Argument paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Argument paper - Essay Example With the increased cases of crime in society, people have lived in so much fear as they fear any impending attacks and bombings, which lead to many people dying. Through the increase in the number of criminals, imprisonment is not only enough to deter the criminals and that is the reason why the judiciary enforced the death penalty and enacted it as a way of eliminating permanently the criminals and reducing their numbers. Many of those who get out of prison after long years of imprisonment often commit other bigger crimes and hence, it would be better if they were killed, because they end up killing even more people. Therefore there is need to protect the innocent and wipe away the perpetrators of crimes to humanity. The best way is through the death penalty, as other forms of imprisonment are not deterrent enough. In addition, death penalty will enable people to be more careful and appreciate the right to life for every citizen. Additionally, the sanctity of life will be maintained , as they will strive to preserve their own lives and avoid capital punishment. Therefore, it is a punishment for those who take away the lives of others, since the same measure needs to be taken against them, and i.e. they are to be killed too (Mandery and Mandery, 2011). Furthermore, various huge taxes are used to finance prisons and feed murderers in prisons, which are not fair at all since the money needs to be channelled to improve the lives of the poor who are at the mercy of the criminals. In carrying out life imprisonment, the society has to bear high costs with regard to maintaining prisoners with long imprisonment terms for crimes that prompt capital punishment. There is no doubt that the up-front costs of death sentence are relatively low, however, the alternative fronts significant maintenance costs over time (Guernsey, 2009). The financial and economic costs of maintaining a prisoner serving life are astronomical to the tune of $50000 a year, which is more than

Feasibility study Essay Example for Free

Feasibility study Essay 1. A. NAME OF PRODUCT As we all know Guimaras is known as the breeder and export of the sweetest mangoes in the world. Some countries have tried to plant and grow mangoes but no one can ever do the same even with the help of latest technology that we have today and so the city of Guimaras can proudly claim the title of having the sweetest mangoes. Therefore the proponents chose Guimaras as its inspiration, thus, come up with a product that wishes to exhibit their specialty – the mangoes. After series of conceptualizing, the proponents come up with the word â€Å"MANGGAMAZING† as its business name. This name is comprised of two words, MANGGA and AMAZING primarily because the business’ concept is focused on mango itself. The first word Mangga is a vernacular term for mangoes which has been commended in the introduction, while the second word, Amazing means great wonder, surprising and remarkable and so the name Manggamazing is the combination of these words that surely suit the product’s quality. All in all, the name â€Å"MANGGAMAZING† simply describes the product and the outstanding work for excellent and satisfaction the proponents wishes to convey. 1.C. DESCRIPTIVE DEFINITION Manggamazing smoothies are drinks made and served for refreshment. These are mainly made with fresh, ripe mangoes which are antioxidants that protect the body against colon, breast, leukemia, and prostate cancers. Mangoes are rich in vitamin C, pectin, and fibers that help to lower serum cholesterol levels. Mangoes help you unclog your pores and add freshness to the face. These are applicable to any skin type. Mangoes help in promoting good eye sight, fights dry eyes and also prevent night blindness because it is rich in vitamin A. Mangoes also contains enzymes for breaking down protein, and the fiber found in it helps digestion and elimination. Manggamazing offers not only smoothies made with mangoes but it is added  with banana, mango and melon, and pineapple. Bananas are terrific heart-healthy food and good source of potassium, dietary fiber, manganese and vitamins B6 C. Melons on the other hand, help prevent cancer, stroke, and heart disease, also good for digestion, and give boost of energy. Pineapples contain brome lain, an enzyme that may help arthritis pain by reducing inflammation. They are also a good source of vitamin C, which helps strengthen your immune system. The products give a healthy boost and refreshment naturally. Smoothies are also mixed with non-fat milk, 0% fat yogurt, and will use sweeteners instead of sugar.  As a whole the product is a guilt free drink because of all its nutrients and low level of sugar. The proponents are: 1. D. OBJECTIVES Vision Our company â€Å"Manggamazing† bears the vision of providing healthy, fresh mango smoothies with added flavors of other nutritious fruits while maintaining our commitment to uncompromised quality with the heartening purpose to cater to society’s needs and cravings and constant change in life. The business also opted to create guilt-free drinks that will surely rejuvenate your mind and body, hence changing and opening people’s mind on a new side of style to staying healthy and fit. Ultimately, the company’s vision is to be the front-runner in the industry and help social and economic growth. Mission Manggamazing aims to give a high quality, exceptional and reasonably priced products in the beverage industry that provides healthy and nutritious smoothies that will surely satisfy the cravings of every customer. The people behind this product also aim to promote the national fruit of the Philippines – the mangoes to be known worldwide. To the society, the company’s task is making them health conscious in a unique way. Short term objective Manggamazing short term objective is to focus on execution in the  marketplace every day and on needs of our consumers and customers. Have the courage to change course when needed and remain responsive. And after we introduce it and known by everyone, Manggamazing will have a high cost of sales. Improve earnings and yield performance. Long term Objective The Manggamazing long term objective after 3-5 years will invade the malls if the profits are obtained. It will create many job opportunities for the branches that need manpower such as crew, server etc. The product will have a TV commercial and a foundation that will support by manggamazing so that the product will be known and it will be open for franchising. Develop and expand into new market, and they can now produce and manufacture new products. Expand into new overseas markets to tap new sources of growth and to achieve better market diversification. It aims for success and satisfaction of customers.

