Kite Runner Essay Essay

Do you know that Afghanis play a game where they fight with kites? The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini describes kite fights between local Afghani kids, regardless of their social status. The main characters in this story that come from a higher socioeconomic level are Baba, a lawyer from the Pashtun tribe, and his son Amir. The main characters in this story that come from the lower socioeconomic level are Ali, a servant from the Hazara tribe, and his son Hassan who are servants to Baba and his family. The Kite Runner explores how different classes of people worked together to run things in Afghanistan. In the Kite Runner discrimination in Afghanistan is demonstrated by the relationship between the Pashutns and Hazaras. The Hazaras were often demeaned and persecuted (www. Sparknotes. com). Baba, however, taught his family to be kind to the Hazaras. Baba learned this from his father, who was a highly regarded judge in Kabul (Hosseini 24). The story describes a day when the grandfather sentenced two young Pashtun men into the military for killing almost an entire Hazaran family. The grandfather was very dismayed that the five year old boy who survived the incident would be left an orphan. Amir remembered â€Å"As for the orphan, my grandfather adopted him into his own household, and told the other servants to tutor him, but to be kind to him† (Hosseini 24-25). The young survivor was named Ali. Quite a few years later, Baba took in Ali’s son Hassan to be a servant for his son Amir. While Baba’s house was a fair and kind place to live there was still a social barrier (www. Sparknotes. com). For example even though Baba called Ali his â€Å"family†, Ali still lived in a hut and slept on the floor (www. shmoop. com). Although Hassan was believed to be Ali’s son he was actually Baba’s out of wedlock son (Hosseini 224-225). Baba and Ali never told Amir or Hassan that they were brothers because it was shameful that Baba had a relationship with Hassan’s mother, who was in a lower socioeconomic level. Baba would never be respected again if that ever got out. Later on in Hassan’s life, he had difficulty with becoming anything but a servant. Hassan had a very strong identity as a servant, and because of this he had no sense of entitlement when he grew up. Hassan took care of Baba’s house, even after Baba left (Hosseini 218). In a scene in the book Hassan tries to protect Baba’s old house from Taliban invasion, and gets killed (Hosseini 219). Through his dying day Hassan never felt a sense of entitlement and continued to serve Baba as his owner rather than as his father. At the time of Hassan’s death he was no longer Baba’s servant. The Taliban, warriors taking over tribesman under the guise of uniting their country, made Afghanistan a very dangerous place. The Taliban were very discriminating and typically tortured, beat, and executed people of a lower socioeconomic level. During childhood, Assef bullied Hassan and Amir. Assef came from a higher socioeconomic class than Hassan. Assef is now presented in the book as a Taliban militant. The Taliban banned music in Afghanistan (Hosseini 280). Hassan’s son, Sohrab, was forced to dance to music by Assef. The Taliban continued to flex its muscles to get other people to conform to their rules. Amir thought â€Å"I guessed music wasn’t sinful as long as it played to Taliban ears’† (Hosseini 280). Amir was very critical about the Taliban and stupidly admitted to Assef â€Å"I had read about the Hazara massacre in Mazar-i-Sharif in the papers† (Hosseini 277). Amir’s point was that the Taliban killed the Hazaras anywhere they could find them even though they didn’t do anything wrong. Clearly the Taliban did not value the lives of the Hazaras (www. Sparknotes. com). Assef was one of the cruelest of all the Taliban. He told Amir this â€Å"Afghanistan is like a beautiful mansion littered with garbage, and someone has to take out the garbage† (Hosseini 284). Taliban influence in Afghanistan heightened discrimination and did not unite the country. The Kite Runner clearly demonstrated how different classes of people who are able to live peacefully together although keeping within the bound of their social class. The Taliban did not tolerate people from the lower socioeconomic classes and without conscious killed and destroyed their lives. Hassan and Amir, technically brother, grew up together but were never treated as equals (Hosseini 25). However they were able to coexist without hating each other (Hosseini 25). Amir never truly considered himself as a friend to Hassan (Hosseini 25). Hassan always considered himself a servant to Baba even at his death, in chapter 16. In my opinion the Afghan culture before the Taliban was one of working together and living peacefully but after the Taliban invaded the culture changed by forcing discrimination among the socioeconomic classes. Works Cited Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead, 2003. Print. â€Å"The Kite Runner Chapter 4 Summary. † Shmoop. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"The Kite Runner. † SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n. d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .

