Growing Up in Charlotte, NC

Growing up here in Charlotte NC was very hard for me and my family. As a young child, I was the younger of two children actually, I was the middle child of three, I had a baby brother who died at a young age from an illness. Well as a young child I grew up on the West side of town called West Blvd. and then we moved to Rosszell ferry Rd.We stay there till I was in the 5th grade we then moved to Columbus Circle and then to Bruns Ave as you can see I moved around a lot but it did not matter everywhere we moved I was always the one who got picked on because of my clothes and hair, My hair was short because it was not took care of, my clothes were not new, we had to shop at the thrift store of the goodwill to find things that would fit. I remember as a young child one year for Christmas me and my brother did not get anything for Christmas, O my God I was so hurt.All my cousins got all these toys but me and my brother did not get anything, and the sad part about all this is my Father had brought me and my brother bikes but he took them to SC and gave them to his girlfriend children. I also remember as a young child as the one who was always took down in the basement and messed with by my uncle, or when I went to visit my cousin their older brother would try to mess with me, This thing I took and push in the back of my mind, and tried to live my life as best I knew how. Living life as a teenager really was hard.I was known as the Black Dolly Pardon, WOW this was hard but I still push my way through this. I manage to finish school and college but life was still hard. At the age of 21 I got pregnant with my second child, O I did not tell you I got popped at the age of 16 and lost the baby, I lost the baby at 3 months. When I was 19 I decided to leave home, and that was the worst decision of my life, I was abuse by my son father, who has passed away, James E. Henderson was killed in 2007. In 1986 I gave birth to a son Jonathan D. Adams. Jonathan is now 26 years old.In 1 987 I had another son name Sirquentin Q Adams and a Daughter name Rasheena Adams. At the age of 24 I had three children and no husband; I didn’t know what to do. God I really needed your help, things began to spin out of control, I was living wherever I could and that was no fun, But I made it, at the age of 27 my father put me and my three children out on the street with nowhere to go, I was so hurt I ended up staying with a guy who hurt me by letting me know that me and my baby girl could stay but not my boys so I had to find somewhere to go, I ended up moving in with a friend who let her hildren abuse my children by biting, scratching, pinching, and whatever they could to hurt my children. Until I moved in with my cousin and only stayed there for about a month or two then I got my own house through the section 8 program. I stayed in the program for 15 years. I became very sick with sleep apnea and high blood pressure. But I still kept trying to live the best life I could.W hat I am trying to say is all my life I was bullied, picked on, talked about and threw under the bus, this hurt very badly. I am learning to live life the best I know how, but I still have not learn the lesson yet. I have always made sure that my children and everyone else that was connected to me was ok, But I never really took care of me, I am now living with my cousin on there couch, I don’t really want to be here but it is either here or in the shelter.God I am in need of your help, this thing is affecting me so bad to the point that I am not even in place in church. I now ask that you forgive me for all my sins, and mistakes, God please forgive me, I just want to please you. God I need my own apartment and I need it to be furniture, I need all my debts to be caught up so I can start over again. God I just want a chance to start over and make things right with you and myself. God I just want to live in peace.

Temperance Movement and Document

The 18th Amendment 1. What is your first reaction to the 18th amendment? My first reaction to the 18th amendment was why do they have this in the first place? Why do they think alcohol is the reason for everything? 2. Do you think this amendment could be passed today? Why or why not? No, because they see what happened before. This time it wouldn’t be better at all. 3. Why do you think some Americans in 1918 might have wanted this amendment? Because they thought alcohol was the cause of the all the problems and corruption. Document A 1. (Sourcing) When was this document written?Was this before or after the passage of the 18th Amendment? This document was written on September 20, 1920. This was after the passage of the 18th Amendments. 2. Why might the National Temperance Council have met in 1920 (after the passage of the 18th Amendment) What do you predict they will say? I think they might talk about why they passed the 18th Amendment. 3. (Close Reading) What does the National Temperance Council claim is caused by alcohol? They claim that everything wrong with someone was caused by the alcohol. 4. (Context)Do you find these claims convincing?Do you think people at the time found these claims convincing? Explain. I don’t find these claims convincing. However, at the time people would find these claims convincing because they wouldn’t know anything else they would believe what the government is saying. Document B 1. (Sourcing) When was this document written? Was this before or after the passage of the 18th Amendment? This document was written on November 14, 1922. This was after the 18th Amendment. 2. (Close Reading) What is the â€Å" Hooch Murder Bill†? The â€Å"Hooch Murder Bill† states that if someone sells alcohol and the buyer dies they can be tried for murder. . (Context) Based on this document , who is the Anti-Saloon League blaming for the sale of alcohol during Prohibition? Who do you think they singled this group? The Anti-Saloon League is blaming foreigner. I think they are blaming them because alcohol is part of their culture, and they are not from America. Document C and D 1. (Sourcing) When were these posters made? Was that before or after the passage of the 18th Amendment? These posters were made in 1913. These posters were before the passage of the 18th Amendment. Who published these posters? What was their perspective?Scientific Temperance Federation published these posters. Their perspective was alcohol was the cause of everything bad. 2. (Close reading) According to these posters, what are the two reasons why Prohibition is a good idea? According to these posters prohibition is a good idea was because it kills infants and it destroys a child’s birthright. 3. (Close Words) Look at the words used in Document C. These were considered â€Å"scientific† categories. What does that tell you about science at this time? By looking at these words in Document C, I can tell science at this time was only based on assumption. . (Context) Using these posters, explain some of the beliefs about children that were common in the early 20th century. Do you think these beliefs are silly or reasonable? Explain. I think these reason beliefs were silly, because they never proved that alcohol was the problems. They only made is through assumptions. They saw birth defects, poor work man ships, disabilities, memory lose etc. They saw alcohol was a cause and with that they passed the Amendment. They didn’t think the corruption was the cause of all the problems. |

Modern Figurative Art Essay

The artists used darker colours from the 1830s to the 1860s, and the main subject of the paintings were simple portraits of significant people or self portraits of the artists themselves. As you move further through the sections, there are more scenic and historical paintings, as well as paintings showing everyday situations of the time. I found interesting the amount of landscape/nature paintings, as well as paintings depicting life in Canada in their respective time periods. By the end, we get the more expressionits and abstract paintings that get larger in size as time progressed. Finding Meaning in Art  Ã‚  Art asks us to find our own meaning at times. Find the large work Pavane by Canadian artist Jean-Paul Riopelle in gallery A111.  (a) How is the artist trying to convey meaning?  I think Riopelle is trying to convey meaning in the work by using three very large canvases and a wide variety of colours to attract the viewer’s attention. When you walk into the room the enormous size of the painting get your attention immediately. The three sections are divided for a reason finding in the middle the widest spectrum of colours and other less stand out colour in the surroundings. A very abstract painting, you can tell alot of effort and time has been put into Pavane. (B)What is your interpretation of Pavane?  It took me a long while to try to understand Pavane, I couldn’t really see past the simple strips of coloured paper, and the huge size of the painting, then after a couple of minutes of studying and walking around it I began to notice how the main colours are in the center and aren’t just thrown into the painting randomly, it is very different to the other paintings in the room so I thought perhaps Riopelle was trying to make this piece more modern than the other pieces of work of the time. Trying to be different and to stand out as an artist, just like the colours in Pavane, to be the center of the art world. When I researched Pavane online, I found that it was partially true, because after making this painting he became very successful in the cultural scene.  Nature, Mathematics and Art  After you are through gallery A114, go into the garden. There is a metal piece of art which looks like DNA. You are allowed to play with this if you choose. Look at the plants more closely.  Ã‚  (a) Is nature itself art? If so, does that mean everything is art? Nature is not art, but is the basis of it, its there so we can turn it into our own personal interpretation of it. Its when a human takes nature and creatively does something with it so that it influences and affects the senses, emotions, and/or intellect that it actually becomes art. Human intervention is what makes Art, Art.  (b) Do you think computers can create REAL art on their own, or are people required to create art? Computers cannot create art because they are incapable of having emotions and to convey meaning to a work of art. Besides, computers are made my man, so if a computer creates art, it is because a human has programmed the computer to able to create it.  Architecture  Next to the fern garden is the now reconstructed Rideau Street Convent Chapel. Sit in it for a moment to rest.  (a) Do you think this chapel has a rightful place in an art gallery? Why or why not?  I think the chapel doesn’t have a rightful place in the art gallery because even though its very pretty and decorative I found it to be too modern for my liking, and also didn’t have much to do with what the subjects in the previous rooms were. There was religion influence in the some paintings but in the majority. It would be conveniently placed in a section that includes more religious sculptures and works of art. (b) What qualities do you think buildings need to be called good architecture?  Good architecture is a building intentionally done to communicate a certain message and that took a lot of hard work and thought into making. If it is creating solely to serve a purpose it is not art, but if it also has an idea or a message built into it, it’s when it becomes art.  (c) Excluding Parliament Hill, Chateau Laurier, Supreme Court of Canada, the National Gallery of Canada, museums, or any other government building – Name one building in Ottawa you consider art and one building you think is not art. Explain. I found the Notre Dame Cathedral very impactful when I first got here, I think its art because it was built not just as a church but to evoke a religious response from people, the originality of the silver material its made from make it an attractive and artistic structure.  A building that is not art would be just a regular ScotiaBank office building, this is because of many reasons, there was no emotion or idea put into it, its is not attractive of artistic in any way and there are many of these in almost every Canadian city, which takes out its originality.

A close textual analysis of Aristotle BOOK 2 chapter 3 Essay

A close textual analysis of Aristotle BOOK 2 chapter 3 - Essay Example The formal cause is â€Å"the account of what the being would be†, its genera and its parts, e.g. number and ration of two to one are causes of an octave. The efficient cause, â€Å"the primary source of the change or staying unchanged†, is â€Å"that which makes something of that which is made† and â€Å"changes something of that which is changed†, e.g. the sculptor, parents, etc. At last the final cause is the end of a thing, i.e. â€Å"what something is for†, e.g. health is the final cause of walking and purging, drugs and surgical instruments (pp.28-29; 194 b 20 – 35). Here it is necessary to dwell upon the nature of causes. Aristotle himself notes that â€Å"many different things are called† and â€Å"can be causes† of the same thing, as well as the same thing can be a cause for many phenomena. First of all, as we try to understand the notion of â€Å"cause† in terms of cause-and-effect position, it becomes wholly unclear how bronze may cause a statue, or whether a table can be caused by wood it is made of. Then as we remember that we read Aristotle in translation from Greek, you realize that the word could perhaps be interpreted by the means of other words. Indeed, the Greek aition has transformed into the present Italian aita (assistant), aiutare (to assist). Thus we understand the cause as something assisting, making another thing. In this case we may say that material assists the emergence of a form, i.e. a form is made out of the material and is impossible without it. The form assists things in fulfilling their functions. It would be difficult to use a shaky table with a vertical top. A carpenter assists the emergence of the table. Due to carpenter’s knowledge and skills of how to make tables this emergence is possible. Finally, it is the functions or purpose of the table which assist in the emergence of this piece of furniture being produced of definite firm materials and of definite form. Such a

Influence of Diverse Culture on Change Term Paper

Influence of Diverse Culture on Change - Term Paper Example The paper tells that there are many changes that occur within organizations, changes that define current and future operations and their impact on company goals and objectives. Technological firms often undergo many changes because of the nature of their products and services. Since technology is a highly dynamic concept, it is vital to keep up with it to guarantee success. An example of a change in a technological organization is systems overhaul, which requires leadership and consensus. Systems are the core of technological and even non-technological organizations, and their status determines the success of current and future operations. Currently, most technological companies are developing ways of cultivating a more appealing image that allows them to connect with their customers in ways that improve their lives. Consequently, they focus on employees with different cultural attributes in order to cultivate a more socially relevant image. Culture and leadership are closely related . In fact, they are so closely related that they can be used interchangeably in some contexts. Some cultures have a gender biased outlook of leadership that affects the way the individuals belonging to those cultures perceive and practice leadership. In addition, some cultures hold that leadership comes with status; that any person with a senior position anywhere is automatically a leader. However wrong this may be, it affects leadership. Individuals often practice what they believe in, and it is generally defined by the beliefs and values instilled in them by their communities.

