Parda in Islam

PARDA (VEIL) IN THE LIGHT OF QURAN AND SUNNAH ABSTRACT The cold war began between the religions and the best subject for west is women to create uncertainty between religions. They are continuously hitting Muslim women with the weapon of Human Rights. From last couple of years the big issue is revolving in west and it create many mess is Parda(veil). The say that parda is human rights violation and Parda humiliates the women dignity. But the Noble Quran says Parda (veil) creates respectful environment for women. If we read bible it also taught women the importance of Parda(veil).In Old Testament we read Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel  and asked the servant, â€Å"Who is that man in the field coming to meet us? â€Å"He is my master,† the servant answered. So she took her veil  and covered herself. (Genesis: 24:64-65) In New Testament And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head–it is just as t hough her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. 1 Corinthians: 11:5-6) Islam the religion of peace stresses the relationship between body and mind. The ultimate goal of Parda is righteousness of the heart because in covering the body one shields the heart from impurities. Women of Islam wear Parda and loose clothing to fulfill the command of Allah Subhan wa tala. It encourages them to be modest and not to dress in a manner that attracts men. The Parda (veil) can take many forms, The Hijab The Niqaab The Burqa In first hijab, generally refers to covering only head and neck, leaving face uncovered.This covering may have many styles but its main purpose is to cover the hairs properly. In Niqaab is generally understood as clothing that covers the face as well as head, with the eyes showing. The Burqa is a complete and proper form of Parda w hich covers the body of women from head to toe. This form of Parda (veil) is seen in many region of Islamic world. It may have many different styles and according to the cultural and traditional influence. Key Words: Islam, Parda(veil), Quran, Hadith(Sunna) Islam: Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that Allah revealed through all His prophets to every people.Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the majority has nothing to do with the extremely grave events that have come to be associated with their faith. All the prophets sent by Allah brought the same message, i. e. believing in the oneness of Allah and the prophet Mohammad (Sal-Allaho-Alay-hay-Wasal-lam) as his last messenger. We, Muslims, believe in the Bible as the word of God and that it’s not in its exact and right form. We believe that Old Testament, Muslims call it Torat, was revealed to Prophet Moses (Musa) and New Testament, Muslims call it Injeel, was revealed o Prophet Jesus (Isa) peace be upon them. Since they were changed by people Allah sent the last testament, that is, the Holy Quran revealed to Prophet Mohammad (Sal-Allaho-Alay-hay-Wasal-lam) and it’s been 1400 years and not even a vowel of the Quran has been changed. It’s in its exact and perfect form. Christianity is closer to Islam than any other religion. We don’t believe in Jesus Christ (May peace be upon him) as Son of God but believe in him as a mighty messenger of Allah. We believe in his miraculous birth. There is one chapter in the Quran in the name of the mother of Jesus Christ (P.B. U. H) as â€Å"Chapter Mary†. http://www. cometoislam. com/aboutislam. htm Parda (veil): Hijab is the term used by many Muslim women to describe their head cover that may or may not include covering their face except their eyes and sometimes also covering one eye. The Arabic word Hijab can be translated into veil or yashmak. Other meanings for the word Hijab include screen, cover (ing), mantle, curtain, drapes, partition, division, and divider. http://www. pakideas. com/node/161 Socialists oppose both approaches, for us it is the right of every woman to wear or not to wear the veil.The state and the religious right have no right to interfere in the personal lives of individuals. Every woman has the right to choose. Most Muslims think that it is wrong to force women to remove the veil, but for some it is not wrong to force women to wear the veil. Socialists oppose a ban on the veil but they also oppose the forced wearing of the veil. This debate is mainly focused on Muslim communities living in Europe. But very few things have been said about Muslim women of the so-called Islamic countries. ( http://www. socialistworld. net/doc/2554)Quran: The Quran is a complete record of the exact words revealed by Allah through the Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad (Sal-Allaho-Alay-hay-Wasal-lam). It’s the principal source of every Muslim’s faith and prac tice. It deals with all subjects that concern us as human beings; wisdom, doctrine, worship, and law. But its basic theme is the relationship between Allah and His creatures. At the same time the Quran provides guidelines for a just society, proper human conduct and equitable economic principles. Apart from the Quran, Muslims also refer to the life of the Prophet Muhammad (Sal-Allaho-Alay-hay-Wasal-lam). http://www. cometoislam. om/quran. htm Hadith: Hadeeth means the words, actions, approval or attributes that have been narrated from the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). A hadeeth may either confirm things that are mentioned in the Qur'aan, such as prayer, zakaah, etc. , or it may give details of things that are mentioned in the Qur'aan in general terms, such as the numbers of rak'ahs in each prayer, the thresholds for paying zakaah, the details of Hajj, etc. It may also explain rulings which are not mentioned in the Qur'aan, such as the prohibition on being ma rried to a woman and her (paternal or maternal) aunt at the same time.Allaah revealed the Qur'aan to His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and commanded him to explain it to the people, as He said (interpretation of the meaning): â€Å"And We have also sent down unto you (O Muhammad) the Dhikr [reminder and the advice (i. e. the Qur'aan)], that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought† [al-Nahl 16:44] http://wiki. answers. com/Q/What_is_Hadees-e-Nabawi PARDA (VEIL) IN THE LIGHT OF QURAN AND SUNNAH â€Å"O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments.That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful†. (33:59) In west Muslim women are not allowed to use Hijab (PARDA) because they think that Hijab is a symbol of female segregation. But if we see, in ma ny Muslim societies wearing Hijab (PARDA) is not very common and mostly women refuse it without any solid reason. If we once again read those verses of Quran which are given in the beginning of this article, how great these Qur’anic verses are, along with their implied meanings of lofty and honorable orientations made clear to the nations in this regard.We notice amongst the measures taken in this respect that Allah commands His Prophet (S. A. A. W) to enjoin his wives, the mothers of believers and the daughters. In these verses Allah demands women to use a big piece of cloth which at least covers her body from head to toe. There is a contradiction between the two schools of thought of Islam that is it necessary to cover the face or not? Some say it is necessary to cover the face and the others say it’s not, but I emphasize here that the permissible Hijab should have certain characteristics and conditions through which the Muslim women can be distinguished from others. The best form of Hijab as Allah says in the Quran is the piece of cloth which covers the whole body of woman starting from the head to the toe of her feet. Allah states in Quran, â€Å"Draw their veils all over the bodies (when abroad)†(33:59) Allah also says, â€Å"And to draw their veils over their bosoms† (24:31) And says, â€Å"And stay in your houses, and do not display your selves like That of the former time of ignorance†(33:33) Further Allah addressed the believers to wear Hijab: â€Å"say to the believing women†, as well as in the verses â€Å"and the believing women†.From the point of view of Hadith, it was mentioned that: some women came to see Sayeda Ayesha R. A, they entered Ayesha’s room while they had put on fine dresses. However Ayesha said:, â€Å" if you are believing women then such should not be the suitable dress of the believing women, but if you are not you can enjoy wearing it. Two things can be interpreted from the above incident, one is if someone claimed that she is a believer then she must obey Allah’s order and must wear Hijab and if she is a non- believer then it’s up to her. Then the second thing is what type of Hijab? Allah says in Quran to cover your body with a garment, no special kind or type of Hijab is mentioned but Allah only commands in the Holy Quran to do Hijab, now it’s up to the believers how they cover their bodies, as in our sub-continent most women use â€Å"BURKA† as it is according to the customs that prevail in our society. In verse no 33 of surah AL-AHZAAB Allah orders Muslim women to stay at home if they don’t have any duty outside and also not to show their parts of body, their jewelry and make over as they used to do in the past.Until now I have presented some Quranic and Hadith evidences in which Allah orders believing women to cover their bodies with Hijab (PARDA). ALLAH has clearly commanded women in the Holy Quran but what is t he reason that most women do not feel this obligation upon themselves. In my view its nothing but the strong influence of modernism and colonialism that still dominates our thoughts and actions but if we once again go through the Quran and Hadith I must say that the purpose of Hijab is to ensure that the modesty of a woman is protected and that any obscene and illicit intentions towards the woman are avoided.It is compulsory for Muslim women to wear Hijab or anything that covers the parts that can bring unwanted attention from the opposite sex. We come across many cases in the newspapers that women feel unsafe out in the markets etc. when they are alone, uneasiness is created by the opposite sex, and it is true and a big sin on part of men but if the same woman wears proper Hijab (PARDA) then the results will be different. Because Allah says in Quran do not show those parts of body which attract opposite sex, if women observe these commands then the results for sure would be differe nt because true is Allah and True is also His Prophet.Hijab is a sign of the completion of faith by a woman who wears it for fear of Allah and seeking HIS pleasure but not as a customary and habitual matter. The woman who covers herself will be covered with chastity, modesty and purity and all of these qualities are the integrated part of faith. In conclusion I would say that women in Islam should try seriously to be a nice symbol of representing the beautiful and desirable image of Islam by calling to Islam wherever they go, being the favored role model for their Muslim sisters, raising hereby the word of their lord, religion and the tradition of their beloved Prophet Mohammad S.A. A. W, high over anything and throwing disappointment on the enemy of Islam, and causing their oppressing plan to fail. And a sister who is in the west can use Hijab to present the beautiful Islamic Code. This would lead to the aforementioned benefits as well. In the end I say: praise to Allah, the cheris her and sustainer of the worlds, peace to all who follow guidance, and peace and blessing be upon the most honorable and noblest Prophet Mohammad peace and blessing be upon Him, upon His family and His followers. References (MOHAMMAD UMAR MUBARIK)

