The Success of the Welfare State Essay - 883 Words

The Success of the Welfare State The Welfare State is a system set up in Britain that takes care of its citizens from the cradle to the grave. From the day they are born in the hospital to the day they are buried and given a funeral service. This includes responsibilities such as health, education, provision of services and benefits, which ensure that people are looked after and taken care of. In Britain, the Welfare State was set up as a safety net to protect the most vulnerable members of society (widows, pensioners, children etc) and to guarantee them a satisfactory level of income, health care, education and housing. Almost 60 years after it was first established, many sociologists are†¦show more content†¦This is very good news and would not have been if it was not for the Welfare State. It is very relaxing to think that we do not have to worry about money when we are injured or become ill because it is free and so this has had many beneficial effects. People are healthier so they live for longer. T his means they have more time to spend with their family and can grow old with their loved ones. Lower infant mortality means that les babies are dying each year. This prevents a lot of heartache. People wont also resent their children when they are born due to financial problems because they will be paid child benefits and other forms of help is there for them. This can reduce abortion and unwanted babies. In addition, we get free education thanks to the Welfare State. This means that more people will be admitted to schools and which increases chances of them leaving school with qualifications and getting a good job. It takes care of unemployment problems so the future is also brighter for future generations and we can be rest assured that the Cycle of Deprivation will not be activated. More and more people have been given the opportunity to train for a job so this also takes care of unemployment problems. On the contrary, there are also many signs to shows that the Welfare State has not been successful. The welfare state provides neither sufficientShow MoreRelatedEssay about Federal Welfare Reform1651 Words   |  7 PagesFederal Welfare Reform: A Critical Perspective Abstract: This project will examine â€Å"welfare reform,† which was signified by the signing of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWOA) in 1996. PRWOA replaced the original welfare act of 1935, titled Aid to Dependent Children (later changed to Aid to Families with Dependent Children), with the program Temporary Assistance to needy Families (TANF). Under PRWOA, TANF was instated as a system of block grants allocated to states to implementRead MoreInequality and Redistribution1384 Words   |  5 PagesInequality and Redistribution Income inequality in America is higher than in any other industrial nation in the world. Many believe this creates serious problems for both United States citizens and its economy. The inequality difference is continually getting larger and worsening these problems. Over the past three decades America’s economy has seen continuous growth; but this is accompanied with no increase in purchasing power for poor and middle class citizens. On the other hand, incomes ofRead MoreSocial Welfare : The Protestant Work Ethic And The Spirit Of Capitalism995 Words   |  4 Pages In this essay I will analyse the issue of social welfare, referencing Weber’s Protestant Work Ethic and Foucault’s analysis of power structures and the welfare state. The support systems in place to ensure that the poorest and most vulnerable members of society are able to survive have been the subject of increasing scrutinisation and hostility as we have entered the 21st Century. This hostility to social welfare can be seen in the intense backlash against the Affordable Care Act in America, andRead MoreChild Welfare And The Foster Care System Essay1623 Words   |  7 Pagesa series of successful reforms, began with that year s Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act, dramatically decreased the number of children in foster care. But in the early 1990s, with the advent of crack cocaine and an economic recession numbers went back up. Child welfare advocates say the foster care system is in need of changes so that children spend less time in foster placements Americaâ⠂¬â„¢s child welfare systems needs an improvement. Some children in care will be separated from their siblingsRead MoreWelfare Reform Essays584 Words   |  3 PagesWelfare Reform Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) replaced AFDC, ending some Federal responsibility to welfare assistance. States operate their own programs; determine eligibility services to be provided to needy families, within Federal guidelines. The Federal government cannot regulate the conduct of states except to a few requirements, and states have a wide latitude in administering the programRead MoreEffects Of The 1996 Welfare Reform Essay1488 Words   |  6 Pageseffects of the 1996 welfare reform bill helped declined caseloads on the social and economic well-being of fragile families, single mothers, and children. Although, the welfare reform was documented for making several positive changes such as reducing poverty rates, lowering the out of-wedlock childbearing, and formulated a better family structure, it is undeniable that poverty remained high among single mothers and their childre n. The reality of the matter was that most welfare recipients experiencedRead MoreWelfare: A Hammock to a Trampoline Essay1658 Words   |  7 Pagesgoal of welfare is to help individuals afford the basic necessities of life, however, it has become apparent that throughout the generations people have become too comfortable and secure being on welfare and thus are not striving for self-sufficiency. As with all government run programs there is a budget for welfare services, and with more and more people applying for welfare and fewer returning to self-sufficiency there is simply not enough money to go around. Putting time limits on welfare is a hotRead MoreUnited States Government Welfare Essay1334 Words   |  6 Pages United States Government Welfare began in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt thought of this system as an aid for low-income families whose men were off to war, or injured while at war. The welfare system proved to be beneficial early on by giving families temporary aid, just enough to help them accommodate their family’s needs. Fast forward almost 90 years, and it has become apparent that this one once helpful system, has become flawed. Welfare itself and the ideologiesRead MoreDenmark : Globalization and the Welfare State Essay896 Words   |  4 PagesDENMARK : Globalization and the Welfare State Today Denmark is one of the most prosperous countries in the world. Unemployment rates are low. Denmark also has low inflation and a surplus on both balance of payments and public expenditure. The World Economic Forum’s 2008 competitiveness index ranks Denmark in its Top Three world-wide. And the World Transparency Index ranks it as the world champion in non-corruption. Furthermore it should be noted that other international comparisons nominate theRead MoreHow Welfare Has Changed From The Colonial Period862 Words   |  4 Pages It is important to discuss the history of the emergence of this social problem. I will discuss the essence of poverty as a social problem and how that has affected how welfare is distributed among single mothers. Some factors that contributed to this social problem are the economy and he increasing amount of people who lived in poverty. The government felt that it was necessary to be proactive about the growing issue of poverty. The government was also taking a look at how money was being spent

Family Interview - 1987 Words

Introduction In this essay, I will discuss my experience of interviewing a family and constructing a genogram guided by their narrative. For this task, I purposely chose a family that is very different from my family of origin in terms of their cultural heritage. I will reflect on differences and similarities between our families as well as my prejudices and hypothesis that I inevitably constructed before and during the process. To identify this family, I had to approach some colleagues proposing to them to participate in the interview. Fortunately, one of them introduced me to her friend. Francesca had an interest in psychology, and since she was free and not much committed, I did welcome her with a cup of coffee to share more about the†¦show more content†¦It was suggested by Peter Marris (1980) that â€Å"with the disruption of life-long attachments and external stabilities, meanings get uprooted.† It seemed that during the interview talking about Matteo’s and Francescaà ¢â‚¬â„¢s families made them acutely aware of being very separate from the rest of their family. Francesca shared that experience of moving away from home â€Å"made them stick together and be stronger than ever†. I felt this satisfying my curiosity regarding the impact of migration on their relationship. From the moment they arrived the UK they have already met few Italian friends and this in combination with frequent calls with their family of origin helps them recover a continuity of personal meaning (Falicov, 1993). It made me reflect on my experience of migration and my difficulty of establishing a sense of continuity. It was so because I did not seek to connect with people from my country and wanted to avoid the very people who understood me best. I experienced shame for the political and economic situation in my country and in some way, my family. I desired to build a new life for myself regarding friends, occupation and belonging. I would purposely avoid Latvian or Russian people in the UK, which often left me feeling lonely and misunderstood by individuals from other cultures,Show MoreRelatedA Interview On Family Nursing Essay2220 Words   |  9 PagesFamily nursing, developed with the intent of improving children’s healthcare, is a shift from the traditional patriarchal method of delivering care to a partnership among family members (Wells, 2011). In order to implement family-centered care, the nurse must explore the dynamics in which the patient’s family operates. A major concern relating to this method of nursing was that nurses simply did not have time to speak with patients’ family members and still complete the tasks they were responsibleRead MoreFamily Intimate Relationship Interview1128 Words   |  5 PagesFamily Intimate Relationship Interview Throughout this interview process, it was extremely difficult to find a family not similar to mine. However after many weeks of searching, I found a wonderful family that lives not to far from my hometown, the Lindsay family. While interviewing this family, I spent approximately four hours at their small home in Lake City, TN. This experience was difficult and rewarding at the same time. To me, meeting new people is very hard because I am a really shy personRead MoreFamily Interview : Wendy Lankford944 Words   |  4 PagesFamily Interview Wendy Lankford was raised within a â€Å"traditional† family and grew up alongside her mother, father, and younger brother in my home state of Maryland. Today, she is married to Shane Lankford and together they care for three adopted sons; ages 22, 7, and 4. Wendy is a stay at home mom who is also actively engaged in her church community and with several nonprofit service groups. Both she and her husband have dedicated themselves to raising awareness and working on behalf of orphans,Read MoreMy Personal Family Interview Is My Mother924 Words   |  4 Pages The individual that I chose my personal family interview is my mother, Tina Washington because unfortunately, I have no other living relatives to inquire about the prior generation. My mother is 58 years old. Initially, my mother was somewhat hesitant to participate in the interview process and was curious to find out more about the type of questions asked during the interview process. After explaining the purpose for this assignment, my mother was very cooperative. She was more than happy to obligeRead MoreUsing CFAM And CFIM To Conduct A Family Interview2939 Words   |  12 Pages Many people have many different definitions of a family. Some include family as the people they live with, some include their entire extended family, and some include friends, neighbors, coaches, and teachers. According to the Vanier Institute (2013), a family is â€Å"a combination of two or more persons who are bound together over time by ties of mutual consent, birth, and/or adoption† (para. 2). Whichever way you look at it, families often play a major role in life. It only makes sense that whenRead MoreMy Interview With Traditional Mexican Family Of 11944 Words   |  4 PagesI did my interview with a traditional Mexican family of 11. Their immediate family consists of a father, mother, and nine children. Eight of their nine children lives at home with their parents as one of their children is an adult and has moved out. The father has one living parent and the children’s grandfather is active in their lives. The mother has both parents living, but is not as involv ed. The family members are active in the Catholic Church they attend and all children have attended a CatholicRead MoreThe Family Chosen For Interview By A 25 Year Old African American Essay1599 Words   |  7 PagesThe family chosen for this interview is headed by a 25-year-old African American, single female, Joan, the parent of 4-year-old female twins. Joan has just recently divorced from her spouse of three years. She is currently working a full-time job as a pharmacy technician; in addition to attending night classes, four nights a week. Her goal is to obtain a Bachelors degree, which she is planning to use as a foundation for her entrance into medical school. Reasons for Choosing this Family Joan’sRead MoreFamily Interview Assignment : The National Association Of Social Worker Essay1570 Words   |  7 PagesFamily Interview Assignment NASW Values The most important core value for this case to me is cultural competence. The National Association of Social Worker’s (NASW) describes the importance as cultural competence for a Social Worker to develop â€Å"a knowledge base of their clients’ cultures and be able to demonstrate competence in the provision of services that are sensitive to clients’ cultures and to differences among people and cultural groups† (2008). This really seems to be key to this case becauseRead MoreFamily Interview1656 Words   |  7 PagesFamily History Interview The person I choose to interview was my mother Elizabeth . The reason I chose to interview her was that I wanted to gain a closer bond with her. She is the closet relative living from which I could gain the most knowledge. (Q11) She was raised by both of her parents. (Q1) Her father Marlyn , was the Mayor or Morgantown, WV, as well taught law at WVU. Her Mother was Jerry , a graduate of WVU with a bachelor’s degree in zoology. Jerry was a woman of many talents. She soldRead MoreParent Interview : Family Interview1077 Words   |  5 Pages Parent Interview During my parent interview many of the parents had a different idea of what was stimulating for their child. All the parents, however, realized the importance of stimulating their child during play especially as an infant. The parent’s children ranged from six months to 5 years old (Derryberry, Boster, Lashae, 2015). This also shows that the parent can have varying opinion based on what their child needs in that particular developmental period. All the parents were extremely concerned

