Politics And Popular Culture During The 1960s - 1279 Words

Kaminah Oakes Mrs. Morrison English 11 Honors May 17, 2015 Like a teenager, naturally filled with years of curiosity and rebellion as well as discovery and learning, the 1980s fought conformity and became a force to be reckoned with. It was now acceptable to express one’s individuality and the time to experiment until a person found out exactly who they were. America in the 1980s was inclined to challenge authority and tradition, as the people were vibing with attitude and vivid thoughts. This newly found confidence was introduce with the electron of Ronald Reagan, generating both social and economic change. Reagan’s restoration of the economy gave the people a sense of relief, allowing them to avail a life of extravagance and prosperity. As a result, pop culture conquered the scene. Politics and popular culture had a great influence on one another throughout the decade. Since the president was already established in the entertainment world before he came into office, he initiated this association by embodying a de piction of Hollywood. Americans had less to fret about; ushering in a period of luxury and pleasure. They took this time to dare old rules, while making improvements to the world. During the years of 1980-1989, the American people were presumptuous and rife with sexual tensions. Fashion: The young urban profession, â€Å"yuppie† was one element of fashion that demonstrated how Americans were presumptions and rife with sexual tensions. Their audacious attitudesShow MoreRelatedFashion of Roaring Twenties and the Sixties1527 Words   |  7 Pagestime. It usually refers to costume or clothing style. Everybody has to wear clothes, making fashion a part of everyday life. The way someone dresses says a lot about his or her personality, age, culture and experience. At times of economic or social change, fashion often changed. The 1920s and the 1960s are big eras were economic and social change were happening. They are both largely known for their fashion. The 1920s was also known as the Roaring Twenties due to the period’s social, artistic,Read MoreYoung Adult Views On Politics, Sexuality, And The Future Impacted The Music Of The 1960 S855 Words   |  4 Pages Music has described and impacted our culture as far back as we can record. From ballads to hip hop, music has not only told stories about the singer, but also, and perhaps more importantly, about the time as well. The 1960 s was a time known for it s anti-war movement and it s drive for sex, while the 1990 s became an era of nostalgia (especially for the current adult generation) and melancholy ballads only subdued by birth of bubblegum pop. In our current century, music has become a forefrontRead MoreThe Different Impressions of People About the 1960s Essay783 Words   |  4 PagesThe Different Impressions of People About the 1960s During the 1950s to the 1960s there was many changes in society. Many dramatic events of the twentieth century happened in the sixties, such Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, Cuban missile Crisis, and John F Kennedy’s assassination. The Vietnam War and the first men on the moon,but the sixties was blamed for many things going wrong in society For teenagers the sixties was a great time for them, they could Read MoreThe Fall Of Patriotic Ideals1535 Words   |  7 Pagesprimarily rooted in global politics and contemporary American society. Younger generations have not experienced the world as the older generations have, causing them to have a different view of the world around them. The difference in perceptions is primarily caused by the changing nature of global politics. Throughout the twentieth century, there were constant conflicts in the world. Older generations actively participated in at least five major conflicts during the twentieth century. TheRead MoreCountercultures Of The 1960s982 Words   |  4 Pagesthat were important but lesser known. The sixties also represented the movement of countercultures, identity politics and liberation movements. These challenges and movements all summarized what is known as the era of the 60s. There were many groups that opposed authority in a peaceful way such as marches and gatherings, however, these groups certainly did not get along with authorities. The 1960’s was heavily influenced by the popularized emergence of drug experimentation, the nonjudgment of sex, andRead MorePermanent Impact of the Counter-Culture on Todays American Society1953 Words   |  8 Pagesillusionary is the reality of a new culture of opposition. It grows out of the disintegration of the old forms, vinyl and aerosol institutions that carry all the inane and destructive values of privatism; competition, commercialism, profitability and elitismÂ…Its not a youth thing by now but a generational event; chronological age is the only current phase. The previous quote was written by Andrew Kopkind in Rolling Stone on the Woodstock festival observing that a new culture was immersing from the rootsRead MoreA Interview About Chinese During The World War II866 Words   |  4 Pageshave Skype my grandfather far away from here in China, since he don’t know how to speak English so we were use Chinese during the whole interview. He was born in 1935 before the World War II and grows up in an instable time era. During this time the economy of China is in a low level and compare to another country that is lag behind. Due to the history in China, the play is much popular than the movies, so there is not much chance for him to watch the movies before 1955. Also, the countryside that heRead MoreThe Historical Perspectives and Trends of Childrens Literature1594 Words   |  7 Pagestradition was just as popular as more-modern written tradition is now. Families and tribes would gather together in different places just to hear the stories of a popular storyteller. This is similar to how families gather now to spend time together, such as watching a television show together, conversing at the dinner table together, etc. These oral stories often had happy endings and were usuall y very humorous. As the years have gone on folk tales have become so popular they have also made theirRead More Spanning Two Decade?s:The 50?s to the 60?s Essay1745 Words   |  7 Pagesthe 1950’s. It was age of dad’s always-right attitude and a culture that was family centered. The standard of living for American’s was the best in the world. The times just looked to perfect lives were lived to privately. This private enjoyment was centered on the family, leisure, and consumerism. Soon everyone tried to become to â€Å"Leave it to Beaver† type of family and culture exploded. The explosion is what everyone considers to be the 1960’s. Kids that grew up in the fifties were becoming teenagersRead MoreRock And Roll : Rock Roll1169 Words   |  5 Pagesdevelopment in the early 20th century. The genre, defined â€Å"as a merger between rhythmblues and country† (Scaruffi, The History of Rock Music:1955-1966), started out more as an underground ma rket, but ended up becoming a significant aspect of American popular music history. Rock-n-Roll music produce many legendary artists who will forever be known as innovators of the genre. Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry were some of the many artists in Rock-n-Roll who will always live on in their music. Many teenagers

Strengths And Weaknesses Of A Nurse Leader Essay - 1822 Words

Strengths and Weaknesses of A Nurse Leader No matter how great a nurse leader may be, every nurse leader has their strengths and weaknesses. My strengths include being compassionate, humble, and resilient. Whereas my biggest weakness as a leader is not having the appropriate skills to influence others to see things my way. Compassion, which is an extension of empathy, is having the desire to help those who are suffering or in a crisis. Compassionate leaders are also humble leaders, displaying humility as they put the needs of others before their own. Leaders who possess a high level of compassion encourage healthy relationships and promote an emphatic work environment. Servant leaders are humble, focusing on doing good for others and ensuring the well-being and growth of others over their own personal needs (Neubert, Hunter, Tolentino, 2016). My manager often tells me that she admires my ability to handle stressful situations and not show any sign of being overwhelmed. As a competen t leader, one need to possess the skills to remain calm during stressful times. Resilience is defined as being adaptable, grounded, and having the skills to bounce back from a stressful situation (Tyczkowski, Vandenhouten, Reilly, Bansal, Kubsch, Jakkola, 2015). Resiliency is considered to be an attribute of transformational leaders, as they are positive, persistence, and flexible individuals. An effective leader has the ability to persuade others to their way of thinking.Show MoreRelatedThe Challenging Task of Leadership in the Nursing Profession1442 Words   |  6 Pageswork settings including the nursing profession. Actually, being a nurse leader is challenging when examining issues and situations that are unique to the healthcare sector. The complexity of leadership in nursing is attributed to the fact that nurse leaders are not only responsible for issues that are specific to their respective department but also mandated with the task of coordinating interactions between de partments. Nurse leaders are required to conduct these activities towards direct and indirectRead MoreLeadership Based On Strengths By Tom Rath1470 Words   |  6 PagesLeadership Based on Strengths StrengthsFinder 2.0, written by Tom Rath, was a book I chose for a purpose. Rath mentions that when we live within our shortcomings/ our weaknesses, we tend to live in this world unhappy and unmotivated (Rath, 2007). In this paper, I will discuss some background and major topics presented in his book. I will describe how his topics can be useful in nursing practice, as well as my own practice. I will end this paper with a look into how his book helped me to grow inRead MoreEssay on Combining Nursing Leadership with Advocacy1349 Words   |  6 PagesAdvocacy According to Dictionary.com, a strength is the quality or state of being strong, a mental power, force, or vigor; a weakness is the lack of strength, an inadequate quality. We all have and carry our own strengths and weaknesses of qualities. As I’ve learned in class this week, every nurse can be a leader. It was difficult to see the leader in myself until I took the Nurse Manager Skills Inventory by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. There are four areas I am going to discussRead MoreMy Leadership Experience As A Leadership Essay1462 Words   |  6 Pagesand lead my unit with my technical and human skills with lesser emphasis on conceptual skills. However, as I identify my strengths, I realize my inadequacies requiring the need for improvement. To resolve the shortcomings as a leader, I develop a leadership plan which includes enhancing skills and setting up goals in order to reach the objectives in becoming an effective leader and in aspiring for career ad vancement. . Leadership Approach In his textbook, Northouse discussed on the SkillsRead MoreStrengths And Weaknesses Of The Nursing Field1749 Words   |  7 PagesStrengths-Based Leadership in the Nursing Field Strengths-based leadership will be the focus of this paper. It will provide definitions, history and background of StrengtsFinder 2.0, and major concepts of strengths-based leadership. Functions in the nursing practice and how strengths-based nursing can be applied to nursing roles will be addressed as well. This paper will focus on my top three strengths, achiever, learner, and responsibility and how these specifically play into my personal life,Read MoreStrengths And Weaknesses Of The Nursing Field1436 Words   |  6 PagesStrengths-Based Leadership in the Nursing Field Introduction As children, many of us were taught that we could be anything we wanted to be with enough hard work, determination and believing in ourselves. According to Rath (2007), we cannot be anything we want to be, however, we can be a lot more of who we already are. Strengths Finder 2.0 focuses on finding specific talents an individual possesses, so they can then develop them into strengths. Donald O. Clifton created a database containing 34 ofRead MoreAn Assessment Of This Writer s Personal Power Within An Organization Essay976 Words   |  4 Pagesoutline an assessment of this writer’s personal power within an organization. The assessment includes strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for personal improvement. Additionally, a plan to actualize an increase in personal power is described; and, the significance of personal power to the nursing profession and the impact to social change is discussed. Self-assessment I currently hold a nurse director’s position in a small rural hospital. Professional authority and power have been delegatedRead MoreStrengths And Weaknesses Of The Nursing Field1619 Words   |  7 PagesStrengths-Based Leadership in the Nursing Field Introduction As children, many of us were taught that we could be anything we wanted to be with enough hard work, determination, and believing in ourselves. According to Rath (2007), we cannot be anything we want to be, however, we can be a lot more of who we already are. Strengths Finder 2.0 focuses on finding specific talents an individual possesses, so they can then develop them into strengths. Donald O. Clifton created a database containing 34Read MoreTransformational Leadership Theory As A Guide1088 Words   |  5 Pagesto reach a shared goal (Huber, 2014). Some of the individual components are areas that I have personal strength in such as: desire to learn and ability to get the job done (Rath Conchie, 2008). Additionally, some of the components are the ability to influence and connect with others; strengths that I do not possess (Rath Conchie, 2008). Recognition of my own personal strengths and weaknesses led me to a democratic philosophy of leadership because I realized that one perso n cannot encompass allRead MoreLifelong Learning Plan And Role Analysis Essay1199 Words   |  5 PagesThompson Sacred Heart University Lifelong Learning Plan and Role Analysis The Future of Nursing report of 2010 called for the increase in the number of bachelor-prepared nurses in the workforce to be at 80% by 2020 (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2015). The goal is to encourage nurses to achieve higher education and seek lifelong learning. Lifelong learning, however, goes beyond advanced degrees, required CEU credits, annual in-services, and orientation. Lifelong learning