Blacks and televised news Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Blacks and televised news - Essay Example Most of the sections of the media that have a maximum of white representation, do better in terms of citizenship and attracting the masses, as well, leading to a poor contribution of black people to the news. Black people are stereotypically very outgoing and social and like to be portrayed by the media as yet another group or community of people who are waiting to be heard by the rest of the world. However, they are not able to reach out to the masses and are subdued when it comes to the local news. Local news channels have the ability to showcase whatever they want to; the broadcasters and producers of the channel or the show get to decide whether or not to represent certain pieces of the news and thus, because of this reason, black people are not able to gain much representation on the local news. Furthermore, the local news gives very less importance to crime news with white people and thus if there is black representation, it is mostly about crime and vandalism, because this is what flatters the US audience. Despite this, a number of black women state that, â€Å"Without a doubt black males, young and old, must be held politically accountable for their sexism. Yet this critique must always be contextualized or we risk making it appear that the problem of misogyny, sexism, and all the behaviours this thinking supports and condones, including rape, male violence against women, is a black male thing.† (Brooks, Dwight E.) Black women and men however are suppressed by the community and even though they might have a very outgoing personality, they are not able to show case the same through the news. A lot of statistics show that black people as compared to white people have a 6:1 ratio of being televised because national and local networks portray them on channels and shows that do not require much intelligence. This leads people to believe that they are not

Find a clear thesis topic related to the Effects of Child Labor Essay

Find a clear thesis topic related to the Effects of Child Labor - Essay Example It has been a long road trying to deal with these issues, but law makers have managed to come up with the needed laws to deal with people who include children in employment (Chapter 2, 2000). Child labor regulations in the U.S. take in numerous rules and statutes regulating the employment of children below the age of 18. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, child labor regulations concern those below the age of 12 in an array of jobs (Chapter 2, 2000). The core law regulating child labor body in the U.S. is the Fair Labor Standards Act. For non-agricultural jobs, for instance, children below the age of 12 may not be employed, children from 12 to 16 might be employed in permitted occupations during partial hours, and children from 16 to 18 might be employed for unrestricted hours in harmless jobs. Numerous exceptions to these regulations are present like employment by parents, child actors and newspaper delivery (Chapter 2, 2000). Also, child labor has led to the establishment of movements against child labor or groups that advocate for proper conditions for children incorporated in the vocation field (Chapter 2, 2000). This is a matter that if let out of control ca n have stern consequences and; hence, regulatory bodies should ensure that the rules are followed

Supply Chain of Oil Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Supply Chain of Oil Industry - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the strongest supply chain has been in the past been denoted as indispensable in determining the success of a business or any other undertaking. The defeat of the British army by the American counterparts was linked to the power supplies of weapons and troops to the American side. In the oil industry, a supply chain is considered critical in that it determines the effectiveness of the industry right from transportation to consumption of the oil-related products. Cox argued that supply chain is a wider concept that should be viewed as a complex management that determines competitive advantage of any given organization. Supply chain creates a single plan that denotes the flow of products in a business. The coordination of different actors uses a defined framework designed to achieve the specific goal of linking suppliers to customers and the organization involved in the supply chain management. A well-managed supply chain helps in reducing costs and adding v alue to customers. Stadtler & Kilger pointed out that effective supply chain is used as a major source of competitive advantage. To remain at the top of the competition, customer preferences have to be put into consideration as well as articulate on what the competitors offer so that a better supply chain can be devised. The ability of organizations to differentiate themselves from others is dependent on the competence of their managers to focus on customers and competitors and manage to operate at a lower cost. In fact, Cox argued that successful companies have either cost advantage or have value advantage or even a combination of the two. In this regard, it is indispensable to argue that a well-managed supply chain should be able to have either of the two concepts or a combination of the two. In the oil industry, the prices of crude oil and natural gas are perhaps the closely watched product prices across the global market. The supply chain involved in the oil industry is, however , controlled by the main actor, who in this case is the government. Although many landlords and communities might be the owners of the land where oil is located, the government is the custodian of the oil. This changes the whole supply chain management since the government controls the oil prices.

The Implications of the Human Genome Project Essay

The Implications of the Human Genome Project - Essay Example The only current instrument in effect that discusses both the human genome and international human rights is the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights (Declaration)† (Tauer, 2001). This declaration looks at the rights of people in the project, the duties of nations to cooperate, and the protection of genetic information revealed by the project itself. People want to protect their privacy on the one hand, but on the other hand the HGP can lead to a new future in which there is more implementation. As with many bioethics issues, there is a degree of controversy to the human genome projet. On the potentially positive side, the HGP can help doctors and scientists to better predict and avoid genetic disorders. It is the assumption that in the future genetic disorders from cerebral palsy to bipolar disorder will be able to be seen through genetic through genetics research such as the HGP. This involves complex and interwoven factors of psychiatric and physical genetic disorders, genetic susceptibility, research ethics, and other points to consider. â€Å"The growth in knowledge resulting from the mapping of the human genome sequence has enabled life science researchers to better understand the function of genes and discover the genetic basis for health and disease, ultimately resulting in th development of new and highly effective drug therapies and treatments† (Human, 2004). However, there is also a shadowy side that have many worried about the future. It is important when looking at the HGP to link the concept of genetic disorders and genetic susceptibility to research ethics by highlighting the ethical problems that may come up in presenting data to family members and patients regarding their susceptibility to genetically predisposed problems. It may be suggested that in the future researchers will have to address these issues more concretely. In the future as susceptibility genes are

Commentary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Commentary - Essay Example Both Habermas and Friedman have lucidly discussed how society has developed over the years, and how the public sphere has been influenced by changes in the modern world. Habermas has shown remarkable grasp over what he knows about public sphere, and has conveyed his message through classified expertise and extraordinary proficiency. He believes that the public sphere has developed through a plethora of historical phases. Public sphere has become a clouded amalgamation in the bourgeois society that is socially and industrially advanced in all aspects. The reader feels connected to the content, and is able to link the history of public sphere to its present form. Friedman has also shown great expertise over his subject matter, and the reader is able to delve deeper into how the society has become void of pure human relations due to increase in marketization and advertising. He has numbered a myriad of examples in a diction that is easier for a layman to understand. All the examples and facts are interesting to read and understand. In short, both the texts are unique in their own styles, while the internal theme − which is about the influence of historical developments that the society is under − is the

The Nature of Communication Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Nature of Communication - Assignment Example However, that is not it, the interest factor plays a major role in the players’ desire to play and show up for practices. Moreover, I strongly believe that by playing and meeting up regularly, the team members become better friends. Sometimes when I have had a bad day I can vent out all my frustration during the game on the soccer field and after months of practice sessions together my fellow players understand that I need some space. I also feel that the sheer love for the game and having people around who share the interest and understand the game adds a lot more value to the activity group. If I think of our soccer team in the light of a system, I can safely say that it definitely exhibits the qualities of a system. The striker cannot strike a goal till the midfielder or wingers pass the ball to him, similarly the midfielders cannot do much if they are not adequately supported by the fullbacks and the forwards. The crux of the matter is that the members in a soccer team are highly interdependent on each other.

Dining Plan Proposal Essay Example for Free

Dining Plan Proposal Essay And at first though, most non-vegetarians may not take this into consideration due to a plentiful amount of non-vegetarian food available, but I can tell you from personal experience, food is one of the main factors contributing to homesickness. The day -to-day food available on Drexel’s campus is not varied or appetizing enough for vegetarians, especially international vegetarian students. Each student who purchases the meal plan can dine at certain designated locations on campus. The available dining options on the Drexel University campus consist of the following: a mini cafe in the main building, Ross Commons Take 3, Creese Cafe, Chick-fil-a, Currito, Subway, Kelly Deli, Southern Tsunami Sushi, and Starbucks. This may sounds like many options, but that does not overlook quality, or the fact that vegetarians may not have as many options as those who eat meat. As Drexel has ascended in its rankings, so have the number of students from different states and different countries. This year itself, the percentage of international students at Drexel University went up about twenty-eight percent and is expected to grow next year. (Facts and Figures) A student that purchases any meal plans spends an average amount of around five thousand amp; two hundred dollars throughout his or her university education. A relatively large percentage of these students, whether from the states or international students, are vegetarian as one of the most frequently asked questions on Drexel’s dining website. Drexel Campus Dining) I myself know up to ten vegetarians in the freshmen year itself. The number one complaint I tend to hear, or coincidentally eavesdrop on, in the dining center is about the food. According to my survey these complaints are usually voiced by international students and sometimes by vegetarian, American citizens. I also concluded from my survey that those who dislike the food and live nearby do not feel the need to complain as homemade food and favorit e restaurant visits with the parents are just a train ride away. I summarized my issues with the available dining service at Drexel by carrying out confidential surveys of a sample of students who eat at the Handschumacher Dining Center. Of course my survey was favorably given out to international students and it consisted of open-ended questions that cover a few valid issues I personally wanted to know more about. On an average, the survey revealed international students dissatisfaction with the amount of vegetarian or vegan food available at the Drexel dining locations. Although the survey revealed complaints students had about the staff, quality of food, and such, I chose to concentrate on the vegetarian food options. Students explicitly expressed their concern with the fact that vegan food was often confused with vegetarian food. A few students stated their issue with days where more of a variety of vegetarian food was made and other days where more vegan food was made, always more options of one over the other. Of course, non-vegetarian food always seems to be plentifully available. One student wrote on her survey, â€Å" although there is a pasta station that is vegetarian on the whole, the options are very limited. Vegetarians at the dining center can only eat pasta, on certain days very bland vegan wraps are available, and French fries, and the same vegetarian fried rice. â€Å" Another student said, â€Å" the passport section hardly ever has vegetarian or vegan food, which is sad because so many international students are vegetarian and we have to make do with salad and pasta every single day. To this I would like to add an observation I made at the Dining Center and Subway: most of the times, the staff uses the same gloves to touch vegetarian food as they do meat. This is very disturbing to me as I am vegetarian for religious reasons and cannot technically even have meat touched to my food. When I asked students about the other Dining options, Starbucks and the cafe in the main building were immediately opted out of consideration as â€Å"dining. † This leaves the unhealthy options of Ross Commons cheese Pizza and Chick-Fil-A fries. Two other options are Creese and Subway. The two of these are relatively healthier options, but again Subway has only one veggie patty. And Creese Cafe serves only two to three options for vegetarian paninis. But out of all the times I have been to Creese, they are out of one ingredient or the other, which limits the vegetarian options further. For example, when I asked for the Capri panini at Creese, I was told they were out of basil and hence, could not make that panini for me. Out of all the dining options Currito landed up being a favorite for vegetarians on my survey because of its many vegetarian varieties. Even though Currito is one stall that serves good vegetarian options, what about the rest? Vegetarian students I surveyed unanimously agree upon the conclusion that there is not enough variety out of the entire dining service on campus for vegetarian students. It think it is safe to say that a certain percentage of Drexel University students is dissatisfied with the vegetarian dining options on campus. I know I am. Yet, these students are paying for the dining services the same price as any non-vegetarian student. I propose a solution, or many solutions. Firstly, I think the staff should be educated on how to handle food for vegetarian or vegan students. For example, they should start with using different gloves and utensils for meat. Second, I believe the dining hall would be a good start for more vegetarian options as hundreds of students dine here each day. For example, the staff can make sure they do not compromise on the food for vegans or vegetarians. Both these categories should have a plentiful amount. Also, the passport section that serves international food can make sure they have one vegetarian alternative to each non-vegetarian dish they make. And the Asian food section can start searching into more feasible Asian recipes for both vegans and vegetarians. Coming to the options besides the dining center, it may be difficult to open more dining options on campus, so instead each service can find ways to increase its creativity and variety with vegetarian food. Currito can find more than just tofu to substitute meat, or they can cook the tofu in different ways and serve it. Chick-fil-A can look into making breakfast sandwiches. Subway can create more than just the veggie patty, or it can give more vegetable options to choose from. Ross Commons can start serving pizza with diverse vegetarian toppings. Such minor changes may go a long way. This idea may seem new, but it has been done before. Every time a fast food chain opens in different countries, it is altered to cater to the taste and customers of that country. I feel like Drexel should look into doing the same with its chains opened on campus as Drexel is an international University and the vegetarian population deserves first-rate food. (Vegetarian Subs amp; Different Countries, Different McDonalds) (A Picture of other Asian recipes that can be made)