Aggression in sports free essay sample

Aggression is a natural human behavior, that is shown in many different ways depending on the people. Most are able to control it, but there will always be outliers In every situation. A big topic of discussion on aggression Is If sports make us more aggressive than we should be, and if violent sports should be discouraged. A good example of aggressive and violent activity by an athlete Is Michael Vick and his dog fighting situation. Michael Vick was one of the best players at his position In the NFL. He was well liked and respected by many fans. He played college football at Virginia Tech, and placed 3rd place in the helsman trophy race as a freshman. He was then drafted first overall in 2001. In 2007 Vick was found guilty for participating in an illegal organized dog fighting. He was charged with a felony and served almost 2 years in prison. Many there to belief that playing a violent sport led to violent actions. We will write a custom essay sample on Aggression in sports or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Honestly I do believe violent sports do make athletes more aggressive. I believe this ecause statistics show that a football player Is 80% more likely to participate in illegal activity then a non violent sport athlete such as a baseball player. But this is not always the case, there are thousands of way more aggressive people getting In trouble on the streets that do not play sports, and yet are more aggressive. Even though It is not everyone participates In the sport there are overly aggressive members. Also i believe professional sports players need to have more control of themselves and be able to draw a fine line between whats right and wrong. Sometimes athletes who earn a high paycheck often could care less about penalties and fines against them but I think thats completely wrong and that every player should strive for a clean record. Appropriate aggression on the field and off would be following all the rules of the game and in society. On the field you should always respect the officials coaches and players. Big hits are fine as long as they are clean. Off the field a players aggression should be like every normal person being able to control anger and aggression. without killing people or animals. The best way to prevent Inappropriate aggressions on the field is the do what they are doing now, penalize and fine players. This help with behavioral Issues In sports and in non sport situations. Aggression in sports By Period 5 in every situation. A big topic of discussion on aggression is if sports make us more example of aggressive and violent activity by an athlete is Michael Vick and his dog fighting situation. Michael Vick was one of the best players at his position in the NFL. He was well liked rd place in the helsman trophy race as a freshman. He was then drafted first overall there to belief that playing a sport led to violent actions. because statistics show that a football player is 80% more likely to participate in not always the case, there are thousands of way more aggressive people getting in though it is not everyone participates in the sport there are overly aggressive especially without killing people or animals. The best way to prevent inappropriate This help with behavioral issues in sports and in non sport situations.

Segregation And Discrimination In Texas Essays - Reconstruction Era

Segregation And Discrimination In Texas Segregation and Discrimination that effected Black Texans and Mexican Americans in Texas Historians have described the early twentieth century as the nadir of race relations in this country. Ironically, populism, which tried to create a biracial political coalition, helped to encourage segregation in the south. Attempting to prevent any coalition of blacks and poor white farmers, establishment Democratic politicians frequently demonstrated their Negrophobia by accusing blacks of having inherently inferior racial characteristics and warning that such innate flaws threatened society. There began a move to make African Americans outsiders, governed by political leaders for whom they could not vote and segregated by law and custom into a separate society. The movement largely succeeded. In rural areas of Texas, most blacks did not vote, as they became victims of all white primaries. As black Texans migrated to cities, however, they acquired some voting power. Excluded from political participation, black Texans watched as white officials segregated public facilities. The state legislature in 1910 and 1911 ordained that railroad stations must have separate waiting rooms and separate water fountains and restrooms existed at public facilities. It was virtually impossible for the black citizens to stay at major hotels; to eat in better restaurants, to attend most cultural or other entertainment events unless segregated, inferior seating sections were provided. Vigilante style violence as well as law enforcement agencies upheld the separate and unequal society. Texas ranked third nationally in lynching, as mobs killed over 100 blacks between 1900 and 1910. In 1916, race riots erupted periodically throughout the period. White prejudice included animosity toward black troops in the U.S. Army. Brownville whites objected to the stationing of the all black Twenty fifth Infantry at Fort Brown. They charged that the troops raided the city in 1906 in protest of discriminatory practices. Later evidence demonstrated the unfairness of the charges, but by that time President Theodore Roosevelt had dishonorably discharged 160 of the troops. Black soldiers resentment of segregation flamed into a clash with white citizens in 1917 in Houston. Without recourse to political power, blacks in Texas, as in the rest of the nation, often chose both accommodation and resistance to segregation. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) founded a chapter in 1912 in Houston, and by 1930 it had organized thirty others in the state. A Texas committee on interracial violence organized in1928 to fight extra legal acts against blacks. By then both the Dallas Morning news and the San Antonio Express had condemned lynchings. The Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching, led by Jessie Daniel Ames of Texas, mobilized strong moral opposition to violence during the 1930s. By then, most church organizations and Congressman Maury Maverick of San Antonio, who later supported a federal antilynching law, were on record as opposing racial violence. In 1942 last lynching in Texas took place. The majority of blacks stayed in rural areas, where they worked as tenants and farm laborers. As cotton prices fell, their chances to acquire their own farms decreased. Some turned to the Farmer's Improvement Society, organized by R.L. Smith in the 1890s. A Colored Farmers Educational and Cooperative Union was founded in Dallas in 1905. Other organizations established farmers' institutes and local cooperative associations. These organizations all spoke of accommodation and self help to counteract poverty and segregation. But rural Texans remained poor, and black poverty exceeded that of most whites. Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican and the organizer of the Universal Negro Association, advocated black pride, a back-to-Africa movement, and the development of black enterprises. His attempt to found a local chapter in Dallas in 1922 met with opposition, as did the efforts of Sam, from many black leaders and middle-class African Americans. The expanding economy of the 1920s did open new employment opportunities for black males as porters and chauffeurs and in building trades and oil refining. Except as janitors and laborers, the public sector hired few African Americans. The segregated communities produced a small black bourgeoisie. Ministers and teachers composed the largest occupational group of black professionals in 1930. The number of black undertakers went from 1 in 1900 to 198 in 1929, and they joined the black bourgeoisie of the period. Most black Texans lacked financial

post test essays

post test essays After the television commercial campaigns, advertisers must turn to another kind of researches in order to know whether the ad performs well in the competing category and competing ads. This kind of researches after the campaign is called post-testing. Here we will explain the procedures through the post-test research of Danone biscuits done by Millward Brown in Shanghai. We will focus our attention to one of its sub brand: Tiki which had experienced a renovation in its product. This research adopted the face to face interviewing at home method. The researchers chose their target group as males or females between 18 to 54 years old who have bought any biscuits in last 3 months. The research period is from R5 June 11 to July 8 and R6 from July 9 to August 5. In this period, they realized 64 interviews per week. 1. A general overview of TVC input. This stage is for the researchers to have a global insight in the biscuit market in the recent 20 months. Here we find that Tiki ¡s product, after the renovation, was launched to the market in May 2001. The weighted GRPs reach 284 and it is above the average 250. Firstly, compared to Danone High Calcium ¡s  ¡Sunflower ¡ and Tuc ¡s re-edited commercial  ¡Celebrity ¡, the  ¡Butterfly ¡ for Tiki is weak in aided, unaided awareness and the ad story recall score is not good enough. The awareness of Butterfly is much inferior to those two ads, especially in the second month, whereas the other two increase their awareness by 6%-7%, Butterfly reduces by 7%. In the ad story recall, it does not have a good performance either. Maybe the difference rests on the short exposure of ads and people need a period of adaptation to accept the new product and new ads, for it is measured in the recent two months whereas the other two. Secondly, the researchers try to know exactly which parts of the ...

6 Horrible Risks of Study Drugs

6 Horrible Risks of Study Drugs In this article we’re going to quickly go through the risks of taking study drugs, or smart drugs, to try and get ahead in college or pull through those all-nighter study sessions. We’re going to cover all 6 bases that you should be informed on as a student who is at least considering it. I mean, why else would you read this? By the time you’re done you’ll know the risks. Let’s begin. 1. Ummm†¦You’ll Get Addicted! This is a risk from a few different angles. Let’s say someone decided to â€Å"help themselves study† by using some type of drug†¦that typically includes methamphetamines. Okay, what if that first time or two it does help them study and their grades go up? That’s the worst thing that could happen because then they’ll be under the mistaken impression it can be sustained. â€Å"I can control it† they begin to tell themselves. Yet what they don’t know is these drugs are as addictive as cocaine. Pretty soon they start believing they can’t study without it. Then of course have to take into account the physical addiction. Some are much more addictive than others. Regardless, do you really want to get addicted to this drug? Is that a wise productive decision? No. 2. You’ll Completely Crash Burn It might work a couple times or for a little while without causing much trouble if you’re lucky. But sooner rather than later you’ll crash and burn. The wakeup call will be that first big bombed test. The first time the professor brings you into their office to talk about your sudden disappearance from class or the fact you’re falling asleep during lectures. No one, literally no one, can take these drugs over the long haul and expect to maintain a good GPA. Make no mistake, the vast majority of students abuse these drugs. If you have even a slight addictive personality you’re in for trouble. 3. You’ll Get a Bad Rep What happens when people in class start believing you’re on drugs all the time? What if you get the rep of a drug user? What if you get caught with them (we’ll touch on this more in a moment)? At first it might sound â€Å"cool† to take them to study, but pay close attention to those that are now tricking themselves into believing they need it to study. How are they perceived by the people around them? What sort of crowd do they run with? Ask yourself if this is really what you’re all about and think again. 4. You’ll Get Arrested It’s a federal crime dude. And, make no mistake, your university and the law enforcement where you are will take it seriously. Having pills without prescription is a big no no these days due to the mind-boggling amount of overdoses and deaths that are happening. Don’t get this on your record. It’s not worth it. Don’t get caught up in the jail system or have to call home to explain to your parents why you’ve been kicked out altogether or temporarily from classes (and you’ll lose any and all scholarship money probably). 5. The Potential Side Effects Suck Here’s a quote about student life and the types of smart drug side effects students can look forward to if they get involved in this sort of thing: â€Å"Anxiety, depression, dependency, extreme anxiety levels, nervous breakdowns, sleep disorders, suicidal thoughts, psychosis nervousness, jitters, stomach problems, headaches, sleeplessness and a decrease in appetite.† (Elizabeth Hoyt) Are you willing to risk all that nonsense just to try and inch your GPA up without doing it the old school way? Is it really that hard to just crack open the books and study? How about join a study group? Honestly, no educational goal is worth ruining your life over. That’s a bit too oxymoron. 6. You’ll Go Completely Insane No joke. Maybe not clinically insane where you need to wear a straightjacket all day, but you won’t be your normal self. You’ll be sleep deprived, anxious paranoid or possibly incarnated in jail around some real odd characters. What’s the point? No, it’s not normal to abuse drugs in college. It’s not. Maybe it is among the packs of students with low GPAs who are really just there to avoid the real world, but not the serious students. It’s completely abnormal and leads to completely abnormal behavior. This is a serious subject so we would love to get your input. What’s the atmosphere around smart drugs like at your school and what do you think of them and the risks of usage?

