Friday, November 29, 2019

Risk, Safety and Leadership Essays - Psychology, Behavior

Risk, Safety and Leadership Ezra Lucas Stratford University Why do people do what they do? Why do they do things that do not seem logical? Why do people change what they do according to the social context? How do social arrangements influence judgment and decision-making? How is risk logical? These are the issues that concern the social psychology of risk. The social psychology of risk is the application of the principles of social psychology to risk. I found an article by Dr. Robert Long and he had a foundation of this discipline. He emerged from his postgraduate studies in occupational health and safety. (Long, 2012) Social psychology of risk is concerned with how social arrangements affect decision-making and judgment in danger. What this means is that all social relations, social environments, discourse and organization affect human judgment and decision-making in danger. Risk is not objective, rather the perception of risk is conditioned by social psychological factors. It shows that risk perception varies with life experience, cognitive bias, memory, visual and special literacy, expertise, allocation, framing, priming and anchoring. In other words, risk is a sense of built human sense associated with uncertainty, probability and context. (Slovic, 2006) For example, the risk of a person is the opportunity of another person. Social arrangements give us meaning, purpose and accomplishment. Social arrangements also determine how we make decisions and judgments. Risk is not an engineering problem, but a social psychological problem. A technical approach to risk tends to have its training and focus on objects. Although it is great to observe what engineers think and build, it is not at the center of this discipline to understand human organization, collective consciousness and the collective unconscious in response to objects. The challenge for leaders is to understand risk as a compromise governed by the social psychology of goals. The key to maturity of leadership in risk is to understand the nature of motivation and why people do what they do. In addition, leaders need to understand that fallibility and human risk create a problem. These problems extend beyond the notion of complexity and are known for their unavailability and failure. If leadership is to be mature in risk, it must understand how objectives compete (Cameron Quinn, 2009). If leadership is to be ripe, it must understand how risk creates meaning (through compromises and by-products) for humans and leaders, and how to generate vision, influence others and promote intelligence risk. (Riggio, 2016) focuses on the social relationship or social contract between the leader and the followers as a path towards leadership maturity and wisdom in risk. The social contract between leadership and follow-up is much more than the traits of the leader. Somewhere along the journey, the managerial discourse has lost sight of the follower, the social contract and the social arrangements. This is where the social psychology of risk enters the discussion and asks the question: "What social arrangements create a maturity of effective leadership in risk? Conclusion The idea of maturity and wisdom in risk is not a common discourse in industry, but we mean the predominance of the language of controls and the police. Maturity can be understood as an endless journey up a set of escalators, maturity and wisdom, one never "arrives" but still remembers undeveloped stages of development. References Riggio, R. E. (2016). Are Leadership and Management Essential for Good Research? Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232551601_Leadership_development_The_current_state_and_future_expectations Cameron, K. S., Quinn, R. E. (2009). Developing a Discipline of Positive Organizational Scholarship. http://dx.doi.org/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e369/e41e957a3923f7b99dcfb25ec9cd22ba9052.pdf Long, R. (2012). Risk interpretation and action: A conceptual framework for responses to natural hazards. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420912000040

Monday, November 25, 2019

Joan Miro essays

Joan Miro essays The Catalan struggle and Spanish Civil War greatly influenced Joan Mir s art; Miros techniques of forceful strokes with paint and ceramics enable Mir to express his feelings and depict the Catalan peoples struggle through art. II. Lack of interest in political matters C.) 1914 Mirs earliest painting The Catalan struggle and Spanish Civil War greatly influenced Joan Mirs art; Mirs techniques of forceful strokes with paint and ceramics enable Mir to express his feelings and depict the Catalan peoples struggle through art. Surrealism in the 1920s was defined as a fantastic arrangement of materials that influenced Mir, due to the fact that he was one of the most original and sympathetic artists during the Surrealism periods. Mir was born into the Catalan culture in April 20,1893 in Barcelona, Spain (Munro 288). Having to be born into the Catalan culture gave Mir an opportunity to have an intense nationalist activity. In which much attention was paid not only to political expressions of the need for autonomy, but also to the re-Catalanizing of every day life (Higdon 1). It was necessary to fight so that Catalan, our language might be recognized as a cultural language (Mir). In 1910 Mirs parents bought a masia which is a sort of traditional farmstead of Catalo ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Terrorism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Terrorism - Assignment Example The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), or the Tamil Tigers are known to be the pioneers of suicide bombing, yet, they are seen as ‘liberators’ by local Tamils. Thus, the answer to whether the Tamil Tigers are terrorists or not is a complicated one that is dependent on subjective, biased analysis of power politics of Sri Lanka. 2) In the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center, the question of terrorism as a justifiable means to achieving liberation has been hotly debated within the United States of America. While many believe that terrorism, an act of harm, can never justify a quest for national freedom, there are also arguments that see terrorism as understandable under certain circumstances. The use of violence in Apartheid South Africa, in pre partition India and during the Iranian revolution, for example, has given voice to social, political and religious demands. Even so, the major drawback of acts of violence is that they affect everyone without dis crimination (Saul). A bomb blast in a shopping market may put pressure on the government, but the ones who are directly affected, injured or killed in the attack suffer regardless of their political alignment. The injustice of terrorism taints its legitimacy, and makes it an undesirable means to achieving a noble goal. 3) Faith-based natural law is justified by religious extremists in the modern world since they see their faith as the ‘one true way’ for eternal salvation (Wallis). All those believing in the truth are perceived as virtuous men while all ‘disbelievers’ are seen as worthy of violent punishment for disobeying the Divine Word. The problem with such an approach lies in the fact that there is not one religion that claims monopoly of the truth, but many religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Hinduism are part of a grand tug of war of what the true faith is (Aslan). As a result, innocent lives are put at stake by religious extremists who find legitimacy for their violent acts in religious scriptures. However, examples from history and modern day extremism give us evidence of how faith-based natural law is used to achieve political ends. Religious zealotry and fanaticism is used to power economically and politically motivated agendas. Faith-based natural law therefore does not serve to justify violent acts committed against innocent people. 4) Projected trends for the future of faith-based terrorism can be explained through the help of a five pronged model. First, there is a need to establish that in today’s world of sophisticated communication methods, the spread of extremist religious propaganda is inevitable. Not only is the World Wide Web an easy platform for religious groups to spread their thoughts and ideologies amongst everyone, television and print media also play a crucial role in popularizing support for such groups. Secondly, in the wake of the US war against Iraq, a CIA report for 2005 has rev ealed that a â€Å"new generation of Islamist Extremists† (Martin, 153) has been created, which poses serious threat to future world security. Thirdly, Al Qaeda has evolved into a symbolic representation, which continues to influence thoughts, along with, fourthly, the globalization of the Jihadi movement. Lastly, religious extremism is strongly present and growing within the Christian thought,

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Learning to look Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Learning to look - Essay Example The advertisement’s visuals also lead to an immediate and powerful response emotionally, particularly because of the picture of a vintage car with nothing else in the background. This pulls the attention of the viewer, especially those who were children during the generation when the car was released. Anyone who loves the VW van has an immediate feeling of remembrance and nostalgia, especially for people whose parents were owners of the VW van. It is possible to see the number of seats in the car, which gives a feeling of spaciousness. The caption below the advert that states that it is unusual to drive the car you were conceived in is written in bold, pulling the consumer’s attention and seeks to add on to the vintage feel of the car, as well as its nostalgia. Finally, the ad allows the viewer to see its interior, which could evoke memories of childhood with one’s brothers and sisters playing in the backseat. While this advertisement acts as a fine example of how advertising can be effective, it is somewhat reliant on the viewer and the knowledge that he/she has of the car. The particular car in the advert, the VW van, was and still is a symbol for those living in the 60s. During this period, people preferred to paint and color their cars with flowers and psychedelic colors. It was also during this period, in the aftermath of WWII, that most people meant for their cars to represent love and harmony. This message, however, also translated into the sexual liberation movement, which can be seen with the caption below the ad that alludes to this sexual revolution. The VW van captures an iconic brand from a nostalgic period, which, it seems, VW was keen to utilize in that particular form in the advert in order to make sure that a specific pop culture aspect was able to stand time’s test. The advertisement is minimalistic,

Monday, November 18, 2019

