Monday, September 30, 2019
Professional Growth Development Essay
      In every profession it is essential for an individual to develop and grow professionally. Leaning is a ritual aspect in professional development. Each day presents new demands that call for specified techniques in solving them. This paper studies career development for registered nurses working in the ICU.       The first step an individual needs in personal growth is to personally understand themselves that is creating and having self-awareness. This involves an understanding of ones self what an individual is and where they are their own environment as well as their perceptions. When a person understands what and where they are the benefits he or she is likely to get one various like, it would enable the individual to establish the essential steps they need to take so as to be more competent in certain particular situation.       In essence by establishing myself as an individual; I am able to establish the aspects within me that require development in order to be competent (Johnson 2003). This would also help me professionally, and as well to become the person I desire to be. Self-awareness offers a launch pad and foundation from where I can charter and enhance my development and thus the probability of becoming the nurse I want to be. The other benefit of self-awareness is that it enhances my individual sense of sensitivity and aids me to present myself in the way that I wish to as well as create the kind of impression I desire.       The other significant benefit about self-awareness is that an individual like me is able to communicate effectively (Johnson 2003). In view of the rational nature of the nursing profession as relates to practice; patients, families as well as the interdisciplinary health care organizations self- awareness is crucial as it provides me with a foundational knowledge of my self- understanding as well as self- knowledge. My individual familiarity with myself as a nurse that is born out of the realization of my self- awareness is a basis for self-acceptant as well as self-appreciation       However for me as an individual to attain a high level of self awareness I have to overcome certain personal factor that, become a barrier bas a tutor (nurse tutor/speaker) the fear is an emotional response that the nurse has to learn to deal with to achieve the full potential of self awareness. As a nurse I have to understand my personal fears as this would enable me get the support I need to progress and how to change to be the person I want to be. Additionally as a nurse I must be ready to change so as to be the person I want to be. I must abandon the â€Å"old†ways which have or were hindering me from being the teacher /speaker I want to be.             The individual nurse has to build within him/her as high level of self-esteem so as help develop the process of self-awareness. High self esteem makes an individual feel great about him/her self which makes it easy for self-exploration.       In order to expand the level of my self-awareness as a nurse I should be able to involve myself with others through conversations so as to learn more about my personality. For instance a nurse I can engage myself with colleagues to understand who I am, and what the teaching professional is all about. She can also engage with students too. This I can achieve by; asking questions then sharing the response I receive with my colleagues. I can also adopt the approach of self-interrupted, where I periodically challenge the participants to offer examples as well as concepts learned up to that point (Jeff Menguin 1968).       The effect of dialogue is that it can help me to develop my self –awareness in two broad categories, when the nurse is expressing her/himself, she or he begins to develop the speech skills as well as self-understanding is raised to a new lever. The process of dialogue enhance the aspect of clarity that is needed both in speech and teaching skills similarly suggestions as well as observations the colleagues as well as students together with others would promote the level of awareness as relates to aspects of themselves that were initially unknown to them.       The second aspects for the nurse to consider while trying to develop his/her speech/teaching skills is the theory of critical thinking critical thinking can generally be defined as the intellectually disciplined process that an individual employs actively and skillfully to analyze, synthesize with the aid of concepts to evaluate information generated by observation or experience. Thus critical knowledge presents the individual with an integral competent in the development of self-awareness and its addition to reflection as a nurse enables them to understand their encounters. For instance as an nurse educator who has a problem of too much â€Å"teacher talk†and I make proposals to her colleagues as well as others is likely to find better solution to my discussion skills. The critical thinking process would enable me nurse to understand the other aspects that coalesce to form situation during my speech or teacher talk sessions.       According to Brookfield (1987) critical thinking involves first identifying as well as challenging the assumptions the nurse educator is likely to make. The nurses should then consider the significance of the context under which she operates and then explore as well as be very imaginative to find other alternatives. I can then engage in what is known as reflective skeptism. However it does not have to be in this sequence       One of the best ways an individual may best achieve the best approach toward great critical thinking would be through reflections. As an individual nurse educator, I should try to flashback on my past experiences that helped my speech or teaching skills growth and those that as well as changed the speech /teaching skills, however these aspects could either be personal or professional. I should then analyze as well as evaluate my response to these situations like the kind of approach I took. Further I should look at what I normally do when attempting growth or change as relates to my profession as well as personal life. I should then consider the various results of my approach and whether the approach elicits the desired change or growth and finally consider the various steps I took to make the approach work.       The third option involves the theory of envisioning, that is trying to imagine what may be. This theory presents the nurse teacher with a look and understanding at what they wish to be and therefore a chance to grow. For instance an individual who wants to change but engages in the same process to obtain the desired change will always have the same results and thus be in the same familiar position he or she does not want to be in. thus it is essential for one to reflect on their past experiences of growth as well as change in their lives to determine the degree of changes as well as growth envisioned and at the same time achieved was aided or influenced by their sense of recognizing the possibilities of the outcome.       In most cases the nurses’ educator may view the chances of growth as a result of her or his life experience. However it is prudent for the individual nurse educator to find ways to expand this vision of growth to become something achievable and desired.       In essence an individual’s thought process offers an essential component to expanding their vision as the thinking patterns greatly affects the process of vision. Creative thinking thus presents a very effective as well as efficient means to development growth and change if well incorporated to the critical thinking concept as well as that of reflection. The integration of these three processes is vital as they help to broader the individual’s vision and equal aids him or her in understanding as well as referring their options and or possibilities.       The focus of creative thinking is usually based on â€Å"exploring ideas generating possibilities†as well as finding various correct answers instead of first a single answer (Harris, 1998). According to Harris (1998) creativity is the ability to appreciate new ideas and change and be ready to play with ideals as well as Charles, possibilities. In view of this definition a nurse educator may be able to develop my speech/teaching skills through the exploration of newfound ideas. Like in instances when I engage in discussions with my friends or colleagues both at personal and professional level I am able to find new ways to which I can make my presentations. This new developments may serve to enhance the educators speech /teaching skills       There are about five principle ways in which the creative thinking process is able to manifest itself; firstly there is the evolution process where the already existing ideas are broadly expanded as well improved on. This can be summarized as â€Å"a work in progress†in essence the nurse should by has learned or as well mastered. She can thus begin the process of synthesis that involves choosing an idea from two or more ideals. The chosen is an integration of the other thoughts resulting in a better way which she can present during her speech and at the same may be a best way to approach and make presentations to her audience. The third step of revolution process where a new idea that is considered best but is totally different from the previous one may be developed. For this case I can as a nurse during my presentations should look for new innovation ways even if they involve radically changing the already learned ideas. This may involve a new approach to new audience that she has not handled before to enable her meet their expectations.       The fourth aspect of creative thinking involves reapplication of â€Å"old†ways to new situations for instance if in a previous speech certain phrases or processes worked and she or he is faced with a similar audience, she can reapply the same processes used. The final aspect would involve change of direction. This entails the speaker/teacher shifting attention for one perspective to another to fix the demanding situation.   References Combs A, 1962: Perceiving, Behaving A New Focus for education Association for       Supervising and Curriculum Development, Washington DC Lemin K, 1947. Group Decision and Social Change in Reading In Social Psychology.       Holt, NY. Mentoring Relationships       Mark came up to me last week and broached the subject of mercy killing of terminally ill patients by medical staff. He explained how painful he is finding it attending to such patients feeling their pain, hearing them groan in pain and breaking the bad news to the kin. As an intern, this had taken toll on him and with time he would become disillusioned. We talked over the issue and discussed what the consequences would be. We have developed a tight professional bond since he was assigned to me as his mentor. We reinforce each other when the pressure is too much. Mostly, he draws from my large experience to find solutions to his problems while I rely on his youthful vigor that makes me feel rejuvenated at times when am hopeless. Our relationship is therefore complementary. Mentoring involves two individuals where a person acts as the guide who is more knowledgeable in a certain filed to a new entrant in that field. As the mentor I provide my protà ©gà © with source of information and advice. The protà ©gà © presents me with questions, observations and ideas for scrutiny and recommendations. This relationship is beneficial to us both in terms of profession growth. The protà ©gà © can always walk up to me whenever encountered with a problem. He or she is guaranteed of my accessibility and availability to discuss professional issues. In my interactions with my protà ©gà ©s, I recount to them the various instances my protà ©gà ©s have saved the day for me. I once overlooked a skin rash when diagnosing a patient only for my protà ©gà © to point it out to me. It later proved to be the key to our treatment. Some of my mentorship relationships are long-term others short term. They usually end once the protà ©gà © has gained enough knowledge. I usually wean off my protà ©gà © in terms of assistance or help with time as he or she gains more experience. Our relationship will continue till the point where the protà ©gà © is fully assimilated in that field. My mentoring relationships therefore are temporary processes with the aim imparting knowledge on new nurses in our hospital. Through this mentorship program we are able to enhances the ability of new employees to exercise their full career potential. (Developing mentoring)       Theoretical approach taught in schools cannot be fully relied on in the real world especially in the nursing world. A new nurse will need hands-on experience to learn how to carry out various delicate tasks. Instead of leaving a new nurse to grope in the dark, I provide him or her with tested and proven solutions or workable plans. As the protà ©gà © internalizes these skills, I gradually fade further into the background. I let him or her more freedom to work on his or her own without close supervision. The protà ©gà © is developing new knowledge and applies his or her original ideas to it. Over time, he or she acquires knowledge that would be useful in advancing his or her career. Mentorship does not necessarily come at the onset of one’s work life. It can also apply where an experienced individual in one field decides to practice in a different field. He or she will look for guidance from those who preceded him or her in that field. (Developing mentoring). When I decided to switch to being nurse educator ten after becoming a Registered Nurse, I armed myself with an MBA. But even with this theoretical base, I would not have matured into all rounded educator if the senior educators did not mentor me. They guided me on how to handle and motivate student nurses. Usually, the mentor will have undergone the protà ©gà © stage at a point in his or her life.      