Porters 5 Forces Essay

Five Forces analysis for IT industry Wipro Technologies is a global information technology (IT) services company. It provides custom application design and development, IT consulting, systems integration, technology infrastructure out sourcing, software products and BPO services. Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model looks at five key areas- the threat of entry, the power of buyers, the power of suppliers, the threat of substitutes, and competitive rivalry. Threat of new entrants: New entrant in the market may have an effect on share of older counterparts Threat of substitute: Due to technological advances, Quality constraints or cost effectiveness there can be a threat of the substitute on the industry. Bargaining Power of customer: This is the bargaining power of the customer -one who is consumer of the goods. Bargaining Power of suppliers: This is the bargaining power of the supplier -one who supplies sources that are needed for finished goods. Comparative Rivalry within Industry: It tells about extent of competition in between firms in an industry. Porters Five Forces helps to analyse how these forces act together to cause the company to increase or decrease profitability of the company. The strategy of the company should be to influence these forces to maximise profitability. Hence below is a study of the IT industry and study of profitability in custom application design development, systems integration, technology infrastructure management segments of IT Threats and barriers to entry Economies of scale and Capital Investment Requirements: IT requires very low investment and hence we have hundreds of startups starting every year. While it is easy to invest and start a software company sustaining growth does not come easy. All these start-ups also play in an area where Wipro does not compete like low value projects or in subcontracted work. Hence they are not a threat to the profitability of Wipro. India is the favourite destination for off shoring Information Technology (IT) and IT enabled Services. The Indian IT/ITES industry commands more than 50% of global ITES off shoring market share. The IT/ITES exports are set to cross USD 60 billion by 2010 and Nasscom (The National Association for Software and Services Companies), estimates that the industry will account for USD 63. 7 billion of revenues and direct employment is expected to reach nearly 2. 3 million. The IT industry contributes around 26 per cent of India’s total exports and was around 6. 1 percent of India’s GDP for financial year 2009-2010 (NASSCOM, 2010). 2 Customer switching costs Wipro works across verticals like telecom, BFSI, Media and Communication, Automobiles, Government, Technology, Manufacturing, Energy, Healthcare, Hospitality etc and has several ODC or offshore development centres for nearly all top companies in the world. These offshore development centres have thousands of resources working with multi year projects earning millions of dollars of revenue a year. The cost of shifting or switching even a part of these projects to other companies would involve huge set up, transitioning costs with no guaranteed results. Wipro has quality certifications like Cmmi Level 5, PCMM Level 5,BS9977 etc and new entrants will face a barrier in this regard. Global contracts will not be given to companies with the lack of certification. The lack of security certifications will cause customers to have security related concerns while sending data offshore. 3 Access to distribution channels and technology This poses no difficulty. Many top business unit heads have previously quit from Wipro and spawned off their own company which has grown and sometimes taken a part of the market share of Wipro. Since the industry thrives on knowledge workers when a senior person leave he takes access and knowledge of customer base and customer contacts with him. The Internet is present everywhere and software technology in the era of open source is easily accessible to all. 4 Government Subsidies and policies Current favourable policy by government for new ITES-BPO firms is creating competitive situation for Wipro and other established players in the India IT industry. The reforms have reduced licensing requirements and made foreign technology accessible. The reforms have also removed restrictions on investment and made the process of investment easier. This has tremendously helped the IT industries. The Indian government is actively promoting FDI and investments from NRIs (Non-Resident Indians). FDI can be brought in through the automatic route, based on powers accorded to the Reserve Bank of India. Improvement and reach of telecommunication can aid new entrants into the IT industry. Similary improvements in infrastructure and power sector can also aid new entrants into the IT industry. Recognizing the importance of Venture Capital Funding, the Ministry of Information Technology has set up a National Venture Fund for the Software and IT Industry with a corpus of Rs. 100 crore. The main aim of the venture capital Fund is to provide Venture Capital to start up software professionals and small IT units. Nasscom (most important promoter of the IT/BPO industry) has been playing a crucial role in helping the IT industry achieve the IT and ITES vision and make India far ahead of other players in the field of IT and BPO. But new entrants and start ups can never be in the league of Wipro which adds 20-30 new customers every quarter and earns revenue in the range 0f 50-60 billon USD every quarter. 5 Brand Loyalty Since Wipro is in multi year relationships with most of it’s customers and since the relationship is driven top down from CEO level and exists sometimes with entire IT organisation of the customer, there is a deep brand loyalty that cannot be forsaken. Wipro trades on NYSE and is a well respected global company. Threat of Substitute Price is most often the main differentiator among key players in the software industry quality of service being the same. Indian IT firms like Wipro face stiff competitions from their counterpart in other emerging market like Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Philippines and China. The IT providers in these markets charge competitive rates as compared to Wipro. But Wipro has development centres in China , Philippines so that they can leverage the same advantage. At the same time Wipro attracts a huge pool of resources from the many leading technical institutions across India . These resources are trained to work in many technologies and also are very flexible with respect to work timings. Additionally, the Wipro has been exceptionally quality focused being the first Indian Cmmi Level 5 company with high-skilled pool of knowledge workers with English speaking Hence it has an upper edge over other offshore locations like China, Philippines or Latin American countries 1 Quality/Value proposition While start-ups work like a flash in the pan and sometimes do attract a first time IT outsourcer it is MNCs like IBM and Cognizant which can be identified as substitutes for Wipro. Cognizant with it’s steady and continued growth rate has taken a part of the market share of companies like Wipro. An MNC with a formidable history and background can e work as substitute for Wipro in the software industry due to the differentiation that they bring in terms of delivery models, senior people/leadership in the organisation, R;D focus, steady focus on not yet mature verticals (like healthcare in Cognizant’s case for example) and pumping back money into the business. These MNC bring a better value to the customer and engage the customer at a more strategic level . Buyer’s willingness and relative price/performance of substitute As per a report in Economic Times Emerging near shore rivals, including Ness Technologies of Israel, CPM Braxis of Brazil and Mexico-headquartered Softtek are increasingly becoming attractive for top outsourcing customers such as GE, Citibank and several others seeking to work with local, specialised vendors instead of sending all projects to offshore locations like India. Though Wipro is growing it’s presence in the emerging markets of Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia, they face stiff competition from these newer rivals. For many customers who already have significant presence in offshore locations like India, it’s a risk diversification, Some customers having 70-80 per cent of their offshore resources in India are realising that they need to look at the third category of suppliers that are local and niche. Over the past two years, companies such as CPM Braxis, EPAM Systems, Ness Technologies, Softtek, Merchants and Spi Global have emerged as stronger rivals for Indian tech firms, especially while bidding for an outsourcing contract being fleshed out by a ‘first-time outsourcer’. Brazilian firm CPM Braxis, for instance, which counts GE, ABN Amro and Whirlpool as clients, reported revenues of around $567 million in 2008. One of the top four Brazilian banks, Bradesco, is also among the biggest customers for the company. While these emerging outsourcing rivals are not yet in the big league of mega, multi-year contracts, they are still able to gain business because of their niche and local market expertise. On an average, these companies are able to win contracts worth $2-5 million in annual contract value. Bargaining power of customer Concentration of buyers and sellers There are a large numbers of playes in the software industry. While India and Indian software companies with demonstrated performance are the lead runners, players across the world and especially from other developing countries like Brazil etc are in the run. Hence the customer has huge bargaining power. 2 Profitability of buyer OF late due to the cut in IT spending, while IT spend of the custome rs may have reduced, the number of players are vying for the same budget. Hence cost advantages become very major and customer drives the billing rates. This is because most of the projects are in maintenance or integration and quality differentiation may not be there among number of players. 3 Switching Costs But for existing projects where switching costs are high , new higher billing rates have been worked on on contract renewal even in the recession period. Also with a tighter monitoring of IT spend of customers and in an effort to distribute the risks customers also rarely give an entire project to one customer often distributing the project to all key players hence igniting rivalry and competition. Forward Integration Many captive companies have leveraged the same advantage as companies like Wipro of resource availability at low costs and have opened their captive centres in India, which acts as an IT wing of their company and develops software for them. Examples are many like Shell , JP Morgan, man international banks, Bosch, Boeing etc. Bargaining power of supplier 1 Concentration of suppliers and demand Since there are a lar ge number of technical institutions campus recruitments bring in thousands of entry level people at low salaries. But at the same time attrition is very high in the software field since with experience resources may move to greener pastures. 2 Profitability of suppliers There is a huge demand for experienced professionals in key skill areas. Companies need to continually invest in resource development and training in upcoming technologies and keep them from leaving the company by attractive remunerations, trips abroad etc. Since many of the suppliers who support the IT service industry -are local and IT industry earning capitalize on the rupee dollar difference . The suppliers are happy to be in engagement with the IT company and are happy with what they are offered though it is a miniscule of what the IT company earns. Example are cab companies. Rivalry or Competition 1 Structure of competition The key players in the IT industry are in intense competition with each other. All the major players like TCS, Infosys etc have the same kind of delivery models, verticals focus, billing rates and also almost the same customer base, geographical presence etc. So most of the competition is around excelling in domain knowledge, gaining thought leadership in technology areas and building customer relationships. But the large players are only a few in number who are clear market leaders. Still Startups concentrate on niche technologies and domains and beat inroads into the IT companies market share. Start-ups thrive on a hire and fire policy where the resources are taken on at the beginning of a project at high salaries and fired after it’s completion. Since there is no service differentiation the customer believes in divide and rule policy where the each key player is given a near equal piece of the pie, pitching one player against the other and igniting intense rivalry. The key to getting good projects is good experienced resources, number of people with a specific skill etc. Hence resource poaching is a common phenomenon. 2 Cost structure of the Industry Companies like Wipro have high overheads owing to it’s size and complex organisation structure. New companies with none of the legacy of Wipro, can come in with niche focus and take a portion of maket share related to R;D, innovation where creativity, technicall prowess is more key than standard processes, certifications etc. So time and again projects are lost to smaller companies who are more nimble and lean and once that happens it can plot the growth story of a new rival in that specific domain for Wipro. Wipro thrives majorly on large offshore multi-year dollar contracts in application maintenance, infrastructure management where skills are not high end. The requirement is to maintain large bench strength to quickly source these projects. This adds to the cost of most key players in the Indian IT scene. 3 Strategic Objectives For the past 5 years Wipro and other key players have had relatively lesser focus on moving up the value chain. All key players are still milking the standard IT services industry demand for maintenance, testing, infra management contracts with global companies in an primarly offshore model. Growth strategies are mainly to expand to newer geographies access the same standard IT services demand. Growth of all key players have been demand driven and more or less uniform. There have been few acquisitions but no aggressive growth stories amongst competing players. It can be concluded that Wipro is a key player in the IT industry and carries on with it’s brand name, sheer size and momentum as also it’s leadership and service quality. But to up the ante key differentiations have to be brought in – which needs to be paradigm shift in the way business is done. Whether the innovation is thru new technologies like cloud computing or whether it is through the review of business models to emerge as a product and/or consulting company where it engages with the customer strategically – change is to be brought in. Else the MNCS like Cognizant, near shore companies like Ness etc may soon catch up or take a part of the pie.

