Considering Why Young People Begin Using Illicit Substances and How to Assignment

Considering Why Young People Begin Using Illicit Substances and How to Reduce Drug Taking Activity - Assignment Example There are two types of illicit substances, commonly known as soft drugs and hard drugs. Soft drugs include barbiturates, amphetamines and cannabis while heroin and cocaine are highly addictive and are called hard drugs (Keene 2002, p. 78). The soft drugs are not highly addictive while the hard drugs are highly addictive. Although all substances are harmful as they affect a person’s mental and physical health cocaine is particularly dangerous in fact it is lethal if taken in large amounts. Youth today is quite well-informed about the harmful effects of drugs and even though they are aware of the potential dangers of using illicit drugs that do not stop them from experimenting. There are various reasons which pull the young people towards drugs; some teenagers try drugs simply out of curiosity. The experimentation which starts with soft drugs often leads the use of hard drugs and consequently criminal activities (Pudney 2003). Studies show that cannabis is the most commonly used drug in the United Kingdom with 42% of the users being teenagers between the ages of 15 and 16 (Keene 2002, p. 76) whereas cocaine is the most commonly used hard drug. Boredom was cited as a reason for taking illicit drugs by young people belonging to middle-class families. In such cases, illicit drugs were a means of recreation and a way to enjoy and explore life from a different angle. It added excitement to their lives making it interesting. Some teenagers take drugs for enjoyment and may stop once the novelty is over but this can only happen if they are using soft drugs. The desire to appear cool or be accepted as popular is the reason which gets high school students hooked to drugs. Drugs can have a strong effect on a person’s mind and thinking.  

Rationale for the Biblical Worldview Essay Essay Example for Free

Rationale for the Biblical Worldview Essay Essay Every person has a worldview whether he realizes it or not. What is a worldview? James W. Sire defines a worldview as: [A] commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) that we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being. Stated more succinctly, †¦[A] worldview is simply the total set of beliefs that a person has about the biggest questions in life. F. Leroy Forlines describes such questions as the inescapable questions of life. Lifes inescapable questions include the following: Is there a God? If so, what is He like? How can I know Him? Who am I? Where am I? How can I tell right from wrong? Is there life after death? What should I and what can I do about guilt? How can I deal with my inner pain? Lifes biggest, inescapable questions relate to whether there is a God, human origins, identity, purpose, and the hereafter, just to mention a few. Satisfying answers to the inescapable questions of life are provided by the Holy Scriptures. The Holy Scriptures, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, form the starting point and foundation for the biblical worldview. More specifically related to our purposes, the apostle Paul reflects several components of the biblical worldview in his letter to the Romans. The apostle Paul authored Romans toward the end of his third missionary journey, about 57 A.D. He addressed this letter specifically to the Christians in Rome. At the time the church in Rome consisted of Jewish and Gentile believers, with Gentile Christians in the majority. Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome in order to address specific concerns and challenges they were facing. While Romans was an occasional letter (not a systematic  theology), Paul presents the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a very systematic fashion. The Gospel is actually the overarching theme of Romans as Paul spells this out in his programmatic statement in 1:16–17. As the systematic presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Romans is foundational to the biblical/Christian worldview. Recognizing that Romans is not a systematic theology and does not contain all the essential truths that are relevant to a worldview per se, the apostle Paul articulates truths that are foundational to the biblical worldview. In Romans 1–8, Paul addresses certain components of a worldview that relate to the natural world, human identity, human relationships, and culture. In a 750–1000-word essay, describe what Romans 1–8 teaches regarding (1)the natural world, (2)human identity,(3) human relationships, and (4) culture. Furthermore, (5)explain how this teaching of these topics affects your worldview. Make sure that you address each of these topics in your essay. †¢As an essay, it must be written with excellent grammar, spelling, and style. †¢Begin your essay with an interesting introduction that contains a precisely stated thesis. End your essay with a strong conclusion that summarizes your main points succinctly. Structure of assignment paragraphs: †¢Introduction/Thesis (approximately 75 words) †¢The Natural World (approximately 150–200 words) †¢Human Identity (approximately 150–200 words) †¢Human Relationships (approximately 150–200 words) †¢Culture (approximately 150–200 words) †¢Conclusion (approximately 75 words) †¢Use each of the categories above as headers for each paragraph in your essay. †¢The body of your essay must address the specified components of the assignment in excellent grammatical style. †¢Your essay must be typed in a Microsoft Word document using Times New Roman, 12-point font. †¢It must be single spaced, and must contain 750–1000 words. †¢All sources must be cited, and a bibliography must be included. †¢Format your paper in a Microsoft Word  document using current APA, MLA, or Turabian style (whichever corresponds to your degree program). Review the Biblical Worldview Essay Grading Rubric to see the specific grading criteria by which you will be evaluated before submitting your essay. †¢Do not footnote Scripture references; cite them parenthetically within the essay body following the quotation or allusion to the biblical text. Submit this assignment using SafeAssign by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 7.

