Wednesday, July 31, 2019

India’s Trade in 2020 Essay

Introduction India’s trade has generally grown at a faster rate compared to the growth of GDP over the past two decades. With the liberalization since 1991 in particular, the importance of international trade in India’s economy has grown considerably. As a result the ratio of international trade to GDP has gone up from 14 per cent in 1980 to nearly 20 per cent towards the end of the decade of 1990s. Given the trends of globalization and liberalization, the openness of Indian economy is expected to grow further in the coming two decades. The more exact magnitude of India’s trade in 2020 and its proportion to India’s national income would be determined by a variety of factors. Many of these factors are in the nature of external shocks and are beyond the control of national policy making. One illustration is the recent surge in the crude oil prices in the international market to unprecedented levels that have impacted the country’s imports in a significant manner. In addition, the implementation of various WTO agreements are likely to affect the India’s trade. India’s trade is also likely to be affected by various bilateral/ regional preferential trade arrangements that have been concluded and those that might take shape in the coming years. This paper attempts to provide a mapping of different factors that are likely to shape the patterns and magnitudes of India’s imports and exports over the coming two decades. These factors are classified into three, namely: 1) factors affecting the demand for India’s exports of goods and services; 2) factors affecting the supply of India’s exports of goods and services; and 3) factors affecting the demand for India’s imports. The supply of imports may be assumed to be elastic and hence is not discussed. The structure of the paper is as follows. Section 1 maps out various factors affecting demand for India’s exports, Section 2, factors affecting supply of India’s exports. Section 3 lists the factors that are likely to affect demand for India’s imports. Section 4 briefly summarizes emerging patterns of India’s comparative advantage in exports of good and services. Section 5 makes some concluding remarks. 1.Factors Affecting the Demand for Exports There is a multitude of factors that are likely to affect the demand for India’s exports of goods and services as seen below. 3 Growth Performance of World Economy and Key Trading Regions The growth rates of the world economy and world trade do influence the overall demand for India’s exports. For instance, the rates of stagnation in the growth rate of world trade in the period since 1996 have affected the growth of India’s exports. Some broad correspondence between the growth rates of world trade and Indian exports is evident from Figure 1. Depending upon the intensities of India’s trade relations the growth prospects in these specific regions may also affect the demand for India’s exports. The regions which may be particularly important for India’s exports include North America, the European Union, Middle East, East and Southeast Asia and South Asia. Therefore, it will be important to watch the growth outlook and projections for these regions. Figure 1: Growth Rates of World Trade and India’s Exports Over the 1990s Source: RIS on the basis of WEO Database of the IMF 1.1.1. World Output and Trade at the Turn of the Century and the Outlook The world economy in 2000 seems to have fully recovered from the slow down of 1998-1999 on account of the East Asian crisis. The estimated world output growth of 4.8 percent in 2000 is highest since 1988 and of world trade at 12.4 percent is highest of the past 25 years (Table 1, Figure 1). The impressive recovery of the world economy and world trade in the early part of 2000 generated optimism all around as countries expected to benefit from favourable spillovers in the form of rise in demand for their exports. However, the optimism has proved to be short lived. It has been partly tarnished somewhat by the crude oil prices hitting the roof in the third quarter of 2000 and adversely affecting the outlook of many regions besides raising the threats of inflation in different parts of the world. Furthermore and more importantly, the emerging trends confirm that a trend of slow down was set in the US economy in the third quarter of the 2000. Hence, fears of a hard landing of the US economy in 2001 have continued to grow. A scenario of hard landing of the US economy in 2001 is thus likely to short-circuit the rebound of the world economy of 1999-2000, even though the major European Union economies are improving their performance. The Japanese economy continues to remain sluggish. The slow down of the US economy has a compounded effect on the growth of the world economy by adversely affecting the demand for the products of partner countries as well. As a result the growth rate of world output is likely to slow down in 2001 from the levels reached in 2000 to 3.2. The world economy is expected to pick up moderately to 3.9 per cent in 2002. The effect of the impending slow down is more severe on the growth rate of world trade which is likely to reduce by nearly half from the rate achieved in 2000 to around 6.5 per cent in 2001 and 2001. In the light of recent trends, the outlook for the world economy and trade growth over the next ten years could be taken at 3 and 6 per cent respectively. *Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. #ASEAN-4. Source: RIS based on World Bank (2001), IMF (2001). 1. WTO Agreements Since the implementation of the Final Act of the Uruguay Round in 1995, the WTO Agreements have become important factors in determining the patterns of world trade. Their full impact is not yet obvious as many provisions of these agreements are yet to be implemented because of the transition period provided. Most of the remaining provisions of the WTO agreements would be implemented in the coming five years. Therefore, the patterns of trade in 2020 would have to be speculated keeping in mind the impact of full implementation of the WTO agreements. Some of the agreements which are likely to affect India’s exports are the following. 1. Agreement on Textiles and Clothing The Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) proposes to phase out the MFA quotas imposed by the developed countries on the imports of textiles and clothing from developing countries over a period of 10 years ending on 31st December 2004. Given the fact that India has substantially fulfilled her quota for the products coming under MFA, it may appear that the phasing out of these quotas would help in the expansion of exports. However, the impact of the phase out is likely to be a mixed bag. This is because with MFA phase out, Indian exporters would be competing directly with other exporters of textiles and garments such as China, Korea, Taiwan, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey, Mexico, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, among others. Therefore, while ATC provides an opportunity to Indian exporters to expand their exports of textiles and garments by removing the quota restrictions, it also poses a challenge of increased international competition. Some of them will enjoy preferential access to the importing countries due to their least developed country (LDC) status such as Bangladesh. There are apprehensions on the full benefits of phase out being available to developing countries. As such the schedule of the phase-out has been back-loaded over a ten-year long phase-out period. The industrialized countries may use other protectionist measures such as anti-dumping to prevent market access after the phase-out of quotas. A large number of textiles and clothing products already face tariffs in the range of 15 to 30 per cent in the Quad countries (World Bank, 2000). Some attempts of restricting them with anti-dumping duties have already been made against these exports including those from India. Another factor that will affect the competitiveness of Indian exports of textiles and garments in the post-MFA regime is the availability of trade preferences to emerging competitors of India. For instance, Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Cyprus and Malta and Central and Eastern European countries enjoy free trade agreement with the European Union ahead of their full membership. The Caribbean countries enjoy a similar preferential access to the United States market under the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI). Mexico enjoys a privileged access to the North American Market as a member of NAFTA. These trade preferences have already resulted into diversion of trade in textiles and clothing to these countries. For instance, Mexican exports of clothing to the United States have grown at the rate of 27 and 15 percent in 1998 and 1999, respectively with the growth rate of exports to Canada in these years being 30 percent and 26 percent, respectively. Similarly, exports of clothing from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Turkey to the European Union in 1998 have grown at 26 percent, 14 percent, 11 percent, 23 percent and 11 percent, respectively (WTO, 2000). The ability of Indian exporters to take advantage of phase out the MFA quotas by 2004 will depend upon a number of factors such as their ability to enhance overall international competitiveness with productivity and efficiency improvements, quality control, ability to quickly come up with new designs, ability to respond to changes in consumer preferences rapidly and the ability to move up the value chain by building brand names and acquiring channels of distribution to more than outweigh the advantages of her competitors. The reservation of the garment industry for small-scale sector has affected capital investment, modernization and automation in the sector in the country. Although the small sector operation has imparted flexibility, it has prevented exploitation of economies of scale and scope by the Indian industry. The new Textiles Policy takes care of some of the concerns. It remains to be seen if the Indian industry will be able to exploit the opportunities provided by the incr eased market access with the MFA phase-out. 2. Agreement on Agriculture (AoA): The AoA proposes to liberalize the international trade in agriculture by restricting the agricultural subsidies provided by governments to the farmers, reduction in export subsidies in agriculture, removal of QRs and establishment of tariff rate quotas applicable to trade in agricultural commodities. In general India’s obligations under AoA are limited given the low level of agricultural subsidies compared to EU and the US. It is believed that implementation of the AoA commitments by industrialized countries will benefit countries like India in terms of market access for some agricultural commodities. However, the implementation of the commitments on the part of industrialized countries so far does not provide any room for optimism. The extent of subsidies given by industrialized countries have actually increased over the past few years as acknowledged by OECD reports. It is possible that in the coming years the provisions of the Agreement are implemented in the letter and spi rit. The likely effect of the full implementation on India’s trade is difficult to be speculated. However, one can have an idea about the likely scenario from efficiency indicators and incentive structure. Given lower than world prices of rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, chickpea and cotton in India, their exports may expand under the liberalised trade in agriculture. Hence the area under cultivation for these crops may increase since profitability and effective incentives will get tilted in favour of these crops. The same is true for pearl millet, pigeonpea and soyabean. However, production of oilseeds e.g. groundnut, rapeseed, mustard and sunflower, and pulses may be adversely affected in a free-trade scenario given the lower world prices. Thus, the import dependence in edible oils and pulses may increase. 3. Anti-dumping Regulations The Indian exports of a number of commodities have been subjected to anti-dumping regulations by some of our important trading partners such as the United States and the European Union. The onslaught of the anti-dumping measures on Indian exports is likely to increase in future with the growing competitiveness of Indian products. In order to minimize their disruptive effect of these regulations on India’s exports, the industry and government will have to strengthen the machinery to counter such actions (Panchamukhi, 2000). 1.2.4. Tariff Negotiations and New Trade Round Although the average tariff rates in the industrialized countries are low, they have high peak tariffs for certain products, some of which are of export interest to India such as textiles and garments, and agricultural commodities (see Table 3). Market access for these products could be facilitated by our ability to secure reduction in these tariffs in the industrialized countries through future tariff negotiations in the WTO framework. N.B. HS Chapters are given in parentheses. Source: RIS based on UNCTAD/WTO (2000) The Post-Uruguay Round Tariff Environment For Developing Country Exports: Tariff Peaks and Tariff Escalation, UNCTAD, Geneva (TD/B/COM.1/14/Rev.1; 28 January 2000) 1.2.5.Trade Preferences for the Least Developed Countries One emerging development in the WTO system has been the tendency to divide the developing countries with the offer of special trade preferences for the least developed countries. A sizeable proportion of India’s exports still comprise labour and resource intensive goods that are also exported by some of the least developed countries. If successful these preferences have the prospects of diverting trade from India to the least developed countries. The potential of these trade preferences for adversely affecting India’s exports needs to be kept in mind. 2. China’s Accession to WTO One of the important events of the coming years for the world trade may be the entry of China into the WTO regime. China signed an agreement with the US for its entry into the WTO in November 1999. It has subsequently been negotiating such agreements with other WTO members. The accession of China to the WTO and hence the MFN status that it will receive from other WTO countries may have some implications for the competitiveness of India’s exports. This is because India and China compete in the international market for a number of labour intensive and matured technology goods such as textiles and garments, leather goods, light engineering products, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, among others. China has already been giving tough competition to Indian exports in many commodities and markets. There is a view that the accession to WTO may further strengthen China’s competitiveness and hence may affect the Indian exports adversely. There is another view that the accession of China to WTO would force it to follow WTO norms and procedures, etc. and will bring their trade policy under international surveillance. State subsidies will be regulated and hence it will make it more difficult for the Chinese exporters to dump their products in the world market. The exact impact of the accession of China to the WTO on the India’s export prospects will depend upon these counteracting effects. It is important to analyze the effects of Chinese accession to WTO on the competitiveness of Indian exports. 1.4. Preferential Trade Arrangements/Free Trade Arrangements in Rest of the World The last decade and a half has seen the proliferation of regional trading arrangements in different parts of the world. The major trading blocks that have emerged over the years include the European Union, NAFTA, Mercosur, AFTA, COMESA, among others. Besides, these free trade and common market agreements, a number of other countries have become integrated with the trading blocks through a variety of preferential or free trade arrangements. For instance, European Union has extended free trade agreement treatment to a number of Central Eastern European Union and Mediterranean countries in anticipation of full membership to these countries in the EU. These arrangements could also act to divert trade away from India especially in the labour intensive goods, as indicated earlier in the case of textiles and clothing. 1.5.Regional/Bilateral Free Trade Arrangements India has taken several steps to liberalize trade with her trading partners in the South Asia region on regional as well as bilateral basis. These steps include participation to SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangements (SAPTA) that came into being in December 1995. Under this Agreement, India has exchanged trade concessions with the SAARC member countries for nearly 3000 commodities in the first three rounds of negotiations. The fourth round of these negotiations is in the process. It is expected that the process of trade liberalization in the framework of SAARC will culminate into a South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), although, it may take some time to take shape given the current impasse in the SAARC process. Besides SAPTA, India has recently signed a bilateral free trade agreement with Sri Lanka. India already has bilateral free trade agreement with Nepal and Bhutan. A bilateral free trade agreement is being contemplated with Bangladesh as well. There are other attempts of regional/sub-regional economic integration which may also come into being in the coming decade, for instance, BIMST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation) which has been formed recently may adopt a preferential trading arrangement between the member countries. Although India is also a founder member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), a preferential trading arrangement is not contemplated as the Association has adopted the concept of open regionalism on the lines of APEC. All these attempts at free trade with the regional partners may open the markets for Indian goods further in the countries concerned. It is evident that the share of South Asian countries in India’s exports has increased from 2.73 to 4.9 over the period 1990 to 1999. The recent initiatives in regional/ bilateral trade liberalization may help to divert some trade of the countries concerned from their other trading partners in favour of India given the supply capabilities. 2. Factors Affecting the Supply of Exports It is widely believed that the major factors constraining India’s exports lie not in the lack of demand but more in the supply side constraints. Most of the supply side factors need to be addressed as a part of the policy towards trade. Some of the factors that constrain the volume and composition of India’s exports are as follows: 1. Infrastructural Bottlenecks It is widely accepted that India’s export potential remains considerably unfulfilled because of infrastructure bottlenecks such as power shortages, port handling facilities, delays in transportation which in turn are due to poor transport links within the country and poor communication facilities. The inability of Indian exporters in meeting supply schedules costs dearly in terms of image of India as a reliable source of supply. Not only that the availability of the infrastructure services is inadequate but the efficiency and quality of the delivery of what is available is highly uneven. The ability of the government in removing these constraints in the coming years will also determine the supply side of Indian exports. 2. Growth of Domestic Demand A rapid growth of domestic demand may also affect India’s ability to export at least in certain products, for instance, in tea where the rapid growth of domestic demand is expected to reduce the export surplus in the coming years. It may also apply to a number of other agricultural commodities such as rice, cotton, among others. 2.3 Inflows of Export-oriented Foreign Direct Investment Multinational enterprises (MNEs) have played an important role in the rapid growth of manufactured exports from the East and South-East Asian countries. This is because the South East and East Asian countries were able to attract export platform investments from US and Japanese MNEs in the 1970s and 1980s. The export platform or export-oriented investment arises in the process of relocation of production by MNEs abroad in order to maintain their international competitiveness in the face of rising wages and other costs in their home countries. In Malaysia and Indonesia, for instance, 70 percent of the projects involving FDI have been export-oriented. In China, the share of foreign owned firms in exports has risen from 5 percent in 1988 to 40 percent by 1997. In contrast, the share of foreign affiliates in India’s exports is marginal at 5 to 7 percent (Kumar and Siddharthan, 1997, for a review of evidence from different countries). Therefore, India has not been able to exploit the potential of MNEs for export-oriented production. MNEs can play an important role in promotion of India’s manufacture exports with relocation of export platform production in the country with their access to global marketing networks, best practice technology and organizational know-how. To some extent, therefore, India’s ability to attract export-oriented FDI will determine the magnitude of India’s exports in 2020. The studies have shown that export-oriented FDI inflows are of special type and are determined by different factors than other types of FDI (Kumar, 1994). The studies also find differences in the nature and determinants of export platform investments that are geared to MNEs’ home markets and those targeting the third countries (Kumar, 1998). India may make an effort to target the export platform investments of both types by sharpening her bundle of resource endowments and created assets in the l ight of determinants identified by these studies. 5. Technological Upgrading and Movement along with the Value Chain The Indian export structure has been highly dominated by simple and un-differentiated products where the main competitive advantage lies in cheap labour, low levels of skills and simple technologies compared to that of China and South East Asian countries except for recent growth of pharmaceuticals and software services (Lall, 1999). Not only these products are slow moving, the export structure is highly vulnerable to competition. India’s competitiveness has also been adversely affected by the failure to diversify the commodity composition of our exports. In fact the commodity concentration of India’s exports has increased with a 9 percent rise in the share of top six groups of exports in total and exports between 1987-1988 to 1998-99 (Kumar, 2000a). In comparison to India, Southeast and East Asian countries have rapidly diversified their export structure in favour of technologically advanced goods. For instance, share of technologically advanced goods (differentiated and science based goods) in India’s manufactured exports rose marginally to about 8 per cent by the mid-1990s over 5.6 per cent in the mid-1970s; in China, this proportion increased from 8.8 per cent to 23 per cent over the 1987-95 period, and for Malaysia from 12 per cent to 57 per cent over the 1980 to 1995 (Pigato et al. 1997). The markets for low technology undifferentiated goods are highly price competitive and margins are kept under pressure by constant competition by entry of new low wage countries.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Bullying: How Can It Be Prevented?

