Human Resource Management Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Management Essay Human Resource Management (HRM) is the term used to portray formal frameworks concocted for the administration of individuals inside an association. These HR duties are commonly isolated into three significant zones of the executives: staffing, worker remuneration, and characterizing/planning work. Basically, the motivation behind HRM is to amplify the profitability of an association by advancing the adequacy of its representatives. This command is probably not going to change in any crucial manner, regardless of the ever-expanding pace of progress in the business world. As Edward L. Gubman saw in the Journal of Business Strategy, the fundamental crucial HR will consistently be to gain, create, and hold ability; adjust the workforce to the business; and be a phenomenal supporter of the business. Those three difficulties will never show signs of change. Until reasonably as of late, an associations HR division was regularly entrusted to bring down rungs of the corporate pecking order, regardless of the way that its command is to renew and feed the companys work power, which is frequently citedâ€legitimatelyâ€as an associations most noteworthy asset. In any case, as of late acknowledgment of the significance of HR the board to a companys in general wellbeing has developed drastically. This acknowledgment of the significance of HRM stretches out to independent ventures, for while they don't by and large have indistinguishable volume of HR necessities from do bigger associations, they also face work force the executives gives that can decisively affect business wellbeing. As Irving Burstiner remarked in The Small Business Handbook, Hiring the privilege peopleâ€and preparing them wellâ€can frequently mean the distinction between fixing the barest of vocations and consistent business growth†¦. With innovation changing each day, and the ability crunch driving managers to take advantage of every single staff part, the attention on HR is set to proceed. Indeed, even without a time machine, it’s clear HR’s job will draw ever-nearer to the very heart of business. Stopping the ability holes This isn't to state there are no difficulties confronting HR in the current day, a long way from it. At the highest point of the basic rundown on Singapore’s business scene is the approaching ability deficiency that is set to hit associations of every kind. Elizabeth Martin-Chua, neighborhood HR master and creator, says organizations are again pursuing ability. Already, the circumstance was the substantially more perfect opposite †with work applicants pulling out all stops to look for some kind of employment in their supported associations. Presently, with the time of increased birth rates age set to move into retirement with just littler measured age bunches accessible to supplant them, the ability crunch is set to move into an increasingly lasting installation. That implies reestablished significance will be put on those HR

Gullivers Supposed English Superiority Essay -- essays papers

Gullivers Supposed English Superiority Gulliver’s regular Anglocentric Enlightenment sees are best exemplified in Chapter 1 of Part IV of Gulliver’s Travels. The long passage, wherein he portrays his experience with the Yahoos just as the conditions paving the way to it, shows the peak of his Anglocentric sees, after which his English pride starts to steadily decline and his craving to imitate the Houyhnyms emerges. His English pride in this passage is exhibited by his goals to exchange his existence with the nearby â€Å"Savages† utilizing â€Å"Toys† as his lone methods, his judgment of the Yahoo’s absence of far reaching language capacity, and his ever-present appall for substantial capacities. As the entry opens, Gulliver thinks about his circumstance and chooses â€Å"to convey [himself] to the main Savages [he] should meet; and buy [his] life from them by certain Bracelets, Glass Rings and different Toys, which Sailors normally furnish themselves with in those Voyages.† Despite all his past journeys wherein Gulliver experienced individuals who were not in any manner savage (and potentially more enlightened than him), he naturally accept again that individuals in domains outside of Europe will be inalienably savage. In addition to the fact that he underestimates their degree of progress, yet he at that point continues to expect that the Native individuals will be mentally sub-par when he accepts he can purchase his existence with what he himself alludes to as â€Å"Toys.† Gulliver’s conviction, in any case, isn't totally grounded in haughtiness in light of the fact that imperialistic forces traded modest gems with the Native Americans for hides or eve n land. Utilizing this rationale, Gulliver feels he can expand exchanging â€Å"Toys† forever. He feels that on the off chance that they are sufficiently stupid to exchange hides f... ...e from the Houyhnhnms. The waste itself isn't the purpose for his pride. No one would need to be canvassed in it. The fertilizer, in any case, is the significant establishment for Gulliver’s hating for the Yahoos and he would not have been so influenced by it had he not lived in a general public which is embarrassed about its characteristic procedures. In his novel, Swift doesn't utilize the Yahoos to show the abhorrence of man yet rather, to show the potential for insidious that man has. Gulliver, be that as it may, takes his thoughts of judgment, and assumes his scholarly prevalence which feels he affirms dependent on the Yahoos’ absence of language and their not really caring welcome. As he slowly accepts that all people are at the Yahoo level, be that as it may, his Anglocentric pride blurs. Hence, this entry is viably the last time we truly observe Gulliver follow up on his surmised English thoughts.

Essay about Mens Health

Essay about Men's Health Mens Health Dec 20, 2018 in Healthcare Widespread Issues in Men's Health Each community relies heavily on the contribution of men to achieve its development agenda. There are, however, various issues that may hinder their full participation in the development endeavors. In the city of Miami, there are various issues facing men (Kirby, 2009). The document Healthy People 2020 outlines several men related issues. The first topic is HIV. Centers for Disease Control and Infection (CDC) indicated that Miami had the highest rate of HIV infection among men. The disease is widespread among bisexual and gay men. The strategies used by the government to contain the spread HIV among these people have not been felt and, therefore, there is a need to seek for alternative mechanisms of dealing with this worrying trend (Kirby, 2009).

The Internet Has Revolutionized The Production And...

The Internet has revolutionized the production and dissemination of information. Individuals capacity to create and share their ideas has radically progressed along with the advancement of technology. This is not true, however, for every aspect of communication. An integral component of our socio-political fabric has remained, for the most part, unfettered, by technological enhancement. The aspect I am referring to is how the value of commodities and services is communicated between individual agents in society. There are two major views on how value ought to be communicated which, for simplicity s sake, I will refer to by the terminology used by Foster and McChesney in their article The internet s unholy marriage to capitalism (2011). The first view is called intrinsic value, which is derived from the marxian principle that quantification of value ought to be derived through the production process, considering hours of labour as a unit of measurement. The second view, which is the more prevalent view, held by most neoclassical economists and first introduced by Adam Smith, holds that value ought to be derived and communicated solely through the means of market exchange, considering prices as their unit of measurement. Throughout the remainder of this text, I will refer to both units of measurement, (extrinsic)price value and (intrinsic)labour value, as mediums of value. Both mediums have their own respective flaws which will be analysed in detail while attempting toShow MoreRelatedDiscuss the Role of the ICT (Information Communication Technology) in Implementing the E Government in Zimbabwe1925 Words   |  8 PagesQUESTION: 1 Discuss the role of the ICT (Information Communication Technology) in implementing the E Government in Zimbabwe. INTRODUCTION Our country is experiencing a new industrial and technological revolution which is bringing about a significant, fast and extensive transformation of society and industry. 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Picture doing this with the book version of the EncyclopediaRead MoreStructural Transformation Through E-Business Essay example6321 Words   |  26 PagesFedEx Corp.: Structural Transformation Through e-Business Pauling Ng and Ali R Farhoomand The University of Hong Kong FedEx has built superior physical, virtual, and people networks not just to prepare for change, but to shape change on a global scale. to change the way we all connect with each other in the new Network Economy. FedEx is not only reorganizing its internal operations around a more flexible network computing architecture, but its also pulling-in and in many cases locking-in customers

The Potrayal of Nurse Ratched - 778 Words

Ratchet or Ratched Critic Ronald Wallace noted that Nurse Ratched is also like a ratchet wrench she keeps her patients adjusted, but like a ratchet, a gear in the Combine, she is herself mechanically enmeshed. Nurse Ratched is portrayed as a devious mastermind of the ward; however, she herself is actually just a minion of the Combine. In many parts of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Bromden describes Ratched as being like a machine; her systematic scheming, and her name Ratched is similar to the word â€Å"ratchet†, which is a mechanical device. Because of this, Nurse Ratched must only be considered a small part of the patients suffering because she is only a mere tiny gear functioning in a large machine. Through Chief Bromden’s†¦show more content†¦Breaking the law greatly parallels with Kesey’s negative point of view about the American government, and how it forces people to conform to something they are not. Kesey was also an advocate for ab using substances and self experimentation; as the patients get more and more successful in challenging the Combine, they gain magnificent amounts of confidence to abuse drugs. Kesey was a strong advocate for individualism and self discoveration. His writing portrays his opinion on how individuals â€Å"conform† by unconsciously falling to society’s needs. When this novel was written, society ostracized individuals who were thought to be abnormal or different, and because of this societal influence, people allowed themselves to become molded into what they thought was â€Å"normal†. Bibliography Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. New York, New York: Penguin Group, 1962.

Benefits of Co-Curricular Activities Free Essays

With the Internet, people now have even more opportunities to bully through cyber bullying, especially teenagers. This includes sending embarrassing pictures, posting fake web pages, or tweeting hurtful messages. Cyber bullying has gradually led to a rise in a completely new kind of bullying. We will write a custom essay sample on Benefits of Co-Curricular Activities or any similar topic only for you Order Now One of the effects of bullying is that it can change the victim’s personality. It can cause people who are normally confident and happy to become self-conscious, shy, and unsure. To add on, victims of bullying may also become sad or depressed. Their confidence may become very little, keeping them from trying new things or trusting people. Once a person has been bullied, they may hesitate to participate in situations where he or she might be made fun of, such as speaking in front of a large amount of people. Furthermore, victim might even begin to possess previously absent anxious behavior. Another effect of cyber bullying is the people who have been bullied sometimes become so depressed that they see no worth in themselves and no way out of their torment. There are times when victims even resort to seek revenge on the bully or worst, ending their life’s . There have been countless reports over the past few years of students committing suicide because they were bullied. As a result of cyber bullying, people can lose their ability to trust and develop eating disorders, begin to self-injure, or require extensive counseling. Another unfortunate consequence of this is that cyber bullying is often a cycle. People who have been bullied can, in an attempt to gain their power and self-esteem back, become cyber bullies themselves. In conclusion, there are three main effects which are,changing the personality of the victim,the victim may have suicidal thoughts or might want to seek revenge and victim’s might turn out to be bullies themselves. Hence, cyber bullying is as harmful as bullying even though it does not leave scars on the surface but it the victims will be scared emotionally. How to cite Benefits of Co-Curricular Activities, Papers

