Case Study 1: Generative Software Development

Case Study 1: Generative Software Development Advanced Software Engineering –CIS 518 February 17, 2013 Case Study 1: Generative Software Development Generative software development is a development that permits products to be produced automatically through different specifications. This type of development happens in two phases the first phase consist of the domain engineers developing the product down to generating the software mechanisms. Once development is completed, then each individual product is produced.The normal software development process would normally consist of several different models that have a particular set of task that have to be set forth during a certain point during the process. The software development process happens over a series of activities and depending on the development model will determine what activities will take place at any given time during the process verse the Generative software development happens in two phases with specifications tha t are already determined at the start of the development.Developing generative software would benefit an organization because this allows for automation to software development. Many companies develop software but it is so generic and takes intense processes where the whole software is based on coding from scratch which can be possibly be used by any software. With the use of languages like FORTRAN and C will have less of an impact of the software quality and the length and speed of the development will not be effected (Iseger, 2010). Moving toward automation will give developers more room to come up with software solutions and the complier with automatically produce lower assemblers.This would streamline the organizations software with less downtime, easier maintenance and convert everything to an automated system. With the use of generative software development would save developers time in the end from having to redevelop codes from scratch which risk defects because of incorrect coding etc. The challenges that would be faced with implementing the generative software development process in organization would be to ensure that all software and systems could be integrated and automated without any delays or downtime.There would also be a problem with saving old data that is not used any longer saving and archiving information without the loss of any data during the transfer. Making sure that the development team understands the new process and how the implementation will take place. These challenges will be easy to overcome first thing would be to test as much as possible before implementation to try and catch any errors that may come up and make sure all of the developers are using and coding the new application with the desired language that was chosen for the application.Also having a back place to store the data before integrating the data so that just in case the data is lost during the implementation there is a back-up location to access any of the orga nizations data. Developer will had had several training sessions on the new process and there will be at least three meeting a week during implementation to ensure everyone is on the same page and to make sure that the process is running smoothly to have a successful implementation.The generative software development process might be applied to an organizations development process to quickly automate the system and create a streamline of applications that work and can be integrated without several phases to follow before implementation can occur. This can be used for organizations that are looking to automate all of their data and system applications to increase productivity enhance the security, provide data back up and data storage.The organization can use the Domain Specific Modelling, which is an approach that applies generative programming in order to improve the software applications development quality and boost the developer productivity. The move towards 3GL is the key to a chieving 400% productivity (Iseger, 2010). The first step to the use of DSM is to identify the solution and come up with a illustration by using critical thinking and relating the problem to the domain. However, the use of a UML is most commonly used to provide a full model solution.Creating a visual depiction of the application model provides a blue print of the software application which programmers can use these specifications but now in the programming language. When creating the application the use of programming concepts by raising the level of abstractions will help with developing the system concept. The Organization can create the system specifications by using the concepts and rules based on the company’s products produced. Creating the application in the concept of using domains verse classes enhances the applications speed and makes it much easier to develop.This will allow the application to be more streamlined to the data and make it easier program as a whole. C reating classes all of the data has to somehow link together for the classes to retrieve the correct data but the use of DSM will eliminate that. References Iseger, M. (2010, July 23). Domain-specific modeling for generative software development. Retrieved from http://www. developerfusion. com/article/84844/domainspecific-modeling-for-generative-software-development/ Lawerence Pfleeger, S. (2010). Software engineering. (4th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

IT Changes Work Environments

Initially there Was some debate as to how large Of a processor was needed to improve liability and also increase the service life of the system, we, the working group decided that mezzo upgrade should be sufficient for the systems roles and responsibilities, I know a mezzo processor. Mr.. Moor's law has and technological advances have really improved the corporate world. These advances have steam-lined international business as well as domestic. Communications have been made simpler with conference calls, emails and even online chat rooms.A company that may have a great IT concept may develop it and introduce it to a market but it will only be a short time before a impetigo company will be working on a similar concept. This has had a hand in the growth of Technology as well; it is those competitive natures that keep pushing new ideas and concepts. The main thing took away from the stages of growth is that timing is everything. If you enter too soon it can be very costly because you a re the first one to try it so you will make mistakes and to fix those mistakes can be very expensive.Not only can it be very expensive but as you are pioneering new technology everyone else is sitting back learning from your mistakes and successes at a fraction of the price. They save money and you pay the price. However if you get in too late your technology becomes out dated and you lose consumers who want a company on the cutting edge of technology. I work for US Bank and we were one of the last major banks to upgrade our Tam's with the image scan of the checks and money. We got so many complaints about why aren't our Tam's up to date.We probably lost a lot of customers over it as well. Every business wants as much market share as possible because more market share means more profit, more control, and less competition. Time ND experience have shown that standardization will bring more consumers to the market. No matter what the business is, it needs a way to operate and communica te with other businesses and consumers. According to an article by The International Journal Of Electronic Commerce, standardization in IT is critical in order for a business to make the most out of its time and resources.This article goes on to explain how â€Å"proprietary' and â€Å"open† standardization zone in on whether a business is more concerned with increasing its market share (proprietary) or more concerned with keeping its fixed share (open) but t the same time, increasing the size of the whole market. Cloud computing was a major thing for me to learn and was able to understand it more after a while. Cloud computing is the ability to store and access data and programs over the internet. Everyone wants access to their data and have immediate access to their files anytime and nap. Here. At a previous employer, our network was shared by all of our divisions in California as well as associated companies. Telecommuters were also able to share equally in the network. T his network of computers made up the cloud. When the web browser was own, we had limited or no access to our files let alone the internet. I tried not to work from home, but sometimes I was able to access my Web e-mail. Web email as well as yahoo, hotmail, and g-mail are forms of cloud computing. Organizations can rent software instead of purchasing the product.A business and their employees can run their computer tools online and process their work and file saving using their web browser. The benefit is the reduced cost for everyone involved. The downside of this concept is that the organization has to place trust in this software vendor. While reading arioso articles about AAAS, realized the software that currently use fall into this category. Sharpening is used to store and track electronic documents and images by different users. It is also password protected preventing access to people outside the organization.We search for the news in a particular manner, we seek information i n a faster method for today's standards and the internet has changed our way of discovering the news. Most of the news today is delivered through various outlets and news medias that changed the way they see the world. In the past, the world depended on the news from newspapers or word of mouth, UT primarily they would try to find information from the source. It time people found this inefficient and troublesome to their way of managing information as we see the future developed in a different manner.Information now is provided in an instant with such APS as twitter or news cast feeds that can be shared by a simple text. It is a new world of technology that has inevitably changed the way we live and see the material world at an instant. As life has see a major change we see that the news and other hard books have changed. Now we get books from Kindles and other material such s being Pads provided the information as the facts that change how we get information that we can changed the world of people, and the information as seen as being drastic change.It is important to see that you can view the aspiration of others. Learning and being part of something the can guide information towards the right direction you are able to see a good point and see that you can make it better. The data mining point of view comes from the aspect that certain changes in data are always developed. I see that certain changes in data come from different companies such as Amazon, Google, faceable, and other operating systems that use search as a primary source of work.I see that certain changes of the group of people come from the different areas of changes that can be ineffective in certain changes. In having read the article of Big Data we see that the new ways of collecting it comes from an easier method-?the consumer. When we go online our best way to find things are to search and find the best way through various inputs such as realizing the inclination of things and seeing that c ertain materials can be found through various inputs, as we will see that Google began this improvement of search engines that ignited the idea of advertising.Now business see that been able to utilize the information to have business grow their volume in the production of things, but we will see that changes in the person can have a big understanding in the aspect of learning. In retrospect, the interesting parts of this course was able to recognize the different changes in the technology world and how IT is making efficient work but scarce labor. The way see technology trending is how can we make our lives more convenient while saving time and money?Convenience to most people is how We can be productive on our smart phones and laptops by utilizing the internet. Some examples include cloud computing, online banking and depositing checks with a picture, shopping online, working from home, communicating with friends and family through social media, taking classes online, sending emai ls, games, movies, TV shows, etc. Time is money, so many people are willing to pay a premium for hi-tech devices. With Artificial Intelligence, people can rely on robots to get work done. Although robots are very expensive to buy, they can be cheaper than paying labor costs.

Budget Variance Report for Hospital Department Assignment

Budget Variance Report for Hospital Department - Assignment Example The researcher of this assignment discusses the best practices, that are needed when setting and managing health hospital budgets. These basically, include but not limited to using comparative benchmarks, setting up to date, high performance department budgets, establishing a cultural perspective of accountability, managing expenses such as salaries and supplies amicably, uphold monitoring variances and having corrective action plan and employing a balanced scorecard. Like many health systems departments usually trail to accomplish its operation targets with this case at hand of variation of higher salaries and much more than supplies noted. For that month, ability to meet budgeted operating margin targets was not possible. As a result, supplies had subdued expected average monthly operating margin to support the hospital in running its department. To deduce that, the researcher of this assignment is to look at factors that resulted to the variance. During that time, the department s pent 80% more on items not budgeted for that month signified a 3.6% average budget variance. However, a critical look showed that 40% of the 80% dollar value totaled necessary expanses contributed to unexpected volume increase after the budget originally drawn. The researcher states that budget variance report needed to be created from general ledger system, revenue and expenses. Other factors considered in this assignment are actual results, budget variance, percent variance and along with budget.

