Business - The Nature of Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business - The Nature of Leadership - Essay Example The workplace should be meaningful that provides opportunities for all stakesholders. This meant power is distributed equitably in the business organization where the costs and benefits of doing business are shared by all. Ultimately, the vision of Christian based business should provide growth and development not only among those who are in the organization but also on the society at large. Chapter two deals with the formulation of an employment strategy that reflects Christian values that will overcome any form of injustice and discrimination. This differs from the traditional perspective of work in a way that a business run through faith views â€Å"work is a healing process† that seeks to reconcile and overcome past injustices. It affirms the diversity in the workplace and thrives on it as it looks at differences as assets rather than a liability. Part three talks about Christian leadership which is unique among different leadership styles because it focuses on servant lea dership. The overall plan or strategic plan of a business is being implemented through the use of servant leadership which inspires employees to focus on the bigger purpose of the organization. Ethics and moral leadership comes naturally which is lacking in today’s business leadership and desists from using manipulation to motivate employees and emphasizes true stewardship of a business. A management that is Christian centered is one that listens and truthful and values cultivation of communication as an essential element towards business success. While being truthful, Christian centered management is neither brash or harsh nor judgmental in conveying truths. Finally, â€Å"Business through the Eyes of Faith† translates the broader meaning of its principles into ethical practice on how it deals with its external stakeholders. It exegetes "business, as an institution, provides the opportunity to participate with God in the creation and distribution of God’s wealt h in God’s world " (pg. 195). It enforces it social contract theory to reconcile the business dilemma of making profits and calls on to exercise â€Å"its stewardship responsibility to God by managing businesses in ways that serve the needs of their communities† (pg. 208). It distinguishes what it produce by having the right criteria between wants and needs and treats the marketplace with honesty and competition where competition is viewed as a healthy competition rather than a guerilla warfare that abandons ethical propriety. Ultimately, business that is run through the eyes intends to make the world better by having a business that is less rapacious and more concerned and conscientious not only within its organization but also towards the society at large. Mere Christian Summary Clive Staples Lewis Book I. We as humans are created by some being who also dictates, through our conscience, how we  ought  to behave.   All of us are subjected of a Law of Nature whic h is present within us in a form of a conscience that provides us a common sense of what is right and what is wrong. Many of us fails to follow it because of our inordinate instinct but this Law can provide us a better instinct that will defeat our baser instincts which are often justified with our excuse of circuitous reasoning. The world is created with two opposing theories. The church posits that this Law is given to us by God through our consc

Drug Abuse Essay Example for Free

Drug Abuse Essay DRUG ADDICTION Drug addiction is a problem that has been increasing immensely among our society today. Drug addictions can only hinder or restrain us from accomplishing goals or dreams in life. People sometimes feel they are too bright, too powerful, too much in control to become addictive. Addiction can trap anyone. It can lead to harming ones body, causing problems in family structure, and contribute to the delinquency in society. The sooner people seek help for drug addiction problems, the more chances they have of gaining control of their life once again. However, abstinence is the safest way to  live a longer and healthier life. We are greatly influenced by the people around us. Today one of the number one reasons of teenage drug usage is peer pressure. Peer pressure represents social influences that affect us. It can have a positive or a negative effect, depending on what path one follows. There is direct and indirect pressure that might influence a person’s decision in using drugs. Direct pressure might be when a person is offered to try drugs. Indirect pressure might be when a person is around people using drugs and sees that there is nothing wrong with using drugs. Adolescents who use drugs seek out peers who also use and, in turn, are influenced by those peers (Berndt, 1992). A person might also try drugs just to fit in a social group, even if the person had no intentions of using drugs. Adolescents can try out different roles and observe the reactions of their friends to their behavior and their appearance (Berndt, 1992). One might do it just to be considered â€Å"cool† by the group. There are also other reasons why people might turn to using drugs. Emotional distress, such as personal or family problems, having low self-esteem, like loosing a close one, loosing a job, or having no friends, and environmental stress are all possible factors to causing one to use drugs.

Whats Plagiarism And Taking Someone Elses Work English Language Essay

Whats Plagiarism And Taking Someone Elses Work English Language Essay The word plagiarism comes from a Latin word for kidnapping. We know that kidnapping is stealing a person. Well, plagiarism is stealing a persons ideas or writing. Also, copying others efforts and imitation of the language and thoughts for someone else and show it as your own work. Plagiarism is also a form of cheating, but its a little complicated so might be done without understanding if there are mistakes. There is different thing people taking such as writing, conversation, song or ideas and present it as your own. This includes information from web pages, books, songs, television shows, email messages, interviews, articles or artworks. Whenever you paraphrase, summarize, or take words, phrases, or sentences from another persons work, it is necessary to indicate the source of the information within your paper using an internal citation. It is not enough to just list the source in a bibliography at the end of your paper. Failing to properly quote, cite or acknowledge someone elses words or ideas with an internal citation is plagiarism. plagiarism.gif kinds of plagiarism: Using another persons exact words without including quotation marks *and* citation. For example, If you use someone elses exact words, then you must cite the original source (either in a footnote or in a citation in the text), and you must enclose the words in quotation marks or else set them off from the rest of the text by indenting them from the other text. Using another persons words, but changing some of them, or rearranging them. This is plagiarism even if the source is cited. Summarizing or paraphrasing another persons words without citation. If you use what someone else has written, but you describe it or summarize it in your own words, then you dont need to enclose it in quotation marks, but you still must provide a citation to the original source, either in a footnote or directly in the text. la_plagiarism.gif Example of plagiarism: Plagiarized Version: In examining technology, we have to remember that computers are not the first technology people have had to deal with. The first technology was the primitive modes of communication used by prehistoric people before the development of spoken language. Correct Version: In examining technology, we have to remember that computers are not the first technology people have had to deal with. Frick (1991) believes that the first technology was the primitive modes of communication used by prehistoric people before the development of spoken language (p. 10). References: Frick, T. (1991). Restructuring education through technology. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. Explanation of plagiarized Version: This example of student written work is plagiarized. The student copied, word-for-word, text from the original source material. No credit was given to the author of the text and quotation marks were not used. Also, the student didnt provide a reference. Explanation of correct Version: Note in this example that the passage begins with the author and year of the publication. Quotation marks are used to indicate that this passage is a word-for-word citation from the original document. Why be concerned about plagiarism? If you plagiarize, you are cheating yourself: You dont learn to write out your thoughts in your own words, and you wont receive specific feedback from your instructor geared to your individual needs and skills. Plagiarism is dishonest and/or misleading: because it misrepresents the work of another as your own. Plagiarism violates the Code of Academic Conduct: and can lead to Suspension or Dismissal. Plagiarism devalues others original work. Using and submitting a professionals work as your own is taking an unfair advantage over students who do their own work. It is wrong to take or use property (an authors work) without giving the owner the credit due. Further, copyright violations can result in damages, fines, o worse. The reputation of UC Davis affects the value of your degree; student dishonesty hurts UCDs standing and can diminish the worth of your diploma. How can you avoid plagiarism? Know what plagiarism is: ignorance will not excuse a violation. Intentional plagiarism, such as elaborate copying or use of anothers work without credit, submitting a paper from the Internet as ones own, or altering or falsifying citations to hide sources is very serious, likely to result in Suspension. Unintentional plagiarism may result from not knowing how to cite sources properly, sloppy research and note-taking, or careless cutting and pasting from electronic resources it is still a violation of the Code of Academic Conduct and subject to discipline. Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism: * Use your own words and ideas. Practice is essential to learning. Each time you choose your words, order your thoughts, and convey your ideas, you can improve your writing. Give credit for copied, adapted, or paraphrased material. If you copy and use anothers exact words, you must use quotation marks and cite the source. If you adapt a chart or paraphrase a sentence, you must still cite your source. Paraphrasing is restating the authors ideas, information, and meaning in your own words. Avoid using others work with minor cosmetic changes. Examples: using less for fewer, reversing the order of a sentence, changing terms in a computer code, or altering a spreadsheet layout. If the work is essentially the same as your source, give credit. There are no freebies. Always cite words, information and ideas that you use if they are new to you (learned in your research). No matter where you find it even in on the Internet or in an encyclopedia you cite it! Beware of common knowledge. You may not have to cite common knowledge, but the fact must really be commonly known. When in doubt, cite. Better to be safe than not give credit when you should!plagiarism_full.jpg Recourse: http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/plag/whatisplag.php http://www.u.arizona.edu/~rlo/482/plagiarism.pdf https://www.indiana.edu/~istd/examples.html http://sja.ucdavis.edu/files/plagiarism.pdf

Me And Her :: essays research papers

We have been dating for 1 month and 8 days. Able to have her as a girlfriend is the greatest gift of all. Thinking back, I still can't figure out, what gave me the courage to ask her out, maybe it was my determine mind, which constantly reminds me that i want her. On the first day of our relationship, everything seemed normaly, too normal it made me think that we will never go beyond friends. That thought actually scared me a little, because it was like having something you have always wanted, but you can't hold on to it. We didn't get the chance to speak to each other the next day. I guess she found me too boring, or maybe she too, think that there's no way we are goign to go further than typical friends could. At that point, I did have the thought of letting her go, because I felt very unloved. On the same night I got to talk to Katherine, she was the girl i use to like. "Use to"?? Does that mean I dont' like her anymore? I don't know the answer to that question. At least I believe the answer is not important at that stage. Because what she said later on during our convesation, is what i considered to be most important. She said that she like me more than a friend. I was flattered, when i heard those words. I was happy and sad simultaneously. Happy because I have found someone that might love me. Sad because that person isn't my girlfriend. I did ask myself serveral times, why did those words came out of Katherine's mouth and not her's? But that question didn't stay in my head for long, because another question came up, and I believe this coming question is the most important one, and must be answered immediately. "Should I choose Katherine or my current girlfriend?" I was a confusing situation, even though half an hour ago I said that I was prepared to leave my girlfriend, I guess its true, that you won't know, how important someone or something is to you, until you are at the edge of losing them. A couple of days had gone by, I still haven't decided who i want. During this last couple of days, I didn't talk to Katherine, instead I talked to my girlfriend and told her the whole situation.

