Important lessons about West African history Essay

In light of current events – the resurgence of racism in the U. S. , the political and social upheavals in Africa, and other sad legacies of 300 years of slave trade and colonialism – it is easy to forget that in many ways, Africans brought these evils upon themselves. In the historical novel Segu by Afro-French Caribbean scholar Maryse Conde, we are presented with a vivid portrait of the political struggles and infighting, as well as social and cultural conflicts that put enough stress on traditional African societies so as to allow their exploitation by European powers as well as Arabs and Ottoman Turks. These sweeping events are presented in miniature through the story of Dousika Traore, advisor to the King of Bambara in the city of Segu (located in present-day Mali on the Niger River). His four sons represent the major forces that were tearing at the fabric of traditional African society during the late eighteenth century; Islam, Christianity, the slave trade and Western-style capitalism. Tiekoro, the eldest turns his back on tradition and embraces Islam, a rigidly patriarchal faith with harsh, ascetic demands. It requires that he turn his back on the ancestors, â€Å"protectors of his clan,† (Conde, 35), and required that a man give up many pleasures: â€Å"Monzon, even though he made use of the services of Muslim marabouts, had feelings of the greatest repugnance against Islam, which castrated men, reduced the number of wives they might have, and forbade dolo [an alcoholic beverage] . Could a man live without dolo? Without it, where was he to find the strength to face each succeeding day? † (131). Tiekoro soon learns some hard facts, however, especially in Part I, Chapter 8, as his natural physical drives come between him and his desire to become a devout Muslim. Naba, the youngest, is captured and sold into slavery. While the popular TV mini-series, Roots depicted this sort of kidnapping as perpetrated by white â€Å"slave-catchers,† the reality is this was rarely done. Most often – as depicted in Segu – this happened as the result of kidnapping or capture by other black Africans (typically of a rival nation or clan) or Muslim traders. In fact, it is noteworthy that Conde depicts the aristocracy of the kingdom as more than willing to finance their traditionally hedonistic lifestyles by means of the slave trade. Malobali embraces Christianity, another influence of white Europeans. In part, he appears to be driven to this, being pressured by his elder brother Tiekoro, who thinks what is good for him is good for the others (165). Eventually, he embraces Christianity (252), which involves losing his name and his language as he is renamed â€Å"Samuel† and taught the French language. Yet cultural and family issues (251-292) come between him and his full acceptance of what, like Islam, is a patriarchal and restrictive faith at odds with the cultural values with which he is raised. Siga is the son who attempts to hold on to the traditions of his father. Dousika’s death fairly early in the novel (135) is symbolic of a culture and a society that is dying all around him. As a younger son, Siga is not in a position of power, yet resists Tiekoro’s authority and attempts to force the family to accept Islam. Nonetheless, the forces tearing apart traditional society and culture are too powerful for him; ultimately, Siga adopts the life and occupation of a merchant of wares, enabling him to live in some degree of comfort, but stripping him of what status he might have enjoyed as Dousika’s son. In Segu, the reader has an excellent opportunity to see the slave trade and the exploitive colonization of Africa from the African perspective, gaining a greater understanding of the fact that no people in history have even been conquered without inside help. Work Cited Conde, Maryse. Segu. English ed. (New York: Penguin Books, 1987)Ã'Ž

History’s Contribution to Present Day Caribbean Society Essay

History, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is the continuous record of events, especially those that are public. The history of the Caribbean is a diverse and intriguing one seeing as our present day country is one of cultural diversity, often referred to by locals as a â€Å"culture pot†. It is because of the Europeans enslavement of various ethnicities and cultures in the islands that this is possible. The locals however, were exported to work in the European countries. When the slaves were brought to the Caribbean and made to work on the plantations, they were stripped of their religion and culture; forced to take up or partake in the Roman Catholic religion and were expected to act as the Europeans thought them. In the beginning, the main imported race was the Africans. Africans were and still are well known for a very rich and interesting heritage and they were not able to practice their beliefs at the time that they were brought. East Indian imports however, were brought at a different time, a more lenient time. They were brought through indentureship and they were allowed to practice whatever they saw fit. This has affected our society`s social identity. This means that although we know who we are, we have our own opinion of people and their beliefs. Although the number of people that believe their culture is better than others, it still exists in our society. People also tend to identify themselves with those who are similar to themselves and somewhat avoid those who are dissimilar. Trinidad and Tobago in particular, has a very special history to me. As a people, we gained our independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. The man responsible for this tremendous act was Dr. Eric Williams, who was a noted Caribbean historian, widely regarded as â€Å"The Father of the Nation†. In 1976, the country cut its ties with the British and became a republic within the commonwealth. The country has been relatively successful by importing two major goods, those being; oil and sugar; however sugar production has stopped as of late. The sugar industry was once a mainstay of the economy of Trinidad and Tobago. It was established by the British Empire when they brought slaves to work on the plantations, hence giving it the name the sugar plantations in the nineteenth century. It remained a vital factor in the country`s prosperity for over a hundred years, however, it became a strain on the state`s finances. Oil is another large part of what allows the country to make any form of income. In the Caribbean, music is also a major part of any form of event. Trinidad and Tobago is not the only country that values its music, but every island that is located in the Caribbean, for example Jamaica. Jamaica is well known for its Reggae music, something that has influenced a lot of today`s youth. An artist that has made the genre extremely known was Mr. Bob Marley. His sons are also very influential and played a wonderful role in Trinidad and Tobago`s 50th Independence anniversary as they sang at a concert to commemorate the country. Trinidad and Tobago has also made a very stupendous achievement, which was creating an entirely new musical instrument in the 20th century, the steelpan. Another historic event that gave birth to something cherished in Trinidad and Tobago is Carnival. Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago is the most significant event on our islands` cultural and tourism calendar. Carnival had arrived with the French, indentured laborers and the slaves, who could not take part in Carnival, formed their own, parallel celebration called Canboulary. Stick fighting and African percussion music were banned in 1880 and were replaced by bamboo sticks beaten together, which were banned as well. In 1937 they reappeared, transformed as an orchestra of frying pans, dustbin lids and oil drums and this gave birth to the steelpan. In 1941, the United States Navy arrived on Trinidad, and the panmen, who were associated with lawlessness and violence caused by the Canboulary riots, helped to popularize steel pan music among soldiers, which began its international popularization. History has shaped our society in more ways than we can imagine. Although the history of our islands has had a lot of strife and pain, if it were not for those horrible events, we would not have many of the things that we enjoy today. We as a people are proud and have made various changes, most for the better and I am proud to be a member of this lovely country.

Marketing Myopia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing Myopia - Essay Example Marketing Myopia, written by Theodore Levitt, was published in the Harvard Business Review. It won the McKinsey award in 1960. This is a business article that asks the question, â€Å"What business are you really in?† It talks about the strategy of doing business and marketing. Levitt argues that for a business to do better, focus should not be on selling products to customers. Rather focus should be on the customer needs and meeting those needs. According to the writer, most businesses that do not grow, or whose growth keeps declining have a management problem. This management is of the top executives of a company since they are the policy makers and implementers. For a long time, companies have been focusing on the kind of products they think suits the customers. This has led to failures of this company or stagnating growth, to say the least. Theodore Levitt is remarkably insightful in arguments about the failure of management. It is argued that the failure is with the top e xecutives whose work is to make policies. An example is given of the transportation industry, where railroad has been replaced by other means of transport that meet the needs of the customers. The railroad failed to meet the needs of the customer. This is because they had a wrong definition for their business, which is product oriented. They instead should have defined it as customer oriented. The second example is Hollywood, whose focus was in production of movies and not providing entertainment. They have since been overtaken by TV, which meets the needs of the customer by providing entertainment. Levitt’s other examples are of companies whose orientation is customer based. They are nylon and glass-based companies respectively. They have both customer and product advantages that emanate from their excellent technical competence. They apply this technical competence to make sure the products produced are of quality. The focus is on the customers’ needs but not on the product. They apply excellent technical competence to fulfill those needs. In his examples, Theodore Levitt compares different companies that are in different sectors of an economy. The writer is critical in arguing that there is an error of analysis in judging companies according to their products. Success of a company is not on the product, which is a narrow way of classification. Companies die because of a lack of imaginativeness in the management and a lack of will to fulfill the needs of the customer. A railroad industry lacks the imaginativeness to fulfill the needs of the customer, which in this case is transportation. This point is made clearly and shows that companies that have narrowed down their product line are doomed to fail for having a wrong business definition. This gives a serious point for management to think, evaluate their business strategy, applicability, survival, and plan appropriately. The writer argues intuitively that the success of a company is sometimes a ttributed to lack of competition. These companies have since gone under a shadow. Why is that? The dry cleaning companies have been replaced with other customer-friendly companies that discovered how to reduce the amount of dry cleaning required for clothes. The use of chemical additives and synthetic fibers is about to make dry cleaning obsolete. Another company that the writer examined is in the electric utilities. They have no competition, yet, they are not growing. This is because other companies are replacing electricity lines with a small cell electricity transmitter. Grocery stores, on the other hand, have been replaced with large chains of supermarkets. It is argued that the growth industry is non-existent. Arguably, there exist companies that create and capitalize on growth opportunities. The self-deceiving cycle thrives on the ever-expanding population, lack of competition, mass production, and product focus. A company can focus on mass production of goods to meet an expan ding populatio

