Airline Marketing Plan Essay

Executive Summary 1. 0 Executive Summary Puddle Jumpers Airlines, Inc. is a new consumer airline in its formative stages. It is being organized to take advantage of a specific gap in the short-haul domestic travel market. The gap exists in low cost service out of Anytown, U. S. A. The gap in the availability of low cost service in and out of the Anytown hub coupled with the demand for passenger travel on selected routes from Anytown indicates that a new entrant airline could be expected to capture a significant portion of current air travel business at that hub. The management of Puddle Jumpers is experienced in airline start-ups. Previously management grew Private Jet Airlines from a single Boeing 727 to a fleet of 16 MD80 series aircraft. Revenues grew to $130 million in a two year period from 1992 through 1993. Our research and projections indicate that air travel to and from Anytown is sufficient to provide a new carrier with revenues of $110 million dollars in its first full year of operations, utilizing six aircraft and selected short-haul routes. These sales figures are based upon load factors of only 55% in year one. Second year revenues are expected to exceed $216 million dollars with additional aircraft and expanded routes. Load factors for year two are 62%. The Puddle Jumpers plan has the potential for a more rapid ramp-up than was the case with Private Jet due to the nature of the routes and the demand for travel currently in the targeted markets served. In short, the frequency of flights needed to serve Puddle Jumpers’s target market exceeds the demand that dictated Private Jet’s growth. These sales levels will produce net profit of just over $1 million in the first operational year and $21. 4 million dollars in flight year two. Profits in year one will be 1% of sales and will improve to 10% of sales with the economies gained in year two. The over-all operational long term profit target will be 16% of sales as net profit in years three, four, and five. The company’s long term plan is part of the due diligence package. The first operational year is actually fiscal year two in this plan. The first year of formative operations will burn cash until revenue can commence. This is due to the organizational and regulatory obligations of a new air carrier. Investment activity is needed to handle the expenses of this phase of the business. The following chart illustrates the over-all highlights of our business plan over the first three years. Gross Margin here is approximately 87% of sales since the only costs included in this calculation are travel agent commissions, credit card discounts, and federal excise taxes. Travel agent commissions are calculated on 30% of sales even though management feels the actual number will not exceed 10% of sales. NOTE: For display purposes in this sample plan, numerical values in tables and charts are shown in thousands (000’s). Highlights 1. 1 Objectives The Company has the following objectives: 1. To obtain required D. O. T. and F. A. A. certifications on or before March 1, 1997. 2. To commence revenue service on or before July 1, 1997. 3. To raise sufficient â€Å"seed† and â€Å"bridge† capital in a timely fashion to financially enable these objectives. 4. To commence operations with two McDonnell-Douglas MD-80 series aircraft in month one, four by end of month four, and six by end of month six. 5. To add one aircraft per month during year two for a total of 18 at year two end. 1. 2 Mission Puddle Jumpers International Airlines, Inc. has a mission to provide safe, efficient, low-cost consumer air travel service. Our service will emphasize safety as its highest priority. We will operate the newest and best maintained aircraft available. We will never skimp on maintenance in any fashion whatsoever. We will strive to operate our flights on time. We will provide friendly and courteous â€Å"no frill† service. 1. 3 Keys to Success The keys to success are: Obtaining the required governmental approvals. Securing financing. Experienced management. (Already in place). Marketing; either dealing with channel problems and barriers to entry; or solving problems with major advertising and promotion budgets. Targeted market share must be achieved even amidst expected competition. Product quality. Always with safety foremost. Services delivered on time, costs controlled, marketing budgets managed. There is a temptation to fix on growth at the expense of profits. Also, rapid growth will be curtailed in order to keep maintenance standards both strict and measurable. Cost control. The over-all cost per ASM (available seat mile) is pegged at 7. 0 cents or less in 1996 dollars. This ASM factor places Puddle Jumpers in a grouping of the lowest four in the airline industry within the short-haul market. (US Air, the dominate carrier in the Anytown market, averages 12. 0 cents per ASM by comparison). The only three airlines with lower operating costs also operate older and less reliable equipment, and even then the lowest short-haul cost in the airline industry is currently Southwest at 6. 43 cents per ASM. Company Summary 2. 0 Company Summary Puddle Jumpers International Airlines is being formed in July, 1996 as a South State Corporation. Its offices will be in Anytown, Georgia. The founder of Puddle Jumpers is Kenneth D. Smith. Mr. Smith has extensive experience in consumer aviation. His bio as well as the backgrounds of all the members of Puddle Jumpers’s management team are enclosed herein. 2. 1 Company Ownership Puddle Jumpers International Airlines, Inc. will authorize 20,000,000 shares of common stock. 1,000,000 shares are to be set aside as founder’s stock to be divided among key management personnel. It is also expected that management stock options will be made available to key management personnel after operations commence. It is expected that founders stock plus option stock will not total more than 15% of authorized shares. Initial â€Å"seed† capital is to be attracted via a convertible debenture sold by Private Placement. This round of funding will have premium conversion privileges vs. later rounds and â€Å"bridge† capital.