Technology Management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Technology Management - Research Paper Example Too much automation and aggressive strategy can damage the performance of the organization when the decisions do not support the corporate directions. This aggressive automation can expose the organization to several unmanaged risk factors due to the lack of effective knowledge about the balanced approach. Short term thinking and lack of expertise can damage the business operation management of the organization. This report will determine the bottom-line impact of unmanaged technology on the business performance of the organizations. Analysis It is discussed earlier that too much automation can affect the business operation of a corporation. In terms of industrial fluid disposal and usage, list of poor fluid maintenance practices combined with several in adequate fluid choice can result loss of goodwill and significant operational cost. However, inadequate cost management due to the lack of effective knowledge can erode the bottom line on the daily basis that can impact the long term viability and competitiveness of several strategies and operational facilities (Hunt & Weintraub, 2007). The corporations are exposing themselves to excessive business operation cost and unmanaged risks due to seven key reasons. These reasons are discussed below. Poor Process Control Majority of the organizational facilities utilize more fluid than are required. It exposes the corporations to critical risks due to lack of establishment of robust and control strategy for all the fluid applications. However, this fluid condition can be changed dramatically. An effective and specific control plan needs to be undertaken by the organization management. An effective management programme can enhance the significant process control that is important for the productivity and cost control. In several cases, the acceptable range of the fluid condition can be extended as it may not result in the fluid related events. A strict and tightly management control plan can eliminate excessive use of f luids. Decisions based on data vs. Feelings Every manufacturer knows that, analytical data is quite important when addressing a particular manufacturing issue, responding to a specific quality concern or developing plan for the next step. It is true that, most of the facilities are effective at collecting quality, financial and production related data, but fluid analysis data is rarely collected, correlated, compiled and interpreted due to the specific specialized nature of the interpretation (Haneberg, 2012). Fluid management generally tends to non-core expertise in a particular manufacturing environment. Major characteristic of this fluid management is non-core focus. Several organizations consider that the fluid condition can effectively impact manufacturing, quality and availability, but major significance of this aspects to drive daily decision making process. It is the corrective action executed on daily basis based on the information and data that result in risk management an d cost minimization. Hesitance to change Management risk and direct costs are associated with the product change. This relation is quite significant. Due to this, the organization hesitates to implement product change management process on the floor of several manufacturing plants. Recently, the product vendors are making various critical claims about the significance and benefits of greatest and modern developed

Summary Report - Electronic Privacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summary Report - Electronic Privacy - Essay Example David shows the audience how surveillance can be malicious if it lands on the wrong hands. He reveals how a former employer steals his fired employees phone records, a woman who loses his job due to mistaken identity. He also shows how a man discovers that his rental car company was tracking him every move. While most people will take the freedom they enjoy for granted, David utilizes the documentary to remind us that freedom is a precious thing and should not be taken for granted. Many people would want to keep their email conversations to themselves, the text messages we send to remain a conversation between ourselves and the recipient but that is not the case anymore. The governments super machines sift through all this communication data and archive them. The documentary also introduces to the viewers to the little known department of AOL, which works closely with law enforcement agencies on request for individuals information. These companies are monitoring the employees, shoppers and diners observed and analyzed. Bank records and financial statements, communication trends and patterns, are being monitored stored and archived for future references if need is. It is clear now that with technology comes with challenges and one of them is the loss of

Reflective writing - Personal and professional development Essay

Reflective writing - Personal and professional development - Essay Example Personal Centered Therapy Personal Centered Therapy (PCT) is one of the theories I have learned in class. From the beginning, I thought that I could put into practice what I had learned about personal centered therapy. However, somehow this has not proved to be an easy feat for me. For instance, I found it difficult to think of its challenges or how I can administer it to a particular client or group. I had to challenge the fact that I could show unconditional positive regard, be emphatic and congruent when having to deal with a client who is a peoadphile. I have always thought it a nightmare dealing with peoadophiles. After taking this course, I have had to question myself and particularly in regard to how my character and beliefs would interfere with the way I administer person centered therapy. CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy) In studying cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), I really enjoyed my lectures on various theoretical models. Class exercises on CBT record were great especiall y when learning how to the use of our thoughts and common thinking traps. Person Centered Therapy theory was always interesting to me and after writing my case study on CBT, I got to like the concept and the principles involved. This is because to me, it suits my character as a method of behavioral study. The structure used is practical in nature and applicable to most client groups. On reading the books CBT for Beginners by Jane Simmons and Rachel Griffiths as well as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Adults by Stefan Hofmanand Mark Reincke, I successfully prepared for my assignments on this course. Psychodynamic I learnt new and interesting skills while studying psychodynamic psychotherapy. The least favorable theory I learned in the process was psychodynamic approach to counseling. The lecture on psychodynamic theorists challenged my perception and concept of the theory. However, I enjoyed my tutor’s perspective of the various theorists that contributed to this genre. Alth ough I am not a fun of Freudian theories, I was able to relate this theory to that of Melaine Klein and her approach interested me. I must admit that I greatly enjoyed the lessons learnt about psychotherapy and will surely apply whatever I learnt in theory. Assessment-Case Study Our assessment was a case study which proved to be challenging but enjoyable at the same time. It is through this process that I discovered that I enjoy solving problems presented in the form of case studies. I was able to improve my client’s character and use cognitive behavior therapy which was quite encouraging. Using CBT with my client proved to be easy for me as I analyzed and treated her problem, putting theory into effective practice. Through my reading about CBT, I discovered that the therapy is a suitable form of therapy from a multicultural perspective because of its basic nature and how it is practiced. Counseling Skills The lecture on counseling skills reminded me of the basic principles i nvolved in counseling. It also reminded me always to use words which help the clients to tell their stories freely. Initially, I felt that the counseling assessment went well although I always believe in making improvements. However, after receiving the feedback sheet, I felt that it did not reflect the skills I thought I had learnt over the years and this made me feel deflated. I contemplated discussing this with my client as I never wanted to appear confronting. I decided to discuss with my teacher who reassured me that the mark to her was not as negative as I thought it was. I thus felt better about my assessment and I also gained a better understanding of how she interpreted my practical skills.

Medical Negligence and Malpractice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Medical Negligence and Malpractice - Essay Example Personal cases of medical professionals will also be discussed where they reveal the true face of pharmaceutical industry in addition to the existing laws against such practice. Finally suggestions and recommendations will be made to effectively handle such problems. According to the Canadian Bar Association (2010), Medical professionals are under strict legal binding to provide their patients with the best care and treatment possible. Rule no. 3A of Medical Duty states that it is a duty of any medical professional as he/she legally owes proper care to the patient (Khan, et al 2002, p.71). They may completely refuse to undertake any given case due to any reason, personal or other. Once they accept any patient, they are bound to providing proper medical treatment. As Keir et al (2007, p.33), providing detailed and the best possible care to their patients is what actually constitutes proper and efficient practice of medicine. If in case the professional fails to deliver the kind of ser vice that would be given in any normal circumstances then it is referred to as Medical Negligence (Barnes, 2001, p.113). In such a case, if the patient suffers an injury due to the doctor’s negligence of medical professional, then the patient reserves the right to sue the medical professional against medical malpractice (Bardale 2011, p.23) In the recent times of capitalism, pharmacies are also not left behind in the rat race of increasing profits (Gad, 2009, 04). Following table gives the evidence Table: Top 25 Drug Companies by Sale (2006) According to Rat h (2003, p.50), pharmaceutical industry is now striving to driving its forces to increase the sale of its product rather than achieving its main motive of curing the diseases in the world. The ultimate aim to innovate new medicines is only to relieve symptoms of any disease, not to eradicate it. Eradicating and eliminating any disease through thoughtful research in the field of medicine would mean destroying the chance to earn millions of dollars in form of prescriptions. For this purpose, new breakthrough and advancement in the field of curing any disease are suppressed and do not get the kind of attention it deserves. This suppression is the reason why many fatal diseases are still incurable. In order to boost sales, pharmaceutical companies are deliberately holding back information which the public has every right to know like the common side effects and risks to other organs of the body.(Company, 2002, p. 326) The real face of drug companies (Luisa, 2011) shares the experiences of Gwen Olsen, who used to belong the same industry. Gwen states the frightening and alarming truth about this industry which has become extremely corrupt, running only after the financial gain rather than medicating its patients. Olsen (2009, p. 09) even states that as a Medical Sales Representative, she was trained by the company to give misinformation to doctors and medical professionals about the medicines her company produced. It has just become a game of money where disease seasons are awaited and KPIs matter more than empathy towards curing their patients. Agell (2004) talks about her personal experience with the viciousness of pharmaceutical industry. She had the honor of spending about twenty years of her life for â€Å"

Texas History. How to Get Rid of Slavery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6500 words

Texas History. How to Get Rid of Slavery - Essay Example Texas Secession Convention: †¢ In the month of January and February of the year 1861, a meeting was stages in Austin and voted to succeed from the Union. †¢ The call to secession actually began from October 1860, when it became apparent that Abraham Lincoln would be given the charge of presidency. †¢ The secession of South Carolina and five other states exacerbated the situation even further and added on to the intensified pressure that already existed for the implementation of secession policy. †¢ In Texas, only the governor could summon the legislation to hold a special session, but Governor Sam Houston refused to do so in the light that the secession hype would cool down. †¢ This compelled, Oran M. Roberts, the chief justice of Texas Supreme Court, John S. Ford and other imminent leader to take the situation into their own hands. †¢ They made a call for elections on January 8, 1861 in the press of delegates to a secession convention, which was duly granted by the legislature. †¢ On January 28, 1861, the delegates to the convention elected O. M. Roberts as the presiding offer and on 29th January, John H. Wharton moved "that without determining now the manner in which this result should be effected, it is the deliberate sense of this Convention that the state of Texas should separately secede." †¢ The convention delegates called for a proper referendum to solve the secession issue. †¢ On February 1 the House with the governor sat to give its final vote, which resulted in 166 votes in favor of secession and 8 against it. The Texans ratified the Secession on February 23rd; due to the Convention’s Public Safety Committee’s move to authorize the seizure of federal property in Texas. In March, the Convention organized various meetings, which resulted in taking Texas out of the Union and allied it with the confederacy. Battle of Sabine Pass The battle took place on September 8, 1863, which was an attempt by the Union to invade and occupy regions of Texas during the Civil War. The motivation behind the attack was the need of cotton by northern textile mills and concern about French interference in the Mexican Civil War. In September 1863, the Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks was sent with 4000 soldiers under the command of Gen. William B. Franklin to capture Sabine Pass, where the Sabine River flows to the Gulf of Mexico. The Western Gulf Blockading Squadron of the United States Navy sent forces to protect the piece of land. The Union lost their opportunity to launch a surprise attack when a blockader missed its scheduled meeting with the ships from New Orleans. However, a plan took shape and the Navy Commander scheduled the gunboats to enter the fort through the passes so that the troops could pass without being noticed. Meanwhile the Confederates remained in hiding and gathered reinforcement near the fort Odlum. The Union armed ships began their advancement into the fort, continually firing in the process. The Confederates cannoneers also geared up for the attack when the Union ships came under the 1200 yards radius. The Confederate artillery man shot the cannon with such precision that it destroyed the Union warships Sachem, made Arizona run for its life, grounded Clifton which resulted in ground combat between the two contenders and compelling another ship Granite City to flee the battleground. This led to the conclusion of the war and the Confederate captured 300 Union prisoners and two gunboats. The artillery skills had won the battle for the Confederates Andrew Jackson Hamilton He was born in Huntsville, Alabama on January 28, 1815 and was the son of James and Jane (Bayless) Hamilton. He had the privilege to become the governor of Texas; he was educated and admitted to the bar in Alabama. For three years, he practiced law in La Grange, Fayette Country He tied the marital knot with Mary Bowen and had two sons and four daughters form her. His political career began in 1849, when Gov. Peter Hall. Bell appointed him as his acting attorney general. In 1859 won

The Delicate Relationship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Delicate Relationship - Essay Example The country would benefit from the employment opportunities within their companies while the company would benefit from the European market.   The firms and the government could, therefore, agree based on the clear motives. Intentions of both parties. From time to time, the diplomatic ties are not sufficient to keep companies operating in the same country. The risk of companies exiting the country in which they work is very high. Diplomatic measures only work when the collateral damage to be caused too much to handle (Pigman, 77). The relationship between a firm and its parent country’s Government is slightly different. It is important to note that for the government, the firms offer an invaluable addition to the physical or cyber critical infrastructure. Google Inc., for example, is one of the most powerful companies in the world. The advancements that the company has made advancements in information technology. The US government, therefore, considers the company an asset a s opposed to a liability (The Monitor 1). There have been reports that indicate, the government, has been making requests for personal information from Google. The purpose of these inquiries is unknown. Diplomacy is not a common practice between the government and the firms that are in the parent country. The need for constant communication between the firm and the country is very important as it ensures their agreement remains safe. In the event a firm and the government of a host country have similar interests, they are able to come to an agreement.