Mitosis Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mitosis - Lab Report Example The prepared and preserved slides were observed under the microscope. The different stages of the mitosis such as interphase, prophase, meta phase, anaphase and telophase of the cell along with the cytokinesis were identified and the stages were differentiated. Introduction: All the living things are made of cells. In a multi-cellular organism, two types of cell division occur: they are mitosis and meiosis. Mitosis or Somatic cell division is the process in which one cell divides into two equal cells with genetic identity. The cell division is necessary for the growth and development of the cells. The transformation of information from one generation to another is called heredity and the genes which are the fundamental part of the chromosome are responsible for the transformation. The chromosomes are present in pairs. Each pair is responsible for a specific part or function in the cell. These chromosomes are distributed equally in new cells during mitosis. Mitosis is thus described a s the chromosomal division. This chromosomal division is accompanied by the cytoplasmic division called as cytokinesis. The mitosis along with cytokinesis results in the formation of two daughter cells. This is also called as cell cycle. Cell cycle is the period in which the cell divides and becomes two daughter cells. ... There are four stages in mitosis. They are prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase. (Allen and Harper 2011). Prophase is the first stage of mitosis which is visible. The chromosomes, which are randomly distributed in the cytoplasm condense to form the distinct part. They are held in a single line. Metaphase is the stage in which the chromosome is attached to the centromere through the spindle fibril. The centromeres are connected to the centrioles and the centrioles pulls the chromatids to the opposite directions. This step initiates the cell division. Anaphase is the stage where the chromosomes move to the position of centriole. The chromosomes are seen as complete sets in the opposite side of the cell. Telophase is the last stage of mitosis in which the chromosomes begins to loosen itself from the thicker rigid structure into thin filaments. The division of the cytoplasm starts at this particular point. Materials required: Prepared slide of Allium root tip Prepared slide of whi te fish blastula. Microscope. Method: 1. The prepared slide of allium (onion) root tip was mounted on the microscope. 2. The 4x objective lenswas used to focus the centre of the slide. 3. The cells undergoing the four stages of mitosis such as prophase, metaphase , anaphase and telophase were identified in the slide using the 10x magnification. 4. Using the 40x magnification in the microscope, the distinct chromosomes and the other cell structures were identified. 5. Similarly, the whitefish blastula slide was mounted on the microscope and the blastula sections were observed using the 4x magnification. 6. Then 40 x magnification was chosen to examine the chromosomes. The cells in each phase of mitosis were identified. Result: For the Onion Root tip: 1. In the interphase stage, nucleus,

Executive summary Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Executive summary - Case Study Example Home depot management is seeking to improve profitability by; reducing costs through product review, purchasing improvement and increasing number of rental centers, address the current declining customer service and increasing its revenue by between 15% and 18% to be achieved partly through acquisition. Lowe’s company seeks to improve profitability by; introduction of new merchandise, changing its pricing strategy. It expects to open up more branches in its predominant rural areas as well as metropolitan areas, currently dominated by Home Depot. The management also seeks to maintain its current revenue growth 18% to 19%. Alternate products; Home depot has the ability to diversify its current operation by expanding into alternative product as a means of boosting profitability. The new ‘at home’ product has a growth potential of 30% annually compared to overall company’s growth potential of 15%. Alternative retail format; home depot should focus on new methods of ensuring that its customers are taken care of. This should involve focusing on the new program of Service Performance Improvement as a value addition to its customer since preliminary studies show that it’s outperformed the current do-it yourself program in terms of productivity, operating margins and inventory turnover Alternative product; the current market is made up of hardware’s, lumberyards and larger-format home centers. By consolidating its market share gains in the new category of appliances, the company stands a change to operate more profitably. International expansion; Lowe’s is currently a major participant in the domestic market but does not have international presence, compared to Home depot whose revenues from foreign markets make up to 10% of total sales. Although both companies are currently implementing growth strategies, future growth opportunities available for them vary. Home depot can successfully improve profitability by acquisition, developing

Ethics of Starbucks Corporation Essay Example for Free

Ethics of Starbucks Corporation Essay Starbucks Corporation is the international coffee and the largest coffeehouse in the world based in seattle, Washington. The company has expanded rapidly with over 16,858 stores in 50 countries, including 11,000 in the united states, over 1000 in Canada and over 700 in uk. Starbucks don’t sell only coffee but there are variety in the consumer products that they offer such as hot and cold sandwiches and Panini, pastries ,snacks and other hot and cold drinks. The company’s products are seasonal or specific to the locality of the store. Starbucks also has an entertainment division and hear music brand, the company also markets books, music and films. Starbucks brand ice-creams and coffee are also offered at grocery stores. The Mission statement of Starbucks is to † inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time†. Starbucks believe that conducting business ethically and striving to do the right thing are vital to the success of the company. However, Starbucks corporation have been a target of protests and vandalism in the previous years on issues related to sustainability. But Starbucks have always been socially responsible and made it a priority to the development of new ways of addressing diverse impacts of business in society. Like every corporation, Starbucks has its own Standard of Business Conduct which facilitates legal compliance and ethics training; investigates sensitive issues such as potential conflicts of interest; and provides additional channels for partners to voice concerns. Partners are encouraged to report all types of issues or concerns to the program through their choice of the offered communication channel. The key goal and the important aspect of Business ethics is Sustainability. Sustainability is emerged from the environmental perspective because of the effective management of physical resources that are conserved for the future. But the concept of sustainability is not only broadened to include environment but also economic and social consideration. Starbucks have made its priorities in addressing ethical issues related to the environment through formal and public relations. Starbucks is committed to a role of environmental leadership in all facets of our business. This is done by understanding the environmental issues, developing innovative and flexible solutions to bring about change, attempt to buy, sell and use environmental friendly products, instilling environmental responsibility as a corporate value, measuring and monitoring our progress for each project. However, The Three components of Sustainability actually represent in terms of goals for business ethics. a) the environmental perspectives for Starbucks Corporation In 1999, Starbucks started† grounds for coffee† where they would give away the grounds to anyone for composting. They also reduced the size of their paper napkins and garbage bags to reduce wastage and lightening their solid waste to 816.5 metric tons. In response to the excessive water consumption ,Starbucks have replaced pitcher and dipper wells with push button faucets for rinsing utensils. Starbucks are trying ways to make recycling services available for its plastic cups as the services are very limited. By 2015 it is will make these services available in every store across the country. Previously, there were issues that plastic cups were non-recyclable because of the plastic coating that prevents the cup from leaking also prevents it from being recycled so they changed the material from prolypropylene (PP) to polyethylene teraphthale (PETE) which can be recycled. Starbucks is now considering the use of biodegradable material instead of plastics to line the cups. Starbucks gives 10 cents discounts to its customers for using its own mug and it now uses corrugated cup sleeves made up of 60% post consumer recycled fiber. As a Corporate Citizen, Starbucks have taken the ethical responsibility by conserving energy and increasing efficiency to reduce contribution to climate change. Purchasing of renewable resources to avoid impact on the climate yt and investing in new lighting and improving the efficiency of HVAC (heating, ventilation and cooling systems) and other equipments. Starbucks also has build greener stores which include a mix of design elements such as using recycled floor tiles, improve light efficiency, installing low flow valves throughout the stores, using paints with lower amount of volatile organic chemicals. b) the economic perspective for starbucks corporation A broader concept of economic sustainability would include the company’s attitude towards and impacts upon economic framework. Starbucks Corporation responsibly grows coffee and launching its Fair Trade Coffee has undeniably made a significant contribution to their family farmers through rapidly growing FTC coffee volume. Starbucks has established support centers for the farmers in Rwanda and Costa Rica to provide them with necessary resources and expertise to help lower the cost of production, reduce fungus infections, improve coffee quality and increase the production of premium coffee. During the growing and harvest cycles, many farmers find it difficult to cover the expenses prompting them to sell their crops for less to the local buyers. To avoid such situation, starbucks provides funding to the organization that make loans to the coffee growers which will sell their crops at the best time to get the right price. It will also help the farmers to invest in the farms and make capital improvements. Starbucks coffee and cocoa buying is designed to long-term supply of high-quality, ethically sourced cocoa and coffee while contributing positively to the environment and to cocoa-farming communities. Starbucks argues that it pays above market prices for all of its coffee. According to the company, in 2004 it paid on average $1.42 per pound ($2.64 kg) for high-quality coffee beans. This is in comparison to commodity prices which were as low as $0.50–$0.60 in 2003–04. c) the social perspective for Starbucks corporation The key issue in social perspective on sustainability is that of social justice. Starbucks Corporation is involved in communities’ services bringing people together, inspiring change and making a difference in people’s lives. Engaging young people to identify and address the needs of their community. Young people also receive advocacy ,training, financial help and other resources for their efforts. This is done by providing monetary aid and establishing relationship with International Youth foundation and Youth Venture. Starbucks is also involved in combating HIV/Aids to coffee growing community in Africa. Starbucks began selling RED goods in November 2008, enabling the supply of AIDS medicine for 3800 people for a year. The Starbucks Foundation has served the society for many years providing access to clean waters to the developing countries from its brand water bottled ETHOS, fostering education in china, rebuilding the Gulf coast. Although these goals and targets are identified by the UN are essentially the responsibility of the government to achieve, some of them have direct significance for business. Finally we have identified sustainability as a crucial concept that helps to determine the goals and objectives of the business activities from ethical point of view.

Womens Basketball Association :: Creating Writing Fantasy Essays

Women's Basketball Association Background/Prologue [the future]: It is the year 2010. The WNBA has dropped the 'N' from its name and is now referred to as the WBA. There is some confusion over whether the 'W' refers to Women's or World, since both are used. A tiny line of script beneath the official logo on the WBA website gives the name as the Women's Basketball Association, but World Basketball Association is as apt a name as the other. Unlike the NBA, a strictly national league, the WBA made the decision in the early '00s to begin aggressively expanding. The WBA now has a team in most major American and international cities. The league's growth isn't really surprising given the crop of players over the past decade or so. A few have even risen to superstar status, regularly wowing packed arenas with a combination of style, showmanship and skill that hasn't been witnessed in basketball since the glory days of the men's league. The Plot [The past—'90s]: What really kick-started the stellar growth of the WBA was the discovery of Theresa "The Tiger" Tyson. Theresa iss a high school dropout from West Philly who managed to catch the eye of ---- State recruiter Jerry Krieger (on his way back from a game at Penn) during a fierce pickup game. Being as impressed by her obvious sense and no-nonsense attitude as he was with her deadly hook shot, Krieger manages to finesse a deal with his school. If Tyson gets her high school diploma and stays out of trouble (she was a bit of a hell-raiser), they'd manage to find a place for at ----. Theresa is a motivated young woman, if nothing else. Basketball seems to be her only shot at a decent life for herself and her family. As of now, her future does not look too bright, given her lack of education or marketable skills. Not to mention the fact that she is the oldest of five and one of eight people overflowing a two bedroom apartment in the projects. She works the nightshift at a convenience store, protected by a two-inch layer of bulletproof glass and watched by security cameras trained on the register. Her boss does not trust her because she is African-American and poor. She spends the days sleeping, watching TV and keeping an eye on her siblings and seventy seven year old grandmother. Women's Basketball Association :: Creating Writing Fantasy Essays Women's Basketball Association Background/Prologue [the future]: It is the year 2010. The WNBA has dropped the 'N' from its name and is now referred to as the WBA. There is some confusion over whether the 'W' refers to Women's or World, since both are used. A tiny line of script beneath the official logo on the WBA website gives the name as the Women's Basketball Association, but World Basketball Association is as apt a name as the other. Unlike the NBA, a strictly national league, the WBA made the decision in the early '00s to begin aggressively expanding. The WBA now has a team in most major American and international cities. The league's growth isn't really surprising given the crop of players over the past decade or so. A few have even risen to superstar status, regularly wowing packed arenas with a combination of style, showmanship and skill that hasn't been witnessed in basketball since the glory days of the men's league. The Plot [The past—'90s]: What really kick-started the stellar growth of the WBA was the discovery of Theresa "The Tiger" Tyson. Theresa iss a high school dropout from West Philly who managed to catch the eye of ---- State recruiter Jerry Krieger (on his way back from a game at Penn) during a fierce pickup game. Being as impressed by her obvious sense and no-nonsense attitude as he was with her deadly hook shot, Krieger manages to finesse a deal with his school. If Tyson gets her high school diploma and stays out of trouble (she was a bit of a hell-raiser), they'd manage to find a place for at ----. Theresa is a motivated young woman, if nothing else. Basketball seems to be her only shot at a decent life for herself and her family. As of now, her future does not look too bright, given her lack of education or marketable skills. Not to mention the fact that she is the oldest of five and one of eight people overflowing a two bedroom apartment in the projects. She works the nightshift at a convenience store, protected by a two-inch layer of bulletproof glass and watched by security cameras trained on the register. Her boss does not trust her because she is African-American and poor. She spends the days sleeping, watching TV and keeping an eye on her siblings and seventy seven year old grandmother.

Is Economics a Science?

