Why Did Germany Become a Democratic Republic Essays

Why Did Germany Become a Democratic Republic Essays Why Did Germany Become a Democratic Republic Paper Why Did Germany Become a Democratic Republic Paper Essay Topic: The Republic When did Germany Become a Country The three main reasons why the evolution did not occur were because of the attitude of the people, he failure of the left to further the revolution and the success of the Whimper Republic in defending itself. In 1918 Germany was In chaos. The war was a disaster and so many people were suffering In Germany. In 1919, real Income was only 2,as of what It was In 1913, war financed by printing money and borrowing led to massive inflation and between 1913 and 1918 the mark lost 75% of its value. Major food and fuel shortages were occurring, costs out stripped wage increases, disease was rife, and thousands were dying from major flu epidemic, plus starvation for many thousands of people. Deaths from starvation and hypothermia were at 121,000 In 191 6 and an astonishing 293,000 wounded. People in Germany were furious with the situation they were in and many were discontented. But surprisingly the revolution came from above and it was Ultrasound who led the revolution. He also cleverly distanced the military from the armistice so that the stab-in-the-back myth could be manufactured. A constitutional monarchy was then created. Morale was incredibly low and on 28th October 1918 the Kiel Mutiny occurred In which the German Navy mutinied, 8 were shot dead and this dead to a general mutiny. This started the revolution from below. The US also sent a letter to Germany stating they would be more lenient if the Kaiser was to abdicate and under all of this pressure the Kaiser was finally forced to abdicate. An interim government was the set up but this was only to fill the gap between the time that the elections had be held to elect the parties into a constitutional democracy. It was at this point In which the revolution could have continued further and evolved but it didnt. One reason is the attitude of the people. The Stenciling agreement eve workers added benefits such as the 8 hour working day, full legal recognition and workers committees. This pleased the main majority of the workers. Also at the time many people were not prepared to go even further and many work content with having a constitutional democracy. Many thought that revolting further would cause havoc and many Just wanted to settle Into a new era In Germany. This Is one reason as to winy ten evolution 010 not napped Ana ten country SE I tea Into a constitutional democracy. Another reason was the failure of the left to further the revolution and take the entry into the constitutional democracy that they wanted. There was a lack of co- ordination and poor leadership from the left. For example in spring 1919 a wave of strikes occurred in the Our mines, Central Germany and Berlin. However, these protests were uncoordinated, with radical leaders desperately following rather than leading the protests. The KIP had neither strong leadership with a clear strategy nor a tightly organized party structure, as communists did in Russia. This meant that they could never strike effectively enough. Another reason the left failed was because of a jack of support. During the wave of strikes in 1919 there was a lack of support from the workers and this coupled with the poor organization and poor leadership of the KIP led to many strikes failing. Without support it is difficult to overthrow a government so another reason why the left failed was because of lack of support. So a key reason why the evolution didnt happen was because of the failings of the left wing parties. Another reason why the country didnt evolve into a constitutional democracy was because of the success of the Whimper Republic in defending itself. The Bert- Greener pact meant that the government would be supported by the armed forces and in return the government would support steps taken by the Armed Forces to preserve discipline and it would oppose any attempts at revolutionary uprising. The Whimper Republic successfully used this deal to crush the Separatist Uprising, an attack from the left. Also in 1919 in Bavaria the workers managed to break away from the control of the Reich Government and they set up an independent socialist republic but this was also crushed by the Fireworks. Also the civil war in the Our in 1920 was crushed by the Fireworks. In this incident a Red Army had been created in protest of the Kappa Putsch and about 50,000 socialist workers protested. They controlled the region so the Government sent in the Fireworks and a war between the two begun. But the Fireworks were ruthless and the uprising was easily suppressed. The Government successfully used the Bert-Greener deal to defend itself and this is another key factor as to why the country didnt evolve into a constitutional democracy because this factor coupled with the lefts ineptitude made it very difficult for any attack from the left to be successful. Overall I would say that the most important factor would be the failings of the left. This is because if they had co-ordinate and planned properly and got support behind them by rallying all the workers and supporters of the left wing then it would have been very difficult for the government to stop being overthrown and overrun. If this had occurred the left wing parties would have set up a constitutional democracy and the evolution would have occurred. But the left did not organism effectively enough and they failed in all their attempts and this is why I believe this is the most important reason.

Indias Look East Policy

India's Look East Policy India’s Look East Policy India’s Look East Policy is an effort being made by the Indian government to cultivate and strengthen economic and strategic relations with the nations of Southeast Asia in order to solidify its standing as a  regional power.  This aspect of India’s foreign policy also serves to position India as a counterweight to the strategic influence of the Peoples Republic of China in the region. Initiated in 1991, it marked a strategic shift in India’s perspective of the world. It was developed and enacted during the government of Prime Minister  P.V. Narasimha Rao  and has continued to enjoy energetic support from the successive administrations of  Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi, each of whom represents a different political party in India. India’s Pre-1991 Foreign Policy Before the fall of the Soviet Union, India made scant efforts to foster close relationships with the governments of Southeast Asia. There are several reasons for this. First, due to its colonial history, India’s ruling elite in the post-1947 era had an overwhelmingly pro-Western orientation. Western countries also made for better trade partners as they were significantly more developed than India’s neighbors. Second, India’s physical access to Southeast Asia was barred by Myanmar’s isolationist policies as well as Bangladesh’s refusal to provide transit facilities through its territory. Third, India and the Southeast Asian countries were on opposing sides of the Cold War divide.   India’s lack of interest in and access to Southeast Asia between its independence and the fall of the Soviet Union left much of Southeast Asia open to China’s influence. This came first in the form of China’s territorial expansionist policies. Following Deng Xiaoping’s ascent to leadership in China in 1979, China replaced its policy of expansionism with campaigns to foster extensive trade and economic relations with other Asian nations. During this period, China became the closest partner and supporter of the  military junta  of Burma, which had been ostracized from the international community following the violent suppression of pro-democracy activities  in 1988. According to former Indian Ambassador Rajiv Sikri, India missed a crucial opportunity during this period to leverage India’s shared colonial experience, cultural affinities and lack of historical baggage to build strong economic and strategic relations with Southeast Asia. Implementation of the Policy In 1991, India experienced an economic crisis that coincided with the fall of the Soviet Union, which had previously been one of India’s most valued economic and strategic partners. This prompted Indian leaders to reevaluate their economic and foreign policy, which led to at least two major shifts in India’s position toward its neighbors. First, India replaced its protectionist economic policy with a more liberal one, opening up to higher levels of trade and striving to expand regional markets. Second, under the leadership of Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, India ceased to view South Asia and Southeast Asia as separate strategic theaters.   Much of India’s Look East Policy involves Myanmar, which is the only Southeast Asian country that shares a border with India and is seen as India’s gateway to Southeast Asia. In 1993, India reversed its policy of support for Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement and began courting the friendship of the ruling military junta. Since then, the Indian government and, to a lesser extent, private Indian corporations, have sought and secured lucrative contracts for industrial and infrastructure projects, including the construction of highways, pipelines and ports. Before the implementation of the Look East Policy, China enjoyed a monopoly over Myanmar’s vast oil and natural gas reserves. Today, competition between India and China over these energy resources remains high.   Furthermore, while China remains Myanmar’s biggest weapons supplier, India has boosted its military cooperation with Myanmar. India has offered to train elements of the Myanmar Armed Forces and share intelligence with Myanmar in an effort to increase coordination between the two countries in combating insurgents in India’s Northeastern States. Several insurgent groups maintain bases in Myanmar territory. Since 2003, India has also embarked on a campaign to forge free trade agreements with countries and regional blocs throughout Asia. The South Asia Free Trade Agreement, which created a  free trade area  of 1.6 billion people in  Bangladesh,  Bhutan,  India,  Maldives,  Nepal,  Pakistan and  Sri Lanka, came into effect in 2006. The  ASEAN–India Free Trade Area  (AIFTA), a  free trade area  among the ten member states of the  Association of Southeast Asian Nations  (ASEAN) and  India, came into effect in 2010. India also has separate free trade agreements with Sri Lanka, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. India has also boosted its cooperation with Asian regional groupings such as ASEAN, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). High-level diplomatic visits between India and the countries associated with these groupings have become increasingly common the last decade.   During his state visit to Myanmar in 2012, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced many new bilateral initiatives and signed around a dozen MOUs, in addition to extending a line of credit for $500 million. Since then, Indian companies have made significant economic and trade agreements in infrastructure and other areas. Some of the major projects taken up by India include the resurfacing and upgrading of the 160-kilometer Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road and the Kaladan project that will connect Kolkata Port with Sittwe Port in Myanmar (which is still in progress). A bus service from Imphal, India, to Mandalay, Myanmar, is expected to launch in October 2014. Once these infrastructure projects are completed, the next step will be connecting the India-Myanmar highway network to the existing portions of the Asian Highway Network, which will connect India to Thailand and the rest of Southeast Asia.

