Monday, September 30, 2019

Hybrid Technology Of Biomass And Solar Energy Environmental Sciences Essay

Energy is the ultimate factor responsible for both industrial and agricultural development. The usage of renewable energy engineering to run into the energy demands has been steadily increasing for the past few old ages. However the of import drawbacks associated with renewable energy systems are their inability to vouch dependability and they are thin in nature. Import of crude oil merchandises constitutes a major drain on our foreign exchange modesty. Renewable beginnings are considered to be the better option to run into these challenges. The use of renewable energy resources becomes really of import particularly for the rural and distant countries where entree to run into the demand. Renewable energy resources such as solar thermal, air current, hydro, geothermic, biomass and ocean thermal can play a important function in supplying energy demands every bit good as prolonging the environment resources. India, a state with a population of about 1.1 billion people, has still a comparatively low per capita energy ingestion of 260 kilogram of oil equivalent in 1998. But the commercial energy ingestion in India has been increasing at an one-year growing rate of 6.5 % between 1995 and 2005, a growing rate that is much higher than in any industrialised state. Due to the increased per capita electricity demand, a population turning at a rate of 1.8 % and an increased commercialisation and industrialisation, the turning demand for electricity outpaces the generating and capacity add-on, taking to a demand and supply spread. It is estimated that the demand and supply spread is about 8 % for the base energy deficit, whereas in extremum hours the demand is 30 % higher than the supply. As the energy demand is expected to go on to turn in the hereafter, the necessity of an enlargement of the power bring forthing capacity at an accelerated velocity seems to be inevitable. Otherwise, if the energy demand can non be satisfied, India could confront serious negative economic effects.Chapter 2Aim OF THE PAPERThe usage of renewable energy engineering to run into the energy demands has been steadily increasing for the past few old ages. However the of import drawbacks associated with renewable energy systems are their inability to vouch dependability and they are thin in nature At present in Tamilnadu the capacity of air current energy installed is 3800MW, but the generated capacity is 1700 MW. It is chiefly due to seasonal fluctuation of air current. The usage of biomass for power coevals gained impulse and tonss of promotional strategies have been introduced by the authorities for solar energy. The aim of the present undertaking is to use the biomass and solar energy in combination with the air current energy to supply guaranteed auxiliary energy with conventional power coevals.Chapter 3HYBRID ENERGY SYSTEMHybrid energy system produces power from more than one bring forthing beginning such as wind-driven turbines and solar panels, biomass works and hydro turbine. The system shops extra power in battery storage units, and could be configured besides to utilize power from the local electric power grid when the modesty power storage ( batteries ) is low. The systems provide the right combination of biomass and solar energy coevals and system constituents. These systems take the conjecture work out of choosing and put ining a renewable energy coevals because every system should be tailored to run into the power coevals demands of th e specific energy resources available at the specific site. The energy demand in the development parts is an indispensable job for economic development in a figure of states. This applies to the developed and developing states. Normally, these parts are short in energy resource and are chiefly depending on the renewable energy resources. A individual, energy resource is non normally justified to run into the demand for sufficient energy production. In this regard the loanblend system has proved to offer the possible possibility for energy production from different energy production systems. Puting together several energy systems is the possible option for run intoing the demand for energy in the part and is a promising energy scheme in many states.Chapter 4RENEWABLE ENERGY IN INDIA: STATUS AND POTENTIAL4.1 IntroductionIndia had a population of 1.1 billion and a Gross Domestic Product of 33 trillion Rupees ( 728 billion US $ ) in 2006. A dissolution of India ‘s primary commercial energy shows that more than 80 % is supplied from fossil fuels. If we besides consider traditional fuels and biomass, India ‘s entire primary energy ingestion was about 20 EJ in 2004-2005 ( an norm of 18 GJ/capita/year ) . Fig. 3.1 shows the portion of different energy beginnings in India ‘s primary energy supply. Fossil fue ls account for approximately 64 % of the entire primary energy while traditional biomass histories for approximately 33 % of the sum. Fig.3.1 Primary Energy Production in India India histories for 17 % of the universe ‘s population but merely 4 % of the universe ‘s primary energy ingestion. Modern renewable history for a little part of the entire energy mix. India is one of the lone states in the universe that has a separate Ministry of New and Renewable Energy ( MNRE ) , earlier known as the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources. In position of the scarce dodo fuel militias, energy security and clime alteration concerns it is expected that renewable energy will play a important function in India ‘s future energy mix. Fig. 3.2 provides an overview of the different renewable energy beginnings. Fig.3.2 Schematic of Renewable Energy Options4.2 GEOTHERMAL ENERGYThe geothermic resources in India have non been exploited commercially for heat or power coevals. The geothermic resources have been mapped and the Geological Survey of India estimates the possible to be of the order of 10,000MW ( vitamin E ) . Most of the current use of geothermic energy is for direct usage for bathing and swimming. It estimates an installed capacity of 203MW ( thermal ) with an one-year energy usage of 1607 TJ/year and a capacity factor of 25 % . It is expected that the geothermic beginnings can be used for low class warming and direct use in the nutrient processing industry.4.3 Ocean thermic energy transition ( OTEC )An OTEC works was attempted off the seashore of Tamil Nadu ( 60 kilometers off Tuticorin ) by the National Institute of Ocean Technology ( NIOT ) with a gross coevals capacity of 1MW ( net power 500 kilowatt ) . This is the universe ‘s first natation works. The constituents were t ested nevertheless there was a job in set uping the kilometre long high denseness Poly Ethylene grapevine. This undertaking has been abandoned. NIOT ‘s scheme seems now to match the OTEC works with the cold H2O shrieking being installed for desalinization.4.4 Wave energyIndia has experimented with a 150-kW moving ridge energy system at Thiruvananthapuram ( Kerala ) in 1983. The system mean end product was 25 kilowatt during December-March and 75 kilowatt during April- November in 1983. The mean wave potency along the Indian seashore is around 5-10 kW/m. India has a coastline of about 7500 kilometer. Even a 10 % use would intend a resource of 3750- 7500MW. However though paradigms have been built and some operating experience obtained, this is non yet a commercially available engineering. A moving ridge energy works installed by NIOT presently yields 6-7 kilowatts to bring forth 7000-8000 liters of desalinated H2O per twenty-four hours.Chapter 5AVAILABILITY OF BIOMASS FOR ENERG YBiomass for energy has to vie with other biomass merchandises. The major usage of biomass is in the domestic sector, for cookery and for heating bath H2O, in industries and in constitutions. At the national degree, 51 % of families use fuel wood for cooking.Estimates of fuel wood used for cooking scope from 93 to 309 Mt yearly. Though biomass is besides used for heating bath H2O, it is most frequently non in surveies and histories for merely 3.6 % of the family energy ingestion as compared to cooking which histories for 88 %.Harmonizing to a national study, 35 % of the families in urban countries use fuel wood, and its usage in the urban domestic sector is about 30 Mt. Biomass is besides used in the industry of building stuffs such as bricks, tiles and calcium hydroxide, and in agro-processing such as in the hardening of baccy, readying of spices and petroleum sugar, etc. The usage of lumber in the lodging industry in India is non important and histories for less than 5 % of the en tire usage of fuel wood. The usage of biomass in constitutions in urban countries is estimated to be 10 Mt yearly. In the rural sector, cooking energy demand could be met from the biogas potency of cattle droppings ; the foliage biomass from dedicated energy plantations and harvest residues can well cut down or even extinguish the usage of fuel wood. The fuel wood saved from cookery could be made available for power coevals for illuming and shaft-power applications, taking to the preservation of fossil fuels and to cut down imports. By 2010, fuel wood and wood coal ingestion will account for 80 % of the unit of ammunition wood production in India, while industrial unit of ammunition wood and sawn-wood will account for 10.5 % and 9.5 % severally. Non-energy biomass use is limited in India and the major usage of biomass is for cooking. Hence, the biomass from dedicated energy plantations can be to the full utilised for electricity coevals intents without noteworthy competition from ot her utilizations of biomass. It is assumed that 43 Mha of land is available for biomass production in India under S2 and, in add-on, the present unit of ammunition wood production continues. Conservative productiveness degrees under S2 are considered for biomass production. By 2010, the wood produced from the plantations on these lands will be considered to run into the fuel wood, industrial and sawn wood demands of the turning population. The first precedence of plantation forestry is to run into these biomass demands. Any excess biomass, after the use of wood for the above terminal uses, could potentially be used for the production of energy. The demand for fuel wood, industrial wood and sawn wood by 2010 is estimated to be 283 Mt, presuming no important fuel wood preservation programmes are implemented. If the unit of ammunition wood production continues at the 1993 degrees, the wood that can be cultivated on the available land will run into the demands of the turning population. Surplus wood can be obtained and utilized for modern biomass energy coevals. By 2010, the possible wood production from the dedicated plantations and the bing biomass beginnings is estimated to be 514 Mt ( Table 4.3 ) . A excess of 231 Mt is estimated to be available for usage as feedstock for energy coevals ( Table 4.3 ) . If steps for conserving fuel wood such as biogas and improved range programmes are implemented, extra biomass would be available as feedstock for bio energy.Chapter 6POtential of solar thermic power in IndiaTo find the possible usage of solar thermic power workss in India, one has to look foremost at the geographical and clim atic conditions. India ‘s land surface is about 2,973,000 km2. The one-year planetary solar radiation ranges from 1750 kWh/m2 in the north-eastern portion to over 2350 kWh/m2 in the north-western portion of India. The one-year planetary solar radiation is the most of import parametric quantity to find the suitableness of a part for solar thermic power workss, as it has a major impact on the electricity coevals and, therefore, the energy cost. To ease the computation of the potency of solar power workss in India, the state can be divided into four parts harmonizing to their one-year planetary solar radiation. See table 5.1 S.No Annual solar radiation ( kWh/m2 ) Land Area ( km2 ) 1. & A ; lt ; 1900 231.305 2. 1900-2100 2535.058 3. 2100-2300 461.516 4. & A ; gt ; 2300 60.150 Table 5.1. Annual Global Solar Radiation in India. The land country with a solar radiation higher than 1900 kWh/m2 is considered as suited for solar thermic power workss. India ‘s land country lies within this scope. Apart from the radiation, the land handiness is an of import stipulation for the building of solar thermic power workss. As India is a really dumbly populated state, agricultural land and woods are non considered for the building of power workss. This land is needed for nutrient and biomass production for the turning population. Therefore, merely barrens are considered as building sites. It is estimated that India has 1.58 million km2 of barrens. Most of the barrens are located in the cardinal portion and the north-western portion of India where the solar radiation is highest. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana, with 320,000 km2 of barrens, most of it deserts, and one-year planetary solar radiations of 2100 to more than 2350 kWh/m2, seem to be particularly suited locations. Taking merely 10 % of the barren country as a possible building site for solar thermic power workss, 158,000 km2 still remain. This indicates that land handiness will non be the confining factor in the hereafter. Even if merely solar chimneys, the engineering with the highest land demand, were used, 790 GW could be installed. It is instead the production capacity that limits the coevals of solar thermic electricity on a big graduated table in the close hereafter, as solar thermic power works engineerings are either still in a presentation stage or merely really few workss are in commercial operation. Therefore, the most of import limitation for an increased building of solar thermic power workss in India are fiscal restraints at the minute.Chapter 6DecisionThe present scenario in the Renewable energy use has been studied. The range and potency for the use of solar and biomass are analyzed in inside informations. There is great possible for increasing biomass productiveness through the usage of appropriate tree- species mix, genetically superior seting stuff, fertiliser and manure application, dirt and H2O preservation patterns and H2O application in suited locations. One of the executable options for increasing biomass production in developing states such as India is through the acceptance of genetically improved seting stock. Hence, a huge potency in footings of land and productiveness can be realized in India, and this can be utilized for making eco-friendly bioenergy options. Solar energy is the possible solution to run into the energy demand because of its abundant handiness, non pollution, clean and sustainable nature. The solar mission launched by the Government of India to advance solar energy use for warming and power coevals in the state may gives a good beginning for the exponential growing of solar energy use in this state. Since Tamilnadu is holding 40 % of its energy coevals capacity through air current energy which is seasonal in coevals, decidedly requires extra power coevals through biomass and solar to do it more meaningful and efficient manner of renewable energy use. It is planned to carry on a elaborate appraisal for biomass and solar energy possible territory wise in the 2nd stage of this undertaking and a theoretical account will be developed for the better use of the bing air current Millss and the proposed solar and biomass based workss.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Reasons for Implementing Basel III and Its Costs Essay