The Present Scenario of Smes in Bangladesh

Assignment On The Present Scenario of SMEs in Bangladesh The Report Presented to the Faculty of Business Administration in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Degree of Bachelor of Business Administration Submitted To Dr. A K H Helaluz Zaman Course Instructor Faculty of Business, ASA University Bangladesh (ASAUB) Course Title: Entrepreneurship Development Course Code: MGT-321 Submitted By Name | ID| Section| Al-amin| 101-12-0054| 9B| Md. Alauddin Al Mahdi| 101-12-0064| 9B| Hyder Hossain| 101-12-0062| 9B| Nilufa Yesmin| 101-12-0067| 9B| Rashiduzzaman| 093-12-0035| 9B| ASA University Bangladesh (ASAUB) Date: 07 August 2012 ———————————————— Letter of Transmittal Date: 07/08/2012 To Dr. A K H Helaluz Zaman Course instructor Faculty of Business, ASA University Bangladesh (ASAUB) Subject: Submission of the Group Assignment . Sir, It is our pleasure to submit the report on â€Å"The Present Scenario of SMEs in Bangladesh† as a part of our course â€Å"Entrepreneurship Development† We have enjoyed preparing this assignment which enriched our practical knowledge of the theoretical concept. We tried to reflect the practical operational aspects of the organization which is complementary to the theoretical lessons.Should you need any further information to evaluate the assignment, it would be our immense pleasure to furnish you the same. Sincerely Yours Name| ID| Section| Signature| Al-amin| 101-12-0054| 9B| | Md. Alauddin Al Mahdi| 101-12-0064| 9B| | Hyder Hossain| 101-12-0062| 9B| | Nilufa Yesmin| 101-12-0067| 9B| | Rashiduzzaman| 093-12-0035| 9B| | ————————————————- ————————————————- Acknowledgement Preparing this term paper on â€Å"The Present Scenario of SMEs in Bangladesh† was a wonderful experience for our. At fast we would like to thank almighty Allah to carry on our work.We would like to thank our faculty member, Dr. A K H Helaluz Zaman , course instructor, Faculty of Business ASA University Bangladesh for giving our this opportunity as well as for his constant guidance and support. Finally we would like to thank our family for supporting our courage to carry on our work. It was a practical experience for us. Executive Summary Bangladesh is s developing country. Its per capita income is only $750 and per capita GDP is $684 and present GDP growth rate is 6%. Most of the people are living in the below of poverty line. Poverty as like as curse for our country.To remove poverty government and other organization such as NGOs, Bank has taken many steps. Bangladesh Government has taken Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) programs that first goals is eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Th ey also have written Poverty Reduction Strategy paper (PRSP) to remove poverty. To achieve the committed MDGs and PRSP, Bangladesh must strive to expend employment creation opportunities very rapidly. For this government have formed SMEs Foundation. SMEs means Small and Medium enterprises, it can be defined as enterprises which have at most 250 employees and an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million Euros.Further there is the distinction of Small enterprise- they fewer than 50 staff members and less than 10 million Euros turnover- and micro- enterprises (less than 10 persons and 2 million Euros turnover). Different countries and organizations define SME differently. The government of Bangladesh has categorized SME into two broad classes (a) manufacturing enterprise and (b) non manufacturing activities. Manufacturing enterprises can be divided into two categories (a) Small enterprise and (b) Medium enterprise.Non-manufacturing activities also can be divided into two categories (a) Small enterprise and (b) Medium enterprise. According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics different enterprises are defined as Micro industry that number of employees is 0-9, small has 10-49 employees, Medium has 50-99 employees and Large above 99 employees. To complete this assignment we have collected data from the secondary source such as internet, books, journal etc. The objectives of the study are to appraise the present situation of SME in Bangladesh, to identify the problems of SME in Bangladesh and recommend solutions to overcome the problems.Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), by producing exportable surpluses of commodities together with local value additions and creation of employment opportunities, can make significant contribution to the economy of Bangladesh. Although financing of SMEs in off-farm rural economic activities are largely dependent on equity financing from personal and family savings, currently banks and financial institutions are also coming forward to pr ovide finance to this sector. As the large potential of employment generation by SMEs has attracted attention of the policy makers, a range of initiatives for channeling loans to SMEs are being taken.The Government has taken up programs to provide financial assistance to expand SMEs through commercial banks. Alongside the disbursement of loans, since FY2004-05, Bangladesh Bank has taken up a scheme of Tk. 100 crore for refinancing the scheduled banks and financial institutions as revolving fund. Recently, the scheme has been widened with an enhanced allocation of Tk. 600 crore. Up to June 2009, Tk. 716. 44 crore and up to December 2009 Tk. 853. 15 has been disbursed among 17 scheduled banks and 21financial institutions for refinancing potential entrepreneurs.In addition to this, IDA has provided US$10 million and the Government of Bangladesh has provided Tk. 112. 32 crore through ‘Enterprises Growth and Bank Modernization Project (EGBMP)’. With the stipulated revolving fund of Tk. 224. 50 crore up to June 2009 and Tk. 244. 14 crore up to December 2009 refinancing facilities among 2541 potential entrepreneurs have been provided to 15 schedule banks and 14 financial institutions. Moreover, in an attempt to provide incentives to the sector, ADB has been providing an additional US$30 million to Bangladesh Bank and Tk. 34. 94 up to December 2009 refinancing facilities among 3264 potential entrepreneurs have been provided to 9 schedule banks and 7 financial institutions. These resources would contribute both in employment generation as well as in enhancing the purchasing power of the poor. It is found that micro enterprises run by up to 10 workers contribute the most which is 86% of the total contribution from SMEs to GDP of Bangladesh. It is also observed that micro enterprises run by more than 21 workers contribute about 7% of total contribution from SME to GDP of Bangladesh.It is reflected from the table that manufacturing sector contributes the high est contribution in GDP i. e. , 38%. It is also observed from the table that agriculture and wholesale and retail sector contribute more than 22 percent in the GDP of Bangladesh. We also show the growth pattern of SME. It is observed that during 2001-2002 to 2004-2005 in every financial year the growth rate of SME is about 7%. In 2005-2006 the growth rate was 9. 21%. The highest growth was in 2006-2007 i. e. 10. 28%. Quantum Index of Production for Medium to Large Scale Manufacturing Industries in 2009-10 is 431. 51.We also found some major problems these are Resource scarcity, High employee turnover, Absence of modern technology, Poor physical infrastructure, Financial constraints, Lack of uniform definition, Lack of information, Lack of entrepreneurship skills, Participation of women entrepreneurs, Access to Market and lack of awareness regarding the importance of marketing tool, Bureaucracy, Absence of transparent legal system, Lack of commitment to innovation and customer satisf action, Lack of quality assurance, Lack of research and development facilities, Fierce competition with the cheaper foreign goods.We also provide some recommendation that mention in the Recommendation chapter. At last we conclusion our assignment on the conclusion chapter. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) act as a vital player for the economic growth, poverty alleviation and rapid industrialization of the developing countries like Bangladesh. SMEs are significant in underlying country’s economic growth, employment generation and accelerated industrialization. Government of Bangladesh has highlighted the importance of SME in the Industrial Policy-2005.SME has identified by the Ministry of Industries as a ‘thrust sector’. As the SME sector is labor intensive, it can create more employment opportunities. For this reason government of Bangladesh has recognized SME as a poverty alleviation tool. SME also foster the development of entrepreneurial skills and innovati on. Along with poverty alleviation SME can reduce the urban migration and increased cash flow in rural areas. As a result it will enhance the standard of living in rural areas. Performance of SMEs in Bangladesh is significantly found below the level of international standard.Although government of Bangladesh has taken some initiative to ensure the growth of SME but those steps are not enough at all. Keywords: SME, Finance, Employee, Capital Table of Contents Contents Pages Title Fly†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 1 Title Page†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦2 Letter of Transmittal†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Acknowledgement†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 Executive Summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (5-7) Table of Contents†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 Chapter NameChapter 1 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (9-15) Chapter 2 Methodology†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦16 Chapter 3 Analysis and Interpret Data†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (17-27) Chapter 4 Findings and Results†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (28-30) Chapter 5 Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦ (31-32) Chapter 6 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦.. 33 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦34 Chapter 1 Introduction Bangladesh is a developing country. Its per capita income is very low and its $750 and per capita GDP is $684. Its present GDP is 6%. Bangladesh economic review, 2009-10) Most of the people are living in the below of poverty line. Poverty is the main problem of our country. To remove poverty government has taken many steps such as Millennium Develop Goals, writing Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) etc. To achieve the committed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of 2015 or the targets of the National Strategy for Econom ic Growth, Poverty Reduction and Social Development, commonly known as the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), the development process of Bangladesh must strive to expand employment creation opportunities very rapidly.The MDGs reflect the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000. Bangladesh has made noteworthy progress in the attainment of MDGs during 1990-2000. Bangladesh advancement towards MDGs is evident in human development, for example attainment of gender parity in primary and secondary school enrolment. Mid-way through to the 2015 target of MDGs attainment, Bangladesh has covered significant grounds and can safely be said to be on track in relation to most of the targets.A midterm review of progress at the aggregate level shows that Bangladesh is making progressive strides in reducing poverty, already bringing down the poverty gap ratio to 9 against 2015 target of 8 with the rate of poverty reduction being 1. 34 percent in relation to the required rate of 1. 23 percent. The main goals are as following: Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education Goal 3: Promote gender equity and Empower women Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseasesGoal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development The scope of additional absorption of labor in agriculture being somewhat limited, the best potential for this lies in the manufacturing sector. To create job space government founded SME Foundation that provide loan and help to established small and medium enterprise. In the context of Bangladesh, the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can be considered as a vital instrument for poverty alleviation and ensure the rapid industrialization.In this paper we have tried to identify the problems of SMEs of Bangladesh. The performance of SMEs of Bangladesh especially in terms of employee turnover rate, quality assurance, allocation of funds, marketing activities have been found significantly below the international standard. The sector gets negligible support from government. The rate of development of SME is not up to the expectation. In order to overcome the problems a few suggestions for the development of SMEs are given by us. 1. 1 Scope and Delimitation of the Study This topic SMEs is a very important in the context of Bangladesh.It help us the gather practical experience and we are to know that the role of SMEs, Problems, prospective and their solution. But we have some limitation; it is we are collected data from secondary source, basically internet using. We do not conduct face to face interview because, time was not enough for us to prepare this assignment. If we got enough time we think it will be help to prepare our assignment. 1. 2 Objectives of the Study In this pa per we have tried to identify the factors that influence the development and growth of the SME sector of Bangladesh. Thus the specific bjectives of the study are as follows: * To appraise the present situation of SME in Bangladesh. * To identify the problems of SME in Bangladesh. * To recommend solutions to overcome the problems. 1. 3 SME Definition SME: around the world According to the European Union (2003) SMEs are defined as enterprises which have at most 250 employees and an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million Euros. Further there is the distinction of small enterprises — they have fewer than 50 staff members and less than 10 million Euros turnover — and micro-enterprises (less than 10 persons and 2 million Euros turnover).According to the World Bank (2006) medium enterprises are defined as enterprises which have at most 300 employees and an annual turnover not exceeding 15 million US dollars. Further there is the distinction of small enterprises — the y have fewer than 50 staff members and up to 3 million US dollars turnover — and micro-enterprises have up to 10 persons and $100,000 turnover. In the UK, sections 382 and 465 of the Companies Act 2006 define a SME for the purpose of accounting requirements. According to this a small company is one that has a turnover of not more than ? . 6 million, a balance sheet total of not more than ? 2. 8 million and not more than 50 employees. A medium-sized company has a turnover of not more than ? 22. 8 million, a balance sheet total of not more than ? 11. 4 million and not more than 250 employees. It is worth noting that even within the UK this definition is not universally applied. In the USA, the definition of small business is set by a government department called the Small Business Administration (SBA) Size Standards Office.The SBA uses the term â€Å"size standards† to indicate the largest a concern can be in order to still be considered a small business, and therefore a ble to benefit from small business targeted funding. The concern cannot be dominant in its field, on a national basis. It must also be independently owned and operated. Unlike the UK and the European Union which have simple definitions applied to all industries, the US has chosen to set size standards for each individual NAICS coded industry. This variation is intended to reflect industry differences in a better way. The ost common size standards are 500 employees for most manufacturing and mining industries 100 employees for wholesale trade industries $6 million of annual receipts for most retail and service industries $28. 