its different sizes according to customers of different age groups & occupations. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ SSRB is generally targeted to young children & people going to schools & universities. It is also targeted to the people of lower class. LRB & PET 1.5 liters is usually consumed by households &I s one of its economy packs. Disposable bottles are for the â€Å"on the go† people. As they don’t have the time to stand at a spot & drink the whole beverage. PET 500ml was introduced, on the basis of the analysis, which shows that people nowadays are in a trend to drink two 250ml coke bottles together. As Coca Cola is a company who knows its consumers very well, they introduced the 500ml Pet bottle. Business executives always expect something different for them form an organization, so Coke CANS were the answer to their expectation from coke. Different flavors always attract different types of people. They are for the people who always want to try something new. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Classic coke is the one suitable product who don’t want a change in their life or who don’t want to try something new. Keeping the people in view who are fitness oriented, health conscious & diabetic patients Diet Coke is the solution for all their beverage problems. Vanilla Coke was introduced for the people who want a more sweetened beverage & who are looking for vanilla in everything they have. Cherry & Lime Coke is targeted to the people who want something citrus. Coca Cola launches its product after they study their customers in deep detail & conclude that what their customers really wants from them. Consumers always welcome Coca Cola’s product, as they know that Coca Cola is the one who knows them the best. 12 2. Economic factors Economic factors do affect a company in negative & positive manner. Coke is not an exception here, it is affected if there is inflation in the country & as a result coke increases its prices. Pepsi is always waiting to take a competitive edge. The increased price is a high negative effect on coke. Coke has employed 1800 workers in the last two years & huge amount of revenues have been collected from Pakistan. The economy worldwide was disturbed by the incident of September 11th,2001. The disposable income of the people of Pakistan is increasing day by day & coke that was thought as a luxury good is now becoming a necessity. 3. Social factors Coke, a customer oriented company, always take steps for the welfare of its consumers. The recyclable products used in manufacturing coke helps save people’s environment. Coke is also helping the needy & knowledge seeking people with fewer resources by providing them books, scholarships & opportunities to work. Coke has launched a program in Gujranwala & Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan where it provides basic education to children (Reference. 8). Coke has also launched programs to increase awareness about the conservation of water & natural resources, climate changes, waste environment education & recyclable products. The Coca-Cola Export Corporation (TCCEC) has set-up an endowment fund at Pakistan’s premier university, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). The fund, donated by The Coca-Cola Foundation, will be used for funding entire education of 02 students for 4 years of Bachelors program at LUMS’s School of Science & Engineering. These students belong to underprivileged areas of Pakistan but their educational record is extremely impressive and they are called Coca-Cola Scholars.In 2005, TCCEC started ‘Adopt-a-School’ program, under which we adopted 05 government schools and supported them by building classrooms, parks, providing free books, furniture etc. Also, TCCEC has long supported CARE Foundation for providing free education to underprivileged children of Punjab province. (Reference. 9) 4. Technological factors Technology in any field is effecting the development of that industry at a high rate. Beverage industry is also affected by the technological factors but in a positive manner. The new methods of filling the bottles, the refrigeration methods, the disposable bottles, the PET bottles all made so many changes to the Coke which is one of the giants in the beverage industry. Coke is adopting all the new technologies available. Coke is being supplied with the refrigerators, visichest coolers & many more for keeping the bottles chilled, as they claim in the subcontinent â€Å"thanda matlab Coca Cola†. Coca Cola Company got the technology of dispensers so they give Coke to people that is as fresh from the fountain. Coca Cola Company has adopted the technology for the usage of 13 PET bottles, which are also environmental friendly. Coca Cola Company adopted the recycling method to keep its environment clean & also to have the soft corner in people’s heart. Coca Cola Company is producing new packaging sizes with differentiated packaging with the help of new technology everyday. 5. Cultural factors Culture of Pakistan is gourmet, music, sport & religious oriented Coca-Cola has many opportunities in any occasion in Pakistan Coca-Cola always there, like a. Coca Cola & Cricket Pepsi is one of the biggest official sponsors of cricket & is also the official drink of cricket. Coke is there, giving Pepsi a tough time. Coke has sponsored eight Pakistani cricket players. Coca Cola is targeting cricket as it is one the famous & growing all over the world. b. Coca Cola & Musical Concerts When you think of Pakistani Punjabi bhangra, Abrar-ul-Haq is the first name you think of. Coca Cola is the official sponsor of Abrar. Coke sponsors almost all of the concerts of Abrar. In most of the hoardings, billboards & TV commercials of coke, we see Abrar performing & promoting coke. Junoon is a known name all over the world. Coke targeted its customer through music celebrities & asks them to perform in their concerts & commercials. You see Junoon performing a desire of having a coke is rite in you. c. Coca Cola & Food Mela This is the century when food industry is at its boom. Coca cola organizes food melas for the people. In Karachi, coke treated thousands of people by bringing 50 bustling restaurants all together in one area. All those restaurants were offering coke as the only beverage in the food mela. d. Coca Cola & Basant Basant is one of the biggest events in Lahore. Coke was the official decorator of Lahore hired by PHA. Coke has promoted its products so much with relevance to basant that at basant whenever you want to drink something chilled, the first name you think of is Coke. It is there in the mind of the people that â€Å"Where there is Basant there is Coca Cola†. e. Coke in Ramzan & Eid Eid & Ramazan is one of the holy events of muslims. Coke earns its great revenues in the month of Ramazan & at the time of Eid. It offers new packaging or great discount offers also special offers at Eid. 14 6. Political factor Political factors usually effects company working on the international level doing imports & exports. Coke usually performs its operations in the local market. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Coke is not usually affected by government regulations & deregulations as no major changes occur in the food laws. Coke is a very environmental friendly product. From the caps till the labels on the PET bottles, everything is recyclable. Depreciation of currency generally has no major effects on Coke they really don’t do imports & exports on large scale. They try to be local market oriented, they keep at least one company owned plant in a country. Sudden changes in political conditions in a certain country doesn’t effect much on Coke, as it is a purely consumer product. Pressure groups tried to de-market Coke in Pakistan by spreading the rumors that the revenue collected from coke goes to the Jewish lobby. 7. Natural Factor Water is vital to both WWF and The Coca-Cola Company. Beverages are The Coca-Cola Company’s business, and water is the main ingredient in every product we make. Safe water also is vital to the sustainability of the communities we serve. WWF’s mission is the conservation of nature and the protection of natural resources for people and wildlife. Protecting freshwater ecosystems is a top priority in WWF’s work. Now, through a partnership announced on June 5, 2007, we are combining our international strengths and resources to support water conservation throughout the world. ATLANTA, April 20, 2007 – The Coca-Cola Company today announced that it was implementing measures to reduce energy consumption at its two million square foot world headquarters by 23 percent and reduce its water consumption by nearly 15 percent. These efforts are expected to eliminate more than 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, which is the equivalent of removing 2,000 cars from the road. â€Å"By taking bold measures to conserve natural resources in our own backyard, we want to send a message to companies and individuals that combating a leading global environmental problem demands local action,† said Bryan Jacob, the Coca-Cola Company’s energy and climate protection manager. â€Å"We all have a role to play, from using energy-efficient lighting where we can, to repairing leaky faucets and watering our lawns only in the morning and the evening. Each leaky faucet in our homes or offices could be wasting 180 gallons of water per week.