The word â€Å"Economics† is derived from the Greeks word â€Å"Oikonomos† which means to manage the house. So it means the management of a household especially in those matters, which are relating to the income and expenses of the family. After sometime, the term economy was adopted. Economics is regarded as a Social SCIENCE and not a PURE science like Physics or Chemistry because it uses scientific methods to build theories that can help explain the behaviour of individuals, groups and organisations and does not deal directly with experiments with matter. Economics attempts to explain economic behaviour, which arises when scarce resources are used to fulfil unlimited human needs. 1. It is a science because economists can experiment:- In terms of methodology, economists, employ different methods, based primarily on observation and deduction and the construction of abstract models to make experiments with numbers and data. As the social sciences have evolved there are now many different strands of investigation including micro and macro economics, pure and applied economics, and industrial ,social ,environmental and financial economics. . Economics is a science because it can make predictions Economists use scientific observation and deduction in their investigations using index numbers, base year and current year figures and past data. Economists frequently use versions of the demand and supply model to help explain events such as realty prices trends and movements. Economic models usually employ graphical and mathematical analysis to help explain and illustrate such economic processes. 3. It is both a Positive and normative science. As a social science, economics attempts to use the principles and methods of science to explain economic behaviour. This involves making positive statements about the economic world. Positive statements are those that can be verified, and are factual, such as: ‘.. House prices have fallen by 15% over the last year†¦ ’ In contrast, normative statements are based on opinion and value judgement. Statements suggesting that something ‘ought to’ happen, or that something is ‘unfair’, are normative because they are matters of opinion. For example, ‘.. the recent fall in house prices is unfair to the rich.. ’. This statement cannot be tested because it not based on anything testable. If there is an agreed definition of fairness, and it can be measured, then it might be possible to test the effect of the change in house prices on the degree of fairness experienced by a certain identifiable group of people defined as rich. Therefore, this statement is normative, impossible to verify, and based on opinion rather than fact. 4. Economics is a social science because it follows the â€Å" ceteris paribus† rule( all other things remaining the same) just like in an experiment In the real world, economic variables such as price and income, are constantly changing, and this creates a problem in demonstrating the relationship between variables. For example, a fall in price is likely to lead to a rise in consumer demand if we assume nothing else changes. Of course, for independent reasons, income could also fall and demand does not rise. The fall in price could have been counteracted by a fall in income. The ceteris paribus rule, that all other things remain the same, is used whenever attempting to demonstrate the link between economic variables. 5. Economic theories are based on facts and can be proven by deductions and mathematical precision. 6. Economics is a systematic and standardised process of studying human behaviour in the context of the unlimited need, limited resources and their allocation and hence it is a science. Conclusion- Just like all other sciences economics too is logical, rational and provable through experiments and factual data and hence we conclude that economics is a science. b) ECONOMICS AND RELEVANCE TO LAW- 5 points Economics is the branch of knowledge concerned with the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth. It is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Now the Question is whether Economics is a science or not? Law, as a social science, is closely related to many cognate disciplines in the social and natural sciences. And law does not operate in a vacuum, law works in the society and economics is an important part of the society. Its relevance must relate to the overall values of society. Economics, it is said, is the science of rational choices in a world of limited resources. And the term ‘resources’ here does not relate only to money but can be of any type. Both are related to each other such that: 1. Law and economics is the application of economic methods for the analysis of law. Economic concepts are used to explain the effects of laws, to assess which legal rules are economically efficient, and to predict which legal rules will be promulgated. For eg- Law about taxation , laws on custom duties etc,. In other words â€Å"Law and economics,† also known as the economic analysis of law, differs from other forms of legal analysis in two main ways. 1. First, the theoretical economic analysis focuses on Efficiency or economic benefit. 2. The second characteristic of law and economics is its emphasis on incentives and people’s responses to these laws/incentives. 2. As used by lawyers and legal scholars, the phrase â€Å"law and economics† refers to the application of the methods of economics to legal problems. Using the best resource available, prioritizing etc 3. Both Law and economics stresses that markets are more efficient than courts. When possible, the legal system, according to the positive theory, will force a transaction into the market. When this is impossible, the legal system attempts to â€Å"mimic a market† and guess at what the parties would have desired if markets had been feasible. 4. Law and economics are related because they both share the same assumption with other branches of economics that individuals are rational and logical in decision making and respond to incentives and punishments. When penalties for an action increase, people will undertake less of that action. For eg- Huge penalties for economic offences deters the future offenders. 5. Law and economics is more likely than other branches of legal analysis to use empirical or statistical methods to measure these responses to incentives. Lawyers have to quote figures and data and statistics to argue their cases. Hence both economics and law rely on empirical data. In the United States, economic analysis of law has been extremely influential. Judicial opinions utilize economic analysis and the theories of law and economics with regularity. The influence of law and economics has also been felt in legal education. Many law schools in North America, Europe, and Asia have faculty members with a degree in economics. Conclusion : Law and economics scholars also apply the tools of economics, such as game theory, to purely legal questions, such as various parties’ litigation strategies. These aspects of law and economics, are of more interest to legal scholars than to students of the economy.

Focus paper: Teenage pregnancy Essay

There are many issues that are arising in the United States. These issues seem to catch media attention but they are publicized so much that teens believe it is all in fun. They don’t understand that doing drugs does not lead to fun partying. Becoming a dealer is not a quick way to cash it’s a quick way to death. Committing suicide does not make everything easier. The only person you took the pain away from was yourself. The media captures all these fun moments that people do with only a little bit of the bad. Teenager’s girls see all these other girls on T.V raising a baby and they think â€Å"hey I can do that.† Then reality kicks in and it is nothing like how it was on T.V. There are many issues among teens in the United States, but the focus on this paper is going to be following teenage pregnancy. In today’s society when someone hears that a young girl is pregnant they automatically think she was sleeping around. People jump to the conclusions and they don’t take time to realize there are many other causes for teenage pregnancy than the girl sleeping around. The reality of it is there are actually five major causes to teenage pregnancy. Peer pressure, underage drinking, glamorizing teen pregnancy, lack of knowledge and sexual rape are the five major causes of teenage pregnancy. Peer pressure is a cause for almost anything involving teenagers; whether it be for drugs, drinking or sex. Teenagers often feel pressure to make friends and fit in. Many times these teens let their friends influence their decision to have sex even when they do not fully understand the consequences. Teenagers have sex as a way to appear cool and to fit in, but in some cases the end result is an unplanned teen pregnancy. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation states that more than 29 per cent of pregnant teens reported that they felt pressured to have sex, and 33 percent of pregnant teens stated that they felt that they were not ready for a sexual relationship, but proceeded anyway. When peer pressure is involved to have sex that usually means that drinking is involved as well. Underage drinking is another cause that leads  to teenage pregnancy. Teen drinking can cause an unexpected pregnancy, according to the website Love to Know. Many teens experiment with drugs and alcohol. Drinking lowers a teen’s ability to control her impulses, contributing to 75 percent of pregnancies that occur between the ages 14 and 21. Approximately 91 percent of pregnant teens reported that although they were drinking at the time, they did not originally plan to have sex when they conceived. Peer pressure and underage drinking go hand in hand with teenage pregnancies. One leads to another which causes an unexpected pregnancy. Out of the other three causes glamorizing teenage pregnancy and lack of knowledge also go together. The movie industry and the media contribute to teenage pregnancy by glamorizing teen pregnancy in movies. Movies that show teen pregnancy as something to be desired encourage teens to engage in reckless sexual activity, according to ABC’s â€Å"Good Morning America.† During adolescence, teens become more focused on their appearance and how people view them. Teens see on T.V that there same age are having cute little babies so they go out and have sex without being fully educated in what that really is. Teenagers who are uneducated about sex are more likely to have an unintended pregnancy. Some teens do not fully understand the biological and emotional aspects associated with having sex, according to DailyRecord.co.uk. Many times, teens do not have the knowledge needed to make informed and responsible decisions abo ut whether or not to engage in sexual activity that can alter their life. Social media is not helping teenage pregnancy it is only causing young girls to go out and try it. The last and final cause for teenage pregnancy is rape. Teens can become pregnant as a result of sexual abuse or rape. The Guttmacher Institute states that between 43 and 62 percent of teens acknowledge that they were impregnated by an adult male, and two-thirds report that their babies’ fathers are as old as 27. Approximately 5 percent of all teen births are the result of a rape. People in society need to realize that teenage pregnancy is a big issue today. Many of these young girls don’t finish high school. Teen pregnancy greatly affects education. Only 51% of teen moms have a high school diploma. The number for those who didn’t have a teen birth is closer to 89%. Parenthood is the leading cause for teen girls dropping out of school. Teen moms are extremely unlikely to go to college. Only about 2% of young teen moms ever get a higher education degree. Statistics show that In  the United States, there are nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies each year, that’s about 2000 a day! . It’s estimated that about half of Latina and African American teenagers will be pregnant a t least once before they’re 20.Raising a baby can cost up to $10,000 in the first year alone. About 80% of teen fathers don’t marry the mom. They also contribute very little to raising the baby. On average, teen dads pay less than $800 a year on child support. Teenage pregnancy is an issue just like drug use and alcohol abuse that needs to be looked into. There is no way to stop teenage pregnancy. Talking to teens about it is not going to stop them when they are at a party and alcohol is involved. Instead contraception’s should be provided in public bathrooms, schools and encouraged to be available at home. Many believe that providing protection in schools will only encourage teens to have sex. Reality is they are going to have it whether there is protection or not, so why not provide them the right choice of using protection. Maybe if protection is provided there will be less unexpected pregnancies in the United States.

The Many Faces of Joan essays

The Many Faces of Joan essays Many historical figures have been represented and depicted by others in days far past their own. Some accurate and some not. And in many ways, figures throughout history can be portrayed not only by their actions alone, but also how others surrounding them lived and influenced their life. No other two characters in either the literature or films we viewed were more defined by one another than Joan and the Dauphin of France. In both Henry VI by William Shakespeare and the film Joan Of Arc by Victor Fleming the twos relationship fed off each other and aided in giving the reader or audience more understanding of the two as individuals. Yet despite the shared concept of portraying factual events in history, the two works had many similarities just as they did differences. In the film we do not get an accurate depiction of the Dauphin, instead we get Flemings interpretation of him, yet this makes for a good comparison. Our first introduction to the Dauphin is anything but flattering. We see a man who should be ruling his country yet instead is acting like a common beggar. In the scene the Dauphin is sitting on his throne when suddenly he begins to beg for money from a man who appears to be a common financial source. The man refuses and the Dauphin seems to try to exert some dominance by telling the man he should bow in his presence. The man shrugs off this notion and makes the statement you own me money as if to suggest that the Dauphin has no real power. The Dauphin then continues to try and borrow money to which we hear the man reply, If I were to give you 3000 gold crowns you would surely leave us (Fleming, 1948). This is a powerful statement, it gives us our first impression of the Dauphin, a man who has been given power to rule a county due to his families blood line, and yet is an easy push over who receives no respect form his subjects nor himself. The Dauphin is not seen as someo...

Strategies for Writing a 20-Page Paper

Strategies for Writing a 20-Page Paper Research papers and essays can be intimidating enough as an assignment. The long paper assignment, though, can scare students into total brain freeze. If youre facing a twenty-page writing assignment, just relax and break the process down into manageable chunks. Make a Plan and Follow It Start by creating a timetable for your project. When is it due? How many weeks do you have between now and the due date? To create a timetable, grab or create a calendar with plenty of space to write on. Then, jot down deadlines for each stage of the writing process, including: Initial research. Before you can choose a topic, youll probably need to do some basic research to learn more about the general subject area youre studying. For example, if youre studying the works of Shakespeare, youll want to do some research to decide which play, character, or aspect of Shakespeares work is most interesting to you.Topic selection. After youve finished your initial research, youll want to select a few possible topics. Talk with your teacher before making a final decision. Be sure the topic is really interesting and rich enough for a twenty-page essay, but not too big to cover. For example Symbolism in Shakespeare is an overwhelming topic while Shakespeares Favorite Pens wouldnt fill more than a page or two. Magic in Shakespeares Midsummer Nights Dream might be just right.Topic-specific research. Now that you have a topic, you may need to take a few weeks to conduct research until you have five to ten subtopics or points to talk about. Jot notes onto note cards. Sepa rate your note cards into piles that represent topics youll cover. Organizing your thoughts. Order your topics into a logical sequence, but dont get too caught up in this. Youll be able to rearrange the sections of your paper later.Drafting. Take your first set of cards and write all you can about that specific topic. Try to use up three pages of writing. Move on to the next topic. Again, try to use three pages to elaborate on that topic. Dont worry about making this section flow from the first one. You are just writing about individual topics at this time.Creating transitions. Once you have written a few pages for each topic, think again about the order. Identify the first topic (one that will come after your introduction) and the one that will follow. Write a transition to link one to the next. Continue with order and transitions.Crafting an introduction and conclusion. The next step is to write your introduction paragraph and your conclusion. If your paper is still short, just find a new subtopic to write about and place it between paragraphs tha t exist. You have a rough draft! Editing and polishing. Once youve crafted a full draft, be sure you have enough time to set it aside for a day or two before reviewing, editing, and polishing it. If youre required to include sources, double check that youve correctly formatted footnotes, endnotes, and/or a bibliography.