Police Authority and Accountability in Australia

INTRODUCTION Police officers in Australia, as well as worldwide, have been consistently accused of abusing their authority over the years. Police officers are known to protect and serve and to be the law enforcers of the land, but due to the reality that some human beings are concerned about self-satisfaction and lawlessness, police authority can often times be misconceived as abusive and aggressive.The powers of the police are consistently being scrutinized by the media, the community and even politicians, not to mention that police are, and not just in Australia but worldwide, held as one of the most accountable in society (Robertson, 1998). In order to essentially resolve these issues, the focus of the research should be related to police officers and specific issues such as use of force, police discretion, delegation of authority and the attempts that were made to control officers behaviours’ in Australia.WHAT IS POLICE AUTHORITY? Firstly, authority can be defined as gener ally and basically, Persons having power or powers that other people will not naturally be allowed to have. Bringing this definition toward linking it to police authority, this is where the police officer has legal power of enforcing laws, and at all times should be given the respect, because they are the gate keepers of society, our â€Å"guardian angels† who will be watching over us twenty four seven.For example, we are to respect our parents; they care for us and provide for us our basic needs, I believe that police officers are somewhat the same because they provide us the citizens with safety and when there is a problem we can run to them at many times. Although police authority maybe a good thing, there are also the pit falls with it, in that, there is the abuse of police authority.Some officers due to â€Å"bad apples† meaning some officers are dirty cops, because of greed and selfishness, also some officers believe that they are above the law, because they enfo rce the law, but I believe in the â€Å"eye for an eye† theory: if you do the crime, you should do the time; no one is above the law. WHAT IS POLICE ACCOUNTABLILITY? Firstly accountability is It is a fundamental principle of a democratic society that the police should be held to account for their actions. Accountability includes both what the police do and how they perform.What an officer does or how they do what they do is extremely critical in the world of policing. The entire concept of police accountability revolves around these two criteria, which according to how efficient they are executed, may make or break an officer’s policing career. Agency-level accountability involves the performance of law enforcement agencies with respect to controlling crime and disorder and providing services to the public (National Institute of Justice, 1999). Individual-level accountability involves the conduct of police officers with respect to lawful, respectful, and equal treatmen t of citizens. walker, 2007). I honestly believes that police accountability should be very vital within policing. Officers should be held accountable for their actions like any other individual. POLICE AUTHORITY IN AUSTRALIA In Australia the authority and powers of the police services are clearly defined and understood by officers, these powers are being tested by the courts and even the police themselves, the police know the limit of their authority and powers, but at sometimes politicians, legal professions and even the community are reluctant to greatly alter those powers.Hence the reason why officers may have to use force, law enforcement officers are authorized to use force in specific circumstances, officers in Australia are trained as any other police officer worldwide, but the matter of the issue is how much force to use, this is referred to as police discretion. Authority and abuse needs to be differentiated, because they are not at all supposed to be equal to the same thi ng. Generally, the way in which the police may maintain social order successfully is mainly in alignment with the use of force exercised by the police officers.Many people, citizens of Australia and even the world, here the term use of force being used consistently, whether it may be via the media or directly from a police officer, but what does the term really mean? Use of force is simply and basically the amount of force that is required of a police officer to ensure that an unwilling offender complies with the law enforcer (National Institue of Justice, 2012). Where it is unnecessary to use brute force, a police officer ought to refrain from so doing. An officer can use force in ifferent ways, either verbally or physically; also it may be less lethal or lethal (National Institue of Justice, 2012). Even as it remains that the police officer in Australia has the right to use force where necessary, how then do we determine when he should use which method of force, and how to deal wi th an offender on the whole? Police discretion is used often times when it comes to more of the minor offences, such as alcohol use and urination, but one major encounter in Australia in which police discretion ought to be used is in relation to people suffering from mental illness.Police discretion though, can be influenced by either personal relationships, or race or status, which ought not to be so, but realistically is it. There was one scenario in which a police officer encountered a cafe proprietor who had a traffic violation. The officer in this scenario, decided not to give the driver a traffic offence notice due to the relationship that had developed from before.Although many other officers agreed with the officer’s decision to exercise gratitude toward the violator, this is not a welcoming and promising prospect for the future of law enforcement on the whole. Police discretion can be altered and affected by many other factors surrounding an offender in society. An u nwilling and unruly suspect has a higher risk of being arrested than one who cooperates with the officer. Also, the police records of an offender may also influence the decision of the police.Even with relation to juvenile, police discretion can be altered but not by the juvenile themselves. The parents or Guardians of the juvenile may weigh in heavily on the decision and discretion of the police officer. In the case where the parent or guardian may be uninvolved or uncooperative, the officers may be led to take a different approach to the handling of this situation (Holmgren, 2012). POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY IN AUSTRALIA The face of the matter remains, and one which makes complete logical sense, is that whatever a police officer does, he/she need to account for it.Police in Australia, however, have been given a sense of discretion and freedom to fulfil their roles in society without too much interventions of any judicial or supreme official (Lewis, 2012). Police are not to be seen as i ndependent and totally able to do as they will by members of society, which is not at all the case. Police usually have to consult the judiciaries in the commission of enquiry pertaining to accountability for their actions or allegations, but what prompted this move by the Government?Police in Australia in the past; have been accused for many different things, such as police corruption, inefficiency and brutality. These falls of the police officers are not overlooked by the judiciary, and even though police are the protectors of society, they are very liable to punishment and sanctions for their wrong if it is not properly accounted for (Lewis, 2012). Police accountability has over years become viewed as more of a problematic issue than that of an encouraging one.One of the major ongoing disturbances in Australia’s society is the case where civil litigation is constantly overlooked as a form as accountability (Ransley, 2007)what exactly is civil litigation? Well, civil litiga tion is where someone is accused of doing wrong, but not necessarily a crime, and it is formally submitted to a court (Honeyman, 1999-2010) In fact and very evident to the world today, there have been many cases in Australia, in which persons have been involved in disputes with police officers for doing wrong yes, but not crimes.The reality that the purpose of civil litigation is to settle and attain some form of compensation for being wrongfully accused or dealt with, makes civil litigation a very critical aspect that should more than likely be incorporated in the field of Police accountability mainly because it is a form of correction, just that it is from the civilian stand-point (Ransley, 2007).If in fact, the intent of the more recent police reform is directed toward the strengthening and to some extent upgrading of the individual and organisational accountability, then that makes civil litigation a very fundamental, effective and also it should be, a mandatory component in the effective completion of this goal. Attempts to control the behaviour of police officers are not only affected by civil litigation, but also by the measures in which police officers are dealt with for misconduct.Without the emphasis on the errors of police officers, the police force may adapt to the conditions which could lead to the abuse of their powers and authority. The lack of consistent correction of officers often times may lead to the diminishing of confidence in the community in the police service (Perez, 2008). Internationally, this have become the evident scenario in the present society, as the trust and corporation between Police officers and communities is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, and this have been ighly influenced by the lack of legitimate duty and procedures by police officials. Officers have confrontations of a sort among their own organisations because of the corrections that they may face having the issue to argue that to balance the leniency of misco nduct and the harshness of crimes is difficult to manage (Perez, 2008). A common observation presently is that since authority is delegated rather than chosen gives police officials the opportunity to select the appropriate officers to do the reputation and compatibility with the relative scenarios at hand.CONCLUSION Whether it may be the favourable opinion to some, or the contradicting bias to others, Policing authority and accountability is one of the fundamental aspects of efficient law enforcement. In the case where any of the two may fail or fall short in any aspect, there will always be a conflict in the relationship between Law enforcement and community, and also it may serve as the catalyst for the diminishing status of the police force.From the use of force, to the correction of police officers by their own organisations, the main concept is to ensure that the standard and reputation of the Australian law enforcement department. There have been a lot of complaints geared to wards or targeted at the police officers, but in fact as much as the reality is that they do make some really uncharacteristic errors, they do uphold the law relatively efficiently.This is just another reinforcing point that the society at large tends to make judgements, especially toward individuals and systems within the law enforcement sector based on their benefit and fair treatment. Whether or not the case would have been that police officers in Australia abuse their powers or not, the comparison of the rate in which civil litigation is turned away and how vast the difference is between the corrections that the police officers correct citizens to how intense and consistent the punishment and corrections of officers themselves are, would have still caused some sort of rift within the system.Nothing, it seems can truly be completely satisfying and totally effective, and especially in a world where crime and deviance, because of the continuous introduction of laws and stereotypes via media interventions and other sources, the balance between being lenient and modest in terms of acts of misconduct, and being harsh and enforcing in situations that are more serious, or crimes, is very difficult to assess. The fact remains that o matter where the police system is today, in Australia, and even worldwide, the law enforcement sector cannot afford to cease from continuously modifying and developing their efforts and adaptations to the criminal advancements in society. REFERENCES Holmgren, L. (2012, April 12). Factors that affect Police officers' discretion. Retrieved April 5, 2012, from ehow: http://www. ehow. com/list_5960237_factors-affect-police-officers_-discretion. tml Honeyman, C. (1999-2010). Civil litigation. Colorado, united States of America. Lewis, C. (2012, may 5). Police, civilian and democratic accountability. Monash, Australia. National Institue of Justice. (2012, January 20). police use of force. D. C. , Washington, United States of America. Perez, M . R. (2008, august). Police discipline and community policing: New models. Los angeles, USA. Ransley, J. A. (2007).Civil Litigation against Police in Australia:Exploring its extent, Nature and implications for accountability. Australian and New Zeland Journal of Criminology(Australian Academic Press) , 143-160. Robertson, D. (1998). Public and Private policing: Issues and options for collaboration within Australia. sydney: n/a. walker, s. (2007, may N. D). police accountability: current issues and research needs. POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY , p. 4.

Free Essays on Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility - What does it mean? One of the most frequently asked questions - and probably for all those individuals and organisations dealing with CSR issues is the obvious - just what does "Corporate Social Responsibility" mean anyway? Is it a stalking horse for an anti-corporate agenda? Something which, like original sin, you can never escape? Or what? Different organisations have framed different definitions - although there is considerable common ground between them. My own definition is that CSR is about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society. Take the following illustration: Companies need to answer to two aspects of their operations. 1. The quality of their management - both in terms of people and processes (the inner circle). 2. The nature of, and quantity of their impact on society in the various areas. Outside stakeholders are taking an increasing interest in the activity of the company. Most look to the outer circle - what the company has actually done, good or bad, in terms of its products and services, in terms of its impact on the environment and on local communities, or in how it treats and develops its workforce. Out of the various stakeholders, it is financial analysts who are predominantly focused - as well as past financial performance - on quality of management as an indicator of likely future performance. Other definitions The World Business Council for Sustainable Development in its publication "Making Good Business Sense" by Lord Holme and Richard Watts, used the following definition. "Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large" The same report gave some evidence of the different perceptions of what this should mean fr... Free Essays on Corporate Social Responsibility Free Essays on Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility - What does it mean? One of the most frequently asked questions - and probably for all those individuals and organisations dealing with CSR issues is the obvious - just what does "Corporate Social Responsibility" mean anyway? Is it a stalking horse for an anti-corporate agenda? Something which, like original sin, you can never escape? Or what? Different organisations have framed different definitions - although there is considerable common ground between them. My own definition is that CSR is about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society. Take the following illustration: Companies need to answer to two aspects of their operations. 1. The quality of their management - both in terms of people and processes (the inner circle). 2. The nature of, and quantity of their impact on society in the various areas. Outside stakeholders are taking an increasing interest in the activity of the company. Most look to the outer circle - what the company has actually done, good or bad, in terms of its products and services, in terms of its impact on the environment and on local communities, or in how it treats and develops its workforce. Out of the various stakeholders, it is financial analysts who are predominantly focused - as well as past financial performance - on quality of management as an indicator of likely future performance. Other definitions The World Business Council for Sustainable Development in its publication "Making Good Business Sense" by Lord Holme and Richard Watts, used the following definition. "Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large" The same report gave some evidence of the different perceptions of what this should mean fr...

