The Presidential Election Donald Trump And Hillary...

In this essay, I will compare and contrast the recent top two candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as it relates to the presidential election, along with my opinion and views regarding what recently took place as of November 8th, 2016. It’s no secret that this election has been the craziest thus far. Not only for the first time has a female candidate made it this far in an election, but we also got to witness the shenanigans that took place leading up to the election, majority of which came from our very own, Donald Trump. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are two Caucasian Americans in their advanced years that come from wealthy backgrounds, and have a history of dishonorable achievements. These two individuals, on many occasions have shown their true colors and made comments that were down right rude, racist, and discriminating. In the media, we usually hear more crazy remarks coming from Trump than we do Hillary, but these two have more in common than we think. Accusi ng Donald Trump of being a racist himself, Hillary has made comments that would make you second guess her innocence. Hillary has referred to young black men as â€Å"super-predators†, called a campaign manager a â€Å"f*cking Jew bastard†, and called people in this country â€Å"illegal aliens† (Anderson 2016). Those are just a few of the wild things Mrs. Clinton has been accounted for saying. Now Donald Trump on the other hand isn’t afraid to make an ass of himself. He constantly puts inappropriate things onShow MoreRelatedPresidential Election Between Hillary Clinton And Donald Trump1262 Words   |  6 Pages In the year 2016, there will be a presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. I rather vote for Clinton because she’s a trustworthy person. Clinton is reliable because she has a plan for everything. She represents the Democratic Party and Trump represents the Republican Party. Clinton and Trump have a lot of differences and not much in common when it comes to competing with each other about personal political power. I consider myself a Democrat because Democrats believe peopleRead MoreThe 2016 Presidential Election, Hillary Clinton And Donald Trump1546 Words   |  7 Pagesregardless of the type or magnitude of election. In the 2016 presidential election the two main candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump specifically targeted and campaigned towards some of these groups of voters in an effort to try and win the presidency. Among these targeted groups were independent/third-party voters, women, Millennials, African-Americans, Hispanics, and evangelica l voters. One of the most influential groups of voters in the 2016 election was the independent or third-party votersRead MoreThe Election Of The Electoral College Essay1728 Words   |  7 Pages In the United States of America, the presidential elections are based on the Electoral College. The Electoral College is combined of the house of senators, House of Representatives in every state, and the U.S. Congress which is the head. In each state, a senator and, a representative’s get one electoral vote, whosoever they cast their vote in for earned that electoral vote. Usually those Senators, and representatives cast their vote for their party’s. In my opinion, I think is unfair to citizensRead MorePresidential Election : American Citizens Essay1297 Words   |  6 Pagesupcoming 2016 presidential election, American citizens are not only choosing a candidate to become the next president and the leader of the United States, America is voting on a specific direction on many controversial topics that will become the foundation and future of this country. There are two very opposing candidates, Republican, Donald Trump, and Democrat, Hillary Clinton. Many people beli eve that this election is coming down to choosing between the lesser evil. However, Hillary Clinton’s professionalismRead MoreThe President Of The United States832 Words   |  4 Pagesfacing imminent doom considering the two frontrunners for the 2016 Presidential election are currently Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Controversy surrounds both candidates due to demagogic comments from Trump and an FBI investigation looming over Clinton. Political parties divide the the two nominees and set up for a fierce debate if they are chosen to represent America in the vital election of 2016. Donald J. Trump’s Presidential campaign began with much fanfare. Many saw the reality show starsRead MoreU.s. Secretary Of State1180 Words   |  5 PagesIn 2001 Hillary Clinton was elected into the senate, she then became the first, first lady to ever win a public office seat. And in 2009 she became the 67th U.S. secretary of state, she served until 2013. Now in 2016 she made history by becoming the first woman in U.S. to be a presidential nominee of a major political party. Donald Trump is a billionaire real estate mogul, a business man with no political l and reality television personality. In 2016, he became the Republican presidential nomineeRead MoreHillary Clinton Is The President Of The United States Of America Essay1695 Words   |  7 Pagesat this point in the presidential election process, the argument for Hillary Clinton is pretty simple and can be summed up as â€Å"the stakes are simply just too high.† However, I understand that many people feel differe ntly about this issue. Throughout the primary election process, I know a lot of people have felt as though they must choose between the lesser of two evils. This sentiment has caused some to vote for a third party, and some to abstain from choosing a presidential candidate entirely. WhileRead More2016 Presidential Election Approaches, And The Issue Of Jobs1101 Words   |  5 PagesAs the 2016 Presidential Election approaches, we have seen a series of events from each candidate: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and once, Bernie Sanders, who ran as a third-party candidate. The New York Times provides a transcript of the first Presidential Debate of this year. As we know, voting is an irrational act; we often vote based on our emotions/how we feel about certain topics. During the first debate, both candidates touched on important subjects: â€Å"Achieving prosperity; America’s direction;Read MoreTwitter Essay1218 Words   |  5 Pages2016 presidential election within the past w eek from social media, outpacing both local and national print newspapers (Timothy B. Lee, 2016). Moreover, as of July, 24% of the intereviewers said they have turned to the social media posts of Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton for news and information about the election – more than those who turn to either of the candidates’ websites or emails combined (15%)(Pew Research Center, 2016). Research conducted on three of the candidates (Hillary Clinton, DonaldRead MoreMy Evaluation Of America s 2016 Election Campaign Essay1568 Words   |  7 PagesMy Evaluation of America s 2016 Election Campaign and the Candidates In this paper, I am going to talk about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the two presidential candidates of the 2016 American Election. I will talk about the difference in their views on the topics of immigration, guns, women rights and religion. In what follows, I will argue that Donald Trump is more disliked than Hillary Clinton because of the statements he made against minorities, undocumented immigrants, promises to build