Indian Banking Sector Free Essays

string(50) " it was nationalized after independence, in 1949\." A bank is an institution that deals in money and its substitutes and provides other financial services. Banks accept deposits and make loans or make an investment to derive a profit from the difference in the interest rates paid and charged, respectively. In India the banks are being segregated in different groups. We will write a custom essay sample on Indian Banking Sector or any similar topic only for you Order Now Each group has their own benefits and limitations in operating in India. Each has their own dedicated target market. Few of them only work in rural sector while others in both rural as well as urban. Many even are only catering in cities. Some are of Indian origin and some are foreign players. India’s economy has been one of the stars of global economics in recent years. It has grown by more than 9% for three years running. The economy of India is as diverse as it is large, with a number of major sectors including manufacturing industries, agriculture, textiles and handicrafts, and services. Agriculture is a major component of the Indian economy, as over 66% of the Indian population earns its livelihood from this area. Banking sector is considered as a booming sector in Indian economy recently. Banking is a vital system for developing economy for the nation. However, Indian banking system and economy has been facing various challenges and problems which have discussed in other parts of project. INDIAN BANKING SYSTEM Without a sound and effective banking system in India it cannot have a healthy economy. The banking system of India should not only be hassle free but it should be able to meet new challenges posed by the technology and any other external and internal factors. For the past three decades India’s banking system has several outstanding achievements to its credit. The most striking is its extensive reach. It is no longer confined to only metropolitans or cosmopolitans in India. In fact, Indian banking system has reached even to the remote corners of the country. This is one of the main reasons of India’s growth process. The government’s regular policy for Indian bank since 1969 has paid rich dividends with the nationalization of 14 major private banks of India. Not long ago, an account holder had to wait for hours at the bank counters for getting a draft or for withdrawing his own money. Today, he has a choice. Gone are days when the most efficient bank transferred money from one branch to other in two days. Now it is simple as instant messaging or dial a pizza. Money has become the order of the day. The first bank in India, though conservative, was established in 1786. From 1786 till today, the journey of Indian Banking System can be segregated into three distinct phases. They are as mentioned below: †¢Early phase from 1786 to 1969 of Indian Banks †¢Nationalization of Indian Banks and up to 1991 prior to Indian banking sector Reforms. New phase of Indian Banking System with the advent of Indian Financial ; Banking Sector Reforms after 1991. After 1991, under the chairmanship of M Narasimham, a committee was set up by his name which worked for the liberalization of banking practices. The country is flooded with foreign banks and their ATM stations. Efforts are being put to give a satisfactory service to customers. Phone banking and net banking is introduced . The entire system became more convenient and swift. Time is given more importance than money. This resulted that Indian banking is growing at an astonishing rate, with Assets expected to reach US$1 trillion by 2010. â€Å"The banking industry should focus on having a small number of large players that can compete globally and can achieve expected goals rather than having a large number of fragmented players. † KINDS OF BANKS Financial requirements in a modern economy are of a diverse nature, distinctive variety and large magnitude. Hence, different types of banks have been instituted to cater to the varying needs of the community. Banks in the organized sector may, however, be classified in to the following major forms: oCommercial banks oCo-operative banks oSpecialized banks oCentral bank †¢COMMERCIAL BANKS Commercial banks are joint stock companies dealing in money and credit. In India, however there is a mixed banking system, prior to July 1969, all the commercial banks-73 scheduled and 26 non-scheduled banks, except the state bank of India and its subsidiaries-were under the control of private sector. On July 19, 1969, however, 14 major commercial banks with deposits of over 50 Corers were nationalized. In April 1980, another six commercial banks of high standing were taken over by the government. At present, there are 20 nationalized banks plus the state bank of India and its 7 subsidiaries constituting public sector banking which controls over 90 per cent of the banking business in the country. †¢CO-OPERATIVE BANKS Co-operative banks are a group of financial institutions organized under the provisions of the Co-operative societies Act of the states. The main objective of co-operative banks is to provide cheap credits to their members. They are based on the principle of self-reliance and mutual co-operation. Co-operative banking system in India has the shape of a pyramid a three tier structure, constituted by: †¢SPECIALIZED BANKS There are specialized forms of banks catering to some special needs with this unique nature of activities. There are thus, oForeign exchange banks, oIndustrial banks, oDevelopment banks, oLand development banks, oExim bank. †¢CENTRAL BANK A central bank is the apex financial institution in the banking and financial system of a country. It is regarded as the highest monetary authority in the country. It acts as the leader of the money market. It supervises, control and regulates the activities of the commercial banks. It is a service oriented financial institution. India’s central bank is the Reserve Bank of India established in 1935. A central bank is usually state owned but it may also be a private organization. For instance, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), was started as a shareholders’ organization in 1935, however, it was nationalized after independence, in 1949. You read "Indian Banking Sector" in category "Papers" It is free from parliamentary control. CHALLENGES FACED BY INDIAN BANKING INDUSTRY The banking industry in India is undergoing a major transformation due to changes in economic conditions and continuous deregulation. These multiple changes happening one after other has a ripple effect on a bank trying to graduate from completely regulated sellers market to completed deregulated customers market. oDEREGULATION This continuous deregulation has made the Banking market extremely competitive with greater autonomy, operational flexibility, and decontrolled interest rate and liberalized norms for foreign exchange. The deregulation of the industry coupled with decontrol in interest rates has led to entry of a number of players in the banking industry. At the same time reduced corporate credit off take thanks to sluggish economy has resulted in large number of competitors battling for the same pie. oNEW RULES As a result, the market place has been redefined with new rules of the game. Banks are transforming to universal banking, adding new channels with lucrative pricing and freebees to offer. Natural fall out of this has led to a series of innovative product offerings catering to various customer segments, specifically retail credit. EFFICIENCY This in turn has made it necessary to look for efficiencies in the business. Banks need to access low cost funds and simultaneously improve the efficiency. The banks are facing pricing pressure, squeeze on spread and have to give thrust on retail assets. oDIFFUSED CUSTOMER LOYALTY This will definitely impact Customer preferences, as they are bound to rea ct to the value added offerings. Customers have become demanding and the loyalties are diffused. There are multiple choices; the wallet share is reduced per bank with demand on flexibility and customization. Given the relatively low switching costs; customer retention calls for customized service and hassle free, flawless service delivery. oMISALLIGNED MINDSET These changes are creating challenges, as employees are made to adapt to changing conditions. There is resistance to change from employees and the Seller market mindset is yet to be changed coupled with Fear of uncertainty and Control orientation. Acceptance of technology is slowly creeping in but the utilization is not maximized. oCOMPETENCE GAP Placing the right skill at the right place will determine success. The competency gap needs to be addressed simultaneously otherwise there will be missed opportunities. The focus of people will be on doing work but not providing solutions, on escalating problems rather than solving them and on disposing customers instead of using the opportunity to cross sell. STRATEGIES OPTIONS WITH BANKS TO COPE WITH THOSE CHALLENGES Leading players in the industry have embarked on a series of strategic and tactical initiatives to sustain leadership. The major initiatives include: oInvesting in state of the art technology as the back bone of to ensure reliable service delivery oLeveraging the branch network and sales structure to mobilize low cost current and savings deposits oMaking aggressive forays in the retail advances segment of home and personal loans oImplementing organization wide initiatives involving people, process and technology to reduce the fixed costs and the cost per transaction oFocusing on fee based income to compensate for squeezed spread, (e. . CMS, trade services) oInnovating Products to capture customer ‘mind share’ to begin with and later the wallet share oImproving the asset quality as per Basel II norms INDIAN ECONOMY The Indian Economy is consistently posting robust growth numbers in all sectors leading to impressive growth in Indian GDP. The Indian economy has been stable and reliable in recent times, while in the last few years it’s experienced a positive upward growth trend. A consistent 8-9% growth rate has been supported by a number of favorable economic indicators including a huge inflow of foreign funds, growing reserves in the foreign exchange sector, both an IT and real estate boom, and a flourishing capital market. All of these positive changes have resulted in establishing the Indian economy as one of the largest and fastest growing in the world. The process of globalization has been an integral part of the recent economic progress made by India. Globalization has played a major role in export-led growth, leading to the enlargement of the job market in India. As a new Indian middle class has developed around the wealth that the IT and BPO industries have brought to the country, a new consumer base has developed. International companies are also expanding their operations in India to service this massive growth opportunity. The same thing has followed by international banks that are entering in Indian market and pulling their huge investments in Indian economy. This is helping to accelerate the growth of Indian economy. Economy can be studied from two points of views†¦ ?MICRO ECONOMIC POINT OF VIEW The branch of economics that analyzes the market behavior of individual consumers and firms in an attempt to understand the decision-making process of firms and households. It is concerned with the interaction between individual buyers and sellers and the factors that influence the choices made by buyers and sellers. In particular, microeconomics focuses on patterns of supply and demand and the determination of price and output in individual markets. Microeconomics looks at the smaller picture and focuses more on basic theories of supply and demand and how individual businesses decide how much of something to produce and how much to charge for it. ?MACRO ECONOMIC POINT OF VIEW It is a field of economics that studies the behavior of the aggregate economy. Macroeconomics examines economy-wide phenomena such as changes in unemployment, national income, rate of growth, gross domestic product, inflation and price levels. Macroeconomics looks at the big picture (hence â€Å"macro†). It focuses on the national economy as a whole and provides a basic knowledge of how things work in the business world. For example, people who study this branch of economics would be able to interpret the latest Gross Domestic Product figures or explain why a 6% rate of unemployment is not necessarily a bad thing. Thus, for an overall perspective of how the entire economy works, you need to have an understanding of economics at both the micro and macro levels. ECONOMIC SYSTEMS An economic system is loosely defined as country’s plan for its services, goods produced, and the exact way in which its economic plan is carried out. In general, there are three major types of economic systems prevailing around the world they are†¦ Market Economy oPlanned Economy oMixed Economy MARKET ECONOMY In a market economy, national and state governments play a minor role. Instead, consumers and their buying decisions drive the economy. In this type of economic system, the assumptions of the market play a major role in deciding the right path for a country’s economic development. Market economies aim t o reduce or eliminate entirely subsidies for a particular industry, the pre-determination of prices for different commodities, and the amount of regulation controlling different industrial sectors. The absence of central planning is one of the major features of this economic system. Market decisions are mainly dominated by supply and demand. The role of the government in a market economy is to simply make sure that the market is stable enough to carry out its economic activities properly. PLANNED ECONOMY A planned economy is also sometimes called a command economy. The most important aspect of this type of economy is that all major decisions related to the production, distribution, commodity and service prices, are all made by the government. The planned economy is government directed, and market forces have very little say in such an economy. This type of economy lacks the kind of flexibility that is present a market economy, and because of this, the planned economy reacts slower to changes in consumer needs and fluctuating patterns of supply and demand. On the other hand, a planned economy aims at using all available resources for developing production instead of allotting the resources for advertising or marketing. MIXED ECONOMY A mixed economy combines elements of both the planned and the market economies in one cohesive system. This means that certain features from both market and planned economic systems are taken to form this type of economy. This system prevails in many countries where neither the government nor the business entities control the economic activities of that country – both sectors play an important role in the economic decision-making of the country. In a mixed economy there is flexibility in some areas and government control in others. Mixed economies include both capitalist and socialist economic policies and often arise in societies that seek to balance a wide range of political and economic views. IMPORTANT BANKING AND ECONOMIC INDICATORS CASH RESERVE RATIO Cash reserve Ratio (CRR) is the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with RBI. If