Environmental Resources Worksheet Essay Example

Environmental Resources Worksheet Essay Example Environmental Resources Worksheet Paper Environmental Resources Worksheet Paper How do minerals affect society? Minerals have aided in the continuous growth of developing nations and also, had abundant mineral deposits that enabled them to industrialized (Berg, 2013). However, as a consequence of industrialization, these countries largely depleted their domestic reserves Of minerals so that they must increasingly turn to developing countries (Berg, 2013). Also, minerals affect the global economy. For example, China controls more than 90 percent of the global supply of rare earth metals, has also reduced its exports to other countries, in a move that could affect market prices (Berg, 2013). 2. What is the difference between metallic and nonmetallic minerals? Provide two examples from each category and discuss their uses. Minerals are divided into two categories: metals and nonmetallic minerals. Metals are malleable, lustrous, and good conductors of heat and electricity, while nonmetallic teals lack these characteristics (Berg, 201 3) . Gold is a metal used for currency and iron is a metal used for steel buildings. Gypsum is a nonmetal that is used for drywall. Silicon is another nonmetal that is used for electronic devices. Mining 1. How are minerals extracted from the Earth and processed? There are two ways to extract minerals from the Earth, either surface mining or subsurface mining. Surface mining is done when minerals are closer to the surface. Subsurface mining is used when the minerals are too deep to be removed by surface mining. Smelting is the process in which ore is melted at high enraptures to separate impurities from the molten metal (Berg 2013). . What are the different ways minerals can be mined? Provide a brief description of at least three types of mining. What effect does extracting minerals have on the environment? Other than land damage, extracting minerals causes air pollution of the air, soil, and water. Also, it destroys vegetation and causes soil erosion. Possibly most importantly it affects the water supply. Mineral extraction exposes large areas of dissolved toxic substances to precipitation, greatly accelerating polluted runoff (Berg, 2013). Soil . What is your definition of soil? What is soil composed of? Why is soil important to the environment? Soil is the uppermost layer of the Earth and supports life on earth. Soil is composed of four parts: mineral particles, organic matter, water, and air. Soil is very important to the environment because various organisms depend on soil for life and supports virtually all terrestrial food webs (Berg, 2013). 4. What types of organisms are found in soil? Determine the relationship between soil and organisms. Ants, moles, snakes, and earthworms are just a small number of the many organisms that re found in soil. Essentially, organisms and soil depend on each other to remain balanced. Organisms that live in soil provide ecosystem services, such as maintaining soil fertility, preventing soil erosion, breaking down toxic materials, and cleansing water (Verge 2013). 5. What is soil erosion? How can soil become polluted? What effect does soil erosion and pollution have on the environ meet? Soil erosion is the wearing away or removal of soil from the land (Berg, 2013). Being that soil erosion reduces the amount of soil in an area, vegetation growth can become very limited. As result, it disrupts the balance of the ecosystem by eliminating food sources. 6. What is the purpose of soil reclamation? Soil reclamation can be executed by (1) stabilizing the land to prevent further erosion and (2) restoring the soil to its former fertility. To stabilize the land, the bare ground is seeded with plants that eventually grow to cover the soil, holding it in place (Berg 2013). Once the soil is returned back to its original state, the land can be used again. Forestry and Rangeland Resources and Management Strategies 7. Differentiate between government-owned and public lands. Which overspent agencies are involved with government-owned lands? What is the purpose of government-owned lands? Government owned lands provide vital ecosystem services that benefit humans living far from public forests, grasslands, deserts, and wetlands (Berg, 2013). These places include national parks and provide protection for endangered species and flood and erosion control. Public land is available for recreational purposes such as hiking, swimming and boating. 8. Why is the forest an important ecosystem? What is your definition of forest management? What is its purpose? Describe the concept of sustainable forestry. The forest is an important ecosystem because it provides many goods and services to support human society (Berg, 2013). They also provide employment for millions of people worldwide. Forest management is the managing of timber production. The purpose of forest management is to produce as much timber as possible. 9. What effect does the harvesting of trees and deforestation have on forests and the environment? Is there a preferred method for harvesting trees? Explain. Both the harvesting of trees and deforestation result in decreased soil fertility (Berg 2013). The vital minerals that are added by soil are washed away because there are no trees to absorb them. Also, this takes away food sources and shelter for various organisms. This disrupts the delicate balance of ecosystems. Selective cutting, is when a small group of mature tress are individually cut or in small clusters. This means that the rest of the forest is left undisturbed. However, this method is expensive and does not generate timber needed quickly enough. 10. What is a rangeland? Describe rangeland degradation and desertification. What effect does degradation and desertification have on the environment? Is there a referred method for harvesting trees? Explain. Rangelands are grasslands, in both temperate and tropical climates, that serve as important areas of food production for humans by providing fodder for livestock such as cattle, sheep, and goats (Berg, 2013). Degradation is both a natural and a human-induced process that decreases the future ability of the land to support crops or livestock (Berg, 2013). Desertification is progressive degradation that produces desert-like conditions on land that was used previously and was plentiful. 11. What is overgrazing? What effect does this have on rangelands? What strategies can be employed for managing and conserving forests and rangelands? Overgrazing is a situation that occurs when too many grazing animals consume the plants in a particular area, leaving the vegetation destroyed and unable to recover (Berg, 2013). When rangelands are overgrazed, plants die, the ground is left barren, and the exposed soil is susceptible to erosion (Berg 2013). The rangelands have to be taken care of by practicing techniques that are environmentally friendly. Agriculture 12. What is the difference between industrialized and subsistence agriculture? What effect do these methods have on the environment? Industrialized agriculture are modern agricultural methods that require large capital inputs and less land and labor than traditional methods (Berg 2013). Subsistence agriculture supports on the farmer and their family with little reserves. Industrialized agriculture causes pollution and lowers an ecosystems biodiversity. Subsistence agriculture relies on more human and animal labor and has a much smaller impact on the environment. 13. What is one agricultural challenge, other than soil erosion, that society faces? Explain your answer. One agricultural challenge that society faces is the lost of agricultural land. Countries are starting to expand and grow rapidly. With so much space being needed for expansion, this takes land that could have been used for agricultural purposes. The loss of rural land means that food will have to travel longer and use more resources to do so. 14. How would you describe sustainable agriculture? How does it affect the environment? In regards to agriculture, what are the advantages and disadvantages involved with genetic engineering? I would describe sustainable agriculture as agriculture that is better for the environment and leaves less of a footprint on the Earth. It also promotes high diversity. It has minimal long term impacts on the environment by using less pesticides and using biological diversity instead (predator-prey relationship). The advantage of genetic engineering is that any organism can be used and it takes less time to engineer another breed. The disadvantage is that there is yet to be seen what long term effects genetic engineering has on the environment or on humans.

The Human Cloning Nightmare essays

The Human Cloning Nightmare essays If it took 227 tries before the scientists that created Dolly got a healthy, viable lamb, how many tries will it take for a human? And how many deaths and lethal birth defects would it take (www. cs.virginia.edu/ethic 1) Cloning has always been a dream in sci-fi novels and movies and suddenly it is becoming a reality. A horrible reality. The government of the U.S. has banned testing for the cloning of a human. But how can we be so sure that isnt already going on? Although cell cloning may be helpful for medicine may be helpful for medicine in finding diseases and organ donation, I believe human cloning is unethical and should never be done. Human cloning is against many religious beliefs and the results are unpredictable. Cell cloning on the other hand may prove to be beneficial. The majority of religions protest the continual advances in the push for human cloning. Religious arguments are based largely on the traditions and scriptures unique to each faith ( www.cs.virginia.edu/ethic 1) For example, the Roman Catholics believe that every act of human cloning is of evil nature. They believe that cloning violates the rights and dignities of humans, and destroys the divine image of man created under God. In general, most people of the Catholic and other Christian faiths believe that each person holds a human soul, different from one and other. According to these beliefs it is impossible for the soul of a person to be cloned along with the physical being. Similarly, the people of the Jewish religion believe with human cloning comes deception within the family structure. In Jewish tradition, inheritance is passed down through the family lines and cloning would disrupt such practices. This is in accordance to the Jewish viewpoint on mans destiny and inheritance. Inheritance would change from physical characteristics present in the parents and showing in offspring, to...

Project Management 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Project Management 4 - Essay Example The seventh element involves determining those people who will be used to deliver the message to the intended audience. The eighth element focuses at computation of funds that might be needed to ensure that there is proper implementation of the project plan. The final element involves evaluation of the communication plan to see if the goals and objectives have been realized (United Nations, 2007). The major audience to be involved in the communication plan includes evaluators who may help to assess the effectiveness of communication plan. Some of the information shared with this audience are message to be channeled, communication channels to be used and as amount of financial required to channel the message. The mechanism to be used in pussing urgent information includes online channels. For example emails’ and phone calls while less urgent and useful information may be passed via letters (Mobley, 2005). In addition, the information between employees and organization will be shared on daily basis to ensure smooth learning of the organization. In case the communication turns not to be ineffective the message may be adjusted. In addition, a different channel may be utilized. Some of the technologies that may be used include utilization of organization website, smart phones to mention just but a few. Finally, communication becomes an ethical/legal issue at a point where s ecurity and privacy of the information passed must be observed (Taylor & Dow,

Tesco Plc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Tesco Plc - Essay Example Through the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), companies have been forced top look beyond the economic returns of the business but also consider their impact on the environment and community around them. The importance of value creation through positive stakeholder relationships has an impact of significantly increasing the profitability of a firm (Edwards 1998). The increase in environmental legislation and the emerging trends of ethical consumers, the incorporation of social responsibility in the business strategy is more of a necessity in the competitive market. This report seeks to analyze the annual report of Tesco Plc for the year 2011 to investigate the way it accounts for its social, ethical and environmental impact. The report further compares the performance of the company with other companies in terms of environmental policies. Another aspect that is considered in this report is the nature of reporting that the company uses and recommendations for future str ategies to improve on the presentation of the company’s stakeholder’s strategy. 2. Business Review of Tesco Plc in 2011 Tesco is the most dominant retailer in the United Kingdom with a market share of about thirty percent. The company has a presence in several countries. It reported revenues in excess sixty billion in the financial year 2010/2011. The core purpose of Tesco Plc is to accord quality service to customers. The company’s goals are aligned to this vision that is clearly aimed at giving the company a competitive advantage in its market. The company has underpinned its commitment to the community and the environment by having a goal to put its responsibilities to the communities that they serve. To achieve this goal, the company has broken down its policy on environment and social issues into five key performance indicators that it uses to analyze the impact of its strategies. The key performance indicators on the social and environment issues for Tesco Plc for the period ending 2011 are analyzed below. 2.1 Responsibility in Buying and Selling of Products The customers require safe and affordable products. The company also lays emphasis on ensuring that the products that it sells are sourced in a way that is robust and meeting the required standards. Tesco has laid out strategies to help improve its relations with the suppliers through a program called â€Å"Trading Fairly†. However, the impact of this program cannot be quantified because the metrics of measuring the results are not available. In fact, it can be argued that these programs are publicity stunts since the same buying processes were used prior to the introduction of this program are still in place. A case in point is the widely documented practice by Tesco Plc to buy potatoes from the grey market instead of the official supply chain through Tyrells Crisps. The other issue of fair trade has been recently brought to the fore due to the price undercutting by super markets on bananas. The price wars between Tesco and Asda almost brought down the banana industry. The supermarkets opted to lower their margins and in turn reduced the amount they pay to their suppliers. According to Michaels (2004), the demand for cheaper products by supermarkets has become a ruthless way by the supermarkets to exploit the supplier. The net effect of lower supplier prices is that the workers in the farms are paid much less and this impacts negatively on the society. Sainsbury was the first supermarket to announce that it will sell one hundred percent fair trade bananas. Other supermarkets have followed suit but it is worth noting that Tesco was reluctant to commit to this cause. The increased money paid to the suppliers will have a positive impact on the community where the products are sourced from. The style of disclosure of the responsible sourcing and buying of products the Tesco