Critical Review of Poor-Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion Essay

Social struggles and cultural crisis have been the subjects of various books over the years. They have resulted into an abundance of works done by social and theoretical experts as well as literary and media practitioners. One society crisis that these writers have discussed is the issue of poverty, the people involved in this situation, and the issue of poor-bashing they are faced with. However, only a few of these sources have really created their work using their own or personal experiences. The perspective coming from people who belong to the poverty block is significantly helpful and useful. This is because their personal experiences and battles ignite the search for truth and manifest the real issue that the poor people are the targets of a well-designed and orderly crusade of discrimination and exploitation. All it needs is a real presentation and argument of the issue for the public to realize that these poor people do not welcome being blamed for a condition that only society dictates.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Included in these first-hand writers is Jean Swanson (2001) who tackled the existing yet unfamiliar issue of poor-bashing in her book entitled â€Å"Poor Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion.† Swanson’s presentation of poverty, particularly poor-bashing, is a well-attested discussion that turned out to be a depiction of the real emotional expressions of the poor people and the author’s own cry from her heart.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The book is a passionate disclosure by anti-poverty activist Swanson of poor-bashing, a condition of the society that continuously fails to claim general information despite its existence and utilization as an anti-poverty tool for the past two decades. A seasoned anti-poverty activist, Swanson employed her personal experiences and various interactions with the rest of the poor people in her country to present the real issues brought about by poor-bashing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Swanson (2001), the term of poor-bashing hides the actual origins of poverty and the pain it inflicts to poor people. It degrades the employed people while taking away the pressure and responsibility from the rich members of the society. The Swanson book critically presents a new approach of writing poverty with the provision of the personal stories, ideas, and analysis of the poor about poverty. The book disputes the position that there is no one to be blamed for the condition of the poor people but themselves. The book serves as an expressive style of poor-bashing which was introduced in our terminology use and traditions. It is also an instrument for academic progress and direction (Swanson, 2001).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The term poor-bashing was defined by Swanson as a condition when poor people are pictured, neglected, accused, sponsored, sympathized, and wrongly blamed for being intoxicated, and contented of having big yet unmanageable families and settling as unemployed individuals depending on the welfare and financial assistance from the government. Aside from the said societal presentations, the poor people are likewise subjected to poor-bashing by the institution. A manifestation of low financial assistance rates for the promotion of social welfare is a type of poor-bashing by the establishment. Swanson added that having or allowing the existence of poverty when the society can possibly do away with it is also another poor-bashing kind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Poor-Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion† critically looked into how low-income people and even those belonging to below poverty line are marginalized and maltreated by the state, media and the corporate world. However, Swanson pulled off some entertainment when she pictured how the term poor-bashing, which was used to represent people who are dependent on financial assistance and benefits, actually better fits to demonstrate the behavior of the sluggish rich members of the society. In presenting the many points of the book, Swanson featured several realistic voices and emotions of the poor, such as those of single mothers, a side that has not been focused on by other works. These single parents are made to experience poor-bashing when they are shown as people struggling to give food, clothes, and shelter to their kids because of an unforgiving and unacceptable financial condition. The structural and personal poor-bashing of single mothers denied them the chance to decide better for themselves and their children, thereby negatively affecting their way of living.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An interview by Swanson with a single mother revealed that the latter did not prefer to be financially dependent and always on the welfare of other people. According to Swanson’s interpretation, the society where the single mother belongs and her partner in particular are the ones that actually put her life and that of her children where it is now. The poor-bashing applied to single mothers is just one of the pieces of evidence of the wide gap between the rich and the poor. Accordingly, in Swanson’s country (Canada) and in most parts of the world, statistics proves that the poor people tend to share only a small percentage of wealth while the rich people enjoy the biggest portion. It is generally perceived that people who have a share as that of the rich are assured of a dependable education and stable job. This is not because poor people are legally restricted to be a part of the majority, but it is because there are laws that are apparently in favor of the rich than the poor. This results in more options and opportunities available for the rich than for the poor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Swanson’s book unveiled the orientation of poor-bashing in a clean, strong manner. One example is the author’s analysis of how the media, particularly the reporters, function when they cover and tell stories about poverty. Swanson called this as the media â€Å"poornography† where the media utilizes many attacks to get and present poverty stories. In the book, media â€Å"poornography† depicts poor people as sufferers. Swanson said that this is part of the journalistic approach to â€Å"putting a face on the problem.† However, this media portrayal does not change the problem. This is because the said media approach fails to determine the real causes of poverty. Charity, financial aid, and welfare dependency offered to poor people oftentimes do not offer a solution to the poverty problem.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Despite the strengths of the book and that of Swanson’s arguments, they did not allow readers to draw their own conclusions and realize for themselves the main points of the issue of poor-bashing. Instead, the author dwells and banks on rhetorics about the need to solve the problems of classism, racism and sexism. Although these issues are valid, they made the book feel and look out of focus. The non-stop utilization of poor-bashing term or affiliation, apparently to picture evident situations pertaining to the problem, actually created a feeling for the public to be subjected to reader-bashing. This is simply because the book is all but representation of the poverty problem and poor-bashing in particular but without drawing a definite solution on how to address the said condition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The book which depicts the poor as unworthy, lazy, possibly involved in criminal acts and a threat to stability of the society deviate attention away from the real problem of poverty. This is because it diverts the true reasons of poverty and unemployment into the poor people who are presented as victims of inequality. The book’s individualization of the causes to poverty and unemployment distracts focus on the actual solutions to the problem. These realities include legalities and corporate decisions that are designed to produce and promote the undermining of wages and employment conditions of the poor. The book turns out to be just an endless discussions of who are the poor yet deserving people. This eventually encourage self restriction instead of self-esteem among poor people. Even the book’s presentation of the creation and multiplication of profit and wealth among the undeserving rich is overdue and uncalled for.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In challenging poor-bashing, it should be understood by the poor that they are not to be blame for their conditions. There are factors to be considered such as an apprehension of the economic system that actually cause poverty and how treatment of poverty is supported by the government. One must learn and realize that there is enough profit and wealth to end poverty, for both the rich and the poor to share. People in turn, should benefit from poor-bashing and poverty. Poverty is a condition that entails government policy and the poor people that are subjected to poor-bashing actually benefits because they become cheaper in the labor market. Sometimes, the poor has to challenge bashing created not by poverty but by the condition resulting from the conditions of racism or sexism. The poor just have to dispute the depictions created by the term, myths, media, and the government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Instead of stating proposals to address poor-bashing, the book should have encouraged the poor people to understand the underlying policies of the government, corporations, and media. These plans of action actually create confusion and exclusion and promote inequality and the feeling of blame. It is essential to unite crusades about poor-bashing with alliance against racism and other negative conditions of the society. It requires a lot of understanding and ultimately the need to build an organization of thoughts and actions. A concrete step is to end the kind of notion and feeling that group people into being poor or those on welfare dependency. This will not justify treating them badly and blaming them for poverty. There should be an end to blaming poverty to the poor or other oppressed people. In this manner, an adaptable and effective policies, laws, and economic system can be worked out that will allow poor people to productively compete against each other. Poverty should have a different and justifiable image. In the end, resolving poor-bashing requires addressing the issues of unequal distribution of wealth and income among all members of the society. With this, putting the blame of poverty on the poor would be stopped. Reference Swnson, J. (2001). Poor-Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion. Toronto: Between the Lines.   