Examining The Various Procurement Methods Available Construction Essay

Examining The Various Procurement Methods Available Construction Essay A review is being formed to clearly state and show the trends of construction procurement in the period 2008-2010. The review will mainly be based on industrial journals and other resources such as books, magazines and internet websites. Procurement describes the mixture of actions undertaken by clients to obtain a building. There are many types of methods in construction procurement however the common types of methods are traditional, design and build and management contracting. Procurement methods are vital in the construction industry which helps cutting costs of waste and its environmental impacts by clearly defining your requirements and how you expect your chain response. To profit fully from waste reduction and recovery on a project, enough practice must be adopted at the beginning stage by following the selected procurement process. Few major points would need to be communicated among the clients and contractors such as planned actions, metrics and targeted outcomes. After this is then passed down right through to the design team, subcontractors, waste management contractors and material suppliers. The nature of many project increases the risk which includes, finishing a project which does not meet needs, and also when its delivered late or costs more than the clients core business. This is where the procurement strategy should balance risks against project objectives at an early stage. Below is a list of points that can be affected: Cost (cost certainty) Time (Certainty of completion date) Quality (Performance) Importance on only one of the key points could have a negative result upon others. In this case when the correct procurement method is used considering the type of project the following will be achieved: Certainty of cost and time which is developed by a architect, however this a slow process also known as the traditional method or design bid build. Certainty of speed and cost, however this is mainly controlled by the contractor, method known as design and build. Relative speed for a design developed by the architect employed by the client, cost is uncertain until the end of the project, method known as management procurement systems. One of many common method of construction procurement which is well recognised in the industry is traditional method. The method consists of architects and the engineers acting as the project coordinators. His or her responsibility is to design the project, and propose the specifications and produce drawings, administrate the contracts, tender the work and manage the project from start to finish. There are direct contractual links connecting the architects client and the main contractor. Any subcontractors will have a direct contractual link with the main contractor. The design and build method has become popular over the years which consists of an entire package which is made up of, fixtures, fittings and equipment to create a refined and fully completed functional building. In some cases the design and build method may also include finding of a site, adapting and applying for all required statutory consents. The owner creates a list of things needed for a project, providing an overall insight of the projects purpose. Many design and build contractors shows ideas on how to complete these aims. The owner picks the ideas which are best and hires the right contractor who is suitable for the job. Usually it is not just a contractor but a number of them working collectively. Once a contractor has been hired, they start building the first phase of the project. As they build phase one they design phase two. This is in contrast to a design and bid build contract, where the project is completely designed by the owner. The third method, management procure ment systems works as the client performs and active role in the procurement system by entering into separate contracts with the designer, architect, engineer, the construction manager, and individual trade contractors. The client then takes on the contractual role, while the construction or project manager provides the active position of managing the separate trade contracts, and ensuring that they all work efficiently and successfully together. A management procurement system is often used to speed up the procurement processe and allows the client greater flexibility in design variation throughout the contract. The ability to appoint individual work contractors, separate contractual responsibility on each individual throughout the contract this overall provides a greater client control. Over the past ten to fifteen years much work has been done on attempting to define procurement paths and master man (1992) provides a good background to some of this work. As the traditional procurement method route came under closer scrutiny other procurement routes developed and as a result means for selection were considered. It is known that procurement methods play a key role in defining and shaping contractual and work relationships between parties involved in the construction process. Therefore a better understanding of those methods and criteria that practitioners use in their selection is a very vital step in outlining our understanding of the issue. A review of current practices in the UK shows different approaches to the procurement of building projects. A classification of these approaches is extremely complex because there are not clear and generally accepted definitions of what a particular procurement method is. The public sectors obsessive tick box approach towards letting new work threatens to drive long-established regional firms out of business. That is the stark warning from Neil Edwards, chief executive of contracts information specialist The Builders Conference, after research showed local firms with proven track-records are missing out on work across the country. Edwards said: The present method of procurement by public bodies is restricting recovery and growth in the construction market. The value of tenders bid in August leaped from  £1.8bn in 2008 to  £4.8bn this year, with education accounting for half the sum recorded by the Builders Conference. Previously, a roofing contractor could have happily tendered for  £200,000 contract to replace the roof of a local school. But now that would be in a big multi-million pound framework agreement. A proven experienced local firm wouldnt even make it on to the tender list now. Edwards said that today the whole process is prescribed by a checklist and scoring system, which procurement chiefs cannot use firms that have faultlessly worked for them for many years. He added: There was a time when procurement professionals were allowed the freedom to innovate and eek out the best way yo get a job done. My fear is that the sector has shifted so far in favour of the major players that, in future, SMEs and even  £20m-plus contractors will have no choice but to work as subcontractors. http://www.contractjournal.com/Articles/2009/09/18/71780/clients-tickbox-mentality-to bidding-threatens-future-of-local-firms.html Sustainability is becoming more and more common therefore in the low carbon construction report it was issued by the UK government that 40per cent of new builds are bought by the public sector. For that reason the government are trying their very best to introduce sustainability in the construction industry. It is alleged that putting procurement into place can help reduce the carbon which helps cut the greenhouse gas emission. It is suggested that using the correct method of procurement and contractual agreements can help cut down to zero carbon building as the same value as a normal building. Estimated to be in excess of  £40 billion a year, local government expenditure on goods, works and services clearly has significant economic, social and environmental impacts. Local authorities have long been at the forefront of sustainable development and have gained valuable experience of green procurement http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/aio/1701515 The government are trying to prioritise the change in public sector procurement. New chief czar industry have quoted The adviser, who is set to be appointed in November, will be responsible for securing better value for money, as well as promoting innovation and sustainability. Rudi Klein, CEO of the Specialist Engineering Contractors Group, said the czar should focus on procurement change and not be a mediator between government and industry.   We want to move towards procuring construction using a more collaborative, team-working approach, he told SM. This will help reduce industry waste and promote sustainability. http://www.supplymanagement.com/news/2009/calls-for-czar-to-go-public/ Private Finance Initiative/Public Private Partnership (PFI/PPP) projects signifies different traditions of financing and procuring public sector facilities. The theory behind PPP/PFI is fairly straightforward, if key capital expenditure is not to be funded by direct taxation therefore PFI provides a way forward by enabling assets to be procured off-balance sheet instead of municipality or government body through investment by the private sector. The private and public partnership began in the UK and its being undertaken in many countries across the world, and its been used to offer a wide range of facilities, such as bridges, roads, tunnels, schools and hospitals. PPP/PFI creates a number of legal challenges to accomplish the quality of the assets constructed, to provide security for the investors contributing finance and to allocate responsibilities between participants. The Dudley Hospitals PFI project led to a  £34 million dispute between main contractor and mechanical and electrical sub-contractor inEmcor Drake HYPERLINK http://www.keatingchambers.co.uk/resources/reported_cases/2005/lr_1_ca.aspxHYPERLINK http://www.keatingchambers.co.uk/resources/reported_cases/2005/lr_1_ca.aspx Scull v Sir Robert McAlpineHYPERLINK http://www.keatingchambers.co.uk/resources/reported_cases/2005/lr_1_ca.aspx  HYPERLINK http://www.keatingchambers.co.uk/resources/reported_cases/2005/lr_1_ca.aspx[2005] 98 Con LR 1, and the case was argued in the Court of Appeal by a Keating Chambers team on the issue of the  scope of a letter of intent. Another leading reported case,  Midland Expressway Ltd v Carillion ConstructionHYPERLINK http://www.keatingchambers.co.uk/resources/reported_cases/2006/CILL_2317_TCC.aspx  HYPERLINK http://www.keatingchambers.co.uk/resources/reported_cases/2006/CILL_2317_TCC.aspx(No. 2) [2006] CILL 2317, was heard in the Technology and Construction Court and has created widespread interest and, indeed, concern, amongst those engaged in PFI projects.   The case concerned the construction of the tie-ins between the M6 and the new M6 toll road.   The Court held that provisions in a building contract that restricted a contractors right to interim  payments to a proportion of the employers entitlement (Equivalent  Project Relief) would be  unenforceable as  when pay-when-paid provisions contrary to the HGCRA 1996.  Ã‚  Since such clauses have been widely used in PFI projects, the implications are considerable. http://www.keatingchambers.co.uk/expertise/contractual/pfi_contracts/default.aspx Sustainability is acknowledged by the government as a key section of good procurement, in 2008 major steps were followed by the OGC to improve their management and governance on the issue. Some departments are on course to be practising sustainable procurement across their business by the end of 2009, the governments target year. Progress has been made and there are initiatives which have reduced environmental impact and saved money. However, scope for improvement on various categories. Most departments are not routinely complying with minimum environmental standards, and have made limited progress in building environmental considerations consistently into procurement processes, engaging suppliers, and giving their staff appropriate skills andà £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬incentives. To accomplish value for money, procurement decisions need to be based on a thorough understanding of costs and benefits and environmental impacts. Departments are not routinely identifying and quantifying environmen tal impacts, and opportunities for reducing them. There are other concepts that still need attention like direct economic benefit to the authority from the development.