Bullying is a term used to describe a form of harassment perpetrated by someone who is in some way more powerful, physically or socially than his peers or the people in the immediate environment. While there are those who say that bullying is something that children will soon outgrow , there is no denying the fact that bullying has become prevalent in most schools all over America today.Given this alarmingly high rate of bullying, the relevance of coming up with methods by which to deal with this social problem becomes more and more apparent. However, to be able to formulate a process by which bullying can effectively be prevented it necessary to first examine bullying, its elements, types and causes. Only through an understanding of bullying can parents, teachers and schools properly come up with the necessary steps to reduce or totally remove the presence of bullying.BULLYING Main Elements of Bullying The bullying has been identified by researchers as possessing the following chara cteristics or elements: aggressive and negative behavior, repeatedly carrying out of the behavior, existent in a relationship with a great imbalance of power and the behavior as being â€Å"purposeful† (Hazler 1997). When these characteristics exhibit themselves in any relationship that a person has with another person, it is highly likely that there is bullying.The aggressive and negative behavior can often be manifested in other factors outside of the relationship between the bully and the victim such as in the classroom or in the manner that the bully interacts with people in authority as compared to the interaction among his (bully) peers. Bullying is not a single and isolated occurrence. A single case of abuse or aggression, be it physical or mental, is often not a case of bullying as it may just be the result of â€Å"flaring tempers† or â€Å"minor disagreements† among school children (Hazler 1997). Bullying involves constant aggression over a period of t ime.In relationships where there is a great imbalance in power between the parties, bullying is most likely to occur. The more powerful and aggressive person has been found to exercise a certain influence over the weaker party and to dominate the other party. Bullying is not just a series of random acts of aggression. According to a study, â€Å"the acts perpetrated by a bully are not just random acts of aggression but a series of well designed acts aimed at effectively exercising domination of the victim and being able to extract a certain reaction that the bully is looking (Batsche 1994).When all of these elements are present in a relationship, bullying is most likely to be occurring or to occur. While these elements are not conclusive in proving or showing the existence of bullying, the existence of these elements has been shown to determine to a certain extent the presence of bullying. Types of Bullying Bullying can basically be segregated into two distinct categories, direct b ullying and indirect bullying or social aggression. Direct bullying involves direct physical aggression by the bully over the victim.This type of bullying is most common among males and is exercised by those who are physically bigger than their peers. Indirect bullying is most common among females and younger children. This is done by â€Å"forcing the victim into social isolation through methods such as constant criticism of the victim, refusal to associate with the victim or by making the victim feel left out of any social activity (Batsche 1994). † Bullying may manifest itself in different ways depending on the direct environment and the parties involved.â€Å"Bullying,† according to a recent study, â€Å"is the assertion of power through aggression. Its forms change with age: school playground bullying, sexual harassment. Gang attacks, date violence, assault, marital violence, child abuse, workplace harassment and elder abuse. (Pepler and Craig 1997)†. Reaso ns for Bullying While bullying is caused mostly by reasons personal to the bully, researches have pinpointed certain factors as key to understanding why bullying exists in the first place.Researchers have indicated that people who bully have personalities that are authoritarian, combined with a strong need to control (Kim 2006). The same study indicates that a deficit in social skills and a prejudicial view of subordinates can be particular risk factors. Other factors have been determined to be the following: quickness to anger and use of force, addiction to aggressive behaviors, mistaking others' actions as hostile, concern with preserving self image, and engaging in obsessive or rigid actions. (Kim 2006)TAKING A STAND AGAINST BULLYING Role of Parents, Teachers and Schools Parents, Teachers and Schools should take an active role in remedying the problem of bullying. Bullying is a behavior which often occurs during ones childhood and in certain cases continues in the immediate envir onment of these bullies upon reaching adulthood. One of the keys to solving this problem therefore lies in being able to deal with the problem in its â€Å"infancy† stage (Harris 2006). The following are steps that can be taken to deal with this situation.Identifying the Problem The first step that can be done to properly address the problem of bullying is to be able to properly identify the presence of bullying. Most students or children who are victims of bullying are afraid to report to the proper authorities for fear of being bullied even more if they are found out. The victims are also hesitant to alert the proper authorities because they do not feel that the authorities can do anything to prevent such bullying from happening.For these reason, it is important to be able to determine the existence of bullying based on other factors and manifestations. Some of these signs that a child is being bullied are the following: lowered self-esteem, unexplained broken personal poss essions, loss of money, loss of personal items, unexplained bruises & injuries or stories that don't add up, missing or incomplete school work, decreased success in class, acting out aggression at home, and lack of interest at social events that include other students.At the first signs of these manifestations, steps should be taken to determine if there really is bullying going on and this can be best done by communicating to victim in a proper manner that something can be done about the situation if it is reported quickly. Encouraging Victims to Report the Bullying The second most important step in dealing with this problem lies in being able to show to the victim and to other victims who are unwilling to report incidences of bullying that reporting it to the proper authorities is the proper thing to do.In most cases, victims of bullying are tentative to report any instance of bullying because they are not assured that the problem can be dealt with (Kim 2006). The best method is i n being able to assure the victim that there are people who are there to support him and help him out in this process (Storch 2005). The victim has to be assured of the fact that he is not isolated from any help. The victim also needs to know that the incident will not increase in frequency or gravity once it has been reported to the proper authorities such as teachers or school personnel.In being able to do this, the incidence of bullying can be drastically reduced when other children who have been victims themselves see that something can be done about the problem of bullying (Storch 2005). Assessing the Bully One of the most overlooked aspects in dealing with the problem of bullying has to do with being able to address the problem at the source which means dealing with the bully (Harris 2006).Bullies who are encouraged or not shown the mistakes that they are committing have a high tendency of exhibiting such aggressive behavior outside of the school setting and eventually bringin g them into the other environments which they are immersed in and thus perpetuating this wrongful behavior. The problem of bullying, as mentioned earlier, must be dealt with at its source in other to prevent more acts of bullying from happening.This method however is trickier than it seems because when approaching or confronting a bully it must be remembered that the person may feel that such act is a sign of aggression and may react conformably. The steps with which to deal with a bully must be done in a very non-threatening manner thus reinforcing the idea that aggression is not the best way to deal with problems (Storch 2005). The bully must be made to understand that such aggressive behavior has a detrimental impact on not only the victim but on the psychological and emotional growth of the bully as well.Counseling by an expert or peer counseling has been shown to be highly effective in these instances. CONCLUSION Bullying does not have to be something that society just has to t olerate. Neither does bullying have to be something that a child needs to experience and be able to â€Å"outgrow† in order to become a more mature and responsible adult. As this discourse has shown, there are indeed steps that can be taken by persons in authority to curb the occurrences of bullying. The problem must first be identified correctly.The next step is to properly address whatever feelings the victim may have regarding the incident and ensuring that the aggressive behavior that the victim has experienced does not repeat itself. After this, proper programs to encourage witnesses and victims to report any incidents of bullying that occur have to be done. The final step in solving this social problem is in trying to address the problem from the side of the bully and ensuring that whatever reason the bully had for doing such is given attention and making sure that the event does not happen again.Proper implementation of these measures will surely help in reducing if no t ridding society of this problem concerning bullying. References: Batsche, G. M. , & Knoff, H. M. Bullies and their victims: Understanding a pervasive problem in the schools, (1994) School PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW, 23 (2), 165-174. EJ 490 574. Hazler, R. J. , Carney, J. V. , Green, S. , Powell, R. , & Jolly, L. S. Areas of Expert Agreement on Identification of School Bullies and Victims, (1997). School Psychology International, 18, 3-12. Kim, B. L.Leventhal, Y. -J. Koh, A. Hubbard, and W. T. Boyce School Bullying and Youth Violence: Causes or Consequences of Psychopathologic Behavior? Arch Gen Psychiatry, September 1, 2006; 63(9): 1035 – 1041. Storch, E. and D. R. Ledley Peer Victimization and Psychosocial Adjustment in Children: Current Knowledge and Future Directions Clinical Pediatrics, January 1, 2005; 44(1): 29 – 38. Harris, S. and C. Hathorn Texas Middle School Principals' Perceptions of Bullying on Campus NASSP Bulletin, March 1, 2006; 90(1): 49 – 69.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Beethoven Concert Symphony