The global financial crisis (GFC) was a painful wound that marked the twentieth century. It was the greatest crisis the humanity has witnessed since 1930 (the great depression). It first started in the United States and spread then to the entire world and caused a considerable slowdown in most developed countries and has affected the financial markets and the growth prospects in developing countries. It is called the doubled jeopardy crisis as it spread rapidly with a contagious effect to the other countries of the world. Despite the efforts exerted by governments and central banks to rescue the economy from this huge recession through aggressive fiscal and monetary policies, demand in the macroeconomic level dropped. This huge crisis wasn’t the result of a person’s mistake but it was the result of cumulative effect of poor regulations from the financial institutions and from central banks, unregulated hedge funds, multilayered mortgages and the overrating by the credit firms. It first started by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 due to the large losses they sustained on the US subprime mortgage market and was followed by the failure of the seventeen largest banks in the US â€Å"the too big to fail† and six hundred other banks in the US. The federal bank was urged to rescue the too big to fail as their failure would have destroyed the whole world economy. The strong interconnectedness between the world countries through the stock market, foreign exchange and international trade led to a contagious crisis in the other countries. Houses prices in USA collapsed with a loss of $2. 4 trillion during eight months hitting the balance sheets of banks exposed to the housing sector, which affected the entire US financial sector, and then, in turn, other developed and developing countries. A sharp decrease in the international trade and in the international stock markets by 50% to 75% from their peaks occurred which resulted in a decrease in the rate of investment and an increase in the rate of unemployment. The USA lost equities worth $16. 2 trillion in 2008. Investment banks collapsed and the IMF began to support countries such as Hungary, Iceland and Ukraine. However the impact of the crisis on developing countries varied depending on their direct or indirect trade links to crisis affected countries. Although governors claim that the global financial crisis didn’t affect Egypt, we discovered that it affected the emerging markets heavily as exports and capital flow have been lower than expected. The real GDP growth of the emerging economies fell from 8. 3% in 2007 to 6. 1% in 2008 and just 2. 4% in 2009. As we can see in the graph, Egypt’s GDP has witnessed a drop of 2. 5% after the global financial crisis. Also the weak financial systems of the emerging markets will take years and years to restore and fewer funds would be available for investment and innovation. In addition the aid that these countries used to get from the large donors set to fall as well as exports who decreased by 20% which explains the decrease of the GDP. This financial crisis is not a shock that damaged banks and financial institutions but actually it damaged many people’s lives. Although the worst of it appeared to happen in the past, its effects are sustainable and long lasting. Employment rate decreased sharply which reflected in an increase in the percentage of people living under the poverty line. Around 120 million people are living on less than $2 a day and 89 million more on less than $1. 25 a day. Same scenario applies for Egypt; we can see in the graph that the unemployment rose from 8. 9% in 2007 to 9. 4% in 2009. This high poverty rate led to higher mortality rates, higher number of depressed and ill people. Another result of this high unemployment rate is a decrease in consumption, businesses will downsize and more unemployed people will be. It is a vicious cycle of recession. That’s why World Bank and financial institutions are urged to find ways out of this crisis and to create stable financial systems that protect the humanity from such disasters. To avoid a reoccurrence of a financial crisis with that expansion and to protect the human beings from its withdrawals the committee of Basel decided to reform the Basel II and to upgrade it to a stricter system with more regulations on the market. Basel committee consists of a group of banks representatives that meet once every three months to enhance the efficiency of the banking sector in a fair and consistent framework. They started by drafting Basel I in 1988, then upgraded it to a more sophisticated one in 2006 and finally drafted Basel III in 2011. This latter is our concern in this term paper. Basel committee on banking supervision and the financial stability board, which consists of 29 members: 2 non-voting and 27 voting, tailored Basel III accord. All through 2008 and 2009 they studied and design the Basel III requirement and revised it through extensive consultation over the year 2010. After the global financial crisis and after feeling its huge negative impacts on people lives, the implementation of Basel accord III became mandatory and the country that wont abide by it won’t have access to loans nor from large donors nations, nor from commercial banks, nor from IMF and World Bank. Also these countries won’t be allowed to issue any foreign derivatives. By the year 2013 each country should be ready to start implementing Basel III requirement and meeting them on 2019. The Basel Committee designed some requirements to be met in order to raise the flexibility of the banking sector and improve its ability to absorb shocks by strengthening the regulatory capital framework, building on the three pillars of the Basel II framework. Basel III mainly consists of raising the quality and level of the capital base, to enhance risk capture and to contain excessive leverage and to introduce new liquidity standards for the global banking system. Basel III consists of an upgrading for the three pillars of Basel II. The first pillar consists of enhancing the minimum capital and liquidity framework. Banks’ risk exposures should be backed up by a high quality capital base and avoid overrated capital. Concerning capital management, banks are asked to have a minimum of 4. 5% common stocks of their risk-weighted assets (RWA) to ensure that they can absorb risks better, they should also raise their new capital conservation to 2. % of RWA to cover any unanticipated risks and a countercyclical buffer of 0% to 2. 5% by the January 2019. Banks should enhance their risk coverage by strengthening the capital requirements for counterparty credit exposures arising from banks’ derivatives, repo and securities financing activities. These reforms will help reduce systemic risk across the financial system and they provide incentives to strengthen the risk management of counterparty credit exposures. After the global financial cris is, the importance of conserving a countercyclical buffer rose. That’s why Basel III accounts for crisis by conserving capital to build buffers for individual banks and the banking sector that can be used in stress and serve as a shock absorber instead of transmitter of risk to the financial system and the broader economy. During the financial crisis, a number of banks continued to make large distributions of dividend as a way to reassure investors although the sector was deteriorating which made individual banks and the sector as a whole weaker. That’s why Basel III introduced a framework that gives supervisors stronger tools to promote capital conservation in the banking sector. Also a leverage ratio requirement is introduced in order to limit leverage in the banking sector and help it to mitigate the risk of deleveraging process that can be harmful to the economy. The second part of the first pillar basically consists of developing two minimum standards for funding liquidity. The first is the liquidity coverage ratio, which promotes the availability of sufficient high quality liquid assets for one-month survival in case of a stress scenario. Banks will cover these liquidity need through tier 1 assets which comprise of cash, central bank reserves and high- quality sovereign debt, and tier 2 assets which consists of high-quality corporate and covered bonds, with min AA- credit-rating and non-zero-risk-weighted sovereign debt. The second is the net stable funding ratio (NSFR) which aims limit over-reliance on short term funding and encourage banks to fund their activities through longer term with a minimum of a year of stable sources of funding on an ongoing structural basis. The NSFR should be covered first through tier 1 which is capital and liabilities with effective maturity of one year or longer (corporate), tier 2 which consists of capital and liabilities with effective maturity of one year or longer (non corporate), stable deposits of retailers and small business customers and finally through wholesalers who are the less unstable source of funding. Pillar two that should be followed by banks consists of enhanced supervisory review process for firm wide risk management and capital planning. Central banks are required to draft a code of governance for their banks and make sure that they abide by this code, that there is a total separation between management and ownership and they should also put a cap for the executives’ remuneration. Finally pillar three requires some disclosure requirements from banks to help improve transparency of regulatory capital and improve market discipline. A full settlement of all regulatory capital elements should be backed to the balance sheet in the audited financial statements. These are basically the requirement of Basel III. Each country’s banks should show a complete abidance by its requirements by 2019. However these changes will cost countries a deer price. Although the implementation of Basel III will protect the banking system from default and will enhance its efficiency, it will cost the global economy a deer price. We will first discuss the cost of Basel III implementation on the developed nations then on Egypt as a developing country. For the G3 â€Å"United States, Euro Area and Japan†, the implementation of Basel III would subtract an annual average of 0. 3 percentage points from their growth path over the full ten-year period (2011-2020). According to the size and the significance of the banking system relative to the economy and the extent to which they will need to adjust to meet the new requirements of Basel III, the Euro Area will be hit the hardest and the Japan the least. Especially during the transition period (2011-2013), there would be an indirect slow down in the employment resulting from the lower GDP growth. First, although the US banking system recovered rapidly after the financial crisis phase in the middle of 2007, the crisis created a considerable increase in its liquidity and capital ratios. To perform the changes in regulation, the US liquid asset ratio should be increased to 22% in 2012, maintained at that level through 2013, and trimmed steadily back to 18% thereafter. To abide by Basel III requirement this will cost the banking sector net interest margin to be squeezed (a decrease in ROE from 12% to 10. 4% in 2020) which will be reflected in a higher lending rate and as a result a lower demand for bank credit, which will accordingly affect the investment, business will downsize, GDP will decrease and employment as well. A heavy price for this regulatory change will be paid which is an increase in the number of unemployed people by 4. 6 million by 2015. Also the US should abide by NSFR requirement by greater reliance on longer-term wholesale funding rather than short-term. Second, the Euro Zone, the largest banking system in the world with a total asset of â‚ ¬31. 1 trillion at the end of 2009, will incur huge costs by implementing Basel III. By applying Basel III requirements the nominal GDP of the Euro Zone will end up about â‚ ¬853 billion lower by 2020 with a cumulative loss of 4. 5% of the average annual GDP growth. As a result the Euro Zone will have about 4. 