Osmosis Investigation Essay -- GCSE Biology Osmosis Coursework

Osmosis Investigation How different concentrations of sucrose solution effect potato tissue. Aim How do different concentrations of sucrose solution effect potato tissue. Background Information Osmosis is the movement of water molecules though a partially permeable membrane from an area of high water potential to an area of low water potential. High Concentration Low Concentration The membrane lets small water molecules pass though but not large ones. The flow continues until the concentration becomes the same on the inside as on the outside. This is called equilibrium. Molarity is a measure of concentration. Prediction I predict that the potato will change in mass and in length. I believe this because each Molarity of sucrose will change the potato's water content. This will happen because either the concentration will higher in the sucrose and lower in the Tubas or lower in the sucrose and higher in the Tubers. Therefore water will travel in or out of the potatoes cell though its partial permeable membrane. Preliminary Method ÂÂ · I will firstly get 10 test tubes and to test tube racks ÂÂ · Then I will cut 9 pieces of potato ÂÂ · I will then get 3 different Concentrations of sucrose solution and add 20cm3 to each test tube ÂÂ · Cut a 4 mm in diameter tuba to 1 cm in length ÂÂ · Now I will measure the length and mass ÂÂ · Now place the pieces in ÂÂ · Now leave this for 15 minutes ÂÂ · Now I will measure the length and mass Preliminary Results After we did the Preliminary Test we decided to use 1 cm long 4 mm diameter tubas. We would put them in 25 cm3 sucrose solutions. I don't have any actual results because the potato tubas shrivelled up in the fridge. Method 1. I took two average sized ground potatoes and checked that they were both healthy and hard. 2. Using a standard kitchen knife I peeled the potatoes and used a potato tuba to cut 18 equally size tubas 3. Using a scalpel and ruler I cut the potato into lengths of 4mm by 10mm. I had to be very careful whilst cutting the potato as the scalpel is exceptionally sharp. I then had 18 tubas 4. Taking a test tube rack I placed 18 test tubes in it and then labelled them (0.00M, 0.25M, 0.50M, 1.00M, 1.50M, 2.00M) 5. Using a measuring cylinder I measured out 25cm3. I then poured this carefully into ea... ...the water potential inside the tissue. To measure the tubers I think I would use a digital measurer that goes to two decimal places for accuracy and it would go to the same accuracy level as the top pan balance. I would also increase the amount molar amounts I use, such as 0.25 and 0.75. one explanation for the bad results is when the potato chips were removed from the test tubes and dried I may well have dried some potatoes more thoroughly than others and so some would have more excess water, which would add to the mass. If the experiment was repeated I could find another way to dry the potatoes that would ensure that all were dried in the same way for the same time. I were to repeat the experiment I would have possibly found a machine to cut the potato as it would ensure that all potatoes would be the same weight and dimensions. As well as the potato I could have found a more accurate way to measure out the solutions and to determine the molar concentrations. Perhaps I could have used a burette. This would ensure that I have an accurate amount of fluid in each test tube. I could also weigh each tuber on a more accurate scale, e.g. not to 0.00g but to 0.0000g

The Physical and Emotional Journeys of Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre Ess

The Physical and Emotional Journeys of Jane Eyre The novel "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë consists of the continuous journey through Jane's life towards her final happiness and freedom. This is effectively supported by five significant 'physical' journeys she makes, which mirror the four emotional journeys she makes. 10-year-old Jane lives under the custody of her Aunt Reed, who hates her. Jane resents her harsh treatment by her aunt and cousins so much that she has a severe temper outburst, which results in her aunt sending her to Lowood boarding school. At the end of the eight years, she has become a teacher at Lowood. At the age of eighteen she seeks independence and becomes governess at Thornfield Hall. Over time, Jane falls in love with its master, Edward Rochester, who eventually proposes to her. On their wedding day, the sermon is abruptly halted by the announcement that Rochester's insane wife is kept locked up in the attic of Thornfield. Jane runs away. Penniless and almost starving, Jane roams the countryside in search of shelter, until she finds the house of St John, Mary, and Diana Rivers, who take her in and nurse her back to health. Jane then acquires an unexpected inheritance from her uncle. One night, Jane 'hears' Mr Rochester's voice calling for her, and decides to return to Thor nfield immediately. On her return, she finds Thornfield to be a "blackened ruin" due to a fire which has left Rochester blind with only one arm and killed his wife. Jane goes to Rochester's new home, and they are married. Jane's 'physical' journeys contribute significantly to plot development and to the idea that the novel is a 'journey' through Jane's life. "Jane Eyre's" chronological structure... ...law, and scorned and crushed the insane promptings of a frenzied moment." To start with, Jane is oppressed by her aunt and is allowed no will of her own, she is completely "a dependant" and has "no money". This situation improves enormously when Jane goes to Lowood, although she is still a servant in Thornfield until she runs away to Marsh End, where she must still depend on others in order to survive. Jane eventually gains her freedom through her inheritance, and the fact that she no longer has to depend on Rochester. Jane's physical and emotional journeys are brought to an end in the last chapter, where she switches from past to present tense: "My Edward and I, then, are happy....." This shows that she is no longer looking back, only forward to her future happiness as she has finally reached her 'destination'.

The Problem: Rewrite Mania :: essays research papers

The Problem: Rewrite Mania I have been noticing a certain trend in software toward rewriting successful tools and standards. It seems that programmers always have the urge to make things better, which is perfectly understandable - after all, this is the primary trait of the engineer's mind (although I also think that artistic creativity also enters in the mix). Why should things stay static? Surely progress is good, and if we just stayed in the same place, using the same versions of tools without improvement, then things would deteriorate and generally get pretty boring. That's all very true, but what I am seeing is that in many cases we have tools which truly are "good enough" for what they are designed to do - TCP/IP allows us to build giant, interconnected networks, Apache lets us build flexible web servers, Perl lets us write incomprehensibly obfuscated code(!)... well, point being, these things work. Really, outstandingly well. They are "good enough", and moreover they are used everywhere. So all's well and good, right? Well, not exactly. The programmers add little bits and pieces here and there, fix lots of bugs, and over time the code starts to look distinctly messy - and with the insights gained from this "first version" of the application (I don't mean V1.0, but rather the overall codebase) the developers start to think about how it could be "done right". You know, now they know how they should have done it. Fired with new zeal and enthusiasm, the developers embark on a grand rewrite project, which will throw out all the old, stale, horrible, nasty untidy code, and construct reams of brand new, clean, designed, and, uh, buggy, incompatible, untested code. Oh well, it'll be worth it ... right? So the new version will break some things that worked with the old version - the benefits from the changes far outweigh a loss of backward compatibility. In their minds, the developers are more focused on the cool aspects of the new version than they are on the fact that in the real world, millions of people are still using the old version. Eventually, then, the new version comes out, to grand fanfare. And a few people download it, try it... and it doesn't quite work. This is perfectly normal, these things need time. So all the people who are running large production systems with the old version just back off for a while until the new version has been tested properly by, uh, someone else.

Convergence of US GAAP and IFRS Essay

The Norwalk Agreement refers to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which was signed in September of 2002 in Norwalk, Connecticut between the United States Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standard Boards (IASB) The MOU was an agreement between the two organization to, â€Å"use their best efforts to (a) make their existing financial reporting standards fully compatible as soon as is practicable and (b) to coordinate their future work programs to ensure that once achieved, compatibility is maintained.† The original agreement called for all differences between US GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and IFRS (International Financial Reporting System to be eliminated by January 1, 2005, but problems quickly surfaced in this approach and according the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) currently has a timeline of 2016 for all US corporations to adopt the IFRS. Before discussing what the effect of these changes are on US Corporations, one must first understand the history of both the FASB/US GAAP and the IASB/IFRS. The Financial Accounting Standards Board was established by the SEC in 1973 to take over the role of establishing standards for financial accounting from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)’s Accounting Principles Board (APB). The US GAAP are accounting rules used to prepare, present, and report financial statements for a wide variety of entities, including publicly-traded and privately-held companies, non-profit organizations, and governments. The US Government does not directly set accounting standards, instead believing that the private sector has a better ability to set these rules. The US GAAP is not formally written into law, but is instead codified into the FASB Accounting Standards Codification and the Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The FASB has four major types of publications it uses to make changes to the US GAAP: 1. Statements of Financial Accounting Standards: the most authoritative US GAAP setting publications. 2. Statements of Financial Accounting Concepts: Part of the FASB’s conceptual framework project, these are fundamental objective and concepts that the FASB will use in developing future standards. They are not a part of the US GAAP, but instead represent future goals of the GAAP. 3. Interpretations: Interpretations modify or extend existing standards and are a part of the US GAAP. There are currently 48 interpretations available 4. Technical Bulletins: These are guidelines on applying standards, interpretations, and opinions. They usually solve a very specific accounting issue that does not have a significant, long-lasting effect. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is an independent, privately funded organization founded in London, England on April 1, 2001 with the stated objective to: â€Å"develop a single set of high quality, understandable, enforceable, and globally accepted financial reporting standards based upon clearly articulated principles.† To achieve these objectives the IASB has developed the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and aggressively promoting the use of these standards. As of today over 120 countries either require or permit the use of IFRSs and all members of the G20 have established time lines to adopt the IFRSs in the near future (including the United States.) The IFRSs consist of the standards, interpretations, and frameworks issued by the IASB, and include many of the standards formerly known as International Accounting Standards (IAS) which were issued by the now defunct International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) which existed from 1973 until 2001. The IFRSs are principle based standards (as opposed to the US GAAP which uses rules-based standards) that establish broad rules but generally leave specific treatments open to some interpretation. IFRSs consist of: 1. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) – All standards issued after the IASB was founded in 2001. 2. International Accounting Standards (IAS) – Standard issues by the IASC prior to 2001. 3. Interpretations from the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) – Interpretations issued after 2001. 4. Standing Interpretations Committee (SIC) – Interpretations issued before 2001. 5. Framework for the Preparations and Presentations of Financial Statements – A statement of the basic principles of the IFRSs. The framework serves as a guide to resolving accounting issues not specifically addressed in a standard. Having established the backgrounds of the major players to the Norwalk Agreement it is important to understand how this convergence project will affect US Corporations in their future financial reporting as the FASB / SEC begins their push towards full integration by the year 2016. As converged standards are introduced, many US Corporations will see major changes in all areas of their business activities ranging from financial statements to leasing to employee benefits and although covering all these changes is beyond the scope of this paper, we will present some of the more important changes. The largest major difference between the two regulations is in their scope, and level of â€Å"guidance† for companies in the area of revenue recognition. The US GAAP has developed detailed guidance for many different industries incorporating standards suggested by a multitude of accounting standards organizations in those specific industries. The IFRS, on the other hand, mentions two standards for revenue recognition for guidance and allows companies to determine which method they will use. Another major change for US Companies is in the area of inventory costing. Under US GAAP, companies may choose between using LIFO (Last-In-First-Out), FIFO (First-In-First-Out), or a variety of other inventory valuation methods, in accounting for cost of goods held in inventory. Once the switch is made to IFRS, the use of LIFO for inventory valuation will be prohibited so that all companies will be similar cost formulas. Several additional changes include: 1. The option to classify expenses based on either function or nature under IFRS vs. the requirement to classify expenses based on function only under US GAAP. 2. The requirement to present noncontrolling (â€Å"minority†) interest as a component of equity on the balance sheet under IFRS vs. the requirement under US GAAP to present noncontrolling interest outside of equity. 3. The ability to use either the proportionate consolidation method or the equity method of accounting for joint venture accounting under IFRS vs. the current requirement to use the equity method of accounting 4. IFRS will allow revaluation of assets for several different classes of assets, even requiring their revaluation on a regular basis whereas currently US GAAP does not permit revaluation under any circumstance. 5. Under IFRS, advertising and promotional cost will have to be expensed as incurred vs. the US GAAP which allows for costs to either be expensed as they are incurred, or expense when the advertising takes place for the first time, leaving the choice up to the individual company. While these changes are just a few of the changes which will impact company’s’ financial statements there are many changes coming which fall in areas outside financial statements. Nowhere is this clearer than in the area of US regulatory laws. As an article in the Wall Street Journal, â€Å"Closing the Information GAAP,† notes that, â€Å"If an accounting and reporting framework that relies on professional judgment rather than detailed rules is to flourish in the U.S., the legal and regulatory environment will need to evolve in ways that remain to be seen.† They suggest that laws in the US will have to move to accept more ambiguity in accounting, and that the change to IFRS could possibly provide new defenses to executives and accountants who try to do the right thing. A final change noted by both the PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Accenture case studies, is the updating, sometimes at a very high cost, of companies Accounting Information Systems to be able to collect, store, and analysis financial data in ways that will comply with the new IFRS standards. These two studies both believe that this activity will be the most painful and difficult for the majority of US companies to comply with. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. FASB. â€Å"FASB: Financial Accounting Standards Board.† Norwalk Agreement. Accessed June 29, 2010. . [ 2 ]. SEC. â€Å"SEC Proposes Roadmap Toward Global Accounting Standards to Help Investors Compare Financial Information More Easily.† Accessed June 29, 2010. < http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-184.htm> [ 3 ]. FASB. â€Å"FASB: Facts about FASB.† Accessed July 03, 2010. [ 4 ]. IFRS Foundation. â€Å"Who we are and what we do.† Published July 2010 [ 5 ]. IASB. â€Å"About the IFRS Foundation and the IASB.† Accessed July 02 2010. [ 6 ]. IAS Plus. â€Å"Summaries of International Financial Reporting Standards.† Accessed July 03 2010. [ 7 ]. PriceWaterhouseCoopers. â€Å"IFRS and US GAAP similarities and differences.† September 2009. From the â€Å"IFRS Readiness Series.† [ 8 ]. Accenture. â€Å"Preparing for International Financial Reporting Standards: An Opportunity for Finance Transformation.† [ 9 ]. Ernst & Young. â€Å"US GAAP vs. IFRS: The Basics.† January 2009. [ 10 ]. The Wall Street Journal. â€Å"Closing the Information GAAP.† Accessed July 20 2010.