Loans & Advances of Dhaka Bank

Home  » Business  » Economics  » Report on Procudure for Distributing Loans and Advance at Dhaka Bank Report on Procudure for Distributing Loans and Advance at Dhaka Bank on March 20, 2013 in Economics [pic][pic]1. a. Introduction Internship program is a pre-requisite for acquiring M. B. A. degree. Before completion of the degree, a student must, undergo the Internship program. As the classroom discussion alone cannot make a student perfect in handling the real business situation, therefore, it is an opportunity for the students to know about the real life situation through this program.The program consists of three phases: 1. The orientation of the Intern with the organization, its function and performance. 2. The project work pertaining to a particular problem or problems matching with the Intern’s area of specialization and organizational requirement. 3. The report writing to summarize the Intern’s analysis, findings and achievements in the proceeding of the fo llowings. 1. b. Objectives of the Report: The report has two objectives: 1. General Objective 2. Specific Objective 1) General objectives of the report: The general objective of the report is to complete the internship.As per requirement of MBA program of Chittagong University, a student need to work in a business organization for two months to acquire practical knowledge about real business operations of a company. 2) Specific objective of the report: The specific objective of this report is to find and analyze the Credit facilities (its outstanding, recovery, classified loans etc), approval and monitoring process of Dhaka Bank Limited, Local office. It will also include gathering an idea about the securities behind the loan facilities and issuing different bank guarantees.The detail objectives of my study are as follows- †¢   To access the credit structure of banks in practice. †¢   To measure the effectiveness of the selected banks in utilization of their available deposit and resources. †¢   To identify the relationship with their customers. †¢   To identify the loan recovery performances of the selected banks. †¢   To find out the deposit utilization problems. †¢   To find out the implementation of credit risk management policy of the selected banks. †¢   To find out the implementation of the credit risk grading manual of Bangladesh bank by the selected banks. To find out the unsound credit according to the credit risk management policy. 1. c. Methodology Methodology of the study: This report is mainly prepared by the secondary sources of information & some few primary sources of information like – O Direct observation. O Information discussion with professionals. O Questioning the concerned persons. The secondary sources of my information – O Annual reports of DBL. O Credit rating report of DBL by credit rating information & services limited. O Desk report of the related department. O Credit manual information. O Different reference books of the library.O Some of my course elements as related to this report. 1. d . Scope of the study: This report will cover an organizational overview of Dhaka bank. It will give a wide view of the different stages of credit appraisal system of Dhaka bank, starting from the loan application to Loan disbursement and the comparison between standard and existing credit appraisal system of a Bank. The study is organized as follows: †¢   Credit profile of the selected banks. †¢   Loan recovery. †¢   The nature of default. †¢   Credit management and guidelines. †¢   Analysis of the findings and recommendation. 1. e.Limitations There are some limitations I had to face while preparing this report. It is very difficult to collect some of the important data and information. There is some information very secret and the Bank didn’t want to provide this information. But this information may help to build a go od report. Another limitation is availability of the data. The bank doesn’t have sufficient documents of the interest amount they collect from different loans. For this there is no specific profit calculation of the credit department. So, These kinds of limitations I faced while preparing the report. . a. Dhaka Bank Limited DHAKA BANK LIMITED was incorporated as a public limited Company on 6th April 1995 under the company act. 1994 and started it’s commercial operation on June 05, 1995 as a private sector bank. The bank started its journey with an authorized capital of Tk. 1,000. 00 million and paid up capital of Tk. 100. 00 million. The strength of a bank depends on its management team. The Employer in Dhaka Bank is proud to have a team of highly motivated, well-educated and experienced executives who have been contributing substantially in the continued progress of the bank.The marketing activities at the Dhaka Bank are very implicit and vast comparing to that of oth er bank in the country today. The Philosophy of the bank is â€Å"EXCELENCE IN BANKING†. Dhaka Bank is always willing to offer new product features to the client. Besides the applications of these products or services are prepared in a very modern way so that the service can be provided in least time required. The Credit facilities approved by Dhaka Bank are increasing day by day because of its well-organized and trained management and also well-equipped facilities.In recent time banking sector becomes very competitive and without giving good and attractive facilities and service no bank can survive in this time. Dhaka Bank is also trying to provide good service to keep going with this competition. 2. b. Mission Statement: To be the premier financial institution in the country providing high quality products & services backed by latest technology and a team of highly motivated personnel to deliver Excellence in Banking. 2. c. Vision Statement: At Dhaka Bank, we draw our inspi ration from the distant stars.Our term is committed to assure a standard that6 makes every banking transaction a pleasurable experience. Our endeavor is to offer you razor sharp sparkle through accuracy, reliability, timely delivery, cutting edge technology, and tailored solution for business needs, global reach in trade and commerce and high yield on your investments. Our people, products and processes are aligned to meet the demand of our discerning customers. Our goal is to achieve a distinction like the luminaries in the sky. Our prime objective is to deliver a quality that demonstrates a true reflection of our vision- Excellence in Banking. . d. Slogan: Excellence in Banking. 2. e. Company Philosophy The motto or the philosophy of the Bank is â€Å"Excellence in Banking†. Whether in Personal, Corporate, Treasury or Trade transactions of Dhaka Bank Limited is committed to provide the best. Meeting the demand of the bank’s discerning customers is not the sole object ive. The Bank endeavor to deliver a quality that makes every transaction a pleasurable experience. Dhaka Bank feels that, if they can meet maximum clientele requirements in less time with efficiency, then they will be able to accomplish a successful business in the world of banking.Their main objective is – they want to provide every single customer service available in today’s banking procedure for their clientele. Thus they can guarantee the excellence in banking to their valuable customers. 2. f. Company Activities and Performances Paid up Capital The paid up capital of Dhaka Bank Limited amounted to Tk. 1,547 million as on December 31, 2008 which was Tk. 100 million when the Bank started its operation. The total equity (capital and reserves) of the Bank as on December 31, 2008 stood at Tk. 3125 million. Deposits A strong deposit base is critical for success of a bank.During the years the Bank has mobilized a substantial amount in deposits in transactional and savin gs account. The deposit base of the bank continued to register a steady growth and stood at Tk. 48,731 million excluding call as of 31 December 2008 compared to Tk. 41,554 million of the previous year registered a 17% growth. Investment Dhaka Bank has diversified its investment portfolio through Lease Financing, Hire Purchase, and Capital Market Operations besides the investment in treasury bills and Prize Bonds. The emphasis on high quality investment has ensured the bank to maximize its profit.Dhaka Bank Limited is a member of the Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange. A specialized unit of the Bank, the Investment Division manages the Bank’s portfolio and actively participates in the screen-based on-line trading of both the Stock Exchanges. Profit Dhaka Bank Limited registered an operating profit of Tk. 2,010 million in 2008 compared to Tk. 1,183 million in 2007 making a growth of 70%. After all provisions including general provisions on unclassified loans, pr ofit before tax stood at Tk. 1,531 million. Provision for tax for the year 2008 amounted to Tk. 27 million. The net profit of the bank as on 31 December 2008 stood at Tk. 704 million compared to previous year’s Tk. 580 million making growth of 21%. Earning per share (EPS) was Tk. 46. 06 in 2007 compared to Tk. 45. 17 in 2007. Loans and Advances The Bank implemented the system of credit risk assessment and lending procedures by stricter separation of responsibilities between risk assessment, lending decisions and monitoring functions to improve the quality and soundness of loan portfolio. The Bank recorded a 17 % growth in advances with a local loans and advances portfolio of Tk. 9,972 million at the end of December 2008 compared to Tk. 34049 million at the end of December 2007. As of 31 December 2008, 96. 85 % of the total Bank’s loan portfolio was regular while only 3. 15 % of the total portfolio was non-performing as compared to 1. 64 % of 2007. Bank made required pr ovision as on 31 December against performing loans as per rate and classification norm provided by Bangladesh Bank (se note-2c). The volume of non-performing loans stood at Tk. 1,258 million in 2008 from Tk. 554 million in 2007. Of the total loan provision of Tk. 04 million, Tk. 465 million was general provision, which was 51 % of total provision. The rest Tk. 439 million was against the classified accounts. 1. Non-performing loan 2. Regular Loan A wide range of business industries and sectors constitutes the Bank’s advance portfolio. Major sectors where the Bank extended credit include steel and engineering, ship breaking, edible oil, sugar, housing and construction, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, electronic and automobiles, energy and power, service industries, trade finance, personal or consumer credit, leasing etc.The Bank continued to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and expended credit facilities to them through its SME Cell. Sector wise allocation of advances re veals a well-diversified portfolio of the Bank with balance exposure in different sectors. High concentration sectors are textile and garment industries with outstanding of Tk. 7,524 million, housing and construction with Tk. 4,093 million, food and allied industries with Tk. 2,949 million and engineering and metal including ship braking with Tk. 1,903 million as at 31 December 2008. Customer ServiceCustomer is in the core of everything a service-oriented company does. Accuracy, reliability, and timely delivery are the key elements of the Dhaka Bank’s service. Well-qualified and experienced officials always prepared to provide efficient, personalized and quality service man Dhaka Bank Limited. The banks prime objective is to provide high quality product and services to the customers. The bank also performs according to the needs of its corporate clients and provides a comprehensive range of financial services to national and multinational companies. International Trade & Fore ign ExchangeInternational trade constituted the major business activity conducted by the bank. Dhaka Bank offer a full range of trade finance services, namely, Issue, Advising and Confirmation of documentary Credits; arranging forward Exchange cover; Pre-shipment and post- shipment finance; Negotiation and purchase of Export bill; Discounting of bills of Exchange, Collection of bills etc. In the year 2008, Dhaka Bank Limited was active in extending services to their valued clients related with import business. As of 31st December 2008 the import volume was Tk. 49,496 million compared to the volume of 2006 for Tk. 6,277 million marking as increase of 7% from the last year. Dhaka Bank Limited experienced sound growth of export business in 2007 from 2006. The volume of export business rose to Tk. 31,081 million from Tk. 23,269 million in 2007 showing an increase of 34%. Branches Dhaka Bank has opened already 41 branches in different Cities, Places and areas in Dhaka and also in Chittag ong, Sylhet, Narayangonj, Norshingdi and Savar. This shows the banks commitment to provide services to their valued customers through an extensive branch network at all commercially important places across the country.They also have planned to open more branches in the sort coming year. These branches are well decorated and well secured with the new technologies. Human Resources and Training The driving force behind Dhaka Bank has always its employees. The bank recognizes that professional