RBI decides to increase the percent of this, the available amount with the banks comes down. RBI is using this method (increase of CRR rate), to drain out the excessive money from the banks. The amount of which shall not be less than thre e per cent of the total of the Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL) in India, on a fortnightly basis and RBI is empowered to increase the said rate of CRR to such higher rate not exceeding twenty percent of the Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL) under the RBI Act, 1934. STATUTORY LIQUIDITY RATIO In terms of Section 24 (2-A) of the B. R. Act, 1949 all Scheduled Commercial Banks, in addition to the average daily balance which they are required to maintain in the form of†¦. oIn cash, Or oIn gold valued at a price not exceeding the current market price, Or oIn unencumbered approved securities valued at a price as specified by the RBI from time to time. ?REPO RATE Repo rate, also known as the official bank rate, is the discounted rate at which a central bank repurchases government securities. The central bank makes this transaction with commercial banks to reduce some of the short-term liquidity in the system. The repo rate is dependent on the level of money supply that the bank chooses to fix in the monetary scheme of things. Repo rate is short for repurchase rate. The entity borrowing the security is often referred to as the buyer, while the lender of the securities is referred to as the seller. The central bank has the power to lower the repo rates while expanding the money supply in the country. This enables the banks to exchange their government security holdings for cash. In contrast, when the central bank decides to reduce the money supply, it implements a rise in the repo rates. At times, the central bank of the nation makes a decision regarding the money supply level and the repo rate is determined by the market. The securities that are being evaluated and sold are transacted at the current market price plus any interest that has accrued. When the sale is concluded, the securities are subsequently resold at a predetermined price. This price is comprised of the original market price and interest, and the pre-agreed interest rate, which is the repo rate. ?BANK RATE Bank rate is referred to the rate of interest charged by premier banks on the loans and advances. Bank rate varies based on some defined conditions as laid down the governing authority of the banks. Bank rates are levied to control the money supply to and from the bank. From the consumer’s point of view, bank rate ordinarily denotes to the current rate of interest acquired from savings certificate of Deposit. It is most frequently used by the consumers who are concerned in mortgage Some commonest types of bank interest rates are as follows: oBank rate on CD, i. e. , on certificate of deposit Bank rate on the credit of a credit card or other kind of loan oBank rate on real estate loan ?INTERBANK RATE The rate of interest charged on short-term loans made between banks. Banks borrow and lend money in the interbank market in order to manage liquidity and meet the requirements placed on them. The interest rate charged depends on the availability of money in the market, on prevailin g rates and on the specific terms of the contract, such as term length. Banks are required to hold an adequate amount of liquid assets, such as cash, to manage any potential withdrawals from clients. If a bank can’t meet these liquidity requirements, it will need to borrow money in the interbank market to cover the shortfall. Some banks, on the other hand, have excess liquid assets above and beyond the liquidity requirements. These banks will lend money in the interbank market, receiving interest on the assets. There is a wide range of published interbank rates, including the LIBOR MIBOR, which is set daily based on the average rates on loans made within the London interbank market Mumbai Interbank Market. ?GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT The monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period, though GDP is usually calculated on an annual basis. It includes all of private and public consumption, government outlays, investments and exports less imports that occur within a defined territory. GDP = C + G + I + NX Where: ?†C† is equal to all private consumption, or consumer spending, in a nation’s economy. ?†G† is the sum of government spending. ?†I† is the sum of all the country’s businesses spending on capital. ?†NX† is the nation’s total net exports, calculated as total exports minus total imports. NX = Exports – Imports) GDP is commonly used as an indicator of the economic health of a country, as well as to gauge a country’s standard of living. ?INFLATION Inflation can be defined as a rise in the general price level and therefore a fall in the value of money. Inflat ion occurs when the amount of buying power is higher than the output of goods and services. Inflation also occurs when the amount of money exceeds the amount of goods and services available. As to whether the fall in the value of money will affect the functions of money depends on the degree of the fall. Basically, refers to an increase in the supply of currency or credit relative to the availability of goods and services, resulting in higher prices. Therefore, inflation can be measured in terms of percentages. The percentage increase in the price index, as a rate per cent per unit of time, which is usually in years. The two basic price indexes are used when measuring inflation, the producer price index (PPI) and the consumer price index (CPI) which is also known as the cost of living index number. ?DEFLATION It is a condition of falling prices accompanied by a decreasing level of employment, output and income. Deflation is just the opposite of inflation. Deflation occurs when the total expenditure of the community is not equal to the existing prices. Consequently, the supply of money decreases and as a result prices fall. Deflation can also be brought about by direct contractions in spending, either in the form of a reduction in government spending, personal spending or investment spending. Deflation has often had the side effect of increasing unemployment in an economy, since the process often leads to a lower level of demand in the economy. ?DISINFLATION When prices are falling due to anti-inflationary measures adopted by the authorities, with no corresponding decline in the existing level of employment, output and income, the result of this is disinflation. When acute inflation burdens an economy, disinflation is implemented as a cure. Disinflation is said to take place when deliberate attempts are made to curtail expenditure of all sorts to lower prices and money incomes for the benefit of the community. ?REFLATION Reflation is a situation of rising prices, which is deliberately undertaken to relieve a depression. Reflation is a means of motivating the economy to produce. This is achieved by increasing the supply of money or in some instances reducing taxes, which is the opposite of disinflation. Governments can use economic policies such as reducing taxes, changing the supply of money or adjusting the interest rates; which in turn motivates the country to increase their output. The situation is described as semi-inflation or reflation. ?STAGFLATION Stagflation is a stagnant economy that is combined with inflation. Basically, when prices are increasing the economy is deceasing. Some economists believe that there are two main reasons for stagflation. Firstly, stagflation can occur when an economy is slowed by an unfavourable supply, such as an increase in the price of oil in an oil importing country, which tends to raise prices at the same time that it slows the economy by making production less profitable. In the 1970’s inflation and recession occurred in different economies at the same time. Basically, what happened was that there was plenty of liquidity in the system and people were spending money as quickly as they got it because prices were going up quickly. This gave rise to the second reason for stagflation. ?FOREIGN INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENTS Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) are allowed to invest in the primary and secondary capital markets in India through the portfolio investment scheme (PIS). Under this scheme, FIIs/NRIs can acquire shares/debentures of Indian companies through the stock exchanges in India. The ceiling for overall investment for FIIs is 24 per cent of the paid up capital of the Indian company and 10 per cent for NRIs/PIOs. The limit is 20 per cent of the paid up capital in the case of public sector banks, including the State Bank of India. ?FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES Foreign exchange reserves (also called Forex reserves) in a strict sense are only the foreign currency deposits held by central banks and monetary authorities. However, the term in popular usage commonly includes foreign exchange and gold, SDRs and IMF reserve positions. This broader figure is more readily available, but it is more accurately termed official reserves or international reserves. These are assets of the central bank held in different reserve currencies, such as the dollar, euro and yen, and used to back its liabilities, e. g. the local currency issued, and the various bank reserves deposited with the central bank, by the government or financial institutions. Large reserves of foreign currency allow a government to manipulate exchange rates – usually to stabilize the foreign exchange rates to provide a more favorable economic environment. ROLE OF BANKS IN DEVELOPING OF ECONOMY A safe and sound financial sector is a prerequisite for sustained growth of any economy. Globalization, deregulation and advances in information technology in recent years have brought about significant changes in the operating environment for banks and other financial institutions. These institutions are faced with increased competitive pressures and changing customer demands. These, in turn, have engendered a rapid increase in product innovations and changes in business strategies. While these developments have enabled improvement in the efficiency of financial institutions, they have also posed some serious risks. Banks play a very useful and dynamic role in the economic life of every modern state. A study of the economic history of western country shows that without the evolution of commercial banks in the 18th and 19th centuries, the industrial revolution would not have taken place in Europe. The economic importance of commercial banks to developing countries may be viewed thus: oPromoting capital formation oEncouraging innovation oMonetsation oInfluence economic activity oFacilitator of monetary policy Above all view we can see in briefly, which are given below: PROMOTING CAPITAL FORMATION A developing economy needs a high rate of capital formation to accelerate the tempo of economic development, but the rate of capital formation depends upon the rate of saving. Unfortunately, in underdeveloped countries, saving is very low. Banks afford facilities for saving and, thus encourage the habits of thrift and industry in the community. They mobilize the ideal and dormant capital of the country and make it available for productive purposes. ENCOURAGING INNOVATION Innovation is another factor responsible for economic development. The entrepreneur in innovation is largely dependent on the manner in which bank credit is allocated and utilized in the process of economic growth. Bank credit enables entrepreneurs to innovate and invest, and thus uplift economic activity and progress. MONETSATION Banks are the manufactures of money and they allow many to play its role freely in the economy. Banks monetize debts and also assist the backward subsistence sector of the rural economy by extending their branches in to the rural areas. They must be replaced by the modern commercial bank’s branches. INFLUENCE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY Banks are in a position to influence economic activity in a country by their influence on the rate interest. They can influence the rate of interest in the money market through its supply of funds. Banks may follow a cheap money policy with low interest rates which will tend to stimulate economic activity. FACILITATOR OF MONETARY POLICY Thus monetary policy of a country should be conductive to economic development. But a well-developed banking system is on essential pre-condition to the effective implementation of monetary policy. Under-developed countries cannot afford to ignore this fact. A fine, an efficient and comprehensive banking system is a crucial factor of the developmental process of economy. RESERVE BANK OF INDIA AS A REGULATORY INSTITUTION IN INDIAN ECONOMY The RBI was established under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 on April 1, 1935 as a private shareholders’ bank but since its nationalization in 1949, is fully owned by the Government of India. The Preamble of the Reserve Bank describes the basic functions as ‘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’. The twin objectives of monetary policy in India have evolved over the years as those of maintaining price stability and ensuring adequate flow of credit to facilitate the growth process. The relative emphasis between the twin objectives is modulated as per the prevailing circumstances and is articulated in the policy statements by the Reserve Bank from time to time. Consideration of macro-economic and financial stability is also subsumed in the mandate. The Reserve Bank is also entrusted with the management of foreign exchange reserves (which include gold holding also), which are reflected in its balance sheet. While the Reserve Bank is essentially a monetary authority, its founding statute mandates it to be the manager of market borrowing of the Government of India and banker to the Government. The Reserve Bank’s affairs are governed by a Central Board of Directors, consisting of fourteen non-executive, independent directors nominated by the Government, in addition to the Governor and up to four Deputy Governors. Besides, one Government official is also nominated on the Board who participates in the Board meetings but cannot vote. IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS PLAYED BY RESERVE BANK OF INDIA IN ECONOMY MAIN FUNCTIONS oMONITORY AUTHORITY The Reserve Bank of India formulates implements and monitors the monetary policy. Its main objective is maintaining price stability and ensuring adequate flow of credit to productive sectors. oREGULATOR AND SUPERVISOR OF FINANCIAL SYSTEM Prescribes broad parameters of banking operations within which the country’s banking and financial system functions. Their main objective is to maintain public confidence in the system, protect depositors’ interest and provide cost-effective banking services to the public. MANAGER OF EXCHANGE CONTROL The manager of the exchange control department manages the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. Its main objective is to facilitate external trade and payment and promote orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India. oISSUER OF THE CURRENCY The person who is issuer issues and exchanges or destroys currency and coins not fit for circulation. His main objective is to give the public adequate quantity of supplies of currency notes and coins