Water Is Free Flowing Energy - 862 Words

Where do you get your best ideas? Have you had those lightning fast moments of brilliance that come when you least expect it and fill you with excitement. The spark of creative inspiration. The awesome solution to a problem that you have been slaving over that just pops into your mind in an instant. I get my best ideas in the shower. The white noise of the water is an excellent conduit to amplifying my creative thoughts. Recently they have been happening often and I write them down in a hurry so when I am ready to take action they are there to expand upon. These thoughts come from my own intuitive guidance to the next step in my life. Water is free flowing energy. Energy is all around us and within us, (think of science class and the atom) and thoughts are energy as well. I have learned a lot about energy in the past 2 1/2 years as I have become fascinated about how to release blocked or stagnant energy with Reiki and Coaching methods. It has taught me that a big part of chronic illness,stress, anxiety and mental illness is a direct result of blocked emotions and negative thought patterns. When we stay stuck in a â€Å"story† we often take on the victim role. This resonated again with me recently when I revisited a Ted Talk about domestic violence that I had seen a few years ago by Leslie Morgan Steiner. She talks about being the victim and the beliefs that she had. I began to think a lot about victim roles and how dangerous they can be. We all play the victim in some wayShow MoreRelatedThe Benefits of Hydroelectric Energy Essay683 Words   |  3 PagesHydroelectric Energy What is Hydroelectric energy? Hydroelectric is a form of energy it is a renewable resource. Hydroelectricity is the most important and widely used renewable source of energy. Hydroelectric relies on water, which is clean and renewable energy source. Renewable energy comes from natural resources. Non-Renewable energy source includes coal, oil and natural gas. Water is renewable because water continually recycles itself. To harness energy from flowing water, the water must be controlled;Read MoreHow The Spillway Can Be Classified Into Different Types Based On The Various Criteria1593 Words   |  7 Pages 3. Classification based on pertinent feature: There are 8 different types of spillways based on the pertinent features: a) Free Overfall Spillway: A free overfall spillway (or straight drop spillway) is a type of spillway in which the control structure consists of a low-height, narrow-crested weir and the downstream face is vertical or nearly vertical so that the water falls freely more or less vertical. b) Ogee-Shaped (or Overflow) Spillway: An ogee-shaped (or overflow) spillway is the mostRead MoreHydraulic Lab744 Words   |  3 Pagessluice gate: Part A: Free discharge: Part A: Free discharge y1=0.3680 ±0.0005m y2=0.0280 ±0.001m y3=0.0310 ±0.003m y4=0.1640 ±0.010m x=0.045m Time for 1 cube of water to pass the channel =47.2s Part A: Q1: viii) Theoretical y2 = 0.0262m Measured y2 = 0.0280 ±0.001m Energy discrepancy = 0.0443J Based on the hydraulic theory velocity=discharge / height, with the same discharge, lower height of stream flows with higher velocity than stream with greater height. The energy equation K.E.=mv22Read MoreRenewable Resources For Renewable Energy1438 Words   |  6 Pagesdefinition, energy is power that is harnessed from physical or chemical resources, often utilized in order to produced light, heat or fuel. It can be extracted from various renewable or non-renewable sources and has become a necessity for day to day life. Currently non-reusable resources account for the majority of energy production. The prominence of fossil fuels in the energy sector validates this claim. At the same time this statement reveals a major world issue in regards to energy sustainabilityRead MoreUsing Hydropower Help Stop Global Warming1056 Words   |  5 Pagesindividuals must do their part to help prevent it. The biggest pollutants in our atmosphere are Carbon dioxide, Methane, and nitrous oxide. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil for energy. Electricity production is the biggest cause of carbon emissions in the United States. Transportation is the second biggest cause of emissions and factory production is the third biggest cause. Humans and animals also play a small role in carbon emissionsRead MoreWater Wheels and Hydropower and Their Importance for Energy Production1556 Words   |  6 PagesWater Wheels Water wheels are one of the oldest hydraulic machines known to man. A water wheel is a machine that converts the energy of free-flowing water or falling water into different forms of power. A water wheel usually consists of either a large wooden or metal wheel. There are a number of blades or buckets on the outside rim forming the driving surface. There are three main types of water wheels; horizontal, undershot, and overshot. They were used all around the world. Many culturesRead MoreThe Oil Spill Of 20101535 Words   |  7 Pagesthe act of turning to renewable energy sources. Burning fossil fuels also has a downside to the environment, polluting the air and water, and damaging the health of plants and animals. The BP Oil spill of 2010 is one example of how dangerous fossil fuels are when they are exposed to the environment. There is much controversy in the United States for renewable energy sources being funded, but the facts are on the rise. Having a cleaner and more effic ient source of energy is important for both environmentalRead MoreA Brief Note On Rich City Final Paper1517 Words   |  7 Pagesmountains not only provide military defense, they contain precious resources: gold, platinum, oil . Windmills at the top of these mountains provide energy to Rich City. The lower parts of these mountains are covered by large forests that provide wood and are a natural wildlife habitat. A river cuts through these mountains into the valley, supplying water to the city. Canada has bad storms but the mountains surrounding Rich City protect it. Because of its location near the border, winters aren’t deadlyRead MorePerle Economic Growth819 Words   |  4 Pagessimilar effect for the local power industry, the demand for electricity has being growing at more than 5% per year; the maximum demand for 2012 was registered in December at 5,291 MW, an increase of 6.6% more than the previous year. The Ministry of Energy Mining (MINEM) reported for 2012, a total production of 3,582 GW-h, an increase of 6% compared to the previous year. Power generation in Peru has grown these past years very rapidly in response to the growing demand — mainly due to the developmentRead MoreSociety s Reliance On Renewable Energy1526 Words   |  7 Pagesfossil fuels for energy threatens to harm the environment. Transitioning from a fossil fuel energy economy to a solar-based one will not harm the Earth. Rather than pursuing a harmful energy policy in which big corporations continue to overload the ecosystem with fossil fuels, society could be using local renewable energy sources. The fossil fuel companies who have grown rich extracting raw materials from the ground want to interfere and co-opt with the expansion of renewable energy. People need to

Newton Electronics Limited Free Essays

After three years of development, the company has finally been able to complete research on and development of the new hearing aid and the product, having successfully passed through all statutory and voluntary tests and procedures, is now ready for commercial production. In this regard, the company has three viable options in front of it. These are: 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Newton Electronics Limited or any similar topic only for you Order Now Commence commercial production on its own accord. 2. Outsourcing manufacturing and marketing to a third party under a license arrangement. 3. Selling Patent rights to a third party. This reports aims to undertake a holistic financial analysis of these three options and, from a financial management perspective, conclude which option is in the best interests of the company’s shareholders. Results The results of the NPV analysis reveal the following results: Analysis, Additional Considerations Verdict: The NPV analysis (see appendix) clearly reveals that Option 2 (allowing a third party to manufacture the product and market it under a license arrangement) is financially the best option as it allows for a greater inflow of cash. This is also in line with the company’s core competencies. The company has been generally geared at research and development and may lack the entrepreneurial skill and expertise when it comes to manufacture and market the product. Moreover, another plus point is that the company would not have to pump in any capital immediately if it chose option 2. Thus, as rational investors, the company would prefer less risk per unit of return. When comparing option 2 with option 1, the company finds itself taking less risks and hence generating more returns. The decision between option 2 and option 3 is a tricky one, although seemingly straightforward. With option 3, the company effectively shifts the whole element of operating risk on the third party, against a guaranteed payment in two equal installments. BPP states that â€Å"this reduces the return but also the risk, as financial management theory contends the return and risk relationship† (2007, pp. 95-98). From a financial risk management point of view, the only risk that the company is then exposed to is the default risk of the third party failing to make a timely payment of the second installment. Here is where the interesting aspect comes in. Although default risk also exists with Option 2, that is, the third party would fail to make timely royalty payments, Rasheed states that â€Å"a licensing arrangement and an outright sale of the patent rights would differ legally as to what recourse the company would have in the case of default. † (2009, pp. -54). From the surface of it, if the third party defaults under a license arrangement to pass on royalty payments, the company could always cancel the license or initiate penalizations on the third party by way of the licensing agreement. Thus, the company can compel the third party, on its own accord, to resume payments or to offer something else in return, maybe an equity stake at attractive levels. However, a default on a sale would be a long drawn out legal battle that would increase the time frame of the proceeds being received altogether, incurring legal costs and making NPV fall. Thus, for the high return and low risk profile and the legal recourse that it offers, option 2 is the best option that the company should undertake. How to cite Newton Electronics Limited, Papers