Airport Pavement Design and Construction †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Airport Pavement Design and Construction. Answer: Introduction Brisbane Airport is located in Brisbanes CBD. It has straight connections to 28 global terminuses. It mainly functions 24 hours per day. Airtrain links the airports contemporary national terminals and the international stations to the Brisbanes CBD through a very high-frequency railing service, whereas the new Airport Link channel connects it to the Brisbane airport to its CBD by a highway path. It highly reduces the traveling time more than 80 per cent in peak hour. The conceptual design is an important phase in the project design. The standard of the project and the acceptable level of the costing and financial budget will be provided by the preliminary phase. The necessary ideas for the development of the project and the stakeholders interest will be given in the detailed design phase. To provide a durable design for the Brisbane airport detailed design phase is used. At the each design phase of the Brisbane airport analyses will be made. Investigation is made on the production phase of the Brisbane airport and a careful analyses will be made. A clear analyses of the airport design will be done. Infrastructure of the Brisbane airport will be studied. A detailed study regarding the human factors and the aspects of the design of the Brisbane airport is done and recommendations will be made. Generally, the primary design is first and foremost procedure of the design. Preliminary design of the Brisbane Airport design is based on the developed construction. The primary design of construction of building mainly comprises, the detailed investigation of the airport site. The situations of the airport environment, the design performance in addition with the modifications. It mainly provides the coordination among the team like, the following. They are listed below(Logplan.com, 2017). The airport contains a runway for planes to take off or to land. The airport also includes building like tower control, the hangars in addition with terminal buildings. The architecture of Brisbane airport is well supported by the necessities of customers, passengers and users (Huang, Chen and Hu, 2015). Airport terminals Aircraft storage hangars Service hangars and maintenance Electrical vaults Equipment storage building Maintenance of field facility Firefighting facilities Aircraft rescue Industrial buildings Commercial buildings General aviation building Flight service stations In the preliminary design of Brisbane airport, the applicable and related papers of the airport plan interface, association figures and construction documents of Brisbane airport are involved in design. There are many aspects added and so the plan of Brisbane airport is offered with better pictorial representation. The ground plan, runway of the Brisbane airport is now originally for the purpose of improvising the construction development of the airport, to ensure that it is well prevented from the problems. Far along, if further investigation is necessary, it might also be occupied and then improve Brisbane airport (Zheng, 2014). The detailed design must signify the building design in a variety of opinions and views. Every view use various modeling methods and techniques. The detailed design also stated as developed design. It is the method of developing the permitted concept design. This design must contains the layout and landscape of the airport and building gridlines dimensions, identification of non-standard and standard room layout of the airport building (Bellasio, 2014). Plans and schedules of accommodation and occupancy number of every space in airport buildings are specified by detailed design process. The detailed design must contain vertical and horizontal movement routes and including accessibility desires as well as requirements (Kotopouleas and Nikolopoulou, 2016). Components of an airport layout Terminal building Runway Taxiway Apron Hanger Aircraft stand Control tower The design of the runway components in airport building is specified by the detailed design. The runway is the area where an aircraft lands and aircraft takes off. Terminal buildings of the airport identifies the essential facilities and services for passengers to check in their luggage, and have lounges to wait before landing. The terminals of airport are house caf, bars and lounges to work as waiting areas for travelers. Brisbane airports have number of terminals and that are linked to one another by link way such as sky-bridges, walkways or trams. The above components of the design is included in the detailed design part. Apron is the area of an airport where aircraft are loaded, parked and boarded. It is enclosed by certain regulations. The regulation of the apron is lighting and striking on vehicles and these design part is specified by the detailed design. A taxiway is a track in an airport connecting runways with hangers, ramps, terminals. The portions of an apron selected as a taxiway and planned to provide access to airplane stands by the detailed design. By the end of the detailed design methods, the airport design must dimensionally be correct and synchronized, describing the major modules of the Brisbane airport building and also mentions how they fit together. Production phases Airport construction building is well scheduled primarily in production stage itself. Contract records and documentation for the structure of Brisbane airport construction is designed and contracted (Olc.aero, 2017). The engineer or the designer usually resolves the tasks that are not decided and the plans that are not well-structured to meet the exact project plan of airport design. Firstly, the contractor plans the task milestones and the net period of work which is already provided. The fundamental milestone mainly involves in controlling the project dates for the entire contract time and related sites (Hens, 2013). The Contractor of the airport project is expected to sign the official papers previously. This takes place at the planning stage. The following lists out it. Copy of contract Amount notice and bill Sketching list and register Set of diagram and drawing associated to airport building construction Proof of identity Functions and tasks of sites: Airport building site is now supplied over to workers and contractors. Airport constructing contractors and workers must update necessities of building construction additionally there are many controls on airport atmosphere and they want to consider. Responsibility of contractor and workers at site actions is mainly to perform in method which displays diligence. Airport site contains the records, situations and circumstances of climatic conditions Resources which is supplied to airport construction Development of effort and work The visitant on building site The building of airport construction arises to develop shape, contractor supplied above the construction of structure to Brisbane airport owner. More difficulties are associated to construction and building effort is well studied and examined. Finally, got resolution for the difficulties and problems. Completion phase of Brisbane airport, airport construction contractor concludes the entire building work of airport in a real and an effective manner. The structure tester evidently recognizes the mistakes in the airport design structure and compares Brisbane airport with other standard airport plan construction and finally accomplish higher results. All through the stage of airport design system testing, the entire development team who involved in planning, implementing the airport design clearly certifies the collective structure through end to end competences which is purely based to the organizational test plan. This plan created on the airport owners desires, necessities and the conditions of document. The structural plan of airport system testing is a crucial part of the Brisbane airport construction. This testing procedure for the Brisbane airport is done mainly to identify the standards of airport for establishing modified design performance and more suitable design routine. The modified performance new airport helps in yielding through growth and launch (Highly advanced production facility for aircraft composites, 2007). At every plan phase of execution and completing, results of organization design are examined for Brisbane airport with the help of organization testing. The process of testing is much validated that current building could last to meet contemporary values of morals after a change of repetition and use. The structure testing is finished for Brisbane airport though the whole tests are recognized and identified in the design investigation strategy that have been run positively (Bne.com.au, 2017). The Brisbane airport plan process evaluation technique is additional that advantageous and helps in detecting the errors at the earlier stage itself. The development team evidently examined the problems and finally made finer outcomes to get rid of complications prevailed earlier in design phases while constructing Brisbane airport (Faa.gov, 2017). To validate efficiency and the growth team associates addressed the ensuing queries. Firstly, whether design of airport uses the applicable procedures for conducting the faults, avoid failures? Secondly, the question is that, whether the answer of airport design competes actual necessities?. These are the general questions for evaluation part (Tabatabaiefar and Mansoury, 2017). Validation process The Effective process of Brisbane airport design validation mainly contributes and guarantees the quality of Brisbane airport. There are many ideologies for the purpose of guaranteeing design quality. The airport design of the validation should provide a professional decision in building Brisbane airport. There are many important considerations that has to be checked in the process of validating the design of Brisbane airport. Few are provided. It includes design topographies of Brisbane airport, earlier evidence and finally the design features of airport that are essential for satisfying requirements (Kundu, 2010). The toughness, feasibility, of specific airport interior plan structures. In the scheming process of Brisbane airport, human factors are mainly measured as most important. In field of the airport constructing surroundings, the controlling demands mainly depresses ecological tests, societal and then the commercial sustainability. There are numerous evidences that deviate in the climate condition through the construction phase of Brisbane airport and mainly create significant effects on numerous features in life (Bdcnetwork.com, 2017). The structural systems of the airport design provides overall connections time for the passengers of Brisbane airport specifically. In the Brisbane airport, the greater number of desks are available for passengers. The logplan is created and is implemented so that maximum number of passengers would prefer the Brisbane airport. The optimal financial conditions are met while constructing Brisbane airport. The optimal operations are made with possible sequencing in addition with scheduled plan in designing Brisbane airport. The optimal runway implementation is made by the constructors and the surface of the airport is created with well optimized ideologies. Optimal airport design is made with customized operations. The optimal technological development is made with cooperative research in explicating the attention. Recommendations It is recommended to create a master plan initially before starting the construction work It is suggested to create the master plan which must be evaluated twice or thrice before executing the plan. It is recommended to meet the financial conditions and the operational flow of the airport system. It is suggested to make sure that the airport design is upheld with constancy with structural design of Brisbane airport. It is suggested for recognizing the needed abilities of airport structure and aims at providing greater maintenance for steeping Brisbane airport. It is recommended for enhancing the added requirements in the airport design phase by using more progressive methods. It is suggested for constructing the desirable changes at post implementation phase. It is recommended for removing the mistakes at the period of airport construction and it is suggested launch better standards in the interior design building of Brisbane airport. It is suggested to progress the level of performance for customizing airport. It is recommended to provide good system testing. It is suggested to integrate the basic demands and the needs and meet operational success. Conclusion The standard of the project and the acceptable level of the costing and financial budget is provided in the preliminary phase. The required ideas for the development of the project and the stakeholders interest is explained in the detailed design phase. A durable design for the Brisbane airport is completed with the detailed design phase. Analyses is made on the each phase of the designing of the airport. Investigation is made on the production phase of the Brisbane airport and a careful analyses regarding the design phases is provided. A detailed study regarding the human factors and the aspects of the design of the Brisbane airport is done and recommendations is given. A clear analyses of the airport design will be done. Study regarding the infrastructure of the Brisbane airport is done. References Bdcnetwork.com. (2017).Airports | Building Design + Construction. [online] Available at: https://www.bdcnetwork.com/building-types/airports [Accessed 22 Sep. 2017]. Bellasio, R. (2014). Analysis of wind data for airport runway design.Journal of Airline and Airport Management, 4(2). Bne.com.au. (2017).Brisbane Airport Corporation - Brisbane's New Runway. [online] Available at: https://www.bne.com.au/corporate/bne-major-projects/brisbanes-new-runway [Accessed 22 Sep. 2017]. Bne.com.au. (2017).Brisbane Airport Corporation - Register of Building Applications. [online] Available at: https://www.bne.com.au/register-building-applications [Accessed 22 Sep. 2017]. Dinesh, S. (2012). ANALYSIS DESIGN OF AIRPORT TERMINAL BUILDING. [online] Available at: https://ijettjournal.org/volume-3/issue-2/number-4/IJETT-V3I2N4P203.pdf. Faa.gov. (2017).Airport Pavement Design Construction Associated with Advisory Circulars 150/5320-6, 150/5335-5, and 150/5370-10. [online] Available at: https://www.faa.gov/airports/engineering/pavement_design/ [Accessed 22 Sep. 2017]. Hens, H. (2013).Performance based building design. Berlin: Ernst Sohn. Highly advanced production facility for aircraft composites. (2007).Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, 79(6). Huang, H., Chen, L. and Hu, E. (2015). A new model predictive control scheme for energy and cost savings in commercial buildings: An airport terminal building case study.Building and Environment, 89, pp.203-216. Ieeexplore.ieee.org. (2017).Optimization of airport processes: Support system for human decision making in total airport management - IEEE Conference Publication. [online] Available at: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/5899218/ [Accessed 22 Sep. 2017]. Kotopouleas, A. and Nikolopoulou, M. (2016). Thermal comfort conditions in airport terminals: Indoor or transition spaces?.Building and Environment, 99, pp.184-199. Kundu, A. (2010).Aircraft design. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Logplan.com. (2017).Preliminary Design and Conceptual Study | Logplan. [online] Available at: https://www.logplan.com/services/projects/preliminary-design-and-conceptual-study/ [Accessed 22 Sep. 2017]. Olc.aero. (2017).Diploma in airport operations | OLC. [online] Available at: https://www.olc.aero/Courses/Human-Factors-Safety-Training.aspx [Accessed 22 Sep. 2017]. Tabatabaiefar, H. and Mansoury, B. (2017).Detail design, building and commissioning of tall building structural models for experimental shaking table tests. Zheng, M. (2014). How Airport Users luggage affects their Perception of Seat Design at Airports.Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 13(1), pp.141-148.