Early Risk Factors for Being a Bully, Victim, or Bully in Late Elementary

26 Nov. 2012 Early risk factors for being a bully, victim, or bully/victim in late elementary and early secondary education. The longitudinal TRAIL study By Danielle EMC Jansen, Rene Veenstra, Johan Ormel, Frank C Verhulst and Sijmen A Reijeveld This research discusses the influence of early risk factors on later involvement in bullying. In the beginning of the article, the authors mentioned that while bullying is a serious problem in school all over the world, the most researches on bullying focus on characteristics of children at the moment they already are involved in bullying.Thus there are limited data regarding the impact of early risk factors in bullying. They examined the influence of preschool behaviors, family characteristics, and parental mental health on bullying and victimization. Their examination includes obtaining data of family characteristics, parental mental health and retrospectively on children’s preschool behavior with survey method. Then, they measured t he schoolmate’s reports for involvement of adolescents in bullying or victimization at age 11 and 13. 5.As the research conclusion, variety of aspects such as behavior in preschool, emotional problem, motor problem, socio-economic status, and family breakup, are linked to the involvement in bullying at a later age. The authors emphasize that focusing on risk groups in early age enhances prevention of bullying and its consequences. In this article, the authors are indicating the problem that bullying is a significant issue all over the world, and that there are only limited evidence that associate features of children background before they were involved in bullying.As a solution to this problem, the authors wanted to seek the risk factors; especially before children begin social relationship. They designed their research to examine the impact of the children’s background during the preschool age on bullying at the early teen age. The study subjects’ family chara cteristics include parental mental health, and preschool behavioral, emotional problem and motor problem. I believe this research design is appropriate for the solution of the problem. The ethods of sampling they use were survey and peer nomination from schoolmates; survey is to measure children’s background in preschool hood, peer nomination is to measure involvements in bullying as being bully, bully/victim, or victim. I assume that the sampling methods are appropriate because there are limited contaminations such as experimenter’s bias or base rate problems. The possible confounding variables are gender, diagnoses of development disorders, stress level, and history of heredity mental disease through family. When measuring the behavior, the gender is always the possible confounding variable.Boys and Girls have different preferences of toys, ways of playing, and tension level. The diagnoses of development disorders such as ADD or ADHD are major confounding variables f or the measuring children’s behavior as well. The main limitation of the data collection was that they used retrospective reports of preschool behavior. As a result, parental report may have been affected by inaccuracies in their memory. Other than that, I could say that the data gathering method is reliable and also valuable because the results were based on facts.As a result of their research, preschool children with aggressiveness were more likely to be a bully, bully/victim, and victim. Preschool children with good motor skill were more likely to be bully and less likely to be victim. Children from low socioeconomic status families were more likely to be bully, bully/victim, and victim. Children from intact two parent families were more likely to be uninvolved in bullying. After considering the entire research outcomes, the authors concluded that certain aspects from children in preschool are related to involvement in bullying at a later age.Thus I could say that the evid ence substantiated this conclusion. Focusing on risk at an early age can enhance the prevention of bullying. The research results are very interesting and informative. It helped me as a parent, to realize the importance of preschool social and environmental factors of bullying at later ages. I chose this article for the discussion on this short paper because I am interested in parenting techniques. The way to raise children without involvement of bullying, neither being a bully nor a victim.I do not want my children to get involved with any fears or sadness in school caused by bullying. I believe many often parents feel the same way. I have never experienced any aspect of bullying during my early school age. However I have heard of many stories about bullying in our school and resulted in psychological trauma or injury. I believe that being strong physically and emotionally are very important to escape from bullies. Joining sports clubs is one of the great ways to become stronger ph ysically and emotionally.My four year old son, has recently has joined a flag football team. Being a member of this team will help him obtain the physical ability and emotional development. After he learned how to efficiently run faster and move quickly, he achieved well during the games. When he did well during games, he was encouraged by positive feedbacks from adults. The positive feedback from adults is powerful tools that will help him build up confidence. Another great aspect of being a part of sports team is the opportunity to gain social skill such as fairness, care, respect, and responsibility.Being a fair and trustworthy player is very important for sportsmanship. Coaches and older players are always encouraging children to be fair and trustworthy. Practicing with the same teammates two to three times a week helps children to build a powerful trust and make great relationship with their teammates. Children can learn many lessons from small societies like a sports team to p repare for their real life. Another thing that I learned from this research article is the importance of family environment.I realize that children are very sensitive to their family characteristics and affected easily from negative family factors such as fighting among parents and family break ups. I remembered the time when I was a child, I hated when my mother and father were arguing in front of me. I was sad and unhappy hearing their fighting voices. Thus I can easily imagine how sad to be in the middle of parental conflict in their childhood. To provide the environment without anxiety from parental conflicts, mental issues or family break up is very important for make a strong and mentally stable person.

Leadership and Steve Jobs

I would like to start out by saying what leadership means to me personally. According to what I learned while I was in the marines being a leader means that you have to be strong and not just on a physical level but on a mental one as well. I have seen leaders make some very tough decisions and sometimes they do have to make the tough decisions even if it is not the most popular one. In the marines leadership also meant having the task to discipline others as well as being disciplined yourself. One had to be tough so that they can show others how to be the same and survive in difficult situations that life may bring your way.I found an interesting approach to leadership in ebscohost under the article Leaders teaching Leaders written by authors Buck, Marty and Martin, Mary. This article talks about a leadership program at Medtronic Inc. that encourages leaders of the company to do a great amount of self-reflection. A direct quote from Lonny Stormo the Vice President of Medtronic Inc. states â€Å"I wanted an opportunity for my leadership team to spend time on their own development,† explains Lonny Stormo, vice president for Pre-Market Quality.â€Å"In our busy day-to-day work, we don't give our leaders enough time to reflect and identify the areas of development they think are vital for their leadership development. By carving out time †¦ you drive commitment to the process. † I believe this approach gives the leaders of that company the confidence to make intelligent decisions and the employees of the company confidence in the leaders of the company to make the right decisions. The self-identification competencies concept from the article was very intriguing to me as it mainly gives one a chance to look at the great skills they have and how the skills were learned.In my opinion this is a good concept to not only develop leadership abilities but to focus on how each individual can use their strengths to be the best leader that they can be. I h ave learned from another article in ebscohost titled Coaching written by Elowitt, Andrew that leadership can encompass many different areas. For instance, this article talks about lawyers and what is expected of them regarding management of many different cases. Lawyers are expected to have knowledge and display competent leadership abilities in multiple areas include the latest laws when it comes to technology.Although most of the skills that they are expected to know about leadership are not taught in law school it is beneficial for the lawyer to improve on many skills to develop more knowledge and become the best lawyer that they can be. This approach gave me a new view on leadership by teaching me that I could be a good leader in any field as long as I kept an open mind and have a willingness to learn new things. Another important part of this concept is going beyond just knowing the subject but this article also suggest that developing good relationship skills is very crucial t o be a good leader.In my personal years of experience I have found that the best teamwork comes when each team member has a good relationship with each other and the leader of that team. There is a quote in Business News Daily that can be found at the link http://www. businessnewsdaily. com/2632-leadership-quotes. html that Bill Gates stated that says â€Å"As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who will empower others. † Another quote is â€Å"You cannot be a leader and ask others to follow you, unless you know how to follow too.† This was spoken by Sam Rayburn a former speaker of the house. These quotes mean a great deal to me when it comes to leadership. The first one by Bill Gates makes me think that in order to be a good leader that one must have a vision to see greatness and also be able to communicate that greatness to others so that they may become great as well. The second one by Sam Rayburn is one that I always lived by. It lets me know that I should lead by example and not to ask others to do what I am not willing to do myself.This method has made leaders credible and trustworthy or made them into false leaders that are basically company men. The leader I have chosen to talk about is Steve Jobs the late Apple CEO. The reason I have chosen him is because he was an important leader in my field of study which is network administration and he was an awesome leader for Apple and in the technology industry. I have discovered in Wikipedia that Steve Jobs was not only the cofounder of Apple but also Pixar Animation Studios and was viewed as a guru regarding the advancement of consumer electronics.In an article I read in ebscohost from Harvard Business Review there was a quote that was spoken about the leadership style of Steve Jobs by Gilberte Houbart director of Media Product Design that states â€Å"Steve Jobs was a role model of courage and discipline: courage to get through multiple failures and discipline to learn from them. He stayed focused and worked hard, even in the face of illness and death. † I would like to emulate his leadership abilities and this lets me know that I must have the courage to achieve even when obstacles stand in my way and that I can learn from failures.Also from what I read in ebscohost I learned that he was a very hard worker and focused individual and wanted the best from others. It has been said all over the media that Steve Jobs was very persuasive and charismatic when it came to dealing with employees. However, some of his employees described him as being erratic and temperamental and also somewhat of a bully. According to Wikipedia Jobs was a demanding perfectionist that wanted his business and products to be in the forefront of the technology industry.Steve Jobs may have been a little rough around the edges and difficult for some people to work with but I as well as many others have to admire his vision and determination to be the very best in the indust ry and sometimes hurting a few feelings along the way may be unavoidable. Steve Jobs will always be legendary for all that he has achieved for as long as there is information available for us to read. In conclusion I would like to restate what leadership means to me. According to all of my wonderful sources and personal experience I have learned that being a leader is a great deal more than just telling people what to do.Being a leader means to have a vision and being able to communicate it to other as well as developing a good relationship with them so that they will believe in your ability to lead. Steve Jobs may not have always been the most likeable person on the block but his persuasiveness and ability to project his vision was unparalleled. Being a good leader also means being a good follower. This is a concept that many leaders forget but is very fundamental in getting people to believe in one’s ability to be a good leader rather than the employee just viewing that per son as someone telling them what to do.There are also many times when the decision that the leader makes is not always the most popular one but if the person that is in leadership learns to evaluate their selves as I mentioned that I learned from a project that is going on in Medtronic Inc. they will learn to be confident in their decisions and evaluate that the right course of action is being made. I now know that to be an effective leader I will have a vision and pursue knowledge in spite of any obstacles that may come into my path to success. I will persevere and learn from my failures and learn to be persuasive hopefully in a manner similar to Steve Jobs.