Electronics Arts Company Analysis

Electronics Arts Company Analysis Electronic Arts (EA) is an American developer, marketer, publisher, and distributor of computer and video games. The gaming industry where the company operates is one of the most competitive and dynamic industries. Perform a PEST analysis and five forces analysis on the industry as well as SWOT analysis and suggest an appropriate strategic course for Electronic Arts. 1.0 Introduction Electronic Arts, Inc. (EA) is a worldwide developer, dealer, publisher and distributor of video entertainments. The organization was an initiate of the early home computer amusements organization and was remarkable for encouraging the designers and programmers in charge for its games. Initially, EA was a home computing amusement publisher. EA developed via achievement of several successful developers. It had grown to be one of the worlds biggest third party publishers. (Wikipedia ,2010) Presently, it is mainly successful goods are sports games available under its EA Sports label, entertainments based on trendy film authorizes such as Harry Potter and games from long-running franchises like Medal of Honor, Need for Speed, The Sims, Battlefield and the presently games in the Burnout and Command and Conquer series. With the majority of its sports instruction series being industrial by EA, and the worlds biggest enlargement studio EA Canada which they are also the distributors of the Rock Band series. (Wikipedia ,2010) 2.0 PEST analysis tools PEST can be described as political, economic, social, technological issues, which are applied to evaluate the marketplace for a company or organizational unit. The PEST analysis headings are a structure for analysis a position, and can also be applied to evaluate a plan or position, trend of a business and marketing proposal. It is a helpful implement for understanding marketplace situation, in which they are working, and the opportunities and threats that be positioned within it. (Strategylabs, 2010) The models issues will vary in significance to a particular company based on its business and the products it manufactures. Moreover, issues which are more probable to alter in the outlook or more related to a specified business will carry greater meaning. Additionally, EA who create a large range of goods can find it more helpful to evaluate one division of its organization at a time with the PEST model, hence concerning on the particular issues appropriate to that one division. (Researchmarkets, 2009) By understanding the situation in which EA function exterior to the divisions, they know how to take benefit of the opportunities and diminish the threats. Particularly, it is a functional tool for understanding threats linked with market development or decline and as such the situation, prospective and trend for them. It is finding out where they are in the circumstance of what is occurring exterior that will at several point cause what is happening within of the business. (Modelbenders, 2009) 2.1 Five forces analysis Porters five forces analysis contracts with issues external a business that influence the environment of rivalry within it, the forces inside the organization that control the approach in which firms compete, and accordingly the organizations likely productivity is accomplished in Porters five forces model. An industry has to realize the dynamics of its businesses and marketplaces in order to compete successfully in the market. It described the forces which make rivalry, competing that the competitive atmosphere is formed by the relations of five dissimilar forces acting on a company. It seems at five solution parts specifically the threat of entrance, the power of consumers, the power of providers, the threat of substitutes, and competitive challenges. (Emerald Insight Staff , 1993) Understanding the environment of each of these forces gives associations the essential approaching to allow them to make the right plans to be successful in their marketplace. It is a simple tool that supports EA understanding where power lies in a business situation. It also assists to recognize both the strong point of their current competitive situation, and the strength of a situation of them is looking to move into. With an understandable recognizing of where power lies, it will allow EA to get fair benefit of its strengths, develop weaknesses, and avoid taking incorrect stages. Consequently, to concern this planning instrument efficiently, it is vital to know the position and to look at each of the forces separately. (Modelbenders, 2009) 2.2 SWOT analysis SWOT analysis is a strategic planning system applied to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats concerned in a plan or in an industry venture. The interior issues can be analysis as strengths or weaknesses depending upon their force on the companys goals. The exterior issues can comprise macroeconomic matters, technological alter, legislation, and socio-cultural transforms, as well as alters in the market or competitive situation. (Strategylabs, 2010) In many rival analyses, EA make completed outlines of each competitor in the marketplace, concerning particularly on their virtual competitive strengths and weaknesses utilizing SWOT analysis. EA will observing each competitors price structure, sources of earnings, resources and competencies, competitive situation and manufactured goods isolation, degree of vertical combination, historical reactions to business enlargements and other issues. (Emerald Insight Staff , 1993) Another instance is EA, which is a great example of how computer amusements business can utilize a SWOT analysis to shape out a strong company strategy. They have known that its strength was selling openly to customers and keeping its prices lower than those of other competitors. EA put together a company strategy that integrated mass customization and just-in-time manufacturing and allowing consumers enjoy their computer amusements with complete imagination in the games world. (Researchmarkets, 2009) 2.3 The analytical tools in solutions It helps EA in discovery the true resolution that best meets their requirements and can play a dynamic role in the accomplishment as well as support. To make easy this development, they have recognized strategic deal with key vendors. The growing resolutions portfolio presents customers with leading skill by world-class partners and developed in the marketplace. EA suggests proven resolutions that provide stability, scalability and the elasticity needed to maximize effectiveness and performance in a extremely competitive atmosphere. (Sadler, Philip , 1993) EA bring value to their customers by joining that recognize how with an entire suite of feature rich resolutions that offers the best functionality part. Thus, the system to develop the productivity and efficiency of company analysts, EA must continue to enlarge the width and strength of their data storehouses, which will diminish the number of data sources that analysts need to entrance directly. They must also equip analysts with improved analytical tools that manage the way they do. (Coate, Patricia , 2007) In line with the ever growing complexity of the competitive marketplace EA has abilities far beyond those of the conventional intermediary, letting them to manage as their customers reliance risk partner with resources to contain every part of their business. They give the firm with the most proper resolutions, through consultancy services, systematic tools and risk goods that continue and improve their customers situation in the market. (Sadler, Philip , 1993) 3.0 Conclusion Any company must seek to understand the nature of its competitive environment if it is to be successful in achieving its objectives and in establishing appropriate strategies. If a company fully understands the nature of the analysis, and particularly appreciates which one is the most important, it will be in a stronger position to defend itself against any threats and to influence the forces with its strategy. The situation is fluid, and the nature and relative power of the forces will change. Thus, the need to monitor and stay aware is continuous. (Coate, Patricia , 2007) Some issues during the implementation of these analyses strategic are crucially important for organizations to build long-term business strategy and sustaining competitive advantages rather than simply list the forces. Successful use of the analysis includes identifying the sources of competition, the strength and likelihood of that competition existing, and strategic recommendations for the action a company should take in order to develop barriers to competition. (Researchmarkets, 2009) It is important to make sure that the sources are reliable and relevant to the current condition of the organization. It has to be viable, reliable and valid, in order to conduct a good analysis of the model. For this purpose, the gathered data and information has to be checked and be applied to the current business conditions. Further limitations could be present in the nature of market forces that reduce the applicability of the information sources to present situations and the amount of detailed information required. (Wikipedia, 2010) 4.0 Reference Question 1 Wikipedia (2010), Electronic arts, retrieved on February 12,2011 from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Arts Strategylabs (2010), Analysis of electronic arts, Retrieved on February 13,2011 from www.strategylabs.net/search-swot-analysis-of-electronic-arts_p8.asp Researchmarkets (2009), Swot analysis , Retrieved on February 12,2011 from www.researchandmarkets.com/reports//electronic_arts_swot_analysis Modelbenders (2009), Electronic arts, Retrieved on February 12, 2011 from www.modelbenders.com/papers/Smith_Game_Impact_Theory.pd E-library Emerald Insight Staff (1993), 1st ed., Strategic Management,    Emerald Group Pub lishing Ltd Sadler, Philip   (1993), 1st ed., Strategic Management , Kogan Page Ltd. Coate, Patricia (2007), 1st ed., Focus on strategic management ,   Emerald Group Publishing Ltd Question 2 Suggest why different approaches to strategy development might be appropriate in different organizations such as a university, a fashion retailer and a high technology company. Introduction A business strategy naturally is an article that obviously expressive the way an industry will pursue and the steps it will take to accomplish its objectives. In a quality of business plan, the business approach results from objectives created to support the stated assignment of the business. In the examination step of business plan development, one of several processes is applied to evaluate a firms market, resources, barriers to achievement and specific advantages. The aim of strategic examination is to classify what a business needs to achieve, the strengths it can bring to bear on achieving the objective and weaknesses that require to be addressed prior to combination and accomplishment. (Sadler, Philip   ,1993) Strategic consideration methodologies can comprise estimating the business circumstances, several of competitive situations, verifying what market forces are at work and ranking competitors, among others. Integrating a business approach typically is one of many steps in a larger production planning process. A business strategy starts with an overall vision. From the vision, a mission statement for the industry is constructed, regularly the shorter and more accurate the better. A mission guides to specific objectives the business will accomplish to complete its mission and that in turn guides to approach to attain goals. Specific plans are regularly then developed to support the business plan. (Coate, Patricia ,2007) Corporate strategy It is verifying the greatest plan to be competitive in the market. It assists to classifies, evaluates, and clarifies the main issues  facing productions to deliver insights corporations can apply to develop performance and achieve a competitive advantage. It is focused with the overall principle and scale of the business to meet stakeholder outlooks. This is an essential level since it is seriously influenced by investors in the production and performs to lead strategic decision-making throughout the business. Corporate strategy is frequently stated openly in an operation statement. The associations have a vision and a plan for accomplishing that vision. They apply that strategy through everything they accomplish. These great associations are able to make and capture value and situation themselves for better value. (Businessdictionary,2009) 2.1 Business unit strategy Strategic business unit (SBU) is focused more with how an industry competes profitably in an exacting marketplace. It focuses strategic decisions about option of goods, meeting wants of clients, gaining benefit over rivals, developing or making new opportunities. It is known as a business unit within the overall corporate identify which is distinguishable from other business because it serves a defined external market where management can conduct strategic planning in relation to products and markets. (Wikipedia ,2010) The unique small business unit advantages that a firm insistently promotes in a constant manner. When organizations become truly large, they are greatest thought of as being collected of a number of productions. These organizational units are large enough and standardized enough to exercise organize over most strategic issues influencing their performance. They are controlled as self contained planning units for which distinct business strategies can be enlarged. A strategic business unit can include an entire organization, or can basically be a smaller division of an organization set up to execute a specific job. The SBU has its own business approach, goals and rivals and these will frequently be dissimilar from those of the parent organization. (Wikipedia ,2010) Operational strategy It is focused with how each division of the business is managed to bring the company and business unit level strategic way. It concerns on problems of resources, progressions, and groups. The operating strategy intends to close the strategic gap between business strategy and accomplishment. It transforms the strategic objectives into obviously described achievement aims and aligns the implementation process to the value intention. The operating strategy consists of several parts starting with the operating business form as the basis for development, function, and technical and human performance style. An operating business form is the associations crucial logic for constantly accomplishing its principle goals. The desired outcome is to have a tactical to carry out the operating strategic plan. (Tmginconline ,2009) A number of the key essentials comprise classify required decisions and correlated issues for business process such as key production processes, managing approaches. Additionally, it gives creative ideas for operating problems and to make new value opportunities. It is a model to close business development gaps and to understand business value. It can be described as the business development direction based on the general vision. For example, key decisions and leading values for key business processes and managing approaches. (Tmginconline ,2009) 2.3 Olympia College Olympia College was established to meet the rising require for private top education in the country and is an associate of the well-known Raffles Education Group. There are choices of analysis of the strategic plan process within Olympia College. The operational strategy shows that direction into generating strategic competitive advantage in the development. Therefore, they can get a new system to structure their business functions and make sure the successful enlargement of their business in the competitive market. (Olympia ,2010) Strategic planning is a long range planning procedure that helps in setting the direction of Olympic College. The strategic plan originates from the colleges mission and strategic vision and gives detailed actionable strategies for moving towards planned outcomes. Moreover, they have to help student improvement toward objective completion. It is more purposeful and successful in their efforts to bring education at a distance, finalize and realize a long range distance education plan. (Olympia ,2010) However, they have to exploit community entrance to Olympic College, particularly for enlarge and apply an on-going enrollment management structure that informs instructional plans, student support services, and facilities planning. They are concerning attention on learning and to assist students, ability, personnel, and administrators perceive themselves as a society of beginners, encourage a college wide culture of measurement that embraces the consideration of learning outcomes and encourages the study of teaching and learning. (Olympia ,2010) 2.4 Padini Holdings Berhad Padini sells ladies shoes and accessories, childrens clothes, maternity wear and accessories through different subsidiaries. They can apply the business unit strategy to formulate and execute the plans that will give a competitively greater fit the situation and accomplish the organizational objectives. However, it can assist Padini to emphasize attention on a particular regional market or consumer group. The long term plan of Padini also wants to do the interior and exterior review to strengthen the situation in the global market. ( Padini, 2010) It shows a fashion viewpoint of each will covers a complete range of goods intended at a targeted customer. The corporation will carry on upgrading the image of its goods while emphasizing value and standard. It is successful grip in the productive but competitive womens footwear market. There are strategies to strengthen its dominant situation with enhanced production lines and increased competence. Having successfully impressed its brand names into the perception of Malaysian consumers, Padini is moving to turn its different labels into regionally familiar fashion leaders. It aims to fulfill the potential of the export market, particularly in the Asian region, and will also step up in foreign country marketing for its goods. ( Padini, 2010) 2.5 Dell INC. Dell Inc. is the top retailer of computer systems in the market. Dell sells desktop personal computers, notebook computers, network servers, and a diversity of computer software. They can apply the corporate strategy as a direction in which its production operations work together to get particular objectives. They implement that strategy for accomplishing their vision to build up a strong communication suppliers and customers relationships in the future. It helps Dell to find out the best strategy to be competitive in the marketplace. Thus, it will guide them to improve the work performance and gain a competitive advantage. (Dell, 2010) Dells objective is to generate loyal clients by providing better experience at a great value. They are devoted to direct relationships, giving best goods with standard based technology outperforming the rivalry with value and an advanced client experience. Dell is the association which is recognized worldwide for its approach of direct selling to the customers and business customers due to which it has obtained greater profits and has grabbed large market share from its rivals. As the business develops with the period of time it is largely enterprise strategy is becoming stronger, complicated and established. (Dell, 2010) Conclusion Nowadays, competitive market a strategy that assures a constant approach to offering the goods or services in a system that will outperform the competition is significant. However, in performance with defining the marketing strategy associations should also have a well defined method for the day to day progression of executing it. A cost leadership strategy is based on the idea that the associations can manufacture and market a high quality goods or services at a lower cost than their rivals. These low costs must transform to profit margins that are higher than the manufacturing average. Some of the circumstances that must exist to support a cost leadership strategy comprise an on-going accessibility of working capital, excellent process engineering abilities, and close management of work, goods designed for easiness of manufacturing and low cost distribution. (Emerald Insight Staff ,1993) It is important to know the market segment as described by the viewpoint characteristics associations have chosen as the objective for their offering. It is based on the criticality of the prospects require, their approach about alteration, the importance of the benefits, barriers that exist to integrating the offering into daily procedure and the reliability of the offering. The prospective for market penetration involves whether they are selling to past clients or a new outlook, how aware the forecasts are of what they are presenting, rivalry, growth rate of the manufacturing and demographics. The prospects willingness to give for product value is established by their understanding of competitive pricing, their capability to give and their want for characteristics such as value, stability and dependability, ease of utilize, consistency and steadiness. (Coate, Patricia ,2007)

africa: Wildlife, landforms and climate :: essays research papers fc

Witch doctors, psychics, mediums, spiritualists are but just a few of the many names associated with Shamans. Many of us have heard these names echoed since childhood, but do we really know who these people are? In the United States these people are viewed as outcast; there hasn’t been a need for them in a very long time. Science, and modern technology have exiled the Shaman into the fringe of society. They remain a mystery to most, but beckon the open-minded. The Shaman is a spiritual wayfarer, that hasn’t thrived in the United States since the arrival of the white man, and his conquest of nature.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many definitions for shamanism, but few reveal the true nature of the Shaman. In simple terms, the Shaman is a person called upon to serve as a herald for the realm of the dead, but a Shaman is much more. A Shaman is someone who has explored, and gained a great understanding of their inner being. They can tap into the force that flows throughout the world, and manipulate it. A Shaman can alter his conscience so that he may travel to other worlds filled with objects, and various kinds of spirits. In the spirit realm, a Shaman can gain knowledge in order to help in healing, and other matters at hand. He is a spiritual advisor, and a healer of both physical and mental ailments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A destined Shaman is typically clued in to their destiny by various forms of suffering. The most common clue is an extended illness for which there is no apparent cure. During this time of suffering, the chosen person has dreams, visions, and journeys to the spirit realms, and are usually accompanied by a guild spirit. This spiritual guild commonly informs the ill person of their fate to become a Shaman. There is usually hesitation on the part of the chosen one, but the suffering breaks down the will of that person. In the end, the destined assumes the role as Shaman, and his suffering diminishes. With the guidance of an elder Shaman, or sometimes just their spirit guild, the new shaman is initiated into their new existence. It is a existence between this earthy realm, and that of the dead.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An initiate of Shamanism goes through an significant transformation. As a result of the suffering, and rigorous training, the initiate experiences the death of his ego. In western psychology, the ego is the part of the psyche which experiences the external world, or reality, through the senses, organizes the thought processes rationally, and governs actions (Webster’s

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Essay

My topic is a rally car made by the Japanese company Mitsubishi. This machine is considered one of the best rally cars in the world. And they are used as cars in our everyday life. The car I am going to be focusing on is the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution in Short Evo. The evolution is a racing car modern transportation car. | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution short (evo) is a product of Japan. It was created as a separate branch to the lancer. The Evolution was intended as a Professional Rally car. The car turned out so well that there were numerous requests for a road car. The evolution was then turned into a sports sedan. The reason I love Evolution so much and would like others to know is because of the way the car was created. If for example you are a driver that loves a sporty car but has a family the Evolution is perfect it has five seats so that the whole family can go. The car is also 4by4 which means that it can go through stormy weather and the drive can feel confident. The Evolution has great prices as well so that means that you can get almost up to three hundred horsepower and a turbo for an affordable price. One of the reasons that the Evolution is so famous is for its handling it was created for rally racing which means that even though the sedan may be different it is still similar. The handling on an Evolution is one of the best in the world for a sedan. Due to the Gentlemen’s Agreement which stated in Japan that no production car would have more than 300 horsepower the Evolutions in Japan, Europe and North America some of the versions of the Evolution where different. In the future Mitsubishi is planning on making more Evolutions but it is still unclear about the look of the car. Mitsubishi claims that the car is going to have some medications and Versions of it might run on Electricity and there probably will be Hybrids. The Conclusion that I came up with is that if you are a family person but always wanted something sporty under $30,000 and something the whole family can go on this would be your choice. The car has magnificent handling and it is very safe. It has a very flashy look and enough power under the hood to keep you going for a long time. In my personal opinion if you have a family a two setter sports car would not go as good with the family, but a sports sedan would.