Brief History Of HBL Commerce Essay

Brief History Of HBL Commerce Essay Stragtegic Human Resource Management helps an organization achieve productivity and effectiveness, by sharing the overall vision of the organization, sharing goals and objectives, and making sure that Human Resource is not just a department, but the whole organization speaks of HR as the core division, which means that organization is employee centered. Strategic HR changed a number of things in HBL. It updated the way plans were made, shifting to strategic plans, from a one-man show to bringing everybody on board, encouraging idea generation and sharing proposals, different departments sharing their plans of what to look for in the coming year and democratic decision making by appointing a Strategic Planning Division and appointing member from the Board of Directors that goes through each plan and then the CEO communicating the approved plan to the departmental heads. By this, the plan became not just an objective, but more of a bible. At HBL, after the privatization, a number of initiatives were taken, from right sizing and getting rid of lethargic employees, to introducing golden handshake schemes, from moving to performance management system to inducting young blood that brings in creative ideas. Concepts like employee engagement and job rotation became part of the policy, organization-wide rewards programs were introduced. An inevitable change in culture was also accomplished, it from the seniority based to performance based culture. Overall structure of the organization was also made flatter, removing additional levels and bureaucracy. INTRODUCTION TO HBL It is the prime Bank in country established in 1941 having a registered head office in Karachi. It was nationalized in 1974, but recently on 26th February 2004 it has been privatized by Government of Pakistan and is taken over by Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED). They acquired 51 percent of shares of HBL. It is one of the largest Banks of Pakistan with 1439 branches, having total assets of Rs. 1,139,554,000, 5 million total number of customers helping in generating Rs 13 million profit currently. Brief History of HBL HBL established operations in Pakistan in 1947 and moved its head office to Karachi. Our first international branch was established in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1951 and Habib Bank Plaza was built in 1972 to commemorate the banks 25th Anniversary. With a domestic market share of over 40%, HBL was nationalized in 1974 and it continued to dominate the commercial banking sector with a major market share in inward foreign remittances (55%) and loans to small industries, traders and farmers. International operations were expanded to include the USA, Singapore, Oman, Belgium, Seychelles and Maldives and the Netherlands. On December 29, 2003 Pakistans Privatization Commission announced that the Government of Pakistan had formally granted the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) rights to 51% of the shareholding in HBL, against an investment of PKR 22.409 billion (USD 389 million). On February 26, 2004, management control was handed over to AKFED. The Board of Directors was reconstituted to have four AKFED nominees, including the Chairman and the President/CEO and three Government of Pakistan nominees. BUSINESS DIVISIONS AT HBL HBL has a wide array of customers, belonging to a wide range of business divisions, from individuals to corporate, from Islamic banking to commercial banking. They are divided into three main categories, as follows: Individual Customers Car, Home Loans Credit, Debit Cards Deposit Accounts BancAssurance Phone Banking FastTransfer Mutual Funds Salary Plus Business Customers Corporate Banking Commerical Banking SME Banking Global Treasury Investment Banking Cash Management Zarai Banking Asset Management Islamic Banking Deposit Accounts Financing Products Murabaha Diminishing Musharaka jarah Trade and Value added Services MISSION To make our customers prosper, our staff excel and create value for shareholders VISION Enabling people to advance with confidence and success VALUES Our values are the fundamental principles that define our culture and are brought to life in our attitudes and behavior. It is our values that make us unique and unmistakable. Our values are defined below: Excellence This is at the core of everything we do. The markets in which we operate are becoming increasingly competitive, giving our customers an abundance of choice. Only through being the very best in terms of the service we offer, our products and premises can we hope to be successful and grow. Integrity We are the leading bank in Pakistan and our success depends upon trust. Our customers and society in general expect us to possess and steadfastly adhere to high moral principles and professional standards. Customer Focus We understand fully the needs of our customers and adapt our products and services to meet these. We always strive to put the satisfaction of our customers first. Meritocracy We believe in giving opportunities and advantages to our employees on the basis of their ability. We believe in rewarding achievement and in providing first-class career opportunities for all. Progressiveness We believe in the advancement of society through the adoption of enlightened working practices, innovative new products and processes, and a spirit of enterprise. HUMAN RESOURCE AS A SOURCE OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Brief Introduction Human resource, being the pulse of any organization, is its most precious asset. And training plays a vital role in tapping and developing its potential to the utmost. With this key factor in mind, HBL pioneered its first training program in 1946, in which Muslim youth were recruited after an extensive tour of leading academic institutions. There are 78 employees in the HR department. According to Adnan-ur-Rehman Khan, Senior Manager, Human Resources at HBL Worldwide, the practice is of having 100 to 1 ratio, i.e. to have one employee of HR department per 100 employees of other departments. In Pakistan, however due to low importance of HR as a strategic function, it is okay to have 1000 to 1 ratio instead. Importance Bank is a service industry, automation cannot be done. Every activity has to be managed by human beings, a particular department is therefore unavoidable. Trust and loyalty can only be ensured by human beings. Banking involves money, which is why ensuring trust is extremely important. Housing 13,000 people is not an easy job. HR department at HBL deals with the factors associated with human beings like counseling, behavior management, motivation and job satisfaction. Since the organization is heterogeneous, complex and large a proper HR department exists to manage the diverse needs of large internal customers. Catering to administrative and long term strategic needs of employees. Support functions are required in order to help employees work towards organizational goals. RECRUITMENT PROCESS Internal job posting: This is the most traditional method which most of the companies are following in which CVs are being collected from companys website and other sources and then after the filtration process desired individuals are called for the interview. HBL actually grooms and trained their employees in different departments and whenever there is a vacancy they always prefer their trained employees. This adds a lot to the current employees confidence and morale, which