and in good quality. oDEVELOPMENTAL ROLE The reserve bank of India performs a wide range of promotional functions to support national objectives. The promotional functions are such as contests, coupons, maintaining good public relations, and many more†¦.. oRELATED FUNCTIONS There are also some of the relating functions to the above mentioned main functions. They are such as Banker to the Government, Banker to banks etc†¦. ?BANKER TO THE GOVERNMENT It performs merchant banking function for the central and the state governments; also acts as their banker. ?BANKER TO THE BANKS Maintains banking accounts of all scheduled banks. ?SUPERVISORY FUNCTIONS The Reserve Bank act, 1934 and the Banking Regulation act, 1949 have given the RBI wide powers of supervision and control over commercial and co-operative banks, relating to licensing and establishments, branch expansion, liquidity of their asset, management and methods of working, amalgamation, reconstruction, and liquidation. The RBI is authorized to carry out periodical inspections of banks and to call for returns and necessary information from them. The supervisory functions of the RBI have helped a great deal in improving the standard of banking in India to develop on sound lines and to improve the methods of their operation. PROMOTIONAL FUNCTIONS With economic growth assuming a new urgency since Independence, the range of the Reserve Bank’s functions has steadily widened. The bank now performs a variety of developmental and promotional functions, which, at one time were regarded as outside the normal scope of central banking. The RBI was asked to promote banking habit, e xtend banking facilities to rural and semi-urban areas, and establish and promote new specialized financing agencies. PROBLEMS FACED BY INDIAN ECONOMY Macro-economic environment in India has taken a serious turn since the beginning of the year. Unprecedented rise in crude prices, surge in inflation and continued strong growth in money supply (M3) have forced the government and RBI to take strong fiscal and monetary measures leading to liquidity tightening, significant rise in interest rates and slowdown in economic growth. Economic shocks are events which adversely affect the economy and the government’s macroeconomic objectives such as growth, inflation, unemployment and the balance of payments. CERTAIN PROBLEMS FACED BY INDIAN ECONOMY oFALL IN SAVINGS RATIO The savings ratio is the % of income that is saved not spent. A fall in the savings ratio implies that consumer spending is increasing; often this is financed through increased borrowing. EFFECTS OF FALL IN SAVINGS RATIO ?HIGHER LEVEL OF CONSUMPTION This results in increase in Aggregate Demand. The increase in AD will cause an increase in economic growth and lower unemployment. However, rising Aggregate Demand may cause inflation. Inflation will occur when growth is faster than the long run trend rate. This is now a potential problem in the India. Inflation has recently gone above 12% ?BOOM AND BUST A fall in the savings ratio is usually accompanied by a rise in confidence. It is the rise in confidence which encourages borrowing and consumers to run down savings. Therefore, there is always a danger that a falling savings ratio can be a precursor to a boom and bust situation. ?ECONOMY MORE SENSITIVE TO INTEREST RATES With a fall in the savings ratio interest rate changes will have a bigger effect in reducing spending. This is because levels of borrowing are higher and therefore a rise in interest rates has a significant impact on increasing interest repayments. Also, higher rates will not be increasing incomes from savings as much. ?BALANCE OF PAYMENT With higher levels of consumer spending, there will be an increase in imports. Therefore this will lead to deterioration in the current account. The current account deficit could put downward pressure on the exchange rate in the long term. However, some people argue a fall in the savings ratio is not a problem, but, it is just a reflection of strong economy and booming housing market, which increases scope for equity withdrawal. oINFLATION Inflation is posing a serious challenge to the economic growth of India. Since Jan’08 onwards, inflation in the country has surged by 8. 2% to hit a 13-year high of ~12%. M3 growth in the economy too continued to remain strong at 20% (in July’08), well above the RBI’s comfort level of 17%. The WPI inflation rate flared up during the period driven by significant increase in the prices of commodities, primary articles and manufactured products, even though very small part of global crude price increase has been passed on to the Indian consumers. oGLOBAL RECESSION It appears that Europe, Japan and the US are entering into recession. Falling house prices, crisis in the financial system, and lower confidence could lead to a sharp downturn, with the worst still to come. Many argue that India’s growth is not so dependent on growth in the West. However, the Indian stock markets have been hit by the global crisis. India’s growing service sector and manufacturing sector would be adversely impacted by a global downturn. oRISE IN CRUDE PRICES How global crude prices would behave probably has no easy answers; however we believe that the current challenging and uncertain macro-economic conditions does not lead Indian financials into a state of crisis. But continued rise in crude prices and its resultant impact on inflation, interest rates and government finances has the potential to do so. Hence, crude price remains the key risk to our positive stance on the Indian financials. In the last couple of months oil prices have surged by 45% from US$ 100 to US$ 145 (and now back to US$ 115). India currently imports 70% of its crude requirement, resulting in pressure on government coffers on back of rising crude prices. oDEPRICIATING INR Surge in crude prices has severely impacted current account deficit of the country. This coupled with the outflow of FII investments has resulted in INR to depreciate sharply against dollar further fueling inflation. IMPACT OF ECONOMIC PROBLEMS ON INDIAN FINANCIALS The current macro-economic conditions are expected to result in oSLOWDOWN IN CREDIT GROWTH oIMPACT ON MARGINS OF BANKS oPREASURE ON CREDIT QUALITY †¢SLOWDOWN IN CREDIT GROWTH While the rise in interest rates should lead to a moderation in demand for credit, Indian banks too are exercising caution while lending. Credit growth of 18% in FY09E and 17% in FY10E vs. 22% in FY08. Risks and uncertainties in the system have increased given the higher crude and commodity prices and its inflationary impact. This would curtail consumption, which would impact economic growth adversely. Further higher rates will not only impact the profitability of Indian corporate but also impact IRRs of various proposed capex projects. This coupled with elections next year could lead to some postponement of capex plans of corporate, leading to negative impact on demand for credit. Higher rates have particularly impacted retail loan growth. As can be seen in the exhibit below, retail loan growth has slowed down significantly from 26. 5% in FY07 to ~13% in FY08. SLR Ratio of the system has started rising since mid FY08 and currently stands at 28. %. Given the expected negative impact on credit growth. †¢IMPACT ON MARGINS OF BANKS During the past 18 months, CRR has increased by 400 bps to 9. 0% currently and RBI has also discontinued with interest payment on CRR balances. Every 50 bps hike in CRR generally negatively impacts margins by ~5 bps. Till June’08, most of the banks had restrained from hiking lending rates despite significant monetary tightening. However on accou nt of recent measures by RBI, banks have resorted to hiking PLRs in July/August by 50-150 bps to preserve their margins. In fact in an environment, where liquidity is tight, interest rates are at elevated levels and risk premiums have increased, the banks tend to regain the pricing power. This would not only help the banks to adequately price in risks but also help protect their margins. Apart from hiking PLRs, banks are also resorting to reprising (in fact right-pricing) the loans that were sanctioned well below PLRs. Significant portion of fixed rate loans would also get re-priced over the period of 12-18 months. †¢PRESSURE ON CREDIT QUALITY Higher lending rates are expected to impact credit quality for the banking system. The extent of the impact on credit quality would also be bank specific given the loan mix (retail vs. corporate), proportion of unsecured lending, credit profile of corporate loan book and industry wise exposure. Indian banks’ fundamentals are relatively resilient with better risk management systems, dramatically improved asset quality, stronger recovery mechanisms (legal provisions) and with adequate capitalization and provisioning. Even Certain sectors (like real estate, airlines industry) might feel the stress due to the changing macro environment and rise in interest rates. Many companies where crude forms a key raw material component are expected to get hit more severely. Similarly, sectors like real estate and SMEs, which are interest rate sensitive, would face higher delinquencies if interest rates strengthen further by 100-200 bps. NECESSARY INITIATIVES TAKEN BY RBI MINISTRY OF FINANCE TO TACKLE ECONOMIC PROBLEMS As most of economists feel that the most horrible problem which India is facing currently is inflation which has crossed 12%. To come out of these problems RBI and ministry of finance and other relevant government and regulatory entities are taking various initiatives which are as follows†¦ RBI MONITORY POLICY With the introduction of the Five year plans, the need for appropriate adjustment in monetary and fiscal policies to suit the pace and pattern of planned development became imperative. The monitory policy since 1952 emphasized the twin aims of the economic policy of the government: oSpread up economic development in the country to raise national income and standard of living, and oTo control and reduce inflationary pressure in the economy. This policy of RBI since the First plan period was termed broadly as one of controlled expansion, i. e. a policy of â€Å"adequate financing of economic growth and at the same time the time ensuring reasonable price stability†. Expansion of currency and credit was essential to meet the increased demand for investment funds in an economy like India which had embarked on rapid economic development. Accordingly, RBI helped the economy to expand via expansion of money and credit and attempted to check in rise in prices by the use of selective controls. OBJECTIVES OF MONITORY POLICY ?PRICE STABILITY ?MONITORY TARGETTING ?INTEREST RATE POLICY ?RESTRUCTURING OF MONEY MARKET ?REGULATION OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET WEAPONS OF MONITORY POLICY Central banks generally use the three quantitative measures to control the volume of credit in an economy, namely: oRaising bank rates oOpen market operations and oVariable reserve ratio However, there are various limitations on the effective working of the quantitative measures of credit control adapted by the central banks and, to that extent, monetary measures to control inflation are weakened. In fact, in controlling inflation moderate monetary measures, by themselves, are relatively ineffective. On the other hand, drastic monetary measures are not good for the economic system because they may easily send the economy into a decline. In a developing economy there is always an increasing need for credit. Growth requires credit expansion but to check inflation, there is need to contract credit. In such a encounter, the best course is to resort to credit control, restricting the flow of credit into the unproductive, inflation-infected sectors and speculative activities, and diversifying the flow of credit towards the most desirable needs of productive and growth-inducing sector. It should be noted that the impression that the rate of spending can be controlled rigorously by the contraction of credit or money supply is wrong in the context of modern economic societies. In modern community, tangible, wealth is typically represented by claims in the form of securities, bonds, etc. , or near moneys, as they are called. Such near moneys are highly liquid assets, and they are very close to being money. They increase the general liquidity of the economy. In these circumstances, it is not so simple to control the rate of spending or total outlays merely by controlling the quantity of money. Thus, there is no immediate and direct relationship between money supply and the price level, as is normally conceived by the traditional quantity theories. When there is inflation in an economy, monetary restraints can, in conjunction with other measures, play a useful role in controlling inflation. †¢FISCAL POLICY Fiscal policy is another type of budgetary policy in relation to taxation, public borrowing, and public expenditure. To curve the effects of inflation and changes in the total expenditure, fiscal measures would have to be implemented which involves an increase in taxation and decrease in government spending. During inflationary periods the government is supposed to counteract an increase in private spending. It can be cleared noted that during a period of full employment inflation, the aggregate demand in relation to the limited supply of goods and services is reduced to the extent that government expenditures are shortened. Along with public expenditure, governments must simultaneously increase taxes that would effectively reduce private expenditure, in an effect to minimise inflationary pressures. It is known that when more taxes are imposed, the size of the disposable income diminishes, also the magnitude of the inflationary gap in regards to the availability of the supply of goods and services. In some instances, tax policy has been directed towards restricting demand without restricting level of production. For example, excise duties or sales tax on various commodities may take away the buying power from the consumer goods market without discouraging the level of production. However, some economists point out that this is not a correct way of combating inflation because it may lead to a regressive status within the economy. As a result, this may lead to a further rise in prices of goods and services, and inflation can spread from one sector of the economy to another and from one type of goods and services to another. Therefore, a reduction in public expenditure, and an increase in taxes produces a cash surplus in the budget. Keynes, however, suggested a programme of compulsory savings, such as deferred pay as an anti-inflationary measure. Deferred pay indicates that the consumer defers a part of his or her wages by buying savings bonds (which, of course, is a sort of public borrowing), which are redeemable after a particular period of time, this is sometimes called forced savings. Additionally, private savings have a strong disinflationary effect on the economy and an increase in these is an important measure for controlling inflation. Government policy should therefore, include devices for increasing savings. A strong savings drive reduces the spendable income of the consumers, without any harmful effects of any kind that are associated with higher taxation. Furthermore, the effects of a large deficit budget, which is mainly responsible for inflation, can be partially offset