Can stem cell research promise any improvement in autoimmune diseases Paper

Can stem cell promise any improvement in autoimmune diseases - Research Paper Example Stem cell research promises improvement in autoimmune diseases. The immune system is the body’s main line of defense against invasion by infectious organisms. The body has many cellular components, and the immune system must be able to differentiate components of invading organisms and of its self to conduct its protection functions effectively. Through this, it only attacks the invading components and not its own components. The immune system may fail to recognize and eliminate invading components on time, and this result in infections. However, autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis,  occur when the immune system fails to distinguish its own cells or components and attacks them by mistake (Ra, Kang, Shin, Park, Joo, Kim, Kang, Lee, Nakama, Piao, Soh, and Kurtz, 2011). Stem cell research helps explain why the bodys immune system, for some reason, turns against itself. Stem cells helps heal damaged tissues. Researchers have established the use of Haematopoetic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) in the management of malignant and non-malignant diseases (Holbro, Abinun, and Daikeler, 2012). Currently, research indicates that stem cell therapy induces intense healing action in animals with different forms of autoimmune disorders. Stem cells have the unique ability to adjust the immune system to avert pathological responses while at the same time maintain its ability to repel disease (Hugle and Daikeler, 2010). Stem cells and particularly, mesenchymal stem cells, produce anti-inflammatory agents in inflamed tissues. They do not suppress the immune response of the patient’s whole body like immune suppressive agents such as methothrexate and steroids, which present lasting unfavorable effects, and need for lifetime treatment. Instead, the stem cell mediators act locally. Alan Tyndall confirms that more than 1500 patients have received HSCT as

Using Economic Theories to Analysis Apple Inc Essay

Using Economic Theories to Analysis Apple Inc - Essay Example The behavioural process of consumers, suppliers and other business stakeholders of a firm can be thoroughly assessed with the help of appropriate economic theories (Heracleous, 2013). This report aims to interpret commercial success and failure of the famous multinational company of Apple Inc. For making the analysis, the researcher will use theories of economics such as, that of demand and supply, consumer behaviour, absolute advantage, rational choice and market structure (Hutt and Speh, 2013). It is highly rational to conduct this type of a research because the researcher will finally provide specific recommendations based on the analysis, that will help the company rectify few of the business problems. Apple Inc. is a publicly traded company founded in 1976, situated in California. The company engages in providing computer hardware and software products. Popular products of the company comprise iMac, iPhone, iPad, iOperating system and iTunes. At present, the company headquarters is located at Cupertino, California in the United States. The company conducts operations in almost all world economies. The organization was founded by three proficient business leaders, namely Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Woznaik (Apple Inc., 2012). It was estimated that in 2010, the organization owned over 425 retail stores across different marketplaces. The company provides services through both online and offline selling means. In 2012, the net income of Apple Inc. was estimated as US $ 41.733 billion, but in 2013, it was astonishing to note that income of the company had declined to US $ 37.037 billion (Hutt and Speh, 2013). However, the organization experiences huge scale and scope of trade a nd recruits over 80000 skilled workforce around the world. Though the net income or profit is falling, yet the company appears to experience increasing revenue. The revenue of Apple Inc. in 2012 was US$ 156.508 billion, which had increased to US $ 179.91 billion in 2013 (Apple

Do you need decoration to create a pleasing environment PowerPoint Presentation

Do you need decoration to create a pleasing environment - PowerPoint Presentation Example The modern movement was largely against the use of heavy decorations in architecture and regarded it as unnecessary and a â€Å"waste of labor† by many. However, this is in fact not true. There are numerous historical evidences which point to the contrary, i.e. decoration or the use of decorative elements in architecture has more to offer than an eye pleasing environment. As opposed to the use of structural elements such as stones, trees and ponds, decorative elements or artifacts lend a human touch to a natural scene, where most of them are known to have functional use. For instance lanterns which were extensively used as decorative elements could be used to light pathways in gardens and the water basins used in gardens could alternatively be used for purification prior to a tea ceremony and artifacts such as the Buddhist statues and miniature pagodas carried sacred inscriptions. The new Brazilian architecture (Figure 3) for example, is known for the use of such decorative elements as the glazed tiles and granite blocks of colonial art. However, besides acting as decoration, the extensive use of such materials as, tiles and granite has proved to be an excellent alternative for protection of the exterior of the buildings against rain and sun, where no other material could withhold it, especially in buildings near the sea. Where modernist architects considered the post modernist architecture as â€Å"vulgar† and dominated by heavy decorations, the post modernist architects on the other hand regarded the modernist architecture as mundane and lacking in taste The Piazza of the Campidoglio in Rome is known for its perfect synchronization on an inlaid pavement. The artistic creation and patterns used helps in creating a stunning contrast between the buildings. Although the architecture, might be regarded as lacking in structural relevance it does

Marketing and Business plan Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing and Business plan - Coursework Example Services will be delivered to customers from the central office and at customers’ preferred location. Staff that will be hired will be trained to meet customers courteously and only those personals will be added to the team who are qualified and licensed architects. The Angles will focus on creating convenience and value for the customers. The advertising strategies will focus on print media as a medium to create awareness and promote offers and discounts to the target market. The target market will comprise of people belonging to the income levels of  £ 25,000 per annum. As understood by the management that architectural service is a onetime expense, The Angles will provide its customers with services at premium prices keeping in view the potential of target market. The Angles will be operate by the owner, Alex Ferguson, who is a qualified architect from Leeds and have experience of running businesses. He also has an experience of working in an architectural firm. The management of The Angles will minimize the operating costs by hiring employees according to the need of time. In this section, a comprehensive analysis of competitors in the architecture industry of UK, threat of new entrants, threat from buyers, threat from suppliers and threat of substitute products are presented (Hill and Jones 2009). The Angles would consider two architectural businesses in London as its major competitors. First one is the Designs, located in Central London. This architectural business offers one of the best services to its customer base dispersed all over UK and provides both online and personal visit facility to its customer base. The second major competitor of The Angles is Art Horizon which provides architecture services and consultation. The Art Horizon is specialized in providing architectural solutions to its customers keeping in view the demands of the modern times and the customers are provided with visual projection of their

Using Economic Theories to Analysis Apple Inc Essay

Using Economic Theories to Analysis Apple Inc - Essay Example The behavioural process of consumers, suppliers and other business stakeholders of a firm can be thoroughly assessed with the help of appropriate economic theories (Heracleous, 2013). This report aims to interpret commercial success and failure of the famous multinational company of Apple Inc. For making the analysis, the researcher will use theories of economics such as, that of demand and supply, consumer behaviour, absolute advantage, rational choice and market structure (Hutt and Speh, 2013). It is highly rational to conduct this type of a research because the researcher will finally provide specific recommendations based on the analysis, that will help the company rectify few of the business problems. Apple Inc. is a publicly traded company founded in 1976, situated in California. The company engages in providing computer hardware and software products. Popular products of the company comprise iMac, iPhone, iPad, iOperating system and iTunes. At present, the company headquarters is located at Cupertino, California in the United States. The company conducts operations in almost all world economies. The organization was founded by three proficient business leaders, namely Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne and Steve Woznaik (Apple Inc., 2012). It was estimated that in 2010, the organization owned over 425 retail stores across different marketplaces. The company provides services through both online and offline selling means. In 2012, the net income of Apple Inc. was estimated as US $ 41.733 billion, but in 2013, it was astonishing to note that income of the company had declined to US $ 37.037 billion (Hutt and Speh, 2013). However, the organization experiences huge scale and scope of trade a nd recruits over 80000 skilled workforce around the world. Though the net income or profit is falling, yet the company appears to experience increasing revenue. The revenue of Apple Inc. in 2012 was US$ 156.508 billion, which had increased to US $ 179.91 billion in 2013 (Apple

Marketing and Business plan Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing and Business plan - Coursework Example Services will be delivered to customers from the central office and at customers’ preferred location. Staff that will be hired will be trained to meet customers courteously and only those personals will be added to the team who are qualified and licensed architects. The Angles will focus on creating convenience and value for the customers. The advertising strategies will focus on print media as a medium to create awareness and promote offers and discounts to the target market. The target market will comprise of people belonging to the income levels of  £ 25,000 per annum. As understood by the management that architectural service is a onetime expense, The Angles will provide its customers with services at premium prices keeping in view the potential of target market. The Angles will be operate by the owner, Alex Ferguson, who is a qualified architect from Leeds and have experience of running businesses. He also has an experience of working in an architectural firm. The management of The Angles will minimize the operating costs by hiring employees according to the need of time. In this section, a comprehensive analysis of competitors in the architecture industry of UK, threat of new entrants, threat from buyers, threat from suppliers and threat of substitute products are presented (Hill and Jones 2009). The Angles would consider two architectural businesses in London as its major competitors. First one is the Designs, located in Central London. This architectural business offers one of the best services to its customer base dispersed all over UK and provides both online and personal visit facility to its customer base. The second major competitor of The Angles is Art Horizon which provides architecture services and consultation. The Art Horizon is specialized in providing architectural solutions to its customers keeping in view the demands of the modern times and the customers are provided with visual projection of their