8 million less jobs being created over the coming years. All these compulsory restraints on the banks are enough to keep the economy in a recession over the year 2014. This implies a loss in the nominal income and consequently a loss in tax revenue about â‚ ¬300 billion (3% of GDP). In addition, when banks boost their holdings of liquid assets and improve their risk weighted capital ratios, this means that they will favor banks lending to governments, which will cause a greater allocation of bank lending toward governments, and crowds out lending to the private sector. Besides, Basel III proposal will have a negative twist to bank credit flows to Emerging Europe (OECD2) in the years ahead as lending them will incur more charges allocated to credit and because maintaining operations in Emerging Europe would become more and more expensive. The third developed country is Japan which will suffer the less from applying these regulatory changes this is because Japan’s banking system stood relatively stable through crisis and the disorder in the Japanese money market was minimal compared to others as they learnt from their crisis of 1980s. The regulatory measures that the Japanese took in the last decade would serve as a good road map for applying Basel III. According to Basel III the Japanese banks should increase their capital by issuing extra ? 15 trillion of Tier 1 (common) equity during the five coming years, but they will face a problem which is that Japanese investors prefer buying debt instruments rather than equity and also the low profitability of Japanese banks makes the issuance of more common stocks unattractive to them. This means that banks would pay a high cost, as they will be forced to cut their balance sheets and downside deflation risks. Banks will also impose higher fees, require additional costs for financial operations, and they may as well reduce their size and their balance sheets by reducing repos, loans, trading assets and securities, which will affect pricing negatively. In addition, the Japanese economy will be negatively affected, as their average cumulative annual growth would decrease by 1. 5% by 2020 and their number of unemployed people will increase. The cost of Basel III implementation will be multiplied by the effect of the weaker growth in credit and nominal income that will consequently weaken tax revenue (loss of 0. 6% of GDP) and compound the Japanese government’s budget deficit and debt difficulties and will deepen deflation risk in Japan as well. Although Japan is the least country affected by this regulatory changes but the price they will pay seem to be price significant especially for an economy where the banking system did not perform poorly through the recent crisis, or reveal itself to be a source of global systemic risk. Not only developed countries will incur the costs of Basel III but also developing countries will do as well including Egypt. Most emerging market banking system are going to incur lower costs than mature markets that’s because their banking systems are well capitalized and maintain ratios of regulatory capital to risk-weighted assets well above the current 8% minimum of the Basel II requirements. Egypt exceeded the minimum capital requirements of Basel II (8% of RWA), as its capital requirement was 11. % of RWA, which may help it to have an easier time to abide by Basel III. That’s why an increase in the minimum requirement of two percentage points, to 10% of risk- weighted assets would not appear to be a significant burden on the Egyptian banking systems that is currently quite well capitalized. However a price should also be paid by the Egyptian banking system, as it has to increase it common stock from 3. 6% of RWA to 4. 5% of RWA which means that investors will get a lower return in comparison their high risk (lower profit by share). As the majority of banks won’t be able to issue more capital, they will be obliged to decrease their RWA by having less banking services, by downsizing their branches, reducing their assets, decreasing their lending and imposing higher fees. Also Egypt will be challenged to meet the net stable funding rule requirements (NSFR), which may lead to an increase in its banks’ overall funding costs. Besides, the potential application of a leverage ratio to off-balance sheet assets such as letters of credit and guarantee for small and medium- sized enterprises and trade finance instruments could have a penalizing effect. Moreover, because Egypt has unstable economic conditions it needs to increase its countercyclical buffer from 0% to 2. 5% of RWA in order to account for any recession and it needs to raise its new conservation buffer from 0% to 2. 5% of RWA. These figures mean that Egypt would be obliged to raise its total capital by around 3. 5% of RWA in additional capital which will reflect in a decrease of Egypt’s GDP by 6% over 2013 to 2019. Egypt will incur an additional cost of Basel III because of the compounded effects generated by the indirect effects of Basel III application. Lending to emerging markets such as Egypt became a costly job for mature markets economies (lending to NON OECD costs 50% risk), which may result in a shortage of Egypt’s liquidity and indirectly inflation pressure would be untamable for food prices. Unfortunately, I have to say that after the glamorous revolution of the 25th of January Egypt’s costs of implementing Basel III will dramatically increase. Because the revolution resulted in a decrease in the Egyptian GDP y 6% in few months, the central bank is using aggressive monetary policy to increase consumption by â€Å"increasing lending† which will consequently cause a higher RWA and will put Egypt in a deeper trouble to apply Basel III requirements. Egypt will pay a triple cost, first the above stated costs of Basel III implementation, then the indirect costs caused by the mature markets who will decrease their lending to Egypt and finally the cost of the revolution that lowered our credit rating from a BB- to BBB+ (junk) which will increase our cost of borrowing from other nations. In my own opinion, Egyptians should wake up, stop riding and start building their economy by hard work, which should be reflected in a high productivity rate that allows firms to increase their sizes instead of downsizing and generating job opportunities. I think the central bank of Egypt (CBE) should start by giving all its attention to solve the current crisis and should seek the Basel committee and beg them to giving Egypt a larger period of implementation in order to be able to meet their requirements. To restructure the current situation of Egypt, the CBE should start by seeking a source of funding in order to satisfy the basic human needs of food and shelter. The CBE could seek the IMF and large donors and urge them to take long term loans in order to rescue the current situation and avoid hunger. Another way to raise funding is to issue bonds in the stock market (unconventional monetary policy tool). This way CBE could obtain some necessary liquidity to import the needed food and to pump more money in the market to create a money illusion so that people start spending. Second, the CBE should start solving the real problem of the Egyptians, which is poor income distribution by giving higher return for post office depositors and by extending their loans. Another way to have a better redistribution of wealth is to enhance the SMES to enlarge their investment and open up new job opportunities by enhancing commercial banks to lend them with low credit rate. I personally think that pumping money in the hand of poor people, although it is a costly process to raise salaries, but it is a rewarding one as the poor population is the one that will use the increase in wealth in consumption rather than savings and hence increase GDP growth. On the long run, after stability takes place in Egypt, huge reforms will be needed in order to rebuild the Egyptian economic system. A decrease in the inflation rate would be recommended. Ã' CBE could use its two conventional monetary olicy tools, which are to decrease the discount rate and the LRR to encourage banks to give loans with lower interest rates, and to minimize the inflation rise hence enhancing consumption and increasing investment and as a result a rise in the GDP will take place. Using aggressive monetary policy can help alleviate the current situation but only a fundamental reform of the educational system, and an efficient allocation of resources would help Egypt to take place among developed countries one day. Egypt is a country with rich resources and with a high labor force that if used efficiently could form a developed nation.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Countries Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Countries Analysis - Assignment Example SOUTH AFRICA LABOUR ISSUES Labor force in South Africa has increased since the days of Apartheid. During Apartheid, most of the Blacks were working in the informal sector and mostly provided unskilled labor. In 1994 and 1995, officials revised employment statistics to join into national accounts employment in the former black homelands which were home to almost one-half of the black South African population subject to the revisions, in mid 1995, the government estimated the national work force to 14.3 million people.1 Section 23 of the Constitution of South Africa2 provides for labor relations that everyone has the right to fair labor practices, right to join a trade union and the right to engage in collective bargaining. In 1997, the country3 adopted a new constitution which set out the regulations and basic conditions of employment and the labor laws were to comply with the Republic. The Act applies to all employees save for the members of the National Defense Force, the National I ntelligence Agency, the Secret Service and unpaid volunteers. Section 7 of the Act gives the proviso for regulation of working times. It goes ahead to provide for the allowed rest period to include a rest period of at least 12 hours between ending and recommencing works daily. WAGES An employee must provide written particulars of employment before commencing employment which include place of work; designation of job; the rate payable for overtime and the employee wages. An employer has a duty to pay an employee remuneration that is paid in form of money, the payment has to be calculated by reference to the several hours the employee works, that is 45 hours a week, or 9 hours a day. Notice of termination has to be given to the employee some months or days before an employee is dismissed, this is provided for in the Act. The state enacted Labor Relations Acti which has undergone numerous amendments to change the law governing labor relations and, to give effect to section 27 of the Co nstitution. The Act regulates the rights of the organization; it regulates the rights of the trade unions; it promotes and facilitates collective bargaining at the workplace and at the sector level. The Labor Act also provides for the legal effect of collective agreements, Disputes about collective agreements, Agency shop agreements, Closed shop agreements, Establishment of bargaining councils, Powers and functions of bargaining council, Registration of bargaining councils and the Constitution of bargaining council. LABOR AND POLITICS South African Industrial development had relied on an abundance of low-wage labor for centuries in order to ensure profits,4 but as time went by, economic and social problems associated with implementing apartheid emerged. The development of new technologies during the 1960s and 1970s made most industries to increase their capital stock so that they could invest in machinery and employ a few skilled technicians rather than adopt a labor intensive metho d that would need training and managing a large work force. The trend towards capital-intensive operations led to a lower labor costs and increased productivity. As a result, there was an increased rate of unemployment and poverty which fueled resentment and this made the government to raise the costs of preserving apartheid. Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) was establishment in 1985 by 1990ii more than