† (Reference 10) We have a role to play in helping the communities we rely upon. We know that to make a meaningful difference, we must focus our efforts beyond the confines of our own bottling plants. 15 Today, nearly one-sixth of the world’s population — more than 1 billion people — doesn’t have access to safe drinking water. Approximately 2.6 billion don’t have adequate sanitation. Due to the issues surrounding water, billions of people are vulnerable to disease and food insecurity. We work closely with our supply chain, local communities, governments and nongovernment organizations to replenish water to nature and communities. In fact, since 2005 we have been involved in more than 250 community water partnerships in 70 countries to support locally relevant initiatives, such as watershed protection; expanding community drinking water and sanitation access; agricultural water use efficiency; and education and awareness programs. In 2009, we asked respected experts to work with us to calculate the water benefits of these projects. (Reference 11) Chapter# 3 Conclusion In the end we learned In Pakistan as compared to Pepsi, Coca-Cola has less number of consumers as Pepsi’s market share in Pakistan is approximately 58% where as coke market share is hovering about 32% but worldwide Coca-Cola has 60% whereas Pepsi has 30%. Coca-Cola’s environmental factors are positive The Company is working with teamwork by joining its all departments its resellers are the well known & reputable restaurants of the world it using two types of medium of distribution which are cost effective suppliers of Coca-Cola are local in Pakistan so it save lots of importing cost of raw material as we discuss above that coke brand known by 85% of the world population so they have massive consumers competition of Coca-Cola is very tough in Pakistan with Pepsi. Its promoting Pakistan’s cultural Environment at its best level demographically coke fulfilling the consumer requirements in Pakistan. Coca-Cola working on natural environment to reduce co2 level in the globe & providing safe water to community. Socially Coca Cola is doing god work by providing scholarships & basic Educational program in Pakistan. Technology of Coca-Cola is very Competitive in this Modern Era. References 1 http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/mission_vision_values.html 2 http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/index.html 3 Scribd (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })() 16 4 http://www.balochistanglass.com/clients.htm 5 www.tradekey.com/profile†¦/ShangHai-Plato-chemical-co-Ltd.htm 6 DYNAMIC EQUIPMENT & CONTROLS (PVT) LTD. F-1/23, Canal Cottages, Block-D New Muslim Town, Lahore 54000, Punjab, Pakistan URL: http://www.dynamic-eqpt.com.pk 7 http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/meet_our_people.html 8 http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_24-12-2003_pg7_16 (Paragraph No 9) 9 http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/education.html 10 http://www.thecoca-company.com/presscenter/nr_20070420_corporate_reduce_energy_consumption.html 11 http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/watershed_protection.html Appendices Appendix 1 Slogans of Coca Cola in Pakistan ïÆ'Ëœ ïÆ'Ëœ ïÆ'Ëœ ïÆ'Ëœ ïÆ'Ëœ ïÆ'Ëœ ïÆ'Ëœ ïÆ'Ëœ ïÆ'Ëœ ïÆ'Ëœ ïÆ'Ëœ ïÆ'Ëœ 1886 Drink Coca-Cola 1908 Get the genuine 1923 Enjoy thirst 1934 When it’s hard to get started, start with a Coca-Cola 1942 The only thing like Coca-Cola is Coca-Cola itself 1956 The friendliest drink on earth 1963 Things go better with Coke 1993 Always. Coca-Cola 2001 Life is Good 2003 Jo Chaho Ho Jaye Coca Cola Enjoy 2004 Flight Of Delight 2005 Galay Delicious Taste 17 ïÆ'Ëœ ïÆ'Ëœ ïÆ'Ëœ ïÆ'Ëœ 2006 Thanda matlab coca cola 2007 khaly pily jila coca cola 2008 Aja jashan mena ly 2009 Always Coca Cola Appendix 2 Products Coke Classic Dite Coke Limca Fanta Mazaa Sprite Sprite 3G Coke Zero Minute made Tab Energy Drink For More Product Review Visit http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/brands/index.html 18

A Critical Evaluation of the Quality of Employee Relations Essay

A Critical Evaluation of the Quality of Employee Relations - Essay Example Using this theory it is possible to provide an account of the many different parts and link them together using the functions each play in keeping the whole system running (Nicholls 2003, pg. 18-19). This report critically asses the quality of employee relations that exist at Coca Cola Company. It will look at the internal arrangement of the company and specifically its Human Resource Management structure and how the company uses levels of relations to improve its productivity and reputation (Budd, 2012). The report will also look at the ethic and culture of the company and the impact of employer-employee relationship in Human Resource Management in the company. Coca Cola was invented on May 8th 1886 in Atlanta USA by Dr John Stitch Pemberton. The formula was patented by Asa Candler when he bought the formula from the inventor. In 1893, it was registered as a trade mark and shortly thereafter could be found in practically all the states in America (Hyman, 1975, pg. 25). Due to Asa Ca ndler’s aggressive marketing techniques by the late 1890s it was one of the most popular drinks in America. At present Coca Cola is present in more than 200 countries and has over 500 brands and 300 beverages. It has an associate employment population of over 92,000 worldwide and net operating revenue of over $31.9 billion (December 31st 2008) Coca Cola is the most recognizable brand in the world today. The use of systems theory in analyzing employee relations has its shortcomings. The concept implies that the subject matter is capable of description while suggesting that the realm of employment is a definite system that exhibits common values that hold it together, hence giving it the appearance of a system (Hyman, 1989, pg 25). It is also argued that to define employee relations strictly in terms of rules and regulations is a very narrow and restrictive. Nevertheless systems theory gives an important framework for describing the context of employee relations. It has created terms that have been accepted in the subject of employee relations. This approach was adopted in United Kingdom by a number of scholars. Clegg (1979) took this concept, contextualized it in the British understanding and came out with a definition. He defines it as the study of rules governing employment and the way rules are formulated, changed and administered (Clegg 1979, pg.1). Therefore; employee relations are the methods of formulating rules and regulations which governs the work place. Employee relationship is the process of managing diversity and change which necessitates maintaining employer-employer relationships that contribute to adequate productivity and motivation. The systems theory avers that there are three main broad areas that constitute employee relations. These are (i) inputs, (ii) processes and (iii) outputs. The inputs have three elements in it. The first being the actors. The actors are represented by the trade unions, management, employee associations and th e public bodies mandated to regulate employment (Clegg 1979, pg. 1). The second factor is the context or environment, which is usually complex and dynamic. The workplace is not only affected by the policies and procedures in place there, the internal environment, but also by economic, political and social developments beyond it, the external environment. The last factor is ideology. Industrial relations create a common body of ideas and beliefs regarding the role of the players which in turn helps the system to operate. The outputs are the rules and regulations which are in two parts, substantive and procedural. Substantive part deals with matters like pay, overtime, holidays and the way in which a job should be accomplished.