Immunology NK Cells Receptors

Question: Describe the functions of NK cells receptors? Answer: NK cells or natural killer cells are cytototoxic lymphocytes, significant to the vertebrate innate immune system. They act similar like cytotoxic T cells. NK cells give swift responses to infected cells and also react during tumor formation. Immune cells have the capacity to detect major histocompatibility complex or MHC, presented on the infected cellular surfaces, trigger cytokine release and this leads to cell apoptosis or cell lysis. NK cells have capacity to identify stressed cells without the presence of major histocompatibility complex and antibodies and also they allow for much rapid immune reaction inside the human system. Thus, these cells are named as natural killers, as they do not need cellular activation to destroy cells. This function is typically vital as harmful cells, those do not have MHC 1 markers cannot be identified and destroyed by different other immune cells, for example: T lymphocyte cells. NK cell receptors Functions Ly49 Activating receptors, human have pseudogenic Ly49 for polymorphic MHC I molecules. NCR/ Natural Cytotoxic Receptors Activating receptors; upon stimulation release gamma interferon and mediate NK killing. CD94 Activating receptors; identify nonclassical or nonpolymorphic MHC I molecules, for example: HLA-E. Expression of major histocompatibility complex. Class I, E on the cellular surfaces is reliant on the existence of nonamer peptide epitope (Lieto, 2005). These are derived from signal sequence associated with classical MHC I molecules. This sequence is generated by chronological action of signal peptidase and proteasome. This mechanism is considered as indirect and is said to be a good way to inspect the quantity of polymorphic HLA molecules. CD16 Activating receptors; these receptors can bind with immunoglobulin G and contribute to the function of antibody-dependent cell- mediated cytotoxicity. These receptors are low affinity Fc receptors and attach to Fc region of antibodies immunoglobulin G. This complex then activates natural killer cells for of antibody-dependent cell- mediated cytotoxicity (Kramer, Winger and Reuben, 2009). If CD16 is not present in a particular neutrophil population, it could be assumed as the indication of prematurity, which could have taken place because of left-shift caused by neutrophilic leukocytosis stimulated by bacterial infection or tissue necrosis. KIRs or killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors Inhibitory receptors; these are the main receptors for classical and nonclassical MHCs. Classical MHCs are HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C; nonclassical MHCs are HLA-G (Zhang, Tong and Wu, 2009). Some of these receptors are particular for specific HLA subtypes. Most of these receptors are dominant. Regular cells show MHC 1 class, hence are recognized by these receptors and natural killing is inhibited. LIR or ILT or leukocyte inhibitory receptors Work as inhibitory receptors on human natural killer cells. These receptors get expressed on mononuclear leukocyte cells of human. Cytotoxic activity of newly isolated T cell replicas can be inhibited by the anti-LIR-1mAb (Lebbink et al., 2007). These receptors provide regulation mechanism of T effector cells and inhibit unwanted responses arbitrated by antigen specific T cells. References Kramer, P., Winger, V. and Reuben, J. (2009). PI3K limits TNF- production in CD16-activated monocytes.European Journal of Immunology, 39(2), pp.561-570. Lebbink, R., de Ruiter, T., Kaptijn, G., Bihan, D., Jansen, C., Lenting, P. and Meyaard, L. (2007). Mouse leukocyte-associated Ig-like receptor-1 (mLAIR-1) functions as an inhibitory collagen-binding receptor on immune cells.International Immunology, 19(8), pp.1011-1019. Lieto, L. (2005). CD94 1A/1B: a window opens into NK-cell development.Blood, 106(10), pp.3338-3339. Zhang, X., Tong, C. and Wu, T. (2009). 178-P: The effect of inhibitory and activating KIRs on haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.Human Immunology, 70, p.S101.

School Vouchers The Wrong Choice Essays - Education Economics

School Vouchers: The Wrong Choice School Vouchers: The Wrong Choice Susie is a young girl who lives in Florida. Since kindergarten, she has attended a nearby private school. Her parents willingly pay her tuition, even though doing so forces them to cut other corners. They do not mind these sacrifices, since they know that their daughter is getting the best education they can give her. Jesse lives downtown, in the inner city. She attends the local public school and struggles through her classes. Her mother would like to send her to a private school, where there is less violence and a calmer atmosphere, but cannot afford it. Then, Jesses mother learns that a voucher system has put into place for the entire state of Florida. Jesses inner city, spray-painted elementary school received a failing status, so she can receive a voucher to attend the school of her choice. With the money she receives from the voucher, Jesses mother is able to send her daughter to the same private school that Susie attends. Is it fair that Susies parents pinch pennies while Jesses mother send her on the bus for free? While meaning well, does the voucher system inadvertently discriminate against children like Susie whose parents must work extra hours to put their children through private school? Is the voucher system really the answer to the problems with American education today, or a way to transfer them somewhere else? American public schools have always had their flaws. In the nineteenth century, colleges complained of under-prepared freshmen; students who could not write an essay or even spell. A main controversy was bilingual education for newly naturalized immigrants. As America entered the early 1900s, the debate turned to the use of entertainment in the classroom. Teachers felt that they must put on a show in order to keep the attention of their pupils. The abandonment of phonics in the 1920s and 30s was believed to be the reason why the job market consisted of those with inadequate educational preparation. Social promotion and the replacement of the three Rs with emotional stability and attitude courses were the causes of concern in the 1940s. The 1950s brought an awareness of low standards. It was found that American children were lagging behind the average standards of the rest of the world. Safety in schools also became an issue; incoming teachers were warned of the physical courage neces sary to teach. Illiteracy became the main focus on the 1960s and 70s. Phonics (or the lack thereof) was once again to blame (Rothstein 2). Now, at the beginning of a new century, what problems have been fixed? Illiteracy is still high, American standards are still low, and graduates are still unprepared. Each generation feels that schools are worse than the generation before. America has been attempting to solve the problems with its education system for 200 years, but nothing has changed. According to Rothstein: Schools are not up to the task of readying young people for the challenges of the next century. An apparently watered down curriculum ensures that all students, regardless of whether they have mastered necessary skills, can graduate. Social promotion without requirements to master grade-appropriate skills is now commonplace, so even elite colleges must run remedial courses for freshmen in basic math and literacy, and business executives complain that high school graduates are ill-prepared for even relatively unskilled jobs (2). Are these complaints not the same ones that appeared a century ago? Improvement is desperately needed, but where should it start? Cleveland, Milwaukee, and the state of Florida have suggested an answer: a school voucher system. Voucher proponents believe that the system which they support is a starting place. Voucher proponents across the nation believe that through this program, which places the burden of improvement upon schools, progress can be made. The voucher system recently implemented in Florida is built around competition. The public schools have standards which they must uphold. Each year the state gives each school a letter grade which rates that schools ability to keep the given standards. If the school receives an F, it stands to lose a great deal of its student body because of vouchers. This failing grade qualifies the children enrolled in the school to participate in the