The Wages of Maturity Essay Example for Free

The Wages of Maturity Essay Joyce Carol Oates had distinctively portrayed the harmful consequences that teens may experience when they act much older than their ages. In the story â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been†, Oates tells the story of a 15-year old girl who behaves more mature than kids of her age. Oates based this story on a Life Magazine story of a young man killing several girls in Arizona and in it she clearly wants to impart that maturity has its own time and rushing it up will only lead to unfavorable things.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Such thing happened to Connie, the main character of the story, whose ways are a lot more grown-up than her 24-year old sister, June. June was simple and plain looking, whereas Connie is obsessed with her appearance and the need to always look good. Oates describes Connie to have â€Å"a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people’s faces to make sure her own was all right† (1). She goes out with friends who possess the same behavior and together they love going to the mall, restaurants, and movies houses up until an hour before midnight. One can never see them hang out in places where girls of their age usually are. Connie thinks that the sprees of a typical teenager are boring. And that’s the reason why she goes out in places where young adults spend time. She loves mingling with older boys and her mother never approved to any of those. Connie then, covers what she is doing outside her house by acting differently when she is at home. This is how Connie gets away with her need to show others that she isn’t an ordinary 15-year old with regular hobbies. She wants to show all the people that she was somebody different – somebody far more classy and superior to others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   At 15, Connie was adventurous and has cars and older boys enlivening her. She lives a wild and thrilling life when she’s outside. Her haven outside was the drive-in restaurant across the busy road where a lot of older kids normally hung out. It was a fly-infested restaurant, but Connie and her friends are pleased and expectant of the place as if it were a sacred building when they are inside it   (Oates 1). Connie’s love to live a mature life is exemplified by her preference for loud music and shiny cars. She chooses to talk to boys older than her when she’s inside the restaurant and ignores the ones who merely came from school. Connie is obviously caught in a world not apt for her, and she is yet to know how harmful that could be for her.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Connie never liked family affairs because she believes her personality wasn’t apt for those gatherings. She never liked household chores and doesn’t clean even her own room. One Sunday her whole family was invited to a barbeque at an aunt’s house. Connie, being uninterested about the matter, rolled her eyes to her mother and said she’d rather stay home. And that’s when her maturity pretense is going to catch up on her. Arnold Friend, a guy whom she encountered in the same restaurant she frequents, suddenly drove into their garage in his newly painted car. He looks much older than 18 years old, which he claims to be. He is enticing Connie to come and ride away with him, together with another friend Ellie, who is to sit in the car’s back seat. Connie was more than hesitant. But Arnold is clear that she doesn’t have any other choice but to go out with him. Arnold has something inside him that was both weird and scary – and something had made Connie totally helpless with the situation. She knew she was headed for trouble, but she can’t scream or run or do anything about it because Arnold has this supernatural power of disorienting her and making her house feel like a box of carton that is unable to protect her from the harm that he can do to her. Arnold was not merely human. In him is an evil soul and his physical appearance is merely a disguise of what he really is. Connie, unable to think right and is defenseless, have no other choice but to go to him and follow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Maturity has its wages. People come to age when the right time comes. Rushing it up doesn’t make us more mature than what we really are. Posing to be mature won’t cause people to respect us more. Instead, doing so openly shows our insecurity and vulnerability to them. And that is something they can use against us. Acting mature doesn’t make us mature. It makes us weaker than we should be.

Improving Listening for Communication Skills

Improving Listening for Communication Skills   Listening guidelines for myself for improving this important and necessary skill Introduction: Listening may be defined as the process of receiving, understanding, remembering, evaluating, and responding to verbal [spoken or written]and/or nonverbal messages (DeVito p.148). Listening is vital in the business world and is one of the most important and most valued communication skill we can have because at work we spend most of our times listening to co-workers, supervisors, and managers. Poor listening is inevitable and the good news is that listening can be improved through training. 1. How can I improve my listening skills in work situations to improve my overall performance? In todays workplace if we are going to function effectively in increase our overall performance we need to listen. In work situations one of the ways I can improve my listening skills is by improving my listening ability by strengthening the skills needed at each step of the listening process such as attention and concentration (receiving), learning(understanding), memory(remembering), critical thinking(evaluation), and competence in giving feedback (responding) (DeVito p. 148-149). I can face the speaker and maintain good eye-contact (a sign of honesty and a basic ingredient for effective communication). I can then start being attentive. Attentive means to be present, to pay and give attention to the speakers verbal and nonverbal messages. Understanding requires that I learn what the speaker means. I dont interrupt and I dont offer solutions if I am not being asked to. It is always polite to wait for the person that speaks to pause if clarifying questions need to be asked. These questions need to be used only to endure understanding. Also, if I want to communicate feedback I ask permission to do so. At work is imperative at the end of a message to rephrase in my own words what I heard to make sure I understood correctly the meaning of the message. Effective listening depends on remembering. (DeVito p.152) Taking notes and sometimes recording the message can be helpful with remembering the message. Evaluating is useful after a message has been clearly understood. Responding happens in two phases: immediate feedback responses that I make while speaker is still talking and delayed feedback- responses that I make after the speaker has stopped talking. 2. How can I improve my listening behaviors with a significant other? Personally, we want partners who listen to us. If we are to understand what a person means and what a personal is feeling, you need to listen with some degree of empathy, the feeling of anothers feelings. (Rogers, 1970) At home I can improve my listening behaviors with a significant other by engaging actively in the following behaviors: communicate a clear willingness to listen (DeVito p.162). First, I need to let my spouse know that I am open to listen to his thoughts and feelings. Create an atmosphere of openness and trust because this help my significant other with self-disclosing revealing information about himself that might be difficult to communicate. When listening to my spouse it is important that I look directly to him and I position my body towards him. In close intimate relationships, the emphatic style is the preferred mode of listening and depending on the situations nonjudgmental, active and depth could also be used. Emphatic listening allows me to understand my spouses meaning of the message the way he sees it and the way he feels it. It is essential that I echo his nonverbal expressions to demonstrate that I understand and feel my spouses thoughts and feelings. Lastly, it is desirable at the end of a message to give positive feedback and ask questions. It is important that I state to him in clear and honest language what I liked about his message, to stress my good intentions and to mention areas of agreement or disagreement. Asking questions is helpful in case I need to secures additional information and to reaffirm my interest and concern for my spouse. Research shows that practicing these behaviors and especially engaging in emphatic listening helps me to enhance my relationship (Barrett Godfrey, 1988; Snyder, 1992). 3. How can I improve my listening skills with a child? Every parent knows that parenting is hard work. When I became a mother, I realized that I have not always displayed the best listening skills with my son Daniel. Over the years through instruction and practice I have improved my listening skills. Here are the most significant ones that I have found useful and rewarding: it is crucial to let the child know that you are interested in listening to what he/she needs to communicate. Avoid all distraction and fully tune your attention and your body to all his/her verbal and nonverbal communication. Physically get down to the childs level and bring active, emphatic and objective listening styles listening to them and their messages. From a childs prospective it is necessary to feel that the parent is seen as a base to which they can always return when they need help and support. In my experience, whenever I use these types of listening I communicate to my child that he is a valuable person worthy of my time and attention. I also demonstrate that I appreciate, feel, and see his world through his own eyes instead of my own and that I can walk in his shoes and feel the way he feels. Acceptance is paramount here. This is a special time when the child gets to express without being interrupted or judged. It is crucial for parents to do this because they get to create a caring and loving relationship with the child and a positive and supportive environment for their child to grow. 4. How can improve my listening skills with someone I dislike, but need to communicate with? Sometime I encounter a situation where I need to communicate with someone that I make up I dislike. How can I improve my listening skills in these types of situations? Polite listening style is essential here. Politeness may be signaled through listening (Fukushima, 2000). To start I can accept the reality that I need to communicate with this person and the dislike is more about me and is not about the other person. Next, I need to scan my body language that could leak out my attitude. Listening with curiosity and with intent to learn also helps. Show empathy with the speaker. Show that I understand the speakers thoughts and feelings by echoing the feelings of the speaker. (DeVito p.162). The goal here is not to agree with him/her, but to assess what they are trying to express. Finally, give the person consistent feedback to show that I am attentive and they are being listened to. Conclusion: Great communicators are great listeners. Listening is a vital component in communication and in interpersonal communication because it helps us know others. After carefully reading chapter 6 and completing this assignment I come to believe that to improve my relationships with others and increase my overall performance at school or work I must participate in cultivating proven and effective listening skills. This requires effort, openness and a willingness to change a few unhealthy habits with new ones. It is self-evident that by developing a daily practice my relationships and life can benefit increasing my chances of becoming likeable, loveable, friendly and agreeable, and these are all qualities I value and consider worth changing for. Works Cited: DeVito, Joseph A. (2016) The Interpersonal Communication Book 14th edition: Boston: Pearson Education, Inc Barrett, L., Godfrey, T. (1988). Listening. Person Centered Review 3 (November), 410-425

Organ Donation and Forest Depletion Depicted in Fitzhugh’s The Organ Gr

Organ Donation and Forest Depletion Depicted in Fitzhugh’s The Organ Grinders On the back of my drivers license there is a box which will allow me to donate organs if I wish to do so. Upon first receiving my license I didn’t know whether to sign it or where I could find three witnesses to watch me sign. Modern science is allowing people to live longer than ever before, and transplanting failed organs is another method to preserve our frail lives. The problem with human organ transplantation is there is never enough supply to meet the high demand. With organ transplants being a problem in our society, the diminishing rain forest is another pressing issue. It has been estimated that our rain forests could disappear within 40 years at our current logging rate (Raintree, 2004). The reason we were always told to recycle and ‘save a tree’ is because the rain forests provide our breathing air. The rain forests provide a home for many animals and removing the animals from their home will cause extinction. In the novel The Organ Grinders, P aul Symon the main character, observes the apparent problem that exists in rain forest depletion and with organ transplantation. With a few significant changes, the damage done by these technologies can be minimized and life be treasured. As an adolescent Paul Symon proposed a plan to Jerry Landis who was the owner of Landaq, a biotechnology corporation. Once Landis got a photo with Paul to make him feel good and got him to leave, Landis and his photographer burst into laughter. â€Å"Then he saw Jerry Landis drop his proposal into the wastebasket. And with that simple act, Jerry Landis taught Paul a painful lesson†¦it wasn’t the worst thing Jerry Landis would ever do to him.†(Fitzhugh,... ...e Organ Grinders. New York: Avon, 1998 â€Å"John J. Fung† Transplanting Animal Organs Into Humans Is Feasible 1999 Nov http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2654_128/ai_57564084 â€Å"Alan H. Berger† Xenotransplantation: The Ethics, the Science, the Risks 1996 March 15 http://articles.animalconcerns.org/ar-voices/archive/xeno_risks.html â€Å"Alexander Tabarrok† A Moral Solution to the Organ Shortage 2001 February http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?ID=283 â€Å"savetherainforest.org† Facts about the rainforest http://www.savetherainforest.org/savetherainforest_007.htm â€Å"wikipedia† Rainforest 2004http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainforest â€Å"rain-tee.com† Rain forest facts 2004 http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm â€Å"Robert E. Michler† Xenotransplantation: Risks, Clinical Potential, and Future Prospects 1996 March http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol2no1/michler.htm