they have a better chance to be promoted and thus strive to achieve higher than expectations. Entry level hiring: fresh graduates for MTOS and non MTOS: MTO admission program is being conducted in 6-7 certified universities, students who have a GPA above certain level can apply. They are being passed through screening and interview processes and then HR team hire them. Non MTOs are selected from B grade universities are passed from a testing process which is being outsourced, then they are also passed through an interview process and are shortlisted. Mid career: CV is being selected from the database of bank which points out the basic skills required for the job. After this HR team selects candidates who can perform these required tasks very effectively. These candidates are preferred to already have a career of at least 8-10 years so that they can understand the job demands properly. Cross function hiring: Hiring from different departments is also preferred as one of the recruitment method at HBL. For example while hiring for retail banking they also look into corporate bankings department. Similarly hiring for HR department can be done from compliance and audit divisions. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT The banks Training Division has gained renown for its excellence and efficiency and was called upon to assist in training personnel for other upcoming baking institutions. With the passage of time this assistance became a testimonial of the banks valuable contribution towards establishing and developing of other commercial banks within the country where several trained Habibians went to work with senior, middle and junior levels. Word of its skills spread far wide which led to many international banks sending their personnel to HBL for training. Presently HBL manages full-fledged teaching facilities and support staff at Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The training programs are conducted with the latest aids and equipment and involve extensive training to new recruits, and existing staff with specialized courses that cater to the different cadre of personnel on topics of Management, Marketing, Selling, Accounting and Finance, Banking Law and Practice and Internal Procedure. Speakers from other prestigious institutes are also invited to deliver lectures. Methods used: On the Job training Coaching/Mentoring Group Discussions Outdoor training Rewards and Recognition For them remuneration is the key element of employee engagement. Two elements of remuneration: Annual salary Performance-related benefit Performance is more than just achieving financial objectives. As a bank they pride themselves at their unique culture and values Every employee receive a values rating that reflect how employee live at their values and culture, which influence their performance related awards. . Those with the lowest value ratings would receive no annual performance related bonus, even if they achieve all their financial targets. The rating criterion is as follows A is a role model. B is an exemplary. C lived value with more time. D needs to learn values. These ratings denote your bonuses as well as pay increments. These ratings are purely awarded on the basis of performance and as mention earlier for that key performance indicators (KPI) plays a significant role. Along with these ratings they also give rewards for some particular achievement as recently they have arranged a 3 day holiday trip to Malaysia for their remote banking employees for performing significantly well. Outsourcing HBL manages its workforce by not hiring everybody. S. Ali Raza Zaidi, VP, Personnel Division said Now a days, there are companies that deal help in delivering services, which helps in keeping our workforce under control. Take credit card sales for example. These companies go for aggressive sales and telemarketing. There are not our employees, but bring us business and charge a fee for the service. In this way, HBL is also outsourcing some of the services, for which we dont need to actually employee people. However, if supervisor is needed, that must be a companys person. INNOVATION AND RISK TAKING AMONG EMPLOYEES: They motivate their employees to be courageous and bold enough to raise their voice against the system and for the system. There is a leadership board on internet to which every person is accessible and writes whatever he thinks should be done to improve the organizational effectiveness and then he is called to explain his idea in front of Board of Directors. This further elaborates the openness that is quite visible in the culture at HBL, where every employee is given confidence to speak what they feel is right and raise voice against anything that is bad, anonymity is of prime importance and HBL makes sure the whistle blowers remain behind the curtains. MOTIVATION AMONG EMPLOYEES: Motivating the employees is of primary importance to any organization. HBL follows below criteria: Compensate The salary and employee benefits your bank provides serve a major role in recruiting, retaining, and motivating staff. While salary and benefits are not the most important aspect of your jobs, they definitely contribute to recruiting, retaining, and motivating superior employees. The quest to compensate employees fairly is an ongoing challenge. If your bank pays employees too little, you may risk alienating and losing valuable employees. If you pay too much, you may be unwisely spending company resources. How much your bank can afford for employee salaries can determine the caliber of talent you attract to your organization. Performance Performance plays a significant role in motivating the employees. Performance of the employee can be judge by the employee himself. As in the beginning of the year targets are being set for the employees performance so by the end of the year employees themselves can see that what they have achieved and what more they can earn with their performance. Transition to Strategic HRM WHY SHRM? Strategic Human Resource Management practices enhance employee productivity and the ability of agencies to achieve their mission. Integrating the use of personnel practices into the strategic planning process enables an organization to better achieve its goals and objectives. With the advent of todays economy where services contribute to a major share of the GDP and the fact that the service sector is essentially people centric, it is vital that the people first approach be accepted by the organizations for sustainable business strategy. The practice of SHRM demands a proactive and hands on approach by the management as well as the HR department with regards to the entire scope of activities ranging from staffing and training and development to mentoring and pay and performance management. Adnan-ur-Rehman Khan, Senior Manager, Human Resources Were not a small firm, were in fact one of the biggest banks of Pakistan, having experience that ranges to decades. With so much experience, the one thing which we learnt is that people are your most important, and irreplaceable asset. You want monetary gains, you cannot ignore the human resource of your firm. This is infeasible today, as it is in future. If youre to go ahead, and really fulfill the vision, you have to trust your people. Invite them on the same platform, listen to their problems, and encourage them to speak their heart out. This essentially means that you welcome them on the big table, show them the big picture, share your mission, and treat your people like