Our mentorship program helps individuals achieve potential growth in their nurse careers. Inexperienced entrants gain confidence through our mentorship. When they start out, they fear that they will fail to live up to the professional expectations. They want to deliver but are not given full chance to prove their abilities. This is especially so in fields that requires maximum care in handling work. That is, when work involves delicate procedures such as nursing. Through our mentorship programs however, a person who has been through it all guides the new nurses through the operations of the hospital. We also give the protà ©gà ©s support in delicate organizational operations. We push for the protà ©gà ©s case to the hospital’s administration to ensure that the protà ©gà © is allocated more satisfying roles in the hospital. Our mentorship program also provides the protà ©gà ©s a forum to present their ideas.       New entrants after observing operations and by applying knowledge learnt elsewhere may develop ideas to improve our operations. He or she will present these ideas to his or her mentor putting forward all major points of the idea, its merits and demerits and other issues such as cost. Together we brainstorm the issue to see how workable it is. We as the mentors straighten out any assumptions that the protà ©gà ©s may have wrongly made drawing from our advanced knowledge and our wealth of experience in that field or organization. This would give the idea a more realistic and workable face. We as mentors are also able to easily gain audience with the administrators to push for the adoption of the idea.      As a mentor, I also provide psychological support to new entrants who find the hospital environment to be too hostile. The first few days at work are usually frustrating to the point that some may consider quitting. Most of the workforce will not care how well a new nurse has adapted to the job. They expect speedy service and will grumble at the slow service offered by a new nurse. Some of the seniors are even very hostile to the new nurses. We step in to reassure the protà ©gà © and make him or her (protà ©gà ©) to feel appreciated and welcome. I also provide an opportunity for the new nurses to make friends especially with my colleagues. This makes the new employee feel welcome. (Developing mentoring)      My mentorship services can either be formal or informal. Formal is the sense that its start can be traced to a particular time. Both my protà ©gà © and I know that we are getting into a mentorship program and both approve of it. Our roles are set out clearly for both of us. This mentorship program is mostly assigned in that the faculty allocates the protà ©gà © to me. It can also be self-appointed. Here, the protà ©gà © approaches and arranges with me for a mentorship services. This relationship is usually long and its results measurable.       Mentorship relations that are informal do not have a specific beginning time. It just happens that I find myself in a mentor-protà ©gà © relationship with another person. Rather it is not what we had set out to do. It’s the situation that makes one of us to rely on the other for guidance and counseling. This relationship develops due to another relationship in place between us. When it’s evident to both of us that we are in a mentorship relationship and approve of our roles we continue to play them.       A new nurse may be inducted in to a hospital through an organized mentorship program usually by assignment. He or she learns the hospital’s style of doing things. Such a program ensures a new nurse fits in and is able to deliver quality service. It boosts his or her confidence and job security. Whenever I offer mentorship services, I achieve self-gratification and also strengthen my leadership skills.       What my protà ©gà © and I settle for depends on the issues at hand. Different people will have different needs. As mentor I sometimes determine future job my protà ©gà ©. I usually encourage the protà ©gà © to raise his or her level of education to achieve faster rise through the ranks. I also provide guidance to my protà ©gà © on what line specialize in depending on his or her strengths. I also advise the protà ©gà © on how to avoid certain mistakes in their careers that would hinder their rise. (Developing mentoring)       My mentorship relationships are built on key individual characteristics found in both of us. We must have adequate understanding of each other. Only then can we help each other out. Only with good understanding of each other can we combine to set up goals. Both of us are more comfortable with each other and can open up more easily if we are familiar with each other. Another key characteristic is respect. I should not look down at a new nurse as incapable rather should see him or her as an individual with a potential to be exploited. I must believe in my protà ©gà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s abilities and treat him with dignity. Communication between us is key. Without a functioning communication, neither the protà ©gà © nor I would be in a position to put across ideas, questions or recommendation.       We start by identifying the needs and determining our end goal. Then we put in place a clear plan indicating the specific roles of each party, and the formula for achieving our end goals. Then we develop the framework by which to adopt the plan. The program is then set up with regular appraisals done to determine its effectiveness. (Canadian Nurses Association, 2004)       The cost of a mentorship program is forbidding. It requires a lot of resources to set up. It is also prone to sabotage by either parties. The mentor may also take advantage of the protà ©gà © either financially or sexually. To prevent such problems I usually insist on meeting normal our meetings and in my office. Workplace Violence In my career so far, the worst experience I have had was to work under a menacing senior nurse as a greenhorn. She had a bad tempered and I took the worst of it. She would constantly shout and gesture at me. I could no right thing in her eyes no matter how hard I tried. She heaped blame on me on things that were even beyond me as an intern. What hurt me most was when I did a good job and expected praise only to get a reprimand for a certain commission. I started feeling that I was in the wrong career and almost quit in frustration. Only after I talked to another senior nurse who was my mentor did I regain my interest in my vocation. She told me to stand my ground and engage my senior in a reasonable controlled argument. She also told how to report the issue to the administration if the harassment did not stop immediately. When I did not back off when the bully came at me, it took her by surprise and she ended up breaking down. She explained her fears and hardships to me, which she wa s passing on to me. The behavior stopped immediately and my job became more fulfilling to me. When Rose, one of my protà ©gà ©s, approached me with the same problem, I related my experience to her. I told her that she should neither give up on her vocation nor accept bad treatment.       Workplace violence is violence meted against employees of an organization. It could be across employees of the same rank who unite and make life hard for others or it would cut across different ranks. Here, the seniors mistreat the junior rank employees. Work place violence could be verbal or physical. It includes sexual harassment, racial slurs or mere rudeness. It can also occur from the customer being served. Some customers are very rude to the new employees when being served. Some jobs have higher risk of workplace violence than others. Social work services and cab drivers are examples of work groups, which face a lot of hostility from customers. Workplace violence meted to a junior officer by a higher rank officer is very prevalent. It even passes off as effective management. This is especially in high-tension work environment such as a theater in a hospital.      I always address the problem of work place violence when mentoring my protà ©gà ©s. I spell to them what is work violence, how to recognize it and the options open to the protà ©gà ©Ã‚  Nurses are usually the recipients of verbal onslaught and physical attacks b physicians. Nurses are also victims of attacks by their colleagues who gang up to victimize a targeted member or their workforce. The victims of these bullies have to deal with many accusations and insinuation that are untrue. The bullies usually blackmail their victims or just use threat of violence to stop them from reporting. When they zero in on a target, they are sure that they will not get punished making them bolder in their attacks. The victims recoil further unable to take any action.       Bullying of nurses by fellow nurses is most unfortunate as this is supposed to be a team that functions together in provision of health care. Most of these attacks are prompted by jealousy especially where senior nurses see new recruits as having had an easier time when joining the profession. They brand them demeaning names and      withhold information from them. They sabotage their work and heap blame on the young entrants. The poor attitudes of the senior nurses are passed on to the physicians who also ridicule and harass the new recruits. The new nurses are criticized at the slightest of mistakes. The bullies may make crude remarks or use non-verbal language to hit out at the recruits. They make work environment for the new nurses very hostile. (O’Reilly, Pauline, 2005)       I usually present to my protà ©gà ©s the effects of this violence on new nurses in the long run. When faced by continued bullying, most nurses want to quit. They were previously enthusiastic about the vocation and had great ideas in mind on how to care for their patients. Not being given a chance to develop into fully skilled careers frustrates them. They become disillusioned and want to leave. Constant intimidation and humiliation leaves them greatly dissatisfied. This leads to high turnover of nurses as more nurses quit causing acute nursing shortages. Most of them will quit at the first opportunity o getting on their job. Others will even opt for a lower paying job than nursing.       