A comparison of Dr. Martin Luther King Jrs Speeches Term Paper

A comparison of Dr. Martin Luther King Jrs Speeches - Term Paper Example This is where is inspiration derives from. The message of his more political writings, like the two items which are the focus of this paper, is less overtly Christian but the preacherly tone remains. It has been noted that Dr. King was a master of public speaking, and very conscious of the context in which he operated at all times. The unprecedented impact of the â€Å"I Have a Dream Speech† was partly due to its location and timing right at the end of a peaceful protest march of some 250,000 people at the heart of American democracy in Washington. The context meant that the speech was the finishing touch to the â€Å"dynamic spectacle†3 of the March, and the vision of this peaceful mass crowding around the Washington monument is the backdrop to this dramatic event. Martin Luther King was a leader, like many before him, who used large public gatherings and theatrical shows of strength to build consensus among his followers and to create an impression on those who were against him. He makes this explicit in his speech when he says â€Å"So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.† His role in the rallies was as the public face of a mass movem ent, and the mouthpiece for generations of people whose protest had been crushed. The first feature of Dr. King’s leadership is, therefore, his eloquence and rhetorical skill with which he mesmerized his followers and made a tremendous impact on listeners throughout America. The â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech is aspirational and emotional, and it shows the style that Dr. King wished to adopt as a leader. The â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† has some of the same styles, but it is much more concerned with the substance of his ideas and the detail of his  tactics as the leader of a political movement.  

The Doctrine of Precedent can be considered both a Blessing and a Essay

The Doctrine of Precedent can be considered both a Blessing and a Curse - Essay Example At the beginning of the thirteenth century, the concept of common law began to emerge. An internal system of courts was set up, with each community sharing the same laws. Judges traveled to the communities and followed the same rules, therefore making the laws enforced throughout common to all. To provide consistency between the communities, if a judge was making a decision about a case, and there was a case of the same nature that had been decided by a judge before it, they would be resolved in the same way, with the same ruling. That meant that the first judge to make a ruling on a particular case had made a law that judges in following cases (which were of the same nature) were obliged to follow. This still applies within the Australian legal system today. Courts are bound (within prescribed limits) by prior decisions of superior courts within the same State or Federal hierarchy. This is collectively known as the 'Doctrine of Precedent'. Judicial law is a large part of the Doctrine of Precedent. It is named judicial law because it is a law made by judges, which is to be followed by judges in subsequent cases. Whether or not a case is binding, is determined by two things; whether the preceding decision comes from a judge that is in an equal or higher rank than the judge deciding the case (this given the Latin term stare decisis, which means 'stand by decided'), and whether the relevant legal principles of the preceding case are the same or similar to the case in question. When dealing with precedent, judges and lawyers have to be able to break previous judicial decisions into two parts; the relevant legal principles that are binding, and the rest that is not binding. The part that is binding is given the Latin term ratio decidendi, which means 'reason for deciding' and the part of a judges decision that is not binding is given the Latin term the obiter dicta, which means 'incidental things said' and only has an incidental bearing on the case. The Doctrine of Precedent gives judges the power both to reuse past decisions and rephrase past decisions. As a consequence of these powers, new laws can be made. An example of a judicial precedent is the case Donoghue v Stevenson (1932). (Tufal, 1996) In which a decomposing snail was found in the bottom of a ginger beer bottle. The House of Lords found that a manufacturer owes a duty of care to the consumer to provide products that are safe. This case set a huge precedent for common law that is still relevant today, and the context of the word 'product' has been used not only in food products but also in cases including motorcycles and underwear. There have always been, and still, are many critics who do not believe that judges should have the power to make laws. There are many convincing arguments both for and against the use of the Doctrine of Precedent in Australia.

CASE 1 HRM 402 - TD - Determining Training and Development Essay

CASE 1 HRM 402 - TD - Determining Training and Development - Essay Example hould be taught to achieve optimal performance.† The job or task will be analyzed which includes the requirements for performing the task by specifying the main duties or level of the skills needed. When conducting the task analysis, the following should be evaluated: performance of task, frequency of task performed, importance of each task, knowledge needed to perform the task, difficulty of the task and trainings available for each task. It is very important to organize the task in sequence or by importance. The employee should be observed while performing the task and the observation should be documented properly. The performance of the employee should be evaluated based on the job description such as taking note if the employee missed important part of the task or deviated from what are listed on the job description. It is important to check if there are differences between the top and bottom performers. This would lead to the question of what are the suitable trainings needed to improve productivity and overall performance of the