by covering the deficit through public borrowings. It should be noted that it is only government borrowing from non-bank lenders that has a disinflationary effect. In addition, public debt may be managed in such a way that the supply of money in the country may be controlled. The government should avoid paying back any of its past loans during inflationary periods, in order to prevent an increase in the circulation of money. Anti-inflationary debt management also includes cancellation of public debt held by the central bank out of a budgetary surplus. Fiscal policy by itself may not be very effective in combating inflation; therefore a combination of fiscal and monetary tools can work together in achieving the desired outcome. †¢DIRECT MEASURES Direct controls refer to the regulatory measures undertaken to convert an open inflation into a repressed one. Such regulatory measures involve the use of direct control on prices and rationing of scarce goods. The function of price control is a fix a legal ceiling, beyond which prices of particular goods may not increase. When ceiling prices are fixed and enforced, it means prices are not allowed to rise further and so, inflation is suppressed. Under price control, producers cannot raise the price beyond a specified level, even though there may be a pressure of excessive demand forcing it up. In times of the severe scarcity of certain goods, particularly, food grains, government may have to enforce rationing, along with price control. The main function of rationing is to divert consumption from those commodities whose supply needs to be restricted for some special reasons; such as, to make the commodity more available to a larger number of households. Therefore, rationing becomes essential when necessities, such as food grains, are relatively scarce. Rationing has the effect of limiting the variety of quantity of goods available for the good cause of price stability and distributive impartiality. Another control measure that was suggested is the control of wages as it often becomes necessary in order to stop a wage-price spiral. During galloping inflation, it may be necessary to apply a wage-profit freeze. Ceilings on wages and profits keep down disposable income and, therefore the total effective demand for goods and services. On the other hand, restrictions on imports may also help to increase supplies of essential commodities and ease the inflationary pressure. However, this is possible only to a limited extent, depending upon the balance of payments situation. Similarly, exports may also be reduced in an effort to increase the availability of the domestic supply of essential commodities so that inflation is eased. In general, monetary and fiscal controls may be used to repress excess demand but direct controls can be more useful when they are applied to specific scarcity areas. As a result, anti-inflationary policies should involve varied programmes and cannot exclusively depend on a particular type of measure only. RECENT INNOVATIONS IN INDIAN BANKING HDFC Bank’s ‘Net Safe’ card is a one-time use card with a limit that’s specified, taken from Tendon’s credit or debit card. Even if Tandon fails to utilize the full amount within 24 hours of creating the card, the card simply dies and the unspent amount in the temporary card reverts to his original credit or debit card. Welcome to one of the myriad ways in which bankers have been trying to innovate. They’re bringing ATMs, cash and even foreign exchange to their customers’ doorsteps. Indeed, innovation has become the hottest banking game in town. Want to buy a house but don’t want to go through the hassles of haggling with brokers and the mounds of paperwork? Not to worry. Your bank will tackle all this. It’s ready to come every step of the way for you to buy a house. Standard Chartered, for instance, has property advisors to guide a customer through the entire process of selecting and buying a house. They also lend a hand with the cumbersome documentation formalities and the registration. Don’t fret if you’ve already bought your house or car – you can do other things with both. You can leverage your new house or car these days with banks like ICICI Bank and Stanchart ready to extend loans against either, till it’s about five years old. Loans are available to all car owners for almost all brands of cars manufactured in India that are up to five years old. Last month, Kotak Mahindra Bank introduced a variant of the sweep-in account. If the balance tops Rs 1. 5 lakh, the excess runs into Kotak’s liquid mutual fund. â€Å"Even if the money is there only for the weekend, a liquid fund can earn you a clean 4. 5 per cent per annum,† points out Shashi Arora, vice president, marketing, Kotak Mahindra Bank. That’s not a small gain considering that your current account does not pay you any interest. And if, meanwhile, you want to buy a big-ticket home theatre system, the minute you swipe your card the invested sum will return to your account. Banks are also attempting to reach out to residents of metropolitan cities where people are pressed for time (what with long commuting hours, traffic jams and both spouses working), beyond conventional banking hours. ICICI Bank, for example, introduced eight to eight banking hours, seven days of the week, in major cities. Not to be outdone, some of the other private banks have also done this too. HDFC Bank even has a 24-hour branch at Mumbai’s international airport. INDIAN BANKING IN 2010 The interplay between policy and regulatory interventions and management strategies will determine the performance of Indian banking over the next few years. Legislative actions will shape the regulatory stance through six key elements: industry structure and sector consolidation; freedom to deploy capital; regulatory coverage; corporate governance; labor reforms and human capital development; and support for creating industry utilities and service bureaus. Management success will be determined on three fronts: fundamentally upgrading organizational capability to stay in tune with the changing market; adopting value-creating MA as an avenue for growth; and continually innovating to develop new business models to access untapped opportunities. Through these scenarios, we can paint a picture of the events and outcomes that will be the consequence of the actions of policy makers and bank managements. These actions will have dramatically different outcomes; the costs of inaction or insufficient action will be high. Specifically, at one extreme, the sector could account for over 7. per cent of GDP with over Rs.. 7,500 billion in market cap, while at the other it could account for just 3. 3 per cent of GDP with a market cap of Rs. 2,400 billion. Banking sector intermediation, as measured by total loans as a percentage of GDP, could grow marginally from its current levels of ~30 per cent to ~45 per cent or grow significantly to over 100 per ce nt of GDP. In all of this, the sector could generate employment to the tune of 1. 5 million compared to 0. 9 million. Today availability of capital would be a key factor — the banking sector will require as much as Rs. 00 billion (US$ 14 billion) in capital to fund growth in advances, non-performing loan (NPL) write offs and investments in IT and human capital up gradation to reach the high-performing scenario. Three scenarios can be defined to characterize these outcomes: oHIGH PERFORMANCE In this scenario, policy makers intervene only to the extent required to ensure system stability and protection of consumer interests, leaving managements free to drive far reaching changes. Changes in regulations and bank capabilities reduce intermediation costs leading to increased growth, innovation and productivity. Banking becomes an even greater driver of GDP growth and employment and large sections of the population gain access to quality banking products. Management is able to overhaul bank organizational structures, focus on industry consolidation and transform the banks into industry shapers. In this scenario we witness consolidation within public sector banks (PSBs) and within private sector banks. Foreign banks begin to be active in MA, buying out some old private and newer private banks. Some MA activity also begins to take place between private and public sector banks. As a result, foreign and new private banks grow at rates of 50 per cent, while PSBs improve their growth rate to 15 per cent. The share of the private sector banks (including through mergers with PSBs) increases to 35 per cent and that of foreign banks increases to 20 per cent of total sector assets. The share of banking sector value adds in GDP increases to over 7. 7 per cent, from current levels of 2. 5 per cent. Funding this dramatic growth will require as much as Rs. 600 billion in capital over the next few years. oEVOLUTION Policy makers adopt a pro-market stance but are cautious in liberalizing the industry. As a result of this, some constraints still exist. Processes to create highly efficient organizations have been initiated but most banks are still not best-in-class operators. Thus, while the sector emerges as an important driver of the economy and wealth in 2010, it has still not come of age in comparison to developed markets. Significant changes are still required in policy and regulation and in capability-building measures, especially by public sector and old private sector banks. In this scenario, MA activity is driven primarily by new private banks, which take over some old private banks and also merge among themselves. As a result, growth of these banks increases to 35 per cent. Foreign banks also grow faster at 30 per cent due to a relaxation of some regulations. The share of private sector banks increases to 30 per cent of total sector assets, from current levels of 18 per cent, while that of foreign banks increases to over 12 per cent of total assets. The share of banking sector value adds to GDP increases to over 4. 7 per cent. oSTAGNATION In this scenario, policy makers intervene to set restrictive conditions and management is unable to execute the changes needed to enhance returns to shareholders and provide quality products and services to customers. As a result, growth and productivity levels are low and the banking sector is unable to support a fast-growing economy. This scenario sees limited consolidation in the sector and most banks remain sub-scale. New private sector banks continue on their growth trajectory of 25 per cent. There is a slowdown in PSB and old private sector bank growth. The share of foreign banks remains at 7 per cent of total assets. Banking sector value adds meanwhile, is only 3. 3 per cent of GDP. oNEED TO CREATE A MARKET DRIVEN BANKING SECTOR WITH ADEQUATE FOCUS ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT The term â€Å"policy makers†, refers to the Ministry of Finance and the RBI and includes the other relevant government and regulatory entities for the banking sector. The coordinated efforts between the various entities are required to enable positive action. This will spur on the performance of the sector. The policy makers need to make coordinated efforts on six fronts: †¢Help shape a superior industry structure in a phased manner through â€Å"managed consolidation† and by enabling capital availability. This would create 3-4 global sized banks controlling 35-45 per cent of the market in India; 6-8 national banks controlling 20-25 per cent of the market; 4-6 foreign banks with 15-20 per cent share in the market, and the rest being specialist players (geographical or product/ segment focused). †¢Focus strongly on â€Å"social development† by moving away from universal directed norms to an explicit incentive-driven framework by introducing credit guarantees and market subsidies to encourage leading public sector, private and foreign players to leverage technology to innovate and profitably provide banking services to lower income and rural markets. Create a unified regulator, distinct from the central bank of the country, in a phased manner to overcome supervisory difficulties and reduce compliance costs. †¢Improve corporate governance primarily by increasing board independence and accountability. †¢Accelerate the creation of world class supporting infrastructure (e. g. , payments, asset reconstruction companies (ARCs), credit bureaus, back-office utilities) to help the banking sector focus on core activities. †¢Enable labor reforms, focusing on enriching human capital, to help public sector and old private banks become competitive. NEED FOR DECISIVE ACTION BY BANK MANAGEMENT Management imperatives will differ by bank. However, there will be common themes across classes of banks: †¢PSBs need to fundamentally strengthen institutional skill levels especially in sales and mar marketing, service operations, risk management and the overall organizational performance ethic. The last, i. e. , strengthening human capital will be the single biggest challenge. †¢Old private sector banks also have the need to fundamentally strengthen skill levels. However, even more imperative is their need to examine their participation in the Indian banking sector and their ability to remain independent in the light of the discontinuities in the sector. †¢New private banks could reach the next level of their growth in the Indian banking sector by continuing to innovate and develop differentiated business models to profitably serve segments like the rural/low income and affluent/ HNI segments; actively adopting acquisitions as a means to grow and reaching the next level of performance in their service platforms. Attracting, developing and retaining more leadership capacity would be key to achieving this and would pose the biggest challenge. †¢Foreign banks committed to making a play in India will need to adopt alternative approaches to win the â€Å"race for the customer† and build a value-creating customer franchise in advance of regulations potentially opening up post 2009. At the same time, they should stay in the game for potential acquisition opportunities as and when they appear in the near term. Maintaining a fundamentally long-term value-creation mindset will be their greatest challenge. The extent to which Indian policy makers and bank managements develop and execute such a clear and complementary agenda to tackle emerging discontinuities will lay the foundations for a high-performing sector in 2010. CONCLUSION We can conclude that the financial sector is a nerve system of Indian economy. Banking plays an important role in development of economy. For steady growth in economy innovations and development in financial sector is very important. Economy of any country faces lots of challenges and problems. To tackle those problems financial sector plays a vital role. The financial sector makes the economy efficient to the extent where it can rival other developed economies in the world. Financial sector also faces lots of problems but it should develop certain strategies to come out of these problems which is very important for healthy growth of economy. BIBLIOGRAPHY ?FINANCIAL SRVICES AND MARKET GORDAN AND NATRAJAN ?INDIAN BANKING SYSTEM V. K. BHALLA ?INTRODUC TION TO ECONOMIC ANALYSIS R. PRESTON MCAFEE ?MONEY, BANKING, INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND PUBLIC FINANCE D. M. MITHANI ?BANKING AND PRACTICE P. N. VARSHNEW ?MONEYCONTROL. COM ?MONEYPORE. COM ?RBI. ORG. IN How to cite Indian Banking Sector, Papers

