Free Essays on Financial Ethics In Business

Ethics plays a major part in auditing and financial record keeping. It is the responsibility of an independent auditor to plan and perform an audit of financial statements that will provide reasonable assurance of detecting errors and irregularities that are material in nature. According to the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the essence of the concept of materiality is: â€Å"The omission or misstatement of an item in a financial report is material if, in the light of surrounding circumstances, the magnitude of the item is such that it is probable that the judgment of a reasonable person relying upon the report would have been changed or influenced by the inclusion or correction of the item.† (www.fasb.org) Materiality is a term that is hard to quantify, and must be determined for each individual situation. Public accounting firms have established informal quantitative and qualitative measures in an attempt to establish materiality limits. These measures have been affected and enhanced by statements of the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory agencies and professional organizations. In setting the preliminary judgment about materiality, auditors establish the maximum amount by which they believe the statements could be misstated and still not affect the decisions of reasonable users. An amount is considered material when it is one dollar more than the amount required for a user of financial statements to change their decision. Two broad types of materiality have been recognized: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative materiality is economic in nature and exclusively depends on the effect of a fact on the company’s financial performance. (www.m-w.com) Typically, public accounting firms have established quantitative materiality thresholds, and have used specific mathematical procedures in this process. Once the effect of a fact exceeds a certain percentage or amount of the item serving as the base measur... Free Essays on Financial Ethics In Business Free Essays on Financial Ethics In Business Ethics plays a major part in auditing and financial record keeping. It is the responsibility of an independent auditor to plan and perform an audit of financial statements that will provide reasonable assurance of detecting errors and irregularities that are material in nature. According to the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the essence of the concept of materiality is: â€Å"The omission or misstatement of an item in a financial report is material if, in the light of surrounding circumstances, the magnitude of the item is such that it is probable that the judgment of a reasonable person relying upon the report would have been changed or influenced by the inclusion or correction of the item.† (www.fasb.org) Materiality is a term that is hard to quantify, and must be determined for each individual situation. Public accounting firms have established informal quantitative and qualitative measures in an attempt to establish materiality limits. These measures have been affected and enhanced by statements of the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory agencies and professional organizations. In setting the preliminary judgment about materiality, auditors establish the maximum amount by which they believe the statements could be misstated and still not affect the decisions of reasonable users. An amount is considered material when it is one dollar more than the amount required for a user of financial statements to change their decision. Two broad types of materiality have been recognized: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative materiality is economic in nature and exclusively depends on the effect of a fact on the company’s financial performance. (www.m-w.com) Typically, public accounting firms have established quantitative materiality thresholds, and have used specific mathematical procedures in this process. Once the effect of a fact exceeds a certain percentage or amount of the item serving as the base measur... Free Essays on Financial Ethics In Business Ethics plays a major part in auditing and financial record keeping. It is the responsibility of an independent auditor to plan and perform an audit of financial statements that will provide reasonable assurance of detecting errors and irregularities that are material in nature. According to the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the essence of the concept of materiality is: â€Å"The omission or misstatement of an item in a financial report is material if, in the light of surrounding circumstances, the magnitude of the item is such that it is probable that the judgment of a reasonable person relying upon the report would have been changed or influenced by the inclusion or correction of the item.† (www.fasb.org) Materiality is a term that is hard to quantify, and must be determined for each individual situation. Public accounting firms have established informal quantitative and qualitative measures in an attempt to establish materiality limits. These measures have been affected and enhanced by statements of the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory agencies and professional organizations. In setting the preliminary judgment about materiality, auditors establish the maximum amount by which they believe the statements could be misstated and still not affect the decisions of reasonable users. An amount is considered material when it is one dollar more than the amount required for a user of financial statements to change their decision. Two broad types of materiality have been recognized: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative materiality is economic in nature and exclusively depends on the effect of a fact on the company’s financial performance. (www.m-w.com) Typically, public accounting firms have established quantitative materiality thresholds, and have used specific mathematical procedures in this process. Once the effect of a fact exceeds a certain percentage or amount of the item serving as the base measur...

The Many Economic Applications of Shadow Price

The Many Economic Applications of Shadow Price In the strictest sense, a shadow price is any price that is not a market price. A price that is not based on actual market exchanges must then be calculated or mathematically derived from otherwise indirect data. Shadow prices can be derived for anything from a resource to a good or service. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. While economists tend to be committed to markets as a means of valuation, the lack of a market price is not necessarily a limitation of their research. In fact, economists recognize â€Å"goods† that carry societal value for which there are no markets to set a market price. Such goods might include the intangible like clean air. Conversely, economists also recognize that there exist goods that do have a market-traded value that is simply not a good representation of the good’s true societal value. For example, electricity produced from coal carries a market price that does not consider the impact or â€Å"social cost† of coal burning on the environment. It is in these scenarios that economists find it difficult to work, which is why the discipline relies on the calculation of shadow prices to give a â€Å"price-like† value to otherwise unpriced resources. The Many Definitions of Shadow Price While the most basic understanding of the term shadow price relates simply to the lack of a market price for some resource, good, or service, the meanings of the term as derived from its real-world uses relay a more complicated story. In the world of investments, shadow price can refer to the actual market values of a money market fund, which essentially refers to securities that are accounted for based on amortized cost rather than a value assigned by the market. This definition carries less weight in the world of economics. More relevant to the study of economics, another definition of shadow price denotes it as a proxy value of a good or intangible asset that is most often defined by what must be given up to gain an extra unit of the good or asset. Last, but not least, shadow prices can also be utilized to derive an inclusive value of the impact of a project, whether it be a benefit or costs, using stated preferences, making the process an extremely subjective one. In the study of economics, shadow prices are most often used in cost-benefit analyses in which some elements or variables cannot be otherwise quantified by a market price. In order to fully analyze the situation, each variable must be assigned a value, but it is important to note that the calculation of shadow prices in this context is an inexact science. Technical Explanations of Shadow Price in Economics In the context of a maximization problem with a constraint (or constrained optimization), the shadow price on the constraint is the amount that the objective function of the maximization would increase by if the constraint were relaxed by one unit. In other words, the shadow price is the marginal utility of relaxing the constant or conversely, the marginal cost of strengthening the constraint. In its most formal mathematical optimization setting, the shadow price is the value of a Lagrange multiplier at the optimal solution.