Friday, September 27, 2019

Should human cloning be banned Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Should human cloning be banned - Research Paper Example The future of cloning depends totally on the new researches which are being done. Cloning so far has not been successful as it was expected. A sheep dolly was cloned in the year 1996 and it was considered as one of the most successful cloning experiment on an animal. Cloning has never showed any positive results on human beings. Cloning has been approved by many scientists and groups who argue that it holds the potential for many benefits for human beings and can serve to provide results and treatments that other methods have failed to provide. On the other hand, cloning has been rejected on the basis of ethical considerations. It has faced social as well as religious criticism owing to many reasons which include the fact that cloning has not yielded any major benefits as yet and also it serves to challenge the normal working and equilibrium of the world. Cloning has received much publicity after its breakthrough of cloning an animal sheep Dolly in the year 1996 which provided hope in the technique to uphold the fact that it could yield major benefits to mankind that he himself was not aware of. Many scientists supported this technique and believed that it could actually work in areas of the medical and scientific field where other research had failed. Cloning is believed to be a method which can serve to treat many pathological conditions and enhance the quality of life of human beings. It is presented by scientists that cloning holds the potential of providing clones of organs of the body as well as blood which can assist in organ transplantation as well as blood transfusions. These procedures can serve as life saving measures for patients whose organs completely stop functioning or function in an improper way. It is also analyzed that cloning can be beneficial for infertile couples and assist them in having their own genetic child ren. It is also widely believed that certain diseases which include cancer can be

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Causes and Effects of Climate Change Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Causes and Effects of Climate Change - Assignment Example According to the research findings, it can, therefore, be said that the stratosphere has been identified as an atmospheric layer which is essential for survival on Earth because it contains ozone gas (O3) which forms the ozone layer protecting the earth from ultraviolet radiations of the Sun. The depletion of this ozone layer can lead to the entry of these harmful radiations into the surface of the earth and these radiations have many harmful effects which range from DNA and RNA damage in humans to the disturbance of even the marine life. Thinning of this layer has been found to be associated with skin cancers, cataracts, and weakening of the immunity. It can damage the ecological balance because it will not only disturb marine life but there is evidence that it might even affect crops. The stratosphere is sensitive to atmospheric pollutants which include chlorofluorocarbons, chlorocarbons, and halon compounds. Because of increased environmental pollution and the emission of these ha rmful compounds into the atmosphere by the industries and other sources which include the emissions from cars, refrigerators, air conditioners and aerosols, the stratospheric ozone has been depleting gradually. The reason behind this is that these gases react with the ozone gas and initiate a cascade which destroys numerous ozone molecules. The greenhouses gases constitute less than one percent of the atmosphere. They include carbon dioxide, ozone, and water vapor. Thirty percent of the solar energy is reflected back before it even enters the last surface of the earth and a significant amount of energy that reaches the earth is also reflected back. This energy is the infrared radiation. This radiation is taken up by the greenhouse gases before it escapes the troposphere thus leading to a warming effect which is known as the greenhouse effect.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The five to seven most important things about computer networks that Essay

The five to seven most important things about computer networks that should be understood by everyone who uses one - Essay Example Every computer user should have a basic understanding of the 'Error Message'. The man that got his first computer with AOL spent most of his afternoon running down his driveway when the computer kept announcing that, 'You've got mail'. It took almost as long as the user who spent hours looking for the 'Any' key when the message said "Press Any Key To Continue". All this time could have been saved by requiring new computer users to take a short course in computer messages. Understanding the error messages is almost as important as learning to communicate with the technical people. An important time saving tip for computer users would be to invest in a tech support to English dictionary. Learning the basic lingo of the geek squad would be invaluable in improving communications (Strange user requests, 2006). Users may tend to interpret tech support literally and confuse the meaning of everyday words such as 'frozen', 'mouse', or 'boot'. Who knows what 'LAN', 'OS', or 'USB' stands for A quick reference card placed near the computer screen could help the user decode the special language of tech support. Reducing calls to tech support could also be accomplished by giving computer users a basic course in hooking up a computer and eliminating static electricity. If a keyboard does not respond, there is some likelihood that the cable has come disconnected. The simplest and most common cables are the power cord, mouse, LAN cable, and keyboard. It would be a simple task to check these before using the scarce resources of tech support. In addition, static electricity has been cited a primary cause of computer lockup or failure (Miastkowski, 2002). A few minutes of instruction on reducing the risk of static could potentially save thousands of dollars worth of computing equipment. While some computer knowledge will save time and money, there are other things that a user should know to keep their information secure. Using passwords on key information is mandatory, but is of little use if the password is given out to fellow employees or friends. In addition, the password should be something that is not easily deciphered. It is also critical to know what to put a password on. Network users will often be unaware that many of their personal files may be accessed by any user on the network. Users should have an understanding of how a basic network operates and where the information is stored. This would help users understand just how vulnerable their private information can be on a network. Simple passwords and a basic understanding of computer networks can eliminate the threat from prying eyes. However, it can do little to dissuade the dangers posed by the malicious hacker. Users need to be fully aware of the threat posed by viruses, spyware, and other forms of 'mal-ware'. Security software needs to be installed and updated regularly. Out of date security software is vulnerable to attacks from the latest version of a virus. Users also must be sure that the software is active and the firewall is turned on. Hackers that take advantage of systems that are not running security software can do irreparable harm to an individual or a corporation. In conclusion, the tips listed for basic computer skills may seem blatantly obvious to any intermediate level user.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

