Reflective Account Essay Example for Free

Reflective Account Essay A new little boy started recently in nursery, as he entered nursery i bent down, smiled giving him eye contact i then said hello using his name and told him mine and he smiled back. He had never been to nursery before and he was very excited and had no awareness of the daily routine. i calmly held out my hand and he held out his. holding each others hands i showed him where his name card was, he picked up his name card and we walked over to the self-registration board. i asked him what he would like to play with and he chose to play with the cars. but during his play he become very upset because he wanted to play with the red car and another child had the red car. so i bent down and placed my arm around him and asked to look at me. Tears were rolling down his face and i explained to him that when the other child had finished playing with the red car he would be able to have a turn. i then sat down next to him to take turns in using the garage and sharing the cars. During the session i continued to support him, during lunch time and throughout the session. On occasions when he was unsure of what to do we went over to the routine board and talked him through the pictures so he knew what was happening next. Reflection I felt that i reassured him by letting him know who i was and at all times i made sure i gained his attention by using his name and ensure that he was listening by making sure we gained eye contact before speaking. I helped him with understanding the daily routine and I helped him with his social skills by supporting him with understanding the we need to take turns and share. Next time Next time I will carry on encouraging his social skills and communication skills by supporting him with sharing the toys and taking turns. I will also tell him the childrens names so he will feel part of a group and help with his self esteem. All while letting the child know I will be there to support him and help with his daily needs if he needs it.

Job Satisfaction, Work Attitude Essay Example for Free

Job Satisfaction, Work Attitude Essay As stated by Black (2001), teachers’ stress is rising due to such factors as greater time constraints, low salaries, excessive work overloads, lack of involvement in decision – making and problems with school disciplines. Teachers suffer, due to in part of to the low-pay-high-cost-of-living gap. Decisions handed from the top down leave teachers feeling like more trainers than educators. Teaching in low performing schools should be a rewarding experience, yet these schools are labelled failures. These are confounded as some educators are seen publicly lambasting others. The education community is on edge. With all the finger pointing and name calling, it is a wonder teacher can push this negativism out of their minds while they turn their full attention on their students (Nichols, 2006). Furthermore, a nationwide survey conducted by the Rural Editorial Service of the University of Chicago reported in July 2006 that job satisfaction depends also such factors as the community’s attitude toward them and the schools, the quality of educational leadership, the amount of responsibility granted to teachers, adequate housing facilities, teacher welfare benefits, and others. In point of fact, there were signal improvements in teachers’ conditions of service throughout the year. New or liberalized retirement plans were authorized by well over half the states, and class registrations were reduced to thirty in Maryland and Arkansas. In the Philippines, one of the major problems in the Department of Education is the shortage of trained and competent teachers. Major reason of this shortfall is that a number of trained teachers turn to other types of employment and some went abroad for greater employment opportunity. Generally, as observed that some teachers are disillusioned, demoralized and confused at being forced to carry out unpopular Government policies, while being constantly blamed for the society’s ills. Some factors might have created dissatisfaction amongst teachers will probably include references to discipline problems created by unruly pupils, class sizes, the introduction of the National Curriculum, and lowered professional status. Additional factors also include level of salaries and benefits, increased work-related pressures, like having too many forms to be filled up, the here and now changes of different proposed programs of the department, the concern over employment security like the most recently problem on the Government Security Insurance System (GSIS) and lessening support for education on the part of political opportunities. As someone who has spent many years working as a schoolteacher at the same time a School In – charge in one of the schools in Davao City, and had continually work closely with teachers especially in the schools in the interland. I have observe that some teachers are somewhat fed up with having to teach children in even larger classes, working in schools which are dilapidated, underfunded and overstretched. Taking in to account that most of these teachers are working away from their home and family and could only go home weekly, or the least once a month due to the distance of the schools they are assigned. However, districts located in the hinterland such as Paquibato, had most number of teacher applicants every year. Reason of this scenario could be the fact that many teachers are applying for transfer to the nearby schools after a one or two years of service and that applicant could be hired easily. Nevertheless, some teachers had tenured in this district up to their retirement period and some had flourished and raised their professional status and positions. The ground for conducting this study is that it is intended to shed light on what influences how teachers feel about their work and profession so that positive job-related attitudes may be cultivated. Theoretical Background The Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, a motivation theory, laid the foundation for job satisfaction theory. It is founded in the premise that goals or needs underpin by being the fundamental source of all desires. This theory explains that people seek to satisfy five specific needs in life – physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, self-esteem needs, and self-actualization. In the levels of the five basic needs, the person does not feel the second need until the demands of the first have been satisfied, nor the third until the second has been satisfied, and so on (Evan,2010). According to Hackman Oldham (2007), Frederick Herzberg’s Two factor theory (also known as Motivator Hygiene Theory) attempts to explain satisfaction and motivation in the workplace. This theory states that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are driven by different factors – motivation and hygiene factors, respectively. An employee’s motivation to work is continually related to job satisfaction of a subordinate. Motivation can be seen as an inner force that drives individuals to attain personal and organizational goals. Motivating factors are those aspects of the job that make people want to perform, and provide people with satisfaction, for example achievement in work, recognition, promotion opportunities. These motivating factors are considered to be intrinsic to the job, or the work carried out. Hygiene factors include aspects of the working environment such as pay, company policies, supervisory practices, and other working conditions. However, Path-Goal Theory contends that the leader must motivate subordinates by: (1) emphasizing the relationship between the subordinates own needs and the organizational goals; (2) clarifying and facilitating the path subordinates must take to fulfill their own needs as well as the organizations