Monday, January 27, 2020
The multiple challenges facing the retail banking industry
The multiple challenges facing the retail banking industry Retail banking is facing multiple challenges. These challenges have been categorized in 5 different sources. Security, Decrease cost, Mergers and acquisitions, Regulatory compliance and Revenue growth. (McCormick, Edson, Natesan, 2007) These variables are also linked to efficacy and efficiency of a service sector. They have also argued that with the increase in access points efficiency is being affected and security concerns have been increased to a greater extent. The basic reason behind this point is customer identity is anonymous at these new access points. The anonymity is responsible for increasing crimes and fraudulent which is the major security concern. Novell provides hardware and software management system which helps to increase efficiency in retail banking sector. Manual processes leads to increasing cost of compliance and further leads to regulatory and compliance violence and corporate reputation risk (McCormick, Edson, Natesan, 2007). As a measure of efficiency revenue growth can be measured as function of excellence. Merger and acquisition is the crisis situation which impacts the retail bank sector from recovering losses for 3 months average taken from Retail Banking Technology Trends survey Dec.2006. Novell has developed a system which is concerned towards operational excellence as well as regulatory compliance and security as a function of Retail Bank efficiency. In majority of countries that can be classified as transition economy, foreign capital controls an increasing share of the banking sector (Weill, 2003). This research is based on comparative analysis of efficiency of foreign owned and domestic owned banks. Furthermore (Weill, 2003) has concluded that efficiency of banks with foreign ownership is higher than the efficiency of local banks. Parametric approaches, such as the stochastic frontier approach, use econometric tools to estimate the efficiency frontier have been used for the study as it provides room for random errors. Few of variables used in (Weill, 2003) are Personnel and interest expenses, Price of labor, Investment assets etc. While considering the cost efficiency foreign ownership has influenced positively on the banks in countries with transition economies (Weill, 2003). The reason behind it is that foreign banks have better know how of the working and better corporate governance. This research has left a room for further study on origin of advantages of a foreign owned bank. (OKEAHALAM, 2008) has argued that internationalization increases competition in the banking sector and effects efficiency. However a study has been conducted showing larger but inefficient banks of Namibia and smaller yet efficient banks of Tanzania. Policy makers should ensure that entrants have high quality management and will transfer technology and skills. This finding is consistent with entry and behavior based primarily on the desire to transfer a monopoly structure and derive economic rents (OKEAHALAM, 2008). Key finding from the study of Namibia and Tanzania is that lack of competition has made efficiency vulnerable. Another unusual thing can be concluded that foreign entry essentially does not make markets more competitive or efficient. Market only becomes competitive when it is already concentrated with local or foreign banks. Another article discusses that customer efficiency increases with greater self service utilization. In case of self service input cost of retail bank is decreased. This issue exactly mirrors the concern in the firm productivity literature that focuses on methods for à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"explainingà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ multifactor productivity of firms given that it is also measured as a residual concept. (Xue, Hitt, Harker, Customer Efficiency, Channel Usage, and Firm Performance in Retail Banking, 2007) Possible explanations for the differing efficiency scores for the majors and regional banks are diversification, technological change, organizational restructuring, different customer bases, and the effects of the globalization of financial services (KIRKWOOD NAHM, 2006). This study further concluded that efficiency of major banks is increasing. Their productivity has also increased a lot whereas regional banks are in danger their efficiency is decreasing and profits are shrinking. This decreased productivity is directly proportional to banking efficiency in Australian banks. This trend can be used in my study to gauge the tangible factors and their effect in Pakistani Market. Another research of Xue related to customer efficiency show that self-service through the Internet has a significant migration effect on personal service and, consequently, saves service delivery costs and improves customer efficiency. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we find no evidence that increasing levels of self-service damage customer relationships (Xue, Customer efficiency: Concept and its impact on service management, 2002). Thus Internet or Virtual Banking services are adding on value to the efficacy and productivity of retail banking services. ATMà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s, Debit Cards, Credit cards, Online Cheque writing facilities, Pay Orders, Demand drafts, Online Banking and all the possible technologically advanced instruments effect the preferences of consumer in selection of a service provider bank. Therefore output relies on customer base which is element of efficacy. Concluding remarks can be technology change has direct relation to banking efficiency. After reading all articles it can be concluded that efficiency is very broad term and handling all variables will make research complex. Therefore to get more accurate result it is necessary to shortlist few variables. (NEAL, 2004) has used ROA (Return on Asset) as a measure of efficiency for measuring it from 1995-1999 in Australian Banking case. He has used product of net margin and asset utilization to gauge this variable. The data shows better results for national banks as compared to regional ones. This research is Australia based and focuses on national and regional bank. However corporate and consumer banking has not been separated. The variable ROA in fact can be used for both retail as well as corporate banking. (Hassan Isik, 2002) mentions that previously cost efficiency or input saving efficiency were used to measure the efficiency of banks in Turkish researches. This study is the first to focus on output side inefficiency along with input side inefficiency in Turkish banking, using the so-called stochastic frontier approach. The approach behind using it is that Profit is the key while bank is making losses with less or even same input. Profits are the outlook and are punished even when input becomes costly. On evaluating Turkish banks by both criteria Turkish banks becomes efficient while evaluating by profit efficiency methods.