Bangladesh and Education Essay Example for Free

Bangladesh and Education Essay Education a simple word that is one of the major drivers of our planet earth. Through education people get to know who they are, where they came from and where they will be heading in the near future. Education is the spearhead of a society. It is because of proper education that people get to know about the diversity of this unpredictable world. Education forges the lives of those who get it. Education is one of the important factors that affect the quality and the means of leading a prosperous life. Bangladesh was described as one of the poorest countries of this world after the liberation war in 1971. It had gone through harsh phases of floods, droughts, cyclones, famines and other natural calamities and at present one of the world’s most crowded countries still remains well below the poverty line and as a result most of the population is still illiterate. Education still and always will remain an important form of social capital in this world. Education fosters innovation, contributes to the economic growth of a country and also increases the efficiency, effectivity and productivity of all the individuals who get the light of education. The World Bank (WB) approved generous amount of loans in the recent past to promote and improve the education sector of Bangladesh. However, the government and the NGOs are playing an active role in the development process by educating the mass population of Bangladesh and the whole course of action mainly focus their vision on the children and women. In Bangladesh the educational process is so slow and weak that the development process has become sluggish. OBJECTIVE Education system in Bangladesh is three-tiered and highly subsidized and the Bangladesh government operates many education institution in the primary, secondary and higher secondary levels. Through the University Grants Commission, the government funds more than 35 state universities in the tertiary education sector. Bangladesh emphasizes on the education For All (EFA) objectives, Millennium Development Goal (MDG) and the International Declarations. According to the articles 15 and 17 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, every citizen has the right to education and all children between the ages of 6-18 should receive primary and secondary education free of charge. The government should provide the underprivileged children with free books and education free of cost. METHODOLOGY As we are the students of RS, we were unable to go outside to meet with people and conduct interviews with them. So, to gather our information and data, we had to go though different forums, journals, books and different websites. HISTORY OF EDUCATION. From 1971 our education system started officially. At the beginning of the education system in Bangladesh the number of schools and universities were very poor. There were only 6 public universities in 1971. But now the numbers of universities are increasing. Now the numbers of primary schools are near about 76000. The great point system started from 2000 and the JSC and JDC education system was started from 2010. In recent years Bangladesh has adopted various strategies to educate the general people mainly the children. In education sector BRAC’s contribution is bigger. Sir Fazle Hassan Abed founded BRAC School at 1972. In the history of education BRAC played an important role . EDUCATION SYSTEM AFTER LIBERATION After the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971, the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh became an independent nation free to choose its own educational destiny. As Bangladesh was, and still is, a secular state, many forms of education were permitted to co-exist. The formidable British system was, and still is, largely practiced. In fact, presently, the Bangladeshi system of education is divided into three different branches. Students are free to choose anyone of them provided that they have the means. These branches are: The English Medium English medium schools are mainly private and thus reserved for the wealthy class. After three years of pre-school, students must successfully pass through ten grades to be eligible for writing the Ordinary Level Exams, also called the O-Levels. Then after one more year of studies, students can write the Advanced Level (A-Level) Exams. The Bengali Medium the Bengali Medium, which is offered by the government. In the Bengali Medium, all the courses are offered in Bengali with the exception of English courses and the Religious course. The tuition fee is minimal compared to English schools but they still vary largely between schools. After three years of pre-school, students in the Bengali medium do five years of primary school. Then they move to high school for grade five to grade ten. At the end of the tenth grade, they appear for their SSC (Secondary School Certificate) exam. Afterwards, they move on to two years of college following which they have to write for the HSC (Higher School Certificate) exam. The Religious Branch Bangladesh is a very poor country with millions of homeless children. To educate these children, there are religious institutions called Madrashas where these children are sheltered, fed and taught the ways of Islam by priests. These children learn the scripts from the Koran and the regular prayers. Literacy situation in Bangladesh Period Census The 1974 census defined literacy as the ability to read and write in any language. This definition was in conformity with the UNESCO; one accepted throughout the world. The definition of literacy used in the 1981 census covered only persons of age 5 years and above and included those who could write a letter in any language. The 1991 census also defined literacy as the ability to write a letter in any language but covered persons of age 7 years and above. The effect of change in definition of literate has been reflected in the literacy rates of different census years. Increase in Literacy Literacy rate among people of all ages rose from 17% in 1961 to 24. 9% in census year 1991. For the 7 years and above age group, the literacy rate increased from 26. 8% in 1974 to 32. 4% in 1991. In all census periods, the literacy rates were higher among the males than among the females. The female literacy rate, however, rose significantly in the 1991 census. It was 16. 4% in 1974 and 25. 5% in 1991. Urban rural variation in literacy rate is also quite evident in all census periods. Literacy rates in urban areas are higher than in rural areas in all census periods. Adult literacy Adult literacy rate for population 15 and above is defined as the ratio between the literate population of the age 15 years and over to the total population of the same age expressed in percentage. This rate for both sexes was 25. 9% in the 1974 census and 29. 2% in the 1981 census. In the 1991 census the rate was 35. 3%. In all census periods, male adult literacy rate was higher than the female. Educated adults come to the urban areas for better employment and education. As a result, the adult literacy level of urban population is much higher than that of their rural counterparts in all census years. However, the gap between urban-rural literacy rate narrowed in 1991, as did the gap between the male and female population. This is due to rural peoples increasing participation in education in recent times. Steps of Bangladesh after Liberation towards development of education The independence of Bangladesh generated a new enthusiasm in both government and private level in efforts to expand literacy and remove illiteracy. The Bangladesh Constitution of 1972 provides the basis for a policy on universal primary education. The policy has three components: establishing a uniform mass oriented and universal system of education; extending free and compulsory education to all children; and relating education to the needs of society and removing illiteracy. Keeping in view the constitutional directives, Bangladesh committed itself to implement the recommendations of The World Conference on Education for All (1990), The World Summit on Children (1990) and The Summit Declaration on Education for All (1993). Primary Education of Bangladesh Primary education was recognised as the foundation of preparing literate citizens of the country in all national documents, reports of the commissions, and committees on education. But this stage of education got a momentum only after the enactment of the Compulsory Primary Education Law of 1990. Compulsory primary education under this Act was introduced in 1992 in 68 thanas, and all over the country in 1993. Measures such as satellite schools, community schools, and Food for Education Programme were taken up to increase enrolment and decrease dropout. The new primary curriculum based on terminal competencies was implemented in 1992. These steps resulted in some improvements in various efficiency indicators of primary education such as in gross enrolment ratio and the completion rate and raised the participation of girls in primary education. In addition to state intervention, from the second half of 1980s, the government allowed NGOs to experiment with a variety of delivery mechanisms to cater to the basic educational needs of the disadvantaged population. Role of BRAC BRAC launched its education programme in 1985 with 22 one-room primary schools following non-formal approach. The goal of the BRAC Education Programme is to make a significant contribution to the achievement of education for all in Bangladesh. The BRAC Education Programme is mainly focusing on   increase access of basic education in unreached and underserved population improve quality in formal education system support the government in achieving Millennium Development Goal 2 Education for All by 2015 ? In sheer size, BRAC operates the largest private school system in the world: 1. 1 million students (70% of them are girls) are enrolled at present in 37,000 BRAC schools that provide four years of non formal primary education. So far, almost 5 million children have already graduated from primary school and got their basic education from these schools and close to 95% enrol to secondary schools. Education Programme Primary School Operations Primary Schools Currently running24,398 Current Students0. 75 mil Graduates4. 95 mil Cost per Child per YearUSD 32 Schools for Indigenous Children2,441 Pre-Primary Schools Currently Running13,054 Current Students0. 36 mil Graduates4. 33 mil The Five Year Plan(s) According to the Report of Bangladesh Education Commission of 1974, the number of adult men and women illiterates in the country at the time of independence was 35 million. The Report recommended adoption of non-formal and mass education programmes for them. Accordingly, the First Five-Year Plan (1973-78) launched a massive functional literacy programme through non-formal education and allocated Tk 400 million for this subsector. The Second Five-Year Plan (1980-85) attached high priority to eradication of mass illiteracy. In the Third Five-Year Plan (1985-90) the programme was revived with an allocation of Tk 250 million and a modest target of making 2. 4 million adults literate by June 1990. Information from the office of the Integrated Non-Formal Education (INFE) project (former MEP Office) show that only 27 upazilas were covered in this project out of a target of 71 upazilas. A total of 291,600 adults were made literate in five years. In the Fourth Five-Year Plan (1990-95) Tk 235. 70 million was allocated. During the Plan period MEP was continued as a spillover under the project and total of 367,660 adult illiterates of 11-45 years age were made literate. The programme was implemented in 68 thanas of the country. Moreover, under the aegis of the district administration a programme named Total Literacy Movement (TLM) was started in 1995 in Lalmonirhat and Bhola districts. It was later extended to 15 other districts. Preparatory work is now under way to extend TLM to 22 more districts. The Fifth Five-Year Plan (1997-2002) adopted an ambitious objective to achieve the goal of Education for All (EFA) by the end of Plan period 2002. The major objectives are to increase gross enrolment in primary schools to 110 percent (net 95%) with particular emphasis on enrolment of girls and on increasing completion rate of primary education to at least 75 percent by the year 2002. The Fifth Plan also set up some important objectives of mass education consistent with the overall objectives of achieving the goal of EFA and fulfilling the educational needs of 30 million adult illiterates. These objectives are to increase literacy rate of adults (15 years and above) to 80% by the year 2002, to empower learners with technical skills, entrepreneurial traits and leadership skills, to empower skills related to literacy, numeracy and communication, to reduce gender gap in literacy rates in both rural and urban areas, and to develop continuing education programme for neo-literates. ? BANGLADESH, EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS OF 2005 ? BASIC EDUCATION STATISTICS, 2010 Number of Institution, Enrolment and Teacher in Post-Primary and Primary by management and sex, 2010 Type of SchoolManage. mentInstitutionTeacherStudentIndicators TotalTotalFem. % FemTotalGirl% GirlTSRSPITPI Primary School EducationPublic3767218145510543158. 109885697506116551. 20542625 Private450021995026812834. 157018849347542149. 52351564 Total8267438095717355945. 5616904546853658650. 50442045 Secondary School EducationPrivate187232107804791722. 737240497387315753. 493438711 Public3177231241733. 4322527710651947. 283171123 Total190402180115033423. 097465774397967653. 313439211 College EducationPrivate3068773201626521. 04150516671642347. 601949125 Public2569900231023. 3388910935852340. 3290347339. Total3324872201857521. 302394275107494644. 902772026 Madrasah EducationPublic310400. 0060642313. 8158202135 Private93581077431091110. 132194863116742753. 192023512 TOTAL93611078471091110. 122200927116765853. 052023512 University EducationPublic319163165618. 072629418198831. 18298482296 Private515710170129. 792009394912524. 45353940112 Total8214873335722. 5746388013111328. 26315657181 Technical Vocational EduPublic251401554213. 501338971799913. 443353316 Private259711286270823. 993140307052122. 46281214 Total284822455461120. 5344792710258122. 90201578 ProfessionalPublic70179548627. 0819120935748. 941127326 Private214312345014. 41508231451628. 561623715 Total284491893619. 03699432387334. 131424617 Teacher EducationPublic90103927526. 47176631005856. 941719612 Private9283025530. 728613243728. 2910949 Total182186953028. 36262761249547. 551414410 All (Post-primary)Public101833247768623. 12155407158467537. 6247152733 Private341034167928020719. 2411514931589360651. 182833812 Total351214500398789319. 5313069002647828149. 572937213 All (Primary + Post-primary)Public3869021470211311752. 6911439768564584049. 35532966 Private7910561629414833524. 0718533780936902750. 55302348 Total11779583099626145231. 46299735481501486750. 09362547 COMPARISON OF EDUCATION AID AND SPENDING OVER THE PERIOD 1980-2008 Figure 5 shows the increasing gap between education aid and government spending. The 1980s illustrate the small gap between aid and spending, which began to increase over time. From 2006 onwards, education aid began to decline and government spending increased. This reflects the relatively low and declining proportion of aid in total education spending. ? TOTAL PRIMARY STUDENT ENROLMENT (1985-2005) Fiscal Year Primary student enrolment (millions) 1985 10. 08 1986 10. 78 1987 11. 26 1988 11. 76 1989 11. 77 1990 12. 34 1991 13. 03 1992 13. 72 1993 14. 2 1994 15. 19 1995 16. 43 1996 17. 07 1997 17. 32 1998 17. 63 1999 19. 61 2000 17. 67 2001 17. 66 2002 17. 56 2003 18. 43 2004 17. 95 2005 16. 23 PRIMARY ENROLMENT Source: Ministry of Education, Bangladesh PROGRESS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL ENROLLMENT RATE SINCE 2000 One of the key EFA goals is to ensure gender parity in education by 2015 – Unlike most South Asian neighboring countries, Bangladesh has already achieved gender parity in primary and secondary education. The GER and NER for girls have increased from 87. 7 percent and 63. 9 percent to about 88. 4 percent and 67. 4 percent respectively within 2000-05. About 16. 