The China Coin Chapter Questions

Leash's thought give us flashbacks to their earlier, happier life together when Leash's dad was alive. What does Lea remember? (39-40) What does she feel is happening to Joan in China? (pages 50-51). Shanghai: Chapters 7-8 10. What does Lea learn about China's history during the argument with the party Official on the train? (pages 56-57) 1 1 . What happens to Lea in Shanghai? How does Billie use language to create tension and excitement in this incident? Give quotes from the story to support your answer. 12. Lea and Joan see a demonstration of students on their way to the boat.What do they learn about why they are demonstrating? (page 67) The Journey up the Yanking: Chapters 9-11 13. What does Lea learn about why her mother decided to come to China so soon after her father's funeral? (pages 75-76) 14. â€Å"It's over. † Lea took Jean's hand and squeezed. â€Å"We've been through a lot, eh? † What does this quote tell us about how Lea is changing and growing up? (page 8 2) Turtle Land (Red star) Village: Chapters 12-27 15. Lea changes her attitude to her Chinese identity. How do we know? What do you think causes her to change? (pages 105-112) 16.Lea is becoming milliamp with traditional Chinese villages. Draw a picture of the village. Label the picture. (page 106) 17. What does Eek tell Lea about why he and the students are protesting all over China? 18. What does Lea learn about how See's father died? What are See's feelings about his fathers' death? (pages 1 18-1 19) 19. On her way to visit Joan in the hospital Lea thinks about her relationship with Joan. What does she realize and what does this tell us about how Lea is changing? (page 1 37) 20. Lean and Joan come together in a new understanding. What do they realize about why they have come to China? 38-139) 21 . Where do Lie Nan and Lea find the other half of the coin? What is the significance of Leash's reaction when she says- â€Å"This is family/' (pages 139-140) 22. Lea has come to accept her Chinese identity. What has she learnt while she has been in the village and what does she say about being Chinese? (page 158) 23. What is happening in Beijing? What does Lea feel about the struggle of the students? (pages 144-145) Beijing: Chapters 27-32 24. What does Lea see in Attainment Square? (pages 165-169) 25. What does Lea discover about what happened to the students in Attainment Square? (pages 176-178) 26.When Lea returns to look for Eek she is confronted by a soldier with a gun. What happens in this terrible scene? (pages 181-182) 27. Lea and Joan learn from the students in the hotel the facts of what happened in Attainment Square. Summaries what happened. (187-188) 28. What does Lea see the coin as symbolizing about China? (page 189) 29. Why are Joan and Lea crying at the end of the book? What does the phrase the two women clung together' tell us about the way Lea has changed on her journey through China? 30. What kind of ideas about Belonging is explored in the char acter of Eek? Give reasons for your answer.

African religion Essay

Religion is being described as the belief in a supernatural power considered as creator and governor of the universe. The indigenous African people honored a superior being before the recording of history. They practiced voodoos, witchcraft, black magic, obyah and oledamare. The foundation of African traditional religion is faith based upon dogmatism. They have the kind of faith that does not require any evidence. The African traditional religion has great belief in the presence of spirits. Spirits, for the ancient African people, may be found in people, trees, animals, rivers, rocks, and mountains, and also in automobiles. The Africans loathe crimes such as adultery, stealing, cheating, and suicide. The Africans believe that these spirits convey their wishes, demands and instructions to other people through the traditional priests. These priests perform rituals to the satisfaction of their clients who turn to them for the interpretation of the spirit’s message. In Africa, there is a ritual performed for every event which are held through a dance, music or art that have been transformed into many forms. Yes, Africans do have their religion which actually centers on God just like Christians do. God is being perceived as the source of life and the creator of everything. For the Africans, creation is the sole work of God and there’s no other explanation for creation other than this. God is viewed as the omnipotent, the everlasting, ever faithful and the most merciful Father. Symbols also play an important part in the African society. These are conveyd into the religious sphere to build a strong connection between the unseen â€Å"spirits† and the living. We see these symbols on walls or printed on the clothes worn by the traditional priests and other people who wish to express their mood through any of these symbols. Source: Aderibigbe G. , â€Å"African religion and Christianity in dialogue: an appraisal from the African perspective,† Africana Marburgensia 32 (1999),

Marketing Mix and its Importance for the Marketers Essay

Marketing Mix and its Importance for the Marketers - Essay Example Over the years, more Ps have been identified to address the innovative features of the latest products and services. Lately, a set of four Cs has also been introduced by various theorists in an attempt to customize the four Ps so as to make them more customer-driven. According to Lauterborn, the four Cs represent consumer, communication, cost, and convenience (Burgers, 2008, p. 3). Shimizu has defined the four Cs as commodity, communication, cost, and channel (Solis, 2011, p. 201). Basically, commodity in C is the same as product in P, communication in C broadens the concept of promotion in P, cost in C is the replacement of price in P, whereas channel or convenience in C takes the concept of place in P to the next level. The product or commodity emphasizes on the importance of the physical attributes of the product or service that include but may not be limited to the size, weight, and dimensions of the product, and the materials used in it. Product is of immense importance because this is what the consumers need and the marketers’ entire marketing strategy is based on. In the contemporary age, one feature that the consumers are particularly interested in and which the marketers should thus place huge emphasis on is the innovation. Other factors that are also important include the product or service’s environment friendliness, and user friendliness. Price or cost is the aggregate of the entire values exchanged by the consumers. The price is determined by the benefits consumers are likely to attain by having the product or service being introduced by the marketers. This is the only factor in the marketing mix that determines the marketers’ revenues and thus, its role in the marketing objectives cannot be overestimated. Place is a very important element in the marketing mix and is extremely strategic in that the maximal success of the product or service depends upon the optimal location of its introduction in the market because a product or service would only be popular among the consumers if its features are consistent with their culture, norms, and values, in addition to their needs. Marketers employ the distribution channels to make their products and services available to the consumers. Place helps the marketers segment the products and services to ensure their optimal consumption. Marketers use promotion to advertise their products and services so that the consumers get to know about it. Promotion is also an equally strategic and important element of the marketing mix as place because maximal awareness about a product or service is created by advertising it on such platforms and mediums that are most commonly viewed and/or visited by the consumers. Various theories including the sets of Ps and Cs have been introduced to serve as a guideline for the marketers. Marketing mix helps the marketers to focus their attention and efforts in the right direction so that the product or service they introduce is not only of im mense value and use to the consumers but has enough scope in the market in the presence of similar products or services to earn the marketers their intended profits from making it. The marketing mix is of huge significance to the marketers because it facilitates them in the decision making both before the launch or a product or service and after it has been launched. Marketers use marketing mix modeling to achieve this. â€Å"Marketing mix modeling is a statistical analysis that links multiple variables, including marketing, sales activities, operations and external factors, to changes in consumer behavior, such as acquisition, sales, revenue, and retention† (Brooks, 2011, p. 2). Marketing mix model

Scientists study how HIV hides in body Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Scientists study how HIV hides in body - Essay Example Yet those drugs don't eliminate HIV because they can't reach the two known pools of cells where the virus can lie dormant, ever ready to resurface. So-called memory T cells form one such pool. As the name implies, these are the cells that ensure if you get, say, measles as a child, you're forever immune. They live for years, even decades, making them a logical HIV hideout, and one that scientists have repeatedly sought to dismantle to no avail. Macrophages, another type of immune cell, form the second pool. They roam the body looking for invaders like bacteria to gobble up. If they get harmed, such as becoming infected by a virus, they're supposed to commit suicide. But HIV instead keeps them alive long past their normal lifespan. "Up to now, nobody has really thought about how to eliminate the macrophage reservoir," said Dr. Kuan-Teh Jeang, an HIV specialist at the National Institutes of Health. "The imagination now has turned toward, 'How do we eliminate reservoirs' ... The best way to address our problem is to simply kill those cells." The Rochester team found that HIV produces a protein that turns on a particular cell-survival pathway. After a multistep process, it ultimately activates an enzyme called Akt that in turn prevents cell suicide, the researchers reported Thursday online in the journal Retrovirology. That was g

Consultancy Report about ( coca cola ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Consultancy Report about ( coca cola ) - Essay Example In this report, the marketing elements (i.e., marketing mix) of this Company as of the year 2009 and earlier shall be explored and specific strengths and weaknesses noted in order to arrive at a recommendation for possible changes in the marketing thrust of the firm. For the purpose of this study and to better incorporate the customer focus of contemporary market research, the expanded version of the marketing mix – the seven P’s framework – will be employed to establish the merits of the marketing strategy of Coca Cola. The seven P’s are namely Product, Place, Price, Promotion, with the inclusion of People, Process and Physical (tangible) evidence. Part 1- The macro and competitive environments The marketing strategy and performance of the company is best seen in the light of the macroeconomic setting prevailing at the present time. Figures presented are until 2009 performance inasmuch as 2010 full year data have not yet been released. Source: The 2010 UK Soft Drinks Report, The British Soft Drinks Association The data gathered for the soft drink industry in the UK presented in the table above shows the soft drinks consumption figures for the years 2003 to 2009. The data shows that there has been in general only a slight increase in the total volume of consumption, as well as the volume consumed per person. The value of product consumed, however, rose consistently, indicating that a rise in prices (value per litre) of soft drinks products from one year to the next has had little effect on the consumption patterns of individuals as well as the collective market. This is favourable for the industry, showing the price elasticity to be relatively inelastic and ensuring that a steady demand may be expected well into the future. The next graph below, from the same U.K. soft drinks report, shows the graph of the annual percentage change in the consumption of different types of soft drinks. Covered under the category of soft drinks are bott le water, carbonated (so called â€Å"sizzling†) drinks, dilutables, fruit juice and juice drinks (not shown are tea, coffee, and a few other â€Å"soft† beverage products). The downward convergence of the different soft drinks products are indicative of a general slowdown in the growth of the market in the U.K., pointing to the possibility that the industry is arriving at the maturity stage when the growth will continue, but at a lower rate. With market maturity will come shakeout of the industry, where weaker competitors are likely to retire. Source: The 2010 UK Soft Drinks Report, The British Soft Drinks Association The following two pages contain the tables for the PESTLE and SWOT analysis of the company. The strategic positioning of the company indicates a strong market presence, but with concerns that may impact on its market performance efficiency. PESTLE ANALYSIS The next two tables were the results of studies by the 2010 UK Soft Drinks Report by the BSDA. Carb onated drinks (so-called â€Å"sparkling† soft drinks) commands the largest market share at 42%. The type of soft drink with the second largest share comprises only slightly more than half of carbonated drinks. This makes Coca Cola’s leading brand particularly well positioned to dominate the soft drinks market. There is also significant demand for drink variants that have low calorie content or those that have no sugar, which dominates