Bullying also harms the victims both bodily and mentally. New nurses feel unappreciated and disliked for their hard work. The constant reminders about their failures get to them. They cannot get an outlet from constant pressures and threats. The workload is made much more difficult by withholding of some necessary information. Hospital administrations do not provide an avenue for them to air their grievances. In fact they are supposed to forward their complaints through the same nurses who oppress them. Pushed to a corner, they develop escapist tendencies such as drug abuse, alcoholism and depression. They also exhibit other characteristics such as insomnia, general unkemptness, irritability and sheer timidity. They experience burnout and may suffer from nervous breakdown. Some may even turn suicidal due to the frustration.       Some victims of bullying internalize the inferiority complex. They see the whole process as a rite of passage that everybody must undergo. They take the abuse in their stride and will act timidly lest they provoke the bullies. They feel that at one time it will be over. Instead of actively fighting the oppression, they expect that through their passiveness they will gain acceptance and be spared from further attacks by the bullies. (O’Reilly, Pauline, 2005)       To the hospitals, they get reduced productivity from their nurses. There is huge nurse turnover as more nurse’s walk away. High turn over leads to high cost of training and recruitment affecting the hospitals bottom line. Nurses who remain have a big workload and this hurts the quality of service delivered. This is serious having in mind the sensitivity of healthcare provision. The hospital also misses out on creative ideas and innovation that the new nurses would have implemented. They are not only denied a chance to air them but it is also constantly drummed into them how useless they are. If some of these ideas had been considered, hospitals would make huge steps towards achieving better service delivery and cost cutting and increase efficiency. When the hospital administrations allow the vice to go on unabated, they are killing growth opportunities that would have otherwise been available to them at very low cost. Nurses cannot attempt anything new for fear that it does not take off, it would lead to further attacks and humiliation or even loss of jobs.       Most bully nurses are arrogant, inhumane and selfish. They fall back onto threats and intimidation when running their workplaces. They fear new nurses who might have better qualifications and who might replace them at some point. To wad off this threat, they attack the perceived rival. They are not open to any different point of view and will enforce their view on everybody. They usually hold a key supervisory role earned through domination of those under him or her. They expect everybody to rise through the ranks slowly just as they did no matter the qualifications. In their roles they use coercive force. Victims of bully attacks are usually new nurses who are very enthusiastic about putting skills they learn in to use. They are ambitious which the senior nurses interpret as a threat. (O’Reilly, Pauline, 2005)        In general, the patient stands to loose when bullying is allowed to escalate. Bullying kills team effort among the nurses of different ranks. These nurses and physicians are supposed to operate as a team in order to save lives. Disharmony among nurses would have negative impact on quality of health care. It may even lead to loss of lives. This would spark off another blame game, which would most probably point at he new nurses.       To overcome bullying in hospitals, the administration should put a stop to the vice. They should put in measure that allow for reporting and prompt penalizing of bully attacks. They should put it clearly that all workers of the hospitals should be treated with dignity and respect.       The administration should also organize for effective communication avenues for the hospital staff. Junior nurses should access the hospital management at all times. The hospital administration should enhance communication between the various work groups. Bonding sessions and team building activities should be organized. The hospital should make the nurses to feel appreciated and wanted not as free riders that should be admonished. Higher ranks of hospital staff especially senior nurses should be made to be supportive of the junior nurses in their early period of the careers.       Another strategy to overcome bullying in hospitals would be to encourage the victims to take up Non-Violent Communication. This means that while they do not absorb the vilifications and abuses, they do not react in the same manner used by the bullies. They counter them by calm firmness and engaging them in controlled argument. The victims should maintain a record of the attacks and keep on reporting to the authorities. In this endeavor victims should come together in a one non-violent but firm voice. (O’Reilly, Pauline, 2005)       References O’Reilly, Pauline, RN, MN, 2005. Professional Growth: Fostering Psychologically Health Professional Relationships. BCIT, School of Health. Developing mentoring Canadian Nurses Association, 2004. Achieving Excellence in Professional Practice: A Guide to Preceptorship and Mentoring. Developing Programs for preceptorship and Mentoring. Retrieved on 10/24/07 from http://www.cna-nurses.ca/CNA/documents/pdf/publications/Achieving_Excellence_2004_e.pdf
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Longboarding
Cameron Campbell English 1010 October 25, 2012 â€Å"Longboarding†Grippy and maneuverable, longboards are safer for street surfin’ and they can give you the most bang for your skateboard buying buck. Many people in this country associate skateboarding with ollies, grinds, and other tricks made famous by icons of the sport such as Tony Hawk. However, there is an entirely different way to utilize a board with wheels attached to it which doesn’t involve any hopping or flipping, just riding it. Longboards are wonderful for those who enjoy being outside and schussing down a smoothly paved hill.Longboarding matches similar feelings and maneuvers associated with surfing and snowboarding. Instead of relying on the ocean or a snowy mountain, most people can find a decent patch of pavement for some exhilarating laid-back fun. Young people around the country purchase longboards for purposes that symmetrical skateboards struggle to perform, such as transportation over long distances and achieving sharper turns. The shape of these boards, their elevation from the ground, and their rubber wheels allow much smoother, faster riding than the characteristics of normal skateboards.Not only is the act of riding a longboard much different than that of a common skateboard, but there is also an entirely different culture for the sport. Instead of starting from scratch, trying to learn tricks that may intimidate new skateboarders, all a budding longboarder needs to succeed is balance and a little confidence. The popularity of longboarding is largely attributed to how fun it is. The rush of cruising at high velocities coupled with the friendly, carefree culture that boarders have established help make longboarding a timeless sport.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Banking Industry in Nigeria
Against the backdrop of the role of banks as financial intermediaries and their function as the engine of growth of the economy, this paper examines the extent to which the banking industry has helped to stimulate economic activities in Nigeria and what the prognosis looks like in the post-consolidation era.The paper notes that the banking industry in Nigeria witnessed a remarkable growth in terms of deposit base, number of branches, total asset and volume of loans and advances, especially since the de-regulation of the financial services sector in the last quarter of 1986. However, given the potentials of the market, banks need to do more, particularly in financing the real sector of the economy.It is argued that the consolidation programme is expected to have a positive effect on employment in the long-run, and that has drastically altered and redefined the nature of competition in the banking industry. Furthermore, it argues that mere size would no longer be a critical factor in t he customers’ choice of which bank to patronize. Rather, emphasis would shift to the ability to deliver superior value to customers. THE BANKING INDUSTRY AND THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY POST-CONSOLIDATION By DR. B.B. EBONG GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR/CHIEF EXECUTIVE UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Banks facilitate economic growth in a variety of ways. In the first instance, they act as financial intermediaries between the surplus generating units and the deficit spending ones. This is a two-fold function involving the mobilisation of savings from the former group which are then channelled to the latter to support productive economic activities. This intermediary role is important in two respects.First, by pooling together savings that would have otherwise been fragmented, banks are able to achieve economies of scale with potential benefits for the users of such funds. Secondly, in the absence of banks, each person or business seeking credit facility would have had to individ ually look for those with such funds and negotiate with them directly. This is a cumbersome and timeconsuming process of double coincidence of wants. By matching the preferences of savers with those of borrowers therefore, banks help in overcoming such difficulties.It is pertinent to note that it is from this intermediation function that banks normally not only earn the bulk of their income by way of interest margin but also pay out returns to savers, compensating them for the opportunity cost of their money. It is important to bear this point in mind because, as we shall see later, if any bank is unable to recover the funds it lends out, its own existence as a going concern would be undermined rapidly and ultimately. This is to the extent that its ability to meet the withdrawal needs of depositors would be impaired.It is for this reason that the officials of any bank cannot afford to toy with the management of its risk assets. Towards ensuring that the funds they lend out are recov ered, banks have found it expedient to provide business advisory services to their customers. The essence of availing their clients these services is to assure themselves that the beneficiaries adopt modern management policies and practices in running the affairs of their respective companies which benefit from borrowed funds. The ultimate goal is to guarantee that these customers are in a position o service their loan obligations as and when due. This, in turn, would enable banks meet their obligations to depositors while also earning a narrow margin to ensure business continuity and corporate growth. Banks also play a pivotal role in an economy by providing a mechanism for producers/buyers and consumers/sellers to settle transactions between themselves. They do this not only within a country but also across national boundaries through a highly efficient and technologically enabled payments systems.In the process, banks encourage specialisation and division of labour, a major advan tage of which is the enhanced production and economic growth of the country. Furthermore, banks act as a conduit for the transmission of monetary policy. They provide a veritable platform when it comes to the implementation of monetary, credit, foreign exchange, and other financial sector policies of the government. Among other things, monetary policy is designed to influence the cost and availability of loanable funds with a view to promoting non-inflationary growth.The instruments available to the Central Bank to achieve this include open market operations (OMO), the cash reserve ratio (CRR), liquidity ratio (LR) and of course, moral suasion. The capacity of the banking industry to perform these functions effectively is, to a large extent, determined by the financial health of the individual institutions themselves and soundness and viability of the industry as a whole. For instance, where the majority of banks are adjudged to be weak and unhealthy, that will impair the ability of the industry to lubricate economic growth and vice versa.Against this background, the objective of this presentation is to examine the extent to which the banking industry has helped to stimulate economic activities in Nigeria and what the prognosis looks like in the post-consolidation era, come January 2006. To achieve its objective, this paper is organised into five parts. Following this introduction, we review the performance of the Nigerian banking industry between 2000 and 2004 in section II. The challenges facing the banking industry, which the current reform programme was designed to address, are highlighted in section III.In section IV, we present the prognosis and outlook during the post-consolidation era while section V contains the concluding remarks. 