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ACCOUNTING - Article Example This all contributed to the collapse of world’s largest and most powerful economies of the world. The paper, in general, tries to identify the various factors in the field of accounting research that contributed to the fall of financial system in the USA. It also talks about how weak laws and financial reporting requirements as a result of insufficient accounting research have contributed to the crisis apart from irresponsible behavior of the bankers and the banks. This article is written in this time because the entire world is going through a turbulent phase of global financial crisis which has not only paralysed the US economic system, but also the world economic system.The main point that the article discusses is the financial reporting requirements and in particular the valuation regulations. The article uses the secondary research methodology when analyzing the role of accounting research in its attempt to curb or stop the looming crisis. It talks about the fair value ac counting and how it contributed to the fall in the accounting system. It pays particular attention to the manipulation that many companies did in order to window-dress their financial statements and use it as a tool to justify money laundering, over-valued SIVs etc. However, at the same time, it criticizes the role of accounting research by using the observational secondary research. It says that even when the fair-value accounting was at its peak, the researchers were unable to publish any data or any empirical data about the problems that it could cause. Instead, during the years preceding crisis, there was no research done on the issue, and it was after the crisis had been fully operational that accountants starting paying heed to the issue and starting researching the topic. This again is used by the writer, as an evidence to signify the gap between accounting in practice and accounting research through observation and secondary research as a methodology. The article then comes down to the third argument that is used a factor showing the gap between accounting research and accounting

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Management - Essay Example Operations, quite differently from other major organization’s functional areas such as financing, marketing, accounting etc, are more directly related to an organization’s day-to-day quest of its main business (Summers, 1998, p. 1). Operational efficiency and effectiveness are critically important two terms in the contemporary business literatures, not only since they are of greater importance in strategic management but also they represent the most reliable aspects of growth and profits. This report chooses Dell Inc and describes examples of its strategic managerial and operational activities for critically analyzing the operational efficiency and effective systems to explain how they are aligned to deliver its performance objectives. Dell Inc: An Overview Started as a very small lucrative business in 1984 by Michael Dell, the company has now grown to become one of the largest computer manufacturer and multinational companies with strong strategic vision and operationa l emphasis on ‘going direct business model’, supply chain and build to order process, virtual integration and customer focus. As Holzner (2006, p. 5) noted, Dell was placed as 25th in the list of computer manufacturers in 1990s, but eventually, its operational efficiencies and technology advantages helped the company prospered while all other 24 companies have gone out of the list. It also achieved significant place in fortune 500 companies in 1992. With more than 63,000 employees, Dell Inc operates in more than 150 countries holding considerable market share in almost all the countries it markets its products and services. With a view to eliminate middlemen markups, it has created a strategic formula of direct marketing to help it maintain substantial cost advantages (Magretta, 1999, p.193). Michael dell has long been concentrating on operation efficiencies to be attained through strategic emphasis on ‘going direct’ model, effective supply chain process, v irtual integration and customization process etc. As shown in the depiction above, Dell in 2011 has been placed as third largest PC maker and marketer in the world just behind HP and Acer. Dell represented 12 percent market share in the worldwide PC market. Dell, though the recent market share and business performance has been accounted as quite below as compared to its previous years’ records, has been fostering on innovation, technology and efficient operation that in turn helped the company maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. When it comes to the business operation and operational objectives of Dell, it is very evident that the company has implemented superior managerial operation and most effective supply chain technique that have ever worked for Dell (Bozarth, 2005, p. 22). Various operational techniques such as going direct model, supply chain, customization, customer focus etc are analyzed below to review how these are deployed in Dell to achieve its organiza tional performance objectives. Going Direct Business Model For Dell Inc, the going direct marketing model has long been the

The Effects of Environmental Change Essay Example for Free

The Effects of Environmental Change Essay A changing environment can have many effects on our lives, being good or bad. The environment can change as a result of many things such as change over time, human intervention or natural disasters. Bushfires are a very significant natural disaster. Bushfires change the environment when they burn through forests and urban areas. They have many effects before they occur such as the way we live and how we prepare for a bushfire, and then there are the after-effects of the destruction caused when a bushfire burns through an area. Living in a bushfire prone area requires us to change the way we live because we must prepare our properties for protection against fires. Gutters must be kept clear and trees overhanging houses must be cut down. Many people also burn off around their land to save leaf litter and bark build-up. For many people living in the Hawkesbury area, these activities are a weekend routine, however, people living in urban areas dont need to make this change to their lives because of the threat of bushfires. When a bushfire burns it releases huge amounts of smoke and ash into the air above and surrounding it. This thick, heavy haze pollutes the air to a major extent, making it hard to breath in, settling on rooves and in gutters of homes with water tanks, and can even effect the operation of engines as their air intake is compromised. Also, pollution can be carried into many areas far from the actual blaze by the wind. This just multiplies the smoke affected area. Read more:  Effect of Haze on Environment Bushfires are one of the most destructive natural disasters in the world, they destroy everything in their paths, most that lies in the way of a bushfire is bushland however bushfires also destroy homes and other buildings such as sheds/garages. Once the fire is upon the owners property, there isnt really much that can be done to protect houses from burning. For anyone to lose their home to a bushfire would no doubt be one of the most  significant turning points of their life, having a major effect on many aspects of their life immediately and in the long term. In the recent fire disaster in California, a total of 2,125 homes were destroyed (as of October 31 2003), including one whole town overnight [Sydney Morning Herald]. Although a rare effect on our lives, Fires are the cause of many deaths to humans and animals. Humans and animals stand no chance whatsoever against a bushfire, the only way that we can survive one is if we get out of its way. Many people have died trying to save their houses and possessions, creating an enormous effect on their families and friends. When and even before bushfires strike, they can have many effects on our lives, especially to many of us who live in rural areas of the Hawkesbury region.

