Analysis of Asian American Essay

The United States has become the most diverse society on the face of the earth. For more than a century, most immigrants to the United States were Europeans—Germans, English, Italians, and so forth. However, according to â€Å"Globalization and Contemporary Immigration to the United States† by Min Zhou and J. V. Gatewood, â€Å"non-European immigration to the United States began in the late 1960s and has accelerated at rapid speeds since the early 1990s after a long hiatus due to restricted immigration. † More than one million people a year migrate, mostly from Asia and Latin American- is transforming America into a multicultural society. At the same time, diversity became a distinguishing characteristic of contemporary Asian American. Cultural, social, economic and geopolitical factors have contributed to the diversity and also has brought new challenges for immigrants and their children to adapt themselves to the new environment. (Min Zhou and J. V. Gatewood) There are four aspects about â€Å"the development of a coherent vision for future Asian American† as what Min Zhou and J. V. Gatewood described. Firstly, variously national origins, which make impact on both the immigrant generation and the second and third generation in language and religions. Secondly, socioeconomic diversity brings about different kinds of mobility patterns. Thirdly, diverse settlement modes influence the development of Asian American community. Finally, â€Å"immigration complicates intergenerational relations and ethnic solidarity. † As what Min Zhou and J. V. Gatewood referred, â€Å"the Philippines, China/Taiwan, Korea, India, and Vietnam have been on the list of top-ten sending countries since 1980. †Even though there were different kinds of laws to restrict immigration from the â€Å"Asian-Pacific triangle†, Asian immigrants found other ways to become eligible citizen. For example, marrying white Americans. With the development of globe economy, the U. S. immigration policy had been changed. On the one hand, the United States sought cheaper labor and resources abroad to develop the globalization of its economy. â€Å"Since the 1980s, about on e-third of the engineers and medical personnel in the U. S. labor market have come from abroad-mostly from India, China, Taiwan and the Philippines. † (Min Zhou and J.V. Gatewood) Further, more and more Asian study abroad, therefore, many international students, namely, foreign students, had found permanent employment in America so that they could stay here. On the other hand, globalization had played a significant role in immigration. For one thing, developing countries’ economics and occupational structures were interposed by the U. S. investment. The U. S. imported the abroad material and then processed, finally, exported to those developing countries. For another thing, with the increase number of labor demand, rural-urban migration increased rapidly.

Micro Finance and Women Empowerment

‘Micro Finance and Women Empowerment ’ By Ms. Varsha Parikh Lecturer Department of Extension and Communication Faculty of Family and Community Sciences The M. S. University of Baroda Vadodara 390002,Gujarat, India E-mail : [email  protected] com Micro Finance and Women Empowerment By Ms. Varsha Parikh ABSTRACT Self-help groups intermediated by microcredit have been shown to have positive effects on women. Micro finance refers to small savings, credit and insurance services extended to socially and economically disadvantaged segments of society. At present one of the successful ways through which microfinance services are being provided to poor people is through Self-Help Groups. The performance of different states SHGs data presented by different authors in different states shows new direction where microfinance is helping poor women coping with vulnerable situations building of assets, new livelihoods and accumulated savings help the coping strategies of the poor. Thus, present paper focus on the concept of SHGs and Micro Finance in India, Performance of SHGs and Microfinance scenario in different states of India, SHGs and Bank linkages in India and impact of microfinance on empowering women along with suggestions. Key Words : SHGs, Micro Finance, Statewise performance of SHGs & Microfinance, SHGs and Bank linkage, suggestions Micro Finance and Women Empowerment By Ms. Varsha Parikh Empowerment is defined as the processes by which women take control and ownership of their lives through expansion of their choices. Thus, it is the rocess of acquiring the ability to make strategic life choices in a context where this ability has previously been denied. The core elements of empowerment have been defined as agency (the ability to define one’s goals and act upon them), awareness of gendered power structures, self-esteem and self-confidence (Kabeer 2001). Empowerment can take place at a hierarchy of different levels – individual, househ old, community and societal – and is facilitated by providing encouraging factors (e. g. , exposure to new activities, which can build capacities) and removing inhibiting factors (e. . , lack of resources and skills). â€Å"The status of women is a barometer of the democratization of any state, an indicator of how human rights are respected in it† (Mikhail Gorbachev). The root cause of women’s oppression in India is patriarchy which has snatched off their legitimate powers leaving them completely defenseless and weak. Despite more than five decades of interventions to raise the status of women since independences, women in rural areas continue to be overwhelmed by social and economic bosses. Rural women throughout India, irrespective of caste and religion, continue to have a subordinate status both within home and outside. Extent of awareness and access to credit, higher level of education and training are prime