Reflection Paper in General Psychology free essay sample

The nature of intelligence is a very interesting topic, which explains different theories of intelligence. The topic starts off with a couple of questions like: â€Å"Is intelligence a single trait or capability? Is it many capabilities unrelated to each other? Are there certain common factors that underlie intelligence? â€Å"These questions definitely catch the reader’s attention. There are four theories of intelligence throughout the article. The first is by Spearman and discusses general intelligence: The g Factor. The English Psychologist Charles Spearman states that intelligence has been considered as more or less a single entity. He observed that people who are good at one type of thinking or cognition tend to do well in other types as well. In other words, they tend to be generally intelligent. Spearman came to believe that intelligence is composed of a general ability, or g Factor, which underlies all intellectual function. I personally agree with Psychologist Charles Spearman’s point of view. We will write a custom essay sample on Reflection Paper in General Psychology or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I consider that intelligence is composed of a general ability, and that is why I believe in what is he saying. Second, Thurstone discusses seven Primary Mental Abilities. Thurstone identified seven primary mental abilities: Verbal Comprehension, numerical ability, spatial relations, perceptual speed, word fluency, memory, and reasoning. He maintained that all intellectual activities involve one or more of these primary mental abilities. Thurstone suggested that a profile showing relative strengths and weaknesses on the seven primary abilities would provide a more accurate picture of a person’s mental ability. I think this is great if you want to test yourself and find out your level of knowledge. Third, Gardner’s Theory of Multiple intelligence: Eight Frames of Mind. Psychologist Howard Gardner proposes eight independent forms of intelligence: 1) Linguistic, 2) Logical/Mathematical, 3) Musical, 4) Spatial, 5) Bodily/Kinesthetic, 6) Interpersonal, 7) Intrapersonal, 8) Naturalistic. Fourth, Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence: The Big Three. Sternberg has formulated a Triarchic theory of intelligence, which as the term Triarchic implies, proposes that there are three types of intelligence-Componential (Analytical), Experiential (Creative), and Contextual (Practical). In Brief, my definition of Intelligence is the ability to comprehend; to understand; to learn; to apply knowledge. If I have to pick one of the theories that I just mention, I would say theory number two because I think it is the most accurate.