5 million of annual receipts for most general & heavy construction industries $12 million of receipts for all special trade contractors $0. 75 million of receipts for most agricultural industries. Breaking down the SME definition, Industry Canada defines a small business as one that has fewer than 100 employees (if the business is a goods-producing business) or fewer than 50 employees (if the business is a service-based business).A firm that has more employees than these cut-offs but fewer than 500 employees is classified as a medium-sized business. (www. about. com) In India the Small Scale Industries (SSIs) are industrial undertaking in which the investment in fixed assets in plant and machinery, whether held on ownership terms or on lease or by hire purchase does not exceed Rs. 10 million. The Small Scale Service And Business (Industry related) Enterprises (SSSBEs) are industry related service and business enterprises with investment in fixed assets, excluding land and building up to Ps. million. (Ministry of trade and Industry, Government of India) According to the SME bank of Pakistan, SME means an entity, ideally not a public limited company, which does not employ more than 205 persons (if it is manufacturing concern) and 50 persons (if it is trading/service concern) and also fulfils the following criteria of either ‘a’ and ‘c’ and ‘c’ or ‘b’ and ‘c’ as relevant; (a) A trading/service concern with total assets at cost excluding land and buildings up to Rs 50 million. b) A manufacturing concern with total assets at excluding land and buildings up to Rs 100 million. (c) Any concern (trading, service or manufacturing) with net sales not exceeding Rs 300 million as per latest financial statements. 1. 4 SME in Bangladesh Different countries and organizations define SME differently. The Government of Bangladesh has categorized SME into two broad classes 1. Manufacturing enterprise 2. Non Manufacturing activitiesManufacturing enterprise: Manufacturing enterprises can be divided into two categories; 1. Small enterprise: Small enterprise is an enterprise would be treated as small if, in current market prices, the replacement cost of plant, machinery and other parts/components, fixtures, support utility, and associated technical services by way of capitaliz ed costs (of turn-key consultancy services, for example), etc, excluding land and building, were to up to Tk. 15 million. 2.Medium enterprise: Medium enterprise an enterprise would be treated as medium if, in current market prices, the replacement cost of plant, machinery and other parts/components, fixtures, support utility, and associated technical services by way of capitalized costs (of turn-key consultancy services, for example), etc, excluding land and building, were to up to Tk. 100 million. Non-manufacturing activities (such as trading or other services): Non-manufacturing activities can be divided into two categories; 1.Small enterprise: Small enterprise is an enterprise should be treated as small if it has less than 25 workers, in full-time equivalents. 2. Medium enterprise: Medium enterprise an enterprise should be treated as small if it has between 25 and 100 employees. According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics different enterprises are defined as: Name of Industry| N o. of employees| Micro| 0-9| Small| 10-49| Medium| 50-99| Large| Above 99| The Ministry of Industries, Government of Bangladesh has been identified following 11 booster sectors: 1.Electronics and electrical 2. Software-development 3. Light engineering and metal-working 4. Agro-processing/agro-business/plantation agriculture/ specialist farming/tissue-culture 5. Leather-making and leather goods 6. Knitwear and ready-made garments 7. Plastics and other synthetics 8. Healthcare & diagnostics 9. Educational services 10. Pharmaceuticals/cosmetics/toiletries 11. Fashion-rich personal effects, wear and consumption goods. 1. 5 Literature ReviewWith respect to the SME sector of Bangladesh, foreign and national experts undertook some studies. Some of the notable ones are; Uddin (2008), Chowdhury (2007), Miah (2007), Ahmed (2006), MIDAS (2004), ICG (2003), Hallberg (2002). Uddin (2008) has stated that the economic efficiency and overall performance of the SMEs especially in the developing coun tries are considerably dependent upon macroeconomic policy environment and specific promotion policies pursued for their benefit.Chowdhury (2007) highlighted that in context of Bangladesh SME is characterized by Low capitalization and limited assets, geographical diversity and high mortality, poor credit knowledge, very limited access to formal source of credit, cash intensity in transactions, very limited record keeping habit, poor financial disclosure on account of tax issues, high risk perception has led to high borrowing costs.In a study about SME sector of Bangladesh Miah (2007) stated that the major constraints for SMEs are lack of adequate investment, lack of modern technology, high rate of interest on bank loans, irregular/inadequate supply of power, poor physical infrastructure and high transportation cost, poor information about market opportunities and requirements, inadequate availability of raw materials, lack of skilled technicians and workers, lack of research & devel opment facilities, fierce competition, absence of effective and transparent legal system, difficulties in accessing technology, credit constraints, low access to business services, constraint of quality of human resources, low awareness, low lobbying capacity, rapid changes in policy environment. Ahmed (2006) observed that availability of finance is a major constraint to formation and growth of SMEs in Bangladesh.Banks are reluctant to expand their SME credit portfolio because they do not consider SME lending an attractive and profitable undertaking. This is so because SMEs are regarded as high risk borrowers because of their low capitalization, insufficient assets and their inability to comply with collateral requirements of the banks. Administrative costs are also higher because close monitoring and supervision the SME operation becomes necessary. A study (2004) by Micro Industries Development Assistance and Services (MIDAS) revealed that sources of finance are mostly friends and family member in case of SME. MIDAS tried to identify the sources of funds of SMEs. These are: Table-1: Survey Result of MIDAS Source of Funds| Percentage of Finance| Informal sector| 41%|Family members| 20% (interest free)| 4% (with interest)| | NGO| 17%| Bank| 18%| According to Hallberg (2002), a stable macro-economy, an open trade and investment regime, and a competitive financial sector are argued to be most essential ingredients for a vibrant private sector. But with a law and order situation below the optimum level, corruption well above the level of acceptance and unstable political situation, the domestic environment of Bangladesh does not come to any help, rather hinders the prosperity of SME in this country. Chapter 2 Methodology This is basically a library research. Most of the data have been collected from secondary sources.So the research work has been based on published information and data available in any form such as books, journals, magazines, newspapers etc. devot ed to SME sector. Secondary information has been collected from Ministry of Industries, SME foundation, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, MIDAS, and Financial Institutions and from other SME related organizations. Relevant articles and literature in this context has also consulted. In this article we have analyzed the data of last six years of SMEs of Bangladesh. We have tried to analyze the performances of SMEs by applying simple statistical analysis i. e. , growth percentage, average etc. Chapter 3 Analysis and Interpret Data 3. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), by producing exportable surpluses of commodities together with local value additions and creation of employment opportunities, can make significant contribution to the economy of Bangladesh. Although financing of SMEs in off-farm rural economic activities are largely dependent on equity financing from personal and family savings, currently banks and financial institutions are also comi ng forward to provide finance to this sector. As the large potential of employment generation by SMEs has attracted attention of the policy makers, a range of initiatives for channeling loans to SMEs are being taken.The Government has taken up programs to provide financial assistance to expand SMEs through commercial banks. Alongside the disbursement of loans, since FY2004-05, Bangladesh Bank has taken up a scheme of Tk. 100 crore for refinancing the scheduled banks and financial institutions as revolving fund. Recently, the scheme has been widened with an enhanced allocation of Tk. 600 crore. Up to June 2009, Tk. 716. 44 crore and up to December 2009 Tk. 853. 15 has been disbursed among 17 scheduled banks and 21financial institutions for refinancing potential entrepreneurs. In addition to this, IDA has provided US$10 million and the Government of Bangladesh has provided Tk. 112. 32 crore through ‘Enterprises Growth and Bank Modernization Project (EGBMP)’.With the stipu lated revolving fund of Tk. 224. 50 crore up to June 2009 and Tk. 244. 14 crore up to December 2009 refinancing facilities among 2541 potential entrepreneurs have been provided to 15 schedule banks and 14 financial institutions. Moreover, in an attempt to provide incentives to the sector, ADB has been providing an additional US$30 million to Bangladesh Bank and Tk. 334. 94 up to December 2009 refinancing facilities among 3264 potential entrepreneurs have been provided to 9 schedule banks and 7 financial institutions. These resources would contribute both in employment generation as well as in enhancing the purchasing power of the poor.Detailed refinancing of Bangladesh Bank to various financial institutions and banks is shown at Table. Table-2: Summary Information on SME refinancing (up to June 2009)* Refinancing Source| Amount refinanced (in crore Taka)| No. of Beneficiary Enterprises| | Working Capital| Mid Term Loan| Long Term Loan| Total loan| Industrial Loan| Commercial Loan| S ervice| Total| Bangladesh Bank| 178. 48| 336. 40| 201. 56| 716. 44| 1724| 4150| 1127| 7001| IDA| 61. 51| 96. 40| 66. 59| 224. 50| 899| 1220| 358| 2477| ADB| 138. 68| 112. 82| 52. 75| 304. 25| 728| 1864| 331| 2923| Total| 378. 68| 545. 62| 320. 90| 1245. 20| 3351| 7234| 1816| 12401| (*Source: Bangladesh Economic Review 2008-0, Chapter 8, Industry)Table-3: Summary Information on SME Refinancing from Bangladesh Bank (up to June 2009)* (*Source: Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-2010) Table-4: Summary information on SME Refinancing from IDA (up to June 2009)* (*Source: Bangladesh Bank & Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-2010) Table-5: Summary Information on SME Refinancing from ADB (up to June 2009)* *(Source: Bangladesh Bank & Bangladesh Economic Review 2010) Table 8. 3 shows that up to June 2009, Bangladesh Bank and IDA have distributed Tk. 940. 94 crore as refinancing to 17 banks and 22 non-bank financial institutions. It may be mentioned that the fund has been disbursed (by the mentione d banks and financial institutions) to a total of 9478 SMEs earlier as loan. Out of the total loan, Tk. 239. 9 crore has been provided as working capital, Tk. 432. 79 crore as medium-term loan and Tk. 268. 15 crore as long-term loan. Table-6: Summary Information on SME refinancing (up to 31, March 2010)* | RefinancingSource| Amount of Refinancing (In Tk. Crore)| Number of financing enterprise (Sector wise)| | | Working capital| Mid term loan| Long term loan| Total loan| Industrial loan| Commercial loan| Service| Total| 1. | Bangladesh Bank Fund| 224. 80| 493. 79| 235. 70| 954. 28| 2443| 5844| 1537| 9824| 2| IDA Fund| 63. 71| 100. 74| 87. 26| 251. 71| 924| 1258| 402| 2584| 3| ADB Fund| 144. 48| 132. 27| 58. 19| 334. 94| 800| 2096| 368| 3264| | Total| 432. 99| 726. 80| 381. 15| 1540. 8| 4167| 9198| 2307| 15672| *(Source: Bangladesh Bank & Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-10, Chapter 8, Industry) Table-7: Summary information on SME Refinancing from Bangladesh Bank (up to June 2010)* | N ame of Banks/FIs Refinanced| Amount of Refinancing (In Tk. Crore)| No. of Beneficiary enterprises (Sector wise)| | | Working capital| Mid term loan| Long term loan| Total loan| Industrial loan| Commercial loan| Service| Total| 1. | Private banks(17)| 201. 43| 226. 43| 65. 98| 493. 84| 1257| 4469| 562| 6288| 2| Financing Institutes (22)| 23. 37| 267. 35| 169. 72| 460. 45| 1186| 1375| 975| 3536| | Total| 224. 80| 493. 79| 235. 70| 954. 8| 2883| 5844| 1537| 9824| *(Source: Bangladesh Bank & Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-10, Chapter 8, Industry) Table-8: Summary information on SME Refinancing from IDA (Up to June 2010)* | Name of Banks/FIs Refinanced| Amount of Refinancing (In Tk. Crore)| No. of Beneficiary enterprises (Sector wise)| | | Working capital| Mid term loan| Long term loan| Total loan| Industrial loan| Commercial loan| Service| Total| 1. | Private banks(15)| 57. 48| 67. 07| 24. 73| 149. 27| 688| 1167| 79| 1934| 2| Financing Institutes (14)| 6. 23| 33. 67| 62. 53| 102. 44| 2 36| 91| 323| 650| | Total| 63. 71| 100. 74| 87. 26| 251. 71| 924| 1258| 402| 2584| *(Source: Bangladesh Bank & Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-10, Chapter 8, Industry) Table-9: Summary information on SME Refinancing from ADB (Up to June 2010)* | Name of Banks/FIs Refinanced| Amount of Refinancing (In Tk.Crore)| No. of Beneficiary enterprises (Sector wise)| | | Working capital| Mid term loan| Long term loan| Total loan| Industrial loan| Commercial loan| Service| Total| 1. | Private banks(9)| 144. 32| 90. 95| 34. 17| 269. 44| 657| 1893| 155| 2705| 2| Financing Institutes (7)| 0. 16| 41. 32| 24. 02| 65. 50| 143| 203| 213| 559| | Total| 144. 48| 132. 27| 58. 19| 334. 94| 800| 2096| 368| 3268| *(Source: Bangladesh Bank & Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-10, Chapter 8, Industry) Table 8. 3 shows that up to March 2010, Bangladesh Bank and IDA have distributed Tk. 1205. 99 crore as refinancing to 17 banks and 22 non-bank financial institutions.It may be mentioned that the fund has been disbu rsed (by the mentioned banks and financial institutions) to a total of 12408 SMEs earlier as loan. Out of the total loan, Tk. 272. 70 crore has been provided as working capital, Tk. 519. 79 crore as medium-term loan and Tk. 304. 80 crore as long-term loan. 3. 2 Present Scenario of SME In 2003 the International Consultancy Group (ICG) of the UK, in collaboration with the Micro Industries Development Assistance and Services (MIDAS), conducted the National Private Sector Survey of Enterprises in Bangladesh. The survey results drew the conclusion that there were approximately 6 million Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which included enterprises with p to 100 workers employing a total of 31 million people, equivalent to 40 per cent of the population of the country of age 15 years and above. The survey also found that the industrial structure of SMEs consisted of primarily wholesale and retail trade and repairs (40 per cent), production and sale of agricultural goods (22 percent), ser vices (15 percent), and manufacturing only (14 per cent). Thus the survey brought out the fact that the large untapped potential for expansion in manufacture and production could be exploited (or contributing more significantly to the national economy. Another vital findings of the survey under discussion was that SMEs contributed BDT 741 ($ 12. 