Evening of Bluegrass :: essays research papers

An Evening with the Dickel Brothers It was 9:30 on a chilly Thursday night when our little trio finally found a parking space in the Richmond District. Already drunk, we wove quickly through the neighborhoods by foot. Finally we arrived at the Last Day Saloon, uneasy that we had not purchased tickets in advance for what was sure to be one of the highlights of this years San Francisco Blue Grass and Old Time Festival – the fabulous Dickel Brothers. Our fears of a sellout were quickly allayed, as was the sense of unease that having four quarts of Irish whiskey strapped to ones person tends to instill. We were home free, for now, anyway. After purchasing our tickets, we proceeded upstairs to catch the opening act, which, to our delight, turned out to be five perfectly agreeable old geezers calling themselves the Roadoilers. Their sound was pure old-school bluegrass, heavy on melody, light on lyrics. Their artful rendering of the Bill Monroe standard Uncle Penn, made for a memorable encore. Next up, we were subjecte d to the shrill vocal styling of The Stairwell Sisters. Don’t get the wrong idea, I am certain that the particular brand of old-time mountain music that the sisters are peddling is faithfully rendered. The problem for me was simply that the clog-happy cutsieness of their presentation was enough to make even the most dyed in the wool harmony junkie run gasping for the nearest fire exit. And that is exactly what we did.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We figured the most sensible course of action was to hole up in the alleyway outside the club and wait for the fervent toe tapping to subside. I had barely finished my first cigarette when a lanky figure dressed something akin to Tom Joad on his way to church approached our little assemblage. I recognized him at once as Stephen Dickel, banjo player of the headlining band. â€Å"Anyone know where a fellah can get a bottle of whiskey in this neighborhood?†, he asked plaintively. Jill shrugged, explaining that we were from the East Bay, and thus, had little idea where he might try. Jill, apparently sensing the desperation in his face, thrust a small flask of Bushmills into his hand. After a great deep swallow, he proceeded to explain his sad situation. â€Å"This goddamn hippy club issued only two drink tickets to each of us. How, for the love of Mary, do they expect us to play in this condition?

The Character of Laertes in Hamlet Essay -- GCSE English Literature Cou

The Character of Laertes in Hamlet In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, the character of Laertes is introduced as the son of Polonius. Â  Laertes is immediately established as a favorite with the King. Clouds refers to the young man five times by name and immediately grants him permission to return to his studies in Paris, if he has his father's permission. Thus we are prepared for their later treacherous alliance. In this scene too Laertes' relationship with his father is visually established by both appearing on stage together, although they do not address each other. A contrast is also established in this scene between Laertes and Prince Hamlet. One enjoys the King's favor and is readily given permission to resume his studies in Paris; the other does not and is not allowed to resume his studies in Wittenberg. This situational contrast will later be developed into a moral one. On his second, and final, appearance before he departs, Laertes offers his sister Ophelia moral advice about her relationship with Hamlet. He speaks cynically about the 'trifling of his favor', something that will not last 'A violet in the youth of primy nature, Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, The perfume and suppliance of a minute, No more.' He also suggests that even if Hamlet does really love her, as heir to the throne of Denmark he is not free to choose his own wife. Finally he warns her not to surrender her virginity to his 'unmaster'd importunity'. Laertes' concern here seems to be not with his sister's feelings but with her honour (reputation) and by implication, that of the family. Ophelia's spirited response 'But good my brother, Do not as some ungracious pastors do, Show me the steep and thorny way to heave... ...mode, Frank. "Hamlet." The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1974. Mack, Maynard. "The World of Hamlet." Yale Review. vol. 41 (1952) p. 502-23. Rpt. in Shakespeare: Modern Essays in Criticism. Rev. ed. Ed. Leonard F. Dean. New York: Oxford University P., 1967. Rosenberg, Marvin. "Laertes: An Impulsive but Earnest Young Aristocrat." Readings on Hamlet. Ed. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999. Rpt. from The Masks of Hamlet. Newark, NJ: Univ. of Delaware P., 1992. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1995. http://www.chemicool.com/Shakespeare/hamlet/full.html Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1907-21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000 http://www.bartleby.com/215/0816.html

Health history and screening of an adolescent or youg adult client Essay

The population of the U.S. keeps increase to be a diversity nation. As they emerge to one nation, they share common concerns about life such as health and quality of life. Providing effective health care to diverse ethnic group, cultural minority group, need to have proper assessment tool for assessment for their cultural needs, beliefs, and their traditional health care practice. The Heritage Assessment Tool create effective assessment of background of people include age, gender, family structure, nationality, culture, religion, and social activity. The detail information from this tool contribute to the ability to become culturally competent so that effective nursing care can be initiated, planned, implemented, and evaluated in individuals, families, and communities. The goal of The Heritage Assessment Tool is to enhance care for cultural minority group to encourage their quality of life and health promotion and prevent discrimination by a dominant group. It is necessary to understand cultural influences with health care practice to provide health promotion. Using The Heritage Assessment will assist nurses in providing information that benefit on minority group to get equal opportunities in health care. Mr. and Mrs. Choi who is Korean, middle age in their 40’s, have been living with their 17 years- old son and Mrs. Choi’s mother. They all live in low- income neighborhood area. Mr. and Mrs. Choi are both high school educated and both worked full-time in Korean grocery store as a manager and casher. Mrs. Choi’s mother had stroke 2 years ago with left side weakness. Their income is not enough to support insurance for acupuncture, massage therapy, and herb med to treat her mother. Their son is going to college next year. They don’t speak English fluently because they don’t educate here. That is why they are working in the Koran grocery market. When they are working during the weekday Mrs. Choi’s mother stay home alone taking care of herself with left side weakness. She used to go to church to socialize with people, but her activity is limited since she had stroke. On weekends, Mrs. Choi bring her mother to oriental medicine doctor to receive the acupuncture and massage therapy, herb-meds as well, which is not covering by insurance. Mr. Choi is unsatisfied this situation asking for receiving western medicine which covered by insurance. There is conflict between Mr. Choi and Mrs. Choi’s mother. Mrs. Choi is depressed from living poverty and stress intergeneration relationships that she can’t support her mother to get the care she wants. She have guilty feeling that she can’t afford oriental medicine care. Asian folk medicine influence from Chinese principles of an imbalance in energy. Herb meds and acupunctures are their traditional healing treatment. Asian identify with their heritage (Tashiro, 2006). Of these, the best known is acupuncture (Andrew, 2008). In Asian culture, younger people have to respect and follow older peo ple’s opinion whether it is right or not. As a nurse, Education about combine with western medicine and complementary and alternative medicine . Encourage the couple and Mrs. Choi’s mother to have open discussion. Accommodate with social worker and case manager for financial crisis. Intervention requires the cultural traditions, motivation level, health status to achieve positive outcome. As Arab American population getting increased, There are noticeable health care issues of Arab American such as high-risk for diabetes including hypertension, obesity, gender, low employment, and lack of education in women as well as mental health and adolescents smoking. Mr. Khan is 50 years old man is living with wife and 2 sons, age 12 and 16. Mr. Khan is a taxi driver who is the only one income source. His wife is housewife who is not educated high school so that she doesn’t speak English at all. Two sons are both high school students. The old son is a smoker that parent don’t know his smoking habit. Mr. Khan is obese and smoker. He also have high blood pressure. He had new onset of diabetes recently. His meal habit is irregular and eating fast food because of job. He never do exercise or walking. His wife cook regular meal, and she has no idea about diabetic meals. Old son learned how to smoke from friends. Religion is major role of Arab society. They are male dominant and submissive women society so that women have low education. Approaching this case, health promotion education is essential for Mr. Khan’s family such as diabetic teaching, recipe of food in low calories, smoking quit teaching, and exercise program. Provide wife to community to learn and involve activity. Develop a plan for blood sugar monitoring and routine check doctor’s office on a regular basis. Support to wife to joining the religion community. Religious preventive program will be beneficial to protect them from addicting to bad habit. Latino/Hispanic population is tremendously increased as a largest ethnic group in Americs society. The major health issues of Latino/Hispanic Americans are lack of health insurance and less preventive care. They have higher level of living poverty because of low income. With that poverty cause lack of insurance, they have reduced access to medical care bring delay diagnosis and treatment, and poor health outcome. Family and religion are emphasized to maintain the good health. When they meet health crisis, family member is the most important health supporter. They believe illness is from imbalance of hot and cold concept. Fever managed by cold drink. Cold person drinks warm fluid (chong, 2002). Their folk remedy influence of person’s well-being. Approaching nursing care for them, professional acre needs to combine with their folk remedies. These combinations will benefit to them to have positive results. In summery, It is great challenge using the Heritage Assessment to provide optimal care for people’s well-being and the quality of life. Awareness of people’s culture and value is important to achieve the goal of the health promotion. The Heritage Assessment tool inf luences in nursing to maximize the effectiveness of optimal nursing care and practice for all people from different culture and country. REFERENCE M.M. Andrews: The influence of cultural health belief system on health care practices. In M.M. Andrews, J.S. Boyle (Eds.): Transcultural concepts in nursing care. 5th ed., 2008, Wolters Kluwer Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, 66-81. N. Chong: In The Latino patient: A cultural guide for health care providers. 2002, Intercultural Press, Maine. C.J. Tashiro: Identify and health in the narratives of older mixed ancestry Asian Americans. Journal of Cultural Diversity. 13(1), 2006, 41-49. Edelman, C., Et. Mandle. C. L (2010). Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span. (7th ed.) St. Lows Mosby. Grand Canyon University (2011). Lecture 3: Culture and Cultural Competency in Health Promotion.