PORTFOLIO THEORY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

PORTFOLIO THEORY - Essay Example One of the important implications of the efficient market hypothesis is that portfolio selection does not make for superior investment results; rather, the achievement of high returns is more properly related to the additional risk than to superior stock-selection ability. Although many fundamental and technical analysts would want to take issue with this claim, still many theoreticians believe that this is correct and would be able to cite empirical research findings to support their views. When considering risk, one would want to consider different scenarios about the future and assign probabilities to each one. Normally, companies would thrive when the economy is booming. But there are exceptions. For example, some investments would fare badly during during recessions , and others would thrive under such conditions (such as gold production). It is a good idea, therefore to give weights to alternative possible scenarios and to arrive at a single figure called the Expected Value. Risk for any stock or security is measured by the standard deviation around a given expected value. Where there is wide dispersion of possible outcomes, the standard deviation would be larger, implying more risks. It is common knowledge that the greater the variability of returns, the less certain the actual outcomes would be; so one would prefer less dispersion and variability in the returns for a particular stock. The single figure called the standard deviation provides a clue as to the risk of a particular stock, and stocks could therefore be compared on the basis of its size. For two-asset portfolio of a stock (or projects, as deal with in the attached case), one tries to obtain, firstly the weighted average of the expected returns, and, secondly, the portfolio standard deviation. The two stocks that are combined will interact in such a way that the risk of the two-asset

Monday, September 23, 2019

Australian Occupational Health & Safety BSBOHS406C Use equipment to Essay

Australian Occupational Health & Safety BSBOHS406C Use equipment to conduct workplace monitoring - Essay Example A high increase in the level of noise will lead to hearing loss in human beings. When workers are exposed to a noisy environment, it leads to stress and anxiety in them, so the employees are unable to give their full concentrate towards their job. Noise levels were measured with the sound level meter at various locations along the workshop fenced perimeter, along the exterior walls at door openings of the main workshop and internally at various centralised points (Oceanic Steel Workshops Noise Level Survey, 8 Kay McDuff Drive, Bundaberg Q 4670, 5th March 2009 Audit undertaken /3/2009: authorised K Philips, Director, page 3). In a particular work area, one can conduct noise audit by placing measuring devices/ meter in various sections of the workplace. Hearing problems in workers can be reduced by using ear muffs. Industries that produce unbearable noise must be based away from public places (hospital, school etc) so that the surroundings remain normal. For the survey, a Bruel & Kjear (BK) Type 2237 â€Å"Controller† Integrating Sound Level Meter (Calibration due 19/5/2010) was used at the time of audit and calibrated prior to the exercise with a BK Type 4230 Sound Level Calibrator set @ 93.8 ( ±3) dB (A) (page 3). ... Light is produced through pipe work, welding, grinding and cutting of metal sheets. There is a relation between noise and light within the industry. When a task is being done e.g.: grinding and cutting of a metal sheet, such activities require light in odder to work and this further produces noise. According to a fact in Australian industries â€Å"that a number of internal readings exceed 75 or 80 dB (A) would be sufficient reason to apply a basic enforcement ruling on hearing protection if necessary, upgrade the ruling based upon further noise level monitoring results† (Page 5). If the power tools are not handled with care, it may cause harm to the employees such as loss of life. Interior light is very vital to a firm, since most of the task is carried on with its help. Australian Standards documentation and/or Code of Practice and instrument of safe level of oxygen in a confined space: A confined space refers to the hazards associated with a set of specific circumstances (C onfined space, Code of Practice 2011, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, Department of Justice and Attorney-General, page 5) not since work is done in a small area. People cannot work in a confined space because it causes a lot of danger and since a confined space is a small area, which has no ventilation, there is no inflow of safe level of oxygen and this causes a hazardous atmosphere. Workers working in such an area face a lot of trouble and danger, as their work is a highly risky one. Air normally contains 21% of oxygen by volume, although oxygen levels of 19.5% — 23.5% by volume are considered to be safe. Some situations can cause the level of oxygen to dramatically decrease, leading to an oxygen-deficient atmosphere and possible

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The efforts required in an intercultural marriage Essay Example for Free

The efforts required in an intercultural marriage Essay In an intercultural relationship there are more efforts and dedication that are required from the two individuals. This is due to the fact that miscommunication is a common scenario. Even the simplest factors can be the cause of misunderstandings. What is the norm of a person can be unacceptable to the other. These aspects are not limited to significant issues such as religion, norms, values, financial issues, social status, and the outlook in like specially those dealing with the nurturing and developing of the children. Issues also revolve around simple subjects and points of discussion such as the food, the duties of the couple, the clothes, the priorities, and even the friends and the social activities (Romano, 1997). These factors describe every aspect of the life that is being shared by the couple. In this view that defines a variety of facet that has a high percentage of divergence, it can be viewed that misinterpretation is inevitable. Thus, the couple exerts an extra amount of work to be able to completely understand each other and attain a successful marriage. Success in terms of marriage can be equated to the contentment and fulfillment that an individual can achieve from a relationship. Intercultural relationship is a complex process due to the fact that the success of the relationship is a product of the interplay of the complex factors associated with the dissimilar origin. This can be supported by the study conducted on the achievement of intercultural marriages taken the effect of religion. Results generated showed that even in cases wherein the couples are of the same religion, which lessens the incurred differences, the coupes that are belonging to the same race and culture are comparatively more successful. Thus, in terms of the observable parameter used, these couples have less arguments and misunderstandings (Fu, Kendall, and Tora, 2001). Another significant consideration is the pressure that can be generated by the relationship to the women. This is in relation to the roles that they have to carry out in an intercultural marriage (Fu, Kendall, and Tora, 2001). Women are commonly the one to conform in the culture and tradition of the men. The society is composed of an intricate web of interpersonal relationship. In cases such as this, the norms and traditions even in an advanced era oftentimes dictate that the women are the one to adjust to the tradition of the society from which the men belong. Women appease to this set-up due to the strong sense of duty that is given to the norms of the family (Romano, 1997). Although as the results of the study have shown that women usually take a bigger role and experience a higher degree of change in their personal life, both parties have to sacrifice a part of their well being to be able to attain a compromise and achieve a successful life together. Norms and traditions are essential part of every person’s well being and compromising in an intercultural relationship may also mean losing a part of one’s way of life. Thus, it is a struggle to maintain this type interpersonal relationship. One of the struggles that can be encountered is unconventional traditions than can be unacceptable and detestable to the partner. In cases such as this additional communication and ultimately understanding is required. Communication is necessary due to the fact performing such activities and practices are common to the partner and cannot be viewed negatively, thus, any harm done to the other person was not consciously performed. Intercultural communication is an essential and vital element in the relationship of individuals in the society and the world. It applies to every conversation, every transactions and every variation in character and culture, thus, it is worth a try to be able to attain the wanted intercultural marriage success and contentment (Casmir, 1997). Conclusion Based on the result of the research conducted, there is an increase in the efforts that is required from couples of different norms and traditions to be able to attain success in an intercultural marriage. This means a comparatively more trials and obstacles to overcome on every aspect of the relationship and each individual’s personal being. This can be trying and tedious endeavor but success is not impossible and achieving a lasting and worthwhile relationship is worth all the risk. References Bacas, J. L. (2003). Cross-border marriages and the formation of Transnational Families: A case study of Greek-German couples in Athens WPTC-02-10. Transnational Communities Programme. Retrieved July 3, 2006 from http://www. transcomm. ox. ac. uk/working%20papers/WPTC-02-10%20Bacas. pdf Casmir, F. L. (1997). Ethics in Intercultural and International Communication. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Constable, N. (2003). Romance on a Global Stage: Pen Pals, Virtual Ethnography, and Mail-Order Marriages. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Fu, X. , Kendall, H. , and Tora, J. (2001) Marital Happiness and Inter-Racial Marriage: A Study in a Multi-Ethnic Community in Hawaii. University of Calgary. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 32 (1), 47. Romano, D. (1997). Intercultural Marriage: Promises Pitfalls. Washington, DC: Intercultural Press.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Importance Of Sociology As A Field Of Study Essay Example for Free