Effectiveness of Delegation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Effectiveness of Delegation - Assignment Example Today’s environment is calling for a new dimension in delegation by emphasizing both horizontal and vertical delegation with much emphasis given to teamwork. Delegation must always be accompanied by effective coaching so that the delegates fully understand the task they are entrusted with to avoid any pitfalls which is likely to arise. Good communication is a prerequisite for effective delegation to take place and thus should be highly considered during the delegation process (Pratt, 1997). According to Klein et al. (2006), process of effective delegation is a beneficial process where both the manager, the employees and the organization benefits in the long run. The benefits the manager enjoys is so great since it makes the job easier and this frees him form various daunting tasks (Hackman, 1995). In addition, it also helps the manager to reduce stress and develop good rapport with the employees which is good for the success of an organization (Pratt, 1997). Delegation also en ables the manager to effectively groom his successor by assigning him the necessary task involved in such higher positions. Managers who do not delegate tasks derail their own advancement by not grooming someone to take their place when the need for promotion arises (Finch & Maddux, 2006). The employees equally benefit form the delegation process since it provides them with an avenue of professional growth and advancement at work place when they develop their skills properly (Johnson, 2000). In addition, it gives them a sense of achievement and personal satisfaction which leads to increased productivity at workplace and enhancing value to the organization (Lawson, 2007. This is achievable because they feel... The paper â€Å"Effectiveness of Delegation† dwells upon results of studies regarding delegation of duties in organizations. Research has shown that delegation has got both negative and positive outcomes and should thus be carefully applied in management to achieve positive outcomes.The process of delegation should be done very carefully so that it’s not seen as dumping of duties by the top management hence lowering the morale of the worker. Regardless of the size of the business, delegation is effective in all aspects of management hence inability to delegate may lead to ineffectiveness of an organization. Delegation must always be accompanied by effective coaching so that the delegates fully understand the task they are entrusted with to avoid any pitfalls which is likely to arise. Good communication is a prerequisite for effective delegation to take place and thus should be highly considered during the delegation process. The organization also benefits from delegatio n since it helps save money which would have been used to employ more staff thus straining the budget of the organization. Effective delegation involves encouraging creativity by welcoming new ideas form various individuals and this is important in the development of any organization. In effective delegation, the delegator surrenders the privileges he enjoys and accepts that the job will be done successfully by the delegate. Delegation is real and is happening in and in large scale in most organizations. The managers are required to understand the basic principles of delegation before initiating an effective delegation mechanism within an organization.

Prepare a marketing plan for a product or service Essay

Prepare a marketing plan for a product or service - Essay Example The next section of the discussion illustrates the market segmentation targeting and positioning procedure of the organisation for the Delta brand. The segmentation and targeting process of the organisation has selected the high and medium population density locations of the urban market of China. The process has also targeted the busy professional, students and large family oriented populations within the age bracket of 12-30 years. The marketing plan has selected the cost leadership and market penetration strategy to ensure growth within the China market. The next section has detailed the marketing mix elements such as product, pricing, promotional process, placement, people management and customer service process. This section has recommended essential steps to create a strong and successful marketing plan. Finally, the study has illustrated the implementation procedure through Gantt chart. This Chart has detailed the eight month implantation plan of product marketing. It has also elaborated various tools to monitor and control the implementation process. The study is based on designing a marketing plan for a hypothetical soft drink manufacturing and retailing company in China. The discussion will evaluate the marketing plan for Delta carbonated soft drink in the China market. The product is planned to be manufactured and retail within China market by Semtex Plc, a medium sized fruit and soft drink manufacturing and retailing company. The marketing plan includes various essential actions such as situational analysis of the market and organisation, objectives setting, market segmentation and targeting, market strategy design, evaluation of marketing mix and resource allocation and budgeting. The discussion will further elaborate the implementation and monitoring plan for the proposed marketing strategies. The situation analysis of market will detail the macro and micro environment of the organisation. The macro environmental analysis will

PTC PAPER Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PTC PAPER - Lab Report Example arbitrated by specialized cells which communicate with brain cells through sensory neurons (Williams, Peter & Glyns 18).The perception involves one binding of the taste molecule to a receptor which is particular on taste cell surface then, a generation of nerve impulse by the taste cell which is then interpreted by the brain. This was shown when strips containing coffee without sugar, and with the addition of sugar were tested. Ability of tasting PTC is influenced by an inherited component. A single gene which codes for the receptor taste on the tongue influences the ability to feel or not to taste PTC. The gene is called PTC gene or the TAS2R38 and is mapped to q- arm that is chromosome 7 in man, and its discovery was in 2003 (Leguebe 970). In existence, there are two main alleles of PTC gene and rare ones are five in number. The alleles are tasting allele and none tasting allele which both code for taste bitter receptor protein. The shape of protein receptor determines the strength it binds to PTC. Bumps called papillae covers the entire tongue, and each papillae have numerous taste buds, which are filled by gustatory cells that are responsible for tasting. Each tip of the gustatory cell is significantly covered with assortments of receptors called bitter tastes and obtrudes through pore on the tongue surface. Stimulation of the receptors leads to the perception of signals. The signals are then carried to the brain by special nerves. The three samples of coffee of different concentrations; one without any addition of sugar, another one with addition of two spoons of sugar and the third one with three spoons of sugar added were dipped in PTC paper and test conducted to determine the level of taste as either very bitter or very sweet and in a scale of between 1 to 5, the results were noted in small tables. The experiment was repeated severally to determine the exactitude and also to show results among different individuals. From the experiment, we were able to

International Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Economics - Essay Example Services sector as it contributes almost 78 percent in U.S economy. If U.S. or for that matter any of the developed countries such as UK, France, Germany, Japan has to increase the international trade, their contribution has to come through the services sector because they are dominant contributors in the GDP. The reasons that services cannot be traded as freely as goods can be are attributed to the following. 1. Many services are non-transportable; it requires geographic proximity between producer and consumer countries. 2. Many services cannot be mass produced; mostly they are tailored as per the geographical needs posing a difficulty in the international trade. 3. Many services go along with the supply of the goods and they cannot be separated to impart the benefits to the consumers. Example is cars imported from Japan or China into US with 3-4 years warranty. Servicing cost is included in the original price. 