The Voluntary Service of Citizens in the Armed Forces Essay

The Voluntary Service of Citizens in the Armed Forces - Essay Example Many nations, including the United States, although reliant on voluntary service still do reserve the right to impose a draft. The debate on whether a draft should, at some time, be reinstated is often a discussion drawn between positive (â€Å"what is†) and normative (â€Å"what ought to be†) considerations: the distinction between whether it is economically feasible, objectively necessary, or ultimately practical and whether it is morally justifiable, philosophically contradictory (for a country committed to freedom like the United States), or politically oppressive. To make the argument for or against the draft, a discussant must address both aspects of the issue. Put in this context, the practice of conscription is at once positively and normatively unjustifiable: not only does it create an inferior fighting force, making it ineffective at accomplishing its goals, but it is a severe violation of the individual’s freedom that a government exists to protect. On the normative side, the military draft (or conscription) is a defining feature of totalitarian regimes, having been imposed by and large in the totalitarian countries and their dictators throughout history. Napoleon and Bismarck serve as two examples of despots willing to sacrifice individuals for the state. Having been instituted by these aggressive leaders and countries, the military draft carries with it aggressive force. By â€Å"aggressive force†, one means the force applied to countries other than one’s own, and not in self-defense. It is doubtful, after all, that in the event of a large-scale invasion of a country, that the country will have to force its citizens to fight to save their own lives unless of course it is ruled by a dictatorial regime unworthy of its citizens’ defense. One cannot consistently hold that individuals have rights to self-determination and individual liberties and yet that the state has the right to make them null and void.  

Fitness & Wellness Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fitness & Wellness - Research Paper Example This paper approves that wellness consists of the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, occupational, intellectual and physical wellness. For example physical wellness is related to our daily activities and whether we do exercise on a daily basis. This involves aspects such as riding a bicycle at least 30 minutes a day, doing a walking routine or even doing the stairs at work instead of using the elevator. It also involves taking and maintaining healthy habits such as checkups, a balanced diet and exercise and staying away from bad habits such as tobacco, drugs and alcohol. This essay makes a conclusion that this involves physical fitness together with nutrition and self drive which is easier with consistency in physical activity. Attaining this kind of lifestyle involves eating a healthy diet that leads to reducing fat intake, sugars and sodium. A healthy diet consists of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. For meat, it’s recommended to take lean meats such as beef, lamb, fish and poultry and low fat and/or fat free dairy products. Processed and refined foods should be avoided. Best solution is to prepare your own food at home for the nutritional content.Avoiding alcohol, drugs and tobacco as excessive consumption can lead to severe effects. Physical activity is a key to longevity. Individuals should plan on implementing wellness programs such as aerobics, jogging, kick boxing and many more to their schedule. Again choosing an activity that you enjoy is essential or progress. Also incorporate aspects such as strength training that help for longevity, balance, and fitness.

Twelfth Night and The Winter's Tale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Twelfth Night and The Winter's Tale - Essay Example These fools are not used for entertainment purpose alone and suggesting that they were frequently employed by Shakespeare to provide a comedic relief to the audience from dark heaviness of the main action is empty mockery. However, this much is also true that in most Shakespearean plays it seems as if the scenes of clowns are almost strategically placed after particularly violent or dark scenes. The purpose of this essay is to contemplate the role of clowns in two very popular comedies by Shakespeare namely Twelfth Night and The Winter’s Tale to analyze if clowning is employed merely for comic relief or it also works to convey the message of the dramas. Feste is the name of clown who appears in Twelfth Night and is especially favored by Olivia who is the very beautiful countess and has given Feste full authority to cross boundaries and say whatever he likes (LitCharts) understanding his knack for humor and intellect. But, is Feste used by Shakespeare to make jokes alone which have no deep meaning to them or convey no meaning as suggested by some critics that clowns are mainly used to provide comic relief? The answer is a clear no because in the beginning of the play when Olivia is introduced terrifically grieving over her dead brother and displaying no signs of moving on with life, Feste makes a very bold gesture by telling Olivia to quite her mopping attitude which has actually become quite ridiculous. He does not only make silly or shallow remarks about the way she cries or stays melancholic, but illustrates a very important message of life by claiming that it is not him but Olivia who is acting like the real fool wasting all her energy in mourning instead of concentrating on her life. This critically important statement is made by no other character but Feste which suggests that the role of clowns is used by Shakespeare in his plays to both calm the readers and highlight the weaknesses of other characters which are otherwise untouchable and cannot be reproached by anyone. In addition to that, he also thinks that witty criticism is his prized prerogative. So, he is frequently seen driving others mad particularly Olivia’s greedy and wasteful uncle Toby Belch who is one of the favorite targets of Feste. Given the nature of his brilliant criticism and the way he digs with acute intelligence into dark aspects of other serious-natured characters, this much is obvious that Feste is no ordinary fool but an exceptionally smart jester who is a genius with punning. Viola (Cesario), another heroine of the play, describes Feste as the wisest cat in the play. Why would Feste be described as the wisest cat in town were his job cracking jokes alone as assumed by some critics to provide comedic relief from tension of the main plot? In fact, he is described in this manner by others because his intellect of smart wordplay is secret to none and everybody, even those who resent him like Olivia’s uncle, acknowledge the brainpower of thi s enormously powerful Shakespearean clown. He not only picks on the clear weaknesses of others around him, but also has a real talent for shrewdly observing grave or serious situations (Geraghty). He makes people laugh over his wise puns and also makes a good living out of it. He accurately measures the ridiculousness of the starting scene where Olivia is dressed up like a nun for grieving purpose and mockingly characterizes her silly attitude as plain unnecessary and stupid

Group Development Intro and Conclusion only Assignment

Group Development Intro and Conclusion only - Assignment Example There are studies which support the concept that groups influence work behavior. A group is composed of individuals working together towards common goals by interacting with one another and utilizing appropriate resources. They need a certain period of time for common interests to be discussed, explained and internalized so that stability and efficiency would ensue. From the cohesiveness that a group develops, certain level of performance is achieved. Groups have to be planned not only in their formation but more so in their development for them to be productive and efficient. Each team undergoes varies stages of development depending on their size and objectives. The extent of cohesiveness that a team develops influences the level of performance of a group. High performing teams are influenced by factors such as mission, roles, leadership, communication, decision-making, systems/procedures, climate, rewards, and competence. It is learning how these teams evolve from a basic structure composed of individuals to a complex, performing team that makes theoretical applications of group development

Islamic Civilization and Byzantium Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Islamic Civilization and Byzantium - Essay Example This small group moved to Medina under the command of Allah, where many Muslims already resided. This became the first Muslim State (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 302-305). Despite this, the Muslims in Medina were attacked by those in Mecca several times. Due to their status as idol-worshippers and the breaking of a peace treaty, Mohammed decided it was time to conquer Mecca, where many of those living there were converted into Islam (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 301). From here, Islam began to flourish under the Prophet Mohammed until his death in 632AD, as the people of Mecca were converted and no longer provided a threat (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 318-322). Despite this, Islam would face several challenges following the death of the Prophet Mohammed (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 308-335). As with many religions, there was a split in Islam reflecting an internal conflict; the Sunni sect, who hold Mohammed’s life up as an example of purity and are said to follow tradition, and the Shi’a sect. who follow the word of Imams as they believe they are directly descended from Mohammed and he appointed this lineage as his successors (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 325-335). ... Sufism is slightly different to the Shi’a/Sunni split, as followers of Sufi can identify with a separate sect whilst still following Sufi Islam (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 325-335). Islam refers to the people of the book (referring to those of other religions that follow similar ideals to those within Islam, like Christians and Jewish people) as dhimmi (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 325-335). These peoples are allowed to live in the Muslim State and can be exempted from some parts of Sharia Law. The dhimmi are afforded the utmost respect in Islam (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 325-335), as the teachings of Allah and the Prophet Mohammed suggest they should be. Additionally, the constitution of Medina suggests that those who follow religious and good lives should be treated as equals. Additionally, being an Abrahimic religion, there are many similarities between Islam, Christianity and Judaism. All three religions worship one God, in contrast to many of the smaller religions th at were around in the area at the time of Mohammed (von Sivers, Desnoyers & Stow 325-335). There are also many similar guidelines and practises within Islam when compared with those found in Christianity and Judaism. What circumstances brought Abd al-Rahman I to Iberia? Discuss his efforts to establish the Umayyad dynasty in Iberia. How do these efforts impact Jews and Christians during his rule and afterwards? In what ways did language (Arabic) and culture impact the Jews and Christians of Iberia? What were their respective reactions? Relate and discuss examples of these reactions. What happened to the Umayyad dynasty under Abd al-Rahman III? Abd-al-Rahman I first came to Iberia as a result of having to flee the old Umayyad dynasty, found in Damascus, as the Abbasid were coming to power in the