Are you are an agonistic democrat Why or Why not Essay

Are you are an agonistic democrat Why or Why not - Essay Example Agonists might, in some cases, be seen as troublemakers—depending upon one’s viewpoint. Agonist ideals differ more than that of the views of regular Democrats because they insist upon arguing as a means to an end, not for other reasons. Here it will be attempted to explore: whether or not I am an agonistic Democrat; why or why not; and how a consideration of my own political life, my goals, and my experiences as an active citizen might shed light on the larger attractiveness and the applicability of an agonistic approach to democratic politics. II. Am I An Agonistic Democrat? (400 words) Although many times terms can be unclear, I do not consider myself an agonistic Democrat. After all, â€Å"One seldom finds a clear definition of the political.†1 I don’t exactly consider myself a deliberative Democrat either by any means. â€Å"Liberal democracy†¦is a specific form of organizing politically human coexistence which results from the articulation betwe en two different traditions: on one side, political liberalism†¦and, on the other side, the democratic tradition of popular sovereignty.†2 Usually, deliberative Democrats and agonistic Democrats are antagonistic to each other anyway. ... I strongly believe that exhausting all diplomatic means in order to reach an agreement is the best solution to any type of conflict. Physical disputes are not only barbaric but dated. Honestly, I don’t feel that verbal arguments necessarily solve many problems either. Instead, politicians should focus upon trying not to argue—but, rather, in developing a consistent dialogue that focuses upon the real problems that are plaguing their constituents. Instead of arguing over petty trivialities, politicians—especially Democrats—should be trying to shy away from political theater and the creation of drama for drama’s sake. It’s nice to give news organizations sound bytes—but when it comes down to brass tacks, words are just empty words until actions are aligned with those words. Democrats can argue until they are blue in the face—but until they ensure that positive actions are in line with what they are saying, the Democrats—ago nists alike—will not be taken seriously as a political party that can be trusted with the future of the country. Agonists in particular should abandon the notion that they must fight in order to prove their point. In order to effect real change, the American people require genuine diplomats. III. Why or Why Not? (300 words) I think the reason why I do not consider myself agonistic is because I find arguing pedantic and puerile. Agonistic Democrats seem like they are only interested in petty arguments—instead of arguing for the sake of producing true change. Aristotle claimed that â€Å"†¦the intimacy of ethical [alliances] limit†¦the number of our [alliance]s.†3 Agonistic Democrats are exactly what this country doesn’t need. People who are out just to create drama

N Health Care or Oil and Gas that has greater relevance to the Houston Research Paper

N Health Care or Oil and Gas that has greater relevance to the Houston economy - Research Paper Example The Department of Health and Human Services in Houston is charged with the duty of working with health care providers plus the community with the intention of promoting good health and improving health services offered to citizens (Nathan, 2009). There are a number of duties that the health department is charged with. Examples of the roles include implementation of programs intended to reduce the prevalence and effect of varied communicable diseases like Swine flu and HIV, keeping track of the environmental conditions like air quality and overseeing animal control and inspecting food establishments and local restaurants to make sure that no health threats are introduced to the lives of the dinners. To operate a food service establishment, a permit would be required of the food dealers. A permit would be given to a food establishment only after it meets every requirement that has been set by Houston food ordinance. There are educational services offered to help managers or workers create and maintain safer food service operations. The services also help the workers comply with Houston food ordinance-set requirements. Education pertaining to food safety is provided using a number of ways. One way in of carrying out the exercise is the condition requiring that every manager attends classes then passes a written test centered on food safety prior to certification as a food service manager. The remaining section of the paper focuses on a detailed analysis and recommendations of appropriate mitigation techniques applicable on the risks that a project manager overseeing the execution of the E- Learning software project has to contend with Apart from roles like project planning and communication, project managers are also charged with the duty of risk management. Risks management in software projects entails identification, quantification and management of risks (Wysocki, 2013). Every project features some amount of risk. For instance, a project meant

Information System Selection, acquisition and implementation in banks Thesis

Information System Selection, acquisition and implementation in banks - Thesis Example Today every bank is moving towards developing and maintaining customer relationship (Buttle, 1996). Managers have to look for areas where opportunities lie in retaining the customers. CRM is an option which banks can make use of so that they can rise beyond minimum advantages by creating real relationships with their customers. According to Gronroos (1994) relationships and foundation to the efficient growth and remodelling of new business philosophy, even though businesses have been taking care of relationships with their customers for many centuries. An introduction to CRM: Customers in the past normally opted for those banks which had all the conveniences with regard to its location. But with the development of technology and banks providing facilities like net banking and ATMs customers no longer consider the location of the banks as a primary factor. This put pressure on banks with reference to competition and dynamic marketing facility which in turn contributed to the developme nt of CRM in the financial sectors and specifically in banks.When customers to the extend of at least 5% are retained it provides for an increase in profitability to the tune of 35% in banking business, 50% in insurance and brokerage, and 125% in the consumer credit card market. This is the reason that banks are now focussing on ways and means to retain their customers thereby increasing market share. Private Banks has conventionally considered themselves as exceptionally 'Customer Centric' extending.... According to Gronroos (1994) relationships and foundation to the efficient growth and remodelling of new business philosophy, even though businesses have been taking care of relationships with their customers for many centuries. An introduction to CRM: Customers in the past normally opted for those banks which had all the conveniences with regard to its location. But with the development of technology and banks providing facilities like net banking and ATMs customers no longer consider the location of the banks as a primary factor. This put pressure on banks with reference to competition and dynamic marketing facility which in turn contributed to the development of CRM in the financial sectors and specifically in banks. When customers to the extend of at least 5% are retained it provides for an increase in profitability to the tune of 35% in banking business, 50% in insurance and brokerage, and 125% in the consumer credit card market. This is the reason that banks are now focussing on ways and means to retain their customers thereby increasing market share. Private Banks has conventionally considered themselves as exceptionally 'Customer Centric' extending highly personalized services to the High Net Worth Customers. The more affluent the customers are, the more challenging they are - and the clients in turn anticipate more and more from their banks. These wealthy customers expect their banks to understand what their wants and needs are. This helps in building the organization in particular the banks around serving those needs. The prearranged approach to CRM furnishes several gains to the bank, like having a distinctive and consistent customer experience, clear recognition of the organisational, technological and

What security policies and systems are in place to prevent Essay

What security policies and systems are in place to prevent unauthorized access to the EMR and other sources of sensitive patient information - Essay Example Electronic medical records incline to be a part of the system of healthcare information which facilitates storage, repossession and alteration of the records. EMR enables to augment sharing as well as accessibility of health related records among certified individuals (Skolnik, 2010). Policies in Place to Prevent Unauthorized Access to the EMR The security policies related to EMR have been considered as a major concern under the Health Information and Accessibility Act (AnestaWeb, Inc, 2011). The security policies should be provided major consideration in any organization in order to create an effective functioning environment. Various security policies in relation to EMR have been initiated under certain important measures which are needed to be considered for its development. They are as follows: 1. What the operators want to obtain from the system (i.e. functional requirements). 2. The objects that are required to be protected 3. The objectives which are needed to be acquired with the resources in hand. In the first part, the function of the security policy is to maintain equilibrium between the functional as well as the security aspects of the systems. The requirements for security can be quite difficult due to the costs incurred for the systems and also with the problems faced by the operators while implementing the security systems (Barrows & Clayton, 1996). In the second part, â€Å"Inside attacks† is another important aspect of security policy in relation to EMR (Barrows & Clayton, 1996). These attacks are mainly faced by individuals who are the actual users of the system. The actual users can manipulate or abuse the rights for searching different data for their personal motive or to harm the financial viability of the organization. If the information is leaked it can bring disastrous consequences and can affect the functioning environment of the organization. Policies such as management of access control as well as encryption method can enable t o prevent such occurrences. Another important aspect for the security policy of EMR depicts threats generated from managed care corporations and insurance companies among others (Barrows & Clayton, 1996). These organizations can attempt to reveal protected patient information for their own benefits. The threats which are discussed describe about the secrecy of the patients information and also about the data available to be kept secure. If such information is leaked, it would be disastrous for the organizations’ welfare. In the third part, the security policies or standards for the data, which are needed to be safeguarded for the organization, are depicted in the threat model, which is provided by the Mayo Clinic/Foundation. These policies are as follows: a. Physical security in relation to data center sites: It deals with issues relating to prevention of theft, disaster recovery, backup of the required data and security of susceptible terminal locations among others (Barrows & Clayton, 1996). b. ‘Access control to system resources’: Issues related to controlling the physical devices as well as logical mechanism including computer programs (Barrows & Clayton, 1996). c. Data protection policies: Certain issues related to ensuring consistent protection of crucial data of organizational system is ascertained under this policy. Moreover, measures to be taken against the users who misuse the rights to use the systems properly (Barrows & Clayton, 1996). d. Security of hard copy materials: This security policy ensures to take relevant measures against security breaches of certain delicate documents, which can occur from paper copies of susceptible patient related data and electronic documents (Barrows &

International Human Rights from a Legal Perspective Essay

International Human Rights from a Legal Perspective - Essay Example It is important to understand that the significance of right of self-determination is based on provision for right of choice, such that the outcome of a people's choice should not affect the existence of the right to make a choice. In actual, the approach and policies of government towards its citizens of the nation can be often judged by the possible outcome of an exercise of right of self-determination. More often it is observed that the government is flexible enough to provide its people with the cultural autonomy, however political autonomy is controlled, and in many of the cases the government is reluctant to provide the right of self-determination to its citizens, the government shares a conservative approach towards the right of self-determination. Therefore the nation's claim of autonomy and independence are rejected and avoided by the states. (Department of International Affairs. Self-Determination Conference Examines Implementation of Self-Determination by United Nations Me chanisms. United Nations. 2001). In the International law, enough provisions has been included and amended to ensure political and social justice to the people, by providing them with the right of self-determination. ... The different interpretations of right of self-determination include degree of political, cultural and economic autonomy; the right to live on and manage a people's traditional lands free of external interference and incursion is the essential aim of a struggle for self-determination. The primary article of charter of United Nation emphasized over the importance and significance of self-determination. It was welcomed and practiced by different political figures including Woodrow Wilson, and Lenin. The provision of right of self-determination guided the Europeans during the period of World War I. The 1941's Atlantic Charter and Dumbarton Oaks proposals stressed over the application of right of self-determination, and later these charters and proposals turned the basis of United Nations charter. (International Court of Justice. The Question of Self-Determination: The Cases of East Timor, Tibet and Western Sahara. United Nations. 2001). The World Organization has stressed over the universal recognition of the principle as requisite for ensuring and sustaining friendly relations and peace among states. It is recognized as a right of all peoples in the first article common to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which both entered into force in 1976. The first paragraph of the Article provides, 'All peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development'. (Pomerance, Michla Pomerance. Self-Determination in Law and

Madrigal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Madrigal - Essay Example It was a through-composed setting of a short poem. It also recalls a strophic song with a ritornello (refrain)- the trecento madrigal. Madrigals of the early 16th-century had no refrains or any other features of the old formes fixes, having sequential repetitions of musical and textual phrases. The original music is suited to the rhythm and sense of the words accompanied each line of poetry. Four-voice settings of the madrigals were a trend approximately during 1520 to 1550 but eventually a five-vocal sets became a rule after the middle of the century and settings for six or more parts were not unusual. The word "voices" is to be taken literally: the madrigal was a piece of vocal chamber music intended performance with one singer to a part. As a style of the 16th century, however, instruments often took their part or simply doubled the voices. In the early madrigal period the major, Italian composers who were active in Florence were the Franco-Fleming Philippe Verdelot and the Italians Bernardo Pisano and Francesco de Layolle and Verdelot, Pisano and Constanzo Festa, active in Rome. Adrian Willaert and Jacquez Arcadelt also became popular in Venice which is another early center. Frottola-like textures of the earliest madrigals were embodied in the works of Pisano and Festa and the four-voice pieces by Verdelot.