4. It is difficult to export the services from developed countries (U.S) to developing countries such as India. The reason is that the cost of producing the services in a developing country is much lower than the cost incurred in developed economies. The glaring example is IT (Information Technology) services outsourced to countries like India, China where the cost of production is much less. Answer 2. Difficulties in the Balance of Payment (B.O.P) of the U.S in the present time US is facing Balance of Payment problem since last many years and it is steadily increasing from 1 percent in 1995 to almost 8 percent of the GDP now. The reasons for such high deficits are many and varied and can be enumerated as per the following. (Riley, Geoff 2006) 1. It is an indication of high consumption with a weaker industrial sector. Consumers are spending beyond their means leading to higher household debt. 2. A trade deficit is also an indication of loss of employment and output. It is a net leakage between income and spending. 3. Currency value (read $) comes under pressure against other leading currencies and continue to depreciates as deficit continues or rises. This also necessitates an increase in interest rates by the central bank. Answer 3. Compare and contrast the structure of the E.U and the USA (NAFTA). NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) is a treaty between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. NAFTA has been operational since 1994. It governs the entire North American trade. NAFTA agreement has removed the tariffs between the member countries Mexico, Canada, and U.S for goods shipped between them. This has resulted into the purchase of goods by Mexico in large quantities from U.S. This results into savings for Mexican companies on imports and it saves American company considerably on shipping costs. In contrast, EU has large number of member countries in it fostering similar cooperation among them. The major difference between these two is that EU members trade in a common currency but NAFTA members do not have any common c urrency. Moreover, EU has its own political charter in contrast to NAFTA who does not have any. Answer 4. Explain Ricardo’s theory of trade and compare it to the H-O theory of trade? The theory of comparative advantage is behind the international trade in which both the countries benefit from the trade. Ricardo explained this in his book on the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation giving example of England and Portugal. Portugal produces wine and cloth with less labor compared to England for the

Key Concepts of Leadership Theories Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Key Concepts of Leadership Theories - Term Paper Example The purpose of this paper is to examine the key concepts of leadership theories by assessing the principle in a multidimensional manner. To achieve this objective, the trait and personality theories of leadership have been applied to an organization which operates in the logistics industry and provides aircraft parts supports on a global scale. The primary reason behind the selection of this business is the association that I share with the organization by serving in the capacity of Workplace Superintendent which is a consideration that would play a critical role in developing the analysis that has been conducted in the paper. According to Lussier and Achua (2009), the motivation behind the development of the trait theory paradigm was that researchers wanted to categorize the individuals who assume the role of leaders and those who act as their followers. Moreover, theorists also embarked upon the journey of developing trait and personality theories to differentiate between successfu l leaders and those who fail to effectively guide their organizations towards the achievement of desired corporate objectives or the realization of an organization’s vision. Henceforth, the primary premise on which the trait and personality theories have been established aims to discover a set of characteristics and features that can fundamentally define individuals as effective leaders (Lussier and Achua 2009). Moreover, Robbins (2001) adds that trait theories of leadership are also linked with the physical, psychological and personal qualities and attributes of leaders. Even though, research on personality and trait theories acted as the cornerstone of subsequent research that was conducted on the phenomenon of leadership, a significant proportion of conclusions that were drawn from the assessments failed to provide a clear and unambiguous picture. Robbins (2001) notes that it was not until the development of the Big Five personality

War and the Soul Essay Example for Free

War and the Soul Essay Today, the depiction of war is becoming more vivid and realistic. Audiences are more critical of how a move catches the actual events that transpired and of how they can relate to the emotions in the movie. The movies â€Å"Saving Private Ryan† and â€Å"We Were Soldiers† are two of the most popular modern day films with the subject of two different wars, World War II and Vietnam War respectively. They have similarities in many aspects However, they have even more differences. They have completely different themes, and completely different objectives. This paper explores on how these two films are alike and how they differ. When Duty Calls: A Comparative Film Review There has been much development in the movie industry since the onset of computer graphic imaging. This technology has enabled producers to depict subjects that were considered impossible. Today, humans are capable of transcending limitations on time and cultural differences. They can reenact historical events, reconstruct buildings, and recreate natural sceneries. Equipped with a blue screen, computers, and actors, an entire war can commence right before an audience. With both simple and complicated movie techniques, anything is accomplished. The movies â€Å"Saving Private Ryan† and â€Å"We Were Soldiers† share a common subject – and this is war. This topic has interested the curiosity of millions of viewers since time immemorial, as those who have witnessed it want to confirm the events and those who did not wish to learn the events. Both tackled common themes and presented different angles of a war. They share many similarities and possess many differences. But there is one significant aspect that both these movies have successfully translated. This is the price that war claims to those it chooses to affect (Spielberg, 1998; Wallace, 2002). Both stories of these masterpieces were derived from two of the most engaging events in the history of mankind. Saving Private Ryan was based on the life of a real individual named Sergeant Frederick Niland, a United States paratrooper sent to France on D-Day. We Were Soldiers, on the other hand, is a version of the book written by Lieutenant Colonel Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway about the military engagement in the la Drang Valley in 1965. Both contained fictional characters and modified events, but little truths must be altered in order for the actual truth to emerge (Spielberg, 1998; Wallace, 2002). Saving Private is neither a biopic nor a tale of heroism. Its story is a protest against the wraths of war and how humans condemn it. It has clear anti-war sentiments, as characters struggled through the horrors of war and suffered both insanity and distraught. The D-Day amphibious invasion at Normandy was an excellent prologue to the film. It had brutal depictions on the consequences of being a soldier, on the gruesome reality of battles, and the uncertainty of life. It is a story of comradeship, of realization of fears, and living an inch away from death (Spielberg, 1998; Wallace, 2002). In addition, We Were Soldiers is a film that shares absence of political themes of war. The primary objective of both movies is to relay to the audiences the lives of soldiers as soldiers, who are entities that can be separated from the entire picture of military and political debate. They are men who chose to be in the line of duty and take arms in order to fight for what they believe is righteous. But We Were Soldiers portrayed a relatively more intimate aspect, the scenario of the soldiers’ relationships with those they left at home. It prudently conveyed the lives that soldiers have before they leave for an assignment and after they have accomplished their missions (Spielberg, 1998; Wallace, 2002). In the sequence where Mel Gibson with Madeline Stowe and Chris Klein with Keri Russell were spending their last night together prior the soldiers’ departure for war, the intense emotions were effectively depicted. It relayed the fear being contained when lovers are being parted without any assurance of reunification. It is a scene where there is pain because of the uncertain. Another important aspect of war that this movie portrayed was not only the lives of men in the battle zones, but also those of their families awaiting their return. In the scene where the women would gather together and watch television for updates, one would feel the intensity of fear that these women are trying to suppress within. They would not want to cry until they hear something concrete, but just the prospect of losing their husbands is cruel. Every knock on their door was a possibility of the word that they have lost their beloved men (Spielberg, 1998; Wallace, 2002). Both movies focused on a hero, an officer of a military unit. Tom Hanks was the captain in charge of a platoon assigned