Commercial and Investment Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Commercial and Investment Banking - Essay Example Lending relationships, particularly those that are long-term associations make it simpler for small sized organizations to have access to outside funds. Owing to the risky nature of the small firms, it becomes very difficult for them to borrow funds if they lack lending relationships with banks. However, such kind of organizations predictably attempts to get access to further diversified sources of funds, after they have formed long-term lending associations with banks. Thus, it can be stated that the organization’s preceding lending association with a bank enables it to gain admission to the public securities market. Furthermore, the association of the organization with a bank persists to play a crucial role even when the organization is capable of issuing public securities. Nonetheless, when an organization diversifies its sources of funds, it has to face certain consequential drawbacks. The funding diversification restricts the bank’s readiness to assist the organiza tion when it faces financial distress. This restriction in the bank’s flexibility is true even when the organization had taken up only diminutive values of public debt. In spite of everything, it can be conclusively stated that a good lending relationship with a bank augments the probability of fruitful negotiation when an organization encounters financial difficulties (Berlin, 1996). Answer 2 a) Kwan (2004) defines a large bank merger as the amalgamation of the operations of two banks, which are huge in size and the merger provides a large geographic scope to the subsequently merged institute. In the recent years, the large bank mergers have been an indication of the process for creating an extensive nationwide banking franchise. b) The regulatory modifications in the 1990’s have created immense opportunities for the banks to pursue the overseas economies. The banks have benefitted in terms of economies of scale as well as scope. Mergers have enabled the banks to prov ide the number of products and services and as a result, the unit price of production has reduced. Additionally, the expansion had created a circumstance where the shared expenses of providing two corresponding services are not more than the joint expenses of providing the two services separately. c) It is believed that mergers can increase the bank’s capability to diversify risk. Prior studies have implied that geographic spreading out would offer diversification advantages to a banking organization. This can be accomplished in the form decreased portfolio risk on the asset side, in addition to a decline in the funding risk on the liability side. Banks are likely to attain these benefits as it spreads funding actions over a wider geographic region. Furthermore, studies have also indicated that product extension could result in diversification benefits. The benefits would be more distinguished amid the banking as well as the securities activities, while it would be less promi nent in the activities between banking and insurance (Kwan & Laderman, 1999).

Hazardous Waste and International Environmental Policy Essay

Hazardous Waste and International Environmental Policy - Essay Example Large amounts of the world’s harmful wastes generated by the world’s industrialized market economies are exported to less developed countries in Asia and Africa. The big question here is; how can domestic policy address the issue of e-waste? Are there ratifications put in place to stop this menace? This paper focuses on the possibility of the enacted legislations to stop hazardous waste disposals in developing countries. As a matter of fact, the non developed countries remain vulnerable to disposal of the hazardous e-waste since they lack a ratified policy to stop dumping of wastes in their land. As this disposal continues human health is at a great risk of it being compromised. The issue of health has raised attention compelling developing states to enact laws and regulations governing e-waste disposal. This is a positive trend that puts into check waste disposal. It is however worth noting that the regulations formulated only apply to the states in question and does n ot touch on the exporting countries where the waste originates from in fact some key producers of e-waste are reluctant to ratification plans designed to reduce these wastes. The result of lack of law enforcement on e-waste in poor and developing countries pose a major danger to human health and its environment. Poor countries need to come up with domestic policies that does not only govern internal waste disposal but also imported e-waste. In addition, poor countries need to unite and formulate an international policy that will govern importation of e-waste from developed countries. At individual level, people should learn basic concepts of recycling as this will reduce intoxication of lands and its resources. However, this may not completely stop e-waste disposal. It is further complicated because of the large volumes of wastes produced caused by the ever changing

The Transformation of Tata Group to the Biggest Conglomerate in South Research Paper