The dates of the performances are not known because this is a review of an E-concert recording. I will begin with the piece that was personally named by Ludwig Van Beethoven, Pastorale Pastorale is a five movement symphony, the only one with five movements that Beethoven wrote. Each movement is individually titled although Beethoven noted that the names were merely suggestions and were not to be taken literally (Classicalmusiceducation. om). The music does however seem to match up beautifully with the titles. The first movement is titled; Awakening of Cheerful Feelings on Arriving in the Country, Allegro ma non troppo and begins with an opening drone. The piece has a very quick, but somehow leisurely pace that repeats itself in a typical sonata form. Themes emerge, but do not seem to be in conflict as in other symphonies, there is a lack of noticeable tension. Imagine a forest, with the sounds of nature in perfect harmony, the winds rustling through the trees and birds chirping and s inging. The movement concludes with a coda comprised of a powerful increase in volume and emphasis with a return to the opening theme as basses Join in. The second movement is titled; Scene by the Brook, Andante molto mosso and continues the calm and relaxed mood set in the first movement. This movement seems to be in variation form. A gentle melody develops and the music seems to quicken. A completely new tune is introduced by a bassoon that is repeated several times. The themes are passed from woodwinds to strings and back to the full orchestra several times. Woodwinds seem to represent bird calls throughout the movement further adding linkage to the title. The end is marked by a flute and clarinet in a virtual bird conversation. This appears to be a cadenza before the ompletion of the warm and rich movement. The third movement is titled; Merry Gathering of Countryfolk, Allegro, This movement is a classic scherzo in triple meter. The opening theme is conducted by the entire orchestra. This movement is in great contrast to the first two, much faster and more powerful. The scherzo gives way toa trio that is quite energetic. The woodwinds are splendid in their representations ot birds again . The Scherzo seems to repeat in a a compressed fashion. The movement ends with a strong cadence that ends sharply and shifts to the next movement. The fourth movement is known as; Thunderstorm allegro. The bass is deep and vibrant, the woodwinds pierce the air, and the entire orchestra create a powerful stormy atmosphere. The rise and falls of this piece are dramatic and enhanced by the strings piercing anxiety. The sounds seem to shake the environment, rhythm is hard to detect, everything is crashing and disjointed, much like a real storm. Suddenly there is calm as if the storm has dissipated and the beautiful country side has reappeared. The fifth and final movement is called; Shepherds song, Glad and Grateful after the Storm Alegrettd. The main theme is introduced by clarinets, horns and violins. The main theme is repeated several times with variations as the woodwinds are intermixed. The entire orchestra Joins in an extended transition as the opening materials are reintroduced. There is an extended coda and the main theme is varied. There does not seem to be a climax in the ending, Just a final strong cadence and a magnificent sense of completion that is enlightening. The five movements of Beethovens Symphony No. 6 Pastorale draw listeners in with a quick, but leisurely tempo and rich developed movements. The symphony seemingly flows and fits the titles beautifully. It is easy to paint a picture ofa noble ountryside, nature, and all the activities it entails. Beethovens Piano Concerto No. 5 Emperor is a three part traditional concerto, an Allegro, Adagio, and the Rondo. This concerto was named Emperor because of the powerful themes and heroic note of the composition (wrww. all-about-beethoven. com/ concert05. html). The opening of the concerto brings a main theme introduced by a solo piano with the full orchestra providing a dramatic presence of several chords. The piano flourishes grow in length until reaching a cadenza after the third time. The full orchestra Joins in and carries the theme into the full exposition. The theme is bold with a pleasant interjection of a second subject that seems to tiptoe through the movement. The orchestra stays in the tonic key as the piano modulates and reaches a wide variety of tones as the scales are worked. The development of the movement effectively flips the lead. The orchestra now leads and the piano accompanies. The main theme rhythm is reinforced by a powerful bassoon. The coda is lead by horns and Joined by the rest of the orchestra to a thrilling close. The second movement is a slow movement and begins quietly with a simple main theme presented by strings. I felt like I was in church. The melody of the movement makes it seem simple but it still has many variations within. The original theme is maintained within the development in a very refined and deliberate way. This movement evokes clarity and relaxation. The piano builds toa crescendo and backs away as if were weeping. The piano is seems to fade away as a low woodwind plays long notes and sustains the theme. A very low tone on the piano and woods is held for long periods and then the piano dashes out vibrantly and the orchestra Joins in a spirited conclusion of the movement. The third movement is a classic rondo that seems to begin without a distinct break rom the second. The piano again traverses the scales dramatically and is accompanied by the orchestra. The drums fade as the piano solo fades out. With the pause, the piano Jumps aggressively back into the chromatic scales which are a foundation of the themes throughout the concerto. The orchestra is along for the ride toa rapid and powerful finish. The Pastorale symphony and Piano Concerto Emperor present dynamic representations of nineteenth century music which represented more direct and unrestrained emotions (Strayer 209). Both pieces are energetic and lead the listener through a winding path of emotion.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Peter pan and mary poppins Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Peter pan and mary poppins - Essay Example They both also allow a chance for adults and children alike to be children again, and go back to that time when nothing mattered except having fun. However, the two stories also have their subtle differences as well. It is true both of them contain high amounts of fantasy and neither of them are set in the real world, and both of them take place to some extent in London, however there are several different running themes that could come into conflict with each other if one was to compare and contrast the two stories. Peter Pan, also known as the Boy Who Never Grew Up originally started as a play back in the early nineteen hundreds. It was then adapted into a book under the title of Peter Pan and Wendy. The story follows the fantasy tale of Peter Pan, a boy who never grew up who lives in never land with the Lost Boys. He is assisted in his mischievous ways by his trusty fairy Tinker bell. The fantasy elements in Peter Pan help keep the story light and full of imagination, which is why it is often filed as a children's tales; and to some degree it is. But beneath the surface is a message that is just as important, if not more important for everyone to understand. Hidden behind the pirates and flying fairies is the message of love and staying true to yourself and true to your youth, and that is a message that every person, child and adult, can listen to and take advice from. This wanting to never ... This seems to be a somewhat subtle way of the author saying that you can shirk growing up as long as you want to, but you also have to be able to accept the responsibilities that come with not growing up. The characters of Peter Pan and Wendy also form literary foils of each other within the work of the novels. Where Peter represents the light heartiness and joys of child hood, Wendy seems to take on a more motherly role, as she has felt the pain and suffering that Peter ignores and doesn't let get to him. These two characters almost play off each other, as Peter and Wendy begin to learn a little more about each other, as well as a little more about how each other looks at life. And while all of this is going on, the evil Captain Hook represents the worrying adult, the darker side of growing up, and the constant fear of time and the next step. Romantic themes also run rampant in the story, with the hormones of Peter struggling with the different female archetypes represented in the story by Wendy, Tinkerbelle, and Tiger Lily. Most of these elements have been severely played down or removed in the later adaptations of this work, however they are clearly and strongly present in the original version of the tale. This subtle tale of love also parallels the feelings of growing up, and how Peter is reluctant to settle down with any of the women in his life and instead ops for the looseness he gets by being Never lands most eligible bachelor. Another subtle theme is often thought to be only done to limit the size of the cast, but the characters of Wendy's father and Captain Hook are often played by the same man. While this may hold little value in the book version of the tale, the subtle connections between these two character's effects on the plot and