Biography of the Great Newspaper Publisher Joseph Pulitzer

Biography of the Great Newspaper Publisher Joseph Pulitzer Joseph Pulitzer was one of the most influential figures in the American journalism in the late 19th century. A Hungarian immigrant who learned the newspaper business in the Midwest following the Civil War, he purchased the failing New York World and transformed it into one of the leading papers in the country. In a century known for raucous journalism which included the introduction of the penny press, Pulitzer became known, along with William Randolph Hearst, as a purveyor of yellow journalism. He had a keen sense of what the public wanted, and sponsoring events like the around-the-world trip of intrepid female reporter Nellie Bly made his newspaper extraordinarily popular. Though Pulitzers own newspaper was often criticized, the most prestigious award in American journalism, the Pulitzer Prize, is named for him. Early Life Joseph Pulitzer was born April 10, 1847, the son of a prosperous grain dealer in Hungary. After his fathers death, the family faced grave financial problems, and Joseph chose to emigrate to America. Arriving in America in 1864, at the height of the Civil War, Pulitzer enlisted in the Union cavalry. At the end of the war, Pulitzer left the Army and was among the many jobless veterans. He survived by taking a variety of menial jobs until he found a job as a reporter at a German-language newspaper published in St. Louis, Missouri, by Carl Schurz, a noted German exile. By 1869 Pulitzer had proven himself to be highly industrious and he was thriving in St. Louis. He became a member of the bar (though his law practice was not successful), and an American citizen. He became very interested in politics and ran successfully for the Missouri state legislature. Pulitzer bought a newspaper, the St. Louis Post in 1872. He made it profitable, and in 1878 he purchased the failed St. Louis Dispatch, which he merged with the Post. The combined St. Louis Post Dispatch became profitable enough to encourage Pulitzer to expand to a much larger market. Pulitzers Arrival In New York City In 1883 Pulitzer traveled to New York City and purchased the troubled New York World from Jay Gould, a notorious robber baron. Gould had been losing money on the newspaper and was happy to be rid of it. Pulitzer was soon turning the World around and making it profitable. He sensed what the public wanted, and directed the editors to concentrate on human interest stories, lurid tales of big city crime, and scandals. Under Pulitzer’s direction, the World established itself as the newspaper of the common people  and it generally supported the rights of workers. In the late 1880s, Pulitzer employed the adventurous female reporter Nellie Bly. In a triumph of reporting and promotion, Bly circled the globe in 72 days, with the World documenting every step of her startling journey. The Circulation Wars During the era of yellow journalism, in the 1890s, Pulitzer found himself engaged in a circulation war with rival publisher William Randolph Hearst, whose New York Journal proved to be a formidable challenger to the World. After battling with Hearst, Pulitzer tended to draw back from sensationalism and began advocating for more responsible journalism. However, he tended to defend sensationalist coverage by asserting that it was important to catch the public’s attention in order to make them aware of important issues. Pulitzer had a long history of health problems, and his failing eyesight led him to be surrounded by a number of employees who helped him function. He also suffered from a nervous ailment which was exaggerated by sound, so he tried to stay, as much as possible, in soundproof rooms. His eccentricities became legendary. In 1911, while visiting Charleston, South Carolina aboard his yacht, Pulitzer died. He left a bequest to found a journalism school at Columbia University, and the Pulitzer Prize, the most prestigious award in journalism, was named in his honor.

New Religious Movements Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

New Religious Movements - Essay Example Not only do these NRMs catch the attention of scholars, but they also caught also the interest of the general population. The most crucial moment for public awareness in cults or new religious movements occurred in November, 1978, when some 900 members of the The Peoples Temple in Jonestown, Guyana died by murder and suicide. Moreover, some movements have been accused of ongoing human rights abuses, child abuse, brainwashing, prostitution, financial fraud and swindling.3 Only a small number of the older cults such as the the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have garnered huge membership all throughout the world. Of those groups formed in the twentieth century, only a few, such as the American Muslim Mission (found in 1930), can count their membership in the tens of thousands.4 National polls report that 19 in 20 Americans affirm a belief in God, and 4 in 10 said to join Sunday services regularly. Nevertheless, these surveys do not show how and what the people really believe in. Therefore, a number of new religious movements develop to fill these gaps. ... Moreover, the rise of new religious movements and cults also reflects the tensions that exist in the society at large, usually evolve from pressures that increased public acceptance of ideas outside the established religious institutions. As an example, the cultural revolutions of the 1960's lessen the social taboos against religious testing. Furthermore, technological advancements, particularly the Internet and the access world travel, enable a lot of people to access wider beliefs and religious systems and making it easier for small religious groups to form.5 Additionally, new religious movements continue to grow due to: existence of man's spiritual needs, man's cultural identity search, filling a void in man's heart, man's seeking for answers to vital questions, cults cashing in on pastoral weakness of established religious institutions, a plot from the devil, existences of a charismatic leader/founder/guru, prevailing weaknesses of the members, and the doctrines uniqueness of the movement. Existence of spiritual needs.The evolution of cults or new religious movements often indicate that there are spiritual needs which have not been fulfilled or even identified, or which the Church and other established religious institutions have either not aware of or not able to provide.6 Cultural identity search.The new religious movements are able to attract huge number members because there are always people searching for meaning when they are feeling gone astray in a period of cultural revolution.7 Filling a void.Many Christians join the cults or new religious movements because their hunger

Financial Management in Health Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Management in Health Care - Essay Example These aspects of management aim at ensuring organizations operate within profitable margins in ensuring continuity of the organization. The management ensures that organizations find sustainable sources of funding for various activities. Financial management in healthcare takes various perspectives depending on the source of funding for organizations (Gapenski, 2009). Balance sheets, for example, remain some of the best known indicators of financial performance within an organization. Balance sheets form a fundamental element of assessment of the financial position of an organization during specified period. The information contained in balance sheets remains similar within different entities but the functions performed by the balance sheets differ. Profit organization In profit making healthcare organizations, the financial structures of organizations aim at utilizing financial resources to achieve monetary gains. These entities operate like other businesses whose fundamental object ive remains making profits from financial resources. The financial management of these entities aims at maintaining profitability for the organization. All financial decisions implemented in these financial entities seek to ensure that the organizations remain profitable and competitive within the industry (Nowicki, 2008). The funding for these organizations comes from returns on investments made by the proprietors of the organization. These organizations offer services according to the available finances available for specified services. The functions performed by financial statements differ between healthcare entities depending on the financiers of the establishments. The financial statements for these establishments ought to be presented to the proprietors of the organizations. All expenditures for these organizations should be accounted for in the organization’s balance sheet. Presentation of the balance sheet remains critical in the financial structure of these organizat ions. Within other healthcare entities, like those owned by the government, the information contained in the balance sheets becomes supplemented with relevant data pointing at the organization’s objectives. Achieving the organizational objectives remains the fundamental aim of the organizations. These organizations aim at maximizing their profitability from financial and monetary resources available within the organization. Financial management within these organizations aims at utilizing the available financial resources to achieve maximum returns on investments. The funding for the organizations comes from owners’ equity among other financing options. The entities operate with financial resources that should be refunded to the financiers. The fund could be borrowed from finance institutions and payments should be done from the ensuing profits (Finkler & Ward, 2006). Profitable operation of these institutions remains essential in ensuring completion of the repayments. Other healthcare entities, like the non-profits organizations, never have to repay the operating capital. These organizations operate to offer services to specified individuals according to the demands of the financiers. As opposed to other healthcare entities, profit making entities do not have restrictions, from the financiers, regarding the customers whom to render medical services. The decisions of the management regarding utilization of financial resourc