Titanic The Best Film I Have Ever Seen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Titanic The Best Film I Have Ever Seen - Essay Example Cameron weaves the tale of the ill-fated voyage around an intense love relationship between two mismatched and star-crossed protagonists whose affair seems doomed to failure because of class differences. Handsome Leonardo DiCaprio as the poor artist Jack Dawson and beautiful Kate Winslet as the American debutante Rose DeWitt Bukater give stellar performances, ably supported by outstanding acting by Billy Zane as Rose’s cold-hearted fiancà © Cal Hockley, Frances Fisher as Rose’s financial ruin-facing mother Ruth DeWitt Bukater, and Bernard Hill as the imposing ship captain Edward John Smith. By ensuring the tragic sinking of the Titanic does not eclipse the protagonists who are in priority focus from start to end, Cameron adroitly sidesteps a common failing in most epic disaster films – too many sub-plots interwoven around too many supporting characters. Two other contributors to the gripping nature of the film are its powerful visual effects whereby computer-sim ulated realities are used with devastating effect, and the outstanding soundtrack, especially â€Å"Hymn to the Sea† and the super-hit number by Celine Dion â€Å"My Heart Will Go On.† Although 80 percent of the 3-hour plus film comprises flashbacks, Cameron’s use of genuine documentary images traverses the thin line between illusion and reality so effectively that viewers do not just watch the film, but vibrantly experience it right from the day the ship was launched in Southampton to the time it sinks. The climax of the film is undoubtedly the overwhelming scenes of the mighty ‘unsinkable’ ship in its death throes as it slowly but surely sinks into a cold watery grave.  After viewing ‘Titanic,’ I was so awe-struck that it seemed James Cameron went to great lengths to specially construct a brand new ‘Titanic’ ocean liner, launch it with grand pomp and fanfare, and then let it sink with terrible grandeur†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦I ha ve no doubt ‘Titanic’ is the best film I have ever seen.

Essay 1 Questions Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

1 Questions - Essay Example The text exhaustively addresses the most important aspects of the topic, the only gap is on how to eliminate the possible bureaucracies from the onset of the program implementation, and this is what I would add. 5. The text supports the claim since it has several relevant examples that prop up the claim sufficiently without any explicit shortfalls. The point that needs more substantiation is how prevent the plans from being dysfunctional 6. The inferences that can be drawn are that pay for performance is a good strategy but could cause substantive barriers to productivity within the organization, and they logically align with the evidence and alternative reasons as well reasonable. 11. The text demonstrates and identifiable genre-a business report and the special characteristics include; it is written in simple language, it is complete, it is concise, it states the objective in the opening statement and relatively accurate. 14. The organization of the text in whichever arrangements serves the same purpose since it addresses a singular issue that of pay performance and thus arrangement of the text has no striking prospective creation of a difference. 16. The author uses applies similes and the exact simile he uses, is â€Å"incent† and the metaphor â€Å"slam dunk† and these figurative language are considerably confusing and in their place it were prudent to use simple words. However, the author explains the context of the difficult words making the work better understandable. 17. At the beginning of the article, I am stuck and a little disinterested by the distracting complex figurative language used but deeper into the article, the author makes his ideas concise and captivating. 18. The allusions of the writer sufficiently build up the main idea of the article since he alludes to the standard practices affectively creating a factual picture in

High School and Local Elementary School Essay Example for Free

High School and Local Elementary School Essay It feels like just yesterday I was in high school, without cares just making my portfolio. Now, it’s been a couple years since college and I’m trying to adjust to married life. It’s been about a year or so since I got hitched. I’m getting ready to have my first child, Winter. I hope to have another in a few years. I currently teach fifth grade in a local elementary school. It’s an okay job, the pay is alright it will get me through my bills, after a few more years I should be getting a raise. I talk to my parents a lot now, they are very important to me. My husband and I are trying to decide how to raise our child. I believe the most important value my parents taught me was to always be polite to people because you never know who is watching. I hope my child grows up learning that. I am very in love with my husband, we met at school and we had an instant connection. Both my grandmother and grandfather have died, it was very tough but time heals all wounds. My husband and I live in a little house but we are looking to relocate to somewhere a little bigger, for the children. We go to the Catholic church every sunday and are very involved in church life. My hope for the future is that I raise my kids to be fabulous people and never give up. The three most important things that have happened since high school would be, graduating college, getting married, and now having my child. What I miss most about the â€Å"good old days† is just being able to horse around without having to care about bills and work. When I die, I hope everyone remembers me as a nice person who tried her best to do well.

Critique of Communism in Animal Farm by George Orwell Essay -- Animal

Karl Marx’s perfect society described in his Communist Manifesto is in direct conflict with the implementation of Soviet Communism, which was scathingly criticized by George Orwell’s book Animal Farm. Karl Marx believed that in order to form a just and equal society, the working class, called the proletariat, would have to overthrow those who owned the means of production, who were known as the bourgeoisie. This was to be known as the Proletariat Revolution where the oppressed laborers in capitalist societies, such as England, would unite under a common cause to overthrow the oppressive bourgeoisie, and establish a communist society. This would be a society where all were equal, each performing to his ability, and each receiving according to his needs. A dictatorship would be necessary at first to get the ball rolling, but would eventually voluntarily give up power, as it would no longer be needed. However, this was never destined to be. The rise of the Soviet Union was a testament to this, brilliantly depicted and condemned by George Orwell. Marx ended the Communist Manifesto with the fighting words â€Å"WORKING MEN OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!† (Marxism, 44). This was to be the inspiration for the proletariat to band together and realize that they were being oppressed by the bourgeoisie. After they realize this, they would rebel, in which a revolution would take place where the proletariat would be victorious over the bourgeoisie. Old Major, the eldest pig in Animal Farm was the animal recreation of Karl Marx. He professed, â€Å"Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend† (Orwell, 31). In this case, man is the bourgeoisie and the animals are the proletariat. Both Karl Marx and Old Maj... ...re breaking every rule that they themselves had put forth in accordance with Old Major’s revolutionary vision. Animal Farm was a mirror image of communism gone awry in the Soviet Union. It also shows Marx’s naivety of the fact that there will always be the clever that take advantage of the ignorant. By keeping the population ignorant, the clever gain even more power, which is was happened in the Soviet Union and Animal Farm. The ones that took part in the revolutions would never realize that they were holding the short end of the stick, just as they were in their previous state of affairs. They were cold, miserable, and starving. In their brainwashed state they still believed that the dismal state they were in was better than their situation before the revolution. George Orwell finished his book on a somber note, the state in which Joseph Stalin left the Soviet Union.