your stakeholders. Only in this way, by treating people as your strategic element, you can get the competitive edge against competitors. STRATEGIC PLANNING AT HBL Planning process Strategic Planning Division is made up of Board of Directors which evaluates previous performances, current market trends and forecasts future potential on a yearly basis. BoD evaluates several proposals and modified goals. All the core departments of HBL are involved in the strategy formulation, the formation of following years strategy is a combination of inputs and proposals from departments like Marketing, Operations, IT, Finance and Human Resource. According to Adnan-ur-Rehman Khan, Senior Manager, Human Resources at HBL The strategy is not just what the next year would be like, it is more like fulfilling the vision, which cannot be done without coordination of each department, responsibility and commitment of every employee of each division. The strategy is made when each department is on same page, one platform. This is what strategic planning means. The process, though extensive, only goes through with considerable consensus. The Strategic Planning Division votes on the proposals, and suggests recommendations if needed. After going through the extensive process of planning and strategizing, the plan takes the shape of a bible. Policy making is done by feedback process i.e. input, process, output and feedback. Input is provided by the BoD and top management, and then they are circulated in the organization. Employees work according to these policies and then their pros and cons are observed for the future policy making. Significance of strategic planning: Planning out the future of any business is the best way to guarantee success. It seems difficult in beginning, but as the time goes by, a strategy is what helps a business move in the right (planned) direction. At HBL, once approved strategic plans become bible for the whole organization, every department is given particular goals to meet; every department comes up with its own strategy on how to achieve those goals. SBUs are also encouraged to come up with their own business strategy, since each business division has better understanding on deciding the action plan to meet targets. According to Adnan-ur-Rehman Khan, Senior Manager, Human Resources at HBL every division is allowed to come up with its own strategy to meet the set targets, top management is flexible in this regard. Types of Strategic Goals Strategic goals are monetary and non monetary. Monetary goals are highly centralized and cascaded down to businesses and interpret these goals to SBUs and non monetary goals are transferred to support functions and support functions interpret them. Performance management system reviews the performance of SBUs and support functions, if any discrepancy is found, departmental heads are taken to task. Monitoring Performance Management System Progress of implementation of strategic goals is continuously monitored, if any discrepancy is found between performance level and set goals, it affects performance appraisal process. If everything goes as planned, performance management eventually helps in the performance appraisal of employees. Performance Managements core objective is manage talent, motivation, commitment of the employees towards the organization and its vision. They have very strong evaluation process in which the evaluation is started right away from the 1st day of joining to the bank. Right from the first day the immediate supervisor of an employee has a meeting with him and they both discusses about the goals, objectives and what is being expected from him. They have key performance indicators through which the performance of each and every employee is being analyse. With the help of this key performance indicators and the discussion with the supervisor the employee had a clear idea and road map that what he has to do and what is expected from him. The goals are being set by the mutual understanding between the employee and his supervisor. This evaluation is being done on the semi annually basis. On the basis of this evaluation employees get their pay raise and ratings. The more rating points you earned the more pay increments you will get. Communication of Goals CEO communicates these goals to direct reporters i.e. departmental heads which are further communicated to functional heads who set their respective targets. For example: the functional head of retail banking sets their target to collect the deposits of Rs 25 million and now it is to be increased to 35 million by 2013. Retail banking allocates goals to its further 20 regions after a meeting with their respective heads. Regional heads might require more resources so HR department arranges for that as well (Example quoted by S. Ali Raza Zaidi, VP, Personnel Division, HBL). Policy Making and Risk Management Board Human Resource Committee (BHRC) includes chairman, president and one independent board member. These three members issue recommendations on HR Initiatives and policies. Similarly there are committees of compliance and risk which deals with the matters like compliance with government policies on employment, ethical issues, matters like sexual harassment and the like. STRATEGIC INITIATIVES Transformation from Public to Private In 2003, under the government of General Musharraf a commission called Pakistan Privatization Commission was formed, under the leadership of Shaukat Aziz HBL, along with many other companies, was privatized and 51% of its shares were sold to Aga Khan Fund for Economic and Development (AKFED). Right Sizing of Workforce: Earlier when HBL was a public organization its culture was lethargic, many people under burdened, all responsibilities were shared vaguely. When it went private one of the strategic decisions taken was of right sizing. From 31000 employees all over Pakistan, in 1997, the number was shrunk to around 10000 and it stands at 13000 as of 2012. The right sizing did not create an ethical issue because the nature of the organizational holding was changed. Workforce cut down to 13000, which increased the productivity level and motivation because the less-productive employees were laid off which increase individual work load but not so much as to over burden employees and helped organization cut down cost of additional employees that were not contributing enough. From Annual Confidential Report to Performance Management system. Initially HBL used to do the performance appraisal on annual basis and this process was called annual confidential report which was as the name suggests kept confidential to the top management only. After privatization bank moved towards performance management system which was by nature more transparent, open to input from various departments and was reviewed on a continuous basis to make sure that the performance of employees is in line with the strategies made at the top. Paradigm Shift to Growth-Oriented According to Adnan-ur-Rehman Khan, Senior Manager, Human Resources While some organizations are strictly business oriented where the only thing that matters is money, on the other extreme there are people centric organizations which are primarily concerned with its workforce, HBL took a midway approach. The organization believes in welfare of its employees by channeling their efforts towards achieving monetary goals. Banks culture is such that its the people who bring in profits so it should be people who are benefits the most from the profit which cannot be done without