Environment Analysis Essay Example for Free

Environment Analysis Essay Organizations analyze the environment in order to understand the external forces so that it could help to develop effective responses to secure or improve their positions in the future. There existed a positive relation between environmental analysis and profits of an organization. Top management looked at information in two ways: viewing and searching information. This information needed to be evaluated and disseminated to strategists within the organization and to help top management to make decisions that could create strategic advantage for the organization to succeed in a changing environment 1. There were research evidences that showed that environmental analysis was linked with improved organizational performance. Hence, it remained insufficient to assure performance, without aligning information with strategy. The main debate in strategy and environment was concerned with the primary importance of the environmental analysis in strategy formulation and implementation. 84 Reserve Bank of India The Reserve Bank of India is fully owned by the Government of India. Initially it was viewed to bring the greater coordination of the monetary, economic, and financial policies. During fifties objectives of Reserve Bank of India underwent changes. It was recognized that Reserve Bank of India needs to take on direct and much more active role, in developing machinery for financial development in order to ensure flow of finance in the country. Reserve Bank emerged as a regulatory and a growth promoting institution. In the beginning limited to the agricultural sector, the Bank later covered small-scale industries as well. The affairs of Reserve Bank of India are governed by the central board of directors. The board is appointed by the Government of India according to the Reserve Bank of India Act. The preface of the Reserve Bank of India describes the basic functions of the Reserve Bank as: â€Å"to regulate the issue of Bank Notes and keeping of reserves with a view to securing monetary stability in India and generally to operate the currency and credit system of the country to its advantage† 2. The Reserve Bank? s freedom may be viewed broadly to the areas like management including personnel matters, financial aspects, and to conduct polices. Managerial freedom refers to the procedures for appointment, term of office and dismissal procedures of top central bank officials and the governing board. It also includes the extent and nature of representation of the Government in the governing body of the central bank. 85 Financial freedom relates to the freedom to decide the extent of Government expenditures directly or indirectly financed by the central bank? s credits. Finally, policy freedom is related to the flexibility given in the formulation and execution of monetary policy, under a given authorization. Reserve Bank of India has over the years been responding to changing economic circumstances. The Reserve Bank of India performs the function of financial supervisor under the guidance of Board for Financial Supervision. This board undertake consolidated supervision of the financial sector comprising of Commercial Banks, Financial Institutions, and Non-Banking Finance Companies. The key functions played by this board were restructuring of the system of Bank, introduction of off-site scrutiny, strengthening the role of legislative auditors, and strengthening the internal defences of supervised institutions. Currently this board focus on supervision of financial institutions and legal issues in Banks. Reserve Bank of India acts as a guard for Commercial Banks. Commercial Banks are required to keep a certain proportion of cash reserves with the Reserve Bank and Bank provide them various facilities like advancing loans, underwriting securities etc. Reserve Bank of India controls the volume of reserves of Commercial Banks and thereby determines the deposits and credit creating ability of the Banks. Whenever Commercial Banks need funds they get it from the Reserve Bank of India. Apart from playing the role of Banker to the Banks, Reserve Bank of India also play promotional role. The aim is to establish and assist the establishments of a number of financial intuitions for filling up of various financial institutional gaps in the rural and semi-urban areas. 86 Other roles played by Reserve Bank of India are: Reserve Bank stabilizes the external value of the national currency. The Reserve Bank keeps gold and foreign currencies and manages foreign currency in accordance with the controls imposed by the government. Reserve Bank of India facilitate external trade and payment and promote orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India. Reserve Bank has taken the responsibility of meeting directly or indirectly all legitimate demands of Commercial Banks under emergency conditions and to a certain extent Reserve Bank influence the credit policy of Scheduled Banks. The Reserve Bank has instrument of control in the form of the bank rate, which it publishes from time to time 3. A list of the Reserve Bank of India Committees from 1990- 2008 was prepared to get an impression about developments with respect to Banking Industry (Appendix- III). The recommendations resulted into remarkable changes in products and policies of Banking Organizations. Indian Bank’s Association (IBA) Indian Bank? s Association is a leading service organization of Banking Industry in India. It aims to integrate Banking and finance system catering to all financial requirements of customer? s. It was formed in 1946 with 22 members. Today Indian Bank? s Association has more than 159 members comprising of Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Banks, Foreign Banks (having offices in India), and Urban Co-operative Banks. 87 The main objectives of Indian Bank? Association are: promoting and developing sound and progressive Banking principles and practices in order to assist Banks to develop and implement new ideas and innovative Banking services, operations and procedures; organizing co-ordination and co-operation on procedural, legal, technical, administrative or professional problems and practices of Banks ; circulating statistical data, informati on, views and opinions on the Banking System; conducting Management Development Programs for Banks; promoting education and knowledge of the law and practices of Banking Industry; to help in projecting good public image of Banking Industry ; and to promote harmonious relationships by devising ways and means for involving Banking personnel? in the growth and development of Banking Industry. Indian Bank? s Association tries to achieve excellent service quality and customer care through its focused efforts to make each customers experience a pleasant one. Towards this end Indian Bank? s Association stressed on to build staff potential by each Bank to address customer challenges and asked Banks to design a performance management system, which focuses on rewarding the staff for delivering flawless customer service. In 2000, Indian Bank? s Association reviewed the charters of different Banks and brought out a „Model Citizen Charter? explaining to the customer? s what they could expe ct from the Bank? s as a matter of right. Apart from this Indian Bank? s Association brought „bankers fair practices? in 2004 which was adopted by all Banks voluntarily. It also came out with „fair practice code for credit card operation? and „model code for collection of dues and repossession of security? with special concern to customer? s voice about Banking practices 4. 88 Ministry of Finance Ministry of Finance in India governs the entire fiscal system of the Government of India. The three departments headed by the Ministry of Finance in India include: economic affairs, expenditure, and revenue. Thus, it mainly centralizes around the economic and financial issues pertaining in India. Ministry of Finance Government of India, Banking Division is managing Government policies related to the working of Banks and the term lending to financial institutions. This Division is headed by Secretary (Banking and Insurance) and operates through three subdivisions: Industrial Finance; Banking Operations; and Banking and Insurance. Each subdivision is headed by a Joint Secretary. The Banking Operations sub-division deals with legislative proposals described to Banks, non-banking financial companies, and other related matters like appointments of Chief Executives and Government nominee Directors and non-official directors on the boards of Public Sector Banks. In addition policy matters relating to Private Banks, Foreign Banks, and improvement of customer? service in Banks and redressal of customers grievances are also dealt with this Banking Operations sub-division of Ministry of Finance. This sub-division also deals with vigilance matters and appoints Chief Vigilance Officers (C VO? s) in the Public Sector Banks to enable the Public Sector Banks to meet the credit requirements for the productive sectors of the economy in proportion to the economic growth of the country. The Government is committed to infuse capital funds in Public Sector Banks as well 5. 89 Nature of Banking Industry Bank? s safeguard money and valuables and provide loans, credit, and payment services, such as checking accounts, money-orders, and cashier? s checks. Banks also offer investment and insurance products which they were once prohibited. There exists variety of models for cooperation and integration among finance industries some of these traditional distinctions between Banks, Insurance Companies, and Securities Firms has diminished. In spite of these changes, Banks continued to maintain and perform their primary role of accepting deposits and lending funds from these deposits. Banks securely save the money of depositors, provide checking services, and lend the funds raised from depositors to consumers. Bank? s today are in a wide range of sizes, from large Global Banks to Regional and Community Banks. These Global Banks are involved in international lending and foreign currency trading, in addition to the more typical Banking services. Working Environment Employee? in a typical branch work weekdays, whereas in few Banks sometimes Banks were opened until late evenings or were open on Saturday morning? s and in few even on Sundays. Supervisory and managerial employee? s, usually work substantially longer hours. Some B anks are expanding the working hours in their branches which are located at non- 90 traditional locations, such as shopping malls, which remain open on most evenings and weekends. Branch office jobs, particularly front-end positions, required continuous communication with customers. Some employees needed to work for longer hours in a confined space. Loan officers might need to travel to meet clients, or work evenings for their clients. Loan officers also check loan applications, and solicit new business for Banks. Financial Service Sales Representatives might also have to visit clients in the evenings and on weekends to go through the client? s financial needs. To improve customer service and provide greater access to Bank personnel? s, Banks have staffed Customer Service Representatives. The remaining Bank employees, working at the headquarters or other administrative offices usually worked in comfortable surroundings and worked for a standard workweek. In general, Banks are considered relatively safer place to work with respect to injuries and illness. Banks also encourage higher education and training for their employee? as Banks require creative and talented people to compete in the market place so as to reach to more number of customers. The basic premise here is to Study the relevant data and derive some information related to the Strategic Environment pertaining to Indian Banking Industry, which may be used in due course in a broader context if not in specific context. Environmental factors influencing Banking Industry are: 91 Economic Factors Indian economy has registered impressive growth of over 9 percent for successive three financial years and experienced restraint in 2008-09. This restraint was caused due to the downturn in the global economy. The year 2008-09 was the most deficient year after 1972. To fight against this slowdown Government of India and Reserve Bank of India took many fiscal as well as monetary actions. It was expected that Indian economy could again register a robust growth rate in the year 2009-10. As per the revised estimates released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), Indian economy grew by 7. 6 percent in 2008-09 and 9. 3 percent growth in the 2007-08 6. Banks lending to industries, personal loans and service sectors witnessed a slow down while, Banks lending to agriculture and allied activities moved upward during 2008-09. The income as well as the expenditures of Scheduled Commercial Banks viewed a slow down leading to decrease in the net profit. The Return on Assets (ROA) as an indicator of efficiency with which Banks deployed their assets remained to 1 percent in 2009. The Return on Equity (ROE) as an indicator of efficiency with which the Banks used capital increased to 13. 2 percent in 2009 from 12. 5 percent in 2008, indicating increased efficiency with which Banks used capital 7. 92 Growth of income of Scheduled Commercial Banks during 2008-09 decelerated to 25. 7 percent from 34. 3 in 2007-08, but was higher than the growth rate of 24. 4 percent in 200607. Expenditure of Scheduled Commercial Banks was 24. 1 percent in 2006-07, which increased to 33. 9 percent in 2007-08 and again decelerated to 26 percent in 2008-09. The operating profit of Scheduled Commercial Banks increased sharply by 33. percent during 2008-09 from 26. 8 percent in 2007-08 and 21. 