to search for Private James Ryan while Mel Gibson was also the captain leading his men through Vietnamese jungles. In Saving Private Ryan, heroism is to fulfill one’s duty, regardless of its nature. As long as it contributes to the efforts of war, and that it is a soldier’s mission, then one is to be considered a genuine soldier. In We Were Soldiers, heroism is making a decision, although detrimental for a certain number of people but crucial for the entire outcome of the war. Saving Private Ryan was not a film about a country’s victory or defeat. It is a story of personal victory in one’s struggle to maintain his conviction amidst a world gone half mad. We Were Soldiers, in contrast, is about how a military unit lost a critical battle and most of the men involved (Spielberg, 1998; Wallace, 2002). Both shaped the American understanding of the realities of war. Because of these movies, the public has learned to further their appreciation of the sacrifices that men in uniform give in order for peace to prevail. The price is clear, their lives and the structure of their families are put in the line of fire each time they board the helicopters or boats in order to fight in the beaches or jungles. Both movies gave significance to the human side of war, concentrating on the people that comprise a war and how a war shaped these people (Spielberg, 1998; Wallace, 2002). References Spielberg, S. (Director). (1998). Saving Private Ryan. [Motion Picture]. United States: Amblin Entertainment. Wallace, R. (Director). (2002). We Were Soldiers. [Motion Picture]. United States: Icon

Media Impact on Body Image

Media Impact on Body Image This research is on media’s negative influence on a persons’ body image. The paper will identify the problem of how and why media such as celebrities, magazines, television, advertising, and social networks negatively target an individuals’ self-perception. This research is important because many woman, and girls of our culture suffer a great deal of depression, stress, eating disorders, and many other psychological issues; because of not being able to meet unattainable thin   ideals set by the media. This research can be beneficial to many because it can help make   women aware about the dangerous effects of the media. As far as making women who perceive something that isn’t real, the media is at fault. This research   will teach   girls that they don’t have to look like an A-list model or celebrity to be beautiful. Body image in the media dates back to as far as the beginning of the 20th century. Before, curvy body types such as curvaceous Marilyn Monroe set the standards for women. By the 1960s body image was taken over by supermodels with their 90 pound body frames. These tiny figures featured in early television and magazines and drastically began changing the definition of â€Å"beautiful†. Body Image develops partly as a function of culture in response to cultural aesthetic ideals (Kim, Lennon 2007). I’ve found in some research that every society has its own way of torturing women. Psychological change is linked with environmental change which brings about how people define physical appearance based on various exposures to media. Media has so much control over the person staring back in the mirror.   Ã‚  Racine says,   80% of women under the age of 18 have tried dieting of some sort to see results like the photo shopped images of many models and celebrities that are on places like â€Å"Instagram and Facebook.† â€Å"These images that people see are computer made and the diets are not real.† Says Munro and Huon. When results are not seen after trying quick fixes it could lead to young women as young as 3rd grade being bulimic and depressed. This research   would   open the minds of adolescents who go through the daily struggle trying to fit in and attain the impossible by doing so in extreme dangerous life threatening ways. Girls need to know that no matter what a scale says it doesnt define them as a person, nor how beautiful they are. Some research says that media is progressively getting better with adding more positive messages within advertisement. â€Å"I wouldnt say that it’s worsening, but is media   really getting better? What does the future hold as far as body image within the media?† Say If society   doesn’t further   reach out to   youth about the risks of being influenced by unhealthy diet fads, and not loving themselves because the television   Ã‚  ,   as peers, teachers, and parents, society has failed. The media has made a few changes just to push away the negatives that thrown at them as far as just being thin. At the same time, media still continues to make note within the music society listen to and the most popular clothing to make money because thin is what sells in our culture. The worse part of all of this is that psychological and eating disorders can start in girls as young as seven or eight according to the Journal of School Health. Ten years ago it was safe to say that teens were ok to be exposed to media and it affects at the ages of 15 and 16. Now because of how easy electronics are to learn, children are exposed to electronics as young as 2. By the age of 5 they are using the same social networks as 26 and 30 year old adults, exposing their minds to things they can’t fully process. Confronting and educating an elementary aged child about loving themselves and healthy exercise and eating strategies is more relevant with cyber bullying, and self-evaluation happening because of not looking how the media says they should look. Media is thought to be the number one source of influence on negative body image. Some other research points to genetics, and socialized responses attributed to dysfunctional childhoods. Some think things such as low self-esteem result from abusive childhoods. Likewise, when obese children are raised by belittling parents who antagonize them with food and their physical appearances, it can cause problems as they develop and mature in their teenage years. The alternative is that early intervention   will help prevent long-term health issues for majority of patients with eating disorders and bad self-persistence. To carry out these methods people need to be educated. Starting more   non-profit organization that go to elementary, junior high, and even colleges   to educate women and girls on this topic. Those who care about this topic as much as someone going through it , and even with a little experience would be needed to help with this project. Teens and even adults commit suicide every year because of not being able to fit in.   Fundraisers to raise awareness and money for their families would help as well. More counselors to talk with more people who struggle with eating disorders, and find more information about why the media targets the people they do and exactly how they do it, in order to effectively help those who fall victim to it. One thing that needs the most attention, and   further research is psychology of the brain, and medical disorders of these victims to the media. This research is needed to fully understand why woman mentally feel the need to try and do as they see .   Ã‚  Many people overlook all of these issues and push the reasons of sadness, depression, and anger to other things that people go through or are experiencing in their life that very moment. Overall this   research is feasible because it’s something that is happening now. So many people can relate to falling victim to the Medias unrealistic perception of ‘beautiful’. Valuable resources have been found such as the Journal of School Health, NeTweens: The Internet and Body Image Concerns in Preteenage Girls, and also Media Influence on the Body Image of Children. Lots of people agree with this and though there are many non-profit organizations for this topic,   another voice cant hurti. Elementary school girls are obsessed with their weight, teen’s everyday experience psychological problems, and many women pay lots of money for diet quick fix fads that do not work. The media does a great job at pulling our society into the advertisement that result in sales. Even if the argument is made that media is not the initiator of a woman’s self-perception, just a mirror of society, the media still should take responsibility for at least perpetua ting the dysfunction. Works Cited Lawrie, Z., et al. Media Influence On The Body Image Of Children And Adolescents. Eating Disorders 14.5 (2006): 355-364. SPORTDiscus. Web. 16 Oct. 2014. Monro, F, and G Huon. Media-Portrayed Idealized Images, Body Shame, And Appearance Anxiety. International Journal Of Eating Disorders 38.1 (n.d.): 85-90. Science Citation Index. Web. 16 Oct. 2014. Tiggemann, Marika, and Amy Slater. Nettweens: The Internet And Body Image Concerns In Preteenage Girls. The Journal Of Early Adolescence 34.5 (2014): 606-620. PsycINFO. Web. 16 Oct. 2014. Racine, Elizabeth F., et al. The Relationship Between Media Use And Psychological And Physical Assets Among Third- To Fifth-Grade Girls. Journal Of School Health 81.12 (2011): 749-755. ERIC. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.