Channels of Distribution for Insurance Products

Channels of Distribution for Insurance Products PRAKASH PRABHAKAR PATIL DPGD/JL10/0480 Specialization: – Banking, Investment and Insurance Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research Year of submission: – May 2012 ACKNOWLEDGMENT I would like to acknowledge and extend my heartfelt gratitude to the following persons who have made the completion of this project possible. I am highly indebted to Wellingkar Institute of Management for this opportunity and constant guidance as well as for providing necessary information regarding the project.I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents & colleagues of HDFC Life Insurance for their kind co-operation and encouragement which help me in completion of this project. I would like to express my special gratitude and thanks to industry persons for giving me such attention and time. Prakash Patil TABLE OF CONTENTS |Content |Page No | |Introduction – Insurance Market in India – A Quick look 4 | |Dis tribution Channel – Definition & Importance |6 | |Current distribution channels for Insurance products |8 | |Tied (Agency) Channel |9 | |Corporate Agency |13 | |Brokers |14 | |Bancassurance |17 | |Online/ Internet |23 | |Microinsurance |26 | |Worksite Marketing |28 | |Indian Postal Services |30 | |Telemarketing |32 | |KIOSK or Virtual Marketing |33 | |Background |34 | |Methodology |35 | |Problems in Distribution of Insurance products in India |35 | |Conclusions & Recommendations |44 | |Limitations |48 | |Bibliography |49 | INTRODUCTION ? Insurance Market in India – A Quick look Life insurance industry in India has gone through many phases since its start in 1818 with the establishment of the Oriental Life Insurance Company in Calcutta. In 1829, the Madras Equitable had begun transacting life insurance business in the Madras Presidency. 870 saw the enactment of the British Insurance Act and in the last three decades of the nineteenth century, the Bombay Mutual (1871), O riental (1874) and Empire of India (1897) were started in the Bombay Residency. This era, however, was dominated by foreign insurance offices which did good business in India, namely Albert Life Assurance, Royal Insurance, Liverpool and London Globe Insurance and the Indian offices were up for hard competition from the foreign companies. In 1914, the Government of India started publishing returns of Insurance Companies in India. The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act, 1912 was the first statutory measure to regulate life business.In 1928, the Indian Insurance Companies Act was enacted to enable the Government to collect statistical information about both life and non-life business transacted in India by Indian and foreign insurers including provident insurance societies. In 1938, with a view to protecting the interest of the Insurance public, the earlier legislation was consolidated and amended by the Insurance Act, 1938 with comprehensive provisions for effective control over the activities of insurers. The Insurance Amendment Act of 1950 abolished Principal Agencies. However, there were a large number of insurance companies operating in India by independence and the level of competition was high. There were also allegations of unfair trade practices. Therefore, post independence, Government of India decided to nationalize insurance business.Accordingly in January 1956, nationalization of life insurance was done by formation of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) by absorbing 154 Indian, 16 non-Indian insurers and 75 provident societies. In 1972, general insurance business was also nationalized with effect from 1st January, 1973. 107 insurers were amalgamated and grouped into four companies, namely National Insurance Company Ltd. , the New India Assurance Company Ltd. , the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd and the United India Insurance Company Ltd. The General Insurance Corporation of India was incorporated as a company in 1971 which commenced its operations in 1st January 1973. There has been considerable time lag between reforms of insurance sector and rest of financial sector.Therefore in 1993, Government of India set up committee chaired by RN Malhotra, former governor of RBI, to propose recommendations for reforms in Insurance sector. Committee submitted its report in 1994 wherein it recommended to open the Insurance Sector for Private and foreign players. Following the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee report, in 1999 the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was constituted as an autonomous body to regulate and develop the insurance industry. The IRDA was incorporated as a statutory body in April, 2000. The key objectives of the IRDA include promotion of competition so as to enhance customer satisfaction through increased consumer choice and lower premiums, while ensuring the financial security of the insurance market.The IRDA opened up the market in August 2000 with the invitation for application for registr ations. Foreign companies were allowed ownership of up to 26%. A number of amendments were brought in various insurance related statutes, viz. , Insurance Act, 1938, LIC Act, 1956 and General Insurance Business Nationalization Act, 1972 (GIBA). The Progress in the overall developments in the insurance sector were swift and more prominent after the establishment of IRDA. The four public sector non-life insurance companies were de-linked from being subsidiary of the General Insurance Company of India. Now they operate independently and compete with each other. With the progress of reforms, Insurance market has been flooded with a number of players.As at end-March 2006, among the life insurers, there were 23 companies in private sector and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) was the solitary public sector company. Among non-life insurers, nine companies were in private sector and four companies were in public sector (Annex II). As regarding the present size of the insurance marke t in India, it is stated that India accounts not even one per cent of the global Insurance market. However, studies have pointed out that India’s insurance market is expected to grow rapidly in the next 10 years. The Indian Insurance Industry: A Case Study Let’s understand the rules for formation of Insurance Company in India. ABC is foreign company having diverse business interests, including the arketing and selling of insurance products in the United States of America (USA). It has a strong infrastructure, good customer base and brand equity. ABC has heard that the Indian insurance market has opened up and seeks some information about opportunities there. ABC wants to tie-up with an Indian company (â€Å"XYZ†) by forming a joint venture and wants to know the amount of equity it can hold in an Indian joint venture company and the insurance products it can sell in India. The company has distributable profits in three (3) preceding financial years, prior to the year in which shares with differential rights are to be issued; Further, ABC has a subsidiary in India (the â€Å"ABC Sub†).ABC wants to know whether ABC Sub can enter into a joint venture with XYZ. Observations and Comments The Indian government has recently passed the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority Act, 1999 (the â€Å"IRDA†) whereby amendments have been made to the existing insurance laws prevailing in the country, namely, the Insurance Act, 1938 (the â€Å"Ins Act†), the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 (the â€Å"Life Act†), and the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 (the â€Å"GIB Act†). An authority called the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (the â€Å"Authority†) has been established to regulate the insurance sector. (Section 3 of the IRDA) The Authority, inter alia, will have the power to: Issue applicants a certificate of registration; renew, modify, withdraw, suspend or cancel such re gistration. (Section 14(2)(a) of the IRDA) A certificate of registration will have to be renewed annually. (Section 3A of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) †¢ Prescribe prudential norms such as solvency margins and investment guidelines for insurance companies (Section 14(2)(k) and (l) of the IRDA) †¢ Protect interests of policyholders in matters concerning assignments of policies, nominations by policyholders, insurable interest, settlement of insurance claims, surrender value of policies, and other terms and conditions of contracts of insurance. (Section 14(2)(b) of the IRDA)However, the Indian Government has retained with itself the power to issue directions on questions of policy. (Section 14(2)(b) of the IRDA) The definition of an â€Å"Indian insurance company† has been amended to include â€Å"any insurer being a company- 1. Which is formed and registered under the Companies Act, 1956; 2. In which the aggregate holding of equity shares by a for eign company, either by itself or through its subsidiary companies or its nominees does not exceed twenty-six per cent (26%) of the paid-up capital; and 3. Whose sole purpose is to carry on life insurance business or general insurance business or reinsurance business. (Section 2(7A) of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA)The explanation to this section provides that a â€Å"foreign company† is a company that is not a domestic company. (Section 2(23A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 r/w section 2(7A) of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) The IRDA by amending the Ins Act clearly provides that the aggregate holding of equity shares by a foreign company, either by itself or through its subsidiary companies or nominees should not exceed 26% of the paid-up capital of the insurance company. It has been clarified that the twenty-six per cent (26%) cap applicable to foreign companies will also apply to foreign institutional investors, non-resident Indians and overs eas corporate bodies. Section 2(7A)(b) of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) Thus, a foreign company is now permitted to own upto 26% of the equity in an Indian joint venture company. Therefore, if ABC proposes to form a joint venture with XYZ, ABC's shareholding will be restricted to a minority shareholding of 26% in the joint venture company. It must be noted that the Indian insurance company must be a public limited company. (Section 2C of the Ins Act) Now, let us assume that ABC has a subsidiary company in India (the â€Å"ABC Sub†) in which it owns a fifty-one per cent (51%) equity and decides that ABC Sub should enter into the insurance joint venture with XYZ. This will not be permissible.According to recent informal pronouncements of the Authority, Indian companies that are subsidiaries of overseas companies will not be allowed to tie-up with other Indian companies to do insurance business. The Authority perceives this as violation of the twenty-six per ce nt (26%) equity cap by forming insurance companies. ABC can, however, along with several other foreign companies have a stake in an insurance company operating in India as long as the combined equity stake of all foreign companies does not exceed twenty-six per cent (26%). The Authority will not register any new insurance company carrying on the business of life or general insurance unless it has a minimum paid-up capital of Rs. 100 crores. No composite license for life and non-life business will be granted.For companies in the reinsurance sector, a minimum paid-up capital of Rs. 200 crores is required. (Section 6 of the Ins Act) The foregoing paid-up share capital must be brought into the new company within six (6) months of issue of the license. (Section 6 of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) In addition, every insurer will be required to undertake such percentages of life insurance or general insurance business in the rural or social sector, as specified in the Offi cial Gazette by the Authority in this behalf. (Section 27D of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) Furthermore, a new insurance company will be permitted to invest policyholders' funds only in India. Section 27C of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) Every insurer shall, in respect of its life insurance business, be required to deposit with the Reserve Bank of India, either in cash or in approved securities, a sum equal to one per cent (1%) of its total gross premium written in India, not, however, exceeding Rs. 10 crores. In respect of the general insurance business, this sum will equal three per cent (3%) of its total gross premium written in India, not, however, exceeding Rs. 10 crores. In respect of re-insurance business, this sum will equal Rs. 20 crores. (Section 7(i) of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) It has been provided that an Indian promoter holding more than twenty-six per cent (26%) of the paid-up equity capital of an Indian insura nce company will ave to divest in a phased manner the share capital in excess of twenty-six per cent (26%), after a period of ten (10) years from the date of commencement of business by the Indian insurance company. (Provision to section 6AA of the Ins Act r/w the First Schedule of the IRDA) On the one hand, the Indian government has restricted foreign equity ownership in Indian insurance companies to twenty-six per cent (26%) whereas on the other hand, it wants Indian partners to divest their equity holdings to twenty-six per cent (26%) after ten (10) years. Recently government has been in considering increasing the limit on foreign investments up to 49% from current 26%. Also norms for IPO are expected to be finalized shortly which would enable companies to go public for raising funds.The IRDA has allowed three kinds of insurance brokerage firms to operate in the country, namely, insurance, re-insurance, and composite brokerage firms. The twenty-six per cent (26%) equity cap will apply to such firms too, except that; composite brokers may enjoy a higher equity cap of forty-nine per cent (49%). Company formation consideration †¢ On complying with the registration formalities, ABC and XYZ will have to enter into a shareholders’ agreement. The main issue that arises here is exercise of control in the functioning of the joint venture