3 percent in 2006-07 (Table II. 1). The net profit of Scheduled Commercial Banks also showed a significant increase of 36. 9 percent during 2007-08 as compared to 26. 9 p ercent in 2006-07, but it decelerated to 23. 5 percent during 2008-09(Table II. 1) TABLE II. 1 VARIATION IN INCOME-EXPENDITURE OF SCHEDULED COMMERCIAL BANKS 2006-07 Income Expenses Operating Profit Net Profit 24. 4 24. 1 21. 3 26. 9 2007-08 34. 3 33. 9 26. 8 36. 9 2008-09 25. 7 26. 0 33. 2 23. 5 Source: Reports on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 8, 9 The Bank Group-wise analysis is presented in Table II. 2. Even though the achievements of technological changes in Banking Industry in India were impressive but there is a need to take greater advantages from new technologies and information based system to maximize the coverage. Pricewaterhouse Coopers report 18 suggested that Banks should take up automation that would be a combination of centralized networks, operations and a Core Banking applications that included Business Intelligence (BI), Business Process Re-engineering (BPR), and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) that catered to operational and analytical business needs. The multi-channel Banking has acquired further dimensions to include third party payments such as utility bills through different channels including Automated Teller Machines and mobile banking. Bank? internal groups examined the issues, relating to rural credit and micro-finance opportunities in the sector with several possible options like smart card-based kisan credit cards, smart card solutions for self-help groups, Automated Teller Machines with local language and voice facility and call-center amenities with added services given by various Banks. Introduction of Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs) for providing credit to farmers had increased in the number a multi-fold since its inception in the late 1990? s and the total percentage share of these cards reached above forty percent 19. 97 Banks had transformed themselves into Universal Banks by adding new channels with lucrative pricing. Recent innovations in the form of total quality management, reengineering work processes, flexible systems have only one thing in common serving the customers well through improved operational efficiency. Consolidation in the Banking Industry followed by technological up-gradation acted as a key factor to boost the international competitiveness of the Indian Bank? s. Adapting technology had brought down the cost of transactions visibly and at the same time aided in business continuity. A Study mentioned that the cost per transaction through a branch was Rs. 66, cost per transaction ; through Automated Teller Machines was Rs. 22, and cost per transaction through internet was Rs. 0, ignoring the extreme variations owing to the investment cost and nature of transactions 20. This low cost benefit was opted by Commercial Banks as it helped them to reach to poor people, particularly those working in the rural areas and those who earn and spend cash. In order to handle their cash transactio ns Banks formulated two types of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). People could either use Automated Teller Machines that could accept, store or dispense cash or they could use a biometric device, which were mobile in nature. Infrastructure in India, has improved resulting into widespread use of Automated Teller Machines facility in villages as well. These machines consisted of additional features that included fingerprint use as a mean of authentication with a view that rural people were more comfortable with fingerprints than plastic cards. 98 The wide geographical coverage to access Banking related products and services with the help of mobile phone technology and the use of internet for banking transactions has gained superior usage. These modes of transactions required a safe and secure environment and provide a variety of options available for customers with different requirements. The numbers of mobile phone subscribers in India were about 261 million (March 2008). Towards this end, Reserve Bank of India issued guidelines for mobile banking transactions. Initially Banks offered the facility to their customers subject to a daily cap of Rs. 5,000 per customer for fund transfer and Rs. 10,000 per customer for transactions involving purchase of goods or services 21. Usage of internet banking in India is mainly dominated, by Private and Foreign Banks. Still, the number of individuals utilizing internet services has increased considerably. In 2006, about 12 percent of the 38. 5 million internet users in India used online banking and the figure for online banking increased to 16 million in 2007-08 22 . The average cost of servicing a customer through internet banking is the tenth of the services extended through a branch. Thus, there is a direct contribution to the profitability for a Bank and therefore, internet banking became a potential low cost alternative 23 . From customer? s viewpoint, internet banking is highly convenient as it help to avoid branch queues and makes customer free from depending on the inconsistent quality of services at the branch, which varied from person to person at the service desk. Internet Banking allowed customers to operate their accounts at their convenient hours instead of being dependent on the Banks working hours. Moreover, internet banking permitted customers to transact on a 247 basis from any part of the world. 99 Therefore, internet banking delivery channel has the potential to contribute directly towards the nation? prosperity as it allowed more people to join the Banking stream without adding cost and it is tremendously convenient to customers. Reserve Bank of India started measures to create multi-lingual links on its website for thirteen Indian languages on all matters concerning Banking in June 2007 24. In the recent years, the use of electronic payments has witnessed manifold increase reflecting increased adoption of technology. The electronic payment systems comprised of the large value payment systems like Real Time Gross Settlements (RTGS), National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and card based payment systems. The growth of volume of transactions directed through electronic payment has decelerated from 41. 4 percent in 2007-08 to 24. 8 percent in 2008-0925. The numbers and usage of Automated Teller Machines had gone up substantially during the last few years. Automated Teller Machines were primarily used for cash withdrawal and balance enquiry. In 2008-09, the total number of Automated Teller Machines installed by the Banks grew by 25. 4 percent. Automated Teller Machines of State Bank of India group registered a sharp growth of 34. 5 percent. While the Automated Teller Machines installed by new Private Sector Banks and Foreign Banks was 3 times of their respective branches 26, 27 . In March 2008, the population per automated teller machines in India was more than 29,500 as against the range of 1,000-9,500 in some of the other emerging market economies 28, 29 . In June 2009, Reserve Bank of India permitted Scheduled Commercial Banks to install off-site Automated Teller Machines at places identified by them, without any need to take permission from the Reserve Bank of India. Cash withdrawal from Automated Teller Machines of the Bank? s was made free of charges, April 2009 onwards. This made Automated Teller Machines more popular among customers. 100 Banks had deployed Information Technology solutions to facilitate automation in transaction management, reporting and risk management. Most of the Banks across the segments had already implemented Core Banking Systems. In the 2007, 85. 6 percent and in the 2008, 93. 7 percent Public Sector Banks were fully computerised 30, 31 . Other rograms such as internet based transactions, self-service kiosks, mobile banking were either underway or planned in near future by Public Sector Banks. Foreign Sector Banks and old and new Private Sector Banks in India, had progressed well in the areas of technology up-gradation i n operations. Technology up-gradation helped to introduce new products and services to enable Banks to improve the quality of service and value added services. Overall, Indian Banks score well with respect to technological adaption and the three key characteristic contributing towards the effective use of information technology in Banking Industry were: ? Factor Cost Advantage- information technology related labour costs in India remained cheaper as compared to other countries; ? Distribution Strategy- Indian Banks adopted a unique business model, acquiring customers rapidly with minimal technological investments; and ? Information Technology Governance- Indian Banks emphasized on information technology governance with the strong in-house Information Technology Division and a Chief Information Officer (CIO) directly reporting to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in most cases. 101 It is information that made the Banking Industry stable. The pressure of competition and the need to improve productivity has generated a need for better information. In order to manage Banking operations to meet the needs of managers operating at tactical and strategic level and to improve their quality of decisions and policymaking processes within the Banks. Banks needed to set up an efficient and comprehensive Management Information System (MIS) without which asset and liability management and risk management were not possible. However, adoption of technology by Banks provided them competitive advantage in their operations but at the same time Banks became dependent on outsourcing for most of their technological applications. Therefore, Banks needed to employ caution to put in place mechanisms for vendor management. As an insecure system, could expose Banks towards serious operational regulatory and reputational risks. Banks have taken measures to safeguard the risk factors, emerging due to the use of technology. Towards this end, the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) helped Banks to bring in technology and enabled them to work in secured environment while operating Real Time Gross Settlements System, Centralised Fund Management System (CFMS), corporate e-mail, and internet banking. It also acted as a „certifying authority? for the Banking Sector in India by issuing Digital Certificates 32 . Still there exists need to ensure much more accountable systems with regard to online payments with uniform standards all over the world. 102 Social Factors Before nationalization of the Banks, their control was in the hands of the private parties and only big business houses and the effluent sections of the society gained benefits from the Banking in India. Thus, adoption of the social development model in the Banking Sector was necessary for speedy economic progress consistent with social justice in democratic political system. Bankers were directed to help economically weaker sections of the society and to provide needed finance to all the sectors of the economy with flexible and liberal attitude. India? s demography had undergone transition and the demographic trends 1950 – 2050 studied, illustrates that India? s fertility rate is consistently falling from the peak 5. 91 percent in the first decade after independence to 2. 76 percent today and expected to fall further to 1. 85 percent. Even the death rate also likewise showing consistent decline from its peak 25. 5 in 1950-55 to 8. 5 today and to the lowest of 7. 9 in 2020-2025 33 . This ignifies towards steady number of customers for Banking Sector with longer income in the coming years. Indeed, India would be one of the youngest nations with its median age lying between 25 a nd 30 years over the next 15 years (2010 to 2025) 34. This signified that India would enjoy its prevalence of young age population for almost four decades. Thus, India? s demographic transition needed to be exploited by Banking Sectors viewing it as an opportunity. 103 Increase in the per capita income of the working class population of India, enabled individuals to purchase goods, which were far out of their reach earlier. It also encouraged people to buy goods for their personal use and for their family. Today societies have shifted towards nuclear family, resulting into the growing needs for home consumer durables like washing machine, television, bike, car etc. This showed how we as a society have moved from a socialist society to a consumerist society. Understanding these changes and to use them as an opportunity Banks provided various types of loans to farmers, working women, professionals, education loan to the students, housing loans, and consumer loans. Even customers life style, their behaviour, and consumption patterns have changed which acted as an opportunity as well as a threat for Banking Industry. Deposits showed a subdued growth during this decade. In 2008- 09 personal loans by Commercial Banks was 12. percent with respect to 10. 8 in 2007-08 of which housing loan was 11. 6 percent in 2007-08 and 7. 4 percent in 2008-09 35 . This deceleration was observed in housing loans especially due to economy slow down. Literacy rate in India is low as compared to other developed countries. Illiterate people hesitate to transact with Banks. Therefore, this influenced negatively on Banking Industry. Nevertheless, there exists positive side of this as well that illiterate people trust more on Banks to deposit their money as they do not have market information they do not put money in stocks or mutual funds so they look Bank as their sole and safe alternative. For a common man Banks have emerged as the key players to provide variety of products and services like saving accounts, insurance, remittance and other facilities to the under privileged and the poor in rural, semi-urban and urban areas or socially disadvantage as well as the small and medium enterprise sector . 