5) billion i. e. early 25 per cent of the GDP (BDT 2,996 billion) in 2003. It is reflected from this survey that enterprises employing 2-5 workers contribute 51 percent share of the total SME contribution to the economy, followed by 26 percent by those having only one worker and 10 per cent by those having 6-10 workers. For LDCs like Bangladesh, SMEs are a highly cost-effective route for industrial development. It is observed from Table-1 that micro enterprises run by up to 10 workers contribute the most which is 86% of the total contribution from SMEs to GDP of Bangladesh. It is also observed that micro enterprises run by more than 21 worke rs contribute about 7% of total contribution from SME to GDP of Bangladesh.Table-10: Sectors wise contribution of SME in GDP of Bangladesh (Taka)* Sectors| Total contribution to GDP (Taka)| Percent of total Contribution| Agriculture| 177,729,637,637| 24%| Fishing| 32,872,674,464| 4%| Manufacturing| 282,344,700,575| 38%| Construction| 7,196,460,200| 1%| Wholesale and Retail trade and Repairs| 171,335,861,390| 23%| Hotels and restaurants| 28,599,263,975| 3%| Transport, Storage and Communication| 8,950,171,356| 1%| Real state, Renting and Business activities| 13,771,436,794| 2%| Education| 151,808,506| 1%| Health and Social work| 2,743,049,893| 1%| Others Service activities| 15,632,094,785| 2%| Total| 741,327,159,609| 100%| (Source: ICG/MIDAS Survey, 2004) Figure-1: Sector wise contribution of SME in GDP of Bangladesh Table & graph 2; provides the information regarding sector wise contribution of SMEs to GDP. It is reflected from the table that manufacturing sector contributes the high est contribution in GDP i. e. , 38%. It is also observed from the table that agriculture and wholesale and retail sector contribute more than 22 percent in the GDP of Bangladesh. Table-11: Growth pattern of SME* Year| Growth rate of Large & Medium enterprise| Growth rate of Small enterprise| 1999-00| 4. 35%| 5. 80%| 2000-01| 6. 55%| 7. 02%| 2001-02| 4. 60%| 7. 69%| 2002-03| 6. 56%| 7. 21%| 003-04| 6. 95%| 7. 45%| 2004-05| 8. 30%| 7. 93%| 2005-06| 11. 41%| 9. 21%| 2006-07| 9. 74%| 9. 69%| 2007-08| 7. 26%| 7. 10%| 2008-09| 6. 58%| 6. 90%| 2009-10| 5. 64%| 6. 61%| *(Source: Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-2010, Chapter -8, Industry) Figure-2: Growth rate of SMEs Table 3 shows the growth pattern of SME. It is observed that during 2001-2002 to 2004-2005 in every financial year the growth rate of SME is about 7%. In 2005-2006 the growth rate was 9. 21%. The highest growth was in 2006-2007 i. e. 10. 28%. Table-12: Growth pattern of Manufacturing Sector * Year| Growth percentage of Manufact uring Sector| 1999-00| 4. 76%| 2000-01| 6. 68| 001-02| 5. 48| 2002-03| 6. 75| 2003-04| 7. 10| 2004-05| 8. 19| 2005-06| 10. 77| 2006-07| 9. 72| 2007-08| 7. 21| 2008-09| 6. 68| 2009-10| 5. 92| *(Source: Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-2010, Chapter -8, Industry) Figure-3: Growth rate of Manufacturing Sector Table shows the growth pattern of manufacturing sector. It is observed that the average growth during 1972 to 2005 was 6. 4%. During 2001-2002 to 2006-2007 the highest growth was in year 2006-07 i. e. , 11. 19%. It is also observed that during 2002-2003 to 2005-2006 in every financial year the growth of manufacturing sector was more than 6%. Table-13: Size and Growth Rate of Manufacturing Sector* At constant prices of 1995-96) (Taka in Core) Year| Large & Medium enterprise| Small enterprise| Total manufacturing| 1999-00| 21709| 8659| 30368| 2000-01| 23130| 9267| 32398| 2001-02| 24194| 9980| 34174| 2002-03| 25781| 10700| 36481| 2003-08| 27572| 11897| 39069| 2004-05| 29861| 12409| 4 2269| 2005-06| 33268| 13552| 46820| 2006-07| 36507| 14865| 51372| 2007-08| 39157| 15920| 55077| 2008-09| 41735| 17019| 58754| 2009-10| 44087| 18144| 62232| *(Source: Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-2010, Chapter -8, Industry) Table-14: Quantum Index of Production for Medium to Large Scale Manufacturing Industries* FY2000-01 to FY2008-09 (1988-89=100)Medium to large scale industries| 2000-01| 2001-02| 2002-03| 2003-04| 2004-05| 2005-06| 2006-07| 2007-08| 2008-09| 2009-10 (Up to October, 09)| | 228. 43| 238. 75| 254. 45| 272. 13| 294. 72| 328. 35| 360. 33| 384. 82| 413. 42| 431. 51| *(Source: Bangladesh Economic Review 2009-2010, Chapter -8, Industry) Chapter 4 Findings and Results At present SME sector is facing a lot of problems in Bangladesh. Some major problems are as follows: 1. Resource scarcity: In Bangladesh scarcity of raw materials hinder the ability of SME to be export oriented and limits its ability to reach more advanced stages of international business. 2. High employee turnover: Due to limited growth of SME most of the skilled employees leave SMEs.Levy (2003) observed that SMEs are knowledge creators but poor at knowledge retention. 3. Absence of modern technology: One of the main barriers for the development of SME in Bangladesh is inadequate technologies. Many SMEs have failed to adopt modern technology. 4. Poor physical infrastructure: Inadequate supply of necessary utilities like electricity, water, roads and highways hinder the growth of SME sector. Moreover unfavorable geographical conditions increase the transportation cost. 5. Financial constraints: Availability of finance hinders the growth of SMEs in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi bank considers SMEs as high risk borrowers because of their inability to comply with the bank’s collateral requirements.Only about 15-20% of the owners of SMEs own any immovable property. Bankers issue loan on the basis of ownership of immovable property as collateral risk. As a result it automatically excludes rest 80% SME’s from the list of privileged clients of the banks. Whatever collateral SME’s can manage gets used up in talking the term loan leaving them with no means to seek working capital loans from banks. Because of low access to institutional financing SME’s rely on inefficient financing services from informal sources. 6. Lack of uniform definition: In Bangladesh the definition of SME has changed overtime in different industrial policy announced by the government in different year.Absence of uniform definition makes the formulation and implementation of SME policy difficult. 7. Lack of information: Miah (2006) has observed that SMEs have very limited use of information technology (IT). Accounting package is used by 1-2% of the SMEs. The use of computers is revealed by say 15% of the SMEs, while the use of the Internet for business purposes applies to say 8-10% of SMEs. 8. Lack of entrepreneurship skills: Conservative attitude towards risk, lack of vision, ability to make plan and implementing those hinder the growth of SME in Bangladesh. 9. Participation of women entrepreneurs: Equality of opportunity is a major problem for SME. Female entrepreneurs are treated discriminately.They are not well represented in business organization. Government does not provide adequate institutional assistance for women entrepreneurs. 10. Access to Market and lack of awareness regarding the importance of marketing tool: For SME, owing a retail space is very expensive in the major cities in Bangladesh. As a result many customers are not interested to buy products and services from SMEs. Because they can’t judge the quality until they physically examined the product. Most of the cases SMEs in Bangladesh are not able to use the Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) tools. But these tools play the role of important stimulus to motivate the customers and retain them.The country does not have enough marketing capability and resources to invest in m arketing. 11. Bureaucracy: Wang (1995) observed that the inadequate government supports are top ranking constraints for SMEs. Unnecessary layers of Bureaucracy and red-taps reduce the competitiveness of SME and raising the cost of transactions and operations. 12. Absence of transparent legal system: The absence of an effective and transparent legal system discourages SMEs in exploring into risky ventures of business. There are a number of unnecessary formal requirements to start and run business that create high compliance costs and become barriers to SME development, growth and market entry. 13.Lack of commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction: Ernesto (2005) stated that to keep in pace with international competition, firms of all size are challenged to improve and innovate their products processes constantly. But in Bangladesh SMEs are still not relating the importance of satisfying and retaining customers by offering novel and desired benefits. 14. Lack of quality assura nce: Govt. has failed to frame a national quality policy, provide adequate support systems and establish a national quality certification authority. As a consequence SME of Bangladesh has failed to ensure the quality of their products and services both in local and international market. 15. Lack of research and development facilities: It is observed that investment in R&D is still negligible in. 16.Fierce competition with the cheaper foreign goods: Fierce competition with the cheaper goods of China, Taiwan, Korea, India, and Thailand also pose threat to SME in Bangladesh. Chapter 5 Recommendations In order to overcome the above mentioned problems the following suggestions are recommended; 1. Government must have to take adequate measures to ensure the uninterrupted supply of raw materials for SME. 2. Government needs to take appropriate measures to fix the minimum salary/wages of the employees of SME. That will help to minimize the employee turnover. 3. Government and financial inst itution may provide adequate finance for modernization and technological advancement. 4.Development of infrastructure is essential for the optimum growth of SME. So government of Bangladesh needs to take appropriate policy strategy for the infrastructure development of Bangladesh. 5. Government, financial institutions and Non Government Organizations (NGOs) may take necessary steps to ensure uninterrupted financial support to the prospective SMEs in Bangladesh. 6. Due to the absence of uniform definition the policy formulation and implementations are not possible. Government should take initiative to develop a uniform definition of each category of SMEs. 7. Govt. of Bangladesh should take the initiative to develop web pages exclusively for SME and an integrated SME database.It will reduce the barriers to SME access to global market. 8. In order to ensure the retention of skilled workforce the government should make the entrepreneurial career attractive by minimizing the uncertainty. 9. In order to encourage women entrepreneurship govt. may; involve women entrepreneurs in policy formulation and implementation. Arrange funds for women entrepreneurs. Provide necessary training to women entrepreneurs in rural and urban area of Bangladesh. 10. SME foundation may take appropriate marketing tools to popularize their products. 11. For minimizing red tapes and accelerating the growth of SME government may provide one roof service under the SME foundation. 12.Appropriate legal framework is necessary to ensure the development of SME of Bangladesh. 13. In this era of intense competition continuous planning and quality improvement act as a prerequisite for the survival of SMEs. In order to improve the quality SMEs can follow the Just in Time (JIT) philosophy and use Total Quality Management (TQM) and can ensure the improvement of quality and productivity at a time. 14. Government should establish a credible certification authority especially for SMEs. So that this sector c an obtain a technical evaluation of the quality of their products within a shortest possible time. The certification of the authority should be world wide accepted. Govt. ay also provide assistance to SMEs during the certification process and promote the importance of product certification for international acceptance among the SMEs. 15. Research and Development (R&D) is must for the development and growth of SME. So government must have to invest in R&D for ensuring the intensification of SME of Bangladesh. 16. Restriction may be imposed on import of SMEs’ products which are available in Bangladesh. Chapter 6 Conclusion Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) act as a vital player for the economic growth, poverty alleviation and rapid industrialization of the developing countries like Bangladesh. SMEs are significant in underlying country’s economic growth, employment generation and accelerated industrialization.Government of Bangladesh has highlighted the importance of S ME in the Industrial Policy-2010. SME has identified by the Ministry of Industries as a ‘thrust sector’. As the SME sector is labor intensive, it can create more employment opportunities. For this reason government of Bangladesh has recognized SME as a poverty alleviation tool. SME also foster the development of entrepreneurial skills and innovation. Along with poverty alleviation SME can reduce the urban migration and increased cash flow in rural areas. As a result it will enhance the standard of living in rural areas. Performance of SMEs in Bangladesh is significantly found below the level of international standard.Although government of Bangladesh has taken some initiative to ensure the growth of SME but those steps are not enough at all. But government shows its positive attitude towards this sector. Bangladesh government should continue to give more focuses on some areas, such as arrangement of finance, provide infrastructure facilities, frame appropriate legal fra mework, establish national quality policy etc. From the sequence of our analysis it seems that for the economic development of Bangladesh SME can play a vital role. We are quite optimistic that if the above mentioned suggestions are implemented then the growth of SME sector in Bangladesh will be accelerated. References 1. Ahmed, M. U. , Mannan, M. A. , Razzaque, A. , and Sinha, A. (2004).Taking Stock and Charting a Path for SMEs in Bangladesh, Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, Dhaka. 2. Alam, M. S. and Ullah, M. A. (2006). SMEs in Bangladesh and Their Financing: An Analysis and Some Reccomendations. The Cost and Management, Vol. 34, No. 3. 3. Hossain, N. (1998). Constraints to SME Development in Bangladesh, Seminar Proceedings, University of Maryland at College Park, USA. 4. Miah, M. A. (2006). Key Success Factors for National SME Development Program; Lessons for OIC Member Countries from Bangladesh Experience, SME Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 5. Mintoo, A. A. (2006). SMEs in Bangl adesh. CACCI Journal, Vol. 1. 6. Report of Asian Development Bank (ADB). (2002).Strategic Issues and Potential Response – Small and Medium Enterprise Development and Export Expansion. Asian Development Bank (ADB), Dhaka. 7. SME Cell. (2005). Policy Strategies for Development of SME, Ministry of Industries, Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh. 8. SME Policy Strategies. (2005). Publication of Government of People’s Republic of Bangladesh. 9. Uddin, S. M. N (2008). SME Development and Regional Economics Integration, Seminar Proceedings, Joint Regional Workshop held in Tokyo, Japan. 10. Ahmed, Kashfia & Chowdhury, Tanvir Ahmed (2009). Performance Evaluation of SMEs of Bangladesh, International Journal of Business and Management, Vol. 4 No. 7.