s Foriegn Policy

Nixon’s Foreign Policy Richard Milhous Nixon was elected President of the United States in 1968. In a low-key campaign, Nixon promised to bring peace with honor in Vietnam and to unite a nation deeply divided by the Vietnam War. Nixon defeated his two opponents, Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace. Nixon entered office in the midst of one of the gravest foreign policy crisis in American history. The Cold War was at its height, hundreds of thousands of American troops were in Vietnam, and the views of society were split down the middle. Nixon with the help of his National Security Advisor (and later became in 1973 Nixon’s Secretary of State) Henry Kissinger felt that it was crucial to change American foreign policy. Nixon and Kissinger felt it was vital to support our interest in the long run, Nixon and Kissinger considered it essential to have a balance of power throughout the world in order to ensure peace as well prosperity. One has to take into consideration geopolitics when discussing balance of power. The main purpose is stability by using different political philosophies based on geography, and self interest. If the main powers pursued their self interest rationally and predictably, and equilibrium would emerge from the conflicting interest (Cowan, par.1). Nixon knew that a strong America was essential to a global balance, and counted on stability to create it. Nixon believed there were three key factors essential to keeping peace: partnership, strength and a willingness to negotiate. Nixon imagined a future in which more pleasant relations among the major powers- the United States, the Soviet Union, China, Western Europe, and Japan- would allow for ventures profitable to all. Through international cooperation these nations might reduce revenue-draining Defense expenditures and prevent the occurrence of costly Third World conflicts such as the Vietnam War (â€Å"Nixon†). Nix... 's Foriegn Policy Free Essays on Nixon\'s Foriegn Policy Nixon’s Foreign Policy Richard Milhous Nixon was elected President of the United States in 1968. In a low-key campaign, Nixon promised to bring peace with honor in Vietnam and to unite a nation deeply divided by the Vietnam War. Nixon defeated his two opponents, Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace. Nixon entered office in the midst of one of the gravest foreign policy crisis in American history. The Cold War was at its height, hundreds of thousands of American troops were in Vietnam, and the views of society were split down the middle. Nixon with the help of his National Security Advisor (and later became in 1973 Nixon’s Secretary of State) Henry Kissinger felt that it was crucial to change American foreign policy. Nixon and Kissinger felt it was vital to support our interest in the long run, Nixon and Kissinger considered it essential to have a balance of power throughout the world in order to ensure peace as well prosperity. One has to take into consideration geopolitics when discussing balance of power. The main purpose is stability by using different political philosophies based on geography, and self interest. If the main powers pursued their self interest rationally and predictably, and equilibrium would emerge from the conflicting interest (Cowan, par.1). Nixon knew that a strong America was essential to a global balance, and counted on stability to create it. Nixon believed there were three key factors essential to keeping peace: partnership, strength and a willingness to negotiate. Nixon imagined a future in which more pleasant relations among the major powers- the United States, the Soviet Union, China, Western Europe, and Japan- would allow for ventures profitable to all. Through international cooperation these nations might reduce revenue-draining Defense expenditures and prevent the occurrence of costly Third World conflicts such as the Vietnam War (â€Å"Nixon†). Nix...

Towson University offers new MBA program Essay Example

Towson University offers new MBA program Essay Example Towson University offers new MBA program Paper Towson University offers new MBA program Paper Towson University offers new online MBA programs due to the increased interest by future students. Eighty percent of the enrolled students are employed.  That’s why the online MBA programs are adjusted to suit the needs and time frame of those who can’t attend campus. All materials and the courses are recorded and available online. Whenever the student has the time, he/she can listen to the courses and view the materials. This program gives students the flexibility to choose when they want to listen to classes and take the exams. The online MBA program at Towson University is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. This accreditation states that this online MBA program is excellent and can help the students advance in their careers. Towson University is the only university in the Baltimore area that has AACSB accreditation. Towson University representatives explain that the online MBA was modified so that working professionals who have families and other obligations don’t have to quit their job in order to pursue higher education. Students can finish the program in their own pace according to their schedule. Even though the program is online, you have the opportunity to participate in discussions that are conducted online. You also have to do assignments and you have months notice to finish them. You can submit your assignment whenever you want, it doesn’t matter if it is day, night or weekend. You can also choose how many courses you want to take at the same tim e. You can choose one or more and you can finish whenever you want. The quality of education of Towson’s online MBA is on the same level as regular MBAs. Moreover, there is no difference between online and regular courses. The only difference is the lack of on-campus interaction of the online programs. Students can address the online coordinator for questions. Most people are surprised to hear that even though the program is online those who wish can make a personal contact with the coordinator if they want to. In this meeting they can ask anything they want personally and consult the coordinator about the online courses. Towson University students can choose from four dual degree programs and nine specializations: finance, entrepreneurship, human resource management, international business, health care management, management information systems, marketing, general MBA and leadership and organizational learning. Those who wish to take an online MBA at Towson University must submit an online application, have the demanded GMAT score, enclose tw o recommendation letters, personal statement and a resume.

The maypole Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The maypole - Essay Example To prove this statement I need do analyze The Maypole of Mary Mount by comparing contrary sides - early Americans of Marry Mount and the Puritans. Also, I have to mention, it is very important to pay attention to the author’s attitude to the â€Å"contenders† and to his feeling of close tragic during the story. Before I start the comparison, I have to tell briefly what this story is about. The main topic of the story is the confrontation between early Americans and newly coming Puritans, old and new values, old and new colonists. Nathaniel Hawthorne mentioned in the beginning very important statement that â€Å"jollity and gloom were contending for an empire [883]†. It was quarrel that has determined the â€Å"future complexion of New England [888]†. And the rate was high: â€Å"should the grizzly saints establish their jurisdiction over the gay sinners, then would their spirits darken all the clime†¦But should the banner staff of Merry Mount be fort unate, sunshine would break upon the hills, and flowers would beautify the forest [888]†. It is very interesting that author avoided describing the process of seizure power by Puritans. It is not interesting for him. In contrary, the place, time, circumstances, emotions, atmosphere of these shifts - do matter. There are two main heroes in this story: â€Å"Puritan of the Puritans† John Endicott and Edgar with Edith - the newly married couple. These heroes present the contend sides: Puritans and early Americans. To emphasize the significance of the Puritan coming author created the atmosphere that something important was just about to happen. The tragedy of situation was underlined in the beginning of the story: â€Å"midsummer eve had come, bringing deep verdure to the forest, and roses in her lap, of a more vivid hue than the tender buds of Spring†¦never had the Maypole been so gayly decked as at sunset on midsummer eve† [883]. In other part of the story th ere is very intriguing moment: â€Å"with the setting sun, the last day of mirth had passed from Merry Mount [888]†. Also I can remember the dialogue between Edith and Edgar, when Edgar was disturbed by the sadness of Edith during their wedding day: ``Edith, sweet Lady of the May, is yon wreath of roses a garland to hang above our graves, that you look so sad? O, Edith, this is our golden time! [885]†. In other words, if you want to say that something really bad had happen you have to say how good it was before. And such literature trick indeed created the feeling that the big changes yet to come, the end is near. Indeed, early American days at Merry Mount in May were bright and the people of Merry Mount â€Å"who reared it, should their banner be triumphant, were to pour sunshine over New England's rugged hills, and scatter flower seeds throughout the soil [883]†. Author called them â€Å"the crew of Comus† because of their life style. Comus was the Ancie nt Greek  god  of festivity and revels. Jollity was the main characteristic of early Americans from Merry Mount. Although, it is important to understand, Nathaniel Hawthorne didn’t idealize them. Instead, he made some contempt jokes of them. In description of the Merry Mount people he argued that â€Å"here might be seen the Savage Man, well known in heraldry, hairy as a baboon, and girdled with green leaves†¦ Some youths and maidens were of soberer garb, yet well maintained their places in the irregular throng by the expression of wild revelry upon their features. Such were the colonists