Stress and Happiness–Cause and Effect

Tylynn Schaber Stress and Happiness Which sounds more fun, doing the dishes or playing a little Xbox? One would probably say playing their game and put the chores on the back burner because they could always do it later. This would be classified as procrastination. Procrastination may cause many negative effects including unnecessary stress and loss of one’s happiness. Procrastination is the practice of poor time management paired with lack of willpower. There are two different types of procrastination: behavioral and decisional.Behavioral procrastination is when one uses procrastination as an excuse to do poorly; for example, one may put off studying for an exam until last minute and blame a bad exam score on the procrastination. Another instant where one may have behavior tendencies is when one has low self-esteem or self-worth and believes that if he or she never finishes a task, he or she will not be judged. Those with decisional procrastination problems typically put off making a decision or choice; they typically are afraid of errors and are possibly perfectionists.Decisional procrastinators generally seek out other alternatives until they are made to make a decision, if they make a decision at all. 20% of the population is guilty of procrastination and recent studies show that it is on the rise. Everyone tends to procrastination, possibly not as often as most but definitely occasionally. One of the effects of procrastination is unnecessary stress. Everyone knows that stress has a very negative effect on oneself. Stress is a type of pressure or worry, usually unneeded.Stress has many effects in itself; it may take a toll on one’s body, one’s mood, and one’s behavior. The tolls it can take on one’s body include headaches, sleep problems, and stomach pains. It can affect one’s body by possibly giving a person anxiety, sadness, or even depression. Stress can affect one behavior be making one go through social withdra ws, angry outbursts, and drug and alcohol abuse. All of these additional symptoms of stress could lead to health problems, which are well worth avoiding.Upon all of the things that can come from stress, stress leads back to procrastination. So the more one procrastinates, the more stress one will get, so therefore the more they will procrastinate. Another effect of procrastination is the threat of one’s happiness. Happiness is the state of being content or completely satisfied. Happiness is important in one’s life because that is what gives one the motivation and will to wake up tomorrow and enjoy the little things of life that often go unnoticed, too.Without happiness, one will become depressed; depression has many, many additional negative symptoms. As you can see, by procrastinating, you can hurt more than just your grade. Procrastination can take effect on nearly every part of your life. It can lead to stress which in the end can take a toll on your health, which i s scary. Procrastination may also take away one’s happiness, which could lead to depression. One should note, it is much easier to do work that can be done today, today, and not put anything off for later.