development of its people is vital to establishing workers as a provider of quality service. In this regard, the bank have expanded its training facilities and set up a full-fledged training institute at SaraTower, Motijheel, Dhaka. Environmental Management ProgramThe Bank’s Environmental Management Program stipulates adherence with environmental, health and safety regulations and guidelines, refraining from business that impairs the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, as sessing an mitigating risks concerning environment, health and safety issues that the bank undertake. Community Service The Bank extends assistance to socio-cultural and community development programs. During the years under review, the Bank had provided support to a number of community welfare programs. At present Dhaka Bank assist the National Hokey Federation. Technologies, Products and ServicesDhaka Bank’s products and services are regularly upgraded and realigned to fulfil customer expectation. Their delivery standards are constantly monitored and improved to assure the highest satisfaction. The bank specially emphasizes on the service base on technologies. Because the life became very fast and people want take service within sort time. The consumer-banking sector of the Bank deals with number of tasks related to various services. The products that are recently being offered by the bank are as follows –   Accounts: Dhaka Bank provides the Savings Account; Curren t Account; Short Term Deposit; Fixed Deposit Receipt etc. or the customers. ATM (Automated Teller Machine): Dhaka Bank ATM Cards enable their valued customers to carry out a variety of banking transactions 24 hours a day. Credit Cards: Dhaka Bank Credit Card has earned wide acceptability and reputation within a very short time. The Bank has developed the process such that it can deliver the Credit Card within only 7 days against security; for unsecured cards it takes only 10 days. Phone banking: Dhaka Bank phone banking service allows customers to conduct a variety of transactions by simply making a phone from anywhere.Customers can inquire about the balance in their account, check transaction details or request for account statement by fax or e-mail. Locker: By this facility customers can put their valuable things such as jewelry items, valuable papers etc. for the safety reason. Consumer Credit: Dhaka Bank also provides consumer credit facilities with very attractive terms and con ditions. Industrial Loan: Loans issued for purchasing equipment, inventories, plants, payrolls etc. Any Branch Banking: By this customers can transact from any branch insight the country.Utility Bill Payment: Customers can pay different utility bill such as phone bill, credit card bill etc. 3. a. Bank: Banks are among the most important financial institutions in the economy. They are the principle source of credit (loanable fund) for millions of households (individuals and families) and for most local units of government. Moreover, for small businesses ranging from grocery stores to automobile dealers, banks are often the major source of credit to stock the shelves with merchandise or to fill a dealer’s showroom with new goods.When the business and consumers need financial information and financial planning, it is the bankers to whom they turn most frequently for advice and council. 3. b. Types of Bank Loans: The banks make a wide variety of loans to a wide variety of custome rs for many different purposes-from purchasing automobiles and buying new furniture, taking dream vacations and pursuing college education to constructing homes and office buildings. Bank loans may be divided into the following broad categories of loans, delineated by their purpose:   1.Real Estate Loans, which are secured by real property-land, buildings, and other structures- and include short-term loans for construction and land development and longer-term loans to finance the purchase of farmland, residential, and commercial structures etc. 2. Financial institution Loans, including credit to banks, insurance companies, finance companies, and other financial institutions. 3. Agricultural Loans, extended to farm and ranch operations to assist in planting and harvesting crops and to support the feeding and care of livestock. 4.Commercial and Industrial Loans, granted to business to cover such expenses as purchasing inventories, plant, and equipment, paying taxes, and meeting payr olls and other operating expenses. 5. Loans to Individuals, including credit to finance the purchase of automobiles, homes, appliances and other retail goods to repair and modernize homes, cover the cost of medical care and other personal expenses, either extended directly to individuals or indirectly through retail dealers. 6. Lease Financing Receivables, where the bank buys equipment or vehicles and leases them to its customers.Among the categories, the largest volume is in the real estate loans. The next largest category is commercial and industrial loans. 7. Asset-based Loans, loans secured by a business firm’s assets, particularly accounts receivable and inventory. Installment Loans, credits that is repayable in two or more consecutive payments, usually on a monthly or quarterly basis. 9. Letter of credits, a legal notice in which a bank or other institution guarantees the credit of one of its customers who is borrowing from another institution. 0. Retail Credit, smaller -denomination loans extended to individuals and families as well as to small business. 11. Term loans, credit extended for longer than one year and designed to fund longer-term business investments, such as the purchase of equipment or the construction of new physical facility. Term Loans are designed to fund long-and medium-term business investments, such as the purchase of equipment or the construction of physical facilities, covering a period longer than one year.Usually the borrowing firm applies for a lump-sum loan based on the budgeted cost of its proposed project and then pledges to repay the loan in a series of installment. 12. Working Capital loan, provide businesses with short-run credit, lasting from a few days to about one year. Working Capital Loans are most often used to fund the purchase of inventories in order to put goods on shelves or to purchase raw materials; thus, they come closest to the traditional self-liquidating loan described above.Frequently the Working C apital Loan is designed to cover seasonal peaks in the business customer’s production levels and credit needs. 3. c. Credit Analysis: The division of the bank responsible for analyzing and making recommendations on the fate of most loan applications is the credit department. This department must satisfactorily answer three major questions regarding each loan applicat 1. Is the Borrower Creditworthy and how know that? The question must be dealt with before any other is whether or not the customer can service the loan- that is, pay out the credit when due, with a comfortable margin for error.This usually involves a detailed study of six aspects of the loan application: – Character   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   🙠 well defined purpose for loan request and a serious intention to repay), Capacity   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   🙠 proper authority to request for the loan and legal standing to sign a loan agreement), Cash   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   🙠 ability to generate enough cash, in the form of cash flow), Collateral   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   🙠 enough quality assets to provide adequate support for the loan), Conditions   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   🙠 aware borrower’s line of work and also economic conditions), and Control   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   : All must be satisfactory for the loan to be a good ne from the lender’s point of view. 2. Can the loan agreement be properly structured and documented so that the bank and depositors are adequately protected and the customer has a high probability of being able to service the loan without excessive strain? The loan officer is responsible to both the customer and the Bank’s depositors and stockholders must seek to satisfy the demands off all. This requires, first, the drafting of a loan agreement that meets the borrower’s need for funds with a comfortable repayment schedule.The borrower must be able to comfortably handle any required loan payments, because the bank’s success depends fundamentally on the success of its customers. If a major borrower gets into trouble because it is unable to service a loan, the bank may find itself in serious trouble as well. So, the bank’s loan officer must be a financial counselor to customers as well as a conduit for their loan applicants. 3. Can the bank perfect its claim against the assets or earnings of the customer so that, in the event of default, bank funds can be recovered rapidly at low cost and with low risk?While large corporations and other borrowers with impeccable credit ratings often borrow unsecured, with no specific collateral pledged behind their loans except their reputation and ability to generate earnings, most borrowers at one time or another will be asked to pledge some their assets or to personally guarantee th e repayment of their loans. Getting a pledge of certain borrower assets as collateral behind a loan really serves two purposes for a lender.If the borrower cannot pay, the pledge of collateral gives the lender the right to seize and sell those assets designated as loan collateral, using the proceeds of the sale to cover what the borrower did not pay back. Secondly, collateralization of a loan gives the lender a psychological advantage over the borrower. Because specific assets may be at the stake a borrower feels more obligated to work hard to repay his or her loan and avoid losing valuable assets. The most popular assets pledged as collateral for bank loans are- Accounts Receivable, Factoring, Inventory, Real Property, Personal Property, Personal Guarantee etc. . d. Loan Review: Banks today use a variety of different loan review procedures; nearly all banks follow a few general principles. These include: 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Carrying out reviews of all typ es of loans on a periodic basis- for example, every 30, 60, or 90 days the largest loans outstanding may be routinely examined, along with a random sample of smaller loans. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Structuring the loan review process carefully to make sure the most important features of each loan are checked. )  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reviewing most frequently the largest loans, because default in these credit agreements could seriously affect the bank’s own financial conditions. 4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conducting more frequent reviews of troubled loans, with the frequency of review increasing as the problems surrounding any particular loan increase. 5)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Accelerating the loan review schedule if the economy slows down or if the industries in which the bank has made a substantial portion of its loans develop significant problems. 3. e. Handling Problem Loans:Inevitably, d espite the safeguards most banks build in their lending programs, some loans on a bank’s books will become problem loans. Usually this means the borrower has missed one or more promised payments or the collateral pledged behind a loan has declined significantly in value. The process of recovering the bank’s funds from a problem loan situation- suggests the following key steps: 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Always keeps the goal of loan workouts firmly in mind: to maximize the bank’s chances for the full recovery of its funds. )  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The rapid detection and reporting of any problems with a loan are essential: delay often worsens a problem loan situation. 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Keep the loan workout responsibility separate from the lending function to avoid possible conflicts of interest for the loan offers. 