Social research methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Social research methods - Essay Example Different types of statistics can be used to serve different purposes of the research. While descriptive statistics can be used to describe the data, statistical model can be used to forecast data. Researches that are aimed at finding relationship between variables can make use of statistical techniques such as correlation and regression. Difference between Descriptive and Inferential statistics, purpose of each and applications Descriptive statistics: Descriptive statistics can be defined as the set of tools and techniques that can be used to describe the quantitative features of a collection of data (Mann, 1995). The main purpose of using descriptive statistics is to summarize a data set. Statistics such as measures of central tendency, measures of variation, graphs, and bar charts etc are examples of descriptive statistics. The three most important types of descriptive statistics are: measures of central tendency, dispersion and distribution. While distribution is an indication of the frequency of specific values of a range of data variables, measures of central tendency such as mean and median are aimed at finding the center of the entire data set (Levin and Rubin, 2007). Measures of dispersions such as range or standard deviation are an indication of the spread of data set. Inferential statistics: Inferential statistics are the set of tools and techniques that can be used to draw inferences about a population from a small sample of data (Lane, 2011). The various examples of inferential statistics techniques include t-test, Analysis of Variance, Correlation analysis, regression analysis, factor and cluster analysis and discriminant function analysis etc. There are two types of inferential statistics: estimation testing and hypothesis testing. While in estimation testing, the confidence interval of a particular parameter is calculated using the sample, hypothesis testing is generally used to compare certain parameters in two or more samples or comparing a sa mple parameter to a specific value. A hypothesis can be defined as an assumption about a population parameter (Stattrek, 2011). The null hypothesis can be defined as the hypothesis of no difference or the hypothesis of status quo (Bajpai, 2009). The alternate possibility is called the alternate hypothesis. Hypothesis testing can be used by researchers to test certain theories that they want to prove. Frequency table and bar chart a. Ethnic origin Ethnic origin (5 groups) Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid White 3746 91.1 91.5 91.5 Mixed race 35 .9 .9 92.3 Asian 179 4.4 4.4 96.7 Black 87 2.1 2.1 98.8 Other 48 1.2 1.2 100.0 Total 4095 99.6 100.0 Missing -8 16 .4 Total 4111 100.0 Table 1: Frequency table for ethnic origin As can be seen from the frequency table, the most common ethnic group is White. The next highest frequency of ethnic group is Asian with 4.4% of the data items. Another way of representing the data is using a bar chart. The graph below shows the bar chart for the data set: Figure 1: Bar chart for ethnic origin b. Education level The frequency table for the variable education level is shown below: Education Level - 2000 Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Higher Degree 147 3.6 4.6 4.6 First Degree 450 10.9 14.0 18.6 Teaching qualification 47 1.1 1.5 20.0 Other higher qualification