The Fall of Mughal Empire

The fall of Mughal Empire Under Aurangzeb’s successors the decay of empire was hastened by several causes and the spirit of lawlessness rampant throughout the land. In such circumstances ruin of Mughal Empire was inevitable. Aurangzeb, as a ruler of India proved to be a failure. He hardly realised that the greatness of an empire depends on the progress of its people as a whole, largely owing to the emperor’s each of political foresight. The symptoms of the integration of Mughal Empire appeared before he left the world.His successors only hastened the process of decay. Disintegration of the Mughal Empire The death of Aurangzeb on the 3rd March, 1707, was a signal for the disintegration of the mighty Mughal Empire, which dazzled the contemporary world by its extensive territories, military might and cultural achievements. The reign of Aurangzeb was the swan-song of the Mughal rule in India. No sooner had he breathed his last then his three sons Muazam, Muhammad Azam and M uhammad Khan Baksh entered into bitter oratorical quarrels for the possession of the throne of Delhi.While nine Mughal Emperors followed one another in quick succession in the fifty years following the death of Aurangzeb, many adventurers Indian and foreign carved out independent principalities for themselves. Mughal government of Oudh, Bengal and the Deccan freed themselves from the control of the Central Government. The Hindu powers found the time opportune for assertion of their independence. Invaders from the North-West repeated their incursions in search of wealth and the European trading companies interfered in Indian Politics.In spite of all these external and internal dangers, dissolution process of the Central structure of the great Mughal Empire was slow and long drawn out process. BajiRao’s raid of Delhi(1773) and Nadir Shah’s invasion(1739) exposed the hollowness of the Mughal Empire and by 1740 the fall of the empire was an accomplished fact. Among the var ious causes responsible for decline and the downfall of the great Empire the following deserve special mention: 1. Aurangzeb’s responsibility. The expansion of the Mughal Empire under Aurangzeb resembled an inflated balloon. The empire has expanded beyond the point of effective control.Its vastness in the absence of developed means of communication tended to weaken the centre instead of strengthening it. The emperor’s religious policy provoked a general discontent in the country and the empire was faced with rebellions of the Sikhs, the Jats, the Bundelas, the Rajputs and above all the Marathas. Aurangzeb only created enemies. His narrow bigoted religious policy turned the Rajputs, a reliable supporter of the Imperial dynasties into foes. He re-imposed â€Å"Jeiza† on the Hindus which led to the rising of the Satnamis, Bundelas and the Jats. The Sikhs rose against the empire paralysing Imperial administration in the Punjab.The Hindu resistance in the Maharashtra assumed a national character. The Maratha guerrillas demoralised the splendid armies of Aurangzeb, broke their spirit of superiority and wore them out. One of the strongest reasons of the annexation of the Shia Kingdoms of Bijapur and Golconda was religious. The conquest of these Muslim kingdoms of the south removed the strongest local check on Maratha activities and left them free to organise resistance of Mughal Imperialism. Aurangzeb’s mistaken policy of war in the Deccan which continued for twenty seven years drained the resources of the empire.The rulers of Bijapur and Golconda were Shias and for a fanatical Sunni like Aurangzeb there was no place for them in India. The annexation of these States was a blunder. He should have followed a buffer-state policy towards these kingdoms. He should have subordinated his religious zeal to statesmanship. If he had helped these states against the Marathas, he would have been able to keep the latter in check with much less expense a nd waste of energy. After the annexation of Bijapur and Golconda, Aurangzeb tried to crush the power of the Marathas; Sambhaji the son of Shivaji was captured and put to death.His son Sahu was also made a prisoner. However the Marathas carried on their struggle against the Mughal under the leadership of Raja Ram and Tara Bai. When Aurangzeb died in 1707, the power of the Marathas was not still crushed. They were stronger than before. Well I think, â€Å"The Deccan was the grave of his reputation as well as of his body†. He had to remain a way from the capital for a quarter of a century. The result was that the whole of the administration went out of gear. There was confusion everywhere. The provincial Governors did not send the land revenue to Central Government.At a time when money was needed for Deccan war, very little was coming from the provinces. No wonder when Bahadur Shah succeeded to the throne, the treasury was empty. After the death of Aurangzeb various provinces be came independent of the Central authority. Oudh became independent under Saadat Khan Bengal, Bihar and Orissa became independent under AlivardiKhan. Asaf Jat Nizam-ul-Mulk became indepent in the Deccan. The Rohillas became independent in Rohilkhand. The Rajputs also asserted their independence. Thus, gradually the Mughal empire broke up.The failure of Aurangzeb in the Deccan wars destroyed the military prestige of the Mughals. Too much of expenditure made the Mugahl government bankrupt. The Deccan wars can rightly be called the ‘Ulcer’ which destroyedthe Mughal Empire. Weak Successors of Aurangzeb Aurangzeb died in 1707 and before his death he left a will by which he portioned his empire among his three sons. Inspite of this a bitter fratricidal war took place among the three princes for the throne. Muazzam was the ruler of Kabul and the Punjab, Muhammad Azim the second son was the ruler of the deccan. Prince Muazzam came to the throne after defeating his brothers.The M ughal system of government being despotic much depended on the personality of the emperor. Under a strong emperor all went well but the succession of a weak emperor was reflected in every filed administration. Unfortunately all the succession after Aurangzeb were weaklings and quite incapable to meet the challenges from within and without far from stemming the tide of decline, they arranged the situation by their idiosyncrasies and lacks morals. Bahadur Shah I (1707-1712) was 69 at the time of his succession to the throne and was too old to maintain the prestige of the empire.He liked to appease all parties by profuse by grants of titles and rewards. Jahandar Shah (1712-1713) the next in succession was a luxury profligate fool. Farrukh Siyar (1713-1719) was a contemptible coward. Mohammad Shah (1719-1748) spent most of the time watching animal fights. He was nicknamed â€Å"Rangila† for his addiction to wine and women. During his rule Nadir Shah attacked Delhi and Subedars be came independent. Ahmad Shah (1748-1754) excelled his predecessors in his sensual pursuits. He was unable to cope successfully with the disintegration forces that had grown so alarming on all sides.The empire was reduced to a small district round Delhi. The emperor was deposed and blinded in 1754 by the ‘wasir’. He was succeeded by Alamgir II and he was succeeded by Shah Alum who came under British and Maratha protection. Such weak and imbecile Emperors could hardly act as worthy custodians of public interests or maintain the integrity of the empire. Degeneration of Mughal Nobility When Mughal came to India they had hardly a character. Too much of wealth, luxury and leisure softened their character. Their ‘harems’ became full. They got wine in plenty.They went in palanquins to the battlefield. Such nobles were not fit to fight against the Marathas, the Rajputs and Jats and the Sikhs. The Mughal nobility degenerated at a very rapid pace. The Mughals nobility was taken from the Turks, the Afghan and the Persians and the climate of India was not very suitable for their growth. They began to degenerate during their stay in India. Ruddy warriors in boots, became pale persons in petticoats : â€Å"Where wealth accumulates men decay; And disloyalty on the empire did pray† We have a significant example of the moral degeneration of the Mughal peerage.The Prime Minister’s grandson Mirza Tafakh-kjur used to sally worth from the mansion in Delhi, with his ruffians plunder the shops in the bazars, kidnap Hindu women passing through the public streets in litters or going to the river to dishonour them; and yet there was no judge strong enough to punish him, no police to prevent such crimes. Every time such an occurrence was brought to the Emperor’s notice by the news letters or official reports, he referred it to the prime minister and did nothing more. Court Factions Broadly speaking, the nobles were ranged in two parties.Thos e two were children of the soil or the Indo-Muslim party. To this group belonged the Afghan nobles, the Sayyeds of Barha and Khan-i-Dauran whose ancestors came from Badakhastan. These Indian Muslims depended mostly on the help of their Hindu compatriots. The foreign nobles of diverse origin, opposed as a class to the members of the Hindustani party; were indiscriminately called Mughals. They were sub-divided into two groups according to the land of their origin. Those who came from Transoxiano and other parts of central Asia and were mostly of Sunni, persuasion formed the Turkani party.The most prominent members of this group was Mohammed Amin Khan and his Cousin Chin-Qillich Khan better known as the Nizam-ul-Mulk. The Irani party was composed of those who hailed for the Persian territories and were Shias. The most important members of the Irani party were Asad Khan and Zulfiqar Khan, the king maker. These were mere factions and were not like modern political parties. Their members had no common principle of action among themselves except of self-interest and no firm party allegiance. They fought battles, upsetting the peace of the country and throwing administration to dogs.Even in the face of foreign danger these hostile groups could not forge a united front and often intrigued with invadors. Defective Law of Succession The absence of the law of primogeniture among the Mughals usually meant a war of succession among the sons of the dying Emperor in which the military leaders of the times took sides. â€Å"The sword was the grand arbiter of right and every son was prepared to try his fortune against his brothers† Such a system though not commendable was not without its advantages. It provided the country with the ablest son of the dying emperor as the ruler. Demoralization in the Mughal ArmyThe abundance of riches of India, the use of wine and comforts had very evil effects on the Mughal army. Nothing was done to stop the deterioration. The soldiers ca red more for their personal comforts and less for winning battles. The importance of the Mughal armies was declared to the world when they failed to conquer Balkh and Badakhashar in the time of Shah Jahan. Likewise the failure of Shah Jahan to recapture Kandar inspite of three determined efforts proved to the world that the military machine of the Mughal had become imporatant. In 1739 Nadir Shah not only murdered the people of Delhi but also ordered their wholesale massacre.When such a thing is done by a foreigner, it only proves that the existing government is helpless. Such a government forfeits the right to exact allegiance from the people as it fails to protect life and property of the people. There were inherent defects in Mughal military system. The army was organised more or less on the feudal basis where the common soldier owed allegiance to the mansabdar rather than the Emperor. The soldier looked upon the mansabdar as their chief, not an officer. The defects of this system though evident enough in revolts of Bairam Khan and Mahabat Khan assumed alarming proportions under the later Mughal Kings. Only forced by need does he came out of the moat His army best knows how to turn from the fight; The Infantry – afraid to the barber that shaves; The Cavalry – fall off from their beds in their sleep; But in a dream – they see their mount frisk†. Economic Bankruptcy After the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire faced financial bankruptcy. The Deccan wars ruined the finances of the empire. The marches of the Imperial army damaged crops in Deccan while the beasts of burden ate away all the standing crops and greenery. Whatever little was left was destroyed by the Marathas Raiders.There was dislocation of trade and industry. Extravagant expenditure was a crushing burden upon the resources of the country. Nature of the Mughal State The Mughal government was essentially a police government and confined its attention mainly to the mainta inance of internal and external order and collection of revenue. The Mughals failed to effect a fusion between the Hindus and Muslims, an create a composite nation. All laudable efforts made by Akbar in this direction were undone by the bgotry of Aurangzeb and his successors.