Importance Of Sociology As A Field Of Study Essay Sociology as a field of study attempts to explain the relationship between an individual and society. Sociological theories are a tool used to explain sociological problems and social structures. (Blumer, 1969) Societies can be viewed as organic structures. This was first explained by Parsons and Durkheim as they developed structural theories. These theories can be applied in education i. e. how students view education. Societies can also be viewed as economic structures. Under this concept, falls the conflict theory developed by Carl Marx. Marx looked at a number of theories that attempt to explain how people’s lives are shaped by social structures. Other theories that share a similar perspective are the functionalist theories. Societies can also be looked as social action. This implies that society shapes how people view themselves. In line with this perspective, sociologists came up with the idea of symbolic interactionism. There are also other ideas that go hand in hand with this idea i. e. GH mead. Lastly, one must apply all the sociological theories stated above and many others that have not been mentioned. For example one can consider Medicalisation of society’s problems. This can be explained by a number of sociological theories like: Marx’s theories, interactionist theories and Durkheiman’ theories. Importance of sociology as a field of study Conflict theory Sociology assists in explaining social change. It helps us to understand what the role of the individual is in changing society. This is best explained by the Conflict theory. This theory does not have only one name connoted to it although the founder of the theory was Karl Marx. There are various regions in the world where sociologists elaborated on this theory. Some of these sociologists are; †¢ Ralf Dahrendorf – Germany †¢ Ludwig Gumpolvicz – Germany †¢ Lewis Coser and Collins – USA †¢ Max Gluchman and Rex – UK (Garfinkel, 1967) The conflict theory’s main idea is that there exists a constant struggle in society and every entity in society is trying to make the most of their reimbursement consequently bringing about social change. This change can come in form of revolutions or it may be political. It focuses on coercion by groups and individuals to alter or control others’ actions. The theory helps us to understand why ideologies like socialism and capitalism. There is a constant struggle within society for paybacks. This theory can be viewed from two angles. The first angle is a radical one; society will forever in conflict while the second angle is that conflict combines with struggle to make up society. This moderate angle is best explained by the functionalism. The latter mentioned theory postulates that every member of society has a specific role to play. Conflict theory can best be perceived as a pyramid. Influential people are at the top and they impose their will upon less powerful people who happen to be the majority. This implies that people in power are taken to be superior and they are the ones responsible for modern day laws, institutions and traditions. This theory can be stretched to explain how morality or deviance is defined. The powerful individuals in society label deeds or actions as immoral if those actions challenge their influence and power. Conflict theory also attempts to explain stratification in society but from an individualistic point of view. It looks at individuals needs instead of society’s needs as a whole. Every individual tries to struggle for respect, goods and services as well as power; these e all very scarce. In this light therefore, individuals belong to organisations that represent their own interests. The theory views organisations as entities that are mostly influenced by external rather than internal factors. (Goffman, 1958) In the theory, there are a number of conflicts that fall under. These include; †¢ Class †¢ Race and ethnicity †¢ Gender †¢ Religion Marx believed that class conflict was caused by differential ownership of property. However, this theory was later challenged by other sociologists who believed that there is more to class than property ownership. These sociologists believe that this is only one aspect. Racial conflict has its root cause in differential power. According to the theory, superior races are those one who are well endowed with power, prestige and education. There are four basic assumptions in this theory. The first is that there is inequality in society’s structures, secondly there is revolution as a result of struggle between a numbers of social classes, thirdly there is competition for resources and lastly war exists to unify or divide society. Conflict can take the form of a strike where workers struggle to gain back control after it has been taken from them by their employers. Another form of a conflict could be through wars. Wars usually represent clashes between social classes. Taking the case of military coups, this is an example of a conflict between the main population and the military. (Durkheim, 1915) Ethnomethodology Ethnomethodology is the study of how people interpret their social world. This theory has its history back in the mid twentieth century and was founded by Garfinkel who was an American sociologist. The theory is quite different form other well known theories. This theory is founded on the fact that there is no order in society; society is chaotic or has the potential to be chaotic. According to the theory, any semblance of order is created by the minds of actors within society it simply does not exist. This is in sharp contrast to other well known theories. Social order may be defined as the systematic pattern of behaviour within society. It opposes the fact that actions are not thought out and are simply haphazard. Ethnomethodologists believe that individuals encounter several experiences in their lives. These individuals try to make sense of these encounters by placing them into a form of organised system. They believe in a documentary method. Here, individuals simply pick out certain events within a social situation and try to make sense of them. After they have organised those events into a pattern, then they use that pattern as a template to explain other situations that may arise. Garnfinkel used an experiment to demonstrate this theory. He got a number of students and instructed them to ask a supervisor about a number of issues on their mind. The students could not see the advisor but could talk to him. They asked him a number of questions and this advisor could only say yes or no. What the students did not know was the advisor was reading out a list of responses that did not match their questions in any way. It was found that most of the responses did not make logical sense but most of the students tried to interpret them nonetheless. They did not question the integrity of the advisor but they tried to compare past responses with present ones in order to come up with an orderly pattern. For example one of the students thought that he should quit school and asked the advisor this. The advisor told him ‘no’ and out of disbelief the student repeated this same question after which the advisor said ‘yes’. It was found that this particular student did not dismiss the advisor but tried to make sense of the situation. According to the theory, the students were trying to form sense out of senselessness. They were trying to turn chaos into order. Garfinkel introduces the idea of indexicality. This means that human beings have a tendency to index things that occur to them i. e. they always try to put things within a certain social context. They must relate it to other things that have occurred to them before or during a particular scene. For example, the interaction that took place between the students and the advisor followed a certain path because the students held the advisor in high esteem. This implies that if the student could see what was happening with the advisor behind the screen that had covered him, or if their classmates asked answered their questions, then their reactions would have been totally different. This is because the students would simply have formed another documentary. People who adhere to this theory believe that all human beings have preconceived notions about their daily lives. This means that if a sudden change was brought into someone’s life their reactions are quite different. This is justified by the fact that it would be very chaotic if we looked at things differently at all times. We must become familiar with some aspects of our lives so as to be able to Symbolic interactionism This theory has its history in the late nineteenth century. It was pioneered by a sociologist from Germany called Marx Weber. The theory is best known for its subjectivity rather than its objectivity. Interactionists focus on individuals rather than on society as a whole. They perceive human beings as creatures whose behaviours are reactive or subject to the approval of others. This is because all actions, according to them, are like symbolic actions which are interpreted differently according to one’s perspective. This theory also looks at human beings as symbolic objects who can think and react to situations. This means that individuals within a society are active participants of their society. They determine what happens to them. Sociologists adhering to this theory believe that we are not passive entities who must mould themselves to society’s rules and standards. This theory focuses on external issues and simple interactions. It cannot be used to interpret deeper social settings like capitalism. It is also quite crucial to note that this theory perceives society’s norms as transient and constantly changing. Stability and order in society is determined by negotiations. The systems themselves are not stable but the means by which these systems in society are created is stable. (Merton, 1968) The theory therefore points one on the direction of roles played by people in society. The theory places importance in role making and role taking. This means that individuals must put themselves in a certain perspective in order to understand another person’s point of view. Studies on interactionism are therefore done through active role taking. This is because they believe that one must interact thoroughly with another party in order to understand the reason why they made their decision. However critics have claimed that the theory is too narrow and cannot be applied to macro situations. It has also been criticised for its impressionism during research methods. (George, 1964) Functionalism The theory was pioneered by a French sociologist called Emile Durkheim back in the mid to late nineteenth century. This theory compares the individual with his/her society and also scientific method of analysing society. This implies that one can be able to study the social world using observation and analysis. It also assumes that studies of society can be done freely and without any bias. Another crucial aspect of the theory is the organic aspect of society. It compares society to an organism. That there are various parts of the body that each has their own function. This is analogous to society and its members. It is also important to note the homeostatic nature of interactions. This theory looks at society as a system that must remain in equilibrium. Any deviation from this is corrected by a number of mechanisms like gossip or even imprisonment depending on the scenario. Conclusion Interactionists believe that social order is continuously remade as people interact. Social order is not static and changes with time. Functionalists believe that order within society exists as a result of an agreement between members of society. That is collective behavioural patterns that are regarded as the norm in society. Again, the theory strongly affirms that social order does exist. Marxists believe that social order is created from a struggle to gain control of limited resources while ethnomethodologists mould situations to fit into a certain behavioural pattern. All these theories attempt to explain why human beings behave the way the do either as individuals or as a group on a macro scale. This is the essence of sociology.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Analysis of Management and Leadership in Barclays Bank