The process in Financial intermediation in the banking sector

The process in Financial intermediation in the banking sector The financial intermediation is defined as the process which had been carried out by the financial intermediaries as the middleman between the borrower (spender) and lender (saver) to smooth the flow of fund. The financial intermediation called as the process of using the indirect finance in the financial system, which the primary route to transfer funds from lender to borrower. Those savers who have the surplus money will deposits their fund in the financial institution, which will lends those funds to borrowers such as business firms, households, government or foreigners who shortage of fund. Financial intermediary are those financial institution such as commercial bank, finance company, merchant bank, Islamic bank and Brokerage Company. The financial intermediary help to transfer the funds between the lender and borrower in the ways of borrow money from the lender-saver and then using this money to make loan to borrower-spender. For example, the financial institution acquires fund s through public by issuing liabilities such as time deposits and saving accounts. After that, the bank might use that fund to acquire an asset by making loan to the people needed fund for investment or buying that company bond in the financial market. As a result, with the help of financial intermediary, the money successfully transfers from public to the borrower. Financial intermediaries play an important role in the financial system because they help to facilitate the risk transfer and in dealing with the increasingly complex of financial instruments and markets. The financial intermediarys role is to transform the assets which are less desirable by a large portion of public in to assets that are more preferable by the public. This transforming have serve four economic function which are providing maturity intermediation, reduction of risk by diversification, reducing the contracting and information processing costs and to provide a efficient payment mechanism. Besides, many subsequent authors also have stressed about the role of transaction cost in the financial intermediaries. Due to the financial intermediaries are very specializing in information processing, they have create the well-functioning financial institutions that has greatly reduced the transaction and information for customer. They can achieve the economy of balance through sp ecialization; this is because they are handling very large number of transaction so they are able to minimize the fixed costs by ward off the same production of information faced by borrower and lender. In addition, Petersen and Rajan (1994) stated that financial intermediaries develop specialist or expert people in evaluating prospective borrowers and investments projects. Other than that, they can also exploit customer information and reuse that information over time and again. As a result, there are more funds are made available for investments. For example, the fixed cost of assets evaluation mean that the financial intermediaries have an advantage over an individual because they allow the costs to be shared. Faulkender and Petersen (2003) mentioned that the information acquisition cost maybe still can lower down by establish a long-run relationship between the borrower and financial intermediaries. Furthermore, financial intermediation has gain confidence and trust from the pub lic by protect their assets with providing efficient service to help them manage their assets. This is because the financial intermediaries help them channel funds more efficiently to productive investments through funding pooling, better identification and monitoring of profitable investments and risk diversification. Diversification allows allocating assets and bearing risks more efficiently. Those investments are protected against from unconscientiously borrowers by the institutions qualified loan officers and well-trained investment analysts seek good investment opportunities and screen prospective securities so as to obtain the best yield available for the risk level that suits the investors preferences. Thus, the financial intermediaries are vital part for our economic system and in order to maintain the flow of money in the economy. Diamond and Dybvig (1983) show that how the financial intermediaries can improve the risk sharing and thus improve the economy welfare. The financial intermediarys help to diversify the risk of the lenders (savers) by help them to investigate their savings across different sector of business. They have the ability to get the important information that concern about the borrowers financial position compare to those in direct finance route which lender directly lends their money to borrowers in financial market without any information about the borrowers. Financial intermediaries can have the borrowers such important information is because they already have a history of exercising discretion with this type of information, and help to reduce unreliable information concerning the borrowers. This will help to solve the problems create by asymmetric information which are adverse selection and moral hazards. Financial intermediaries help them to screen risk, monitor risk and evaluate risk. It is more efficient for financial institution to screen the investment opportunity and risk on behalf of individuals compare to an individual to screen its. Since the institution has all the important information available about the lenders and borrowers, it helps to reduce the information costs for analyzing their data and save their time. Thus, individual can enjoy other services provided by the financial institution which can enable them to deposit and withdrawal funds without negotiation whereas the borrowers can avoid having a deal with individual investors. It concludes that it helps those individual not only save their time and money, and also offer low risk investment opportunity to them. If there is no the financial intermediaries, the lenders-savers and borrowers-spenders have to pay higher transaction and information costs and the facing the problem create by the asymmetric information such as adverse selection problem and moral hazards problems. Hirshleifer and Riley (1 979) said that adverse selection problems arise before the transaction occurs. Usually those people who agreeable to pay higher interest rate will be worse risk and thus the lenders are more likely had make a loan to high risk borrowers This problem only occurs on the borrowers but not the lenders. However, the moral hazard problem occurs after the transaction which it arise just as the borrowers involve in the chance of their loan will being repaid back to the lenders. It also will happen when the borrowers is taking too much risk as the costs incur more than the benefit that gains by borrowers. Therefore, it will discourage the individual savers from lending money to those borrowers who have such investment opportunity and affected the whole economic development in the country. Amina (2009) show that financial intermediaries also provide maturity flexibility service to individuals by creating financial claims with wide range of maturities so as to balance the maturity of different instruments so as to reduce the gap between assets and liabilities. As if there are no financial intermediaries, individual savers have to purchase the securities of borrowers it will lead them to have many uncertain risks such as the conflicting of the maturity needs of lender and borrower. For example, most lenders would like to lend money at short maturity, however normally the borrower will attempt to borrow for a longer maturity. It would make difficult for the borrower to match their larger loan amount with the small amounts of individual savings which are desired by the lenders then it will make the borrowing more difficult. In addition, financial intermediaries perform an important function as maturity intermediation to make sure investment from lenders and money borrowing for borrowers flawless. In the existence of financial intermediary, individuals income tax differentials are mitigated which it help to transfer tax deductions from low to high income tax payers and to provide tax free services in place of taxable interest. For example, the income invested in and earned by pension funds is not taxed until retirement when the rates are generally lower than before the retirement. Beside, commercial bank also rewards depositors with free service, which are non taxable, rather than pay interest, which is taxable. The depositors will receive nontaxable benefits such as checking accounts, travelers checks and low rate loan in return for the use of the money. In conclusion, the existence of financial intermediary played a very important role in the economic development of the country. In this modern world, it would not have been so efficient, aggressive and progressive without the financial intermediation. Financial intermediaries provide a convenient and safe place where lenders can safely invest excess money and borrowers can easily borrow fund with the low cost and low risk. Question 2: Compare money and capital markets and identify the major issuers of securities in the different markets and the difference among the various types of securities within and between each of the markets. Within your discussion of the money markets include a consideration of the role of the Federal Reserve System (Fed) and the banking system as they interact through required reserve maintenance and monetary policy actions by the Fed. Consider in your analysis the types and significance of the links between the money and capital markets via the term structure of interest rates, issuers of debt and equity, or the characteristics of these securities. There were two group of markets can be found in financial market. They were the capital market and the money market. Although they both come from financial market but they consist of differences. In capital market, we will found the stocks and bond market but in general it is the market for securities where long term funds can be raised by companies or government. To raise the funds, a person needs to purchase a price-set bond in order to borrow their money to the government or business for period of time and this will gain higher return as promised. The government or company paid the lenders through interest that accrues from the borrowings. Another way for the government or company to raise the fund is through the stock market. By using this method, they will sell shares of their