INSURANCE LAW Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

INSURANCE LAW - Coursework Example ..... ts pursuant to which shares are proportioned among members to provide coverage of the management’s expenses and contemplated claims that will likely arise. Pagonis explains: In theory, the clubs pass back to the shipowners the benefit of a good underwriting year through reduced or returned premiums. In practice, the shipowners are usually asked to pay â€Å"back calls† in order to cover expenses and claims that were not foreseen in the budget.12 The primary purpose of P&I Clubs is to provide indemnity insurance as opposed to liability insurance. Even so, shipowners join P&I Clubs primarily to provide insurance in a variety of risks that are not provided for by virtue of H&M insurance policies.13 Shipowners join P&I clubs based on the â€Å"principle of mutuality – the joint, shared or reciprocal protection against losses.†14 Since P&I Clubs are by their nature not conventional insurance providers, but rather indemnity and protection organizations, there is some doubt as to whether or not maritime insurance actions can be applied against P&I Clubs. In The Alloborgia, the House of Lords ruled that P&I Clubs can be applied to the Third Parties Act but could only be applied in terms of indemnity relative to risks covered.15 P&I Clubs function under their own regulatory framework which governs the members’ relationships and the relationship between the club and the members and are generally viewed as a core part of the applicable insurance policy. For this reason, direct actions against P&I Clubs are prescribed by reference to specific statutory terms.16 Moreover, direct action against P&I Clubs are subject to the tortfeasor’s â€Å"status† as â€Å"member of the Club† and the Club’s rules as well as the clauses contained in the insurance policy.17 P&I Clubs will

Islamic history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Islamic history - Essay Example However, the study will be guided by such questions as where did Islam start and who were the first people to adhere to it? What are the main ideologies that define Islam and how has they evolved over time? When did Islam start and what historical significance has the ideology had over the course of its evolution to the modern day Islam? Islam started in the seventh century (C.E) as instituted by Prophet Mohammed and it took over the Arabic region, which was characteristically defined by polytheism. It is adherent to monotheism and as such the ideology stipulates that there is no other God to be worshiped but Allah. It therefore transformed greatly the religious systems of the traditional nomadic life that was characteristic of the Arabs from the extremes of worshiping many Gods as well as paganism to the faith in Allah. Prophet Mohammed was born in late sixth century and in the early seventh century; he is believed to have had an encounter with an angle of God where he became the pr ophet (apostle) of God (Nawwab, Speers and Hoye, para 1-5). Through divine revelations, Mohamed is said to have written the Quran as it is adhered to in Islam. Therefore, among other great ideologies that define Islam, Quran as it was written by the last prophet of Allah (Mohammed) is complete, infallible, perfect and eternal and thus holds eminently against any influence or modification. In religious matters, the tenets presented in Quran held and continuously holds to define Islam. Islam ascribes to various ideologies which include that God is transcendent and omnipotent, that there are angles, that Quran are words of God’s revelation through his prophets as well as there is the last day that awaits all and in which God’s judgment to mankind will be pronounced. Moreover, the Islam believes that God is all knowing and as such, he is omniscient (â€Å"The History of Islam† 1-3). Despite the great transformation that characterized the inception of Islam, as a rel igion in the Arabian countries in matters of polytheism believes, Islam held to the supremacy of Allah as god who was more impressive than the rest. Besides being the creator, Allah was and is believed to be the provider as well as the determiner to human destiny in eternity (â€Å"History of Islam† para 3). Besides, the Muslims have dispersed everywhere to occupy all the parts of the globe where Islam has been introduced. Little is seen to have changed in terms of believe systems and ideologies as they were instituted and depicted in Quran. The modern day Islam upholds five basic rules, which are prayer, fasting, faith, almsgiving as well as pilgrimage at Ka’bah (â€Å"History of Islam† 5). The evolution in Islam has been more in matters of spread and global acceptance as unlike in matters of systems of believes. Besides much of what is practiced in the modern day in Islamic circles is purely as it was practiced traditionally as instructed by Prophet Mohammed i n Quran (Nasr, vii-xix). In spite of the little evolutionally changes that has been shown in ideological aspects of Islam, misinterpretation and misrepresentation of the ideologies has led to wrong perception of the culture. It is increasingly being associated with acts of terror due to few of its teachings on Jihad and such political activism which has in the past led to political as well as religious conflicts in different parts of the globe