Thinking Through Religions 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Thinking Through Religions 2 - Essay Example These have been seen to define superstition as essentially being a disease that primarily depends on an excess of religious sentiment. The affected person is often seen to frequently have an unreasonable level of credulity. Superstitions were employed in ancient times so as to thwart evil by using a number of rituals that were thought to bring good luck (Superstitions, 2000).Cunningham and Kelsay (76), define rituals as essentially being a series of repeated stylized gestures or ceremonial acts that are used for some certain given specific occasions. Human life is seen to be filled with quite a number of these gestures ranging from the simple custom of shaking hands to some gestures such as standing so as to shake someone’s hand. The rituals have progressively become so familiar that they are now frequently overlooked and their importance is only highlighted in the event that one fails to observe them, an example of which might include someone refusing to shake another personà ¢â‚¬â„¢s hand. It is these refusals and failures that cause us to become acutely aware of the relative importance of these rituals that would otherwise be severely obscured by the mundane ordinariness of customary rituals. Superstitions and rituals are seen to have an intrinsic relationship as superstitions require an individual to perform some certain rituals so as to encourage or avoid an occurrence. One of the rituals that I often perform that is closely linked to superstition is to essentially avoid black cats from crossing my path. In the event that a black cat happens to cross my path, my normal ritual is to try and walk around the area crossed by the cat or in some instances use a different route. The superstitious belief that is tied in with this ritual is that black cats tend to cause bad luck in the event that they cross one’s path. Why are Human Beings Superstitious? It can generally be observed that often at times, after having encountered seemingly knotty problem s, man tends to try and explain away or avoid the given situation by using superstitions. By inventing various superstitious fabrications, man is able to effectively understand and explain a number of mysteries. It is often always as a last resort that man will opt to eventually turn to himself to provide an explanation and even so, he does not turn to his true self but instead turns to some foreign particle or blemish that absolves him and causes him to not be responsible (Berry 228-229). One of the more frequently used scape goats in this respect is the concept of original sin that had been invented by the ancients. (Berry 230) argues that the chief virtue of this theory is that it effectively heaps all the blame on the serpent, an animal that man has never really had much use for. Man is also perceived to be superstitious as a result of his relatively conservative nature that causes him to obstinately try to hold on to a number of old trinkets, ideas and customs even after he has learned better and the original purpose of these has been forgotten. Although man has made a number of developments in science and knowledge, civilized life to him is seen to still be largely precarious, insecure and uncertain and hence man has opted to result to superstition to tackle these challenges. Why Can Superstitions be Dangerous The adverse effects of superstition can result in fear, suspicions, a general reduction in the quality of life and even death as seen in an incident related by Berry (11). In this incident, in the year 1656, a young woman named Eunice Goody was suspected by her fellow New Hampshire town’

Saturday, November 16, 2019

WalMart SWOT Analysis

WalMart SWOT Analysis Wal-Marts policies and practices are designed to ensure an environment that is equitable and inclusive. To that end, Wal-Mart solicits feedback from all of their employees, annually, regarding their opinions of their work experience and the companys implementation of Wal-Marts basic beliefs and values. In addition, they provide training on working with people, leadership skills, equal employment opportunities, diversity and sexual harassment prevention. Wal-Mart is committed to providing all employees state-of-the-art training resources and development time to help achieve career objectives. They have a number of training tools in place that keeps then out in front of the competition, including classroom courses, computer-based learning, distance learning, corporate intranet sites, mentor programs, satellite broadcasts, skills assessments, and job announcements. These tools are successfully increasing advancement opportunities for women and minorities. Wal-Mart has been ranked among Training Magazines Top Training 100 companies for two consecutive years. Respect for the individual, one of Wal-Marts companys three core values, is reinforced throughout their training process. Wal-Mart is committed to the customers and communities they serve. Wal-Mart hires locally, representing the diversity and uniqueness of everyones hometown. As the demographics of the nation have changed, so has the family of Wal-Marts employees. More than 15 percent of their employees are over the age of 55, and they are the nations largest employer of Hispanics and African-Americans. Wal-Mart also uses its respectable financial position to attract and retain employees by offering stock ownership and profit-sharing programs. These programs are available to all full-time employees of Wal-Mart and make a significant impact on the earnings of employees. They are allowed to purchase shares of stock at reduced prices, which allows them an immediate appreciation of their portfolio. With the profit-sharing program, the employees receive bonuses at the end of the year based on the success of the overall company. These also provide a significant amount of compensation to their employees. Wal-Mart also has very strong community-based initiatives. They have continually gave college scholarships for high school seniors, raised funds for nearby childrens hospitals through the Childrens Miracle Network Telethon, provided money and manpower for fund raisers, school benefits and churches, Boy and Girl Scouts, park projects, police and fire charities, food banks, senior citizen centers, and more. They also educate the public about recycling and other environmental topics with the help of a Green Coordinator, a specially trained employee who coordinates efforts to make an environmentally responsible store. Along this same line, Wal-Mart has created Environmental Demonstration Stores in Lawrence, Kansas; Moore, Oklahoma; and City of Industry, California. These stores serve as a test tube for environmentally friendly building materials and experimental methods for conserving energy and water. Finally, the corporate structure of Wal-Mart is very well rounded and managed with three core values: respect for the individual, service to their customers, and striving for excellence. The management of Wal-Mart is the backbone to the entire company and these core-values have propelled Wal-Mart to the top of their industry and have allowed Wal-Mart to be the worlds largest company. (S)trengths Marketing The nature of Wal-Marts marketing is in its Every Day Low Price (EDLP) campaign. This is what makes Wal-Mart successful. Sam Walton devised a system for which price setting was to be followed. Sam wouldnt allow management to hedge a price at all. If the list price was $1.98, but Wal-Mart had paid only 50 cents, they would mark it up 30 percent, and thats it. Sams philosophy was No matter what you pay for it, if we get a great deal, pass it on to the customer. The other major campaign Wal-Mart employs is the Rollback. This occurs when Wal-Mart lowers the already lowered Every Day Low Prices. This has really been a successful way for Wal-Mart to increase its patrons. When consumers shop, they are always looking for the best deal, since Wal-Mart already offers low prices, when they rollback prices, they are able to out-price all of their competition. Stemming from the managements core values, Wal-Mart has been known for their customer oriented approach. Wal-Mart maintains one of the best satisfaction guaranteed programs, which promotes customer goodwill. One can return virtually any product to Wal-Mart without any problems. They simply take the product back and promptly refund the price of the product, nearly no questions asked. They also promote goodwill among consumers by employing a tactic, which Sam created known as the Ten Foot Rule. This is simply the idea that if a customer comes within ten feet of an employee, they are required to greet them and ask if they can help them in any way. This is also evident through employees getting to know customers on a first name basis. Finally, perhaps the single most important marketing aspect of Wal-Mart is that they create the ideal one-stop shopping experience. Wal-Mart is organized into ten distinct divisions. These include: Wal-Mart stores, SAMS CLUBS, Neighborhood Markets, International, walmart.com, Tire Lube Express, Wal-Mart Optical, Wal-Mart Pharmacy, Wal-Mart Vacations, and Wal-Marts Used Fixture Auctions. Through these divisions, Wal-Mart offers thousands of products. The Wal-Mart stores contain groceries, clothes, healthcare products, toys, electronics, bedding, sports and recreation, automotive, among other items. Because of this conglomeration of products, the typical consumer can go into any Wal-Mart and walk out without having to stop at another store for anything that they could need. Finance/Accounting Since 2000, Wal-Marts revenue has consistently increased. In 2000, they had revenues of $165,013 billion and in 2002 their revenue had increased 24% to $217,799 billion. This is astronomical growth in revenues considering the overall size and scope of Wal-Mart. Top be able to consistently grow revenues in such a large organization is simply amazing. The increase in revenues has also been very kind to their cash flow. In 1997, Wal-Mart had a positive cash flow of $4,044 billion and in 2002 this number had increased to a positive $9,961 billion. This growth also had an impact on Wal-Marts net income, which is to say that they were able to control their expenses while continuing to grow and expand their operations. In 1997, their net income was a not-so-paltry $3,056 billion, and in 2002, only five years later, Wal-Mart more than doubled their net income to $6,671 billion. The strength of Wal-Mart is also shown through its ratios. Nearly all of Wal-Marts ratios are strengths when measured against the industry averages. Through our ratio analysis, we have shown that Wal-Mart is the best-equipped company to succeed in the marketplace. (The ratio analysis can be found as Figure 3 in the appendix) Another area of strength is Wal-Marts stock price. Figure 4 shows the price of Wal-Marts common stock from October 2000 until the end of 2002. The price has fluctuated, but it has only fluctuated between $45 and $65. Including dividends, an investment in Wal-Mart would perform well. Production/Operations Perhaps the strongest aspect of Wal-Mart is in its access to distribution networks. Wal-Mart uses a system known as cross-docking. This is simply the process of continuously delivering goods to warehouses where they are sorted and distributed to their stores within one day. This enables Wal-Mart to take advantage of economies of scale with shipping trucks with full loads. This also gives Wal-Mart the ability to increase the speed of deliveries, a faster response to market demands, and a low inventory. This system has allowed Wal-Mart to decrease its sales cost by 2 to 3 percent over the industry. This savings is then priced into the products with the earlier discussed EDLP programs. This system is maintained through the most important aspect of Wal-Mart, its employees. With over one million employees worldwide, Wal-Mart definitely has the manpower to move goods. This is also facilitated with a proprietary satellite-based communication system that enables managers and point-of-sale systems real-time information on the needs of each store. Research and Development Wal-Mart does not engage in any research and development. Computer Information Systems As discussed in the production/operation section, Wal-Mart uses a sophisticated system of satellite-based communications. They also offer a safe, secure and complete website where consumers can purchase all of the same products found in the store. The website is strength because it is not only a means for purchasing products, but is also a very thorough informational site. Consumers can log onto www.walmartstores.com and do company financial searches, find employment, learn about the grassroots of Wal-Mart, email the company about problems, and learn about any recalls of products sold through Wal-Mart. (W)eaknesses Management The biggest weakness that Wal-Mart has in the management area is that it does not have a formal mission statement. While they do have core values, they do not explicitly tell their employees or consumers what their business is. This is a fundamental aspect of a company and it provides not definition and direction, but it gives a company a statement on which to rely on to stay strong and focused. Another weakness is that there are few females in top management and there are few minorities employed. With such a societal demand for equality, Wal-Mart is lacking in this category. This is not a very good ethical decision for Wal-Mart to be making. They are really hurting their corporate image by maintaining this position. The other area that Wal-Mart lacks in is with unions. Currently, Wal-Mart does not have any union involvement. This is a problem because of the perception of treating employees poorly. Unions are created to provide bargaining power to employees on issues that involve their compensation, benefits, and working conditions. This is also a weakness because of job security. With unions, job security is not as much of a concern. Marketing The biggest source of marketing weakness stems from Wal-Mart lobbying to expand into new markets. There are thousands of towns across the United States that have tried to block the introduction of