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Philosophy - Essay Example Sources of Knowledge Rationalism as a source of knowledge includes non-experimental sources such as logic, beliefs and mathematics. A person cannot experience any of these sources of knowledge, but can derive a sense of reality and purpose from them. Empiricism source of knowledge in the world today include acquiring information through experience such as seeing, feeling and hearing (Lemos, 2007). Non-experimental knowledge about the modern world comes from reasoning and beliefs. The knowledge in mathematics of adding two numbers such as 1+1 equals 2 is true because of the rational insight of the world around us. Non-experimental knowledge such as mathematics enables people to add money, fruits, clothes and numbers among others. Logic is using reasoning and mental capacity to find the truth about information. An example where logic applies in the modern world is trying to explain to people that men and women are mortal beings. This statement is true because everyone will die. However , the person saying or hearing this statement has not experienced the death to know that men and women are mortal beings. The last non-experimental knowledge of the world today is religious and cultural beliefs. This is the knowledge about God, the devil and ancestors spirits. People have not experienced the presence of God, the devil, heaven and hell because these are beliefs that are considered true from the Holy texts in religious books. Knowledge from experience includes experimental, introspection, memory and testimony (Lemos, 2007). Experimental knowledge thrives on perception such as seeing, feeling, tasting and touching and smelling. Scientific research and other common experiences of acquiring and assessing knowledge in the modern world involve the use of the five common... This paper approves that the major religions in the modern world include Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism and Buddhism, among others. Religion teaches that there is a powerful Supreme Being who is omnipresent and located in the heavens. The Supreme Being created man in his own likeness, the world and values to be followed and obeyed. In the contemporary society, religion is still popular because people are shopping for values, beliefs and guarantees that meet their individual needs. The most commons reasons why religious beliefs are still popular in the 21st century include marriage, diseases, life challenges and uncertainties among others. Memory is an important source of knowledge in the modern world because the mind records events and experiences that are used in future. People remember their childhood memories with their friends and project these memories to their children’s future happiness. Patients remember previous appointments to the doctor and the description of their ailments. This essay makes a conclusion that assessing knowledge in the modern society is through rationalism and empiricism, which deal with experiences and faith, respectively. Religious and scientific theories differ in their definition of reality, but they have similarities in dealing with invisible things, end of the world and seeking wisdom through extensive studies. Religion in the modern society is still popular because of the promise of heaven, virtues, cohesion, globalization and perseverance.