3 Cases of Tense Errors

3 Cases of Tense Errors 3 Cases of Tense Errors 3 Cases of Tense Errors By Mark Nichol Each verb in a sentence should reflect the tense appropriate to the specific phrase rather than conform to the tense of another verb in the sentence. In each of the sentences below, a verb is not in the correct tense. Each example is followed by a discussion and a revision. 1. They are emblems of a simpler time, when everyone understood what it meant to be human. What it means to be a human has not changed since the simpler time (though a universal understanding no longer exists), so although understood is correctly formed in context, the next verb should be in present tense: â€Å"They are emblems of a simpler time, when everyone understood what it means to be human.† 2. The financial sector underwent simulated terrorist attacks and cyberattacks as part of efforts to ensure that financial firms had good plans in place in the event of such crises. The goal of the simulations is not to ensure that financial firms had, at a given time, good plans in place; it is to ensure that they continuously have the good plans, so the verb pertaining to â€Å"good plans† must be in the present tense: â€Å"The financial sector underwent simulated terrorist attacks and cyberattacks as part of efforts to ensure that financial firms have good plans in place in the event of such crises.† 3. If you thought marionettes were creepy, you’re not going to like this place. The issue is not whether you, at one time, were disturbed by marionettes but no longer are (or, for that matter, whether marionettes were, at one time, creepy but no longer are); it is a matter of whether you have a discomfort with them that has existed, exists, and is likely to continue to exist: â€Å"If you think marionettes are creepy, you’re not going to like this place.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Definitely use "the" or "a"Time Words: Era, Epoch, and Eon

Make a Vinegar Trap to Get Rid of Fruit Flies

Make a Vinegar Trap to Get Rid of Fruit Flies All it takes is one piece of rotting fruit, and you can find yourself with a maddening fruit fly infestation in your kitchen. Even if you throw out your produce and clean your kitchen, the fruit flies may persist. The best way to control fruit flies at this point is to get rid of the breeding adults. Making a simple vinegar trap is an effective and inexpensive way to catch and kill fruit flies that just wont go away. Fruit Flies Are Easy to Outsmart Fortunately, fruit flies arent very bright. The adults spend all their time focused on two goals: mating and laying eggs on rotting fruit. They use their sense of smell to find fermenting produce and will fly to their target with little regard for their own safety. Apple cider vinegar has just the right aroma of rotting fruit to attract their attention. Thats why a vinegar trap is so effective. The trap is designed to lure the fruit flies in and to prevent them from escaping. What Youll Need to Make a Vinegar Trap To make a vinegar trap for fruit flies, youll need just a few things (you probably already have most of them in your home): a glass or cupa plastic baggie large enough to fit over the glassa rubber bandscissorsapple cider vinegar How to Make a Vinegar Trap Pour a small amount- an inch or so- of apple cider vinegar into the glass. The cider vinegar has a nice, fruity aroma that fruit flies simply cannot resist.Using the scissors, snip the corner off the plastic baggie. This should create  a hole just large enough for fruit flies to pass through, but not so large that it will be easy for them to escape.Place the baggie over the glass, and position the hole youve cut over the center.Push the snipped corner down into the glass so the baggie forms a funnel in the glass  but doesnt touch the vinegar.Use the rubber band to secure the baggie to the glass. Alternatively, if you dont have a baggie or rubber bands, you can create your fly trap using paper and tape: Start the same way: pour a small amount- an inch or so- of apple cider vinegar into the glass. The cider vinegar has a nice, fruity aroma that fruit flies simply cannot resist.Curl the paper into a cone and tape it so that it doesnt lose its shape.Place the cone pointed side down in the jar (make sure it doesnt touch the vinegar).Tape the cone in place in the glass jar. How to Use Your Vinegar Trap Place your vinegar trap in the area where you see the most fruit flies- likely near your garbage, produce bins,  compost container, or any area with produce, organic waste, or standing water. If you have a heavy fruit fly infestation, you might want to make several vinegar traps, and place them in your kitchen and in other rooms where fruit flies are present. Fruit flies will fly into the glass, pass through the hole in the baggie, and become trapped in the glass. Within a few days, you should notice an accumulation of dead fruit flies floating in the vinegar. Empty the trap as needed, and refill it with fresh apple cider vinegar. A few well-placed vinegar traps, along with good housekeeping practices to discourage fruit flies, should get your infestation under control quickly. To make your vinegar trap even more effective, add a few drops of liquid dish soap to the vinegar. This lowers the surface tension of the liquid in the trap, so the fruit flies have a lower chance of escaping before they drown.

Sense vs. Sensibility

Sense vs. Sensibility Sense vs. Sensibility Sense vs. Sensibility By Maeve Maddox A reader asks about the words in a Jane Austen title: You may already have discussed sense and sensibility, but if not, could you program an entry. I am not sure if Jane Austens word meant something particular to that time. Is there a distinction to meanings between/among sensibility, sensitivity and sensitiveness, and add in sense too? Sense has twenty-nine numbered definitions in the OED, several of them with subsections. Sensibility has seven numbered definitions, four of them with subsections. I shall confine the remarks in this post chiefly to the words as Austen used them in the title of her 1811 novel. The word sense occurs dozens of times in the novel, with various connotations, including these: sense of honor sense of merit in one’s right senses sense enough to call for help As used in Austen’s title, sense refers to what modern speakers still mean by â€Å"common sense†: â€Å"combined tact and readiness in dealing with the everyday affairs of life; general wisdom.† The novel focuses on the love life of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Elinor represents the Sense of the title. Even when her heart is breaking, she maintains a polite faà §ade of courtesy and tact, reasoning that what can’t be helped is not to be agonized over. Marianne represents the Sensibility of the title, what modern speakers might call sensitivity, or even hypersensitivity. When Marianne suffers emotional anguish, everyone knows about it. Austen sets up the differences between the sisters in her description of the way they deal with the death of their father. Elinor feels the same grief as her mother and sister, but, unlike them, she is able to govern her feelings and attend to practical matters. Marianne and their mother, on the other hand, wallow helplessly in their sorrow and refuse to be comforted: Mariannes abilities were, in many respects, quite equal to Elinors. She was†¦clever; but eager in everything: her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation. She was generous, amiable, interesting: she was everything but prudent. The resemblance between her and her mother was strikingly great. Elinor saw, with concern, the excess of her sister’s sensibility; but by Mrs. Dashwood it was valued and cherished. They [Marianne and her mother] encouraged each other now in the violence of their affliction. The agony of grief which overpowered them at first, was voluntarily renewed, was sought for, was created again and again. They gave themselves up wholly to their sorrow, seeking increase of wretchedness in every reflection that could afford it, and resolved against ever admitting consolation in future. Sensibility in the sense of the quality of being easily and strongly affected by emotional influences was still a fairly new usage in Austen’s day, giving the title a certain up-to-date catchiness. The plural, sensibilities, is current in modern usage to mean â€Å"feelings as to what is appropriate or decent†: The treatment of low, disgusting, unpleasant, though not necessarily evil, subjects should always be subject to the dictates of good taste and a regard for the sensibilities of the audience.- The Hays Motion Picture Production Code, 1930. And while the boundaries have clearly been pushed way back, movies continue to emerge which challenge our notions of what is acceptable, depicting acts of sex and violence in increasingly graphic style and often offending the sensibilities of the prudish and conservative.- Recent blog post about 21st century films. Related post: Sense and Nonsense Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Types and Forms of HumorBetween vs. In BetweenPresent Participle as Adjective

Zumba Fitness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Zumba Fitness - Essay Example Zumba Fitness It has been accepted in most societies due to its flexible programs that can suit the most workers. Zumba fitness has been rated among the Worlds top ten fitness programs based on the number of participants and product uniqueness. Zumba is a dance and aerobics fitness course that was started in the 1990s by Alberto Perez (Perez, 2009). He is from Columbia and started the Zumba program due to his passion for dance and music. The Zumba fitness brand consists of various products launched since 2003. They include Zumba Stape, Zumba Toning, Zumba Sentao, Zumba Kids, Zumba Toning among others. The products cater for various people in the society despite their ages. Since Alberto is a choreographer and a dancer, the fitness program incorporates music in its sessions (Perez, 2009). Zumba uses music genres such as Salsa, Samba, Martial arts, Soca and Hip hop. The different rhythms from the music can be used to change the used approaches. Moreover, the use of different genres ensures that its customers can join the program irrespective of their music preferences. Zumba fitness programs became popular in Columbia and there was a need to cause awareness into other countries (Perez, 2009). With the help of entrepreneurs, the program became international where it has been practiced in more than 180 countries globally. Perez had business ties with the United States; he was able to market his dance into the country. According to recent research, more than 10 million people take weekly classes. Zumbas success has been caused by its use of music and use of infomercials to cause awareness.

Mexican American War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Mexican American War - Research Paper Example The Mexican-American War, also known as the First American Intervention came with social, political and economic factors which impacted civilians in both the US, and Mexico. This particular war was an armed conflict between the US and Mexico, which began in 1846 and lasted until 1848. The war was caused because the US had just annexed Texas and added it to its states in 1845. Regardless of the Texas revolution, Mexico considered Texas to be part of its territory. Texas was admitted to the Union as the 28th state of the United States. Because of its admittance, the US inherited the Mexican boarder dispute by default. This became a problem therefore creating the current war at hand. Not only did the US connect only Texas, but they continued to capture more territory which extended the nation’s boarders all the way to the Pacific Ocean. This acquisition of more territory was known as the Mexican Cessesion which occurred back in1848. This Cession is currently known as the southwes tern region of the United States. This region can be divided into pacific time and mountain time. This Cession was ceded by Mexico during the Treaty of Guadelupe back in 1848. It was a peaceful treaty dictated by the United States and it eventually ended the Mexican-American war which lasted a daunting two years. ... It was torn apart by angry internal political mini battles that could have created a civil war. It had a lot of debt and so it started relinquishing its rights to different states to help pay off the massive debt acquired during other wars. Mexico decided that Texas had little value compared to California and its richness and so relinquishing its rights would not be so difficult. There were several negotiators which greatly affected the results of the war. Because the negotiations were done in a peaceful manner, they were referred to as â€Å"peace talks†. Nicholas Trist, the chief Clerk of the state department, accompanied General Winfield Scott as a diplomat and President Polk’s representative. They found no previous success in coming to an agreement so they reluctantly decided that they would have to view Mexico and their chief leaders as conquered enemies in order to get the job done. The special commission representatives were Don Bernardo Couto, Don Miguel Artrist an, and Don Luis Gonzaga Cuevas of Mexico. The war itself created social factors which lead to unity and unrest. Social factors impact people all over the world. During the Mexican-American war, a huge wave of immigrants permeated the United States. Several factors contributed to the wave of Mexican immigrants. The first was the Reclamation act of 1902 which expanded acres of farmland through new immigration projects. This pushed the need for agricultural workers. The Mexican revolution and the political and violent instability pushed people out of their country and into the United States. Possibly the most important social factor was the growth of the U.S. economy which attracted several thousand immigrants to its territory. Once moved to the US, most Mexican migrants

The Confidence In Of International Brands Dissertation

The Confidence In Of International Brands - Dissertation Example Figure 2: Age distribution in Saudi Arabia (male and female combined). Data sourced from Central Intelligence Agency The Saudi Fashion Market Western brands are very common in Saudi Arabia. Growth in franchising has been estimated at 27% in the Middle East in general, and in Saudi Arabia more than 70% of all franchised operations are American owned. Fashion from UK, Europe and the USA are all experiencing strong growth in the Saudi market, especially in the area of female fashion. While UK fashion initially had a strong hold over the market, there is now increasing trends towards US brands such as Gap, Gucci and Louis Vitton . The fashion market in Saudi is very seasonally based, with sales following religious holidays as well as the seasons. With the relatively young population, there is large potential for the fashion market. The habits of the nation are changing to become more in line with Western culture, a trend that is especially strong in the younger generation. Women are leav ing their traditional roles and many going into work. These trends are driving the boom in the fashion industry . Despite the fact that women wear the Abaya over their clothes, a traditional black dress that covers them, they often wear western clothing underneath . In addition there is a trend of fashion designers producing colored Abayas that are popular, especially for the younger generation. Teenage girls and young adult females have developed ways of wearing their Abayas that reveal their western clothing underneath, such as leaving the front wide open, or tying the edge around their waists, so their tight western jeans can be seen . There are also many different styles and cuts of Abayas and... While malls in Saudi Arabia resemble the western style of malls in many ways, but there is also strong evidence of the strict religious and cultural guidelines that are in place. Images on the front of music CDs are often censored, such as the sleeveless dress that Celine Dion wears on the front of one of her albums was replaced with a black shawl. Other differences are also noticeable, male and female Saudis are only able to work together in hospitals, so all sales people on the mall’s mixed floors are male foreign workers. At McDonald's the women must eat in a separate walled off section, while men eat in the open. The country has large segregation between men and women, so much so that paranoia about men hiding in dressing rooms has resulted in the absence of any dressing rooms in malls. The Kingdom Centre in Riyadh is attempting to turn this into a business advantage rather than a logistical hassle. They offer a female only floor, where all staff and security are female an d females are free to walk around in western style clothing, checking in their Abayas if they wish). Both products and sales are advertised in a wide number of ways, similar to in the western market. Internet advertisements are common, especially with the increasing use of the internet. Blogging has become a popular means of expressing the opinion, especially as media is tightly controlled. Because of this, flash and static advertising are common through blogging sites, although these are mainly for fashion stores in general.