Confucious Said “One Who Learns Without Thinking Is Lost; One Who Thinks Without Learning Is in Great Danger”

Throughout the day, we think about activities we plan to do or learn from the activities that we do, but thinking about the activity does not mean we are also learning about the activity, nor does learning about the activity mean we are thinking about the activity. To think would be to have a belief about something, to reflect on something or to put something into consideration. To learn would be to remember something or to obtain knowledge through experience, studies or being taught. Confucius is quoted to have said that â€Å"one who learns without thinking is lost; one who thinks without learning is in great danger†.Confucius is correct with this description of people who focus on learning or thinking much more than the other. It is necessary to both think and learn, and to understand the reasons for why we need to. When one only learns but does not think about what one has learned can make the knowledge confusing, misleading or useless. One who learns a lot but does not th ink for one’s self how to apply it and how it is important to them will not fully understand how that knowledge works. When one does not fully understand the knowledge, they can get confused as to what the outcome of the learning process was to be.I know this to be realistic because when I learn about stem cells in biology class, I am also taught the uses of stem cells, which leads me to think about how ethical it is to create embryos to research their embryonic stem cells and then to destroy the embryos. I understand the importance of the knowledge I learned better and am able to remember the knowledge more easily because it was a relatable and clear idea that I could apply to my day-to-day life, because I thought about the application of the knowledge.Learning in addition to thinking is better than to only learn or to only think. To only think and form thoughts without first obtaining information about the subject of those thoughts can offend others who have learned and giv en thought to the subject. One who solely thinks but does not try to learn facts to make their thoughts reasonable has a high possibility of getting into disagreements with people who have facts to back up their thoughts, if one expresses their thoughts.When someone with their own thoughts, who has also learned of reasons to support these thoughts, meets someone who has set beliefs that aren’t based on anything they have learned, the person with no facts to back up their argument will be, as Confucius said, â€Å"in great danger† of losing the argument. In classes like History and Social Studies, we, the students, have to learn about current events and history in order to make reasonable opinions about the material and issues. I have been in and have witnessed debates where there must be textual or factual evidence in order for the opinions to be solid.The learning involved with proving thoughts to be more correct or convincing is beneficial when utilized in fair amoun ts. A wholesome balance comes from learning about what one thinks, and thinking about what one learns in fair amounts. It is not healthy to have an excess of one thing and not another that would help balance it out, as proven by science and demonstrated by many health problems such as cavities from an excess of sugar. As learning and thinking are both important, it is important to balance out these two actions.Learning to form thoughts, and thinking about what we have learned are two things that work like a cycle. If you learn, you should think, and if you think you should also learn about what you are thinking of, which cancels and balances each other out. Even so, in some cases, these two do not balance as well as they should. Although to learn and think simultaneously has its advantages, it also has disadvantages. When a person is to learn in addition to think, they may become biased or distracted in their processing of the knowledge for use.A wildlife biologist who studies wildl ife in Africa may learn a great deal of the animals and the environment. Eventually, they learn about the warning signs and data that display that the wildlife is dying. If this wildlife biologist thinks too much about how sad this is, and is emotionally impaired from continuing their duties and helping with the improvement of the environment and living conditions, they could stop working in that field of science. A person who thinks, but does not learn as much as they think, is more free to form genuine opinions uninfluenced by what they could learn as the correct, acceptable mindset.Learning the common mindset could be a result of conformity, and not for the good of the thinker. To both learn and think isn’t absolutely the best but is relatively better than to be ignorant and unconscious. It is important to understand why we should learn about what we think, and to think about what we learn. It makes us more knowledgeable. It helps us defend ourselves better. It creates a h ealthy balance between our focus on absorbing knowledge and our focus on how this knowledge will help us and the world. To learn and to think is to be educated, and education is necessary in our world.

buy custom Use of Relationship Marketing as a Strategy for the Success of Investment Banks essay