Exploring the aims of the Mercantile System

Exploring the aims of the Mercantile System Mercantilism is the main economic system, which is used within the 16th to 18th centuries. Its main goal is to increase the wealth of the country through imposing governmental regulation concerning all of the commercial interests in the nation. It was argued that national strength can be maximized through limiting the amount of imports via tariffs and raising the amount of exports. It discusses that the economic strength of every country is related mainly to the repair of positive trade balance. It aims at the idea of making every country use export techniques more than import techniques as a way to remain in an economic and political viable position. So, positive trade balance upon the mercantilist thought concludes in a way of using gold in the practice of countrys treasury (Mark Blaug). The Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790) was the man who was responsible for the term mercantile system. So, mercantilism was in a contrary side of Smiths ideas of free enterprise, free trade, and the free move of people and goods. One of the main assertions of mercantilism is the national wealth that will appear through the accumulation and import of gold or any other precious metals, like silver (Paul Johnson). Being an economic system, mercantilism leads to make foreign competition and discouragement of direct foreign investment. This term supposes  that the wealth of any nation will primarily depend on the ownership of precious metals as silver and gold, but this system cannot be achieved forever, because the universal economy would be stagnant when all countries wanted to make exports without imports. After a  very short time,  a lot of people started to act against the mercantilism idea and stressed the very bad need of free trade. The continuous pressure result was found in the implementation of laissez faire economics in the 19th century (Lars Magnusson). Mercantilism, being a historical period, had been associated with the increase of a particular structure of capitalism in Europe which referred to it to be merchant capitalism. It was a doctrine developed by different economic writers in this period that call for the powerful alliance among the monarchial system and merchants. Nowadays, the mercantilism term is used to view the protectionist trade policies when combined with other governmental policies, directly or indirectly in particular industries to acquire the regional or national trade advantage. Mercantilism has associated with the nationalistic economic policies shunned by free trade and advocates that argue for minimum state interference in the international and domestic marketplace (Henry William Spiegel). The mercantile system stated different policies of nationalistic trade thought to acquire the wealth of the nation. It can be achieved via five basic elements of mercantilism, as indicated by David L. Sills: The first one is nationalism and policy start together with all possible policy directed towards the nationalism. The second element is foreign trade that should always be thought of in light of its effects on the states stock of owning precious metals. The third one is lacking domestic mines of gold or silver; the precious metals should be collected by excess the exports over the imports. The forth element is governmental trade authorities that should strive to limit imports and give encouragement to exports. The last element is the economic and political foreign policy that should be coordinated in order for the achievement of these goals (Mark Blaug). While most of them closely associated with 18th century in Europe, the mercantilism term has been used in order to refer to the aggrandizements general principle of state authority for the economic benefit of the capitalist class through controlling and manipulating trade. For example, during the colonial times it took the shape of military control on trade routes and large tariffs imposed on imported goods in general and manufactured products in particular (Lars Magnusson). The mercantilist practices rationale, upon the imperatives of colonial conquest and empire, had been reflected in the eighteenth century concepts of the profits origin and the exchange nature. While being the goal of for-profit entity, the mercantilists managed to apply this opinion to the whole nation. This is in contrary to the belief of the ideology of marketplace done by classical economists. This exchange should be done on the aspect of equivalents. Moreover, mercantilists believed that the seller can gain via the loss of the buyer. Therefore, the nation will become richer when it sells or exports more than it buys or imports. Gold or any other money sources will be amassed to benefit the state. The opinion related to the surplus or profit happened in the unequal exchange in commodities was perfectly cope with the mercantilist policy in controlling the trade terms (Paul Johnson). Mercantilism had played an important role but not a dominant role in the transition period from feudalism to the industrial capitalism. However, mercantilism did benefit greatly large merchant companies to ship home goods through trade routes maintained and protected by the country. Foreign trade was the necessary thought to be done for gold accumulation because the domestic trade cannot generate a net profit or surplus. Struggling by this view of the profits origin, merchants used exports as a necessary means of acquiring surplus profits. The merchants, such as all better policy makers, argued that using this policy would benefit in turn the whole state Henry William Spiegel). These policies in order to achieve these goals involving state subsidies of the export industries, high tariff was used to encourage home production in the prohibition on the gold sale to foreigners, the subsidization of basic industries when necessary, the control over certain kinds of capital, and the relentless gold import and the raw materials from different colonies. The most of these policies contained strict control in trade routes and the prices stabilization in state currency (Steele G. R.). Throughout the mercantilist period, the merchants had controlled the trading system, but not the production of services and goods. Before the start of industrial capitalism, the production was on the line of crafts system that embodied remnants of the very old feudal arrangement. In addition, the industrial capitalism emerged the merchants power. They would come to see them taking over or being involved in the production means that would enhance their profits through giving them the control over the labor productivity. However, the merchants cannot control the production means, as the primary concern lies on selling and buying. The policies of mercantilists encouraged the imports of raw materials that in turn can be manufactured to make different products. The finished goods can be sold and exported subsequently in high price in comparison with the original cost. So, it found its way to the treasury of the nation (Mark Blaug). The foundation of the mercantile system started with the beginnings of the capitalism in sixteenth and seventeenth century in Europe. At this time France, Spain, and some of the Low Countries as Holland and Belgium were transformed into economies in merchant-dominated. So, the modern states were emerging of being as a political complement in the merchant economy. This system indicated that it was regulated by the competitive labor market. It led to the formation of a new class of people that found them being free from feudal system to the land to be only forced to sell the labor to ensure subsistence. The emerging was also a class of manufacturing and industrial entrepreneurs recruited from the declining merchant class (Lars Magnusson). The merchant class paved the way of losing control over the new economic system to the forces of the capitalist competition when profits and price were regulated through the accumulation and production of capital. When trading was essential for the emerging of industrial capitalist system, the transactions were viewed as a sharing out in the total of selling price among the purchasers and buyers, including the merchant. The concept of mercantile idea, which trade led to the profits in the whole system, paved the way to the opinion of the classical economist that the production and reinvestment of profit was the actual source of the wealth of countries (Paul Johnson). When the general perception of the term of mercantilism being one of a very long era in the history of economic thought, the mercantilist authors were business and professional people that wrote and made known of their thoughts in a long time before economics came to be a separate academic discipline. Many representative of the mercantilist writings were English and French writers of the 17th century. These practical thinkers sought the protection, order, and stability essential for the expansion of their activities. This in turn will benefit the state. In exchange for the military protection of the trading routes, they succeeded in acquiring the monopolistic subsidization from crown when the country extends its material means for the colonization. Wealth found to both the merchant elite and the state in form of gold and different raw materials to add its value, and then exported in form of the finished goods. Mercantilists saw production to be very important because it only led to t he surplus of exports (Mark Blaug). When the merchant class had been far from cohesive, the disagreements about policy in the merchant class were different to the aims of a common goal of expanding the extent of trade surplus. The mercantilists encouraged exports, except the machinery, plant and equipment, which might help foreign competitors. They discouraged imports, except in raw materials and precious metals. The colonies, including the Americas, had served as a primary export market and the tax revenue source, military bases, and a source of silver, gold, and raw materials. The strong navy and the military war machine were vital to the maintenance and implementation of these policies (Lars Magnusson). As production became more important, the capitalists realized that in controlling production, this would be possible to decrease costs, increase productivity, and undercut the competitors by lowering prices. The line of thinking led economists like Adam Smith to oppose the idea that gold constituted wealth. In the powerful critique of mercantilists, Adam Smith had pointed out that money reflected the wealth produced while expressing the value of goods and services that offered in the marketplace. Moreover, struggles among merchants in trade monopolies and prices made conflict to all the detriment concerned. Many criticisms of mercantilism had culminated in a devastating critique that is known as the specie flow mechanism. The Scottish philosopher and political economist called David Hume (1711-1776) had pointed out that the very success of a nations mercantilist policies will set in motion forces, which would tend to reverse trade surplus, through the normal operation in markets. All owing in the money free flow, at this time especially gold, it was discussed that would tend to result in balance of trade equilibrium (Lars Magnusson). While the specie-flow mechanism of Hume is the most known critique of the mercantilist thought, his opposition to mercantilist thinking started as early as the late 17th century. The main idea was that the success of mercantilist policies will trigger unintended consequences. So, the positive trade balance refers to money positive net flow, because a lot of money is coming in rather than going out. This situation would evolve where too much amounts of money is chasing few goods, where the system is operating in full capacity, money is not hoarded but kept in circulation. The only logical effect is to raise prices. As opposed to the countries mercantilist surplus, money is flowing out that result in the fall of prices. The deficit countries will become more competitive in time. Trade will shift their thinking resulting in trade equilibrium. That doctrine will later become known as the quantity theory of money (Mark Blaug). In light of historical influence, mercantilist policy expanded the decrease of the feudal economy and the system of guild crafts of production. The state policy and merchant system complemented each other. The main objective was to indicate growth of foreign trade while encouraging the inflow of the precious metals and the raw materials to which the value could be added for exports. So, mercantilism served to rapid the transition of Europe from the land-based economy to the monetary economy. Though pure mercantilism is considered a dead economic issue, but vestiges of it remain (Henry William Spiegel). Mercantilism, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, many European countries believed that the world wealth was finite and limited. Whatever one of the countries gained, the another one lost. In order to ensure their own share, those countries issued an economic policy calling it mercantilism. Because England had followed mercantilism, this policy affected profoundly the American colonies in the years that precede independence. The cornerstone of mercantilism is that the country supply of silver and gold reflected its wealth and its economic strength. In addition, the gold enabled countries to acquire military arms. The Countries worked in many ways to raise their silver and gold stores, but the foreign trade became the basic avenue. When exporting more goods than imported, the mercantile countries could demand the difference in gold which is the principal international currency of those times (Lars Magnusson). The trading countries such as England saw their colonies to be useful players in the mercantile game. It looked to its colonies for getting raw materials that could be obtained at low cost. So, colonies became markets for the English exports. By mercantilism, England had forged the early weaknesses and strengths of the young American economy. Starting from the first of the Navigation Acts in 1660, the laws passed during the 17th and 18th centuries tightened England control of the American trade and economy. For example, when requiring the colonies to trade through the British Empire, England had limited any trade competition might be presented by its colonies. The laws against manufacturing also forced the colonies to import manufactured goods from the mother country. The products manufactured were routed within England, and shipping was only limited to English or colonial carriers (Steele, G. R.). Mercantilism is economic nationalism for the purpose of building a wealthy and powerful state. Being an economic system, mercantilism leads to make foreign competition and discouragement of direct foreign investment. This term supposes  that the wealth of any nation will primarily depend on the ownership of precious metals as silver and gold, but this system cannot be achieved forever, because the universal economy would be stagnant when all countries wanted to make exports without imports. After a  very short time,  a lot of people started to act against the mercantilism idea and stressed the very bad need of free trade. The continuous pressure result was found in the implementation of laissez faire economics in the  19th century (Lars Magnusson). The most important economic rationale for mercantilism in the 16th century was the consolidation of the centers of regional power of the feudal era through large competitive nation-states. Other contributing factors were in the establishment of colonies out of Europe, the growth of commerce and industry in Europe relative to agriculture, and the increase in the breadth and volume of trade, and the increase in using metallic monetary systems, particularly silver and gold, relative to barter transactions. Within the mercantilist period, the military conflict among states was both more extensive and more frequent than at any time in history. The navies and armies of the main protagonists were not temporary forces raised to specify a specific threat or objective, but they were professional forces. The primary economic objective of the government was to command sufficient quantity of the hard currency to support the military that would deter attacks by other countries and help its own ter ritorial expansion. The policies took so many forms. Governments may provide capital to new industries, exempt new industries from guild rules and taxes, establish monopolies over local and colonial markets, and grant titles and pensions to successful producers. In trade policy the government assisted local industry by imposing tariffs, quotas, and prohibitions on imports of goods that competed with local manufacturers. Governments also prohibited the export of tools and capital equipment and the emigration of skilled labor that would allow foreign countries, and even the colonies of the home country, to compete in the production of manufactured goods. At the same time, diplomats encouraged foreign manufacturers to move to the diplomats own countries (Lars Magnusson). Shipping was particularly important during the mercantile period. With the growth of colonies and the shipment of gold from the New World into Spain and Portugal, control of the oceans was considered vitally important to national power. Because ships could be used for merchant or military purposes, the governments of the era developed strong merchant marines. In France Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the minister of finance under Louis XIV from 1661 to 1683, increased port duties on foreign vessels entering French ports and provided bounties to French shipbuilders (Steele, G. R.). In England the Navigation Laws of 1650 and 1651 prohibited foreign vessels from engaging in coastal trade in England and required that all goods imported from the continent of Europe be carried on either an English vessel or a vessel registered in the country of origin of the goods. Finally, all trade between England and her colonies had to be carried in either English or colonial vessels. The Staple Act of 1663 extended the Navigation Act by requiring that all colonial exports to Europe be landed through an English port before being reexported to Europe. Navigation policies by France, England, and other powers were directed primarily against the Dutch, who dominated commercial marine activity in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Steele, G. R.). During the mercantilist era it was often suggested, if not actually believed, that the principal benefit of foreign trade was the importation of gold and silver. According to this view the benefits to one nation were matched by costs to the other countries that exported gold and silver, and there were no net gains from trade. For countries almost constantly on the verge of war, draining one another of valuable silver and gold was thought to be almost as desirable as the direct benefits of trade (Geoffrey Parker). Adam Smith refuted the idea that the wealth of a nation is measured by the size of the treasury in his famous treatise, The Wealth of Countries, a book rightly considered to be the foundation of modern economic theory. Smith made a number of important criticisms of mercantilist made a number of important criticisms of mercantilist doctrine. First, he demonstrated that trade, when freely initiated, benefits both parties. In modern jargon it is a positive-sum game. Second, he argued that specialization in production allows for economies of scale, which improves efficiency and growth. Finally, Smith argued that the collusive relationship between government and industry was harmful to the general population. While the mercantilist policies were designed to benefit the government and the commercial class, the doctrines of laissez-faire, or free markets, which originated with Smith, interpreted economic welfare in a far wider sense of encompassing the entire population (Lars Magnusson). While The Wealth of Nations is generally considered to mark the end of the mercantilist era, the laissez-faire doctrines of free-market economics also reflect a general disenchantment with the imperialist policies of nation states. The Napoleonic Wars in Europe and the Revolutionary War in the United States heralded the end of the period of military confrontation in Europe and the mercantilist policies that supported it. Despite these policies and the wars that they are associated with, the mercantilist period was one of generally rapid growth, particularly in England. This is partly because the governments were not very effective in enforcing the policies that they espoused. While the government could prohibit imports, for example, it lacked the resources to stop the smuggling that the prohibition would create. In addition, the variety of new products that were created during the industrial revolution made it difficult to enforce the industrial policies that were associated with mercantilist doctrine. By 1860 England had removed the last vestiges of the mercantile era. Industrial regulations, monopolies, and tariffs were abolished, and emigration and machinery exports were freed. In large part because of her free trade policies, England became the dominant economic power in Europe. Englands success as a manufacturing and financial power, coupled with the United States as an emerging agricultural pow erhouse, led to the resumption of protectionist pressures in Europe and the arms race between Germany, France, and England, which ultimately resulted in World War I (Geoffrey Parker). Protectionism remained important in the interwar period. World War I had destroyed the international monetary system based upon the gold standard. After the war manipulation of the exchange rate was added to the governments list of trade weapons. A country could simultaneously lower the international prices of its exports and increase the local currency price of its imports by devaluing its currency against the currencies of its trading partners. This competitive devaluation was practiced by many countries during the Great Depression of the thirties and led to a sharp reduction in world trade (Steele, G. R.). A number of factors led to the reemergence of mercantilist policies after World War II. The Great Depression created doubts about the efficacy and stability of free-market economies, and an emerging body of economic thought ranging from Keynesian countercyclical policies to Marxist centrally planned systems created a new role for governments in the control of economic affairs. In addition, the wartime partnership between government and industry in the United States created a relationship-the military-industrial complex, in Eisenhowers words-that also encouraged activist government policies. In Europe the shortage of dollars after the war induced governments to restrict imports and negotiate bilateral trading agreements to economize on scarce foreign exchange resources. These policies severely restricted the volume of intra-Europe trade and impeded the recovery process in Europe in the immediate postwar period (Geoffrey Parker). The economic strength of the United States, however, provided the stability that permitted the world to emerge out of the postwar chaos into a new era of prosperity and growth. The Marshall Plan provided American resources that overcame the most acute dollar shortages. The Bretton Woods agreement established a new system of relatively stable exchange rates that encouraged the free flow of goods and capital. Finally, the signing of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) in 1947 marked the official recognition of the need to establish an international order of multilateral free trade (Lars Magnusson). The mercantilist era has passed. Modern economists accept Adam Smiths insight that free trade leads to international specialization of labor and, usually, to greater economic well-being for all countries. But some mercantilist policies continue to exist. Indeed, the surge of protectionist sentiment that began with the oil crisis in the midseventies and expanded with the global recession of the early eighties has led some economists to label the modern pro-export, anti-import attitude as neomercantilism. (Steele, G. R.) Although several rounds of multilateral trade negotiations have succeeded in reducing tariffs on most industrial goods to less than 5 percent, trade in agricultural goods remains heavily protected though tariffs or subsidies in Europe, Japan, and the United States. Countries have also responded to GATT by erecting different nontariff barriers to trade. The Long Term Arrangement on Cotton Textiles (1962) was the first major departure from the key GATT rule of nondiscrimination. Discriminatory nontariff barriers are typically used by industrialized countries to protect mature industries from competition from Japan and newly industrialized countries like Brazil, Korea, and Taiwan. These nontariff barriers include voluntary export restraints, orderly marketing arrangements, health and safety codes, and licensing requirements. And the U.S. Jones Act, which prohibits shipment of goods between U.S. ports on foreign ships, is the modern counterpart of Englands Navigation Laws (Lars Magnusson ). Modern mercantilist practices arise from the same source as the mercantilist policies in the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. Groups with political power use that power to secure government intervention to protect their interests, while claiming to seek benefits for the nation as a whole. Of the false tenants of mercantilism that remain today, the most pernicious is the idea that imports reduce domestic employment. This argument is most often made by American automobile manufacturers in their claim for protection against Japanese imports. But the revenue that the exporter receives must be ultimately spent on American exports, either immediately or subsequently when American investments are liquidated. Another mercantilist view that persists today is that a current account deficit is bad. When a country runs a current account deficit, it is borrowing capital from the rest of the world in order to purchase more goods and services than it sells. But this policy promotes economic wea lth if the return on the capital borrowed exceeds the cost of borrowing. Many developing countries with high internal returns on capital have run current account deficits for extremely long periods, while enjoying rapid growth and solvency (Geoffrey Parker).