determinants of women’s status and role in the process of development. Thus for women, two vital processes have been identified as important for empowerment. The first is social mobilization and collective agency, as poor women often lack the basic capabilities and self-confidence to counter and challenge existing disparities and barriers against them. Often, change agents are needed to catalyse social mobilization consciously. Second, the process of social mobilization needs to be accompanied and complemented by economic security. As long as the disadvantaged suffer from economic deprivation and livelihood insecurity, they will not be in a position to mobilize (UNDP 2001). Concept of Self Help Groups (SHGs) in India In India, Self – Help Group (SHG) is a small voluntary association of poor people, preferably from the same socioeconomic background. They come together for the purpose of solving their common problems through self-help and mutual help. The SHG promotes small savings among its members. The savings are kept with a bank. This common fund is in the name of the SHG. The term Self Help Groups (SHGs) is generally used in India to refer to unregistered groups of 10 to 20 members involved primarily in savings and credit activities. Over 90 percent of these groups have only women members. The concept of SHG is based on the following principles: ? Self-help supplemented with mutual help can be a powerful vehicle for the ? poor in their socioeconomic development; ? Participative financial services management is more responsive and efficient; ? Poor need not only credit support, but also savings and other services; ? Poor can save and are bankable and SHGs as clients, result in wider out reach, lower transaction cost and much lower risk costs for the banks; ? Creation of a common fund by contributing small savings on a regular basis; ? Flexible democratic system of working; ? Loaning is done mainly on trust with a bare documentation and without any security; ? Amounts loaned are small, frequent and for short duration; ? Defaults are rare mainly due to group pressure; and Periodic meetings non-traditional savings. Concept of Micro-Credit Micro credit refers to a programme that provides credit for self employment & other financial and business services (including savings and technological assistance micro). Credit refers to small amounts of Credit both for production and consumption to poor households who remain or choose to remain outside the reach of formal credit system and have demonstrated their credit worthiness Why Mic ro Credit – Because it is a powerful tool for sustainable development of the poor and removal of poverty on a term basis. Micro Credit – A Pathway to Empowering SHGs women The lack of access to credit for the poor particularly women is attributable to practical difficulties arising from the discrepancy between the mode of operation followed by financial institutions and the economic characteristics and financing needs of low-income households. For example, commercial lending institutions require that borrowers have a stable source of income out of which principal and interest can be paid back according to he agreed terms. However, the income of many self employed households is not stable, regardless of its size. A large number of small loans are needed to serve the poor, but lenders prefer dealing with large loans in small numbers to minimize administration costs. They also look for collateral with a clear title – which many low-income households do not have. In addition bankers tend to consider low income households a bad risk imposing exceedingly high information monitoring costs on oper ation. Over the last ten years, however, successful experiences in providing finance to small entrepreneur and producers demonstrate that poor people, when given access to responsive and timely financial services at market rates, repay their loans and use the proceeds to increase their income and assets. This is not surprising since the only realistic alternative for them is to borrow from informal market at an interest much higher than market rates. Community banks, NGOs and grassroot savings and credit groups around the world have shown that these microenterprise loans can be profitable for borrowers and for the lenders, making microfinance one of the most effective strategy of empowerment. Empowering women socio-economically through increased awareness of their right and duties as well as access to resources is a decisive step towards greater security for them. Women are in for a new deal today as they are the focus of economic development. SHGs are considered as one of the significant tools to adopt participatory approach for the economic development of women. It is an important institution for improving the life of women on various social components. It plays an important role in differentiating between consumption credit and production credit. Self help group disburses of making them enterprising women and encouraging them to enter entrepreneurial activities. Credit needs of the rural women are fulfilled through the SHGs. Thus SHG is considered as a variable organization of the rural poor particularly of the women for delivering micro credit in order to undertake entrepreneurial activities. Some of the studies on SHGs of the rural poor particularly those managed by women, successfully demonstrated how to mobilize and manage thrift activities, maintain credit linkages with banks and effectively undertake some income generating activities etc. Micro finance programmes are currently being promoted as a key strategy for simultaneously addressing both poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment. Before 1990s, credit schemes for women were almost negligible. There were certain misconception about the poor people that they need loan at subsidized rates of