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Wildlife Resources: A Global Account of Economic Use Essay
Earth Wildlife Extinction Introduction            Conservation of wildlife (wild living resources), is important for the development of any nation. The extinction of the wildlife has therefore become the agenda in American and other Nations in dealing with preservation of wildlife. For instance, all but a small handful of countries have national parks. However, the most challenges facing nations today is wildlife extinction. It is no longer about the government and other agencies deciding whether conservation is a good idea, but rather implementing those ideas for the benefit of people locally, regionally and internationally. The following part is an interview with Jean-Christophe, one of Deputy Director of Global wildlife protection Program me (IUCN’s), and who oversees many of diverse regional and global biodiversity. Interview Me: How do you see this ‘big’ issue of extinction of wildlife? Are they endangered or critically endangered? Is the issue getting worse? Moreover, is it under control or out of control? Jean-Christophe: Despite alarming situation of wildlife extinction globally every year, it appears that the situation is almost not under control. Following report from all groups we have monitored, there is continued decline of species fast towards extinction. What is making me more worried is that the extinction is moving rapidly into list of most endangered species. CK: I heard about your Red list rankings of the threatened Species category but did not understand how it works. Tell me how it works Jean-Christophe: Okay. Any of threatened species, are put under three categories; Vulnerable, Endangered and lastly Critically Endangered species. For instance, those found in a threatened category, it means that it went not just slow decline but through quite a serious decline. However, it less serious considered to Endangered or Critically Endangered species. On the Red List, species listed as endangered species are just like the â€Å"ice berg†but are of most conservation concern. CK: Can, and should all species be saved from extinction? If not, which ones ‘must’ be saved? Jean-Christophe: This is the discussion, many people would like to have in the conservation community; it is what we call triage. People think that some species are useful to people and should be saved; while others not. However, it is not so important trying to have consensus on that question than finding a proper solution to save species. Background information            Since the beginning of the man, there has been Endangered Wildlife .Four thousand of years, the wild plants, the animals and the ocean creatures have made every inch of earth as their home. With man being exceedingly populated, has dropped the number of wildlife drastically. In the same way, many of species have become. It is notable that animals, water living creatures, and wild plants are becoming rarer in these times. For the last centuries, the extinction was at a slower rate but today, the extinction has quickly risen. Taking United States as an example, in the last 200 years, it has lost many birds as compared to other areas of its comparable size (McGavin, p.23). Causes of wildlife extinction            According to Evers (p.4), to the question to wildlife extinction, Human beings are held responsible. Through human activities, many of the species have become extinct. The first activity, which is the major reason for extinction, is the interference of natural habitats through deforestation, creation of wetlands and draining of water marshes. In addition, it is evident that cities and towns are converting most grassland. The second major cause of extinction is commercial hunting and poaching. A poacher can be defined as the person who hunts and kills important species for profit. Often times, poachers hunt neither for legalized games nor for food.            Taking example from the current scope, Currently, Lake Malawi (Central Africa) holds over 500 cichlid fish species with 99 % of them endemic. Comparing with other regions, the lake is only one-seventh the size of great lakes in North America’s with just 173 species, less than 11% of which are endemic. In the last 20 years, Western Ecuador is said to have contained around 9,000 to 10,000 plant species, some 60 per cent of them endemic. In addition, given between 15 and 30 animal species, which present for each plant species in similar areas, it is evident that perhaps western Ecuador contained about 200,000 species around 1970.Since then, the western Ecuador forests have been destroyed to pave way for oil wells, banana plantations, and human settlements. Although is difficult to judge, the number of species in this region may have dropped with about 55,000 within the duration. Taking Pantanal in Brazil yet another example, which cont ains about 120,000 square kilometers of wetlands and classified as â€Å"international importance†by UNESCO, it greatly suffers increased earth extinction. This is from dam construction, agricultural expansion and other forms of disruptive development (Kotpal, 46). Major agencies            All the endangered species are found under the â€Å"Endangered Species Act (ESA).