Public Policy Essay Example for Free

Public Policy Essay Public policies are tools of governments used satisfy certain wants and needs of the citizenry that they cannot effectively satisfy individually or that are better served through collective action. Public Policy is governmental laws, rules and regulation, funding and courses of actions that are measured by the government. Public policies can be complex and can rapidly change under most circumstances. According to Medical University of South Carolina, Individuals and groups often attempt to shape public policy through education, advocacy, or mobilization of interest groups ( MUSC, 2012). The study of public policies is the examination of the creation, by the government, of the rules, laws, and goals, and standards that determine what government does or does not do to create resources, benefits, costs, and burdens. There are many different areas related to Public policy that affect every one individual by way of education, economic development, health care, housing, employment income, and immigration just to name a few. There are also international policies as well that affect the US such as importing and exporting goods that go out into the economy, weapons, and terrorism. any level of government, whether federal, state, or local may be involved in a particular policy effort because social problems, and the public demand for action on them, manifest themselves from the local to the national level. All areas of public policies are important and should be addressed as top priority because some policies such as education are just not a top priority. Schools, recreational centers, and teachers are being closed and laid off daily due to public policies and politicians trying to figured out ways to cut cost and meet budget requirements. Without parks and recreational centers for our children, crime is more likely to increase among our youth as well as the unemployment rate increasing among our teachers and without teachers, how are our youth going to grow and learn what is needed to become tax paying cit izens in society? Public policy is defined by Websters as the The basic policy or set of policies forming the foundation of public laws, especially such policy not yet formally enunciated. The United States Government has many policies in the area of the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created in 1970 to help identify environmental problems in our nation, and to set policy on how to deal with those problems. Yet, with so much money spent by the government to deal with problems with the environment, it must be noted that problems still exist, even within the bureaucracy that was meant to help in the first place. During the presidential campaign of the last election, an issue arose concerning the energy crisis that was driving gasoline and oil prices up throughout our country. Vice President Al Gore supported President Clintons ideology of waiting for the proper legislative initiatives to pass through Congress, and when the situation merited, provide some limited releases of oil from the national oil reserve. Candidate George W. Bush, on the other had, favored drilling in the government protected lands of Alaska to find future oil reserves so that America would no longer be so dependent on foreign oil. The problem with Bushs plan, according to Gore, was that this could be devastating to the environment of the scarcely populated Alaskan wilderness. Regardless of the political, legal or moral implications of such drilling, there are problems dealing with multiple types of rationality in this issue. Others have noted the growing evidence that the increase in recent years in the frequency of such mega-hurricanes as Katrina is a result of global warming. A checklist of environmental policy failures must also include the administrations head-in-the-sand approach to global warming. The Bush administration has aggressively undermined international efforts to forcefully address such potentially catastrophic changes in the worlds climate as a result of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States and other industrialized nations. It is impossible to say whether even a responsible approach to climate change would have lessened Katrinas fury. But the fact remains that scientists believe global warming will make future hurricanes more severe. The presidents policy of blocking meaningful efforts to reduce global warming emissions no doubt means that future storms will do greater damage than they would otherwise. Huffington Post reported that Bush was heavily criticized at the time for the governments response to Katrina, a storm that caused 1,833 fatalities, damaged an estimated $81 billion in property, and ranks among the five deadliest hurricanes in United States history. He remained on vacation in Texas as the hurricane rocked the Gulf Coast, before belatedly cutting his trip short and returning to Washington (Huffington Post, 2013). References A Third Of Louisiana Republicans Blame Obama For Hurricane Katrina Response Under Bush. (2013). Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/21/obama-hurricane-katrina_n_3790612.html Definitions of Public Policy and the Law. (2012). Welcome to the Medical University of South Carolina. Retrieved from http://www.musc.edu/vawprevention/policy http://www.musc.edu/vawprevention/policy/definition.shtml Dictionary and Thesaurus Merriam-Webster Online. (2013). Dictionary and Thesaurus Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/