Wal-Mart because of the economic impact that it has on small-town stores and shops. Wal-Mart has a damaged reputation because when they move into a location they end up forcing these types of businesses out of business. Finance/Accounting Weaknesses in Wal-Marts finances are seen in three of its ratios. The fixed asset turnover, earnings per share, and average collection period ratios are not very good. The fixed asset turnover ratio is telling us that they have made a lot of investments, but that they are not being fully used at this point in time. The earnings per share ratio is not good because when compared to the industry, they are not earning as much money for each shareholder. However, this is most likely due to the sheer number of outstanding shares. The average collection period is a cause for concern because it means that they are allowing their debtors to carry accounts with Wal-Mart for an above average period of time. This is not good because it increases the likelihood of non-payment. (These ratios can be found in Figure 3 of the appendix) Production/Operations The largest source of concern for this functional area is the slowing speed of checkout lines. This is simply a product of Wal-Marts success. Because more and more people are going to Wal-Mart, and the number of checkout lines is staying constant, the only way to compensate is for the time to checkout increase. This is a problem because it can and will cause people to choose other stores that are less congested. They are basically losing sales due to this fact. Research and Development This is a weakness because they do not actively engage in any research and development. Specifically, they do not do any prior site research before opening a store. They simply approach a local government and build. Internal Factor Evaluation The internal factor evaluation is used to evaluate the major strengths and weaknesses of a company. There are weights assigned to strengths and weaknesses based on how the company responds to them. The ratings are: 1 = poor response, 2 = average response, 3 = above average response, and 4 = superior response. (Figure 5 in the appendix) The key strengths we identified were financial position, employees, customer oriented, one-stop shopping, satisfaction guaranteed programs, employee stock ownership and profit-sharing, well-rounded business, ease of website, good reputation, and favorable access to distribution networks. Along with key strengths of Wal-Mart, we also identified key weaknesses. The key weaknesses are some ratios are not sufficient, non-unionization, no formal mission statement, few women and minorities in top management, undifferentiated products and services, site research, slow speed of checkout service, and finally a damaged reputation. The strengths were weighted: .04 for financial position, .07 for employees, .07 for customer orientation, .14 for one-stop shopping, .05 for satisfaction guaranteed programs, .05 for stock ownership and profit-sharing, .03 for well-rounded business, .04 for ease of website, .04 for good reputation, and .04 for favorable access to distribution networks. The weaknesses have also been weighted. The weaknesses weighted scores were .03 for insufficient ratios, .15 for non-unionization, .05 for no formal mission statement, .05 for few women and minorities in top management, .03 for undifferentiated products and services, .05 for site research, .04 for slowing speed of checkout service, and .03 for a damaged reputation. These weights show the importance of each strength and weakness of Wal-Mart. They are determined by how important that quality is to Wal-Mart and how hard of an impact each has against other businesses. We felt that the most important factors were one-stop shopping and non-unionization. These two factors are very important to Wal-Marts structure and well being as a whole. If these factors are not evaluated regularly, they could put a start to its potential downfall. We rated each strength and weakness based on how Wal-Mart seems to be positioning itself against its competitors. Wal-Marts employees, customer orientation, one-stop shopping, satisfaction guaranteed programs, stock ownership and profit sharing, ease of website, good reputation and favorable access to distribution networks all have been very successful strengths for the company. These are so successful we rated each with a 4. The financial position of Wal-Mart and the well-rounded business that it is has made Wal-Mart what it is today. Because of this success we rated these factors with a 3. In their weaknesses, we thought that minor weaknesses included: non-unionization, no formal mission statement, few women and minorities in top management, undifferentiated products and services, site research, and the slowing speed of checkout service. Since these were only minor we gave them a score of 2. We also rated some major weaknesses. These included insufficient ratios and their damaged reputation, which we rated as a 1. By using these scores in the internal factor evaluation matrix, we came to a total score for Wal-Mart being a 3.01, which is above average. They are above the average company when it comes down to its strengths and weaknesses and how they deal with them. (This is Figure 5 in the appendix) External Analysis (O)pportunities Economic An opportunity available to the industry is the free trade zone. When the government enters into new trade agreements with foreign countries, businesses in the United States have the ability to offer products from these countries in their stores. This simply increases the markets available to retailers. Social, cultural, demographic, and environmental An opportunity facing the industry is that customers want ease of shopping. To provide the ease of shopping the industry is guaranteeing that the customers will find what they want when they want it. This is supported by convenient presentation and the right level of service every time the customer shops. Political, legal, and government An opportunity facing the industry is that the Asian market is virtually untapped by the retail world. By having an untapped market it gives a huge opportunity for companies to expand. It promises unlimited potential for growth and profits. Technological An opportunity facing the industry is that internet shopping is growing. To take advantage of internet shopping, the industry is focused around the customer. The customer receives friendly site designs, efficient order fulfillment, fast delivery and professional customer response. They process returns, refunds, and rebates quickly. Competitive An opportunity facing the industry is that the value of money is weakening. The weakening value of money will help the industry because it reduces the ability of foreign manufactures to offer discounts. (T)hreats Economic A threat is that the economy is very slow right now. There is no way of preventing it and no way to change it. This impacts all businesses and causes profit margins to be reduced as price-cutting ensues to attract more consumers. Social, cultural, demographic, and environmental A threat is customer theft. Manufacturers are fighting back against customer theft by embedding paper clip sized antitheft tags, called electronic article surveillance labels, inside products and packaging. Called source tagging, the process offers several major benefits. For one, merchandise tagged on the factory floor during manufacture or packaging lets retail employees spend less time in the storeroom applying labels and more time on the show floor helping customers. Also, high-theft merchandise previously displayed behind glass can now sit out in the open, boosting sales significantly. Another social, cultural, demographic, and environmental threat is employee theft. Along with antitheft labels there are radio-frequency circuits that are hidden in packages and go unnoticed. The only time they will go off is when the bar code scanner does not deactivate the circuit, which means they stole it. This helps to prevent the two forms of employee theft, which are sweat hearting and sliding. Sweat hearting is when the employee charges the customer less than the actual price and sliding is when the employee covers the barcode at the point of sale. Political, legal, and governmental A threat is the Chinese regulations. China has one of the largest populations in the world; however, the Chinese government does not take kindly to opening their country to foreign establishments. Also, there is rampant corruption among the Chinese, and they have no generally accepted accounting principles. Technological A threat facing the industry is that technological advances may make the products obsolescent. As technology advances, products being sold today are gone tomorrow; this provides less products for retailers to sell. Competitive A threat is that the industry is not following consumer taste. To overcome the threat of not providing consumers wants the industry is expanding rapidly in the urban centers while traditional wet markets are being edged out as the middle-class enlarges and young people flock to the cities. Competitive Profile Matrix A competitive profile matrix identifies a firms major competitors and its particular strengths and weaknesses in relation to a sample firms strategic position. The ratings are as follows: 1 major weakness, 2 minor weaknesses, 3 minor strengths, and 4 major strengths. (Figure 1 in the appendix) Compared together, Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart are very close competitors. They are all retail-variety discount stores making their existence known throughout the world, except Target, which you cannot find globally. These three companies are constantly vying for the reputation as the lowest priced retailer. In the competitive profile matrix, the most critical success factor would be advertising with a weighted score of 0.25. Advertising for these competitors is very critical if they want to compete against each other for the best quality products at low prices. With this, Target was scored the highest with a rating of 4 while both Wal-Mart and Kmart are rated as a 3. This is because Target does a lot more advertising then Wal-Mart and Kmart. The next most critical success factor is global expansion with a weighted score of 0.20. This is somewhat important if you wanted to keep up with the competitors. Wal-Mart was found to be rated the highest with a 4 with Kmart was rated next with a 3, and finally Target rated as a 2. Wal-Mart was ranked the highest because they are found around world, while Kmart was ranked next because they are only found in a few other countries. Target, ranking last, does not have any global branches. This is only a minor weakness because they really do not have to go globally because of how well they are keeping up with the competitors within the United States. Price competitiveness and financial position are ranked next on the competitive profile matrix with a weighted score of 0.15 each. Wal-Mart, ranking the highest in both cases with a 4, is above all competitors. This is because they price reasonably with lower prices then all the competitors and their financial position is great. Target is ranked next with a rating of 3 in both price competitiveness and financial position. Target is known to have somewhat high prices and people tend to see that and want to go shopping elsewhere like Wal-Mart. Their financial position is not that great with the minor strength, but they are keeping up with their major competitor, Wal-Mart. Finally, Kmart is found to have a rating of a 3 in price competitiveness, and a rating of 2 in financial position. This is because Kmart does keep up with the prices of competitors, but they do get pricey in some areas. Their financial position is a minor weakness because of the Martha Stewart scandal and their bankru ptcy. Her products were being sold a lot until the scandal came out. Now they are pricing her products really low just to get the inventory sold. Next, product quality and customer loyalty is found on the competitive profile matrix to have a weighted score of 0.10. Target is found to have a rating of 4 in product quality. In customer loyalty they have a rating of a 3. This is because products found in Target tends to be top brand products, but at the same time, customers see these products somewhere else for a lower price and they tend to go to that place instead. Wal-Mart is ranked next with a rating of 3 in both product quality and customer loyalty. Wal-Mart may not have top brand products but the quality is fairly good. Customer loyalty is also ranked as a 3 because some people do