China's foreign policy. Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping Essay

China's foreign policy. Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping - Essay Example It is clear that all the significant changes distinguish the International Course of China after the reforms of the late 70's and early 80’s from the political line, held during the â€Å"cultural revolution" (1966-1975). The current foreign policy of the PRC continues its updating, although it is still based on the development of conceptual approaches of the eighties. It is remarkable that even before the collapse of socialistic system and disintegration of USSR, the Chinese government had already worked out quite productive paradigm of relations between China and other countries, which justified itself under the dramatic circumstances of the 90’s. The process of modernization of China's foreign policy during the 90’s was a gradual process, which was also typical for Chinese reforms. It was the completion of the construction, consisting of time-tested components and elements. The essential distinctive feature of China’s foreign policy is a constant search for non-forcible, quite economical and still effective solutions, which do not exclude using tough methods and focusing on individually developed relations with particular states. Consequently, a great deal of analytical work, when preparing for any diplomatic movement, is devoted to assessing the world’s most poignant contradictions and possibility to use them in the country’s interests. China almost never takes any major international initiatives. As usual, China does not hurry to assess any events, happening in different parts of the world, it often takes expectant or neutral positions. The evolution of Chinese foreign policy of the last two decades can be schematically represented in the form of several ongoing transformations and changing relations, meaning the substantial difference between so-called "static" foreign policy, ensuring the national independence, and its "dynamics " that is strictly oriented towards supporting the socio-economic development of the country. On the first of October, 1949, the formation of a new republic, Chinese People's Republic (CPR), was proclaimed by Mao Zedong at the Tiananmen Square, in Peking. Then diplomatic relations with lots of European and Asian countries were established. In December of 1949 Mao Zedong paid a visit to the USSR. Thus, on the 14th of February, the Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance was signed between the USSR and China. As for the Occident, it did not recognize the newly formed state, and its place in the UN was taken by the representatives of Kuomintang. In 1950 all the continental part of China, except Tibet, was free from the troops of Chiang Kai-Sheik; they were evacuated to the island of Taiwan under the USA protection and to Burma. It was the beginning of China’s splitting into two states, which chose different ways of further economic, social and ideological developmen t. Since 1953 China took a course towards industrialization and nationalization of private property that ended by the late 1955. The first Five-Year plan was fulfilled successfully (1953-1957). Considerable assistance to CPR was

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Causes of Increase in Oil Prices in Last 36 Months Essay

Causes of Increase in Oil Prices in Last 36 Months - Essay Example Such circumstances encouraged speculators to adopt measures that would ensure they made sufficient money to meet future demand. Oil traders have started placing premiums on the prices of crude oil on the basis of instability and uncertainty in the Middle East, which has the largest oil reserves in the world. Moreover, the increasing internal disturbances in countries such as Libya, Iraq and Tunisia as well as the potential threats pertaining to disruption of crude oil production and transportation in this region and in Africa, have led to increase in oil prices. In view of these circumstances, speculators started bidding higher for oil, which again raised prices across the world. Governments of several oil producing countries have not been adopting efficient management practices that have adversely impacted the performance of the oil industry in these countries. For instance, oil producing nations such as Venezuela have been channeling their oil revenues into domestic politicking in order to continue holding on to power. The oil industry in Venezuela and other countries in the Caribbean region have been nationalized and are used by the respective governments to meet their political objectives. Revenues from the oil industry are used to finance social projects and to subsidize gasoline to citizens. Oil revenues are substantially misappropriated in meeting the costs of political agendas, which reduces oil available in the market and thus there is increase in prices. The PDVSA is the only oil company in Venezuela that is having complete stake in the country’s oil functions. In being owned by the state, its management complies with state mandates irrespective of the fact that the company’s long term revenues and profitability suffer a setback. These governments try to make more money out of the oil business by quoting oil prices at very high levels. In African countries such as Nigeria, the increasing activities of rebels and terrorists have deterred investors from investing in the oil industry (Flower, 2010). Such circumstances deprive the sector from employing advanced technology because of which high production levels cannot be achieved and the resultant short supply leads to higher prices. Increasing use of industrial and automobile equipments, especially in developing countries, has led to increased demand for oil. The law of demand and supply provides that the price of any commodity will increase if its demand increases at any given supply level. In view of political and economic circumstances oil producers are not increasing supply of oil adequately in keeping up with increasing demand. It is thus natural that oil prices will increase. In the last few years, the evolving patterns of industrialization and use of vehicles has led to advancement of production processes, which have led to increase in demand for oil. The global demand for crude oil is increasing steadily, particularly in India and China that are undergoing rap id industrialization and development processes (Gupta, 2005). The economies of China and India are slated to grow the maximum in the coming future and they have already started consuming much higher levels of oil in meeting their energy requirements. Increasing per capita incomes in China and India have considerably increased the demand for automobiles and more and more people now own their own cars (Reynolds, 2005). In view of the huge middle class in these two countries, which are the most populated countries in the world, it is apparent that the demand for oil will also increase substantially. The US is no longer the biggest oil consumer and cannot dominate the oil industry by demanding preferential oil prices for