Truth Is Absolute Not Relative Essay Example for Free

Truth Is Absolute Not Relative Essay Background of the Topic: Many people nowadays seek for â€Å"THE TRUTH†. I searched up the internet and Google gave me 611 million answers in just a quart of a second. As top answer Google gave me this definition from wisegeek.com, â€Å"An absolute truth, sometimes called a universal truth, is an unalterable and permanent fact. The concept of absolute truths what they are and whether they exist has been debated among many different groups of people. Philosophers have waded in the muck of defining absolute truth for millennia. For example, Plato believed that absolute truth existed, but that truth on earth was merely a shadow of great forms of absolute truth existing in the universe which is now commonly called â€Å"universals†. Alternatively, many believe in relative truths, where facts may vary depending on the circumstances.† Simply put, WHAT’S TRUE TO ME MAY NOT BE TRUE TO YOU. It is however difficult to disprove the concept of absolute truth, since saying that there are no absolute truths that it is absolutely true that no absolute truth exists is itself an absolute truth.† Relationship of the Topic- Main: It will help us to know and recognize the fundamental basis of truth. To me: I firmly believe on absolute truth unlike others. I believe in the absolute truth of the Bible and God as its ultimate source. To the society: Living in a society sharing the same ground that there is an existence of absolute truth would eradicate most of today’s debates on non-significant yet intriguing problems. Also, there is the need of a certain and mutual fundamental basis of the absoluteness of truth and from whence it come forth. Problem: Many of us were blinded about what is truth and a lot of us have different queries regarding what is the real meaning of truth whether it is absolute or relative. Definition of the topic: There are a few things that we all agree are absolutely true, but they depend upon an agreement in definition. ABSOULTE TRUTH: †¢ Truth is discovered not invented †¢ Truth is transcultural: it can be conveyed across different cultures. †¢ Truth is unchanging: it can be conveyed across time. †¢ Beliefs cannot change a truth statement no matter how sincere one may be †¢ Truth is unaffected by the attitude of the one professing it †¢ All Truths are absolute †¢ Truth is knowable In order for truth to be absolute and holding these qualities, it must be grounded in a source that is personal, unchanging, and sovereign over all creation. Relative Truth: Truth is created not discovered. Truth is a matter of perspective and each culture or individual defines for themselves what truth is. †¢ Since truth is invented, there is no universal transcultural truth. Each culture or individual will define truth differently according to their background and perspective. †¢ Truth changes since it is inseparably connected to individuals and cultures which continually change truth perpetually to changes. †¢ Since truth is a matter of a group or individual’s perspective, one’s beliefs can change a truth statement. †¢ Since an individual determines truth, truth is affected by the attitude of the one professing it. †¢ There can be no such thing as absolute truth. †¢ Absolute truth is not knowable. Absolute and objective truth cannot be known since it is built on the shifting foundation of man’s perceptions. As each individual’s perception is different, truth cannot be known. References: Bible and Blogs specifically the Truth Project

5 Modes Of Transportation :: essays research papers

5 Modes of Transportation   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to have easy mobility of persons and goods, it is necessary to have a sophisticated and widespread transportation system. This system is made up of five primary areas of transportation, which are: - Motor vehicles - Railroad transportation - Air transportation - Water transportation - Pipelines Each of these five modes consists of different subsystems which make up the system. Each mode is used to transport persons or goods, but in many instances, one mode may be favored over the others. All five modes require some primary source of funds for building and maintaining the infrastructure. These funds may come from a number of different places such as the federal government, state, or the city through which the system runs. Different government agencies have jurisdiction over the modes. These agencies focus on maintaining and improving safety of each system. The individual states also have certain obligations to the operation and regulation of the different modes of transportation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Each mode is made up of primary subsystems. The subsystems of railroad transportation include freight trains and passenger trains. Freight trains are used to transport goods and materials between cities while passenger trains are used to transport people. Although freight trains are still used all across the nation, rail intercity freight has accounted for a decreasing share of the total ton mileage over the past 30 years. This is mostly due to the increase in truck transport. Rail passenger traffic had also declined over the years until better service was offered by Amtrak and the price of fuel increased. Much of the decline in rail passenger traffic has been due to the increasing number of air passengers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Air transport can also be divided into the subsystems of passenger and freight transport. Passenger air travel has rapidly increased over the years due to: - Increasing Gross National Product - Increasing wealth of the middle-income groups - Increasing number of nonprimary industry in the economic system - Increasing amount of general aviation - Improved technology The areas for air transport of express and freight and mail has also increased rapidly over the years. This is due mostly to improved technology which has steadily lowered the cost of air transport.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Like rail and air transport, water transportation can also be broken down to passenger and freight transport. Passenger transportation by water only accounts for a very small percentage of water transport because it is very slow and relatively inconvenient for most people. This is primarily used by people for vacation purposes. Most often, water transport is used for freight movement of items that are bulky and of low cost per unit volume.