stock which is the ownership of the company to the public or companies. Dividends will be paid to the shareholders as agreed by the company as the return on their investment. There were two markets in the capital market: Primary market and secondary market. New issues are distributed to the investor in the primary market and the secondary market is the place where trade securities. In money market, it is about the global financial market. The money market is the place where borrowing and lending in a short-term period. Short-term liquid funding also will be provided to the global financial system. The period of the borrowing of money by the company in a money market has an average of thirteen months. There are few common types of things that being used in the money market such as bankers acceptance, certificates of deposits, commercial paper and repurchase agreements. Normally the money market consists of banks borrowing and lending but money market also will involve by financial companies. A large amounts of asset where issued by the finance companies to fund themselves which is secured by the promise of eligible assets into an asset backed commercial paper conduit. The difference between the two markets is that capital market is for long term investment. They were selling stocks and bonds to borrow money from investors to operate their company. In money markets, it is the short term borrowing or lending market. The banks borrow and lend between themselves and it is usually paid back within thirteen months. The differences can be seen through the ways the two markets used for borrowing or lending transaction. In capital market, primary and secondary markets are interrelated. Securities emerge in primary market while other dealings take place in secondary market. However, there was no sub-division in money market. In efficient money market, secondary market does take place too. In capital market, the financial instrument that being used are debentures, shares, public sector bonds and units of mutual funds. On the other hand, money market uses different financial instruments such as Treasury bill, call money, commercial papers, and certificate of deposits. There were several characteristic of the securities in the money market. They are rapid maturity, safety, liquidity funds of securities of the money market. Short-term capital requirements of the business and government can be solve by issuing money market securities. The maturity of the securities is between three months and matured within one year. Federal funds and repurchase agreements are the money market instruments that examine the maturity of the securities. The credit ratings that surpass the other investment grade debt instruments make money market securities the safest investments available. (Jim Orrill, 2010) The SEC helps ensure this safety by mandating that at least 95% of a money market funds securities must be ones that have earned the highest rating of at least two of the five major credit rating institutions. Federal Reserve System is often referred as Fed is the central bank of the United States. In Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia or BNM is our central bank. Although central bank may differ in terms of structure and modus but they have common responsibility which is to maintain the monetary and financial stability. Sometimes, they are responsible for developing the financial infrastructure and participating in the overall development of nation. Bank Negara Malaysia is responsible to maintain the monetary stability. Preserved the value of the ringgit is the best way to ensure the price stability. This can maintain the inflation of the country low and stable. By maintaining the inflation at low and stable condition will not diminished the purchasing power of ringgit. When the inflation rate is high, people will tend to consider about their purchasing power. When this happened, demand for real assets like properties and houses will be higher because they were thought to be more inflation-proof. Interest of people will be less on investment in the productive capacity of the economy. The interest of holding saving in the financial system will be lesser as they expect that their savings value will be diminished. Fixed income earners will feel their ability to purchase goods and services become less. Bank Negara Malaysia influences the level of interest rates to conduct its monetary policy. Interest rates are the rate that the borrowers of the loan have to pay and the depositors earn on their deposits. To encourage people to save more, interest rate will be given at a high rate. When the economic is weak, funds will be injected into the banking system to reduce the interest rates. Economic activity will be stimulated by the increasing consumption and investment. (Elgilani Eltahir Elshareif, 2010) Short term and long term interest rates of fixed securities is important for the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. Usually the short-term rates will be influence by central bank, while the basis of investors expectations of future real interest rates and inflation affect long-term rates. The future real interest rates will affect the domestic investment and production. The real sector of the economy will affect by the term structure transmits monetary policy. In the open economy system, the structure will affect international capital flows and hence exchange rate. Required reserve is referring to the amount that the banking institution place with the BNM in compliance with the Statutory Reserve Requirement. Cash in vault of the banking institution and the demand deposits with BNM are considered as excess reserves. Demand and time deposits placed by the financial corporations are deposits of the private sector. Money market securities are extremely liquid can be converted into cash quickly. As the principles of these debts are repaid very rapidly thus the liquidity of the investment was gained. These securities give the optimum way to the public to invest in the money market securities by trading in large denominations. The money market securities are a wholesale market of short term debt instruments. Question 3: Are the following statements consistent or inconsistent? Explain your answer and discuss how equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets. Answer: Yes, the statement equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets is consistent. An equilibrium relationship can be exists between cash and futures markets. In order to explain how equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets, we first need to take a look on the meaning of future and cash markets and understand how they functions in the commodity market, then we proceed with the basic relationship that arises between both markets. Lastly, we will explain how arbitrage and the law of supply and demand lead the future price to the equilibrium level. The futures market is a place where participants can trade for future contract. A future contract is a contract that involves two parties to buy or sell a specified asset on a specified future date at a price agreed today. While the cash market is a market in which the buyer makes an immediate payment for physical commodities that equal to the current market price, which also called the spot price. The purchaser of a future contract which represent as a long position holder undertakes to receive the delivery of the commodity on future and want to pay it for a low price as possible, while the seller of a futures contract which represent as a short position holder promises to deliver the commodity on future and want to receive a high payment as possible. Long Position Short Position Hedger Secure a current price to protect against future rising Secure a current price to protect against future declining price Speculator Secure a current price in anticipation of rising prices Secure a current price in anticipation of declining prices As above mentioned, the traders in the future market basically classified into two categories: hedgers and speculators. Hedgers can be farmers, dealer, foresters and oil drillers. They have the preexistence risk that connected with a commodity and they enter the market to reduce that risk. Thus, intended to protect against the price risks, they on purpose trade in the futures market to secure the future price of a commodity and sell it later in the cash market. Unlike hedger, speculators aim to profit from the vary price change that hedgers are protecting themselves against. They do not intend to minimize the risk but rather to get benefits from the intrinsically risky nature of the commodity market. For example, we assume a farmer bears the risk at the planting time associated with the uncertain harvest price his wheat will worth on the later 6 months. To avoid this risk he may enter the future market and sell a future contract. For instance, if the current market price for wheat is $10 per ton and he expected to produce 1000 tons of wheat in the next six months, he could lock the price at $10 per ton and selling a 1000 tons wheat future contract. In this manner, the farmer intends to establish a price today that will be harvested in the futures. At the end of the 6 months, the price of wheat in the cash market is actually $9 per ton, so the farmer benefit from the future contact and escapes the lower price. However, if the prices of wheat in cash market were $11 per ton, then the speculator would benefit from the future contact instead of the farmer. Since the future prices are fluctuate based on unpredictable circumstance, the gap between future price and spot price might be huge, hence, people calling the basis as referring to the difference between the cash price and future price of a contract. When a future contract near to its maturity date, the future price and spot price will move close to each other and finally become the same at expiration. Which means the basis must be zero at the maturity of the future contract. From Fig 4.3, we can see that as the delivery month of a future contract is neared, the futures price centralize to the spot price of the asset, and at the delivery period, future price equals to the spot price. So, as time passes, the basis narrows approach maturity of the contract. This behavior of the basis over time is known as convergence, this can be easily explained by arbitrage and the law of supply and demand. For example, suppose that future price is much higher than the spot price as time goes near to the contracts month of delivery. In this condition, traders will catch the arbitrage opportunity of shorting