Future Goals of Nursing Essay

During my childhood and early teenage years, I can remember my English teachers asking things like â€Å"what do you want to be when you grow up?† and â€Å"What do you want to study in college?† As a child I would give a quick sentence or a couple of words of how I wanted to be a teacher, a counselor, or a marine biologist. As a student I have been expected to outline and prepare written papers about what I wanted to be when I grow up. My answers varied each and every year. I can remember many kids saying they wanted to become a nurse or a doctor. I can never remember wanting to become a nurse myself. It is through hearing the many stories I have heard from family members that are in the medical field and a sister that became a CAN and had planned to be a nurse that made me really begin thinking about nursing as a possible career. The further I learned and read about nursing, the more I was intrigued. I chose to take Health Occupations 1 at KEC this year, my senior yea r in High School. By the end of this course I will become a CNA. Through this experience, it has not only provided me a deeper look into the medical field, but also has given my hands-on experience. I have come to realize that working in this environment and doing some of the dirtiest jobs seems to be a natural fit for me. I have surprised myself at my ability to do some of the jobs that most dread. It is my personality to want to help others and be there for them during their hard times, being the medical field can allow me to do just that. I am aware that the training required to become a nurse is challenging and I am ready and willing to take this challenge on to get the training needed in order to become a nurse. I am excited about learning all that I need to learn. My future goal is to go through medical school, and become a Union Registered Nurse where I can help others and be in the midst of the medical field, which I love.

Deloitte & Touche

Definition of Problem: The problem faced by Deloitte & Touche is how to best manage the merger with Andersen in order to move beyond being two merged organizations into a unified, market-leading organization. Deloitte must minimize the negative effects the change will have on the productivity of the organization and they must have a focus on minimizing the effects on current clients. It is important for Deloitte to create one corporate culture and focus on creating a cohesive team out of a currently divided workforce if they want the new company to be successful. Deloitte must make the Andersen employees feel welcomed and valued by the company while ensuring that their current employees don't feel swept aside. Causes: Some causes of Deloitte's problems include: †¢ Employee fear of change – People naturally have a fear of change. Deloitte's people will naturally feel threatened by the influx of new, unfamiliar people to the organization, particularly as they are coming from an organization that was heralded as being the best in the industry. It is important for Deloitte to properly manage these fears. Difficulty of maintaining corporate culture – Any company that increases their workforce through a merger with a rival firm feels a threat to their corporate culture. It is important for firms to determine before a merger whether the corporate cultures fit together. Two firms cannot merge and adopt one culture, the resulting culture must be a blend of the two cultures. †¢ Inadequacies in communication – The merger w as completed very quickly (in less than 2 months) and as a result the merger was communicated very quickly to employees. HR is responsible for communicating current policies to new and old employees. There has been very little upward communication until the Pulse Surveys and Deloitte employees are feeling like they are being lost in the shuffle. †¢ Lack of team building – The four phases of team building are forming, norming, storming, performing. All teams will go through this cycle in one way or another. Deloitte must recognize this and help the team through the forming, norming and storming phases in a way that will have the least negative impact on the company, so the team can get to the performing stage quickly. The consequences of failing to do this are that clients from Andersen will change to another firm and clients from Deloitte may feel neglected and will leave the firm for that reason. †¢ Fears of past business practices – Andersen was involved in the Enron scandal and as a result, individuals from the US branch were criminally indicted. The Andersen brand was destroyed and Deloitte management have a fear that the fallout may affect Deloitte since the Andersen professionals are now members of the Deloitte organization. It is important for the new Deloitte to clearly distance themselves from the Enron scandal and the fallout from that scandal. Strategic Issues 1. Hasty Integration – Deloitte people feel, through the pulse survey, that management is in a haste to integrate and is forgetting about their own people 2. Tension – Deloitte Touche is not sure how to manage tensions that might arise between the two cultures while integrating. 3. No defined direction – There is no defined direction that the integration management is attempting to incorporate the two very different cultures. Developed Alternatives Gathering feedback on a more personal level – Instead of using the pulse survey to gather feedback, Deloitte could possibly do something on a more personal level. The employees need to have a clear sense of where they fall in the big picture and where they are heading. This allows them to feel they are apart of the great change and consequently will devote themselves wholeheartedly. Examples can include asking lower level managers to have brief meetings with a group of employees voicing concerns and questions. Lower level managers can take notes and submit them to the integration team. Once the team has determined that creating happy employees is important on a personal level thus helping them to overcome the fear of change, and they have formulated the vision for the merging they can develop specific systems that will support, empower and inspire the employees and ensure they are willing to support the change to the best of their ability Mentorship – Mentoring is a valuable option for positively influencing the employees’ commitment because it sends a message that Deloitte & Touche is interested in career growth and development of their employees; these employees can make valuable contributions and facilitate a smooth integration. Assigning a mentor to counsel/tutor employees about the need for change, the change process, ways of adapting or adjusting to the change will help them get a better understanding of the reasons for the integration and allow them to have a more vested interest in the success of the organization. Forcing employees to quickly accept the new emerging culture immediately definitely won’t deter the tensions. This transition must take place at a slow process so employees do not feel pushed and overwhelmed into accepting the new practices and rules. It will be difficult to transform their fears and attitude in favor of the intended change until the underlying motives are understood. Seminars and Workshops – These seminars and workshops  will be for both management and employees; management first, to accumulate the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities for leading the change process. These  skills and techniques will be used to guide employees to quickly adapt to the change. This will allow  the entire organization  to adjust faster and become more flexible. Instead of using an integration team, a certain set of managers can be the head of definite departments, groups, locations, and divisions. These managers must act more like coaches and will express the benefits and rewards of merging the two companies. Consequently, a review will then be conducted to get feedback on how the whole integration process is going. Assuming there is a positive feedback, management will slowly incorporate both cultures into one, while not rushing the process or ignoring what employees concerns are. Evaluate Alternative The alternative that would be the best fit Deloitte & Touche is to have a mentor to solve the current situation. Mentor is better than other two alternatives simply because mentoring is kind of a personal enhancement strategy through which employees facilitates the development of another by sharing known resources, expertise, culture, values and skills. By paring up with Andersen employees, mentor can develop employees while helping them make a greater contribution to the new organization, and help them to become more productive in his or her current position. Deloitte & Touche not only can increase employee’s morale, but also can increase organizational productivity and build up employee’s skill and knowledge while attaining goals for career development. Mentoring is about the qualitative and subjective of employees’ job which dealing with frustration, handing conflict, and behaving with humility. Mentoring can involve an exchange of knowledge and information that can be evaluative nature to assess the assimilation of the new employee in his or her new role. It can help the new employee quickly come up to speed and shorter the learning curve as a contributor within the organization. It is important to make sure employees do not feel to be pushed and forced. Employee’s understanding of motives is the fundamental requirement to have a successful organizational merger. Implementation Phase one Deloitte has to develop a mentorship team and mentorship program for new and old Deloitte employees. A mentorship team will need time to conduct research and develop new practices. This team should be formed and trained and be ready to mentor within six months. Phase two Deliotte must allocate the necessary resources to the mentorship team and program. These resources include not only financial but personnel as well. This will be done right away. Phase three Within the first year Deloitte has to develop a new corporate culture that integrates the best practices and policies from both Anderson and Deliotte. The Mentorship team has to have a concrete culture to implement in order to be successful. Phase four Deloitte must implement a proper evaluation plan to determine if the mentorship program is working. The team can take surveys and other types of qualitative measures to determine how well the mentorship is working. The evaluation can begin after the first year and continue until the end of the program.