interest on soft terms, they lack skills, capacity to save, credit worthiness and therefore are not bankable. Nevertheless, the experiences of several and SHGs reveal that rural poor are actually efficient managers of credit and finance. Availability of timely and adequate credit is essential for them in their enterprises rather than subsidies. Earlier government efforts through various poverty alleviation schemes for self-employment by providing credit and subsidy received little success. Since most of them were target based involving various government agencies and banks. During the economic crisis, self-help microcredit groups served as important cushions and safety nets. A high proportion of the funds made available for self-help microcredit schemes were utilized by women, enabling them to meet the subsistence needs of their families during those difficult economic times (ESCAP 2002). Many self-help programmes have also incorporated elements of savings, which can be used for purposes such as health insurance and emergency loans, thereby serving as private safety nets. In all, one of the successful ways through which microfinance services are being provided to poor people in India is through Self-Help Groups. It all started with experiments of some non-government organizations (NGOs) working in south India during early 80s and has now come to be known as Self-Help Group approach to microfinance. With intervention of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) and other organisations, So, in this manner in contrast to the Grameen model of Bangladesh, the SHG based microfinance in India encourages SHG members to manage group’s financial affairs like savings and loan recovery and funds are deposited in a local commercial bank in the name of the SHG. Members’ savings are initially used to issue small loans to needy members. Self Help Group bank linkage has become a supplementary channel for providing financial services from formal financial institutions to poor people. Under this linkage arrangement, SHGs are assessed by bank for bank credit after about 6 months of their functioning. If SHGs are found functioning well, then, bank credit is sanctioned up to four times the savings of the SHG. After gaining some experience of credit handling, SHG is issued bigger amount of loan by a ommercial bank and members are free to decide the end use of this loan, its purpose, repayment instalment, etc. without any interference of the promoting NGO or the bank since SHG is responsible to the bank for repayment of the loan. Women managed self-help groups have shown remarkable growth during the last decade in India. SHGs have proved to be very versatile and their members have successfully taken up both economic and community related inter ventions. SHGs provide poor women an opportunity to take decisions involving themselves, their groups and their lives. Savings and credit is normally used as an entry point for formation of SHGs since it gives the members a chance to participate in decision-making and satisfies their short-term credit needs. Realising that they can be a promising tool in capacity building of rural poor especially women, central and state governments have vigorously supported the SHG-centric models of development in India. Sarojini Ganju Thakur and Anand Mohan Tiwari in their article reports ‘Whether SHG-based Micro-credit Programmes can Remove Poverty? A case study of SHG-based programmes in Patan District of Gujarat, reported that, besides Swa-Shakti Project of Department of Women & Child Development (DWCD) which was launched in 1998, many other agencies have taken up programmes for supporting women’s SHG movement. NABARD has launched a major initiative for accelerating credit linkage to SHGs and over 3,25,000 SHGs are now accessing bank credit. Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK, an autonomous organisation promoted by DWCD), Swarnjayanti Gram Swa-rozgar Yojana (SGSY) and Watershed Development Projects of Ministry of Rural Development, Mahila Samakhya of Department of Education, Women in Agriculture, Swayamsiddha of DWCD, Jeevika Project of Government of Gujarat, Stree Shakti, Mission Shakti, SHG Missions in some other states are supporting formation and strengthening of SHGs in a big way. After success of the initial pilot, this strategy was extended to every commercial and Regional Rural Bank. Some second-tier micro-finance institutions (MFIs) like RMK, Friends of Women World Banking (FWWB), Basix, Sanghmitra Rural Financial Services and SIDBI Micro-credit Foundation, etc. have emerged in the last decade. It is estimated that around 2. 5 to 3 million borrowers, mostly women, are linked with this mechanism in India. Status of SHGs and Microfinance in different states of India The regional development of micro credit programmes under self help groups has wide variations in terms of growth and performance among the states in India. Das, Nanda and Rath reported about the performance of southern region, especially Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and states that it has been the best in the promotion of Self Help groups in India. According to them these two states account for more than 66 percent of Self-help groups receiving loans through bank linkage. Andhra Pradesh has 53 percent of total SHFs due to more women enterprises, higher level of literacy and strong co-operative institutions. They also reveals that the southern region has the best performance where Rs. 5242. 42 million are distributed among the self help groups. The eastern region has second best performance where cumulative number of SHGs bank loan up to 2005 is Rs. 123256 million and per capita credit per SHG is Rs. 20428. 