Development of Quality players Essay

On a performance perspective, the LTA stated some à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½7.3m has been spent on delivering the LTA Performance programme. This is set to provide financial support to more than 600 talented youngsters aged 8 to 21 years old. (LTA, 2002) The performance programme is constituted of six stages. Initially beginning with Mini-tennis (4 – 8 year olds), then progressing to Club Futures (8 – 10year olds), County Futures (11-13 year olds), National Futures(11 – 13 year old), Academies and Intermediates (14 -22 year olds) and Seniors. The development of such a structure has mainly down to the former French performance director of the LTA, Patrice Hagelauer, and his knowledge and implementation of the French development system. Originally seven Tennis Academy centres were proposed but due to the lack of junior talent coming through this was rationalised to four centres namely Bath, Leeds, Loughborough, and Welwyn Garden city. The Loughborough academy alone is costing the LTA à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2m. In addition to this a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½30m (Harris, 2001) National Centre is in the pipeline and is due to be built at Roehampton and subject to planning process should be ready by 2006. This is set to consist of 6 indoor, 4 grass, 6 hard and 6 clay courts, gymnasium, player and coach support services, accommodation and medical centre. The LTA is likely to meet the majority of costs for the centre although The All England Lawn Tennis Ground plc are lending a proportion of building costs. This development has been met with mixed reactions Mark Petchey Sky TV presenter commented â€Å"Once again the LTA have their priorities wrong. Unless good youngsters are coming through, the National centre will be a white elephant. Indeed it has been further commented that the belief that there is a misconception that we have talented youngsters (Bob Brett) in the last 10 years there has only been 2 juniors in the International Tennis Federation’s top 50. One of the key suggestions causing the lack of talented juniors is the quality of coaches in Britain. On 2002 spending figures only 3% of the budget was allocated to coach education. There are currently 2,100 LTA licensed coaches working in clubs in the UK (Jago, 2002). Although that may sound substantial when this figure is put along side the total number of registered player (116,588) it amounts to one coach for every 55 players. The comparison of this to the French’s excess of 4000 licensed coaches clearly illustrates we have some catching up to go (Jago, 2002). The LTA aims to initially identify talent through the nation’s club system. Yet the current established club structure is will behind that of France and Germany. (Figure 5) France has some 9,200 clubs compared to the 2,400 on Britain (Fordyce, 2002). In addition most of the clubs in France have five courts and a clubhouse. Around 8000 of them were built and maintained by cities and local authorities, each one costs à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500,000. The idea of which would be a dream to the LTA and leave them with a substantially greater proportion of finance to invest in more for coaches, development programmes and competition structures (Jago, 2002) The culture of British tennis clubs may also be to blame. Tennis clubs in Britain might be a pleasant place for an adult to play a few sets on a Sunday afternoon – but they do little to help the country produce future champions. The former performance director Patrice Hagelauer, stated â€Å"The culture is one of leisure and social tennis – which is great, if you also have junior tennis and competitive tennis, but at a lot of clubs, that is not there† (Fordyce, 2002).  However, the key to developing successful players may not lie in the relatively expensive problems of increasing the number of clubs, courts and coaches but may be more with how we deal with potential talent and develop it. The LTA currently relies on talent selection, which is a process of differentiating between those young performers who are already in the sport in order to provide those with the greatest potential with opportunities for advanced level training, support and competition. However, there are a number of disadvantages with this method. Initially it relies on juniors to be playing the game and it has been shown that we currently fall behind in this area. Also, individuals usually compete with others in a similar age group and the most talented from that age group stand out. Selection of success at this young age may not be a direct indicator of potential due to the fact that it fails to take into account the varying maturation levels evident in individuals of the same age that actually dictates there power and strength due to their greater size evidently providing an advantage to those who have had a faster maturity rate. This may go some way in explaining why those talented at that young age and are selected to be developed fail to continue through and emerge and successful players on the senior circuit. It is obvious that this current method which the LTA employs doesn’t seem to working very well. Our only two players in the top 100 have been described as an ‘accident and a foreigner’ (Roberts, 2002). Tim Henman’s talent was tutored in a privately-run development scheme, and Greg Rusedski, was developed in the Canadian tennis system. Around the world other countries seem to have realised more efficient way of finding talented individuals. Much of the sporting success of Australia has been down to the realisation back in 1988 by the Australian Institute of Sport and particularly Dr Allan Hahn that it is no longer possible to have a reliance on club systems to deliver talent at an elite level. He stated that â€Å"to continue to be internationally competitive, we must actively seek to unearth the talent†. Talent searches initially implemented in rowing spread to a wide variety of sports, and following the announcement in 1994 of Australia to host the Sydney Olympics back in 2000 their in Federal Government allocated $500,000 a year for two years for national talent identification. The success of many Australian athletes at these games demonstrated the significance of such a programme (AIS, 2003). Subsequently in 2002, the tennis specific talent search was implemented namely the Targeted Athlete Project (TAP) . The program is individually designed to each player in the scheme to make them a better player. Each player is assessed upon joining TAP and areas of weakness identified. Funds are then allocated to addressing these problems (Tennis Australia, 2003) This programme aims to support 30 of Australia’s best boys and 30 of there most talented girls. Current members of the programme range from the ages of 11 to the oldest, 22-year-old Evie Dominikovi. With this system in place, Australia, who currently possesses the world’s number one in the male game, Lleyton Hewitt, will no doubt create many more players of international calibre. The adoption of such a scheme may make considerable financial sense for the LTA. Through the development of a screening process that identifies key multivariate constituents of a successful elite player more appropriate funding can be targeted at a limited number of individuals who it is known that they possess the right psychological, physiological, skill/decision making and even sociological aptitudes necessary for success. A system implemented in schools would not just limit the search to those who are currently active in tennis. This would eliminates both the players’ frustration of continued participation in a sport that they are not physiologically suited to and will prevent wasting finances on developing a talent that never had the potential to make it to the top, thus allowing the LTA to get the most out of its limited resources.  Can we develop talent and increase participation numbers simultaneously? The LTA may have set itself an impossible task of increasing player numbers and developing better quality players with the current finances. In an attempt to achieve both finances are spread too thinly and neither is achieved successfully. It is evident that these two aims may not be as mutually supportive as the LTA consider them to be. Indeed it has long been stated the key to possessing high numbers of elite sports players from a nation is to have a broad base of participation and the broader the base the increase in likely hood and probability there is of finding quality players. There are several critical flaws in this assumption and there are anomalies in statistics that prove so. Figure 6 demonstrates the weak relationship between these two variables and an increase in players is by no means a necessary pre-requisite for developing large numbers of elite performances. This is clearly highlighted in the case of Russia which has double the amount of tennis players Britain has in the top 100 yet has a 1/18th of the amount of total registered players (ETA 2000). Indeed although increasing the number of players may not have a direct effect on the number of elite players, the concentration of efforts in talent identification and development which will produce a greater number of elite players may have a combined effect in inspiring more players to take up the game; increasing the sports national profile and subsequent possibility of an increase in the sports allocation of financial assistance from national sources which would assist in broadening participation.