Theories Of Grameen Bank Founder Professor Muhammad Yunus

Theories Of Grameen Bank Founder Professor Muhammad Yunus Microfinance is the provision of financial services by certain institutions known as MFIs such as Cooperative Banks, Community Based-Saving Bank, Credit Unions, development bank to the poor, low income earners, self-employed and small businesses design to address to address issues of poverty. According to MIX in June 2010 there was more than 1800 MFIs in over 100 countries, with 92.4 millions borrowers and 78.5 millions savers in the developing world. The concept of microfinance was created by Professor Muhammad Yunus founder of Grameen bank in Bangladesh. Microfinance includes a range of services such as microcredit, saving, insurance and funds transfer. Traditional banks do not provide facilities to low income earners; they provide services to people after assessing the profile of clients according to certain criteria such as pay, credit history and assets of the clients. According to Hernando De Soto (1989) a Peruvian economist poor people have no assets to provide as collateral t o bank when taking a loan, therefore they are not liable to receive loans from banks. Since poor people do not have access to traditional banks they have to lend money with high interest rates from others sources such as pawnbroker and local money lender sometimes with 100% interest rate as borrowing from them is fast and flexible. Over the last 30 years MFIs have developed new methods with less collateral to offer small loans to low income earners and has grown rapidly in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America where there were few bank infrastructures and where in some cases more than 80 % of the population did not have a bank account. According to CGAP (2008), MFIs are funded by 33 donors of 21 investors such as DFI. Microfinance offers permanent financial facilities for education, health, personal emergencies, disasters, investment opportunities to the poor and it is used as a development tool. MFIs begin as non-profit organization increasingly they are now evolving as profit entities because MFIs are required to have a banking license for saving services. Some MFIs offers non-financial facilities such as health services and business development. In this review we will analyze and see how microfinance contributes to the economic development of a country and the review will be focused on creation of e mployment and the empowerment of women by microfinance. 2.1.1 Professor Muhammad Yunus Theoretical review The concept of microfinance was created by Professor Muhammad Yunus founder of Grameen bank in Bangladesh and noble price winner in 2006.He receives 76 other awards in different countries for his work. Professor Yunus obtainded a doctorate in Economics from Vanderbilt University found in Nashville, Tennessee in the United States. During the famine of 1974 in Bangladesh Professor Muhammad Yunus minor loans of USD27 to 42 poor families for them to buy and sell small articles to allow them to earn a living. The objective behind the loan was to reduce poverty in Bangladesh. Grameen bank was an idea generated by Professor Yunus the bank started as a project at the University of Chittagong as a pilot test to find different ways of providing credit to the poor in the rural area. The Grameen bank offered its services to a village named Jobra near the university; the project was successful and had the support of Bangladesh central bank in 1979. The bank extends its services to Tangail district and to other areas of Bangladesh. In 1983 the Bangladesh Government turns the project into an independent bank and Professor Yunus had a grant from the Ford foundation to incorporate Grameen bank with the support of two bankers namely Mary Houghton and Ron Grzywinkski from Shore bank of Chicago. The Ford foundation was established in 1936 it is an independent nonprofit and nongovernmental organization which help in social change, the organization help to reduce poverty and help in human advancement worldwide by offering subsidies and loans to certain organizations. 2.2.4 Credit Union Mutual societies Grameen bank is a Nobel Prize winner corporation founded in 1983, its headquarter is situated in Dhaka in Bangladesh and the bank is known for its solidarity lending system or banking and is also known as banking to the poor. Solidarity lending is the foundation of microcredit. The word Grameen is derived means village in Bangladesh, the bank incorporates the 16 decisions which is recited by bank borrowers and which they shall abide to them. The 16 decisions comprises the four principles of Grameen bank which are Discipline, Courage, Unity, and Hard work, and the other 15 decisions are resumed as to improve their standard of living and there is the element of togetherness to do social activities to improve their way of living. These sixteen decisions have a positive impact on the inhabitants of Bangladesh where more children have joined school. The bank has different sources of funding; initially huge capital was obtained from donor agency at low rates. During the 1990s the bank has its bulk of capital from the Central bank of Bangladesh and recently from the sales of bonds subsidized by its government. In 1998 The bank make loan to poor people in the form of microcredit as a result of flood in Bangladesh, the repayment rate decreases but recovered afterwards, USD4.7 billions has been loaned in 2005and USD6 billion in 2008. Nowadays the bank has expand more and offers more loans to the poor and in 2006 it has up to 2100 branches in Bangladesh. Due to Grameens success more than 40 countries including the United States in 2008 where 12.6% of the population live below the poverty line have been inspired by the bank to make projects with the same perspective, only Africa which has lag behind. The World Bank has financed the projects. The bank is owned by the poor borrowers of the bank of which the majority are women as the borrowers own 94% of the equity and the remaining 6% is owned by the Government of Bangladesh. The bank has grown to a large extent between 2003-2007 in 2003 the numbers of borrowers have doubled and in October 2007 the number of clients was 7.34 Million of which 97% were women and had a staff of 24703, in 2468 branches over 80257 villages that is the branches have spread in more villages since they were situated in only 43681 villages in 2003 and the repayment rate. Since the banks start ed to operate it has USD6.55 billions as loans USD87 billion has been repaid and the bank claim repayment rate of 98.35% up from the 95% of 1998 but again the Wall Street journal in 2001claim that it doubted the 95% and the accounting standard used by Grameen bank. Grameen started to diversify in the 1980 where it develops into a multi facet group with profit and nonprofit group among which are Grameen fisheries foundation for fisheries project, Grameen Agriculture Foundation for irrigation project, Grameen fund and Grameen Trust.Grameen believe that the concept of giving charity will encourage charity whereas the concept of microcredit will help poor people to exit poverty and the bank invest in children education by providing scholarships and loans for higher education. Grameen Foundation PPI Microfinance in developed countries 2.3.3 Theoretical study of Microcredit Theoretical study According to Boudreaux and Cowen (2008) microcredit is a micro magic and makes the life of the poor becomes easier, it is an alternative to traditional lending of banks. Instead of giving charity to the poor, microcredit is a human way of providing finance to poor people as according to the Chinese proverb Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime, it is an investment in human capital. Microcredit is an innovation in the world of finance it forms part of microfinance, the concept did not exist before the seventies, and it is a small loan rarely exceeding USD200 and usually below USD50 made to the poor or people with low income with little or no collateral. Microcredit clients are those that are considered as near the poverty line, the loans allow micro entrepreneurs to generate an income for a better standard of living. Grameen bank based itself on three Cs namely Character that is the reliability of the people the Capacity to h andle funds and the Capital which is the assets of the borrower such as savings. Microcredit is gaining more credibility in the finance industry and many large organizations are developing microfinance programs for future growth although at the start many were pessimistic about the future of microcredit in the financial system. 50% of the population in many developing countries is self employed and these loans of three months to three years with small interest rates and no collateral help poor people to become financially independent and help to reduce poverty. The microcredit programs helps people to achieve high repayment rate even sometimes more than that of traditional banking because of the system of peer support. In the case of the Grameen bank where there are solidarity groups and it is also known as social capital and is composed of 5 members and each member is responsible for each other success and repayment, but are not guarantees or liable if members default. Nevertheless the members make sure that each one is taking its responsibility to make repayment this act as a motivating factor for the members. Sometimes in real life when a member of the group defaults the other four collaborates together and contribute to pay on behalf of the defaulting member. The microcredit system of Grameen bank is based on Trust and there is no conventional contract between the bank and the borrowers, but the borrowers must have a small account with the bank known as group fund which acts as an insurance in case of an emergency. Women account for 97% of the microcredit client of Grameen bank and this help to empower women as they get access to resources and have a say in decision making since they become micro entrepreneurs. Grameen bank has records of 98% repayment rate from women which is in contradiction with Wall street Journal which says that there is one fifth of the total loan of the bank is overdue but Grameen bank claims in turn that the standard of living of the poor has increased that is they are respecting the 16 decisions of the bank and are able to make a repayment of around 4USD per week. Empirical review of microcredit Grameen bank develop several program for the poor of which one of them is the struggling members program in 2003 which is different from the 5 group member borrowing it consists of distributing interest free loans to beggars in Bangladesh where the banking rules do not apply and where the repayment period is arbitrary for USD1.5 about 3.4 US cents and if they borrower default they are already covered under an insurance paid by the bank itself. This type of loan encouraged the beggars to generate an income by the sales of cheap items, there is a record shown in the microfinance summit 2006 that loans taken by beggars are about USD 833,150 and the repayment is USD 496,900 that is 59.64% repayment rate which according to me is quite encouraging since it is more half of the money loaned. Certain developed countries such as in Canada have try to used the Grameen model but the project has failed due to certain factors such as the risk profile of clients, no taste for joint liability that is the no solidarity between the borrowers, high overhead costs therefore the project does not stand without subsidies in Canada which is contrary to the USA where microcredit has been successful. Sometimes microcredit is subjected to problem such as opportunism and asymmetric information. The first Grameen branch has made a loan of $1.5 million in the USA among which was 600 women and the repayment was very high up to 99%. People took the loan to sell items such as flowers, jewelry clothes and Grameen bank remains unshaken while others collapsed during crisis. Despite the global recession, The President Barack Obama announced the creation of $100 million funds to lend as microcredit to the western hemisphere. Micro Saving Apart from microcredit the need of financial users is increasing, there is demand from 19 million potential savers to have access to micro saving services. They need services that are flexible and adapted to them. Traditionally savings is done by people at home or by normal banks at a high cost which was not encouraging to the poor. Microfinance has brought services such as savings to poor people. Savings help people to feel safer and more stable, and help poor people to manage their money conveniently. Micro saving consists of small deposits, terms and interest rate that is flexible to clients at the same time banks used the money to make loans to poor people. Credit Insurance In 2002 opportunity organization started to give micro insurance services. Its subsidiary MicroEnsure was the first institution offering micro insurance services and provide protection against many risks for the poor. Stakeholders and local insurance worked in collaboration with MicroEnsure to develop and match the needs of the poor. The insurance provided were affordable, they offered agricultural, medical, property and life policy providing a safety net in case of disasters with average premium of USD 1.5 for family with 5members. Medical policies covered even people already suffering from diseases and even those suffering from HIV viruses. Actually MicroEnsure is offering insurance in 5 countries to over 1million poor people and was one of the runner-ups of financial times in June 5 for sustainability award and receives a grant from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to expand itself in other countries. Microcredit transfer Microcredit Summit The first microcredit summit was held at Washington D.C. on the 24 February 1997, 137 countries were present at the summit with 2900 participants. In the summit they launch a campaign to reach 100 million poorest families that is those people living below the poverty line, with those living with less than USD1.25 a day adjusted to the purchasing power parity (based on 2005 prices) all around the world within nine years especially to empower women as micro entrepreneurs. The objective was nearly achieved in 2005 and in November 2006 the campaign re-launched to 2015 with two new objectives was ensured that 175 millions poorest families especially women are obtaining credit for self employment and for business and financial services. The second objective is to ensure that 100 millions poorest familys worldwide increase to USD1 a day adjusted to the purchasing power parity from 1990 to 2015. The microcredit campaign is the project of the Educational fund from the USA an organization committed to end hunger and poverty around the world. The campaign group together people such as microcredit practitioners, donor agencies, international financial institutions, non -governmental organizations, advocates, and other people involved with microcredit for effective and efficient practices. In August 2008 the World Bank claim that approximately 280 million families live below the poverty line with less than USD1.25 daily. The four core themes of the summit are reaching the poorest, empowering women, building self sufficient and sustainable MFIs, ensuring that microfinance has a positive impact on the lives of the poor The forthcoming Microfinance Summit 2011 will be held in Valladolid, Spain, the summit is believed to improve the microfinance sector and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. A hundred countries and over 2000 participants are expected in the summit. In the agenda there will be the presentation of new products, job creation with microfinance and best practices among other