Forms of Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Forms of Business - Research Paper Example Tinker & Tailor’s Home Security Service. (LP) In this form, the limitation of liability is provided to the limited partners, i.e. those not actively participating in business activities while others have the unlimited personal liability. Tinker & Tailor’s Home Security Service, Inc. (corporation) Corporations provide limited liability to the owners of the business thus protecting from being personally liable. Tinker & Tailor’s Home Security Service, LLC. (LLC) The owners or members are not personally liable in this form of business. The personal liability may not be limited in sole proprietorship as well as the general partnership forms of business. But in case of general partnership, it may be made limited by registering the establishment as a limited liability partnership that provides safeguard from being personally liable in case of negligence of other partners but does not provides protection from debts or breach of contracts lawsuits. However, if a partner is not being actively involved in the business, he/she may also limit their liability by registering the establishment as limited partnership that offers limitations on the liability of non active members of the partnership. In case of Corporation as well as Limited liability corporations there is no need to change the business form in order to limit one’s liability as these business forms provide limited liability to the owners. In case of corporations, the liability is limited on the basis that ‘corporations’ are legally considered to be a separate entity from their owners and hence all the liabilities regarding business are dealt and managed by corporate assets only. b. I am engaged in a book selling business and run my business using a sole proprietorship form of business. My business is solely based on my own money hence it is solely owned by me. I tried to operate it as a partnership but was unable to find an appropriate partner so I decided to invest my ow n finances and start business. My book stall provides new as well used books. The books are either purchased from the suppliers but in case of used books, they are often donated by my class mates, friends, relatives and neighbors. Since being a small store it was not easy to expand it in the initial stage thus being the fundamental business form, sole proprietorship was adopted by me. If somehow any other individual may show interest in sharing my business, I may ensure that the business is expanded from a book stall to a book store. Since being a part time worker, it'll enable the stall to be operative full time. All of the partners share equal authority; therefore, I’ll ensure that my potential partner invests in an equal amount of money in the business. Although this form of business does not offers limited liability and each of us in case of any debt or breach of contract will be equally personally liable to the losses. Besides the significant risk offered by this form of business of personal liability, it enables the management of the business affairs by each partner. Moreover, it also protects from the disbursement of business earnings in the form of taxes, as the partners in a partnership are not employees. However each of the partners has to pay taxes from his/her share of profits share (income or loss) admitted on income tax return of each of the partners and levied a tax at corporate or at the personal rate. The main aspect of this form of business is the ease of formation and it may also be converted into limited liability partnership in case if the unlimited liability is desired to be avoided in case of other

What Is Quantum Physics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

What Is Quantum Physics - Essay Example s paper on blackbody radiation, other scientists who contributed to its development include: Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schroedinger, and Niels Bohr. Meanwhile, Albert Einstein tried to disprove and modify it for many years due to its various theoretical issues with quantum mechanics (Jones, 2011). Quantum physics has five general ideas. First, energy is not continuous but comes in small discrete units. Its elementary particles behave both like particles and like waves, thus such particle movement is said to be in random. Fourth, it is physically impossible to determine the particles’ position and movement at the same time, otherwise when one is precisely known the other has less precise measurement. And lastly, the atomic world is nothing like the world we live in, making it incomparable and less comprehensible than ordinary logic (Feynman, et. al., 2011). Quantum physics evolved into various scientific applications. From the physics world, it has also taken some serious relevance in the fields of agriculture, medicine, even in anthroposophy, and religion. Quantum computers have also managed to break into the mainstream over the last decade as scientists managed to stop light in its tracks, thus overcoming one pratical hurdle, while the first quantumlogic gate was created in 2003 (McKee, 2006). Things so small have an effect. Thus, quantum physics play a significant role in the quantum nature of reality. Earlier, Niel Bohr was once quoted as saying: â€Å"Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it.† It only proves to show how deeply complex and complicated quantum physics is, and how one would simply be completely awed at its magic (Higgo,

Terrorist Threats and Counterterrorism Response to a Terrorist Attack Essay

Terrorist Threats and Counterterrorism Response to a Terrorist Attack - Essay Example The use of unmanned aerial predator and reaper drones is seen as a new approach in counterterrorism has changed how the US combats terrorism. President Obama’s administration has been able to ratchet the drone program as opposed to the previous U.S. administration. He has managed to authorize more than hundred drone strikes worldwide mostly around the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan according to Bures and BureÃ… ¡ (2011). Despite the controversy, facing this operation, to a great extent, the American drones since 9/11 have been successful. The current research on counterterrorism builds its debate on two approaches: the war model and the criminal justice model. The war (military) model tends to structure the efforts against terrorism in terms of the military of an enemy-centric war. In such an event, the armed forces of the state are mainly responsible for developing counterterrorism plans. The criminal justice model advocates for the rule of law and democratic principles in counterterrorism. It has been suggested that viewing counterterrorism in terms of hard and soft power is very important. This advocates for a direct and indirect tactic in counterterrorism. Some of the strategies applied after 9/1 such as the drone strike have become popular and consistent since then. However, a change is being considered on the technique as it can lead to the loss of many innocent lives as well as collateral damage to property and infrustructure. The strategy is also seen to violate the sovereignty of some states like Pakistan. For successful response to terrorism, the U.S. should consider to minimize on its enemies and maximize on its allies. This element will be achieved by reestablishing and empowering their traditional alliances as stated by Gebicke (1999). The U.S. government has also considered softening the appeal of Muslim federalism, which will be achieved by diminishing the levels of moderate Muslim indifferences. The US

Forms of Business Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Forms of Business - Research Paper Example Tinker & Tailor’s Home Security Service. (LP) In this form, the limitation of liability is provided to the limited partners, i.e. those not actively participating in business activities while others have the unlimited personal liability. Tinker & Tailor’s Home Security Service, Inc. (corporation) Corporations provide limited liability to the owners of the business thus protecting from being personally liable. Tinker & Tailor’s Home Security Service, LLC. (LLC) The owners or members are not personally liable in this form of business. The personal liability may not be limited in sole proprietorship as well as the general partnership forms of business. But in case of general partnership, it may be made limited by registering the establishment as a limited liability partnership that provides safeguard from being personally liable in case of negligence of other partners but does not provides protection from debts or breach of contracts lawsuits. However, if a partner is not being actively involved in the business, he/she may also limit their liability by registering the establishment as limited partnership that offers limitations on the liability of non active members of the partnership. In case of Corporation as well as Limited liability corporations there is no need to change the business form in order to limit one’s liability as these business forms provide limited liability to the owners. In case of corporations, the liability is limited on the basis that ‘corporations’ are legally considered to be a separate entity from their owners and hence all the liabilities regarding business are dealt and managed by corporate assets only. b. I am engaged in a book selling business and run my business using a sole proprietorship form of business. My business is solely based on my own money hence it is solely owned by me. I tried to operate it as a partnership but was unable to find an appropriate partner so I decided to invest my ow n finances and start business. My book stall provides new as well used books. The books are either purchased from the suppliers but in case of used books, they are often donated by my class mates, friends, relatives and neighbors. Since being a small store it was not easy to expand it in the initial stage thus being the fundamental business form, sole proprietorship was adopted by me. If somehow any other individual may show interest in sharing my business, I may ensure that the business is expanded from a book stall to a book store. Since being a part time worker, it'll enable the stall to be operative full time. All of the partners share equal authority; therefore, I’ll ensure that my potential partner invests in an equal amount of money in the business. Although this form of business does not offers limited liability and each of us in case of any debt or breach of contract will be equally personally liable to the losses. Besides the significant risk offered by this form of business of personal liability, it enables the management of the business affairs by each partner. Moreover, it also protects from the disbursement of business earnings in the form of taxes, as the partners in a partnership are not employees. However each of the partners has to pay taxes from his/her share of profits share (income or loss) admitted on income tax return of each of the partners and levied a tax at corporate or at the personal rate. The main aspect of this form of business is the ease of formation and it may also be converted into limited liability partnership in case if the unlimited liability is desired to be avoided in case of other

Terrorist Threats and Counterterrorism Response to a Terrorist Attack Essay

Terrorist Threats and Counterterrorism Response to a Terrorist Attack - Essay Example The use of unmanned aerial predator and reaper drones is seen as a new approach in counterterrorism has changed how the US combats terrorism. President Obama’s administration has been able to ratchet the drone program as opposed to the previous U.S. administration. He has managed to authorize more than hundred drone strikes worldwide mostly around the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan according to Bures and BureÃ… ¡ (2011). Despite the controversy, facing this operation, to a great extent, the American drones since 9/11 have been successful. The current research on counterterrorism builds its debate on two approaches: the war model and the criminal justice model. The war (military) model tends to structure the efforts against terrorism in terms of the military of an enemy-centric war. In such an event, the armed forces of the state are mainly responsible for developing counterterrorism plans. The criminal justice model advocates for the rule of law and democratic principles in counterterrorism. It has been suggested that viewing counterterrorism in terms of hard and soft power is very important. This advocates for a direct and indirect tactic in counterterrorism. Some of the strategies applied after 9/1 such as the drone strike have become popular and consistent since then. However, a change is being considered on the technique as it can lead to the loss of many innocent lives as well as collateral damage to property and infrustructure. The strategy is also seen to violate the sovereignty of some states like Pakistan. For successful response to terrorism, the U.S. should consider to minimize on its enemies and maximize on its allies. This element will be achieved by reestablishing and empowering their traditional alliances as stated by Gebicke (1999). The U.S. government has also considered softening the appeal of Muslim federalism, which will be achieved by diminishing the levels of moderate Muslim indifferences. The US