company. Generally, exercise of control can be at two levels Board of Directors; and Shareholders. †¢ Under the Companies Act, 1956 (the â€Å"Cos.Act†) a company can carry on activities by passing either of two resolutions, special resolutions and ordinary resolutions. Ordinary resolutions can be passed by shareholders having 50% plus one shares with voting rights in the company, whereas special resolutions can be passed only by shareholders having 75% shares with voting rights in the company. A special resolution is, inter alia, required to amend the Memorandum and Articles of Association of a company, to i ssue further shares through a rights issue, to give loans or guarantees to other companies, etc. With a twenty-six per cent (26%) equity stake, ABC will only be in a position to block special resolutions. It will not be able to control the day-to-day functioning of the joint venture company.Additionally, the Authority has prescribed that foreign insurance companies cannot retain Board control in Indian insurance joint venture companies. Therefore, ABC will not be able to appoint majority directors on the joint venture company's Board. Another pertinent point that arises is infusion of funds to the extent of seventy-four per cent (74%) of the equity of the joint venture company by the Indian partner, namely, XYZ. XYZ will have to bring in a minimum amount of 74 cores, if the joint venture company seeks to enter into the business of life or general insurance. Further, in the event of increase of share capital, XYZ will have to pump in an amount equal to its seventy-four per cent (74%) equity stake.This can cause some problems. It should be noted that preference shares cannot be issued by companies carrying on life insurance business (Section 6A(1)(i) of the Ins Act). As such, the joint venture company carrying on life insurance business cannot comply with the capitalization stipulations by issuing preference shares to ABC In such circumstances, the parties can consider entering into a three-way joint venture either with another Indian company or with a bank. The Reserve Bank of India (â€Å"RBI†) has permitted banks to enter into the insurance sector and to invest up to fifty per cent (50%) of their paid-up capital in insurance joint ventures.The liberalization of the Indian insurance sector has open up the sector to private competition. If ABC and XYZ can establish the right amount of trust and take a long-term perspective on the Indian market, their joint venture can be a major success. ? Distribution Channel – Definition & Importance in Indian i nsurance Industry The process of making a product or service available to customer for use or consumption at desired place and time by set of two or more interdependent organizations. It can also be termed as an Intermediary between end consumer and seller or service provider. Intermediaries typically charge a â€Å"mark-up† or â€Å"commission† for participating in the channel.Post nationalization of Insurance companies, tied agents were the primary channels for insurance distribution in the Indian market; the public sector insurance companies have their branches in almost all parts of the country and have attracted local people to become their agents. The agents are from various segments in society and collectively cover the entire spectrum of society. A person who has lived in the locality for many years sells the products of the insurance company with a local branch nearby. This ensures the last mile touch point being closer to the customer. Of course, the profile of the people who acted as agents suggests they may not have been sufficiently knowledgeable about the different products offered, and may not have sold the best possible product to the client. Nonetheless, the customer trusted the agent and company. This arrangement worked adequately in the absence of competition.In terms of ‘Insurance Penetration Ratio’ (defined as ratio of insurance premium to GDP), a key indicator of the spread of insurance coverage and insurance culture, India compares very poorly by international standards. The penetration ratio was less than one per cent in 1990s and it improved to 5. 2% by year ended on March 2009. As against this, as per report from Swiss Re penetration ratio by year ended on March 2009, in respect of some of the developed countries, viz. , UK and South Africa at 12. 90%. In Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong had registered their respective ratio of as high as 16. 8% and 11. 0%. Insurance penetration for the world was placed at 7. 0% w hich was far ahead than that of India. Refer: Table 1) Thus in a country with 1. 21 billion overall population, the penetration ratio indicates that still there is vast majority of population still outside reach of Insurance; especially in rural and semi-urban areas, in the context of the absence of social security schemes. This clearly suggests that there is a vast opportunity to tap in insurance sector by widening the distribution channels. Nearly as old as the banking industry or perhaps even older, insurance as a model of risk management, is centuries old. Though the industry began in a small way, it evolved to become an integral part of the financial services businesses over time.Table 1: International Comparison Of Insurance Penetration, March 2009. Developed Countries |Country |Total |Life |Non-Life | |Australia |6. 40 |3. 40 |3. 00 | |Brazil |3. 10 |1. 60 |1. 50 | |France |10. 30 |7. 20 |3. 10 | |Germany |7. 00 |3. 30 |3. 0 | |Russia |2. 50 |0. 00 |2. 50 | |South Africa |12. 90 |10. 00 |2. 90 | |Switzerland |9. 80 |5. 40 |4. 50 | |United Kingdom |12. 90 |10. 00 |3. 00 | |United States |8. 00 |3. 50 |4. 50 | Asian Countries Country |Total |Life |Non-Life | |Bangladesh |0. 90 |0. 70 |0. 20 | |Hong Kong |11. 00 |9. 60 |1. 40 | |India# |5. 20 |4. 60 |0. 60 | |Japan |9. 90 |7. 80 |2. 10 | |Malaysia |4. 40 |2. 90 |1. 0 | |Pakistan |0. 70 |0. 30 |0. 40 | |PR China |3. 40 |2. 30 |1. 10 | |Singapore |6. 80 |5. 10 |1. 70 | |South Korea |10. 40 |6. 50 |3. 90 | |Sri Lanka |1. 40 |0. 60 |0. 90 | |Taiwan |16. 0 |13. 80 |3. 00 | |Thailand |4. 00 |2. 40 |1. 60 | |World |7. 00 |4. 00 |3. 00 | Source: Swiss Re, Sigma various volumes * Insurance penetration is measured as ratio of premium (in US Dollars) to GDP (in US Dollars) # Data relates to financial year ? Current distribution channels for Insurance products in India:- Traditionally before privatization insurance products were only sold by agents.Strategy also worked due to absence of competition in market. However post privatization, competition got tougher and need for alternate channels of distribution was strongly felt. Currently insurance products are being distributed through following channels: Current distribution of Insurance products in India Insurers ? Tied (Agency) Today's insurance agent has to know which product will appeal to the customer, and also know his competitor's products in the same space to be an effective salesman who can sell his company, the product, and himself to the customer. To the average customer, every new company is the same. Perceptions about the public sector companies are also cemented in his mind.The new companies are looking for educated, aware individuals with marketing flair, an elite group who can be attracted only with high remuneration and the lure of a fashionable job, all of which may not be possible in this business with its price pressures and the complexity of selling insurance. Unable to attract this segment, they have started easing recruitme nt conditions as against the stringent norms they had earlier, thereby diluting the process. While the public sector companies are able to attract agents, they continue to suffer from high attrition rates due to indiscriminate agent appointment. The most successful of these companies tied agents are hardly of the elite variety of salesman.They are still the people from neighborhood — the postman, the schoolteacher, and the shopkeeper — who know the people and are themselves known in the community. The challenge here is the lack of knowledge of the competitive market and the inability to do intelligent comparisons with the competitor's products. Educating and training these agents is a serious challenge for the insurance company. The relevance of this kind of agent continues even today as agents are sought or contacted by families by word of mouth. Insurance companies are advised not to follow the path of FMCG's/credit card companies, believing that a suited and booted customer care consultant or financial consultant will necessarily appeal to the average Indian customer.In this context it might be a rewarding exercise to recruit some older people (who have taken Voluntary Retirement from banks and other financial institutions) to sell some lines of products like pension plans, annuities etc. Gender of agents is another relevant feature in the rural context that makes a difference, especially for the female population. Women to whom the customers can relate –e. g. , nurses, gram sevikas — can target the female segment of the population more effectively. What is applicable for the rural women and children health programs and population control programs is equally applicable for insurance selling also. With this kind of segmentation of intermediaries the challenge for the insurance company lies in training and educating these people to become effective sales persons.But this in no way diminishes the benefits of intermediary segmentatio n. †¢ SWOT Analysis on Agency Channel Strengths:- †¢ Typicality of Indian customers who always favors known and reliable intermediary. †¢ Through agency, personal contact and relationship can be established with the customer. Agents usually enjoy personal credibility with customers. †¢ Agents provide various presales and post sales services to customers. †¢ This channel’s awareness and acceptability is maximum among people. †¢ Cross selling is possible through this channel. †¢ Due to personal contact, it can provide valuable feedback about the need and expectation of consumers. Weakness:- Insurers have to bare higher cost to set up of agency channel network and provide training to personnel †¢ Higher commission rates forces insurers to deduct high charges from policy. †¢ High attrition rate of agents is a serious concern. Due to this, initial investment done on training and educating the agents goes waste. Attrition causes the prob lem of servicing orphan policies. †¢ Agents are generally not tech savvy. Opportunities:- †¢ High net worth individuals who prefer relationship over cost can be tapped. †¢ Technology can be embraced to convert prospect into business. †¢ Commissions structure can be designed in such a way that agents would want to stay active for long term. Threats:- Alternate distribution channels are more preferred by the insurers due to cost effectiveness over agency channel. At present, the number of agents working in life insurance industry is approximately 15 lakhs but a majority of them are dormant which leads to poor activity ratio. Out of the massive agency force approximately only 20% are active. What is need of the hour is not the quantity but the quality. Having some productive and lots of unproductive lot drags down the morale of the community of agents, leads to discontent within the profession and the respect for the profession is downgraded. Over manpower has its c ost to the company in terms of unrecovered or under recovered training cost.Also, opportunity cost in terms of a more productive agent serving in place of a dormant agent can’t be looked over. Over manpower also contributes to mis-selling and refunds. Adequate concept, product and soft skill training is indispensible for professionalizing agency force. IRDA mandates companies to impart 100 hour training to its agents and today most of the companies have in-house training facility. But number of agents attending subsequent product trainings at the time of product launches and other soft skill training sessions gets reduced substantially. It leads to poor knowledge about company’s whole basket of offerings and agents selling only a few products instead of doing a true need-based selling to customers.The concern of the regulator towards growing proportion of linked products in companies’ total percentage of business can also be attributed to biasedness of training programs in favor of linked products. Training becomes all the more important in today’s competitive environment where the agent is not only selling insurance but the company providing insurance. Adequate and quality initial training at the time of licensing is like laying a strong foundation for agents entering the industry and subsequent trainings are like sharpening the agents’ willingness to stay competitive. Agents are off-roll employees of an insurance company and keeping them motivated is a big challenge. Companies run loyalty and engagement programs and sales incentive programs (like short term contests) providing various monetary and non-monetary benefits.They serve well to motivate the agents to perform better, increase interaction of agents with the companies, promote spirit of healthy competition among the agents and to recognize good performing agents, provided these programs are easily understandable, transparent and quick in benefit disbursal. This profe ssion is also not left untouched by Information Technology. Most of the companies have a dedicated agent’s portal but the number of agents accessing them is less than satisfactory. One step forward in making the agents more efficient and professional is to make them more tech-savvy through training and other means. Looking at the regulatory front, a dispute redressal mechanism for the agents should be established by the IRDA. Insurance selling is a tough job.Agents are facing sharp competition from other alternative distribution channels and with so many insurance players in the fray, their job has become all the more difficult. Though the image of an agent has undergone lot of change since the time it was first introduced but still agents face a lot of sales resistance. Insurance companies need to consciously endeavor into dedicated efforts for the image makeover of their agents which will go much beyond calling them advisors or financial consultants instead of agents. Agent s are the true Brand