Data protection in online banking

Data protection in online banking Introduction Online banking is the practice of performing bank transactions over the internet. Due to the advanced nature of technology, most people use the internet to fulfil most of their personal needs, for instance; e-mails, internet calls, and video conferencing. Information technology is now being used to develop more supple and easy to use banking services (Nadim and Noorjahan, 2007). Online banking which can also be called internet banking is now being used and adopted by most people. Online banking can be useful in so many ways to both the customer and the banking institution, although the degree of its usefulness varies depending on whose point of view you look at it from. Online banking activities involves not only banks and customers but includes third parties too (Guptar, 2006). This essay would be looking at the privacy issues relating to the use of customers data and transactions in online banking. This essay would also be looking at the privacy concerns about how the customers per sonal data is used by the bank and what amount of control a customer has over the use of his/her data, how the bank shares customers personal data with third party or affiliated businesses and the rights and control customers have over the distribution of their data. And also what rights the government have over the monitoring of customers bank details and information, the ethical, social, professional and legal issues related to online banking services and the application of ethical/professional principles in the use of online banking services. Privacy issues in Online Banking Internationally, customers of several organisations can now pay their bills, transfer money to multiple accounts, make deposits, withdrawals or payments with online checks, view transactions on their account, trade bonds and securities, and all this can be done conveniently with just the click of the mouse and in the comfort of the customers home. The physical presence of customers are no longer needed for most transactions in the bank, as long queues witnessed in crowded banking halls can now be avoided which saves the bank the overhead cost of managing a crowded bank hall. But still, so many customers are concerned about the security of their personal information while operating the online banking service. According to Duquenoy et al (2005, p. 1), privacy is one of the main concerns associated with the use of online banking. I believe privacy is the most fundamental and relevant issue in online banking. Although there is not a specific privacy law in respect to online banking, ther e is an abundance of privacy laws that exist and this essay would be looking at a few of them as they are too many to write on all of them here. As noted by a few authors, Nadim and Noorjahan (2007) believed that privacy is one of the key factors amongst other issues which have an effect on a customers adoption of online banking technology. Most customers are concerned about how their personal data would be used when registering for an online banking account. What happens to their data after giving out their personal information? They are not sure and convinced about how secure and safe their data would be and how the data would be stored, manipulated, retrieved and updated. Mason (1986) stated that privacy concerns in online banking where raised by a few questions like; what information do customers require to reveal about themselves?; on what conditions?; what information can the customer can keep to themselves? According to Earp and Payton (2006) some major privacy concerns about the use of online banking technology are collection (enormous amount of personal information data collected and stored in databases), unauthorize d secondary use of data (personal data used for purposes other than they were primarily collected for), improper access (personal information viewed by unauthorized personnel), errors (unintended or intentional), and what level of protection could be put in place against them in personal information data. For example, there was a breach of information in which there was an identity theft of 3.3 million people with student loans in the weekend of March 20 21, 2010. Information such as name, addresses and social security numbers were stolen from a portable media device from the headquarters of Educational Credit Management Corporation, although the company claims it was a simple old-fashioned theft and not a hacker incident (WSJ, 2010). Howcroft et al (2003) noted that customers have confidence in their banks but their trust in the technology infrastructure of online banking was frail. Therefore privacy issues have proved to be an obstacle to the adoption of online banking technology (Nadim and Noorjahan, 2007). Most customers are worried about their personal data and financial information being revealed online. According to a study by Paul (2005), 94% of the banks customers express their concern about their personal information being exposed online. Privacy in online banking can be said to be the protection of the customers personal and financial information. It is the duty of IT professionals to secure and protect all customers personal information, they should conform to privacy legislation, professional codes of conduct and ethical principles to gain customers confidence in the technology and guard their reputation. Although Dewan and Seidmann (2001) argue that the success of online banking is expected to come w ith a growing price to personal privacy. They also stated that All online interactions leave detailed audit trails that continually depict a larger portion of our lives. Furthermore, privacy standards associated with the use of online banking technology in the banking industry (industry principles) currently exist. For example the American Bankers Association, Bankers Roundtable, Consumers Bank Association to name a few, have all approved equally to a set of privacy principles to portray a wide and united industry. They all have obligations to the similar set of guiding principles like; recognizing an individuals expectation of privacy; using, collecting and retaining personal information only if it produces the greatest benefit to such person; maintaining an up-to-date and accurate information; making individuals aware of the privacy policies; confine exposure of customers personal information; established security measures to protect information and maintaining an individuals privacy in business relationships with third parties (Earp and Payton, 2006). How can personal data be protected? Technological solutions that can give customers direct control over their personal information on their computer like cookie manager, encryption software, ad blocker to mention a few, give customers an amount of control over intrusions by hackers, spam and cookies. Also customer activism creating a policy taking direct action in online or offline environments to achieve desired enhancements in privacy policy, for example the American civil liberties Unions Take Back Your Data Campaign (Ashworth Free, 2006). Also privacy codes of practice like the BCS and ACM guide professionals on how to create and implement systems that protects the privacy of third parties. Privacy laws have been mostly controversial when viewing the laws relating to how much control customers have in the sharing of their personal information with third party organisations or affiliated business. Personal information in the control of banks about their customers data and transactions passes through different hands numerous times (Gupta, 2006).It is almost not possible for banks to retain customer data within their computer network let alone their jurisdiction. The risks of tampering of information, blockage and leakage are high and therefore needs an adequate legal and technical protection (Gupta, 2006). Most banks tend to use the personal data of their customers while advertising some of their other products and services. Third parties could use this data for marketing purposes, advertisements and customers usually view this as spam or unwanted information or some could also use it for illegitimate reasons like identity theft. The sale and distribution of customer pers onal data to third parties is a very lucrative business and generates a lot of revenue for companies. Duquenoy (2005) found out that the industry was valued at two billion pounds as at 2003. But how ethical is the sale or distribution of customer data to third parties? How does the third party make use of this information? These are some of the questions most banks have failed to look into in the use of personal data to make other products in online banking. Most customers find it a bit complicated controlling their personal information given out and collected by the bank, and its other businesses or government agencies that they could be shared with or sold to. It is required by the law that customers have to be given an option in order to decide what personal data can be collected and given out to third party or affiliated businesses, such options include the opt-in and opt-out methods. The UK follows the opt-in scheme under the provisions of the privacy and Electronics Communications Regulations 2003. The provision of an opt-out method gives the customer the choice of preventing personal information being disclosed to affiliated or non-affiliated businesses and third parties, while providing an opt-in option is the reverse which allows for the sharing of information for purposes specified by the bank (Giglio, 2005). Further, research discovered that customers must clearly inform companies of their wishes to opt-in or opt-out when registering or filling out online forms for the use of online banking or other internet services provided by the bank. In that case customers are to be told what, which and how their data can or may be used, they should also be given an explanation or description about what circumstances or situations by which personal information may be disclosed to third parties. The principles of rights based ethics (contractrianism) states that the cus tomer also has the right to know, the right to privacy and the right to property. Although, some customers might not mind having their personal data being shared, others might mind and tend to mind a lot. A major challenge being faced in the IT industry today is ensuring that sharing of data is secure and safe guarded (Raab, 2008). An IT professional should ensure that customer personal data is protected and is only shared with trustworthy third parties. And it is also the responsibility of the IT professional to ensure that personal data is used only for its primary or intended purpose or that which has been specified by the customer. One of the ethical principles in the BCS (British Computer Society) code of conduct states that You shall have regard to the legitimate right of third parties Third parties being referred to here could be viewed as the customer, and it is expected of an IT professional to know, understand and abide by the law and are also expected to regard and respect the rights of individuals, third parties and the society at large (Duquenoy et al 2005, p. 2). There have been a lot of cases whereby personal data is used for purposes other than which they have been collected for and this is ethically wrong. It is also called the secondary use of personal information which is the use of such information other than the purpose it was supplied for (Duquenoy et al 2005, p. 5). According to a research conducted through the distribution of questioners to a few people who make the use of online banking services with their banks in the UAE, 75% of customers get unsolicited mails about the banks new products and offers which they never requested for or signed up for, 8% view this as an intrusion of their privacy and specify not to be mailed about such future produ cts. The remaining 17% seem not to have been educated and informed properly about how to opt-out from the use of their personal data for distribution and marketing purposes or opt-in if they require being aware of promotions and offers the bank makes. It is essential for the bank to foster trust between itself and the customer as this is good for business and it is a known fact that it is harder to regain trust than initially gaining it. This is why it is essential that much more effort be put in place to secure customer data sharing (Raab, 2008). While conducting an interview with Suhail bin Taraff, an IT staff of Emirates NBD which is the largest bank in the UAE, it was noted that the customers that make use of the internet banking services of the bank would require to opt-in by ticking a check box in their personal online banking account if they require to be notified of products the bank offers and if they would also require their personal data passed on to third parties and affiliates of the bank producing similar or specific products or services.Online banking has two types of risk: maintaining integrity of customer information and preventing unauthorised use of such data (Gupta, 2006). The indiscriminate use of personal data is viewed as a violation of an individuals privacy right and in the UK the right to privacy is covered by the Data Protection Act. The second principle of the Data Protection Act 1998 states that the customer has the right of information about the processing of their personal data, including the rig ht to be informed either at the time the data is first processed or when that data is first disclosed to a third party, and also the right of access to their personal data (Duquenoy et al 2005, p. 20). Although the law cannot keep pace with technology, under the Data Protection Act a person has to demonstrate if they have been subjected to unwarranted distress/damages through their datas exposure in order to claim any sort of compensation (Raab, 2008). Does the government have the right to monitor online banking transactions? Businesses view the use of information as a means to making more money while the government tend to view information as a means to protect security. However, in both cases individuals or groups have limited control on how their personal data is used. It is found to be known that knowledge is power and the more information the government gathers about customers bank transactions the more power they have over them and the less power the customers have. And there could be abuse of such power by the government or whoever is in charge to use such power, for selfish means or politically motivated aims. The government claims that they use the capabilities offered by IT to get the intelligence that enables them to meet their responsibilities to protect citizens. But most individuals have little confidence in the governments handling of their data and fear that there could be a misuse or misinterpretation which could lead to persecution and prosecution of innocent people in the application of law and order and also while protecting national security. There is also found to be a lack of confidence in the governments ability to protect personal data and keep it secure, most online banking customers fear that this could give the government too much power and control over them. Most customers tend to mind if the government or law enforcement agencies read their communications or view their bank transactions, even if they have not done anything wrong or have nothing to hide. Part two of article eight of the Human Rights Act, 1998 states thus: There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interest of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedom of others (Duquenoy et al 2005, pg. 11). In the United States of America, the government created a secret programme to monitor bank transactions of suspected terrorists or people having ties with them that routes through the Belgian based financial company SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), since the terrorist attack that occurred on the 11th of September 2001. The proprietary electronic network, SWIFT, then gives the US government access to financial data from institutions worldwide (Jacobs, 2007). Banks tend to view privacy matters almost completely in conditions of regulatory conformity. But the same government that claims to protect the rights and freedom of individuals seem to invade it also. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and the USA Patriot Act 2001 are legislations that tend to serve the interest of the state related to issues of counter terrorism and crime detection and support the monitoring and surveillance of individuals. Professor Charles Raab (2008) said that there is a need to question the sharing of personal data to cater the needs of society other than the protection of privacy. Some may argue that the monitoring of an individuals bank account transactions without their consent violates the rights of confidentiality and anonymity of such customer. Any country that signs up to the UN Declaration of Human Rights must make sure they take steps to protect privacy. In Europe the EU includes privacy in its convention on Human Rights while the UK includes it in the Data Protection Act. In the UK the monitoring of a customers bank transactions and data can be viewed as an invasion of the customers privacy by the government and violates the privacy rights of the customer and goes against the data protection act which states that personal data can only be processed when consent has been given or necessary to contract and must be only for specified purposes, adequate, relevant and not excessive, not kept longer than necessary and processed in ac cordance with rights of data subject (ICO, 2010). According to a research conducted by the BCS, 61% of members believe that there is an inequality between the data rights of the individual and the state while only 17% believe that the present legal regulations on data are sufficient (BCS, 2010). The secure handling of a customers personal information is a legal, ethical and social requirement in online banking (Duquenoy et al, 2005). The potential for abuse is great in online banking therefore ethics plays a vital role. Ethical issues that arise in online banking gives a cause for concern, for example more than 24,000 HSBC customers were affected by a breach in the storage of their personal information in the banks data centre on the 15th of March 2010, this was as a result of data theft by one of the IT employee (BCS, 2010). This shows a disregard of the ethical principle which implies respect for other people. Unauthorised use of an individuals personal computer without their permission or knowledge could be termed as an invasion of that individuals privacy. Unauthorised access of personal information or poor security measures in Information Systems put customers (society) at risk and this could result in a loss of confidence by the general public and could have a negative effect on the use of online banking services. It is also viewed as a social issue due to the effect it has on the general public and prospective customers. This could lead to hacking or installation of spyware in the individuals computer and puts the owners personal data at risk. There are many legal issues that affect online banking like identity theft, protecting privacy, online crime and misuse of data. Using the internet has its own risk and most customers expect laws to be in place that will protect them while banking online. In the banking industry, the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act of 1999 (GLBA) was passed to augment the protection of privacy while the Data Protection Act (1998) covers the right to privacy in the UK. The law is in place to protect digitally stored personal information from being widely distributed and mismanaged. Organisations are required by the act to make sure that personal information is kept secure. Professional issues could imply how a professional should act and also their role in the design, implementation of data systems and in the manipulation, modification of data and the important role they play. The BCS is the professional body for those employed in the IT industry in the UK. One of the aims of the BCS is to maintain standards in the industry and in most cases these are translated into principles set out in a code of conduct (Duquenoy et al 2005, p. 5). IT professionals are expected to know the law and abide by it. They are also expected to ensure public safety and respect the rights of third parties like the general public. Conclusion Online banking technology seems to be slowly adopted by majority of prospective customers despite being aware about the usefulness of this technology and this is due to the fact that customers are seriously concerned about the privacy of their data and do not really feel secure giving out their personal data digitally. A number of privacy issues have been analysed and discussed in this essay and the rights and control customers have of the use of their personal data, the measures and steps they can use to protect their personal information and the degree to which government agencies have access to the customers bank transactions and personal data. The professional, legal, ethical and social requirement in online banking technology and how an IT professional should apply ethical principles in the use and handling of a customers personal data. Reference List Ashworth, L. Free, C. (2006), Marketing Dataveillance and Digital Privacy: Using Theories of Justice to Understand Consumers Online Privacy Concerns, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 67, pp. 107-123. Duquenoy, P, Jones, S, Rahanu, H, Diaper, D, (2005) Social, Legal and Professional Issues of Computing. Middlesex University Press 2005 Stamatellos, G. (2007), Computer Ethics: A Global Perspective, Jones and Bartlett Publishers Mason, R, 0, (1986) Four Ethical Issues of the Information Age, Issues and opinions, MIS quarterly Earp, J. B. Payton, F. C. (2006), Information Privacy in the Service Sector: An Exploratory Study of Health Care and Banking Professionals, Journal of organizational computing and electronic commerce, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 105 122. Giglio, V. (2005), Privacy in the world of cyberbanking: Emerging legal issues and How You Are Protected. Ng, P. (2010), What is online banking? viewed 20 February 2010, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-online-banking.htm Roundtree, D. (2001), Taking Care of Customer Privacy, Bank Technology News, Vol.14 Issue 11, p.20. European Parliament Blocks US powers to monitor EU bank transactions, viewed 21 February 2010, http://www.out-law.com/page-10748 Nadim, J and Noorjahan, B. (2007), Effect of Perceived Usefulness, Ease of Use, Security and Privacy on Customer Attitude and Adaptation in the Context of E-Banking, Journal of Management Research, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 147 157 Howcroft, B, Hamilton, R. and Hewer, P. (2002), Consumer Attitude and the Usage and Adoption of Home-based Banking in the United Kingdom, The International Journal of Bank Marketing, 20(3): 111-121. Jamieson, P (2005), Consumers and Online Banking, Point for Credit Union Research Advice Dewan, R and Seidmann, A. (2001), Current Issues in E-BANKING, Communications of the ACM; Vol.44 Issue 6, p. 31-32 Raab, C. (2008), The privacy conundrum, viewed 13 March 2010, http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.17577 The office of the Information Commisioner, viewed 13 March 2010, http://www.ico.gov.uk British Computer Society (2010). Code of Conduct, viewed 10 March 2010, http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.6030 Gupta, A, (2006), Data Protection in Consumer E-banking, Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, vol. 11, no. 1 State has more data on citizens than necessary, say BCS members, viewed 26th March 2010, http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.34817 Jacobs, E, (2007), SWIFT Privacy: Data Processor Becomes Data Controller, Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, vol. 12, no. 1 The basics, in Information Commisioners office, viewed 9th March 2010, http://www.ico.gov.uk/what we cover/freedom of information/the basics.aspx Freedom of Information Act (2000), viewed 15th March 2010, http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2000/ukpga 20000036 en 1 Pilon, M, (2010), Data Theft Hits 3.3 Million Borrowers, The Wall Street Journal, viewed 29th March 2010, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304434404575150024174102954.html?KEYWORDS=data+theft+hits+33+million+borrowers