UK’s Barclaycard and the Need to Outsource

In the 21st there are two terms that keep on buzzing in the headlines: globalization and global telecommunications. These two are related because if technology continues to improve then the whole planet goes high-tech – each person beginning to realise that the world is shrinking and every year or so improvements in mobile communications, the Internet and the proliferation of wireless devices makes it easier to communicate with one another. One major implication of technology change is a concept called outsourcing.This idea is nothing new but UK’s Barclaycard is just one of the many global corporations that acknowledges the need to outsource. But it is not as simple as that, Barclaycard had to make a difficult decision, to choose between two places where they can outsource a portion of their operations – whether to ship some of their work to India or the Philippines. Overview According to Richard Bolin, Director of The Flagstaff Institute, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA , the phenomenon of outsourcing is nothing new and even as early as 20 years ago there are industrialised countries who made the connection between outsourcing and profitability:Japan intentionally got rid of sewing factories to Southeast Asia by 1981. They couldn’t waste their precious labour supply on low value sewing operations. This is what outsourcing is all about. If a company does not outsource, it will die. And if its country does not find new industries to replace the inefficient ones, it will not attract new investment and better jobs. Everybody has to understand this (Bolin). Bolin is just one of many business leaders that place their faith in outsourcing and believing that this strategy is not a threat to the nation’s economy.In the long run it will benefit the economy because it will create a very efficient system where the following positive outcomes can be expected (Brown, 2005): †¢ Increase sales opportunities †¢ Prevent missed opportunities à ¢â‚¬ ¢ Reduce annual costs almost immediately †¢ Enable business to focus on core competencies †¢ Reduce or eliminate customer complaints †¢ Increase customer loyalty In a nutshell, outsourcing is the obtaining of services from an external source, outside the company.A more technical definition uses the term Business process outsourcing (BPO), â€Å"†¦BPO occurs when an organisation turns over the management of a particular business process such as accounting or payroll †¦ the underlying theory is that the BPO firm can complete the process more efficiently† (Brown, 2005). It is easy to comprehend that if global corporations fail to figure out the beauty of outsourcing then they will be left behind by their competitors.They will eat the dust left behind by those who were able to grasp the idea that allowing others to do low value operations is the future of effective business management. It is similar to hiring a driver to do the more redundant work of driving in order to free up the CEO to do more important tasks. The positive feedback is the main reason why business process outsourcing is such a hot topic in the world today. But it does not mean that everything will turn out to be great whenever a company decides to outsource part of its operations overseas.There are obviously so many things to consider. Each case must be treated separately and a thorough analysis of the operation, the core values of the company as well as pertinent information regarding the outsourcing destination must be considered prior to the decision to shut down one portion of the operations component of the firm and outsource it outside the country. Barclaycard UK A casual overview of companies that decided to outsource part of their operations overseas will reveal that most of them have a common denominator.These companies are either in the manufacturing industry or it is a business that relies heavily on Information Technology. Those in manufacturing w ill find the conditions in China particularly attractive because of the availability of cheap labour as well as the competitive costs of building and maintaining factories. Those in need of IT personnel will turn to India simply because this is a nation where there is a relatively high concentration of English speaking people that are at the same time tech-savvy and many are knowledgeable about current trends in the IT sector (Pogson, 2008).Barclaycard is one European powerhouse that could not afford not to outsource. Barclaycard is part of the Barclays Group a conglomerate that can be found in the United Kingdom. It is Europe’s largest multi-brand credit card and also provides other forms of consumer lending businesses. Barclaycard continues to lead the way in Europe and according to their official press release they are the most recognized brand in UK with over 10 million retail customers.But they are still expanding – there are currently 8. 8 million credit cards in issue outside the UK and the firm also maintains operations in over fifty countries and four continents. According to another expert, outsourcing is unavoidable and yet he cautions that it must be likened to a journey, requiring adequate planning and coordination (Pogson, 2008). This is especially true for Barclaycard. It is not an ordinary firm responsible for the manufacture of cheap products.It is a company that handles a very important aspect of European business which is the issuance of credit cards and various lending services. In other words this is a type of business that requires high level thinking and performed by not only the most technically proficient people in the planet but also those that have the highest integrity. There are three possible destinations if Barclaycard decides to outsource part of their least important operations outside the country there are three possible candidates: India, Philippines, and the Republic of Ireland.Considering first the Republic of Ireland, it is easy to gauge that it will not be as cost-effective as transferring the operations to India or the Philippines. The only possible advantage is that the Republic of Ireland is culturally similar to the UK and the English speaking inhabitants will never pose a problem in terms of communication. But other than these two considerations, it is doubtful if Ireland can compete in terms of outsourcing rates when comparing the wages of workers in Europe to those in Asia. Considering India It is not hard to put India on top of the list.There are many advantages of using the skilled workforce of India to tackle the outsourcing needs of Barclaycard. According to finance experts at Moody’s, â€Å"India will remain a top outsourcing destination because of its tech-savvy and English-proficient urban workforce whose wages are much lower than their western counterparts† (Moody’s Investors Service, 2009). The nation has a population of more than one billion people . From this number there are millions of educated English speakers entering the workforce each year (Kobayashi-Hillary, 2004).The Indian workforce provides a compelling argument as to why Barclaycard should outsource to India. Trevor Foster-Black is the managing director of Coalition Development, a UK research company that provides information to recruitment firms and he remarked that their company uses researchers from India to structure and format data and he adds, â€Å"It would be very difficult to find such high-calibre people to do similar work in London †¦ They arrive at 4am our time and everything’s finished by the time we arrive† (Kobayashi-Hillary, 2004).It is truly amazing to realise that the location of India can be a source of another advantage; in essence Barclaycard’s operations can be sustained 24 hours a day and seven days a week due to the time differences. If Barclaycard will use the same strategy in their UK offices they would incur sign ificant costs in terms of payroll alone. One can only imagine the numbers that will be generated by overtime and other costs related to keeping an operation functioning round the clock.But if they will outsource to India, the executives at the UK headquarters can send part of their workload to their people in India and they can work while the executives are going to bed. This ensures that workflow is not interrupted and therefore Barclaycard can achieve cost-efficiency very quickly. If Barclaycard will outsource all of its call centres to India then the same level of efficiency and cost savings can be expected. The English speaking workforce in India will ensure that credit card holders can be assured of easy access to customer representatives 24/7 wherever they are in the world.The low outsourcing rates in India will also allow Barclaycard to maintain a 24 hour cycle operations without downtime and therefore Barclaycard is just a phone call away whenever a customer encountered prob lems with their credit cards. Barclaycard will definitely find it worthwhile to invest in India but globalization as well as rapid development in technology can create weakness out of strength. This means that India can be a victim of its own success. According to one commentary there are two issues that concerns would be investors: 1) security; and 2) the unravelling of a top IT service provider, Satyam.These problems are forcing European companies to create more geographically dispersed portfolio of IT outsourcing providers (Overby, 2009). India is bordered by Pakistan on one side and one only has to remember Pakistan’s association with extremists groups to understand the spate of terrorist attacks in India. It is high time therefore to consider an alternative and a quick glance at Asia will reveal that there is none better than the Philippines. Considering the Philippines There are many advantages in choosing this country as a BPO destination and these are listed as follow s:1. Outsourcing rates are low and can easily compete with those of India; 2. Transportation such as flights coming from the Western hemisphere is arguably better than other Asian countries; 3. It is culturally compatible with the United States because it was a U. S. commonwealth in the early 20th century up to 1946; 4. English is widely spoken and can be considered as the second national language; and 5. The most successful outsourcing engagements in this country are for call centres (Mezak, 2006).If seems that both countries are evenly matched in many aspects pertaining to BPO. The Philippines can boast of a highly-skilled workforce considering that it has one of the highest literacy rates in Asia, even higher than India. The only reason that India can offer more tech-savvy workers is due to the fact that there are a billion people in India while the Philippines has only less than one hundred million people. But in the English department both countries can provide excellent servic e.When the Americans came to this nation in the early part of the 20th century the country was exposed to world class education systems and even if the Americans left in the middle of the 20th century the Filipinos were able to adapt and they were able to create a system that can produce top calibre graduates annually. But there is one problem with the Philippines, â€Å"†¦it is the lack of skilled project management and experience with large software development projects †¦ it is easier to find body shops offering programmers than vendors with well-structured and well-managed teams of programmers† (Mezak, 2006).This is where India has a clear advantage over this tiny island nation. Yet, again the Philippines will not give up that easily, based on a 2007 report, Barclaycard already closed its call centre in Manchester and since the Philippines excelled in this type of business process outsourcing then it must be considered as a future destination of Barclaycard†™s call centres. Conclusion Without a doubt, outsourcing is a must if a global conglomerate hopes to stay competitive in the 21st century.If one considers outsourcing, there are three things will easily come to mind, cost-efficiency, cost-efficiency and more cost-efficiency. There is no executive in this planet that will pass up the opportunity to streamline operations and make more money in the process while retaining customer loyalty through the creation of customer friendly operations. With globalisation comes wage increase and various overhead costs that can easily force a company to bankruptcy if excess fat is not trimmed down.Instead of reducing the size of the company it is much better to outsource. With the advent of modern technology and the efficiency of 21st century transportation services it is easy to do business on a global scale. Barclaycard is just one of the many European powerhouses eager to outsource and there are three destinations: the Republic of Ireland, the Philippines and India. The Republic of Ireland already dropped out of contention considering that it is located in Europe and logic dictates that competitive outsourcing rates can only be found in Asia.Considering the fact that Barclaycard is into the credit card business and that outsourcing requirements entails the capability to provide English speaking and tech-savvy personnel there are only two remaining contestants bidding for the rich rewards of outsourcing contracts – India and the Philippines. At first glance it seems that India is the best choice for Barclaycard. This is because India has already proven itself in the BPO business especially in the IT sector which is a major requirement for Barclaycard.It boasts of English speaking and tech savvy personnel that can easily handle communication needs of the said UK firm. Moreover, if there is a need for programmers, the ability to communicate with English speaking Indian programmers are a definite advantage as compared to the hassle when communicating with programmers from other countries with poor English proficiency. There are other non-tangible advantages for India. While the Philippines was under the control of the American in the early part of the 20th century, India was for many centuries under the hegemony of Great Britain.If the Filipinos were heavily influenced by American culture, Indians were heavily influenced by British culture. As many will know there is quite a difference between U. S. English and U. K. English. If this is an important consideration for Barclaycard’s outsourcing needs then India will win hands down. If one combines this with the technical capabilities of Indian workers then this combination of factors will be very difficult to beat. On the other hand India has its share of weaknesses. India is suffering from a bad image following the debacle of Satyam, one of India’s top IT providers.The scandal that hounds Satyam will easily make future investors une asy with the idea that they are placing all their eggs in one basket. If this is combined with the recent spate of terrorist attacks then capital flight will most likely follow. If there are less investors willing to invest then India’s IT infrastructure will not be upgraded and more bad news will follow. The security threat is also serious because outsourcing is a strategy with inherent risks and yet CEOs are willing to beat the odds with the promise of profitability and efficiency.But if terrorist attacks will continue then there is a chance that operations can be affected. Barclaycard could not afford to lose one day of inactivity due to security problems. It is therefore logical to consider the Philippines as an alternative. It is also a nation blessed with English speaking and tech savvy personnel. Furthermore, the Philippines is lagging behind India thus it will remain competitive with its outsourcing rates to attract more customers and investors. If Barclaycard will ch oose the Philippines then it can expect more savings and therefore increase the satisfaction of key investors.On the other hand the Philippines is not yet ready to wrest the crown away from India. The debate will never end. There are strengths and weaknesses for both countries but it seems that Barclaycard has spoken. Two years ago Barclaycard made an important decision, â€Å"Barclaycard will move some of its operations to India following the announcement it is to close its Manchester call centre this summer† (Ferguson, 2007). While the Philippines is also strong in the call centre industry, India can provide something that is beyond the grasp of the Philippines.It is a country that is culturally similar to the United Kingdom and therefore the Indians are more adept with UK English as compared to the Filipinos. Furthermore, India was once under the domain of Great Britain and therefore Indian laws and their current legal system closely mirrors that of the UK and so for Barcl aycard it can be argued that it is easier to do business in India as compared to the Philippines. References Brierley, S. (2005). The Advertising Handbook. UK: Routledge. Buttle, F. (1996). Relationship Marketing. UK: Paul Chapman Publishing, Ltd. Brown, D.(2005). The Black Book of Outsourcing How to Manage the Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities. New Jersey: Wiley & Sons, Inc. Ferguson, T. (2007). â€Å"Barclaycard Closes Call Centre, Offshores to India. † CBS Interactive Retrieved 09 March 2009 from http://services. silicon. com/ offshoring/0,3800004877,39166239,00. htm Kobayashi-Hillary, M. (2004). Outsourcing to India. Germany: Springer-Verlag. Mezak, S. (2006). Software Without Borders. California: Earthrise Press. Moody's Investor's Service. (2009). â€Å"India to Remain Among Top Outsourcing Destinations: Moodys.† Retrieved 09 March 2009 from The Economic Times. http://economictimes. indiatimes. com/Infotech/ITeS/India-to-remain-among-top- outsourcing- destin ations-Moodys/rssarticleshow/4241062. cms Overby, S. (2009). â€Å"Philippines Looks Beyond the Call Center for Future Outsourcing Growth. † Retrieved 09 March 2009 from CIO Magazine http://www. cio. com/article/483178/Philippines_Looks_Beyond_the_Call_Center_for_Fut ure_Outsourcing_Growth Pogson, I. (2008). Outsourcing from the UK to the Far East. In Outsourcing and Human Resource Management R. Taplin (Ed. ). UK: Routledge

Security Audit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Security Audit - Essay Example Also, some team members violated integrity and confidentiality assertions by disclosing information to external parties. This paper entails the details and implications of security audit procedures carried out and observations noted. Conducting audit Lafleur has a complicated network of information systems in place, with various remote offices and centralized IT function. Therefore, to evaluate this complex system, detailed audit procedures were planned including manual as well as automated assessments. Manual assessments mainly comprised interviewing procedures, performing physical checks and security scans and reviewing effectiveness of application and logical controls at different levels of organization. We prepared system notes after developing comprehensive understanding of company’s business activities. Thereafter, we conducted meetings with IT personnel to identify weaker areas requiring more attention and discuss IT policies and procedures. An exhaustive review of orga nogram was conducted to ensure proper segregation of duties were in place between employees holding influential or connected positions such as COO and CIO or programmer and end-user. Automated assessments were computer-aided techniques whereby software was used to assess reporting and change management capabilities of system. All operating systems, physical equipment and applications were appraised for their technical specifications and development capabilities. Contingency and disaster recovery planning for each office was reviewed for effectiveness, physically inspecting for any alternate site and analyzing backup procedures for critical data. Physical security controls, including key cards and biometric devices to different offices were checked for any loopholes allowing unauthorized access. Moreover, environmental controls were also verified to be in place, regulating appropriate temperature and providing adequate fire-fighting equipment and uninterrupted power supply. Additiona l physical security checks were checked and recommendations were made accordingly, such as bodyguards, locks, single entry points and surveillance systems. Due to remote offices and presence of wireless networking, interception during transmission of data was a crucial issue and was tested through procedures. It was ensured that networks are accessible and available at all times to all offices since there is a centralized IT function. (http://www.aurco.com/images/security_audit.png) Recommendations Based on findings and observations noted during fieldwork, we made some voluntary and mandatory recommendations to improve information system controls. We recommended that encryption be adopted to avoid intrusion of sensitive data during transmission on wireless networks. Often malwares limit the passage of traffic allowed on network. To combat this, we recommended that firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and antivirus applications must be installed promptly. We highlighted more focus on protecting information flowing on enterprise systems, mail servers, intranet networks and host applications that are accessed by customers. Since this company relies heavily on wireless networks, we suggested that dual-control access keys must be designed, maintaining them on system that is exclusively accessible to authorized personnel only (Saint-Germain, 2005). We laid great emphasis on monitoring closely all activities being carried out on the network,