issues will addressed. Poverty It has been proved that microfinance is the tool to help poor family moved out of poverty and to contribute to the economy of a country. Studies have shown with the microcredit provided by Grameen bank in Bangladesh 48% of the families below the poverty line have exit from poverty. According to some studies with microcredit 5% of the poor could exit the poverty line each year as it is an investment in human capital and improve peoples life. Microcredit is an opportunity for the poor to realize their dreams. Employment Generation Microcredit helps in the generation of employment; therefore it helps in economic development and in a sustainable means of income. With the microcredit poor people are able to earn a living by selling low priced items or to even expand their businesses at the same time they become sustainable and create employment for other people .Microfinance is a mean of creating employment and improving the life of poor people. Women Microfinance more specifically microcredit is an instrument used for the empowerment of women it increase social welfare and enhances gender equity. Microcredit helps women to become economic actors in power. We have heard a lot about the role of women in microfinance, 94% of the borrowers of Grameen bank are women and 97% of the borrowers are owners in the equity of the bank, according to Rankin (2002) the reason behind this is because women invest more in the family than men because of their nurturing instincts and are more devoted towards their families. Women play a crucial role in the economic growth of a country by first improving their family life, their communities and countries. In the microfinance summit provisions are made for the poorest families around but especially for women as they form an important part of microfinance. Women are targeted because they are the one in the family to up bring the children and poverty of the women results in illiteracy of their chil dren and other social problems. Mohhamud Yunus (1999) explains that women are more willing to work harder to raise their children and to move their families out of poverty, whereas when a destitute father earns an income his priorities will more around himself than for his family. In 2005 Kofi Anan promote the year as the UN microfinance year for empowerment of women. Studies have shown that women are good income earner and that women have a high repayment rate. In Nepal with the Women empowerment program 68 % of the women are able to cater for the needs of the family by sending their children to school, buying and selling properties which normally was the duty of the husband. Access to microcredit has increase from 7.6 million in 1997 to 26.8 million in 2001 among which are 21 million women the access to loans enabled them to make economic decisions , to buy assets and resources and to become more independent. . We will look at two among many microcredit stories of women the first one is that of Janet Deval from Haiti who was an illiterate women with a hearing problem she had five children, her husband refused to pay the school fees but she knew that education was important for the children. Janet sold goods in Hinche and pay for her children schools on her own. She started to take literacy classes at Fonkoze a microcredit institution in Haiti. Afterwards Janet knew how to write her name and could things that she couldnt do before since she was never sent to school. Later she took a loan from Fonkoze to be able to expand her business at the market to be able to continue to send her children to school, without the microfinance institution Janet would have been unable to read and write and to even expand her business therefore she would have been able to educate her children. The second case is that of Anastacia Abella from the Philippines, she lived as a squatter in Manila, she lived with her four children in a shelter made from scrap, the village have frequent blackout therefore she decided to search for jar in the garbage to make lamps, after decorating the lamps, she sell 150 of them each day and make a small profit. She took a loan at Opportunity international and she was to make 300 lamps a day, the loan allows her to make greater profit and be able to improve her standard of living. Empirical review Social capital is an important component of microcredit it is used as a tool in development programmes. Social A study was carried out by Forbes Marshall Co .Ltd a well known company in Maharashtra, India as an initiative of CSR about the impact of social capital on social empowerment carried using primary data from 217 women all members of SHG by using random sampling.15 variables were used using Likert scale to know the perceptions of women about the microfinance programs. The conclusion of the study was that the social capital created help in women empowerment but that the organization must give appropriate support and policies to the social capital such as capacity building programmes to help decision making. Islamic microfinance Critics of microfinance Microfinance in Mauritius To coordinate the activities of Grameen Foundation, we have staff based at our headquarters in Washington, D.C., at the Grameen Technology Center in Seattle, Washington and in offices in Los Angeles, Ghana and the Philippines. Overseeing the staff is a Board of Directors. Our Grameen Foundation Advisory Council and our Board Committees and Councils nurture new ideas, innovations, strategic thinking and program development. Much of Grameen Foundations work is done by our network of volunteers who are committed to our mission, some of whom have been working in partnership with us for more than ten years. Alex Counts, President CEO Alex Counts is President and CEO of Grameen Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on enabling the poor to escape poverty, using microfinance and technology. Counts founded Grameen Foundation and became its CEO in 1997, after having worked in microfinance and poverty reduction for 10 years. Since its modest beginnings, sparked by a $6,000 seed grant provided by Grameen Bank founder (and founding Grameen Foundation board member) Professor Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Foundation has grown to a leading international humanitarian organization with an annual budget of approximately $25 million. A Cornell University graduate, Counts commitment to poverty eradication deepened as a Fulbright scholar in Bangladesh, where he witnessed innovative poverty solutions being developed by Grameen Bank. He trained under Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the founder and managing director of Grameen Bank, and co-recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Counts has propelled Grameen Foundations philosophy through his writings, including Small Loans, Big Dreams: How Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and Microfinance Are Changing the World. Counts has also been published in The Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Miami Herald, The Christian Science Monitor and elsewhere. In 2007 he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Horace Mann School. Counts chairs the Fonkoze USA board of directors and is the immediate past chair of Project Enterprises board. He sits on the Advisory Council of the Center for Financial Inclusion, the Advisory Board of the ThinkGlobal Arts Foundation, and he co-chairs the Microenterprise Coalition. He serves on the Board of Directors of two social businesses: Grameen-Jameel Pan-Arab Microfinance Ltd. and YouChange PuRong Information Advisory Co. Ltd., which promote microfinance and related efforts in the Arab World and China respectively. Before leading Grameen Foundation, Counts served as the legislative director of RESULTS and as a regional project manager for CARE-Bangladesh. He speaks fluent Bengali and lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Emily, and their cat, Seymour. Top Peter Bladin, Executive Vice President, Programs and Regions Peter Bladin is Executive Vice President of Programs and Regions at Grameen Foundation, and the Founding Director of the Grameen Foundation Technology Center. Under his leadership, the Technology Center has led the microfinance industry in driving relevant and appropriate technology innovation, creating information and communications initiatives that benefit the worlds poorest. Peter was a founding member of the MTN-Village Phone board, the first public-private partnership to extend telecommunications access to the rural poor. He is a frequent speaker at international telecommunication and microfinance conferences, and is an Executive Board Member of the International Telecommunications Union Connect the World initiative. Peter is also actively involved with various Seattle-based non-profits, including Global Partnerships and Social Venture Partners. Before joining Grameen Foundation, Peter worked for Microsoft for more than 10 years, managing various projects and departments during his tenure. He has a degree in Mathematics from the University of Uppsala, Sweden. Top Jennifer Meehan, CEO, Asia Region Jennifer Meehan joined Grameen Foundation in February 2005 as the founding Director of the Capital Markets Group, during which time she led the development and launch of the Growth Guarantees product. She subsequently led Grameen Foundations strategic planning process before taking on her current role in January 2009. She is based in Hong Kong. Jennifer has lived in Asia Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, and China since 1996. She started her career in the formal financial sector with Chase Manhattan Bank (now JP Morgan Chase), but made the transition to microfinance following the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Prior to joining Grameen Foundation, she worked extensively with poverty-focused MFIs throughout Asia including CASHPOR, the Asian network of Grameen Bank Replicators, on financial management, business planning and financing. She has also consulted for Calvert Social Investment Foundation, among others, and published a number of articles. She was a founding investor and, until October 2007, served on the Investment Committee of the Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund. Jennifer graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in International Affairs from George Washington University. Top Alberto Solano, CEO, Americas Alberto Solano joined Grameen Foundation in October 2009 and provides leadership and management oversight for our portfolio and activities across the Americas. He also serves as our senior representative in the region. He has more than 10 years experience in microfinance, principally in Latin America, and most recently was the Latin America Program Director for Global Partnerships. He previously worked with the Central American Bank for Economic Integrations microfinance and technical assistance programs in Honduras, and ran his own consulting company specializing in sustainable development and microfinance. Top Julia Soyars, General Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary Julia Soyars joined Grameen Foundation in March 2005 and started the Grameen Foundation legal department. After working five years in energy and government contracting law and litigation at Pillsbury, Madison and Sutro in Washington, Julia joined the legal department at The American National Red Cross, where she spent eleven years handling domestic and international transactions. Julia is a founding member of the Microfinance Council of Counsels and is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. Julia holds a JD Magna Cum Laude from Syracuse University. Top Joshua Tripp, Chief Financial Officer Joshua Tripp is Grameen Foundations Chief Financial Officer. Joshua joined Grameen in 2007 after spending seven years at Community Wealth Ventures (CWV), most recently as a Vice President. In his time at CWV, Joshua worked with dozens of innovative nonprofit organizations, helping them to assess, plan and launch for-profit business ventures to increase their sustainability. He became an expert in financial planning and capitalization of social enterprises, and was a presenter at several industry conferences and seminars. Before joining CWV, Joshua was a Project Manager for GS Telecom, a start-up satellite telecommunications company in Ghana. Prior to GS Telecom, Joshua worked in the investment banking division of Deutsche Bank, where he worked on a variety of public equity financings, private placements and merger and acquisition transactions in the technology industry. Joshua has a BA in Economics from Williams College and an MBA from the George Washington University School of Busin ess. Top Sandra Adams, Vice President, External Affairs Sandra Adams brings three decades of nonprofit development, communications and event marketing experience to Grameen Foundation. Throughout her career her focus has been on improving the status of women in positions with the AAUW Educational Foundation, American Nurses Association, and National Breast Cancer Coalition and on environmental advocacy through her work with the National Parks Conservation Association and The Wilderness Society. An avid student and proponent of philanthropy, she was elected Chair of the Association of Fundraising Professionals national board of directors, served as President of their Washington, DC chapter and is one of only 150 people to have achieved the Advanced Certified Fundraising Executive credential. She was named Washingtons Outstanding Fund Raising Executive of the Year in 1994. Sandra has served on the boards of EarthShare and CFRE International. She holds a Bachelors degree from Mercyhurst College, a Masters from the University of Massachusetts -Amherst and a certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language from Georgetown University. Top Camilla Nestor, Vice President of Microfinance Programs Camilla Nestor joined Grameen Foundation in August 2005 and previously served as Growth Guarantees Manager and Director of the Capital Management and Advisory Center. She was appointed Vice President for Microfinance in April 2009. She has 14 years of experience in microfinance and commercial banking. Before joining Grameen Foundation, she worked in Citigroups Structured Corporate Finance Department where she executed credit-enhanced debt financings for emerging markets firms in Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Prior to joining Citi, she spent five years on the ground in Southeast Asia, the Balkans, and Africa working with microfinance institutions on start-up, new product development, and capital raising. Camilla holds an MBA and a masters degree in International Affairs from Columbia University and a bachelors degree in Political Science and International Relations from Colorado College. She speaks Bahasa Indonesia and is conversant in French. Top David Edelstein, Vice President of Technology Programs, and Director of the Grameen Foundation Technology Center David Edelstein is Director of the Grameen Foundation Technology Center and Vice President of Technology Programs at Grameen Foundation. As the leader of Grameen Foundations work in technology, he guides programs that create innovative and sustainable approaches to employing technology for the benefit of the worlds poor. This includes efforts to develop services that can be accessed on widely available mobile phones, in domains such as health and agriculture, to improve lives and livelihoods. It also encompasses efforts in technology for microfinance, including an open-source software initiative designed to accelerate the growth of microfinance institutions (Mifos) and efforts to enable the poor to transfer funds using mobile phones. Before joining Grameen Foundation, David spent three years at Microsoft, designing busine