Literature Review About E Banking In India Finance Essay

Literature Review About E Banking In India Finance Essay Abstract Due to increase in use and popularity of internet, E-banking has contributed in economic growth to a large extent. E-banking is a modern service provided by banks all over the world (Poon, 2008). E-banking came into existence from the use of Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs), telephone banking, direct bill payment, electronic fund transfer (EFT) and the revolutionary online banking (Poon,2008). E-banking refers to banking through internet. Indian customers are slowly and steadily moving towards Internet Banking. E-banking services constitute ATMs, Electronic data interchange, MICR, Cash dispensers, Automated ledger posting system, Electronic clearing system, Tele banking, Anywhere Anytime Banking, Plastic money, E-cash, Smart cards etc and various processing systems such as Real time processing, Batch processing system, Desktop publishing etc. The Research paper is intended on understanding and identifying the products of e-banking its trends, advantages and disadvantages as well of g rowth of e-banking in India. Researcher also intends on providing suggestions after analyzing the various other research papers, articles, journals etc. Firstly, emphasis is made to define the term e-banking followed by literature review and methodology planned. Literature review Introduction E-banking in todays scenario is a very dynamic concept. It is a kind of self service technology (Dixit Datta,2010). Competition is the pushing force for the introduction of e-banking. (Ziqi Liao and Michael Tow Cheung, 2003) .E-banking is delivery of new and traditional banking products and services straight to customers using electronic, interactive communication channels using computers. At a fundamental point, E- banking means setting up of a web page by a bank to provide information about its products and services their features, advantages, disadvantages, prices , duration and other details. On the other hand, at an advanced level, it refers to providing facilities such as accessing accounts, transferring funds, and buying financial products or services online, Making payments et which is known as transactional E- banking (Sathye, 1999). E-banking includes the systems that enable financial institutions, customers, individuals or businesses whether small or big or medium scale t o access accounts, carry out transactions or obtain information on financial products and services through a public or private network using Internet. (Vasanthakumari and Sheela rani, 2010) The conception of electronic banking has been defined in a number of ways (Daniel, 1999). According to Karjaluoto (2002) electronic banking is a construct that consists of several channels of distribution. Daniel (1999) has defined electronic banking as providing banking information, products and services by a bank to customers using a number of different delivery platforms that can be used with different terminal devices such as a personal computer, mobile phone, desktop software, telephone or digital television. Electronic banking is also frequently known as internet banking or e-banking or PC banking or Home banking or Phone Banking or tele banking. The first java based 24 hours electronic banking services were started by the first direct and Fujitsu cooperation. (Fujitsu, 2008).It is a new and innovative banking channel for Indian Banks. (Vasanthakumari and Sheela Rani, 2010). E-banking is both transactional as well informative medium. (Vasanthakumari and Sheela Rani, 2010). E-banking involves customers using Internet to operate their bank accounts and obtain information without visiting a bank branch. (Vasanthakumari and Sheela rani,2010).Internet banking involves providing information about bank products as well carrying online transactions such as transfer of funds, setting up direct debit, buying and selling of products etc. It involves computer networks and telecommunication networks. The basic aim of e-banking is to provide services to end consumer so that they can carry out banking transactions through PC or mobile. e-banking has attracted attention of banks, securities trading firms, individual businesses, insurance com panies, medium and large scale businesses etc. e-banking is growing because e-commerce has grown at a rapid rate. Internet banking can help in building sound strategies as its impact on cost savings, revenue and satisfaction of customer is tremendous (Gupta, 2008). e-banking influences business models of various banks, insurance companies, brokerage houses etc. Internet banking has changed the banking industry as well as banking relationships in a positive way. E-banking provides banking products using internet including e-mails, modems and various networks other networks like RBINET, NICNET, BRISKNET, RBINET, BANKNET. E-banking services includes ATMs, Electronic data interchange, MICR, Cash dispensers, Automated ledger posting system, Electronic clearing system, Tele banking, Anywhere Anytime Banking, Plastic money, E-cash, Smart cards etc and various processing systems such as Real time processing, Batch processing system, Desktop publishing etc. However it is very complicated for banks as well as customers to decide a best and appropriate approach to E-banking. (Dixit Datta,2010) History Of E-banking In India Before E-banking In India came into existence the dealings between customers and banks was on one on one basis. The bank branch was involved in dealing with customers, payments, clearing, loan applications, opening accounts etc but the head office was involved in overall clearing, size of branch, training, sanctioning of loans, keeping track of accounts of customers and it does not deal directly with customers. In the last 5 decades banking in India has evolved through various phases. Due to Globalization and Liberalization a new environment was seen in banks in the whole of the world. Banks offered new services with latest technologies such as anywhere and anytime banking, Tele banking, Internet banking etc The entry of foreign banks has pushed Indian banks to follow the path of latest technologies so as meet threat of competition and to retain their customer base. The growing competition and increased expectations has led to increase in awareness among banks on and role of internet banking. E-banking has revolutionized banking industry and is a product of innovation. There is a prototype change in different parameters of transformation. Many factors both internal and external are responsible for this shift. Competition from other bank group and other global factors are forcing Indian banks to make these changes in their functioning. E-banking services have replaced traditional services. (Uppal, 2008). The process of E-banking started in 1980s when RBI had set up two committees in a sequence in order to step up the pace of automatic operations in the banking sector. A high-level committee was formed under the chairmanship of Dr. C. Rangarajan, then Governor of RBI, to plan out phased computerisation and mechanization in the banking industry over period five-years from 1985 to1989. The main aim was to improve customer service and two models of branch automation were developed and were in practice. The second committee was Rangarajan committee which was formed during this five year time frame in 1988 to make a detailed perception plan for Computerization of banks and for extension of automation to other areas such as funds transfer, e-mail, BANKNET, SWIFT, ATMs, E -banking, etc. The Government of India enacted the Information Technology Act, 2000 (generally known as IT Act, 2000), with effect from 17 October 2000 to provide legal status to electronic transactions and other electronic commerce. RBI had set up a Working Group on e-banking to examine different aspects of e-banking. This Group mainly focused on three major areas of E banking (1) Technology and security issues, (2) Legal issues and (3) Regulatory and supervisory issues. RBI accepted the recommendations of the Working Group, and issued guidelines on internet banking in India for implementation by banks in accordance with those recommendations. The Working Group also issued a report on e-banking covering different aspects of E-banking. (Vasanthakumari and Sheela Rani, 2010) In 1980s internet developed rapidly. In early 1980s customers had access to their accounts through computers of banks. Later internet developed as a network of communication and E-commerce came into existence. In May 1995, Wells Fargo which was the first bank in world to provide access to accounts over internet allowed its customers to see their accounts online. In India, ICICI was the first bank to begin internet banking in early 1997 with the name of Infinity. Later ICICI bank terminated online banking services but 1996-1998 for Internet it was the adoption phase but its usage increased in 1999 because of lower online charges, increase in PC penetration and Technology friendly atmosphere. E-banking started with use of ATMs and later included telephone banking, electronic fund transfer, direct bill payments and online banking. Present Status of E-banking In India E-banking is a banking business approach. Banks nowadays know that internet opens up new horizons and is a major factor in success of a bank and helps a bank to grow internationally. Therefore, a number of banks in India have either adopted E-banking or are in the process of adopting and using it. (Malhotra Balwinder, 2009). E-banking provides right to use to worldwide connection from anywhere in world. Products presented by banks are offered all over internet due to which internet has become an important channel for delivery for banks. (Rahmath Safeena Hema Date Abdullah Kammani, 2011). India being a developing country has weak infrastructure, low PC penetration, developing security protocols and consumer reluctance in rural sector. But many banks are offering e-banking services. In a study conducted by Rao and Prathima (2003) it was revealed that India still has long way to go in online banking services in comparison to other countries. e-banking is becoming popular in India(Gupta, 1999; Dasgupta, 2002). Internet is cheapest channel of delivery for bank and financial products as it reduces the branch networks and scales down the number of service staff. E-banking has also improved performance of banks. E-banking has also emerged as planned source for achieving higher efficiency, control of operations and reduction of cost by replacing paper based and labour exhaustive methods with automatic processes which thus lead to higher productivity and profitability and efficiency. (Malhotra Balwinder, 2009) E-banking has led to increase in speed of communication and transactions for clients. E-banking is offering wide range of services to its customers. Customers can communicate with banks and carry out transactions from anywhere in the world. Due to E-banking customers have changed their traditional way of banking to modernised banking i.e self service system by use of internet. (Curran and Meuter, 2007). Fast and furious growth of technology has affected lives of millions of people from all over the world. There are a large number of factors which influence the consumers attitude towards e-banking such as persons age, income, family size, inspiration and behaviour towards different banking technologies and attitude of every individual towards the new technology (Laforet and Li, 2005). But Many people do not use Internet banking in India due to security reasons, lack of knowledge and also due of user friendliness. Protection and confidentiality are the most challenging problems faced by customers who aspire to operate in the e-commerce. Perceived risk was also one of the major factors affecting consumer adoption, as well as customer satisfaction, of E- banking services (Polatoglu and Ekin, 2001). The Banks in India started E-banking initially with uncomplicated and simple functions such as getting information about rate of interests, checking account balances, clearing and calculating loan eligibility. Later on the services were extended to online bill payments, electronic transfer of funds between accounts and Management of Cash for businesses. Nowadays the banks are using E- banking technology to meet the increased competition. Some new services are also being offered by e-banking such as payment of taxes, railway ticket booking etc (Malhotra and Singh, 2010).But The banking sector in India was not willing to use e-commerce applications as according to them the transactions which are conducted electronically were open to hackers and viruses, which were not in their control. Also e-banking became unattractive because online services were a mixture of insecurities, technology investment costs and a lack of market-readiness. (Abdulwahed and Yaqoub, 2006) . But it has been obse rved that Internet banking has changed