Presentation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Presentation - Assignment Example From the time of financial crisis, American Banks increased their excess reserves in terms of cash funds held over and above the Federal Reserve requirement. Besides, Excess reserve increased from $1.9 billion in the year 2008 the month of August to $2.6 trillion in January 2015. Additionally, U.S banks are holding liquidity by pumping it into the economy through the Federal Reserve as excess reserves. Besides, instead of giving loans, implications lie in monetary policy and the real economy, elusive of current economic environment since its new and complex. Before the crisis in October 2008, costs and benefits of holding reserves went clear. The costs entailed benefits of guarding last minute outflows and foregone interest that requires immediate cash. Furthermore, depositor set aside money to cover emergency expenses, or investors hold reserves to enable them seize unforeseen opportunity (Craig and Koepke 1). Craig and Koepke suggest that the Simplicity of one to one correspondence between excess reserves and Federal Reserve balance sheet hides difficulty in predicting how banks behave in the presence of expanded reserves (1). Unfortunately, understanding this behavior is imperative deciding an appropriate policy that guards excess reserves

Trade in Energy and Energy Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Trade in Energy and Energy Security - Essay Example Furthermore, it is his or her legal obligation to maintain the safety and welfare of the patient. During the sixties, several issues emerged, which concentrated on questioning and challenging the standard traditions and values of society. One such issue was that of patients, who was in permanent vegetative state. The question arose whether a doctor had the right to withdraw from treating such patients without the consent of the guardians? Persistent vegetative state is considered to be that state of human mind, in which the patient is in coma and has advanced towards â€Å"the condition of partial arousal†1. The term was introduced and developed in the seventies by Jennet and Plum. The aim of this paper is to analyze the legal charges against a doctor, who had refused to treat a patient, who had been in a vegetative state for more than three years, in the lights of broad and diverse academic resources. Overview As mentioned earlier, persistent vegetative state is that conditio n, in which the human brain is severely damaged and the patient is in coma, followed by gradual movement towards â€Å"the state of wakefulness without detectable awareness†2 . ... The expression vegetable is has been used in order to define the existing condition of the human mind. Research suggests that a patient suffering from PVS can live for a very long period and therefore, he or she is not suffering from a fatal disease. On basis of ethics, philosophy and morality, the expression seeks to confront and dispute the daily beliefs and ideals of human society and the meaning of being alive6. Moreover, it clashes with the perspectives of individuality and personality. Patients suffering from this condition are stuck in a zone and thus, they do not have the ability to connect with their surroundings. Moreover, their existing state of mind does not allow them to communicate with their loved ones. From legal perspective, the term persistent vegetative state has not been defined extensively. Research suggests that the courts in United Kingdom â€Å"have required petitions before termination of life support that demonstrate that any recovery of cognitive functions above a vegetative state is assessed as impossible by authoritative medical opinion†7. In certain instances, it has been suggested that these patients must be given the authority to die peacefully because of their wakeful unconscious condition. This issue has led to several legal dilemmas and therefore, it has become essential to legally define the concept of PVS. As mentioned earlier, there is no legal definition for PVS. During the eighties, the Commission for Study of Legal and Ethical Problems in Medicine and Behavioral Research officially recognized the definition of persistent vegetative state, given by Jennett and Plum.8 The Commission attempted to

Analytical Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analytical Science - Essay Example Others are counterfeit drugs and outright fake ones. The need of the drug regulations was necessary so as to guarantee that there was efficiency safety, and superiority of drugs in addition to exactness and the correctness of the drug information that are available to the society (Habet, 32) . The work was not aimed to rank the countries under the study against any criterion. Rather, the aim was to synthesize their experiences and later draws conclusions on generic from countries that were participating and others get to learn from them. There was a systematic study was done of drug regulations and its surroundings across countries and there was shed a new illumination on the state of affairs of the country. these was so since there needed to provide a new perspective about the constraints it was facing, and also provide the options on the way to advance the means the method was to function. The structures of drug regulations that exist today that is the drug regulatory, laws, evalua tion boards, quality control laboratories, informational centers have evolved over with time. In this process the scope of the regulatory powers and legislative had gradually expanded, in regards to both the increasing complexity of the increasingly sophisticated pharmaceutical sector, and the perceived requirements of the society (Foroutan, 69). In other countries, the enactment of the comprehensive drugs regulations was as a result of the crisis-led change, when the society demands led then the adoption of laws that are restrictive so as to provide greater safe guards to the society. The drug regulation body is a society policy that response to the perceived requirements and the problems of the society. Consequently, the laws need to be upgraded to keep up the pace of the changes and the new challenges in the surroundings (Pika 24). The laws ought to be protective to the society from dubious and harmful drugs and practices. They need to be inclusive adequate to cover up all areas of pharmaceutical activities in the country. These include the herbal or homeopathic drugs they ought to be legal mandates that are imposed on the importation of drugs. The essay laid down the conclusions on generic from the weakness and strengths of different types and then identifies the features that affect the performance of the regulation of drugs. The government acted as the guardian of controlling the private powers in the public purposes. These have ensured the efficacy, safety and the quality of drugs that are available to the society was the main aim of the drug regulation. If the goals based on regulatory were to be achieved, then the appropriate structures were to be invented and the correct activities carried out acquire the desired goals. The rapid HPLC method for Analysis Temperature (Â °C) Old Formulation Methylprednisolone Conc. (ppm) New Formulation Methylprednisolone Conc. (ppm) 30 45.21 Â ± 3 46.1 Â ± 2.100 40 41.34 Â ± 4.2 40.45 Â ± 4.123 50 40 Â ± 3.54 39 Â ± 5 60 35.67 Â ± 6 38.987Â ± 4 70 37 Â ± 2.456 37.34 Â ± 3.654 80 21.567 Â ± 3.234 36.321 Â ± 1.567 90 23 Â ± 5 37.23 Â ± 5.012 Â   Â   Â   Temperature (Â °C) Formulation 1 Methylprednisolon

Women's rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Women's rights - Essay Example I chose the two papers for the high mindedness of the writers and for the subject matters relating to aspects of the empowerment of women and the advancement of women’s causes. An underlying theme or thread in the two works is that women are both intellectually and morally capable to secure an equal place in society with men, not only in matters of economics and such things as the right to property as well as relations with men, but also in important political aspects, such as suffrage. In other words both argue for the securing of the various rights of women, as they pertain to being equal to men in those fundamental huiman rights. The thinking of course is that at the time of their writing the two works reflect imbalances and injustices in the way these rights are recognized along gender rights, with women’s rights not recognized in the same degree as men’s rights, if at all (Fuller; May). This document was written by Margaret Fuller, who was considered a feminist, and bright and intellectual enough to be in the company of the Transcendentalists. In a way she was writing the piece for both the Transcendalists and the general society, in hopes of addressing the systemic discrimination against women in society and the denial of their inherent rights as human beings, in parity with the men (Fuller).. The first major point in the article is with regard to the conditions that women found themselves in, which is basically akin to slavery, in that they are unable to hold property, and are dependent on their husbands for whatever they get even when widowed. This, even as women are abused by vicious men, and made to suffer while the men live off their labors and their love like parasites. Fuller asserts too, that she is a slave in other ways, but this first point sets the stage for the airing of grievances so to speak, and by way of arguing for the recognition of the wider

The north and south labour systems and effect on American Civil War Essay

The north and south labour systems and effect on American Civil War - Essay Example According to Levine (2005), southern secession happened because they wanted to fight for the maintenance of the slavery institution in the United States of America. This is because their economy largely depended on the labor that was provided mainly by slaves. The northern part had grown economically because of the increased immigration from Europe. Therefore, they had enough labor for their production activities. There were many industries in the north and people enjoyed liberty and freedom that was characterized by the availability of land for everyone. On the other hand, the south depended on bonded labor for production. Few people owned large parcels of land in the south with many people owning small pieces of land. Many others were slaves and had to work on the large farms owned by few. In the years before the start of the civil war, Americans in the North and Northern west had different economic interests with the Americans living in the South and Southwest America. Despite the fact that the civil war in America was caused by a combination of other factors, the divergent economic interests contributed to the animosity that existed between the North and the South. They contributed to the establishment of the confederacy and the victory achieved by the union. The United States of America was an agricultural hub before, during and just after the civil war. Three quarters of the population in America lived in rural areas. The rural areas comprised of farms and small towns. Despite the fact that factories were established in the North and South, the establishment of industries and industrial manufacturing activities took place in the North. In 1860, the South had an estimated 25 percent of free population but only accounted for 10 percent of the capital of the country. The development of industries in the North was five times more that of the South. The number of factory workers in the North exceeded that of the South by ten times. Ninety percent of the skilled labor in the United States of America was in the North (Levine, 2005). The above information shows that the labor characteristics in the North and South were remarkably different. Labor in the North was expensive and laborers were not tied to a particular station. Workers were very active and mobile. The competition in the labor market was intensified by the immigration from Europe and Asia. This influenced the rising of wages in the sense that wages remained relatively constant (Levine, 2005). The economy of the south was founded on the labor provided by African Americans who worked as slaves. They were exploited, oppressed and forced to provide cheap labor. Mo st white families did not own slaves. Out of 1.6 million families, about 384,000 owned slaves. Most of the families who owned slaves had about 20 slaves or less. However, those who owned many slaves were about 10,000 and owned large plantations. When Eli Whitney invented cotton gin, southern planters and farmers