PESTEL Analysis of Nokia

PESTEL Analysis of Nokia Business is all about improving, adjusting and surviving and companies face with diverse environment which is beyond the control of the business such as Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal, which is changing rapidly, rather than being rigid. It is very important for business organizations to be sensitive and aware of its business environment in which it operates. Business environment refers to those factors and variables that can influence and affect operation of a business organization. For instance, Nokia is one of the successful mobile phone companies that was affected by the technological environment and have experienced a significant fiasco. Big market leaders such as Apple and Android crushed Nokia, however it was recognized that Nokia is adaptive company and they try their force in another field. But all Nokia’s efforts to adapt wasn’t so powerful, so company fail in adaptation process. This example may show how Nokia encountered with technological environment and made effort to adapt that challenge. So in this essay I am going to write about PESTLE analysis which could show diverse external effects on business and for the better understanding here is video about PESTEL analysis[1]. PESTEL analysis Francis J. Aguilar: In 1967, there was a mention of Aguilar in Scanning the Business Environment, where he discussed the environmental factors affecting a business. He gave them the acronym ETPS to indicate the Economic, Technical, Political, and Social factors. PESTEL analysis is a simple and effective tool used in situation analysis to identify the key external (macro environment level) forces that might affect an organization. These forces can create both opportunities and threats for an organization. According to the research three main and essential business environments Political, Technological, and Environmental that managers should pay attention and adjust to them. The political environment could change as a result of the actions and policies of governments at all levels, from the local level to the federal level. It is becoming very important issue, which includes globalization and creates a risk. Businesses need to be prepared to deal with the fallouts of government politics. As for example, aviation industry have been affected by Political environment, Malaysia airlines flight MH17 have been crashed in Ukraine with 298 passengers and crew. It is the second accident that happened after MH 370, which went missing. Day of the vision of accident Boeing 777 presented the Defense Ministry of Russia there have led a number of arguments in favor of the version that the plane was shot down by a Ukrainian military. According to the Office, Boeing, while over the Donetsk region, has deviated from the corridor of the airway and was at 14 km to the north. Further, flying past Gorlovka liner tried to return to the route, but the boundaries of his airway did not have time to get, and was crashed of its limits. Ukraine nowadays has political issues and civil war, and this all circumstances has impact on aviation industry in Malaysia, MH370s disappearance had a dramatic impact on its first-quarter results, with cancelled bookings helping push the company to a loss of 443 million ringgit (US$140 million). State fund Khazanah Nasional, which holds the airlines purse strings, said in June it would announce a plan to revive the carrier within six to 12 months. Malaysia Airlines had already raked in losses amounting to US$1.3 billion over the previous three years. So all this political games may arouse risk for aviation industry and bring considerable material losses. All in all, technology has always been and continues to be the greatest change agent of our civilization. And technology is leading the most important revolution in business. It is changing at a fast pace and it ´s creating new trends in the marketplace. (Australian authorities have demanded an explanation about the Russian plane crash in Ukraine, 2014) According to Harvard Business Review 3D printers will change the world and business as well. 3D printer machine that produces objects of any shape, on the spot and as needed, really is ushering in a new era. Goods will be infinitely more customized, because altering them won’t require retooling, only tweaking the instructions in the software. Creativity in meeting individuals’ needs will come to the fore, just as quality control did in the age of rolling out sameness. These first-order implications will cause businesses all along the supply, manufacturing, and retailing chains to rethink their strategies and operations. And a second-order implication will have even greater impact. As 3-D printing takes hold, the factors that have made China the workshop of the world will lose much of their force. China has grabbed outsourced-manufacturing contracts from every mature economy by pushing the mass-manufacturing model to its limit. It not only aggregates enough demand to cre ate unprecedented efficiencies of scale but also minimizes a key cost: labor. China will have to give up on being the mass-manufacturing powerhouse of the world. This new technology will change again how the business leans. (3D Printers Will Soon Change The World, If Its Not Strangled In A Lawyered Up World, 2014). Another factor as Environmental may affect to business and research shows that the environmental impact of doing business costs the global economy $4.7 trillion a year. For example, severe floods in Australia in 2010 to 2011 resulted in more than $350 million in claims to re-insurer Munich Re, which contributed to a 38 percent quarterly drop in profit for the company. The same period of extreme weather in Australia contributed to a loss of $245 million. Furthermore water is one of the consequential environmental factor that impacts on business. Water management is of critical concern to business, from access issues that disrupt production, to tightening legislation over water quality and increasing costs associated with allocations. In a recent interview with theFinancial Times, Nestlà © Chairman Peter Brabeck suggested water access and management now comprise a more urgent concern for contemporary business even than climate change, which gains so much political attention. So, above mentioned macro environmental factors that is modifying swiftly will invent influences that could bring success or fail and different companies went over it in their own strategy. There is examples of case studies, such as Amway in China, Jessop’s photographic retailer. Following to the article in Harvard Business Review, the president of Amway Company Doug DeVos is reinventing the business to succeed in China. One of the biggest lessons that the company learned that as they have grown around the world is that a true understanding of the market- place, including culture, the economics, the politics, and the people, is essential. Amway entered Asia in 1974, with the opening of Hong Kong and by 1998 China was a $200 million operation and growing fast. However, Chinese government was becoming unhappy with the actions of some direct sellers. Issues related to product quality, reliability, and our trust were rampant. Chinese officials needed to protect consumers and to put a stop to unethical practices. But the action government pursued was extreme: outlawing direct selling and punishing legitimate as well as unethical sellers. And now it appeared that Amway could be put out of business, despite their commitment to and investment to China operation. Howe ver Amway started to change operations to accommodate Chine’s new regulations. Company created a physical stores, something that they had never done before. That meant selling products to people who came in off the street again not their usual way of doing business. Typically when Amway enters to a new country, they import products from United States. But for China they manufacture goods there, so company have changed their entire distributer compensation system. Also Amway couldn’t rely on word-of-mouth that drives direct sales, choosing to do brand advertising. In short they had to overhaul nearly everything. In 2005 legislation was passed that would allow Amway to return to direct sales business model. Company received new license to do business in China in 2006. And today China is largest market, with more than $4 billion in annual sales. From this we could recognize that Chinese political environment create risk and changed business structure. (â€Å"Amwayâ€℠¢s president on reinventing the business to succeed in China†, 2014, p. 41-45). Second, the company is the UK’s premier photographic retailer operating from over 200 stores around the UK. The photography and imaging business has experienced considerable change in recent years. Technology has beenat the front of this change. New digital cameras and digital media enable ordinary people to take high-quality photographs. These images can be quickly edited and altered. The digital camera market has expanded quickly as a result. For example, as more mobile phones come fitted with good quality built-in cameras, sales in standalone digital cameras have begun to fall. The development of the internet is also having an impact on the market. More customers are using the internet for shopping. Increasingly, people use social media to share images online on sites such as Facebook and Flicker. Many people upload images from their mobile phones onto a social media site. By consuming and sharing images in this way, there is less demand for print copies. Sales of digital p rints are declining by 10% a year. Following to case study there some technological solutions that company has done: Jessop’s have come up with technological solutions in response to these changes. The company is responding by providing products and services that reflect the way that customers take, use and distribute photos: Customers are now able to print images taken from social media or other websites. These images can be printed in a variety of sizes and shapes. They can be compiled in photo books. Selected images can be printed on canvas, acrylic and aluminum. Customers can incorporate their images in gifts such as calendars, posters and greetings cards. Jessop’s has an integrated service for images created on mobile phones and loaded onto social media sites. These developments, alongside a wider range of products, improved online functionality and consumer finance with an instant decision, have resulted in rapid growth of Jessop’s’ online business. In fact, its .com business has trebled in size over the last 3 years. By using wide-format printers, customers will be able to have wall art printed on site within the hour. New kiosk technology will enable customers to convert old videos and films to digital formats, with results saved to Blu-ray Disc or DVD. Finally, company abided technological environment and tried to stay in market. In conclusion, market leaders and new organizations strive to build a strong and sustainable strategy which could yield prosper to their internal environment of business. While they should take into account external environment which is unpredictable and could ruin company’s future or establish benefit to new level of development. [1] See video clip 1 at CD attached at the back