5 million. Sarojini Ganju Thakur and Anand Mohan Tiwari in their article reports ‘Whether SHG-based Micro-credit Programmes can Remove Poverty? A case study of SHG-based programmes in Patan District of Gujarat, mentioned that the SHG-driven micro-finance movement has flourished in Gujarat. Besides the State Government which is promoting these institutions in a big way, many NGOs are actively involved in formation and nurturing of SHGs. Although the overall focus of individual interventions vary, development of micro-finance and micro-enterprise appears to be a common theme in majority of these programmes. Besides the Government and other Public sector organizations like NABARD, a large number of NGOs, including few nationally recognized ones like Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), Agha Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), Sadguru and many other NGOs have formed women’s SHGs with the support from various government programmes. The recent earthquake in Kutch and neighbouring districts motivated many NGOs from outside to start work in these areas and they also formed some women’s SHGs. At a conservative estimate, more than 200,000 SHGs are functioning in the State, with Rural Development Department alone supporting over 100,000 SHGs. Of these, close to 60,000 SHGs have been linked with commercial banks that have extended credit of approximately Rs. 200 million. SGSY claims to have formed 23,000 in the State of Gujarat. The role of Micro Finance Institutions on Socio-Economic Development Rural Poor in Orissa described by Das, Nanda and Rath. They reported that; – Costly loans from informal sources have been significantly reduced as a proportion of a household’s debt portfolio. – The interest rates have come down drastically. – It has helped the poor to diversify livelihood options. – It has helped in generating incremental employment. – It also has helped in reducing poverty. Debadutta Kumar Panda added that, through the microfinance revolution, rural villagers of Orissa, the most backward state of India, have undergone a remarkable social upliftment. The value and acceptance of women has also increased substantially and is analyzed through a series of case study. Table : Inter-state performance of SHGs up to March, 2005 (Rs. In million) |S. N. |Region and State |Cumulative No. of SHGs Bank Loan |Per Capita Credit per SHG | |Northern region | |1 |Himachal Pradesh |17798 |31746. | |2 |Rajasthan |60006 |23564. 9 | |3 |Haryana |3351 |59871. 6 | |4 |Punjab |3091 |47156. 2 | |5 |Jammu & Kashmir |1647 |34353. 8 | |6 |New Delhi |125 |10512 | | | |7 |Orissa |123256 |20428. 5 | |8 |Bihar |28015 |24339. | |9 |Jharkhand |21531 |33195. 3 | |10 |West Bengal |92698 |13622. 4 | | | |11 |Madhya Pradesh |45105 |2462603 | |12 |Chhatisgarh |18596 |92605. | |13 |Uttar Pradesh |119648 |26375. 6 | |14 |Uttranchal |14043 |41020. 4 | | | |15 |Gujarat |24712 |2777. | |16 |Maharashtra |71146 |31401. 7 | |17 |Goa |408 |74068. 6 | | | |18 |Andhra Pradesh |492927 |55709. | |19 |Karnataka |163198 |33710. 7 | |20 |Kerala |60809 |41038. 8 | |21 |Tami lnNadu |22698 |76026. 9 | (Source: As quoted in Das, Nanda and Rath, â€Å"Micro Finance and Rural development in India’(Ed. ),2008. Such instances have shown that microfinance has proved very relevant and effective in India and offers the rural and urban poor the possibility of gradually breaking away from exploitation and isolation. Over the years, the provision of microfinance has brought significant increased productivity among the rural poor. Self reliance and sustainability of income generating and micro enterprise development programmes of self help groups have been successfully achieved with effective linkage and networking. The interplay between the two sub systems of socio-economic development, i. . , micro enterprise development and the micro credit and saving mechanism has been quite smooth and effective in the case of SHGs linkage to mainstream institutions. On the other hand the progress of the SHG-bank linkage programme is also rapidly taking stride. Since inc eption as shown below the programme took off with a humble beginning of linking 255 groups in the first year i. e. 1992-93 with a loan disbursement of Rs 2. 9 million only. Average loan per SHG was about Rs 11. 37 thousand in 1992-93 whereas it has grown to Rs 61. 68 thousand in the year 2006-07. There has been a tremendous growth in the number of groups over time. More than 29. 2 million SHGs with a membership of 40. 95 million households are linked to bank credit till March 2007 as shown below. No. of   SHGs linked to Banks in India (1992-93   to 2006-2007) |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Year |Cumulative No. of   SHGs |Bank loan (Rs. Million) | |1992-93 |255 |2. 9 | |1993-94 |620 |6. | |1994-95 |2122 |24. 5 | |1995-96 |4757 |60. 6 | |1996-97 |8598 |118. 4 | |1997-98 |14317 |237. | |1998-99 |32995 |570. 7 | |1999-2000 |114775 |1929. 8 | |2000-01 |263825 |4809. 0 | |2001-02 |461478 |10263. 0 | |2002-03 |717360 20487. 0 | |2003-04 |1079091 |39042. 0 | |2004-05 |1628476 |68984. 6 | |2005-06 |2238565 |113980. 0 | |2006-07 |2924973 |180410. | (Source: Various Reports of MCID, NABARD; NABARD (2004) and NABARD website  ) The Table above shows that there has been a rapid growth of SHGs that are linked with banks i. e. Commercial banks, Regional Rural Banks and Cooperative banks for meeting credit requirements and other financial needs of SHG members in recent years. Particularly after 2000 the number of SHGs linked to banks has grown exponentially. In addition, there is other experience e. g. the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh model is being replicated in various parts of India. SIDBI is also promoting microfinance through NGOs who are in the business of microfinance. Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) is also in the business of promoting microfinance in India through NGOs. It is estimated that the total outreach of Microfinance Institutions is about 7. 