Are Formal and Semi Formal Financial Institution Partnerships a Viable Option for Serving the Underserved in India

Are formal and semi formal financial institution partnerships a viable option for serving the underserved in India Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar 10/6/2010 Indu Paramita Mahapatra and Malay Harsh The essay tries to identify the potential problems with financial sector and does a gap analysis that leads to potential opportunities in the sector.It also takes a look at the challenges faced by the different financial institutions, the goals achieved, the targets to be achieved and how the partnership between the different formal and semi formal institutions can create a synergy for serving the underserved of the country. Introduction: The reach and availability of finances determine the growth and development of any enterprise. Then how could the development of a nation be any different from it?It must be duly noted that majority of the country’s populace is out of the purview of the financial services which means more than half of our nation lacks access to savings an d credit facilities among other financial securities and services such as investment options and insurance policies. Where we the urban literati state ourselves to be heavily hassled by the innumerable calls and emails trying to sell us a loan or investment options, these very same options are visibly amiss in the large rural pockets, places where they might be actually be needed.The fact is, there is a gap between the financial services needed and what is available. Problem With financial services in India: Current scenario India’s Economy Growth rate has been around 8. 5% – 9% (last 5 years). Our growth primarily has been in the industry & services sector which has grown by about 16. 8 percent. Even though agriculture is the principal means of livelihood for over 58. 4% of  India's population, the growth in this sector is limited to around 2. 8%.Of the many factors that attribute to poor growth in agriculture, a major reason is lack of access to proper finance. Limited access to savings, loans, remittance ;amp; insurance in rural/ unorganized sector are major constraints to agricultural and SME growth. Financial access enlarges livelihood opportunity ;amp; empowers the poor. And empowerment in turn aids socio-political stability. Financial inclusion provides formal identity, access to payments system ;amp; deposit insurance.Types of Financial Exclusion: (i) exclusion from payment system: not having access to bank accounts (ii) exclusion from formal credit markets leading to approaching informal/ exploitative markets The marginal farmers, the landless labour, the self employed, the unorganized sector, urban slum dwellers, migrants, ethnic minorities, socially excluded groups, senior citizens and women are often not covered under the financial services. The North Eastern Region and the eastern ;amp; central regions are most excluded. Financial Inclusion and RBI’s role:For the past few years one of the important new objectives of the Reserve Bank of  India  has been financial inclusion. Financial inclusion  is the delivery of financial services at affordable costs to vast sections of disadvantaged and low income groups. Unrestrained access to public goods and services is the sine qua non of an open and efficient society. It is argued that as banking services are in the nature of public good, it is essential that availability of banking and payment services to the entire population without discrimination is the prime objective of public policy.The movement towards financial inclusion rose to a crescendo in the current year, partly because of the Platinum Jubilee Celebration of RBI and partly because the demand for financial inclusion has become a national and a governmental imperative. According to Annual Policy Statement of RBI, 2004-05 â€Å"†¦banks should be obliged to provide banking services to all segments of population on equitable basis. † In 2005 RBI advised banks to provide basic bank â€Å"no frills† accounts with low or minimum balance/ charges so as to expand anking outreach to larger sections of society. KYC principles were simplified to open accounts for customers in rural ;amp; urban areas for people intending to open accounts with annual deposits of less than Rs. 50,000. General purpose Credit Card (GCC) facility was available up to Rs. 25000 at rural ;amp; urban branches . Revolving credit was encouraged and withdrawal up to limit sanctioned was based on household cash flows . No security or collateral was needed for the same. Interest rates were deregulated.In January 2006 banks were allowed to use services of NGOs, SHGs, micro finance institutions, civil society organizations as business facilitators/ correspondents (BC) for extending banking services. BCs were allowed to do â€Å"cash in-cash out† transactions at BC locations ;amp; branchless banking. Pilots were set up to provide credit counseling and financial education. In June 2007, R BI launched multilingual website in 13 Indian languages providing information on banking services.For the financial inclusion drive, in identified districts, survey was conducted based on electoral rolls, public distribution system etc to identify households with no bank accounts. Banks were required to open at least one account per house. Mass media was deployed for awareness/ publicity. Bank staff/ NGOs/ volunteers took ration cards/ Electoral ID/ photos for fulfilling KYC norms ;amp; opening accounts. The different financial institutions and their roles:The government institutions fuelling the growth in the financial sector for the purpose of extending the banking services to the underserved in India are Regional Rural Banks, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, LAMPs, Commercial Credit Co-operative Societies, State Cooperative banks and Commercial banks. But then the entire system of lending must be self sustaining. Most of the above agencies are loss making units and need to be supported by the government with seed funds. The wide availability of such units extends the outreach of governments financial benefits to the large rural population.The commercial banks try and keep themselves distant from extending their financial services of credit, savings etc to the villages owing largely to the heavy cost of operation and servicing in the deep pockets and would rather cough up the penalty imposed on them by the Reserve bank of India for not meeting credit targets set for Priority sector lending. The cost of reaching the customer unto itself is too high and added to that is the high cost of transaction and servicing of small ticket loans and to top it all there is a high default rate on such loans issued.On the contrary the Non banking financial service companies operate on a much lean structure. The models on which the financial service extension is operating these days is constantly evolving into more and more innovative structures. Unlike the banks, the M FIs may furnish loans without collaterals or security deposits as they have exercise a social obligation on the loan applicant to repay the loans on time. As the loans are issued only through SHGs or JLGs, the liability of each loan rests entirely on the shoulders of the entire group and not just the individual.Thus the ticket size of the loans increase in size and cost of servicing the loans also gets appropriated. The NBFCs and MFI also sell out their