needs (google. com,2010) Another well-known job satisfaction theory is the Dispositional Theory (Jackson April 2007). Accordingly, it is a very general theory that suggests that people have innate dispositions that cause them to have tendencies toward a certain level of satisfaction, regardless of one’s job. This approach became a notable explanation of job satisfaction in light of evidence that job satisfaction tends to be stable over time and across careers and jobs. Moreover, a significant model that narrowed the scope of the Dispositional Theory was the Core Self-evaluations Model, proposed by Timothy A. Judge in 1998. Judge argued that there are four Core Self-evaluations that determine one’s disposition towards job satisfaction: self-esteem, general self-efficacy, locus of control, and neuroticism. This model states that higher levels of self-esteem (the value one places on his/her self) and general self-efficacy (the belief in one’s own competence) lead to higher work satisfaction. Having an internal locus of control (believing one has control over herhis own life, as opposed to outside forces having control) leads to higher job satisfaction. Finally, lower levels of neuroticism lead to higher job satisfaction (Wikipedia,2010). Evans (2001), gives eight stages progression for a teacher moving from a modest level of job satisfaction towards a higher level of job satisfaction towards which is helpful. These are the following: first is being aware that there is a problem. Being aware that there is an issue, and agreeing what issue is, is by far the most important aspect of seeking to change a situation. Then devising a strategy. Once they know what the issue is that they are addressing they can start work on devising a strategy to solve it. It is followed by effecting the new strategy. It means that once they have decided what to do, they have to start work on implementing this strategy. Fourth stage is awareness of having made changes work. This implies that there is excellent communication in school. Next stage is perception that this is all worthwhile. By this stage everyone needs to start feeling better about the work being undertaken. Then sixth stage is each teacher needs to feel good about his or her own contribution to the scheme of change. In this way, teachers become not only positive about the change programme, but they also see their contribution as being significant. Seventh is a sense of achievement. This comes from the feeling of a job well done. Lastly is job fulfilment and job comfort. By this stage teachers feel good about themselves and about the job and most important about their ability to affect their meaningful way. However, according to Weis, (2010) job satisfaction can also be seen within the broader context of the range of issues which affect an individuals experience of work, or their quality of working life. Job satisfaction can be understood in terms of its relationships with other key factors, such as general well-being, stress at work, control at work, home-work interface, and working conditions. Stress as defined by Hans Selye, is the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it. It is not nervous tension, but the wear and tear of life. Stress describes the effects of the body’s reaction to pressure. The source of stress, called stressor, may be purely physical, social, or psychological. The mind may interpret it as pleasant or unpleasant. Whatever meaning it gives, the mind sends it via two pathways. One pathway, is known as the subconscious appraisal pathway, is responsible for the physical and emotional reflexes of the body. The other pathway, responsible for voluntary actions, is used for perception, evaluation, and decision – making. In this other pathway, the individual is made aware of the environmental demands. As he perceives his situation, he interprets it according to his previous experiences, value system, self-concept, ego-strengths, attitudes and feelings. Emotions are usually aroused which in turn give color to the person’s interpretation (Fabella, 2008). According to Good Health Handbook, life and stress are interwoven with each other. It depends on how you view life and how stress affects you. Stress is a highly individual phenomenon. It is strange in its own way – because when it occurs it becomes difficult for the body and mind to adjust to the pattern of life. However, Fabella stated in his book, that stress can be minimized and channelled for growth and development, and life can be filled with joy, peace, love and security. He added accordingly, that stress- resilient people have been observed to have a specific set of attitudes toward life- an openness to change, a feeling of involvement in whatever they are doing, and a sense of control over events. He further said that man who places his entire self in the sphere of work neglecting love (family) and play (sports, hobbies, socializing, friendships) decreases his overall adaptability. If he defines his existence in terms of achievement in his work, he will find that if for external reasons (i,e. , poor health) or boredom ( loss of interest or loss of faith in his employer) his work loses meaning, then so will his life. He will become demoralized, confused, and unable to function. Mayo Clinic stated that there is a link between work approach and job satisfaction. Work is often approached from three perspectives. Usually all three perspectives are important for job satisfaction, but one is often the priority: First is, Its a job. If you approach work as a job, you focus primarily on the financial rewards. In fact, the nature of the work may hold little interest for you. Whats important is the money. If a job with more pay comes your way, youll likely move on. Next is, Its a career. If you approach work as a career, youre interested in advancement. You want to climb the career ladder as far as possible or be among the most highly regarded professionals in your field. Youre motivated by the status, prestige and power that come with the job. The third is, Its a calling. If you approach your job as a calling, you focus on the work itself. You work less for the financial gain or career advancement than for the fulfillment the work brings. One approach isnt necessarily better than the others. But it is helpful to reflect on why work if unsatisfied with the job and are ready to move on. Think about what originally drew on the current job, and whether it may be a factor in lack of job satisfaction. Additionally, the Clinic noted several ways to increase job satisfaction depending on the underlying cause of the lack of job satisfaction. One is by Improving job skills. Keeping abreast to the new strategies and techniques, and by attending seminars. Developing a new project also helps. Working on something one care about can boost confidence. Mentoring a co-worker. Once a job is mastered, it is a becoming routine. Helping a new co-worker or an intern advance his or her skills can restore the challenge and the satisfaction you desire. However, when personal abilities do not match the responsibilities, boredom will attack. Keep in mind that boredom can literally be deadly if a job involves working with machinery or caring for people, much more on dealing with children. If the mind is wandering to the point that a life or the lives of others is put in jeopardy, take action now. Stay positive. Use positive thinking to reframe thoughts about the job. Changing one’s attitude about work will not necessarily happen overnight or increase job satisfaction overnight. Stop negative thoughts. Put things in perspective. Look for the silver lining. Reframing can help find the good in a bad situation. Learn from mistakes. Failure is one of the greatest learning tools, but many people let failure defeat them. Be grateful. Gratitude can help focus on whats positive about the job.