buy custom Use of Relationship Marketing as a Strategy for the Success of Investment Banks essay Chapter 1: Introduction The success of a bank depends more on the perceptions and preferences of its customers (Yavas et al., 2004) identified the significant impact of customer perceptions and preferences on the growth of a banking institution. According to Chumpitaz Paparoidamis, (2004) analyzed markets based on the perceptions of the customers and designing a customer delivery system based on such analysis enables the banks to gain competitive advantages. Similarly when a bank follows the objective of meeting the customer needs and enhancing the quality of its services, the bank is sure to gain and sustain distinct competitive advantages. The development of information and communication technology has had significant influence on the way a bank or other financial services organization conduct its business and maintain the relationship with its customers (Dabholkar Bagozzi, 2002). The pressure on banks to enhance their profitability has forced them to move away from the traditional transactional and qui ck sale approach towards an improved relationship-based approach to market their products and retain the customers (Duddy Kandampully, 1999; Moria, 1997). Several studies have analyzed the relationship between service quality and customer retention in the context of banks and other financial institutions (e.g. Ranaweera Neely, 2003; Caruana, 2002). In this context, Bei and Chiao, (2001) identified the quality of service level as an important element in attracting and retaining customers by financial institutions. Reichheld and Schefter, (2000) concurred by affirming that by providing superior quality service through the use of automated services, the financial institutions could accomplish higher rate of customer retention. Within this context, this study analyzes the role of marketing strategies by Investment Management Institutions including Investment Banks in attracting and retaining customers. This study focuses on the concept of relationship marketing. 1.1 Investment Banking An Overview There exists a close relationship between banks, financial markets and the macro economy. This relationship has been studied in the past in detail by several researchers (Cameron, 1997; Goldsmith, 1969) ). These studies reveal that well-developed financial markets are necessary for the overall economic development of any nation. The Investment Banks form the foundation for the development of financial markets. In broad terms, Investment Management Companies consist of firms whose activities relate to issuing, distributing, selling securities and other related financial products. The activities of investment banks include underwriting, brokerage and market making. Commercial banks and several other financial institutions are involved in investment banking activities. The firms operating in this industry appear to have significant competitive advantage in undertaking investment banking activities and other brokerage related activities. Historically many of the securities firms have specialized in one or more of the product market areas, such as institutional brokerage, retail brokerage, exchange floor brokerage or corporate and municipal finance. Other firms have engaged in a relatively full range of securities activities, but have limited themselves to a particular region of the country (Hayes et al., 1983). Competition among the investment banking institutions has received great attention during the recent period. Proliferation of Internet and other information and communication technologies has increased the customer knowledge on the availability of various financial products, services, relative merits and demerits. Consequently, the customers have become well informed of the intricacies of investing their surplus funds and their choices and expectations of services from the investment banks have gone up tremendously. This has compelled Investment Banking Institutions to adopt suitable marketing strategies to market their products and services successfully. Economic globalization, cross-border activities and consolidation have made the investment banking industry go through incredible transformation. The business environment today witnesses a number of banks crossing international borders to market their products and services in various geographical locations across the world. The role and importance of investment banking can be seen from their engagement in public and private market transactions for corporations, governments and investors and in providing a number of benefits to these participants. Importance of investment banks is also enhanced because the services and efficiency of them affect the financial markets and ability of investment banks in minimizing the cost and maximizing profits is important for both the banks and their clients. Investment banks also contribute to the facilitation of various industry segments (Radic Fiordelisi, 2008). Investment banking can be defined as the service of intermediation between issuers of stocks and investors through their involvement in advisory, mergers and acquisitions, debt capital markets and equity capital markets. There are a number of factors, which have acted as key drivers for the proliferation of investment banking institutions and their expansion on a global basis. Some of these drivers include globalization initiatives aided by cross-border investment flows, increased accumulation of investment assets owned by large corporations, securitization and economic deregulation measures adopted by different countries in the wake of economic globalization. Gardner and Molyneux (1997) identified similar factors, which facilitated the evolution of the present day investment banking like the advancement in technology, changes in regulatory frameworks, distribution of property rights and other economic forces that have an effect on the investible funds of individuals and entities. Considering the scope of this research and the complexity of the investment banking business, the literature definition of investment banking is provided below: Investment banks business can be categorized into five main areas: broking (the broking of securities is commodity business in which firms appeal to customers mainly on price and integrity); trading (the trading of securities drives on market volatility); investment banking (represents the underwriting of new issues and advisory work also referred to as Mergers and Acquisitions); fund management (includes both retail and wholesale fund management); interest spread (derivatives income from borrowed funds) (Gardner Molyneux, 1997). Full service and boutique are the two kinds of investment banks. Full service investment banks provide clients a range of services to meet their specific needs. These services include underwriting, mergers and acquisition advice, trading, merchant banking and prime brokerage (Radic Fiordelisi, 2008). For example, Goldman Sachs is one of the investment banking institutions that offer services in investment banking, trading and principal investments, asset management and security service. In contrast to the full service investment banks, boutique investment banks offer specialized services in specific segments of the market and they do not form part of any larger financial services institutions. An example may be found in Greenhill, which specializes in Advisory services in Mergers and Acquisitions, financial restructuring and Merchant banking (Radic Fiordelisi, 2008). Similarly, Lazard offers Financial advisory and Asset Management services (Radic Fiordelisi, 2008). The role of marketing in investment banking can be seen from the fact that investment banking is mainly a revenue-motivated business. For most of the investment banks, earnings from the investment banking activity constitute only a part of total earnings. In order that the investment banks maximize the contribution to the total revenue from the investment banking activity, it becomes important that suitable marketing strategies are developed and implemented. 1.2 Marketing a Background Note The concept of marketing is the exchange process in which two or more parties give something of value to each other to satisfy perceived needs (Kurtz, 2008). Thus individuals trade money for product or services depending their perceived needs and preferences. Services rendered may be both tangible and intangible and the swap of money can take place in return for a combination of goods and services. Even though marketing has always been viewed as an essential part of a business, the significance of marketing has varied over time and the history of marketing has gone through, different stages relating to manufacturing, sales and customer relations. After the periods of Great Depression and World War II the marketing era emerged during which there had been a move from products and sales towards fulfilling customer needs. The shift from the sellers market to buyers market created the need for consumer orientation by businesses. The need for companies to market their products and services increased and this brought changes in marketing concepts. Marketing assumed a conceptual base in which a company-wide customer orientation to achieve a long-term success of the business became the primary element (Kurtz, 2008). Kurtz , (2008) the objective of marketing strategies has undergone major changes in the last decades towards building the commitment of the customer towards a brand or a dealer. The development has taken the forms of (i) creating customer satisfaction through the delivery of superior quality products and services, (ii) building brand equity, which is facilitated by factors like perceive quality, brand loyalty, association of the customer towards the brand, trademarks, packaging and convenience of distribution channels, and (iii) creating and maintaining relationships. Of these three forms, customer satisfaction by delivering quality products and services and creating and maintaining customer relationships have been particularly pursued by bankers. Relationship marketing enables financial institutions develop mutually beneficial and valuable long-term relationships with the customers (Ravald Gronroos, 1996). O'Mally and Tynan, (2000) observed that relationship marketing works more effectively in cases where the customers are highly involved in the services provided by the institution. More specifically in the case of investment banks and other financial institutions, customer oriented relationship marketing programs facilitate free and meaningful flow of information between the institutions and the customers. Such a flow of information enhances the positive feeling of the customers towards the bank, which leads to increased satisfaction and relationship strength (Barnes Howlett, 1998; Ennew Binks, 1996). Past studies provide knowledge about the nature and importance of relationship between customers and banks from the perspectives of customer and business (O'Laughlin et al., 2004; Madlill et al., 2002). Although relationship marketing can be extended to all types of customers of banking institutions, Carson et al., (2004) are of the view that it need not be directed towards all the customers. Usually, banks have both profitable and unprofitable customers and in most cases the profitable customers subsidize the unprofitable ones (Zeithaml et al., 2001). Investment banks find it difficult to retain profitable customers, because of the increasingly competitive environment. The financial institutions specialize in offering attractive services and prices to the profitable customers to lure and retain them. Since investments in all the customer segments are not likely to result in yielding similar returns, relationship marketing is directed towards the most profitable market segments only. The profitable segments are identified by the associated income and wealth (Abratt Russell, 1999). Within the realm of investment banking, relationship marketing has a significant role to play, as the present day customers are well informed about the level of service quality they can expect from the financial institutions offering various investment services and other financial services products. The objective of this paper is to analyze the role and function of relationship marketing as one of the marketing strategies of investment management companies especially the investment banks. 1.3 Aims and Objectives The central focus of this study is to evaluate the role of marketing in promoting the investment banking activities of investment banks and other financial institutions. In the process of studying this central aim, the research accomplishes the following goals. To study the impact of changes from the traditional transaction-based marketing towards relationship-based marketing on the business of investment banking. To examine and evaluate the different marketing strategies being followed by investment banks in managing their business including the product offerings and service offerings by the investment management institutions. To make a comparative study of the marketing strategies of HSBC and Citi Bank to compare and contrast the strategies for their effectiveness. 1.4 Research Questions The current research through a comparative case study and a review of the relevant literature attempts to find answers for the following research questions. What are the usual marketing strategies adopted by the investment banking institutions to market their products and services? What are the significant motivating factors for the investment banks to turn towards relationship marketing? What is the target population for the marketing strategies of investment management companies and how effective the marketing communications of these institutions in reaching the target population? 1.6 Significance of the Study In the present day competitive business environment and global exposure of investment management institutions, devising an appropriate marketing strategy has assumed prominence. It has become essential that managers should have a thorough understanding of the marketing concepts and latest developments in the application of marketing concepts in the field of investment management. Relationship marketing has been found to be of relevance in the context of marketing by the investment banks. From the customer perspective, the relationship with a particular bankbecomes important to decide and maintain such relationship for a longer period. From the banks perspective retaining of profitable customers is of prime importance and this involves the implementation of relationship marketing strategies in conducting the business. Therefore, the study of the role and impact of relational marketing strategies on the investment banking becomes important. To this extent, the current study attempts to add to the existing knowledge on the different facets of relationship marketing in investment management field. 1.7 Structure This dissertation is structured to have different chapters concentrating on the different aspects of research. Following the first chapter introducing the topic of study and laying down the research boundaries in the form of research aims and objectives and research questions, the second chapter presents a review of available literatures. Chapter three describes the research methodology. Chapter four contains the findings of the research from the case studies and an analysis of the findings. Concluding remarks, limitations and recommendations for future research are presented in chapter five. Chapter 2 Literature Review The objective of this chapter is to present a review of relevant literature on the topic of the role of marketing in investment banking. The review will add to the exiting body of knowledge by reviewing the past research findings and theoretical contributions on the concept of relationship marketing and its influence on customers for financial service products. The determinants of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in investment banking are also reviewed. 2.1 Introduction The investment banking industry across the world has gone through significant transformation due to cross border activities and consolidation taken place in the industry (Radic Fiordelisi, 2009). Higher disposable income available to consumers increases the chance of marketing more investment products. Transformation in fiscal policies, deregulations and improvements in the financial services sector help the growth of the market for investment banking products (Radic Fiordelisi, 2009). Traditionally, the preponderance of these products is distributed through financial intermediaries who work on a commission basis. However, with the development of newer financial service product offerings and intense competition among market players, the necessity for evolving new techniques and strategies for marketing of these products has evolved (Kunst Lenmink, 2000; Stafford, 1996). In the modern customer centric competitive business environment, customer satisfaction, service quality and customer loyalty have proved to be the major factors in establishing a casual and cyclical customer relationship, which is vitally important for the growth of investment banking business (Jamal Naser, 2002). With a higher perceived level of service quality, the customer remains more loyal and satisfied which in turn increases the business of the investment banks (Lloyd-Walker Cheung, 1998). More specifically, financial institutions such as investment banks have increasingly understood the strategic importance of customer value. With this realization, the institutions are continuously striving to evolve and implement innovative strategies that could enhance customer relationships (Kunst Lenmink, 2000; Stafford, 1996). In this context, it is to be noted that the product offerings of many financial service products are almost similar and only slight product differentiation is p ossible (Lim Tang, 2000). This characteristic of the products makes the value of the loyal customers more important for the financial institutions. Such loyal customers are likely to use the services of the investment banks more, spread word-of-mouth, withstand the offers from the competitors and recommend the services of the particular banker to other potential customers. Developing close ties with clients is sure to result in the growth of business of business entities (Reichheld, 1993). In view of the excessive cost to be incurred in attracting new customers, the institutions seek to develop and maintain long-standing relationship with the customers, so that they can increase the profitability of the organization (Ennew Binks, 1996). The present day banks have started using relationship marketing in the place of transaction-based marketing, which considers the relationship with the customers as an important element. For developing sustained relationship, customer satisfaction h as been identified to be one of the essential prerequisite (Oliver, 1980). Crosby and Stevens (1987) attributed satisfaction in the service of organizational members, satisfaction at the quality level of customer service and satisfaction with the functioning of the whole organization as the determinants of better customer relationship. Within this context, this review presents an analytical description of relationship marketing and its influence on business growth of financial service providers including investment bankers. 2.2 Marketing Function an Overview The concept of marketing is the exchange process in which two or more parties give something of value to each other to satisfy perceived needs (Kurtz, 2008). A simple marketing model promoted by Kotler and Armstrong, (2000) explained marketing as the process of handing over goods and services against tendering of money in return. Effective marketing implies the transfer of details about the products from the trader to the potential purchaser as an important element. An effective advertising message informs the consumer, about the attributes of the product or brand of the company and the feedback from the consumer to the company will inform the company about the perception of the customers on the quality of the product or service marketed by the company. Consumer behaviour is one of the important determinants of marketing strategies. Blackwell et al., (2001) defined consumer behaviour as actions taken by people, when purchasing, using and getting rid of products or services. Consumer behaviour with respect to certain product or service is analyzed to ascertain the response of the potential customers to different advertising strategies of an organization. The firm makes an analysis of consumer behaviour for creating unique selling point. This selling point is developed to attract target audience so that the firm can reach its objective growth. The company must have a thorough understanding of the client attitude in order to maximize the return on its investment on sales promotion activities. Based on the analysis of the consumer behaviour, a company would devise and execute its marketing strategies tailored those factors, which would drive customer behaviour. There are a number of factors, which influence the buying decision of consumers. These factors include prior purchasing habits of the purchasers, their present preferences, impact of environmental factors and the influence of the advertising and sales promotion programs launched by the company. Other demographic factors like age group, profession, qualifications, personal traits and standard of living of the consumer influence the customers choice. Brand loyalty represented by the preconceived thoughts about the quality and functionality of the products or services also has influence on the buying decisions of consumers. Kotler, (2006) identified culture as one of the basic determinants of the consumer choices (p. 124). Culture in this context represents the norms and beliefs of the society. In addition, culture als o covers the customs learnt from the society, which ultimately become the value of the society (Fill, 2002, p. 83). Customer satisfaction with respect to the quality and utility of the product or service is another major factor, which needs to be considered in attracting and retaining customers for any product or service. In this context, relationship marketing is the new paradigm in marketing literature, which has challenged the existing marketing theories and philosophies (Kotler, 1991; Gronsroos, 2004; Gummesson, 1997). Relationship marketing is a strategic tool used to study the needs and preferences of the customers and their attitudes, so that a firm will be able to build long-term relationship with them. In the investment banking context, relationship marketing is of particular importance, as the investment banks have to establish and maintain successful relationships with customers to thrive among stiff competition. The following section presents a review of relationship marketing and its application to investment banking. 