PROJECT ON CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT WITH RELIGARE SECURITIES LTD Essay

The company can then use the information to learn about the behavior of its customers and improve the way it does a business. It can look at recurring complaints from multiple customers to solve a problem which would otherwise go unchecked with a normal formats and management system of the company. The main objective of my project is to find effective solution for the Customer Relationship Management and accordingly increase the credibility and profitability of the company. This study is more related to consumer behavior and perception about the facilities and convenience provided by the company, Customer Satisfaction is emphasized in this management. o Helping an enterprise to enable its marketing departments to identify and target their best customers, manage marketing campaigns with clear goals and objectives, and generate quality leads for the sales team. Assisting the organization to improve telesales, account, and sales management by optimizing information shared by multiple employees, and streamlining existing processes (for example, taking orders using mobile devices) o Allowing the formation of individualized relationships with customers, with the aim of improving customer satisfaction and maximizing profits; identifying the most profitable customers and providing them the highest level of service. o Providing employees with the information and processes necessary to know their customers, understand their needs, and effectively build relationships between the company, its customer base, and distribution partners. CHAPTER 2. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT A. Title of the project: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) with Religare Securities B. Objective of the Study: The objective of the project was to analyze „Effective Customer Relationship Management‟ for Religare Securities Ltd., Pune for that we have to understand current CRM System and Services provided from the company and its effect on Customer Needs, Satisfaction Level, their response and emotions. The objective of this study to analyze existing customer satisfaction as those customers are the key sources to new customers with respect to the performance, sales efforts and sales service. As the company stands second in India in aspect of turnover after Kotak Mahindra Securities, it‟s clear that it has very strong Customer Relationship Management System and perfect people to handle it properly for the benefit of customers and company as well. Actual and personal meeting with existing customers and employees has brought me to the reality of the effectiveness of the system and their success. For analyzing the same factor I staked my whole duration of the project and simultaneously for internal study and market watch and other group assignments. Questionnaire is based on the existing services and the satisfaction level of the existing customers which includes questions like Name, Age, Gender, Income, Investment Frequency, feedback about services which they are provided like conformation, calls, suggestions, solutions on stuck money like dead investment and all. On an average all the customers are happy with the company and look forward to the growth of it. C. Scope of the study: Scope the this study is it will assist Religare to get its own Customer Relationship Management system mirror well and it will get all the important things before eyes to apply all the possible ways to provide a superb service to the customers and accordingly make them loyal and retain them long lasting and also to get new customers to be served. Scopes can be stated in few points as follows. o Maintain current / existing customers. o Achieve new potential customers. o Retain all the customers. o Profitability Increment o Reputation and credibility Increment, etc. The heart of CRM is not being customer centric but rather to use customer profitability as a driver for decision making and action. Before exploring this assertion, it is useful to review the process of resource allocation as it is practiced in most organizations. The budget process largely consists of an extrapolation of the past. Resource constraints pit function against function with back room deals that are based on internal politics versus the marketplace. This decision process has little insight as to what is working and what is not working (as it applies to the marketplace) or for that matter why? Without insight relative to cause and effect, the organization has no choice but to follow intuition and anecdote. It is analogous to the story about the marketing VP who admitted that half the advertising budget was wasted; the problem was he did not know which half. CHAPTER 3. PROFILE OF THE COMPANY Profile of company Religare Enterprises Limited (REL): Religare, a Ranbaxy promoter group company, is one of the leading integrated financial services institutions of India. The company offers a large and diverse bouquet of services ranging from equities, commodities, insurance broking, to wealth advisory, portfolio management services, personal finance services, Investment banking and institutional broking services. The services are broadly clubbed across three key business verticals- Retail, Wealth management and the Institutional spectrum. Religare Enterprises Limited is the holding company for all its businesses, structured and being operated through various subsidiaries. Religare‟s retail network spreads across the length and breadth of the country with its presence through more than 1,217 locations across more than 392 cities and towns. Having spread itself fairly well across the country and with the promise of not resting on its laurels, it has also aggressively started eyeing global geographies Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) is one of the leading integrated financial services groups of India. REL‟s businesses are broadly clubbed across three key verticals, the Retail Institutional and Wealth spectrums, catering to a diverse and wide base of clients. The vision is to build Religare as a globally trusted brand in the financial services domain and present it as the „Inv estment Gateway of India‟. All employees of the group guided by an experienced and professional management team are committed to providing financial care, backed by the core values of diligence and transparency. REL offers a multitude of investment options and a diverse bouquet of financial services with its pan India reach in more than 1800 locations across more than 490 cities and towns. REL operates globally following its acquisition of London‟s oldest brokerage and investment firm, Hichens, Harrison and Co. plc. With a view to expand, diversify and introduce offerings benchmarked against global best practices, Religare operates its Life Insurance business in partnership with the global major- AEGON. For its wealth management business Religare has partnered with Australia based financial services major- Macquarie. Religare has also partnered with Vistaar Entertainment to launch India‟s first SEBI approved Film Fund offering a unique alternative asset class of investments. Religare Securities Limited (RSL), a 100% subsidiary of Religare Enterprises Limited is a leading equity and securities firm in India. The company currently handles sizeable volumes traded on NSE and in the realm of online trading and investments; it currently holds a reasonable share of the market. The major activities and offerings of the company today are Equity Broking, Depository Participant Services, Portfolio Management Services, International Advisory Fund Management Services, Institutional Broking and Research Services. To broaden the gamut of services offered to its investors, the company offers an online investment portal armed with a host of revolutionary features. o RSL is a member of the National Stock Exchange of India, Bombay Stock Exchange of India, Depository Participant with National Securities Depository Limited and Central Depository Services (I) Limited, and is a SEBI approved Portfolio Manager. o Religare has been constantly innovating in terms of product and services and to offer such incisive services to specific user segments it has also started the NRI, FII, HNI and Corporate Servicing groups. These groups take all the portfolio investment decisions depending upon a client‟s risk / return parameter. o Religare has a very credible Research and Analysis division, which not only caters to the need of our Institutional clientele, but also gives their valuable inputs to investment dealers. Trading in Equities with Religare truly empowers you for your investment needs. We ensure you have superlative trading experience through – ï‚ · A highly process driven, delight approach ï‚ · Powerful Research & Analytics and ï‚ · One of the „best-class‟ dealing rooms Further, Religare also has one the largest retail networks, with its presence in more than 1800* locations across more than 490* cities and towns. This means, you can walk into any of these branches and connect to our highly skilled and dedicated relationship managers to get the best services. The Religare Edge o Pan India footprint o Powerful research and analytics supported by a pool of highly skilled research analysts o Ethical business practices o Single window for all investment needs through your unique CRN Religare Enterprise Limited, through its subsidiaries, offers a range of integrated financial products and services to retail inventors, high net worth individuals, and corporate and institutional clients in India. It operates in three divisions: Retail Spectrum, Wealth Spectrum, and Institutional Spectrum. The Retail Spectrum division offers equity brokerage, commodities brokerage, personal financial services, including insurance brokerage and mutual fund distribution; internet trading; loans against shares; and personal loans. The Wealth Spectrum division provides portfolio management services, wealth advisory services, and private client equity services, such as international equity services. The company was formerly known as Religare Enterprises Private Limited and changed its name to Religare Enterprises Limited in July 2006. The company was incorporated in 1984 and is based in New Delhi, India. Industry Profile 19 Industry Profile While regulation and reforms have made major improvements in the quality of the equity markets in India, its rapid growth and development are largely due to strong and efficient market intermediation. The robustness of the Indian markets today is attributable to a healthy blend of the quality of market Structure and efficient intermediation. Even as several countries are instituting procedures to commence. Equity derivative markets, India ranks amongst the top five countries globally in this segment, in less than five years of its introduction. This is an example of the proactive and progressive nature of the Indian brokerage industry. In the last decade, the Indian brokerage industry has undergone a dramatic transformation. From being made of close groups, the broking industry today is one of the most transparent and compliance oriented businesses. Long settlement cycles and large scale bad deliveries are a thing of the past with the advent of T+2 (Trading day + 2 days) settlement cycle and dematerialization. Large and fixed commissions have been replaced by wafer thin margins, with competition driving down the brokerage fee, in some cases, to a few basis points. 20 There have also been major changes in the way business is conducted. Technology has emerged as the key driver of business and investment advice has become research based. At the same time, adherence to regulation and compliance has vastly increased. The scope of services have enhanced from being equity products to a wide range of financial services. Investor protection has assumed significance, and so has providing them with education and awareness. Greater need for capitalization has induced several firms to access the capital market; foreign firms are showing increasing interest in taking equity stakes in domestic broking firms. Major developments in equity brokerage industry in India: 1. Corporate memberships There is a growing surge of corporate memberships (92% in NSE and 75% in BSE), and the scope of functioning of the brokerage firms has transformed from that of being a family run business to that of professional organized function that lays greater emphasis on observance of market principles and best practices. With proliferation of new markets and products, corporate nature of the memberships is enabling broking firms to expand the realm of their operations into other exchanges as also other product offerings. Memberships range from cash market to derivatives to commodities and a few broking firms are making forays into obtaining memberships in exchanges outside the country subject to their availability and eligibility. 21 2. Wider product offerings The product offerings of brokerage firms today go much beyond the traditional trading of equities. A typical brokerage firm today offers trading in equities and derivatives, most probably commodities futures, exchange traded funds, distributes mutual funds and insurance and also offers personal loans for housing, consumptions and other related loans, offers portfolio management services, and some even go to the extent of creating niche services such as a brokerage firm offering art advisory services. In the background of growing opportunities for investors to invest in India as also abroad, the range of products and services will widen further. In the offing will be interesting opportunities that might arise in the exchange enabled corporate bond trading, soon after its commencement and futures trading that might be introduced in the near future in the areas of interest rates and Indian currency. 22 3. Greater reliance on research Client advising in India has graduated from personal insights, market tips to becoming extensively research oriented and governed by fundamentals and technical factors. Vast progress has been made in developing company research and refining methods in technical and fundamental analysis. The research and advice are made online giving ready and real time access to market research for investors and clients, thus making research important brand equity for the brokerage firms. 4. Accessing equity capital markets Access to reliable financial resources has been one of the major constraints faced by the equity brokerage industry in India since long. Since the banking system is not fully integrated with the securities markets, brokerage firms face limitations in raising financial resources for business and expansion. With buoyancy of the stock markets and the rising prospects of several well organized broking firms, important opportunity to access capital markets for resource mobilization has become available. The recent past witnessed several leading brokerage firms accessing capital markets for financial resources with success. 23 5. Foreign collaborations and joint ventures The way the brokerage industry is run and the manner in which several of them pursued growth and development attracted foreign financial institutions and investment banks to buy stakes in domestic brokerage firms, paving the way for stronger brokerage entities and possible scope for consolidation in the future. Foreign firms picked up stake in some of the leading brokerage firms, which might lead to creating of greater interest in investing in brokerage firms by entities in India and abroad. 6. Specialized services/niche broking While supermarkets approach are adopted in general by broking firms, there are some which are creating niche services that attract a particular client group such as day traders, arbitrage trading, investing in small cap stocks etc, and providing complete range of research and other support to back up this function. 