104 On the other hand Banks deal with big clients or big companies which required personalized banking as these customers do not believe in running and waiting in queues for getting their work done . To these customers bankers provided special provisions and at times benefits like individualised hosting to these types of customers. It was brought to the notice of the Reserve Bank of India that visually challenged persons were facing problem in availing Banking facilities. Reserve Bank of India in June 2008 advised all Banks to ensure that all facilities such as cheque book including third party cheques, Automated Teller Machine facilities (at least one third of new Automated Teller Machine installed with Braille key pads and located strategically), net banking, locker, and credit cards to be provided to visually challenged persons without any discrimination 36. Banks related crimes are rising. These crimes included the typical ones such as Bank robbery, false statement to a Bank in order to obtain loan, false entry in a Banks book, Bank bribery, and Bank fraud. The other new types of crimes have also emerged like accessing to the whole or any part of information technology system without rights. These also included manipulation of Banking system, data alteration, or data destruction to make unauthorized identity theft with reference to Automate Teller Machines. Indian police has initiated by opening of special cyber cells across the country and started educating the personal against these crimes. 105 Political Factors Before 1990, the lack of accountability and lack of profit motive in Nationalized Banks was credited to political interference. After the economic reforms of 1991, the Indian Banking Industry entered into the new horizon of competiveness, efficiency, and productivity. Reserve Bank of India? s control system and its monetary policies acted as a major weapon in India? financial market. However, sometimes looking into the political advantage of a particular party, Government declares some measures for their benefits like short-term agricultural loans to attract farmer? s votes affecting the profits of the Banks. Even according to Banking Banana Skins, survey 2010 political interference was considered as the greatest risk for Banking Industry 37. In the Budget provisions, Finance Minister increased the farm credit target for 2009-10 at Rs. 3, 25,000 crore compared to Rs. 2, 87,000 crore in 2008-09. The Union Budget 200910 extended the debt waiver scheme by six more months for farmers owing more than 2 hectare of land. The Union Budget 2008-09 allowed farmers 25 percent rebate on 75 percent of their overdue repayment within the stipulated period 38 . Government also announced setting up of a task force to examine the issues of debt taken by a large number of farmers in some regions of Maharashtra from private moneylenders who were not covered under the loan waiver scheme 39 . With Government bearing this burden, Banks would not be affected much. As Government assured to help, Banks to clear their most stubborn non-performing assets accounts on Banks Book. In addition, the emphasis on expanding network with Automated Teller Machines, opening of Banking centre in unbanked blocks were some of the positive moves taken by Government. 106 Political interference by the leftist political parties claimed that various regulations with respect to Foreign Banks would benefit only those Banks, which intend to make a quick jump by providing high-profile corporate services, instead of those who wish to intensify their rural operations. Left political parties also cautioned that foreign players could increase their holding size in a particular Bank that would lead to an imbalance of power. Banks under the conventional system of recovery of loans had a considerable amount of money blocked in form of unproductive assets. Hence, to beat this difficulty parliament enacted Recovery of Debts to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993 also refereed as Debt Recovery Act. This Act created a separate apparatus in the order of Debt Recovery Tribunals, which were handed over the responsibility of administering disputes pertaining to non-payment of debts. As this legislation was general in nature, another legislature by Parliament was enacted , referred as Securitization Act with an objective to give the Banks, more power over defaulting borrowers 40,41. Unions The post nationalization era in the Banking Industry in India, particularly in the Public Sector, witnessed consolidation of trade unions. All the nine unions had all-India presence in the Banking Industry. Five workers unions and four officers unions represented almost 100 percent of the workforce in the industry and joined hands to form a United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU). United Forum of Bank Unions comprised of All India Bank Employees Association, (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC), 107 National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), All India Bank Officers Association (AIBOA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), Indian National Bank Employees Congress (INBEC), Indian National Bank Officers Congress (INBOC), National Organization of Bank Workers (NOBW) and National Organization of Bank Officers (NOBO) 42. Representatives of unions were encouraged to give suggestions. However, in many cases undue interference of unions in decision-making has adversely affected, leading to the deterioration in discipline, efficiency, and performance effectiveness. With the growing strength of these organizations, the issues relating to employees interests were no longer determined by Bank? s managements alone. The massive introduction of technology into the industry made union policies defensive. Unions focused almost entirely on the immediate consequences of technological change on the workforce, especially the aspect of possible job losses. Employees in Public Sector Banks were repulsive to move from one table to another of the same branch. Now the trade unions seem to be willing to allow mobility for employees within a district as mergers enforced them to move from one state to another. Other issues taken up by unions were like introduction of New Pension scheme and variable pay which were resolved with the help United Forum of Bank Unions. Banks unions are also involved in demanding salary hikes, job losses, disinvestments in Public Sector, and issues related to violation of labour laws, and allocation of funds for schemes for unorganised workers. 108 After attempting, the macro level environmental analysis of Indian Banking Industry a micro functional level Human Resource Environmental Analysis has been attempted with the help of SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), it would help to further develop strategic viewpoint about the industry (Table II. 4). TABLE II. 4 HR SWOT ANALYSIS WITH RESPECT TO INDIAN BANKING INDUSTRY STRENGTHS ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Educated Manpower Higher Compliance Amongst Employees Experienced Employees Training Infrastructure Availability Safe Working Environment Responsiveness to Needful Change Strong Regulatory Institutional Framework ? ? ? ? ? OPPORTUNITIES Liberalization of Banking Sector Preferred Industry for Employment Availability of Multi-specialist staff Technology for Improved Interpersonal and Communication Skills Workforce Diversity WEAKNESSES ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Limited Technology Skills Repetitive Tasks Structure Inadequate Remuneration for Attracting Talent Lacking Career Growth Path Rigid Recruitment Policies Hierarchal Structure Rigid Wage Negotiation Process Leadership Deficit at Senior Level ? ? ? ? ? ? ? THREATS Movement of Skilled and Quality Staff Difficulty in Hiring Highly Qualified Youngsters Trend Towards Downsizing Changing Workforce Demographics High Staff Cost Overheads Changing Employees Expectations Entrenched Trade Unionism 109 Key Concerns for Indian Banking Industry The macro level analysis of Banking Industry and micro level analysis with respect to Human Resource functions helped to identify the key concerns related to the Banking Industry. Competition in Banking Industry is very high as Banks are fighting for same share of customers. There are many Banks and non-financial institutions which gave rise to intensified competition. Amongst these, there existed relatively no differentiation in services and every Bank tried to copy each other? s services and technology which increased the level of competition. Competition from the non-Banking financial sector is increasing rapidly as there are substitutes like mutual funds, stocks (shares), government securities, debentures, gold, and real estate acting as a high threat of substitutes. The continuous deregulation has made the Banking Market extremely competitive with greater autonomy, operational flexibility, decontrolled interest rate, and liberalized norms for foreign exchange. The deregulation of the industry coupled with decontrol in interest rates had led to the entry of a number of players in the Banking Industry 43. Alliances and takeovers had occurred on a transatlantic basis. The market share for financial services that Banks hold had declined, while securities firms, mutual funds, and finance companies has grown 44 . Banking Sector needs to build up a strong and efficient financial system by emphasizing on risk based management. 110 In Banking Sector, customers have high bargaining power due to the presence of very large number of alternatives. Banks together with the specialized financial companies that provide finance to customers are available. Recently it was observed that depositors had withdrawn funds from Private and Foreign Banks and invested their money with Public Sector Banks as the cost of switching from one Bank to another was low and almost all Banks provided undifferentiated services. Today customer? s have more information and better understanding about the market, Banks have to be more competitive and customer friendly to serve them. To retain customer? s and market share, Banks started contemplating on building strong relationship with customers. United Bank of India created a revolution in Banking Industry by opening up a boutique branch in Pune in November 2007, as its priority was to provide services to the high net worth customers. Thus, United Bank also recognized the needs of high net worth individuals different from the other customers. United Bank organized corporate golf tournament for customers, music concerts, and screening of Mani Ratnam directed film „Guru? 45 . Bank? s top management has started carefully evaluating the impacts for their actions. Recently, before cutting jobs in Private and Foreign Banks, Human Resource managers tried to assess reactions beforehand and they came out with certain proactive steps. Banks persistently worked in the interest of the Society. This chapter focussed on the environment analysis which is, undoubtedly, required for strategy formulation, and at the same is relevant as a backdrop for strategy implementation. For instance, the needful Human Resource Practices have to be continuously evolved and implemented against the ever-changing macro and micro environment of the Banking Organizations. 111 REFERENCES 1. Wei, C. C. (2001) Environmental Scanning as Information Seeking and Organizational Learning, Information Research, 7(1). 2. About us retrieved on 26 December 2010. 3. Goyal, O. P. (1979) Financial Institutions and Economic Growth of India, New Delhi: Light and Life Publishers. 4. About Us retrieved on 26 December 2010. 5. retrieved on 28 December 2010. . Reserve Bank of India (2008) Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2007-08, lt; www. rbi. orggt; retrieved on 25 December 2009. 7. Reserve Bank of India (2008) Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2007-08, p. 115. 8. Reserve Bank of India (2008) ibid (7), p. 114. 9. Reserve Bank of India (2009) Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2008-09, p. 125. 10. Reserve Bank of India (2008) ibid (7). 11. Reserve Bank of India (2009) ibid (9). 12. Reserve Bank of India, (2008) ibid. (7), p. 115. 13. Reserve Bank of India, (2009) ibid. (9), p. 125. 14. Chandrasekhar, C. P. (2005) What is Happening to Indian Banking? Frontline, 22(4): 12 – 25. 15. Reserve Bank of India (2008) ibid. (7), p. 116. 16. Reserve Bank of India (2009) ibid. (9), p. 127. 112 17. Reserve Bank of India (2009) ibid. (9), p. 142. 18. PricewaterhouseCoopers Report (2006) retrieved on 25 December 2009. 19. Raju, S. (2010) Financial Inclusion: Enabling Inclusive Growth. The India Economy Review, 7:42-49. 20. Sekar, G. V. Emerging Trends in Technology Adoption by Indian Banks and IT Governance – A Practical Guide, lt; http://www. cab. org. in/Lists/ Knowledge% 20Bank/ Attachments/43/Emerging%20Trends. pdfgt; retrieved on 3 June 2008. 21. Reserve Bank of India (2008) ibid. (7), p. 81. 22. Chandrashekaran, N. (2009) CII Banking Tech Summit, lt; http://www. financial express. com/news/indian-banks-behind-global-peers-in-technologypwc/438064gt; retrieved on 24 March 2009. 23. Jayawardhena, C. and Foley, P. (2000) Changes in Banking Sector The Case of Internet Banking in UK. Journal of Internet Research: Networking and Policy, 10(1):19-30. 24. Rao, R. (2000) Banking @ The Speed of Thought, Business India, October 30November 12: 71-108 25. Reserve Bank of India (2009), ibid. (17). 26. Reserve Bank of India (2009) ibid. (9), p. 141. 27. Reserve Bank of India (2009) ibid. (9), p. 261. 28. Reserve Bank of India (2008) ibid. (7), p. 130. 29.