Importance Of CRM For HDFC Bank

Importance Of CRM For HDFC Bank The aim of this dissertation was to examine the importance of CRM for HDFC Bank. To achieve this aim, following objectives were set: To analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of CRM services provided by the HDFC Bank, to examine the effects of CRM on business performance and operational effectiveness and to evaluate the improvements in customer service due to it, to assess the awareness of the bank employees to the concept of CRM and its benefits for the organization, to determine the extent of customer satisfaction level by conducting interviews, distributing questionnaire and carrying out a survey in HDFC Bank, to gather relevant data and critically analyzing it using a vast variety of sources and research tools. The chapter encompass the analysis and evaluation of the data collected via different research methods and includes both quantitative and qualitative measures taken into account and discussed upon. The researcher presented much of the quantitative data into graphs so tha t it could easily be understood. As discussed in the last chapter, interviews were conducted from branch manager and two of the middle line managers. Survey was conducted from randomly selected 80 (+3 later) customers to gain their views; along with it, short questionnaires were also distributed to randomly chosen 30 bank employees to take into account their perspectives about the adaption and use of CRM in the bank. Interviews were purposely kept informal and qualitative data was collected about the banks strategy, plan, objectives and actions taken regarding the adaption and use of CRM system and applications. In the interviews, the researcher inquired about many other things which are discussed in the qualitative analysis below. The survey from employees was mainly concerning the effects of CRM on their performance and how it affected their day to day bank functions and operations. Questionnaires from customers included their perceptions about the bank services and whether those improved. The data gathered by interviews provided helpful information about the bank strategic plans and policies and gave insight into the banking operations. It also provided information on customer relation management systems, infrastructure of information and technology, and its effects on the employee performance, customer satisfaction, increased sales targeting, and over all culture of the organization, etc. The objective of the interviews was to have the complete picture of what the aims of the management were and to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the CRM systems. The researcher analysed the current situation of the CRM and how effective it was and in line with the IT services and if it supported the business strategy keeping in view the future developments and enhancements in IT. The rate of response from employees and customers was 100% though some customers and employees left very few questions unanswered. The researcher realized the weakness of research validity because it was hard to grasp real feeling of respondents in terms of such contrasts as satisfied/dissatisfied, agree/disagree, etc. Nonetheless, an effort was made to ensure the questions appear to be measuring all important aspects of the construct and results of questionnaires are consistent with results of established measures. In order to gather more reliable and valid data, the researcher also conducted short interviews from some of the employees and customers. These were not pre-planned but helped a lot in explaining the answers in details. The researcher also ensured that interviews and questionnaires follow a specific pattern. The findings are reported below and separate analysis is provided for managers interviews, employees questionnaire and customers questionnaire. Appendix is provided on a separate sheet which contains copies of employees questionnaire, customers questionnaire, and the copy of questions that were asked during the interviews with the manager. It is very important to mention here that the researcher undertook pilot study before the actual commencement of the research. It was a feasibly a very small experiment to test logistics and collect data prior to the greater research in order to improve the quality and efficiency of the questions asked in the interviews and questionnaires. It was important to test the questions designed in the questionnaires before they are actually used in the research in order to determine whether they are conducive towards the research and would pose no problems for the respondent and experts should be consulted to comment on the suitability of the questions and this is regarded as pilot study. The branch manager was approached and informal meeting was held. The researcher asked few short questions (similar to the questions asked in later study but in details). The manager also helped me ask few simple questions from 5 of the employees to test my questionnaire and reveal any deficiency in the desi gn of the proposed experiment. Although it provided limited information but it proved vital for the severity of the proposed procedures. All the information gathered in addition to review of banks own research questions were incorporated into the main study design. However pilot study did not lead to modification of any pre-planned research process. The differences of results from main research were discussed in summary in following sections. 4.2. Qualitative Research Discussion The researcher conducted one pilot interview with branch manager first. After finalising the questions, another formal interview was taken. There were almost same responses in both occasions. Two of the middle line managers were asked for their time for interviews and luckily single interview was taken from both managers. Interview 1 is from branch manager and interview 2 is from line/operational managers. Senior manager was asked questions about overall bank performance and importance of CRM while managers at mid-level were enquired on matters regarding operational functions. Questions asked from senior managers include: How does CRM impact companys performance both directly and indirectly? What is the evidence that CRM improves customer services? What type of CRM software and applications does the bank use? Do you have any CRM implementation policy? How important is CRM requirement in strategic planning? What is your opinion about the use of CRM in the bank? What role does manageme nt and employees play in successful implementation of CRM? Please discuss on future CRM plans? Questions put forward to operational managers include: What are the factors influencing and encouraging the use of CRM? What are the benefits and limitations of CRM for the company? What are the problems encountered by the company in adapting and implementing CRM systems? How do employees respond to CRM? How do customers respond to CRM? What are the operational planning activities CRM provide the bank? How do CRM systems add value on financial packages and services? How CRM does contribute to customer satisfaction and retention? Is CRM proven way of managing customer information? Does CRM assure customer responses? In what ways do CRM contribute to customers loyalty? Does the implementation of CRM affect the company-customer relationship? What are the most important factors influencing CRM in company? Are you satisfied with the adaption and use of CRM? Interview 1: The bank manager in his interview explained that the changing banking environment has affected the way Indian banks used to operate and function. Intense competition, environmental factors such as legal and social, and the ever updating norms of the financial institutions has and impact on the banks to adapt and adjust accordingly and to amend their policies and procedures. He believes that marketing and technology play crucial role for banks as they are the institutions that provide direct services to its clients, therefore HDFC Bank recognises this as stated by branchs managers own words, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Bank understands the significance of the role of technology and marketing for improving customer relations and services especially in the intensely competitive and changing Indian banking sectorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. When enquired about the need for CRM, the manager responded that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The bank needs to maintain data and information about its clients, and must have a system t hat could help the bank improve its customer services; therefore it must have basic CRM technology to track and serve the customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. This led to adaption of latest CRM technologies and processes. Bank manager, in the interview explained that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The bank needed to adapt CRM in order to increase profitability by reducing operational costs in serving the customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. According to his belief, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“HDFC Bank had been facing traditional problems of lack of modern delivery and marketing techniques in current fast emerging digital economyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The Bank constantly searched for means to improve their service and to increase customer base. CRM provided the opportunity for the bank as it brought together relationship of IT and marketing strategies to create profitable and long term relationships with clients. When further questioned about why the bank adapted the CRM policy and procedures, the managers replied, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Satisfying our clients needs was our major focus and was an important factor in implementing our CRM initiative. Some customers demanded the improvement in our approach to managing customer relationships which assisted us deciding to adopt and implement CRM programs capabilitiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. To meet the needs of the customers, HDFC Bank timely started to focus on developing a customer relationship management (CRM) system. Realizing the significance of customer information availability, the project was undertaken by the bank with the spirit that has characterized the whole CRM development. The project has promoted a massive involvement of suggestions from clients, employees and other stakeholders. Strategic plan was developed and targets were set. The management developed the CRM infrastructure and adapted latest CRM procedures. When asked if the bank has any CRM implementation policy, the management answered that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“HDFC Bank has a central policy of using CRM within all its branches which controls all the CRM procedures. The Bank has incorporated the CRM policies into its strategic vision and mission statementsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. Although the manager didnt give exact figures on how the bank specifically the main branch has spent on CRM implementation and introduction of new systems but they agree that the bank devote considerable amount of resources to manage CRM. The bank realizes that it is vital that its CRM applications and systems are supported and controlled by qualified and experienced managers. For this reason, all the managers are trained and experienced to bring together professional staff, encouraging communication and coordination among them, promoting team work and instructing ways in quality service and ensure that CRM systems work efficiently. When enquired whether the bank has any evaluation and appraisal in place, the manager responded that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The bank has developed a mechanism to check whether CRM is effectively in good useà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The managers ensure that regular feedback system to consider perspective of the management, employee participation perspective and customer experience perspective. According to the branch manager, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The bank generated better than expected outcomes. CRM has positively influenced every banking function and operationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The manager believes that the bank now provides better and improved banking services. Its operating efficiently and management and employees work more effectively. The speed of the work has improved due to CRM adaption. CRM has helped the bank to target the strategies for better customer services. It has also assisted in facilitating customer service which resulted in satisfied customers and profitable business. The adaption and implementation of CRM by the bank has resulted in improved performance and profitability. Interview 2: Both the middle line managers were questioned about the operational activities of the bank and how the adaption of CRM technology and implementation of CRM processes and procedures has influenced the banking activities. The managers were in charge of the implementation after the senior manager set the strategic plan. They were very much aware of the involvement of bank staff if the CRM adaption was to be successful. One of the managers during the interview discussed that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The major decision they tool to successfully adapt the CRM within the bank environment was to empower its employees in decision makingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The management realized that CRM adaption requires the well trained, educated and experienced staff to work on it. They are theoretically and practically trained on how to utilize latest CRM system and applications. The managers explained that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Employees are given access to customer database so that they can make on the spot and efficien t decisions. They are also empowered to resolve small customer issues themselves, though major complaints are still dealt centrally by the senior management. Employees are also involved in searching, adapting and evaluating CRM needs for the bank. The management emphasises greatly on availability of latest and advanced information and communication technology to its staff and takes extra measures to ensure this happensà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? The managers were also responsible for planning, sorting, reviewing and monitoring work of the employees. The managers believe that the bank now provides better and improved banking services. According to their belief, employees work more enthusiastically, are well motivated and are satisfied with their roles and responsibilities. The managers think that bank processes such as sales and marketing works more efficiently. Due to CRM, the bank can access a wide variety of sources for required information, ideas and experiences. Employees work more effectively by reducing repetitive tasks, decreasing costs, and minimizing risks. They can deal with customer enquiries without any difficulty and resolve many issues on the spot. Another benefit that the bank has received is increase in speed and reliability of banking functions/transactions. CRM has helped the bank to target the strategies for better customer services. It has also assisted in facilitating customer service which resulted in satisfied customers and profitable business. The adaption and implementation of CRM by the bank has resulted in improved performance and profitability. The managers also stated that operational inefficiencies have reduced and few resources are being wasted. CRM also helped developed new incentives for clients by searching their data and records which are collected by latest systems and applications. The most important impact of CRM on bank as felt by managers is the creation of climate of trust that helped in customer loyalty and retention. The management is completely satisfied with the results of CRM use in the bank. Their future plan is simple and that is continuing with the current policy. They understand that CRM technologies rapidly change. It is hard to forecast where CRM technology will be in the next few years. According to the words of the Branch manager, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“We are often one of the first in our industry to detect technological developments that may potentially affect our business. We generally respond very quickly to technological changes in our environmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The management ensure that staff maintains close relations with bank clients. The managers recognise the basic value of the bank and that includes learning as a key to improvement. They believe that they have common language to deal with CRM issues and have a clear division of roles and responsibilities to implement or update CRM. They also think that they have necessary skills and technical competence to absorb the new CRM systems processes, tools and applications. The management agrees unanimously that bank uses CRM to drives profitability, cut costs, reduces risks and improves customer service. The management finds it challenging to ensure clients prefer their services over that of others. The managers believe that the key to develop a close customer relationship and nurture it is to appreciate the needs and cater the requirements of the customers. The bank uses CRM technology to analyze the customer needs and to ensure customer satisfaction. The use of CRM in the bank has become crucial with aggressive strategies employed to gain and retain customers, which has resulted in the adoption of various CRM initiatives to enable the bank to achieve its objectives. The management realized to build a close relationship between IT and marketing aspects of CRM to develop lasting client retention. In summary by introducing and adapting the latest CRM methods, techniques, applications and systems, banks can provide be tter customer service, increase customer revenues, discover new customers, sell products more effectively, help sales staff close deals faster, make call centres more efficient, simplify marketing and sales processes. 4.3.1. Quantitative Findings (Employees) What is your opinion about the use of CRM in the bank? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Enables cost reduction 7% 28% 48% 17% Improves efficiency 22% 29% 26% 23% Reduces time 43% 25% 22% 10% Improves communication 65% 16% 16% 3% Avoids redundancy 62% 24% 10% 4% Better customer relationship 81% 15% 3% 1% Enables market research 38% 33% 20% 9% Provides customer information 89% 7% 4% 0% A huge majority (89%) agree that by using CRM, employees can have access to customer information. Majority of the employees (71%) believe that CRM system and applications help in carrying out market research easily. Almost all (96%) of employees agree that CRM help in improving and maintaining better customer relationship management. 81% of them agree that communication among employees and with customers improve due to use of CRM. 86% agree to the notion that it reduces the work to be repeated and minimizes mistakes. Half of the employees (51%) said that CRM improves bank efficiency and only 38% answered positively that it enables in cost reduction. Half of the employees stayed neutral to this question. Please comment on the importance of CRM for employees? 64% of the employees strongly believe that adaption and use of CRM for bank is very important. Other 27% also agree and consider it important while only 9% consider its importance average. None responded negatively. Are you satisfied with the use of CRM in the bank? 60% of the respondents stated that they are satisfied with the use of CRM in their bank, 21% are on the view that they are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied while 19% showed their dissatisfaction. Please express your views on the reliability of CRM software and applications? Only 41% of the employees consider the CRM system and applications used in the bank as reliable. 50% are neutral and remaining 9% consider CRM unreliable. 4.3.2. Quantitative Findings (Customers) Please tell if you are you satisfied with the service quality? 87% of the customers are satisfied with the bank services and approved the quality of services provided by the bank. Only a small minority of 3% noted their dissatisfaction. Do you agree that there is sufficient staff-customer communication? 36% of customers believe that there is sufficient communication between employees and customers, 46% are neutral and remaining 18% hinted their disagreement. How do you find the communication between bank staff and customers? 3/4th of the customers asked find the communication good and better and only 12% think that it still can be improved. The other 12% stated the poor communication between bank and them. How do you find friendliness and helpfulness of the staff service? Majority (79%) of the customers consider the staff friendliness and helpfulness as good and excellent. 10% rated it as average and 11% rated it as poor. Please rate your satisfaction level in regards to steps taken by the bank in delivering the services? Third fourth (76%) of the surveyed customers responded positively to this question and agree that bank has improved its services very well. On a scale of 1 (dissatisfied) to 5 (satisfied), how would you rate your level of satisfaction in regards to service value? Only 14% of the customers are placed in the dissatisfaction zone 2/3rd are satisfied with the value of the bank service they receive. Are you satisfied with the banks response to your queries? 