Discuss the theme of the Dream in Of Mice and Men. Essay -- English Li

Discuss the theme of the Dream in Of Mice and Men. â€Å"Everyone in the world has a dream he knows can’t Come off but he spends his life hoping it may. This is at once The sadness and greatness and the triumph of our species† John Steinbeck ============== Discuss the theme of the Dream in ‘Of Mice and Men’. Steinbeck’s quote above portrays an important aspect of ‘Of Mice and Men’. Steinbeck remarks on how people can create a dream and how they can have positive and negative effects from them. A dream is human nature, where a person can get away from the outside world by thinking or imagining what their life would be like if the dream came true. Throughout the book there are four main dreams, which the characters have in ‘Of Mice and Men’. Firstly George and Lennie’s dream about owning their own land. This progresses when Candy makes the dream more realistic. Curley’s dream was about wanting himself to be physically bigger and to gain peoples respect. Curley’s wife’s dream was to go to Hollywood and be a big time actress. Crook’s dream was to have freedom like he had when he was a child. George and Lennie’s dreams were very similar in their own way. Georges dream was about getting a piece of land of his own and Lennie’s dream was to tend to the rabbits on their own piece of land. George and Lennie’s dream was the main dream throughout the book where they thought of owning a ranch of their own. Lennie’s concern in the dream was about tending the rabbits, which is emphasised in the number of times he mentions it during the book, â€Å"tendin ´ the rabbits†. George has a complete different view on the same dream. He wants the land so he can be dependant on himself, so he doesn’t have to work for other pe... ...o give good advice and listen to people. Slim had the most respect out of all the ‘ranch hands’. It is unusual the way Steinbeck has showed this character, as he owns such a big part of the story yet doesn’t have a dream. Whit also shows that he wants to do something with his life as he read his friend’s letter printed on the magazine, he felt slightly jealous. John Steinbeck has portrayed the theme ‘dream’ very well in the book. The way he has made nearly all the characters have a dream where they display high hopes. In George and Lennie’s case, being their own bosses. This dream can be metaphorically described as the Great American Dream, which shows anything you have in your mind you can achieve it, if you try your best and work hard for it. Unfortunately in ‘Of Mice and Men’ neither of the characters achieve their dream due to certain circumstances.

An Introduction To Expert Systems Essay examples -- Technology Compute

An Insight into Expert Systems Abstract To improve speed of operations, programming practices for practical purposes are moving away from the data centric, procedural problem solving paradigm to a heuristic, declarative problem solving paradigm. Though theoretically there is no guarantee that a solution shall be found and even if it is found, that it be correct, practically it has been proven that expert systems employing , heuristics are indeed a faster and more effective manner of problem solving , with an added advantage of having an explanation for the answer arrived at. Having started out as a diagnostic tool, it has now found acceptance all over, be it Manufacturing Firms or IT Solution Providers and is definitely here to stay. Its dependence on Artificial Intelligence furthermore proves its capabilities to branch out to more areas of deployment. With the advent of commercial-off-the-shelf expert system development tools making the process of designing an expert system a simple task, now the real challenge lies with the experts to be able to put these their knowledge and expertise in their domain to effective use to create systems which can be put to use effectively. Expert Systems are a branch of Artificial Intelligence that makes an extensive use of specialized knowledge to solve problems at the level of a human expert. AI's scientific goal is to understand intelligence by building computer programs that exhibit intelligent behavior. The term intelligence covers many cognitive skills, including the ability to solve problems, learn, and understand language; AI addresses all of those. But most progress to date in AI has been made in the area of problem solving -- concepts and methods for building programs that reas... ...tive. The IFE may also use a variety of techniques, particularly when carrying out the dialogue with the user to produce the specification of the user's problem. Research has flattened out when compared to the days of its inception as a practice, as more efforts have been employed in tapping its commercial value. To maximize this, other systems such as database and fuzzy logic systems are being embedded into expert systems. Drawbacks Expert systems are said to have a narrow domain and limited focus. Also they do not have a learning ability which is something AI systems are expected to. They require rigorous maintenance procedures and incur huge developmental costs. Bibliography 1. Knowledge Based Systems in Japan (http://www.wtec.org/loyola/kb/) 2. Databases and Artificial Intelligence 3 by Alison Cawsey (http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~alison/ai3notes/)

Bure rockets to Rangers :: essays research papers

Bure rockets to Rangers New York Rangers fans have to be the happiest in hockey right now following the acquisition of three-time goal-scoring champion Pavel Bure. "The Russian Rocket" will be in the lineup tonight when the Rangers host the Vancouver Canucks. The irony can't be missed. Bure rocketed to fame with the Canucks, leading them to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1994 -- the first year he led the NHL in goals -- only to be defeated by the Rangers. In 1999, the Rangers turned down a trade involving Bure with the Canucks, who then traded the Moscow native to the Florida Panthers, for whom he twice led the NHL in goals. But Bure is a Ranger following the deal that sent defenseman Igor Ulanov, junior defenseman Filip Novak, the Rangers' first- and second-round picks in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft and their fourth-rounder in 2003 for Bure and Florida's second-round 2002 pick. The Rangers were glad not to part with U.S. Olympian Mike York whose name had been mentioned in earlier talks. Madison Square Garden Chief Executive Jim Dolan sent his corporate jet to Florida to retrieve Bure who will skate with the Rangers this morning before playing tonight. "He's a constant threat — he's somebody that can score any time he gets the puck on his stick," Rangers General Manager Glen Sather said. "He's a superstar. He's an artist with the puck. He's a great player." Bure has had a troubled season. After leading the NHL with 58 and 59 goals the last two seasons, he started the season with a groin problem, then suffered a head injury in November and a broken hand in January. In 56 games, he has scored 22 goals and added 27 assists. Rangers coach Ron Low hopes Bure's problems are behind him. The Rangers are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, in danger of missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season. "To me, it's absolutely amazing," Low said. "I'm kind of excited. He's an obvious talent — one of the best, if not the best, goal-scorer in the league right now. He has had a tough year. But the biggest thing is: Is he excited to come? I'm sure he is." The six-time All-Star and three-time goal-scoring champ, who turns 31 on March 31, has eclipsed the 50-goal mark five times in his 11-year NHL career.