The Transformation of Tata Group to the Biggest Conglomerate in South East Asia - Research Paper Example A change agent is an individual or group who undertakes the process of creating and managing change in an organization. Change agents can be internal, such as employees or managers or it can be people appointed to oversee the change process. In many large organisations and companies driven by innovation, both employees and managers are trained to build up the skills needed for managing the process of change (Tschirky, 2011). Change agents also can be external, such as consultants from outside the firm. The most important contributions that a change agent can make are by sustaining the firm’s present performance and assuring its future growth and performance. A change agent works by enabling employees and other staff members to work effectively according the plan implement and experience the change strategically. The change agent also aims to increase the ability and efficiency of people and resources to produce a change that is sustainable and growth-oriented. For an organisat ion to sustain and show continuous growth, the senior management must establish themselves as leaders and help in reinforcing and establishing the cultures of the company (Carson, 1999). Continuous monitoring and assessment from the senior leaders is very important for the steady growth of the company. The transformation of Tata Group can be greatly credited to the vision and execution of the chairman, which was extraordinary. He is credited for the excellent transformation because he could see his vision for the company and transform it into a reality. After he took over the Tata group, he started introducing strategic changes in the company. The first was by regulating a compulsory policy for retirement age. This step removed a large number of employees from top management. This was done to remove those departments and companies of the group which were not growing and making loss. By replacing these individuals, he cleared the entry for young and fresh talent which will bring new ideas to the company. In addition he also created a Group Executive Office whose members were representatives of the strategic group, on the boards of the Tata companies. The Tata Business Excellence Model (TBEM) was introduced as the Tata Group’s largest change initiative. Excellence Model of the Tata Business (TBEM) was maintained and implemented through specific procedures and quality services. Ratan Tata showed a democratic style of leadership that encouraged openness and creativity among groups. With this approach of leadership he induced openness and creativity among young members of the organisation. He also acted as a supportive leader by helping and encouraging these young professionals in their ideas and plans and implementing them wherever it fitted. Answer 2 Business Streamlining becomes very important during economic instability.

Natural hazard and disasters - floods Assignment

Natural hazard and disasters - floods - Assignment Example Floods are very devastating natural phenomenon. It is a temporary condition wherein dry lands are swamped with waters coming from the outflow of rivers, tidal waters, or from the unusual rapid accumulation of water from any source. Types of floods are riverine floods, flash flooding, storm surge, and dam failure. Riverine floods are caused by heavy rainfall when catch basins are no longer able to hold excess water. Storm surge in coastal areas due to a tidal wave, high tide, tsunami or hurricane. Dam failures are explosion of dams due to earthquake that cause great floods in down streams. Another kind of flood and most common is the â€Å"flash floods† that can occur almost anywhere when there is a sudden burst of intense rainfall wherein drainage is either clogged or it has not enough capacity to absorb. Usually, flash floods stay only for short hours. It is unlike river flooding that occurs in low-lying areas adjacent to river and streams that stays flooded for several days. (Geoscience Australia, August 2013.) 2. Explain the system used to classify floods. Several systems of floods classifications have been suggested by engineers and scientists, but I have not found a universal application that is appropriate for a region. For instance, Luke Howard Classification System (n.d.), depends on clouds classification. Accordingly, his system has been used for many years. For Luke, the appearance of clouds formation dictates the amount of rainfall. But to me, this is not the systematic way of classifying floods. Experts today have arrived at a more methodological manner of classifying floods. The National Geographic (2013) said hydrologists used past flood patterns to predict when and where floods could happen, but since these are only estimates, climate , weather, and land can change. Soil scientists study how much water the soil can absorb. The type of soil and the amount of groundwater tells the hydrologist how much more water the earth can absorb. They als o determine the amount of water a runoff can absorb. Runoff water comes from natural processes such as excess irrigation, industrial wastes and sewage. Hydrologists also evaluate snowfall and snowpack. Snowfalls are also said to be contributory to flooding, and when snow melts, the grounds may not be able to absorb too much water (National Geographic 2013). Today, our weather stations use modern technology such as Doppler radar. This system helps meteorologist predict floods, it also shows them how severe a storm would be. Doppler system allows scientists to detect weather pattern and to create computerized images of rainfall. There are also automated gauges placed in rivers that measure the height and speed of river currents, and the amount of rainfall received. Scientists also designed a geographic information system that helps them to warn people if the river will overrun its banks and floods are expected. 2. Discuss the 1913 flood which occurred in Dayton, Ohio with regards to: a. The nature of the event. The Great flood in Miami in 1913 has been described as the worst flood ever experienced in the region. A large amount of rainfall that fell continuously in three days, coupled by snow melting winter produced a run-off of streams in the Miami River and other rivers to overflow. These run-offs caused every city along the river to be inundated with floodwaters . b. Issues directly related to the impact of the event . According to the report of Miami Conservancy District, â€Å"more than 360 people lost their lives and property damage exceeded $100 million (that’s more than $2 billion in today’s economy).  The amount of water that passed through the river channel in Dayton equaled the amount of water that flows over Niagara Falls in a four-day period† (MCD, 2009)   . c. Lessons learned and actions taken as a result of the event. People were really unprepared for this tragedy so that the citizens of Miami, came together to make plans t o prevent