Hoot free essay sample

Edexcel International General Certificate of Secondary Education and Edexcel Certificate June 2012 – FINAL TImETAbLE International GCSE and Edexcel Certificate Examinations 1. The normal starting time for morning sessions is 9. 00 a. m. and for afternoon sessions 1. 30 p. m. 2. Wednesday 22 August 2012 – restricted release of results to centres only 3. Thursday 23 August 2012 – release of results to candidates www. edexcel. com Edexcel Certificate Examinations are only available to UK centres. Week 1 Date monday 7 may morning Length Afternoon Length Tuesday 8 may 4Cm0/01 4TU0/01 4Hb0/02 Commerce Turkish Human Biology Paper 2 2h 3h 4GN0/01 4Hb0/01 German: Listening Human Biology Paper 1 Bangladesh Studies Paper 1 Pakistan Studies: The History and Heritage of Pakistan Arabic (Classical Arabic) 30m + 5m reading time 2h 1h 30m 1h 30m 3h Wednesday 9 may 1h 4bN0/01 4PA0/01 Thursday 10 may 4AC0/01 Accounting 2h 30m 4CA0/01 Friday 11 may 4bN0/02 4PA0/02 Bangladesh Studies Paper 2 Pakistan Studies: The Land, People and Resources of Pakistan 1h 30m 1h 30m 4mA0/1F KmA0/1F 4mA0/3H KmA0/3H 4mb0/01 Mathematics Specification A: Paper 1F Mathematics Specification A: Paper 3H 2h 2h 1h 30m Mathematics Specification B: Paper 1 Week 2 Date monday 14 may morning 4GN0/02 German: Reading and Writing Length 1h 30m Afternoon 4AR0/01 Arabic (First Language) Length 2h 15m inc. We will write a custom essay sample on Hoot or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 10m. reading time 3h 2h 30m 2h 30m 4bE0/01 4IS0/01 Bengali Islamiyat Religious Studies Tuesday 15 may 4bI0/01 KbI0/01 4SC0/1b 4KSC0/1b 4mA0/2F KmA0/2F 4mA0/4H KmA0/4H 4mb0/02 Biology Paper 1B Science (Double Award) Biology Paper 1 Mathematics Specification A: Paper 2F Mathematics Specification A: Paper 4H h 2h 2h 2h 2h 30m 1h 30m 3h 4RS0/01 Wednesday 16 may 4FR0/01 French (Listening) 30m + 5m. reading time Mathematics Specification B: Paper 2 French (Reading and Writing) Urdu Biology Paper 2B Thursday 17 may 4FR0/02 4UR0/01 4Pm0/01 Mathematics (Further Pure Mathematics) Paper 1 2h Friday 18 may 4bI0/02 KbI0/02 1h 4EC0/01 Economics 2h 30m Week 3 Date monday 21 may morning 4CH0/01 KCH0/01 4SC0/1C 4KSC0/1C 4IT0/02 Chemistry Paper 1C Science (Double Award) Chemistry Paper 1 Length 2h 2h 3h 1h 45m 2h 2h 2h 1h 30m Afternoon Pm0/02 Mathematics (Further Pure Mathematics) Paper 2 Length 2h Information and Communication Technology: Practical 1 week window begins English Literature (Dra ma and Prose) Tuesday 22 may 4ET0/01 KET0/01 4ES0/01 4bS0/01 Business Studies 2h English as a Second Language (ESL) Paper 1: Reading and Writing Physics Science (Double Award) Physics Paper 1 Wednesday 23 may 4PH0/1P KPH0/1P 4SC0/1P 4KSC0/1P 4SP0/02 4AR0/02 4SP0/01 Arabic (First Language) Spanish: Listening English Literature (Poetry) 1h 30m 30m + 5 m reading time 1h 30m 45m 2h 15m 3h Thursday 24 may Spanish: Reading and Writing 4ET0/02 KET0/02 4ES0/02 English as a Second Language (ESL) Paper 2: Listening English Language (Specification A) Friday 4GE0/01 Geography 2h 45m 4EA0/01 KEA0/01 4IT0/02 25 may Information and Communication Technology: Practical 1 week window ends Week 4 Date monday 28 may morning 4GU0/01 4SI0/01 4SW0/01 4TA0/01 Gujarati Sinhala Swahili Tamil Chemistry Paper 2 Length 3h 3h 3h 3h 1h Afternoon 4HI0/01 History Length 2h 30m Tuesday 29 may 4CH0/2C KCH0/2C 4EA0/02 KEA0/02 4Eb0/01 English Language (Specification A) 1h 30m 3h 1h English Language (Specification B) Physics Paper 2P Wednesday 30 may 4CN0/01 Chinese: Listening 30m + 5 m reading time 1h 30m 3h 4PH0/2P KPH0/2P Thursday 31 may 4CN0/02 4mG0/01 Chinese: Reading and Writing Modern Greek 4IT0/01 Information and Communication Technology 1h 30m Friday 1 June International General Certificate of Secondary Education and Edexcel Certificate Subject/Unit Title Human Biology Human Biology ICT ICT – Practical Number 4HB0/01 4HB0/02 4IT0/01 4IT0/02 June 2012 Timetable – Final

gorillas essays

gorillas essays Relationship Between Aggression and Group Composition in Female Lowland Gorillas Abstract: Gorillas are an intelligent and fascinating species. They are very complex animals that can even learn sign language. Females are very caring to their young in raising them for years and wont abandon them like some other species do. Differences in aggressive behaviors among different groups of female Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) will be investigated. Groups containing only females, females and a male, and females with young will be observed at two zoos in Canada. Aggressive behaviors in females will be observed and categorized to determine if group composition does have an effect on aggression. Background: Generally, Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) groups consist of a silverback male, a few immature males, and several females and young (Gould 1993). Silverbacks are the leaders of the groups, and are named as such because the hair on their back turns from black to silvery gray as they mature (Watts 1985). Immature males range from eight to twelve years old. Males may travel on their own to search for mates, and females will leave a group only when there are no suitable mates available (Mace 1988). Aggression is very important in establishing hierarchies in groups. Gorillas show aggression by biting, hitting another gorilla or object, beating their chest, baring their teeth, charging, and grabbing at infant gorillas. Silverbacks maintain order within groups by reducing the amount of aggression shown by males and females. They do this by beating their chest, charging, and baring their teeth. Sometimes they will make a large roar at other gorillas. All group members listen to him because he is the biggest, strongest, and offers them protection (Maple 1982). Gorillas are distinguishable from one another by their facial features, especially their nose prints (Weber 2001). Nose prints are the creases on their nos...

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE TELEGRAM IN THE UK Research Paper

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE TELEGRAM IN THE UK - Research Paper Example To the Victorians, the telegraph was a symbol of man’s power over nature. The Telegraph became a special tool that enabled and enhanced commercial and imperial expansion. Morus (2000) observes that it was not by coincidence that the financial speculators became the first and most prolific users of the telegraph. Moruss observation reveals the economic significance of the Telegraph. The telegraph was also an important tool to the military that came to know of its potentials soon after its invention (Conboy & Steel, 2015). The Telegraph penetration was happening in the time of Crimean War in the mid-1950s. The telegraph enabled the military to get access to front-line events. In general, the introduction of the telegraph broke down the barriers of space and time. The telegraph provided the United Kingdom community with an intelligence-gathering capacity which translated into economic value. The adoption of the telegraph has been summarized well in the words of Morus (2000) who named it â€Å"The nervous system of Britain.† This study looks into the economic influence that the telegraph made in the United Kingdom. For the UK population, the telegraph held out boundless potentials. With the introduction of the telegraph, Britain was able to gain control of its colonies. Britain gained an upper hand over other colonizers when it came to controlling several colonies. A connection exists between the telegraph and the expansion and consolidation of British colonial power in the nineteenth century (Conboy & Steel, 2015). The Imperial system of the telegraph communication created efficient communications between the British government and its colonial possessions. Telegraph both shortened communication times between countries of the Empire and centralized control in Whitehall. The shortening of communication times reduced the autonomy of colonial administrators. Morus (2000) argues that the telegraph played a crucial role in imperial expansion. The colonialist Britain