Raymond Briggs Essay

During the 1980s there was fear of a nuclear attack. Mass protests were held in order to prevent nuclear armament. Many politicians gave formal sermons to the public, warning them of the threat of nuclear war and the effects of the bombs. However, Raymond Briggs uses cartoon books and film to illustrate the serious message, making it more interesting, so more people take notice of it. ‘When the Wind Blows’ follows the lives of a conventional, elderly couple in the countryside. Their names are Jim and Hilda Bloggs. The name Bloggs shows that they are very ordinary and could represent anybody. The first section of the cartoon strip shows the idyllic countryside in which the couple live. There are fluffy clouds in the sky, but at the same time these clouds are very ominous, as we later find out. These clouds soon become mushroom clouds after the bomb hits. There are bright colours filling the pages making their lives seem cheerful. The windmills in the background generate wind using the latest technology, however, this technology is what creates the bomb. Jim reads the newspaper when he arrives home and we realise that the lives shown in the newspaper are so very different compared to his and his wife’s simple lives. ‘My life isn’t very fast-moving or dynamic.’ Jim always tries to sound intelligent but gets things wrong constantly. This makes us feel terrible pity for Jim because he is so hopeless. On the video, Jim squints quite often and Hilda always hobbles. This shows their vulnerability. The simplicity of the illustrations of Jim and Hilda is a reflection of their characters. The couple seem very warm and kind because of their round bodies. They both have rosy cheeks giving them a plump and healthy appearance as well. The endearing name, ‘Ducks’, that Jim has for Hilda adds to their innocence. Jim and Hilda trust the government completely and think that without the official leaflets they’d ‘have been totally non-prepared’. However, we know that the leaflets are just there to comfort the people, because no one can escape the radiation sickness after a nuclear bomb explosion. Their naivety shows when they seem to think that there is going to be a war and not a nuclear bomb. ‘I can soon touch it in after The Bomb’s gone off’. There is some irony in their comments because, after the supposed war, they will be wiped out. During the build-up to the bomb, the lullaby ‘Rock a Bye Baby’ plays in the background. This gives the story it’s title. The irony here is that, when the bomb hits, hot winds will sweep over the countryside causing mass destruction. Lullabies are usually sung to children so it makes the couple again seem innocent and naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve. We feel even more sympathy for Jim and Hilda when they look back at the community spirit of World War Two with nostalgia. They never seem to see the grim reality of what is happening to them. As the bomb hits, all the audience and reader can see is a bright white light. This represents the total obliteration that the bomb causes. The colours outside change from cheerful colours to ones of luridness. While Jim is reading out names of political organisations, there are strong drumbeats playing in the background, giving a threatening sense. The drums beats get louder, drowning out Jim’s voice, showing the nuclear war as being more important. Flashes of real-life footage also add to the threatening atmosphere and show the reality of what is happening. The names of organisations flash onto the screen then they fall apart and become distorted. This reflects Jim’s thoughts of the names. They mean nothing to him and, as far as he is concerned, they are just letters. The fact that they all fall apart shows that there is no safety, even from organisations set up to protect people. After the explosion, we see the inevitable 0death of Jim and Hilda. Bags start to appear round their eyes, Hilda’s ankles start to sag and her hair falls out. This is a very moving build-up to their death, as it shows the awful reality of the bomb. The couple have hardly any food to eat, but manage to find one fruit pastille. Their true love for each other is shown here as they cut the pastille in half, making it fair. During the aftermath of the bomb, both Hilda and Jim have fantasies. We feel sympathy for them here because their childish fantasies make them seem innocent. As the glass shatters, Hilda sees her past in the pieces of glass, which is shattered before her very eyes. This gives her character a past so we feel great pity on her, because we know she is going to die. It also seems like her life flashing before her eyes, something which people associate with the arrival of death. In both the film and book, the death of Jim and Hilda is not shown. In the book the last pages are brown, showing no hope for the couple, whereas in the film version, there is a close-up of the bunker and it rises into the sky, appearing as the sun. This gives a sense of hope, because it shows that Jim and Hilda have gone to heaven. I think that the way Raymond Briggs has used the cartoon book genre to convey a serious message works really well. It is very moving and rouses the sympathy of both reader and audience.

Implementation and evaluation of technology plan in schools Essay

Following the important role played by technology in current industrial society, there is much need to incorporate technology in schools to help students prepare for the rapid changing world. Incorporation of technology in schools will not only enhance learning but will also support education reform goals. To this end, in order to ensure effective integration of technology in schools, there is need to ensure that there is collaboration and sharing of vision among schools, community members, parents, educators as well as business leaders. This will help to ensure that the plan does not help in acquisition of software and computers alone but have promoted collaboration, professional development, meaningful learning capable of adjusting to any change. Implementation of Webpage SharePoint in schools The implementation of webpage SharePoint will help in developing a collaborative online link for teachers, parents geared towards enrichment of student’s activities. Incorporation of webpage in school will provide a centralized location where teachers and parents could interact and get to learn on the development across all schools while still providing a framework to share ideas, discuss issues and develop rapport with other teachers and parents. Incorporation of webpage and SharePoint will be able to foster a greater sense in volunteer participation and shared purpose across school through timely, continuous and consistent information (Alfinio, Jonathan, James & Fredrick, 2000). Implication of Webpage on mathematics; Implementation of webpage in school will help in preparing and modeling of respective teachers with technologies, tools and strategies consistent with National standards as well as with standards of other schools. It will also provide a framework for curriculum development, teaching and assessment of prospective teaching expected from teachers. This as a result will help to ensure that through webpage, teachers address the needs of students through incorporation of teaming in teaching and planning; development of flexible interdisciplinary thematic block scheduling and curriculum units as well as formation of cooperative heterogeneous grouping (Alfinio, Jonathan, James & Fredrick, 2000). Implementation of Parent link in schools According to Science Daily (2009) with implementation of parent link as a new parent communication system. Parents will be provided with instantaneous messages through telephone text messaging and e-mail. This will prove very fundamental in enhancing message conveyance for homework assignments, weather cancellations. This sophisticated system will help school to alert parents to the closing of the school as well as student’s test score. With a special code, implementation of parent link parents will be notified of the attendance of their children through an automated message. The technology have been successfully implemented and proved quick and reliable in Osceola Township where it works very efficiently in alerting parents on a snow day, (Tom, 2009). In enhancing mathematics, the parentlink will have four tabs in mathematics, science, English language and social science where the parent will be provided with an access of how the child is learning; the grade level the child is as well as the state standards for each subject, (Maria, 2010). On institutional organization, implementation of parent link will provide educators and parents with a snapshot of the performance of the child from the student profile, the support system the child needs in order to improve on performance. Through the parent link, the school will be well equipped with the student as well as parent’s data based on meal codes, test scores, home language and others which will be fundamental in supporting the family as well as the child. Parent link will provide parents with timely access of their children’s information thereby allowing them to contact the school immediately they come a cross inaccurate information (Maria, 2010). Maria, (2010) explains â€Å"Aris parent link system has provided families with information about their school as well as of other schools, information that has enabled parents to collaborate with teachers in addressing the strengths and weaknesses of their students. Helped parents to make a choice of helping the school as well as in selecting a school of their choice. † Why implement Skype Technology in schools. Science Daily (2009) explains that â€Å"even without direct input from a teacher, as long as there is an environment that stimulates curiosity, is possible for children to teach themselves and share pertinent knowledge. A process called ‘minimally invasive education. † When Skype technology is incorporated in the school, it will offer an ideal resolution for team-based education. With Skype webcam chats, students will be provided with an authentic experience and enough access to a free personal tutor. This will also enable students to collaborate with their English-learning fellows and especially through face-book. Glendon & Kathleen (2009) observes that in Wiregrass High School, â€Å"students benefit in exchanging questions and answers with their teachers via SMS and browse classroom blogs for additional instruction. As a collaborative tool, Skype have helped students to quickly trade notes while other simply takes a snapshot of the blackboard for later studying. † On instructional organization, Implementation of Skype software in schools will facilitate and allow teachers to work in those schools situated in undesirable and remote locations without leaving their offices. Skype and mathematics By 2011, Skype technology should be able to provide collaboration in mathematics through web environment. It should be made to incorporate such features an interface with browser to ensure that students and teachers are able to login from anywhere, an automatic TeX formatting filter for formula typing by teachers and students, (Science Daily, 2009). This implementation of Skype in school curriculum will therefore help students collaborate in computing a complex problem, work on currency conversion, and calculate time zones for other countries among other applications (Science Daily, 2009). Implementation of Skype in schools will facilitate connection between teachers and students world wide through real-time synchronous discussions, audio and text chat, instant file sharing and video conferences. Skype will allow teachers to collaborate and network with their fellow educators; students with the help of Skype will be privileged to surrender their assignments and get back the graded scores from their teachers (Science Daily, 2009). From the discussion above, it is very clear that it is not possible for computers to replace good teachers. However, this technology can be utilized to ensure a high standard of learning in the schools while still allowing teachers to remain at their desirable areas. To this end, incorporation of technology in schools should not be considered a threat to teaching rather an asset to enhance the same (Science Daily, 2009).