5 million (Sa-Dhan website). If 40 million of SHG-bank linkages are added to this, the total outreach of microfinance in India would become truly significant keeping in mind that there are about 60 million poor households in India. Empowering SHG women through Micro Finance in India The basic objective of SHG is that it acts as the forum for members to provide space and support to each other. SHGs comprise of very poor people who don’t have access to formal financial institutions. It enables its members to learn to cooperate and work in a group environment. The essential principle of SHG is strong saving programme, which helps it to reduce dependence on financial institutions and develop self-reliance. Saving help the group members to diversify their income generating activities and imbibe financial discipline in the group. Self Help groups create confidence for the economic self-reliance of rural poor, particularly among women who are mostly invisible in the social structure. These groups enable them to come together for a common objective and gain strength from each other to deal with exploitation which they are facing in several forms. Further, micro financing i. e. provisioning of small financial services and products to poor people is contributing to the process of development by creating conditions that are conducive to human development. It has a strong gender orientation. About 90% SHGs that are linked to banks are reported to be of women as mentioned earlier. Through these groups, women empowerment is taking place. Their participation in economic activities and decision making at household and at society level is increasing. It is making the process of development participatory, democratic, independent of subsidy and sustainable. Therefore, microfinance through SHGs is contributing to poverty reduction in a sustainable manner. Studies have shown overall positive impact of SHG bank linkage programme on the socio-economic conditions of rural poor (Puhazhendi and Badatya, 2002;   MYRADA, 2002). It is reported that significant changes in the living standards of SHG members have taken place in terms of increase in income level, assets, savings, borrowing capacity and income generating activities. There are signs of empowerment taking place among women members of SHGs. An important aspect of the empowering impact of micro-credit is related to the process of organisation of women into groups. For women who have been confined to households, their mobilisation into a collective, which could be of self help groups, smaller groups, cooperatives, etc. propels them into a more community-oriented entity, which gives them the basis for negotiating, sharing and bargaining at multiple levels   – the house hold, community and government. Such groups give women the strength and self-confidence to resist the exploitation that they face within the household and community. There are innumerable examples of the nature of strength women have acquired after joining a group. At the same time there are illustrations to show that organisation without changing the resource base is not a sufficient condition of empowerment. However, many practitioners have not fully understood the approach of SHGs. Women members of the SHG have shown increased levels of socio-political awareness and empowerment in the community, raised levels of negotiating power, and changes in community norms, particularly in terms of changing attitudes to gender expectations. (Dash A. , 2003). As stated by Ghosh Rajshree in her article Women’s indicators of empowerment through icrofinance highlighted following major aspects of the empowerment. †¢ Ability to save and access loans †¢ Opportunity to undertake an economic activity †¢ Mobility-Opportunity to visit nearby towns †¢ Awareness- local issues, MFI procedures, banking transactions †¢ Skills for income generation †¢ Decision making within the household †¢ Group mobilization in support of indiv idual clients- action on †¢ social issues †¢ Role in community development activities Suggestions and Conclusion There is no doubt that micro finance can provided micro solution to poor women but it will yield moderate economic benefits. The SHG-bank linkage yet to make substantial impact in poverty belts of India. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have been successful in organizing self-help groups and other states should develop the self-help groups in our country. There is an urgent need for Government initiative into the self-help groups. And also more dedication and commitment of the NGO personnel is needed to make the group members understand the concept and essence of forming the group. Unless the group is fully aware and convinced regarding the concept of self help outside push will hardly work. The dedication of the functionaries coupled with a little more professional input to the NGO would definitely lead to a self-sustainable self-help regime in the area. The members should be provided training in micro enterprises so that the credit availed by them can be used productively. The commercial banks must provide a greater linkage to self-help groups in providing them higher amount of bank loans. Further, for micro finance programme to be cost-effective in bringing about the empowerment of women, it would require, 1. providing business training, 2. investing in women’s general education and literacy, 3. roviding guidance in balancing family and work responsibilities 4. providing a forum for dialogue on social and political issues, such as, women’s rights and community problems, 5. giving women experience in decision – making promoting women’s ownership, control and participatory governance in their micro finance programmes. Micro finance programmes , thus, has been very successful in reaching women. This gives micro finance institution an extra-ordinary opportunity to act intentionally to empower poor women and to minimize the potentially negative impacts some women experienced. References : Das S. K. , Nanda B. P. and Rath J. , Micro Finance and Rural Development in India (Ed. ), New Century Publications, New Delhi, India. 