Ambassadors of the company and they deserve a fair treatment from the insurers. In spite of multitude of other distribution channels coming up, tied agency is here to stay because of attitude and typicality of Indian customers.What is needed is a genuine effort in recruitment, training and development of a good agency force critical for growth and survival, knowing that for a long-term business like insurance quality, productivity and ethical values must be deep-rooted fully in the workforce. ? Corporate Agency The corporate agent is an extension of the agent as the insurance agent is an individual and if two agents join together and form a firm or company, it becomes corporate agent. The procedure to become a corporate agent is the same as that of an agent but may have to contribute the share capital of 15 lakh at the discretion of the insurer. Corporate agency channel was the key distribution channel for Insurance. Since IRDA allowed corporate agents into dist ribution of Insurance, it flourished like anything.It has a major advantage of cost affordability over traditional agency channel for insurers. However due to increased complaints of mis-selling and high lapsation of policies sourced through corporate agencies was a growing concern over the time. Majority of the policies were sold as a short term investment option rather than long term security. Customers were kept under dark about various charges of policy and other terms and conditions which makes insurance policy a long term investment option. Also there were instances where same set of individuals have floated different corporate agencies and they even employed people without valid licenses. To overcome these challenges and protect customer interest, IRDA came up with tringent licensing norms for corporate agencies in June 2010 which tighten the license renewal process that made many small corporate agents ineligible as they were not conforming to the new norms. In addition of t his IRDA also recommended regular on-side inspection of corporate agents to control various mal practices that had entered the system. Due to IRDA’s on-side inspection companies wherein same set of individuals have floated different corporate agencies went out of business. In November 2011, IRDA came out with persistency ratio for corporate agents; according to which it would mandatory for corporate agents to retain at least 50% of their clients. These norms with cap on commission have made its viability questionable.Also IRDA proposed a disincentive for lapsation in the form of commission claw back by the insurer, on a proportionate basis. Alternatively, a part of the first year commission should be withheld to be paid based on persistency in later years. These guidelines have ensured the restriction of the agencies which used to sell the insurance policies only for higher first year commission by using malpractices and only those who are willing to do long term and ethical business can survive. ? Brokers Insurance brokers is being totally new distribution channel which can sell the products of all the insurers on all India basis but minimum capital requirement is 50 lakh with proper office infrastructure and manpower.Every Insurance Broker will have to pay annual fees of 0. 5% of his brokerage and insure himself under Professional Indemnity insurance. Broker channel offers several benefits for customers like Choice, expertise and customer servicing. These are elaborated below. Choice:- There are about 50 insurance companies in India and as a result hundreds of different product options which can help customer to choose product exactly as per his need. Unfortunately the benefit of this market diversity never reaches the customers if they purchase insurance through agents. Brokers by definition are not tied to any one insurer and have a bias to present as many options as possible to clients.Also, brokers have a unique advantage as they can combine the l ife, non-life and health insurance requirements of a client. A broker can explain the distinctions of these different product types to a client and pick the most relevant options. This allows brokers to work with relatively smaller companies in a profitable manner. Individual insurers and agents would not have the same economies of scale in serving small clients. Expertise:- Brokers are constantly exposed to people and product offerings of different companies. Brokers participate in training programme conducted by different companies. This puts brokers in a unique position to understand market trends and developments. A good broker will harness this information to create deep market expertise.Such expertise has three main benefits. First, brokers can educate clients about product options and then push insurers hard to develop the appropriate products. The result is a steady improvement in product quality. Second, brokers can express a client's case in a language that insurers unders tand and vice versa. Quite often clients are confused when faced with all the technicalities of insurance. Brokers bridge this gap. Finally, the expertise is vital in effectively managing the client's risk, particularly in volatile times. Customer Servicing:- Because of the privileged customer–broker relationship, the broker has to build customer servicing capability.In fact the ability of a broker to retain a client, quite often depends upon its servicing strengths. No insurer or agent can play this role adequately because of the inherent conflict of interest between the claimant and the insurance company. Benefits to Industry and regulators point of view:- Brokers offer several benefits to the regulator as well. The strong customer focus of a broker is an obvious benefit. Moreover, primarily because of their deep expertise, brokers can be a very effective route to collate consumer feedback on its guidelines and regulations. Brokers go through a rigorous screening process by the regulator. Fly-by-night operators are effectively screened out.Therefore, a robust broking channel will result in fewer customer grievances and mis-selling issues. Last but not the least; brokers are very effective in reducing the cost of distribution. The experience in several countries has been that intermediation costs reduce as the broking channel becomes better established. The IRDA has a significant role to play in strengthening the broker's role in industry. First, it should attract high quality talent and capital in the channel. The quality of the players will be the foremost determinant of the development of the channel. Second, IRDA should look to incentivize focus on pure protection solutions.The low ticket size of pure protection plans and the current commission structure results in small absolute earnings for the channel. In the backdrop of low consumer awareness, the cost of acquiring a customer is high, hence the current compensation does not provide an economic rationale for intermediaries to focus on such pure risk products. Finally, in its developmental role, IRDA can educate customers on the advantages, roles and responsibilities of a broker. Issues faced by Brokers Channel:- The Brokers segment offers a mystifying problem to the insurers. This segment is able to reach out to a wide audience and has gained pace over the decade since liberalization.Hence it is an effective channel to gain market share. But profitability issues remain due to greater costs incurred on this high maintenance channel. Given that the Indian customer, just as customers in the developing world, will not like to pay upfront charges for consulting, the broker too needs to maintain his overheads by placing the policy that makes the most economic sense, rather than one that would benefit the customer the most. That said, brokers segment is a specialized channel that will continue to maintain a reasonable share in the new business premiums. The positives are that bro kers in the urban arena can attract the elite and the upper middle class customer.Brokers represent the customer and will sell the products of more than one company. They seek to determine the best fit for the client and can effectively address the mind block faced by the public about the various companies. This is applicable in the case of life insurance for the high-end and corporate/group segment. In the non-life segment, broking is not entirely new, as reinsurance brokers were arranging exotic covers. For individual customers also, with a wide range of competitive products, the broker can get a good deal. The corporate broking companies will have to play a prominent role. We are still in the early years of the industry's growth in India. The best is yet to come.We expect that over time the market will mature and the broking channel will develop with considerable depth and robustness. ? Bancassurance – Comprehensive medium of Insurance distribution The banking & Insurance industry have charged rapidly in the changing and challenging economic environment through out the globe. In the competitive & open environment each & every one wants to do better than others. And they know that if they are not able to provide better service they won't survive in Industry. Insurance companies are also to be competitive by cutting cost & serving in the better way to customers. Now the time has come to choose and adopt appropriate distribution channel.The Bancassurance is the distribution of insurance products through the bank's distribution channels. It is a phenomenon where in insurance products are offered through the distribution channels of the banking services along with a complete range of banking & investment products & services. In simple term we can say Bancassurance tries to exploit synergies between both the insurance companies & banks. Bankers Perspective:- In the post reforms, the financial sector has more number of players of both domestic and foreign a nd the dividing line between the banks and non-banking financial institutions’ activities had considerably thinned down. Overlapping in one another’s functions/ areas have become more common than exception.The direct upshot of these developments led to intensive competition in the banking sector and which in turn had a strong bearing on the banks’ net interest margin (spread). In fact the emerging scenario is likely to bring down the banks’ spread even thinner. Despite the monstrous size of public sector banks, they too observed decline in their spread. Further, banking system in India was prone to very high NPA’s (Non Performing assets) which was further ruining the burden on banks. Therefore, banks were compelled to be constantly on the look out for stable alternate sources of earnings in the form of non- traditional and fee based sources of incomes and diversification towards new areas such as bancassurance, promises greater scope for further en hancement in earnings with no menace of increase in NPA’s.Persistent endeavor in scouting for new technology, new products/ services/ new avenues, has become necessary for the growth as well as sustainability of banking system. It is in this context possibly, bancassurance could well be an appropriate choice for banks to increase their stable source of income with relatively less investments in the form of new infrastructure. As far as banking sector’s infrastructure is concerned, only a few countries could match with India for having largest banking network in terms of bank branches spreading almost throughout the length and breadth of the country. As on year end on March 2011, no of branches of all banks across India stands at staggering 89622 with growth of 36% since 2010.Out of this large network of branches nearly 62% of branches are located in rural and semi urban areas and the remaining around 38% are in urban and metropolitan areas. Besides the commercial banki ng system, India has large rural credit cooperatives as also urban cooperative banking network. Taken together these institutional set up, the ratio of population served by a bank branch would work out to be far lower. Thus, on the one hand we have a very low insurance penetration and low insurance density as compared with the international standards; on the other hand, India has a widely stretched and well established banking network infrastructure.It is this contrasting situation to absorb the two systems by way of ‘bancassurance strategy’ to reap the benefits of synergy. This is an opportune time for both banking and the insurance sectors to come closer and forge an alliance for the mutual benefit. For, both the regulators, i. e. , RBI and IRDA have already proffered appropriate policy guidelines and set in a congenial environment for such an endeavor. Besides, the Government of India’s unequivocal policy to provide insurance cover to the low income households and the people at large at a minimum cost are also favorable. Table 2: POPULATION GROUP-WISE NUMBER OF BRANCHES OF BANKS IN INDIA YEAR |RURAL |SEMI-URBAN |URBAN |METROPOLITAN |TOTAL | |1970 |3063 |3718 |1744 |1606 |10131 | |1980 |15105 |8122 |5178 |4014 |32419 | |1990 |34791 |11324 |8042 |5595 |59752 | |2000 |32734 |14407 |10052 |8219 |65412 | |2001 |32562 |14597 |10293 |8467 |65919 | |2002 |32380 |14747 |10477 |8586 |66190 | |2003 |32303 |14859 |10693 |8680 |66535 | |2004 |32121 |15091 |11000 |8976 |67188 | |2005 |32082 |15403 |11500 |9370 |68355 | |2006 |30579 |15556 |12032 |11304 |69471 | |2007 |30551 |16361 |12970 |11957 |71839 | |2008 |30914 |17791 |14416 |13038 |76159 | |2009 |31576 |19075 |15479 |13921 |80051 | |2010 |32497 |20707 |16884 |14935 |85023 | |2011 |33495 |22631 |17712 |15784 |89622 | Source: RBI annual report, 2010-11. Note: Data are exclusive of administrative offices.Above all, in India still vast majority of banking operations are conducted manually at the ban k’s branch level with relatively less automation such as ATMs, tele-banking, internet banking, etc. , unlike many developed countries. This stands out as an added advantage for the banks to have direct interface with the customers, to understand their needs/tastes and preferences, etc. , and accordingly customize insurance products. In fact there is also greater scope for innovation of new insurance products in the process. Therefore bancassurance can be a feasible activity and viable source of additional revenue for the banks. Insurers Perspective:-Contemporaneously, with