Shouldice hospital Essay Example for Free

Shouldice hospital Essay Executive Summary: The Shouldice Hospital, Ontario, Canada is a pioneer in the field of treating patients suffering from external abdominal hernia. The speedy ambulation coupled with its reasonable price rates leads to satisfied patients publicizing the hospital by word of mouth. The issues that confront the hospital management are:  ·Deciding on ways to meet the backlog of operations, by expanding the hospitals capacity, while still maintaining control over the overall quality of service delivered.  ·Handling piracy and bad mouthing due to piracy.  ·Selection of the next chief surgeon after Dr.Obney. After analyzing various plans of actions, it is proposed that the capacity of the hospital be increased by scheduling the operations on Saturdays also. At the same time a successor to Dr. Obney must also be selected. This solution seems like the most feasible in terms of cost and time and also leverages the existing strength of the hospital in providing quality services to the patients. To implement the solution discussed above, first of all, awareness must be created among all the employees by means of workshops etc., about the urgent need for such a step to expand capacity. The selection of the new chief surgeon must be done by carefully scrutinizing all the surgeons in the hospital as well as interviewing new candidates for the same. The administrative processes in the hospital must be made computerized to improve their efficiency. Proper training for using them must also be imparted to the employees. If it is not possible to increase capacity beyond a certain limit due to the above plan and the backlog list continues to expand, then opening an additional facility in some other geographical location, such as the US of A may be considered. Situational Analysis and Problem Definition: The Shouldice Hospital, Ontario, Canada is a pioneer in the field of treating patients suffering from external abdominal hernia. With its current capacity, it can treat 6850 patients annually. The patients are treated using the operated upon using the Shouldice Method, and on an average each patient has to spend four days in the hospital recuperating. The USP of the Shouldice Hospital is its distinct surgical procedure. The speedy ambulation coupled with its reasonable price rates leads to satisfied patients publicizing the hospital by word of mouth. The hospital is having a successful run as a niche player catering to the demand for treatment of hernia patients. In spite of this, there is a huge backlog that the hospital needs to meet. Because of an increasing backlog, patients tend to go to other doctors for operations. The issues that confront the hospital management can be primarily listed as follows:  ·Deciding on ways to meet the backlog of operations, by expanding the hospitals capacity, while still maintaining control over the overall quality of service delivered. The primary issue here is deciding on the manner in which the capacity should be increased without diluting the quality of service rendered.  ·The issue of piracy and bad mouthing due to piracy are also important concerns for the hospital. Many clinics or doctors claim to use the Shouldice technique or the Canadian method and in the eventuality of the operation performed by them being unsuccessful it brings a bad name to the  Shouldice Hospital.  ·The next chief surgeon after Dr.Obney, who is due to retire soon, has to be selected. At the same time, retaining the existing talent pool of doctors and attracting newer doctors willing to learn the specialized hernia operations skill is also a primary issue. Long Term and Short Term Objectives: Short term: -To clear the backlog by increasing capacity of the hospital services. -To select a successor for Dr. Obney, the chief surgeon who is to retire soon. Long term: -To sustain quality in their services, ensuring good patient experience. -To remain the leader in the medical field of hernia operations. -To maintain the brand equity associated with the specialized technique of Shouldice Method for performing hernia operations. -To ensure working towards goal of profitability while at the same time serving the society by passing on the proper knowledge of the Shouldice technique to other surgeons. Evaluation Criteria: -Whatever step is taken, it must ensure that there is no dilution in the quality of the services rendered by the hospital. -The action plan implemented must adhere to the government regulations regarding the profitability of hospitals. -The solution implemented must be economically viable. Hence any step taken must be cost effective. -There is an atmosphere of concern for the employees in the hospital. The decision with regard to the issues at hand must ensure that the employees are receptive in accepting that decision. -The existing strengths of the hospital setup must be leveraged in any decision taken. -Also because of the increasing wait lists of patients to be attended to, it must be ensured that the plans be implemented as swiftly as possible. Alternatives: 1.Capacity of the hospital could be expanded by scheduling operations on Saturdays also, leading to a 20% increase in existing capacity. 2.An additional floor of rooms could be added to the hospital, with an investment of $2 million and permission from the provincial government. This would expand the number of beds by 50% and result in scheduling the operation rooms more heavily. 3.Expansion into other geographical locations such as the United States could be undertaken. For having a quality level in the new facility equivalent to that as in the current Hospital facility at Canada, one option maybe to transfer 6 of the 12 specialized surgeons to the new facility. Also diversification into other related medical fields of surgery such as eye surgery, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids is possible. 4.Another alternative could be scheduling operations at other times during the day too, by utilizing the capacity of the operation theatres to the optimum level. This can be implemented by having doctors and other medical staff to work in shifts. 5.The successor to Dr. Obney as Chief Surgeon has to be selected. The selection of such a candidate should preferably be done among the existing doctors in the hospital. In case a specialized doctor from outside is appointed, proper induction to acquaint the existing surgeons must be carried out. 6.Currently the hospitals services are not being marketed. Plans to adequately market them in order to create awareness of the genuine Shouldice method of surgery should be undertaken. This would also aid in protecting against privacy to an extent. Evaluation of alternatives: 1.Increasing the capacity by scheduling Saturday operations is a swift and cost effective solution (See exhibit 2 and 3). No additional capital expenditures need to be incurred to carry out this plan. It does not violate any government regulations and at the same time also leverages the existing strength of the hospital in rendering high quality services to the patients. However, some employees seem to have some reservations about operations on Saturday. 2.This plan involves an additional capital expenditure of $ 2 million. While this would lead to an increase in capacity of the number of beds by 50%, but it would also require additional well qualified surgeons who will be able to carry on the quality tradition at the Shouldice Hospital. Also this solution would take some time to implement. 3.The plan of expanding the capacity by moving into another geographical segment such as the United States, involves extensive capital expenditure in setting up a new facility. Also by dividing half of the specialized staff into the two respective facilities, the quality levels may not remain same for the initial span of time. Since we are looking at the United States as an alternate the government regulations of Canada would not be applicable. This plan would be beneficial in meeting the demand in the US of A of the  42% American patients of the Shouldice Hospital. By diversifying into other medical fields of surgery, the low cost and high quality advantage, which the Shouldice Hospital currently enjoys, will be diluted. Currently the patients are made to become self sufficient soon after the operation. 4.By implementing the shift system, the existing strengths of the hospital will be leveraged. This is similar to the plan 1 in terms of the expenditure involved and the time frame being talked of. However, under the given case facts, the employees might resent this move of working in extra shifts during the day. 5.The selection of a successor to Dr. Obney is a step that must be taken soon, in conjunction with any of the above plans chosen. 6.Marketing the services of the hospital, though would lead to an increased awareness of the authenticity of the Shouldice method, while exposing the piracy in the method, but at the same time it will also lead to an increased number of patients wanting to come to the hospital. The backlog list would continue to increase. Recommended Solution: After analyzing all the alternatives I would propose a combination of plans 1 and 5 to be implemented. The operations should be scheduled on Saturdays also (see Exhibit 1). At the same time a successor to Dr. Obney must also be selected. This solution seems like the most feasible in terms of cost (see Exhibit 2 and 3) and time and also leverages the existing strength of the hospital in providing quality services to the patients. Plan of Action: To implement the solution discussed above, first of all, awareness must be created among all the employees about the urgent need for such a step to expand capacity. Workshops for the same will help dispel any fears in the minds of the existing staff. The selection of the new chief surgeon must be  done by carefully scrutinizing all the surgeons in the hospital as well as interviewing new candidates for the same. The administrative processes in the hospital must be made computerized to improve their efficiency. Proper training for using them must also be imparted to the employees. Contingency Plan: If it is not possible to increase capacity beyond a certain limit due to the above plan and the backlog list continues to expand, then plan 3 may be considered. This would need some capital expenditure but at the same time will help us expand our capacity into another geographical location, i.e., the USA. Information Adequacy Issues: There is insufficient amount of information given in the case about the internal dynamics of the hospital vis a vis the issue of the successor to Dr. Obney. Also no information is forthcoming about the market status of other hospitals, that is whether they are open on Saturdays or not. This bit of information is likely to hasten our decision making process.