Analysis of Ryanairs Strategy

Analysis of Ryanairs Strategy Business Environment:- Strategy is the Scope and Direction of an organization over the long term: Which achieves advantages for the organization through its configuration of resources â€Å"Challenging Business Environment†, to meet the needs of market and Stakeholders expectations. Definition: Business Strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal or set of goals or objectives www.rapid-intelligence-business-sucess.com Or A course of action including the specification of resources required, to achieve a specific objective http://dictionery.bent.com Strategic management or business strategy is a level of managerial activity under setting goals and over Tactics. It provides overall direction to the business enterprise and is related to the field of organizational studies. Strategic Strategic management or business strategy includes Formulation Evaluation Strategic Formulation:- Evaluation:- Evaluation is divided into 3 parts It is important to conduct a SWOT analysis to find out the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. SWOT analysis may require taking certain precautions needed. suitability Feasibility Acceptability www.en.wikipedia.org Strategies exist at different levels in any organization. Corporate Strategy Business unit strategy Operational strategy Corporate Strategy:- It is concerned with the overall purpose and scope of the business to meet stake holders expectations. This is the crucial level since it is heavily influenced by the investors in the business and acts to guide strategic decision making. Example of corporate strategy:- Lets take an example of GE. To make this clear, GEs corporate strategy is of inter relating business units. Consumer electrics, submarines, locomotives, light bulbs etc share some synergies and each part is a separate business unit. This is what corporate strategy about. Business Strategy:- This is concerned more with how a business competes successfully in a business market. It concerns strategic decisions about choice of products, meeting needs of customers, gaining advantage over competitors, exploiting or creating new opportunities etc. Example of Business strategy:- For example, here I am taking Tesco supermarkets business strategy. Tesco is a UKs largest retailer and one of the top supermarket operators in the world plans to open a thousand strong chains of discount stores in the US. This expansion plan and strategy places it directly against the competitor retail giant Wal Mart. The US retail market is most competitive in the world. This is a fact well known to British retailers Sainsburys and marks Spencer which failed to attract US customers. Tescos Business Strategy in the US Healthy food, no waiting:- Fresh Easy stores: Tesco Started operations in the US by opening its Fresh Easy stores in Las Vegas, Los angels, San Diego and Phoenix. By 2010 Tesco plans to open 200 more outlets to expand the retail network. Tescos basic US stores will be similar to Europeans Discounters ASDA and LIDL though Tesco stores will be 75% smaller than most American super markets. Fresh Easy stores are about 10000 square feet are one third the size of a typical super market, but four times that of a convenience store. Tesco is adopting a hard discount model in the US. Tescos convenience stores modeled on the Tesco Express blueprint target US Grocers 7-Eleven and locallyrun stores. This case study covers the following issues. Asses Tescos globalization strategies Examine and analyze the entry and expansion strategies of Tesco in US Study how Tesco localized its retail practices in US Understand Tescos efforts to integrate its global best practices with local Strategies in US. Operational strategy:- Operational strategy is concerned with how each part of the business is organized to the deliver the corporate and business level strategic direction. Operational strategy focuses on resources, processes, people etc. Example:- Here I am giving the example of Ryan air, which is a biggest low cost European air line. Ryanair was the first low budget airline in Europe, modeled after the successful U.S. low cost carrier, Southwest airlines. Ryanair is one of the oldest and most successful low cost airlines of Europe. This case study on Ryanair highlights its low fares business model, its business strategies and operations. The case further incorporates the history and business description of Ryanair, its operations and challenges as a budget airline. Features and benefits of the low cost business model are also discussed. Ryanair won, the ‘Southwest of European Airlines in 2007. A year earlier, Ryanair hedged fuel and a performance to envy. Ryan airs passenger Grown in Millions. History of Ryanair:- Ryan airs initial efforts as a low cost carrier 1990 Restructuring at Ryanair The growth of Ryanair Analyzing the low cost business model Ryanair low fares strategy and standardized Operational model Advantages of using secondary or airports located outside city Low wage bills Ryanair.com and online bookings of tickets The easy jet challenge Ryanair failed merger bid and other controversies Ryanair/Aerlingus merger failure Ryanair and EU Some low fare carriers around the world Exhibit 1: Features and benefits of low fares business model Exhibit 2: Oil prices comparison, 1994 2009 Exhibit 3: List of approved and prohibited merges by the EU in the airline industry Exhibit 4: Comparative performance data of some major European LFA Exhibit 5: Map of the European Union Introduction to Ryanair: The ‘southwest of European airlines in 2007 Ryanair, Europes biggest low fares airline (LFA) reported its third quarter results for 2007 with net profits dropping 27 percent compared to a net profit of 48 million a year earlier. Ryanair cited poor market conditions, fuel costs and concerns on recession in the UK and many other European economies for its current performance and not so strong future profit expectations. With average winter fares dropping almost 5 percent its underlying net profit in the three moths to end December fell to 35 million Euros. Ryanair net profit figure excluded a one off gain of 12.1 million Euros arising from the disposal of 5 Boeing 737- 800 aircraft. History of Ryanair Ryanair was set up in 1985 and is one of the oldest and most successful low cost airlines of Europe. In fact, Ryanair was one of the first independent airlines in Ireland. Ryanair transformed the Irish air services market where other airlines like Avair failed to compete with the more powerful national carrier Aerlingus. Ryan airs initial efforts as a low cost carrier Ryan air began by offering low cost no frills services between Ireland and London. Ryan brothers Catlan, Declan and Shane Ryan were the founding share holders of Ryanair. Ryanair was set up with a share capital of just  £1, and a staff of 25. Tony Ryan, their father and the chairmen of Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA), an aircraft leasing company lent Ryanair its first airplane, a fifteen seater turbo prop commuter plane. Ryan airs first cabin crew recruits had to be less than 5ft 2ins. tall so as to be able to operate in the tiny cabin of aircraft Strategic Analysis:- Strategic analysis is all about the analyzing strength of business position and understanding the important external factors that may influence that position. The process of strategic analysis can be assisted by a number of tools, including: Scenario Planning: This technique that builds various plausible views of possible futures for a business. Scenario Planning or scenario thinking is a strategic planning tool used to make flexible long term plans. It is a method for learning about the future by understanding the nature and impact of the most uncertain and important driving forces affecting our world. Many of the regular methods for strategy development assume that the world in three to ten years time will not significantly differ from that of today and that an organization will have a large impact on its environment. Although the method is most widely used as a strategic management tool, it can also be used for enabling other types of group discussion about a common future. The thought process involved in getting to the scenarios have the dual purpose of increasing knowledge of the environment in which you operate and widening the participants perception of appropriate action plans can be considered. www.jisinfonet.ac.uk www.en.wikipedia.org Pest analysis: This is a technique for understanding business environment. Pest analysis stands for â€Å"Political, Economic, social and Technological analysis† and describes as a frame work of macro environmental factors used in the environmental scanning component of strategic management. Some analysts added Legal and rearranged the mnemonic to SLEPT. Inserting Environmental factors expanded it to PESTLE or PESTEL, which is popular in the UK. The growing importance of environmental or ecological factors in the first decade of the 21st century have given rise to green business and encouraged widespread use of an updated version of the PEST framework. Political factors are how and to what degree a government intervenes in the economy. Specially, political factors include areas such as tax policy, labor law, environmental law, trade restrictions, traffics, and political stability. Economic factors include economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and inflation rate. Social factors include the crucial aspects and include health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on safety. Technological factors include ecological and environmental aspects. Environmental factors include weather, climate and climate change, which may affect industries such as tourism, farming, and insurance. Legal factors include discrimination law, consumer law, antitrust law, employment law, and health and safety law. Market segmentation: A technique which seeks to identify similarities and differences between groups of customers or users. A market segment is a group of people or organizations sharing one or more characteristics that cause them to have similar product and/or service needs. The purpose for segmenting a market is to allow your marketing program to focus on the subset of prospects that are most likely to purchase your offering. When numerous variables are combined to give an in depth understanding of a segment, this is referred to as depth segmentation. When enough information is combined to create a clear picture of a typical member of a segment, this is referred to as a buyer profile. A statistical technique commonly used in determining a profile is cluster analysis. Once a market segment has been identified and targeted, the segment is then subject to positioning. Positioning involves ascertaining how a product is perceived in the minds of