7. Online broking Several brokers are extending benefits of online trading through creation of separate windows. Some others have dedicated online broking portals. Emergence of online broking enabled reduction in transaction costs and costs of trading. Keen competition has emerged in online broking services, with some of these offering trading services at the cost of a few basis points or costs which are fixed in nature irrespective of the volume of 24 trading conducted. A wide range of incentives are being created and offered by online brokerage firms to attract larger number of clients. 8. Compliance oriented With stringent regulatory norms in operation, broking industry is giving greater emphasis on regulatory compliance and observance of market principles and codes of conduct. Many brokerage firms are investing time, money and resources to create efficient and effective compliance and reporting systems that will help them in avoiding costly mistakes and possible market abuses. Brokerage firms now have a compliance officer who is responsible for all compliance related aspects and for interacting with clients and other stake holders on aspects of regulation and compliance. 9. Focus on training and skill sets Brokerage firms are giving importance and significance to aspects such as training on skill sets that could prove to be beneficial in the long run. With the nature of markets and products becoming more complex, it becomes imperative for the broking firms to keep their staff continuously updated with latest development in practices and procedures. Moreover, it is mandated for certain types of dealers/brokers to seek specific certification and examinations that will make them eligible to carry business or trade. Greater emphasis on aspects such as research and analysis is giving scope 25 for in-depth training and skills sets on topics such as trading programs, valuations, economic and financial forecasting and company research. 10. From owners to traders A fundamental change that has taken place in the equity brokerage industry, which is a global trend as well, is the transformation of broking from owners of the stock exchange to traders of the stock market. Demutualization and corporatization of stock exchanges bifurcated the ownership and trading rights with brokers vested only with the later and ownership being widely distributed. Demutualization is providing balanced welfare gains to both the stock exchanges and the members with the former being able to run as corporations and the latter being able to avoid conflict of interests that sometimes came as a major deterrent for the long term growth of the industry. Emerging challenges and outlook for the brokerage industry .Brokerage firms in India made much progress in pursuing growth and building professionalism in operations. Given the nature of the brokerage industry being very dynamic, changes could be rapid and so as the challenges that emerge from time to time. A brief description on some of the prospects and challenges of the brokerage firms are discussed below. 26 11. Fragmentation Indian brokerage industry is highly fragmented. Numerous small firms operate in this space. Given the growing importance of technology in operations and increasing emphasis on regulatory compliance, smaller firms might find it constrained to make right type of investments that will help in business growth and promotion of investor interests. 12. Capital Adequacy Capital adequacy has emerged as an important determinant that governs the scope of business in the financial sector. Current requirements stipulation capital adequacy in regard to trading exposure, but in future more tighter norms of capital adequacy might come into force as a part of the prudential norms in the financial sector. In this background, it becomes imperative for the brokerage firms to focus on raising capital resources that will enable to give continuous thrust and focus on business growth. 13. Global Opportunities Broking in the future will increasingly become international in character with the stock markets being open for domestic and international investors including institutions and individuals, as also opportunities for investing abroad. Keeping abreast with developments in international markets as also familiarization with global standards in broking operations and assimilating major practices and procedures will become relevant for the domestic brokerage firms. 27 14. Opportunities from regional finance Regional economic integration such as that under the European Union and the ASEAN have greatly benefited businesses in the individual countries with cross border opportunities that helped to expand the scope and significance of the business. Initial measures to promote South Asian economic integration is being made by governments in the region first at the political level to be followed up in regard to financial markets. South Asian economic integration will provide greater opportunities for broking firms in India to pursue cross border business. In view of several of common features prevailing in the markets, it would be easier to make progress in this regard. 15. Product Dynamics As domestic finance matures and greater flow of cross border flows continue, new market segments will come into force, which could benefit the domestic brokerage firms, if they are well prepared. For instance, in the last three to four years, brokerage firms had newer opportunities in the form of commodities futures, distribution of insurance products, wealth management, mutual funds etc, and as the market momentum continues, broking firms will have an opportunity to introduce a wider number of products. 28 16. Competition from foreign firms Surging markets and growing opportunities will attract a number of international firms that will increase the pace of competition. Global firms with higher levels of capital, expertise and market experience will bring dramatic changes in the brokerage industry space which the local firms should be able to absorb and compete. Domestic broking firms should always give due focus to emerging trends in competition and prepare accordingly. 17. Investor Protection Issues of investor interest and protection will assume centre stage. Firms found not having suitable infrastructure and processes to ensure investor safety and protection will encounter constraints from regulation as also class action suits that investors might bring against erring firms. The nature of penalties and punitive damages would become more severe. It is important for brokerage firms to establish strong and streamlined systems and procedures for ensuring investor safety and protection. 29 Chapter 4. Literature Review Literature Review Historical Background: Customer relationship management (CRM), a concept that has been around since the mid 90s, has its roots in the technology of sales automation and call center operations. At that time, it was thought that merging the customer data from the field (sales) with the call center interactions would result in more informed interactions with the customer. The concept resonated with user organizations and soon mergers and acquisitions created a host of software vendors all claiming to have an integrated set of capabilities that became known as CRM. On a parallel track, Internet-based tools such as e-commerce, Internet marketing, personalization, and self-help were evolving. These products competed outside of the CRM sphere due to the newness of the technology, and they were referred to as e-business. When the concepts of CRM and e-business melded together there was a short period of e-madness where vendors talked about eCRM and e-everything. There are still vestiges of this transition in the industry such as essentially using e-business to add value to vendors and referring to it as partner relationship management (PRM) or providing tools for employees and referring to it as employee relationship management (ERM). 31 Similarly, enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors realized that the 360-degree view of the customer has to include transaction data, so they have likewise developed an integrated package with CRM capabilities. Thus from a technology perspective CRM consists of a set of applications that address the needs of customer-facing functions that in turn feed a common database that is supported by business analytics. Each vendor has variations on this theme. On the other hands, CRM can be defined as a process or methodology used to learn more about customers‟ needs and behaviors in order to manage and develop stronger relationships in an organized way with them. 32 Components of CRM: 1. Contact an Account Management: Relevant data for customer profile is captured with the help of the software. Necessary information is captured from prospective customers. CRM system stores data in common customer database. The database integrates customer account information and presents it in desirable format to the company. The data is used for sales, marketing, services and other applications. 33 2. Sales: Sales process management follows a customized sales methodology with specific sales policies and procedures. Sales activities include – Product information, Product configuration, sales prospectus and sales quote generation. CRM also provide the history of customer account so that the sales call can be scheduled accordingly. 3. Marketing and fulfillment: CRM helps the professionals in product marketing, target marketing, relationship marketing and campaign management. By analyzing customer and business value of direct marketing can be estimated. CRM also helps in customer retention, behavior prediction, channel optimization, personalization. Customer response and requests can be quickly scheduled and hence sales contacts. 34 4. Customer Service and support: CRM system provides service representatives with adequate access to customer database. It also helps to create, assign and manage the service requests by customers. Calling format is designed to route customer calls to respective attendants as per the skills and authority to handle special cases. Help desk system is developed to help customer service representative to help customers who face problems with product or service to resolve it. Web-based Self Service means help customer to access personalized information at company website. 5. Retention and loyalty programs: The primary objective of CRM is to enhance and optimize customer retention and loyalty. CRM systems are also useful in determining most loyal and profitable customers and reward. 35 The essential link between Marketing, Sales and Customer Service: Too often, the three key functions that directly affect customers -Marketing, Sales and Customer Service – operate independently of one another. This can create confusion and inconsistency in how you communicate and service your customers. For examples, marketing staff may come up with a price promotion. However, if that is not communicated to the sales team, the result could be incorrect billing, which may take time or resources from the customer to rectify and could create ill will and mistrust, making it seem like your company does not adhere to its word. 36 Similarly, if a salesperson makes a sale and gives certain guarantees to a customer but those are not communicated to the customer service team or even to the other sales team members, then the customer may fees as if the company is not standing behind its assurance. This can be particularly problematic if there is employee turnover and poor communication between or even departments. This „silo effect‟ – where information is between vertically in departments that may or may not communicate with each other- could actually damage your business. With comprehensive CRM system, however, customer communication is captured and housed in an accessible database, making the most current information available to anyone who needs it and has access to the system. By breaking through barriers between various business functions and making communication transparent, your company can act in a more consistent and unified fashion with its customers, instilling a greater level of trust and strengthening customer relationships. Religare Securities Limited (RSL) provides a host of financial services under one roof following a ONE STOP SHOP philosophy. It has a dedicated team of professionals to cater to the variety of services to Individuals, Corporate and Institutions. The team updates its clients with opportunities – with a sense of competitive urgency and risk management. What‟s more, their special analysts design customized services for HNI and Institutions. 37 Over the years Religare Securities Ltd. has played a successful role in client’s wealth creation. In the process Religare Securities Ltd. also refined itself, as an investment advisor and is poised to provide complete Investment Management Solutions to its valued clientele. The following is the product profile of the company. ï‚ · Equity Broking – BSE and NSE ï‚ · Derivatives Futures and Options ï‚ · Internet Broking- Online Trading ï‚ · Commodities Trading – NCDEX & MCX ï‚ · Institutional Broking ï‚ · Depository Services – NSDL & CDSL ï‚ · Portfolio Management Services ï‚ · NRI Investments ï‚ · Initial Public Offerings (IPO) ï‚ · Mutual Fund Investment NEWS: Religare Securities bags LIPPER-STARMINE Award for Excellence in Research Mumbai, February 18, 2009: Religare Securities Limited a wholly owned subsidiary of Religare Enterprises Limited has been recently awarded the LIPPER-STARMINE broker award for â€Å"Earnings Estimates in Midcap Research for 2008†. The Lipper| StarMine Awards organized by Thomson Reuters, for Asset Management and sell-side broking Companies in India, were announced last week in Mumbai. The awards recognize analysts who are more accurate than their peers in forecasting earnings, awarding credit to those who demonstrate an ability to make accurate estimates earlier than their peers. On receiving the award, Mr. Amitabh Chakraborty, President (Equity), said, â€Å"We are extremely proud to receive this award as a validation of our efforts in what was the most difficult and volatile year in stock market and corporate history. It is in these difficult times that the ability of a team to accurately estimate corporate earnings stands its truest test and we have succeeded in enabling our customers to make informed buy or sell recommendations in order to give above average returns to investors.† 40 Equities What is equity? Funds brought into a business by its shareholders is called equity. It is a measure of a stake of a person or group of persons starting a business. What does investing in equity mean? When you buy a company’s equity, you are in effect financing it, and being compensated with a stake in the business. You become part-owner of the company, entitled to dividends and other benefits that the company may announce, but without any guarantee of a return on your investments. Dematerialization What is Demat? Demat is a commonly used abbreviation of Dematerialisation, which is a process whereby securities like shares, debentures are converted from the â€Å"material† (paper documents) into electronic data and stored in the computers of an electronic Depository (SEE next page). You surrender material securities registered in your name to a Depository Participant (DP). These are then sent to the respective companies 41 who cancel them after dematerialization and credit your Depository Account with the DP. The securities on dematerialization appear as balances in the Depository Account. These balances are transferable like physical shares. If at a later date you wish to have these â€Å"Demat† securities converted back into paper certificates, the Depository can help to revive the paper shares. What is the procedure for the dematerialisation of securities? Check with a DP as to whether the securities you hold can be dematerialised. Then open an account with a DP and surrender the share certificates. What is a Depository? A Depository is a securities â€Å"bank,† where dematerialised physical securities are held in custody, and from where they can be traded. This facilitates faster, risk-free and low cost settlement. A Depository is akin to a bank and performs activities similar in nature. At present, there are two Depositories in India, National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) and Central Depository Services (CDS). NSDL was the first Indian Depository. It was inaugurated in November 1996. NSDL was set up with an initial capital of Rs 124 crores, promoted by Industrial Development Bank of 42 India (IDBI), Unit Trust of India (UTI), National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. (NSEIL) and the State Bank of India (SBI). Who is a Depository Participant (DP)? NSDL carries out its activities through business partners – Depository Participants (DPs), Issuing Corporates and their Registrars and Transfer Agents, Clearing Corporations/Clearing Houses. NSDL is electronically linked to each of these business partners via a satellite link through Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATS). The entire integrated system (including the VSAT linkups and the software at NSDL and at each business partner’s end) has been named the â€Å"NEST† (National Electronic Settlement & Transfer) system. The investor interacts with the Depository through a Depository Participant of NSDL. A DP can be a bank, financial institution, a custodian or a broker. 