Friday, July 26, 2019

Alcohol abuse and alcohol disorders Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Alcohol abuse and alcohol disorders - Case Study Example Consequently, the nursing care would need to be tailored as appropriate to help the client in such situations. In this assignment, the case scenario of a patient who has been admitted to the surgical area for a cholecystectomy for gallbladder stones will be discussed in that light. This patient is a 45-year-old male with cholelithiasis and cholecystolithiasis with mild hyperbilirubinaemia due to partial obstruction of the common bile duct due to stone. This patient is a known alcoholic, and the idea of admitting him to the hospital is to control his bilirubin levels and sustain his abstinence from alcohol in the hospital ward so the surgery becomes uneventful. Therefore, the nursing management plan will have to be designed which would take care of his problems during the course of his hospital management. The most important health issues during this preparatory phase of the management will be the nutritional care of the patient who has already been compromised from the nutritional po int of view. Literature has delineated the nutritional problems in alcoholics that arise from alcoholic hepatitis and pancreatitis. Moreover, alcohol per se leads to deficiency of vitamins due to poor nutritional intake and compromise in the fat digestion due to abnormal fat metabolism due to pancreatitis. Surgery is a stress situation (Breslow et al., 2006, 359-366). Therefore, for the upcoming surgery, this patient needs to be prepared nutritionally to be able to tolerate this stress. This problem has been compounded by the hyperbilirubinaemia on presentation that tends to aggravate these problems further. Alcoholic hepatic dysfunction and fatty liver both add to the gravity of the problem. From that perspective, one of the core issues would be nursing nutritional management of this patient. The second core issue is related to his habitual alcohol intake that is continuing over years. A sudden stop or abstinence forced or otherwise, would point to the issues related to dependence and problems related to withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms or syndrome, if they appear in the acute form may be potentially problematic, and consequently, the nursing care plan must evolve around this core issue also (Banks et al., 2000, 1249-1254). Care Plan and Related Evidence: Dependence and Withdrawal: Alcohol or ethanol is a sedative anesthetic found in various proportions in liquor, wine, and beer. Alcohol produces a sedative effect by depressing the central nervous system (CNS). This effect causes the individual to experience relaxed inhibitions, heightened emotions, mood swings that can range from bouts of gaiety to angry outbursts, and cognitive impairments such as reduced concentration or attention span, and impaired judgment and memory (Porjesz and Rangaswamy, 2007, 131-141). Depending on the amount of alcohol ingested, the effects can range from feelings of mild sedation and relaxation, to confusion and serious impairment of motor functions and speech, to severe intoxication that can result in coma, respiratory failure, and death. Excessive or long-term abuse of alcohol can adversely affect all

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Family systems therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Family systems therapy - Essay Example A mental health crisis, mental disorders, relationship problems, or parent-child relationship problems all bring the family into the involvement with the individuals treatment. The family may be counseled on how best to cope with a family member in crisis, or they may be a part of the treatment. No matter what the emotional disturbance is, the family is an integral part of the interaction and must be a part of the therapy. Systemic family therapies have been developed to treat the family as a cohesive unit. Behaviors and relationships are all interdependent within a family and as such need treated within the family environment. It will do no good to treat a single family member for substance abuse if the source of the users anxiety is the family relationship. Likewise, family members need to be aware of the impact that each relationship has on all the other family members. To study and manage the impact that the family has on mental illness, Alfred Adler pioneered the Adlerian technique of family therapy. More recent models such as brief therapy, and cognitive behavior techniques have all drawn from the research and writings of Adler. Because Adlers methods are at the roots of many other therapies, it is important to understand the Adlerian Family Therapy. It shapes and defines the family, its relationships, the influence of the individual members, and the actions necessary to correct family problems. Alfred Adler was born in Vienna in 1870 and after receiving a medical degree turned to psychiatry in the early 1900s. He was an associate of Freud and worked with him on several projects and occasions. During this period, he developed theories which would later evolve into the more recent ideas on self-actualization (Boeree, 2006). Followers of Adler include Rogers, Horney, Fromm, and Sullivan (Boeree, 2006). Adler stressed the importance of the individual within the family and postulated several theories on why family members

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Risk Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Risk Management - Assignment Example It boils down to the fact that individuals and business mangers will always have to make decisions with limited information, in an environment of near uncertainty. Statistical tools like the decision tree can be used to make some comparisons between different courses of action (Module 9, p.2.). All possible choices for a particular project can be listed with probabilities of occurrences of outcomes for each choice. Different scenarios within each outcome are also assigned probabilities. For each choice- outcome- scenario combination, profitability estimates can be made. This will give a rough comparison for profitability for the different choices. Understanding consumer perception of risk will help sellers to formulate appropriate pricing strategies (p.3.). For consumer durables, extended warranty and assurance of prompt service will fetch a higher price. Managers in a privately owned firm can afford to take higher risks with better understanding by the top management. He may go for an option with potential for very high returns, though chances of its occurrence may be very low. Understanding the different types of auctions will help the manger to quote appropriate prices for his products (†¦p.6.). Performance based job security and remuneration will help curb actions aimed at individual advantage and help reduce moral hazard (†¦. P.5.). To overcome the problem of asymmetric and hidden information, techniques of signaling and screening can be employed (p.6.). By making selective offers, customers can be made to reveal their preferences. So, today’s manager is better equipped with tools to analyze available data and make more logical

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Why student athletes should be drug tested Essay

Why student athletes should be drug tested - Essay Example According to ESPN, the University of Oregon has decided to implement drug tests for its athletes on random basis right after a research conducted by ESPN proved that football teams that play at University level have forty to sixty percent of the total players who are involved in the act of abusing marijuana (ESPN, 2012). Similar kind of random and announced drug activities have been implemented by several universities. These tests have gained immense amount of criticism as these tests have failed to achieve the objective for which these tests were being conducted and have ended up being counter productive. These tests have been criticized because these tests do not reduce drug abuse, these tests can result in loss of trust and these tests are against individual’s constitutional rights. The drug tests conducted on random basis among athletes are conducted because educational institutes believe that these tests will decrease the probability of athletes using drugs and since athl etic students are popular, other students will follow their lead. The universities even believe that students will fear the tests and due to the fear that these results will be informed to parents, athletic students will not abuse drugs. Two studies conducted during 2003 reported that drug tests never reduce consumption of drugs and these tests may lead to increase in consumption.

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Example for Free

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay There are many destructive and brute forces that demonize and demolish our humanity, beat down our beliefs, and wreak havoc upon our morals. Among these are greed, ire, and ignorance. These are major situations in today’s society, but none is as powerful or as dangerous as racism. It’s a major issue in today’s society as well as the society in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. It was demonstrated in the novel by what befalls Tom and Helen Robinson and Bob Ewell. Racism has ruined the lives of countless men, women, and children by causing certain ethnicities to hide and cower in fear as the â€Å"superior ethnic group† inflicts misery upon them. It is an unnecessary evil that could never be solved because of society’s blindness to recognize it. By far the largest example of social inequality in the novel is the case of Tom Robinson. He is a black man falsely accused of violating Mayella Ewell. Tom is brought forth to trial upon a prejudiced, biased, and unjust white jury. He is being defended by Atticus Finch whom in the novel is the figure and backbone of social justice and morals. He takes on the case because he feels he would be hypocrite not to. To teach his kids, Jeremy and Jean Louise Finch, the importance of equality and for him not to value his own teachings is misguiding. â€Å"‘Nigger-lover is just one of those terms that dont mean anything like snot-nose. Its hard to explain ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebodys favoring Negroes over and above themselves. Its slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody. ’ ‘You arent really a nigger-lover, then, are you? I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody Im hard put, sometimes—baby, its never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesnt hurt you. ’ Atticus is aware of the man’s innocence and proves as much, but despite his best efforts the jury’s racist viewpoints cloud their morals and the trial is lost. â€Å"There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads- they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s word, the white always wins. They’re ugly, but these are the facts of life. †(pg. 252) Tom being sentenced to death and even though that Atticus knows that the might have a chance at an appeal Tom refuses to acknowledge it. Tom believes that once again he will be judged because of the color of his skin rather than his innocence. He decided to break out from jail but in turn it was a failure. It resulted in him being shot a total of seventeen times. The only ones who were in woe or showed and remorse were the Finches along with Tom’s wife, Helen. I couldn’t in truth say that we had more than a good chance. I guess Tom was tired of taking the white men’s chances and preferred to take his own. † (pg. 237) Racism unfortunately can and will never go away. There will always be people in the world who feel they are superior just because of the color of their skin. At times they take their beliefs and allow it to cloud their logic and take brutal action to â€Å"prove how they are superior. In reality, we are all equal; no one is above another solely based on the color of their skin. Atticus saw this, and the world should too.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Uniformity of Accounting Standard and Conceptual Framework Essay Example for Free