like to get better products no matter how much it costs. Kmart, ranked last with a 2. This is because they do not carry quality products. People tend to go other places for what they want because of the better selection and quality. Finally, the last critical success factor is market share with a rating of 0.05. Wal-Mart and Target are both ranked 3 while Kmart is ranked 1. This is about right because as indicated by the total weighted score, Kmart is the weakest with 2.55. Targets total weighted score was in between but closer to Wal-Marts score of 3.15, and Wal-Marts was the strongest weighted score as 3.50. In conclusion of the competitive profile matrix, Wal-Mart as a competitor rises above both Target and Kmart. External Factor Evaluation An external factor evaluation matrix identifies the industry-wide opportunities and threats. Weights are assigned to the various opportunities and threats based on how well the subject company is responding to the threats and opportunities. The ratings are as follows: 1 = poor response, 2 = average response, 3 = above average response, and 4 = superior response. (Figure 2 in the appendix) The main opportunities that we identified were increasing internet shopping, ease of shopping, free trade zones, the Chinese market, and the value of the dollar. The main threats that we identified were technology making products obsolete, customer and employee theft, slow economy, the Chinese regulations, and not offering what the consumer wants. The opportunities were weighted .15 for internet shopping, .10 for ease of shopping, .10 for free trade zones, .10 for Chinese markets, and .05 for the weak dollar. The threats were weighted .10 for technology making products obsolete, .20 for customer and employee theft, .05 for the slow economy, .10 for the Chinese regulations, and.05 for not offering what consumers want. The weights and are representative of the importance the opportunities and threats presented to Wal-Mart. They were determined by considering the impact that each one has on the industry and how well Wal-Mart is conditioned to react to the situations presented. We felt that the most important factors were internet shopping, and customer and employee theft. These two factors are paramount to the industry and all of its counterparts success. If these factors are not addressed by the industry, bankruptcy is sure to follow. We rated each of the opportunities and threats based on how well Wal-Mart has been positioning itself in the market. Wal-Marts website has been a huge success with it contributing additional revenue to the bottom line; we rated this as a 4. The response to consumer demand for one-stop shopping has also been a success. The fact that you can buy a vast majority of everyday needs such as groceries, clothes, personal care products, electronics, among many other products shows the commitment Wal-Mart is making to the one-stop shopping idea. We also rated this 4. We felt that Wal-Marts continued expansion into foreign countries to be above average and thus rated it a 3. Because China is heavily regulated, we rated their response to the opportunities available in China a 2. This is still a very good score because it is very difficult for any firm to expand into China. Wal-Marts reaction to the dollar weakening has been above average because of its worldwide coverage. They have been able to take advantage of this economic factor with ease and we rated it a 3. The response to threats has been equally impressive. While technology is constantly making products obsolete, Wal-Mart has been able to position itself to be a positive avenue for selling all of the newest and innovative products. Wal-Mart suppliers definitely have a great opportunity for sales because of the vast audience that patronize Wal-Mart. We rated this as a 3. Employee and customer theft is inevitable in all industries. This was ranked as a 2 because Wal-Mart uses the same devices that the entire industry uses. The slowing economy has been a sour point to all industries as well. Wal-Mart has been able to limit its exposure by offering low prices and maintaining its market-leading share. We ranked this factor a 4. Again, because China is such a tough market to enter, we ranked their response to Chinese regulations a 2. The idea that companies offer products that consumers do not want is not uncommon. There have been thousands of products that have flopped after being introduced. Wal-Mart has been able to circumscribe their exposure by offering thousands of products across many different areas. We ranked their response to this a 4. The final score, 2.80, that was obtained from the external factor evaluation matrix shows that Wal-Mart is above average when reacting to opportunities and threats.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

series reasons :: essays research papers

These are reasons from every Evangelion episode and movie. Most of the information isn't in order. I really hae to go back and fix that, but you can deal with it for now . . . Episode I: 1) Rei appears as a mirage in the the beginning. This could have many meanings, like it tell us what kind of person Shinji is. When Shinji met Rei in front of Eva Unit 01 later in the show, he looked at her, as if he'd seen her before. De ja vu = love, and I don't think they put that there for no readon. (Borrowed from Ryan Xavier's Shinji/Rei site) 2) Shinji pilots Evangelion Unit 01 (who has rejected everyone up to now) and uses it to fight the Third Angel just so Rei won't pilot it and get destroyed. We can call Rei the damsel in distress in this scene. Episode II: 1) We only see Rei one in this episode, and that's when she's on a stretcher. She merely gazes at Shinji, and Shinji gazes back. We all know Rei is a thinking person, questioning her feelings. She could be contemplating why this boy decided to pilot Unit 01 just so she wouldn't die. Remember, she is "expendable". Episode V: 1) Shinji notices that Rei is always alone. He wonders why, and continues to think about this "girl who has no friends". 2) He gropes over her. Accident or no accident, it's undeniably intamacy. Episode VI: 1) Shinji burns his hands and leaves permenant marks on them while trying to pull Rei out of the entry plug. After he sees Rei is alright, he breaks down in tears. I don't remember him doing so for anyone else. 2) Rei smiles for Shinji. The firt time in her fourteen years of life she does so for another person. (Gendou doesn't count, he was a parent figure) Episode IX: 1) Shinji and Asuka have been living in the same apartment, yet Shinji and Rei pull off a perfect synch during the synch training. Many people have said this is because Yui Ikari's soul is within Rei. Wrong. Yui's soul is within Unit 01. The perfect synch between the two could be a sign . . . Episode XI: 1) As the Eva Pilots are going to Nerv, and when the pilots are climbing the vents, Rei's eyes go to Shinji.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Banking Project

INTRODUCTION & HISTORY OF BANKING BANKING [pic] Introduction India cannot have a healthy economy without a sound and effective banking system. The banking system should be hassle free and able to meet the new challenges posed by technology and other factors, both internal and external. In the past three decades, India's banking system has earned several outstanding achievements to its credit. The most striking is its extensive reach. It is no longer confined to metropolises or cities in India.In fact, Indian banking system has reached even to the remote corners of the country. This is one of the main aspects of India's growth story. The government's regulation policy for banks has paid rich dividends with the nationalization of 14 major private banks in 1969. Banking today has become convenient and instant, with the account holder not having to wait for hours at the bank counter for getting a draft or for withdrawing money from his account. Banking in India  in the modern sense ori ginated in the last decades of the 18th century.The first banks were The General Bank of India, which started in 1786, and Bank of Hindustan, which started in 1770; both are now defunct. The oldest bank still in existence in India is the  State Bank of India, which originated in the  Bank of Calcutta  in June 1806, which almost immediately became the  Bank of Bengal. This was one of the three presidency banks, the other two being the  Bank of Bombay  and the  Bank of Madras, all three of which were established under charters from the  British East India Company. For many years the presidency banks acted as quasi-central banks, as did their successors.The three banks merged in 1921 to form the  Imperial Bank of India, which, upon India's independence, became the  State Bank of India  in 1955. 1. History of Banking in India The first bank in India, though conservative, was established in 1786. From 1786 till today, the journey of Indian Banking System can be segr egated into three distinct phases: †¢ Early phase of Indian banks, from 1786 to 1969 †¢ Nationalization of banks and the banking sector reforms, from 1969 to 1991 †¢ New phase of Indian banking system, with the reforms after 1991 Phase1The first bank in India, the General Bank of India, was set up in 1786. Bank of Hindustan and Bengal Bank followed. The East India Company established Bank of Bengal (1809), Bank of Bombay (1840), and Bank of Madras (1843) as independent units and called them Presidency banks. These three banks were amalgamated in 1920 and the Imperial Bank of India, a bank of private shareholders, mostly Europeans, was established. Allahabad Bank was established, exclusively by Indians, in 1865. Punjab National Bank was set up in 1894 with headquarters in Lahore.Between 1906 and 1913, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, and Bank of Mysore were set up. The Reserve Bank of India came in 1935. During the first p hase, the growth was very slow and banks also experienced periodic failures between 1913 and 1948. There were approximately 1,100 banks, mostly small. To streamline the functioning and activities of commercial banks, the Government of India came up with the Banking Companies Act, 1949, which was later changed to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 as per amending Act of 1965 (Act No. 3 of 1965). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was vested with extensive powers for the supervision of banking in India as the Central banking authority. During those days, the general public had lesser confidence in banks. As an aftermath, deposit mobilization was slow. Moreover, the savings bank facility provided by the Postal department was comparatively safer, and funds were largely given to traders. Phase2 The government took major initiatives in banking sector reforms after Independence.In 1955, it nationalized the Imperial Bank of India and started offering extensive banking facilities, especially in r ural and semi-urban areas. The government constituted the State Bank of India to act as the principal agent of the RBI and to handle banking transactions of the Union government and state governments all over the country. Seven banks owned by the Princely states were nationalized in 1959 and they became subsidiaries of the State Bank of India. In 1969, 14 commercial banks in the country were nationalized. In the second phase of banking sector reforms, seven more banks were nationalized in 1980.With this, 80 percent of the banking sector in India came under the government ownership. Phase3 This phase has introduced many more products and facilities in the banking sector as part of the reforms process. In 1991, under the chairmanship of M Narasimham, a committee was set up, which worked for the liberalization of banking practices. Now, the country is flooded with foreign banks and their ATM stations. Efforts are being put to give a satisfactory service to customers. Phone banking and net banking are introduced. The entire system became more convenient and swift.Time is given importance in all money transactions. The financial system of India has shown a great deal of resilience. It is sheltered from crises triggered by external macroeconomic shocks, which other East Asian countries often suffered. This is all due to a flexible exchange rate regime, the high foreign exchange reserve, the not-yet fully convertible capital account, and the limited foreign exchange exposure of banks and their customers. In ancient India there is evidence of loans from the  Vedic period  (beginning 1750 BC).Later during the  Maurya dynasty  (321 to 185 BC), an instrument called adesha was in use, which was an order on a banker