2.3 Review of Relationship Marketing Establishing, developing and maintaining successful relational exchanges characterize the process of relationship marketing. The essence of these activities is to decrease exchange uncertainty and to create customer collaboration and commitment through gradual development and ongoing adjustment of mutual norms and shared routines (Anderson, 2001). When the customers are retained over a number of transactions, there is the likelihood that both the buyers and sellers may profit from the experience gained through undertaking the previous transactions. The basic aim of relationship marketing is to enhance the profitability of the organization by accessing a larger proportion of specific customers lifetime spending instead of trying to maximize the profitability because of individual transactions (Palmer, 1994). The competitive environment of businesses forces the firms to find a different route to garner competitive advantage by forming relationships with the customers so that there is s ignificant improvement in business outcomes such as quality, efficiency and effectiveness (Nowak et al., 1997). The approach of relationship marketing involves a deviation from the traditional competitive approach to one that involves collaboration. Characteristic of relationship marketing involves collaboration, long-term focus, commitment to and trust in relationship among partners, establishing and achieving mutual goals and objectives, and a relatively fewer number of business partners and inter-dependence (Dwyer et al., 1987; Kanter, 1994; Iacobucci Ostrom, 1996; Nowak et al., 1997). Based on these characteristics, reciprocity can be identified as the core concept of relationship marketing. According to Bagozzi, (1995, p. 275) reciprocity is a disposition and a feeling that one should return good for good in proportion to what we receive. Gronroos, (1990, p. 138) has reflected the concept of this relationship in his definition of marketing as: Marketing is to establish, maintain, and enhance (usually but not necessarily long-term) relationships with customers and other partners, at a profit, so that the objectives of the parties involved are met (Gronroos, 1990). Relationship marketing in a conceptual context developed during the 1980s. The concept emerged as an alternative to the then prevailing transactional view of marketing, because of the realization that many exchanges particularly in the service industry were mostly relational in nature rather than transactional (Berry, 1983; Dwyer et al.,1987; Gronroos, 1994; Gummesson, 1994; Sheth Parvatiyar, 2000). Within the context of a banking setting, relationship marketing have been defined as, the activities carried out by banks in order to attract, interact with, and retain more profitable or high net-worth customers (Walsh et al., 2004 p. 469). Therefore, the objective of relationship marketing can be identified as increasing the profitability of the customer while ensuring the provision of a better service to the customers. A number of studies with their empirical findings established the positive association between relationship marketing strategies and effective business performance (e. g. Naidu et al., 1999; Palmatiyar Gopalakrishna, 2005). In the marketing of banks, relationship marketing have attained a significant position (Holland, 1994; Stone et al., 1996). In respect of banking services, Keltner, (1995) observed that German banks as compared to the American banks have been able to maintain a consistency in their market position during the 1980s and early 1990s by following the principles of relationship marketing concept. Nevertheless, it is important to understand that relationship marketing by itself will not automatically result in stronger customer relationships. When the financial institution follows the principle of relationship marketing, the customers will exhibit different levels of closeness in their relationship with the banks, which could strengthen the ties between the bank and its customers (Berry, 1995; Liljander Strandvik, 1995). Relationship marketing strategies will become more attractive when they are made to enhance the perceived benefits of engaging in relationships (O'Malley Tynan, 2000). H owever, O'Laughlin et al., (2004) argued that not all customers will like to engage in relationships with banks. The authors further argue that close customer relationships in banks are rare and the relationships are weakened by the increase in the proliferation of Internet and other self-service technologies. Several scholars studied customer satisfaction in the banking industry in detail (Ahmad, 2002). These studies focused on the integration of customer management with customer services and optimization of customer relations (James, 2004). Before the role of relationship marketing in investment banking is reviewed, the following section reviews the desired level of relationship outcomes, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty aspects as they apply in the context of banking in general. 2.4 Customer Relationship and Satisfaction Customer orientation and satisfaction is identified to be one of the basic tenets of relationship marketing. Saxe Weitz, (1982) argued that sales personnel who are customer oriented always strive to improve the customer satisfaction on a long-term basis. Subsequent research have shown that a firms relationship with its customers is influenced more by the customer orientation (Clark, 1997; Yavas et al., 2004). On the study of customer satisfaction in the field of marketing of financial services, it was observed that while customer oriented employees are able to evolve positive influence, sales oriented employees could develop only a negative impact on customers relationship satisfaction (Bejou et al., 1998). Customer relationship quality and customer relationship satisfaction are the customer evaluation measures normally used to reflect transactional and relational types of exchanges (Bejou et al., 1996; Crosby et al., 1990; Lang Colgate, 2003; Abdul-Muhmin, 2002; Rosen Surprenant, 1998). Research established a positive relationship between service quality and sattisfaction in the banking sector (Ennew Binks, 1999; Jamal Naser, 2002; Ting, 2004). However, the constructs in this context are highly correlated and sometimes it might become difficult to separate them to transactional interactions. This have been found to be even more difficult from a relational perspective. Therefore, it can be stated that in long-term relationships of banks with customers, perceived service quality and satisfaction are likely to be merged into one phenomenon, which helps in an overall evaluation of relationship satisfaction. In the context of service market, especially financial services, the market environment has become even more competitive, with the increasing intensity in price competition. This has made shifting of loyalty of customers as an acceptable practice. Many of the industries have started focusing on rearranging their marketing budgets such that more resources are diverted to defensive marketing with the intention to retain the customers (Patterson Spreng, 1998). According to Gummesson, (1998) there are a number of initiatives undertaken to improve customer retention, including value chain analysis, customer satisfaction and loyalty programmes. Customer satisfactions have been regarded as the basis for firm success as satisfaction is inextricably linked to customer loyalty and retention. Studies have established the link between customer satisfaction and customer retention and they have identified other factors such as the level of competition, switching barriers, proprietary technology a nd the feature of individual customers (Bloemer Lemmink, 1992; Bloemer Kasper, 1995; (Sharma Patterson, 2000). Fournier and Mick, (1999) observed the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty to be more complex than it was perceived earlier. Sharma and Patterson (2000) identified a significant impact of customer satisfaction on customer loyalty. Customer satisfaction as a direct antecedent leads to a greater commitment in business relationships (Burnham et al., 2003) and it greatly influences the repurchase intentions of the customers (Morgan Hunt, 1994). However, it is worthwhile to mention that the impact of satisfaction on commitment and retention is likely to vary in accordance with the nature of industry, product, service, or environment. Burnham et al., (2003) presented another view and argued that customer commitment cannot be construed to depend only on satisfaction. Relational switching costs are expected to strengthen the relationship commitment, since such costs represent a barrier to exit from the existing relationship. High switching barriers would force the customer to stay or to perceive that they have to stay with service providers who do not consider the satisfaction created in the relationship. On the other hand, Jones et al., (2000) observed that customer satisfaction is usually the key element in ensuring repeat patronage of customers and this outcome generally depends on the intensity of switching barriers in the context of providing effective service. Under certain circumstances, even though a customer maybe less satisfied with a service provider, they would still choose to continue with the same provider because of the higher perceived cost of leaving the services. The customer has to consider the co sts in switching a supplier. It involves set-up costs and termination costs. The set-up costs include the cost of finding the new service provider who would be able to provide the same or better performance as the previous provider or the opportunity cost of foregoing exchange with the incumbent. The termination costs include the relationship-specific idiosyncratic investments created by the customer, which might have no value outside the relationship (Dwyer et al., 1987). This is applied more particularly in the context of investment banking in the form of exit and entry charges on investments routed through the investment bankers. The service encounters can be viewed as a social exchange in the light of interactions between the service provider and customer becoming a crucial component of satisfaction. This provides a strong reason for the continuance of the relationship (Barnes, 2002). In a services context, considering the level of interpersonal contact needed to produce services, there is a range of psychological, relational and financial considerations that might act as a disincentive for a hypothetic change of service providers (Petruzzellis et al., 2008). 2.6 Relationship Marketing in the Context of Banking Fierce competitive trends and saturation in the financial service product markets have enhanced the need to garner effective competitive advantages by banking institutions. The growing demand for the banking products and service through new media like Internet have forced banks to respond quickly to new challenges in customer demand and to meet them, with new and improved business models (Methlie Nysveen, 1999; Jun Cai, 2001; Bradley Stewart, 2003). Gronroos, (1994) and Berry, (2002) identified the long-term relationship with customers as the key success factor in the service industry, which enormously increases with the electronic channels. The proliferation of new channels and the high demand for differentiated products has presented customers with a wide choice in terms of which service to use in order to profitably interact with the bank. (Petruzzellis et al., 2008) The latest extension in portfolios benefits both the customers and banks alike. Banks are provided with the opportunity of capitalizing on the beneficial characteristics of the newer product lines and channels of marketing. For example, electronic channels enable the banks to reduce the costs of interacting with the customers through the substitution of labor-intensive processes with the use of automated devices and sales processes (Campbell, 2003). In addition, the interactions resulting from face to face consultation enhance the opportunities for cross selling of the products (Clemons et al., 2002). It is imperative that banks undertake an active management of the usage of customer service so that the bank would be able to benefit from the different strengths of its portfolio. In this process, the banks are under an obligation to understand the ways the customers may adopt for choosing between the portfolios. The banks should also understand the circumstances under which the customers make these choices. This understanding will help the bank in identifying the factors that are relevant in influencing the customer choice and their relative importance in making the choice. Eastlick and Liu, (1997) observed that the decision by the customers to adopt a service is driven primarily by the perceived benefits and perceived costs of using the new product. The adoption of the product thus depends on the value the product can provided to the customer. The value in this case is represented by the service quality of the product Montoya-Weiss et al., (2003) and the convenience the customer can derive out of by using the product (Black et al., 2002; Devlin Yeung, 2003). The customers will also consider the risk involved in conducting the transaction using the product (Black et al., 2002; Grewal, Levy, Marshall, 2002; Reardon McCorkle, 2002) and the costs of carrying out the transactions through the product (Devlin, 2002; Fader, Hardie Lee, 2003). Perceived convenience, service quality and price are the key bank attributes which influence the perceived value of a service (Bhatnagar Ratchford, 2004). The perceived value of service therefore depends on the modera ting effects such as circumstances under which the customer chooses the service and the distinguishing features of the customer himself (Mattson, 1982). It is to be inferred that the importance of the bank attribute among convenience, quality and price for choosing a service is most likely to vary depending on the situations and customer features. In consistent with the literature, it is possible to distinguish between two dimensions of loyalty. They are: (i) a past loyalty that is more associated with the customers behavioral loyalty (Snehota Sderlund, 1998; Chaudhuri Holbrook, 2001). This loyalty represents the relative importance of a specific banking service in the previous transactions decision of the customer (ii) a cognitive loyalty, which implies the behavioural intention of using the banking service in future (Methlie Nysveen, 1999; Van Rail et al., 2001). The perceived service quality, satisfaction and past loyalty are antecedents of the intention of continuing to use the service or future loyalty. It is therefore important that the banks should ensure that they provide a service of high quality for surviving in the highly competitive market and for garnering a sustainable competitive advantage in the long-term, which cannot be replicated by the competitors (Mefford, 1993; Jun Cai, 2001). In the context of social capital effect on the usage or choice of banking service and its impact on customer loyalty, commitment on the part of the bank becomes a key construct as identified by the social exchange literature (Thibault Kelly, 1959) and the relationship marketing literature (Berry Parasuraman, 1991). As perceived by the customer, the relationship with a particular bank is so important that the buyer may decide that it is worth investing in specialeffort to maintain such relationship for an indefinite period of time (Tellefsen, 2001; Coote et al., 2003). Such long-term relationship enhances the exchange relationships and acts as stimulation for promoting the willingness of partnerscooperation and complying with mutual requests. The partners are able to share information and engage in joint problem solving exercises (Morgan Hunt, 1994). Commitment also acts to prevent the negative effects of switching costs (Fullerton, 2003). Thus, lack of commitment on the part of the customers will make them switch the service provider more frequently than the committed customers, and thus results as being a more powerful determinant in retaining customers than continuance commitment. 2.7 Relationship Marketing with respect to Investment Banking and Financial Products There are a number of factors, which influence marketing for financial service products. These products are service based offers and therefore are characterized by a high degree of intangibility and complexity. These characters in turn provide a high level of variability depending on the market situation. Factors such as type of demand, delivery style, duration, and significance to the client also influence the marketability of these products. The peculiarities of financial services products may lead to a conclusion that relationship marketing is the right approach applicable only within the financial services product categories. However, it must be emphasized that the specificity of relationship marketing to the financial services products is attributed mainly because of the high risk involved and the necessity for a long-term relationship in view of the involvement of the client for carrying out the service delivery process (Ennew Binks, 1996). In the case of investment banks, it becomes necessary to establish a balance between the transactional marketing and relationship marketing strategies for arriving at an optimal position. However, the point at which the investment bank balances both marketing strategies cannot be permanent because of the interaction of various factors enumerated above. The existence of the changing circumstances determines an instable area or a danger area for both parts of the optimal position, following the calculation difficulty or even impossibility at a certain time of the results generated by the different relationship or transactional strategies. The main risk arising out of the calculation of this optimal point between transactional marketing and relationship marketing can be described as below: With respect to implementing transactional marketing strategies, the bank may not be able to recognize the wishes of the customer for a higher level of involvement on the part of the organization (to be reckoned as the customer service type activities undertaken by the investment bank). With respect to applying relationship-marketing strategies, the bank is likely to overestimate the quality level of the service expectations by the customer. This might result in clients migrating towards a competing institution which offers a higher qualitative level to a lower price. A hybrid managerial approach can be thought as a possible solution, which might take into account the possible changes in the business situation. According to Gronross, (1995, p. 252) irrespective of the investment bank or the institution adopting mostly transactional or relationship marketing strategies, there may be situations when the company may have to address the needs and preferences of customers in different market segments. The hybrid managerial approach requires the application of multiple marketing strategies, which would provide for the development and maintenance of discreet changes necessitated by shoppers segments. In this case, the bank has to be satisfied with lesser degree of profitability. At the same time, the bank should strive for maintaining and intensifying the relationship with profitable clients. In conclusion, it cannot be possible neither profitable for an organization to create close relationships, personal and long lasting with all the clients, which inv olves a differentiated approach, based on segmentation principles that will combine elements of relational marketing and transactional marketing in accordance with the clients profile and its importance for the company (Filip Pop, 2007) Similarly, the clients may also adopt a differential approach depending on the type and complexity of the products involved. According to a study conducted in the banking market in the United States, there are differences between transaction oriented and relationship oriented clients (Quoted in Mohamed et al., 2002). Sixty-two percent of the clients interviewed confirmed that in general they tend to be confident, based on their own strengths acquired by searching and analyzing financial information. They also seemed to be price sensitive. The remainder 38% of the interviewed clients responded that they are mostly interested in personal service and are not sensitive to the price. A similar study conducted in the UK financial services market has developed a model that typifies the shopping behavior in the market in accordance with two basic factors, which are instrumental in motivating and determining individual choices. The two factors are (i) the level of involvement and (ii) the deg ree of uncertainty (that generates some level of trust in the banker) (Beckett et al., 2000). The following figure represents these customer behavioral patterns. Buy custom Use of Relationship Marketing as a Strategy for the Success of Investment Banks essay