Wk 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wk 5 - Essay Example One’s own composite model for change management is as follows: (1) establish the need for change; (2) communicate the proposed change; (3) solicit participation and feedback from those to be affected by the change process; (4) develop the implementation plan; (5) monitor the change process through regular feedback; (6) incorporate significant inputs in the change process, as required; (7) institutionalize the change. These sequences of change were deemed essential because it initially provided the rationale or the need for change, which is seen as the crucial step in justifying change within the organization. Then, after communicating, the management team must enjoin participation of those to be affected by the change process to solicit inputs and minimize resistance. The rest of the steps would focus on the development of strategies for initiating and implementing change. Finally, monitoring and incorporating any significant changes within the outlined process must be include d before finally institutionalizing the change process within the organizational setting. The management skills that must be ingrained within the change management process are enforcing the functions of planning, organizing, directing and controlling these various steps. The strongest skills require addressing resistance to change by enjoining the participation of people affected by the change process. The weakest would be failure to communicate the crucial information required. Through one’s experience of organizational change, the steps identified to be crucial and best handled was communicating the need for change by providing the rationale and justifying its urgency. Apparently, the change that was proposed did not solicit inputs from the personnel and therefore forms of resistance were eminent. The management team therefore had to

Constitution and Administrative Law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Constitution and Administrative Law - Coursework Example The case was held by Lord Reid, that it was the state was liability to compensate the damage caused to the Japanese. This was awarded successfully. However, there was a retrospective Act of parliament that was formed 1965 following war damages. This law outlined that no compensation was to be awarded following a lawful order from a legitimate person in authority, as long as it is in the favor of the state. A Law is a body of principles; rules and regulations recognized and applicable to a state in the management of justice.3 Due to different areas of their application, laws are grouped into different categories such as constitutional law, administration law, and criminal law among the others. Constitutional law is concerned with the powers and role of institutions within the state and with the relationship between the state and the citizen.4 The constitution is a lively, dynamic entity which at any point in time; reflects the political and moral values of the people it governs. Accordingly, the law of the constitution must be appreciated within the social and political context in which it operates. There are three major arms of government including the judiciary, legislature, and executive. Judiciary is concerned with the enforcement of rules and regulations in the society. The main role of the legislature is to create and amend laws. The executive arm of government is concerned with planning and implementation of plans and developmental roles of government in the society. Every government has a law making body that is concerned with the amendments and creation of new laws in the society.5 Law changes and nature of rules are meant to boost efficiency and effectiveness of the governance of the people in the society. â€Å"The law making body of government is referred to as legislature and parliament is the sovereign body of the legislation in most states†6 Parliament being the sovereign legislative body has sole jurisdiction over its

Movie ticket pricing Essay Example for Free

Movie ticket pricing Essay Household behavior forms an interesting area of study for economists given that the human aspect involved in making of economic decisions by a household vary a lot depending on the perception of a commodity or service in the market. This is done in the view of gaining a certain level of utility only known to the consumer. One such area that has attracted scrutiny is the consumption and pricing of movie tickets and goods sold in the movie theaters. An article by Jennifer McNulty titled â€Å"Concessions on Movie Ticket Pricing? details the tricks present in the pricing of movie tickets and products such as popcorn crisps and soft drinks sold in the movie theaters. This paper critically analyses this article and discusses the economic sense in the article plus a reflection on the whole issue. Article review In this article the writer is worried about the high charges of popcorn in movie theaters than in ordinary shopping outlets. This she poses as the introductory question in the article asking â€Å"why does popcorn cost so much at the movies? † She notes that despite the high prices, movie goers are always willing to pay the high prices charged for the popcorn as evidenced by â€Å"all the people standing in line waiting to buy popcorn, soft drinks, and candy†. The author notifies us of the findings of a research by Stanford and the University of California, Santa Cruz that reveals the trick behind this idea. The findings show that charging lower prices for primary products in this case movie tickets and charging higher prices for secondary products in this case popcorn, beverages, peanuts etc drives the customer into seeing the bargain in the primary product and not the overcharging in the secondary product. This will always keep demand for both high courtesy of low price tickets. The author says â€Å"If you want to bring more consumers into the market, you need to keep ticket prices lower to attract them†. Products sold in movie theaters are charged on concession basis in that there is an added price on the product as a â€Å"commission† to the vendor. They account a lot in term of revenue for movie theaters as Jennifer says that â€Å"movie exhibition houses rely on concession sales to keep their businesses viable†. The idea according to Jennifer is that movie theaters transfer some movie charges to the concession goods. This then increases demand for movie tickets and revenues high but profits low. From the article we see that â€Å"Although concessions account for only about 20 percent of gross revenues, they represent some 40 percent of theaters profits†. Therefore it would seem that it is better to charge low prices for tickets so as movie consumers are made to believe that they have â€Å"saved† some amount on which they can spend on the concession goods. Unfortunately, this is just an illusion as the moviegoer ends spending more. Economic analysis of the article The movie theaters have hinged their business sense on the demand elasticity in response to price changes. They have noted that a proportionate increase in the price of movie tickets leads to a more than proportionate drop in demand of movie tickets. Therefore we would say that demand for movie tickets is perfectly elastic to price changes. On the other hand, demand for concession goods is not affected, as per the article by change in prices thus perfectly inelastic. Nevertheless, we would normally expect perfect some degree of elasticity when prices are increased to inconsiderate levels. This would probably force moviegoers to carry along products that they could have otherwise bought at the theater. From another economic perspective, we can say that there is a level of complementarity between the movie tickets and the concession goods though it is one sided. This is because of the fact that concession goods will and can only be consumed after purchasing a movie ticket. However, one can consume a purchase/consume a movie ticket without necessarily having to purchase any of the concession goods on sale in the theater. For fully complementary goods, it is impossible to consume one good in the absence of the other. In such cases, the price and demand of one affects the other. In the case of movie tickets and concession goods, the demand for movie tickets leads to a considerable increase in the demand for the more profitable concession goods. Unfortunately, demand for concession goods does not in any way affect the demand for movie tickets as a consumer can make use of the movie ticket alone without the concession good. Reflection Consumption of leisure hours by households do not usually follow economic principles witnessed in other goods and services. Households attach levels of utility on leisure hours as determined by fashion trends and culture. The idea of purchasing and consuming goods such as popcorns and peanuts in the movie theaters is something that has been nurtured by today’s generation and fashion. This is what is demonstrated in the article in that there is no economic sense that can link any complementing aspect between concession goods and movie tickets but just a creation of our society. It is thus the movie theaters that have capitalized on this fallacy to gain profits. I would personally think that the movie theaters have succeeded in making the best use an economic opportunity and are creating and inducing demand for otherwise low selling products in the name of concession goods. Therefore, the article plays its purpose of informing the moviegoers of where they â€Å"cheated†. In economic sense, the paper shows the power of elasticity in action.