Success Or Failure Of The Euro Currency Economics Essay

Success Or Failure Of The Euro Currency Economics Essay Chapter 1: Introduction: When the European Union was founded in 1957 their initial endeavor was to establish a common market. However they found this idea not taking shape as their financial objectives didnt seem to prosper due to lack of a common c. In 1992, the Maastricht Treaty paved the way for a single c for the EU. Its been a decade since euro had been floated into the international markets. With its introduction in the rush for globalization saw many gains for euro in terms of increase in cross-border capital, trade, and outsourcing, securities and foreign exchange markets turnover as well as in cross-border asset holdings. The decade even saw a huge mounting up of foreign reserves due to growing current account imbalances. With euro taking the role of an international c, there had been drastic changes in the international markets with portfolios being shifted from dollar-denominated to euro-denominated which had led to depreciation in dollar. Moreover Bank of Chinas opinion to support stronger currencies had added to the dollar depreciation. Research aim: The main aim of the research is to understand the sustainability of euro based on financial, economic and political factors. With the euro combining various markets into a single European market, consumer welfare has improved. This had led to convergence of money and capital markets through increased competition, market liquidity and transparency in operation with economies of scale and scope. Euro has gained the potential of risk diversification and more efficient allocation of capital resources. Elimination of exchange rate risk has increased price transparency, thereby reducing transaction costs and boosting competition in international markets. Research objective: The primary intention is to analyze if the future of euro is moving towards success or failure given the social, economic and political factors. While the euro c as well as its policy framework has attributed to stability and prosperity in euro area, the global crisis identified the necessity to strengthen European economic governance as a remedy against future challenges. Euro has gained importance in global markets by allowing global public and private investors to diversify their asset allocation and borrowers to find other sources of funding. Proper and timely actions by the European Financial stability Facility had helped a great extent in safeguarding euro so far. With the European Stability Mechanism being activated till June 2013, financial stability of the euro area is expected to be in full transparency so as to revive in times of financial distress. Research questions: Will the size of the economy help in sustaining the euro stability? Will focus on international trade help in stabilizing? Based on the size, depth, liquidity and openness of the domestic financial markets, can the euro be stabilized? Is the euro stable enough to ensure easy convertibility of its c? Can macroeconomics play a vital role in preserving euro stability? Significance of the study: The study aims to implicate the following: Need for further economic amalgamation so as to tackle problems in times of crisis. Need for a banking union thereby giving control to European Central Bank (ECB) to oversee all euro-zone banks in one step process. Government efforts are needed in order to devise economic and fiscal outline which are essential to the euro c. Efforts are also needed from financial market participants and supervisors, given that the maintenance of the financial market stability plays a crucial role for monetary and macroeconomic stability. Research objectives: The main objective of this report is to assess the success or failure of implementing a unified c, being the Euro c. Examining this topic yields a look into the viability of having a uniform c across a region with similar economic and political attributes. When the idea of a single c was first suggested, doubts raised as to the credibility of the governance as each member states had different political heads. With the single c, however all these political heads would be combined as one governing body to govern all member states. However in a region with similar economic and political attributes, the idea seemed successful with the formation of EU which consisted of European Council to manage course of actions and to suggest new laws; the European parliament to discuss on and endorse laws suggested by the council finally the European Commission with personnel to accomplish the laws. The EU helped a great deal in providing effective governance in the Euro-zone which helped European economy overtake US economy in 2009 with a trade of $14.5 trillion against US trade of $14.3 trillion, thereby accounting to 40% of the worlds economic power. Further, researching the different factors and aspects of what makes a c succeed or fail in meeting its set objectives shall provide insight into understanding the dynamics of the relationship between members of the EU. The vital factors that help judge the efficacy of a c are the size of the economy, political stability, and role in international trade, transparency and openness in domestic markets, easy convertibility to cash and impact of macroeconomics in preserving euro. Relationship between EU members had been strengthened after the launch of euro. Thats because almost 17 of the 27 member states have approved euro. It has also paved the way for a single monetary council to govern the functioning of euro throughout the euro-zone. Moreover cross border trade had increased which was mainly due to creation of single c which cuts transaction costs. Transparency had also been maintained with the euro in domestic markets without price fluctuations. Tourism had also increased with the launching of euro, as tourists didnt have to keep changing their currencies when travelling around the euro-zone. This way Euro ensured easy convertibility of cash. Finally member countries which were financially rich in EU were used to backup poorer economies in EU, thereby ensuring financial stability whenever any of the macroeconomic components triggered a threat to EU. It was this backup which helped euro from failing to a greater extent when the 2008 crisis broke out. The report also provides ground for analyzing the advantages of poorer EU member states adopting the Euro c. This will check the economic drive that can occur from having a monetary union between countries with varying economic statures. The advantages of poorer economies joining the euro can be said to be both an advantage as well as a disadvantage. Its an advantage as even if they fail to repay bills owing to crisis, with the help of EMU they would get help from the richer economies in EU to repay the bills. Disadvantage can be attributed to the fact that salaries may be lesser in less productive areas when compared to salaries of employees in higher production areas. This advantage is due to the fact that all of these employees are now paid in Euros. So indirectly it can pose a threat as the standard of living may vary from place to place, but the salaries remain the same, thereby generating problems in getting even basic daily household things. For example, we may consider the following example between Greece and Germany. Item 2000 2010 Greek German Greek German Number of cups made an hour 5 5 10 20 Employee wage per hour 5 drachma 5 euro 10 euro 12 euro Cost of making a cup 1 drachma 1 euro 1 euro 0.60 euro The above example gives an insight as to more production at lower price thereby encouraging more demand gaining big. However Greece seems to be losing the race. The report also will touch on the aftermath of failures in the Euro, if any, and the remedial measures that can be adopted in case of such failures. This also gives indication to other regions that may want to adopt the strategies used by the Euro