the sweeping financial reforms in the insurance sector and the consequent opening up of this sector, all the private entities plunged almost simultaneously with a very little spacing of time and the entire insurance sector has been exposed to stiff competition. Insurers too have much to gain from bancassurance. The cost of the traditional agency channel is prohibitive with the high risk of agency turnover r anging between 30 to 40% every year, thus making the entire recruiting and training expenses going down the drain. Moreover, the price competition has reduced the profit margins and increased the compensation demands of the successful agents. The incentive pattern has a lot to do in this spiraling of the cost of the agency channel. Bancassurance has come in very handy for winning the middle income market which forms the bulk of the bank customers.With Bancassurance, the cost of opening new insurance branches comes down drastically for the insurer. With an agreement with a bank, all the thousand and more branches of the bank become the extended arms of the insurer. Customer Perspective:- The most immediate advantage for customers is that, in insurance business the question of trust plays a greater role, especially due to the inbuilt requirement of a long term relationship between the insurer and the insured. In India, for decades, customers were used to the monopolistic attitude of p ublic sector insurance companies, despite there were many drawbacks in their dealing, they enjoyed customer confidence, this trend continues even now mainly due to their Government ownership.The customers to move over to private insurance companies that are collaborated with foreign companies which are less known to the Indian public would take little more time. The void between the less known newer private insurance companies and the prospective insured could be comfortably filled by the banks because of their well established and long cherished relationship. Under these circumstances, any new insurance products routed through the bancassurance channel would be well received by the customers. Bancassurance is always a win-win situation for customers. It provides greater convenience by providing all the financial needs under one roof.The customer need not always wait for his insurance agent to come and render service. Whenever the client goes to the bank for his/her other needs like housing loan, overdraft, some draft issuance etc, he can complete his insurance needs too. It’s always easier to deal with one agent for all the financial needs rather than separate agents for every product. For paying renewal premium for policy would also be easier with services like ECS, Billpay or standing Instructions. Reduced distribution cost for insurers will lead to reduced premiums for policies. SWOT Analysis on Bancassurance Strengths:- In a country of more than one billion population, sky is the limit for selling insurance products.There is a vast untapped potential as the life insurance industry just covered around 20 crores of people – the number of policies will be more in view of the multiplicity of the policies per person. Millions of people travel out of India every year for various reasons, necessitating the purchase of Travel insurance and Health insurance. This is besides their need for conventional policies. There are a lot of sunrise industries l ike the IT sector, the hospitality sector, the healthcare portfolio, the education sector, BPOs and the call centers, R & D etc, providing a huge pool of professionals ready to be tapped for their insurance needs. Weakness:- The difference in working style and culture of the banks and insurance sector needs greater appreciation.Insurance is a ‘business of solicitation’ unlike a typical banking service, it requires great drive to ‘sell/ market the insurance products. It should, however, be recognized that ‘bancassurance’ is not simply about selling insurance but about changing the mindset of a bank. Moreover, in India since the majority of the banking sector is in public sector and which has been widely disparaged for the lethargic attitude and poor quality of customer service, it needs to refurbish the blemished image. Else, the bancassurance would be difficult to succeed in these banks. Unlike, the banking service, there is no guarantee for insurance products that all efforts that a bank staff spends in explaining to a customer would clinch the deal due to the very nature of the insurance products.This frustration of the bank staff has the danger of spillover effect even on their regular banking business. With the financial reforms and technological revolution embracing the financial system, there has been a great deal of flexibility in the mind set of people to accept change. The above outlined problems need not, however, deter the banking sector to embark on bancassurance as any form of resistance from the bank employees could be tackled by devising an appropriate incentive system commensurate with intensive training to the frontline bank staff. On other hand, the middle class population is over-burdened today by the inflationary pressures.This is considerably reducing the amount of savings of a middle class income group. Also absence of elementary IT requirements is still the case in many of the PSU and co-operative bank bra nches which is a concern area. Opportunities:- Bank has a huge database to work on. This has to be analyzed thoroughly and similar groups should be churned out in order to sell the bancassurance products. Since the Government pensions and other payments are handled through the bank branches, the bank can become a rallying point for more and more insurance business. Banks can become the ‘One stop shop' where a customer can apply for banking, mortgages, pensions, investment and insurance products. Threats:-The bank employee is so well entrenched in his classical way of working that there is a definite threat of resistance to any change the Bancassurance may bring in. The knowledge level of the bank staff on insurance matters is so low that all enquiries of the customers are turned over to the insurer much to the disappointment and discomfiture of the client. The bank employee simply becomes a post man in transferring the problems of the client. The same trouble comes in the matt er of other servicing aspects like the policy revivals or claims. There are hazards of direct competition to conventional banking products. The bank personnel may become resistant to sell insurance products, fearing that the bank's savings may be diverted to the insurance companies.The strategy should be using multiple banks according to their presence in different regions. Success would come by using bancassurance where it will be most effective i. e. selling simple, cheap products to the masses at a low cost. This awareness is growing and is evident from the fact that nearly every insurance company has partnered with one or many banks to implement bancassurance. ? Online Sales Channel – A feasible alternative India is joining the fast growing breed of net users and using net for banking transactions is also growing rapidly. Now almost all the public and private sector banks provide online banking facility as an add-on advantage with savings accounts.In insurance industry, j ust few years back internet was used mostly used by Insurers for Policy servicing, promotion of new products and providing various tools like illustrative calculators etc†¦ However selling insurance products online is a relatively new concept in India. Let’s understand the need of online distribution in Insurance industry. In 2010, the insurance regulator tightened norms which forced insurers to cut down commission to agents. The regulator also made it mandatory for agents to achieve a minimum level of productivity and persistency of business. As a result of these tough measures the number of life insurance agents dropped from 28. 03 lakh in September 2010 to 24. 53 lakh in September 2011.Until a couple of years back most life insurers were swearing by face-to-face sales and maintained that online would be largely used for servicing. Change in the regulatory environment, which has compelled insurers to cut distribution costs, is leading companies to look at new low-cost channels for distribution. Recent developments in information technology (IT) and web-enabled systems have made it easier for insurers to run global operations in a way that would not have been possible even two years ago. Insurers are already reaping advantages from IT improvements in internal efficiencies in areas as diverse as underwriting, claims, policy administration, financial reporting and human resources.But efficiencies go beyond these internal ones. In the coming years, the internet will have at least two major effects on the insurance industry: cost efficiencies and broader distribution. These efficiencies will come as insurers experience a greater availability of data from the internet and the transfer of business processes from manual-related or computer-related systems to newer communication related systems. Such internet-style technology will reduce cost; reduce the level of effort and improve accessibility to large-scale data. Data accumulation becomes much easier u nder the internet approach and thus affects costs and value of insurance.The internet will bring insurers to a whole new base of customers and will allow them to sample new markets that would have been too expensive to enter. Making information available to potential customers and the ability to market products to the new audience will have a tremendous impact. Advantages of Online distribution:- †¢ It would reduce the internal administration and management costs by automating business processes, permitting real-time networking of company departments, and improving management information. †¢ It would reduce the commissions paid to intermediaries since it can be sold directly to clients. †¢ It would reduce the cost of training staff and other miscellaneous expenses required to run a branch. Response time for a conversion of policy would be much lesser than the manual submission. †¢ 24 hour connectivity for purchase and servicing of insurance policies. This would e nable customer to pay premiums, check NAV, track due dates etc. as per his or her convenience. †¢ It will enable online request for quotes and data gathering which will improve efficiency. †¢ It will reduce the re-keying and typing errors which would save time and decrease risk. Compared to online stock broking or online banking, development of internet in insurance industry is somewhat cautious. There are some factors which makes the online selling of insurance policies difficult. Difficulties in selling Insurance online:- The complexity of many insurance products can make it difficult to automate the provision of information. However with improved technology and continuous innovations sometimes later it may be possible to automate complex information and offer that product online. †¢ In many cases, it is difficult to standardize claims settlement. E. g. Claims involves various investigations which needs to be carried out before making decision and would be subjectiv e on case to case basis. This process often involves people and companies who are not in a contractual relation with insurers. †¢ Internet is particularly suitable for products where contact with company is very frequent.For Insurance products, contact with customer is often infrequent. Once policy is carried out, with some type of insurance the policy holder and insurers would get in touch only in case of occurrence of insured event. †¢ In India many customers still view internet as an insecure medium. This prevents large transactions being carried out through Internet and it deters the transmission of confidential information, both of which are essential aspects of insurance policies. While the technology capability is there, improvement in bandwidth and infrastructure are needed. There is also a need of simpler products where auto-under writing is feasible.Automobile insurance, one of the segments of insurance purchased â€Å"off the shelf† in India, would be the ideal segment to start with. On the life side, term assurance for standard lives with simplified underwriting is a possibility. Nowadays many general insurance products like Travel Insurance, Auto Insurance, Health Insurance and in case of life insurance Term Insurance are being sold over internet successfully. Because of the simple nature of these products insurers are have standardized the terms and conditions to be able to sell products online. Online selling has given them chance to go beyond the normal markets and sell these products to new entrants’ altogether. ? MicroinsuranceMicroinsurance is the protection of low -income people against specific perils in exchange for regular premium payments proportionate to the likelihood and cost of the risk involved. Low-income people can use microinsurance, where it is available, as one of several tools (specifically designed for this market in terms of premiums, terms, coverage, and delivery) to manage their risks. India curren tly has the most dynamic microinsurance sector in the world. Liberalization of the economy and the insurance sector has created new opportunities for insurance to reach the vast majority of the poor, including those working in the informal sector. Even so, market penetration is largely driven by supply, not demand.It is often assumed that a microinsurance policy is simply a low -premium insurance policy. This is not so. There are a number of other important factors. Low-income clients often: †¢ Live in remote rural areas, requiring a different distribution channel to urban insurance products; †¢ Are often illiterate and unfamiliar with the concept of insurance, requiring new approaches to both marketing and contracting. †¢ Tend to face more risks than wealthier people do because they cannot afford the same defenses. So, for example, on average they are more prone to illness because they do not eat as well, work under hazardous conditions and do not have regular medica l check –ups. Have little experience of dealing with formal financial institutions, with the exception of the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Linkage Banking programme. Traditiona