organizational growth in the terms of greater market coverage. Organizational Transformation by introducing Golden Handshake Scheme When the organization realized that the current workforce could not come with many creative ideas and lacked physical efficiency and could not cope with changing market trends due to resistance to change, HBL introduced golden handshake scheme. Under this scheme 25/55 rule was established i.e. the employees with 25 years of experience within the bank and 55 years of age were offered 5 months cumulative salary and their services were recognized as an honor to HBL. Inducting Young Blood Previously discussed golden handshake scheme helped HBL to induct young blood. Since youth is more inclined towards updating themselves with latest techniques, open to change, have superior physical strength and more creative mind, this strategy helped increase efficiency in the organization. This young blood equipped with the creative mind and greater insights of recent market trends helped te bank to grow in the face of fierce competition. Tracking Employee Demand and Supply Management at HBL is alert on upcoming vacancies, and how to fill them up. Whenever an employee is about to leave, he must serve the one month notice period, the company first looks at the internal pool of candidates, those who are most eligible to be promoted. If there is no replacement available in the current employees, the bank goes the through the external recruitment process (mentioned above in recruitment process). Employee Engagement Job rotation and transfer is done every 3 years according to the policy. The assignment should be changed for this purpose. Nobody is allowed to work more than three years on the same position, he is either promoted or his job is changed, job rotation is a key policy at HBL. Job rotation program is also there for Management Trainee employees who are being rotated to different departments after every 6 months. HBL derives following benefits from their job rotation policy: Explore the Hidden Talent Job Rotation is designed to expose employees to a wider range of operations in order to assist managers in exploring their hidden talent. In the process, they are moved through a variety of assignments so that they can gain awareness about the actual working style of the organization and understand the problems that crop up at every stage. Individuals Explore Their Interests: Sometimes, employees are not aware of what would like to do until they have their hands on some specific job. If their job is rotated or they are exposed to different operations, they can identify what they are good at and what they enjoy doing. Identifies Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes: Job Rotation helps managers as well as individuals identify their KSA (Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes). It can be used in determining who needs to improve or upgrade his or skills in order to perform better. This helps in analyzing training and development needs of employees so that they can produce more output. Motivates Employees to Deal with New Challenges: When employees are exposed to different jobs or assigned new tasks, they try to give their best while effectively dealing with the challenges coming their way. Satisfaction and Decreases Attrition Rate: Exposing employees to different tasks and functions increase their satisfaction level. Job variation reduces the boredom of doing same task every day. Moreover, it decreases attrition rate of the organization. Align Competencies with Requirements: Alignment of competencies with requirements means directing the resources when and where they are required. It assesses the employees and places them at a place where their skills, competencies and caliber are used to the highest possible extent. Career counseling when needed Employees who are not able to perform or want to leave the organization voluntarily they were given incentives which were added in their benefits. In other cases where employees with good performance are planning to leave the organization then they are provided with proper career counseling by the HR manager himself and his reservations are also sorted out to maximum extent. Employee as family To motivate the employees non monetary benefits are also there which includes gatherings, trips to foreign countries, picnics, visits, lunches and formal dinners. This helps the employees feel like part of the family, rather than just workers. This is essential in terms of relationship building, and increasing communication between the top management and other employees. CORPORATE STRATEGY According to Adnan-ur-Rehman Khan, Senior Manager, Human Resources HBL follows the strategy of diversification, since it deals with different customers, in different markets. We have a different group of customers for Islamic Banking, different for Corporate Banking. We aggressively look for new divisions that have a high potential of growth. For example, we were the pioneers of Zarai Banking, which made our portfolio diverse. HBL is suppose to be a heterogeneous, complex and large organization therefore there are multiple strategies used. Centralized approach is used for financial dealings is used. Top management is flexible in this regard that every function can devise its own business strategy. Core Divisions at HBL HBLs pioneer division is Agri financing. They are market leaders and other banks are following HBL. The division deals in providing farmers with necessary financing. Second core division at HBL is Retail Banking. CULTURE AT HBL Seniority based culture to performance based culture When the bank was Public limited, the culture was more inclined towards promotion comes with age and loyalty. The transition to Private limited company ensured that the culture be changed performance based. The seniority now holds less weight as compared to actual performance, when it comes to performance appraisal. Employee Work hours and Overtime issue HBL has a very strict policy against overtime. Overtime is not appreciated much. Timings are followed strictly. Every employee is supposed to leave the office at 5.30 PM, the usual off time of the organization. If an employee is sitting late and working, he is obliged to answer as to what took him to register overtime. The culture is such that when more than 95% employees leave on time, including the top management, employees are generally demotivated to stay late as well. Responsiveness Customer responsiveness delivers an excellent customer experience. As a global research reported, 81 percent of banks with strong capabilities and competencies for delivering customer experience excellence are outperforming their competition. An effective customer response strategy enables a bank to deliver the highest standards of customer care at a time when the customer most needs it. That level of care makes an important contribution to customer satisfaction and long-term loyalty. Head of resourcing instead of head of recruitment. Outsourcing worker services, ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE The purpose of an organizational structure is to help in creating an environment for human performance. It is then, a management tool and not an end in its own. Although the structure must define the task to be done, the rules so established must also be designed in the light of abilities and motivation of the human recourse available. By analyzing the organizational structure of HBL presence of the following elements can be found in its structure. Transition towards flatter organization Another change in the private limited company was the removal of additional levels in the organizational hierarchy, this helped in reducing the communication gap between employees and management, and among