†The act, deals with responsibility of protection of the wildlife worldwide. One of well-known agency is â€Å"Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).†The major function of the agency is primarily management of species found on land .Another well known agency is the â€Å"National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).†The agency protects and manages all the marine species in our seas and oceans. However, there is confusion existing between the two agencies when it comes to protecting species that are found in land and sea. These agencies are also found in each of the Nation worldwide. For instance, In United States, there is â€Å"National Sea Turtle Coordination(NSTC) â€Å" which deals with protection of seven sea turtle species listed as threatened species under the ESA( Kaufman,22). Action plans to save wildlife            Currently, much is being done according to the conditions in each of the country to help save the endangered species. Considering the Zoos, found in almost all Nations, they help to governments as well as other agencies in protection and preservation of animals and environments. In addition, well remarkable action plan is reduction of deadly diseases and viruses in the wild animals .An example is the SD Zoo, which deals with Virology and Immunology deals with protection of wild animals from deadly viruses and diseases. in the world animal population .Another well known action plan was establishment of the Reproductive Physiology department in United States which deals with study of preservation, semen evaluation, embryo transfer and artificial insemination techniques .Lastly, is the Pathology department, working to determine the cause of many death in animals and action plan to prevent it (Roth,53) Red list            Any of threatened species, are put under three categories; Vulnerable, Endangered and lastly Critically Endangered species. For instance, those found in a threatened category, it means that it went not just slow decline but through quite a serious decline. However, the rate of decline of threatened species is less serious considered to Endangered or Critically Endangered species. On the Red List, species listed as endangered species are just like the â€Å"ice berg†but are of most conservation concern. Taking red-cockaded as example, it requires the wood that is around sixty – seventy years old to make it a home. In the top of the Red list, freshwater fish species are marked as extinct or being in a state of dangerous incline of about 25% .On the list are birds, which are threatened with extinction as well. Close to the list of animals facing dangerous extinction are bears, rhinos and tigers. The extinction has I most cases being associated with habitat loss. There are 25 most endangered species found on red line, unfortunately, some of these species are already completely .As mentioned earlier, birds are the most endangered species. The following are the most endangered species in Red line top list;waiian Monk Seal, Hawaiian Crow, Kakapo Brazilian ,Merganser Sumatran and Rhinoceros Vaquita Consequences of wildlife extinction            According to Adams (12), when any of elements is removed from a fragile ecosystem, it has long lasting and far reaching effects on biodiversity. Consider this; from the extinction of wolves, there is no check on numbers on other animals and these results to prey populations grew larger. For instance, when exploding elk populations in U.S wiped out so many riparian plants and willows, songbirds no longer had enough cover or food. This caused their extinction consequently increasing numbers of insects such as mosquito’s. On the other hand, loss of large iconic species such as like the tiger, wolf, and rhino may make more of stimulating news, more than the extinction of mussels and moths. It is more important to note that even small species, can significantly affect the ecosystems in different ways. Conclusion            There is high expectation to the protection of wildlife from the action plans, agencies, and the policies in place. For instance, Wildlife crime policies have set, globally objective to the sustainable of wildlife protection and conservation. It is working hard to the spirit of Vision 2030.This is through jeopardizing the wildlife tourism industry. One of the tools that have so far proved most effective is enforcement of wildlife management law. However, more important is not to losing insight to the ultimate point view of resource management in objective of law enforcement. References Adams, William. Against Extinction: The Story of Conservation. London: Earthscan, 2004. Internet resource Evers, David C. A Guide to Michigan’s Endangered Wildlife. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992. Print. Kaufman, Les, and Kenneth Mallory. The Last Extinction. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993. Print Kotpal, R L. Modern Text Book of Zoology Vertebrates: Animal Diversity-Ii. New Delhi: Global Media Publications, 2010. Internet resource. McGavin, George. Endangered: Wildlife on the Brink of Extinction. Buffalo, N.Y: Firefly Books, 2006. Print Roth, Harald H, and Günter Merz. Wildlife Resources: A Global Account of Economic Use. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1996. Print. Source document
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Burton Snowboards: A Marketing Assesment Essay
Snowboarding is a wintertime sport that is rapidly growing in popularity. The founder of the sport, Jack Burton Carpenter, is amazed at the success of the snowboarding market and contributes the success of the market to his determination of foreseeing snowboarding becoming a popular winter sport. The following assignment will describe with specifics the environmental forces influencing the snowboarding industry, the differences in marketing goals in comparison to Burton Snowboarding’s early years with that of today, and will describe each element of Burton Snowboarding’s marketing mix. The environmental forces influencing the snowboarding industry includes the following: Demographic: Baby boomers will retire or have already taken early retirement; therefore recreational activities will increase greatly. Recent retirees will give up most of their spare time, (that was normally set aside for work), for leisure and recreational activities. The snowboarding market is targeting teenagers’ usage of their products. Therefore, if the snowboard industry wants to keep the teenage audience interest in their products they must maintain its image. In order to keep their image safe, the industry must sell to high profit organizations and not low budget markets such as the bi-way, (who knows what the bi-way would want with snowboards but it’s a good example of a low budget market). Economic- Business Cycle: Sales of snowboards will be high during times of prosperity, (when the economy is at its peak). Adding more appeal on snowboards, (examples: a new look, upgrade, new products and more uses for the product), during times of prosperity in the economy will help to expand the snowboard market. Widening the snowboard market makes the consumer more aware of the product and thus adds to the sales on the product. Economy- Inflation: Since the majority of the consumers buying snowboards are teenagers, inflation rates will affect their buying power. Teenagers receive minimum wage and thus will not have adequate funds to purchase a snowboard for recreational expenditures. Social: People are more concerned then ever about being healthy and fit and more and more people are looking to new unique ways of getting their health needs met. Location: The snowboarding market must be situated in or around accessible snowboarding facilities or areas. E.g. Ski resorts, mountainous regions and places that receive an adequate amount of snowfall. The elements of marketing mix that Burton snowboards cover includes price, product, and distribution, marketing communications and customer service. The following is a more specific outline of each of the marketing mix elements. Price: Burton Snowboards range from $300-$1000, more expensive then low named brands but shows that quality, effort and workmanship has been placed into the creation of each individual board. Product: Burton added a new line of protection equipment for the upcoming snowboarding season, including such products as: styling helmets, pads and hats. The helmets are improved from last year’s models and now contain: venting ports, micro fit adjustments, a wide-angle view (for safety) and removable earpieces. Distributions: Burton snowboards can be purchased at any local retail that specializes in snowboards, (the locations nearest us includes: Sports Swap 2045 Young Street and Sporting Life 2454 Young Street), and at ski resorts allowing