4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Estimate what resources are ava ilable to collect the troubled loan. 5)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Loan workout personnel should conduct a tax and litigation search to see if the borrower has other unpaid obligations and many other processes. CREDIT MANAGEMENT: POLICY & PROCEDURESIntroduction: In general, a banking system aggregates a high number of low value deposits to fund enterprises with a smaller number of high value loans. This intermediation through a well functioning bank helps to achieve some economic benefits for the depositors, the borrowers and above all — the economy in the following ways: The depositors: †¢ Higher return †¢ Lower risk †¢ Greater liquidity The borrowers: †¢ Availability of fund for all credit worthy borrowers †¢ Thus allows to enterprises grow and expand The economy Economic growth is maximized as the banks channels the country’s scare financial resources into those financial opportunities with maximum return †¢ Thus profit able enterprises receive funding, grow and expand. †¢ Loss making enterprises are refused funding and allowed to go out of the business – thus saving the economy from drainage of resources. The bank must allocate loans effectively for achieving these broad objectives of the economy and the pre-requisites are: †¢ Banks are able to identify reliably those enterprises that can repay their loans. Banks allows loans to those enterprises likely to yield high return and deny loan to those likely to yield low or negative returns. While identifying profitable enterprises, the bank – in fact – identifies risks of the borrower and business in order to allow loan in the context of its risk – return profile. Credit risk management (CRM) is a dynamic process, which enables banks to proactively manage loan portfolios. Four major areas of CRM are: †¢ Policy – lending guidelines †¢ Procedure – evaluating viability and associate risks of b usiness enterprises. Organizational structure – segregation of risk taking and risk approving authority †¢ Responsibility – decision making and accountability A clear understanding of the four areas are crucial for maximizing bank’s earning by carefully evaluating credit risks and attempting to minimize those risks. 4. a. Policy objectives: 1) Maximize Bank’s earning from loan portfolio 2) Improve quality of loan portfolio to maximize earnings by: a) To keep non-performing assets below 10% b) Arresting new loans to become classified. ) Utmost emphasis on loan sanctioning is to be given in order to improve quality of the loan portfolio. Credit facilities are to be considered solely on viability of business / enterprises / project / undertaking having adequate cash flows to adjust the loans, and management capacity of the borrower to run the business profitably. 4) Evaluate credit risks before sanctioning, which may hamper generation of the projected c ash flows of the borrower and might delay or hinder repayment of bank’s loan. ) Monitoring continuously performances of the financed projects / business / enterprises will be bank’s main trust for ensuring repayment of the loan, and receiving early warning (EL) for taking timely corrective measures. 6) Price the loans on the basis of loan pricing module of the bank focusing on risk rating of the borrower. 7) Strict adherence to Bangladesh Bank’s policy guidelines 4. b. Lending guidelines As the very purpose bank’s credit strategy is to determine the risk appetite of the bank, so bank’s focus should be to maintain a credit portfolio to keeping in mind of our risk absorbing capacity.Thus its strategy will be invigoration loan processing steps including identifying, measuring, containing risks as well as maintaining a balance portfolio through minimizing loan concentration, encouraging loan diversification, expanding product range, streamlining securi ty, insurance etc. as buffer against unexpected cash flow. Types of credit facilities Bank will go for: †¢ Term financing for new project and BRME of existing projects (Large, Medium, SE) †¢ Working capital for industries, trading, services and others (Large, Medium, SE) †¢ Import and export Finance Lease Finance †¢ Consumer Finance †¢ Fee Business †¢ Islamic mode of finance Single borrower/ Group limits / Large Loans / Syndication The limit for single client / group under one obligor concept will be as under: 1. The total credit facilities by a bank to any single person or enterprise or organization of a group shall not any point of time exceed 35% of the bank’s total capital subject to the condition that the maximum outstanding against fund based financing facilities (fund facilities) shall not exceed 15% of the total capital. 2. Non-funded credit facilities, e. g. etter of credit, guarantee etc. can be extended to a single large borrower. But under no circumstances, the total amount of the funded and non-funded credit facilities shall exceed 35% of bank’s total capital 3. However, in case of export sector, single borrower limit shall be 50% of the bank’s total capital. But funded facilities in the form of export credit shall not 15% of the total capital   Large loan 1. Loan sanctioned to any individual or enterprise or any organization of a group amounting to 10% or more of bank’s total capital shall be considered as large loan. 2.The bank shall be able to sanction large loans as per the following limits set against their respective classified loans: |Rate of net classified loans |The highest rate fixed for large loans against bank’s total | | |loans & advances | |Up to 5% |56% | |More than 5% but up to 10% |52% | |More than 10% but up to 15% |48% | |More than 15% but up to 20% |44% | |More than 20% |40% | 3. In order to determine the above maximum ceiling for large loans, all on-fund ed credit facilities e. g. letter of credit, guarantee etc. shall also be considered to arrive 50% credit equivalent. However the entire amount of non-funded credit facilities shall be included while determining the total credit facilities provided to an individual or an enterprise or an organization or a group. 4. A Public Limited Company, which has 50% or more public share holdings, shall not be considered as an enterprise / organization of any group. 5. In case of credit facilities provided against government guarantees, the aforementioned restrictions shall not apply 6. In the case of loans backed by cash and excusable securities (e. g.FDR), the actual lending facilities shall be determined by deducting the amount of such securities from the outstanding balance of the loans. 7. Banks shall collect the information to the borrowers from Credit Information Bureau (CIB) of Bangladesh Bank before sanctioning, renewing or rescheduling loans to ensure that credit facilities are not pro vided to defaulters. 8. Banks shall perform Lending Risk Analysis (LRA) before sanctioning or renewing large loans. If the rating of an LRA turns to be â€Å"marginal†, a bank shall not sanction large loan, but it can consider renewal of an existing large loan taking into account other favorable conditions and factors. However, if the result of an LRA is unsatisfactory, neither sanction nor renewal of large loans shall be considered. 9.While sanctioning or renewing large loan, a bank shall assess borrower’s overall debt repayment capacity taking into consideration the borrower’s liabilities with other banks and financial institutions. 10. A bank shall examine its borrower’s Cash flow Statement, Audited Balance Sheet, income Statement and other financial statement to make sure that the borrower has the ability to repay the loan. Term Financing and Syndication Like large volume of loan, long term financing is one of the riskiest areas of the bank because of long duration of repayment. Long duration casts uncertainties on repayment as variable with which financial and other projections are made very widely in a dynamic global economic scenario.Thus utmost care is to be exercised while considering long term financing †¢ Long term relationship with the borrower is prerequisite for considering term financing †¢ Due diligence is to be exercised for accessing viability of the projects in terms of Management ability, Market gap, Technical suitability, Financial viability. †¢ Information on projects should be adequate and reliable †¢ Minimum information for project viability analysis is to be given. Syndication Syndication means joint financing by more than one bank to the same clients against a common security basically, to spread the risk. It also provides a scope for an independent evaluation of risk and focused monitoring by the agent / lead bank.In syndication financing banks also enter into an agreement that one of t he lenders may act as Lead Bank, who has to co-ordinate the activities at various stages of handling the proposal i. e. appraisal, sanction, documentation sharing of the security, disbursement, inspection, follow – up, recovery etc. it may also call meetings of syndication members, whenever necessary to finalize any decision Discouraged business types In the context of present economic situation vis-a-vis government policy as well as market scenario, the following industries and lending activities are considered as discouraged †¢ Military Equipment / Weapon Finance †¢ Highly leveraged Transactions †¢ Finance of speculative business Logging, Mineral Extraction/ Mining or other activity that is ethically or environmentally sensitive †¢ Lending to companies listed on CIB black list or known defaulters †¢ Counter parties in countries subject to UN sanctions †¢ Share lending †¢ Taking an equity stake in borrowers †¢ Lending to holding compan ies †¢ Bridge loans relying on equity / debt issuance as a source of repayment Loan facility parameters Size: Funded: maximum 15% of Bank’s total capital : Funded + Non Funded: 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shall not exceed 35% of bank’s total capital 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Maximum 50% of Bank’s total capital for export sector. (Funded facility shall also not exceed 15% of bank’s total capital). Tenor: Short term: Maximum 12 months Medium Term: Maximum 5 years   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Long Term: Maximum 15 yearsMargin: To be determined by Banker Customer relationship and nature of business. Security: Return of Banks funding to any business is ensured primarily on the cash flow of the business. A smooth flow of cash in the business requires efficient management competence in conducting the business in a given market. However as the market never remains stable owing to various uncontrollable factors, the continuity of well- managed business cash flow is difficult to visualize in the long run. As such to ensure realization of Banks finance in case of any eventuality, other adequate security coverage deemed necessary with a view to protects interest of the bank. General Covenants Bank shall not extend any credit facility to any defaulter as defined in the bank company act 1991(clean CIB report required. ) †¢ The borrower shall have valid Trade license, †¢ In case of partnership firm there must be a partnership deed duly notarized / registered. †¢ Limited Company must be registered with the Registrar of Joint Stock Company. †¢   Directors and other loans will be subordinated to Dhaka Banks loan. Directors loan (if any) will be interest free and no dividend will be declared/paid before full adjustment of Term Loan of Dhaka Bank. †¢ The borrower shall submit annual audited/un-audited/projected financial statements regularly where applicable. †¢ The borrower shall maintain cur rent ratio of not less than 1. 5 times.. The borrower shall obtain and maintain in full force and effect all Government of Bangladesh (GOB) authorizations, licenses and permits required to implement and operate Borrowers business. †¢ The borrower shall maintain all insurance as detailed in Loan Documents. †¢ The borrower shall maintain satisfactory swing/turnover of the limit in case of continuous loans/advance. †¢ The borrower shall pay all fees , duties , taxes etc, that are due to the Government of Bangladesh (except where waivers or deferrals have been granted by Government of Bangladesh) when due. †¢ The borrower shall not create any charge, mortgage or any encumbrances of any other security interest over any of its assets without the prior written consent of the Bank. The borrower shall not avail any credit facility from other source without the prior written consent of the bank. †¢ The borrower shall not make any amendment/alteration in the Companyâ⠂¬â„¢s Memorandum & Articles of Association without obtaining prior approval of Dhaka Bank Ltd in writing. †¢ The borrower shall not furnish any corporate guarantee to other firm/company without Banks permission. Events of Default Bank will have the right to call back the Loan/Advance in the event of default under the following circumstances: †¢ Failure to repay †¢ Breach of Covenants of the loan agreement. †¢ Bankruptcy or liquidation or insolvency event affecting the Borrower. †¢ Occurrence of a material adverse change in the financial position of the Borrower. Any change in GOB directives, which in the opinion of the Lenders would prejudice the Borrowers ability to meet the financial obligations in respect of this facility, †¢ Any security interest over any asset of the Borrower becomes enforceable or any execution or distress is levied against or any person is entitled to or does take possession of the whole or any part of the assets or undertakings . Facility Wise Charge Documents %3 |L/C |LTR |BG |TL |CC Hypo/CC Pledge (Key Stock to | | | | | |Bank) | |1. Promissory Note|1. Promissory Note |1. Promissory Note |1. Promissory Note |1. Promissory Note | |2. Letter of |2. Letter of Undertaking |2. Letter of Undertaking |2. Letter of Undertaking |2.Letter of Undertaking | |Undertaking | | | | | |3. A/C Balance |3. A/C Balance confirmation |3. A/C Balance confirmation |3. A/C Balance confirmation |3. A/C Balance confirmation Slip | |confirmation Slip |Slip |Slip |Slip | | |4. Letter of |4. Letter of Continuity |4. Letter of Continuity |4. Letter of Continuity |4. Letter of Continuity | |Continuity | | | | |