2008 Karmakar K. G. , Micro Finance in India(Ed). Sage publications, New Delhi, 2008 Debadutta Kumar Panda , ‘Self Help through Microfinance: A Paradigm Shift in Orissa, India’ Ghosh Rajshree, Women’s indicators of empowerment through microfinance Sharma K. C, Microfinance through Self-Help Groups-Status and Emerging Challenges   http://www. birdindia. org. in/admin/Literacy/413. doc. Thakur S. G. and Tiwari A. , Whether SHG-based Micro-credit Programmes can Remove Poverty? A case study of SHG-based programmes in Patan District of Gujarat. http://www. wiego. org/ahmedabad/papers/Tiwari_Can_SHGs_remove_poverty. doc. http://www. edarural. com/impact/execsums. pdf. http://www. trcollege. net/articles/40-empowerment http://www. gdrc. org/icm/conceptpaper-india. html http://www. ivcs. org. uk/ijrs/April2008/Self%20Help%20through%20Microfinance%20in%20Orissa%20India. pdf. http://www. unescap. org/drpad/publication/bulletin%202002/ch6. pdf. http://unpan1. un. org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/UNPAN024232. pdf. http://74. 125. 153. 132/search? q=cache:gzRW9N7hv7YJ:www. yesweb. org/2006/Publica

Abstract-writing guidelines Essay

An abstract allows the author to communicate to his audience the critical information of his original research in a concise manner. Foote (2006) and December and Katz (nd) recommend that in writing a good abstract, it should contain four elements – background or objectives, methods, results and conclusion. The background highlights the research questions and/or hypotheses, the methods describe the study population, data gathering techniques and statistical analysis. The results indicate the most pertinent findings and should contain actual data (Maughan 2001) and illustrative examples. The conclusion summarizes the findings and implications of the study (Rooryck & van Heuven 2003). The abstract should be between 100 and 250 words (Foote 2006, Shannon 2000, Guidelines for writing an abstract n. d. ) and should never be longer than a page (Rooryck & van Heuven 2003). Staiger (1965) suggests that a good abstract can have as little as 150 words once the information is concisely presented. Shannon (2000) and December and Katz (n. d. ) advise that nonessential information such as literature reviews should be avoided. In terms of style only common abbreviations should be used and only minimally (Foote 2006, Shannon 2000) and jargons should not be used (Maughan 2001). The future tense, adverbs and adjectives should also be avoided. The text should flow and be intelligible and easily comprehended by non-specialists and international readers. Abstract The traditional pattern of negotiation and placing of insurance risk between brokers and underwriters follows a face-to-face and paper approach but the new electronic placing system (EPS) is available to allow for submitting, transmitting and negotiating risks and processing claims electronically. This study explores the reasons for introducing, causes for the slow adoption and resistance to the implementation of the EPS systems. In a longitudinal research between 1993 and 1996, we surveyed 94 senior Market management, IT directors and staff, brokers and underwriters in the London Insurance Market using semi-structured interviews, observations of insurance risk placement work practices along with resource reviews. Reasons for introducing, delaying or resisting EPS introduction were copied verbatim and categorized based on its impact on work transformation or professional identity in the workplace. EPS was implemented because of the benefits of productivity, efficiency, speed and cost, its capability to facilitate simultaneous risk transmissions and potential to broaden job horizons. Reasons for resisting or delaying introduction of EPS were the resulting minimization of client, broker and underwriter interaction, the EPS’ inability to transmit supporting customer documents to potential underwriters and its potential to undermine the professional role and identity of brokers and underwriters and to worsen employment conditions and job satisfaction. Brokers also saw EPS as a potential threat to their employment security. There is resistance to technological change in the London Insurance Market and failure to adopt these technologies. EPS challenges the traditional mode of operation. We recommend that there be a balance between the use of computer technologies and traditional methodologies. References December, J. & Katz, S. nd, ‘What is an abstract’ The writing center, [Online] Available at: http://www. rpi. edu/web/writingcenter/abstracts. html Foote, M. 2006, ‘Some concrete ideas about manuscript abstracts’, Chest, vol. 129, no. 5, p. 1375-1377. ‘Guidelines for writing an abstract’, Sigma Theta Tau, International, [Online] Available at: http://www. umassd. edu/nursing/theta_kappa/research_committee/guidelines_abstract. doc Maughan, R. 2001, ‘Editorial: abstract thoughts’, Journal of Sports Sciences, vol. 19, no. 5, p. 305. Rooryck, Johan & van Heuven, V. 2003, ‘Guidelines for writing abstracts’, Leiden University, [Online] Available at: http://www. unc. edu/linguistics/confinfo_files/hil-tips. pdf Shannon, S. 2000, ‘Writing a structured abstract’, Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal, vol. 51, no. 6, p. 328-329. Staiger, D. L. 1965, ‘What today’s students need to know about writing abstracts’, Journal of Business Communication, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 29-33. Walsham, G. 2001, Making a world of difference: IT in a global context, Wiley, Chichester, pp. 150-160.