43 Chapter 5. Research Methodology 44 Research Methodology Research Design: Research design means adopting that type technique of research which is most suited for the research and study of the problem. For the study and the research of the problem proper material has to be selected and collected for the investigation. â€Å"A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.† – Jahoda, deutish. Cook. In order to know about effectiveness of Customer Relationship Management in Religare Securities Ltd., it was necessary to interact with the customer. The sample taken comprised of respondents from Pune city. A questionnaire had to be designed to collect valuable information from the different customer groups. The questionnaire which was designed suitably to meet the objective of research work. 45 Nature of Research: In this project report I have undertaken quantitative type of study. Type of the questions: The questions in the questionnaire asked to the visiting customers of Religare Securities Ltd, Regional office in Pune, are Straight Forward and Limited Probing. Type of the Questionnaire: The questionnaire in this project report is straight forward and formalized. Type of Analysis: The analysis done in this particular project report is statistical. 46 Sources of Data: a. Primary Data: The Primary data are those data which are collected fresh and for the first time and thus happen to be original in character. The primary data that was collected through interview conducted in Regional Branch with daily visiting customers. The primary data sources include copies of questionnaire and data of their respective responses. b. Secondary Data: The secondary data are those which have already been collected by someone else and which have been passed through the statistical process. Secondary data was collected through company websites. Some of the web sites http://www.religaresecurities.com/ and some others like. 47 Chapter 6. Primary Data Collection 48 Primary Data Collection Research Technique: As the researcher, I adopted survey method as a research technique for this particular project report. Contact Method: I as a researcher interviewed the respondents by personal interview. Sampling Plan: a) Population: The population covered in this project report refers to the existing (Office Coming) customers of Regional Office, who have their trading and D‟mat A/c with Religare Securities Ltd. b) Sample Size The sample size undertaken by me for this particular project report is 100 respondents. 49 c) Sample Element The respondents contacted and interviewed in this project report are all from different domain some of them were Businessmen, High Net-worth Investors, Proprietors, even Students also invest in Share Market. d) Sample Extent As a researcher, I conducted this survey only for the customers in Regional Office of Religare Securities, Pune. e) Sample Duration The survey was undertaken from the 01st June, 2009 to 30th July, 2009 i.e. for two months. f) Research Instrument: Questionnaires containing both open ended and close ended questions were used as a research instrument in this particular project report. 50 Chapter 7. Data Analysis & Interpretation 51 Data Analysis & Interpretation 1. Respondents: Respondents Businessmen HNIs Proprietors Individuals Number of respondents Interpretation: Above pie chart represents that research contains 100 respondents which are Businessmen, HNIs, Proprietors and Individuals and they are 30, 8, 24, 38 respectively in numbers and percentages. 30% 8% 24% 38% Businessmen HNIs Proprietors Individuals 52 2. Income Group(Annual): Income Group (INR) 10000 – 1 Lakh 1 Lakh – 5 Lakh 5 Lakh-10 Lakh 10 Lakh – Above Number of respondents Interpretation: Above pie chart represents that the research contained 100 investors and customers of Religare Securities Ltd. All the people were from different different Income group which are in numbers shown above. W e can clearly see sample includes more customers from first income group i.e. INR 10,000 – 1 Lakh 43% 37% 13% 7% 10000 -1 Lakh 1 Lakh -5 Lakh 5 Lakh -10 Lakh 10 Lakh -Above 53 2. Company Interaction via Email and Telephone Calls: Interaction Via Email and Telephone Calls Interpretation: From the above result of Company Interaction via Email and Telephone calls, we can imagine the satisfaction level of customers and accordingly Customer Relationship is managed through electronic media to maximize the wealth of customers. In Religare mostly dealers are in touch of regular traders / customers and customers also get loyal to the company through this practice. Every call is taped by default for the evidence of orders to buy or sell the stocks and Emails too. Excellent Interpretation: When it was asked sudden and on the time answer was the same of maximum people, it means the credibility and trustworthiness of the company is on the height. It‟s nothing but the result of Relationship Management. It is said that Share Market means „Well of Loss‟, nevertheless Religare‟s Customer don‟t have any tension in investing because they believe in Company‟s Researchers and Analysts and their investment tips too. 96% Number of respondents Interpretation: From the above answers Customer Relationship can be very well highlighted because out of 100, 43 people have rated Religare on the scale of 1 to 10 and again in remaining maximum customers say that they rate Religare at on the scale of 1 to 10.Every customer has his own value and consideration about Religare because they invest their Hard Earned money and take risk to earn more cause of Religare‟s Services and Attachment and it is all the output of Customer Relationship Management. 4% 5. Where do you invest/ trade mostly? Where Customers Invest mostly Equity Commodity Currency Number of respondents 66 19 15 Interpretation: One general question was asked in questionnaire to know the investment flow of customers towards Religare Services. When it was asked why they invest in specific area mostly then it was answered by many people that liquidity market is easy to make money out of investment and take money out whenever we feel not to put. And other reason many customers don‟t want to invest for long time.And about currency some people were not interested. 66% 19% 15% Equity Commodity Currency 57 6. Where do you trade mostly? Where Customers Trade mostly Intraday Delivery Both Number of respondents 48 37 15 48% 37% 15% Intraday Delivery Both 58 Interpretation: From the above view of graph we come to know that maximum people, 61% customers trade in Intraday Trading. On this customers say they like to trade in Intraday because of Short term investment and high level of excitement and sometimes they feel their money seems to sink. It‟s like One Day Cricket play for many customers. In Delivery, people say here is „No / Low Risk, More Money‟ , in this people say if scrip goes down like „Satyam‟, then also we get chance to book profit buying current stocks in low price and putting old stock aside temporarily. Here we find people hesitate to invest in Intraday and confident to trade in Delivery trading. Very less traders population do trade in both area, for few people it‟s nothing but fund managing, if one finds difficulty in making money in Intraday, they simultaneously manage their fund for Delivery, but very few people feel do this type of management. Eventually Religare is the Broking firm and it doesnâ₠¬Å¸t lose its attention from making money for its customers and lose its attention from Customer Relationship Management. 59 7. Do you trade in any other broking firm? Trade in other Broking Firm Yes No Number of respondents Interpretation: Above pie chart represents the maximum people have their D‟mat A /c and Trading A/c somewhere else also nevertheless they say they trade from Religare only and few of their other A/cs are put Non-Operating by them. Here we get a fact that Religare‟s Customer Relationship Management really has something very attractive and attachable to emotions cause of services. Few of them were hesitating while answering this question. 8. Are you satisfied with the services provided by Religare? Satisfaction Strongly Yes Slightly Yes No Strongly No Slightly No Number of respondents Interpretation: Above chart represents us the output of Customer Relationship Management with the help of the services and customers satisfaction can show a mirror of the efforts of the company towards making their customers loyal to them. Here 64% customers have selected and stated that they are fully satisfied with the services that they are getting from Religare Securities Ltd. 64% 9. Since last how many years you are in field of trading? Since when customers are trading ? Less than 1 year More than 1year More than 2 years Number of respondents Interpretation: This question was asked intentionally to know the loyalty of customers with Religare Securities Ltd., which is nothing but the back-screen coding of on screen output. These all things are the proud of Religare and its customers are also very proud to be in Religare. 17% Customer Relationship Management Business Drivers and Benefits ï‚ · It empowers management with a real-time pipelines and forecasting so they can build and focus on high profit, sustainable relationships. ï‚ · It empowers staff wit customer intelligence and best practices to increase their likelihood of successful transactions. ï‚ · It increases customer‟s acquisition, retention, loyalty, and profitability by integrating information across the enterprise. ï‚ · It enables executive and management to gain customer insight. 64 Customer Relationship Management Risks ï‚ · Effective internal controls must be in place to prevent customer information from becoming scattered across databases and servers. ï‚ · CRM can be associated with significant revenue cycle. ï‚ · CRM should be kept and handled and carefully kept inside the company only otherwise Customers Database can be misused by rivals. Customer Common Findings while contacting: ï‚ · Generally people whom I have contacted they were from different domains like Business, Proprietors, High Net worth Income Group (HNIs) and students. ï‚ · Their responses may not be proper because of their „Busyness‟ in Dealing Room. ï‚ · This data is called Primary Data, which is considered very genuine but is this case it misrepresents the Reality and Credibility. 65 ï‚ · Some people, its felt that they gave fake response, with impression that this questionnaire is from Religare Securities internal. ï‚ · Some people did not take it serious because this was not important to them as they are busy for trading at dealing Room. ï‚ · Every data interpretation and statistics cannot be think worthy from their results because this study is for only two months altogether. 66 Chapter 8. Limitations 67 Limitations Findings are according to the observations. 1. Many consultants, vendors, and analysts today define CRM in terms of being a customer-centric business strategy that is enabled by a set of applications that support customer-facing functions and management decision making. That may capture the essence of what CRM is, but while it does not concentrate on the extra expenses occurring on Company‟s A/c due to increment in expenses in serving customers all the ways and Return on investment means consideration may not be more than expected. Customer may not give that much business transactions which is estimated or expected. 2. It needs specific staffs to handle all the tasks of Customer Relationship Management because the data that is feed in system cannot be handled merely by Relationship Managers who has to make new customers and take care of their dealings and also to accomplish their additional responsibilities. 68 Suggestions 69 Suggestions 1. Short Duration: o Project research duration was only for two months, in this tenure neither study nor observation can be done properly. For example, we saw sample plan – in that only 100 customers could be contacted and now the problem is- from this samples we cannot think of Macro Level Perception of customers. Many people may be from same point of view and many may not and those 100 people may not contain these type of people. So duration of Research Project should be more than two months. 2. Customer Category: o To find effective Customer Relationship Management, Broking firm can do one more thing which will be very beneficial to them in finding Asset Customers from the bottom level management to top level management. Religare should adopt system of allotting Customer Categories according to their transactions, due payments, exposure, loyalty, frequency of trading and all. 70 o In this system at all the level where CRM is handled and watched by Top class officials of the company, they also get to know the list names and details of the loyal customers and CEO or Board of Directors also get to know total customers and at last their turnover of the total transaction. 3. Affiliated Awareness Programs: o Religare should arrange affiliated programs within its own groups to come to the sense of new people and accordingly to prospecting and acquiring new customers. o With the help of it companies CRM will help it to get height of success and dominate the world of Services. Because CRM affects Marketing, Sales and profitability and these all can be achieved by CRM. o For E.g., Religare Securities can play few awareness documentaries and Advertisement with „Religare Vistaar‟ this will result in getting more and more customers to serve and accordingly Religare can become the first ranker in turnover very soon. 71 Appendix I. Copy of questionnaire II. Bibliography , 72 Questionnaire 1. Name:________________________________________________ 2. Contact No:________________________________________________ 3. Occupation: ï‚ £Businessman ï‚ £Proprietor ï‚ £HNI ï‚ £Individual 4. Income Group(Annual): ï‚ £ 10000 – 1 Lakh ï‚ £1 Lakh – 5 Lakh ï‚ £ 5 Lakh-10 Lakh ï‚ £ 10 Lakh – Above 5. How do you find Company Interaction via Email and Telephone Calls ? ï‚ £Poor ï‚ £Fair ï‚ £Good ï‚ £ Very Good 73 6. Do you find company’s investment tips useful and beneficial? ï‚ £Yes ï‚ £No ï‚ £Can’t Say 7. Where do you rate Religare on the scale of 10 in terms of Services? ï‚ £4 ï‚ £6 ï‚ £8 ï‚ £10 8. Where do you invest/ trade mostly? ï‚ £Equity ï‚ £Commodity ï‚ £Currency 9. Where do you trade mostly? ï‚ £Intraday trading ï‚ £Delivery Trading 10. Do you trade in any other broking firm? ï‚ £Yes ï‚ £No If Yes, name of the broking firm__________________________________ 74 11. Are you satisfied with the services provided by Religare? ï‚ £Yes ï‚ £No Since last how many years you are in field of trading? ï‚ £Less than 1 Year ï‚ £More Than 1 Year ï‚ £More than 5 Year 12. What improvement do you want be done in company’s services? ï‚ £__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________ 13. Which service do you like most in Religare? ï‚ £_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 75 Bibliography Websites = http://deadpresident.blogspot.com http://religareonline.com http://www.religaresecurities.com Newspapers = The Hindu Books =