Health Demographics in Derbyshire

Health Demographics in Derbyshire (Derby city council, 2013) Dermography Alvaston is in the south east of Derby city centre and approximately covers 702 hectares. It has expanded with the arrival of the railways and linked employment in the 19th century (Derby city council, 2011). The population of Alvaston is 16,255. 50.3 % are females and males make 49.7% and this follows a national trend (D.C.C, 2011). Alvaston has a higher number of children of the ages of 0-4, 2% more than England average (ONS, 2011). An increase in number of children is said to be a result of having a large population of women of childbearing age. This is reflected in the Ward. There is a higher percentage of women in this age range, potentially increasing the number of children in the Ward (ONS, 2013). Due to the vast improvements in healthcare infant mortality rates have continually decreased over the years (ONS, 2013). The high number of children can increase pressures on the local services such as childcare providers, schools and health visiting services. Gender Fig 2. According to ONS (2011) Alvaston ward has more females than males and this follows a national trend. Naidoo and Wills (2010) points out that women live 6 years longer than men on average. This is said to be because women are more likely to report illness and are less likely to be in full time employment, therefore having easier access to healthcare while men are exposed to unsafe working environments and tend to adopt risky behaviours socially, like alcoholism and they contribute to a high number of accidents. (Annandale and Hunt, 2000) Ethnicity Adapted by Author (ONS,2011)Fig 3. Alvaston Ward is not ethnically diverse, its population is predominantly white, accounting to 88% of the ward population, slightly higher than national average (ONS, 2011). However Asians make 5% of the biggest ethnic group population. Ethnicity plays a role in terms of illness and behaviour, furthermore some diseases are more prevalent in certain ethnic groups, and for example, cardiovascular diseases are more common in Asian men (NHS, 2015). Genetics cannot be altered but it is important for health professionals to be aware of such groups to allow proper preventative preparation and screening processes for diseases and illnesses prevalent in particular ethnic groups. Disease Paterns Adapted by Author:ONS,2012Fig 4. Morbidity Alvaston has good access to primary care services. There are three Gp practices, four pharmacies, four dental practices and an Optometrists serving the ward (Derby city council,2012).The ward has a significantly high percentage of people with emergency hospital admissions for myocardial infarction, 40% more than national average (local health.org.uk).The main cause of MI is smoking Coronary heart disease is also high at 38% more than national average. According to Naidoo and Wills (2010) coronary heart disease is one of the most commonly reported longstanding illness in the UK. It is the most common cause of premature death, and often results from a number of lifestyles factors (see Fig ) such as diet high in fat, smoking, alcohol and lack of exercise (Naidoo and Wills, 2010). Health practitioners have a role to construct programmes to tackle causation factors and educating the public about the risks accredited to certain habits and practices. Mortality Fig 5. Mortality is one of the indicators of deprivation, early mortality rates from Coronary heart disease are 39% higher in Alvaston compared to nationally (PHE, 2013). The death rates from CHD has increased to three times higher among unskilled man than among professionals (DOH, 1999). CHD is caused by key lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, poor nutrition, obesity, lack of exercise and high blood pressure (DOH, 1999). The ward is also high in smoking (see lifestyle graph). Poorer people are often exposed to highest risk as low socio economic status and lack of education seem to be associated with behavioural risk factors for CHD (Hemmingway, 2007). The increase of influencing factors to CHD start in childhood, and this has authenticated the healthy child programme.(DOH,2008). Although there are many causes of CHD, communities need to be made aware of the changeable risk factors. Unemployment has also shown to increase the risk of CHD, unemployment levels are higher in Alvaston compared to nationally. The DOH(2000) government document ‘Saving Lives: Our healthier nation has recommended that Health and Local authorities should lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive local programme of effective policies to reduce smoking, promoting healthy eating, physical activity and reducing overweight and obesity. In Alvaston, these services are provided by the Live-well, which is a local authority project. Cancer incidence Adapted by author: ONS, 2011Fig 6. Over 250 000 people in England are diagnosed with cancer, despite the developments made to tackle it, a big gap remains in mortality rates (Naidoo Wills, 2010). The increase in cancer rates is said to be a result of longer life expectancy, however according to ( ) work environment contribute to cancer mortalities. Workers from low class jobs are twice as likely to die from cancer as compared to professionals are (Naidoo and Wills, 2010). In Alvaston the majority of the workforce are in elementary jobs (see Fig ) and there are many smokers therefore increasing the prevalence of lung cancer to 44% more than national average. The NHS Framework, a strategy for cancer has set out actions to be used to tackle preventable causes of cancer (DOH, 2011). The focus is primary, this is aimed at health education and support for behaviour changes, especillially in relation to smoking and healthy eating. And secondary focus is intended at increasing the uptake of screening services (DOH.2011). And some of the environmental factors that are linked to cancer are being acknowledged and developed (Naidoo and Wills, 2010). Life expectancy Adapted by Author: ONS, 2011Fig 7. Life expectancy at birth defects in Alvaston is worse off compared to national average, Males at 5% worse and females at 4% worse (ONS, 2011). According to Doyal and Payne (2011) Lower life expectancy is linked to deprivation and lower socio economic status. Determinants of Health Determinants are described by World Health Organisation (2013) as the causes that impact health, such as conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age including the health system. Some of these determinants are changeable like social, economic, environmental conditions that influence the health of individuals and populations (Marmot, 2010).Availability of resources that improve quality of life can have a big impact on population health outcomes, for example, availability of healthy foods, affordable housing, access to education and health services (Marmot, 2010) and these determinants can be altered either at community or social policy level. Index of Multiple deprivation Adapted by Author: (ONS,2012)Fig 8. Indices of multiple deprivation are those factors that are used to measure deprivation in an area. These measures include measurement of income, health, education and housing (Derby city council, 2012). Alvaston is one of the most deprived wards in the country, ranked fourth most deprived of all Derby Wards (Derby city council, 2010). Index of Multiple Deprivations (IMDs) measures level of deprivation in lower layer super output areas (LSOAs) (Derby city council, 2012) Childhood poverty is significantly high in the ward at 15% higher than national average, disadvantaged older people measure high at 25%, makes it 7% higher than national average, income deprivation also measure at 7% higher than England average (Derby city council, 2012). Green et-al (2015) points out that constant childhood poverty is damaging as it does not only affect in short term but it has long lasting effects and it adds to sustaining cycles of deprivation. In order to reduce childhood poverty, the government has set strategies to tackle inequalities (Green at-al, 2015). Fair society, healthy Lives document, and its first recommendations from the Marmot review (2010), are that every child is given the best start in life. These recommendations are sanctioned through a wide range of policy initiatives, including sure start, healthy child programme and Child Poverty Act, 2010. (Marmot, 2010). Education Adapted by Author: ONS, 2012Fig 8. Education is an important social determinant of health Ungerleider et-al (2009). There is a pointedly higher percentage, totalling to 33% of people with no qualification in Alvaston than England average of 23% (Derby city council, 2011). Education is linked to other health determinants in that good education increases the prospects of getting a safe and well-paying job with good working conditions (Benatar and Brook, 2011).educated individuals tend to adopt healthy lifestyles behaviours, furthermore it is Identified Health Need Adapted by Author: ONS,2012Fig 9. Coronary heart disease (CHD) Coronary heart disease is described as the narrowing of the coronary arteries, which are one of the important structures in the heart, due to build-up of fatty material within their walls and therefore damaging these vessels and thus limiting their ability to deliver blood to many organs including the heart.(BHF,2010)(Granato,2008). Coronary heart disease is also classed as cardiovascular disease, and these are said to be one of the main causes of death in Europe (BHF). In Alvaston there is a substantial percentage of coronary heart disease, amounting to 177 percent, almost doubling national average amongst the under 75s (ONS, 2012). According to the Derby city council (2012) health and wellbeing is determined by many factors, and it is clear that effects on health can be due to a number of interrelating variables. Coronary heart disease is caused by many lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, unhealthy diet (high in fat and salt), obesity and not exercising. Other factors include family history, ethnicity and co-existing predisposing factors like Diabetes and High blood pressure (Naidoo and Wills, 2010). The more risk factors an individual has the more they are likely to develop Coronary heart disease and the risk increases with age (British heart foundation, 2012). There is a small percentage of people eating healthy on the Ward and as already discussed that this is linked to CHD. Obesity increases the risk by 46 percent and physical inactivity by 37 percent and this reflects the high levels of the disease in the ward (Derby city council, 2012). Although coronary heart disease typically occur in middle age or later, it is said to be higher among the lower socio-economic communities and more men die as a result of CHD while women are more likely to die from stroke, and this is said to be due to behavioural factors associated with the risks (Doyal and Payne, 2011). To combat Heart disease the government has put in place many policies in collaboration with the Food Standards Agency to reduce the intake levels of unhealthy eating and salt (Marmot, 2010) (WHO,2015). The Department of Health document, ‘Saving Lives: Our healthier Nation(1999) has also made recommendation to tackle coronary Heart Disease There has been a reduction in the advertisements for unhealthy foods during children’s television programmes (NICE, 2010). Clear labelling and traffic light system on food labels were introduced to encourage people to make healthy option choices (DOH, 1999) (British heart Foundation). Promoting physical activity in the workplace is very well encouraged across the country and the use of green space areas to encourage exercise (Marmot, 2010) as well as introducing plain standardised tobacco packaging and banning tobacco advertisements and Smoking cessation (The white paper,2010).