Consumer Influences and Behaviour: UK Banking

Consumer Influences and Behaviour: UK Banking Chapter 1 (Intro) 1.1 Introduction To become the leading international bank HSBC has combined the emerging markets through international connectivity and scale yet maintaining the strategy unchanged. To comply with the recent economic turmoil HSBCs strategy is apparently most appropriate one as the projected the return of total shareholders equity remains achievable over full business cycle. Reinvestment of the capital allowed the company to maintain flexibility of direction in accordance with financial and regulatory environment. This can help the company to make the long term decisions supporting the brand values and the customer relationship and the growth to be consistent with the strategy. The ‘Managing for growth a diverse evolutionary strategy ranging from 2003 to 2008 for HSBCs growth and development across the globe addressing the areas where desirable and attainable improvement can be made; was an ultimate success. Unlike competitors, the consistent approach to grow within the emerging markets HSBC did not have to dispose any stakes in strategic investments to generate capitals. Depending on the customer demand and maintaining the strategic line while reviewing the emerging new opportunities, HSBC has successfully survived in the period of uncertainty. The company has increased the number of HSBC Premier Customers to 2.9 million, and the customer volume is increasing highly in the emerging market. During financial crisis and economic recession the global financial markets have suffered a serious impact. Very few banks have escaped unharmed by adjusting to shifts in the global financial and economic environment. Market entry timing decisions are inherently difficult. A firms managers need to consider the influence of so many factors both internal and external to the firm in deciding when to enter a market with a new product (Lieberman and Montgomery, 1991). Firms face a particularly difficult decision of planning when it is best to enter a market with a new product in response to a market introduction of a pioneering new product by a major competitor. Given that pioneering is no longer an option, is it better for the firm to enter the market quickly with a competitive new product or is it better for the firm to delay market entry for strategic reasons. When the competitive stakes are high, it is clearly in a firms best interest for its management to plan carefully such a market entry timing decision by giving careful consideration to a broad array of information including information on the competitor, the competitors product offering, the market, and the firms internal resources and product offerings. Considerable academic research has been conducted that suggests the desirability of certain market entry timing strategies for a wide array of conditions in the competitive environment (cf. Bowman and Gatignon, 1995; Brown and Lattin, 1994; Green et al., 1995). The business world composed of organization and work becoming more demanding and wild. Facing organizations are now facing so many challenges. Among them globalization, customer awareness, higher revenue with minimizing the operational cost, strengthening the organizational capacity, renovation and change, technological implementation, maintaining diverse human capital, and confirming essential and constant change. Fortunately the degree of competition among industry rivals has significantly increased. Now most of the organizations can easily duplicate technology, industrial methods, production, and even strategy. To gain the competitive advantage in the long run, business houses need to establish their own organizational capability (Burke Cooper 2004). 1.2 Background of The Study HSBC is a prominent name in the global banking industry. This bank has been operating successfully all around the world as a local bank with its efficiency and effectiveness. The integrated strategy of HSBC and on time decision made it becoming a threat for other long lived bank in the industry. The strategy the bank had followed make it to cope up with all sorts of cultural barriers and to be along within the society and create the better brand value compare to the other rivals in the banking industry. The reason behind the on-going prospect of this bank is due to a reason which made is to gain the competitive advantage in the global money and investment market. Lately the economic crisis hit the global money market and retail banking industry injuring the performance of all the major players in the industry as the confidence and the trust of the customers were gone. 1.3 Rationale This study is a requirement for the course I am enrolled in. This study will help me to utilize the acquired knowledge/theories and relate them to the applied business. The title was chosen as banking industry is one of the diverse industries and UK is one of the most competitive markets where the industry rivals constantly changing their strategies to adopt with the change and HSBC is one of the best performing banks in it. With the establishment of the purpose given, this study may be of importance to the purpose that have been discussed by fulfilling the objectives, the study will be helpful for researchers focusing on different strategies and innovative techniques with regards to the method of gathering the information. The findings of the research will be helpful for researchers in creating their own means of conducting their study. The significance of this study is the option that it may contribute the findings for the other studies that wish to examine factors for the success or failure of a study. Another importance of the report is to serve as a director for researches that emphasis on defining the effects of an integrated marketing strategy which made HSBC successful in the UK banking industry as well as globally. 1.4 Aim and Objective of the Study The aim of the research to find the answer to the research question â€Å"How can HSBC Continue to Maintain Its Competitive marketing advantage in the UK market?† The objective of this study is to identify the reason behind the success of HSBC and the challenges the company may face in future and the potential strategy the company may follow so that it can maintain its leading position in the UK retail banking industry. So, the prime objectives of the study are as follows: To identify how HSBC operates and what made it unique besides others To identify the attitudes of the UK customers towards HSBC. To identify the attitudes of the company staffs towards existing marketing system. To identify the shortcomings (if existed) of the Strategy being adopted by HSBC To identify the most effective strategy appropriate for HSBC in response to the current financial crisis in UK. 1.5 The Organization of the paper: Unlike the conventional approach this paper is furnished with the industry analysis focusing on the UK banking industry in term of its performance, effective factors leading HSBC to become more successful, the changing switching tendencies of the customers, role of the SMEs in the industry and an overview on the investment criteria in the money market. The study will initially gather information that will serve as introductory part of the study. The study will then gather related literature to prove the need for conducting the study. The literature review can help in determining what are the studies already done, what study needs to be corrected. The study will then determine the methods and means for data to be gathered and analyzed. In this part the data is being readied to be gathered and analyzed but the method to gather it will first be determined. The next part of the study is gathering, presenting and interpreting the data. In this part the validity of the hypothesis and ideas about the study will be proven. The last part of the study will be the part where conclusions and recommendations will be stated. In this part final statement about the study will be done. The study will be organized in accordance with the following order Chapter 2(Literature Review) According to Porter (1985) it is the value chain through which a company can create and offer value to its customers by efficiently utilizing costs and effectively offering the product or services through a lower cost or a higher differentiation. Again Rajnandan (2007) said value chain not only seeks to do away with the activities that do not add value, but establishes the importance of other support activities, including infrastructure, technology, and so on, that play a vital role in providing the foundation for competitive advantage. The value chain also is useful in outsourcing decisions. Understanding the linkages between activities can lead to more optimal make-or-buy decisions that can result in either a cost advantage or a differentiation advantage. (Graeme J. Buckley, 2006) After defining the discrete activities marketers need to identify the linkages between activities. The relationship survives if the performance or cost of one activity affects that of another. Competitive advantage may be obtained by optimizing and coordinating linked activities. (Porter, 1985) The developed opponents expected strategy, where it participates in the marketplace, how it competes, and what it tries to achieve, should be distinct from any strategy pursued by any rival. Those executives charged with visualizing the developed rivals strategy should also be encouraged to go beyond the likely strategies of announced. It is necessary to communicate the competitive variables to the target market as that will force the buyers to prefer the products. Where marketing communications carries the meaning of the companys product attributes, aiding customers reach their goals and moving the company closer to its own goals. (Lancaster, 2002) Marketing efficiency depends on communications effectiveness. The market is activated through information flows. The way a potential buyer perceives the sellers market offering is heavily influenced by the amount and kind of information he or she has about the product offering, and the reaction to that information. Marketing, therefore, relies heavily upon information flows between the seller and the prospective buyer. (Thomas A. Staudt, Donald Arthur Taylor, 1976) The firms value chain links to the value chains of upstream suppliers and downstream buyers. The result is a larger stream of activities known as the value system. The development of a competitive advantage depends not only on the firm-specific value chain, but also on the value system of which the firm is a part. (Kiichiro Fukasaku, 2007) Dramatic changes due to globalization, deregulation, and technology have redefined the nature of business by increasing competition. Significant increases in the speed of competitive response and the number of competitive actions and price cuts have also resulted. Those indicators highlight the intensity of competition. (Gr, Cu, Le, Hu, Ken G, 2005) Unlike the classical concepts, the marketing concept states that the nature of the marketing orientated organisation, whether product or service based, profit or non profit based, is the identification and genuine satisfaction of customers needs and wants, more effectively and efficiently than the competition. The marketing concept has been defined as ‘the key to achieving organisational goals and the marketing concept rests on ‘market focus, customer orientation, co-ordinated marketing and profitability. (Le, Ru, Lancaster, 2002). ‘Marketing Research is a systematic problem analysis, model-building and fact-finding for the purpose of improved decision-making and control in the marketing of goods and services (Kotler, 1999) Strategic capabilities that companies can use to support the strategy they have chosen to pursue. A strategic capability offers a company a sustained competitive advantage when substantial time and effort is required for competitors to develop the same capability. (Susman, 1992) Game theory more specifically, non-cooperative game theory can be a useful tool for investigating a comprehensive model of competitive advantage in that it demonstrates the linkages between resources, competitive moves and responses, and advantage. (Gr, Cu, Le, Hu, Ken G, 2005) The ability and speed with which a company can learn from experience is another strategic capability. The ability to learn is dependent, in part, on how the company captures and accesses information. Companies can simplify this process by minimizing the amount and complexity of information they have to process. (Susman, 1992) Only by gaining a deep and comprehensive understanding of buyer behaviour can marketings goals be realised. Such an understanding of buyer behaviour works to the mutual advantage of the consumer and marketer, allowing the marketer to become better equipped to satisfy the consumers needs efficiently and establish a loyal group of customers with positive attitudes towards the companys products. (Lancaster, 2002) Competitive advantage is a way of firms gained advantage over its rivals. Competitive Advantage introduces a whole new way of understanding what a firm does. Competitive Advantage takes strategy from broad vision to an internally consistent configuration of activities. Its powerful framework provides the tools to understand the drivers of cost and a companys relative cost position. Competitive Advantage also provides for the first time the tools to strategically segment an industry and rigorously assess the competitive logic of diversification. (Porter, 1998) The design stage determines the way in which a firm intends to differentiate its good or service from rivals. In this stage a firm makes choices to gain a competitive advantage over rivals. (William, 2004) For a single product or narrow group of products, a firms competitive strategy refers to the weighted mix of price, product qualities and features, and service that differentiates its product from those of rivals. (William, 2004) The Competitive Advantage model of Porter learns that competitive strategy is about taking offensive or defensive action to create a defendable position in an industry, in order to cope successfully with competitive forces and generate a superior return on investment. According to Michael Porter, the basis of above-average performance within an industry is sustainable competitive advantage. There are 2 basics types of CA: Cost Leadership (low cost) and Differentiation. The Delta Model contains the following elements: Strategic Triangle: used for defining strategic positions that reflect fundamentally new sources of profitability (three strategic options: best product, customer solutions, and system lock-in), Aligning these strategic options with a firms activities and provides congruency between strategic direction and execution (three fundamental processes are always present and are the repository of key strategic tasks: operational effectiveness, customer targeting, and innovation), and Adaptive processes: core processes of the company must be aligned to the chosen strategy in order to make progress against the strategic agenda and avoid a commodity-like outcome. 