Analysis of Management and Leadership in Barclays Bank Barclays Bank  has an extensive presence in Europe, the United States, Africa and Asia, providing a wide range of services for both individuals and businesses. Barclays has a long history that extends over three hundred years, and from its central office in London, it oversees operations that extend to fifty countries and more than 155,000 employees. Barclays Bank  lends, invests and moves money for more than 48 million people all over the world. The earliest roots of Barclays go back to 1690, when Thomas Gould and John Freame started operating as Goldsmith Bankers in central London. Seventy years later, Goldsmith Bankers moved into a large banking house, and subsequently joined up with nineteen other private banking concerns under the name Barclays and Company Limited, which provided the bank with a combination of 182 branches as well as deposits amounting a massive  £26 million. At this point in time, Barclays and Company was well connected to the community through family and religious links; hence Barclays and Company was often called the Quaker Bank. At the turn of the twentieth century, the Barclays and Company started expanding rapidly, taking over notable banks such as the Bolithos Bank in the South west of England and the United Counties Bank in the Midlands. By 1918, Barclays and Company had combined with London Bank South Western Bank and Provincial Bank to become one of the UKs five biggest banks. By 1925 Barclays had become a truly international organisation with the merger of the Colonial Bank, the Anglo Egyptian Bank and the National Bank of South Africa. This led to a great deal of business through the Middle East, Africa, and the West Indies. Barclays Bank has always been an innovative company. In 1966 Barclays became the first bank to offer a UK Credit card. The following year it was the first bank in the world to offer cash machines to its customers and by 1972, it had become the first bank to try TV advertising. Barclays Bank became the first UK bank to have shares listed on the Tokyo and New York Stock Exchanges in the late twentieth century, and consequently it moved into a high paced exchange whereby in 2006 a full 50% of its profits were being made outside of the UK. Recent developments Reuters  later reported that the  British government  would inject  £40 billion ($69 billion) into three banks including Barclays, which might seek over  £7 billion.  Barclays later confirmed that it rejected the Governments offer and would instead raise  £6.5 billion of new capital ( £2 billion by cancellation of dividend and  £4.5 billion from private investors). In January 2009 the press reported that further capital may be required and that while the government might be willing to fund this, it may be unable to do so because the previous capital investment from the Qatari state was subject to a proviso that no third party might put in further money without the  Qataris  receiving compensation at the value the shares had commanded in October 2008. In March 2009 it was reported that in 2008, Barclays received billions of dollars from its insurance arrangements with  AIG, including $8.5bn from funds provided by the United States to bail out AIG. On 12 June 2009, Barclays sold its Global Investors unit, which includes its exchange traded fund business,  iShares, to  BlackRock  for $13.5bn. Standard Life sold Standard Life Bank plc to Barclays plc in October 2009. The sale completed on 1 January 2010. On 11 November 2009, Barclays and First Data, a global technology provider of information commerce, have entered into a agreement according to which Barclays will migrate a range of card portfolios to First Datas issuing and consumer finance platform. On February 13, 2010 Barclays announced it would pay more than  £2 billion in bonuses. INTRODUCTION OF LEADERSHIP Leadership is all about harnessing people power for the attainment of a desired goal and thus the concept of leadership cannot be restricted to the Organizational context. It pervades through all realms of society, whether it be in politics, religion or the corporate world. DEFINITION OF LEADERSHIP We can define leadership as: â‚ ¬Ã‚  The activity of influencing people to strive willingly for group objectives.George R. Terry. â‚ ¬Ã‚  It is interpersonal influence exercised in a situation and directed through the communication process towards the attainment of specialized goals. Robert Tannenbaum. â‚ ¬Ã‚  Leadership is influencing people to follow in the achievement of a common goal Koontz ODonnell. â‚ ¬Ã‚  Leadership is the process whereby one individual influences other group members towards the attainment of defined group or organizational goals. Baron Greenberg The above definitions as is evident all pertain to the Western views. This is because leadership as a formalized field of study and analysis with a structured syllabus has not yet been established in India as it is in the West. LEADERSHIP THEORIES GREAT MAN THEORY Great Man theories assume that the capacity for leadership is inherent that great leaders are born not made. These theories often portray great leaders as heroic, mythic and destined to rise to leadership when needed. The term Great Man was used because, at the time, leadership was thought of primarily as a male quality, especially in terms of military leadership. TRAIT THEORY Similar in some ways to Great Man theories, trait theory assumes that people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership. Trait theories often identify particular personality or behavioral characteristics shared by leaders. But if particular traits are key features of leadership, how do we explain people who possess those qualities but are not leaders? This question is one of the difficulties in using trait theories to explain leadership. Several researchers have demonstrated that such traits of leadership do not always ensure successful leadership but they do place the possessor in higher esteem. It is also seen that hardly10% of the listed traits in over 100 such researchers appeared in 5 or more study. The trait approach has lead to selection procedure by written tests or preference tests. The Greatest defect of this theory is that we cannot have common or universal traits of leadership. CONTINGENCY THEORIES Contingency theories of leadership focus on particular variables related to the environment that might determine which particular style of leadership is best suited for the situation. According to this theory, no leadership style is best in all situations. Success depends upon a number of variables, including the leadership style, qualities of the followers and aspects of the situation. Contingency theory is a class of behavioral theory that claims that there is no best way to organize a corporation, to lead a company, or to make decisions. Instead, the optimal course of action is contingent (dependent) upon the internal and external situation. Several contingency approaches were developed concurrently in the late 1960s. They suggested that previous theories such as Webers bureaucracy and Taylors management had failed because they neglected that management style and organizational structure were influenced by various aspects of the environment: the contingency factors. There could no t be one best way for leadership or organization. Historically, contingency theory has sought to formulate broad generalizations about the formal structures that are typically associated with or best fit the use of different technologies. The perspective originated with the work of Joan Woodward (1958), who argued that technologies directly determine differences in such organizational attributes as span of control, centralization of authority, and the formalization of rules and procedures. SITUATIONAL THEORIES Situational theories propose that leaders choose the best course of action based upon situational variables. Different styles of leadership may be more appropriate for certain types of decision-making. These approach places more emphasis on the characteristics of the specific situation or environment in which the leader is operating. Qualities for leadership vary with the situation or circumstances and that any traits or skill can become a quality of leadership in the right situation. BEHAVIORAL THEORIES Behavioral theories of leadership are based upon the belief that great leaders are made, not born. Rooted in behaviorism, this leadership theory focuses on the actions of leaders not on mental qualities or internal states. According to this theory, people can learn to become leaders through teaching and observation. PARTICIPATIVE THEORIES Participative leadership theories suggest that the ideal leadership style is one that takes the input of others into account. These leaders encourage participation and contributions from group members and help group members feel more relevant and committed to the decision-making process. In participative theories, however, the leader retains the right to allow the input of others MANAGEMENT THEORIES Management theories (also known as Transactional theories) focus on the role of supervision, organization and group performance. These theories base leadership on a system of rewards and punishments. Managerial theories are often used in business; when employees are successful, they are rewarded; when they fail, they are reprimanded or punished. RELATIONSHIP THEORIES Relationship theories (also known as Transformational theories) focus upon the connections formed between leaders and followers. Transformational leaders motivate and inspire people by helping group members see the importance and higher good of the task. These leaders are focused on the performance of group members, but also want each person to fulfill his or her potential Leaders with this style often have high ethical and moral standards. LEADERSHIP STYLE Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. The U.S. Army Handbook, 1973 identifies three styles of leadership: AUTHORITARIAN OR AUTOCRATIC PARTICIPATIVE OR DEMOCRATIC DELEGATIVE OR FREE REIGN Although good leaders use all three styles, with one of them normally dominate, bad leaders tend to stick with one style. Barclays bank is using all these three leadership styles. AUTHORITARIAN OR AUTICRATIC This style is used when the leader tells his employees what he wants done and how he wants it done, without getting the advice of his followers. Some of the appropriate conditions to use it are when you have all the information to solve the problem, you are short on time, and your employees are well motivated. Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, using demeaning language, and leading by threats and abusing their power. This is not the authoritarian style rather, it is an abusive, unprofessional style called bossing people around. It has no place in a leaders repertoire. The authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare occasions. If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your employees, then you should use the participative style. PARTICIPATIVE OR DEMOCRATIC This type of style involves the leader including one or more employees in on the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness; rather its a sign of strength that your employees will respect. This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts. A leader is not expected to know everything this is why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this style is of mutual benefit it allows the employees to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions. DELEGATIVE OR FREE REIGN Also known as laissez faire, which is the non interference in the affairs of others. In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decision. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks. This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong; rather this is a style to be used when you have the full trust and confidence in the people below you. One should not be afraid to use it, however, to be effective, it must be used wisely! There are a number of different approaches, or styles to leadership and management that are based on different assumptions and theories. The style that individuals use will be based on a combination of their beliefs, values and preferences, as well as the organizational culture and norms, which will encourage some, and discourage others. In this context, the various approaches could also be classified under the following heads. CHRISMATIC LEADERSHIP PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP TRANFOMATIONAL LEADERSHIP THE QUIET LEADERSHIP SERVANT LEADERSHIP CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THE ORGANIZATION DECIDE TO IMPLEMNT THE CHANGE Organizations have to face different challenges in this changing environment like Absence of group skills The most important this in any organization is to set skills that would enhance its effectiveness. Todays business environment keeps on changing and in this changing environment the one who is skilled would survive. Its the responsibility of manager to motivate others for positive change and would build the team that work according to the change. In this rapid changing environment its not easy for manager to prepare other members accepts the need for change. He helps them to understand the new techniques and methods. You may get lot of good ideas but the real thing is to translate those ideas into the accepted ways. The success of any change depends on the acceptance of the ways. Lack of motivation and morale To maximize motivation among employees, manager needs to think in terms of flexibility. He needs to recognize what motivate his employees. A diverse array of rewards in needed to motivate employees. Managers most important goal is to help their employees developing their potential and they can do so by offering them developmental work assignments that provide a variety of learning experiences in different organizational areas. In 1980 Hackman point out the core dimensions of the job which include skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback A job requires a variety of activities so that an employee could use a number of different skills and talents. It requires completion of whole and identifiable piece of work and it has substantial impact on the lives or work of other people. If these things exist in a job then the person will view his or her job as being important, valuable, and worthwhile. Job that possess autonomy give the job incumbent a feeling of personal responsibility for the results, and that if a job provides feedback, the employee will know how effectively he or she is performing. From a motivational point of view, these core dimensions suggests that internal rewards are obtained when an employee learns that he or she personally has performed well on a task that he or she cares about. The more these conditions characterize a job, the grater the employees motivation, performance and satisfaction and the lower his or her absenteeism and likelihood or resigning. Individual with a high growth