Allied Bartonfinal

Allied Barton security services provides highly trained individuals to accomplish important goals, one is to prevent accidents before they happen, and to provide a fast, professional response when necessary. Allied Barton provides top-notch security officers for a variety of purposes, including chemical and petrochemical, colleges and universities, financial institutions, healthcare facilities, manufacturing and industrial complexes, residential communities, shopping centers, and commercial real estate.Recently, Allied Barton has had many problems within the company, with things such as employee’s calling off, low motivation among staff, and other serious problems that could affect potential clientele in the future (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008). I decided to take the privilege of changing the company around so it can deliver that which it stands for, quality service, at a great price. I am writing this paper, in order to outline an effective strategy in combating social prob lems within the company.When dealing with the internal problems of Allied Barton security company, I feel it is imperative that all employees are treated with a certain amount of respect, and disciplinary actions are taken against those employees who do not recognize and abide by the standards of performance set forth by the Company. I've worked for Allied Barton as a supervisor since 2004, after viewing these dilemmas; I want to develop a strategic management plan in order to increase performance and productivity and to increase employee performance.In order to increase performance and productivity, better training programs, and better compensation must be implemented. I personally believe that in order to motivate employees, adequate compensation must be provided to those employees that perform well in the company. In order to develop an effective strategic management plan, two primary problems have to be taken care of, one, employee loyalty must be improved in order to decrease t he number of employees that call off, and two, implementing motivational training programs with Cash prize’s or other incentives in order to motivate them to put forth 110%.In order to effectively manage my team, I might have to let some employees go, and hire more in. It is imperative, as a security guard, which you shows up to work on time and does not call off often. Allied Barton offers security services for a variety of businesses, if a security guard is not on call and does not show up, it not only makes the company look bad in front of the business they're supposed to be securing, but also forces the morning shift security guard to work a double. If I have employees working double time, too much over time will become an issue, which will affect my overall labor target.Is the main point of this paper is to develop an effective plan in order to combat these problems that our company is faced with. I firmly believe that you must start from the ground up, if you want to ac complish anything in a corporate structure. In my management plan, I will call for; a new crew, a better compensation plan, and proper motivational training. If I am to hire on new employees, they must be trained properly from the beginning, and learn the rules and guidelines set forth by the company.Once I have organized a plan for the internal problems of Allied Barton, I've been would like to develop a strategy in order to expand our company, by taking on new clients. I must ensure Allied Barton develops a plan to gain more clients, the company must have a reliable, stable crew, who will not call off, and show up to work on time. I feel that if the proper management plan is implemented, Allied Barton can expand; my employees can receive better compensation, and I will have accomplished my goal, which is the restructuring of the company from within. BackgroundAllied Barton has been providing security services since the year 1957, to a wide range of industry, including; commercial real estate, higher education, shopping centers, manufacturing and industrial complexes, financial institutions, and residential communities. Today, Allied Barton has over 50 years of experience in a security contractor industry. Allied Barton has over 50,000 employees and a hundred offices nationwide, which service more than 200 Fortune 500 companies across the country. Allied Barton was founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and went on to found further institutions in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977.In the year 1988 a company by the name of Spectaguard founded in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania emerged. Spectagaurd proved to be a suitable competition for Allied security, and went on to gain New York-based security in 1999. A major strategic move was made by Allied security in 2000, when Spectagaurd and Allied combined to form one corporation called Allied security, the third-largest security company in the United States. Since the year 2000 Allied security is been expanding its operations th roughout the world, and in 2003 acquired the professional security Bureau.Since the year 2003 Allied security has went on to expand its operations, acquiring Barton protective services in forming Allied Barton security services, creating the world's largest American own contract security services in the United States. Furthermore, in 2006 Allied Barton went on to enhance the quality of our security offerings to clients, and increase revenue, we acquired initial security. With each business that Allied security acquired, our operations expanded. Since I've joined Allied Barton in 2004, I have seen some of these major changes, and hope to make many more.Allied Barton has grown from a small security company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1957, to be the largest provider of security services in the United States. I hope that Allied Barton retains this position in the country, and feel they can only do so with the proper staff. What make’s the Allied Barton Company unique, is the individuals that work for it. I think in order to expand Allied Barton's operations, it is imperative that proper training is implemented, and competitive compensation is provided. Having worked for Allied Barton for four years now, I have seen many employees call off, not taking their job seriously.Furthermore, I've also noticed that although training programs are implemented, they could be improved. I firmly believe that if employees are properly trained and paid well, they will perform well. In order to increase compensation, Allied Barton has to increase business. In order for Allied Barton to increase their business, they must acquire new clients, and in order to acquire new clients, Allied Barton must improve their employee’s performance. When Allied Barton acquires new clients, they must also further expand the amount of leaves, or security offers, that they have.I think that when an expansion of employees is made, it is imperative to higher the right employee. I firml y believe that you get what you pay for, if you want to underpay whilst recruiting employees, then you will get what you pay for, an underpaid employee. With our country's current economic situation, contractors are getting sleazier and sleazier because they work for close to nothing. Last year, the Comptroller received 261 complaint of underpayment, compared with 163 complaints in 1990 and 89 complaints in 1989 (Sims, 1992).Furthermore, health care is another major issue, and must be provided for employees. In order for Allied Barton to expand its services, it must be willing to pay well, and hire on hard-working individuals, who are loyal, and take their job seriously. Current Strategy Allied Barton's current strategy is to expand and to retain their current position as America's largest leading provider of security services. In order for Allied Barton to obtain this position, as stated earlier, it must have an efficient crew, as well as proper training programs implemented.Allied Barton has always stood for providing quality services, at a low price; something which I wish to continue. Allied Barton understands that if they want to provide quality, consistent security services across an array of industries, they must meet the needs of those industries on both local and national levels. Locally, Allied Barton hopes to provide superior day-to-day operations support, and on a national level, provides more than 100 offices across the country with an extraordinary number of resources devoted to our clients.Allied Barton wishes to provide a single point of contact for our client’s needs and expectations. Furthermore, Allied Barton has a team of experts assembled to help coordinate and support the transition and security management based on our clients needs. Allied Barton provides an environment that makes employees, tenants and guests feel safe and secure including holding employee seminars and distributing safety awareness steps. Allied Barton does every thing possible in order to make a proactive outreach to the community in which it is established in.Our company strives to provide the best training possible, with training programs that best suit our client security needs. We use state-of-the-art technology in order to create and evaluate reports on a multitude of areas within our security program, with real-time response in the case of emergency. Our clients have access to a call center 24 hours a day, which will have the ability to provide security services at whatever time our client needs it. Alternative Scenarios If Allied Barton is to expand, they must take on new clients.In order to acquire new clients, as I stated earlier, I must take measures to hire on reliable, dependable employees. Furthermore, Allied Barton's training program is good, but I think I could make it better. Our training programs should implement security protocols that are suitable for the clients we serve. My goal is to compete with companies such as benc hmark, which is a federal security agency. Many businesses feel that federal security agencies operate much better than private security agencies, primarily because of the employees of those private security agencies.When we look at federal security agencies, we see great training programs, and a huge budget. Since September 11, 2001, President Bush has given literally millions of dollars in funding to federal security agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (http://www. fas. org). When dealing with private security companies, the funding that is given to federal security agencies is simply not given to private security companies. I think in order to expand our operations; we must be able to provide security services that are equal to those provided by federal agencies.The only way to provide private security services at an affordable price, that matches the competition of federal security services, effective training programs must be implemented. Also, I think it wo uld be effective to find outside sponsors. When changing the training programs, a believe that Allied Barton provides good training services, but I think the program should be extended, and those candidates that do qualify should pass a series of scored test not only to determine their IQ level, but also personality and behavior patterns.I think that by accurately testing potential employees, we can get an accurate understanding of how they act and think, and how they would think and act in an emergency situation; such as a robbery. Furthermore, based on age and education level, as well as experience, and appropriate compensation plans should be devised. Compensation plan should vary, lowest being paid to the newer employees, and the highest being paid to the more experienced older employees. I also believe that life, health, and dental insurance should be provided to all employees after a 90 day probationary period.I feel that a 90 day probationary period is necessary, primarily be cause you don't want to provide benefits for employee’s who do not want to stay with the company. I also think that a slip system should be implemented within the company. Green slips should be issued to those employees who perform well, yellow slips issued to employees, whose performance is lagging, or dropped, and orange slips as suspension, or probationary slips, issued a those employees who continually underperformed. If an employee is issued a green slip, I feel they should be rewarded.In developing the system, any employee who receives five Green slips or more within a two month period will receive a raise of $. 25 or higher. Furthermore, anybody who's issued 5 or more yellow slips in a one month time frame will be issued a two-week suspension. Lastly, any employee that is issued and orange slip, will face one month suspension, and upon return to the company 90 day probationary period in which the employee's performance will be evaluated, and if the employee decides to still continue to under perform, we will terminate them.Allied Barton has a reputation of one of the nation's largest security companies, and with the proper training and staff, it can retain that reputation for many years to come. I think some risk that Allied Barton will face, that it should avoid, is a recent expansion of federal agencies. Privatize security is a necessity amongst various industries Alternative strategies Alternative strategies that can be implemented to change the current posture and processes within the company should start with the proper testing of our newly recruited security officers.I think that personality and IQ tests are important when determining which employees to select. If an employee is required to hold a gun while on the job, we must make sure that only the most qualified individuals are given an opportunity. Furthermore, I do not want to provide great benefits, and awesome compensation, to employees that do not wish to stay with our company. I be lieve that a three-tier structure should be set in place in order to prevent this from happening. During the first year, the employees will start on tier 1 of the program.Tear one of the program is for beginner employees, and security officers, and acts as a probationary period during which time their performances are reviewed by their supervisors. After a year, the employee will be introduced to tier 2 of our program, during which time a better compensation plan, and benefits packages is arranged; as well as flexibility in scheduling is obtained. Employees in the tier 2 program are those employees who have been with the company for one year or longer, and who have performed adequately or exceedingly to the rules and regulations of Allied Barton.During tier 2, and will be monitored as in tier 1, if the employees have met the criteria necessary, and have performed exceedingly well in the company; they will be granted the opportunity of joining the third tier. The third tier will cons ist of employees who stayed with Allied Barton for three years or longer, and will contain a better compensation package, as well a 401(k), and opportunities to obtain half price shares in our companies stock. Furthermore, I think that it is necessary to provide some kind of pension plan for those employees who have stayed with the company for 25 years or longer in which to retire.We here at Allied Burton want the best employees, and want to keep those employees for the longest time possible. In order for Allied Barton to expand operations, it must contain loyal, trustworthy employees who are willing to give 110% when required. I think that by implementing better compensation plans and benefits packages we will attract more employees, as well as provide the incentive for those employees to always perform their best. Furthermore, by providing a pension plan after 25 years of loyal service to her company, it encourages employees to stay with our company.Allied Barton should expect not hing less than top-notch professionals for their security projects. In order to obtain more clients, we must impress those clients by providing exceptional service, at a great price. In order to provide these compensation plans, and benefit packages, I realize that our clientele must increase. In order to meet the changing environment of the security market, and the challenges of new competition that we face; we must incorporate strategies that lower prices, and provide quality services. As stated earlier, I feel that in order to lower prices, we must first have reliable and dependable employees.With reliable and dependable employees, we then can begin to expand our marketing operations. By motivating the employees, with better compensation plans, and great benefit packages; our team will always be happy, upbeat, and willing to work overtime is required. Furthermore, we must begin to directly market to other businesses, in order to obtain more clientele. I feel that by making these changes, we can accurately meet the demands of the ever-changing security market. Allied Barton is one of the nation's largest independent security providers, and I plan to keep it that way.By introducing better compensation plans and implementing business-to-business marketing plans are key factors in building clientele. Executive summary In summary, I feel that there are many things that must be implemented in order for Allied Barton to retain its current position as the nation's largest independent provider of security related services. Key factors in implementing the appropriate plan for Allied Barton, better compensation plans, business-to-business marketing, and entrance exams based on personality and behavior, and IQ tests must be implemented.By providing better compensation plans, we will attract more employees. By providing personality and behavior exams, as well as IQ exams, we can get a good understanding during the application process of what type of employee the applica nt would be if he or she was to become a security officer with our company. Furthermore, business-to-business marketing must be implemented in order to obtain a larger clientele base. Business-to-business marketing should be done in-house, with a handful of representatives, who are experienced in outbound business-to-business marketing.During the first three months of our business-to-business marketing program, if any telecommunications agent hired and underperforms or do not meet the quota of sales required, they will be replaced by somebody with the proper expertise. By implementing these strategies’s Allied Burton can achieve its vision and goals of maintaining there status as the leading provider of security services in the nation. I feel that business-to-business marketing will prove effective in obtaining additional clientele.As stated earlier, business-to-business marketing should only be done by those who have had experience in outbound business-to-business marketing for two years or longer. I understand that by creating this business marketing to marketing department, I will be adding new employees to the payroll and affecting my labor costs, if I hire 12 agents and each one is able to close three sales a day, Allied Barton will effectively be generating 36 new clients on a daily basis, this should compensate for any labor costs.If Allied Barton can effectively generate 36 new clients on a daily basis, that means that Allied Barton would effectively be generating 1080 new clients a month, or 12,960 clients a year. If Allied Burton is able to obtain 12,960 clients a year, Allied Burton will be able to expand its operations, maybe even to an international level. SWOT As stated in the beginning, weaknesses within Allied Burton include lack of motivation amongst employees, lack of up-to-date promotions, and also employees calling off too often.I feel that we can take these weaknesses, learn from them, and create opportunities to attract more employ ees. If better training programs are implemented, and business-to-business marketing is achieved, Allied Burton will effectively generate new clientele on a daily basis, whilst at the same time, effectively training and employing only the best most qualified individuals for the job. If Allied Burton can meet these requirements, I strongly believe that we can become one of the largest independent providers of security officers around the nation, and can expand operations to an international level.I strongly believe in the values, and vision of Allied Burton, and hope to implement programs that benefit Allied Burton as well as the employees within the company. By creating a win-win situation for everybody, the company will grow, employees will be properly compensated, calling off will be a thing of the past, and up-to-date promotions will be happening on a semi annual or annual basis. Despite Allied Barton's current weaknesses, it has been a strong company for over 50 years, and will only continue to grow with the right management strategy implemented.

Article # 4 (due 10-12) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

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Business Plan for Indian Restaurant - Pearls Valley Restaurant Case Study

Business Plan for Indian Restaurant - Pearls Valley Restaurant - Case Study Example Considering the overall nature of the business, our new proposed business will be a sole propertiership and as such the business, as well as the owner, will remain the same person. A sole proper internship is also called sole trader in which all assets and liabilities of the business are the personal liabilities of the owners. A sole proprietorship will be easier to formulate with lesser legal complications as well as fewer regulations to follow. This makes the sole proprietorship a better and more manageable option to exercise for the achievement of overall intended objectives. It is also important to understand that a sole proprietorship is relatively easier to manage and the owner can take charge of many important issues himself with fewer expenses. The proposed name of our new business is Pearls Valley Restaurant which will be an Indian restaurant catering to the needs of Indian and Pakistani customers. Starting a new business is always a challenging task and requires considerable effort and investment to successful start the business. This, therefore, means that the entrepreneurs must not only put in their skills and efforts but also invest the required funds to initiate a successful business. What is also, however, critical to understand that in order to open the new business, it is important that a comprehensive preparation must be done so as to cover as much as ground as possible in order to cover the risks. The proposed name of our new business is Pearls Valley Restaurant which will be an Indian restaurant catering to the needs of Indian and Pakistani customers. This will be a small restaurant and as such the overall organizational structure of the proposed will be simple with owners managing the affairs of the business with relatively smaller input/help from employees involved in managerial activities.