2. 0 THE PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGERIAN BANKING INDUSTRY IN 1990 – 2004 PERIOD. The banking industry in Nigeria has witnessed a remarkable growth, especially since the de-regulation of the financial services sector in t he last quarter of 1986. In terms of headcount for instance, the number of banks increased by about 154. 8% from 42 in 1986 to 107 in 1990. It further increased by about 12% to120 in 1992.By 2004, however, the number had reduced to 89. This was because, some banks had to be liquidated on account of their dwindling fortunes. The number of bank branches also rose from 1,394 in 1986 to 2,013 in 1990, 2,391 in1992 and by 2004 in spite of the reduction in number of banks, it had reached 3,100. This translates to an inter-temporal increases of 44%, 18. 8% and 29. 7%, respectively. Given this scenario, the pertinent question agitating the critical mind is the extent to which the expansion in the number of banks and their branch network had impacted on the economy.Another way to evaluate the performance of banks is to carefully examine the credits they granted, both in terms of volume, distribution by sectors, and the maturity profile. The data on banks’ credit to the economy are sho wn in table 2 below. Table 2: Banks’ Credits to the Economy, 1990 – 2004 Year Aggregate banks’ credit (Net) (N billion) 42. 58 49. 41 59. 25 125. 75 162. 83 194. 05 266. 44 Growth rate (%) Net Domestic Credit Target (%) 13. 5 10. 6 13. 2 17. 5 9. 4 11. 3 12. 0 Actual (%) 17. 1 45. 3 69. 1 91. 4 29. 2 7. -23. 4 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 16 19. 9 112. 2 29. 5 19. 2 37. 3 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 302. 31 378. 08 608. 44 807. 01 1,033. 64 1,302. 2 1,591. 2 2,078. 1 13. 5 25. 1 60. 1 32. 6 28. 1 26. 0 22. 2 30. 6 24. 8 24. 5 18. 3 27. 8 15. 8 57. 9 25. 7 24. 5 -2. 8 46. 8 30. 0 -25. 3 79. 9 64. 6 29. 1 12. 0 Source: Central Bank of Nigeria, Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, (various years) As the figures show, the rate of growth of aggregate bank credit (net) to the domestic economy ranged from 13. % in 1997 to 112. 2% in 1993. However, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, in its 2004 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, an ana lysis of the sectoral allocation of these credits revealed that the less productive sectors of the economy continued to be favoured. For instance, in 2003, those sectors comprising agriculture, solid minerals and manufacturing got only 40. 2% of the credits. The situation worsened in 2004 as this figure further declined to 37. 0%.The corollary of this is that, on average, it was more attractive for banks to lend to such sectors as distributive trade, especially import financing, because the risks associated with such lending were relatively lower. The turn around time was equally shorter. Furthermore, as shown in the last column of table 2, actual domestic credit (net) consistently deviated from target for most of the years for which data was shown. If we take the targets to be representative of societal preference, what this means is that the flow of credit for each of those years was far from what was socially desirable.The quality of these risk assets has worsened progressively s ince 2002 as the statistics in table 3 demonstrate graphically. Table 3: Asset Quality of Nigerian Banks, 1990 – 2004 Year Ratio of non-Performing Credit to total Credit (%) Ratio of non-Performing Credit to Shareholders’ Funds (%) 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 44. 10 39. 00 45. 00 41. 00 43. 00 32. 90 33. 90 25. 81 19. 35 21. 5 16. 9 21. 3 21. 6 23. 08 344. 00 222. 00 299. 00 380. 86 567. 70 496. 00 419. 80 253. 09 89. 20 92. 2 77. 1 85. 9 89. 105. 3 Source: Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Annual Report & Statement of Accounts, Various Issues The data in table 3 reveal that the ratio of non-performing credit to total credit declined from 45% in 1992 to 23. 08% in 2004. This means that of every N100. 00 lent out during these years, banks lost an average of N30. 60. These losses contributed in no small way to the erosion of shareholders’ funds as shown in the table. These bad accounts represented 567. 7%, 419. 8 % and 105. 3% of shareholders’ funds in 1994, 1996 and 2004, respectively.In deed, in the years 1990 to 1997, the shareholders’ funds had been impaired by non-performing risk assets in several multiples. The factors responsible for the poor quality of risk assets range from inadequate appraisal of credit proposals, unfavourable environmental factors that adversely affected the cash flow of the clients’ businesses to sheer unwillingness to repay credit facilities on the part of borrowers and the corresponding ineffectiveness of the rule of law to catch up with pathological loan defaulted some of whom moved round and ravaged one bank after the other.The deterioration in the quality of banks’ risk assets took its toll on the health of the industry as the outcome of the rating of all licensed banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria using the CAMEL parameters has shown. The result of that exercise, which is reproduced in table 4 below, has shown glaringly that th e performance of banks in the country has deteriorated since 2001. Table 4: Rating of Banks Using the CAMEL Parameters, 2001 – 2004 2001 No. of % of Banks Total Sound 10 11. 1 Satisfactory 63 70. Marginal 8 8. 9 Unsound 9 10. 0 Total 90 100. 0 Category 2002 No. of Banks 13 54 13 10 90 2003 No. of Banks 11 53 14 9 87 2004 No. of % of Banks Total 10 11. 5 51 58. 6 16 18. 4 10 11. 5 87 100. 0 % of Total 14. 4 60. 1 14. 4 11. 1 100. 0 % of Total 12. 6 60. 9 16. 1 10. 4 100. 0 Source: Central Bank of Nigeria, Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, 2004 From the table above, it can be seen that the banks adjudged to be sound was consistently less than 15% of the total number for the four-year period.In addition, those whose performance was considered satisfactory represented as high as 70% of the total in 2001. By 2004, however, this group represented only 58. 6% of the total number of banks covered by the exercise. Apart from poor quality assets, other factors responsible for th is state of affairs include under-capitalisation, weak corporate governance practices, and the challenges of ethics and professionalism. It is these factors that the on-going reform agenda seeks to address with a view to totally overhauling the system.These issues are examined in more details in the next section. 3. 0 CHALLENGES FACING THE BANKING INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA The current banking sector reform in Nigeria was designed to promote the viability, soundness and stability of the system to enable it adequately meet the aspirations of the economy in terms of accelerated economic growth and development. The reform agenda was motivated by the need to proactively put the Nigerian banking industry on the path of global competitiveness to enable it effectively respond to the challenges of globalisation.The overall objective is to guarantee that the economy and Nigerians do not remain fringe players in the context of a globalizing world. The major challenges that the reform was targeted at include inter alia, the following: Weak capital base. Most banks in Nigeria had a capital base that was less than US$10 million while the largest bank in the country had a capital base of about US$240 million. This compared unfavourably with the situation in Malaysia where the smallest bank had a capital base of US$526 million.The small size of most local banks, coupled with their high overheads and operating expenses, has negative implications for the cost of intermediation. It also meant that they could not effectively participate in big-ticket deals, especially within framework of the single obligor limit. The challenge of ethics and professionalism. In a bid to survive the stiff competition in the market, a number of operators had resorted to unethical and unprofessional practices. Strictly speaking, some even went into some businesses that could not be classified as banking.In appreciation of the enormity of the problems caused by the failure to adhere to professional and ethi cal standards, the Bankers’ Committee set up a sub-committee on â€Å"ethics and professionalism†to handle complaints and disputes arising from unwholesome and sharp practices. Poor corporate governance practices. There were several instances where Board members and management staff failed to uphold and promote the basic pillars of sound corporate governance because they were preoccupied with the attainment of narrowly defined interests. The symptoms of this included high turn over in the Board and management staff, inaccurate reporting and on-compliance with regulatory requirements. Gross insider abuses. One area where this was pronounced was the credit function. As a result, there were several cases of huge non-performing insider-related credits. Insolvency. The magnitude of non-performing risk assets was such that it had eroded the shareholders’ funds of a number of banks. For instance, according to the 2004 NDIC Annual Report, the ratio of non-performing cr edit to shareholders’ funds deteriorated from 90% in 2003 to 105% in 2004. This meant that the shareholders’ funds had been completely wiped out industry-wide by the non-performing credit portfolio.Over-reliance on public sector deposits. These deposits accounted for over 20% of total deposits in the system. In some institutions, such public sector funds represented more than 50% of total deposits. This was not a healthy situation from the viewpoint of effective planning and plan implementation, given the volatile nature of these deposits. On account of the huge reliance on public sector funds, a number of players did not pay adequate attention to small savers who normally constitute a major source of stable funds which should be channelled to finance the real sectors.Instead, they concentrated on a few high networth individuals, government parastatals and blue chip companies. It was in response to this situation coupled with the need to accord the small and medium ent erprises sub-sector the priority it deserves that the Bankers’ Committee came up with the Small and Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEIS) with a view to redirecting credit flows to the sub-sector Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the foregoing captures the situation in the banking industry at the time the reform agenda for the sector was conceptualised and introduced.One has taken time to highlight the challenges that the industry was grappling with to enable us better appreciate the rationale for the reform in terms of what it is intended to achieve. Even though the consolidation programme has thirteen basic elements, it is those relating to the minimum capital base for banks and mergers and acquisitions that have received the most attention in the ensuing public discourse on the subject. In the light of this, it might be useful to enumerate these elements, more so that they are at the centre of this discussion.These planks of the reform programme are: Incre ase in the minimum capital base of banks from N2 billion to N25 billion with December 31, 2005 as deadline for compliance; Consolidation of banks through mergers and acquisitions; Phased withdrawal of public sector funds from banks, beginning from July, 2004; Adoption of a risk-focused and rule-based regulatory framework for the industry; Adoption of zero tolerance in the regulatory framework particularly in the area of information rendition/reporting. All returns by any bank must now be signed by the Managing Director;The automation of the process for rendition of returns by banks and other financial institutions through the electronic Financial Analysis and Surveillance System (e-FASS); Establishment of a hotline and confidential internet address to enable Nigerians wishing to share confidential information with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to do so; Strict enforcement of the contingency planning framework for systemic banking distress; The establishment of an Asset s Management Company as an important element of distress resolution;Promotion of the enforcement of dormant laws, especially those relating to the issuance of dud cheques and the law relating to the vicarious liabilities of the Board members of banks in cases of bank failure; Revision and updating of relevant laws, and drafting of new ones relating to the effective operations of the banking system; Closer collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the establishment of the Financial Intelligence Unit and the enforcement of the antimoney laundering and other economic crimes measures; andRehabilitation and effective management of the Mint to meet the security printing needs of Nigeria, including the banking system which constitutes over 90% of the Mint’s business. The likely impact of these measures on the banking industry and the economy are examined in the next section. 