loans to the Commercial banks who finance them thus ensuring that the commercial banks also end up meeting their target of priority sector loans that too at a profitable scale. The role played by the NGOs is also worth mentioning when we talk about the financial services in the rural pockets. There has been a rise in the number of SHGs owing to the capacity building and awareness activities taken up by the NGOs.The SHGs are informal bodies formed by the coming together of a homogenous group of people (preferably women) such groups ac tively promote mandatory savings among their members. From the funds collected loans are issued at nominal rates to its group members while loans can be sought for livelihood purposes largely, loans may also be sought for consumption needs. The SHGs are also trained for developing enterprises and businesses to fuel their growths. The other tangential benefits of women’s SHGs are the increase of social status and say a woman has in the communityPartnership of banks with organisations like â€Å"A Little World† and â€Å"FINO† has been a groundbreaking innovation where the above organisations in partnership with the banks extend no frills bank accounts to the rural areas and their people. The benefit is two pronged. It must be noted that the cost per transaction incurred per transaction on a bank teller amounts to roughly $1. 07 USD, while the cost of transaction per ATM transaction costs the bank around $0. 27 USD. The costs are prohibitively high for a commercia l bank to operate on lower ticket size transactions and hence can’t enter the rural market directly.The partnership models that FINO and ALW have adopted ensure that the underserved get access to the banking services by means of innovative rural ATMs that are all but hand held devices operated by either a village person or their own employee. The costs of such operations are low due to the absence of infrastructure needs. The above organisations take a cut from the account opening fee and a certain fee for operations costs. Goals achieved by the financial drive: No frills accounts: 6 million new â€Å"no frills† accounts were added between March 2006 ;amp; 2007.About 45000 rural ;amp; semi-urban branches of Regional rural banks (RRBs) ;amp; Public Sector Banks (PSBs) showed highest performance after the drive. SHG-Bank linkage: Access to banking system was provided through SHGs (groups pooling savings ;amp; providing loans to members). National Bank for Agricultural an d Rural Development (NABARD) extended support in group formation, linking with banks, and promoting best practices. As a result, the recovery was excellent – 2. 6 million SHGs were linked to banks touching 40 million households. SHGs were given loans by banks against group guarantees (Joint liabilities).With smaller loan sizes and reasonable rates of interest, SHGs were encouraged to take loans for consumption and to set up smaller business initiatives. IT Solutions: IT solutions were essential for doorstep banking. Pilot projects were started by SBI using smart cards for opening a/c with bio-metric identification. The smart cards were linked to mobile/ hand held connectivity devices to ensure transactions were recorded in banks’ books on real time basis. State governments started making pension ;amp; other payments under NREGS through smart cards. Other financial services (low cost remittances, insurance) were also provided through cards.IT solutions enabled large tra nsactions like processing, credit scoring, credit record ;amp; follow up etc. Role of Government: Some state governments played a proactive role by issuing identity cards for a/c opening, through awareness campaigns by district/ block level officials. Financial literacy drives were conducted and India Post was roped in as BCs. FM’s Budget Speech 2007-08 allocated a budget of $125 mn each to 2 funds (i) Financial Inclusion Fund for developmental/promotional work (ii) Financial Inclusion Technology Fund for technology adoption/innovation Challenges FacedWith the rates of interest being high the customer is sometimes still apprehensive in approaching for credit, as the poor do not have collateral to offer and are hence not always eligible to loans from govt. banks. The stronghold of the money lenders too is very strong as the loan servicing time of a money lender is very low and can be furnished at any hour of the day. Imposition of rate restrictions by the government may also r ender MFI businesses inefficient owing to high operations cost and defaults, the govt. Promotes defaulting each time there is a loan waiver issued by it.Such actions promote defaulting nature amongst the farmers. There is a disinterest of the rural population in taking insurance policies as there is no understanding of the same in the large rural pockets. The seasonality of the crops and harvest too impose a challenge to the lending and repayments to the financial institutions. Way forward: There’s a need to link the impact of the financial institution to the 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The impact analysis can be done by evaluating how far the financial institutions have been effective in contributing, directly and indirectly, to all the eight MDGs.Microfinance contributes to improving income and reducing hunger (MDG 1), providing children school education and training (MDG 2), and paying for health services (MDG 4 – 6). The main beneficiaries of microfinanc e services are women, so financial institutions contribution to women's empowerment and gender equality (MDG 3) can be studied. As for the environment (MDG 7), financial institutions are increasingly combining environmental programs with their financial services, although the contribution may be indirect.For MDG 8, since Target 12 calls for the development of open, rule-based, non-discriminatory financial systems, the expansion of financial programs themselves is the achievement of MDG 8. Hence the future of financial outreach lies on the synergy of formal and semiformal institutions to bring about a positive change. References: 1. http://timesofindia. indiatimes. com/business/india-business/Highest-industrial-growth-recorded-in-20-yrs-at-168/articleshow/5566436. cms 2. India. gov. in/sectors/agriculture/index. php 3. http://www. tradingeconomics. com/Economics/GDP-Growth. aspx? Symbol=INR 4.Financial Inclusion :Perspective of Reserve Bank of India,MK Samantray, RBI Guwahati 5. http ://banking. senate. gov/97_07hrg/072997/charts/chart01. pdf 6. http://www. nabard. org/ 7. Finance Minister's Budget Speech, http://www. rediff. com/money/2008/feb/29budget38. htm 8. Montgomery, H. 2005. Meeting the Double Bottom Line – The Impact of Khushhali Bank’s 9. Microfinance Program in Pakistan. Tokyo: ADBI. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. http://timesofindia. indiatimes. com/business/india-business/Highest-industrial-growth-recorded-in-20-yrs-at-168/articleshow/5566436. ms [ 3 ]. India. gov. in/sectors/agriculture/index. php [ 4 ]. http://www. tradingeconomics. com/Economics/GDP-Growth. aspx? Symbol=INR [ 5 ]. Financial Inclusion :Perspective of Reserve Bank of India,MK Samantray, RBI Guwahati [ 6 ]. http://banking. senate. gov/97_07hrg/072997/charts/chart01. pdf [ 7 ]. Financial Inclusion :Perspective of Reserve Bank of India,MK Samantray, RBI Guwahati [ 8 ]. http: //www. nabard. org/ [ 9 ]. Finance Minister's Budget Speech, http://www. rediff. com/money/2008/feb/29budget38. htm [ 10 ]. Montgomery, H.