Customer Satisfaction Towards E-Banking Services: a Case Study on Ific Bank Ltd.

Prelude In a constantly changing world of today, where past is replaced by dynamic present and the dynamic present is being replaced by more challenging future, the old ways of doing things is no longer valid. Change is permanent and a reality. Those who are not able to keep pace with the changes are destined to loose the race. Science and technology is changing the way financial institutions perform their transactions. Today’s banks are shaking by these technological changes. Life has never been so easy, comfortable, and luxurious. Science and technology have brought our life to this stage. But a new technology brings with it not only the potential for success but also a never-ending series of questions regarding its design, its value to its users, ultimate use and acceptability. E-banking is the waves of the future. It provides enormous benefits to consumers in terms of case and cost of transactions, either through internet, telephone or other electronic delivery channels. For many consumers, electronic banking means 24-hours access to cash through an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) or Direct Deposit of paychecks into checking or savings accounts. But electronic banking now involves many different types of transactions. E-banking is a form of banking where funds are transferred through an exchange of electronic signals between financial institution, rather than exchange of cash, cheeks or other negotiable instruments. With the expansion of global Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure and the internet, e-banking is set to play a pivotal role in the national economy, proper software, infrastructure, cyber low and skilled manpower are important for the implementation of e-banking in a country. The concept of e-banking includes all types of banking activities performed through electronic networks. E-banking includes activities like payment of bills and invoices, transfer of funds between accounts, applying for a loan, payment of loan installments, sending funds to third parties via emails or internet connections regardless of where the client is located. Since e-banking offers some smart services benefiting both banks and customers compared with traditional banking system, it has become imperative to make necessary room for the scheduled banks to flourish e- banking. Since e-banking offers some smart services benefiting both banks and customers compared with traditional banking system, it has become imperative to make necessary room for the scheduled banks to flourish e-banking. Among others, attractiveness of e-banking includes: ? it lowers transaction cost; ? provide 24-hour services; ? ensure increased security and control over transactions; ? reduces fraud risk; ? performs higher volume of transactions with less time; ? increases number and volume of value payment through banks; ? llows remote transactions facilities that replace physical presence of a customer in a bank branch and; ? increases transaction speed and accuracy. On the other hand, traditional banking is time-consuming and more costly and therefore, e-banking is replacing traditional banking all over the world. Especially with the increasing acceptability of digital signatures around the world, e-banking has made life much easier and banking much faster and more pleasant, for cus tomers as well as for bankers. Problem Statement Customer satisfaction is required for the banking sector to raise profitability, business growth and success. Customer perception is very important to add value of the banking services and products. E-banking is the waves of the future. It can provide speedier, faster, reliable services to the customers for which they are relatively happy. It provides enormous benefits to consumers in terms of case and cost of transactions, either through internet, telephone or other electronic delivery channels. A new technology brings with it not only the potential for success, but also a never-ending series of questions regarding its design, its value to the user, its ultimate use and acceptability. Although there has been significant effort made to eliminate paper-based payment transactions, the basic way of handling payments by consumers has not changed. The study has been undertaken to evaluate the reaction of the customers towards the e-banking services. Research Objectives E-banking services provide smart replacement of traditional banking services and benefit both the bankers and the customers. But in Bangladesh, due to presence of some constrains, e-banking is not flourishing as it should do. The main objective of this research study is to find out the reaction of the customers towards the e-banking services. In this context, the specific objectives would be to observe – ? The types of e-banking facilities a bank, in this case IFIC Bank Ltd. , offers to its customers; ? The factors that satisfy the customers in receiving e-banking facilities offered by the bank; ? The constraints the customers face in adopting e-banking facilities; ? The expectations and recommendations of the customers towards e-banking services. Literature Review A. E-Banking in Bangladesh In Bangladesh, e-banking facilities are yet to be fully developed although some technology driven products and services have been in operation over the last few years. The existing technology driven products and services offered by the traditional banks are ATM services, debit card and credit card, transactions through POS terminals, inter-branch online transactions through individualized online closed network of individual bank, limited customer services provided through internet and membership of SWIFT allowing scheduled banks to conduct wireless transactions especially e-transactions. All these technology based products and services have obviously unlocked the way to step toward e-banking. Moreover, as a part of modernizing national payment and settlement system, Bangladesh Automated Clearing House (BACH) that includes Bangladesh Automated Cheque Processing System (BACPS), and Bangladesh Electronic Fund Transfer Network (BEFTN), is being implemented under the â€Å"Remittance and Payments Partnership† (RPP) project of the Bangladesh Bank funded by DFID-UK is expected to speed up the adoption of e-banking as well. E-banking at per international standard is yet to develop in Bangladesh. At present, several private commercial banks (PCBs) and foreign commercial banks (FCBs) offer limited services of telebanking, internet banking, and online banking facilities working within the branches of individual bank in a closed network environment. As a part of stepping towards e-banking, the FCBs have played the pioneering role with adoption of modern technology in retail banking during the early 1990s whereas the state-owned commercial banks (SCBs) and PCBs came forward with such services in a limited scale during the late 1990s. Moreover, the banking industry as a whole, except for the four specialized banks (SBs), rushed to offer technology based banking services during the middle of the current decade. Online Banking: Transactions in online banking are performed within closed network for which the customer use specialized software provided by the respective bank. International standard online banking facilities are expanding in Bangladesh. At present, 29 scheduled banks offer any branch banking facilities through their respective bank online network that provides facilities like transaction through any branch under the respective bank online network; payment against pay order or pay order encashment, demand draft encashment, opening or redemption of FDR from any branch of the same bank; remote fund transfer, cash withdrawal, cash deposit, account statement, clearing and balance enquiry within branches of the same bank; and L/C opening, loan repayment facility to and from any branch of respective bank under its own online network. Inter-bank transactions or transaction between inter bank branches are yet to expand. Under the modernization program of the National Payment and Settlement System, Bangladesh Automated Clearing House (which includes Bangladesh Automated Cheque Processing System and Bangladesh Electronic Fund Transfer Network) came into effect from September 2009 followed by implementation of online banking at per international standard in near future. Internet Banking: Internet banking refers to the use of internet as a remote delivery channel for banking services which permits the customer to conduct transactions from any terminal with access to the internet. It is the WWW through which banks can reach their customers directly with no intermediaries. Internet banking in true sense is still absent in Bangladesh. Only 7 out of 47 banks are providing some banking services via internet that include account balance enquiry, fund transfer among accounts of the same customer, opening or modifying term deposit account, cheque book or pay order request, exchange rate or interest rate enquiry, bills payment, account summary, account details, account activity, standing instructions, loan repayment, loan information, statement request, ,cheque status enquiry, stop payment cheque, refill prepaid card, password change, L/C application, bank guarantee application, lost card (debit/credit) reporting, pay credit card dues, view credit card statement, or check balance. The core banking activities like fund transfer to third party, cross border transactions and so on are still uncovered by internet banking offered by the scheduled banks in Bangladesh. Mobile Banking: Mobile banking (also known as M-banking or SMS banking) is a term used for performing balance checks, account transactions, payments etc. via a mobile device such as a mobile phone. Mobile banking is most often performed via SMS or the Mobile Internet but can also use special programs called clients downloaded to the mobile device. The standard package of activities that mobile banking covers are: mini-statements and checking of account history; alerts on account activity or passing of set thresholds; monitoring of term deposits; access to loan statements; access to card statements; mutual funds/equity statements; insurance policy management; pension plan management; status on cheque, stop payment on cheque; ordering check books; balance checking in the account; recent transactions; due date of payment (functionality for stop, change and deleting of payments); PIN provision, change of PIN and reminder over the internet; blocking of (lost/stolen) cards; domestic and international fund transfers; micro-payment handling; mobile recharging; commercial payment processing; bill payment processing; peer to peer payments; withdrawal at banking agent; and deposit at banking agent. Despite huge prospects, only a few banks adopted mobile banking in Bangladesh during the last year. Tele Banking: Tele banking refers to the services provided through phone that requires the customers to dial a particular telephone number to have access to an account which provides several options of services. Despite huge potential, telebanking services have not been widened enough in daily banking activities in Bangladesh. Only four banks so far provide a few options of telebanking services such as detail account information, balance inquiry, information about products or services, ATM card activation, cheque book related service, bills payment, credit card service and so on. Funds transfer between current, savings and credit card account, stock exchange transactions etc are still inaccessible through telebanking in Bangladesh. B. Prospects of e-Banking in Bangladesh E-banking is now a global phenomenon. Apart from the developed countries, the developing countries are experiencing strong growth in e-banking. The government’s emphasis on building a digital Bangladesh, setting up ICT park, raising allocation for developing ICT infrastructure, waiving taxes on computer peripherals and other measures including the automation program of banking sector led by the Bangladesh Bank and competition among the scheduled banks in improving customer services have accelerated the prospects of e-banking in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Bank is implementing the RPP project for modernizing national payment and settlement system. The BACH including BACPS and BEFTN has started functioning from September 2009 followed by the development of inter-bank online network. The project plans to go for real time gross settlement (RTGS) by 2012. It has been made mandatory for all head offices of the scheduled banks to be connected with Bangladesh Bank for satisfying BACH and BEFTN. These efforts would allow the scheduled banks to be connected to each other for conducting inter-bank online transactions in near future and this would smoothen the introduction of e-banking in Bangladesh. Internet services came to Bangladesh with connectivity in 1996. Digital telephone exchanges have been established in 389 upazilas and 17 growth centres. Work is underway to cover the rest of the upazilas under digital exchange system. Meanwhile, Bangladesh has joined the information super-highway by connecting itself with international submarine cable system in 2006. A total of 159 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have now been connected with this system of which 64 are actively providing services. Internet connection is slow with bandwidth range 32 kbps to 56 kbps for dial up and 64 kbps to 8 mbps for broadband. The establishment of internet exchange is under implementation. Encryption laws to accept electronic authentication of transactions has been enacted in 2006 and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been