History of R. Buckminister Fuller Essay -- Geodesic Domes R. Buckminis

History of R. Buckminister Fuller Fuller was most famous for his geodesic domes, which can be seen as part of military radar stations, civic buildings, and exhibition attractions. Their construction is based on extending some basic principles to build simple tensegrity structures (tetrahedron, octahedron, and the closest packing of spheres). Built in this way they are extremely lightweight and stable. The patent for geodesic domes was awarded in 1954, part of Fuller's decades-long efforts to explore nature's constructing principles to find design solutions. Previously, Fuller had designed and built prototypes of what he hoped would be a safer, aerodynamic Dymaxion Car ("Dymaxion" is contracted from DYnamic MAXimum tensION). To this end he experimented with a radical new approach. He worked with professional colleagues over a period of three years, beginning in 1932. Based on a design idea Fuller had derived from that of aircraft, the three prototype cars were all quite different from anything on the market. For one thing, each of these vehicles had three, not four, wheels - with two (the drive wheels) in front, and the third, rear wheel being the one that was steered. The engine was located in the rear. Both the chassis and the body were original designs. The aerodynamic, somewhat tear-shaped body (which in one of the prototypes was about 18 feet long), was large enough to seat 11 people. It somehow resembled a melding of a light aircraft (albeit without wings) and a Volkswagen van of 1950s vintage. The car was essentially a mini-bus in each of its three trial incarnations, and its concept long predated the Volkswagen Transporter mini-bus that was conceived by Ben Pon in 1947 and first built in 1950. Despite its length, and due to its three-wheel design, the Dymaxion Car turned on a small radius and parked in a tight space quite easily. The prototypes were efficient in fuel consumption for their day. Fuller poured a great deal of his own money (inherited from his mother) into the project, in addition to the funds put in by one of his professional collaborators. An industrial investor was also keenly interested in the unprecedented concept. Fuller anticipated the car could travel on an open highway safely at up to about 100 miles per hour (160 km/h); however, due to some concept oversights, the prototypes proved to be unruly over the speed of 50 mph... ...s friends with Boston artist Pietro Pezzati. He experimented with polyphasic sleep. A new allotrope of carbon (fullerene) and a particular molecule of that allotrope (buckminsterfullerene or buckyballs) have been named after him. On July 12, 2004 the United States Post Office released a new commemorative stamp honoring Buckminster Fuller on the 50th anniversary of his patent for the geodesic dome and on the occasion of his 109th birthday. [edit] Neologisms World-around is a term coined by Fuller to replace worldwide. The general belief in a flat Earth died out in the Middle Ages, so using wide is an anachronism when referring to the surface of the Earth — a spheroidal surface has area and encloses a volume, but has no width. Fuller held that unthinking use of obsolete scientific ideas detracts from and misleads intuition. The terms sunsight and sunclipse are other neologisms, according to Allegra Fuller Snyder collectively coined by the Fuller family, replacing sunrise and sunset in order to overturn the geocentric bias of most pre-Copernican celestial mechanics. Fuller also coined the phrase Spaceship Earth, and coined the term (but did not invent) tensegrity. History of R. Buckminister Fuller Essay -- Geodesic Domes R. Buckminis History of R. Buckminister Fuller Fuller was most famous for his geodesic domes, which can be seen as part of military radar stations, civic buildings, and exhibition attractions. Their construction is based on extending some basic principles to build simple tensegrity structures (tetrahedron, octahedron, and the closest packing of spheres). Built in this way they are extremely lightweight and stable. The patent for geodesic domes was awarded in 1954, part of Fuller's decades-long efforts to explore nature's constructing principles to find design solutions. Previously, Fuller had designed and built prototypes of what he hoped would be a safer, aerodynamic Dymaxion Car ("Dymaxion" is contracted from DYnamic MAXimum tensION). To this end he experimented with a radical new approach. He worked with professional colleagues over a period of three years, beginning in 1932. Based on a design idea Fuller had derived from that of aircraft, the three prototype cars were all quite different from anything on the market. For one thing, each of these vehicles had three, not four, wheels - with two (the drive wheels) in front, and the third, rear wheel being the one that was steered. The engine was located in the rear. Both the chassis and the body were original designs. The aerodynamic, somewhat tear-shaped body (which in one of the prototypes was about 18 feet long), was large enough to seat 11 people. It somehow resembled a melding of a light aircraft (albeit without wings) and a Volkswagen van of 1950s vintage. The car was essentially a mini-bus in each of its three trial incarnations, and its concept long predated the Volkswagen Transporter mini-bus that was conceived by Ben Pon in 1947 and first built in 1950. Despite its length, and due to its three-wheel design, the Dymaxion Car turned on a small radius and parked in a tight space quite easily. The prototypes were efficient in fuel consumption for their day. Fuller poured a great deal of his own money (inherited from his mother) into the project, in addition to the funds put in by one of his professional collaborators. An industrial investor was also keenly interested in the unprecedented concept. Fuller anticipated the car could travel on an open highway safely at up to about 100 miles per hour (160 km/h); however, due to some concept oversights, the prototypes proved to be unruly over the speed of 50 mph... ...s friends with Boston artist Pietro Pezzati. He experimented with polyphasic sleep. A new allotrope of carbon (fullerene) and a particular molecule of that allotrope (buckminsterfullerene or buckyballs) have been named after him. On July 12, 2004 the United States Post Office released a new commemorative stamp honoring Buckminster Fuller on the 50th anniversary of his patent for the geodesic dome and on the occasion of his 109th birthday. [edit] Neologisms World-around is a term coined by Fuller to replace worldwide. The general belief in a flat Earth died out in the Middle Ages, so using wide is an anachronism when referring to the surface of the Earth — a spheroidal surface has area and encloses a volume, but has no width. Fuller held that unthinking use of obsolete scientific ideas detracts from and misleads intuition. The terms sunsight and sunclipse are other neologisms, according to Allegra Fuller Snyder collectively coined by the Fuller family, replacing sunrise and sunset in order to overturn the geocentric bias of most pre-Copernican celestial mechanics. Fuller also coined the phrase Spaceship Earth, and coined the term (but did not invent) tensegrity.