SREI India Financial and SWOT Analysis

SREI India Financial and SWOT Analysis OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT: To develop and understanding of the Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFIs) and their business operations in India. To do a detailed research on SREI Equipment Finance Private Limited, its market share and the SWOT analysis. To thoroughly review SREIs credit appraisal and credit management process. To understand the risk management process of the company. To gain a detailed knowledge of the parameters that affects various risks. To determine weightages and scores for designing and developing risk assessment model based on market forces for assessing SREIs Customers. METHODOLOGY: In order to achieve the said objectives, will be to go through the entire NBFs history, thrust areas; growth opportunities, present scenario. This will be the ongoing process and will be done using internet, news and books. To understand the functioning of SREI pertaining to credit risk management and appraisal process followed for financing large corporates (risk exposures more than Rs.5 crores). Factual data, credit appraisal memorandum prepared by the company and the credit risk policy of the company will be referred in this regard. Then comes the technical part of conducting Balance Sheet Analysis, Ratio Analysis and Cash Flow Analysis. To propose a statistical credit rating model, data have been collected from credit officers and the relationship managers in the institution. Financial ratios were used to measure the strength of the customer. Score model for assessing risk to convert responses to scores. Weighted average method applied to assign appropriate importance to various parameters. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY: The study will only be focusing on the LARGE CORPORATES (risk exposure more than Rs.5 crores) not the retail and SME sectors of SREI. Study is on the basis of first-hand information collected from employees/head of the division of the company that might be incorrect or biased. Duration of the internship imparts the pressure of covering this vast spectrum in a limit period of 14 weeks. The accuracy of the Risk Assessing Model depends on the accuracy of information provided by the customer. The risk rating model doesnt take into the consideration where in the company doesnt follow the rules norms strictly. The relationships with the customers are given more importance. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS: Structure of Indias Financial Services Industry: The RBI, the central banking and monetary authority of India, is the central regulatory and supervisory authority for the Indian financial system. SEBI and IRDA regulate the capital markets and insurance sector, respectively. A variety offinancial intermediaries in the public and private sectors participate in Indias financial sector, including the following: Commercial banks; NBFCs; Specialised financial institutions like NABARD, EXIM Bank, SIDBI and TFCI; Securities brokers; Investment banks; Insurance companies; Mutual funds; and Venture capital. NON-BANKING FINANCIALCOMPANIES: Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are fast emerging as an important segment of Indian financial system. It is an heterogeneous group of institutions (other than commercial and co-operative banks) performing financial intermediation in a variety of ways, like accepting deposits, making loans and advances, leasing, hire purchase, etc. They raise funds from the public, directly or indirectly, and lend them to ultimate spenders. They advance loans to the various wholesale and retail traders, small-scale industries and self-employed persons. Thus, they have broadened and diversified the range of products and services offered by a financial sector. Gradually, they are being recognized as complementary to the banking sector due to their customer-oriented services; simplified procedures; attractive rates of return on deposits; flexibility and timeliness in meeting the credit needs of specified sectors; etc. The working and operations of NBFCs are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) within the framework of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (Chapter III B) and the directions issued by it under the Act. As per the RBI Act, a non-banking financial company is defined as:- (i) a financial institution which is a company; (ii) a non-banking institution which is a company and which has as its principal business the receiving of deposits, under any scheme or arrangement or in any other manner, or lending in any manner; (iii) such other non-banking institution or class of such institutions, as the bank may, with the previous approval of the Central Government and by notification in the Official Gazette, specify. NBFCs VsBANKING SECTOR IN INDIA: Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) are an integral part of the countrys financial system complementing theservices of commercial banks. The main reason attributed to the growth of NBFCs is the comprehensive regulation of thebanking system. Other factors include higher level of customer orientation, lesser pre/post sanction requirements andhigher rates of interest on deposits being offered by NBFCs. NBFCs have traditionally been extending credit across various parts of the country through their geographical presence,with NBFCs being a supplier of credit to segments such as equipment leasing, hire purchase, and consumer finance. Theseare areas which warrant infusion of financing due to the existing demand-supply gap. NBFCs have been a more flexiblesource of financing and have been able to disburse funds to a gamut of client, from the local common man to a varietyof corporate client. NBFCs are also able to accelerate the pace of decision making to disburse funds, customise andtailor their products according to the client needs and take on excess risks on their portfolio. NBFCs can be divided intodeposit taking NBFCs, i.e., which accept deposits from public and non-deposit taking NBFCs being those which do notaccept deposits from public. The activities carried out by NBFCs in India can be grouped as under The types of NBFCs registered with the RBI are:-  § Equipment leasing Company: is any financial institution whose principal business is that of leasing equipment or financing of such an activity.  § Hire-purchase Company:is any financial intermediary whose principal business relates to hire purchase transactions or financing of such transactions.  § Loan Company: means any financial institution whose principal business is that of providing finance, whether by making loans or advances or otherwise for any activity other than its own (excluding any equipment leasing or hire-purchase finance activity).  § Investment Company: is any financial intermediary whose principal business is that of buying and selling of securities. Now, these NBFCs have been reclassified into three categories:-  § Asset Finance Company (AFC)  § Investment Company (IC) and  § Loan Company (LC). Under this classification, AFC is defined as a financial institution whose principal business is that of financing the physical assets which support various productive/economic activities in the country. GOVERNMENT ROLE IN PROMOTING INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE: Infrastructure is expected to be a key area of growth in a developing country like India. The Government has been activelypromoting the countrys infrastructure through a sustained focus on area like power, roads, ports and urbantransportation. Private sector participation through public private partnerships as well as privately funded projects isbeing encouraged in order to enable quick scale up of governments efforts and better management. As per PlanningCommissions estimates the investments in infrastructure during the Tenth Plan aggregated to Rs. 4, 52,900 crores whichis expected to increase to Rs. 11, 25,000 crores in the Eleventh Plan. The chart below describes the anticipated andestimated investments under the two plans respectively. PROJECTED INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE in the 11th FIVE YEAR PLAN: COMPANY PROFILE: A started operation in 1989, Srei is a leading infrastructure focused private sector Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) in India. It is currently the only institution in India offering holistic infrastructure solutions financing, advisory services development. Milestones Achieved: 1989 Started operations and identified the infrastructure sector as its core Business area. 1992 Initial Public Offering with listing on all major stock exchanges. 1997 IFC, FMO DEG invested as strategic equity partners Promoters stake. 2002 Conceived Quippo, Indias first equipment bank. 2004 All India presence, currently 63 offices. 2005 First Indian NBFC to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. 2006 Geographical expansion into Russia; equity partners EBRD, DEG, FMO. 2007 Joint venture with BNP Paribas Lease Group, 100% subsidiary of BNP Paribas. 2008 Holistic Infrastructure Institution, financing, advisory services Development. Services: Ø Infrastructure Equipment Financing Leasing Ø Infrastructure Project: Financing, Advisory services and development Ø Insurance Broking Ø Venture Capital Ø Capital market Ø Sahaj e-village Ø Quippo Equipment Bank GROUP STRUCTURE: About Srei Equipment Finance Private Limited: Srei BNP Paribas (Registered name: Srei Equipment Finance Private Limited) is a 50:50 joint-venture between Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited, Indias leading and only private sector Non-Banking Financial Institution in the infrastructure space and BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions(BPLS), a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas, France. Srei BNP Paribas started its operation from January 01, 2008 with the infrastructure and construction equipment financing and insurance businesses and has further plans to expand its business to new verticals. Industry leader in the infrastructure and construction equipment financing, Srei BNP Paribas is aptly benefitting from the Indian expertise and insight of Srei and global leasing insight in diverse product classes of BNP Paribas. Srei BNP Paribas has deep insight on diverse equipment used in the infrastructure and construction sector and acts a valuable advisor to its customers. It has tied up with all the leading equipment manufacturers. Over the years, Srei BNP Paribas has been innovating new marketing programs bringing together the manufacturers and customers on a single platform, creating immense value and sharing this value with all the stake holders. Paison Ki Nilami and Srei BNP Paribas Partnership Week are two such prominent programs. Srei BNP Paribas has already started financing Technology Solutions (financing of IT equipment, software and services) and has effectively partnered with leading global IT vendors for financing their customers. It has also forayed into financing of new Equipment classes: Agriculture Equipment, Healthcare Equipment, Office Automation, and Equipment in Education sector etc. With its foray into new equipment classes, Srei BNP Paribas has become probably the one and only Company to offer complete Equipment Solutions. With a customer base of over 20,000, Srei BNP Paribas has grown from strength to strength enjoying a strong national presence with a network of 86 offices across India. VISION: To be the most inspiring global holistic infrastructure institution. MISSION: To be an Indian multinational company providing innovative integrated infrastructure solutions. CORE VALUES: Customer Partnership: At Srei, customer satisfaction is the benchmark for success. Srei delights its customers through a comprehensive range of financial services that are personalized, fast, reliable, convenient, quality driven, and yet cost effective. Integrity: Business integrity is a way of life at Srei. The company strongly stands by integrity in all its dealings and ensures strict adherence to the highest standards of business ethics. Passion for Excellence: Sreis passion for excellence is instrumental in positioning the company as the most innovative infrastructure solution provider in India. Respect for People: Srei acknowledges the fact that its people are its most valuable assets and accordingly provides the best possible work environment and treats them like family members. The company rewards excellence and initiative. Stakeholder Value enhancement: Srei is committed to earning the trust and confidence of all its stake holders. Its growth focus, the ability to constantly enlarge its product basket while controlling risk and reducing the cost of its services have resulted in enhanced value for its stakeholders. Professional Entrepreneurship: Sreis in depth knowledge of infrastructure financing business in India, coupled with its spirit of entrepreneurship, and helps the company to overcome the obstacles and complexities with professional expertise. MANUFACTURING PARTNERS: MARKET SHARE OF SREI BNP PARIBAS: Source: Company. MAJOR COMPETITORS: 1. MAGMA FINCORP LIMITED: Magma Fincorp Ltd (Magma) is a Kolkata based asset financing company. The company is engaged in financingof commercial vehicles, cars, construction equipment, tractors and utility vehicles.The companys target customers are mostly first time users and small entrepreneurs. The Company provides construction equipment finance across retail and strategic customer segments. In the retail segment, it focuses on first-time buyers and small customers. The Company has established contracts with large value vendors addressing multiple projects. It finances a range of construction equipment like excavators, backhoe loaders, compactors, compressors, cranes, tippers and drillers of prominent brands like JCB, Telcon, LT, Ingersoll-Rand, Caterpillar, ECEL, Escorts and Atlas Copco etc. Magma provides unsecured EMI-based loans to SMEs for working capital, business expansion and business maintenance. It has developed proprietary financial analysis tools to make safe credit assessments. The share of this segment is increasing in the total disbursements (5% in FY10). Going forward the company intends to maintain the proportion of these loans at 5% and would adopt a cautious approach while lending. In Commercial Vehicle Finance Segment, Magma provides loans on used commercial vehicles and construction equipment. Magma refinanced popular models of Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland. Magma Fincorp predominantly was engaged in financing of construction equipment and passenger cars, utility vehicles and commercial vehicles (CVs). These business verticals accounted for 90% of the companys disbursements in FY10. Recently the company has ventured into high-yield segments, viz; financing of used CVs, tractors and SME loans. Most of the loans disbursed are retail loans and have small ticket size except in the construction equipment segment. MFL has a concentrated focus on the under tapped semi urban and rural market to finance first time users, Small Road Transport operators, small contractors etc. 2. TATA CAPITAL: The Company was incorporated on March 8, 1991 and actively commenced business operations since September, 2007. The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Limited, the apex holding company of the Tatas. Their fund based businesses comprise Corporate Finance, Infrastructure Finance and Retail Finance fee based businesses comprise investment banking, broking and distribution, wealth management, private equity, treasury advisory, services relating to travel, forex and infrastructure. With the wide array of products and customized service, the commercial finance business, helps small, medium and large corporates grow their business. The companys team of handpicked professionals offers in-depth expertise to help customers keep pace with the changing marketplace and offer them appropriate solutions to meet their ever-growing financial needs. The companys management structure enables them to leverage relationships across lines of our businesses. Their product knowledge and multi-channel delivery model enhances the ability to cross-sell the companys services. TATA Capital is in the advanced stages of setting up institutional broking, insurance broking and rural finance businesses which would supplement the aforementioned lines of business. TATA Capital believes that the following are the key strengths: Unified financial services platform; Diversified and balanced mix of businesses; Experienced management team; Innovative solutions model; Respected brand; Controls, processes and risk management systems; and Access to capital. 3. LT FINANCE LIMITED: LT Finance Limited (LTF) is a subsidiary of Larsen and Toubro. It was incorporated as a Non-Banking Finance Company in November 1994. Through LTF, LT aims at making a strong foray in the ever-expanding financial services sector.LT Finance understands the intricacies of your business. We at LT Finance offer financing for your Construction Equipment in the form of term loans, working capital loan and operating lease facilities. In 1996, LT Finance had made a foray in financing of commercial vehicles. LT Finance offers financing Commercial Vehicles of all makes and sizes. We also undertake funding of the body for the Commercial Vehicles. LT Finance has an extensive network from where you can easily avail financing for your Commercial Vehicle. Advantages of partnering with LT Finance Presence in more than 70 locations Flexible repayment option Competitive interest rates Finance for used vehicles available Faster loan approval and disbursement A brief Comparison between SREI EQUIPMENT FINSNCE its Competitors: REASON FOR THE JOINT VENTURE WITH BNP PARIBAS LEGAL SOLUTIONS: Mr.HemantKanoria, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of SREI, termed this joint venture as a very significant step in the Indian Financial Services Market. â€Å"We are the largest player in the financing of infrastructure equipment and collaborating with BPLG will help in increasing our market share further and also expanding the product line into financing of agriculture, information technology, medical and other equipment.† Speaking at the occasion Mr. Bertrand Gousset, member of the Executive Committee of BPLG, in charge of Corporate Development, said, â€Å"We are delighted to be associated with the SREI group, who are the leaders in the financing of infrastructure equipment and provide a wide range of equipment finance products to large strategic clients as well as to retail customers, with pan-India coverage. This joint venture is very significant for us and we look forward to a long and prosperous association with them.