Online Network Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Online Network Marketing - Essay Example In other words, it is an online community of sellers and buyers. By the year 2006, slightly more than a billion people were able to access internet throughout the world. This is the results of a survey conducted by Internet World Stats in that year (Nichols: 2007). What this means is that there is a potential market online of a billion people. This is a large pool of people who can buy or sell a product or service. It is not surprising then why there is an increase in the number of people who are establishing online network marketing businesses. The services and goods marketed online include education, consumer goods like drugs, and vehicles amongst others. This article is going to look critically at the online technologies that are used to build online network marketing. This network marketing is geared towards building online communities and promoting goods and services online. The broad objective of this study is to critically analyze of online network marketing for community building and business promotion. To this end, the study will be guided by several specific objectives: As indicated earlier, more than a billion people around the world were already online by the year 2006 (Nichols: 2007). This number has continued to grow over the years, and it will not be far fetched right now to say that internet usage will hit the two billion mark by the end of 2010 (Foucault: 2009). This translates to a market of two billion people out there. People access the internet for several purposes; there are those who use it for communication, as a form of social media. These are the ones who use emails and social networks like Facebook and Twitter (Wilson: 2009). When selling or promoting products and services online, most people first recruits sales representatives and agents online (Bashir: 2009). The advantage of online networking is that the sales representatives can be recruited from anywhere in the world, unlike the traditional offline networking where they have to come from a certain geographical location. These agents are then encouraged to recruit others. The commission accrued by these agents reduces as one goes down the ladder, with the owner of the organization getting the lion's share. These agents are the ones who are in charge of selling the particular service or product that the company deals with. They recruit a consumer base, still online. The agents and the producer forms what is called a virtual organization (Irwin: 2007). The consumers, together with the virtual organization, forms the online community that is brought together by the particular good or service that is been sold. In order to create this community, promotion is needed. The producer creates his presence on the internet. This he can do by creating his own website domain. He then goes ahead and recruits the agents, who access his domain for details. These agents then use several means to recruit consumers. They may advertise their services and products on other sites related to their line of business. When the

Microsoft in Japan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Microsoft in Japan - Term Paper Example This paper illustrates that Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft Company in 1975. The company’s headquarters is in the US and they develop, sell, support, manufacture, as well as license computer soft wares. The company has over one hundred thousand employees and the computer soft wares they sell include the Microsoft office, windows operating software and internet explorer browser. The multinational company also sells hardwares such as phones, tablets, and the X-box games console. The company estimated its revenue to be around $77b by 2013. The Knowledge Assessment method is used to analyze challenges and opportunities that the company encounters following investment in a foreign company. Like in the case of a clothing line company that expanded its market globally, it faced many challenges. Being a small business, it should have first invested in its educating the employees on possible challenges and how to deal with them. The government policies were very different f rom their home country, and they had difficulties adjusting to the forms of taxes as well as importation policies. The company was also not aware of taxes and quotas that the foreign government had imposed on the sale of imported clothes and they ended up making a loss instead of expected profits. In analyzing the industry, organization, as well as investment analysis in Japan, the costs of starting a business in Japan have reduced drastically since the domestic recession and resulting price deflation of the past 8 - 10 years. Office rents and the values of land have also declined since the bursting of Japans property bubble toward the end of the 1980s. After the domestic recession, many companies in Japan reduced the summer and winter bonuses that they had traditionally paid to their employees.