Free sample - Intangible Resources and Management Authority in Organizations. translation missing

Intangible Resources and Management Authority in Organizations. Intangible Resources and Management Authority in OrganizationsThe sphere of business is very diverse and every company tries to do its best in order to be the fist in the completive market and preserve its positions. Good presentation and work of the company depends upon its management that performs different functions. The main function of the management is organizing process of work correctly, using the resources of the company in the best possible way. From the one hand it sounds very easy to do, but on the other hand this task is not so easy to do. So, the main obligation of the management of every company is a rational utilization of the company’s assets and resources, tangible as well as intangible. There is a mistaken idea that intangible assets are not very important as they do not play such important role in the successful existence of the company. It is a common mistake of many managerial teams that do not pay enough attention to the intangible resources. According t o Berkeley-Thomas (2003, p. 25), the companies have to genuinely consider a significance of identical or greater effect of such factors as consumer satisfaction, process effectiveness and improvement when coming to a realizing of performance realities. These factors will be additional to an organization’s realizing of financial figures, helping to better understand the significance of otherwise potentially misleading or unfortunate numbers. Most companies do not pay enough attention to the intangible assets that is why the general performance of the company suffers. In this case, experienced market leaders insist on considering the intangible assets greatly, as they are half of a company’s success (Grey, 2009, p. 43). In the findings, the investigation demonstrated that intangible assets, comprising consumer list, brand name,   reputation of the company, and its location are considerably chief elements; in the meantime, the   size of the organization is taken into account, but not that significant. In general, the essence of the intangible resources is quite broad, as it comprises many notions. Intangible assets can also include patents, copyrights, franchise and government licenses, goodwill, and other issues that lack physical matter but give long-standing advantages to the company. Companies should pay attention to the intangible assets as much as they do it on depreciable and natural resources. The charge of intangible resources is methodically allocated to the costs during the asset's helpful life or legal life, whichever is shorter, and this life is never permitted to exceed forty years. The procedure of allocating the value of intangible resources to expense is called amortization, and organizations almost always use the straight-line way to amortize their intangible resources. In order to understand more completely the essence intangible resources that management can draw upon, it is necessary to describe briefly some of them to see how useful they can be for the management of the company to evaluate the level of its performance and success.   One of the first and the most important intangible resources is the brand name. Needless to say, that brand name and recognition is very important for every company as it is the first step for the company’s success. Brand name should be as recognizable as possible in order to make the company well known. Brand recognition is, probably, main form of intangibles. Think about the many name brand organizations and it will quickly be realized the power of intangible assets. Software programs used by the organizations in order to produce or plan their product are one more brilliant example of intangible resources. Reputation of the company is rightfully regarded as another very important intangible resource. It is understood that every company strives for having excellent reputation and be second to none in the market. The question of reputation is necessary to draw upon by the management. For instance, the company, having good reputation as a reliable partner and manufacturer of the qualitative products will likely have more customers as the company, having lower reputation even if its production is as qualitative. So, evaluating the performance criteria of the company and speaking about the work of its management, we can say that reputation of the company is very significant anyway. One more intangible asset considered as important one is goodwill. Goodwill equals the quantity paid to obtain a company in excess of its net assets at reasonable market value. The excess payment may be consequence from the price of the organization’s reputation, setting, consumer list and management team. Goodwill can be recorded only after the purchase of the organization takes as such a transaction provides a purpose measure of goodwill as recognized by the customer. The worth of goodwill is considered by first subtracting the purchased liabilities of the organization from the fair market price of its assets and then subtracting this consequence from the purchase price of the organization. So, goodwill can not be seen at once, it can be evaluated only when the company starts working. Unfortunately, members of the management team and the business board room in a great number of companies all over the world nowadays fail to understand the effect and importance of their intang ibles on the bottom line as the intangible resources are not reflected on a balance sheet. People are in habit to believe stable and proved facts that can be seen visually on the paper and from different documents, that is why, intangible assets are not so popular management strategy because they are not provided in writing.   In conditions of modern current economy a lot of companies can make sure their survivability and sustainability into the post depression era if they are able learn to ruin the brick and mortar attitude that has tainted corporate America. According to the statistics, seventy-five percent of value of any company can be traced to intangible resources (Ramu, 2000, p. 15). One main cause for mistake is a lack of understanding and the incapability of upper management to think outside the frames. The representatives of the management within a company having no ability to think outside the frames have the complexity in demonstrating new ideas to upper management in the usage of intangible resources influence. So why intangible resources are so significant for the company are so important to legitimize management authority? First of all, strong brands effect on consumers’ decision-making processes, as well as making sure that premium prices may be charged. This is mainly true in many businesses connected with consumers. At their best, they symbolize an assurance of excellence and quality and sometimes, when it deals with luxury brands, customers even gain social status from the brand. It can also maintain the fast development of new successful markets. For instance, Tesco, one of the UK’s primary retailers, succeed in penetrating financial services. Surely, the financial benefit of the company arises from intangible resources such as brands and consumer relationships. Intangible resources, therefore, provide with a potential competitive benefit, but being the resources they obviously require specialist management and excellent communication skills. Management’s capabil ity to bring its strategy is extremely dependent on its consumer relationships, brands and performance of main employees – all of which are also intangible resources for accounting purposes. The significance of these factors is obviously very important to a company’s productivity and to the sustainability of future performance of the company. So it will be more correctly to ask how it is possible to improve the management of these resources, rather than ask why it is so important. One more question of the paper that should be discussed is in what way the companies manage their intangible resources in modern market? Important management is concentrated on the brands to guarantee that the brand is exemplified in every sphere of the company’s outside and interior behaviors (Kaplan and Norton, 2004, p. 24). Brands are continually adapted and revitalized to act in response with variable consumer trends and to be in front of the competition, thus increasing their importance and value. But it is often hard to see financial information about the brand being examined and managed. For instance, the amount of money invested in a brand development is not constantly available.   Consumer relationships comprise one more critical intangible resource for a great number of companies. And, just as in the case with brands, there is a shortage of information about main consumers – including the duration of the relationship, the limits and the charge of supporting main relationships. This is particularly relevant to retailers and the production of customer loyalty card schemes points out the significance these organizations attach to this resource. In the modern market retailers now have better understanding of the desires and needs of their consumers. This information can be further translated into charge which could then be monitored and managed on the continuing basis. The financial result of changes to the way in which consumers are managed could then be frequently reported to the board and eventually to external parties. Everything mentioned above proves once again that intangible resources are extremely necessary to pay attention to and draw upon by the management. Although there is a widespread opinion that intangible resources are very significant to the future prosperity of any company, still there is a dilemma concerning their ongoing management as well as communicating their value. The fact that it can be rather hard to get the information required to administer and enhance the intangible resources, together with the understanding of this information, has held a lot of companies back. Nevertheless, investors, analysts and stakeholders insist on the importance of intangible resources, from the point of view of their usage and investigating (Grey and Willmott, 2005, p. 45). They come to realize, that there is a significant information gap concerning rational usage and studying of the intangible resources. That is why, the companies should move towards enhanced intangible asset management and improve systems of their usage.   Intangible resources are important for every company despite its size and sphere of business. Not only is there a co nvincing financial motive for more careful intangible resources management process, the tax and accounting systems are requiring that numbers are billed to intangible resources as part of accounting for attainments. The value of intangible resources is compulsory to be monitored on the constant basis, as it will help the company to improve its performance. Every company has its own intangible resources needed to pay attention to and it is the task of the management to see what asset requires attention and how it van be used to give maximum profits. Reference List Berkeley-Thomas A. (2003) Controversies in Management. London: Routledge. Grey C. (2009) Studying Organizations. ( 2nd ed.) London: Sage. Grey C. and Willmott H. (eds) (2005) Critical Management Studies: A Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kaplan, R. and Norton, K. ( 2004) Strategy Maps: Converting Intangible Assets into Tangible Outcomes. New York: Harvard Business Press Ramu, S. (2000) International Licensing: Managing Intangible Resources (Response Books). London: Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd

No topic Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

No topic - Case Study Example However, it is important to ensure proper management and assignment of duties to teams, otherwise, the teams will harbour more competition among members than creativity. Hence producing more frustration than facilitation spending more energy and time than it would take one person to complete the same task. Teams face a number of challenges during their time of operation. The most common problem among workers is poor communication, which can lead to project failure more so when it depends on proper communication among members of the team. Secondly, some teams may face unproductive conflicts where members of the team yell at one another and gossip hence breaking the working relationship among members. Identify common goal, develop open communication, and clarify roles and responsibility (Costa, Passos, & Bakker, 2014). Organisations should learn on how to avoid challenges or manage them as outlines in the article. One the companies should ensure that they identify a common goal of the team, develop open communication and clarify goals and responsibilities. The Coca-Cola Company sees its employees as the most valuable assets, the company’s organizes its members of staff into teams hence ensuring better performance. They are grouped into teams in their different areas of speciali sation. Torrente, P., Salanova, M., & Llorens, S. (2013). Spreading engagement: On the role of similarity in the positive contagion of team work engagement. Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 29,

Portofolio for proffesional development in education Essay

Portofolio for proffesional development in education - Essay Example Accordingly, I have carried out the following assessment of the teaching methodology I used. As per my tutor, there needs to be a greater knowledge base which would have the strong support of evidence throughout the assessment. I have done so by making use of theories that have been supported by various scholars so as to support each of the arguments I have put forth in the process of discussing and assessing the learning approach I have use. These include theory and practice relationship within teaching methodology as well as the learning outcomes of the learning approach used by me. These have been summed up as the evaluation in the conclusion. These elements of assessment have been used an integral part of the assignment rather than separate features, as pointed out by my tutor. To begin with, there has been a substantial amount of learning that I have managed to garner from the classes. Yet, the classes showed me that there is a lot to be desired in terms of definition of areas that signify real worthwhile learning. There also seems to be a confusion of thoughts with a plethora of concepts like globalization flying around. This has shown that there has been a steady merging of lines throughout the world with the convergence of theory and practice. ... With an increase in the phenomenon known as globalization and the wide use of technology as a complementary feature, human society has changed and the needs have increased manifold. This has been used in the teachings regarding acute pain during this class. In the case of healthcare teaching, changes in the political, economical and cultural arena have challenged and effected alterations within various professions. The autonomy of professions has been under challenge because the market has tried to decrease it so to reduce their power and status. Finally, all these changes have affected and put under challenge professional education. This is further evident in the following lines as mentioned by Robert B. Reich, when he says, "In this mercantilist game, one sovereign's advance (was) necessarily at the expense of another, because the whole point of the exercise (was) to gain more power than a potential opponent." (Reich, 1991, p.14). As assessed above, there has been a convergence of theory and practice, yet there are many gaps owing to the basic fact that there is yet to be a clear cut definition of how globalization affects the meeting of theory and practice. (Reich, 1991, p.14). This will create the real platform upon which worthwhile learning may be measured. Worthwhile learning is also getting increasingly difficult to measure and there needs to be better models that can support phenomenon like knowledge management so as to support complementary phenomena like globalization. Many scholars believe that theory and practice are characterized by a clear difference because each one offers a different, not opposite, knowledge field. According to Durkheim, theory refers to the knowledge that we