2 million students are currently enrolled in primary schools in Bangladesh, of which about 8 million are girls In an effort to promote the education of the poor, the GoB has been engaged over the past ten years into demand side interventions such as the Food for Education Program (FFE) and the primary stipend program. PROGRESS IN ADULT LITERACY RATE SINCE 2000 According to HIES 2005, Bangladesh is estimated to have about 41. 5 million people aged 15 or more who are illiterate. Considering the extent of poverty and the prevailing high illiteracy rate (about 54 percent in 2000), the GoB gives high priority to non-formal education through basic and post-literacy programs and continuing education. The government also recognizes that the literacy and numeracy skills can help improve the income and welfare status of the poor. Literacy and social mobilization programs have contributed to raising the national literacy rate from 45. 6% to 52. 7% between 2000 and 2005. Bangladesh is likely to meet the EFA target of a 50 percent increase in adult literacy by 2015 if the annual growth rate of literacy rate exceeds 4 percent. The literacy and social mobilization programs are likely to have contributed to raising the national literacy rate from 45. 6 percent to 52. 7 percent between 2000 and 2005 (cf. HIES 2000 2005). In particular female literacy rate has gone up by almost 9 percentage points compared to male literacy rate which only records a 5 percentage point increase. Furthermore, the number of illiterates aged 15 to 30 has decreased from about 15 million to 11. 8 million between 2000 and 2005. Although Rural areas appear to be still lagging behind urban areas. ? PROGRESS IN PRIMARY COMPLETION RATE SINCE 2000 OVERVIEW OF THE PRIMARY EDUCATION AND ADULT EDUCATION Bangladesh sustains one of the largest primary education systems in the world with as many as 80,401 primary institutions of 10 different kinds namely, GPS, RNGPS, NRNGPS, experimental schools, community schools, kindergartens, NGO schools, ebtedaee madrashas, primary sections of high madrashas, primary sections of high schools. According to the School Survey Report 2008, GPS, RNGPS, Experimental and community schools constitute 75% of the total institutions. These four categories of institutions are providing primary education to 81. 9% of the total primary school enrolled children of over 16. 3 million. The proportions of boys and girls enrolled at the primary level are 49. 3% and 50. 7% respectively. A total of 364494 teachers are engaged in primary teaching in all the ten categories of institutions comprising 40. 4% female and 59. 6% male. The proportion of female teachers in GPS, RNGPS, PTI and community schools is 50. 2%, 32. 2%, 39. 0% and 73. 6% respectively and the pupilteacher ratio is 51. 4, 44. 7, 48. 1 and 43. 35 respectively. NGOs in the country have been making significant contribution to the education sector. About 500 NGOs are currently running 48,855 learning centers for providing primary education to 10,24,495 females and 6,06,802 males in the country (CAMPE, 2007). A total of 518 NGOs have been engaged in education programs of which more than 450 have adult literacy programs integrated into NFE. The NGOs are providing adult education to 1,19,277 females and 26,193 males through 6,574 learning centers (CAMPE, 2007). However, some of the major NGOs in the country offering adult education are BRAC, Proshika, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, FIVDB, Action Aid, Swanirvar Bangladesh. BRAC has been the largest NGO in the country operating the largest non-formal education program. It runs 34000 NFPE schools serving 1. 02 million un-enrolled and drop out children of the marginal families. RELATE WITH MDG The Government of Bangladesh has made commitment in the World Education Forum held at Dakar, Senegal in April 2000, towards achievement of Education for All goals and every citizen by the year 2015. The World Education Forum adopted six major goals for education, two of which also became Millennium Development Goals later in the same year. The Dakar goals covered the attainment of Universal Primary Education (UPE) and gender equality, improving literacy and educational quality, and increasing life-skills and early childhood education programs, and were to be achieved within 15 years (EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2005:28) However, the gender goal was judged to be particularly urgent – requiring the achievement of parity in enrolments for girls and boys at primary and secondary levels by 2005, and of full equality throughout education by 2015. The Millennium declaration of the United Nations adopted on 8 September 2000 by all member states in the millennium Summit gave birth to eight goals to be achieved by 2015 (UN, 2005:3). Besides the eight goals, there are 18 targets and 48 indicators in the MDGs. All these Aaspects are pertinent to combat poverty, hunger, illiteracy, diseases, inequality between man and woman, infant mortality, maternal mortality, environmental degradation and improving global partnership for development. The second Goal has designated universal primary education that emphasizes the implicit objective of equal education for boys and girls alike and to be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. Bangladesh is committed to achieve the MDGs and the goals are included in the countries first Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. By May 2005, the government developed Unlocking the Potential: National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction (PRSP). It takes a rights-based approach and identifies four strategic objectives: creating opportunity towards realizing the full potential of children i. e. access to health, nutrition, education, water and sanitation; ensuring the best interests of children in national, social, family and personal situations i. e. empowerment of children; ensuring safety and security at home and in the public space i. e. protection against abuse, exploitation and violence and establishing and protecting children’s rights i. e. social inclusion, decent work and livelihood. PRSP goal is to introduce and strengthen early childhood and pre-school education; introduce a unified and common primary education opportunity for all children; improve quality of primary education; 100% enrolment, and raise all other targets to achieve quality and completion in primary education; increase literacy rate to 80% and expand the scope of NFE beyond the literacy to reach out to the extreme poor and in remote areas (PRSP, 2005:50-51). In summing up the discussion it can be said that Bangladesh has been improving in primary education significantly since independence. Though primary education has been given priority from the emergence of the country but some dramatic changes has been noticed in the 1990s. This decade saw a renewed dedication to the expansion of primary education, and consequently primary education experienced significant enhancement during the period. In 1990, in a major policy direction Bangladesh made commitment to international compliance and as a result WCEFA came into being. Similar major international initiatives were taken in 2000. World Education Forum at Dakar and the UN Millennium conference at New York, fixed various targets and goals, named as MDGs. As a signatory country, Bangladesh is now committed to attain these targets by 2015. Currently primary education in Bangladesh is on target of achieving the second MDGs phase and it is a matter of concern Number of Students Enrolled in Primary Schools and Percentage of Boys and Girls *percentage of boys and girls students in primary schiools (1991-2009) Number of Students % of Students YearTotalBoysGirlsBoysGirls 199112,635,4196,910,0925,725,32754. 745. 3 199213,017,2677,048,5425,968,72554. 245. 8 199314,067,3327,525,8626,541,47053. 546. 5 199415,180,6808,048,1177,132,56353. 047. 0 199517,284,1579,094,4898,189,66852. 647. 4 199617,580,4169,219,3588,361,05852. 447. 6 199718,031,6739,364,8998,666,77451. 948. 1 199818,360,6429,576,9428,783,70052. 247. 8 199917,621,7319,065,0198,556,71251. 448. 6 200017,667,9859,032,6988,635,28751. 148. 9 200117,659,2208,989,7958,669,42551. 049. 0 200217,561,8288,841,6488,720,18050. 349. 7 200318,431,3209,358,7579,072,56350. 849. 2 200417,953,3009,046,4338,906,86750. 449. 6 200516,225,6588,091,2218,134,43749. 8750. 13 200616,385,8478,129,3148,256,53349. 650. 4 200716,312,9078,035,3538,277,55449. 350. 7 200816,001,6057,919,8378,081,76849. 4950. 51 200916,539,3638,241,0268,298,33749. 8350. 17 Statictis of primary schools in Bangladesh(1996-2009) YEARInstitution GPSEXPRNGPSCOMM* SATTHSAPSNGPSKGEb. Mad- rashaHMAPSNGOTotal 1996377105219683275920027593963143494992759-80818 19973771052195291962104212923472154582312850-77685 19983771053196582989282215823177169171732948-79803 199937709531955331072945123026321940640432531478840 200037677531925330613884122021262296371034379276809 2001376715319428326840951576197124773843357417078126 2002376715319428322548231576179224773443357430178363 2003376715319428326048231618167030886581820034586737 20043767154198143218-1283169937456723821444782868 20053767254196823027-135394622816768*832928980401 20063767254199993192-1314114026656726892033882020 20073767254201073186-131497322536726892022981434 20083767254200833263-157196629876744923340882981 20093767255200612991-95981927446744923323081508 GPS- Government Primary School, RNGPS- Registered Non Government Primary School, NGPS- Non Government Primary School, EXP- PTI attached Experimental School, KG- Kinder Garden, HSAPS- High School Attached Primary Schools, HMAPS- High Madrasa Attached Primary School, * SATT Sattilite Schools which are closed from 2004 . CHALLENGES †¢Quality of teachers : Teacher’s poor academic quality and low competency is a serious problem for student’s educational attainment. Rahman attempted to establish a profile of the primary school teachers by interviewing some 500 teachers. He found that most of the teachers have only the SSC/HSC examination in the third division (Rahman, 1986:32). This poor quality of teacher’s academic competencies results in ineffective teaching. †¢Fund : Lack of funding is a big problem. The government and donors try to invest more in education sector to achieve the goals of education for all. †¢Quality of education : Bangladesh has a significant progress in achieving some goals of education for all but it needs to focus on the quality of education and early childhood development. †¢Coaching centers : some coaching centers are very much expensive. It helps to decrease child’s creativity because students found readymade notes there and they don’t need to work for it. †¢Students politics : when students participate in politics, they can not concentrate their studies. They will very much busy with political activities rather than their study because they are given money to do this. †¢Lack of consistency: Dhaka, Jan 2 (BDNEWS) – Countries leading educationists Monday demanded cancellation of the proposed unified education, which was postponed earlier, and introduction of a genuine unified education based on equality, and scientific and secular thinking at secondary level. RECOMMENDATION 1. Inclusion of legal education in government’s policy priorities, and to undertake concrete steps to improve its quality. 2. Formation of a Council of Legal Education for overall control, monitoring and supervision of legal education in Bangladesh. The Council will exercise its functions in collaboration with the Bar Council and the University Grants Commission. Necessary law is to be enacted for the formation of the Council, which would also entail amendment of the Bangladesh Legal Practitioners and Bar Council Order 1972, in so far as it concerns legal education. 3. To form legal education committee in the University Grants Commission consisting of the representatives of the law schools, and with this end in view to make necessary amendments in the University Grants Commission Order, 1972 and the relevant rules. 4. Provision for additional vocational course up to one year for law graduates as prequalification for appearing at the bar examination. How this course would be designed and run would be determined by the proposed Council of Legal Education. 5. Rational combination of academic and vocational character of legal education to make sure law graduates acquire knowledge, skill and competency for legal practice as well as law related general services. It is necessary to provide for more practical methods of teaching law i. e. Socratic method, problem method, case study, moot court and mock trial, clinical legal education etc. 6. Promotion of inter-disciplinary approach to curriculum to help students better understand the societal problems. Subjects like national history, economics, political science, sociology, logic etc could be included in the law curriculum. 7. Inclusion of new law courses (subjects) in the curriculum to respond to the needs of modern economy, ICT and globalisation. Subjects such as corporate law, international economic law, e-commerce, intellectual property law, environmental law, medical jurisprudence need to be included. 8. To include in the curriculum separate courses on ADR, legal ethics, research, drafting and conveyancing. 9. Need for emphasising transnational aspects of law to include more subjects on public and private international law and comparative law. 10. To enhance human rights and gender sensibility of legal education. Separate papers on these issues are suggested to be included in the syllabus 11. Narrowing down the gap between college legal education and university legal education by including more subjects in college curriculum and extending its duration. 12. Introduction of clinical legal education which means learning law by providing legal services to the community. Students need to be involved in various ADR activities where they will be exposed to real life situations and get opportunities to apply their knowledge of law as well as be sensitised to the rights of the marginalised sections of the community. 13. Immediate need for massive reforms and overhauling of college legal education by — (a)extension of duration of courses from existing two years to three years with emphasis on practical courses in the final year; (b)introduction of admission tests; (c)limiting number of seats for admission; (d)mandatory appointment of full time teachers; (e)provision for government financial assistance; (f)provision for adequate infrastructural facilities like class-rooms, library, books, computers etc; (g)provision for effective supervision of the colleges. 14. Establishment of government sponsored model law college to set the norms and standards of modern legal education. 15. Evaluation and examination of students by problem oriented questions. 16. Introduction of basic legal education at SSC and HSC levels as a part of general legal awareness, and as a stage of prequalification for higher studies in law. Ministry of Education is to provide necessary directives and frame rules to incorporate fundamentals of law of the land in SSC and HSC curriculum. 17. To preserve the present bilingual character of medium of instruction for law with an emphasis on effective learning of English. 18. To provide for institutional accountability of teachers, and their evaluation by the students. Details of the procedures of accountability and evaluation would need to be worked out. 19. Provision for training of the teachers. 20. Besides legal profession of a lawyer and a judge, to create more diversified professional job opportunities for the law graduates in various government and non-government departments. One of the ways to do it is to create by competitive examination BCS cadre service(legal) for law graduates to perform law related works in various government and autonomous bodies. CONCLUSION Bangladeshs education system has deeply entrenched links to the English language over many centuries. This has made English the de facto second language. Whats more important though, English is the primary language of trade and commerce here, which makes Bangladesh a very attractive destination for software and IT services off shoring. And now the government also has been taking some steps for the betterment of the educational system of Bangladesh. People are also concerned now unlike the previous dates. The people and the young generations should come forward along with the government on this purpose. We should remember one thing that we need to change for the development.