desiring him to pay the money of the note to a third person, which corresponds to the definition of a bill of exchange as we understand it today. During the Buddhist period, there was considerable use of these instruments. Merchants in large towns gave letters of credit to one another. Colonial era During the colonial era merchants in  Calcutta  established the Union Bank in 1839, but it failed in 1840 as a consequence of the economic crisis of 1848-49.The  Allahabad Bank, established in 1865 and still functioning today, is the oldest  Joint Stock bank  in India, it was not the first though. That honor belongs to the Bank of Upper India, which was established in 1863, and which survived until 1913, when it failed, with some of its assets and liabilities being transferred to the  Alliance Bank of Shimla. Foreign banks too started to appear, particularly in  Calcutta, in the 1860s. The  Comptoir d'Escompte de Paris  opened a branch in Calcutta in 1860, and another in  Bombay  in 1862; branches in  Madras  and  Pondicherry, then a French possession, followed. HSBCestablished itself in  Bengal  in 1869.Calcutta was the most active trading port in India, mainly due to the trade of the  British Empire, and so became a banking center. The first entirely Indian joint stock bank was the Oudh Commercial Bank, established in 1881 in  Faizabad. It failed in 1958. The next was the  Punjab National Bank, established in  Lahore  in 1895, which has survived to the present and is now one of the largest banks in India. Around the turn of the 20th Century, the Indian economy was passing through a relative period of stability. Around five decades had elapsed since the  Indian Mutiny, and the social, industrial and other infrastructure had improved.Indians had established small banks, most of which served particular ethnic and religious communities. The presidency banks dominated banking in India but there were also some exchange banks and a number of Indian  joint stock  banks. All these banks operated in different segments of the economy. The exchange banks, mostly owned by Europeans, concentrated on financing foreign trade. Indian joint stock banks were generally under capitaliz ed and lacked the experience and maturity to compete with the presidency and exchange banks.This segmentation let Lord Curzon to observe,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"In respect of banking it seems we are behind the times. We are like some old fashioned sailing ship, divided by solid wooden bulkheads into separate and cumbersome compartments. † The period between 1906 and 1911, saw the establishment of banks inspired by the  Swadeshi  movement. The Swadeshi movement inspired local businessmen and political figures to found banks of and for the Indian community. A number of banks established then have survived to the present such as  Bank of India,  Corporation Bank,  Indian Bank,  Bank of Baroda,  Canara Bank  and  Central Bank of India.The fervour of Swadeshi movement lead to establishing of many private banks in  Dakshina Kannada  and  Udupi district  which were unified earlier and known by the name  South Canara  ( South Kanara ) district. Four nationalised banks started in this district and also a leading private sector bank. Hence undivided Dakshina Kannada district is known as â€Å"Cradle of Indian Banking†. During the  First World War  (1914–1918) through the end of the  Second World War  (1939–1945), and two years thereafter until the independence  of India were challenging for Indian banking.The years of the First World War were turbulent, and it took its toll with banks simply collapsing despite the  Indian economy  gaining indirect boost due to war-related economic activities. At least 94 banks in India failed between 1913 and 1918 as indicated in the following table: |Years |Number of banks |Authorised capital |Paid-up Capital | | |that failed |(Rs. Lakhs) |(Rs.Lakhs) | |1913 |12 |274 |35 | |1914 |42 |710 |109 | |1915 |11 |56 |5 | |1916 |13 |231 |4 | |1917 |9 |76 |25 | |1918 |7 |209 |1 | Post-Independence The  partition of India  in 1947 adversely impacted the economies of  Punjab  and  West Bengal, paralyzing banking activities for months. India's  independence  marked the end of a regime of the  Laissez-faire  for the Indian banking. The  Government of India  initiated measures to play an active role in the economic life of the nation, and the Industrial Policy Resolution adopted by the government in 1948 envisaged a  mixed economy. This resulted into greater involvement of the state in different segments of the economy including banking and finance.The major steps to regulate banking included: ? The  Reserve Bank of India, India's central banking authority, was established in April 1935, but was nationalized on January 1, 1949 under the terms of the Reserve Bank of India (Transfer to Public Ownership) Act, 1948 (RBI, 2005b). ? In 1949, the Banking Regulation Act was enacted which empowered the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) â€Å"to regulate, control, and inspect the banks in India†. ? The Banking Regulation Act also provided that no new ban k or branch of an existing bank could be opened without a license from the RBI, and no two banks could have common directors. Nationalization in the 1960sDespite the provisions, control and regulations of  Reserve Bank of India, banks in India except the  State Bank of India  or SBI, continued to be owned and operated by private persons. By the 1960s, the Indian banking industry had become an important tool to facilitate the development of the  Indian economy. At the same time, it had emerged as a large employer, and a debate had ensued about the nationalization of the banking industry. Indra Gandhi, then  Prime Minister of India, expressed the intention of the  Government of India  in the annual conference of the All India Congress Meeting in a paper entitled  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Stray thoughts on Bank Nationalization. †Ã‚  The meeting received the paper with enthusiasm. Thereafter, her move was swift and sudden.The Government of India issued an ordinance (‘Banking C ompanies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Ordinance, 1969')) and nationalized  the 14 largest commercial banks with effect from the midnight of July 19, 1969. These banks contained 85 percent of bank deposits in the country. [5]  Jayaprakash Narayan, a national leader of India, described the step as a  Ã¢â‚¬Å"masterstroke of political sagacity. †Ã‚  Within two weeks of the issue of the ordinance, the Parliament  passed the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertaking) Bill, and it received the  presidential  approval on 9 August 1969. A second dose of nationalization of 6 more commercial banks followed in 1980.The stated reason for the nationalization was to give the government more control of credit delivery. With the second dose of nationalization, the Government of India controlled around 91% of the banking business of India. Later on, in the year 1993, the government merged  New Bank of India  with  Punjab National Bank. It was the only merger between nationalized banks and resulted in the reduction of the number of nationalized banks from 20 to 19. After this, until the 1990s, the nationalized banks grew at a pace of around 4%, closer to the average growth rate of the Indian economy. Liberalization in the 1990s In the early 1990s, the then  Narasimha Rao  government embarked on a policy of  liberalization, licensing a small number of private banks.These came to be known as  New Generation tech-savvy banks, and included Global Trust Bank (the first of such new generation banks to be set up), which later amalgamated with Oriental Bank of Commerce,  UTI Bank  (since renamed  Axis Bank),  ICICI Bank  and  HDFC Bank. This move, along with the rapid growth in the  economy of India, revitalized the banking sector in India, which has seen rapid growth with strong contribution from all the three sectors of banks, namely, government banks, private banks and foreign banks. The next stage for the I ndian banking has been set up with the proposed relaxation in the norms for Foreign Direct Investment, where all Foreign Investors in banks may be given voting rights which could exceed the present cap of 10%,at present it has gone up to 74% with some restrictions. The new policy shook the Banking sector in  India  completely.Bankers, till this time, were used to the 4-6-4 method (Borrow at 4%; Lend at 6%; Go home at 4) of functioning. The new wave ushered in a modern outlook and tech-savvy methods of working for traditional banks. All this led to the retail boom in India. People not just demanded more from their banks but also received more. Current period By 2010, banking in India was generally fairly mature in terms of supply, product range and reach-even though reach in rural India still remains a challenge for the private sector and foreign banks. In terms of quality of assets and capital adequacy, Indian banks are considered to have clean, strong and transparent balance sh eets relative to other banks in comparable economies in its region.The Reserve Bank of India is an autonomous body, with minimal pressure from the government. The stated policy of the Bank on the  Indian Rupee  is to manage volatility but without any fixed exchange rate-and this has mostly been true. With the growth in the Indian economy expected to be strong for quite some time-especially in its services sector-the demand for banking services, especially  retail banking, mortgages and investment services are expected to be strong. One may also expect M, takeovers, and asset sales. In March 2006, the Reserve Bank of India allowed  Warburg Pincus  to increase its stake in  Kotak Mahindra Bank  (a private sector bank) to 10%.This is the first time an investor has been allowed to hold more than 5% in a private sector bank since the RBI announced norms in 2005 that any stake exceeding 5% in the private sector banks would need to be vetted by them. In recent years critics h ave charged that the non-government owned banks are too aggressive in their loan recovery efforts in connection with housing, vehicle and personal loans. There are press reports that the banks' loan recovery efforts have driven defaulting borrowers to suicide. State Bank of India & Its Subordinates [pic] 1. Introduction State Bank of India  (SBI) is a  banking  and  financial services  company based in India.It is a  state-owned  corporation with its headquarters in  Mumbai, Maharashtra. As of March 2012, it had assets of  US$360 billion and 14,119 branches, including 157 foreign offices in 32 countries across the globe making it the largest banking and financial services company in India. The bank traces its ancestry to  British India, through the  Imperial Bank of India, to the founding in 1806 of the  Bank of Calcutta, making it the oldest commercial bank in the Indian Subcontinent. Bank of Madras merged into the other two presidencies banks—Bank of Calcutta and Bank of Bombay—to form the Imperial Bank of India, which in turn became the State Bank of India.The  Government of India  nationalized the Imperial Bank of India in 1955, with the  Reserve Bank of India  taking a 60% stake, and renamed it the State Bank of India. In 2008, the government took over the stake held by the Reserve Bank of India. SBI has been ranked 285th in the  Fortune Global 500  rankings of the world's biggest corporations for the year 2012. SBI provides a range of banking products through its network of branches in India and overseas, including products aimed at  non-resident Indians  (NRIs). SBI has 14 regional hubs and 57 Zonal Offices that are located at important cities throughout the country. SBI is a regional banking behemoth and has 20% market share in deposits and loans among Indian commercial banks.The State Bank of India was named the 29th most reputed company in the world according to  Forbes  2009 rankings and was the only bank featured in the â€Å"top 10 brands of India† list in an annual survey conducted by  Brand Finance  and  The Economic Times  in 2010. History The roots of the State Bank of India lie in the first decade of 19th century, when the  Bank of Calcutta, later renamed the  Bank of Bengal, was established on 2 June 1806. The Bank of Bengal was one of three Presidency banks, the other two being the  Bank of Bombay (incorporated on 15 April 1840) and the  Bank of Madras  (incorporated on 1 July 1843). All three Presidency banks were incorporated as  joint stock companies  and were the result of the  royal charters. These three banks received the exclusive right to issue paper currency till 1861 when with the Paper Currency Act; the right was taken over by the Government of India.The Presidency banks amalgamated on 27 January 1921, and the re-organized banking entity took as its name  Imperial Bank of India. The Imperial Bank of India remained a j oint stock company but without Government participation. Pursuant to the provisions of the State Bank of India Act of 1955, the  Reserve Bank of India, which is  India's central bank, acquired a controlling interest in the Imperial Bank of India. On 30 April 1955, the Imperial Bank of India became the State Bank of India. The  government of India  recently acquired the Reserve Bank of India's stake in SBI so as to remove any conflict of interest because the RBI is the country's banking regulatory authority.In 1959, the government passed the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, which made eight state banks associates of SBI. A process of consolidation began on 13 September 2008, when the  State Bank of Saurashtra  merged with SBI. SBI has acquired local banks in rescues. The first was the Bank of Behar (est. 1911), which SBI acquired in 1969, together with its 28 branches. The next year SBI acquired National Bank of Lahore (est. 1942), which had 24 branches. Five y ears later, in 1975, SBI acquired Krishnaram Baldeo Bank, which had been established in 1916 in  Gwalior State, under the patronage of Maharaja  Madho Rao Scindia. The bank had been the Dukan Pichadi, a small moneylender, owned by the Maharaja. The new banks first manager was Jall N. Broacha, a Parsi.In 1985, SBI acquired the Bank of Cochin in  Kerala, which had 120 branches. SBI was the acquirer as its affiliate, theState Bank of Travancore, already had an extensive network in Kerala. 