legalized. Under this scenario, as a part of government decision of building digital Bangladesh, the existing capabilities of ICT sector is likely to increase rapidly in bringing all upazilas under internet services and this will contribute in widening the scope of e-banking throughout the country. Although all branches of FCBs and 99% branches of PCBs were computerized by December 2006, the average for all bank branches was 37% since only 4% and 16% of SBs and SCBs respectively were computerized. Out of a total of 6,565 branches in 2006, 2,426 were computerized of which 651 branches of 22 PCBs and 7 FCBs together were providing any-branch-banking facility under respective bank online network. During the period, the number of ATM booths and POS terminals stood at 478 and 4,647 respectively covering important merchant outlets in six divisional cities and some other important district towns in Bangladesh while 43 banks became the member of SWIFT and 25 banks adopted router connection. Since about 50% of total bank branches belong to SCBs spread throughout the country including the rural areas, ICT penetration is crucial for this category of banks. The recent corporatization of the NCBs, would influence the banks in this category to be competitive through improving their service quality incorporating the use of modern technology. Although all these are positive developments, more attention is needed to enhance ICT capabilities of the banking system especially the SCBs for successful implementation of e-banking all over the country. Although e-banking has bright prospects, it involves some financial risks as well. The major risk of e-banking includes operational risks (e. g. security risks, system design, implementation and maintenance risks); customer misuse of products and services risks; legal risks (e. g. without proper legal support, money laundering may be influenced); strategic risks; reputation risks (e. g. in case the bank fails to provide secure and trouble free e-banking services, this will cause reputation risk); credit risks; market risks; and liquidity risks. Therefore, identification of relevant risks, and formulation and implementation of proper risk mitigation policies and strategies are important for the scheduled banks while performing e-banking. In Bangladesh, despite huge demand from the business community as well as the retail customers particularly the urban customers, the expansion of e-banking is beset with several infrastructural, institutional, and regulatory constraints such as unavailability of a backbone network connecting the whole country; inadequacy of reliable and secure information infrastructure especially telecommunication infrastructure; sluggish ICT penetration in banking sector; insufficient legal and regulatory support for adopting e-banking and so on. In Bangladesh, telephone connectivity is inadequate, cost of PCs are still beyond purchasing capacity of most people, internet connection is costly, IT literacy is yet to reach satisfactory level, banking sector lacks skilled IT personnel, and huge investment requirement for establishing technology based banking services are prime drawbacks. Despite the constraints, efforts by the Bangladesh Bank in modernizing the country's payment system and commitment by the government in building ‘Digital Bangladesh’ have brought competition among the scheduled banks to improve banking services and rapidly adopt e-banking on a wider scale. Research Design Since the research is conducted to find out the factors that satisfy the customers towards e-banking, the constraints they face in adopting e-banking facilities and their expectations and recommendations towards e-banking, the research is particularly suited as an exploratory research. Data Collection Methods For the purpose of the study both primary and secondary data have been used. Primary data have been collected from the customers through depth interview with the help of a questionnaire, which is attached with this report in Appendix I. In case of secondary data, the data has been collected from the websites, brochures, annual reports, and manuals of IFIC Bank Ltd. Sample Design The target population for the study was all the customers of IFIC Bank Ltd. who receive e-banking services from the bank. Elephant Road Branch of IFIC Bank Ltd. is selected as the sampling unit. All the customers of the branch who have used e-banking services constituted the sampling frame. A sample size of 30 customers has been selected. The sample was selected using convenience sampling. Analysis Qualitative analysis of the facts found through depth interview of the customers and secondary data collected through other sources is done throughout the research. This qualitative analysis is totally a judgmental analysis of the researcher. Here, no quantitative analysis is done. To find out the reactions of the customers towards e-banking services it is tried to find out whether the customers use the e-banking services frequently; people of which occupation use the service frequently; if the customers are comfortable with using the e-banking services or not; if they are satisfied what factors make them satisfied; if the customers are facing constraints, what type of constraints they are facing; what the customers suggest to diversify away those constraints; and lastly what the customers expect more from the bank regarding e-banking services. Overview of IFIC Bank Ltd. International Finance Investment and Commerce Bank Limited (IFIC Bank) is a banking company incorporated in the People's Republic of Bangladesh with limited liability. It was set up at the instance of the Government in 1976 as a joint venture between the Government of Bangladesh and sponsors in the private sector with the objective of working as a finance company within the country and setting up joint venture banks/financial institutions abroad. The Government held 49 per cent shares and the rest 51 per cent were held by the sponsors and general public. In 1983 when the Government allowed banks in the private sector, IFIC was converted into a full-fledged commercial bank. The Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh now holds 35% of the share capital of the Bank. Leading industrialists of the country having vast experience in the field of trade and commerce own 34% of the share capital and the rest is held by the general public. The Bank’s mission is to provide service to the clients with the help of a skilled and dedicated workforce whose creative talents, innovative actions and competitive edge make its position unique in giving quality service to all institutions and individuals. The bank is committed to the welfare and economic prosperity of the people and the community, for it drives from them the inspiration and drive for onward progress to prosperity. The bank wants to be the leader among banks in Bangladesh and make indelible mark as an active partner in regional banking operating beyond the national boundary. In an intensely competitive and complex financial and business environment, we particularly focus on growth and profitability of all concerned. Milestones in the development of IFIC BANK |1976 |Established as an Investment & Finance Company under arrangement of joint venture with the govt. of Bangladesh. | |1980 |Commenced operation in Foreign Exchange Business in a limited scale. | |1982 |Obtained permission from the Govt. to operate as a commercial bank. | |Set up a its first overseas joint venture (Bank of Maldives Limited) in the Republic of Maldives (IFIC's share in Bank | | |of Maldives Limited was subsequently sold to Maldives Govt. in 1992) | |1983 |Commenced operation as a full-fledged commercial bank in Bangladesh. | |1985 |Set up a joint venture Exchange Company in the Sultanate of Oman, titled Oman Bangladesh Exchange Company (subsequently| | |renamed as Oman International Exchange, LLC). | |1987 |Set up its first overseas branch in Pakistan at Karachi. | |1993 |Set up its second overseas branch in Pakistan at Lahore. |1994 |Set up its first joint venture in Nepal for banking operation, titled Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd. | |1999 |Set up its 2nd joint venture in Nepal for lease financing, titled Nepal Bangladesh Finance & leasing Co. Ltd. which was| | |merged with NBBL in 2007 | |2003 |Overseas Branches in Pakistan amalgamated with NDLC, to establish a joint venture bank: NDLC-IFIC Bank Ltd. , | | |subsequently renamed as NIB Bank Ltd. | |2005 |Acquired MISYS solution for real time on-line banking application. | | |Core Risk Management implemented. | |2006 |Corporate Branding introduced. | |Visa Principal and Plus (Issuer and Require) Program Participant Membership obtained. | |2008 |Observing 25th Anniversary of Customer Satisfaction. | |2009 |64 Branches offering Real Time On-line banking facility. | Services Offered by IFIC Bank Ltd. Corporate Banking IFIC Bank is providing a wide range of financial services, offering specialist advice and products to corporate clients to meet diverse demands of changing market scenario. Products and services for commercial and business customers include: Working Capital Finance, Project Finance, Term Finance, Trade Finance, Lease Finance, Syndication Loan etc. Retail Banking Retail Banking is mass-banking facility for individual customers to avail banking services directly from the wide branch network all over the country. The bank provides one-stop financial services to all individual customers through its innovative products & services to cater their need. With a view to provide faster and more convenient centralized online banking services, now, all its branches have been brought under the real time online banking system. IFIC Bank offers a wide variety of deposit products, loan product & value added services to suit the customer’s banking requirements. Products and services for individual customer include: Consumer Finance, Deposit Product, Card, NRB Account, Student File, SMS Banking etc. SME Banking The growth of Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) in terms of size and number has multiple effects on the national economy, specifically on employment generation, GDP growth, and poverty alleviation in Bangladesh. At present, Small & Medium Enterprise sector is playing a vital role in creation of new generation entrepreneurs and ‘Entrepreneurs Culture' in the country. Experience shows that borrowers of small enterprise sector prefers collateral free loan since normally they cannot offer high value security to cover the exposure. To facilitate SME sector of the country, IFIC Bank provides collateral free credit facilities to the small & medium entrepreneurs across the country whose access to traditional credit facilities are very limited. The bank is offering 15 different products for selected target groups, such as – Easy Commercial Loan, Retailers Loan, Muldhan Loan, Women Entrepreneur’s Loan (Protyasha), Transport Loan, Working Capital Loan, Project Loan, letter of Contractor's Loan, Bidder's Loan, Working Capital Loan, Project Loan, Letter of Guarantee, Letter of Credit Loan against Imported Merchandize (LIM), Loan against Trust Receipt etc. E-Banking Services Offered by IFIC Bank Ltd. Since the beginning of its journey as a commercial bank in 1983, IFIC Bank has been giving great emphasis on the adoption of modern technology. It became the pioneer in the field of automation by introducing computerized branch banking right in the same year. Subsequently, all the branches were brought under similar automated platforms with upgraded software applications to offer all the critical banking features. At present all 82 domestic branches are fully computerized under networked environment. The Bank has taken up a new project with Misys International Banking System Inc. (UK) to further upgrade its banking operation to state-of-art world class on-line banking solutions to provide faster and even more convenient centralized services to the clients. Besides, the Bank is also operating fully on-line Automated Teller Machine (ATM) services under the banner Q-Cash at a number of locations in Dhaka and Chittagong. The ATM facilities are available to the customers at Q-Cash booth. At present, there are five ATM booths of the bank. IFIC Bank Ltd. or achieving customer satisfaction and for surviving in this competitive market has concentrated on offering different types of e-banking services to its customers. Different e-banking services offered by the bank are fully online branch banking facilities, credit card, debit card, prepaid card, SMS banking facilities etc. IFIC Credit Card IFIC Bank VISA Credit Cards are issued in two types namely Gold and Classic for both local and international use. The Local Cards can be used at any ATM displaying VISA Logo for withdrawal of cash and at any POS displaying VISA Logo for purchase of goods & services within Bangladesh whereas the International Cards can be used at any ATM and POS displaying VISA logo anywhere in the world. International credit card is a dual currency card and as such one can use the same plastic at home & abroad. Classic cards are for lower limits and less costly. IFIC credit cardholders can enjoy 20 to 50 days interest free period depending on the date of transaction and the date of statement generation. Interest free period will not be allowed for cash advance. The customers can repay any amount not less than the minimum payment due within the due date and keep account regular to enjoy revolving credit facility. Customers can enjoy credit facility at lower interest rate of 2% per month. Customers can enjoy cash withdrawal facility up to 60% of the credit limit through ATMs. One can enjoy up to 100% of your credit