Discussion Question 1 Week 4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion Question 1 Week 4 - Assignment Example The restaurant will require about $150,000 in order to be operational. The Smart fast food restaurant will be organized as a partnership business. This is because I intend to start the business in partnership with Mr. Johnson. We will hire three kitchen cooks who will be involved in preparing the fast foods. We will also need to hire one waiter and two customer support staff. Moreover we will also need to hire two sales persons. I will act as the human resource manager while Johnson will act as the sales manager. However, the Smart food restaurant aims at increasing the number of the employee as the business progresses. The Smart fast food restaurant will be stated with a capital base of $150,000. Johnson and I will contribute $50,000 as the starting capital the rest of capital will be borrowed from commercial banks. The following is an outline of the proposed financial plan This refers to the amount of money needed to cater for the initial cost in order to start a business. It includes the money required to purchase all the materials required to a start the business. In this case smart food restaurant requires about $80,000 for its start up cost. The monthly expenses refer to the cost the business is likely to incur at the end of the month. These costs include the cost of paying for insurance, and the cost of paying its employee. In this case the Smart fast food restaurant will require $50,000 to cater for its monthly cost This refers to the various sales estimates that the business aims at achieving at the end of certain period. In this case, the Smart food restaurant estimates that at the end of the month it will make sales worth $120,000. The smart fast food restaurant will mainly target to sell its food products to the business people found in the Los Angelis town. This is because most of the business people find it hard to leave their business to a have lunch in a hotel. The business will also target the college students since they also like

Apple Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Apple - Essay Example Verganti describes Job’s management style as â€Å"management by meaning† because of the scope of Job’s managerial decisions and objectives that focused on establishing value for both clients and employees (Verganti 2011, p. 1). The management approach identifies people’s psychological and social aspects and seeks to create meaning to people though incorporating their â€Å"rational, cultural, and emotional dimensions† (Verganti 2011, p. 1). This defines an abstract management approach that transcends a variety of management and leadership styles with the aim of meeting clients and employees’ needs. Jobs, especially after being asked to resign from Apple’s top management, incorporated democratic, visionary, and transformational management styles that he applied according to situations and desired meanings to be created (Dhima, Qorri, Arapi and Sinani 2011, p. 7). Christopher also offers an account of Job’s transformational leade rship style in the company and identifies him among top visionary leaders and managers of the period (Christopher 2012, p. 357). Job’s management style and its development from an experience in his career suffered a setback proved a success and led Apple to an innovative era. The diversified approach to Job’s management identifies effectiveness to meeting his ultimate objective of maximizing utility among employees and customers and the three incorporated management styles, democratic, transformational, and visionary management styles, succeeded in meeting employees needs towards output that generated products for customers’ utility. The transformational management style benefited Jobs’ approach because of its ability to empower and motivate employees towards achieving desired objectives. The developed potentials among employees and their desire to deliver culminated to the realized innovation and development of new products at Apple. Visionary managerial style, with its

Is the Federal Reserve Necessary Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Is the Federal Reserve Necessary - Research Paper Example One such mistake, in United States history, that seems to be repeating its self, is the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a twelve year span, lasting from 1929 to 1941, in which the U.S. market was down and unemployment was at an all time high. It is, by far, considered one of the lowest points in U.S. history, but what is really intriguing is it was preceded by the â€Å"roaring twenties† a time of great economic growth and wealth. Many are comparing this with the recent economic boom of the late nineties, early two thousands; followed by the â€Å"recession† the U.S. is currently in. So the question arises, what led to these two periods of growth, followed by a severe recession? By taking a look at what, the value of a dollar is, what fractional reserve banking versus free banking are, and what caused the increase in moral hazard; and by looking at the arguments for and against each of these, we can identify the factors that led to this tragic example of hist ory repeating itself. This first factor we are going to uncover is what determines the value of the U.S. dollar, how it has changed over the years, and we as a nation are now suffering from those changes. The majority of governments use to base their circulation of paper money, or notes, on