The conventions of a romantic comedy on a midsummer night's dream by Essay

The conventions of a romantic comedy on a midsummer night's dream by william shakespeare - Essay Example Because of this love, Hermia refuses to get married to Demetrius, despite pressure from the father. In fact, Hermia plans to elope with Lysander to secretly get married to Lysander. Another instance of love is between Helena and Demetrius who were once engaged. In a bid to win the love of Demetrius, Helena tells him of the action that Lysander and Hermia intend to undertake (Quinton and William, 4). Another major convention depicted in this romantic comedy is the need of the lovers to overcome obstacles. The love between Hermia and Lysander is faced with an obstacle. The main obstacle in this love is the father of Hermia who favors Demetrius as opposed to Lysander. The penalty for defying a father is death, or condemnation as unmarried woman to a convent. Another instance is when Hermia challenges Helena to a fight, because of jealousy. This is with the belief that Helena was trying to take the love of Lysander away from her. This is after Puck put the love portion on the eyes of Lysander, making him fall in love to Helena. Another instance where love had to overcome an obstacle is the love between King Oberon, and the young Indian boy (Quinton and William, 9). It was the desire of King Oberon to transform the boy into a knight, a situation that his queen, Titania refused. The forced the king to make Queen Titania fall in love with Bottom, a ridiculous creature. Eventually King Oberon through this action managed to have the boy, and transform him into a knight. Another romantic convention contained in this comedy is that it contains miraculous or supernatural creatures. The creatures in this short story are fairies who on most occasions are involved in blessing sleeping couples. The king of these fairies is King Oberon, and his Queen Tatania. There is also Puck, the fairy servant of King Oberon, and Bottom, a miraculous creature whose head was transformed by Puck to look like that of an ass. Furthermore, happy endings are always brought about by

2012 Budget Proposal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

2012 Budget Proposal - Research Paper Example Such cut-and-invest agenda would create winners and big losers because the President’s budget proposal presumes using the money from some domestic programs to reduce the deficits and increase spending for education, clean energy, infrastructure, innovation and research in order to promote long-term economic growth and global competitiveness of the United States. Definitely, there are certain differences between the Presidents FY 2012 budget proposal and The House of Representatives FY 2012 budget proposal, which will be discussed further in the current paper. President Obama emphasized that the administration needs to construct a new foundation for long-term economic growth with pillars necessary to win in the world economy. Such pillars include an educated and skilled workforce, cutting-edge research into the innovations to power the industries of tomorrow, a modern infrastructure to support a growing, high-tech economy, and the jobs to support a growing middle class. As a re sult, Americans now face a monumental choice about the future of their country. The Republican response toward the President’s call for economic changes came in April, when Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin announced 2012 budget of his party. The main three purposes of The House of Representatives FY 2012 budget proposal is to (a) lift the crushing burden of debt; (b) guarantee health and retirement security for all Americans, especially seniors; and (c) strengthen the base of economic growth and creation of the jobs (Becker, 2011). Paul Ryan informed that the plan would reduce the deficit by $5.8 trillion over the next decade. It can be accomplished due to deep cuts in discretionary spending programs and turning Medicare into a "defined benefit, under which seniors would get vouchers to purchase private insurance. Medicaid would get smaller as the federal contribution to state

Supreme court ( political science) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Supreme court ( political science) - Essay Example The founders, knowing that a sovereign judiciary system was vital to the success of a democratic nation, ensured that federal judges would be appointed for life terms. They can be removed from the bench only if impeached and convicted by Congress of ‘Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.’ The current configuration of eight justices and one chief justice was formed in 1869. Congress assigned drafting rules of federal procedure to the Supreme Court in 1934. Republican Presidents appointed seven of the nine current Supreme Court judges (Gill, 2005). The Supreme Court begins each term on the first Monday of October which lasts until late June. The Term is divided between alternating periods of sittings and recesses which alternate at approximately two-week intervals. Sittings are when the Justices hear cases and deliver opinions and during the intervening recesses, they consider matters brought before the Court and write legal opinions. During court proceedings, each side is allowed 30 minutes argument and as many as 24 cases may be heard during one sitting. There is no jury and no witnesses are presented because most of the cases entail the assessment of a lower court decision. The Court is provided the record of each case and papers which include the arguments of each party. During the recess phase, the Justices study the cases and write their opinions. The Justices must also assess more than 130 petitions every week to ascertain which cases are to be granted a court hearing. Public sessions are held from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Monday through Wednesday when the Court is in session (sitting). The Justices meet to discuss and vote on petitions for review and to discuss cases on Fridays during preceding argument weeks. Prior to hearing oral argument when the Court is in session, other business of the Court is performed. This includes, on Monday mornings, the

The History of Vietnam War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The History of Vietnam War - Research Paper Example V. The Tet Offensive a. Beginning of U.S. – North Vietnam peace talks VI. End of the War a. Vietnamization b. Signing of Paris Peace Agreement c. Total withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam d. Capture of Saigon and formation of Socialist Republic of Vietnam History of Vietnam War INTRODUCTION Vietnam War was one of the most expensive wars in the history of the world in terms of materials and loss of lives. In fact, Vietnam War was the fourth costliest war in terms of loss of lives that United States has ever been involved. The war registered 45,943 U.S. battle deaths, with 1333 men going missing and 10,298 dead of non-battle causes. In terms of money, United Stated government lost 138.9 billion dollars, which is only comparable to the amount of money spent in World War II. South Vietnam, an ally of United States in the war, lost 166,000 soldiers and an estimated 415, 000 civilians. On the other hand, it is estimated that Northern Vietnam and Viet Cong combined registered more than 937,000 deaths. Other than loss of lives and resources, the war also witnessed the loss of morals among soldiers at the war front. Citizens also lost faith in their governments. This was largely affected the Americans. During the war, American soldiers became undisciplined. They engaged in drugs and racial conflict. Generally, all the warring parties suffered from the war. This paper looks into the history of Vietnam War and the events that lead to the war in Vietnam. The paper discusses the origin of Vietnam War, the entry of United States into the War, the strategy of attrition, the Tet offensive, and the end of the War. ORIGIN OF THE WAR Vietnam had been colonized by the French since 19th century. During the Second World War, Japan attacked and established its authority of Vietnam. In the course of this struggle, Ho Chi Minh, a Vietnamese nationalist, formed Viet Minh Party to help him fight the Japanese and the French occupation of Vietnam. He was assisted by Soviet an d the Chinese communists. In August 1945, the Japanese were overpowered by the Viet Minh and they withdrew their forces from Vietnam leaving the French in control of Vietnam. During this time, Viet Minh’s superiority was on the rise. They captured the northern town Hanoi and declared independence of Democratic Republic of Vietnam in September 1945 with Ho Chi Minh as the president (Christian, 31). The French soldiers were pushed to the south. In July 1949, they formed the state of Southern Vietnam with its capital in Saigon under the leadership of Bao Dai. The war between the French and the Viet Minh called the First Indonesian War continued for the next eight years. The war ended in May 1954 when the French forces were defeated by the Viet Minh forces at Dien Bien Phu. The ensuing peace talks in Geneva led to the signing of the Geneva Peace Accord. The Accord divided Vietnam into North Vietnam under the leadership of Ho and South Vietnam under the leadership of Bao. The Gene va Accord also stipulated that nationwide elections were to be held in 1956. The elections were aimed at unifying North and South Vietnam into one nation. However, in 1955, Â  Ngo Dinh Diem, a strong anticommunist, ousted Bao as the leader of Southern Vietnam and formed the Government of the Republic of Vietnam with him as the president (Le Duan, 51). U.S INVOLVEMENT INTO THE WAR United States joined the struggle in 1950 when President Truman assisted the French forces in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. United States provided the French forc