6 Tips to Boost Your Energy Levels While Writing a Paper

6 Tips to Boost Your Energy Levels While Writing a Paper 6 Tips to Boost Your Energy Levels While Writing a Paper One nationwide study found almost 40% of respondents admitting that workplace fatigue impacts negatively on their productivity. This is just as much a problem for college students as elsewhere, so it’s important to keep your energy levels high when writing a paper. There are lots of ways you can do this, including both quick-fixes and longer-term solutions. 1. Fuel Up Make sure to give your body the fuel it needs. While writing, this might include having snacks and a drink to hand as well as stopping to eat regular meals. More generally, eating a healthy, balanced diet can improve your overall energy levels. It’s also important to drink plenty of water during the day, not just coffee! 2. Have a Plan As well as planning your essay to ensure efficiency, having a regular work routine and taking a structured approach to the day can boost productivity in the long run. 3. Soak Up Some Sunshine Spending too much time indoors can leave you drained, partly due to a lack of vitamin D. Exposure to natural sunlight boosts your body’s vitamin D production, so getting outside regularly can help if you’re feeling run down. If youre not sure how to sunbathe, just copy this lemur. 4. Get Active Even in the short-term, getting up and going for a walk is a great way of refreshing if you’re struggling for energy while writing a paper. In the long-term, regular exercise has been shown to increase energy levels and reduce vulnerability to fatigue, so staying active will ensure you’re always at your best. 5. De-Stress Another common reason we feel run down is stress, which can lead to physical and mental exhaustion. It’s therefore important to know the symptoms of stress, as then you can take action before it affects your productivity. 6. Rest Easy (And Well) The amount of sleep you get also influences your energy levels and you may struggle to concentrate on your work if you don’t get enough. Eating healthily and exercising regularly will help, as will foregoing caffeine and electronic products (TV, computers, phones, etc.) immediately before bed. On another note, napping has been shown to enhance energy levels and concentration among students. So, if all else fails, a quick snooze may be just what the doctor ordered!

Jonathan Swift on Style - Keeping It Simple

Jonathan Swift on Style - Keeping It Simple Other writers agree: that wise guy of English prose, Jonathan Swift, knew a thing or two about good style: Swifts style is, in its line, perfect; the manner is a complete expression of the matter, the terms appropriate, and the artifice concealed. It is simplicity in the true sense of the word.(Samuel Coleridge, Lecture on Style, 1818)No better style in English prose was ever written, or can be.(William Dean Howells, Preface, Gullivers Travels, 1913)Swift, the greatest writer of English prose, and the greatest man who has ever written great English prose.  (T.S. Eliot, The Varieties of Metaphysical Poetry, 1926) So when the author of Gullivers Travels and A Modest Proposal offers some free advice on writing, we probably ought to pay attention. Lets start with his famous definition of style as proper words in proper places. Short and sweet. But then, we might ask, whos to say whats proper? And just what does Swifts maxim really mean? To find out, lets return to the source. Swifts cryptic definition of style appears in the essay Letter to a Young Gentleman Lately Entered Into Holy Orders (1721). There he identifies clarity, directness, and freshness of expression as the chief qualities of a proper style: And truly, as they say a man is known by his company, so it should seem that a mans company may be known by his means of expressing himself, either in public assemblies or private conversations.It would be endless to run over the several defects of style among us. I shall therefore say nothing of the mean and paltry (which are usually attended by the fustian), much less of the slovenly or indecent. Two things I will just warn you against: the first is, the frequency of flat unnecessary epithets; and the other is, the folly of using old threadbare phrases, which will often make you go out of your way to find and apply them, are nauseous to rational hearers, and will seldom express your meaning as well as your own natural words.Although, as I have already observed, our English tongue is too little cultivated in this kingdom, yet the faults are, nine in ten, owing to affectation, and not to the want of understanding. When a mans thoughts are clear, the properest words will generally off er themselves first, and his own judgment will direct him in what order to place them so as they may be best understood. Where men err against this method, it is usually on purpose, and to show their learning, their oratory, their politeness, or their knowledge of the world. In short, that simplicity without which no human performance can arrive to any great perfection is nowhere more eminently useful than in this. Always think of your audience, Swift advises, and dont baffle them with obscure terms and hard words. Lawyers, surgeons, clergy, and especially academics should avoid using jargon when communicating with outsiders. I know not how it comes to pass, he says, that professors in most arts and sciences are generally the worst qualified to explain their meaning to those who are not of their tribe. One of the wittiest writers in the English language, Swift understood that his gift was rare: I cannot forbear warning you, in the most earnest manner, against endeavoring at wit in your sermons, because by the strictest computation it is very near a million to one that you have none; and because too many of your calling have consequently made themselves everlastingly ridiculous by attempting it. In other words, dont try to be a joker if you cant tell a joke. And at all times, keep it simple. Sound advice, right? But keeping it simple- putting proper words in proper places- is a lot harder than it sounds. As Sir Walter Scott once said, Swifts style seems so simple that one would think any child might write as he does, and yet if we try we find to our despair that it is impossible (quoted in The Cambridge History of English and American Literature).