1/3rd of the customers pointed out their dissatisfaction with the bank response to their issues and 60% answered their satisfaction to this matter. How do you view timeliness and quality of response? 71% of the customers positively view the timeliness and quality of steps taken by bank to resolve their queries. 1/4th consider it as lacking in quality. Do you agree that customer service has improved? 100% Agree How would you rate the overall quality of your relationship with bank, considering all of your experiences with them? 76% responses are positive and only 6% answers are negative on rating the overall quality of their relationship with the bank. 4.4.1. Employees Questionnaire Discussion Adaption and use of CRM by HDFC could have been effective only with the support and cooperation of bank staff. Management recognised this and took the appropriate steps as explained in the interview analysis. Even the bank employees realized that their support was crucial if the new system and application had to work because they are the persons that interact with customers directly and this interaction greatly influences the relationship of the bank with customers. Successful adaption was only possible in HDFC Bank if employees were motivated and enthusiastic to cooperate with the CRM processes. The employees were properly trained to use the system and CRM tools to improve the bank services. It was very important for the researcher to take employees views in this dissertation, because their perceptions, perspectives morale, skills, experience and satisfaction all influence the work performance and consequently bank performance. These factors are affected by sudden change in the organization specifically if it is technology related. In the survey results, bank employees in general showed satisfaction towards the CRM use within the bank environment. Majority of them agree that new ICT tools for CRM system and applications have helped improve their communication within the bank with colleagues and managers, and externally with customers. When asked by the researcher about the problem of repeating tasks, they collectively replied that this issue has been reduced to minimum due to CRM in bank. Employees can access the database where all the information of specific client is provided, just enter the reference or other details, and the information comes in front of them. This h as helped a lot in risk reduction, quality work in less time and effective performance. Employees believe that customers feel satisfied with the service they provide. Two third of the surveyed employees believe that CRM utilities are very important for their performance and they are completely satisfied with the use of CRM technology and procedures. However many employees have concerns for its reliability and they feel that they have to constantly update their knowledge of its use as the technology changes rapidly. Overall the employees responses were positive as they expect more benefits with little or no limitations in the use of CRM to improve bank performance and services. They have used the new technology, process, procedures, tools and systems related to CRM and they believe that CRM is essential for Bank for current and future use as it directly and/or indirectly affects their performance that in turn improves bank performance as employees provide quality services. 4.4.2. Customers Questionnaire Discussion Banks understand that customer satisfaction is an important variable in order to retain the existing clients or gain the new ones. Poor customer satisfaction leads to a decline in customer loyalty, and given the extended offerings from the competitors, customers easily switch banks. HDFC understands the importance of customer satisfaction and value the customer relationships. CRM was introduced to improve customer services and relationships with customers. The information gathered by the bank management reveals that customers are generally satisfied with the services provided by the bank. The following analysis is the assessment and measurement by the researcher. This research is directed to find the perceptions of the customers towards services provided by HDFC bank and whether these are improved. The researcher tried to describe the research motives behind the findings through this questionnaire. The main aim was to gain the customers impression and assess the efficiency of the CRM system, technology, processes and applications applied by the bank. The researcher attempted to gauge how well CRM influenced the services. Vast majority of the customers disclosed their satisfaction on the bank services. Although the figure remained the same if compared with the survey conducted by the bank few months ago but almost all the customers agreed that the bank service has improved ever since. When asked about the communication process between them and the bank, the reply was not encouraging as many customers feel that this area still needs to be improved. Most customers want face to face interaction and require the bank to provide services for longer hours. If compared with the previous data collected, this survey suggests that communication has improved mainly due to telephone service for minor complaints and information. Although it is good but cannot be considered sufficient. When enquired about the friendliness and helpfulness of the bank staff, many customers respo nded that employees provide good service with better attitude than before. They tend to their issues with sympathy and try to resolve the queries professionally and effectively. They admire that the bank is working hard to train its employees in skills for improved customer service. They also appreciate the introduction of CRM processes that led to improvement in all areas. 4.5. Importance of CRM for Bank in Summary The results generated from the interviews and surveys conclude that CRM has had a very positive effect on the bank performance. It not only helped employees learn and improve but also influenced their morale and motivation. This has an indirect effect on the way bank serve its customers. By adapting CRM processes, the bank has provided its customers with satisfactory services which increased customer loyalty and helped build better relations. CRM has an impact on every bank operation and function. CRM has guided bank to induct latest technological system and application to collect, analyse and use customer information effectively and efficiently run the day to day operations of the bank. CRM has provided a means to better communication and coordination of employees with customers. Other benefits that have been gained include reduction in cost, speedy transactions, reliable flow of information. The bank has achieved the overall objectives of using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes with the implementation of CRM and has been successful in finding, attracting, and wining new clients, and reducing the costs of marketing and client service. The bank realizes the importance of CRM todays competitive environment that it considers it as an integral part of its strategic business plan. CRM integrated approach makes all the difference to satisfying customers, retaining their loyalty, providing added value and generating growth. In fact, CRM might be the difference between the bank to flourish and failure to survive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 5: Conclusion Recommendations 5.1. Research Summary Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an organizational strategy that can assist a bank to build lasting relationship with its clients and improve its performance by increasing revenue and productivity. CRM in the banking industry is of great importance. Today, banking is more customer-centric, unlike the yester when it was transaction-centric. CRM is essential and vital function of customer oriented marketing. However there is more to CRM than just client management. CRM is a broad approach to create, maintain, and expand relationship with customers. It is a strategic plan that aims in understanding, anticipating, managing and personalizing the organizational needs of current as well as potential customers. The idea behind this is that it would help the bank to effectively utilize technology and other resources to gain insight into the clients behaviour and customers values. If adapted and implemented successfully, CRM can help banks provide better customer service, make banking operations more efficient and simplify selling and marketing processes. CRM is a comprehensive approach to cater, maintain and expand customer relationships. It is important for banks to use CRM strategy that aims to understand, anticipate, manage and personalize the needs of banks current and potential customers. CRM applications deliver many benefits across organizational processes and functions. It reshapes the workplace environment and influences the ways business being carried. Successful integration or adaption of CRM system in the banks may not be as easy as it looks. Every concept has limitations such as limitation of finance, resistance to change, government regulations, etc.; so does the CRM in banks. Banks can overcome many of the limitations by efficiency managing CRM and adapting some comprehensive CRM model along with effective CRM software. Managers play an important role to minimize risks. CRM manager is a key factor who can effectively manage the issues related to CRM. It is vital for banks that their CRM applications and systems are supported and controlled by qualified and experienced manager. Bringing together trained and professional staff, encouraging communication and coordination among them, promoting team working and instructing ways in quality service, are some of the duties managers have to perform in order for CRM to work efficiently and harvest benefits. The banks need CRM to survive as it is impossible nowadays not to focus upon the customer expectations. CRM is needed because of ever changing technology and highly competitive banking sector in India. The importance of CRM can be assessed by evaluating CRM that provides enhanced opportunities to use data and information to both understand customers and create value. The ultimate purpose of the CRM is to improve performance and to assess how well the bank needs are met by CRM adaption and implementation. 5.2. Conclusion The aim of this dissertation was to examine the importance of CRM for HDFC Bank. To achieve this aim, following objectives were set: To analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of CRM services provided by the HDFC Bank, to examine the effects of CRM on business performance and operational effectiveness and to evaluate the improvements in customer service due to Importance Of CRM For HDFC Bank Importance Of CRM For HDFC Bank The aim of this dissertation was to examine the importance of CRM for HDFC Bank. To achieve this aim, following objectives were set: To analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of CRM services provided by the HDFC Bank, to examine the effects of CRM on business performance and operational effectiveness and to evaluate the improvements in customer service due to it, to assess the awareness of the bank employees to the concept of CRM and its benefits for the organization, to determine the extent of customer satisfaction level by conducting interviews, distributing questionnaire and carrying out a survey in HDFC Bank, to gather relevant data and critically analyzing it using a vast variety of sources and research tools. The chapter encompass the analysis and evaluation of the data collected via different research methods and includes both quantitative and qualitative measures taken into account and discussed upon. The researcher presented much of the quantitative data into graphs so tha t it could easily be understood. As discussed in the last chapter, interviews were conducted from branch manager and two of the middle line managers. Survey was conducted from randomly selected 80 (+3 later) customers to gain their views; along with it, short questionnaires were also distributed to randomly chosen 30 bank employees to take into account their perspectives about the adaption and use of CRM in the bank. Interviews were purposely kept informal and qualitative data was collected about the banks strategy, plan, objectives and actions taken regarding the adaption and use of CRM system and applications. In the interviews, the researcher inquired about many other things which are discussed in the qualitative analysis below. The survey from employees was mainly concerning the effects of CRM on their performance and how it affected their day to day bank functions and operations. Questionnaires from customers included their perceptions about the bank services and whether those improved. The data gathered by interviews provided helpful information about the bank strategic plans and policies and gave insight into the banking operations. It also provided information on customer relation management systems, infrastructure of information and technology, and its effects on the employee performance, customer satisfaction, increased sales targeting, and over all culture of the organization, etc. The objective of the interviews was to have the complete picture of what the aims of the management were and to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the CRM systems. The researcher analysed the current situation of the CRM and how effective it was and in line with the IT services and if it supported the business strategy keeping in view the future developments and enhancements in IT. The rate of response from employees and customers was 100% though some customers and employees left very few questions unanswered. The researcher realized the weakness of research validity because it was hard to grasp real feeling of respondents in terms of such contrasts as satisfied/dissatisfied, agree/disagree, etc. Nonetheless, an effort was made to ensure the questions appear to be measuring all important aspects of the construct and results of questionnaires are consistent with results of established measures. In order to gather more reliable and valid data, the researcher also conducted short interviews from some of the employees and customers. These were not pre-planned but helped a lot in explaining the answers in details. The researcher also ensured that interviews and questionnaires follow a specific pattern. The findings are reported below and separate analysis is provided for managers interviews, employees questionnaire and customers questionnaire. Appendix is provided on a separate sheet which contains copies of employees questionnaire, customers questionnaire, and the copy of questions that were asked during the interviews with the manager. It is very important to mention here that the researcher undertook pilot study before the actual commencement of the research. It was a feasibly a very small experiment to test logistics and collect data prior to the greater research in order to improve the quality and efficiency of the questions asked in the interviews and questionnaires. It was important to test the questions designed in the questionnaires before they are actually used in the research in order to determine whether they are conducive towards the research and would pose no problems for the respondent and experts should be consulted to comment on the suitability of the questions and this is regarded as pilot study. The branch manager was approached and informal meeting was held. The researcher asked few short questions (similar to the questions asked in later study but in details). The manager also helped me ask few simple questions from 5 of the employees to test my questionnaire and reveal any deficiency in the desi gn of the proposed experiment. Although it provided limited information but it proved vital for the severity of the proposed procedures. All the information gathered in addition to review of banks own research questions were incorporated into the main study design. However pilot study did not lead to modification of any pre-planned research process. The differences of results from main research were discussed in summary in following sections. 4.2. Qualitative Research Discussion The researcher conducted one pilot interview with branch manager first. After finalising the questions, another formal interview was taken. There were almost same responses in both occasions. Two of the middle line managers were asked for their time for interviews and luckily single interview was taken from both managers. Interview 1 is from branch manager and interview 2 is from line/operational managers. Senior manager was asked questions about overall bank performance and importance of CRM while managers at mid-level were enquired on matters regarding operational functions. Questions asked from senior managers include: How does CRM impact companys performance both directly and indirectly? What is the evidence that CRM improves customer services? What type of CRM software and applications does the bank use? Do you have any CRM implementation policy? How important is CRM requirement in strategic planning? What is your opinion about the use of CRM in the bank? What role does manageme nt and employees play in successful implementation of CRM? Please discuss on future CRM plans? Questions put forward to operational managers include: What are the factors influencing and encouraging the use of CRM? What are the benefits and limitations of CRM for the company? What are the problems encountered by the company in adapting and implementing CRM systems? How do employees respond to CRM? How do customers respond to CRM? What are the operational planning activities CRM provide the bank? How do CRM systems add value on financial packages and services? How CRM does contribute to customer satisfaction and retention? Is CRM proven way of managing customer information? Does CRM assure customer responses? In what ways do CRM contribute to customers loyalty? Does the implementation of CRM affect the company-customer relationship? What are the most important factors influencing CRM in company? Are you satisfied with the adaption and use of CRM? Interview 1: The bank manager in his interview explained that the changing banking environment has affected the way Indian banks used to operate and function. Intense competition, environmental factors such as legal and social, and the ever updating norms of the financial institutions has and impact on the banks to adapt and adjust accordingly and to amend their policies and procedures. He believes that marketing and technology play crucial role for banks as they are the institutions that provide direct services to its clients, therefore HDFC Bank recognises this as stated by branchs managers own words, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Bank understands the significance of the role of technology and marketing for improving customer relations and services especially in the intensely competitive and changing Indian banking sectorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. When enquired about the need for CRM, the manager responded that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The bank needs to maintain data and information about its clients, and must have a system t hat could help the bank improve its customer services; therefore it must have basic CRM technology to track and serve the customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. This led to adaption of latest CRM technologies and processes. Bank manager, in the interview explained that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The bank needed to adapt CRM in order to increase profitability by reducing operational costs in serving the customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. According to his belief, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“HDFC Bank had been facing traditional problems of lack of modern delivery and marketing techniques in current fast emerging digital economyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The Bank constantly searched for means to improve their service and to increase customer base. CRM provided the opportunity for the bank as it brought together relationship of IT and marketing strategies to create profitable and long term relationships with clients. When further questioned about why the bank adapted the CRM policy and procedures, the managers replied, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Satisfying our clients needs was our major focus and was an important factor in implementing our CRM initiative. Some customers demanded the improvement in our approach to managing customer relationships which assisted us deciding to adopt and implement CRM programs capabilitiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. To meet the needs of the customers, HDFC Bank timely started to focus on developing a customer relationship management (CRM) system. Realizing the significance of customer information availability, the project was undertaken by the bank with the spirit that has characterized the whole CRM development. The project has promoted a massive involvement of suggestions from clients, employees and other stakeholders. Strategic plan was developed and targets were set. The management developed the CRM infrastructure and adapted latest CRM procedures. When asked if the bank has any CRM implementation policy, the management answered that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“HDFC Bank has a central policy of using CRM