the banking industry as well as banking relationships in a positive way. The plan of a bank to carry out business online depends on assets of the bank, years in operation, expenses ratio, deposits ratio, urban location, Non- fee income ratio. Internet banking may not have huge effect on the bottom line of most banks except for a few newly born banks. Internet Banking is subject to various statues including Banking Regulations Act, 1949, the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, and the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, Information Technology Act, 2000, Indian Contract Act, 1872, the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, Indian Evidence Act, 1872, etc. The effect of E-banking on monetary and credit policies of Reserve Bank of India is a vital area of anxiety. E- banking in India is only at its primitive and is in the growing stage stage which is solely dominated and controlled by both the Indian private and foreign banks. E-banking in India is used only by a few consumer segments. There are a number of risks associated with E- banking which have to be modelled by banks by using sophisticated systems and extensive and proper use of technology. The legal framework should handle the issues associated with E- banking. E-banking phenomenon cannot be avoided by the Indian Banks, but to add a competitive advantage and to succeed, business models must be structured and arranged properly in the long run to suit to Indian conditions. (Gupta,2008). But The factors which influence the adoption of Internet banking in India will probably be a matter of concern to both bankers and policy makers. ( Prakash and Malik, 2008) There are a handful of companies specializing in developing e-banking software, security software and website designing and maintenance, there are few online financial service providers. Nowadays ICICI is also offering wide range of services to customers. According to a number of authors E-banking is becoming popular in India (Gupta, 1999; Pegu, 2000; Dasgupta, 2002). However, it is still in its evolutionary stage. By the year 2006-2007, a large classy and reasonable E -banking market will develop. Almost all the banks operating in India are having their websites. (Vasanthakumari and Sheela Rani, 2010). In India almost 12% of the 38.5 million Internet users use E- banking and it Is expected to increase to 16 million, according to survey by lAMAI. (Prakash and Malik ,2008). In a survey carried out by Malhotra and Singh (2006) it was shown that 48% of the commercial banks in India offer e -banking. Therefore for gaining complete control in present e-markets a purposeful and strategized approach is requisite. Classification of E-banking In India The Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) constituted a functioning group on E- Banking in India. This functioning group further divided the internet banking products in India into the following three types based on the levels of access granted:- Information Only system Electronic information transfer system Fully electronic transactional system More advanced transactions Information Only system It provided general information such as rate of interests, location of a bank branch, products offered, their features, advantages and disadvantages, application forms were available for purpose of downloading. e-mails are used for communication purposes. A Customers and a banks application system do not interact. Customer identification is not done and there is no chance of any unauthorized person getting into a banks production systems via Internet. (Geetika, Nandan Upadhyay , 2008) Electronic information transfer system It provides information about a customer such as account balances, address, details of transactions etc. Customers are identified by their passwords and customers are provided information from banks application system. (Geetika, Nandan Upadhyay , 2008) Applying For New Banking Services Very few banks provide the facility of making an application and enabling new services using internet because the RBI does not allow opening of banks accounts online.(Malhotra Balwinder ,2009) This requires high degree of safety and security. In this, the network server and the application systems are linked over secure communications. (Geetika , Nandan Upadhyay , 2008) More advanced transactions In this system various other services are provided such as insurance policies, Brokerage, investments, demat, Credit card payments, trading, shopping and various other services provided online. Private sector banks are more expected to offer insurance services and covers, brokerage, online trading online and shopping online. Many of the Internet banks have also started offering certain new services through E- banking such as tax payment, charity payment and railway ticket booking. Public sector banks have shown a tremendous performance in the providing the services such as tax payment and railway ticket booking online. (Malhotra Balwinder ,2009) Advantages and disadvantages of E-banking There are a number of drawbacks of e-banking such as it is time consuming, poor network availability, lack of knowledge among people, unsuitable location of ATMs, Lack of infrastructure, high setting up costs, chances of frauds and scams, customers feel e-banking is not secure etc. Apart from above mentioned disadvantages there are a number of other disadvantages of Internet banking. Some of them are survival, accessibility, security, acceptance, infrastructure, perception, etc. Many people do not use internet banking because they do not trust banking services through internet. They doubt that their money is not safe and secure while being processed through internet banking. Many cases of frauds in India have been reported. Another disadvantage of E-banking is when a person has a query or question or faces a problem he/she cannot physically go to the bank and solve it but he/she has to call customer service department to solve it which might take a lot of time. Also some people avoid using E-banking because they do not understand how to use to and what is the procedure of getting started. Internet banking also poses a problem when the network is down and it might cause delay due to server problem when an important transaction is to be made. Starting up of E-banking requires large amount of investment which includes advertising cost, setting up cost, purchasing of technology etc. Many Internet banks dont have ATMs, due to which customers have to pay ATM fees. This costs them more. Lack of literacy and education regarding how to use internet is another drawback of e-banking. Sometimes unknowingly computer system is damaged Also there are a number of benefits of e-banking to both bank as well as customer. For example- Its cheaper to make transactions over internet, it provides satisfaction to customers, it improves the image of the bank, and customers get facility to manage every aspect of their bank account, It makes the transactions paperless, banking services are available round the clock helps customers to save time as they do not have to visit bank branch, customers can check costs of currency. Check stock market, check previous transaction history, transfer money, check which transactions have been cleared. Joseph et al. (1999) studied the influence of Internet on the delivery of banking service. This study identified six dimensions of E- banking service quality i.e. convenience and accuracy, feedback and complaint management, efficiency, queue management, accessibility and customization. While on the other hand Jun and Cai (2001) identified to seventeen service quality dimensions of E- banking service quality which are reliability, responsiveness, competence, courtesy, credibility, access, communication, understanding the customer, collaboration and continuous improvement, content, accuracy, ease of use, timeliness, aesthetics, security and divers features. Services Services are one of the primary benefits which a customer looks for while adopting a new channel. The consumers consider the benefits and weigh them against the costs associated. The Internet offers a lot of benefits to consumers, like any time anywhere banking, updated information, convenience, faster transaction, etc. Future of E-banking In India The large banks in India will find out new and better ways in providing their services. Also they will find out new ways to propose those services which will include use of new technologies. Wireless communication and mobile banking will increase at a very high rate due to which e-banking will become omnipresent. While E-banking will grow at a high rate the current generation of customers will still require face to face interaction with banks due because of feeling of satisfaction and security and some functions like cash withdrawals, checking lockers etc require physical contact with the bank. (Southard Siau, 2004) Keeping In India the benefits of E-banking such as increased efficiency of employees, accuracy etc it is seen that future of E-banking is very bright. The Banks which are fully computerized have gained majority of industrialists, service class, business class, less educated as well as highly educated customers. Most of the customers will favour E-banking because preferences of customers are changing with time and they are becoming more demanding and they will prefer a bank which will provide them quick service. In this era of globalisation only banks which are technologically advanced will survive.(Uppal Chawla,2009) The future of e-banking depends heavily on the future development of technology. The one certainty is that it will continue to offer new delivery methods for banking services. (Southard Siau,2004) Poon W C (2008), Users Adoption of E-Banking Services: The Malaysian P.K. Gupta, (2008), INTERNET BANKING IN INDIA CONSUMER CONCERNS AND BANK STRATEGIES, GLOBAL JOURNAL OF BUSINESS RESEARCH Volume 2Number 1 R.K. Uppal, (2008).Customer Perception of E-Banking Services of Indian Banks: Some Survey Evidence Icfai Journal of Bank Management, Vol. VII, No.1, Ms.H.Vasanthakumari and Dr. S. Sheela Rani (2010 ) ROLE OF E BANKING SERVICES IN THE BANKING SECTOR SRM Management Digest ,vol 8 pg 43 Dasgupta, P. (2002) Future of e-banking in India. Available online at: www.projectshub.com Gupta, D. (1999) Internet banking: where does India stand?, Journal of Contemporary Management, December, Vol. 2, No. 1 Ziqi Liao and Michael Tow Cheung, (2003) COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM Vol. 46, No. 12ve. Rahmath Safeena, Hema Date and Abdullah Kammani, (2011)Internet banking adoption in emrging economy International Arab Journal of e-Technology, Vol. 2, No. 1, Laforet, S and Li, X. (2005). Consumers attitudes towards online and mobile banking in China. International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 23, No. 5; pg. 362-380. Pooja Malhotra and Balwinder Singh(2010), An analysis of Internet banking and its determinants in India, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 87-106, Emerald Group Publishing Limited pg 94-98, 87-88 Curran, M. James and Meuter, L. Matthew (2007) Encouraging existing customers to switch to self-service technologies: put a little fun in their lives Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 15 (4), 283-298 Polatoglu, V. and Ekin, S. (2001). An empirical investigation of the Turkish consumers JIBC August 2010, Vol. 15, No.2 Abdulwahed Mo. Sh. Khalfan and Yaqoub S.Y. AlRefaei, (2006). Factors influencing the adoption of internet banking in Oman: a descriptive case study analysis. International Journal of Financial Services Management, 1 (2/3), 155-172. P.K Gupta (2008)internet banking in India-consumer concerns and bank strategies Global journal of Business Research vol 2 no 1 pg 6 -8 Sathye, M. (1999). Adoption of internet banking by Australian consumers: an empirical investigation. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 17 (7), 324-34. Dixit M. And Datta S.(2010) Acceptance of E-banking among Adult Customers: An Empirical Investigation in India Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, August 2010, vol. 15, no.2 pg 1 Daniel, E. (1999) Provision of electronic banking in the UK and the Republic of Ireland International Journal of Bank Marketing, 17(2), 72-82. Ajay Prakash and Garima Malik, (2008) Empirical Study of Internet Banking in India Vol.1 . 3 Geetika, Nandan T Upadhyay A(2008) internet Banking In India-issues and prospects The Icfai Journal of Bank Management, Vol. VII, No. 2, 2008 pg 48-49 IAMAI (2006), IAMAIs Report Online Banking 2006, http://www.iamai.in/, Accessed on May 10, 2011. Uppal R.K Chawla R(2009)E-banking Channel-Based Banking Services:An empirical study The Icfaian Journal of Management Research, Vol. 1 0 VIII, No. 7 pg 21-22 Southhard P.B Siau K (2004)A survey of online E-banking Retail initiatives COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM October 2004/Vol. 47, No. 10 pg 102