Motor Cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Motor Cycle - Essay Example Provide a rationale for the response. A project organization is a formation that allows the management and execution of project tasks. Its primary motive is to create a setting that promotes communications amongst the group participants with a minimal amount of disorder, conflict and overlap. One of the significant results of project management is the type of managerial structure that will be applied for the project. Every project has its exclusive features and the framework of a managerial outline must deem the organizational background, the project attributes in which it will function, and the range of power and control the project manager is delegated with. A project framework can take on a variety of types with every type having its own benefits and limitations. One of the key purposes of the structure is to lessen uncertainty and perplexity that characteristically takes place at the project commencement stage. The type of project organization explains the relationships amongst a ssociates of the project team and the link with the outside ambience. The structure exhibits the ability through the way of a graphical diagram referred to as an organization chart (PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS, 2007). For the present scenario a suitable project organization should be developed for manufacturing larger touring class motor cycles.... In this type of structure the project manager exerts total control over the essential resources and the project tasks necessary to attain the aims from within the parent management or from staying away from it, subject to the quality, budget and scope restraints recognized within the process involved in the completion of the project. For manufacturing larger touring class motor cycles it would be appropriate to choose the project based structure since a project manager is involved in this specific structure who would handle the organization’s new project of manufacturing large touring class motorcycles. The recommended steps for the organization are- Surveying the market for getting the response of the customers regarding the large touring class motorcycles. This will help the firm to acquire important information about the customer’s choice and competitor’s product. Considering all other environmental forces like political, economic, social, cultural, legal and technological factors and their effects on the product. Implementing the feedback collected from the market in efficiently developing a sample product. Marketing a few sample products to find out its level of acceptability. Finally setting up the product development framework. 2. Recommend one (1) strategy to the senior executives that the organization might use to balance short- and long-term needs. Specify the crucial resources that you would need as a project manager to run the existing business interests at the same time that the business changes to the production of touring class motorcycles. A strategy suitable for the senior executives which can be implemented by the firm to strike a balance between the short and long term requirements is the application of

Vietnam's Market Potential Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Vietnam's Market Potential - Case Study Example As Vuong, Q.H. (2003) states, Vietnam provides a very potential market for Pepsi products. There is great amount of interest in these products and raw materials are locally available from agricultural commodities that are produced in large quantities. In every meeting, the first question is if they should go to Vietnam. Many global companies have preceded Americans in venturing in Vietnam. Daewoo by South Korea was the only large investor but other companies that have heavily invested in Vietnam are Sony Honda, Toshiba, and British Petroleum bad Peugeot. The first US Company to market legally in Vietnam was Carrier, which windows air conditioners which appeared in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi stores. Pepsi and coca cola companies were also first to venture in Vietnam. Vietnamese Market Potentials and Challenges Experts believe that the market of Vietnam has great long term potentials. However, compared to Thailand, it is less economically developed, and it might take it a minimum of two decades to reach the economic level of Thailand today. However, the location of the country at the center of Asia, together with enough low wage work-force powerfully attracts foreign investors into the country like a magnet. Presence of neighboring countries like Thailand and Malaysia which are fast developing has made Vietnam lag behind. Politically, the Vietnam War isolated it from industrial west as well as United States. Recently, the country has tried to solve many problems with Chinese government and currently, china is an important economic ally of Vietnam. Vietnamese population is so poor that they only earn $200 per capita (International Monetary Fund, 2010). This may still offer sufficient market for Pepsi products like tomato and chili sauces. Infrastructure is also under developed where only 10% of roads are paved and electricity is also very unreliable (Anonymous). However, manufacture of Pepsi may not be affected because raw materials are readily available within the locality and labor force is sufficient and cheap. For every 100 people, there is rarely a telephone available and the system of banking is underdeveloped too. However, Vietnamese communist party is currently struggling to adapt market economy principle and bureaucracy. With layers built up in decades of the rules of communist, which slow change pace. State committee for investment and cooperation is the key agency and because every agency wants to make the final decision, then the investment climate must be improved, if Pepsi and other companies are to thrive well in this country. How Western Countries can Help Improve the Political Climate in Vietnam Western countries can sign business contracts with Vietnam in order to improve the market conditions in Vietnam, besides ensuring a ready market for the produc ts. Western countries should also stop interfering with foreign affairs of Vietnam, so as to prevent political wars that are frequently witnessed in Vietnam. Diplomatic relations with Vietnam, for example the one reestablished by president Clinton on 11th July, 1995, should be encouraged among western countries because they boost business in Vietnam (Anonymous). Lack of diplomatic relations in Vietnam makes Vietnamese exports difficult to enter western countries markets like US because their tariffs are prohibitive. However, despite the initiatives of Washington, Vietnam does still qualify to the status of favored nation. Bilateral trade agreements can also help open up foreign investment trade in Vietnam besides giving exporters of Vietnam western markets accessibility and this may also largely benefit Pepsi. For example, the US and Vietnam bilateral trade agreement in July 2000 allowed Vietnamese exporters to easily access US markets, thus widening their market and hence

Research Evdidence for Nursing Practice 2 Essay

Research Evdidence for Nursing Practice 2 - Essay Example 12 Midwifery Care Measures in the Second Stage of Labour and Reduction of Genital Tract Trauma at Birth: A Randomized Trial 13 Abstract 13 Effects of pushing techniques in birth on mother and fetus: a randomized study. 14 Abstract 14 Active pushing versus passive fetal descent in the second stage of labour: a randomized controlled trial. 15 Source 15 Abstract 15 A randomized trial of coached versus uncoached maternal pushing during the second stage of labour. 17 Abstract 17 Source 17 Abstract 17 Pushing methods used by UK midwives during the second stage of labour: current practice and rationale. 1.0 Background The second stage of labour is the period between the moment when the cervix attains complete dilatation and when the baby is born (Caldeyro-Barcia et al. 1981). This stage is portrayed by frequent and regular contractions and it is the period when the mother experiences rectal pressure, vaginal pressure, and an irresistible need to push down. For a long time in the history, th e management of the second stage of labour has consisted of a set of behaviors that start when the midwives become aware that the woman has attained full dilatation and hence prepared to push. The midwives proceed by instructing the mother to continue pushing while holding their breath, with successful contractions (Hanson 2006; Hansen, Clark and Foster, 2002). This kind of practice has been done by many midwives for the purpose of shortening the occurrence of the second stage of labour and speeding up fetal descent, though the rationale and safety of the practice has not been substantiated (Yildirim, Beji, 2008). Nevertheless, there is mounting evidence showing that unplanned pushing is a better way of managing the second stage of labour than directed planning, which is typically done by Valsalva maneuver. When all is said and done, many midwives in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and other parts of the world have continuously adopted the directed mode of attending to mothers when giving birth, during the second period of labour. A recent study by Osborne (2010) found that midwives felt the need of supporting women without epidural anesthesia to start the efforts of bearing-down on when the women felt the need to do so. The majority of the participants, however, revealed that they did not provide direction when helping the mothers, which means many of them often, supported spontaneous bearing-down. Their study further revealed that most of the midwives started providing directive support when the fetal head appeared and when the final drawing out of the perineum was occurring. The other factor that influenced directive support was the tendency by the mothers to ask for more direction or when they appeared to be exhausted (Osborne 2010) An unplanned push is accompanied by a release of numerous breaths and air within the intervals of bearing-down attempts (Roberts et al. 1987; Bloom 2006). Albers et al. (2005) scrutinised pushing techniques used by Certified Nurse-Mi dwives (CNMs) and found that the largest proportion of midwives preferred non-Valsalva methods. For quite a long time, the practice of subjecting women to long pushes in the course of the second-stage of labour has been disapproved by critics. 2.0 Introduction The practice of midwifery is premised on the view that labour and birth are ordinary physiological phenomenon that takes place in the life of a woman. The practice of m

Innovation and change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Innovation and change - Essay Example The potential of firms to be innovative is critically examined in this paper; particular emphasis is given on the fact that each firm can learn to be innovative, a claim that is discussed by referring to the literature published in the particular field. In order to show whether a firm can learn to be innovative, reference is made primarily to the requirements and the characteristics of innovation; then the effects (benefits and drawbacks) of innovation and change are presented aiming to evaluate whether it is feasible for a firm to learn to be innovative and the terms under which such process could be successfully completed. It is proved that, indeed, a firm can learn to be innovative but the level at which innovation will actually become part of the specific organization cannot be standardized. In fact, each firm is likely to respond differently to the requirements of innovation, as part of the strategic planning process. Moreover, leaders and managers in modern organization are lik ely to develop different views on the needs and the scope of innovation, an issue which should be also taken into consideration when examining the influence of innovation on organizational life and, especially, the level at which each organization can learn to be innovative. 2. ... ion to exist it is necessary that the changes in the existing organizational practices are such that the product/ process involved is unique or at least quite difficult to be identified by customers in the particular market (Tidd et al. 2005, 8); also, time is quite important when referring to innovation. The introduction of the innovative products/ services in the market need to be developed quite fast, ensuring that no similar products/ services are available in the market at the particular time point (Tidd et al. 2005, 8). Innovation could also refer to the following issues: a) the introduction of a process/ platform, which would be used for the development of other products/ services in the future; these processes could pre-exist but they have not been used in the specific role up to now or b) the introduction of totally new platform/ processes (Tidd et al. 2005, 9), an initiative which may be risky, especially because there are no prior indicators of the performance of the speci fic processes. Innovation requires the change of existing organizational practices – referring also to those practices, which are introduced for first time, since such initiative indicates the change in the organization’s strategy. Different approaches have been used in the literature in order to define change – as part of innovation. In accordance with Andriopoulos et al (2009) change has been characterized as both ‘an ongoing dynamic process and as an episode in the life of an organization’ (Andriopoulos et al. 2009, 16). It is noted that both the above views perceive change as a factor contributing to the organizational development (Andriopoulos et al. 2009, 16). In this context, the interpretation of change, as part of the organizational life, cannot affect its role in