Environmental Ethics Essay

Environmental ethics falls under the discipline of environmental philosophy that studies how human beings relate to their natural environment. This is a wide study that involves a variety of other disciplines such as those that study human relationships, economics, the earth’s structure and biology especially ecology. Human beings being the most superior of all the living things on earth have an ethical obligation to the environment concerning the earth, air, water, other organisms and the human population, both the present and the future generation. Environmental ethics brigs up a variety of issues concerning what, when, how and why we should consider this area of study. Aspects arising include the environment’s moral value, how sustainable are the policies on environmental protection, and how do these apply to the developing nations, and what policies should be put in place to ensure that the environment is safe guarded for the future generation, among others. Many philosophers through the years have studied this topic, but it only came to be recognized as an independent discipline in 1970, due to awareness of effects of increasing human knowledge on the environment. Growing economics and populations, new technologies and development of industries all have had various adverse effects on nature, although aimed at improving life. The works of Rachael Carson, Paul Ehrlich, Aldo Leopold, among others brought about ethical concerns about the environment. Under environmental ethics, human beings have a duty towards the environment, on protection and conservation as well as having a quality life for themselves. In this context, contentious issues arise as to why we should be concerned about the environment. Should it be for us, the living human beings, the future generation, or for the environment itself regardless of our own benefits? Different personalities offer different answers to this question; hence different views have come up on environmental ethics. The issues of environmental ethics is of growing concern to the government and other institution including United Nations which have come up with incentives to people to value and appreciate nature. Earth Day which is held annually (first held in 1970) continues to create awareness and sensitize people on the value of the environment and why it should be protected. The Moral Standing We cannot handle ethics without reference to moral philosophy, which is concerned with individual behaviors and conducts. The moral standing depends on what is considered ‘right’ or ‘good’ and ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’ by an individual or a society. For instance, different societies have different views on areas like land and animal ownership, rights of the future generation, and many more. Personal conduct with respect to environmental ethics defines how people should interact with nature, regarding its exploitation and conservation. The moral standing of the ethical issues on environment are wholly placed on human beings as they are the only living things who can reason and decide on moral issues. Many of the environmental concerns revolve around man and how these affect him, thus the responsibility of environmental ethics should be solely man’s. Responsibility to the environment implies that we are aware of this task, we are able to do it, we are at liberty to do it or not, and carrying out of the task has an effect to others existing in the environment. This means that we know the damage we can cause to the environment, the effects of this damage and the prevention or solutions to these problems. This gives us a moral significance in environmental ethics, and gives us a central role. The moral standing therefore means we have the moral obligation towards nature and the capability to carry out this responsibility. When we consider environmental ethics, then, look at issues such as: †¢ Should we care about nature for itself while it’s people who really â€Å"matter†? That is if not for human beings benefit; why else should we conserve the environment? And if depleting the natural resources is necessary for life improvement, why not exhaust it? †¢ Is the loss of biodiversity, destruction of scenic geographical features for human benefit such as in agriculture so harmful to man? Where is the need to conserve a species while it has no chance of survival in the near future due to changes in earth’s patterns? †¢ Is it right for a person to own land, it being a natural resource among others, or is it morally wrong? Is it fair that 5% of the human population use 30% of natural resources, while in other less countries the population suffers due to lack of the basic resources such as food and clean water? Do these resources exist for the benefit of a few or should they be left free for use by all? †¢ Is it possible for human beings to improve nature, seeing how man seems to have no control over nature when it comes to events such as natural calamities? †¢ Do recent developments in technology relieve us of our duty of protecting the environment? For instance, does biotechnology with potential to create new species, or bring back an extinct species, relieve us of the duty to conserve the biodiversity? Or alternative sources of fuel give us a right to deplete the natural fuel reserve? †¢ Should we let nature take its course as it always has or try and preserve it without assurance that this is of any benefit, or that this only hinders the course of nature? Is there any way that nature can take care of itself without our hand, like self renewal? The main issue surrounding environmental ethics today is the activist movements on environmental protection that focus people on the wrong issues, that is the moral standing is more emotional than factual or logical. The following are essential in discussing environmental ethics and policies. Western Religion and Culture It has been viewed by some philosophers that the Western religion has adversely affected the environment as it teaches that human beings have dominion over the earth and subdue it. Others view this as a command to take care of nature as we have been left in charge. The command given in the bible to the first man â€Å"be fruitful and fill the earth† (Genesis 1:28, Holy Bible KJV) raises the question of population control, is it ethical for the sake of the environment or is it a direct defiance of God’s command? To address this sensitive topic, religion should be understood in context. At the time of the command there was only one man on earth, so he was required to ‘fill’ it, but now the earth is already ‘filled’. Is it logical to still apply the very same principles now as they did then? The culture of a people defines how they relate to and use the environment. Many of the historic events that shape the western culture have had a huge impact on the environment. Events such as the industrial revolution, technological advances and the modern culture have affected the environment. Culture can easily adapt to changing environments, as well as cause permanent change to different environments. The environment is very wide and continuous, while the environment defines cultural practices. Therefore it is ethical to put environment before culture, and change current lifestyles towards more nature friendly practices. The future generation Most of the damage to the environment is more likely to affect the future human population. This therefore calls on the currently living humans to consider the rights of those who are not yet born. We might not know exactly what that generation will require but we are well aware of the basic needs of living beings; food shelter and basic health. Based on these we can have a model of what the environment should offer the future human beings. Therefore it is our moral obligation to them to utilize nature as much as we need to but ensure that we do not deny them the enjoyment of the same. Animals Other animals should be considered when addressing environmental ethics, since they are sentient beings, that is are capable of feeling. Although animals come after humans, they have rights and should be considered according to what they are interested in, such as feeding, living in their natural habitat, and allowed their existence. Controversy about animal rights arises in what animals exactly should we grant rights to. For instance, are insects or other smaller animals in this category? Is it right to use animals for laboratory research for medical and other studies to better our lives? The simple answer to this question is that unless it is extremely necessary, animals should not be put at risk or in adverse conditions. The harm to animals should be justified and be limited to a certain