2. Associate banks SBI has five associate banks; all use the State Bank of India logo, which is a blue circle, and all use the â€Å"State Bank of† name, followed by the regional headquarters' name: ? State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur ? State Bank of Hyderabad ? State Bank of Mysore ? State Bank of Patiala ? State Bank of Travancore Earlier SBI had seven associate banks, all of which had belonged to  princely states  until the government nationalised them between October 1959 and May 196 0.In tune with the first Five Year Plan, which prioritized the development of rural India, the government integrated these banks into State Bank of India system to expand its rural outreach. There has been a proposal to merge all the associate banks into SBI to create a â€Å"mega bank† and streamline the group's operations. The first step towards unification occurred on 13 August 2008 when  State Bank of Saurashtra  merged with SBI, reducing the number of associate state banks from seven to six. Then on 19 June 2009 the SBI board approved the absorption of  State Bank of Indore. SBI holds 98. 3% in State Bank of Indore. (Individuals who held the shares prior to its takeover by the government hold the balance of 1. 77%. ) The acquisition of State Bank of Indore added 470 branches to SBI's existing network of branches.Also, following the acquisition, SBI's total assets will inch very close to the  [pic]10 trillion marks. The total assets of SBI and the  State Bank of Indore  stood at  [pic]9,981,190 million as of March 2009. The process of merging of State Bank of Indore was completed by April 2010, and the SBI Indore branches started functioning as SBI branches on 26 August 2010. Non-banking subsidiaries Apart from its five associate banks, SBI also has the following non-banking subsidiaries: ? SBI Capital Markets  Ltd ? SBI Funds Management Pvt Ltd ? SBI Factors & Commercial Services Pvt Ltd ? SBI Cards  & Payments Services Pvt. Ltd. (SBICPSL) ? SBI DFHI Ltd ? SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd. ? SBI General InsuranceIn March 2001, SBI (with 74% of the total capital), joined with  BNP Paribas  (with 26% of the remaining capital), to form a joint venture life insurance company named SBI Life Insurance company Ltd. Nowadays, SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd ranks among the top and most trusted Life Insurance Companies in India and also abroad. In 2004, SBI DFHI Ltd. (DISCOUNT AND FINANCE HOUSE OF INDIA) was founded with its headquarters in MUMBA I, MAHARASHTRA. SBIDFHI Ltd. is a primary dealer that trades in Fixed income securities (treasury bills, state development loans, government securities, non SLR bonds, corporate bonds) and Short Term Money Market instruments (certificates of deposit, commercial papers, inter-corporate deposits, call and money notice deposits).It is an institution formed by RBI to support the book building process in primary auctions of Government securities and to provide necessary depth and liquidity to the secondary market in Government securities. Reserve Bank of India [pic] The  Reserve Bank of India  (RBI) is India's  central banking  institution, which controls the  monetary policy  of the  Indian rupee. It was established on 1 April 1935 during the  British Raj  in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. The share capital was divided into shares of ? 100 each fully paid which was entirely owned by private shareholders in the beginning. Followin g India's independence in 1947, the RBI was nationalised in the year 1949. The RBI plays an important part in the development strategy of theGovernment of India. It is a member bank of the  Asian Clearing Union.The general superintendence and direction of the RBI is entrusted with the 21-member-strong Central Board of Directors—the  Governor  (currently  Duvvuri Subbarao), four Deputy Governors, two  Finance Ministry  representative, ten Government-nominated Directors to represent important elements from India's economy, and four Directors to represent Local Boards headquartered at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and New Delhi. Each of these Local Boards consist of five members who represent regional interests, as well as the interests of co-operative and indigenous banks. 1. Structure Central Board of Directors The Central Board of Directors is the main committee of the central bank. The  Government of India  appoints the directors for a four-year term. The Board co nsists of a governor, four deputy governors, fifteen directors to represent the regional boards, one from the Ministry of Finance and ten other directors from various fields. Governors The current Governor of RBI is  Duvvuri Subbarao.The RBI extended the period of the present governor up to 2013. There are four deputy governors. Supportive bodies The Reserve Bank of India has ten regional representations: North in New Delhi, South in Chennai, East in Kolkata and West in Mumbai. The representations are formed by five members, appointed for four years by the central government and serve—beside the advice of the Central Board of Directors—as a forum for regional banks and to deal with delegated tasks from the central board. The institution has 22 regional offices. The  Board of Financial Supervision  (BFS), formed in November 1994, serves as a CCBD committee to control the financial institutions.It has four members, appointed for two years, and takes measures to str ength the role of statutory auditors in the financial sector, external monitoring and internal controlling systems. Offices and branches The Reserve Bank of India has 4 zonal offices. It has 19 regional offices at most state capitals and at a few major cities in India. Few of them are located in  Ahmedabad, Bangalore,  Bhopal,  Bhubaneswar,  Chandigarh,  Chennai,  Delhi,  Guwahati, Hyderabad Jaipur,Jammu,  Kanpur,  Kolkata,  Lucknow,  Mumbai,  Nagpur,  Patna,and  Thiruvananthapuram. Besides it has 09 sub-offices. 2. History 1935–1950 The Reserve Bank of India was founded on 1 April 1935 to respond to economic troubles after the  First World War. It came into picture according to the guidelines laid down by  Dr. Ambedkar.RBI was conceptualized as per the guidelines, working style and outlook presented by Dr Ambedkar in front of the Hilton Young Commission. When this commission came to India under the name of â€Å"Royal Commission on Indian Cur rency & Finance†, each and every member of this commission were holding Dr Ambedkar’s book named â€Å"The Problem of the Rupee – It’s origin and it’s solution. †Ã‚  The Bank was set up based on the recommendations of the 1926 Royal Commission on Indian Currency and Finance, also known as the Hilton–Young Commission. The original choice for the seal of RBI was The East India Company  Double Mohur, with the sketch of the Lion and Palm Tree. However it was decided to replace the lion with the tiger, the national animal of India.The Preamble of the RBI describes its basic functions to regulate the issue of bank notes, keep reserves to secure monetary stability in India, and generally to operate the currency and credit system in the best interests of the country. The Central Office of the RBI was initially established in Calcutta (now Kolkata), but was permanently moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1937. The RBI also acted as Burma's centra l bank, except during the years of the  Japanese occupation of Burma  (1942–45), until April 1947, even though Burma seceded from the Indian Union in 1937. After the  Partition of India  in 1947, the Bank served as the central bank for  Pakistan  until June 1948 when the  State Bank of Pakistan  commenced operations.Though originally set up as a shareholders’ bank, the RBI has been fully owned by the  Government of India  since its nationalization in 1949. 1950–1960 In the 1950s, the Indian government, under its first Prime Minister  Jawaharlal Nehru, developed a centrally planned economic policy that focused on the agricultural sector. The administration nationalized commercial banks and established, based on the Banking Companies Act of 1949 (later called the Banking Regulation Act), a central bank regulation as part of the RBI. Furthermore, the central bank was ordered to support the economic plan with loans. 1960–1969 As a result of bank crashes, the RBI was requested to establish and monitor a deposit insurance system.It should restore the trust in the national bank system and was initialized on 7 December 1961. The Indian government founded funds to promote the economy and used the slogan Developing Banking. The Government of India restructured the national bank market and nationalized a lot of institutes. As a result, the RBI had to play the central part of control and support of this public banking sector. 1969–1985 In 1969, the  Indira Gandhi-headed government nationalized 14 major commercial banks. Upon Gandhi's return to power in 1980, a further six banks were nationalized. The regulation of the economy and especially the financial sector was reinforced by the Government of India in the 1970s and 1980s.The central bank became the central player and increased its policies for a lot of tasks like interests, reserve ratio and visible deposits. These measures aimed at better economic development and had a huge effect on the company policy of the institutes. The banks lent money in selected sectors, like agri-business and small trade companies. The branch was forced to establish two new offices in the country for every newly established office in a town. The  oil crises  in 1973 resulted in increasing  inflation, and the RBI restricted monetary policy to reduce the effects. 1985–1991 A lot of committees analysed the Indian economy between 1985 and 1991. Their results had an effect on the RBI. The  Board for Industrial and FinancialReconstruction, the  Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research  and the  Security & Exchange Board of India  investigated the national economy as a whole, and the security and exchange board proposed better methods for more effective markets and the protection of investor interests. The Indian financial market was a leading example for so-called â€Å"financial repression† (Mackinnon and Shaw). The  Discount a nd Finance House of India  began its operations on the monetary market in April 1988; theNational Housing Bank, founded in July 1988, was forced to invest in the property market and a new financial law improved the versatility of direct deposit by more security measures and liberalisation. 