consumers. www.businessplans.org Five forces analysis: A technique for identifying the forces which affect the level of competition in an industry. This analysis helps the marketer to contrast a competitive environment. It has similarities with other tools for environmental audit, such as PEST analysis, but tends to focus on the single, stand alone, business or SBU (Strategic Business Unit) rather than a single product or range of products. Five force analyses looks at five key areas namely the threat of entry, the power of buyers, the power of suppliers, the threat of substitutes, and competitive rivalry. Threat of entry: Economies of scale. Ex: the benefits associated with bulk purchasing 2) The high or low cost of entry Cost advantages not related to the size of the company Government action The power of buyers:- This is high where there a few, large players in a market Cost of switching between suppliers is low The power of suppliers:- Where the switching costs are high Power is high where the brand is powerful Customers are fragmented The threat of substitutes:- Where there is generic substitution Where there is product for product substitution Competitive Rivalry:- This is most likely to be high where entry is likely www.mareketingteacher.com Competitor analysis: a wide range of techniques and analysis that seeks to summarize a businesses overall competitive position. Competitor analysis is an important part of the strategic planning process. Competitor analysis in marketing and strategic management is an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential competitors. This analysis has several important roles in strategic planning. To help management understand their competitive advantages or disadvantages relative to competitors. To generate understanding of competitors past, present and future strategies. To provide an informed basis to develop strategies to achieve competitive advantage in the future To help forecast the returns that may be made from future investments Competitor analysis is an essential component of corporate strategy; it is argued that most firms do not conduct this type of analysis systematically enough. Instead, many enterprises operate on what is called informal impressions. A common technique is to create detailed profiles on each of your major competitors. These profiles give an in depth description of the competitors background, finances, products, markets, facilities, personnel and strategies. Directional policy matrix: A technique which summarizes the competitive strength of a businesses operation in specific markets. This matrix measures the health of the market and your strength to pursue it. The result indicates the direction for future investment. The recommendation may be to invest, grow, harvest or divest. Most businesses have more than one product and operate in several markets. One effective approach to ensuring that objectivity has an input into such prioritization is the directional policy matrix (DPM). www.brs-inc.com Critical success factor analysis: A technique to identify those areas in which a business must outperform the competition in order to succeed. Critical success factors are the critical factors or activities required for ensuring the success your business. The term was initially used in the world of data analysis, and business analysis. Critical success Factor is the term of an element that is necessary for an organization or project to achieve its mission. It is a critical factor or activity required for ensuring the success of your business. A critical success factor is not a key performance indicator. CSFs are elements that are vital for a strategy to be successful. KPIs are measures that quantify management objectives and enable the measurement of strategic performance. The term was initially used in the world of data analysis, and business analysis. Critical success factors (CSFs) are tailored to a firms or managers particular situation as different situations to different critical success factors. Five key sources of CSFs The industry Competitive strategy and industry position Environmental factors Temporal factors Managerial position www.rapidbi.com SWOT analysis: This is a useful summary technique for summarizing the key issues arising from an assessment of a business â€Å"internal† position and external environmental influences. SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project identifying the internal and external factors that are the favorable and unfavorable to a convention at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from fortune 500 companies. A SWOT analysis must first start with defining a desired end state or objective. A SWOT analysis may be incorporated into the strategic planning model. An example of a strategic planning technique that incorporates an objective driven SWOT analysis is ‘Strategic Creative Analysis (SCAN). Strategic planning, including SWOT and SCAN analysis, has been the subject of much research. Strengths: attributes of the person or company that are helpful to achieving the objective. Weakness: Attributes of the person or company that are harmful to achieving the objective Opportunities: External conditions that are helpful to achieving the objective. Threats: External conditions which could do damage to the objective. Identification of SWOTs is essential because subsequent steps in the process of planning for achievement of the selected objective may be derived from the SWOTs. The SWOT analysis is often used in academia to highlight and identify strengths, weaknesses. Opportunities and threats. It is particularly helpful in identifying areas for development. Another way of utilizing SWOT is ‘matching and ‘converting. Matching is used to find competitive advantages by matching the strengths to opportunities. Converting is to apply conversion strategies to convert threats or weaknesses into strengths or opportunities. An example of conversion strategy is to find new markets. If the threats or weaknesses cannot be converted a company should try to minimize or avoid them. Evidence on the use of SWOT SWOT analysis may limit the strategies considered in the evaluation. J.Scott Armstrong notes that â€Å"people who use SWOT might conclude that they have done an adequate job of planning and ignore such sensible things as defining the firms objectives or calculating ROI for alternative strategies. As an alternative to SWOT, Armstrong described a 5 step approach alternative that leads to better corporate performance. These criticisms are addressed to an old version of SWOT analysis that precedes the SWOT analysis described above under the heading â€Å"Strategic and Creative use of SWOT analysis†. This old version did not require that SWOTs be derived from an agreed upon objective. Example of SWOT analyses that do not state an objective are provided below under â€Å"Human Resource† and â€Å"Marketing.† Internal and external factors The aim of any SWOT analysis is to identify the key internal and external factors that are important to achieving the objective. These come from within the companys unique value chain. SWOT analysis groups key pieces of information into two main categories. Internal factors: The strengths and weaknesses internal to the organization. External factors: The opportunities and threats presented by the external environment to the organization. Use a PEST or PESTLE analysis to help identify factors. The internal facts may be viewed as strengths or weaknesses depending upon their impact on the organizations objectives. What may represent strengths with respect to one objective may be weakness for another objective. The factors may include all of the 4Ps; as well as personnel, finance, manufacturing capabilities, and so on. The external factors may include macroeconomic matters, technological change, legislation, and socio results are often presented in the form of a matrix. SWOT analysis is just one method of categorization and has its own weaknesses. For example, it may tend to persuade companies to compile lists rather than thinking about what is actually important in achieving objectives. It also presents the resulting lists uncritically and without clear prioritization so that, for example, weak opportunities may appear to balance strong threats. It is prudent not to eliminate too quickly any candidates SWOT entry. The importance of individual SWOTs will be revealed by the value of the strategies it generates. A SWOT item that produces valuable strategies is important. A SWOT item that generates no strategies is not important. Conclusion:- Here I am concluding that my assignment was completed. Strategy at different levels of management was explained including different methods like SWOT analysis, CSF, DPM, etc. I have tried my best to compete this assignment with the help of some online resources.

Juliet is Independent, Courageous, and Heroic in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet :: Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Juliet is Independent, Courageous, and Heroic in Romeo and Juliet After reading William Shakespeares' Romeo and Juliet, you have a better understanding of the characters then when we are first introduced to them. Juliet Capulet, who is one of the main characters, is placed in a cruel and vicious adult world. She is under many pressures and demands of her family. Thus, during the play Juliet becomes an independent, courageous, and heroic young woman. Many times in the play Juliet shows many acts of being independent. When she was under the pressure to marry Paris, Juliet stood up for what she thought was right and best for her and refused to marry him. In a lot of situations Juliet relied on the Nurse to guide her and make decisions for her. When the Nurse started pushing Juliet towards marring Paris and cutting down Romeo, she could no longer put trust in her and wanted nothing to do with her. Throughout her role in the play Juliet showed allot of courage. For instance, Juliet decides to marry Romeo even though their families are enemies. She knows that her parents would never permit the marriage but lets the love lead her way. When Juliet says to Friar Lawrence "Go get thee hence, for I wilt not away...."(V.iii.160) Juliet is telling Friar that you can leave Romeo since he is dead but I will not because I love him. Her Juliet shows courage because she decides to stay with Romeo knowing that there is allot at risk is anyone finds her. Juliet showed many acts of heroism in the play. In order to stay married with Romeo, Juliet takes a potion that makes her seem dead for two days . Not knowing if she was going to wake up, Juliet took the chance so that her and Romeo could possibly be reunited. She did in fact wake up seconds too late just in time to see Romeo drinking the poison. Without thinking twice she killed herself, so she could be with Romeo.