Censorship of Lois Lowry’s The Giver Essay examples -- Lowry Giver Ess

Censorship of Lois Lowry’s The Giver Every year Kansas students in grades three through eight vote on their favorite of a list of literary works nominated for the William Allen White Award. This award, founded in 1952 honors "one of the state's most distinguished citizens" and journalists (Bogan). A selection committee comprised of representatives of several Kansas educational organizations such as the Department of Education and Association of Teachers of English pool nominations and eventually narrow them to a "master list" of about twenty books. Nominations exemplify "originality . . . vitality . . . and spirit" (Bogun). Once compiled, the master list is sent to schools around the state. At the end of the school year, after students have had time to read the majority of the selections, they vote and select the winner. Despite the suggestion of the William Allen White committee that students need not read every nomination, the Meade Grade School system took the initiative to build a literary appreciation program by requiring students to read all such books. To vote, as prescribed by the White Committee, a student need only read two of the selections. For the Meade students this was also the case, but to have the opportunity to take the annual school-sponsored trip to the presentation of the award, it was necessary to read and pass a computerized test on all books of the Master List. In 1996, however, one selection proved to be one too many for Meade: The Giver. Controversy over the novel by Lois Lowry began early in the school year when a couple parents of fifth grade students approached the librarian and suggested removing The Giver from the list of required readings. With little dissent, the librarian agree... ... say what the extent of exposure to "mature" themes should be for grade school students? By constricting the breadth of education, especially exposure to controversial literature, the Mennonite community hindered student's ability to address and understand real world issues. I have no doubt that this confusion was present as Meade students attended the banquet for the 1996 William Allen White Award winner. The winner? Lois Lowry. Works Cited "Blasphemy." OED 2d ed 1989. 2 Feb. 2002. Bogan, M.E., and T. Summey. William Allen White Children's Book Award. 1 Feb. 2002. Cresswell, Tim. In Place/Out of Place Geography, Ideology, and Transgression. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 1996. Lowry, Lois. The Giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993. "Spirit." OED 2d ed 1989. 2 Feb. 2002. "Upper." OED 2d ed 1989. 2 Feb. 2002.

Solving Problem Creatively Over The Net :: essays research papers

Solving Problem Creatively Over the Net Since I got my internet privileges last 3 month, I had learn and encounter many weird and wonderful things. I have met the ugly side of internet and learnt something called "if you overspend your time limit, the phone bill gonna be very ugly."Perhaps the most interesting moment I encounter in the internet is when I discover homepage making. I made a homepage from learning HTML language from a web site. I want my homepage to be bold and simple but most of all animation- free. As a surfer myself, I know how it feels when entering a homepage that is full with high resolution graphic and animation. The animation had to be reload and reload again. Within 2 hours I managed to made myself a homepage.I also know to make an impressive homepage,one must have a high counter number so that people will revisit the homepage again. I can't use any "sensual" word to attract people cause it's against Geocities's rule. So I did a very nasty thing. I cheated, I put an extra counter number in my homepage beside my origi nal counter number so each time when it reload it will look like this---->0101.While the only people who visited my homepage was myself, but instead the counter number show 101. MIRC The Solution When my PC suffered a data crash, I lost all my data. I lost all my e-mail address and most importantly my browser.The computer technician managed to repair my PC but he gave me an old version of Netscape.I have trouble using it in Win'95.So I downloaded the later version of Netscape.The downloading seize when it reaches 52%. I had to reload if I were to use Netscape.Instead I used MIRC to download the program because MIRC come with this neat feature that allow me to resume downloading where I left out. As a result, I get to continue my downloading at 17564 byte from a friend. I'm The Biggest Leech The rule of warez is-to download you must upload. The warez people even wrote a scipt to ban people who didn't upload when they download. To upload any program of mine to anyone will take forever, all the file I have is at least 6

African Psychology :: essays research papers

Black Consciousness has been defined as an attitude of the mind and a way of life. Therefore, the purpose of teaching Black Consciousness was to conquer feelings of black inferiority and replace it with a new solid social identity which encouraged black pride and independence from white oppression. Africans should reject the myths from which Apartheid was conceived, where blacks were depicted as inferior, savage, simple and having a primitive culture which needed to be modernized. Rather blacks should believe in their true identity of being survivors with the utmost human dignity. Black people needed to become aware of their collective power both economically and politically. People of African descent must create their own value system, where they were self-defined not defined by white superiors. Therefore Black Consciousness’ main belief was, that racial domination had become internalized, thus causing low self-esteem, which in turn allowed room for political disunity and encouraged a dependence on white leadership. The philosophy of Black Consciousness was to break this set of attitudes and form a new belief in black self-reliance and dignity. It was only when this was achieved could black the man truly be liberated both physically and mentally. The Black Consciousness philosophy was an agenda for ideological realignment and political revitalization, which could rebuild and recondition the mind of the oppressed. This ideology brought a new sophistication and insight into the analysis of African psychology. An important psychological shift advocated by the Black Conscious Movement was the redefinition of blackness. No longer would Africans accept the negative label of ‘non-white’, they refused to be regarded as non-persons but demanded to be called positively as black. This definition of ‘black’ was not race or class exclusive rather it sought to incorporate all people who were discriminated against and denied access to white privileges under the oppressive apartheid regime. The definition of blackness is actually somewhat complex, the path to understanding it leads to certain directions. First off, that being black was a mental attitude, not just a matter of skin pigmentation. Secondly, by merely acknowledging that one is black already sets oneself along the road of emancipation. Another strong belief of the African Psychologists, of the was his rejection of Euro-American methods of measuring the intelligence and behavior of Black People. Psychologists believe that blacks needed to be self-reliant. They needed to do things for themselves, by themselves, instead of relying on the Euro-American or Western psychologists as the standards or absolutes. African Psychology :: essays research papers Black Consciousness has been defined as an attitude of the mind and a way of life. Therefore, the purpose of teaching Black Consciousness was to conquer feelings of black inferiority and replace it with a new solid social identity which encouraged black pride and independence from white oppression. Africans should reject the myths from which Apartheid was conceived, where blacks were depicted as inferior, savage, simple and having a primitive culture which needed to be modernized. Rather blacks should believe in their true identity of being survivors with the utmost human dignity. Black people needed to become aware of their collective power both economically and politically. People of African descent must create their own value system, where they were self-defined not defined by white superiors. Therefore Black Consciousness’ main belief was, that racial domination had become internalized, thus causing low self-esteem, which in turn allowed room for political disunity and encouraged a dependence on white leadership. The philosophy of Black Consciousness was to break this set of attitudes and form a new belief in black self-reliance and dignity. It was only when this was achieved could black the man truly be liberated both physically and mentally. The Black Consciousness philosophy was an agenda for ideological realignment and political revitalization, which could rebuild and recondition the mind of the oppressed. This ideology brought a new sophistication and insight into the analysis of African psychology. An important psychological shift advocated by the Black Conscious Movement was the redefinition of blackness. No longer would Africans accept the negative label of ‘non-white’, they refused to be regarded as non-persons but demanded to be called positively as black. This definition of ‘black’ was not race or class exclusive rather it sought to incorporate all people who were discriminated against and denied access to white privileges under the oppressive apartheid regime. The definition of blackness is actually somewhat complex, the path to understanding it leads to certain directions. First off, that being black was a mental attitude, not just a matter of skin pigmentation. Secondly, by merely acknowledging that one is black already sets oneself along the road of emancipation. Another strong belief of the African Psychologists, of the was his rejection of Euro-American methods of measuring the intelligence and behavior of Black People. Psychologists believe that blacks needed to be self-reliant. They needed to do things for themselves, by themselves, instead of relying on the Euro-American or Western psychologists as the standards or absolutes.