Produce a fully functional Essay Example for Free

Produce a fully functional Essay The company sells to small corner shops in the east midlands. All the sales to shops are currently recorded on an order form that will be processed in the companys main office. They use calculators to find out the total cost. They have a total of four company reps that they use to deliver orders and take new orders if required. Each of the rep carries a number of documents including order forms and a catalogue including a price list. The current system used to take orders can no longer handle the increasing quantity of trade and a new system is required. The company decided to solve this problem by giving each rep a laptop computer. A package will be installed into the laptops to process the data. The company will require the following features in the package:   An automated order form to replace the current one. A database containing each item of stock.   A facility to update the sales sheet.   A summary sheet to raise the stock order from the warehouse so they can be delivered on the next round.   A total sales sheet so it is possible to view any commission earned by the rep. A home page that can be used to navigate to the other pages.   An option to print so there is hard evidence of the documents. CURRENT METHODS USED   All of the sales to the shops are manually recorded on an order form that is processed in the main office.   The reps use calculators to calculate the costs.   The reps carry catalogues containing all the products available along with price lists.   The order forms are separate sheets.   The reps visit the shops about once a week and they make new orders if necessary   The reps receive 2% commission for any order over   1000. WORKING SPECIFICATION Front Page This sheet will link up with the rest of the sheets in the spreadsheet so users can search it easily. Order form. This sheet will be used when customers want to order products from the company. Information to go into the order form will include:   Date of order   Time of order   Sales persons name   Customer name and Address   Customer contact numbers   Name of product   Description   Price   Stock number   Quantity   Total cost Print out form This sheet will be identical to the order form and will show what the customers have ordered. There will be a print option so the customers have a receipt for what they have bought. Stock and price list This sheet will show all the products available from the company along with a price list. Address Sheet. This will include contact details for all the customers. DATA CAPTURE METHODS There are many of methods used to input data into a cell. Some are listed below.   Manually keying in information.   Selecting data from drop down lists   Macro programming   Hot keys Below I have drawn a table to show how the information will be captured. Typing into cells Selecting data from a list Automatic Hot keys Customer name Rep name Date Print Address Stock description Time Saving work done Contact numbers Stock model no. Total cost Quantity Total quote cost Below is a table to show what processing needs to be done to achieve the required output. Stock Code Lookup information within a database. Display stock in a cell. Rep Name Process index number from the rep table. Display the data in a cell. Customer Information Lookup information within the database. Display stock in a cell. Time and Date Process the system date and time. Display time and date in the cell chosen. Commission Finds out a total if over i 1000, and works out 2% of it. Displays commission total in a cell chosen. For a spreadsheet database to be successful, it should be as error free as possible. Information should be easily entered. An excel spreadsheet can provide the following functions. Tips and Help, to make it easier to use. Formatting of cells.   Labels and titles.   Highlighting and background colours   Drop down lists Validation and verification DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT By designing the spreadsheet first, it will be easy to put it together. I will provide ways of easily entering data into the spreadsheet. These will include   Data entry forms   Form like sheets I am going to enter some tips to help the user use the database. These will include.   Data entry messages   Validation messages Marcos will play a big roll in the design of the spreadsheet. I will use it to make the spreadsheet user-friendlier. It will be used to   Simplify data input.   Produce printed reports I will use more complex spreadsheet facilities to make it even easier to use.   Drop down lists- so data can be selected from a choice and not typed in every time.   Named cells- some of the cells will be named so it will be easy to use when carrying out formulae. Validation- this will restrict what data can be put into certain areas so it is easier for the users.   