Communications in Society Essay Example for Free

Communications in Society Essay MGMT 351 Exam 1 Directions: Respond to five of the following questions. Responding to more than five will not earn extra credit. If you decide not to follow this direction, the five lowest scoring answers will constitute the grade for this test. There are some important considerations for successful completion of the text: 1. Accurate information is important, and it must directly address the question. 2. Use all terms appropriately. 3. Several questions have more than one part. Complete and accurate answers will earn maximum credit. Make sure that all of the requested information is provided. 4. Each complete and accurate answer is worth 20% of the grade for this exam. 5. Assignments are automatically sent through Turnitin to check for appropriate use of material (e.g. paraphrasing, citations). Make sure that your work follows all the guidelines for academic honesty. 6. Use the numbers as here listed. Do not renumber. 7. Watch the deadline. Late exams will not receive credit. 8. Answers must reflect college level writing skills, i.e. clear sentence construction and correct spelling, grammar and use of punctuation. Deductions from the test score will be made for failure to meet this standard. 9. If anything is unclear, ask rather than assume it doesn’t make a difference. To complete this exam, follow these steps: 1. Download this exam and save it as a MSWord document. 2. Read through all the questions and choose those you will attempt to answer. 3. Provide complete and accurate answers to those five questions. 4. Save. 5. Post your saved response to the exam under the Assignment by the deadline for this assignment. Questions: 1. Effective organizational communication is truly an interactive process. The people taking part in the communication exchange must listen carefully and respond accurately to the other interactants. There are ten elements that contribute to interactive communication (see Figure 1.2 on page 5 of your text). Using an example from your own experience, identify how these ten elements impacted the communication process, making sure to accurately label all ten. 2. Organizational philosophy has significant influence on management practice and communication in an organization. Briefly distinguish between classical, humanistic and systems theories. Now describe possible impact of each of these perspectives on the writing of job descriptions. Be specific. 3. Strategic communication relies on effective tactics in four areas. Name them and define them. Now consider this situation and apply what you know about these four areas to this situation: Next week, Clark will be giving a very important budget proposal presentation. This could be a boost to his career, or a bust. If he hopes to have his proposal accepted, he needs to be strategic in the plan and delivery for this presentation. How should he use the four areas of strategic communication to accomplish his goals? 4. What is communication anxiety, what role does it play in communication, and what are the causes? Choose five of these causes and offer suggestions for effectively managing anxiety resulting from each of these causes. 5. What is organizational culture and how does it determine standards for communication, both internally and externally? Next, as an advisor to someone considering joining an organization, direct your advisee to some avenues to explore to discover what is the culture of an organization in order to determine if this is the right organization for your advisee to join. Lastly, how important is cultural match? 6. The American culture is certainly not uniform. There are considerable differences in how members view the world (e.g. values, beliefs, opinions, etc.). Not using national origin/heritage (e.g. Italian-American), choose three subcultures present in the American workforce and explain how the values and beliefs of each subcultures impact how those employees behave at work. 7. Communication competence is based on interactive listening. Questioning techniques improve listening by making the speaker more efficient, and they facilitate goal accomplishment. Imagine that you are a manager who has been approached by a subordinate who manages others, i.e. you are the manager’s manager. One of the manager’s subordinates, who up until recently has been a good performer, has been making significant mistakes lately. Using all of the five types of questions, help the manager design his/her own set of questions to get to the issues behind this dwindling performance. Make sure to accurately label each type of question used. Lastly, explain how this strategy is likely to help the manager correctly identify the performance issues involved. 8. Name and define each of the three D’s. Then list two consequences and two strategies for overcoming each of these problems. 9. Put yourself in a work environment. List all, naming at least five, of the nonverbal messages you notice, making sure to accurately label each. Now summarize the impact of this combination of nonverbal messages on the people working there. Is it a positive impact? Lastly, if you could change any of these messages by instituting a new personnel policy, what would you do and what would the policy look like? 10. Does gender make a difference in how employees communicate in the workplace? Using specific examples, support your conclusion. Now think of a time when communication was effective during communication involving coworkers of the opposite sex. Lastly, describe a time when communication between members of both sexes was not effective. What could have been done differently? Be specific. 11. Leaders step up when needed. Will you recognize when you should rise to a leadership position? First, write down the names of leaders (at least 3) that you admire or seek to emulate. Explain what you find admirable in their leadership styles. Now, choose at least one, of these leaders and note a situation in which he or she acted as a leader. Be prepared to discuss what elements of the situation combined with elements of the leader’s ability to lead resulted in an effective combination. Do you have any of the same leadership characteristics in common with their chosen leader or any of the other leaders? How will you recognize the right combination of situation and style for you to be a leader? 12. Managing change is something good leaders expect and have developed the skills necessary to be successful. Imagine yourself as a leader of the following organization: You are the CEO of a playing card company that has existed since 1889. Your company began producing its first electronic playing cards game in 1970 and has been highly successful. Now in the electronic age, it is important to acknowledge the lack of hand-held playing cards and embrace the video game era. You want to eliminate all hand-held playing cards from the company plan but the employees who have been around for a while wish to keep the cards around. How can you manage this change and the anxiety that it produces in your employees? General answers are not enough to earn points on this question. Identify specific steps you will take to achieve desired outcomes.