Competitive Environment For HSBC

Competitive Environment For HSBC The financial crisis of 2008 considerably create significant impact to the not only to the bank businesses in Hong Kong but also to global economy. Basically, the general concept of financial crisis of 2008 refers to the degree to which the performance of a firm or an industry is affected by the global financial crisis. The financial crisis of 2008 which directly affect the lenders and other financial institutions can also affect an individual investor who owns a portfolio; a company; an exporter and importer who concentrates on international trade and even a firm that has no direct international activities. Furthermore, through their impact on the costs of inputs, outputs, and substitute goods play a significant role in determining the competitive position of companies with no direct international operations relative to foreign firms (Solvell Zander 2000). Since few organisations can excel simultaneously all over the scene, they specialise. Some are renowned for their ability to organise and place new issues, others prosper as merger and acquisition specialists, reliable asset managers, skilful forex traders or efficient custodians. The product roster may have a connection with an initial and fairly random advantage, or it may be a judicious response to a shifting environment, competition and ultimately profitability. Regional specialisation, by contrast, tends to have more deterministic elements, geographical and cultural closeness, for example. With respect to the current competitive environment scene and in the banking industry in which HSBC belongs, regulatory and technological changes are the main catalysts, making entrenched competitive structures obsolete and mandating the development of new products, new processes, new strategies, and new public policies toward the industry under analysis (Bond Green, 2003). Financial centres, in vigorous competition with each other, have undergone further regulatory change in their efforts to capture a greater share of international trade in financial services, even as common efforts at the regional and global level have tried to support safety and soundness and a reasonably level competitive playing field. Banks and securities firms have had to devise and implement new strategiessometimes leading events or (perhaps more often) responding to themand the financial services industry has seen a wave of mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances in virtually all parts of the world. T here are numerous major banking players in the industry, included in the list is HSBC, who strive for market leadership in all their business aspects. As such, the level of industry competition is very stiff and very aggressive. Competitive Advantage In the case of HSBC, even though this organisation had a very strong market competition in the industry where entrants have little or no threat will earn low returns on their profits if it has to face a superior quality and lower-cost alternative. For competitive advantage, HSBC uses strong branding and a tailored approach to give customers an individual service, whether they want investment banking services for their company, or a personal mortgage. With high personal contact or a range of electronic access points, they can provide their customers with accessibility to their services anywhere in the world. Each product produced is tailored to the customers needs but follows very precise processes. At each stage, the customer and advisor must sign documentation to prove that the right level of advice has been given, is understood and the customer feels that at that critical point, they have received good quality service. Despite of the emergence of global financial crisis in 2008, the global development strategies of HSBC shows superiority but would not be appreciated without the concrete examples of their projects, which indicate the changes and success in the market. Annesley (2008) reports that two years ago, HSBC spends more that 2.5 billion euros a year on IT systems and in-house application development, and set itself a target of cutting per-unit processing costs by 10% every year. This year, HSBC expects to make an 11% saving on transaction processing this year after cutting 8.8% off costs in 2005, after 370 successful system deployments in the past three years, and the continued expansion of its pool of global platforms (Annesley, 2008). In addition, the bank has also set up a single, self-managed global network and consolidated on four global datacenters and two regional ones. Moving application development work to low-cost centers such as India is another key part of the companys strategy, leading the bank to estimate that 4.2% of its technology development work takes place in low-cost locations, such as India and the Philippines (Annesley, 2008). In 2008, Fair Isaac Corporation, the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, announced that HSBC would utilise Fair Isaacs proven software technologies, analytic models and development processes for Enterprise Decision Management, and this integrated solution will help HSBC grow its ability to optimise profitability across the banks consumer lending portfolios, and support its long-term growth objectives in the Asia-Pacific region (Press Release 2008). Moreover, to build upon rapid growth of its credit card portfolios and strengthen its leadership in Asia-Pacifics booming consumer lending market, HSBC required a highly scalable solution to roll out optimised decision strategies across products, countries and decision areas (Press Release 2008). It is evident that the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation or HSBC invest on software programs and applications, in response to the fast-paced technological changes today. With the use of the Internet and other web-based applications, it is easier for the company to reach their customers globally and serve them better and faster. With the pleasant response of consumers to the efficient use of the World Wide Web, HSBC will not have a hard time relating to their customers globally, and even implementing projects and new programs to serve and relate to their customers effectively. Corporate Analysis on HSBC SWOT Analysis As part of the business practices of HSBC, SWOT analysis illustrates their status in accordance to strengths, weakness and opportunities and treats after the financial crisis. HSBCs Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths. HSBC has branches in most parts of the world. This helps them have advantage against their competitors. It also gives them the opportunity to serve more consumers thus they can acquire more profit (Who is HSBC? 2010). The employees of the company are well trained. The employees were well chosen and well trained to do their respective jobs. These employees are well managed to keep them in line with the objectives and standards of the company (Who is HSBC? 2010). This is strength of a company because it brings out the best employees thus the best service can be given to the clients. If clients enjoy the service of the company they tend to return to avail again the services and products offered by the company this results to satisfaction of the goals of the company. The company has an internet banking capability wherein consumers can transact their business online. This promotes ease and convenience to consumers. It also gives them advantage over their competitors since not a ll competitors have such technology. HSBC due to its availability in the world has acquired a strong brand name(Who is HSBC? 2010). This is strength for the company due to people will search for the company when they need such kind of services. Having a strong brand name means that the company has competitive advantage against their rivals. Summarily, the companys strengths include its worldwide reach, well trained and managed employees, internet banking capability, and strong brand name. Weaknesses. The company although has a strong brand name is lacking of promotional programs. The company maybe popular to those who have seen it in the internet, have availed of their services, or have come to know of the company through HSBCs clients but to some people the company is not that known (Who is HSBC? 2010). The company needs an effective promotional advertisement that can give the company more clients. HSBC although performing well against most of their competitors still has to overcome its best competitor which is Citigroup. As shown in the second figure the numbers Citigroup has over the other companies is so high. This means the company has to work double time to overcome or be equal to Citigroup. To sum up, the companys weaknesses include the lack of promotional advertisements, and inability to overcome the best competitor it has. HSBCs Threats and Opportunities after financial crisis Opportunities. After the financial crisis, the main opportunity for HSBC is to increase the number of its strategic acquisitions in order to further strengthen their current market leadership position. Through such acquisitions, HSBC would be able to widen the scope of their market share, improve the quality of services that they offer to their clientele, and develop their core competencies further (Who is HSBC? 2010). A secondary opportunity for the company is its internet banking. They should improve its features so that it can cater to the needs of the consumers. The company should also promote the said technology more to attract more clients. Another opportunity the company has is the website it has. The company can make the website more user-friendly, helpful and informative so that people will be encouraged to use it. The web can also be used as a promotional material that the company can use for more people to know the company. Succinctly, the major opportunities for HSBC are its potential strategic acquisitions and its utilisation of the Internet technology. Threats. The main threat to the company is Citigroup. If the HSBC dont do anything to improve their current status they might not catch up with Citigroup and more success may come to that company. Another treat is the economic condition of the countries they are operating in. The status of the economy in United Kingdom (UK) is different from the status of the economy in Hong Kong, the status of the economy in UK might be good unlike the status of the economy in Hong Kong, potential problems may arise thus HSBC should prepare measures to counter it (Who is HSBC? 2010). Additional threats to HSBC may include the ever-changing legal landscape for international business operations, unforeseen strong industry entrants which could decrease the potentialities of HSBCs market presence in the countries which they have yet to explore. Conclusions recommendations Businesses are continuously evolving in order to meet the needs of its people. However, they should be cautious to the changes in order to maintain competitiveness. Therefore, they need to have a careful review of their financial status. Overhead costs and credit rating should be also reviewed carefully. Business companies around the globe should not rely alone on credits instead they should think of creative ideas to sustain their growth and development. Thus, if the financial crisis hit the country, theyll be able to survive. Basically, the actual cause of the financial crisis or the emergence of financial crisis of 2008 is that both Europe and the United States were living beyond their means for too many years (Foster, 2008). After the crisis banks in Hong Kong including HSBC remain intact despite of severe damages. As previously stated, the context of financial crisis of 2008 conforms to the financial capabilities of a firm in global context. After the crisis, businesses are now much becoming careful concerning the assessment of their business process to avoid downfall. For recommendation, HSBC and other retail banks in Hong Kong should now consider risks management. The cost of indemnity had restricted managements alternatives in dealing with the hazards faced by the organisation. Basically, one of the foremost problems was that insurers rated firms according to business in such a way that a fine run firm that had few losses were required to pay for the claims of poorly run firms within the same industry. With this, the role of risk management must be considered. Management may began to make out that abridged losses intended reduced cost of risk. If managers reduced losses they could hold them themselve s without resorting to indemnity. However, it took some time for industries to settle in management. The delicate inquisitiveness in management is the result of a number of instantaneous drifts. With the current economy, the trade and production has augmented financial and direct investment in unstable up-and-coming markets. With this we may say that risk management has also ensnared consideration as a result of the recurring and well-publicised breakdowns linked with its execution. Regardless of the amplified academic and specialised concentration paid to risk management, common instances still occur when classy investors or firms experience abrupt, unexpected, and devastating losses. Basically, risk is a mean reason in economic existence for the reason that individuals and firms create immutable reserves in research and product improvement, inventory, plant and equipment and human capital, without knowing whether the potential cash flows from these funds will be adequate to pay off both debt and equity holders. If such genuine investments do not engender their necessary returns, then the financial claims on these returns will turn down in worth. In addition to altering the extent of equity and debt in their capital composition, firms/business organisations can also influence their chance of liquidation by extenuating the risk disclosures they countenance. Firms/Business organisations should come out to prefer between the types and degrees of disclosures, assuming those that they consider have an aggressive gain in supervision and laying others off into the capital markets. Other features of the firms processes such as the convexity of its tax lists, can also influence the amount to which administrators challenge to alleviate risks (Tufano 1996). Apparently, Besanko, Dranove Shanley, (1996) believes that economists and strategic planners view risk management as being related to the issue of the boundaries of the firm. In this structure, the pronouncement to alleviate meticulous risks is comparable to the verdict to outsource a particular purpose. Thus, risk management, like technology, allocation, or level, is a basis of eco nomical plus. With respect to risk management as tool to counter financial crisis of 2008, we may also say that, strategies that should used by the banks must contribute to the banks possible success rate especially in the face of crisis that involves the financial aspect of the organisation. The presence of a these strategies may give the organisation a competitive advantage over their rival organisations through their scheme on how the organisations or departments that make up the industry are able to work together, and at the same time how they establish their reputation in order to continue giving their services to their clients. Here, the corporate strategies that companies use involve the bank responsibilities and the brands that contribute to the performance of the bank. References: Annesley, C 2008, Computer Weekly.com, viewed 07 April, 2010, . Besanko, D Dranove, D Shanley, M 1996, Economics of Strategy. New York: John Wiley Sons. Bond, J Green, G 2003, Welcome HSBC Strategic Overview, Managing for Growth 