limit through Bank POS from any branch of IFIC Bank Limited. First two supplementary cards are free. Customers can select any two from their near & dear persons and give them supplementary credit cards. They can also enjoy and share their credit limit. They can also allow specific limits for them within their credit limit. No interest will be calculated on the amount other than cash advance if the total billing amount is paid within the payment due date. In case of part payment or no payment, interest @2% per month will be applied from the date of transaction on daily product basis until the outstanding balance is fully paid. IFIC Debit Card IFIC Bank VISA Debit Card can be used at any ATM displaying VISA Logo for withdrawal of cash and at any POS displaying VISA Logo for purchase of goods & services within Bangladesh. ATM transactions are to be secured by Personal Identification Number (PIN) known by the concerned customer only. POS transactions will not require PIN. However, all the transactions are to be authorized by the system electronically. IFIC debit card is issued against any individual savings/ current account maintained with any branch of IFIC Bank Limited. The designated savings/current account can be operated by using the debit card without using cheques any time. The customers are not required to pay any charge for transactions at Merchant Point of Sale (POS) for purchasing goods and services. For cash withdrawal from ATM/Branches, a little charge may be applied. No interest will be calculated on cash withdrawal or purchases. No minimum amount due and no hassle of payment of monthly bills. IFIC Prepaid Card IFIC Bank VISA Prepaid Card can be used at any ATM displaying VISA Logo for withdrawal of cash and at any POS displaying VISA Logo for purchase of goods & services within Bangladesh. ATM transactions are to be secured by Personal Identification Number (PIN) known by the concerned customer only. POS transactions will not require PIN. However, all the transactions are to be authorized by the system electronically. Prepaid card is safer than carrying cash and more convenient than writing cheques. IFIC Prepaid card is issued by the branches instantly on filling-up the Application Form and making initial deposit. There is no need to have any account with the Bank. Prepaid card are suitable for the customers who does not maintain any account with IFIC. No interest will be calculated on cash withdrawal or purchases. No minimum amount due and no hassle of payment of monthly bills. Bank POS are available at all the branches of the Bank. Any IFIC Card Holder can withdraw cash from any branch of IFIC Bank Ltd. through Bank POS. Credit Card Holders can withdraw cash up to 100% of their credit limit. SMS Banking IFIC Bank Ltd. atered the demand of time in the era of modern banking technology through SMS Banking Service. It is indeed a fast, secure, convenient, economical and quickest way of banking. The service is available round the clock seven days a week. Customers can check their balance, account inf ormation, or even get your mini account statements through IFIC SMS Banking Service by using their mobile phones. Services available by SMS banking are as follows: Account Service ? Balance Enquiry ? Mini Statement Request (Last 5 Transactions) ? Foreign exchange Rate enquiry ? Fixed Deposit Rate enquiry ? Interest Rate enquiry ? Branch Location enquiry ? PIN Change ? Bank Product Information ? Greetings Loan Installment Notification (overdue) ? Any other Massage Card Services ? Current Outstanding Balance ? Mini Statement Request ( Last 5 Transactions) ? Minimum Payment Due ? Payment Due Date ? Payment Due Alert ? Transaction Notification Analysis The concept of e-banking includes all types of banking activities performed through electronic networks. In Bangladesh, despite huge demand e-banking is not flourishing as it should do. On the other hand, customer satisfaction is required for the banking sector to raise profitability, business growth and success. Customer perception is ve ry important to add value of the banking services and products. Through this study it is tried to find out whether the customers are appreciating the e-banking services offered to them or not; factors that satisfy them in receiving e-banking services from banks; the constraints they face regarding this matter and what they expect from the banks regarding e-banking services. For conducting the research, data from both primary and secondary sources are collected. Primary data are collected by doing depth interview of the customers with the help of a questionnaire, which is given in the Appendix I. This research study is based on the case study on IFIC Bank Ltd. The sampling unit is the Elephant Road branch of the bank and 30 regular customers of the branch are used as sample for conducting the research. To find out the reactions of the customers towards e-banking services it is tried to find out whether the customers use the e-banking services frequently; people of which occupation use the service frequently; if the customers are comfortable with using the e-banking services or not; if they are satisfied what factors make them satisfied; if the customers are facing constraints, what type of constraints they are facing; what the customers suggest to diversify away those constraints; and lastly what the customers expect more from the bank regarding e-banking services. The research is an explorative research. That is why only qualitative research has been done on the facts found through depth interview and on the basis of secondary data collected. Nature of Respondents The research is conducted based on the opinion of 30 regular customers of IFIC bank Ltd. , Elephant Road branch. Of the respondents 4 customers are businessman, 15 are service holders, 4 are students, 5 are housewives, 1 is teacher and 1 is a retired banker. Among the respondents, 11 respondents are female and the rest of them are male. Types of E-banking Services Used by the Respondents IFIC Bank mainly provides 5 kinds of e-banking services, namely, online transaction, debit card, credit card, prepaid card, SMS banking service. Other than these ATM booths and POS terminals of the bank or other ones having VISA logo provides e-banking services to the customers. Among the respondents, all of them use online transactions; 23 customers use debit cards; 10 customers use credit cards; 11 customers use SMS banking facilities. Among the customers no one uses prepaid card service. Frequency of Usage of E-banking Services by the Respondents Among the respondents, 9 customers use e-banking services highly frequently; 13 of them use with medium frequency and 8 of them use with low frequency. Businessmen and some of the service holders use e-banking services highly frequently. Some service holders and students use with medium frequency and lastly rest of the service holders and housewives, generally, use with low frequency. Factors Satisfied the Customers regarding E-banking Services IFIC Bank has started offering e-banking services to its customers only recently, which is not more than 2 years. So the customers, who do regular transactions in the bank, are very satisfied with the type of e-banking services they are receiving from the bank. All the customers of the bank can enjoy online banking facilities. Even two years before there was branch banking system. So, the customers had to go to branch to branch for their transaction making purposes. But now, with the introduction of online banking, they can do their transactions from any branch in Bangladesh without any encumbrance. Recently, all the 82 branches of the bank are providing online banking services to the customers. So, the customers are feeling it convenient to uses e-banking services. Usage of debit and credit cards has made customers life easy. People do not have to go to branches to withdraw money. Rather they can use the ATM booths of the bank or other ones showing VISA logo and withdraw money. They can also check their account balances and get mini statements of their accounts using ATM booth. Customers can use POS terminals showing VISA logo to purchase goods and services and pay bills. SMS banking also has made customers life easy. They can use their mobile phones for balance checking, getting any kind of relevant enquiries or for making relevant requests. So, the customers are feeling it is easy to use e-banking services as it saves a lot of time and cost. Some customers feel it is safe to use e-banking facilities. A lots of paperwork and manual work has been eliminated with the introduction of e-banking services, which reduces the chance of errors. According to above analysis, it is found that the factors for which customers are satisfied with e-banking service are convenience, availability of quick services, easy services and safety. Constraints Faced by the Customers Many of the respondents have said that they are facing constraints using e-banking services offered by IFIC bank. Some customers say that they cannot depend on the e-banking services, like debit cards, credit cards. They have the fear of security. They have some misconceptions regarding these services. They say that, it would be easier for others to do fraudulent activities with their accounts or cards if they use them. For this reason, some customers do not use these services although they bear the cards. Some customers have lack of awareness regarding the benefit of e-banking services. They are not aware of safety, easiness and benefit of using e-banking services. Some customers have lack of dependency on e-banking services. They rather feel it safe to do TT rather than doing online transactions. They do not understand the speediness of using e-banking services and like traditional and manual work. Some customers find it costly using e-banking services. Cost of using debit cards and credit cards are very high according to them. Again, the bank has only 5 ATM booths of its own and POS terminals are available only in the branches, which does not bear extra cost, but they are only few in number. Other organizations’ ATM booths and POS terminals cost extra charges which the customers do not like to bear. According to above discussion, it is found that the constraints the customers face are fear of security, lack of awareness, lack of dependency, and cost. Expectations and Recommendations of the Customers Regarding E-banking Services According to the customers, the expectations from the bank and recommendations for the bank are as follows: ? The bank should install more ATM booths of its own to different locations to make it available, easy, convenient and less costly for the customers to use the facilities. ? The bank should have some programs to create awareness and increase dependency about the products they offer to customers. The bank can distribute brochures, leaflets to its customers informing them about advantages of using the services. The bank can also send letters to the customers informing about the products. Some customers have requested that it would be better if the letters are sent in Bangla rather than in English. ? As some customers think that using e-banking services are costly for them, the bank may reduce the cost of these services or may give some discounts. ? The bank should concentrate more on the safety of the services. ? The bank should do more advertisement about their products. Some customers are not even aware about the SMS banking service and the prepaid card service is offered by the bank. ? The bankers should be more helpful in making the customers aware and understand about the new e-banking services offered by the bank. Conclusion Customer satisfaction is required for the banking sector to raise profitability, business growth and success. Customer perception is very important to add value of the banking services and products. E-banking is the waves of the future. It can provide speedier, faster, reliable services to the customers for which they are relatively happy. It provides enormous benefits to consumers in terms of case and cost of transactions, either through internet, telephone or other electronic delivery channels. A new technology brings with it not only the potential for success, but also a never-ending series of questions regarding its design, its value to the user, its ultimate use and acceptability. The research has been undertaken to evaluate the reaction of the customers towards the e-banking services. The research was an exploratory research. Qualitative analysis of the data collected from both primary and secondary sources are done. Primary data was collected by doing depth interview of the customers of Elephant Road branch IFIC Bank Ltd. Sample size was 30. According to the analysis the factors for which make customers satisfied with e-banking service are convenience, availability of quick services, easy services and safety. The constraints the customers face from receiving e-banking services from the bank are fear of security, lack of awareness, lack of dependency, and high cost. The customers expect that the bank should be more careful and concentrate on informing the information about the newly launched products to its customers to increase awareness and dependency on those products. The bank should make the services more convenient to the customers. And it should also take care of the security matters of the customers. ———————– Target Population: All the customers of IFIC Bank Ltd. who use e-banking services offered by the bank Sampling Unit: Elephant Road branch of IFIC Bank ltd. Sampling Frame: Name of all the customers of the branch who have used e-banking services Sample Size: 30 Sampling Technique: Convenience Sampling Exhibit 1: Sample Design