futures contracts, buying more underlying asset and then making delivery. Due to this, the future price will tend to fall, and suppose that future price is much lower than the spot price. Again, there will be arbitrage opportunity, traders are more willing to acquire short contract and cause more long future contract in the market. Thus, the futures price will tend to arise. In this manner, whether the future price is lower or higher to the spot price, at the expiration, both will be equal. In terms of supply and demand, the effect of arbitrage attracts traders to shorting futures contract and creates an increase the supply of contracts to market so makes the future price fall. Inversely, buying the underlying asset causes the demand of assets increase; as a result the future spot price will increase as well. In conclusion, we know that no matter how the future price is difference to the cash price, at the maturity, the basic must be zero, which means that the future price and cash price are equal. Therefore, we can say equilibrium is achieved between the futures and cash markets. Question 5: If banking were to be based on interest-free transactions, how would it work in practice? Do we really need Islamic banks? Is Islamic banking viable? How does Islamic banking fare and conventional banking differ? How many Islamic banks are working at present and where? The Interest-free transactions of Banks Practice Islamic banks are the financial institutions that operate base on Shariah principles. Islamic scholars commend trade-oriented banking in place of traditional interest-bearing credit oriented banking. The major vehicle of interest-free banking is a two-tier mudarabah, which is a business contract negotiated on the basis of profit-sharing ratios between two profits-seeking parties, A and B. Parties A provide funds to party B, party B independently manages the business according to the agreed terms. From the banking point of view, it is an advance agreement on a ratio in which realized business profits are to be shared. The basis of two-tier mudarabah is one mudarabah between the surplus economic units (depositors) and financial institution in order to replace interest-bearing contracts between savers and banks; and another mudarabah between the financial institutions and the deficit economic units in order to replace interest-bearing contracts between banks and ultimate users of funds. So, banks can negotiate deposits and advances on the basis of profit-sharing ratios. In effect, interest-bearing loans are replaced by profit-seeking investments and qard hasanah (loans on zero interest). Interest-free financial institution can efficiently perform all types of intermediation after eliminating interest from the system and the replacement of interest rates by profit-sharing ratios has profound macroeconomic consequences for unemployment, inflation, stability, growth, and income distribution. The Needs of Islamic Banks With Conventional Bank Many Islamic banks use the facilities of conventional banks for treasury management, foreign exchange, portfolio services and investment banking. Major multinational conventional banks have the critical mass to provide specialist service while Islamic banks are usually too small in size to take on such services themselves. Outsourcing makes sense for organizations when the benefits of internalization are outweighed by the administrative costs of trying to extend their functions into new areas where demand is limited. As most Islamic banks are located in the Muslim world, where most of the demand is for core banking services rather than for highly specialized finance, it is a potential management distraction to widen the facilities on offer excessively. This could actually result in deterioration in the quality of the basic level of deposit and funding services. Islamic Bank is Viable Islamic banking and finance are emerging as viable alternatives to conventional interest-based banking and financing. The long run goal of BNM is to construct an Islamic banking system operates same as the conventional banking system. However, an Islamic banking system requires three important elements to qualify as a viable system, such as a large number of players, various types of instruments and money market in Islamic world. In addition, the socio-economic values in Islam must be reflected in an Islamic banking system. BNM spreads the virtues of Islamic banking to distribute Islamic banking on countrywide with a lot of players and able to reach all Malaysians by achieving the above objective. Islamic financial products and services are being in their existing infrastructure and branches. It was seen as the most successful way to increase the number of financial institutions offering Islamic banking services efficiently. On 4 March 1993, BNM introduced an idea is known as Interest-free Banking Scheme (Skim Perbankan Tanpa Faedah). There are many Islamic banking services that provided by the banks using a range of Islamic concepts such as Mudarabah, Musyarakah, Murabahah, Ijarah and others. Mudarabah (Profit-sharing) A capital provider and another party to allow the entrepreneur to carry out business projects based on a profit sharing ratio under an agreement. However, the capital provider of the funds needs to bear all losses. Musyarakah (Joint Venture) The sharing of profits will be distributed base on predetermined ratio for a partnership or joint venture of a particular business. Both parties will bear the losses base on equity participation. Murabahah (Cost Plus) Sales agreement is applicable on the condition that the sale of goods at a price, other costs and the profit margin are agreed to by both parties. Ijarah (Leasing) A lesser (owner) leases property to a lessee at an agreed rental against a fixed charge. Islamic Banking versus Conventional Banking The difference between Islamic Banking and Conventional Banking which is conventional banking eliminates the risk while Islamic banks take the risk when involve in any transaction. In addition, conventional banks do not bear the liability only get the benefit from customers when involve in transaction with customers in form of interest. On the other hand, Islamic banks bear all the liability in transaction with consumer because in getting out any benefit without taking its liability is illegal in Islamic principles. In retail deposit services include the provision of current accounts and low-risk investment accounts base on mudarabah with clients sharing in any bank profits. Conventional banks provide similar deposit services at retail level and allow overdrafts on current accounts, which often incur both fixed-rate charges and interest. Islamic banks cannot offer overdraft facilities on current accounts. However, depositors who get temporary financial difficulties due to events beyond their control such as illness may receive interest-free loans. Conventional banks offer savings rather than investment accounts, the major attraction of such accounts being the interest paid to depositors. This often increases as the minimum notice period for withdrawals lengthens, with accounts which for example require three months notice for withdrawals paying more interest than those requiring one months notice. Some Islamic banks apply similar stepped returns with their investment accounts, with a higher prop ortionate profit share as the period of notice for withdrawals increases. Moreover, conventional bank concern on money as a medium of exchange, valuable and interest on capital is charging on time value basis. Islamic banks focus on the real asset but money is just a medium of exchange goods services for earning profit. In conventional banks, Government gets the loans easily from BNM through Money Market without any capital development expenses. In Islamic banks, Government cannot obtain loans without capital development expenditure. Lastly, debts financing in conventional banks has the benefit of leverage for a project because interest expense is deductible expense form taxable profits. This leads to maximize the tax burden over salaried persons. So, the saving and disposable income is affected badly and decrease in the real GDP. In Islamic banks, Mudarabah and Musharakah provide extra tax to Federal Government and minimize the tax burden over salaried persons. Hence, the savings and disposable income is rise and increase in the real GDP. List of Other Financial Institutions Offer Islamic Financial Products and Services According to the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions, there are currently 275 institutions worldwide that follow Islamic banking and financing principles, collectively managing in excess of $200 billion. These institutions are spread throughout 53 countries, including Europe and the United States. Twenty institutions now offer a variety of Islamic financial services in the United States. The Islamic banks are not the only banking institutions drawn in Islamic banking but Islamic banking services were introduced by other financial institutions via the Islamic Banking Scheme. In Malaysia, there are separate Islamic legislation and banking regulations in financial systems. The Islamic Banking Act (IBA) was established to provide BNM with the authorizations of supervising and regulating the Islamic banks. On 1 July 1983, Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) was the first Islamic bank established and was operated base on Shariah principles. After few years, BIMB expanded rapidly and was being listed on the Main Board of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). After that, BNM allowed the existing financial institutions to offer Islamic banking services through Skim Perbankan Tanpa Faedah. The Islamic Interbank Money Market (IIMM) was established to link the financial institutions and their instruments. The National Shariah Advisory Council on Islamic Banking and Takaful (NSAC) was established as the highest Shariah authority on takaful in Malaysia. On 1 October 1999, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad (BMMB) was established. The establishment of BMMB was the result of the joining between Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Berhad (BBMB) and Bank of Commerce Berhad (BOCB). Islamic Banks 1. Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) 2. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad (BMMB) Commercial Banks 1. Alliance Bank Berhad 8. Malayan Banking Berhad 2. AFFIN Bank Berhad 9. AmBank Berhad 3. OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad 10. Public Bank Berhad 4. Citibank Berhad 11. RHB Bank Berhad 5. EON Bank B