need are more like ly to experience the critical psychological states and respond positively when their jobs include the core dimensions than are low growth need individuals. Conflict management In an organization sometimes conflict arises among members. This conflict is not always bad sometimes its good because, with conflict the team member would get more information, they can deeply understand the problems and would give the most appropriate solutions as well. In the era of globalization teams identify conflicts and made the successful strategic decision without sacrificing the speed of task accomplishment. But most times conflict results in slowing down the task accomplishment speed and it would reduce the effectiveness of adopted strategy. One should identify what are main reasons of conflict? Few of them are personal differences with respect to perception and expectations, lack of information, uncertainty about roles. Following are few points that help to overcome conflict Always work with plenty of information. Facts should be mainly focused. Multiple alternatives should be developed. Everyone should have same goal. Inject humor into decision making process. Solve problems without forcing consensus. Maintain balanced power structure. Power and politics Power is the ability to control the environment. If the person has power he can decide and act. If an employee is empowered he can act without any directions. Sometimes empowerment becomes very much important for the organization. In any organization, where employees are empowered they are responsible for observing one another, correcting improper procedures. Managers are increasingly leading by empowering their employees. It involves increasing decision making discretion of employees. Millions of employees are making the key operating decisions that directly affect their work. They are engaged in activities that until very recently were viewed exclusively as a part of managers job. The reason why more companies empowering employees is the need for quick decisions by those people who are most knowledgeable about the issues. If organizations are to successfully compete in a dynamic global economy, they have to be able to make decisions and implement changes quickly. In order to cope w ith increased work demands managers has to empower their people. When employees have the skills, knowledge and experiences to do their jobs competently and when they seek autonomy and possess internal locus of control, it can be beneficial. Rapid changes Organizations are changing due to change in internal and external environment. In order to adjust to these changes organization has to be flexible. Diverse workforce Another issue faced by the organization is coordinating work efforts of diverse organizational members in accomplishing organizational goals. Todays organization are characterized by diverse workforce i.e. more heterogeneous in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, age and other characteristics that reflect differences. Organizations will require larger workforce to meet the demand of high potential market. Employees dont set aside their cultural values and lifestyle preferences when they come to work. The challenge for managers, therefore, is to make their organization more accommodating to diverse groups of people by addressing different lifestyles, family needs, and work styles. Smart managers recognize that diversity can be an asset because it brings a broad range of viewpoints and problem solving skills to a company, and additionally helps organizations better understand a diverse customer base. Globalization Management is no longer constrained by national borders. There is significant importance from globalization, and the world has definitely become the global village. Managers in organization of all sizes and types around the world have to confront the challenges of operating in the global market. Managers face challenges due to an array of environmental factor while doing business. He must effectively plan, organize, lead, control and manage cultural difference to be globally successfully. General obstacles in an organization Organization needs a wide variety of skills but sometimes it happens that the organization got skills but still it wont work as it supposed to. In many cases management is not sensitive to change. They are not creative enough to put the skills of employees at the best use. Lack of vision is one of the main obstacles that prevent organization to use its resource to the full. One should have the ability to identify the problems and find solutions. If the manager doesnt have the ability to identify the opportunities to success then this would be a barrier to growth. If the management is not able to identify the creative solutions then it will be a problem for the organization in the long run. Another problem that hinders the organizational growth is that not all members are able to cope with the changing environment. Every organization has certain norms and values and its members have to follow those norms and values. All members should be sensitive to change if the business is continuo usly changing every member should accommodate according to that change. EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT Effective management is about: Filling vacant positions with the knowledgeable and productive candidates. To increase productivity, high potentials should be promoted. To increase the efficiency of staff in their current role develop the staff. Retain the best employees to increase performance consistently. Employee empowerment is very much popular term now, it is important for the development and change of any organization. Empowering employees leads to the best results for the organization. Professional generally agrees that empowering employees will increase the productivity of organization and employees are committed and loyal to the organization. Empowered employees provide better products and services When employee is empowered he feels strong and becomes more confident. This confidence then leads to better products and services. For the development of organization and cope up with the changing nature of programs empowerment is critical. This would improve the performance and employees would take ownership of their jobs and the delivery of products and services to their clients. They serve customers at the level of organization where the customer interface exists. Empowered employees are committed and loyal Whatever the situation is, employers dont like high employee turnover, selection, and training is very expensive. During organizational change if employee empowered become the foundation of organizational development activities this would ensure the commitment and loyalty of employees. Empowered employees take pride and ownership in their jobs when they know that they can exercise independent judgment when needed. Empowered employees are productive When employees feel that they are valued and their decision are considered and management would listen to their ideas, they work harder to prove themselves right. Implementing organizational development program calls for incorporating ways to help employees. And this would increase productivity. Empowered employees generate good ideas Every employee got some ideas with himself. They might have different skills. If they are empowered they share their ideas and this can provide important insight into management development and change management decisions. They can generate different products by using innovative methods on regular basis. Organizations who really are interested in effective organizational development and change programs, they acknowledge and reward their employees and give feedback on regular basis. Empowered employees spread the word Employees pride would boost if they are empowered in organizational development and change program. The more empowered employees the more they are satisfied and they would more likely to spread the word how well the company is to others. We will further discuss this statement further by Barclays and Lehman Brothers Integration. Barclays and Lehman Brothers Integration Barclays the global financial services provider acquired the US Lehman Brothers in 2008 for the enhancement of its market. The critical issues occurred while the integration was the business disruption minimizing the clients transfer to other banks Different culture of both the businesses Motivation of the staff of Lehman brothers AS A CAHNGE AGENT Effective dealing of problems The first step to solve the problem is to identify the cause of problem. Sometimes problem can be solved by simple talking with employees such as minor attitude problems or occasional tardiness etc. In coaching manager has to deal one by one with the problem or he direct other employee to work with the employee to solve the issue between the two. It is the responsibility of leader to provide employee with feedback in order to improve their performance. Coaching requires time and patience and this will result in employees modified behavior. Poor performance Sometimes employee has skills but still he doesnt perform well. This is may be because he is disturbed or unsystematic or careless. These habits can be removed through proper guidance. But, if lack of skill is the reason of poor performance than this can be corrected through additional training. Job incompatibility Sometimes it so happens that the reason of employees poor performance is that they didnt get the job according to their skills. Their skills are not compatible or are not compatible with the task assigned to them. This problem can be solved through additional training or assigning them a different task. Sloppy work Whenever you notice that employee has made some mistakes, point out those mistakes and monitor their work closely. It still they made mistake, talk to them and try to know the reason of being careless or why they are not doing their work or properly. But in all this one has to be positive and should know that how much important is employee to the company. Create an effective message Consider the needs of everyone in the organization and design your message according to that so they can understand what you are trying to say. The performance of employees is very much dependent on your message. An effective message would have good impact over employees performance. A face to face interaction would be more suitable and can help employees to adapt the change. Listen to your employees For the change management employee feedback is very important. You can encourage your employees to provide feedback through email or the intranet. Communication is the foundation stone to successful management of change. You need to communicate with your employees early and often to make them understand your message. STAKE HOLDERS INVOLVE INTO THAT CHANGE PROCESS Investors and Business partners and suppliers Investors influenced in this change management process because they invest their asset to get profit, but with the old policy they didnt get much profit. So they involve in the favor of change management process for achieving their goals. Bank employees Bank employees involved in the change management process and they goes against to the change process because they are habitual to work on through the old policy. Customers Customers also involve in the change process and go into the favor of change process because they want quick results and want innovation in organization so they also influenced with the change process. Government and NGOs Government and NGOs influenced in the way the Government expect more taxes and other duties from the organizations and if an organization is not going in profit then how they get the more taxes and duties. On the other hand Ngos want support from the organizations. If they are not in good position they will also influenced with this so these departments also want change process for improvement of the organization. KOTTERs 8 STEP CHANGE MODEL Change is the only constant. Heraclitus, Greek philosopher What was true more than two thousand years ago is just as true today. We live in a world where business as usual IS change. New initiatives, project-based working, technology improvements, staying ahead of the competition these things come together to drive ongoing changes to the way we work. Whether youre considering a small change to one or two processes, or a systemwide change to an organization, its common to feel uneasy and intimidated by the scale of the challenge. You know that the change needs to happen, but you dont really know how to go about doing delivering it. Where do you start? Whom do you involve? How do you see it through to the end? There are many theories about how to do change. Many originate with leadership and change management guru, John Kotter. A professor at Harvard Business School and world-renowned change expert, Kotter introduced his eight-step change process in his 1995 book, Leading Change. We look at his eight steps for leading change below. Step One: Create Urgency For change to happen, it helps if the whole company really wants it. Develop a sense of urgency around the need for change. This may help you spark the initial motivation to get things moving. This isnt simply a matter of showing people poor sales statistics or talking about increased competition. Open an honest and convincing dialogue about whats happening in the marketplace and with your competition. If many people start talking about the change you propose, the urgency can build and feed on itself. What you can do: Identify potential threats, and develop scenarios showing what could happen in the future. Examine opportunities that should be, or could be, exploited. Start honest discussions, and give dynamic and convincing reasons to get people talking and thinking. Request support from customers, outside stakeholders and industry people to strengthen your argument. Step Two: Form a Powerful Coalition Convince people that change is necessary. This often takes strong leadership and visible support from key people within your organization. Managing change isnt enough you have to lead it. You can find effective change leaders throughout your organization they dont necessarily follow the traditional company hierarchy. To lead change, you need to bring together a coalition, or team, of influential people whose power comes from a variety of sources, including job title, status, expertise, and political importance. Once formed, your change coalition needs to work as a team, continuing to build urgency and momentum around the need for change. What you can do: Identify the true leaders in your organization. Ask for an emotional commitment from these key people. Work on team building within your change coalition. Check your team for weak areas, and ensure that you have a good mix of people from different departments and different levels within your company Step Three: Create a Vision for Change When you first start thinking about change, there will probably be many great ideas and solutions floating around.