2.1 The Trends (Customer Focused) E-trading and online customer services are becoming the key differentiators in every industry. The banking industry in the midst of a shift assisted and backed by the rapid technological advancement, internet and globalization. The transition is not an incremental one through which organizations, processes, and technologies evolve in linear fashion into more advanced, but still familiar models which is distinct from the earlier industry change. Industry observers anticipate that this transition will be much more radical and constitute a complete metamorphosis of bankings entire business model, realigning everything from its strategic business orientation to its technology architecture to its value proposition to its customers. (Balthasar, 2010) 2009 is a significant year forcing many private banking experts to remember. Privet funds failed to generate revenue as clients withdrew assets from private banks. The global financial crisis has fundamentally changed the investment pattern of the High Net Worth Investors and their wealth management business itself. Growing Market ‘Many â€Å"new money† acquire their wealth through IPO. Brazil and China accounted for two-thirds of global capital raised in Q2 2009 (Ernst Young, 2009) showing that there is a growing demand for private banking and wealth management service in the region as the economy is rapidly growing. Chinas growth will outstrip US which is a good news for private banks who have a strong APAC presence, wealth management professionals should understand that the Chinese market is not easy to penetrate. First of all, client advisors need to be fluent in Mandarin and have local connections. Secondly, guanxi (relationships) still plays an extremely important role in the modern Chinese business community, private bankers without access to key relationship brokers as references will find it very difficult to convince Chinese HNWIs to open accounts. Private banks that hire locals will have a definite advantage over expats trying to cover Chinese clients. (Warren Buffet, 2009) Responsible lending Affordability assessment approaches vary across the industry. Responsible lending decisions require checks to be made concerning income and outgoings (typically using a combination of income multiples and affordability models) when assessing ability to repay now and into the future. Also the type of lending undertaken and the type of borrower (for example, applicants with impaired or low credit ratings) may require more detailed assessments to be carried out. Other (unregulated) lending Mortgage lending is only part of the affordability picture. Under the auspices of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF), affordability assessments are equally relevant to other borrowing, including personal loans and credit cards, and a number of lenders are looking at how their affordability assessment processes may need to be strengthened for these types of credit. In an effort to strengthen existing rules, new Banking Code guidance concerning assessing affordability in relation to unsecured loans (overdrafts and other borrowing) was issued by the Banking Code Standards Board in April 2006. Any assessment should now include at least two of the following: Income and financial commitments Repayment history Credit reference agency information and past repayment history Credit scoring. It is also worth noting that the Office of Fair Tradings recent guidance (‘the OFT Guidance) reinforces the need for firms to have regard to its earlier guidance on non-status lending and confirms its intention to consider further specific guidance with regard to irresponsible lending and what this may mean in different market sectors and circumstances. Responding to the concerns The FSA has indicated that as part of its retail agenda it will continue to focus on quality of advice processes in the mortgage market. In responding to these concerns, firms will wish to consider how the results of the FSAs findings impact each of their lending businesses: How extensive is the affordability process; does the advice process include an assessment of income and identifiable expenditure; anticipated changes in personal circumstances (income/expenditure composition); impact of interest rate changes and possible future increases in interest rates? How can the consumer deal with mortgages extending into retirement? What steps are taken to ensure that underwriting processes (including income multiples and affordability models) reflect the different characteristics and risk profiles of customers in different market sectors (for example, sub-prime; non-conforming)? Is the recent assessment carried out to identify the affordability (including affordability decisioning models) to meet the regulatory as well as commercial drivers impacting the business? What steps are taken concerning the assessment of the customers ability to repay where ‘enhanced income multiples are used (and where the firm may have insufficient, or outdated, data to measure the potential impact/risks of default)? What MI does the consumer have to facilitate the identification of affordability issues on a timely basis (for example, the performance of loans where ‘enhanced multiples have been applied; at the end of any discount period; the level of arrears and repossessions; lending introduced by intermediaries)? Even for long-established product offerings, it is clear that nothing stays still. Aside from regulation by the FSA, the market still needs to respond to the challenges of competition investigation into the PPI market. Household Leverage: In the years leading up to the crisis, a combination of factors, including low interest rates, lax lending standards, a proliferation of exotic mortgage products, and the growth of a global market for securitized loans fueled a rapid increase in household borrowing. (Shedlock, 2010) ‘The recent financial crisis contributed to the longest and most severe economic contraction since the Great Depression. The rapid expansion in the use of borrowed money, or leverage, by households in recent years, is one factor that may help account for the virulence of the downturn. (Shedlock, 2010) ‘The common patterns observed across countries suggest that, the unwinding of excess household leverage via increased saving or increased default rates could be a significant drag on consumption and bank lending going forward, possibly muting the vigor of the economic recovery. (Shedlock, 2010) 2.2 Changing Nature of Consumer Behaviour (Higher Expectation) ‘Customers take control. Customers will be smart, informed and savvy users of financial services. They will only be interested in service providers that can meet their very specific individual needs. (CMA Management, 2006) Global banking leader for the Institute for Business Value, each bank must decide on a strategy that fits its customers needs. Banks will need special strategies to cater to a far more discerningand controllingcustomer. Innovative approaches to business design, customer service, workforce management and IT will be critical to banks future success. (Sunny Banerjea, 2009) Banking customers will demand more advocacy, personal security and control in their banking relationships Banks will source products and services from many specialized and best-in-class service providers, including independents and other banks providing white-label products and services. Innovation in products, processes, relationships and business models will be the primary path to sustainable growth. Furthermore, the modern banking industry has brought greater business diversification. Some banks in the industrialized world are entering into investments, underwriting of securities, portfolio management and the insurance businesses. Taken together, these changes have made banks an even more important entity in the global business community. 2.3 Globalization (Intense Competition) ‘By 2015, we will live in an intensely customer-centric market that is dominated by global mega banks and densely populated by specialist financial services providers. Fierce competition, global regulation and technology will reshape bank and non-bank structures. (Rusty Wiley, 2009) Banking is moving incrementally but unmistakably away from a model based on products, transactions, touch points, and internal departments toward one based on customers, processes, integrated experiences, and the enterprise-wide value of information. The new strategic centre is not an institutions asset size, market share, revenue growth, or operating efficiency, but the â€Å"customer experience† the institution provides to consumers. Whether a seismic departure in focus or simply a more pronounced emphasis on an existing strategy, many banks have decided this is their destination. Many countries are now more alert after so many scams including The Bernard Madoff $65 billion Ponzi scheme exposed in 2009. To minimise and control the false trading activities and tax evasions, governments worldwide demand more oversight of banking operations influencing not only the investment banking business but also the private banking side. The account opening process, KYC and offshore banking activities are under tighter scrutiny than ever before. As a direct result, banks have to spend more money on compliance and risk management. (Investment Research, 2010) Banks no longer think in terms of selling products and making transactions, but rather in terms of acquiring, satisfying, and retaining customers. They are realigning their system architectures to recognize, integrate, and monitor business processes that span departmental boundaries and consider customers from a company-wide perspective. The resulting systems provide customers with tools to conduct their own banking business on their own terms, in their own time, and through whatever channel they happen to access. (Balthasar, 2010) This shift in strategic focus has already had a profound impact on the way that bankings role and value to its customers have evolved, leading to the second feature of the industrys transformation, which is that banking is no longer seen as purely a financial transaction, but rather in a broader and more significant way as a financial information business. This distinction may sound like splitting hairs, but the eventual effect on the banking industry will be nothing short of transformative. To better adapt and accommodate this shift successfully, banks will have to recon and upgrade their entire IT infrastructures. The excellent international reputation and the $300 billion private banking assets the region currently manages, the Singaporean government is aggressive in making the country more attractive to private banks and HNWIs worldwide. Singapore officials are planning to amend the Income Tax Act, which is likely to help the country to make Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Developments â€Å"white list†, further establishing itself as Asias private banking stronghold. (Wall Street Arrow: Market Insights, 2009) The competitive pressures that have squeezed the banking industry for the past decade show no sign of letting up, principally due to the banking industrys continuing consolidation. (Balthasar, 2009) Many industry analysts are expecting another round of large bank merger announcements, with the additional element of international banks involved in cross-border mergers. We have seen the beginnings of that trend already in Europe, with the acquisition of Abbey National (U.K.) by Santander (Spain) and the protracted dispute between Dutch bank ABN AMRO and another Spanish bank over two Italian banks. One important ramification of the continued growth of leading banks will be their ability, based on their sheer size and higher efficiencies, to invest in world-class data storage, management, and analytical capabilities, thereby extending their dominance by the development of innovative revenue-generating products and services. The transition to banks as primarily an information source has helped lower the barriers to entry in the financial services industry, opening the banking arena to a host of new, non-bank players. The current alarm among banks and their regulators about Wal-Marts efforts to obtain an industrial loan company (ILC) license in Utah is the most visible manifestation of that trend. 2.4 Technology (Customised Service) Sharply focused technology. The enabler of all this change will be technology that supports rapid, accurate decision making and greater operational flexibility and efficiency. The successful specialists will be those who can track and analyze specific customer needs and speedily meet them with profitable, reliable products. (CMA Management, 2006) The global trend of deregulation has opened up many new businesses to the banking industry. Coupling that with technological developments like internet banking and ATMs, the banking industry is obviously trying its hardest to shed its lackluster image. (Investopedia, 2010) The major force driving banking transformation stems from the increasing commoditization of financial transactions. Banks can no longer distinguish themselves on the basis of product set functionality or operational excellence. Commercially available systems have perfected virtually all the important functions in basic transactions, including payments, deposits, funds transfers, and account reporting. The maturity of technology in these areas has made both functionality and pricing nearly uniform among leading vendors. The sheer volume and scope of regulatory requirements has imposed on banks an unprecedented need to develop transparent systems and processes, along with more effective and reliable means for collecting, storing, and manipulating information. Going forward, banks will need to develop an approach to their IT infrastructure that places a premium on flexibility, adaptability to rapidly changing market circumstances, and the ability to integrate information from multiple sources currently isolated from each other. The competitive landscape has also shrunk considerably. In June 2008, there were 46 lenders offering unsecured personal loans, down from 58 in June 2007, however, by June 2009 this number had dropped further to just 37. The real value proposition that banks offer now is in the information they can provide about financial services and transactions, from a perspective of accessibility, speed, convenience, granularity, analysis, and so forth. In other words, the important question to ask banks now is â€Å"how quickly, accurately, deeply, efficiently, transparently, and finitely can they capture, parse, store, identify, access, retrieve, sort, match, analyze, aggregate, present, share, distribute, and protect data?† Therefore, leading banks are basing new technology strategies on transforming and enhancing their command of information. Although they already sit atop vast amounts of data about their customers, banks in many respects are unable to identify and/or retrieve it with any degree of precision. With bankings future growth and profitability dependent on the ability to aggregate information across systems and reorient it by customer instead of product, technology spending decisions will he nceforth be guided by how well a proposed solution furthers a banks command of information. (Balthasar, 2009) Data management The command of information should be incorporated it into technology development by the vendors allowing them to capture (automatically as much as possible) descriptive and associative information about customers, transactions, and workflow circumstances as distinct data fields; to identify, access, associate, aggregate, sort, and display data from disparate sources; to exchange, transfer, compound, and deconstruct data freely across system boundaries; to normalize, integrate, and analyze that data for a specific purpose and for a specifically designated market segment; to drill down and parse data into ever more discrete units that can be segregated and analyzed; and to manage all of the above in near-real time through centralized database management and automated business processes with rules-based workflow and exception management. Initiatives and architectures not built on a sophisticated data management core will provide only limited benefit, since sooner or later they will be unable to integrate fully into