Gender Inequality Women In Politics Politics Essay

Gender Inequality Women In Politics Politics Essay The world in which we live is characterized by deeply unequal sharing of the burden of adversities between women and men. Gender inequality exists in most parts of the world, from Japan to Africa, from Uzbekistan to the United States of America. However, inequality between women and men can take many different forms. It manifests itself in the unequal representations of women and men in various walks of life, differences in their salaries, persistent gender stereotypes, and sexual discrimination. One of the most troublesome issues is the extremely unequal representation of women in government and administrative office. Nevertheless, Lithuania, as well as other former communist countries was distinguished by a very high involvement of women in politics (worldpress.com). The role of women in society has been changed a lot in the last few decades. In the early days, women were seen as wives who were supposed to cook, clean, and take care of the children. They were limited from the responsibility of earning money for the family because this responsibility was left to husbands. Women were not allowed to vote and to work outside the family while men took care of having jobs and paying bills. Soon enough some thought that women should have bigger roles than what most of the people thought women should have. With the beginning of industrialization and technological development, the lifestyles of people in Lithuania started to change. The needs of human beings started to increase. This movement toward modern living started to reflect in the lifestyles of people. In this process, women started to practice some outside home activities (Aidis). Therefore, women involved in education in equal terms with men. Consequently, women gradually started to participate in all life movements. They started to think independently and participate equally in outside world along with males (Blackburn). Slowly but gradually discriminating women on the basis of gender, even though it still persists nowadays, diminished considerably. Therefore, the ongoing changes in social, political and economic activities of the country included not only the raise of womens role in society, but also the break of stereotypes of treating human beings by gender which was so well developed through decades (Aidis). Times when women used to sit at home and look after the children are gone. Today, women have bigger roles to play in the society. They are entrusted with more responsibility than men. They have to work along with men in providing a higher income for the family, but even so, most men in Lithuania still consider women to be inferior, and they do not trust them enough in order to permit a female to deal with political, economic, and social problems. As the ruling class, men completely support the patriarchal view of the Catholic Church. The resurgence in the popularity of the Catholic Church has been accompanied by the glorification of motherhood (Voices from Lithuania). Therefore, men favor motherhood over professional and political involvement because they identify political actions with masculine behavior, power struggles, private property disputes, corruption, and hypocrisy (LaFont). Initially, men objected to women starting their career outside home, but with the growing needs and insufficiency of money, they had no other way out but to accept the reality and change according to the circumstances (Aidis). According to Suzanne LaFont, Lithuanian men should be proud of their women getting involved in any social, economic, and political activity, and they should support their efforts to contribute to society rather than crush their struggle with irony, skepticism and empty words (LaFont). Even though gender issues were not a main priority for the country, Lithuania has shown improvements to gender equality by introducing laws and regulations that would protect womens rights in society (wikigender.org). Equal opportunities and equal treatment is enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania (art. 29); in 1998, the Sheimas (Parliament) adopted the law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (wikigender.org). This law forbids direct and indirect discrimination against men and women. It also requires the state and other institutions to work on the basis of equality in gender when it comes to employment, education, science and other areas of activities. In addition to a prohibition giving priority to one of the sexes in employment and education advertisements employers are obliged not to ask job seekers about their age, marital status, private life, and family plans(wikigender.org). According to the statistics prepared by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the year 2009 was marked by continued progress for women in parliament. The global average for the proportion of women in parliament reached an all-time high of 18.8%. Moreover, at the beginning of 2010, the number of women ruling in politics increased even more. They held 35 (13.0%) of the 269 top posts in parliaments around the world. This is an improvement on the 1995 total, when 24 women held this post. In addition, women make up 30% or more of the members in 44 parliamentary chambers 26 single or lower and 18 upper houses. This is a six-fold increase over the 1995 total, when just seven chambers achieved this goal(IPU). According to the Lithuanian Statistics Department Data, slowly and with no doubt, in 2008, 50% of Lithuanian women were involved not only in household but also in state-related activities. Women made 37% of all leaders in the Lithuanian ruling elite such as parliamentarians, senior state officials and executives of companies and establishments (Worldpress.com). The number of females running a business also increased but still remained lower than that of men. Thus, in 2007, women made 31% of businessmen in Lithuania which was 5% more if compared with the year 2006. The first women, who reached top posts in parliaments, were elected in Sri Lanka (1960) and India (1966). Countries of Europe which have had a female president or prime minister in the modern era (1945-2003) are: Bulgaria, Finland, France, the German Democratic Republic, Lithuania, Great Britain, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia (koed.hu). As mentioned before, Lithuania is also ranked among that category, with its current and first female president of the country- Dalia Grybauskaite. Next to the president, Lithuanian inhabitants are honored to have twelve women in top parliamentarian positions that also contributed, in a way or another, in bringing some changes to the country and to its population. One of them is Nijole Ambrazaityte. She was a member of the Seimas from November 25, 1996 till October 18, 2000. She also was elected to the Supreme Coucil (1990-1992). Nijole was a member of various parliamentary groups for the relations with the Republic of Georgia, Africa, China, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Russian Federation, Canada, France, Taiwan, Tibet, Germany, and other North European countries. Nevertheless, Nijole did not contribute only in politics but also in other areas of activity. Therefore, even though she was a winner of international contests of vocalists, Nijole was also granted the highest awards for her contribution to the Lithuanian culture and opera art (Nijole Ambrazaityte). Another woman worth mentioning about is Laima Andrikiene currently a member of European Parliament since year 2004. She was also a Vice Prime Minister of Lithuania between 1989 and 1990. During 1996 2003 Laima was a Chairman of the Board, Laitenis UAB and a Minister in the Ministry of European Affairs. (Laima Andrikiene). She was involved in various projects such as Training programme of Lithuanian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Crafts (2002), EU Officialdom Training Programme (2002-2004), Scientific Study Effective Integration of Lithuanian Industry into the EU in a Short Term (2003), EU Sixth Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities (2003-2004) (Laima Andrikiene). She also received lots honorable medals for her merits. Therefore, she got the Independence Medal of the Republic of Lithuania (July, 2000), National Order of Merit of the Grand Officer for the French Republic (October, 1997), Medal of the Baltic Assembl y (2003), etc (Laima Andrikiene). Furthermore, the woman who achieved a lot in her life and in the lives of millions others was Dalia Grybauskaite. Having received remarkable support from Lithuanian citizens, Dalia was elected President of the Republic of Lithuania in the first election round in the year 2009. Until then, she was a Programme Director in the Prime Minister Office of the Republic of Lithuania (1991), Director of the Economic Relations Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1993), Plenipotentiary Minister at the Lithuanian Embassy in the USA (1996), Minister of Finance (2001), and among many other posts she had, one of the most significant was the post of EU Commissioner in charge of financial programming and budget of the European Union (2004) (president.lt). According to Dalia Grybauskaite, gender equality is a topic of vital significance for every nation. In her speech at the General Debate of the 65th Session of The United Nations General Assembly in New York, she said that Gender equality issues are rarely associated with overcoming the economic crisis or stopping the climate change. However, it has been estimated that the elimination of gender discrimination in the labor market could increase the GDP by as much as 30 percent (president.lt). She also mentioned that It is of no surprise that women in Lithuania hold a number of top positions in politics and in business life. It is only natural that Lithuanian women made their own the famous saying: When the going gets tough, the tough get going! Thus, the prerequisite for gender equality represent the participation of both genders in decision making (president.lt). In all the countries of the world, women are in the minority at the decision-making level. Nevertheless, in most of countries more and more women are coming into office and are getting involved in the social life. As a good example would be Sweden. Women have achieved parity in the Cabinet of Ministers (where both men and women each constitute 50 percent), 43 percent of members in parliament and 41 percent of local government officials are women (I Know Politics). Today, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are the only European countries which have more than 30 percent female members of parliaments. Regarding governments, political scientists and political journalists often talk about a glass ceiling effect: this means that women do not get to the highest level of government or business (koed.hu). Mostly, those women who are considered to be part of the government or parliament, they are involved in less important positions. In order to be succ essful, women have to be trained for political discourses and motivated to defend their own rights or political interests. Achieving that would show that the difference between women and men is just a result of their perspective behavior (koed.hu). Nowadays, women in Lithuania do not have enough influence over the decision making but the situation is getting better. The gender identity in peoples minds is still that men are better in politics than women are. It is important to mention that Lithuania always went beyond its neighbor countries Latvia and Estonia, on this issue. It is considered to be the first country among the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe in advancing gender equality (I Know Politics). More recently, the highest level of womens representation in parliament among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe was achieved in Lithuania (18.1%); soon after, Estonia (18%) and Latvia (17%) reached similar levels (I Know Politics). It cannot though be compared to Sweden (43%), Denmark (37%) or Finland (37%). According to Kozma, women and men have different theories of perceiving gender issues in the world today. Women believe that it is not entirely right to think that only they are guilty for the current position in the political area. In a party, a woman gets to hold a position if this is desired by men (feminis.ro). Maria Grapini, the current candidate for mayor of Timisoara (Romania), noticed that it is also true, however, that women are hesitant to support each other. Moreover, she believes that they must know as well that it takes lots of time to become politicians. Mother, wife, business woman, politician! It seems hard to believe but a woman can actually manage everything and not in one regular way, but with elegance, style, and determination. Changes in society today are happening quickly and there is no doubt that there are still many unsolved problems. Men as well as women have to learn that gender identities belong to history and not to the modern life. Therefore, it is not the only option of women to stay home and take care of her children. Men, as well as women were given same rights and possibilities to grow professionally and individually. Therefore, the main goals are protection of womens rights and removal of discrimination in society by eliminating the existed stereotypes from peoples minds. Work Cited Aidis, R. (1997). MoterÃ…Â ³ verslininkiÃ…Â ³ problemos. -Moterys: tapatumo paieÃ…Â ¡kos. Lietuvos filosofijos ir sociologijos institutes. MoterÃ…Â ³ informacijos centras. Vilnius. Blackburn, R.M., Jarman J. and Siltanen S. (1993). The Analysis of Occupational Gender Segregation Over Time and Place: Considerations of Measurement and Some New Evidence, Work, Employment and Society. LaFont, Suzanne. (1988). Women in Transition: Voices from Lithuania. State University of New York Press. Albany. Women in Lithuania: more educated, earn less but their role is increasing. 5 March, 2008. Retrieved on 4 November, 2010: http://irzikevicius.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/women-in-lithuania-more-educated-but-earn-less-but-their-role-is-increasing/ (worldpress.com) Women in Politics. Retrieved on 4 November, 2010: http://www.ipu.org/news-e/wop/37/5.htm (IPU) Statistics Lithuania. Retrieved 4 November, 2010: http://www.stat.gov.lt/en/ (Statistics Lithuania) Gender Equality in Lithuania. Retrieved on 4 November, 2010: http://www.wikigender.org/index.php/Gender_Equality_in_Lithuania (wikigender.org) Thorsten, Nilges. Gender inequality in politics. Retrieved on 4 November, 2010: http://www.koed.hu/mozaik15/thorsten.pdf (koed.hu) Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. Retrieved on 4 November, 2010: http://www3.lrs.lt/seimu_istorija/w3_lrs.seimo_narys-p_asm_id=5p_int_tv_id=0p_kalb_id=2p_kade_id=3.htm (Nijole Ambrazaityte) Laima Andrikiene. Retrieved on 4 November 2010: http://www2.laimaandrikiene.lt/en/ (Laima Andrikiene) President of the Republic of Lithuania. Retrieved on 5 November 2010. http://www.president.lt/en/ (Dalia Grybauskaite) Category: Lithuanian Women in Politics. Retrieved on 5 November, 2010: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Lithuanian_women_in_politics (Wikipedia) Giedre,Purvaneckiene. Women in Lithuanian Society. 1999. Retrieved on 5 November, 2010: http://www.iknowpolitics.org/files/HDR%20Lithuania%201999%20-%20Ch.%208%20Women%20in%20Lithuanian%20Society.pdf (I Know Politics) Ana Maria, Kozma. The role of women in society. 5 May, 2008. Retrieved on 5 November, 2010: http://www.feminis.ro/feminis/cariera/rolul-femeilor-in-politica-464 (feminis.ro)

Home :: essays research papers

Home is more than just a word in the dictionary. First, and most basic, a house is a roof over people’s heads. Second, a residence is a place to go and truly relax. Third, and most important, a household is a place to laugh and cry with loved ones. A home’s most basic trait is its ability to provide shelter from weather. Rain or snow, a house will always be there. In the cold times of the year, the heater will be there to warm the house. The heat of the summer is no problem for a good home. The ideal dwelling definitely must have a dependable central air conditioner. When located in an area abundant with tornadoes and hurricanes, a home must have a safe place. A storm shelter or a basement is an excellent place to hide. Besides shelter from weather, a home will also provide shelter from the storms of life. When work or school is just too much to take, folks can go home, kick back, and reflect on the good things they might have. Kids can go home to hide from the bullies or the kids with cooties. No matter what the problem is, going home and relaxing can provide some relief from them. The most important thing about home is that it is where loved ones will be. On a good day, they will be there to share. A household is a place to share a funny joke or a good story. A haven is a place where people who care about each other can share a quiet night. More important than providing a place to share good times, a home also provides a gathering place for people who care during bad times. A family residence is a good place to get support for the bad happenings in life. The bad times can range from the death of a family member or friend to just a simple bad