A Link between Indian Objectification and Women Sexualization Essay

A Link between Indian Objectification and Women Sexualization - Essay Example The image should include a few of common bright features, in order to avert the eyes from everything besides them. An image has the well-thought and self-justifying history. This is the point in dressing Indians in traditional clothes and focusing on their old rituals, mostly noticeable features – a creation of the solid image of distant, outlying and old race, that is not connected to the present, and thus to the civilization - this should minimize responsibility and empathy. Same with sexualized women – a bright image of a sexy-looking and lustful female is created in order to justify permissiveness with an illusion of women’s designation to lust for the possessive attitude.It is obvious that a majority of women is not bound with this stereotype they can suffer from only due to their being women and thus – associated with a mascot of the sexual female.Same with Indians that are majorly not even nearly bound with a virtual image of their race that is bein g artificially created for self-justification and massively spread for everyone, who falls under the mascot of American citizen, and thus are by default should be guilty for the sins of their ancestors and obliged to accept both stereotypes – of Indian aborigines and woman toys – as a cure from artificially created guilt. Thus it can be seen, that a system of ruling human minds by means of division into groups and labeling is widespread and works the same way for people under the case of Indian objectification and women sexualization.

Film assingnment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Film assingnment - Assignment Example One of the most famous scenes in the film is the scene where Hoffman jumps into the swimming pool and sinks to the bottom. This is an extraordinary mise-en-scene which captures the heart of the movie, the story, and the character’s place in the world. The scene begins with Hoffman’s father building up suspense and talking to a group of friends gathered by a swimming pool in a suburban neighbourhood. The colours are bright, but generally pastels. Hoffman enters wearing a diving suit. Nothing can be heard of the people around him. Their mouths move, but he is unable to hear them. The mask and suit are isolating, separating him from others around him. He is alone and tired of the people he knows, people who are alien to him. His vision is also circumscribed by the mask which cuts off his peripheral vision. Clearly, the director wants the viewer to have the sensation that Hoffman is limited and separated from the world around him. He doesn’t belong and doesn’t yet understand his place in this world. The next part of the scene is where Hoffman falls in the water and is looking up at the world through the water of the swimming pool. He looks at his father through the mask. His father’s hand keeps reaching out, pushing him back into the water. Clearly, the father thinks this is all in good fun, but we get the sense that Hoffman is not enjoying this moment. The camera then pans out on Hoffman in his divers suit standing on the bottom of the pool. His suit is of no real purpose. He is not diving or hunting, he is just standing, doing nothing, while above his friends and family chatter on. The camera pans further out until Hoffman disappears in the murk of the suburban swimming pool. It is a brilliantly accomplished conclusion to one of the most famous scenes in American cinema. Throughout the scene, sound is very important. For example, Hoffman cannot hear anything except the sound of his own breathing. The voices of those around him a re silent, even though he can see they are talking. It is a lonesome perspective and one that is carefully achieved by the director. He is trapped in his head, trapped in his body, with no way of expressing himself to the outside world. Many of the themes of this film have been discussed at length over the numerous decades since it the Graduate was made. One of the most significant is clearly the generation gap. The 1960s marked a change in the demographics of America. The Baby Boomers, born after the Second World War, were finally coming into their own. These young men and women had very different ideas than many of their parents did. They were not shy about expressing these ideas, but they were often ridiculed and had trouble finding their place in the world. This is seen in how Hoffman, or Ben, has trouble relating to his parents, and in the desperate relationship he begins with Mrs. Robinson, played by the estimable Anne Bancroft. The corruption and boredom of suburban life are also important elements that are in play throughout the film. Deracination is very much a theme in the film. Mrs. Robinson, as much as Benjamin, appears to be isolated and unloved. She too has trouble understanding the world around her. She may seem less questioning and more confident than Benjamin but she too is a product of the post-war world and is very unhappy in it. The Graduate is a film for all seasons and repeated viewing brings out more and more elements worthy of discussion. However, the key scene is at the swimming pool as Benjamin in full, useless diving

Financial Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Strategy - Essay Example Financialisation has influenced corporate ownership and control. Corporate control is basically the mode of its governance and this behaviour is what financial markets has worked to influence and change to align to their own interests. Financialisation has led to a change in corporate control in such a way that managers are disciplined by the prospect of ouster and takeover if they are unable to maximise profits. Because of this, managers are compelled to go for market efficiency improvements such as privately financed equity investments and leveraged buyouts as a way of satisfying stakeholder interests. Basically, managers of corporations are now forced to merge their interests with those of the financial markets. This has eliminated the countervailing force that previously interfered with the ability or willingness of managers to side with excessive financial interests. It has also broke the union-power that used to exist between corporations. This clearly depicts that financialisa tion has led to a drift in the corporate financial behaviour. Financialisation and its new approach to corporate control have fostered the growth of options like the stock pay option. The main reason behind this is that there is an increased need to align the interests of the management with those of the stakeholders and such options help to accomplish this task successfully. The top management of corporations have benefitted from these stock options and new pay practices and this has generated in managers the interest to maximise the short-lived stock prices. Financialisation has also led to excessive adoption of debt finance by corporations. The main motivation for this is tax code is more favourable to interest payments than on profits. In addition, managers of corporations have also adopted this strategy as a way of draining free cash from the firm leaving little for claimants on the income stream of the firm and putting pressure on workers (Bronars and Deere 1991). The overall effect of financialisation on corporate control is that corporate governance is becoming increasingly beholden to and dominated by financial markets. This implies that corporate managers have been pressurized to import behaviors from the current financial markets and these in turn have affected business decision-making and corporate investment. These investments and decisions include resource allocation whereby corporate managers of non-financial corporations have capitalized on stock repurchases as one of the main mode of corporate resource allocation. This has mainly been encouraged by the extent to which executives of corporations can enrich themselves by manipulating the stock prices of the corporation (Lazonick 2011, 11). These corporate control modes may be profitable and attractive and more profitable to firms. It also gives corporations a range of options for investing under various economic climates and profitability levels. For example, when profits achievable in financial markets are higher than those that can be achieved in the normal product market, then it becomes a motivation to corporation management to invest less in real assets and more on financial assets. However, such strategies may not be long-lasting. Palley (1995) and Palley (1997b), state that it is not good for the financial market behaviors of an economy or corporations are governed by short-terminism and herd behavior. Financialisation

European and Native American Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

European and Native American Culture - Essay Example However, but all this kindness from the settlers also came with negativity to the locals natives as the trade of blankets was not that welcoming as it was a means for the early settlers to spread smallpox to the natives. The natives’ immune systems were poor as compared to the settles this made them weak and easy to conquer after being poisoned. Also, lead to war, slavery, and territorial dispute. The relationship was uneasy the two cultures differed in language, customs, lifestyles; the Europeans viewed the Natives Americans as uncivilized, ignorant heathens, uncouth, unsophisticated, dirty, and unethical. Concerns came from missionaries with the introduction or religion in America; this not only affected their social status but also their culture and values2. The hardship encountered by early settlers started in their voyage, they had less food, diseases were uncontrollable few children survived the trip. Scurvy seasickness, dysentery, fever, and other diseases killed them before they arrived. Winter in north America was much more colder as compared to Europe winter this was a challenge to the early settlers a good example is ,â€Å"The first English Colony on Roanoke Island what is now North Carolina, "the Lost Colony." The entire original colony disappeared.† Due to weather hardship diseases such as Malaria, dysentery, yellow fever, small pox was a common feature. Colonies experienced sickness, starvation, and conflicts with the Native American cultures, such colony was Jamestown which undergone a major blow of hunger and diseases stricken early settlers3. Religion has contributed a lot to the history of America. At Cape Henry, in Virginia the first Episcopal Church was established in April 1607. Then followed by a parish in Jamestown, Virginia, in July 1620 a separate group from English emigrants docked in North

Controversial Images in Art Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Controversial Images in Art - Assignment Example Something about the crucifix itself is that Christians treat it like a fashion accessory. When somebody sees it, he or she is horrified by it. However, in the real sense, it represents the crucifixion of a man. This controversial photo is not recommended for public displays. Being a photo that displays genitals, in can be viewed by children when displayed in public. Therefore, its display in public places would corrupt children’s minds. In addition, they can grow up having a poor spiritual mentality since they have seen a photographic display of Christ’s genitals. With many attacks made on the photo in public places, this photo is not good for public displays. Many Christians find the photo deeply offensive. For instance, Serrano’s work led to a congressional debate on United States’ public arts funding, which was held in France. During the debate, the photo was physically attacked. Also, a group of Catholics who gathered outside Edward Tyler Nahem gallery in midtown Manhattan opposed this work when the exhibition was opened (Chapman). According to Chapman, artists communicate identity through abstract or conceptual means. It therefore means that it is the responsibility of the artist to communicate through conceptual means such as photographs. Despite, using this means of communication, it should not trigger controversy among the intended audience. The artist needs to avoid using a photo that exposes nudity since the photo may lead moral decay among children who get to it. In addition, ethics should dictate what the artist does. He should be obliged not to knowing or unknowingly insult Christianity as a religion. It is also his utter responsibility not to create irrational beliefs in other religions. Making people believe in other things about their religion is a big danger to the religion they believe in (Chapman). The photo is