Tibetan Culture and Art :: essays research papers

Tibetan Culture and Art Tibetan culture and art possess a history of more than 5,000 years, and the Tibetan Buddhism has had the greatest influence on this culture. The development of Tibetan culture and art proceeded through four stages: prehistoric civilization before the 7th century; cultural stability during the Tubo Kingdom; high development during the Yuan Dynasty; and the height of cultural achievement attained during the Qing Dynasty. The prehistoric stage includes all development from the ancient civilization that appeared during the New Stone Age some 5,000 years ago to the founding of the Tubo Kingdom in the 7th century. A salient feature of this civilization is the founding and development of the Bon, an animist religion. Findings from the ruins of the Karub New Stone Age Site in Qamdo and rock paintings found in Ngari, which have been dated from all periods from the late Old Stone Age to the Tubo Kingdom in the 7th century, all display a concentrated expression of the achievements of prehistoric civilization and reveal the budding of prehistoric art. The Tubo Kingdom in the 7th century was an important period which witnessed the creation of Tibetan writing and the spread into Tibet of Buddhism from India and China's Tang Dynasty. Collusion and mutual assimilation of different cultures and arts constituted a major feature of this period. Cultural and artistic achievements made during this period of time include the Jokhang, Ramoche, Changzhug and Samye monasteries. These monasteries are a combination of architecture, paintings and sculptures, the styles of which were disseminated in accordance with the world model of Buddhism. The major architectural features of these monasteries were built using a style unique to Tibet, and also incorporating influences from India and the Central Plains of the Tang Dynasty. A unique culture was thus created and firmly planted in the soil of Tibet. During the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), the culture and art of Tibetan Buddhism developed rapidly. Tibet's first encyclopedia-like catalogue on Gangyur and Dangyur of Tibetan Tripitaka was compiled; Buddhist masters who played key roles in the development of Tibetan culture and art, including Sagya Pandit Gonggar Gyaincain, Purdain Rinqenzhub and Zongkapa, emerged. Works of historical significance created during this period of time include the History on Buddhism by Purdain, the Green Annals, the Red Annals, the New Red Annals and the Records on Five Sutras in Tibet. There was an exuberance of literary works, including mottos, philosophic poems, fables and stories.