† Mr. Sunil Kanoria said, â€Å"This joint venture signifies the coming together of two companies with the same shared values. Both SREI and BPLG are convinced that they are well positioned to build on the already strong platform established by SREI and that this will enable in reduction in cost of funds resulting in higher profitability.† Mr.Amoudru, CEO of BNP Paribas India and Head of Territory, said The acquisition of a 50% stake in this joint-venture with SREI a highly recognised firm in equipment and infrastructure financing further evidences the willingness of the BNP Paribas Group to expand its presence in India in activities where it has a strong expertise. It represents another substantial capital commitment from the Group- the largest so far- in this country and testifies our confidence in the long term prospects of the Indian economy. SWOT ANALYSIS: LITERATURE REVIEW: FLOW OF THE PROCESS AT SREI: CREDIT APPRAISAL: Credit Appraisal is a process to ascertain the risks associated with the extension of the credit facility. It is generally carried by the financial institutions which are involved in providing financial funding to its customers.These financial institutions appraise the technical feasibility, economic viability and bankability including creditworthiness of the prospective borrower. Credit appraisal starts from the time a prospective borrower walks into the branch and culminates in credit delivery and monitoring with the objective of ensuring and maintaining the quality of lending and managing credit risk within acceptable limits. Credit appraisal involves analysis of liquidity position/ financial soundness of the company. Although, the analysis also covers understanding growth trends in revenues and earnings, and profit margins, more emphasis is required to be placed on liquidity-both long term and short term. There are basically two types of proposals that are received by the companies for funds. The first types of proposals are financing against new and first hand assets to be purchased (EQUIK) and the other proposals are financing against pre owned assets (REQUIK). Asset finance is generally divided into three departments depending upon the risk exposure*: Retail: Aggregate risk exposure not exceeding Rs.1 crore. SME (Small Medium Enterprises): Aggregate risk exposure between Rs.1 5 crores. Strategic: Aggregate exposure more than Rs.5 crores. *NOTE: Risk exposure to a client is determined by the summation of Net Finance Amount for the approval(s) being considered, together with all existing exposures to the client all related concerns in aggregate and residual Net Finance Amounts under all previous valid approvals for the Client pending part or full disbursement. SOME IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGIES: ASSET FINANCE: Asset Finance category includes secured business loan in which the borrower pledges as collateral an asset used in the conduct of its business. Asset finance also includes business in which a client takes an asset on lease for use in the conduct of his business for a defined period with or without right of onward sub lease the asset. ASSET COST: In case of Equik, the invoice values of the Asset including all duties and taxes which are not refundable or adjustable under drawback or otherwise any scheme. Spares, consumables, accessories auxiliaries, consultancy fees, installation and erection charges, etc. shall not be considered as part of asset cost. In case of Requik, Asset cost will be determined by the lowest of: Present Intrinsic Value of Asset as determined through a process by an expert approved by SREI. Actual purchase price to be paid by the consumer Current Insured Declared Value. MARGIN: Margin means the clients contribution on the Asset Cost payable upfront or any amount deposited with us as Security Deposit in relation to the transaction before the disbursement or release of facility. AIRR: Internal Rate of Return (IRR) by definition is the rate of return at which the Net Present Value of the stream of payments (repayment of installments and interest by the customer vis-à  -vis the actual disbursement made by the company) become equal to zero. FIRR: Financial IRR (FIRR) shall mean the transaction IRR without factoring any benefit available to Srei BNPP in terms of normal MOU entered into by srei BNPP with concerned manufacturer. Management fees/ RTE/ Commitment Charges collected upfront, an extra credit period, subvention or other cash incentives extracted from the manufacturer over and above those available workings. YIELD: Yield means the rate of return to Srei-BNPP from the transaction, factoring all the benefits available to Srei-BNPP under normal MOU and otherwise from the manufacturers/vendors. ETR (Excellent Track Record): ETR means peak delay of not more than 30 days and average delay of not more than 15 days for payment of dues in all existing and past accounts of the proposed customer. GTR (Good track Record): GTR means peak delay of not more than 45 days and average delay of not more than 30 days for payment of dues in all existing and past accounts of the proposed customer. PTR (Poor track Record): PTR means peak delay more than 45 days and average delay of more than 30 days for payment of dues in all existing and past accounts of the proposed customer. ANALYSIS OF CREDIT APPRAISAL MEMORANDUM: Credit risk of each individual transaction is studied and managed from the five different perspectives: Customer credit worthiness Asset quality Asset deployment Collateral security Facility type Background of the proponent/ management: The identification of the borrower is done properly through scrutiny of his antecedents, experience, competence, integrity, initiative etc. This may be done by obtaining status reports from previous bankers. In case of corporate, the management structure, the background of the top management needs to be scrutinized. KYC guidelines as framed by RBI are adopted by the company. Commercial Appraisal: The nature of the product, demand for the same, the existing and perceived competition in the segment, ability of the proponents to withstand the same, government policies governing the industry etc. need to be taken into consideration. Technical Appraisal: Technical appraisal of the project needs to be carried out for industrial activity proposals beyond the cut off limits prescribed from time to time. Such appraisal may be carried out in house by technical officers. Financial Appraisal: Apart from ascertaining the need based character of the limits requested for, the financial health of the proponents, ability to absorb unanticipated financial costs need to be looked into which would include scrutiny of the cost of the project, means of financing, financial projections etc. important performance indicators like profitability ratios, debt equity ratio, operating profit margin etc. need to be within acceptable parameters for that industries/ activities. INTRODUCTION TO RISK: The interpretation of the word risk will determine the approach to risk management. The word risk is interpreted in three distinct senses namely risk as hazard, risk as opportunity and risk as uncertainty. Risk as hazard is the most commonly used meaning of risk and it means likely financial losses arising from negative events such as control failures, bad publicity and loss of reputation. Risk management in this context would mean eliminating possibilities of losses from such negative events by putting in place adequate control systems. Risk as an opportunity means, taking risks and earning adequate returns on them. This implies the trade-off between risk and return. Here risk management, becomes risk optimization meaning maximizing the upside potential and minimizing the downside. Here capacity and ability to manage risk is used to increase shareholders value and achieve a competitive advantage. Risk, as uncertainty is basically a statistical concept, which assumes a normal distribution for future outcomes. Here risk management means narrowing the difference between the expected outcomes and actual results. Banks and other similar financial institutions need to manage the risk inherent in the entire portfolio as well as the risk in individual credits or transactions. The effective management of risk is a critical component of a comprehensive approach to risk management and essential to the long-term success of any banking organization. In simple words, risk is the possibility of losses associated with decrease in the credit quality of borrowers. In a financial institution, loss may stem from default due to inability or unwillingness of a customer to meet his commitments in relation to lending, trading, settlement and other financial transactions. A default reduces the present value of the loan and consequently the value of the banks business. Thus, it is imperative that these institutions have a robust risk management. MODEL BUILDING: Need for Study: A Risk Assessment Model (RAM) is necessary to avoid the limitations associated with a simplistic and broad classification of applicants into a good or bad category The comapny currently uses a judgemental risk assessing model. Grading System for Standardization of Risk: The grades (symbols, numbers, alphabets, and descriptive terms) used in the internal credit-risk grading system represent, without any ambiguity, the default risks associated with an exposure. The grading system will enable comparisons of risks for purposes of analysis and top management decision-making. The grading system is therefore, be flexible and should accommodate the refinement SREI India Financial and SWOT Analysis SREI India Financial and SWOT Analysis OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT: To develop and understanding of the Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFIs) and their business operations in India. To do a detailed research on SREI Equipment Finance Private Limited, its market share and the SWOT analysis. To thoroughly review SREIs credit appraisal and credit management process. To understand the risk management process of the company. To gain a detailed knowledge of the parameters that affects various risks. To determine weightages and scores for designing and developing risk assessment model based on market forces for assessing SREIs Customers. METHODOLOGY: In order to achieve the said objectives, will be to go through the entire NBFs history, thrust areas; growth opportunities, present scenario. This will be the ongoing process and will be done using internet, news and books. To understand the functioning of SREI pertaining to credit risk management and appraisal process followed for financing large corporates (risk exposures more than Rs.5 crores). Factual data, credit appraisal memorandum prepared by the company and the credit risk policy of the company will be referred in this regard. Then comes the technical part of conducting Balance Sheet Analysis, Ratio Analysis and Cash Flow Analysis. To propose a statistical credit rating model, data have been collected from credit officers and the relationship managers in the institution. Financial ratios were used to measure the strength of the customer. Score model for assessing risk to convert responses to scores. Weighted average method applied to assign appropriate importance to various parameters. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY: The study will only be focusing on the LARGE CORPORATES (risk exposure more than Rs.5 crores) not the retail and SME sectors of SREI. Study is on the basis of first-hand information collected from employees/head of the division of the company that might be incorrect or biased. Duration of the internship imparts the pressure of covering this vast spectrum in a limit period of 14 weeks. The accuracy of the Risk Assessing Model depends on the accuracy of information provided by the customer. The risk rating model doesnt take into the consideration where in the company doesnt follow the rules norms strictly. The relationships with the customers are given more importance. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS: Structure of Indias Financial Services Industry: The RBI, the central banking and monetary authority of India, is the central regulatory and supervisory authority for the Indian financial system. SEBI and IRDA regulate the capital markets and insurance sector, respectively. A variety offinancial intermediaries in the public and private sectors participate in Indias financial sector, including the following: Commercial banks; NBFCs; Specialised financial institutions like NABARD, EXIM Bank, SIDBI and TFCI; Securities brokers; Investment banks; Insurance companies; Mutual funds; and Venture capital. NON-BANKING FINANCIALCOMPANIES: Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are fast emerging as an important segment of Indian financial system. It is an heterogeneous group of institutions (other than commercial and co-operative banks) performing financial intermediation in a variety of ways, like accepting deposits, making loans and advances, leasing, hire purchase, etc. They raise funds from the public, directly or indirectly, and lend them to ultimate spenders. They advance loans to the various wholesale and retail traders, small-scale industries and self-employed persons. Thus, they have broadened and diversified the range of products and services offered by a financial sector. Gradually, they are being recognized as complementary to the banking sector due to their customer-oriented services; simplified procedures; attractive rates of return on deposits; flexibility and timeliness in meeting the credit needs of specified sectors; etc. The working and operations of NBFCs are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) within the framework of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (Chapter III B) and the directions issued by it under the Act. As per the RBI Act, a non-banking financial company is defined as:- (i) a financial institution which is a company; (ii) a non-banking institution which is a company and which has as its principal business the receiving of deposits, under any scheme or arrangement or in any other manner, or lending in any manner; (iii) such other non-banking institution or class of such institutions, as the bank may, with the previous approval of the Central Government and by notification in the Official Gazette, specify. NBFCs VsBANKING SECTOR IN INDIA: Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) are an integral part of the countrys financial system complementing theservices of commercial banks. The main reason attributed to the growth of NBFCs is the comprehensive regulation of thebanking system. Other factors include higher level of customer orientation, lesser pre/post sanction requirements andhigher rates of interest on deposits being offered by NBFCs. NBFCs have traditionally been extending credit across various parts of the country through their geographical presence,with NBFCs being a supplier of credit to segments such as equipment leasing, hire purchase, and consumer finance. Theseare areas which warrant infusion of financing due to the existing demand-supply gap. NBFCs have been a more flexiblesource of financing and have been able to disburse funds to a gamut of client, from the local common man to a varietyof corporate client. NBFCs are also able to accelerate the pace of decision making to disburse funds, customise andtailor their products according to the client needs and take on excess risks on their portfolio. NBFCs can be divided intodeposit taking NBFCs, i.e., which accept deposits from public and non-deposit taking NBFCs being those which do notaccept deposits from public. The activities carried out by NBFCs in India can be grouped as under The types of NBFCs registered with the RBI are:-  § Equipment leasing Company: is any financial institution whose principal business is that of leasing equipment or financing of such an activity.  § Hire-purchase Company:is any financial intermediary whose principal business relates to hire purchase transactions or financing of such transactions.  § Loan Company: means any financial institution whose principal business is that of providing finance, whether by making loans or advances or otherwise for any activity other than its own (excluding any equipment leasing or hire-purchase finance activity).  § Investment Company: is any financial intermediary whose principal business is that of buying and selling of securities. Now, these NBFCs have been reclassified into three categories:-  § Asset Finance Company (AFC)  § Investment Company (IC) and  § Loan Company (LC). Under this classification, AFC is defined as a financial institution whose principal business is that of financing the physical assets which support various productive/economic activities in the country. GOVERNMENT ROLE IN PROMOTING INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE: Infrastructure is expected to be a key area of growth in a developing country like India. The Government has been activelypromoting the countrys infrastructure through a sustained focus on area like power, roads, ports and urbantransportation. Private sector participation through public private partnerships as well as privately funded projects isbeing encouraged in order to enable quick scale up of governments efforts and better management. As per PlanningCommissions estimates the investments in infrastructure during the Tenth Plan aggregated to Rs. 4, 52,900 crores whichis expected to increase to Rs. 11, 25,000 crores in the Eleventh Plan. The chart below describes the anticipated andestimated investments under the two plans respectively. PROJECTED INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE in the 11th FIVE YEAR PLAN: COMPANY PROFILE: A started operation in 1989, Srei is a leading infrastructure focused private sector Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) in India. It is currently the only institution in India offering holistic infrastructure solutions financing, advisory services development. Milestones Achieved: 1989 Started operations and identified the infrastructure sector as its core Business area. 1992 Initial Public Offering with listing on all major stock exchanges. 1997 IFC, FMO DEG invested as strategic equity partners Promoters stake. 2002 Conceived Quippo, Indias first equipment bank. 2004 All India presence, currently 63 offices. 2005 First Indian NBFC to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. 2006 Geographical expansion into Russia; equity partners EBRD, DEG, FMO. 2007 Joint venture with BNP Paribas Lease Group, 100% subsidiary of BNP Paribas. 