Uniformity of Accounting Standard and Conceptual Framework Essay Uniformity of Accounting Standard and Conceptual Framework Executive summery Harmonization of the accounting standard and conceptual framework is emerging as a requirement for of the international community. As business cross national boundaries so the transecting parties need uniformity in the financial reporting for better understanding of the business conditions. The process of harmonization gets accelerated by the initiative of the two major standard setting body of the world IASB and FASB. Although the two authoritative bodies try to uniform the accounting standard but the major concern arises here is the biasness of the influencing nations. In the assignment, pros of the harmonization process is discussed which is essential for international business community. The process is also disturbed by taking into account no consideration of the society and judgment of the professionals. In the assignment some recommendations are made for accelerating the harmonization process. Contents Introduction Economics and politics are the two major elements that shape the accounting standard of a nation. As each and every nation varies in their economic condition, customized accounting standard gets its appeal. Nowadays business is not confined in the national boundaries. With the integration of the worldwide market and the economic forces the process harmonizing the accounting standard has become an emerging issue. In the process independent rather than governmental organization is most appropriate. If we account for the advantages and disadvantages of the harmonization process then in the pros side of the ledger high quality standard of the FASB is the achievement and in the cons side I will posted the biasness of the standard setters. The process reduces the cost of the international community because adding an additional member in the process tends to zero marginal cost of standard setters. Why uniformity in the accounting standard and conceptual framework? With the widespread integration of the markets and policies all over the world, nowadays it becomes inevitable for the financial institutions all over the world to follow a uniform standard for financial reporting. Following the high quality accounting standard tends to a higher standard financial reporting. The pros for informing standard all over the world are as follows: (Ball, ,2005) Maintaining uniformity in financial data presentation: standards are set to guide the contracts of the financial institutions. In the case, if the financial reporting of the entities is different, it causes problem for both the contracting parties in the maintenance of the conditions of the contracts. For example- Company X lends money from Bank Y on the condition that landed amount must not exceed 60% of the total tangible. In the situation valuation techniques of the firms are different then it affects the contract adversely. So following a uniform standard for valuation of tangible asset is a solution of the problem Uniform presentation of financial performance: investors make investment decision based on the financial performance of any firm. In the situation, if the firms follow different standard to represent profitability then it becomes misleading for the investors. Following a uniform standard for reporting can resolve the problem (Lammle, ,2005) Adopting uniformity in the accounting standard offers the society the following three benefits: 1. Uniform accounting standard offers the benefit of economics of scale. Standard once are set, the cost of adding additions user is zero 2. The auditors tasks get easy because all the financial institutions follow uniform policy and procedure for reporting 3. Comparability can be made which reduce the cost of the firms contracting each other Extended cross border transactions: nowadays cross border transaction has been increased. Information about the foreign products and the financial information of the business are now available in internet. As a result, investors invest in foreign firms. In the situation uniform financial reporting gets very important (Buys, ,2011) Uniform financial reporting offers the investors the following benefits: IFRS standards offer a more accurate presentation of the financial data than that of the national standards. Information of some firms is not readily available. In the situation uniformity in accounting standard reduce risks in decision making Usually small investors cannot evaluate all the information than that of professionals. Following the IFRS standard improves the quality of information which ultimately gives the investors more information for access Following the uniform accounting standard serves the purpose of comparability and information accessibility cost gets reduced In IFRS standard emphasis is given for the comparability of information and it becomes more accessible. So integrating the entire world standard with IFRS yields the investors the above benefits. Some other passive pros of uniform accounting standard are as follows: Improve usefulness of financial data Increase transparency which ultimately benefits stakeholders The above two factors tend to reduce agency costs of the firms The above are some of the benefits of harmonization of the accounting standard. The process of harmonization is fueled by the process of globalization. As transactions occurs across national boundaries, there create a need for uniform accounting standard. In today’s business world, transactions cross national boundaries. As a result uniformity in reporting financial data gets very important. IFRS standard plays a vital role in the process of harmonization and many of the European nations follow IFRS. In the process an initiative is taken by USA to harmonize GAAP with IFRS. (HINES, ,2005) Arguments against uniform financial reporting Uniformity in financial reporting is made at the expense of the society. Culture differs in different nations, as a result in the process of uniform accounting reporting cultural aspects are considered. Economic condition of different nations also varies, for example- some are big, and some are small. Uniformity ignores the judgments of the professionals. The process also discourages research in the field and also discourages different ways of financial reporting. Shortcomings of uniform financial reporting are as follows: (Sunder, ,2007) Application of the concept uniformity: the concept of uniformity can never be defined specifically so that the standard setters can apply it in financial reporting. For example- in case of reporting the R D expenditure, management discretion is ignored. In recording the expenditure economic nature of the firm is considered. But the economic condition of the firms is not feasible in many cases. As a result, the uniformity issues creates problem Social norms: the process of uniformity in accounting standard barely considers the issues like cultural, social and political differences in the nations. As a result the process of implementation is affected largely. (Madawaki, ,2012) In applying the standard in the society the standard setters face the following three problems related with the practice in the society: 1. Information problem: in the process of developing standards, the stand makers have very little information about the social circumstances. Standard are set to replace the previous one but the process is very complex. Involvement in the social norms provide more information which is largely ignored in the process 2. Problem in design the standard: in designing standard, it becomes very important to attain representation, impartiality and consistency. The professionals set the standard may not be impartial. In the process, the influencing stakeholders try to influence the standard setting for their benefit. This influence distorts the proper standard setting of the standard setting body. 3. The gaming problem: the development of the standard alters the decision environment of the business firms. Standard also paves some new opportunities. The standard setters do not possess all the information for desired chances as a result misunderstanding arises. The standard setters should ensure that the standards ensure the mutual understanding between the standard setters and the business firms Legal situation of a nation: in the cases where standard is conflicting the low of the nation the jurisdiction of the nation imply it invalid to impose Education and research: in the process of uniformity new standards are set. As a result, the professional teams of the standard setting body have to train the local the professionals in the new standards. In the educational programs also the subject concern with the topic should be amended. This means that the whole system such as: educational materials, accounting software, reporting system all have to be restructured (Agrawal, ,1987) The process of uniformity is questioned by the dominance of some countries. Many nations argue that the head of IASB is the representative of USA. It is a major defense against the standard setting process. In some cases, the judgmental areas of the business firms vary. In the situations, uniformity is somehow impossible. Harmonizing standard with the US GAAP in the uniform of standard is also a major shortcoming. Recommendation The process of harmonization of the two standard setting bodies FASB and IASB has already been started. The process benefits the transactions across national border. Cost of providing information is also reduced. In the situation the process can be successful if it can maintain the following standards: (Barbu, ,2007) To cope with the changing global marketplace, the standard setting body should update the accounting standard in a regular basis and should communicate it with the related parties for implementation The standard setting body should be private and independent to avoid any political pressure of the government which ultimately ensures democracy. In case of governmental standard setting body, there is a chance to be biased in formulating accounting standard In setting the standard the economic variety of the nations should be considered There should be some areas for professional judgment because of the economic variety of the nations To implement the process of uniformity a monitoring sell should be developed. The department oversees the maintenance of the accounting standard. If any nation does not follow the prescribed standard then the department can panelize the nation (Buchanan, ,2007) Conclusion The process of harmonization gets appeal of the international community in the last ten years. The process gets accelerated by the Europeans as they are currently following IAS and IFRS for financial reporting. United States is also a pioneer in the issue by creating a bridge with the international standard with GAAP. In the process the stakeholders gets advantaged by sharing a uniform financial reporting. The cross border relationship is emerged in a new horizon now. The audit process gets the justification in the harmonization process.  But the process is not without some problems also. The process reduces the independent judgment of the auditors. The major stakeholders also influence the standard setting process. An independent private standard setting body is a possible solution to the problem.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Study Of Bank Alfalah Limited History And Operations Business Essay