Transfer of Personal Data to a Third Country :: Safe Harbor Agreement Human Rights Essays

Transfer of Personal Data to a Third Country I. Introduction 1.) An old issue, growing in importance Searching the web, one can see that privacy on the Internet is a big issue. Countless US or EU based human rights initiatives are fighting for the right to privacy. What is the reason for this? Although concerns about consumers' ability to protect their privacy have been in existence for decades, the Internet makes the issue more delicate: Businesses have access to a larger audience, which allows them to collect more data from more people. Furthermore, collection of more specific behavioural information is possible attaching cookies to a hard drive, reporting which websites someone enters.[1] In addition, data collection and storage having become much easier, faster and cheaper, cost concerns do not limit data-collection practices.[2] At the same time, the market for information about consumers and consumer behaviour is continuously growing, side by side with the expansion of e-commerce. 2.) Definition of the issue Privacy can be defined as "the right of the individual to be protected against intrusion into his personal life or affairs, or those of his family, by direct physical means or by publication of information."[3] This paper will focus purely on information privacy, also known as "data protection", which means the rules governing the collection and handling of personal data such as a person's name, address, phone number, family status, social security or other identification number or even medical, financial or government records. Data protection concerns the process of gathering, storing, analysis and distribution of personal data. Privacy issues can be divided into relations with the public sector and with the private sector.[4] In this paper, I will concentrate on the private sector, especially relevant because of the growing importance of e-commerce. 3.) Fundamentally different approaches in the US and the EU Europe and the US have very different approaches to data protection and privacy. In 250 years, nations on each side of the Atlantic have evolved their democracies into distinct forms of society and market economy. Differences in culture, policies and society are the consequence. a.) Government Interference vs. Self-Regulation As discussed in seminar one, there is an ongoing dispute regarding the approach in choosing an apt legal framework for the public and transnational sphere of cyberspace: Some scholars want governments to interfere as little as possible, others see the need for a unified legal framework. It seems that, concerning the privacy issue, the EU has chosen the latter option, by imposing a comprehensive, general law governing the collection, use and dissemination of data by public and private sector, whose enforcement is assured by an oversight body. The US tends to rely on sectoral laws, and on self-regulation for the

Swot of Disneyland

SWOT – HOW DISNEYLAND HK CAN RELATE TO THE EMERGENCE OF ANOTHER DISNEYLAND IN SHANGHAI IN COMING DECADES : HOW HONG KONG CAN FURTHER STRENGTHEN THE EXISTENCE OF DISNEYLAND IN HK FOR BREAKEVEN SAKE: WHAT OTHER STRENGTH HK DISNEYLAND CAN SUSTAIN TO SURIVIVE FOR SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND BEING OPENED IN FEW YEARS LATER WITH DECREASE OF VISITORS FROM MAINLAND . WHAT IS THE WEAKNESS OF HONG KONG DISNEYLAND THAT CANNOT ATTRACT ENOUGH VISITORS TO MAINTAIN BREAKEVEN WITHOUT SUBSIDY FROM HK GOVERNMENT FOR EXAMPLES, POOR INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES IN DISNEYLAND, LIKE LITTLE FOOD CHOICES OPEN TO FIT FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE . SPACE IS SMALL AND THE AMUSEMENT FACILITIES DID NOT UPDATE FREQUENELTY. MOVEROVER,THE ROAD SHOW LAST FOR SEVERAL MONTH WITHOUT CHANGE. THE TRANSPORATION FARES IS ABNORMALLY HIGH WHICH DETER HONGKONGESE TO VISIT AGAIN . OPPORUNTITIES : RE-BRANDING OF DISNEYLAND,MORE NEW THEME DRAMA , ROAD SHOW AND MUSICAL SHOW AND INNOVATIVE ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL ELEMENTS THERE . THREAT – COMPETITION FROM HK OCEAN PARK BECAUSE LOWER ENTRANCE FEES AND BETTER TRANSPORATION NETWORK AND FARES. MORE LOCAL AND MULTI-CULTURAL ELEMENTS EMBEDDED INTO THE FACILITES AND VISUAL AIDS. MOST IMPORTANT IS THE EMERGENCE OF SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND . BASED ON ABOVE 4 ELEMENTS TO SEE WHEHTER THERE IS A DRASTIC CHANGE TO EXISTING HK DISNEYLAND MARKETING GLIMMSPE. IF HK GOVERNMENT NEED TO HAVE COLLATERAL CONTRACT WITH US DISNEYLAND, THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT HK SHOULD BOUND THE AGREED PERIOD OF TIME TO REPRESENT DISNEYLAND TO PROVIDE MINIMAL LEVEL OF SERVICE TO VISITORS. AFTER THE EXPIRATION OF ALL THE CONTRACT SERVICING PERIOD, HK WOULD CHANGE THE STRUCTURE/MARKETING STRATEGIES BY WHATEVER MEANS.

Unmanned Drones: Immoral?

Jordan Morris Dr. Flores Eng 103 February 27, 2013 Unmanned Drones: Immoral? I chose to research two articles that take opposing sides on the use of tactical unmanned aerial vehicle drones that are being used in combat over seas seeing as how there is so much controversy surrounding this topic in the news nowadays. â€Å"The unmanned aerial vehicle also known as UAV is an aircraft with no pilot on board. UAV’s can be remote controlled or fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans† (www. theuav. com). These unmanned â€Å"drones† are used in the military for a number of things including intelligence gathering and attacks terrorist groups.The first article is the better of the two when it comes to convincing the reader. Although fighter planes have the advantage of and experienced pilot behind the wheel, unmanned drones are more accurate, less expensive and safer than fighter planes. The point of the first article â€Å"Five Myths about Obama’s D rone War† (Washington Post) is to convince the reader that it is ok to use drones in combat. He talks about how during wartimes it is crucial for the weaponry to evolve, from slingshots to bow & arrows to guns to fighter planes to unmanned drones.He says, â€Å"that from a moral and ethical standpoint drones are little to no different than rifles, bombers or tanks. † (Washington Post) He also says that drones are some of the most precise weaponry used in combat theses day but doesn’t really provide statistics. â€Å"Drones should not give give us a false sense of security. The intelligence required for targeting may require U. S. boots on the ground. † (Washington Post) Drones are much less expensive than fighter aircrafts so it would make sense for a poorer country to invest in building drones instead of fighters. This presents a dilemma for the U. S. ecause we are more prone to attacks, as seen on September 11, 2001. In the first article Mark R. Jacobson lists 5 myths that have been sparked about the use of these drones, and then explains his view on each one. Jacobson address’s the statement â€Å"Drones are immoral,† which is a great way to start the article seeing as how that’s what most people perceive them to be. He says, â€Å"Drones are neither autonomous killer robots nor sentient beings making life-or-death decisions. Yet, with the â€Å"Terminator†-like connotations of the term, it is easy to forget that these vehicles are flown via remote control by some 1,300 Air Force pilots.Drones are an evolution in military technology, not a revolution in warfare. † This statement is a prime example of Logos, the appeal to logic, because he takes a very straightforward approach to the topic at hand. He then goes on to use Ethos when addressing the statement, â€Å"Drones allow us to fight wars without danger. † Jacobson states that, â€Å"Drones should not give a false sense of security. Th e intelligence required for targeting may require U. S. boot on the ground. † This characterizes the idea of a community still being needed to gain information and do some â€Å"dirty work† for there to even be the need for a drone strike.In the second article â€Å"Drone Strikes: What’s the Law? † (LA Times) author Vicki Divoll discusses the execution of U. S. citizen Anwar Awlaki by our government in a drone attack. Her article deals with the 5th Amendment’s admonition: No American citizen shall â€Å"be deprived of life, liberty or the property without due process of law. † Her style of writing is more like the Tolmin Model of Argument. This article had much more emotion involved which made the reader a lot more engaged in what the author was talking about.Instead of writing in a way that might focus purely on the different types of appeals, the second article is written in a way that focuses more on an initial claim that is backed by supp ort evidence. In addition, the author mentions Awlaki’s story, which provides an emotional involvement for the reader to remain engaged. The author’s claim in the second article is that American citizens should be entitled to their constitutional rights. Her story about how Anwar Awlaki, an American citizen, was reportedly targeted and killed demonstrates the fact that not every citizen is being treated equally.She goes on to provide support for her claim by discussing, â€Å"the Supreme Court case Hamdi vs. Rumsfeld, a 2004 Bush-era Supreme Court decision, to justify that the government believes that there are no due process problems with the drone program. But the memo writers make an inexcusable mistake: They cherry-pick the decision, disregarding the heart of what the justices said. † In the case she mentions, Yasir Hamdi, a U. S. citizen arrested on the battlefield in Afghanistan, set out to challenge his indefinite detention in an American military facilit y as an enemy combatant.The administration at the time argued that, in wartime, the executive alone should determine who the enemy is and what measure can to be used against him. The court disagreed and sent Hamdi’s case to a lower court for a review of factual accuracy of his enemy combatant designation. This review never happened and Hamdi was deported. The Supreme Court's reasoning in Hamdi remains the most applicable legal example that applies to targeted killings. Divoll writes, â€Å"Significantly, eight of the nine justices agreed that Hamdi was entitled to an impartial review, outside the executive branch, of the facts of the case.Only Justice Clarence Thomas bought the Bush administration's theory of executive power. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, writing the principal opinion, reminded us of the court's decades-long admonition: â€Å"A state of war is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the nation's citizens. † O'Connor further e xplained how the due process clause operates in wartime when the executive branch is making a determination about the fate of an American citizen. Hamdi's interest in liberty, she wrote, must be balanced against the needs of the executive in fighting a war.You don't need a law degree to apply that reasoning to targeted killings. If the executive cannot act alone when an American's liberty is at stake in the post-9/11 War on Terrorism, the Supreme Court would be at least as concerned when an American's life is on the line. The court has always ruled that the more crucial the individual interest at stake, the more ‘process’ is due. † All this is a great source of support for Divoll’s claim. The second article had much more factual evidence to back up the author’s initial claim and yet still provided a sense of emotion to keep the reader interested.The two stories provided by Divoll were perfect examples in which the author could refer to and point out the flaws in our system. Although she doesn’t come right out and blatantly state it, I believe that the author would agree in my previous statement that it is ok to use unmanned tactical drones on American citizens only if they have refused to exercise their right to due process. Work Cited Page 1. http://www. theuav. com/ 2. http://articles. washingtonpost. com/2013-02-08/opinions/36988550_1_drone-strikes-drone-pilots-civilian-casualties (Washington Post) 3.