snowboarders (rental only). Marketing Communications: Burton Snowboarding has created an image that is appealing to teenagers. Burton is using this image to attract this age group by advertisements, Internet sites, and articles in popular teen magazines and by sponsoring local youth events. Customer Service: Burton Snowboarding has created a safer snowboarding experience for its users, by introducing safety products such as helmets and pads. In the early years of developing the snow boarding industry, Burton tried to gain acceptance from fellow skiers. Burton tried to persuade ski resorts of allowing snowboarders to use their ski resorts. Burton got its big break in 1983 when Vermont Stratton Mountain allowed snowboarders to use its slopes. Burton hoped that by opening opportunities to snowboarders on ski resorts that the sport would gain acceptance from the consumer, and thus open the snowboarding market.Burton is now at the leading edge of snowboarding, and its products cover the largest variety of boards, ranging from: Free riders, pipe boards, novice and expert lines of boards. Burton also sells snowboarding equipment along with its line of boards; this helps with consumer’s convenience and helps to gain more profit for the company. Burton has put together a non-profit organization that helps under privileged kids learn to snowboard. All equipment and professional instructing are available. Burton hopes to promote the product and show the consumer that it cares about the community, all which will reach more target markets
Thursday, January 2, 2020
African Iron Age - 1,000 Years of African Kingdoms
The African Iron Age is traditionally considered that period in Africa between the second century AD up to about 1000 AD when iron smelting was practiced. In Africa, unlike the Europe and Asia, the Iron Age is not prefaced by a Bronze or Copper Age, but rather all the metals were brought together. The advantages of iron over stone are obvious--iron is much more efficient at cutting trees or quarrying stone than stone tools. But iron smelting technology is a smelly, dangerous one. This brief essay covers Iron Age up to the end of the first millennium AD. Pre-Industrial Iron Ore Technology To work iron, one must extract the ore from the ground and break it into pieces, then heat the pieces to a temperature of at least 1100 degrees centigrade under controlled conditions. African Iron Age people built a cylindrical clay furnace and used charcoal and a hand-operated bellows to reach the level of heating for smelting. Once smelted, the metal was separated from its waste products or slag, and then brought to its shape by repeated hammering and heating, called forging. African Iron Age Lifeways From the 2nd century AD to about 1000 AD, the Chifumbaze spread iron throughout the largest portion of Africa, eastern and southern Africa. The Chifumbaze were farmers of squash, beans, sorghum and millet, and kept cattle, sheep, goats and chickens. They built hilltop settlements, at Bosutswe, large villages like Schroda and large monumental sites like Great Zimbabwe. Gold, ivory, and glass bead working and trade was part of many of the societies. Many spoke a form of Bantu; many forms of geometric and schematic rock art are found throughout south and eastern Africa. African Iron Age Time Line 2nd millennium BC: West Asians invent iron smelting8th century BC: Phoenicians bring iron to North Africa (Lepcis Magna, Carthage)8th-7th century BC: First iron smelting in Ethiopia671 BC: Hyksos invasion of Egypt7th-6th century BC: First iron smelting in the Sudan (Meroe, Jebel Moya)5th century BC: First iron smelting in West Africa (Jenne-Jeno, Taruka)5th century BC: Iron using in eastern and southern Africa (Chifumbaze)4th century BC: Iron smelting in central Africa (Obobogo, Oveng, Tchissanga)3rd century BC: First iron smelting in Punic North Africa30 BC: Roman conquest of Egypt 1st century AD: Jewish revolt against Rome1st century AD: Establishment of Aksum1st century AD: Iron smelting in southern and eastern Africa (Buhaya, Urewe)2nd century AD: Heyday of Roman control of North Africa2nd century AD: Widespread iron smelting in southern and eastern Africa (Bosutswe, Toutswe, LydenbergAD 639: Arab invasion of Egypt9th century AD: Lost wax method bronze casting (Igbo Ukwu)8th cent ury AD; Kingdom of Ghana, Kumbi Selah, Tegdaoust, Jenne-Jeno African Iron Age cultures: Akan culture, Chifumbaze, Urewe African Iron Age issues: Sirikwa Holes, Inagina: Last House of Iron, Nok Art, Toutswe Tradition Sources David Phillipson. 2005. Iron-using peoples before 1000 AD. African Archaeology, 3rd edition. Cambridge Press: Cambridge.
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