the amount of gold that backs up the notes; this is known as the gold standard. Toward the end of the great depression many individual still did not trust banks and so they were holding on to a large portion of gold. This led to a deficit of gold to support the dollar, so President Roosevelt ordered the gold confiscation of 1933 in which all individuals were required, with some exceptions, by law, to bring their gold to the U.S. treasury in exchange for a dollar equivalent. Another by product of the great depression was the Bretton Woods System; this is a system that was agreed upon by most of the world’s powers in 1944 which hoped to govern the monetary regulations of the nations. As a re sult they established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which today is part of the World Bank Group. One of the major implications to the U.S., however, was the fact that they agreed maintain exchange rates by tying its currency to the U.S. dollar. Then in 1981, under the presidency of Nixon, the U.S. terminated the convertibility of the dollar to gold. This meant that the dollar is now a fiat currency backed by nothing but the promise of the federal government; this, in essence, did away with the gold standard. Proponents of doing away with the gold standard based their logic on the fact that they assumed the U.S would remain the number one world power. Though this held true for the first fifteen plus years after the gold standard was removed, that reign soon ended. Now with the U.S. owing over fourteen trillion dollars, and rising, to other nations, and our economy in a deep recession, many are left to wonde r if allowing our currency to be backed by only our government’s worth was such a good idea. Other groups against this move away from the gold standard, also argue that these nations which the U.S. government now owes are growing weary of whether or not the will be repaid. This is leading them to do more trading and lending with the still gold based European market, pushing our country deeper into the recession. This leads to where the dollar is distributed and stored by individual Americans and corporations, which is the U.S. banking system. There are two types of

Differences and connections between groupware and ordinary databases, Essay

Differences and connections between groupware and ordinary databases, and why they matter - Essay Example Various researchers have categorized groupware applications into 3 categories including conferencing tools, communication tools and collaborative management and working tools. In this scenario, communication tools comprise FAX, email and voice mail. The second category conferencing tools comprise voice, data and video conferencing, chat rooms and message boards. Finally, collaborative management systems and tools comprise project management systems, electronic calendars and workflow systems. Moreover, various researchers categorize groupware applications into 2 categories with respect to time and place. In this scenario, an application that is used by all the staff members of an organization simultaneously is acknowledged as synchronous groupware application. Additionally, staff members can make use of similar application at different times using asynchronous groupware systems. The place connected types are collected, groupware that is utilized by people in same place as well as distance.Additionally, at the present, businesses, no matter what their working and operational structure is, as well experience the power of the augmented data and informational flow. In addition, businesses are continually receiving and transferring tons of data and information files through posts, telephones, online messengers, emails, and faxes. Normally, organizations use these tools to communicate with their clients as and suppliers, experts or for negotiations. In this scenario, the longer their collaboration with a supplier or client is, the more data and information they would be able to interchange. As well, as the business grows the figures of clients and suppliers also grow. Consequently, the amount of information rises at an exceptional rate. Thus, if these valuable data and information are not arranged it will cause many problems. Besides, they are certain that all of their staff workers work hard? In other words, organizations require high level quality and time-frames of their work. In situations of data and informational chaos, this is quite a complex job. In addition, generation of a variety of reports as well turns out to be a time-consuming task (MetaQuotes Software Corp., 2011) and (Computer Networks IT, 2011). Furthermore, the ineffective collaboration between a business system and government reduces the working competence of our staff members and nonmanufacturing overheads augment. Additionally, an organization turns out to be less well-organized, as their staff spends a greater amount of their time on technical tasks. Consequently, every client costs more and every working hour of organization’s workers formulates fewer investments into their company's efficiency. In this scenario, organizations make use of groupware applications for a multiplicity of causes. However, one main reason is to avoid the customary issues of having workers in dissimilar places who require performing tasks on similar function. In addition, by logging in to a communication network or intranet server, workers in diverse places are able to access the same application as well as get advantage from a variety of