while avoiding the negative aspects of the Euro example. There is a perception in euro that it is working only in favour of France and Germany, but the real fact is these countries have achieved little in terms of bargaining success. Even if they had been doing well, ii happens that in times of debt by other EU countries, such rich countries will have to take the burden of clearing unpaid bills, thereby making it impossible for such countries to decide on their infrastructure plans. Moreover in the aftermath of 2008 crisis, TARGET 2 set for the purpose of clearing euro combined all imbalances between banks in the euro-zone. However this failed to meet its objective right from 2007 till 2011, there was an increase in the capital from weaker countries. When the entire euro-zone was undergoing crisis, Germany was doing relatively well, thereby showing diversification in thoughts in terms of social and political issues. In order to prevent failing of euro, policies have to be effectively modified in such a way that there is a win-win situation between both the financially rich and poorer countries, thereby ensuring equal competition. In times of crisis, EU member states can increase inflation rates for a while thereby ensuring their economic growth steady enough to get away from rising debts. However these two can be achieved only with political integration by all EU member states. Having a monetary union and examining its performance is an example set by the Euro. In case of a failure of the c, the report will try to highlight the possibility of discontinuing the circulation of the unified c and reverting to each countrys earlier adopted c. This success can be attributed to ECB cutting down the interest rates 3 times in 2012, thereby lowering borrowing costs creating confidence among investors in euro market that a euro-breakup would not be imminent. In short to say, collapse of the euro is not bound to happen soon, however the stability of euro is unclear in the future. Data collection method: The first hand data will be gathered by distributing questionnaires and analyzing the results. The questionnaires shall be distributed on three banks in the Kingdom of Bahrain which deal with the euro c. The secondary data has been taken from European commission website on inflation in the Euro area from 1960s to 2000s, fiscal position of the euro area in 1992, 1998 and 2007, mean intra-Euro-area correlation between Gross Domestic Product and Industrial Production, two indicators namely the number of years with negative gap sum of negative gaps as a percentage of GDP, macroeconomic performance indicators. Sample selection and selection criteria: The sample chosen are the employees of three banks in Bahrain who invest and deal with euro c. The banks are: Arcapita GFH Gulf Finance House ABC Arab Banking Corporation Survey methodology: The methodology involved analyzing the parameters for significance with the datas obtained from first hand and second hand data which are the survey and other previously published material. The magnitude of a countrys financial system is very vital to decide on its prospective use in the global markets. The global trade and magnitude of a countrys financial markets are related to the economic size. For instance, if we consider the export output between Korea and US, the former accounts for a much greater contribution. However as the US economy is 14 times larger than the Korean thereby making it embrace a much larger share in the world exports. The share of a country in international trade, the size and economy as well as the openness in financial markets forms determinants for demand of that countrys c in global markets. Chapter 2: Literature reviews: Some believe that Euro has failed to perform the required needs or reach the final destination of welfare for all. Instead it has become burden. Others believe that Euro has resulted in bringing a unity among the European nations which helped them to fight out the Economic depression seen in the last decade. The convertibility of a currency also forms a major determinant for demand of that currency, because unless there are less restrictions money is exchanged smoothly thereby ensuring increase in demand of currency. For example after World War II, most of the countries except US restricted their convertibility of currency thereby making US dollar readily available in markets increasing dollar demand. Following table gives a justification to the above determinants: Parameters United States Euro-area Japan Share of world GDP (%) 21.9 15.8 7.6 Share of world exports (%) 15.3 19.4 9.3 Financial markets ($ billions) 40,543.8 24,133.4 20,888.5 Bank assets ($ billions) 7,555.3 12,731.3 6,662.5 Domestic debt securities outstanding ($ billions) 15.426.3 5,521.9 6,444.9 Stock market capitalization ($ billions) 17,562.2 5,880.2 7,781.4 Following are some more factors that help to support and strengthen the study: 2.1 Macroeconomic level: Price stability and low-cost borrowing by European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) helped ensure macroeconomic stability in Europe. Euro helped put an end to changes in exchange rates within Europe owing to changes from outside Europe. The following graph shows improvement in inflation performance thereby leading to sharp decline in price volatility. 2.2. distinction of the strength of the currencies Similar lines of reasoning can be found in Magee and Rao (1980). They make a distinction between strong and weak currencies according to low and high inflation currencies. The intuition behind this being that in trade between low inflation industrial and high inflation developing countries, the low inflation currency of the industrial country dominates. Also, for trade in primary products a vehicle currency might be optimal. The importance of the choice between different currencies came back into the economic discussion when major exchange rates became flexible after the breakdown of Breton Woods in 1973. Viaene and de Vries (1992) take strategic bargaining considerations into account and introduce a forward market. In their model, exporters and importers bargain over the invoicing currency. Both are assumed to prefer their own currency, respectively. Viaene and de Vries find that the dominance of the exporters currency  can be due either to the first mover advantage of the exporting firm or to the monopoly power of the exporter who is more likely to have bargaining power as the firm faces a wide spread demand and not many competitors. 2.3 Currency risk Summing up the early literature, the main findings are that traders seek to avoid currency  risk by using their own currency and that, in trade between industrialized countries exporters are in general more likely to be able to avoid the currency risk.   When currencies are free to fluctuate there is, however, not only the issue of price uncertainty but also  demand uncertainty. 2.4 Invoicing currency: Donnenfeld and Zilcha (1991) present a first formal model in which a firms choice of invoicing currency is analyzed. They are also among the first to develop a model on the Microeconomic level in which the firm optimizes its profits. The main finding of Donnenfeld and Zilcha is that LCP is optimal for the exporting firm if the total revenue curve is concave in the foreign price. This is the case when the sensitivity of demand with respect to prices is not much higher the higher the price level. That is, if the price is set in producer currency and increases (in foreign currency) due to an appreciation of the exporting firms currency, profits will fall because demand will be reduced by more than the increase in profits due to the higher price received. In the case of depreciation, demand is not extended enough to compensate for the lower price the exporting firm receives, because demand is less sensitive to the price at the lower price level. If this is the case, higher variability in foreign prices, which comes with higher volatility in the exchange rate under PCP, lowers expected profits. Thus, under these conditions, high exchange rate volatility would lead the exporting firm to choose LCP.   2.5 Currency Market: Friberg (1997) extends the literature by including into the model a forward currency  market and the possibility to set prices in a third currency: vehicle currency  pricing (VCP). As in Donnenfeld and Zilcha the choice of the optimal currency setting is closely linked to the price elasticity of foreign demand. The second best currency pricing strategy depends on the relative exchange rate volatilities. If the exchange rate towards the vehicle currency exhibits low volatility compared to the bilateral exchange rate of the exporter and importer, VCP is preferred and vice versa.   