Why was the Washington consensus irresistible in Latin America Essay - 1

Why was the Washington consensus irresistible in Latin America - Essay Example ones. It came about as a result of a wave of globalisation. A number of historical occurrences had also led to the prevailing situation. This paper will trace the evolution of policy in the Latin American region in the decades prior to the consensus and during its actual adoption. The analysis will demonstrate how international banks as well as official financial institutions, politics, economic fundamentals as well as prevailing ideologies shaped the diffusion of neoliberalism in the region. Why the consensus was irresistible to Latin America The Washington Consensus took shape in the early 1990s starting with Mexico and Chile. Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, Venezuela and Bolivia would all follow suit. Fiscal adjustment was a key component of neoliberalism in this Consensus. Several countries removed fiscal deficits through changes in subsidy and taxation policies. Government was to step aside and let the market allocate resources on its own. Additionally, privatisati on was also a crucial part of the reforms. Latin American governments were known for their heavy handedness in controlling their economies but these were privatised. Loss making in state enterprises As mentioned, Latin American governments had played a dominant role in the ownership of state enterprises. However, by the 1970s and 80s, it became evident that these enterprises were no longer making money (Gwynne, 2004). Creditors to the Latin American nations made them realise the benefit of privatising those institutions in order to make them profitable again. Since the US was one of the key lenders to Latin American countries, it soon became inevitable for these nations to privatise their institutions in order to boost the efficiency of their economies. Between 1980 and 1983, Latin America suffered from the problem of domestic debt. At the time, the countries had debt obligations to financial institutions outside the region. They were advised by the IMF to either increase their expo rts or minimise expenditure. Since these nations had a poor exporting history, many of them chose the easier option of curbing imports in their countries. This was sufficient to create a trade surplus of about $ 242.9 billion by the end of the year (Green, 2003). However, debts owed were almost close to these figures as they stood at $218.6 billion by the end of the decade. External debt as a percentage of GDP Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, 2009. Imbalances of Latin American fiscal accounts. [online] Available at http://www.frbatlanta.org/pubs/econsouth/imbalances_in_latin_american_fiscal_accounts_whyunited_states_should_care.cfm Accessed 18 December 2013] The graph illustrates the precarious situation in which Latin America found itself in the late 1980s. Its debts had reached unsustainable levels. In order to meet these obligations, Latin American economies somehow had to find a way of converting their trade surplus into dollars. However, because most state-owned institu tions were not generating positive rates of return, it was necessary to create avenues of accessing earnings from the private sector. These governments somehow managed to convince private investors to purchase government bonds in exchange for their currencies. Countries like Mexico and Brazil used very high interest rates to achieve these outcomes (Williamson, 1990). Essentially,

Credit Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Credit Report - Essay Example Fair Credit Reporting Act was amended by adding the following new subsections:Fair Credit Reporting Act was amended by adding the following new subsections:†¢ RESELLER.—the term ‘reseller’ means a consumer reporting agency that assembles and merges information contained in the database of another consumer reporting agency or multiple consumer reporting agencies concerning two or any consumers for purposes of furnishing such information to any third party, to the extent of such activities; and does not maintain a database of the assembled or merged information from which new consumer reports are produced.†¢ Identity theft prevention; to identify theft, means a fraud committed using another person’sIdentifying information, subject to such further definition as the commission and the board may prescribe, jointly, by regulation. Have different sections that it represents and includes the following: a] Investigating changes of address and inactive acco unts this is done by the federal banking agencies and the national credit union administration] Fraud alerts.Include a fraud alert in the file of that consumer for a period of not less than 90 days beginning on the date of such request, unless the consumer specifically requests that such fraud alert be removed before the end of such periodc] Truncation of credit card and debit card account numbers d] Summary of rights of identity theft victims e] Establishment of procedures for depository institutions to identify possible Instances of identity theft f] Study on the use of technology to combat identity theft.

Organisational Design In Social Care Organisations Social Work Essay

Organisational Design In Social Care Organisations Social Work Essay Organisational design according to Mintzberg (1983) is defined as the ways in which labour is divided into distinct tasks and then its coordination is achieved among these tasks. Organisational design comprises of the component parts of an organisation such as the employees, the information and the technology and how they are integrated together. The relationship between the different parts of the organisation is a social construction. This social construction needs to be adequate to meet the goal of the organisation, in the case of social care organisations it needs to serve the service users best. [Social care is] a profession committed to the planning and delivery of quality care and other support services for individuals and groups with identified needs. Organisational design is used achieve the vision or mission of the organisation. The vision is defined by the managers and leaders of the organisation and the design is formulated around this vision. It is important to design an organisation around an agreed goal; this can be problematic if leaders cannot agree on a goal or they have different understandings of the goal. The Minister for Health, Mary Harney has a view of privatisation of service and more reliance on community involvement than state involvement in individuals care (such as care of the elderly) which conflicts with the policies in place for an equitable health care system (O Doherty, 2010). In many ways organisational structure and culture are interlinked and both must be addressed when examining organisational design. The design is often difficult to change because of the culture of agreed norms, values and expectancies within the organisation. Organisational design is integral in creating efficiency and effectiveness in the organisation therefore it is important in all organisations to implement a structure. Drucker (1999) argues that as situations vary there are no clear guidelines that can be given to identify the best structure to use and mangers must use their own judgement regarding which design to choose. The structure must however coincide with the service users needs and not what the organisation believes should be the structure. Having an identified structure in an organisation is important to contribute to its functions. There are a number of designs outlined that managers may choose from but mangers need to acknowledge elements of the organisation when deciding which model to choose. These elements include: the specialisation of work, the chain of command, the span of control required, degree of formalisation required etc. Bureaucracy is the evident design applied in modern society. This may be influenced by Scientific Management and the military structure from history. The bureaucratic design is controlled and involves standardisation. Hierarchy is an important element of bureaucratic organisations, with departmentalisation and sub-groups evident. Having too many levels of hierarchy however can slow the decision making process within organisations, particularly social care organisations (Jones, 2007). The Quality Assurance in the Social Care sector report (2010) identifies also that an organisational desi gn which values low levels of hierarchy is the best approach for effective communication between staff. According to Kolb (1988) reflective practice and supervision is an important element in social care work. As an organisation adopts a more bureaucratic style the level of good supervision declines (Ruch, 2005). It is important to recognise that supervision in the context of social care works requires the supervisor supporting and guiding the employee towards best professional practice. Supervision involves reflecting on practice and recognising strengths and weaknesses of the employee in a positive way so as to improve the overall service for the service user. The lack of acknowledgement of the function of supervision in this way may be detrimental to the overall organisational goal. Social care workers are not to be seen as bureaucrats simply there to carry out tasks assigned by management but as individual problem solvers with skills for decision making (Thompson and Thompson, 2008). Therefore it is important to have an organisational design in social care organisations which incor porates supervision. The health service in Ireland has undergone fundamental changes since EU pressure began in 1973. The Commission on Health Funding (1989) recognised that the health board system was failing due to management and administration and many layers of hierarchy and a new system needed to be implemented. Other recent reports also outline the need for changes and the need for clarity of decision making in the health care system such as the Quality and Fairness A Health system for you (2001) report. It was outlined that the health boards operated as separate entities which led to inconsistency and did not address best practice. The Health Service Executive (HSE) was formed in 2005; it joined the former 11 health boards together. It consisted of three main parts: the National Hospital Office (NHO), the Primary Community and Continuing Care (PCCC) and Population Health. Unfortunately the HSE was not fully planned or organised. It underwent another organisational structural change in 2008 when t he NHO and the PCCC were joined together under one manager. The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) was established in 2007, it incorporated the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) to work in collaboration with the HSE. HIQA can be viewed as an affixed type of organisation, quality should have been built into the organisations structure but instead HIQA was set up to add in quality into the services provided by inspecting the level that the standards are upheld. This shows that organisation design is an important issue to be addressed. Equally important is the setting of a vision or a goal. The HSEs budget plan is only up until 2014. Although the Quality and Fairness A Health system for you (2001) report outlined what needs to be done, some issues are still outstanding. The human element in social care organisations must be taken into consideration when applying a structure. Maslows (1943) theory of needs acknowledge that human need for self-actualisation is important for their well being. This would imply that organisations would need to involve employees in the decision making process within the structure as self actualisation means being involved in problem solving. Argysis (1957) argues that bureaucracies did not allow for this decision making process. Likert (year) also identifies that using design which involves open communications and trust is best used. There are arguments against this style of involving employees in decision making such as those by Vroom (1973) and Feidler (1967) who value the contingency style of management. Job satisfaction is difficult to access and achieve in service organisations. It is evident that work specialisation does not lead to job satisfaction in social care area; staffs need to be able to change their roles a nd rely on teams and supervision. The impact of staff burnout in social care is prominent. In the Roscommon Child Care Case recently reported there are clear problems with the structure of the organisation. During the period when the health professionals were working with the families the legislation in the child care area was changing with the introduction of the Child Care Act 1991 and Children First National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children, 1999 and new implementations arose. The staff were not trained in the new developments. If they had been trained then the Roscommon Child Care incident perhaps intervention would have occurred earlier. One of the objectives of the Quality and Fairness (2001) report was to protect children and the need for early intervention. The family in the Roscommon case were known to the HSE since 1989 and the children were not taken into care until 2004. The lack of continuing professional development (CPD) was highlighted as a reason why the mistakes of the past were not learned and as to why new legislation was not implem ented in this case. This can be seen as a failure of the system as well as the culture to provide CDP (Roscommon Child Care Case, 2010 4.16). The report also recognises the need for organisational change and identifies that the HSE has implemented systems of child protection in some areas but this highlights the need for it to be implemented across all organisations (Roscommon Child Care Case, 2010 5.1) Within social care work the need for interagency work is fundamental to provide the best service possible for the service users. However the communication between the agencies needs to be clear and consistent to ensure that the best service is provided and essentially that children are safe and protected (Julius et al, 1980). Julius outlines that the structure of the organisation may hinder the interagency work and it is important to recognise this in work. The structure and culture of the organisation have an impact on the behaviour and attitudes of employees. The structure must be designed so that the employees behave in a manner that best benefits the goal of the organisation, in the case of social care it would be to best serve the service users. When restructuring fails it leads to confusion and turmoil among those affected such as the managers, staff and service users. Models of design will unavoidably need to be changed according to the period of time. Organisations need to plan for the future, make predictions regarding changes that may need to be made by identifying opportunities and threats. Financial issues, new technology and changing population may require an organisation to change its structure. The structure needs to be examined to ensure that it is fulfilling its purpose and that is especially true in social care work where the impact of failure can lead to serious harm or even death to individuals.