within all its branches which controls all the CRM procedures. The Bank has incorporated the CRM policies into its strategic vision and mission statementsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. Although the manager didnt give exact figures on how the bank specifically the main branch has spent on CRM implementation and introduction of new systems but they agree that the bank devote considerable amount of resources to manage CRM. The bank realizes that it is vital that its CRM applications and systems are supported and controlled by qualified and experienced managers. For this reason, all the managers are trained and experienced to bring together professional staff, encouraging communication and coordination among them, promoting team work and instructing ways in quality service and ensure that CRM systems work efficiently. When enquired whether the bank has any evaluation and appraisal in place, the manager responded that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The bank has developed a mechanism to check whether CRM is effectively in good useà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The managers ensure that regular feedback system to consider perspective of the management, employee participation perspective and customer experience perspective. According to the branch manager, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The bank generated better than expected outcomes. CRM has positively influenced every banking function and operationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The manager believes that the bank now provides better and improved banking services. Its operating efficiently and management and employees work more effectively. The speed of the work has improved due to CRM adaption. CRM has helped the bank to target the strategies for better customer services. It has also assisted in facilitating customer service which resulted in satisfied customers and profitable business. The adaption and implementation of CRM by the bank has resulted in improved performance and profitability. Interview 2: Both the middle line managers were questioned about the operational activities of the bank and how the adaption of CRM technology and implementation of CRM processes and procedures has influenced the banking activities. The managers were in charge of the implementation after the senior manager set the strategic plan. They were very much aware of the involvement of bank staff if the CRM adaption was to be successful. One of the managers during the interview discussed that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The major decision they tool to successfully adapt the CRM within the bank environment was to empower its employees in decision makingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The management realized that CRM adaption requires the well trained, educated and experienced staff to work on it. They are theoretically and practically trained on how to utilize latest CRM system and applications. The managers explained that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Employees are given access to customer database so that they can make on the spot and efficien t decisions. They are also empowered to resolve small customer issues themselves, though major complaints are still dealt centrally by the senior management. Employees are also involved in searching, adapting and evaluating CRM needs for the bank. The management emphasises greatly on availability of latest and advanced information and communication technology to its staff and takes extra measures to ensure this happensà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? The managers were also responsible for planning, sorting, reviewing and monitoring work of the employees. The managers believe that the bank now provides better and improved banking services. According to their belief, employees work more enthusiastically, are well motivated and are satisfied with their roles and responsibilities. The managers think that bank processes such as sales and marketing works more efficiently. Due to CRM, the bank can access a wide variety of sources for required information, ideas and experiences. Employees work more effectively by reducing repetitive tasks, decreasing costs, and minimizing risks. They can deal with customer enquiries without any difficulty and resolve many issues on the spot. Another benefit that the bank has received is increase in speed and reliability of banking functions/transactions. CRM has helped the bank to target the strategies for better customer services. It has also assisted in facilitating customer service which resulted in satisfied customers and profitable business. The adaption and implementation of CRM by the bank has resulted in improved performance and profitability. The managers also stated that operational inefficiencies have reduced and few resources are being wasted. CRM also helped developed new incentives for clients by searching their data and records which are collected by latest systems and applications. The most important impact of CRM on bank as felt by managers is the creation of climate of trust that helped in customer loyalty and retention. The management is completely satisfied with the results of CRM use in the bank. Their future plan is simple and that is continuing with the current policy. They understand that CRM technologies rapidly change. It is hard to forecast where CRM technology will be in the next few years. According to the words of the Branch manager, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“We are often one of the first in our industry to detect technological developments that may potentially affect our business. We generally respond very quickly to technological changes in our environmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. The management ensure that staff maintains close relations with bank clients. The managers recognise the basic value of the bank and that includes learning as a key to improvement. They believe that they have common language to deal with CRM issues and have a clear division of roles and responsibilities to implement or update CRM. They also think that they have necessary skills and technical competence to absorb the new CRM systems processes, tools and applications. The management agrees unanimously that bank uses CRM to drives profitability, cut costs, reduces risks and improves customer service. The management finds it challenging to ensure clients prefer their services over that of others. The managers believe that the key to develop a close customer relationship and nurture it is to appreciate the needs and cater the requirements of the customers. The bank uses CRM technology to analyze the customer needs and to ensure customer satisfaction. The use of CRM in the bank has become crucial with aggressive strategies employed to gain and retain customers, which has resulted in the adoption of various CRM initiatives to enable the bank to achieve its objectives. The management realized to build a close relationship between IT and marketing aspects of CRM to develop lasting client retention. In summary by introducing and adapting the latest CRM methods, techniques, applications and systems, banks can provide be tter customer service, increase customer revenues, discover new customers, sell products more effectively, help sales staff close deals faster, make call centres more efficient, simplify marketing and sales processes. 4.3.1. Quantitative Findings (Employees) What is your opinion about the use of CRM in the bank? Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Enables cost reduction 7% 28% 48% 17% Improves efficiency 22% 29% 26% 23% Reduces time 43% 25% 22% 10% Improves communication 65% 16% 16% 3% Avoids redundancy 62% 24% 10% 4% Better customer relationship 81% 15% 3% 1% Enables market research 38% 33% 20% 9% Provides customer information 89% 7% 4% 0% A huge majority (89%) agree that by using CRM, employees can have access to customer information. Majority of the employees (71%) believe that CRM system and applications help in carrying out market research easily. Almost all (96%) of employees agree that CRM help in improving and maintaining better customer relationship management. 81% of them agree that communication among employees and with customers improve due to use of CRM. 86% agree to the notion that it reduces the work to be repeated and minimizes mistakes. Half of the employees (51%) said that CRM improves bank efficiency and only 38% answered positively that it enables in cost reduction. Half of the employees stayed neutral to this question. Please comment on the importance of CRM for employees? 64% of the employees strongly believe that adaption and use of CRM for bank is very important. Other 27% also agree and consider it important while only 9% consider its importance average. None responded negatively. Are you satisfied with the use of CRM in the bank? 60% of the respondents stated that they are satisfied with the use of CRM in their bank, 21% are on the view that they are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied while 19% showed their dissatisfaction. Please express your views on the reliability of CRM software and applications? Only 41% of the employees consider the CRM system and applications used in the bank as reliable. 50% are neutral and remaining 9% consider CRM unreliable. 4.3.2. Quantitative Findings (Customers) Please tell if you are you satisfied with the service quality? 87% of the customers are satisfied with the bank services and approved the quality of services provided by the bank. Only a small minority of 3% noted their dissatisfaction. Do you agree that there is sufficient staff-customer communication? 36% of customers believe that there is sufficient communication between employees and customers, 46% are neutral and remaining 18% hinted their disagreement. How do you find the communication between bank staff and customers? 3/4th of the customers asked find the communication good and better and only 12% think that it still can be improved. The other 12% stated the poor communication between bank and them. How do you find friendliness and helpfulness of the staff service? Majority (79%) of the customers consider the staff friendliness and helpfulness as good and excellent. 10% rated it as average and 11% rated it as poor. Please rate your satisfaction level in regards to steps taken by the bank in delivering the services? Third fourth (76%) of the surveyed customers responded positively to this question and agree that bank has improved its services very well. On a scale of 1 (dissatisfied) to 5 (satisfied), how would you rate your level of satisfaction in regards to service value? Only 14% of the customers are placed in the dissatisfaction zone 2/3rd are satisfied with the value of the bank service they receive. Are you satisfied with the banks response to your queries? 1/3rd of the customers pointed out their dissatisfaction with the bank response to their issues and 60% answered their satisfaction to this matter. How do you view timeliness and quality of response? 71% of the customers positively view the timeliness and quality of steps taken by bank to resolve their queries. 1/4th consider it as lacking in quality. Do you agree that customer service has improved? 100% Agree How would you rate the overall quality of your relationship with bank, considering all of your experiences with them? 76% responses are positive and only 6% answers are negative on rating the overall quality of their relationship with the bank. 4.4.1. Employees Questionnaire Discussion Adaption and use of CRM by HDFC could have been effective only with the support and cooperation of bank staff. Management recognised this and took the appropriate steps as explained in the interview analysis. Even the bank employees realized that their support was crucial if the new system and application had to work because they are the persons that interact with customers directly and this interaction greatly influences the relationship of the bank with customers. Successful adaption was only possible in HDFC Bank if employees were motivated and enthusiastic to cooperate with the CRM processes. The employees were properly trained to use the system and CRM tools to improve the bank services. It was very important for the researcher to take employees views in this dissertation, because their perceptions, perspectives morale, skills, experience and satisfaction all influence the work performance and consequently bank performance. These factors are affected by sudden change in the organization specifically if it is technology related. In the survey results, bank employees in general showed satisfaction towards the CRM use within the bank environment. Majority of them agree that new ICT tools for CRM system and applications have helped improve their communication within the bank with colleagues and managers, and externally with customers. When asked by the researcher about the problem of repeating tasks, they collectively replied that this issue has been reduced to minimum due to CRM in bank. Employees can access the database where all the information of specific client is provided, just enter the reference or other details, and the information comes in front of them. This h as helped a lot in risk reduction, quality work in less time and effective performance. Employees believe that customers feel satisfied with the service they provide. Two third of the surveyed employees believe that CRM utilities are very important for their performance and they are completely satisfied with the use of CRM technology and procedures. However many employees have concerns for its reliability and they feel that they have to constantly update their knowledge of its use as the technology changes rapidly. Overall the employees responses were positive as they expect more benefits with little or no limitations in the use of CRM to improve bank performance and services. They have used the new technology, process, procedures, tools and systems related to CRM and they believe that CRM is essential for Bank for current and future use as it directly and/or indirectly affects their performance that in turn improves bank performance as employees provide quality services. 4.4.2. Customers Questionnaire Discussion Banks understand that customer satisfaction is an important variable in order to retain the existing clients or gain the new ones. Poor customer satisfaction leads to a decline in customer loyalty, and given the extended offerings from the competitors, customers easily switch banks. HDFC understands the importance of customer satisfaction and value the customer relationships. CRM was introduced to improve customer services and relationships with customers. The information gathered by the bank management reveals that customers are generally satisfied with the services provided by the bank. The following analysis is the assessment and measurement by the researcher. This research is directed to find the perceptions of the customers towards services provided by HDFC bank and whether these are improved. The researcher tried to describe the research motives behind the findings through this questionnaire. The main aim was to gain the customers impression and assess the efficiency of the CRM system, technology, processes and applications applied by the bank. The researcher attempted to gauge how well CRM influenced the services. Vast majority of the customers disclosed their satisfaction on the bank services. Although the figure remained the same if compared with the survey conducted by the bank few months ago but almost all the customers agreed that the bank service has improved ever since. When asked about the communication process between them and the bank, the reply was not encouraging as many customers feel that this area still needs to be improved. Most customers want face to face interaction and require the bank to provide services for longer hours. If compared with the previous data collected, this survey suggests that communication has improved mainly due to telephone service for minor complaints and information. Although it is good but cannot be considered sufficient. When enquired about the friendliness and helpfulness of the bank staff, many customers respo nded that employees provide good service with better attitude than before. They tend to their issues with sympathy and try to resolve the queries professionally and effectively. They admire that the bank is working hard to train its employees in skills for improved customer service. They also appreciate the introduction of CRM processes that led to improvement in all areas. 4.5. Importance of CRM for Bank in Summary The results generated from the interviews and surveys conclude that CRM has had a very positive effect on the bank performance. It not only helped employees learn and improve but also influenced their morale and motivation. This has an indirect effect on the way bank serve its customers. By adapting CRM processes, the bank has provided its customers with satisfactory services which increased customer loyalty and helped build better relations. CRM has an impact on every bank operation and function. CRM has guided bank to induct latest technological system and application to collect, analyse and use customer information effectively and efficiently run the day to day operations of the bank. CRM has provided a means to better communication and coordination of employees with customers. Other benefits that have been gained include reduction in cost, speedy transactions, reliable flow of information. The bank has achieved the overall objectives of using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes with the implementation of CRM and has been successful in finding, attracting, and wining new clients, and reducing the costs of marketing and client service. The bank realizes the importance of CRM todays competitive environment that it considers it as an integral part of its strategic business plan. CRM integrated approach makes all the difference to satisfying customers, retaining their loyalty, providing added value and generating growth. In fact, CRM might be the difference between the bank to flourish and failure to survive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 5: Conclusion Recommendations 5.1. Research Summary Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an organizational strategy that can assist a bank to build lasting relationship with its clients and improve its performance by increasing revenue and productivity. CRM in the banking industry is of great importance. Today, banking is more customer-centric, unlike the yester when it was transaction-centric. CRM is essential and vital function of customer oriented marketing. However there is more to CRM than just client management. CRM is a broad approach to create, maintain, and expand relationship with customers. It is a strategic plan that aims in understanding, anticipating, managing and personalizing the organizational needs of current as well as potential customers. The idea behind this is that it would help the bank to effectively utilize technology and other resources to gain insight into the clients behaviour and customers values. If adapted and implemented successfully, CRM can help banks provide better customer service, make banking operations more efficient and simplify selling and marketing processes. CRM is a comprehensive approach to cater, maintain and expand customer relationships. It is important for banks to use CRM strategy that aims to understand, anticipate, manage and personalize the needs of banks current and potential customers. CRM applications deliver many benefits across organizational processes and functions. It reshapes the workplace environment and influences the ways business being carried. Successful integration or adaption of CRM system in the banks may not be as easy as it looks. Every concept has limitations such as limitation of finance, resistance to change, government regulations, etc.; so does the CRM in banks. Banks can overcome many of the limitations by efficiency managing CRM and adapting some comprehensive CRM model along with effective CRM software. Managers play an important role to minimize risks. CRM manager is a key factor who can effectively manage the issues related to CRM. It is vital for banks that their CRM applications and systems are supported and controlled by qualified and experienced manager. Bringing together trained and professional staff, encouraging communication and coordination among them, promoting team working and instructing ways in quality service, are some of the duties managers have to perform in order for CRM to work efficiently and harvest benefits. The banks need CRM to survive as it is impossible nowadays not to focus upon the customer expectations. CRM is needed because of ever changing technology and highly competitive banking sector in India. The importance of CRM can be assessed by evaluating CRM that provides enhanced opportunities to use data and information to both understand customers and create value. The ultimate purpose of the CRM is to improve performance and to assess how well the bank needs are met by CRM adaption and implementation. 5.2. Conclusion The aim of this dissertation was to examine the importance of CRM for HDFC Bank. To achieve this aim, following objectives were set: To analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of CRM services provided by the HDFC Bank, to examine the effects of CRM on business performance and operational effectiveness and to evaluate the improvements in customer service due to