2004-2008, viewed 07 April, 2010, . Foster, JB 2008, The Financialisation of Capital and the Crisis. viewed 07 April, 2010 at http://monthlyreview.org/080401foster.php Press Release 2008, Fair Isaac, viewed 07 April, 2010, . Solvell. O Zander, I 2000, Cross-Border Innovation in the Multinational Corporation, International Studies of Management Organisation, vol. 30, no. 2, p. 44. Tufano, P 1996, Who Manages Risk? An Empirical Examination of the Risk Management Practices of the Gold Mining Industry. Journal of Finance, September, 1097-1137. Who is HSBC? 2010, HSBC Global Site, viewed 07 April, 2010 at . Banking Industry in HK Introduction With the continuous and rapid changes the world and people undergo, organisations find it necessary to adapt new methods or reformulate current business applications so as to function more effectively and achieve specific corporate goals. This paper discusses the variables and issues about the impact of financial crisis among banks in Hong Kong. Particularly, this study will focus on the examination of the impact of financial crisis to the said industry. This paper shows the Hong Kongs bank industry awareness about their both internal and external environment such that they have instituted strategic management imperatives to complement the demands of industry. This paper illustrates the challenges in order to determine the possible strategic moves in order to survive in financial crisis. Future of Banking Industry in HK The global economy is now in extreme turmoil. It initially began in 2007 and was referred as credit crunch when the confidence of investors for the value of securitised mortgages in the United States lost. This has initiated a series of domino effects that that have adversely affected the financial sector due to its complicated and high leveraged financial contracts and operations in the American sub-prime mortgage sector (Culp, 2001). And in September 2008, the sub-prime crisis became even more deteriorated, leading to the crashes of stock markets across the globe and entered the current period of even higher volatility. Under the current turmoil, not have any bank can really not be involved, even the USA five largest investment banks two be sold (Bear Sterns sold to JP Morgan on 29th of May 2008 and Merrill Lynch Co. sold to Bank of America on 15th of Sep2008), at same day of Merrill Lynch sold, the Lehman Brothers been bankruptcy and other two of the bank the Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley change into the commercial bank. And that are not all there are still have a lot bank in the world been bankruptcy, nearly bankruptcy or be come to the nationalisation. From the scenario, it shows that all business effort or venture was continuously facing with different problems about financial management problems. Thus, it is very important for the manager or owner to concentrate and evaluate their business process especially during the times of crisis that the global communities are facing. Thus, key financial decisions usually faces the business administrators in problems and issues that is related to financial investments they typically give solutions about the assets on which the firm requires to put money and how a preferred venture have to be financed. With this consideration, we may say that the recent financial crisis is one of the problems experienced not only by some firms in the United States but also by the global economy including the banks and other business in Hong Kong. Basically, the recent financial crisis of 2008 around the globe is actually related to the concept classified by the general media as a credit crunch or credit cris is was started last 2007 of July. The crisis was triggered when most investors loss their confidence in the value of securitised mortgages in the United States and then later it spread out not only in America and Europe but also in Hong Kong. This development created a liquidity crisis that prompted an extensive inoculation of capital into financial markets by the United States Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England (Norris, 2007). Despite of this turmoil in the financial and banking industry of Hong Kong, the future remains to be positive. As seen, after the crisis banks in Hong Kong remain intact regardless of severe damages. As previously stated, the context of financial crisis of 2008 conforms to the financial capabilities of a firm in global context. This is a good indication that businesses are now much becoming careful concerning the assessment of their business process to avoid downfall. Efficacy of Response to the Crisis With regards to the current financial crisis (2008) businesses including banks and other lending and other financing institutions in Hong Kong are exposed to different business risks. Despite of the emergence of these risks, banks in Hong Kong are efficiently responding to counter the risks created by the current financial crisis. According to Joseph (2002), one of the common issues among banking business are the position risk of asset liquidity and market liquidity. It seems that if a loss occurs in the on- and off-balance-sheet performance of the entity due to market price instability, then market risk is also an issue which could arise. Aside from this, there are also concerns linked to asset liquidity risk which could occur when there is an incapability to slacken financial instrument place in a level close to its market value due to require of profundity or market disruption of the instrument (Joseph, 2002). For international, large and active banks, security trading engrossed t hem for the reason that customers surrogated capital markets against banks loans. Consequently, position risk is obtained by these banks. In insurance businesses, position risks come up from funding risk or the risk that they will evade in paying policyholders. Even though technical requirements are secluded by regulation to avoid non-payment, insurance firms uncovered their investment premiums to position risks restraining their further capacity to perform contractual obligations. As response to the current crisis among banks in Hong Kong, Joseph (2002) assured that guideline can avert a subsequent bank crisis through regulation of capital since the capital can serve up as blockade in opposition to the capital as incentive-reducing feature for banks to take considerable risks and loss. Additional, regulation can be more successful when there is a group-wide inspection rather entity-to-entity since it thwarts multiple gearing to avoid unsuitable augment in equity. The group wide-view to regulation is not appropriate to securities firms as a substitute to broker-dealer only due to some grounds. Moreover, Joseph, (2002) believed that negative news will not create crisis because the assets of the firm is unconnected from the assets of the clients and there is simple and non-service unruly transfer of assets to other firms. They carry dated debt mechanisms that are not exaggerated by self-fulfilling forecasts. They hold more liquid assets and resources traded in ev ery day which alleviate the asymmetric issues since lucidity is eminent. Finally, they pass the accountability for payment systems to banks that they stay away from large value outflows. Actually, the main task of any nation in the world is to present their citizens with a high-quality life. Thus, countries like Hong Kong try their best to recognise and arise with elucidations to the various problems meet in their nation. Similarly, the countries including their business organisations discussed in this paper should do the same. Businesses in Hong Kong including their banks were able to face downfalls and adversities in their governments and economies in order to experience triumph. Due to these challenges and adversaries, the governments may make use of all their possessions in looming up with solutions and look for answers to their struggle. These downfalls were apparent in the history of South East Asian countries, and pushed them for improvements in their governments, with the execution of new policies. The nations success relies on the response of the countries citizens, leaders governance and external factors, such as the international trade relations and world output. With the execution of variety of macroeconomic policies in Hong Kong, it helped their governments realise the importance of reform, for in their situation, reform has been beneficial. With regards to the current financial crisis, Hong Kong and their business organisations including banks must consequently sustain their achievement by additional improvement of their current macroeconomic policies, and make new ones for incessant political, economic, industrial and environmental stability and growth, globally and locally. Common Elements in Successful Strategy Due to the emergence of global financial crisis, bank industries around the globe especially Hong Kong are creating strategies to maintain their existence. One of the strategies imposed by banks was through acquisition and expansion. For instance, HSBC, a bank in Hong Kong continuously exerted efforts to their acquisition strategies just to maintain their leadership despite of the current. However, this effort requires considerations of scenarios and business capabilities. Actually, establishing a bank in other parts of the world such as those belonging in the European Union may be more advisable for some entrepreneurs. There are many reasons for this judgment. One of which is the fact that the European Union is a vast region of countries whose level of development varies. This means that EU offers business areas that are less developed than the other, giving better opportunities for foreign banks. Rules and regulations are likely to be more stabilised in some European regions as com pared to the Hong Kong business setting. Tariffs or barriers to entry like taxes may also be lower in other European countries, making foreign entry less difficult. Most importantly, market diversity in EU is far larger than in China, making access to opportunities and market growth easier. Nonetheless, it should also be considered that certain risks can also hinder the development of a foreign bank within EU. For instance, the presence of higher competition level is likely, considering that multiple local and foreign banks will be operating within the region. Moreover, though laws and regulations may be stable, differences in banking policies, operational practices and other relevant factors may make market access not as easy. From this standpoint, it becomes clear that establishing a bank in any foreign country has its advantages and downsides. This suggests that foreign entrepreneurs must be skilled in handling this possible business risks. Hong Kong and its banking sector have a lot to offer for foreign investors; however, the country and its administration must improve some of its banking aspects not only to make Hong Kong more appealing to entrepreneurs but also to prevent business issues. One of this means would be the stabilisation of its business laws and banking legislations. The country must have a definite ruling for both domestic and foreign banks in such a way that both will benefit from. While the Hong Kong government is protecting its local banking sector, it must also employ means that will make foreign bank investors less cautious. The restrictions should also be implemented at a reasonable level. Hong Kong has in fact, conducted several changes so as to be more open for foreign banks. For instance, it has attempted to improve its corporate governance by requiring and encouraging banks to introduce governing boards. Moreover, approved accounting firms are now used for auditing. Operational risks are also being handled by strengthening balance sheets; financial statement definitions are also slowly being accomplished based on international standards. The foreign investors themselves can apply certain means to safeguard their businesses from these recognised risks. One of the important strategies that firms should consider is to operate alongside a local business partner (Overby, 2000). This will help the firm adapt easily to the Hong Kong business environment. A local partner can also assist in learning the Hong Kong culture, practices, regulations and means of interaction. More importantly, a Hong Kong business partner can also help in achieving progress faster. Training the staff becomes even more important in foreign business ventures. The workforce must be supported fully particularly in adapting the business new concepts, standards and technologies. The management should ensure that the local staff is also well-adjusted to the new system so as to encourage them to contribute more for the business (Berger, Hancock, Humphrey, 1993). In general, the investors can start off by analysing the business environment they wish to invest on. It is important that business entrepreneurs are aware of the distinct features of each foreign setting; in this way, the investors will know how to address in the most effective way. With this, it is evident to say, that one of elements needed to consider for a successful strategy was learning and adaptation since these are perhaps the two most important factors that should be present. For instance, it has been reported that at the end of 2003, HSBC launched the Managing for Growth program, which is a strategic plan that provides the company with a blueprint for growth and development from 2003 to 2008 (Strategy 2010). This strategy builds on the companys strengths and addresses the areas where further improvement is considered both desirable and attainable. HSBCs core values are integral to its strategy, in communicating them to customers, shareholders and employees, and comprise an emphasis on long-term, ethical client relationships, high productivity through teamwork, a confident and ambitious sense of excellence, being international in outlook and character, prudence, creativity and customer-focused marketing (Strategy 2010). In addition, there are several key elements in achieving HSBCs global development objectives, and these include accelerating the rate of growth of revenue, developing the brand strategy further, improving productivity, and maintaining the companys prudent risk management and strong financial position. Developing the skills of their employees is also given emphasis to ensure that all employees understand how they can contribute to the successful achievement of HSBCs objectives (Strategy 2010). Moreover, there are eight strategic imperatives included in the plan of HSBC in accordance to their development strategy. Their first imperative is their brand, by making HSBC and its hexagon symbol one of the worlds leading brands for customer experience and corporate social responsibility. The second imperative is their Personal Financial Services, which drive growth in key markets and through appropriate channels, HSBC can be the strongest global player in personal financial services. The third one is Consumer Finance, which is extending the reach of this business to existing customers through a wider product range to penetrate new markets. The fourth imperative is Commercial Banking, making the most of HSBCs international customer base by creating an effective relationship management and improved product offerings in all their markets (Strategy 2010). Furthermore, the fifth imperative is Corporate, Investment Banking and Markets, which accelerates growth by enhancing capital markets and advisory capabilities, by being focused on client service in sectors where the company has critical relevance and strength. The sixth one is Private Banking, which aims to serve the company