Study Of Bank Alfalah Limited History And Operations Business Essay Introduction: Bank Alfalah Limited: Bank Alfalah Limited started it functioning on June 21st, 1992 in the form of public limited company under the Companies Ordinance 1984. Its banking operations started from November 1st, 1997. Since then the bank is engaged in commercial banking and other services relating to banking as defined in the Banking companies ordinance, 1962 of Pakistan. The Bank is currently operating through various branches in Peshawar and in Pakistan at large. They have also branches in Bahrain, Bangladesh Afghanistan, with the registered office at B.A. Building, I.I.Chundrigar, Karachi. Since the start, as the new identity of H.C.E.B after the privatization in 1997, the management of the bank has adopted strategies and policies to create a different position for the bank in the market place. It became economically stronger with the banking of the Abu Dhabi Group and its driven by the strategic goals set out by its board of management. The Bank has invested in revolutionary technology to have a vast range of products and services. This helps the commitment of Bank Alfalah to a culture of more innovation and seeks out synergies with clients and service providers to ensure undisturbed services to their customers. Bank Alfalah focuses on the requirements of their customers and always try to match them with quality products and service solutions. During the past five years, Bank Alfalah has raisen in the market as one of the foremost financial institution in the region endeavoring to meet the needs of tomorrow today. The Name of the Chief Executive of Bank Alfalah is Mr. Sirajuddin Aziz and the Co-Chairman Central Management Committee is Mr. Parvez A. Shahid (Reference: http://www.bankalfalah.com/about/historical_overview.asp) Bank Alfalah vision: To be the premier organization operating locally internationality that provides the complete range of financial services to all segments under one roof. Mission Statement of Bank Alfalah: To develop deliver the most innovative products, manage customer experience, deliver quality services that contributes to brand strength, establishes a competitive advantage and enhances profitability, thus providing value to the stakeholders of the bank. (Reference: http://www.bankalfalah.com/about/historical_overview.asp) Faisal Bank Limited Faysal Bank Limited started its operations in Pakistan on October 3, 1994, in the shape of public limited company under the Companies Ordinance, 1984. The Bank has listed its shares on Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad Stock Exchanges. Since then the Bank is engaged in Commercial, Consumer and Corporate Banking activities. The Bank has a network of 136 branches including 10 Islamic Banking branches and 2 sub-branches. The registered head office of the Bank is situated at Faysal House, ST-02, Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi The Pakistan Credit Agency Limited (PACRA) and JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited have fixed the Banks long term rating as AA and short term rating as A1+. Faysal Banks asset in 30th June, 2010 was over Rs. 175 billion; about 3,000 employees are working in the banks with a network of over 135 branches in 38 cities of Pakistan. Currently it is the 12th largest bank in Pakistan by assets. The majority share holding of Faysal Bank is held by Ithmaar Bank B.S.C. (Reference: http://www.faysalbank.com/aboutus.html) Faysal Bank Limited Vision: Excellence in all that we do Faysal Bank Mission Statement: Achieve leadership in providing financial services in chosen markets through innovation. Faysal Bank VALUES: Faysal Bank daily code of conduct is exemplified by eight core values: Four threshold values values at the heart of our brand and four differentiator values values that set our brand apart. The president and CEO of Faysal bank is Naved A. Khan while the chairman of Faysal bank is Syed Naseem Ahmad (Reference: http://www.faysalbank.com/visionmissionandvalues.html) Objective of the study: We went to Bank Alfalah and Faysal Bank branches located in Peshawar. We interviewed the HR officers of both banks and some other employees for our HRM assignment and we asked them questions regarding the way they plan Human Resource and their Processes and the way they Recruit new employees for the Bank. Now we are going to apply the information relating to Human Resource planning and Selection and Recruitment Method gain from these two Banks in our HRM assignment. Analyze the need for human resource planning, the information required and the stages involved in this process (P4) Human Resource Planning: Human resource planning refers to as the process of deciding what positions the organization will have to fill and how they are going to fill them (Reference Gary Dessler, page.no.152) Human resource planning is a process conducted by a firm for the future in order to decide how much employees are required by the firm to recruit to cover the post, from warehouse keeper to the CEO. Human resource planning is the most important part of the overall Human Resource strategy. For example a firm wants to enter into a new type of business or market it will have to plan that how much of employees it needs for carrying out those new operations if it wants to achieve success. Process of Human resource Planning: Planning relating to employment is being done on the basis of some basic assumptions. Forecasting techniques like HRP enables a company to generate these assumptions. If a company wants to plan for their employment needs, they basically need to consider three things: Personnel needs (demand) Supply from inside (Current employees) Supply from out side. After doing the analysis of demand and supply then the stage of removing the gape between supply and demand comes Forecasting of personnel needs (Demand): Organizations keep the some factors in mind while forecasting demand. Factors like the objectives of the organization, employees utilization (how much of labor will an organization require for their production or services objectives), the cost of labor, and environmental factor like technology and social norms are important for demand forecasting. There are simple techniques like ratio analysis and time series analysis through which forecasting of demand can be done. Forecasting of Supply: One important question in this regard is should an organization plan to fill the forecasted positions with employees already working in the organization or by hiring people from outside the organization. There are also some important factors, which a firm must consider while conducting the process of forecasting supply. If a firm is planning to fill the position from within so it must consider factors like employees skills, performance standard, potential trainability, educational base etc. On the other hand, if a firm is planning to recruit people from outside so it should consider factor like skill availability, education and training level of the potential people, competitors activities and paying rate in the markets. Computerized information systems that contain a database of all the employees can be used for forecasting supply from outside. Removing Gap between demand supplies: After doing the demand and supply analysis three situations can arise. Firstly, demand may become equal to supply so no actions are needed in this situation. Secondly, there may be surplus of workers so in such a situation steps like early retirements, limited hiring and reducing the numbers of employees are appropriate. Thirdly, a shortage of employees may arise so in such a situation the process of recruitment and selection should be fastened. (Reference: Gary Dessler,) Apply the concepts of human resource planning and stages involved in this process on the organization under study (M3)? The concept of Human Resource Planning along with the stages involved in its process has been discussed in detail in P4 of this assignment here we will discuss the Human Resource Process in Faysal bank and its advantages for the organization. According to HR officer of Faysal Bank, Human Resource Planning is very important for their Human Resource department. By conducting the analysis they come to know how many employees they have currently and how much they require in the future in order to gain their Human Resource objectives. They analyze Human Resource with the help of time series which mean they give targets to their employees and if they are unable to get those targets in given time with the available staff (Demand) they then analyze the performance of each employee by using their human resource information system (HRIS) that contains the data of the all the employees they foresee the potential trainability, productivity improvement of their current employees. Beside this they hire more employees in order to expand and to get their Human Resource targets. For example if they want to recruit new employees firstly, they look at their current employees, someone with experience, skill, competitive edge over other if there are such employees then they assign them double duties with 50% increase in pay. If there are not such employees available then they find new employees through the reference of their existing employees or friend and family members (Supply of employees from Inside). If they are opening new branch for that purpose they also first look in their current employees to bring employees for them. Faysal Bank Human Resource department do not advertise for the required general posts, they only advertise (Supply from outside) for the post of MTO (Managing Training Officer). Student from high class Universities apply online for this post once a year and normally they accept the qualified student of LUMS, IBA, NUST Universities respectively, for this post. Objectives of Faysal Bank behind conducting Human resource planning: Objectives of Faysal Bank behind conducting human resource planning are as follow: To fill the desire to look into the future: Organizations like Faysal Bank are growing big and the method of doing business are becoming difficult day by day as a result jobs at Faysal Bank sometimes requires sophisticated experience and skills that cannot easily be found and bought. Secondly it takes time to train and develop employees. Due to these factors Faysal Bank may find it self in a problem if they dont plan their employees properly so for Faysal Bank the desire to look into the future is growing due to factors mention above thats why it is the main objective behind conducting Human Resource Planning.. To exercise control over as many variables as possible which influence business? Businesses are cant forecast their future. Most of the analyst refers Human Resource Planning as an approach to risk management. Faysal Bank also uses Human Resource Planning so that it can practice control over changeable or variable factors like labor turnover, future labor market etc. To cope with employment protection legislation: It is one of the Faysal Bank main objectives behind conducting Human Resource Planning. Legislation (laws) relating to job security and general expectations from Faysal Bank as far as social responsibility is concern makes it difficult for it to simply remove employees. The cost of this for Faysal Bank can be measure in financial terms (cost of employee development etc) as well as loosing its reputation as a secure employer that at times may also harm its business. So Human Resource Planning can help Faysal Bank in dealing with problems like these. To comply with technological changes: Advancement in technology is changing the nature of work as new technologies are emerging in Service Sector. Faysal Bank conducts Human Resource Planning so that technologically competent employees can be hired. For example if it pre-plan to hire fresh IT experts who are able to know that how to use competitors for online payment and receipts along with some accounting skills so it means that Faysal Bank would be having a competitive edge over its competitors. To cope with de-jobbed workers: In Pakistan the pace of jobs is changing the trend of project base work is increasing day by day. So it is one of its core objectives behind conducting Human Resource Planning that proper planning can be done about project base workers. To complete the expansion plans in time: The demands for Banks are increasing day by day. Therefore Faysal Bank has some serious plans to expand its operations. This means that it would need new people for which it conducts human resource planning so that a forecasted demand of human resource can be generated. This will help the organization in hiring the right person for the right job and with in time. Ultimately Faysal Bank will be able to complete its expansion plans in time. Recommend, how the organization can improve their human resource planning to achieve Human Resource goals effectively (D3). The changes and pressures brought in by economic, technological and social factors have forced organizations of all kinds to study the costs and human aspects of labor much more seriously and carefully than ever before. Therefore Faysal bank needs to further improve their Human Resource Planning in order to achieve their HR goals effectively. For improving their Human Resource Planning Faysal Bank need to implement the suggested steps below: They need to accept employees from the most honest and well known reference (Supply of labor from inside). Not from any body because some can be bias in bringing their relative, friends with no educational background and skills in order to improve their Human Resource Planning. They must select the worker (employees) with the required ability and information because it will give spirited edge over competitors since a good quality worker will carry advance service deliverance and hence productive personnel can analyze Human resource well. They need to educate their present staff and try to make use of their present staff more by raising their salaries, in this way the present staff can be made knowledgeable and it will also help the Analyzers of HR to measure the performance of their current staff and the required number of staff and skilled they require to hire in order to support the old and hence achieve their HR goals. They need to keep their strategic planning (corporate objectives) in mind while conducting Human resource planning process; this means that the HRP must satisfy the whole objective of the organization. They should actively involve their managers, executives, and line employees during analyzing human resource because they have more inside to the organization. Compare the structured process for recruitment in two organizations and evaluate the methods and media that can be used (P5) Systematic approach to Recruitment Recruitment is the part of the human process concerned with finding the applicants: it is a positive action by management, going into the labor market, communicating opportunities and information, and encouraging applications from suitable candidates. Recruitment And Selection from harshalsk Effective recruitment is increasingly important today. Recruitment