1991–2000 The national economy came down in July 1991 and the Indian rupee was devalued.The currency lost 18% relative to the  US dollar, and the  Narsimahmam Committee  advised restructuring the financial sector by a temporal reduced reserve ratio as well as the statutory liquidity ratio. New guidelines were published in 1993 to establish a private banking sector. This turning point should reinforce the market and was often called  neo-liberal. The central bank deregulated bank interests and some sectors of the financial market like the trust and property markets. This first phase was a success and the central government forced a diversity liberalisation to diversify owner struct ures in 1998. The  National Stock Exchange of India  took the trade on in June 1994 and the RBI allowed nationalized banks in July to interact with the capital market to reinforce their capital base.The central bank founded a subsidiary company—the  Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Limited—in February 1995 to produce banknotes. Since 2000 The  Foreign Exchange Management Act  from 1999 came into force in June 2000. It should improve the foreign exchange market, international investments in India and transactions. The RBI promoted the development of the financial market in the last years, allowedonline banking  in 2001 and established a new payment system in 2004–2005 (National Electronic Fund Transfer). The  Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Ltd. , a merger of nine institutions, was founded in 2006 and produces banknotes and coins.The national economy's growth rate came down to 5. 8% in the last quarter of 2008–2009  and t he central bank promotes the economic development. Main functions Bank of Issue Under Section 22 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, the Bank has the sole right to issue bank notes of all denominations. The distribution of one rupee notes and coins and small coins all over the country is undertaken by the Reserve Bank as agent of the Government. The Reserve Bank has a separate Issue Department which is entrusted with the issue of currency notes. The assets and liabilities of the Issue Department are kept separate from those of the Banking Department. Monetary authorityThe Reserve Bank of India is the main monetary authority of the country and beside that the central bank acts as the bank of the national and state governments. It formulates implements and monitors the monetary policy as well as it has to ensure an adequate flow of credit to productive sectors. Regulator and supervisor of the financial system The institution is also the regulator and supervisor of the financial system a nd prescribes broad parameters of banking operations within which the country's banking and financial system functions. Its objectives are to maintain public confidence in the system, protect depositors' interest and provide cost-effective banking services to the public.The  Banking Ombudsman Scheme  has been formulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for effective addressing of complaints by bank customers. The RBI controls the monetary supply, monitors economic indicators like the  product and has to decide the design of the rupee banknotes as well as coins. Managerial of exchange control The central bank manages to reach the goals of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. Objective: to facilitate external trade and payment and promote orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India. Issuer of currency The bank issues and exchanges or destroys currency notes and coins that are not fit for circulation.The objectives are giving the public adequat e supply of currency of good quality and to provide loans to  commercial banks  to maintain or improve the GDP. The basic objectives of RBI are to issue bank notes, to maintain the currency and credit system of the country to utilize it in its best advantage, and to maintain the reserves. RBI maintains the economic structure of the country so that it can achieve the objective of price stability as well as economic development, because both objectives are diverse in themselves. Banker of Banks RBI also works as a central bank where commercial banks are account holders and can deposit money. RBI maintains banking accounts of all scheduled banks. Commercial banks create credit.It is the duty of the RBI to control the credit through the CRR, bank rate and open market operations. As banker's bank, the RBI facilitates the clearing of cheques between the commercial banks and helps inter-bank transfer of funds. It can grant financial accommodation to schedule banks. It acts as the lende r of the last resort by providing emergency advances to the banks. It supervises the functioning of the commercial banks and take action against it if need arises. Detection of Fake currency In order to curb the fake currency menace, RBI has launched a website to raise awareness among masses about fake notes in the market. [pic] [pic] Policy rates and reserve ratiosBank Rate RBI lends to the commercial banks through its discount window to help the banks meet depositor’s demands and reserve requirements for long term. The Interest rate the RBI charges the banks for this purpose is called bank rate. If the RBI wants to increase the liquidity and money supply in the market, it will decrease the bank rate and if RBI wants to reduce the liquidity and money supply in the system, it will increase the bank rate. As of 25 June 2012 the bank rate was 8. 0%. latest bank rate is 7. 75% as on 29/01/2013. Reserve requirement cash reserve ratio (CRR) Every commercial bank has to keep certai n minimum cash reserves with RBI.Consequent upon amendment to sub-Section 42(1), the Reserve Bank, having regard to the needs of securing the monetary stability in the country, RBI can prescribe Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for scheduled banks without any floor rate or ceiling rate, [Before the enactment of this amendment, in terms of  Section 42(1) of the RBI Act, the Reserve Bank could prescribe CRR for scheduled banks between 5% and 20% of total of their demand and time liabilities]. RBI uses this tool to increase or decrease the reserve requirement depending on whether it wants to effect a decrease or an increase in the money supply. An increase in Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) will make it mandatory on the part of the banks to hold a large proportion of their deposits in the form of deposits with the RBI. This will reduce the size of their deposits and they will lend less. This will in turn decrease the money supply. The current rate is 4. 75%. ( As a Reduction in CRR by 0. 25% as on Date- 17 September 2012). -25 basis points cut in Cash ReserveRatio(CRR) on 17 September 2012, It will release Rs 17,000 crore into the system/Market. The RBI lowered the CRR by 25 basis points to 4. 25% on 30 October 2012, a move it said would inject about 175 billion rupees into the banking system in order to pre-empt potentially tightening liquidity. The latest CRR as on 29/01/13 is 4% Statutory Liquidity ratio (SLR) Apart from the CRR, banks are required to maintain liquid assets in the form of gold, cash and approved securities. Higher liquidity ratio forces commercial banks to maintain a larger proportion of their resources in liquid form and thus reduces their capacity to grant loans and advances, thus it is an anti-inflationary impact.A higher liquidity ratio diverts the bank funds from loans and advances to investment in government and approved securities. IN OTHER WORDS ITS A TOOL SIMILAR TO CRR BUT AT HIGHER RATIO In well-developed economies, central banks use open market operations—buying and selling of eligible securities by central bank in the money market—to influence the volume of cash reserves with commercial banks and thus influence the volume of loans and advances they can make to the commercial and industrial sectors. In the open money market, government securities are traded at market related rates of interest. The RBI is resorting more to open market operations in the more recent years.Generally RBI uses three kinds of selective credit controls: 1. Minimum margins for lending against specific securities. 2. Ceiling on the amounts of credit for certain purposes. 3. Discriminatory rate of interest charged on certain types of advances. Direct credit controls in India are of three types: 1. Part of the interest rate structure i. e. on small savings and provident funds, are administratively set. 2. Banks are mandatory required to keep 23% of their deposits in the form of government securities. 3. Banks are required to lend to the priority sectors to the extent of 40% of their advances. Punjab State Co-Operative Bank [pic] 1. Introduction [pic]Welcome to  The Punjab State Cooperative Bank Ltd. (PSCB) Experience a whole new Era of Banking Technology. Where banking is made easier and convenient for our customers. The Punjab State Cooperative Bank provides you with the New Generation banking architecture to progress in the future in an evolutionary manner. Punjab State Cooperative Bank (PSCB) is customer centric. 2. History The Punjab State Cooperative Bank was established on 31st August, 1949 at Shimla vide registration No. 720 has a principle financing institution of the cooperative movement in Punjab. In 1951 its Head Office was shifted to Jalandhar from where it moved in 1963 to its present building at Chandigarh.In the cooperative Banking structure, the position of the Punjab State Cooperative Bank is extremely important as the whole credit system revolves around it. It has 19 branches and 1 extension co unters in Chandigarh. There are 20 District Central Cooperative Banks having 804 branches all over Punjab, mostly in rural areas of the State. 3. Profile |THE PUNJAB STATE COOPERATIVE BANK LTD. CHANDIGARH | |ORGANISATION | |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Punjab State Cooperative Bank Chandigarh  was established on 31 August 1949 at shimla vides Registration No. 720 as a | |principal financing institution of the cooperative movement in the state.It has 19 branches and 1 extension counters in the | |city of Chandigarh. 20 Central Cooperative Banks having 786 branches and 18 Extension Counters in the State of Punjab are | |affiliated with the bank. In the Cooperative banking structure the position of the Punjab State Coop Bank is extremely | |important as a the whole short term credit system revolves around it. This bank ensures that its member central cooperative | |banks follow sound banking practices and observe strict financial discipline. The Central Cooperative Banks are financin g the | |farmers through PACS at the village Level. There is no arena of life where this premier institution has not played its part. |From a farmer, artisan to traders/businessman, everybody has been covered in the fold of this institution. The green, white | |and sweet revolutions in the state of Punjab are some of the major achievement in which this institution has plays a vital | |role. | |The Punjab State Cooperative Bank has already been awarded   â€Å"BEST PERFORMANCE AWARD† from NABARD and NAFSCOB. For the year | |2003-04, Punjab Cooperative Bank has been selected for NABARD’s â€Å"Best Performance Award â€Å" which is based on performance of all| |the SCBs in the country. Similarly our Jalandhar DCCB has also been selected for NABARD’s â€Å"Best Performance Award† out of all | |the DCCBs in the country for the year 2003-04. |OBJECTIVES | |To serve as a Balancing Centre for Cooperative Societies in the State for Cooperative Societies in t he State of Punjab | |registered under the Punjab Cooperative Societies Ac, 1961 for the time being in force. | |To promote the economic interest of the member banks and cooperative societies in the state in accordance with cooperative | |principles and to facilitate the development and funding of any cooperative society registered under the said act. | |To carry on banking and credit business. | |MANAGEMENT | |The present Board of Directors was constituted in May 2005. Now the management of the bank is being looking after by the | |elected BOD. | 4.Organization [pic] 5. Board of Directors |SNO |Name |Designation |Contact No. |Address | |1. |Sh. Avtar Singh Zira |Chairman |0172-5067035 |Makhu Road,  VPO: Zira, | | |S/o Sh. Hari Singh | | |  Distt :Ferozepure | | |Zira | | | | |2. |Sh. Milap Singh S/o |Director |98147-83077 |Khajanewala house,Gobind Nagar,SW Road | | |Sh.Jasbir Singh | | |Amritsar | |3. |Sh. Gurpreet Singh |Director |94172-3778 |95, Model Town ,Phase   3 ,Bhati nda | | |Maluka   S/o   Sh. | | | | | |Sikander Singh Maluka | | | | |4. |Sh. Baljit Singh |Director |97803-00916 |VPO Salempur   P. O Bras, | | |Bhutta   S/o Sh Baldev | | |  Distt.Fathegarh Sahib | | |Singh | | | | |5. |Sh. Ravikiran Singh |Director |97804-00002 |H. No 649, Basant Avenue, | | |Kahlon  Ã‚   S/o Sh. | |97819-00001 |Amritsar | | |Nirmal Singh Kahlon | | | | |6. |Sh. Satwinderpal Singh|Director |98761-08332 |Village Ramdaspur,   | | |Dhat  Ã‚   S/o Sh. Mohan | | |  The.Dasuha  , | | |Singh | | |  Distt. Hoshiarpur | |7. |Sh. Harjit Singh |Director |98140-57531 |Khothran Road , | | |Parmar S/o Sh. | | |  Near J. C. T MillPhagwara ,   | | |Gurbachan Singh Parmar| | |  Kapurthala | |8. |Sh. Tajinder Singh |Director |97806-00019 |VPO Mithukhera   , | | |Mithukhera   S/o Sh. | |   Malot, | | |Gurnam Singh | | |  Distt. Muktsar | |9. |Sh. Dildar Singh S/o |Director |95925-83101 |Vill. Majra Kalan,   P. O. Jadlan ,   | | |Sh. Ranjit Si ngh | | |Distt. Nawanshahr | |10. |Sh. Jarnail Singh S/o |Director |97800-32206 |VPO Kartarpur, Charaso, Distt. Patiala | | |Sh. Hajara Singh | | | | |11. |Sh.Baldev Singh S/o |Director |94631-47642 |VPO Chakla, Chamakaur Sahib, Distt. Ropar | | |Sh. Gurnam Singh | | | | |12. |Sh. Baljit Singh |Director |99889-10417 |H. NO. 621,   WardNo. 