4. 0 ANTICIPATED IMPACT OF THE CONSOLIDATION PROGRAMME ON THE BANKING INDUSTRY AND T HE NIGERIAN ECONOMY In this section, we will attempt to paint a scenario regarding the probable impact of the consolidation programme on the banking industry and, hence, the economy.In doing so, it is important to reiterate that even though the reform agenda is targeted at the banking industry, its ultimate focus is the Nigerian economy. In view of this, and in order to put the discussion in proper perspective, we would like to begin this section with a brief review of the performance of the economy between 2000 and 2004 which data are presented in table 5 hereunder: Table 5: Nigeria, Selected Macroeconomic Indicators, 2000 – 2004 Indicator Real GDP Growth Rate (%) Oil Sector Non-Oil Sector Manufacturing Capacity Utilisation (%) Gross National Savings (% of GDP) Gross Fixed CapitalFormation (% of GDP) Inflation Rate (%) External Reserves (US $ million) 2000 5. 4 2001 4. 6 2002 3. 5 2003 10. 2 2004 6. 1 11. 3 2. 9 5. 2 4. 3 -5. 7 7. 9 23. 9 4. 5 3. 3 7. 5 36. 1 39. 6 44. 3 45. 6 45. 0 NA 11. 3 15. 6 13. 6 15. 3 7. 3 7. 2 9. 1 12. 0 16. 2 6. 9 9,910. 4 18. 9 10,415. 6 12. 9 7,681. 1 14. 0 7,467. 8 15. 0 16,955. 0 Source: Central Bank of Nigeria, Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, 2004 The data in table 5 reveal that, in real terms, the rate of growth of domestic output ranged from 3. 5% to 10. 2% between year 2000 and 2004. The average annual growth rate for the period was 5. 6%, which falls far short of the 10% minimum that is required for the country to meet the targets set in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Furthermore, the service sector and wholesale & retail trade still account for a disproportionate share of total output, considering our stage of economic development. On the other hand, the real productive sectors like agriculture and manufacturing are yet to assume their pride of place in the economy. As can be seen from the statistics, capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector was consistently below 50% throughout the five ye ars.Among other things, this is a reflection of the undue competition that local manufacturers have had to face from their relatively more mature and efficient overseas counterparts. These are not healthy developments from the viewpoint of a developing country that is desirous of achieving sustained economic growth. Given the low level of domestic output, coupled with the rising demand, it is not surprising that the authorities were not able to keep the inflation rate below double digit as intended.It is this parlous state of the economy that the banking sector reform was designed to address at the end of the day. The expectation is that the reform programme will impact positively on the banking industry and thus put the economy on the path of sustainable growth. While most analysts have expressed serious concerns regarding the adverse impact of the consolidation programme on the level of employment, the authorities at the Central Bank of Nigeria have allayed such fears.While acknow ledging that employment opportunities in the industry would shrink, at least in the short run, the management of the Bank is optimistic that the long-term positive effects of the reform programme on the labour market will be more far- reaching. The thrust of the argument is that at the end of the day, the consolidation programme will lead to a stronger and more robust banking industry that will adequately support the expansion of economic activities, especially in the real sectors of the economy. In this process of rejuvenating the economy, more job opportunities will be created.The consolidation programme will drastically alter and redefine the nature of competition in the banking industry. By significantly increasing the minimum capital base for banks, the policy has not only raised the barriers for new entrants, it has also reduced the number of banks in the system through the mergers and acquisitions. It will be recalled that hitherto, competition in the industry was essentially between those players that one may safely refer to as the â€Å"industry giants†on the one hand, and those popularly referred to as the new generation banks, on the other.Going forward, however, what we will witness is a battle for survival among the ensuing mega banks, all with extensive branch network. In the new dispensation, stability of individual institutions and, hence, safety of depositors’ funds is not likely to remain a major consideration in customers’ choice of which bank to patronise. Rather, emphasis will shift to the ability to deliver superior value to clients and stakeholders generally as well as the prices for bank products and services. As pointed out earlier, many banks in Nigeria had relied heavily on the public sector as a source of funds.Consequently, they did not aggressively explore available potentials in other market segments. This situation will, however, change with the withdrawal of public sector funds from the vaults of banks as part of the policy shift. We therefore expect that banks will focus more on those sectors that were hitherto underserved like the real, informal sectors, including the consumer market. They need to devise creative ways of effectively tapping into the opportunities in these market segments, both in terms of deposit mobilisation and the provision of credit facilities.Going forward therefore, banks are more likely to provide better support for sustained economic growth in Nigeria. The pressure to aggressively explore those market segments that were hitherto underserved will be reinforced by the desire on the part of the management of each bank to continue to generate attractive returns to shareholders. Currently, the average return on invested capital (ROIC) in the Nigerian banking industry is estimated at 38%. With the substantial increase in shareholders’ funds, however, each bank will need to generate a minimum of N9. billion in profit before tax in order to maintain the same rate of return. This is a daunting challenge that calls for creativity. To meet the challenge, banks will need to radically redefine their business models and strategies. The status of corporate governance in the banking industry is expected to improve remarkably following the change in ownership structure. This is because, even though poor governance practices cut across the industry, they were more pronounced in the privately owned institutions.Given the dilution of ownership in the new dispensation, the situation where individuals and their cronies had overbearing influence in the running and management of banks will become a thing of the past. Moreover, as public companies, each bank will now be subjected to a higher standard of governance in terms of information disclosure. 5. 0 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION In this paper, we have examined the probable impact of the on-going banking sector reform on the Nigerian economy.In the process, we drew attention to the challenges facing opera tors in the banking industry that need to be addressed for the industry to make desired contributions to the orderly growth of the economy. These challenges encompass those of unethical and unprofessional behaviour, poor corporate governance practices, weak capital base, and over-dependence on public sector deposits. From the analysis, it is clear that the consolidation programme will impact positively on the economy for a number of reasons.First, the development is expected to have long-term beneficial effects on the level of employment considering that it will facilitate enhanced production in diverse sectors of the economy. The reform programme will also redefine the nature of competition in the banking industry such that each institution will have no choice but to assign priority to its capacity to deliver superior value to its clients, since this is what will ultimately make the difference between losers and winners. By denying anks access to public sector deposits, the reform will make it imperative for them to shift focus to those market segments that were largely unbanked and untapped hitherto. Furthermore, it is envisaged that the consolidation programme will have salutary effects on corporate governance practices in the industry. In concluding this discussion, it is important to reiterate that the realisation of these outcomes would depend on the effective implementation of the programme. In particular, it would depend on how the banks that have embraced mergers and acquisition handle the post integration challenges that will face them.Where these issues are nor properly handled, the anticipated synergy may become elusive.BIBLIOGRAPHY Central Bank of Nigeria, Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, (various issues. ) Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Annual Report and Accounts, (various issued) Statement of Mckinnon, R. I. (1973), Money and Capital in Economic Development Washington, D. C. : The Brookings Institution. Oboh, G. A. T. (2005), Sel ected Essays On Contemporary Issues In The Nigerian Banking System. Ibadan: University Press Plc.
Friday, September 27, 2019
The American Dream Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
The American Dream - Essay Example Essay on The American Dream provides us with numerous controversies that have emerged regarding The American Dream from diverse intellectuals in both America and other global states. Mainly, these encompass the real, practical meaning of The American Dream besides what the incumbent and other former patriotic leaders have tried passing on to the citizens. The essay example shows that some intellectuals and especially from the other global states have linked The American Dream with greed for materialistic gain, whereby they have cited US’ pretentious diplomacy. Since, US’ interest in other global states’ affairs is not to help them to resolve conflicts or ensure peace, but dexterously benefit from them especially in the oil rich regions (Middle East) (Gawenda). Consequently, this has prompted numerous spiritual intellectuals stating the actual hidden meaning of the dream as â€Å"greed, capitalism and failure of spirituality†evidenced in the America presen tly (Lillie 36). This is evident in the current US’ augmenting moral decay characterized by legalizing of both marijuana and gay marriages. Some intellectual critics have also cited the prevailing racism and inequality among the Americans have soiled the real meaning of the esteemed American Dream. This is because many people especially those emanating from the lower class claim that, only the whites comprise the high percent of affluent Americans.