2008 Holistic Infrastructure Institution, financing, advisory services Development. Services: Ø Infrastructure Equipment Financing Leasing Ø Infrastructure Project: Financing, Advisory services and development Ø Insurance Broking Ø Venture Capital Ø Capital market Ø Sahaj e-village Ø Quippo Equipment Bank GROUP STRUCTURE: About Srei Equipment Finance Private Limited: Srei BNP Paribas (Registered name: Srei Equipment Finance Private Limited) is a 50:50 joint-venture between Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited, Indias leading and only private sector Non-Banking Financial Institution in the infrastructure space and BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions(BPLS), a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas, France. Srei BNP Paribas started its operation from January 01, 2008 with the infrastructure and construction equipment financing and insurance businesses and has further plans to expand its business to new verticals. Industry leader in the infrastructure and construction equipment financing, Srei BNP Paribas is aptly benefitting from the Indian expertise and insight of Srei and global leasing insight in diverse product classes of BNP Paribas. Srei BNP Paribas has deep insight on diverse equipment used in the infrastructure and construction sector and acts a valuable advisor to its customers. It has tied up with all the leading equipment manufacturers. Over the years, Srei BNP Paribas has been innovating new marketing programs bringing together the manufacturers and customers on a single platform, creating immense value and sharing this value with all the stake holders. Paison Ki Nilami and Srei BNP Paribas Partnership Week are two such prominent programs. Srei BNP Paribas has already started financing Technology Solutions (financing of IT equipment, software and services) and has effectively partnered with leading global IT vendors for financing their customers. It has also forayed into financing of new Equipment classes: Agriculture Equipment, Healthcare Equipment, Office Automation, and Equipment in Education sector etc. With its foray into new equipment classes, Srei BNP Paribas has become probably the one and only Company to offer complete Equipment Solutions. With a customer base of over 20,000, Srei BNP Paribas has grown from strength to strength enjoying a strong national presence with a network of 86 offices across India. VISION: To be the most inspiring global holistic infrastructure institution. MISSION: To be an Indian multinational company providing innovative integrated infrastructure solutions. CORE VALUES: Customer Partnership: At Srei, customer satisfaction is the benchmark for success. Srei delights its customers through a comprehensive range of financial services that are personalized, fast, reliable, convenient, quality driven, and yet cost effective. Integrity: Business integrity is a way of life at Srei. The company strongly stands by integrity in all its dealings and ensures strict adherence to the highest standards of business ethics. Passion for Excellence: Sreis passion for excellence is instrumental in positioning the company as the most innovative infrastructure solution provider in India. Respect for People: Srei acknowledges the fact that its people are its most valuable assets and accordingly provides the best possible work environment and treats them like family members. The company rewards excellence and initiative. Stakeholder Value enhancement: Srei is committed to earning the trust and confidence of all its stake holders. Its growth focus, the ability to constantly enlarge its product basket while controlling risk and reducing the cost of its services have resulted in enhanced value for its stakeholders. Professional Entrepreneurship: Sreis in depth knowledge of infrastructure financing business in India, coupled with its spirit of entrepreneurship, and helps the company to overcome the obstacles and complexities with professional expertise. MANUFACTURING PARTNERS: MARKET SHARE OF SREI BNP PARIBAS: Source: Company. MAJOR COMPETITORS: 1. MAGMA FINCORP LIMITED: Magma Fincorp Ltd (Magma) is a Kolkata based asset financing company. The company is engaged in financingof commercial vehicles, cars, construction equipment, tractors and utility vehicles.The companys target customers are mostly first time users and small entrepreneurs. The Company provides construction equipment finance across retail and strategic customer segments. In the retail segment, it focuses on first-time buyers and small customers. The Company has established contracts with large value vendors addressing multiple projects. It finances a range of construction equipment like excavators, backhoe loaders, compactors, compressors, cranes, tippers and drillers of prominent brands like JCB, Telcon, LT, Ingersoll-Rand, Caterpillar, ECEL, Escorts and Atlas Copco etc. Magma provides unsecured EMI-based loans to SMEs for working capital, business expansion and business maintenance. It has developed proprietary financial analysis tools to make safe credit assessments. The share of this segment is increasing in the total disbursements (5% in FY10). Going forward the company intends to maintain the proportion of these loans at 5% and would adopt a cautious approach while lending. In Commercial Vehicle Finance Segment, Magma provides loans on used commercial vehicles and construction equipment. Magma refinanced popular models of Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland. Magma Fincorp predominantly was engaged in financing of construction equipment and passenger cars, utility vehicles and commercial vehicles (CVs). These business verticals accounted for 90% of the companys disbursements in FY10. Recently the company has ventured into high-yield segments, viz; financing of used CVs, tractors and SME loans. Most of the loans disbursed are retail loans and have small ticket size except in the construction equipment segment. MFL has a concentrated focus on the under tapped semi urban and rural market to finance first time users, Small Road Transport operators, small contractors etc. 2. TATA CAPITAL: The Company was incorporated on March 8, 1991 and actively commenced business operations since September, 2007. The Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Limited, the apex holding company of the Tatas. Their fund based businesses comprise Corporate Finance, Infrastructure Finance and Retail Finance fee based businesses comprise investment banking, broking and distribution, wealth management, private equity, treasury advisory, services relating to travel, forex and infrastructure. With the wide array of products and customized service, the commercial finance business, helps small, medium and large corporates grow their business. The companys team of handpicked professionals offers in-depth expertise to help customers keep pace with the changing marketplace and offer them appropriate solutions to meet their ever-growing financial needs. The companys management structure enables them to leverage relationships across lines of our businesses. Their product knowledge and multi-channel delivery model enhances the ability to cross-sell the companys services. TATA Capital is in the advanced stages of setting up institutional broking, insurance broking and rural finance businesses which would supplement the aforementioned lines of business. TATA Capital believes that the following are the key strengths: Unified financial services platform; Diversified and balanced mix of businesses; Experienced management team; Innovative solutions model; Respected brand; Controls, processes and risk management systems; and Access to capital. 3. LT FINANCE LIMITED: LT Finance Limited (LTF) is a subsidiary of Larsen and Toubro. It was incorporated as a Non-Banking Finance Company in November 1994. Through LTF, LT aims at making a strong foray in the ever-expanding financial services sector.LT Finance understands the intricacies of your business. We at LT Finance offer financing for your Construction Equipment in the form of term loans, working capital loan and operating lease facilities. In 1996, LT Finance had made a foray in financing of commercial vehicles. LT Finance offers financing Commercial Vehicles of all makes and sizes. We also undertake funding of the body for the Commercial Vehicles. LT Finance has an extensive network from where you can easily avail financing for your Commercial Vehicle. Advantages of partnering with LT Finance Presence in more than 70 locations Flexible repayment option Competitive interest rates Finance for used vehicles available Faster loan approval and disbursement A brief Comparison between SREI EQUIPMENT FINSNCE its Competitors: REASON FOR THE JOINT VENTURE WITH BNP PARIBAS LEGAL SOLUTIONS: Mr.HemantKanoria, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of SREI, termed this joint venture as a very significant step in the Indian Financial Services Market. â€Å"We are the largest player in the financing of infrastructure equipment and collaborating with BPLG will help in increasing our market share further and also expanding the product line into financing of agriculture, information technology, medical and other equipment.† Speaking at the occasion Mr. Bertrand Gousset, member of the Executive Committee of BPLG, in charge of Corporate Development, said, â€Å"We are delighted to be associated with the SREI group, who are the leaders in the financing of infrastructure equipment and provide a wide range of equipment finance products to large strategic clients as well as to retail customers, with pan-India coverage. This joint venture is very significant for us and we look forward to a long and prosperous association with them.† Mr. Sunil Kanoria said, â€Å"This joint venture signifies the coming together of two companies with the same shared values. Both SREI and BPLG are convinced that they are well positioned to build on the already strong platform established by SREI and that this will enable in reduction in cost of funds resulting in higher profitability.† Mr.Amoudru, CEO of BNP Paribas India and Head of Territory, said The acquisition of a 50% stake in this joint-venture with SREI a highly recognised firm in equipment and infrastructure financing further evidences the willingness of the BNP Paribas Group to expand its presence in India in activities where it has a strong expertise. It represents another substantial capital commitment from the Group- the largest so far- in this country and testifies our confidence in the long term prospects of the Indian economy. SWOT ANALYSIS: LITERATURE REVIEW: FLOW OF THE PROCESS AT SREI: CREDIT APPRAISAL: Credit Appraisal is a process to ascertain the risks associated with the extension of the credit facility. It is generally carried by the financial institutions which are involved in providing financial funding to its customers.These financial institutions appraise the technical feasibility, economic viability and bankability including creditworthiness of the prospective borrower. Credit appraisal starts from the time a prospective borrower walks into the branch and culminates in credit delivery and monitoring with the objective of ensuring and maintaining the quality of lending and managing credit risk within acceptable limits. Credit appraisal involves analysis of liquidity position/ financial soundness of the company. Although, the analysis also covers understanding growth trends in revenues and earnings, and profit margins, more emphasis is required to be placed on liquidity-both long term and short term. There are basically two types of proposals that are received by the companies for funds. The first types of proposals are financing against new and first hand assets to be purchased (EQUIK) and the other proposals are financing against pre owned assets (REQUIK). Asset finance is generally divided into three departments depending upon the risk exposure*: Retail: Aggregate risk exposure not exceeding Rs.1 crore. SME (Small Medium Enterprises): Aggregate risk exposure between Rs.1 5 crores. Strategic: Aggregate exposure more than Rs.5 crores. *NOTE: Risk exposure to a client is determined by the summation of Net Finance Amount for the approval(s) being considered, together with all existing exposures to the client all related concerns in aggregate and residual Net Finance Amounts under all previous valid approvals for the Client pending part or full disbursement. SOME IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGIES: ASSET FINANCE: Asset Finance category includes secured business loan in which the borrower pledges as collateral an asset used in the conduct of its business. Asset finance also includes business in which a client takes an asset on lease for use in the conduct of his business for a defined period with or without right of onward sub lease the asset. ASSET COST: In case of Equik, the invoice values of the Asset including all duties and taxes which are not refundable or adjustable under drawback or otherwise any scheme. Spares, consumables, accessories auxiliaries, consultancy fees, installation and erection charges, etc. shall not be considered as part of asset cost. In case of Requik, Asset cost will be determined by the lowest of: Present Intrinsic Value of Asset as determined through a process by an expert approved by SREI. Actual purchase price to be paid by the consumer Current Insured Declared Value. MARGIN: Margin means the clients contribution on the Asset Cost payable upfront or any amount deposited with us as Security Deposit in relation to the transaction before the disbursement or release of facility. AIRR: Internal Rate of Return (IRR) by definition is the rate of return at which the Net Present Value of the stream of payments (repayment of installments and interest by the customer vis-à  -vis the actual disbursement made by the company) become equal to zero. FIRR: Financial IRR (FIRR) shall mean the transaction IRR without factoring any benefit available to Srei BNPP in terms of normal MOU entered into by srei BNPP with concerned manufacturer. Management fees/ RTE/ Commitment Charges collected upfront, an extra credit period, subvention or other cash incentives extracted from the manufacturer over and above those available workings. YIELD: Yield means the rate of return to Srei-BNPP from the transaction, factoring all the benefits available to Srei-BNPP under normal MOU and otherwise from the manufacturers/vendors. ETR (Excellent Track Record): ETR means peak delay of not more than 30 days and average delay of not more than 15 days for payment of dues in all existing and past accounts of the proposed customer. GTR (Good track Record): GTR means peak delay of not more than 45 days and average delay of not more than 30 days for payment of dues in all existing and past accounts of the proposed customer. PTR (Poor track Record): PTR means peak delay more than 45 days and average delay of more than 30 days for payment of dues in all existing and past accounts of the proposed customer. ANALYSIS OF CREDIT APPRAISAL MEMORANDUM: Credit risk of each individual transaction is studied and managed from the five different perspectives: Customer credit worthiness Asset quality Asset deployment Collateral security Facility type Background of the proponent/ management: The identification of the borrower is done properly through scrutiny of his antecedents, experience, competence, integrity, initiative etc. This may be done by obtaining status reports from previous bankers. In case of corporate, the management structure, the background of the top management needs to be scrutinized. KYC guidelines as framed by RBI are adopted by the company. Commercial Appraisal: The nature of the product, demand for the same, the existing and perceived competition in the segment, ability of the proponents to withstand the same, government policies governing the industry etc. need to be taken into consideration. Technical Appraisal: Technical appraisal of the project needs to be carried out for industrial activity proposals beyond the cut off limits prescribed from time to time. Such appraisal may be carried out in house by technical officers. Financial Appraisal: Apart from ascertaining the need based character of the limits requested for, the financial health of the proponents, ability to absorb unanticipated financial costs need to be looked into which would include scrutiny of the cost of the project, means of financing, financial projections etc. important performance indicators like profitability ratios, debt equity ratio, operating profit margin etc. need to be within acceptable parameters for that industries/ activities. INTRODUCTION TO RISK: The interpretation of the word risk will determine the approach to risk management. The word risk is interpreted in three distinct senses namely risk as hazard, risk as opportunity and risk as uncertainty. Risk as hazard is the most commonly used meaning of risk and it means likely financial losses arising from negative events such as control failures, bad publicity and loss of reputation. Risk management in this context would mean eliminating possibilities of losses from such negative events by putting in place adequate control systems. Risk as an opportunity means, taking risks and earning adequate returns on them. This implies the trade-off between risk and return. Here risk management, becomes risk optimization meaning maximizing the upside potential and minimizing the downside. Here capacity and ability to manage risk is used to increase shareholders value and achieve a competitive advantage. Risk, as uncertainty is basically a statistical concept, which assumes a normal distribution for future outcomes. Here risk management means narrowing the difference between the expected outcomes and actual results. Banks and other similar financial institutions need to manage the risk inherent in the entire portfolio as well as the risk in individual credits or transactions. The effective management of risk is a critical component of a comprehensive approach to risk management and essential to the long-term success of any banking organization. In simple words, risk is the possibility of losses associated with decrease in the credit quality of borrowers. In a financial institution, loss may stem from default due to inability or unwillingness of a customer to meet his commitments in relation to lending, trading, settlement and other financial transactions. A default reduces the present value of the loan and consequently the value of the banks business. Thus, it is imperative that these institutions have a robust risk management. MODEL BUILDING: Need for Study: A Risk Assessment Model (RAM) is necessary to avoid the limitations associated with a simplistic and broad classification of applicants into a good or bad category The comapny currently uses a judgemental risk assessing model. Grading System for Standardization of Risk: The grades (symbols, numbers, alphabets, and descriptive terms) used in the internal credit-risk grading system represent, without any ambiguity, the default risks associated with an exposure. The grading system will enable comparisons of risks for purposes of analysis and top management decision-making. The grading system is therefore, be flexible and should accommodate the refinement