Operations planning & control Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Operations planning & control - Case Study Example eport aims to analyse the case of the Ringinglow farm in terms of operational capacity and planning issues, and based on the findings to recommend the next steps to Fred and Gillan Giles. In order to increase returns on assets and to achieve the extra sales targets Gillian has decided to increase the number of farm visitors by 35 per cent through all the opening months in 2015. However, before making a final decision, it is necessary to analyze the demand for farm visits and the capacities. According to the information given in the case study, the number of visitors on weekend (Saturday and Sundays) is two times higher than on workdays. Therefore, it is possible to calculate the peak demand in 2014 and 2015 on a monthly basis. The data shows that the peak month in the Ringinglow farm is August (4258 visitors in 2014). Then, average weekly demand on Aug 2014 was 1064,5 visitors/week (=4258/4). On Saturdays or Sundays (August 2014) an average number of visitors was approximately 354 visitors per day (1/3 of 1064). Assuming that in 2015, the number of far visitors will increase by 35 per cent, during a peak month in August 2015, an average number of visitors will be 5748. The average weekly demand on August 2015 should be approximately 1437 visitors per week (=5748/4). On Saturdays or Sundays (August 2015) an average number of visitors was approximately 479 visitors per day (1/3 of 1437).Therefore, the pattern of farm visitors’ attendance is over 479 people on the peak day (Saturday or Sunday). As it has been identified in the case study, the parking capacity is 45 car spaces, and 6 spaces for 40-seater coaches. Assuming that the number of visitors arriving in one car will be 4, it is possible to say that the maximum car parking capacity is 180 people, and 240 people by coaches. Therefore, the maximum capacity of car parking per day is 420 people. Taking into consideration the fact that the forecasted number of visitors for 2015 during peak season in peak days

Public Service Electric and Gas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Public Service Electric and Gas - Essay Example Organisational change is the implementation of new thoughts and activities by a company. Organisational change is important in the sense that it can increase the efficiency of employees by achieving the goals. There are numerous challenges for change in organisation culture. To make the change successful, there is need to focus on developing association with stakeholders and unions. Organisations need to commence appropriate change program for successful change (Sengupta & Bhattacharya, 2006). The essay will describe the change in safety culture of PSE&G. PSE&G had faced several challenges in order to administer changes in safety culture. It was a long changing process which resulted in success. Reason for Change The change in safety measures of PSE&G had started in the year 1999 by virtue of cultural change. The reason for the change is to ensure safety of employees of PSE&G. It has almost 6500 employees and 32 factories. PSE&G had encountered recordable accident rates and loss of w orking days because of safety. In the year 2005, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the loss of working days had become 0.33 by the year 2007 (Simon & Cistaro, 2009). The following table shows the employees injury rate of PSE&G from 2001–2007: Source: (Simon & Cistaro, 2009). Organisational Design Issue The major design problem an organisation often confronts is the selection of horizontal differentiation and vertical differentiation which let organisation to manage the actions of employees for accomplishing the objectives. The following are major design issues that can be faced by an organisation: Source: (Jones & Mathew, 2008). Vertical Differentiation: Vertical differentiation is the method of forming the hierarchy of power and develops reporting connection to connect organisational job with organizational units. It helps to manage the actions and enhance the capability to develop a value of any organization through establishing the allo cation of power (Jones & Mathew, 2008) Horizontal Differentiation: Horizontal differentiation helps an individual to be specialised and be more dynamic. However, this type of delineation hinders the communication between divisions or units and averts people to learn from one another. As a consequence of horizontal differentiation, people of different units create a propensity to see one’s job strictly from the perception of the time structure, objective and interpersonal course of other’s unit. When different jobs are viewed differently, communication becomes unsuccessful and coordination fails between units (Jones & Mathew, 2008) In cultural change, PSE&G had faced problem of matching the ‘Standardization and Mutual Adjustment’ issue. In every organisation there are certain regulations, SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), traditional values and standards which specify how an employee can carry out the organisational task. In PSE&G, the employees were en gaged in performing job according to their own rule and they tended to take risks. Besides, there were also communication issues which had occurred from vertical differentiation. Thus, there was need for better interaction between management and the union to resolve the differentiation problem in cultural change process (Jones & Mathew, 2008) Cultural Factors The apt organisational culture can result in better employee performance. Organisational cult