The Marxist Formula in Emechetas The Joys of Motherhood Essay

The Marxist Formula in Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood "Marx states that we are truly free only when '[people] place themselves in a position to control their own historical destiny'"(Slaughter 25). Britain's imperial colonization of Africa triggered vast change within the tribal civilizations thriving on the continent prior to European occupation. For the Africans, these changes altered every level of their culture: language, religion, as well as ancient tribal customs. But one of the most devastating aspects of the British colonization in Africa was the European economic system: capitalism. Capitalism left many Africans reeling from its destructive impact on tribal economies. Nowhere is this more evident than in The Joys of Motherhood, Buchi Emecheta's tale of the British occupation of Nigeria in the 1930s and 1940s. Emecheta's skillfully constructed story uses various literary devices to develop empathy for her characters suffering at the hands of the English. However, underlying these literary techniques -- and boosting the storyà ­s political objectives -- exists a Marxist economic analysis of the colonial system. Emecheta's Marxist examination provides an outline f or illustrating how imperialistic capitalism alienated Africans from their culture, and from one another, causing irreparable damage to the social fabric of Nigeria. The Marxist argument in The Joys of Motherhood demonstrates how the root of the characters' downfall is the socioeconomic shift from the tribal economic paradigm to the exploitative, capitalist system used by the British. However, Emecheta also criticizes her tribal culture's oppressive hierarchy, illustrating the Ibo treatment of slaves and of women. So although European colonialism... ...Marx and the Sources of Critical Theory. New Jersey: Rowman and Littlefield, 1981. Jameson, Fredric. Marxism and Form: Twentieth-Century Dialectical Theories of Literature. 2nd ed. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1974. Magubane, Bernard, and Nzongola-Ntalaja, eds. Proletarianization and Class Struggle in Africa. Contemporary Marxism Series. San Francisco: Synthesis, 1982. Richter, David. The Critical Tradition: Classic and Contemporary Trends. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford, 1998. Selden, Raman, and Peter Widdowson. A Reader's Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory. 3rd ed. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 1993. Slaughter, Cliff. Marxism, Ideology and Literature. London: Macmillan, 1980. Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. New York: Garland, 1999. Wallerstein, Immanuel. Africa: The Politics of Independence. New York: Vintage, 1961.

Informative Speech COM 1301

COM 1301, Section 05 October, 9th 2012 Mars Search Laboratory (MSL) Life on earth is getting more and more difficult, earth is overpopulated and global warming is treating our existence on earth every day. Living on another planet is on the solution that may pop out in our mind, this solution is what a space rover is trying to answer. In exactly one month and three days ago, a high technology rover lander on Mars, for those who did not hear about it let me show you some pictures (showing pictures to the audience), the rover is about 1000kg and a car size.Curiosity is special because it process information for itself and then sends the result back to earth. Two main objectives of Mars are1. Discover traces of past life.2. Analyze Mars habitability It is difficult not to get excited about NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover, it’s the most ambitious exploration vehicle yet sent to Mars.The big science question for the Mars Exploration Rover is how past water activity on Mars has i nfluenced the red planet's environment over time.While there is no liquid water on the surface of Mars today, the record of past water activity on Mars can be found in the rocks, minerals, and geologic landforms, particularly in those that can only form in the presence of water. That's why the rover is specially equipped with tools to study a diverse collection of rocks and soils that may hold clues to past water activity on Mars. Project scientist Grokzinger says: â€Å"Curiosity is not a life detection mission. We are not actually looking for life, we don’t have the ability to detect life if it was there. But let me show you something (shows picture of river ) this river is located in Spain, it reaches high temperatures about 40 °C and it’s very acidic, it has a Ph about 2, knowing that the Ph scale goes from 0 to 14 from the most acidic to the least acidic. Well, surprisingly this river holds life! Scientists have recently taken a sample from this water and disco ver bacteria in it! This can be the absolute evidence that life can emerge from extreme conditions.A part from discovering traces of past life, the other mission of Curiosity is to identify if Mars can be a shelter of life, Mars Science Laboratory is equipped with an instrument that measures the level of radiation. This will be critical to put a man on Mars and determine the type of protection. At last but not least, Scientists expect from Curiosity a major discovery, it involves analyzing rocks of the landing area, hoping to discover traces of past life and analyzing Mars habitability.To conclude let me show you the latest picture received from the rover (showing picture: trace of robot step) as you may see, this is a trace of the robot on the sandy surface of Mars, this is a small trace of a robot, a giant leap of mankind, Thank you.

Citibank: Launching the Credit Card in Asia Pacific

Citibank institution the Credit Card in Asia peace-loving Citigroup is an Ameri fecal matter multinational monetary go company based in untested York City. Citigroup was formed from one of the orbits larger-than-lifest mergers in story by combining the banking giant Citicorp and pecuniary conglome regulate Travelers Group. Nowadays is one of the worlds largest banks. In 2010 was in twenty-second position worldwide, ranked on its f alone assets. Finally, it has the worlds largest financial services network, spanning 140 countries with near 16,000 offices worldwide, 260,000 ply around the world and holds all over 200 million customer accounts.In 1989, Citigroup tried to penetrate in Asiatic Pacific countries by establishing current slipway of payment much(prenominal) as computer address tantalize. The risk was high and the New York supply should take a decision soon, in value to face the rival banks. The Asian Pacific countries (Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indone sia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand) argon emerging market places and their rapid growth economies were incredible for several(prenominal) years until now. Since 1978 Citibank has a representation at that place, notwithstanding approximately 10 years by and by (in 1989) launched the most innovative service, a new harvest named reference work card.Citibanks explosive charge in the Asia Pacific region was to be the most profitable provider of financial services to an increasingly affluent and middle-income market. starting line of all we should bear in intellect that entering into new markets means that Citibank has much opportunities to sell the aforementioned(prenominal) product to two-fold clients or sell multiple products, such as Citibanks core products, car loans, deposits and mortgage products, to the same customer. Also, in both(prenominal) countries in that respect are real large tribe potential customers.In the welkin of security, Ci tibank has quite high technology that rat make users hirel safe. On the nigh other hand, many mess express doubts most this venture. There are many regulations designed to protect topical anaesthetic banks and limit the expanding upon of foreign banks. In addition there is lack of doctrine experience and the market is undeveloped yet. Also, scotchs in these countries are not as developed as in the United States. In some regions the risk is high, because of the political corruption. I root on the card launch and I boil d make on the possibility that some countries could be success.However, in Asia Pacific area you can find contrasting people among countries, with polar habits, traditions, religions, so each country has their own market characteristics in comparison with the others. So, we essential take into account the fact that it is unattainable for the bank to target all these different countries-cultures at the same time. In my judicial decision a safe choice co uld be Malaysia, Hong Kong and Australia. Malaysia 16,726,766 tribe in 1989 and growth rate 8. 1%. It has successful business tribe and growing along with home. Also, middle and stop number class is growing sharply.With 61% of the world living in rural areas, people had plenty of card options to make out from 1989. However, fit to Malaysian law, only consumers with an annual income of 9,000$ or more could own a quote card. Also, 25% of its population earns more than 12,000$. Citibank is very(prenominal) possible to get customers at this country, referable to high growth rate, 8% is higher(prenominal) than the average value of the latest 5 years (from 1985 to 1990). A total 390,000 sought after customers could achieve 900,000 tease (regardless the kind) annually, with revenues approximately 88,200,000$. (Exhibit 4, 8, 10) Australia 16,500,000 population in 1989, growth rate 4. %, scarcely is already saturated market. However, it is the most electrostatic country with sm all political/economic risk. An average Australian carries 2 cards. endorse and Mastercard hold 35% of the market, but half(prenominal) of the cards issued by local banks. (Exhibit 4) stop over even SP-(FC? VC)=BE 525,000-(104,300,000? 626,000,000)=BE 525,000-0. 16=BE BE=524999. 84 SP=10. 500. 000(1)? 5%(2)=525,000 (1)10. 500. 00 cards (2) Market share Hong Kong 5,709,330 population in 1989, growth rate 7. 3%, is a developed country, with strong credit card and financial infrastructure. Also there is wide using of cards and specially for shopping.By 1989, Citibank held an 8,7% share of the credit card market. Projected 170,000 cards annually, with revenues of 16,279,144$ is the desired result. (Table B, rogue 6) Break even SP-(FC? VC)=BE 12. 18-(104,300,000? 626,000,000)=BE 12. 18-0. 16=BE BE=12. 02 SP=(100,000+140,000)(1)? 8. 7%(2)= 12,180 (1)140,000 Classic and Gold Visas 100,000 Diners Club cards (2) Market share SP Selling impairment FC hardened live VC Variable Cost BE Break Even The Fixed Cost (FC) is the same in all countries, so FC=104,300,000$ (Exhibit 3, varlet 11, Total different Assets in 1988)The Variable Cost (VC) is the same in all countries, so VC=626,000,000$ (Exhibit 3, page 11, Net Income in 1988) Citibank should make co-occurrent entry to these countries and estimate how many cards totally needs to issue in hostel to achieve the desired profitability. The market strategy which Citibank should follow differs among countries. The bank mustiness establish direct marketing product with Bind-ins, direct sales force, direct office and takes-ones. Also must create a Greenfield market maturation. In slickness of Malaysia the credit card service should focus on family and traveler.Advertising must be targeted in the countryside (61% of the population living there) in order to earn new customers. In case of Australia the marketing strategy should focus on pricing. Joining and annual membership fee should be reduced in order to comp ete AMEX and Diners club. Also, Greenfield market development is needed to be more intensive. Finally, in case of Hong Kong, Citibank need also to choose Greenfield market development. However, developed operations infrastructure in addition with trained staff is necessary. The country which Citibank should avoid is Korea.Local regulations do not permit banks to issue cards. other problem is that transactions must be done only in local currency. This is too risky, so it is better to slue this region. Taking everything into consideration and for the above mentioned reasons I feel that Citibank should launch its new product, because it is very possible to success in emerging Asia Pacific region. Its experience guarantees a shiny future. References http//www. bankersalmanac. com/addcon/infobank/bank-rankings. aspx www. citigroup. com http//www. geographic. org Vasileios Sekertzis