is a very complex concept it is not a simple process of placing ads or calling employment agencies. The crucial effort in this regard is that recruiting should make sense in terms of your overall corporate strategic plan. Successful results of recruitment depends upon other HR polices so it is very important that recruitment policy should be coherent with your HR policy and also with the overall strategic plans. Recruitment sources (internal and external) Internal sources: Existing employees, rehiring the old employees and succession plan {The ongoing process of systematically identifying assessing and developing organizational leadership to enhance performance (Gary Dessler, p.no163)} are the internal sources for recruiting employees. External sources: Advertisement, employment agencies, off shoring/outsourcing, college recruiting and employee referrals is the external sources of candidates. Systematic approach to recruitment A systematic approach to recruitment will involve the following steps: A detailed document of human resource planning, which contains anticipated detail of required human resource such as how, much of human resource organization needs to meet it objectives. Job analysis which includes: Job description: a process conducted so that detail information of competent Tasks, duties and standard can be generated. Job specification: a detail statement of the professional qualification and skills required for a job. Job analysis is being conducted so that there is detail information with the organization that helps in hiring the right person for the right Job. An identification of the free posts, by analyzing the human resource plan and job analysis for different branch or department, which has free vacancy, and subsequent, approval or authorization. Seeking approval from that specific department ensures effective, low cost and timely recruitment. Evaluation of the sources of the staff that should be predicted by using forecasting techniques. Internal and external sources should be analyzed in this regard. Preparation and publication of information (giving the jobs description and specification in the media along with other condition). One the applications from the potential candidates are received they can further processed before selecting the candidates. Recruitment approach by Bank Alfalah The overall aim of recruitment process in an organization is to obtain the quantity and quality of candidates required to fulfill the objectives of the organization. The recruitment policy of bank Alfalah is centralized and lower employees have no access to it but it exists in a proper form. The policy manual of Alfalah is also not properly communicated to the lower employees and no one in the lower employees knows that what the overall policies of bank are. When we asked about the policies from the lower employees some of the employees were not clear about the HR policies as they had neither been not communicated, nor seen the policy manual. We asked the HR coordinator about the policy manual, she refused to give it to us saying that its highly confidential. Yet verbally she gave us some idea that what are the steps in recruitment. These steps are as follows. Policy: The recruitment policy of bank Alfalah has the following conditions: If some one is applying from Khyber Pakhtun Khwa he must be domiciled in Khyber Pakhtun Khwa. The required ages for the fresh recruits at start level are between 18-26 The educational qualifications of the employees. Officers (Executive Category) Master Degree /MBA/MCOM (Any recognized University by Federal Govt.) Assistant Officers/below Category B.A./B.Sc (Any recognized Institute by Federal Govt.) Peon and supporting staff / matriculation. Sources of Recruitment (labour pool): Whenever a vacant position is available, the head of department make reviews of the existing personnel and carry out a search within the organization for suitable persons before trying the outside sources. But if a person with the required qualifications for a given job is not available, fresh recruitment is made. Ways of Recruitment: The vacant posts are advertised through the local and national newspapers and applications are invited with the job specification and description showing the job requirements and eligibility. If the staff member knows any eligible person he or she is asked to call him along with his CV. If he meets the job criteria than the bank does not advertise for five or six seats but if the seats are more and time is less than they do advertise. Managers view: The HR coordinator of bank Alfalah told us about the recruitment policy of bank Alfalah according to her they follow the following approach to recruitment: Detailed human resource planning defining what resources the organization needs to meet its objectives. The HR Manager described the duties, responsibilities, objectives, tasks and standards of the job. The HR Manager specified that what type of employees they are looking to perform the job. We provide equal opportunities to all the employees meeting with our criteria. No gender or racial discrimination is involved. We train our employees after recruitment according to their job and assign them a job or duty. At start we hire our employees on contract basis of one year but if he/she performs well then he/she can be made permanent. Employees view: As we have interviewed some of the employees according to their point of view recruitment policies are very much transparent and fair. As those employees have spent more than three years in bank Alfalah and were satisfied from their manager and from the bank environment. According to them they have submitted their CVs in bank AlFalah and after some time they were called for a written test and than after qualifying the test they were called for interview. Then they were selected and sent for four months training to Lahore where they have their own training academy for fresh employees to train them for such specific job for which they were recruited. Personal analysis: Bank AlFalah is considering well in banking sectors because of their transparent policy which includes recruitment, selection etc. We personally fell well about their policy because the employees which are part of the organization are personally satisfied from their recruitment process. They clearly show the qualities of the personnel, which they required. Because of their good behaviors to the applicants they create a good corporate image on the mind of the applicant. The peoples who are still part of the organization are in favor of their recruitment policy, which helps in creating a good image of the organization of the peoples out side the organization. Recruitment approach by Faysal Bank Whenever there is a resulting demand of recruitment F.B (Faysal bank) there are a few patterns which F.B follows in order to achieve a person for that job, for that reason Faysal bank hires different recruiting agencies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to conduct the operation of recruiting of the desired vacancy. Similarly when different internees to drop in their C.V (curriculum vitae) so that when ever required they can fetch them for the desired vacancy. Before the recruitment of an employee different aspects are planed to accomplish the finest out of the new recruit so that it can give the best it can to the bank. The objectives which are kept in front before the recruitment are as under: The individuals potential of achieving the objectives which he/she is hired for. The recruit may not get exceeded before the finalization of the desired task. The recruited should have the ability of holding new things when he/she is being skilled. He/she could adopt himself/herself to the changes or innovation in the bank industry. And above all he/she could be reliable so that he/she could keep the business secret of this financial organization. The individuals who are preferred before the recruitment of the new candidates for the bank are as under. Initially the preference is given to the existence employees if there is any employee who deserves that particular job, or that if a particular person is capable of filling that vacancy, he/she is preferred as to before hiring a new employee. If there is some individual in the Faysal Bank branch who has got the nerve that if he could be trained he can get more skilled and suits that job unoccupied at that time he could be indulged in that particular vacancy. The desired vacancy could be referred to the other braches of the bank, so that if there is any capable employee who can be assigned to that job then he/she will be undertaken. Faysal Bank Relationship Manager View: Mr. Muhammad Yaver Khan Khattak the branch relationship manager Faysal bank Omer Plaza Jehangirabad University Road view over the recruitment policy is that this is a very flexible and feasible approach for the employees already working in the bank that if they are given the motivation that if there gets a vacancy in the bank they have got a chance for the promotion for the employee, this end results in the betterment of the organization and the employees start for put in more efforts for the achievement of that desire post. likewise he thinks that if there isnt any one commendable enough for that job, we hire different agencies for the recruitment of the staff of the bank which helps in the time saving of the organization but for the desired quality of the new recruitment the final interview is being conducted by the HR coordinator in the Islamabad brunch. And then the C.V (curriculum vitae) of the candidate is send to the head office in Karachi. Employees view: When we interview Mr.Imran a newly recruit in F.B Omer Plaza Jehangirabad Peshawar, he said that the recruitment policy of Faysal bank is flexible and feasible as that he was doing the internship from the bank and when there was a vacancy they called him if he was willing to do that desired job. Our Personal analysis: In our view Faysal bank has got a very professional approach to the recruitment policy for their bank because their policy of giving the opportunity to the old employees to be upgraded to the new post. Similarly the phenomenon of hiring a recruiting agency is very feasible for the bank and as well as for the new recruit. Evaluate the interview as a selection technique and discuss a range of alternative selection methods available (P6) Interview: Interview is a kind of face to face negotiation between two people for a particular purpose. An interview is a purposeful exchange of ideas, the answering of question and communication between two or more persons. Both Faysal Bank and Bank Alfalah consider interview to be useful for selecting employees. A selection interview is a selection procedure designed to predict future job performance on the basis applicants oral response to oral enquiries. A hiring and selection tool is an aid that helps interviewers focus on key success criteria, compare findings with others more effectively, and develop more rigors in evaluating and scoring candidates. To be effective, the tool must be supported by excellent skills in behaviorally-anchored interviewing. In addition, interviews must be sensitive to various guidelines about the kind of data sought in interviews. The guiding principle is that specific information related to protected classes of individuals or to personal activities or principles that are nor related to specific job activities should not be directly questioned. In addition, using these tools and processes provides an excellent opportunity to sell the companys approach to performance excellence, including tools that candidates can use throughout their employment to maximize their own performance. General Process of a selection is as follows: Selection involves number of steps through which the applicants are screened for choosing the most appropriate persons for available posts. The main objective of selection is to choose the right person for the vacant job. The general process of selection is as follows: Checking each applicant against the criteria given in the job advertisement. Short listing of Applicants Notifying Short listed Applicants Conducting Interviews Verifying Credentials Ranking Applicants Reference Checking Writing Selection Report Follow-up procedure for candidates who successfully completed the selection procedure Negotiation of terms and conditions of the job. Formulate up a contract or written conditions of jobs. Plan initial orientation for the new employees. Review the applicants list which are not interviewed and putting the potential candidates on cling to for future. Telling the unsuccessful applicants for the desired post. Alternative selection methods available to the Banks Psychological Test: Psychological test is the important technique in selecting personnel, and this is widespread at all levels and periods of life. And it is a measuring device, a yardstick applied in consistent and systematic fashion to measure a sample of behavior? Purpose of Psychological test: Selection: The emphasis is on finding a person with the right qualifications for a particular job. Placement: The importance is depended on employees; the problem is to find the right kind of job for a suitable employee. Characteristics of Psychological tests: Standardization: It refers to the combination or customary of the conditions and procedures for administer a test. Norms: It refers specifically to the average or performance on the test Reliability: It refers to the regularity of response on a test. There are several methods for determining reliability: Test Retest Method Equivalent-forms Method Split-halves Method Validity: It is one of the most important requirements of any psychological test is that it measures accurately what it is intended to measure. A number of steps are required to establish a testing program: Conducting a job and workers analysis Finding or developing a suitable tests Conducting an item analysis of each question on a test Determining the level of difficulty of each question Establishing the reliability and validity of the test Setting the cut-off scores Types of Psychological test Administration Test: Individual Group Test: Individual test is straight to one person at a moment in time, are more precious and hence, are used to slighter degree in industry than a grouping analysis. Speed Power Test: Speed Test: It has a rigid time limit at which spot applicants taking the assessment ought to terminate. Power Test: It has no time limit, examines are permitted as much time as they feel they need to finish the test. Paper and Pencil and Performance Test: Paper Pencil Test: Is a kind of assumption test in which questions are in written structure and the answers are recorded on an answer page. Performance Test: It possibly will take longer to administer than paper pencil test and also may need a candidate testing operation. Objective Subjective score: Objectivity: It is the greater part of the test used for automated selection aims are objective. Subjectivity: In investigation score, as in interview, allows employee prejudices and attribute to enter into the tough circumstances. This can lead to distortion of