Market Plan Group Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Market Plan Group Project - Assignment Example The process of how it cools, and how it warms the food should be well explained (Baaghil, 2010). There should be the product itself. The product description should have its functionality, its purpose and its activities. This is a combo product with two main functions. It is a freezer, as well as an oven. One important feature that makes this combination worth having by the consumer is its ability to warm food at a specific set time. Branding should also consider the perception of the product. This is the overall look and feel from the target audience’s view. Consumers will always consider culture’s trends and tastes when it comes to perceptions of new products. This autocookerator, has the advantage since similar products like it are already in the market. It belongs to the new trend of innovation in home automation; specifically, kitchen automation. This also forms part of the brand identity. It belongs to the automation category of home automation appliances (Baaghil, 2010). Brand position and culture: this product will be placed first after work. After work, most people would think of going back home cooking dinner. Even when in fun clubs or short breaks, people will always think of what to have for dinner. It therefore, seeks to be first after work. This information is very important for advertising; when advertising, the most appropriate time to influence consumers’ thoughts is after work. In the consumer market most manufacturers are building ‘smart’ home appliances. This is done based on market research results with the hope that these appliances will enable interaction with the owners, connection to smartphones, interaction with a repairman, interaction with each other, and even negotiation with the power company over rates. The manufacturers are focused on a more an efficient way of dealing with home appliances. This already development

Management problem solving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management problem solving - Essay Example The very fact that now people are being considered as resource instead of liability marks the importance of human beings constituting this resource. Moe's too believes in valuing the contribution of its workforce. But at times situations arise which present not only a challenge, for the HR manager, to come out with effective solution to the issue but it also provides a wholesome learning experience i. Moe's is basically into services i.e. service sector organizing i.e. Moe's mission basically centers on welcoming the hunger of its customers and then satisfying it. The smiling staff spread the fragrance of a hearty "Welcome to Moe's!" when the customer walks in. Therefore Moe's is into hospitality events and not in production and manufacturing I used to tell the boys that customer satisfaction is the key to our success, and believed in positively motivating them to excel in life. Motivation in simplest terms can be defined as a means of providing motives. Motives can act towards making or breaking the work, towards doing a job more efficiently or for distorting the work environment. The lack of any positive motivation by the managers often results in an automatic provisioning of negative motivation.

Roots of Constructivist Education Traced to Piagetian Theories Coursework

Roots of Constructivist Education Traced to Piagetian Theories - Coursework Example This project declares that the field of Education has much to be thankful for and that includes Jean Piaget. He has come up with complex theories that he was able to dissect for educators to understand and apply to their learners. His theories have great implications in curriculum design and understanding how children learn best. His work with Vygotsky in formulating the foundations of constructivism is now benefitting thousands of classrooms all over the world. It has been successful in gaining respect for children’s learning. A child learns best when he finds enjoyment in what he is doing, thus learning should be fun. This essay makes a conclusion that Piaget was someone who thought ahead of his time and present-day educators and learners are enjoying the fruits of his labor. His theories have opened a variety of alternatives in educational strategies. The effective teacher can discern which learning strategy would be most appropriate on a case-to-case basis. Imbedded in her are hidden agendas for making her students reach their optimum learning potentials and in effect, the development of a healthy self-esteem. She is aware that she is just an instrument in assisting the students to gain knowledge, and not the source of knowledge herself. She is on hand to ignite the spark of interest and motivation of her students. It is now up to the students themselves to turn that spark into a burning flame that would keep them fired up for more learning.

Decision making models Outline Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Decision making models - Outline Example The essay will also attempt to identify the legal requirements relating to the collection, use and storage of data and information in the UK. Basically, the term decision making is used to describe the act of seeking information, interpreting that information and based on such perceptions, arriving at a conclusion in relation to strategic issues that affect the organisation (Simons & Thompson 1998:7 as cited in Schultz et al 2004). Vroom-Yetton- Jago’s normative decision making model is mainly based on the notion of taking people off their primary tasks in the organisation to participate in teams or other decision making activities and this may be a good gesture with regards to empowerment but it may also be costly as well if it is unnecessary (Vroom & Jago1988). Thus, the Vroom-Yetton-Jago model is a decision making model that gives the opportunity to the leader to first examine the situation then come up with an ideal style or level of engagement that can be adopted in the o rganisation. ... The leader also ought to have enough information about the problem as well as to be in a position to identify the structure of the problem. The leader will also need to be in a position to establish the probability of the level of commitment by the subordinates and their wish to share the same vision in the organisational goals that can be attained through problem solving. More importantly, the leader also ought to be in a position to identify any conflict that may exist and the level of information possessed by the subordinates that can be used to make sound decisions that will be beneficial to the organisation as a whole. Having gathered all the information using the above mentioned method, a leader can adopt any of the following decision making style depending on the nature of the decision to be made. In autocratic one, the leader can solve the problem using readily available information to him or her whilst in autocratic two, he or she may get additional information from the grou p members then make the decision alone (Vroom & Jago1988). Though different, these leadership styles show that there is an element of individualism in the leader in decision making. In consultative style one, the leader solicits for information from individual members in the group and makes a decision alone whilst in consultative two, the leader collectively shares the information with all the members of the group but will make the decisions alone. Again, in this case, there is an element of the leader making a decision alone after gathering information from the other members of the group. Finally, in group two, decision making is collective whereby the leader engages all the members of the group then they will make a decision as a group whereby the leader

Industrial Society and Native Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Industrial Society and Native Culture - Essay Example Both these societies have extremely different views regarding the environment and the use of its resources. With most of the industrial world following capitalist means of running their economies, the exploitation of natural resources in an unsustainable manner is the norm. However, an almost intuitive understanding of the manner in which nature functions enables native cultures to utilize natural resources in sustainable ways. The Brazilian Amazonian tribes follow methods of living that enable one to infer their respect for the environment. At first glance, the method of agriculture that they follow, slash and burn agriculture is done in a manner that the ecological balance of the area is not upset. Moreover, different plants are planted at different points of time, which not only ensures a INDUSTRIAL AND NATIVE SOCIETIES 3 constant supply of food but also efficient use of the soil’s fertility. This also provides the land an opportunity to replenish itself. The Yanomami is a tribe that follows these methods of farming to great effect. Initially, when the Europeans came to the Amazon, they were surprised at how the area was able to support the number of people that it did. This is possible because of the manner in which the Yanomami and other tribes in this area understand the ecology of the area and attempt to live in harmony with it (Hutchison 159-63, 2007). The needs of the present day Brazilian industrial society, is however, different. With a much greater population and corresponding needs, the Brazilian industrial society usually requires a greater yield than what slash and burn agriculture is able to provide. As a result, it has to follow scientific methods of agriculture that suit the needs of the urban populations of Brazil. A concerted effort in the past thirty years has enabled the Brazilian state to increase its agricultural production and achieve a food surplus (The Miracle, 2010). It has managed to surpass the problems that have plagued the management of environmental issues such as the divide between the developed and the poor nations of the world as to the management of the crisis of pollution, which the Brazilian government has attempted to solve by encouraging the use of environment-friendly fuels that are ethanol-based. A large number of opportunities to develop a consensus on the environmental issues that the world faces today have been frittered INDUSTRIAL AND NATIVE SOCIETIES 4 away due to this obstacle that divides the world into the developing and the developed (Cunningham Preface, 2007). The support that the government has provided for the initiatives that were started to encourage the use of ethanol based fuels has been very strong and today, a large number of vehicles that run in Brazil use ethanol-based fuels, that are able to power vehicles without sending out toxic fumes like fossil fuels like petrol and diesel. The emphasis that the Brazilian industrial society places on the sustainability of its deve lopment is a feature that it has in common with the tribes of the Amazon. Both these communities plan their actions in such a way that they are able to provide themselves with their needs without compromising on the conservation of the environment. As a result,

Financial analysis case report Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial analysis report - Case Study Example Table 1 Dupont Dupont Result 2011 2010 2009 Lowe 0.11 0.09 0.12 Home Depot 0.18 0.14 0.13 John Guerard (37) emphasized the Dupont formula is a useful tool for making financial decisions. making. Based on the Dupont data above, it is highly recommended that the company should increase the number of stores selling the company’s products and services. The company should focus on selling more quality products and offering more quality services to the clients. The company should also engage in research and development to discover new products. The company should also improve the quality of the company’s current home improvement products and services. The company should sell the products at affordable prices. The company should advertise the many benefits of buying the company’s products and services. The company’s advertisement expense should represent 10 percent of the company’s total expenses shown in the balance sheet. The company must target a ten pe rcent increase in its current month’s sales. An Based on the financial statements of Lowe Company and Home Depot Company, the Dupont results strong state that the Lowe’s company the companies’ discrete operational and marketing activities significantly influence the overall return on assets for both companies. The Dupont financial statement calculation indicates that Lowe’s generated a 0.12 Dupont during 2009. ... n is .11 Based on the Home Depot calculation, the Dupont results strong state that the company the companies’ discrete operational and marketing activities significantly influence the overall return on assets for both companies. The Dupont financial statement calculation indicates that Home Depot’s generated a .13 Dupont during 2009. The 2010 Dupont computation shows the company generated an increase in the Dupont results. The 2010 Dupont financial statement calculation is .14. The 2011 Dupont computation shows the company generated an increase in the Dupont results. The 2011 Dupont financial statement calculation is .18 Change over time analysis of what's going on using additional financial and performance data. Home Depot’s setting up more stores compared to Lowe’s is the main reason for Home Depot’s taking the lone spot as the world’s no. 1 home improvement retail store. Setting more branches precipitates to more revenues. Table 2 Net Prof it Margin 2011 2010 2009 Lowe 0.04 0.04 0.05 Home Depot 0.05 0.04 0.03 Based on the financial statements of Lowe Company and Home Depot Company, the Net profit margin results strong state that the company the companies’ discrete operational and marketing activities significantly influence the corresponding net profit margin for both companies. The net profit margin indicates that Lowe’s generated a 0.05 result. The 2010 net profit margin computation shows the company generated a decrease in the net profit margin result. The 2010 net profit margin is .04. The 2011 net profit margin computation shows the company generated an increase in the net profit margin results. The 2011 Dupont financial statement calculation is .04 The Net profit margin results strong state that the company the companies’ discrete operational