Now, even under LCP the demand for the firms product is uncertain because the competitors might not price in local currency. In such a case fixing the relative price of the competing products can be important to the exporters so they might choose a common vehicle currency. This finding of choosing the currency  of the competitor is also common to a number of other studies. 2.6 Pricing Strategy: In particular, Bacchetta and van Wincoop (2002) use a NOEM model to analyze the optimal pricing strategy of exporters.  In a very elaborate general equilibrium framework that also takes into account exchange rate dependent costs they derive similar conclusions to those of Donnenfeld and Zilcha. 2.7 demand sensitivity of costs and price The driving factors for exporters to care about their relative prices are the demand sensitivity of costs and the price sensitivity of demand. It can be said that the higher the product differentiation, the lower the price sensitivity of demand. Exporters will, thus, prefer to invoice in their own currency if their products are highly differentiated, while they will pay attention to holding their relative prices constant if their products are less differentiated. This does not mean that less differentiated products are always invoiced in LCP, however. 2.8 market share of the exporting country in the foreign market Bacchetta and van Wincoop build into their model the market share of the exporting country in the foreign market that is, the share of the market that is accounted for by firms from a particular country or monetary area. Demand risk is minimized by invoicing in the currency that is most similar to the average invoicing currency chosen by competitors (Bacchetta and van Wincoop 2002, p. 15). For a monetary union, it is the market share of the entire currency union that matters and not the market share of an individual country. Exports of a monetary union are therefore more likely to be priced in producer currency, and imports to a monetary union more likely to be priced in local currency, because the monetary unions market share is more likely to be dominant. Goldberg and Tille (2005) call this behavior of choosing the currency of the competitor a herding effect. In their partial equilibrium three country model a dominant share of a currency other than the one of the exporter or the importer can make vehicle currency pricing the optimal choice. This herding effect takes place for industries with homogeneous goods where producers aim at keeping their prices relative to the competitors stable. Goldberg (2005) elaborates on this model by including a covariance between marginal cost and exchange rates. There is then also a hedging motive to choose a currency so that the exchange rate is correlated in such a way to shocks to exporters costs that marginal costs are positively correlated with marginal revenue. 2.9 Two-country dynamic general equilibrium model The most elaborate model so far was introduced by Devereux, Engel and Storegaard (2003). Using a two-country dynamic general equilibrium model with sticky prices, these authors analyze the implications of endogenous exchange rate pass-through. Their results show that the degree of pass-through depends on the relative stability of monetary policy; countries with relatively low monetary volatility experience low rates of exchange rate pass- through. The reason is that firms in both countries have an incentive to set their prices in the currency of the country with the low monetary volatility.  As a consequence, the country with low monetary volatility is shielded against exchange rate movements.   2.10 The export pricing behavior Engel (2005) analyses the export pricing behavior of firms in a static model, both in an environment with flexible and with fixed prices. He shows that the choice between producer currency pricing and local currency  pricing is independent of the degree of sluggishness in price adjustment. Under flexible price adjustment, producer currency pricing is optimal if the variance of the export price in the firms own currency is less than the variance of the price in the local currency of the importer. The same holds in an environment of fixed prices.   Summing up the theoretical literature the most important finding is that the optimal pricing strategies are very sensitive to the set of assumptions. In particular, the level of risk aversion and the existence of forward markets to hedge exchange rate risks matter for the results. First and foremost, however, the sensitivity of foreign demand to prices matters, which can be approximated by the homogeneity or differentiation of the product. When demand is sensitive to prices the market share of the exporting country, or more specifically, the currency used by the competitors matters. When the optimal currency choice depends on the currency used by competitors, herding in the same currency is optimal. Also, currencies of countries with monetary stability are more likely to be chosen as invoicing currency. 2.11 The Failure of the Euro Martin Feldstein (2012). As the author mentioned, the euro now shall be known as an experiment that failed. This failure, since the euro was first introduced, in 1999, was not an accident or the result of bureaucratic mismanagement but rather the inevitable results of imposing a single currency on a very heterogeneous group of countries. The adverse economic consequences of the euro include the sovereign debt crises in many European countries, the breakable condition of major European banks, high levels of unemployment crosswise the euro-zone, and the large trade deficits which now block most euro-zone countries. The political goal of creating a harmonious Europe has failed too. France and Germany have dictated hurtful austerity actions in Greece and Italy as a state of their financial help. Paris and Berlin have clashed over the role of the European Central Bank (ECB)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹â€ and over how the burden of financial help will be shared. The early impetus that led to the European Monetary Union and the euro was political, not economic. European politicians rationalized that as the use of a common currency would instill in their publics a greater sense of belonging to a European community and that the shift of responsibility for monetary policy from national capitals to a single central bank in Frankfurt would signal a shift of political power. Michael Sivy (2011), as usually said big stories dont break, they ooze. The demise of the Euro is just such a story. Hence each time it oozes, U.S. stock markets drop. The collapse of the Euro, is now inevitable, in the authors view. When it happens, banks around the globe will be shaken and stock markets will plummet. Academics, journalists and even government officials have projected a set of schemes to save the Euro new European financial institutions, Eurobonds backed by all the countries collectively and even a United States of Europe. However it is clear that any such scheme to save the Euro would find little political support. The breakup will perhaps be extremely painful. Nevertheless, the alternatives may be even more unpalatable.