Thursday, September 26, 2019
THE LECTORAL SYSTEM OF GERMANY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words
THE LECTORAL SYSTEM OF GERMANY - Essay Example The parliament is usually given fourteen days to elect its chancellor officially after the final election results. Normally, elections happen after every four years and the same process begins all over again. There are no by-elections in Germany - if members of the Bundestag die or resign in office, those next on the list of the party in the appropriate State/Land automatically succeed them (Welle, 2009, para13). 30 Like all countries in Western Europe that have adopted the proportional system, Germany has more than twenty percent female parliamentarians, which clearly indicates a strong correlation between the type of electoral system and the level of female representation. As expounded earlier on, Germany uses a mixed or double electoral system with both a proportional representation system and single member constituencies and each of them selects half of the Bundestag members. However, the election of the majority of German female politicians is through the proportional representation list. Unlike in other countries such as the United Kingdom where voters and local parties object to having imposition of all-women shortlists on them, the list system in Germany has enabled parties to increase the proportion of female members of parliament in the Bundestag quickly. 38 The system of proportional representation also includes a quota that requires from each province, a minimum of two female delegates. This means that the parliament body will be at least twenty-five percent women. In full representation, there is an increase in the access of greater number of candidates. Sun argues that holding all other factors constant, under proportional representation system, the likelihood of electing women is almost twice as compared to majoritarian systems. Furthermore, under full representation system, measures such as quotas for minimum number of candidates aimed at increasing the representation of women are much easier to implement since the
Corporate strategy assignment for pepsi co. company
Corporate strategy for pepsi co. company - Assignment Example From a strategic perspective, it could be observed that PepsiCo is the global leader in convenient snacks, foods and beverages market. According to Ansoff Matrix, PepsiCo has been using the growth strategy of product development. It has been observed that the company is constantly introducing new products into existing market and this has been the strategy that has helped Pepsi to grow. Some of the popular brands that have been introduced in the existing market i.e. food and beverage includes Mountain Dew, Diet Pepsi, Lays, Doritos, Tropicana, Gatorade and Quaker. The aim of such constant development is to remain ahead of competitors in the market and to enhance the market share by providing the customers with variety of products. In order to create value, the core strategy of PepsiCo is to enhance the product offering in the same market. This has been continuously observed that PepsiCo has introduced several brands in its existing market to create value and to tackle its competition. According to a research conducted, it has been that in emerging markets like India, 25 percent of the sales volume comes from juices and water. Similarly, 60 percent of the volume in North America comes from non-carbonated drinks. The TWOS matrix has focused on providing recommendations for the future strategy of PepsiCo. TWOS matrix is an important tool to formulate strategies (De Wit, & Meyer 2004). In order to do so, the strategies for the company have been analyzed and identified using the strengths and opportunities of the company, using the weaknesses and opportunities, using the strengths and threats of the company and then using the weaknesses and threats of the company. 2) To revamp sales in the market, PepsiCo should focus highly on the changing demands of its customers in the market. Additionally, the company should enhance its products in
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Explain what you believe to be the 3 biggesrt reasons why the price of Essay
Explain what you believe to be the 3 biggesrt reasons why the price of a gallon of gasoline has fallen so much in the last few momths - Essay Example or the decreased price is the decreasing oil demand based on that numerous countries have been developing oil reservoirs that can sustain their internal industry. In the United States, the production of oil has increased significantly since 2008. The increase has been influenced by the more advanced drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil production from the United States has increased the supply to the international market. In addition, different from oil from the Middle East, the price for American Oil is relatively cheaper (Plumer 1). This is based on that the United States has decreased its purchase level of expensive international oil. The impact of the strategy has been consumer friendly. In the global market, more oil from the United States and other suppliers the supply is relatively high. This decreases the monopoly of production from the Middle East (Plumer 1). Moreover, with high supply the demand in in major oil producers decreases. To sustain their production, oil producers decrease the oil prices with the objective to retain relevance in the global market. This changes has significantly influenced the decreasing gasoline prices. The consumer ability to purchase cheap oil is directly influenced by the general drop in the price of crude oil. The fall being attributed to high supply and low demand of the product. On a daily basis, the United States millions of barrels of oil to supply to the large global oil economy. The slightest decrease on the price of crude oil has a significant effect on the retail price quoted for the gas. From 2013, the price of crude oil has decreased significantly. The projection of the decrease depict even more relatively low prices by the end of 2015. The fall of global prices was also influenced by the decision by OPEC not to manipulate oil prices and oil production (Plumer 1). Previously, the oil body would determine the prices of oil from its producers. The body has in its control the largest producers of global oil. With
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Change Management of the Company Engaged in a Merger Term Paper
Change Management of the Company Engaged in a Merger - Term Paper Example Effective management of change process in an organization is vital as this determines and contributes to a successful implementation of the changes. Change implementation in an organization is a process which if well managed it can lead to a decrease in change resistance and higher productivity, competitiveness, and profitability of an organization. The management should come up with strategies to ensure that the change management process is successful. For effective change management to take place, the human resource must be highly involved it is the gear towards attaining a change in an organization. Change is naturally detested especially because of the uncertainty it leads to and as such, cases of resistance must occur. Effective management of resistance is vital in ensuring that the changing process runs smoothly and quickly. As mentioned, the management must ensure that the changes which are about to be implemented in an organization are highly appreciated by the workers. Manag ement should engage in dialogue with the workers so as to ensure changes are implemented. Training and counseling are also vital in enhancing change management in an organization (Johnson, 1992). ABC Company a high-tech company, being faced with hyper-competition decided to engage in a merger with two of its competitors. The merger required a major changing process, especially because the other two competitors were employing completely different management and production styles. This required implementation of a change management process which is explained below. Competition has been on the rise which is caused by globalization, dynamism in the technological environment and emergence of competitive companies in the market. This has necessitated constant changes in most organizations which are aimed at taking advantage of opportunities posed by the environment while at the same time minimizing costs and threats which the environment poses.
Monday, September 23, 2019
Coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words
Coursework - Essay Example Introduction The global financial have been experiencing a rapid growth in last two decades and considering the present scenario of the global market, it can be claimed the market is emerging with major developments. The globalization of financial market has been passing constant developments which have been led by the concept of globalization and internationalization. Globalization has influenced the entire human activities including their culture and life style. In case of the business, the globalization has led to bring significant improvement including the process of management. The thought process of managers and owners has changed as they have started to realize their responsibilities. On the other, with this internationalization of business, the entire global business is also suffering from complexities and intensified competition. However, in order to cope with these complexities and competition, the business organizations have also developed a number of effective tools and t echniques. In the same manner, the global financial markets have also emerged as an important and developed industry. Finance always has been a vital area for the every individual and institution. With the increasing the globalization of business, the necessity of financial services has also been frequently. The global the financial institutions and companies have realized the underlying opportunities in global platform and they keep expanding their market. In this course of development in the global financial markets, there are certain influencing factors. This paper will attempt to discuss important aspects of international financial markets which have led to bring such development. The overall discussion will be presented in four major sections followed by a concluding remark. The first will address the role of financial deregulation and capital control in international diversification. The next section will offer s discussion the two major drivers of financial i.e. technology an d innovation in global financial market and it will be followed by a description and mechanism of carry trade strategy. Finally, the influence of international capital market on share price and cost of capital will be explained followed by an overall conclusion. 2. Role of Financial Deregulation and Capital Control on Financial Globalization and International Diversification 2.1. Concept of Financial Deregulation and Capital Control The importance of the financial deregulation has started to rise with increasing opportunities in the global market place. Financial deregulation can be referred as abolishment of restrictive laws that often cause barriers for the financial institutions. Financial deregulations are important and similar as the free trade policies. Both, the financial deregulation and free trade policy strive to bring development in the market by increasing competition Hope and Maeleng have defined the free trade policies as â€Å"competitor-enhancing device†as it is meant to discard the unnecessary restriction and barriers by offer
Sunday, September 22, 2019
The Post Office and Tesco Essay Example for Free
The Post Office and Tesco Essay For this task I have been asked to describe the type of business purposes and ownership of two contrasting business, the two businesses I have chosen are The Post office and Tesco, I will be contrasting these two businesses in this report. The post office was established in England in 1660 by Charles II, it has been running ever since and is known world wide and is used every day of the week, The post office is in charge of mail and deliveries that have been paid for by customers and they will post them to the place listed on the item, the post office will then dispatch the item to the receivers location through planes/vans to postmen to the receiver, sometimes you have to sign for the product which helps customers with things like insurance of the item. The Post office is a government owned business as it is paid for using the tax payer’s money which means the government takes care off expenses of the business and they will also have to deal with any problems that are going on the will also take the profits that the business makes, the post offices operates nationally as the postal service operates only in the country and post is sent every day, The post office falls under the tertiary sector because they sell a service for e.g. they sell people mail deliver as they deliver they mail for money, The post office supply a postal service in which they post/deliver your letters so they can make profit, the post office supplies its services to customers by allowing them to use post boxes to post their letters, but the letter must have a stamp that has to be bought at a post office, for larger items like packages you will have to take them to the post office and get them sent from there, the post office exists to offer a postal service to the public so they can deliver your packages/letters to other destinations the post office also charge money to send letters using them, they also exist to make profit for the government, it was first open in 1660 as a way to deliver letters/notes from city to city but has developed in the years which has made it more complex. The post office supplies services to the public by charging them to deliver their letters at a fee, you will have to go to a shop and purchase a stamp which can be used to send letters, also for larger letters or packages you will have to visit the post office and they will take care of the package for you and also will charge you depending on the weight off the package/letter, The Post office business operates nationally, The Post Office is needed for the country’s postal service to run, if this business was to close down many people would loose their jobs and also the country’s postal service would collapse and the mail would be unorganized, as this is a government owned business the government will try anything to keep this service/business running because it could cause the country’s postal service to collapse. The first Tesco was opened in 1919 by a man called; Jack Cohen from that 1 store Tesco has grown in the market and now has 923 stores worldwide, (Sentence from wikipedia) Tesco is a supermarket that sells all kinds of household items such as food, clothes range, Technology range, phone range furniture, toys and many more, Tesco has many different stores which make a lot of money every year. Tesco falls under the tertiary sector as they are a supermarket who sells products made by other companies to the public/customers who use their services, Tesco buys a lot of stock from other companies such as Wholesales and sells them off a profit, Tesco is a Public limited company (PLC)which means that it is a business that has over  £50,000 the business isn’t owned by one person, it is owned by different shareholders who all share decisions made in the business, and also share the profits and the responsibilities of the business. Tesco has stores all around the world which means it is a Global business It has many stores in places like Korea, Poland, Taiwan and Thailand and over 923 stores worldwide, Tesco sell household goods such as foods, clothes and even furniture they sell these products so that they can make a decent profit at the end of the year, Tesco exists to make money, they make there money by selling stuff at suitable prices which customers can afford so it is easier to shop with them and so they can also make more money, Tesco was opened in 1919 as one store which has transformed into a Globally known business. They operate in different parts of the world but mostly in the U.K. Tesco supplies its services/products to customers by allowing them to come in store and buy the products that they need and when they are done they will go to a checkout to pay for them, Tesco exists to offer goods at reliable prices, for the public to buy, Tesco is well known for cheap products at suitable prices that people can afford, it has also uses advertising and is on price comparisons sites to show how cheap they are. If Tesco was to close down a lot of people would loose their jobs, but it wouldn’t affect customers as much as if the post office closed down, because there are many other supermarkets which the customers could change to, there are other supermarkets like, Asda, Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s and many others we’re people could shop instead of Tesco so it wouldn’t affect the government/customers that much.