11    , DerraBassi, Distt. | | |Karkaur S/o Sh. Gurdev| | |Mohali | | |Singh | | | | |13. |Sh. Kanwaljeet Singh |Director |97799-15100 |H.No 7/250, Shastri Nagar , Batala , Distt. | | |S/o Sh. Raghbir Singh | | |Gurdaspur | |14. |Sh. Sukhdarshan Singh |Director |98765-61261 |The Punjab State cooperztive Agriculture | | |Marar, S/o Sh. Narayan| | |Development Bank Ltd. ,   Sec 17 B , | | |Singh | | |Chandigarh | |15. | |CGM, NABARD |5071431,2604608 |Plot No. 3  Ã‚  , | | | | |  Sector-34 A ,   | | | | | |  Candigarh. | |16. | |Financial |2742771 |Cooperation Dept. | | | |Commissioner | |  Civil Sectt ,   | | | |Cooperation, Punjab | |  Punjab Chandigarh | |17. | |Principal Sectary | | | | | |Finance | | | |18. |Registrar, |5046814 |RCS , Punjab , | | | |Cooperative | |  Sector-17 Bays Building , | | | |Societies, Punjab | |  Chandigarh | |19. |Sh. Kamaljeet Singh |Managing Director |5061404 |Punjab State Coop. Bank Ltd. | | |Sangha |PSCB Chandigarh | |  SCO: 175-187,   | | | | | |  Sector-34A, | | | | | |  Chandigarh. | 6. AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS AWARDS   | |The Punjab State Cooperative Bank has already been awarded â€Å"BEST PERFORMANCE AWARD† from NABARD and NAFSCOB. For the year | |2003-04, Punjab Cooperative Bank has been selected for NABARD's   â€Å"Best Performance Award † which is based on performance of | |all the SCBs in the country. Similarly our Jalandhar DCCB has also been selected for NABARD’s â€Å"Best Performance Award† out of| |all the DCCBs in the country for the year 2003-04. | |   | |ACHIEVEMENTS   | | | |S. T. AGRI.LOAN | |The Cooperativ e Banks in the State have advanced Rs. 7536. 33 Crores as ST Agri. Loan during the year 2009-10 as compared to | |Rs. 5894. 28 crore during 2008-09. Similarly during 2010-11, Rs 8497. 15 crores stand disbursed. Against the target of | |Rs. 8300. 00 Crores. | | | |R. C. C. LIMIT | |During 2009-10 the Central Coop. Banks in Punjab have sanctioned R. C. C limits worth Rs. 2296. 62 crores  as compared to | |Rs. 2091. 75 crore of 2008-09.During the year 2010-11 the bank has sanctioned RCC limits worth Rs. 2460. 79 crore. | | | |TWO WHEELER LOANS TO AGRICULTURISTS | |Under Two Wheeler Loan Scheme the farmers can take loan up to 75% of two-wheeler’s cost or Rs. 50,000/- whichever is lower | |from the Central Cooperative Banks. During the year 2009-10, the Bank has advanced a sum of Rs. 32. 67 crore. Similarly, during| |2010-11, Rs. 29. 70 crore has been advanced against the target of Rs. 40. 00 crore. | | |HOUSING LOANS | |During the year 2008-09 Central Cooperative Banks in th e State have advanced Rs. 90. 66 Crores against the target of Rs. 80. 00 | |crores. | |During 2009-10, Rs. 86. 64 crores has been disbursed against the target of Rs. 110. 00 crore. During 2010-11 Rs. 84. 56 crore has | |been disbursed . | | | |NON FARM SECTOR LOANS | |During 2008-09 Rs 47. 72 crores were advanced under the scheme by DCCBs in the State of Punjab. | |During the year 2009-10, Rs. 48. 84 crores has been advanced. | |Similarly during 2010-11, Rs. 41. 93 crore has been advanced against the target of Rs. 55. 00 crore. | | |LOAN FOR CONSUMER DURABLES | |Under  Consumer  Durables Loan Scheme, Rs. 79. 62 crores  has been advanced during 2009-10. Similarly, during 2010-11, Rs. 78. 25 | |crore has been advanced against the target of  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rs. 80. 00 Crores . | | | |PERSONAL LOAN SCHEME | |Under Personal Loan Scheme, the Bank has advanced Rs. 143. 58 crore during the year 2009-10 against the target of Rs. 125. 00 | |crore. During 2010-11, Rs. 62. 41 crore has been disbursed  against the target of Rs. 150. 00 crore. | | | |DEPOSIT MOBILIZATION | |The deposit of Punjab State Coop. Bank and Central Cooperative Banks were Rs. 9819. 09 crores during the year 2009-10. During | |the year 2010-11 the deposits are Rs. 10684. 54 crore. | | | |PROFITS | |During 2010-11, there was a profit Rs. 65. 17 crore whereas 2 DCCB, namely; Faridkot and Mansa were in loss. | | |REDUCTION IN THE RATE OF INTEREST | |Rate of Interest on Crop Loan has been reduced to 7. 00% w. e. f. 01-04-2006. | 7. Future Planning and Vision |  Future Perspective | |Cooperatives are not unaffected by structural adjustments and globalization of commodity market. As a result, Cooperative Banks| |are required to redesign their strategies for sustainability and growth. The economic reforms initiated by the government of | |India in 1991 have affected the Financial Institutions ncluding the Cooperative Financial Institutions. These reforms aim at | |liberalization and deregulati on of Indian economy. | |The Cooperative Banks of Punjab have accepted the reforms in Indian economy, especially, the financial reforms in right spirit. | |Since these Banks have mainly been providing credit to agriculture sector, changes in agricultural economy affect them more | |closely. The Banks envisage following scenario as a result of liberalized agricultural policy : | |Liberalization of agricultural policy would result in greater capital intensity and borrowed capital requirements of | |agriculturists.In order to induce diversification and produce quality products for international market. For this purpose, | |Punjab farmers would need greater credit support for improved technology, seeds and agro-inputs. | |Liberalized agricultural policy would reverse the process of fragmentation of land holdings and would result in exodus of | |employment opportunities from agricultural sector to other sectors of economy. Such as small business enterprises, services and | |industrial se ctor. | |Liberalization of agriculture would professionalize and modernize agriculture, thereby earning a status of industry attracting | |high skilled professionals in agriculture sector. |Liberalized agricultural economy would lead to a greater role of private research and development institutions in improving the | |productivity and quality of agricultural operations. | |The liberalized agricultural policy would result in greater thrust on value addition in agriculture. Therefore, a great deal of | |thrust would be on agro-processing units. | |The liberalized agricultural policy would bring greater thrust on export of raw and value added agro-products. | |The liberalized agricultural economy would lead to sowing/planting of new crops. Leading to a great deal of crop | |diversification. | |With this perspective, the Cooperative Credit Policy, both for short-term and long term requirements of the farmers, needs to | |be restructured.Accordingly, the Cooperative Banks in the State r esolve to pursue credit policy in keeping with the | |following. | Vision ? We will force the future challenges with grit and take every possible step for the development of our institution. ? More steps will be taken to provide efficient services. ? Present customers will be retained and other customers will be attracted to increase market share. ? Bank will attract maximum deposit (especially low cost deposit) to strengthen its financial resources so as to reduce its dependency upon NABARD. ? Bank while diversifying its loan portfolio will provide medium term and long term loans to the maximum extent. Every effort will be made to open account of all the farmers of the State. Bank will receive deposits from Farmers and meet all their credit needs. ? Bank, for the sake of development of State, will strive hard to provide maximum and better services to customers especially farmers and for this wherever necessary, every effort will be made to modify the schemes. ? Bank will prepare it s business plan every year and by implementing it, goals set will be achieved. ? Bank will professionalize and modernize the business. 8. Training Center [pic] Introduction Agriculture  cooperative Staff Training Institute in the State of Punjab was established in 1986 by the Punjab State Cooperative Bank Ltd.With the Financial assistance from National Cooperative Development Corporation Under World Bank –NCDC Project. The main aim of setting up this institute was to provide training to the staff and committee members as well as education to the ordinary members of the Primary Agricultural Services Societies (PACS) during the project period of 5 years. After successfully completion of the Project the institute started catering to the training needs of the whole short term credit cooperative in Punjab [particularly cooperative banks from 2001. The institute is running various training programmed for different categories of staff of cooperative bank.The Punjab State Cooperati ve Bank is giving high priority for the training of its staff as well as staff of its member banks. The institute is getting full support from the bank in the field of training. The institute is acting for the development of a cadre of professional bankers to meet the challenges of changing banking scenario. Since 1991, there has been tremendous change in banking sector which had affected cooperative bank to a great extent. The Tara pore Committee, Narsimham Committee and Vaidyanathan Committee recommendations have put profound challenges to cooperative banks. The technological changes in the banking sector are also affecting these banks.This institute is aware of these transformations and has geared up its training plans. The training institute of Cooperative banks cannot remain passive but must play an active role in providing consultancy, latest knowledge and skills to cooperative banks. Acting as a catalyst in the change process, this institute has decided to diversify its activ ities to face the challenge of time. Objective ? Sensitizing the   banks of the challenges ahead and to prep[are the employees to meet these challenges ? Improving the operational efficiency of cooperative bank. ? Building up the managerial and leadership abilities among the officers for organizational effectiveness. TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENTThis institute assesses the training needs of the staff in the following ways. 1. Anticipation of the latest Development –  Latest developments in economic and banking sectors (Capital Adequacy Norms, Asset Liability Management, Prudential Norms, and Recommendation of various Committees) are considered as Training requirement. 2. Demand from Central Cooperative Banks –  Various central cooperative banks at different occasions approach the institute to provide training to their staff in specific area. On the request of those banks the institute conducts field programmers as per the convenience of the client banks. 3. Policy ma tters of Management  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ The institute keeps in touch with the olicy decision of the Reserve Bank of India, NABARD central Government RCS and Apex Bank Management, Institute develops and organizes training programmed for effectives implementation of these decisions. 4. Faculty Members Visit  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Faculty member of this institute frequently visit cooperative banks at different intervals to study operational problems of the banks and to identify the training needs of the staff. 5. Audit Reports and Inspection Reports  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ These reports do provide useful indication for the training needs in banks. We continuously study these reports to find out procedural gaps and problems of the banks. COURSE DESIGN The training programmers are designed by conducting a critical analysis of training needs of Bank Staff.Each member of faculty is advised to design at least two training programmers in a year. The training programmed along with detailed course contents prepared by them is then discussed in a faculty meeting. In this meeting the members of faculty meeting. In this meeting the members of faculty share thei