Inward Cheque Clearing Process

Inward Cheque Clearing Process The paperless environment has evolved and booming now. Nowadays, financial institutions constantly enhance the choice of the products and services to win the customer. Furthermore, this is the era where banks strive to become excellent service provider by exceeding customers expectation. With electronic documents allow a company to save time, increasing efficiency and providing excellent customer service. Hence, imaging technologies gives the required platform that needed to achieve this competitive edge. Check clearing process in Malaysia has evolved from paper pushing to paperless. Day by day, customer deposit and issue out checks. Despite many payment methods available in Malaysia such as Internet banking, mobile banking, Interbank GIRO, Rentas (Real Time Fund Transfer System) and others, check instrument remains an important payment method used in Malaysia. According to the statistic from Bank Negara Malaysia (Malaysian Central Bank), it is evident that check payment is the most preferred payment method now and in times to come. Although there is sign of decline from year 2007 onwards which is due to an emergence of electronic banking, but cheque will remain high as the funds movement exceeded trillion. As such, BNM has implemented Cheque Truncation and Cheque Conversion (CTCS) process on 16th June 2008 where all espick participants duly implemented and in operation since then. Manual Processing Image-based cheque clearing process, replaces the physical cheque flow with electronic data and image flow throughout the clearing cycle. The process eliminates the movement of the physical cheque from various intermediary levels in the clearing process and hence, reduces the delays in the clearing process. Ideally, the movement of the physical cheque should stop at the bank/branch of first deposit (The collecting bank branch). This, in return, increases operational efficiency through expedient payment and receipt of funds, reduces the operational cost through the reduction or redeployment of redundant resources used for handling cash and cheques, and expedites the clearing process in the industry. Due to CTCS introduction, the physical cheques will be kept by the collecting bank after their images and MICR ( Magnetic Ink Character Recognition(MICR) code line data have been captured and the readability verified. To ensure the quality of images that have captured, cheques will be required to adhere to image friendly design standards and specifications. Electronic imaging places new requirement on the overall design of cheques so that they are readily legible when viewing their images, rather than the physical cheque itself. The design standard has to ensure that all essential information, including hand-written data and machine-printed date, will be captured by the imaging process. The captured images will be usable and legible, and that the file sizes of images will be small enough so that they can be stored and moved in a cost justified manner. Furthermore, check truncation has been implemented in many countries like US, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. Due to banking secrecy, the name of the bank that will be used in this report is Kaybank Berhad. This is an international bank with 11 branches in Malaysia which is mostly in urban and semi urban area. Hence, this bank has huge customer base including consumer and corporate business. There are 4 types of processes for cheque clearing Inward Cheque Clearing Kaybank cheques Outward Returned Cheque Clearing Kaybank cheques that need to be returned due technical error, stop payment or insufficient funds Outward Cheque Clearing Other banks cheques deposited at Kaybank Inward Returned Other banks returned check due to technical error, stop payment or insufficient funds The author will discuss about the Inward Clearing process in this report as it is an important process and high in volume. There is cut off time to complete the process within BNM clearing window (1.00pm) daily. And resources required to perform this task is high. Attached is the process of Cheque Clearing for the industry. Process Flow of Cheque Clearing Source : www.myclear.org.my To elaborate further on this process, if a customer deposited a Kaybank Cheque of RM 20,000.00 into his/her account at Citibank, the image and the data of the check will be transmitted to Myclear (Subsidiary of Bank Negara Malaysia) via a gateaway system (NWI). Base on the MICR data, the said account will be debited of RM 20,000.00 and the funds will be credited to customers account with Kaybank. In this case, the collecting bank will be Citibank and the paying bank will be Kaybank. The turnaround time for the availability of funds is 2 days. Process Map for Inward Clearing process at Kaybank Image Verify Approve Data transfer to Check verification System Download of Inward file from Myclear Upload of espick data to Kaybank system Reject the image Yes No Second level checking Yes No Reversal of customers account Upload Returned file to Myclear Performance Objectives Kaybanks key strategy is to grow their Consumer business and Corporate business. The consumer business division continuously invests in new products and service innovations to increase its presence in Malaysia and to expand its private banking segment. However, its Corporate business has a core group of customers to which Kaybank leverages global presence to provide excellent quality financial products and services. However, both businesses have continues to improve the customer experience. It has also improves operational efficiency by constant reengineering programs. The main objective of Cheque Clearing Unit is to support both businesses by delivering excellence service to the customers by managing their Current Accounts with error free and to manage operational cost effectively. By shifting to CTCS process, Kaybank has improved the performance objectives of operation in clearing process as follows; Dependability Banks are losing million of money due to fraud cheque. With CTCS process, banks reduced the losses tremendously as the liability to pay in the event of fraud check has been shifted to collecting bank. The collecting bank has to check under the Ultra Violet and the security features on the check and tag the item if it is fraud to preempt the paying bank. System is controlled by Myclear and quarterly testing been conducted to ensure no vulnerability of the system. Continuity of business plan has been established in the event there is a crisis due to network issues or others. Automation where cheques been automatically debited by the system instead of manual posting. Straight through processing been achieved where no manual invention is required. Reduced customers complaint on missing cheques when mailing out as it could be lost in transit. Now, with image base returned item, customer cant use back the same cheque for representment. Data file will be encrypted before sending files to respective branches or clearing house. High security features established and files sent or received would not be compromised. Better reconciliation and fraud prevention Speed Customers are happy as float days of cheque was reduced from 8 days to 2days. And house check payment is given an immediate credit. Under the manual environment staff needs to perform 500 physical cheques verification for 5 hours but with CTCS each staff can perform 750 checks in 4 hours. Customers complaints will be resolved within a day as under the manual environment it takes 3 days. Staff productivity increased and performing multi tasking. Cost