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Computer Is Derived From The Latin Term Computer Science Essay
Computer Is Derived From The Latin Term Computer Science Essay The word Computer is derived from the Latin term computare which means to calculate. THAKUR computer is an electronic device that is designed to work with information. A computer is electronic device that does not do any work by itself but works under the instruction given by user. A computer is the combination of Hardware and Software. A computer is an electronic device that manipulates information or data provided by user and process them which can be stored, retrieved at the time of necessity. (GCF LearnFree.org, 2013) Hardware is the physical component that can be touched, be it a digital watch, calculator, cellular phone, laptop, desktop computer or any other item that can hold intangible information (Starr, 2013). It is the part of computer that actually does the work according to the instructions provided to them. Moreover, it provides platform for software to operate on it. Hardware is a comprehensive term for all the physical parts of the computer, as distinguished from the data it contains or operates on (Open Projects, 2013). Fig1.1: Intel D975XBX Motherboard (Apoptosis, 2005) Simpson (n.d.) defines software as a general term for information thats recorded onto some kind of medium. Software refers to programs or applications that need to be installed into a computer or hardware in order to perform certain tasks. It is a set of codes that gives instructions to the hardware. In other term software is a set of programs, procedures, algorithms and its documentation concerned with the operation of a data processing system. Fig1.2: Computer Software Computer cannot operate or perform any task by its own will; it needs someone to perform any task. That someone is called user of the computer. Thus we can concluded like this Computer System = Hardware + Software + User Task 1: Identify major role of computer system in bank. (1.1) (P1) Duhaime.org (2013) defines bank as a corporation empowered to deal with cash, domestic and foreign, and to receive the deposits of money and to loan those monies to third-parties. A bank is a financial organization where people can deposit their money for safety, withdraw money and take loan to start a new project. In 1899, the United States Supreme Court defines bank as an institution, usually incorporated with power to issue its promissory notes intended to circulate as money or to receive the money of others on general deposit, to form a joint fund that shall be used by the institution, for its own benefit, for one or more of the purposes of making temporary loans and discounts; of dealing in notes, foreign and domestic bill or exchange, coin, bullion, credits, and the remission of money; or with both these powers and with the privileges in addition to these basic powers of receiving special deposits and making collections for the holders of negotiable paper, if the institutions s ees fit to engage in such business.(duhaime.org, 2013) As bank involved in monitory transactions of public to the public security of public property is essential part of banking. Richardson (2013) says computer help bank personnel operate more efficiently and effectively and help to track transactions, help process other customer information as well. In fact computer saves time and money which aid to generate profits to the banks. Banking would be dangerous field to work in without computers, people would go to the bank carrying large sum of money and leave the Bank on next day just to finish counting the money manually but computers have made it possible that one can simply walk to the ATM and withdraw the money without necessarily waiting in a long cue to get served by the teller, getting around clients details is far much more improved than before. The major roles of computer system in banking sector are Customer Information Products Reports and Profits Transactions a nd Goals Credit Applications Delinquency Miscellaneous Customer Information The most important component of bank is to keep its customer information safely. These information is used to stay in touch with customers and notify them of any changes in bank policy. Computer stores all the information of customer which can be used in different banking functions such as Customers account number provides bank employees the ability to access customer information efficiently (Richardson, 2013) Products The number of products and services provided or taken by a customer is also stored in computers. Bank personnel periodically offer new products and services to its customers. Without the use of computers, it would be difficult to keep track of this information (Richardson, 2013) Reports and Profits With the help of computer, banks can analyse aging reports and track the customers who have had checks returned due to nonsufficient funds. This report can be used by the sales associates to call these customers and offer them a product called overdraft protection, which prevents a customer from over drafting their account. Computers help bank personnel generate income by targeting certain customers for sales activity (Richardson, 2013). Transactions and Goals Richardson (2013) computer helps bank personnel to keep a record of all transactions for the day which can be summarized at the end of the month or year. When customers make deposits and withdrawals, cash checks, open checking accounts or apply for mortgage loans, a computer stores and track all the information. After tabulating all the information branch manager or head of bank can see if the branch hits its goals and objectives. Credit Applications A bank can use computers for new loan applications and credit card applications; ChexSystems verification; and opening new accounts such as checking, saving or certificate of deposit accounts (Richardson, 2013). Delinquency Computers can be used to track customers who are delinquent on their loan and credit card payments. Computers can generate separate reports for customers according to age and can contact the customer for resolution, which helps keep delinquency under control. Miscellaneous Computer can keep a record of all communications that a bank employee may have with a bank customer including collection activity. A bank can also use a computer to see which safety deposit boxes are available and they can keep a record of customers who have safety deposit boxes. Task 2 Discuss and compare the different types of computer systems available in the market and recommend types of computers and softwares applicable for above environment and justify your recommendation. (1.3)(D1) Business Dictionary (2013) defines computer system as interconnected computers that share a central storage system and various peripheral devices such as a printers, scanners, or routers; each can operate independently but has the ability to communicate with other external devices and computers. A computer system is contemporary usage refers to a desktop system including computer itself along with peripheral devices such as CPU, monitor, speaker, keyboard, mouse, Wi-Fi adapter, Bluetooth adapter, modem, printer, scanner etc. Computer systems can be categorized according to their processing speed and power. Computer System Microcomputer Minicomputer Mainframe Supercomputer Notebook Tablet PC Laptop Netbooks Desktop Handheld Devices Minitower Full tower Fig 2.1 Types of computer system on the basis of speed and power Computer system also can be categorised according to work it has to perform. Computer System Entry Level Business Class Gaming System Workstations and servers Fig 2.2: Types of computer system on the basis of work. 2.1 Types of computer system on the basis of speed and power Computers can be classified based on their principles of operation or on their configuration. Configuration means their size, speed of doing computation and storage capacity (Computer Basics for beginners, 2013). On the basis of configuration computer can be classified as follows: 2.1.1 Microcomputer According to Wong (n.d.) a microcomputer is a computer that can perform all of its input, process, output and storage activities by itself. These are commonly called as personal computers. Microcomputer can be further divided into different types based on the size of CPU and major and minor components. Notebook A notebook computer is a battery or AC powered personal computer generally smaller than a briefcase that can be easily transported and conveniently used in temporary spaces such as on airplanes, in libraries, temporary offices, and at meetings (Rouse, 2007). Notebook computer is a small mobile computer, which usually weighs 2-18 pounds depending on size, materials used to make it. Laptop A laptop computer is a battery or AC powered personal computer generally smaller than a briefcase that can easily be transported and conveniently used in temporary spaces such as airplanes, in libraries etc (Rouse, 2007). It typically weighs less than 5 pounds and is 3 inch or less in thickness. It is more expensive than desktop computers and has same capabilities as of desktops. Desktop Desktop computers are the most popular computer systems because these are easy to use and more affordable. These are also known as personal computers or PC. This computer can be placed on flat smooth table for convenience and comfort when in use (Rastogi, 2009). Fig 2.2: Commodore Amiga 1000 desktop. (Obsolete technology website, 2012) Minitower These are recent modification on the system unit whereby the system unit is made to stand erect on its own and placed beside the monitor unlike desktop whicl lies flan on tables and monitors placed on it. Fig 2.3: HP Pavilion XT978 mini-tower computer( Sushi, 2013) Full tower These computers are closely related to the mini tower except that they are a bit higher and wider in physical size than the mini tower. Fig 2.4: Full tower PC (BuildIT, 2010) 2.1.2 Minicomputer Mini computers are lower to mainframe computers in terms of speed and storage capacity. They are also less expensive than mainframe computers. Typically minicomputers have been stand-alone computers sold to small and mid-size businesses for general business application and to large enterprises for department-level operations (Rouse, 2005). It is further subdivided into: Table PC A tablet allows users to compute without the added bulk of a keyboard and mouse. These are similar to PDAs and have touch screens but they are larger and contain more operating power and storage (Ilyas, 2013). It generally has pen like stylus and accept handwritten input directly on the screen. They have keyboard on the screen through which input can be provided. Netbooks Netbooks are then newest form of minicomputer. They run on OS and can perform all tasks that a laptop computer perform. Most of the netbooks lacks optical drive, Bluetooth, PC cards however external optical derive can be connected via the USB port (Ilyas, 2013). Handheld devices These are also known as Personal digital assistants (PDAs), which are small enough to fit comfortably in the users hand or pocket. They can easily communicate with other computers including desktop, by cables and wireless technology (Ilyas, 2013). 2.1.3 Mainframe computer Mainframe computer can process data at very high speeds i.e. hundreds of million instructions per second and they are also quite expensive (Computer basics for beginners, 2009). These are larger than micro and minicomputer in term of size and faster in term of data processing speed. It uses its power to execute many programs concurrently and in some ways they are more powerful than super computer because of they support simultaneous programs (Gandon, n.d.) 2.1.4 Super computer Supercomputer is a broad term for one of the fastest computers currently available. These are very expensive and most power computer and are employed for specialized applications that require immense amounts of mathematical calculations. It channels all its power to execute few programs as fast as possible (Gandon, n.d.). It can process billions of instructions per second and are used where intensive numerical computations such as stock analysis, weather forecasting are to be done. 2.2 Types of computer system on the basis of work With the rise in computer technology, computer is being used in different purpose nowadays. On the basis of work or task that computer should perform or assigned to do computer system extremely vary. A simple desktop computer system may not efficient for gaming purpose or vice versa. On the basis of work computer can be classified into. 2.2.1 Entry Level computer Entry level computer system is the most common systems for home and general use. This system is powerful enough to perform basic task like to run office package, simple photo edition or watching movies or surfing Internet (White, 2005). System Requirement for Entry Level Computer System Computer Processor Intel Pentium IV or Celeron running at 2GHz or better, or AMD Athlon, Duron or Semphon running at 1.5 GHz or better. System Memory (RAM) 256 MB of DDR RAM or better. Hard Disk Storage 40 GB or higher. Optical Storage. CDRW/DVDRW Monitor CRT USB Ports 2.0 standard at least 4 ports. Video At least 32 Mb-often uses system memory Audio Should be included along with speakers Network Adapter Should be included (for