Lists and tables- these will be used to sort the data so it can be looked up. The Front Page I will place a variety of links and macro buttons on this page so that users can search the spreadsheet easily. The buttons will all be placed on the page. I will include a company to show the user that they are on the right program. I may colour code it to make it user friendly. The order form The order form will contain many formulas. I will use a combo box to create an area where the customer information goes. When the user selects their name in this box, the rest of the information will be shown. I will use V-lookup to do this. V-lookup will also be used to find products that the user wishes to order. When the stock code is typed in, information on that product will be shown. The column headings will be stock code, stock and model number, description, and price. I may colour code the different columns to make it more user friendly. In order to find the total cost for the products the customer wishes to buy, I must multiply the cost of the product by the quantity. Calculation Sheet This sheet is private and can only be viewed by the sales representatives. All calculations the reps need to make will be done on this page. For example they can mark up prices on this page. As this page is private I will insert a lock function with a password so customers cannot enter it. Commission form The function of this page is to calculate the amount of commission. The formula to calculate this will be: . This means that the rep will only get commission is a sale is over i 1000. ORDER FORM DEVELOPMENT This order form includes all the relevant information needed. I have neatly lined up the buttons next to the customer details box. However there are a few problems with it. It looks very bland. None of it is emboldened so important parts dont stand out. There is no title to show what the sheet is for. I will include these improvements in my next design. Certain important words have been emboldened. This makes it much easier to read and looks more professional. I have placed Order Form at the top so the user can see what the page is for. The buttons are in an odd position and should be rearranged to get a better balance. The form should include Online Direct Computers address in case the used needs it. Also an option should be added to show the sales person. Also it currently shows the price without VAT. Another calculation must be added to show the price with VAT added. It is still very dull so some colour needs to be added to make it more attractive and more user friendly. By adding colour and rearranging the buttons has improved the image and it now looks finished. The sales person name can now be added from a drop down list box. I will maintain this image throughout the program. TESTING I carried out a number of tests in order to check that the spreadsheet is running correctly and to check whether it matches up with the specification. There were four tests that I carried out: Continuous Testing   Testing Data   Invalid Data Testing   Specification test Continuous Testing- I will test all the formulas that I have put into the database including all the combo boxes and buttons. Testing Data- I am going to test data in the spreadsheet to see if it all works properly. I will test: Product information   Customer details   Sales representative names Invalid Data Testing-I will deliberately input some invalid data into some of the cells to see whether the error messages, that I created, appear. Specification test- I will compare my original specification to with my finished package. This will tell me whether the package will be able to do the job the user requires.E-Mail [emailprotected] com Invalid Data If I enter a stock code that isnt between 1000 and 1047 an error message will appear because there is no stock out side of this. If letters are typed in by accident an error message with appear. Specification Test Original Specification Comments Target Met Front Page This sheet will link up with the rest of the sheets in the spreadsheet so users can search it easily. I have created a front page that links up all of the pages in the database. Order form This sheet will be used when customers want to order products from the company. Information to go into the order form will include: Date of order   Time of order Sales persons name Customer name and Address   Customer contact numbers   Name of product   Description   Price   Stock number   Quantity   Total cost Date and time of order have been added into order form using the formula =NOW() The sales person names have been inserted into a drop down list that can be selected. There is space in a box at the top of the form for the customer name. This automatically there address and contact numbers. There is a box on the order form for stock codes to be typed in. This automatically brings up details including a total cost. Print out form. This sheet will be identical to the order form and will show what the customers have ordered. There will be a print option so the customers have a receipt for what they have bought. I have included an option on the order form to print so customers will have a receipt of what they have bought. Stock and price list This sheet will show all the products available from the company along with a price list I have produced a list of all the products available from online direct computers Address Sheet This will include contact details for all the customers I have produced a list of all the customers and there contact details. Examples of the sheets.