Staff overtime has been reduced tremendously and having quality time with their family. Manual process requires 12 working hours for each staff compare to just 8 hours now. Calculation of saving are as follows: Cost saving on Overtime = 30 Staff x 4 hours = 120 hours a days x 23 days = 1760 x 22.50 per hour = RM 39,600.00 per month Hence, for month the bank has saved an approximately RM 39,600.00 in overtime due to CTCS process. Cost of purchasing the system is only one time and maintenance and licensing rental is lower compare to physical cheques management. Staff transport claims and meal allowances were reduced to none as theay are not required to work long hours anymore. No shipment of cheques to Clearing House is required now due to transmission of data. There are 30 staff been employed previously to manage inward clearing volume of 40, 000 daily but now only required 18 staff. The other 12 staffs were redeployed. Retention period of cheque is only a year under CTCS as compare to 7 years previously. Daily a total of 40,000 cheques processed daily and requires 10 boxes to place the cheques. The saving calculation is as follows; = 10 boxes x 23 working days = 230 boxes x 2.50 monthly storage per box = RM 575.00 x 12 (months) x 6 (Years) = RM 41,400.00 Hence, for month the bank has saved an approximately RM 41,400.00 due to CTCS process. Flexibility Maintain Audit Log where it monitors the user details and accessibility Prepares or generate MIS report for volume tracking and for departmental budget planning. It is also a core banking system online approach to upload or download data or batches. Interfaces with internal and external system like signature verification system, Cheque deposit Machines and clearing house. It has provided centralized cheques clearing processing and supporting branches from Penang and Johor Bahru where previously under difference clearing zone. Quality Customers are happy with the service as their cheques are now safe from fraudsters. Inward Clearing process is simple and the staff can perform multi function and deliver good quality of work as they are not required to work long hours. Each transaction under CTCS is controlled by Unique Identifier Code (UIC) which is a unique reference number printed on the back of the cheque by the collecting bank and it will make the retrieval for investigation ad presenting of unpaid items are easier. Better controls established due to simplified process and enhancement and will not lead to financial losses or customer issues. Cheque Verification System Kaybank has invested in a E-flow system for check verification. This system is supported by in house Technology team. Once Inward Clearing data downloaded from the Gateaway system, it will be downloaded to the E-flow system for verification. Each workstation will have a single Central Processing Unit (CPU) and 2 monitors. One to view the image and the other monitor is to display the signature. There are 7 types of cheques processed and each will have a different process and approach. Hence, images and MICR data downloaded to E-flow system and will get sorted and channel to the respective station. For control purpose, the main function for this system is display the image for verification purpose and reconciliation. Kaybank has also emphasized on second level verification for certain threshold to avoid any mistake done by the first level verifiers. However, there are some flaws in this system as follows; The system has limited products. As of now, the system was designed to cater 7 products and if there is an additional product in the market and Kaybank wanted to implement it, there will be an issue. It may mix up with other products. If a particular product it to be ceased, then the station will be remain there. For example, Credit Card cheque has been stopped by Kaybank due fraud vulnerability since Septemeber 2010. The station is there and it cant be removed as it would involve cost. Any changes or addition into this system involve cost and it is expensive. Tagging of checks as altered by the collecting bank is subject to readability of the person who verify the said cheque. Hence, the CTCS ruling astablised by myclear is unclear. As it is subjected to apparent alteration sight by the processor. In the event, the cheque has been washed and altered and the alteration on the check is not apparent, then the collecting bank is not liable for the losses. In turn, it will be shifted to the paying bank to pay the losses. This rule in unclear and it is not good for the industry. Inward Clearing Volumes from January 2010 till October 2010 Source : Internal MIS for Inward Clearing Transactions Emerging Technologies On the other hand, cheque fraud costs Malaysia millions of losses a year and presents severe challenges to the industry. Hence, a better system needs to be deployed for the effectiveness of the current process. Payee Match Positive Pay Application technology has already started in U.S as it was developed by Parascript, LLC, Niwot, Colorado, U.S. The main objective of this system is to combat cheque fraud. The system is designed to read a cheques payee line information and cross validate the data provided to the bank by the customer via Cheque Issue File. This system assures accuracy and significant reduction of check fraud. Furthermore, with if this system should be implemented, funds can be made available in T + 1 (One day Clearing). If the adoption of this technology is feasible, then they will be no impact to the process as it works the same and the only difference is the system. Referring to the projected volume, for product like Paylink, Manager Check, Payment Order and to some extent corporate customers the verification can be automated. Since companies update Kaybank with their list of the cheques issued out the beneficiary, this system can perform auto match and approved the transaction without manual intervention. The system could be expensive but in long them, there will be no fraud cheque . Genichi Taguchi (Nigel Slack, Operation Management), has highlighted to test the robustness of a design to ensure it withstands any change. However, in this case the changes only affect the system as all verifiers need to verify some number of cheques daily. The terminal is stationed at their respective workstation. Hence, there is no impact on the job design, layout and flow or operations. Although, the volume will decrease to some extent as with current capacity, staff may need to verify cheque lesser. On the other hand, with the implementation of new system, staff has to be trained and they could be error prone as this will be totally a new system. Recommendation With regards to the system enhancement, Myclear as a regulator should take the lead and supervise clearing process. Internally, Kaybank may able to deploy a good system but Positive Pay system is very new and extremely expensive where a single bank will hesitate to buy the system. However, with the involvement of Myclear and all member banks, all should share the cost to bring the system to Malaysia to develop together. With this, the cost will be cheaper and can be affordable and all the intermediaries will have a common platform to work with. Conclusion Although, the current system deployed by Kaybank is reliable, there will be no assurance when the fraudster will strike the banking industry with their sophisticated technologies. Hence, BNM, Myclear, ABN (Association of Banks) and member banks must pursue other alternative to prevent fraud attempt by the fraudsters sooner. The Police too have to amend laws to draft severe punishment to nab the fraudster.