Capital Budgeting Decision Process

Capital Budgeting Decision Process 1. Introduction The maximization of shareholder wealth can be achieved through dividend policy and increasing share price of the mark value. In order to derive more profits, our company shall invest potential investments which always cover a number of years. Those investments involve substantial initial outlay at the outset and the process. The management is responsible to participate in the process of planning, analyzing, evaluating, selecting and making decisions to allocate the limited resource to those investments. This is called capital budgeting decision process.Budgeting acts as an important managerial tool in practice. It is budget for the major capital investment such as purchase of land and building, plant and machine, investing new product or market. In modern competing environment, the company shall go ahead to make those investments in order to survive and profitability. A good evidence is Apple which globally introduced iPhone and acte d as a leading market position. Denzil & Antony (2007) stated that â€Å"Those decisions shall take account of the amount, timing and associated risk of expected company cash flow†.Therefore, Capital budgeting decision process is within the prospective of financial management. 2. The Aims of Financial Management Finance management generally embraces financial decision, investment decision and dividend decision. Its aims can be varied from different company, the main aims are expanding a new market, budgeting control, maximizing profit and maximizing shareholder wealth. Keown, et all stated that â€Å"The fundamental goal of a business is o create value for the company’s owners (this is, its shareholders)†.However, the management may focus on profit maximization that will benefit him because he is the agent on behalf of the shareholder resulting in devoicing ownership and management from the company. It leads to conflict with the shareholder’s interest and may detriment the shareholder’s wealth. In order to balance those conflicts, the management shall efficiently allocate limited resource and must consider its investment strategies with its financing policies at the best interest of the shareholder. The present value of future cash flows is a better measure of the wealth of shareholder value.Cash inflows are derived from financing activities such as debt and/or equity. If those funds are used for investment decision, it implies that there will be less contribution to shareholders as a mean of dividends. Efficient and effective allocations of the funds are principle responsibility of the management. This can be achieved through making an optimal capital budgeting decision process so as to create value for shareholders. 3. Academic literature on models of the investment process The company may face many potential investments in which it has to make choices to invest.It is necessary to evaluate potential investments in order to make better decisions. Every new investment is subject to risk and uncertainty. It always takes a long period of time to report future benefit. It will severely affect the cash flow of the company. The company therefore must manage the cash flow efficiently and effectively. Some techniques are introduced to decide whether to invest potential investment. John Graham & Harvey (2000) conducted a survey of 392 CFOs found that CFOs always use Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR), percentage respectively is 74. and 75. 7; Payback period (PB) is also popular 56. 7 percent while Profitability Index (PI) seldom use only 11. 9 percent . Alkaraan & Northcott (2006) also obtained a similar result from survey that UK manufacturing companies applied appraisal techniques. Accounting rate of return (ARR) and PB are commonly used techniques. It is important to be aware of their merits and drawbacks. ARR is an accounting ratio which is also known as Return on investment. It is ac cepted for potential investment (usually less than one year assessment) if ARR is more than or equal to hurdle rate.It is easy to understand and calculate, but it ignores cash. PB measures the number of years required so that the estimated returns can cover the initial outlay. It is also easy and simple to use, but it takes no account of cash flow after payback period. Both methods take no consideration of time value of money. To overcome those problems resulted from ARR and PB so as to make optimal decisions, the project appraisal process needs to consider the time value of money. Expected future cash flow of potential investments shall be discounted and added together to derive a lump sum of the present value sing a given discount rate. Three types of discounted cash flow are NPV, IRR and PI. NPV is the difference between sum of present value and initial outlay for the proposed investment. A positive NPV indicates that the proposed investment is accepted and vice versa. NPV takes account of the time value of money and all relevant cash flows over the life of the project. However, it is difficult to understand and rely on to provide an available appropriate discount rate. IRR is the discount rate at which NPV is zero. If IRR is greater than the cost of capital, then the potential investment is recommendable.IRR is easy to understand and it excludes the drawbacks of ARR and PB that both ignore the time value of money. However, IRR often gives an unrealistic rate of return unless the calculated IRR is a reasonable rate for reinvestment of future cash flows. PI is the sum of the NPV and the original investment divided by the initial outlay. PI is useful under capital rationing since it demonstrates that the best return can be achieved from the available funds. NPV and IRR are commonly used to measure potential investment today.Michael (2004) suggested that â€Å"Theory would suggest that the DCF methods are superior to the traditional techniques and that NPV is superior to IRR†. Therefore, potential investments can be best chosen to add value to the company. 4. A best practice design for the decision process Dayanada, Don. (2002) showed that â€Å"capital budgeting is a multi-faceted activity†. A best design for the decision process shall include seven stages. Arnold, G. (2008) specified that â€Å"There is a great deal more to successful investment programme than simply project appraisal†.Firstly, the company must has clear objectives and identify profitable investments project to sustain long term development of the company. Baker, H. Kent, et al. (2011) also suggested that the first stage is identification. The company has a motivation to achieve those objectives. The management translates them to specific directions and policies by using strategic planning after the company establishes objectives. Secondly, the company can develop and classify potential investments according to strategic planning. Thirdly, there ar e many potential investments in any company.It needs to be screened at this stage because potential investments are without being examined in depth in the previous stages. It can eliminate unsound and less profitable investments before the next step to evaluate the potential investments. Fourthly, it is the project appraisal stage that evaluates whether those potential investments contribute additional value to the company or not. Fifthly, it requires to present various reports and sets up a level of authorization for proposed projects. Sixthly, it conducts on the implementing stage to control capital expenditure, when to implement and who to be responsible.Finally, it is the monitoring and evaluating stage that is called the post-completion audit. It compares between the actual cash flows and other forecasted cost and benefit to improve the proposed investment or inducement for further investment. 5. Key stage of the decision process The key stage is project appraisal at the fourth stage from the above decision process. Dayanada, Don. (2002) pointed out that â€Å"project analysis is critically important for the firm†. Potential investments will be considered the initial outlay and expected future cash flow associated with risk and uncertainty.At this stage, it involves the application of many techniques, such as forecast, risk analysis, time value of money, discount rate and inflation, etc. Facing many problems of potential investments, the management should be familiar with those techniques. What is the relevant cash flow for the potential investment? Karanovic, et al (2010) pointed out that â€Å"In capital budgeting process one of most important things is discount rate determination†. It will affect the decision-making using different discount rate. Shall the company choose the highest NPV or the highest IRR when the mutually exclusive potential investments?James & John (2008) stated that â€Å"different investment projects often have diffe rent degrees of risk†. If the proposed investment is more risky, the higher return is required. However, is higher return reasonable? If undertaking it, what will happen? Clive Emmanuel, et al (2010) stated that â€Å"Once taken, capital investments are largely irreversible and significant financial sums are at risk†. Hence, it may require using different appraisal techniques for the same investment, for example, using PB and/or PI technique to assist the analysis of NPV.When making decision to select potential investment, the management shall consider how to allocate the available funds to those investments efficiently at the same time. Therefore, the fund is a key issue to determine how many potential investments are undertaken. The management must concern about the liquidity of the company immediately after accepting potential investments. Improper acceptance or rejection of any proposed investment may significantly affect the long-term success of the company. 6. Con clusionThe capital budgeting decision process is one of the investment decisions which form the fundamental part of financial management. Inappropriate investment decisions can endanger the survival of the company and cause difficulties in obtaining additional financing from stakeholders. To make optimal capital budgeting decision process, investment proposals shall be analyzed under risk, uncertainty and inflation. After making decisions, the company shall separately consider how the funds generate in the best way. A sound capital budgeting decision process is beneficial to achieve the aims of financial management.The efficiency of financial management is a good-measurement to achieve the objective of the company. 7. Recommendations Since our company has a clear objective to maximize the shareholder wealth, it can be achieved through making potential investments to invest. Identifying potential investments is crucial to the prospect of the company. It requires expertise and managem ent to execute the capital budgeting decision process. An independent capital budgeting committee shall be assigned to monitor the capital budgeting decision process.Since capital budgeting decision process is more dynamic, after implementing it, Cotter, et al (2003) suggested that â€Å"real options should be included in a capital budgeting analysis†. A good capital development system and management information system will be well on the way to achieve the objective of financial management successfully. Reference List Alkaraan, F. , & Northcott, D. (2006). Strategic capital investment decision-making: A role for emergent analysis tools? : A study of practice in large UK manufacturing companies. The British Accounting Review, 38(2), 149-173.Available through: ABI/INFORM Complete database [Accessed 31 March 2012]. Arnold, G. (2008). Corporate Financial Management. 4th edition. FT/Prentice Hall. Baker, H. Kent, et al. (2011). Capital budgeting valuation : financial analysis for today's investment projects. Hoboken, N. J. : John Wiley & Sons. Clive Emmanuel, Elaine Harris, Samuel Komakech. (2010). Towards a better understanding of capital investment decisions. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, Vol. 6 Iss: 4 pp. 477 – 504. Available through: EMERALD database [Accessed 31 March 2012]. Cotter, J. F. , Marcum, B. & Martin, D. R. (2003). A cure for outdated capital budgeting techniques. The Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance, 14(3), 71-80. Available through: ABI/INFORM Complete database [Accessed 25 March 2012]. Denzil Watson and Antony Head. (2007). Corporate Finance Principles & Practice. 4th edition. FT/Prentice Hall. Don Dayanada, et al. (2002), Capital budgeting : financial appraisal of investment projects. Cambridge University Press. Graham, John Robert, & Harvey, C. R. (2000). The theory and practice of corporate finance: Evidence from the field. Rochester, Rochester: doi:10. 139/ssrn. 220251. Available through: ABI/INFORM Comp lete database [Accessed 20 March 2012] James C. Van Horne & John M. Wachowicz, Jr. (2008). Fundamentals of Financial Management. 13th edition. FT/Prentice Hall. Karanovic, G. , Baresa, S. , & Bogdan, S. (2010). Techniques for managing projects risk in capital budgeting process. UTMS Journal of Economics, 1(2), 55-66. Available through: ABI/INFORM Complete database [Accessed 22 March 2012] Keown, John D. , Martin, J. , William Petty. (2011). Foundations of Finance : the logic and practice of financial management. 7th edition. Prentice Hall.