allowable level. Ecofeminism Women are seen to be closer and more in touch with nature; this is claimed by feminists concerned with the environment (Cochrane, 2007). This is because of their ability to give life, and the fact that the earth is considered female (Shiva, 1993). Thus this gives them a better understanding of nature and how to coexist in harmony. Val Plumwood, an ecofeminist believe, that feminism should go hand in hand with environmentalism as both women and the environment are under the same oppression. Another feminist argues that the problem is in trying to justify this kind of oppression thus allowing such subordination. When considering environmental ethics and policies, the domination over women and nature is a critical issue that requires attention. Economics and Ecology Economics and ecology usually appear as counter forces. Economy involves trying to allocate the limited resources while ecology looks out to protect these resources. The ever-growing human population has placed great pressure on nature and thus their distribution is highly competitive. Market forces have added more pressure to natural resources and their exploitation. Rapid growth of industries has contributed to environmental deterioration. The cost-benefit considers questions like; if nuclear power makes electricity cheaper, should this field be ventured? What is the cost of preserving a forest compared to the cost of exporting timber? These raise challenges when setting up policies on the environment because of the question of cost versus the benefit of environmental ethics. Technology Technology has had a huge impact on human life as well as on the environment. The effects of technology are both beneficial and adverse. The medical, agricultural, communication and energy industries rely heavily on technology to better human life. Technology has the power to destroy nature as well as replenish it. The technological advances that are most potentially harmful include nuclear technology that is able to annihilate nature and biotechnology, which has the potential to alter the natural species boundaries. Since all technologies come with potential risks along with their benefits, ethical consideration must be made with regards to the environment. Conclusion In studying environmental ethics, the first thing is to ask the question ‘what should be done about the current environmental situation and how should it be done? ’ The other consideration is the importance of individual natural resources and how much effort and cost we should dedicate to protecting such. This should be based on facts and not feelings, like and dislikes. It is important that policies be based on an integrated system that has in mind all the components of nature, as well as involvement of the government, institutions and other countries. The following should be noted when considering environmental ethics: †¢ The environment is not a resource just for us but for those we share it with (animals, plants and microorganisms) and for the future inhabitants of the planet. †¢ Nature is continuous with continuous flow of energy, but with rapid exhaustion, the environment is not able to renew itself. †¢ Some of the artificially made substances are capable of spreading all over the earth out of our control and nature has no way getting rid of them, for example nuclear waste, fluorocarbons, DDT, GMOs, etc. †¢ Our policies on environment affect the whole world since everything in nature spreads. We should be sensitive to the needs of other countries especially the less developed when considering environmental ethics It has to be demonstrated clearly that the policies we put in place concerning the environment have defined benefits for all concerned otherwise the area of environmental ethics will always be viewed with sharp critism. The benefits of conserving the environment should be clearly elucidated and put out for all interested stakeholders. Reference: Conchrane, A.Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Environmental ethics, (London School of economics and Political Science, 2007). Lotter, Don, A History of Western Culture’s relationship with Environment, (UC Davis Experimental College, 1990) Sutton, Eugene, An introduction to Cultural Ecology (Berg, 2004) Leefers, Castillo, Ecology and Society: Bridging the gap between Economics and Ecology, (Michigan State University, 1998) Beckman, Ted, Martin Heidegger: Environmental Ethics, (Claremont, 2002) Vandeveer, D and C Pierce, The environmental ethics and policy book: 3rd Edition. (Belmont, 1994)

At Any One Moment

â€Å"At any one moment† uses context to give meaning to the story and and allow the reader to have a clear image of the events in their mind. The story was written in 2005 so the context it was written in was after the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004. Through the readers understanding and experience of this event the author is able to build images in the reader’s mind and allow them to fully understand the gravity of the situation occurring. Had the story been written in a time where a Tsunami had not occurred for many years it would be a lot harder to imagine and put into perspective the enormity of the tragedy occurring in the story.Judy Allen builds on this idea through the specific language and metaphors used to set the scene and further build on the context. â€Å"It rose up like a mountain, either hiding or engulfing the distant boats†. Through using real locations in the text the reader can see and believe the story. The reader’s context is also used to build dramatic tension. As the water is drawn out before the Tsunami approaches the reader is mostly likely aware of what is occurring due to their context compared to Sherif, his brother and the villagers who were obliviouxs to the disaster about to occur. His brother started to laugh- it was all so extraordinary, a trick played by the ocean†. This situation creates dramatic irony and positions the reader to want to warn the characters in the story to get out of the water. Judy Allen builds and plays on the readers context which is most likely that of a busy Western life. Many people in society are always busy and never take time to think about other people. â€Å"Even so, most people are aware only of their own small world, and many believe their own small world, and many believe their own small world is all there is†.Through the structure and the omniscient point of view the author positions the reader to imagine all the things happening in the world right now and h ow every action has a consequence. Allen then takes the reader down to one specific event which could be happening right now. This structure is especially effect because of Western Society’s desensitised view of disaster. The reader relates to a personal story much more than figures on the news. Allen’s use of emotive language and smilies also creates an environment for the reader to personally react to the story. â€Å"He stared as the vast sweep of water was pulled back like a huge bed cover†.This imagery allows the reader to put themselves in the story and use their own personal context to make meaning to â€Å"At Any One Moment†. Through my own personal context I am able to react to the story and feel sympathy for the characters in it. Although I was not personally affected by the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 I can still appreciate the pain that Sherif goes through. This prose fiction work put the world into perspective for me and caused me to feel grat eful for the things I have in my life. It made me realise how fragile life can be, how people can be alive one minute and dead the next.Through all the tragedy in our wold I had become partially immune to the horrors in our world until I read this personal story. I have a strong sense of family and this caused me to react strongly to Sherif losing his brother and probably his mother. I cannot imagine losing one of my family members and it pained me to see that a whole life can be lost in a matter of seconds you just have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whether it is man-made tragedy or natural disaster we never know what life is going to throw at us and often we cannot stop it. At any one moment on this small planet†¦ †. Through the use of structure, point of view and context Allen encourages the reader feel small and insignificant. By allowing us to imagine all the events and people in the world the reader is positioned to feel as though they are helpless to the world around them and can do nothing to stop it. Through this realisation Allen then inspires us to come together as a global community that can make a difference, we are insignificant on our own but together we are much more powerful.