Revelations and Parker?s Back Essay -- essays research papers fc

Revelations and Parker’s Back   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story â€Å"Revelations† by Flannery O’Connor portrays the character of Ms. Turpin as a very hypocritical Christian. It’s absurd how obvious she is in her view of society; it could not be less unchristian like. Her opinions towards other people and their intelligence are Ms. Turpin’s greatest flaw. â€Å"Parker’s Back† also written by Flannery O’Connor is just the opposite of Revelations, Parker spends his entire life trying to fill a void that has grown so deep inside him it becomes unbearable. His continual dislike and downgrading of Christianity plays into his problems even more. The stories have very unique approaches, both of which prove to be very intriguing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The character of Ms. Turpin shows from the very start that she is going to encounter many problems as the story progresses. Her dislike for Negroes or as she referred to them as â€Å"niggers† and her constant distinction of social class ranking showed that she was not the Christian she claimed to be. When she talks about cotton she says â€Å"you can’t get the white folks to pick it and now you can’t get the niggers-because they got to be right up there with the white folk.â€Å" When she looked at herself she saw a very good Christian. She always congratulated herself on how she always helped everyone and was always there to take care of her slaves. Nevertheless she had hidden meaning for all of these; she only helped the slaves so that she co...

My Philosophy of Education :: Philosophy on Education Statement Teaching Essays

Philosophy on Education In the beginning there were students. the students learned what they were to do and what not to do. It continued on and on and still to this day we have students who are told what to do and not to do. They are told how to act, how to make decisions on their own, and how to make something of themselves. The student is taught that they need to learn so that they know more and to survive in today's society because most everyone today needs a good education. The student is taught in ways they will learn. They should also have a curriculum to follow to become the individual they were born to be; to make up their own minds and not to be persuaded to have the same ideas and thoughts as someone else. A student is one who learns. But how does the student learn? A student is a person who has their own mind their own thoughts they are an individual. A student explores their mind finding out what they want in life. They do so by experiencing things like the Pragmatist and Progressivist say. The student is also sometime influenced by a leader; they follow their parent's morals and standards when they are young and then some follow their friend's attitudes, feelings, or even actions as discussed by Rousseau in Emile. One's friends can cause the student to do things or act ways their parents could or could not have taught them to do or act. Some students on the other hand learn to be the leader. The ones who lead their friends end up doing what they want and the friends follow. The followers learn from experience most likely taught by their parents. A example of this is: Say one little girl is taught to play basketball then she thinks it would e a very good thing to show her friends to play also letting them feel the experience and allowing her friends to choose if they like it as much as she does. The little girl then has allowed her friends to decide if they will keep playing or quit because they don't like it. The followers will choose what they think is best for them.

Origins of the British East India Company and Its Influence on the Brit

The British East India Company played a key role in one of the most successful periods of British history. The East India Company was responsible for the invasion of the Indian subcontinent, which became one of the empire’s leading supplier of profits. The East India Company was responsible for the overthrow of Hong Kong and other Asian countries; it was responsible for creating Britain’s Asian empire. The British East India Company began as a joint-stock corporation of traders and investors which was granted a Royal charter by Queen Elizabeth 1 to trade with the East. The original name of the corporation when it first formed was Governor and Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies (Landow). They joined together to generate money importing spices from South Asia. James Lancaster was in charge of the 1st company voyage in 1601 that sailed around the coast of South Africa and across the Indian Ocean, arriving back in London in 1603 with ships filled with pepper. In the 1600s, pepper was the most significant part of the British East India Company’s commerce. The group established its first Asian factory in Bantam and â€Å"it was here that the English were able to expand into other parts of Asia† (The [British East India] Company Story). Market at Bantam was multicultural because of other merchants from Arab, Turkey, Iran, and China trading products from their own nations. The company had woolen cloth and silver, but Asian traders favored Indian textiles which were good quality; therefore, it had to uncover ways to get fabrics from India. In 1611, after failed attempts to enter into agreement with Mughal Emperor, Jahangir, the British East India Company enquired King James 1 to send a representative. The ambassad... ...t finally â€Å"went out of existence in 1873† (Landow). In the course of its supremacy, the British East India Company created trade across the Middle East and Asia. It regulated its own regions and played a role in influencing the American Revolution. The company’s products were the source of the Boston Tea Party in colonial America. Works Cited "The [British East India] Company Story." History. Trading Places. The British Library Board, n.d. Web, 3 Jun 2011. "The Boston Tea Party, 1773." EyeWitness to History. Ibis Communications, Inc., 2002. Web. 3 Jun 2011. Landow, George P. "The British East India Company: The Company that Owned a Nation (or Two)." George P. Landow, Professor of English and Art History, Brown University. Victorian Web. George P. Landow, Professor of English and Art History, Brown University, 6 Apr. 2010. Web. 3 Jun 2011.