Internet) Table 2.1: System Requirement for entry level computer system. (White, 2005) 2.2.2 Business class computer Business class computer system is common in business such as Departmental Store, Banking Sector and Governmental Organizations etc. It is slightly more powerful than Entry level computer system because of its higher hardware configurations. System Requirement for Business class Computer System Computer Processor Intel Pentium IV or Celeron running at 2GHz or better, or AMD Athlon, Duron or Semphon running at 1.5 GHz or better. System Memory (RAM) 512 MB of error correcting code (ECC) DDR RAM or better. Hard Disk Storage 40 Gb or higher. Optical Storage. CDRW/DVDRW Monitor CRT USB Ports 2.0 standard at least 4 ports. Video At least 32 Mb-often uses system memory Audio Should be included along with speakers Network Adapter Should be included (for Internet) Table 2.1: System Requirement for Business class computer system (White, 2005) 2.2.3 Gaming computer Unlike Entry level computer system and Business class computer system; these are specially built for Gaming purpose. These computer system are highly hardware configured to match any gaming software requirements like NFS, Delta Force, Dota, CS(Counter Strike) etc. System Requirement for Gaming Computer System Computer Processor Intel Pentium IV or Celeron running at 3GHz or better, or AMD Athlon, Duron or Semphon running at 2.2 GHz or better. System Memory (RAM) 2GB of DDR RAM or better. Hard Disk Storage 520 Gb or higher. Optical Storage. CDRW/DVDRW Monitor 17 incd LCD USB Ports 2.0 standard at least 4 ports. Video At least 128 MB DDR RAM video adapter with Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) and heat sink Audio 5.1 Dolby Network Adapter Should be included (for Internet) Table 2.3: System Requirement for Gaming Computer System (White, 2005) 2.2.4 Workstation and Server. Workstation and servers are specially designed to store important data and information at single computer so that every concerned people can access them when needed. The number of clients that access Server or Workstation at a time depends upon the purpose it is kept for. For e.g. a multinational company like Nokia may have higher Workstation hardware configuration than that of local banking system. System Requirement for Workstations and servers Computer System Computer Processor Intel Pentium 4, Intel Xenon, AMD64, AMD64FX, AMD Opteron. System may support multiple processors System Memory (RAM) 256 MB to 8 GB of DDR RAM or better. Hard Disk Storage 1TB Optical Storage. Task Specific Monitor 17 inch CRT USB Ports 2.0 standard at least 6 ports. Video Task specific Audio Task specific Network Adapter High end Network Adapter Table 2.4: System requirement for Workstations and servers. (White, 2005) 2.3 Software Computer Hope (2013) defines software as a collection of instructions that enables a user to interact with the computer or have the computer perform specific tasks for them. Software is non-tangible part of computer which is set of collection of codes and instructions to be executed according to the user choice to communicate with computer and perform users desired task when necessary. Software provides life to the computer without it computer would have been useless machine for us. 2.3.1 Types of Software Different types of computer software are available in the global market which is used to simplify the operations and applications of computer programs. Computer software enables the computer system to perform in accordance with the given task. Computer Software System Software Programming software Application Software Operating System Malware Adware User interface Utility Programs Drivers Fig 2.5: Types of computer software. 2.3.1.1 System Software System software is that software which gives life to the computer hardware such as operating system. These are the primary software which is to be installed before any other software could be installed. These are of following types Operating System An Operating System (OS) is a software program or set of programs that mediate access between physical devices and application programs e.g Unix, Windows XP etc. An Operating System is a computer program that manages the resources of a computer (Balton, 2013) Characteristics of OS (Hitachi ID Systems Inc, 2013): Whether multiple programs can run on it simultaneously: Multi-tasking Whether it can take advantage of multiple processors: multi-processing Whether multiple users can run programs on it simultaneously: multi-user Whether it can reliably prevent application programs from directly accessing hardware devices: protected Whether it has built-in support for graphics. Whether it has built-in support for networks. User interface (UI) User interface simply means by which user and computer system interact by use of input devices and software. UI refers to the parts of a computer and its software that user sees, hear, touch or talk to which allow user and computer to communicate with each other (IBM, 2013) Utility Programs Utility programs are those programs which carry out routine functions. Utility programs are designed to do one or perhaps two task very well and nothing else (Teach-ICT, 2013). Some of the well-known utility programs of Windows Operating system are Disk Cleanup, Disk Defragmenter, file compressor etc. Utility programs help in maintaining system in well condition. Drivers Driver software are very small programs that tells the computer how is should communicate with a connected peripheral devices. For Windows users, in most cases, drivers come with Windows or can be found by going to Windows Update in Control Panel and checking for updates (Microsoft, 2013). For e.g. user has to install printer driver software if he has to use printer for printing purpose, same is the case for scanner and in some cases even for speakers. 2.3.1.2 Programming software This is one of the most commonly known and popularly used types of computer software by programmers. These software include text editors, compilers, debuggers and interpreters; compiler translate source code written in a programming language (C, C++, C#, Java, .NET etc) into the language which a computer understands (mostly binary form), compilers generate objects which are combine and converted into executable programs through linkers, debuggers check code for bugs and debug it and finally interpreters execute programs (Oak, 2013) 2.3.1.3 Malware Malware refers to any malicious software (Spyware, Viruses, Worms, Trojan horses, scareware) and is a broader category of software that are a threat to computer security (Oak, 2013). These are self-replicating software which transfers from one computer to another without the knowledge of user or by user actions through plug and play devices (Flash drives). Malware are specially designed by hackers to get important information from victim without the knowledge of victim or just to destroy victims data. 2.3.1.4 Application software These are the most popular form of software among general users. It enables the end users to accomplish certain specific tasks (Oak, 2013). Some of the well-known application software are Microsoft office, Adobe Photoshop, MP3/video player etc. It process data for the user. Science reference (2008) defines application software as subclass of computer software that employs the capabilities of a computer directly to a task that the user wishes to perform. 2.3.1.5 Adware Adware is web-based computer software with the means of which advertisements are played and downloaded to a computer (Oak, 2013). This are specially designed by programmers for companies to generate revenue by extracting user information like the websites he visits frequently and the pages he likes. For e.g: Adware is more popular in YouTube videos where ads are displayed on the sides of playing video. Beside the mentioned software types, software also can be categorise according to their licensing. Types of software according to their licensing (Oak, 2013) are listed below: Custom software Off-the-shelf software Free Software Open Source software Closed Source software Proprietary Software Shareware and Retail Software Original Equipment Manufacturer Software( Albarracin, 2008) Crippleware( Albarracin, 2008) Demo Software( Albarracin, 2008) Public Domain Software( Albarracin, 2008) 2.4 Computer System for Banking Sector Bank is the financial institution which deals with money. Duhaime.org (2013) in 1992 Justice Atkin wrote The bank undertakes to receive money and to collect bills for its customers account. The proceeds so received are not to be held in trust for the customer, but the bank borrows the proceed and undertakes to repay them. The promise to repay is to repay at the branch of the bank where the account is kept, and during banking hours. It includes a promise to repay any part of the amount due against the written order of the customer addressed to the bank at the branchà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Bankers never do make a payment to a customer in respect of a current account except upon demand. Since bank deals with monetary transaction everyday customer information, flow of money, transaction information all should be updated regularly and should be secured. For this I recommend following computer system. Hardware Requirement for Banking System Computer Client Computer Computer Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 4 running at 2 GHz or higher. System memory (RAM) 2GB of DDR RAM or higher. Hard Disk Storage 520 GB Optical Storage Task specific. Monitor 17 inch LCD or LED. USB ports 2.0 standard at least 4 ports. Audio Task specific. Network Adapter Must include with Hi-speed Internet Server Computer Computer Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 4 Quad Duo running at least at 2 GHz or faster System memory (RAM) 8 GB of DDR RAM or higher. Hard Disk Storage 1 TB at least with 150 GB of database space. Optical Storage DVD RW Monitor Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher resolution USB prots 2.0 standard at least 6 ports. Audio Not recommended Network Adapter Must include with Hi-speed Internet Table 2.5: Hardware Requirement for Banking Client-Server Computer System Software Requirement for Banking System Client Computer Operating System Software At least Windows XP sp3 or Windows 7 or Windows Vista. Bitdefender Antivirus plus Antivirus or any other popular antivirus Application Software Microsoft Office Package 2007, Tally and other software according to task specific. Database Software Sql Server Express or Oracle Express Server Computer Operating System At least Windows Server 2003, Recommended Windows Server 2008 or windows server later version or Linux Server OS Database software Sql Server Express or Oracle Express Table 2.6: Software Requirement for Banking Client-Server Computer System 2.4.1 Client A client is a piece of computer hardware or software that accesses a service mad available by a server. According to Brain (2011) the machines that are used to connect to server (service providers) are clients. A client is a part of Client/Server Computing who sends request for some service among various service provided by server for its functioning. A client uses small portion of service provided by server. A client can insert, update, delete or search data stored in server database according to need. The client request a service to be performed, service might be to run an application, query a database, print a document, or even perform a backup or recovery procedure (Scomptec, 2005) In banking sector a client may be Cashier, Accountant, CEO, Manger, Branch Head etc. and each one of them may seek different service at the time and service is provided by server. Even though the job of these employee in bank varies with each other they all need almost same hardware and software system configuration computer for their job with some extra peripherals for some staffs. All client computer should have minimum above software and hardware configuration for fast, safe and proper banking functioning. 2.4.2 Server A server is a computer hardware system dedicated to run one or more services to serve the needs of the users of other computers on a network. In client/server model, sometimes server is also called as daemon (Rouse, 2008). Server once activated waits for client request and once request is done by client it provides services requested by client. A server might provide multiple services for same client like HTTP, FTP etc or only one service at a time like either HTTP or FTP. In banking sector a server computer might be one of the Personal computers of CEO or any other staff or bank may install one separate computer for server purpose. As number of client depends upon the size of organization the hardware requirement may vary with little exceptions. For e.g the number of client of Nabil Bank may is more less than that of client of Standard Chartered Bank so it is more likely that server of Nabil Bank is less powerful than that of Standard Chartered Bank. Server computer is installed in accordance with the number of possible clients at the time. In overall, for all bank a server computer with above hardware and software configuration is sufficient. Task 3 Draw and explain basic block diagram of computer system with its all hardware software components. (1.2)(M2)
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