Expressiveness And Effectiveness Of The Visualization Computer Science Essay

Expressiveness And Effectiveness Of The Visualization Computer Science Essay Visualization is a method or a transformation of data or information into images, diagrams, or animations. Concise Oxford Dictionary states that visualization means to imagine or remember as if actually seeing. Besides, in Websters Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, it has defined visualization as the act or process of interpreting in visual terms or of putting into visual forms. [1] In another words, visualization is the communication of information using graphical representations. There is no longer an obstacle for collecting data or information though extracting necessary values from collected information has turned out to be gradually more complex and complicated. Since early days before the written language has formalized, we have been using pictures for communication and visual imagery has been an efficient way to correspond both tangible and abstract ideas. We, humans, have complex and great vision system which we utilize and rely for everything we do on a daily basis while the speed of analyzing text is quite limited for us by the sequential process of reading. Purpose of Visualization The main reason of visualization is to convey, explore and analyze information. To be more specific, visualization is used to present large amount of information compactly from various view points and at several levels of details. Furthermore, it helps us extract the important information which is hidden within the data. Visualization is essential to manage todays world information of computers, satellites, digitized systems and etc. Some data sets are naturally better to be represented visually since we possess the abilities of powerful human vision system. Graphical representation makes easier for analyzing the data especially when all the information and its relation are segregated with different colors, shapes, and size. [1] As todays technology is tremendously growing and with the inventions of all the computers and their capabilities to generate large data sets, visualization is the most suited technology to extract and study the information from collected raw data. Some examples of visualization comprise mapping the blogosphere, web trend map which is a detailed study of the current online trends, and hierarchical structure of the internet that displays the connectivity and how it is being managed. In addition, visualization offers considerable financial advantages in todays competitive world. Computer simulation together with visualization can save product expenses and time required for production. Types of Visualization Therere few terminologies which can be used to represent visualization. Scientific visualization in computer science field means the method of graphically displaying real or simulated data. It is a fundamental process in the innovative realization of scientific ideas and its basic visualization techniques contain surface rendering, volume rendering, animation, processing algorithms and other sensory presentation such as sound or touch. [1] Another phrase to express visualization is data visualization. Data visualization is more general compared to scientific visualization as its data sources involve business, marketing and financial data which are beyond sciences and engineering fields. [1] Moreover, it consists of statistical processes and other standard data analysis techniques. Information visualization is used to visualize abstract information and abstract structures, directory files on computers, hypertext documents on World Wide Web, etc. [1] It draws on the intellectual history of several customs like computer graphics, human computer interaction and statistical graphics. Visualization can be classified based on context in which data exists. Based on the data sets, the techniques of visualization are differed. Scientific visualization methods are used when data exists up to three spatial coordinates and time dimension whereas information visualization is for data in higher dimensional or abstract spaces. Scientific visualization and information visualization overlap each other and they are allied fields. [1] The relationship of three different visualizations can be found as in figure 1. Figure 1: Types of Visualization Visualization Process Figure 2 illustrates the steps of visualization process. [2] The very first step of designing visualization is about analyzing the data to be visualized. It is necessary to find out whether data from a database, a file or some source, simple or complex, is able to be structured and allows for easy modification to suit its visualization. The designer needs to take note of the presentation of the visualization results and the information the users wish to extract from the enormous data set. Raw data will be then transformed into symbolic representations. Secondly, the data values themselves or the data attributes are mapped as graphical objects, such as shapes, lines, color, position and size. The last component of visualization process is rendering of graphic objects by the computer onto the display and generation of visualization for the users interpretation. Figure 2: Visualization Process from High Level View Visualizing Information One of the fundamental questions in information visualization is how to describe expressiveness and effectiveness, the two mathematical measures of visualization, which can be applied at all stages of visualization process. Besides when visualizing, therere some important parameters to consider such as visualization and symbols, graphic features and the eight visual variables. Expressiveness and Effectiveness of the Visualization Jock D. Mackinlay, an American visualization expert, states a visualization is expressive if a visualization encodes all relevant information and only that information. [3] That denotes the person may see all information he/ she wants to examine without any distractions. Therefore, expressiveness measures the concentration of information. Perfect visualization means with ideal expressiveness and it is tough to achieve in reality. Expressing too much information will lead to interference of interpreting essential information and expressing less information will miss out important datasets need to be visualized. Effectiveness means that all information is presented clearly and quickly in a cost effective manner. [3] Hence effectiveness measures a precise cost of information awareness. Beshers Feiner, the scientists, adapt these two measures and express it as potential expressiveness and potential effectiveness. [3] A visualization is potentially expressive, if it has the potential and under the user control to display all essential information over time. It is potentially effective, if the information presented is sufficiently clear over time. Visualization and Symbols In visualization, symbols create a wide range of new possibilities for visual effects. Symbols have been used to connect with many intentions and they play as valuable roles in information visualization. Visual objects are graphical symbols which are parts of visualization like arrows, labels, dots and etc. To discover relations or patterns of visualization, Cleveland states that there are two major steps. [4] The first step is a mapping between graphic symbols and the represented data. Lastly finding patterns on the screen that imply the patterns in the data. Graphic Features Graphics are represented in three or more dimensions. Every single point of a graphic is construed as a relation between two positions x and y with a third variable value z. Graphics can be analyzed in three main steps. [2] First is to perceive groups of objects pre-attentively, followed by characterizing those groups cognitively. The final step is to examine special cases which are out of the group. The Eight Visual Variables To represent different aspects of the same information, choosing visual variables is crucial and can affect the perception and understanding of the presented information. Thus, it is essential to understand graphic primitives and their variables. The eight visual variables are as below. [2] Position It is the most important visual variable and changes in x, y location. In visualization, the spatial arrangement is the very first thing to be done. That is the reason why positioning has the greatest impact on the display of information. Shape Shapes or marks refer to points, lines, areas, volumes, and their compositions, and they are graphic primitives that represent data. There are infinite number of shapes and they are used for categorization. Size Size changes in area, length or volume. It influences the way of individual data representation and display. Brightness Brightness or luminance is good for large interval and continuous data. However, there is a limitation to distinguish among all those different levels of brightness. Color It changes according to two parameters, hue and saturation. It requires mapping of data values to individual color codes. Orientation Orientation changes in alignment. It cannot be used for all marks. For example, circles look the same even their orientations change. Shapes with natural single axis are the best to apply orientation. Texture It is a combination of many other visual variables including marks, color, orientation and so on. Motion Motion describes all visual variables change over time and it can convey more information. Human Perception System Visual perception means the ability to interpret and process information from visible light in the surrounding environment. Not everyone perceives data exactly the same. Different viewers differently interpret the identical visual representations. When designing visualization, to reduce the confusion later on, the designers need to take account of color usage of graphical entities for accurate measurement, quantity of distinct entities, and etc. Besides, we also need to consider the primitives that humans usually detect pre-attentively and the level of accuracy we perceive various primitives. Consequently, when we visualize data, it is a basic requirement to learn the limits of human perception since we need to factor in these limitations and avoid producing images with vague or deceptive information. Visual System The human eye is composed of many parts. [5] They obtain visual images, focus them accurately and send messages to the brain. The main sensory component of vision assembles light scattered from objects and forms a two dimensional function on the photoreceptors, the small sensory devices which respond in the presence of photons making up light waves. Information related to the external objects in the environment is captured through the visual system. Light rays from an object enters through the outer part of the eye, named the cornea. It helps the eye to focus to make things look sharp and clear. Then, the light rays travel towards an opening called the pupil, the dark round circle in the middle of the colored part of the eye. The colored eye is called the iris and the pupil is just a hole in the iris. The iris controls the amount of light goes into the eye. Besides, your eye also possesses a lens to focus the light rays. Light passes through the lens till the back of the eye, the retina. It has millions of tiny light sensitive cells sending messages to parts of the brain, the optic nerves. Field of View A pair of normal healthy human eyes can view about 200 degrees horizontally where approximately 120 degrees of which are shared by both eyes and giving rise to whats known as binocular vision. [6] It has a field of view of 135 degrees vertically. However, as we get older, these values decrease. Both of human eyes are positioned more or less on the front of our heads and it is common in prey species as it helps increase an animals total field of view. Angular Resolution Angular resolution refers to the minimum distance at which our eyes can differentiate things of the same size and shape from each other. [6] The typical set of human eyes has an angular resolution of one minute of arc. It means objects one degree apart from each other can be distinguished. Therefore, angular resolution is useful when we need to differentiate similar objects. Nevertheless, every human eye is different and their angular resolution varies based on eyesight strength, eye shape and age. The Blind Spot The photoreceptor cells in our eyes are used to perceive light and information being received is relayed to the brain via the optic nerve. Blind spot is the visual field where it lacks the light detecting photoreceptor cells on the optic disc of the retina. [6] A small part of the field of vision is not perceived as there are no cells to detect light. Normally, with two eyes, the brain interpolates the blind spot based on surrounding details and information from the other eyes so that the blind spot would not be detected. However, blind spot can be perceived easily with one eye closed. Perceptual Processing Attention acts as a critical role in perceiving information. Perception can be pre-attentive or attentive. Usually the flow of perceived information starts from the low level pre-attentive towards the high cognitive stages. Professor Treisman states perceptions that can be performed in less than 200 to 250ms are regarded as pre-attentive. [7] Initiating random locations of the elements in display by human eyes normally take at least 200ms. That determines attention cannot be pre-focused on any particular situation and information is processed in parallel by the human visual system. Pre-attentive perception requires its objects to possess a unique feature, such as color and size. For attentive perception, it uses short term memory and it is selective. Attentive tasks convert premature image effects into a well-structured objects. Attentive perception is generally slower and often signifies aggregates of what is in the scene. When designing visualization, the designers should take note of pros and cons of the human visual system and provide well-suited visuals to the viewers for easy analysis. Thus, in order to use the visual features effectively and not to produce visual interference effects masking information in a display, the visualization creators should be aware of the attentive tasks and the pre-attentive visual features like length, width, hue, intensity, lighting direction, and so on. Data Foundation The very primary step of visualization is the data to visualise. It is a must to explore and examine the characteristics of the data since it can be from many different kinds of sources and has a wide variety of attributes and features. Data Types Data can be differentiated into two main types: ordinal (numeric values) and nominal (non-numeric values). [2] To be specific, ordinal values mean: Binary values those with only 0s and 1s Discrete values integer values from a very particular division Continuous real values Nominal values are: Categorical values from list of possibilities Ranked categorical variables with significant ordering Arbitrary infinite range of values without significant ordering Scale is another useful technique of sorting data variables since each graphical attribute from raw data possesses scale associated with it. There are three attributes of scale: Ordering relation ranked nominal variables and ordinal variables which can be ordered in some manner Distance metric all ordinal variables where the distances of different records can be calculated Existence of absolute zero variables with fixed lowest value Data Pre-processing In reality, real world data that is to be analyzed can be incomplete, noisy, incoherent and cumulative. Those raw data need to be transformed somehow into an understandable format and the process of its transformation is known as data pre-processing. Data pre-processing can greatly improve the quality of data visualization results. There are some different aspects of data pre-processing: Metadata and statistical Missing values and data cleansing Normalization Segmentation Sampling and sub-setting Dimension reduction Mapping nominal dimensions to numbers Aggregation and summarization Smoothing and filtering Raster to vector conversion For more information about data pre-processing techniques refer to [2]. Visualization Techniques for Different Types of Data Visualization techniques will be differed for different types of data since they comprise special characteristics. Main types of data and useful visualization methods for them will be discussed in this section. Spatial Data Spatial attributes identify data in 1,2 or multi dimension. Visualizing spatial data is defined as mapping spatial data to spatial attributes on the screen. [2] Techniques of visualization of those data include histograms, linear probes, flow visualization, vector field visualization, slice plus isosurface, isosurface plus glyphs and so on. Geospatial Data Geospatial data or geographic information classifies geographic locations and boundaries in the real world. [8] They include coordinates and topology on earth. Examples of geospatial data consist of climate, environmental, economical and sociological and credit card payment locations. Visualization methods of such data can be completed using dot maps, pixel maps, network maps, choropleth maps and cartograms. [2] Multivariate Data Multivariate data is lists or tables of data that arises from more than one variable. It normally doesnt have an precise spatial attribute. [2] Multivariate data can be visualized by point based techniques like scatter-plots and force based methods, line based techniques like graphs, parallel coordinates, andrews curves and radial axis techniques, and region based techniques which are bar charts, histograms and tabular displays. Combination of above techniques are also applied sometimes. Trees, Graphs and Network Bertin declares that trees, graphs and network visualization demonstrates the relationships of each data recorded, similarities among values and attributes, parent and child nodes, connectedness such as networks between countries around the world, shared classification and derivation. [9] Space filling methods, non space filling methods, displaying arbitrary graphs and networks, and node link graphs are some of the methods for trees, graphs and networks visualization. maps, pixel maps, network maps, choropleth maps and cartograms. [2] Text and Documents By applying suitable visualization techniques, valuable information can be obtained from huge resources of information such as digital libraries, text files from your computer and billions of words in your thesis paper. Searching comparable patterns and outliers within the text or documents will be painful without visualization. Tag clouds, word trees, text arcs and arc diagrams can be used for visualizing single documents. Visualization practice for collections of documents are self organizing maps, themescapes and document cards. [2] Interaction Concepts Techniques John and his group clarify that interaction within data visualization is a helpful structure for transforming what the users see and how they perceive it. Interactions will transform visualization images to better and smooth transitions. Summary of interaction techniques are discussed as below. [10] Navigation It allows the users to adjust the cameras position and scale the vision. Examples include panning, rotating and zooming. Selection Selection refers categorizing an object or collections of objects. To be precise, it grants the user to control the regions of interest. Highlighting, deleting and modifying are types of selection. Filtering The size of data mapped on the screen is reduced by filtering techniques by reducing or omitting dataset, dimensions or both. Reconfiguring It is to change the way analyzed data is mapped to visualization graphical attributes like reordering data layouts in order to provide a diverse way of viewing data. Encoding Users are permitted to control graphical attributes such as point size, line colors to discover different features of visualization. Connecting Connecting means linking different views or objects. Abstracting and Elaborating It is to modify the level of detail. Hybrid Hybrid defines combining the above techniques together. Effective Visualization In fact, visualizations implemented by the designers have larger risks of being ineffective than being effective. It is not very simple to build effective visualizations where the users satisfy as there are many chances of data being distorted and lost during the mapping process, or data presented is too confusing and complex for the users to interpret, and so on. A successful and effective visualization efficiently and accurately transmits the preferred information to the viewers. Therefore, the designers should take in consideration of what the targeted users really want to observe from the results so that they will be able to visualize effectively. Intuitive Data Mappings Ed H. Chi explains that it is essential to consider the importance of data semantics and the context of the user. [11] To avoid any misinterpretation, the designers should be able to predict the users expectations. Choosing data-to-graphics mappings that provides the users mental model will significantly support in interpretation. The designer should take note of the compatibility between scale of data and graphic attributes on the screen. Besides, they should utilize humans abilities to correlate position on the screen medium with position in real world. Selecting and Adjusting Views It is obvious that one view is hardly satisfactory to express all the information enclosed in the dataset. Expecting the view modifications which are most useful to the users is one of the major factors of developing an effective visualization. Common view operations are as follows. [2] Scrolling and Zooming Operations This operation comes in handy when the dataset is too huge to be presented as one whole at the resolution that the viewer wants. Color Map Control It allows the user to make changes of individual attribute colors or entire palette. Mapping Control Mapping control helps the viewers to toggle among different ways of visualizing the same data and to discover the distinct features which might be hidden. Scale Control The user can focus on specific data subsets by applying scale control where they can modify the range and distribution of values. Information Density The designers decision, to verify how much information to display, plays an important role for an effective visualization and representation. Alexandru [12] points out that if there is too little information to present, it is the best to display the results as text. Conversely, if the data has too much information to present, it might cause confusion, lose essential information within the data, and face with obscurities in interpretation. In such cases, the user should be permitted to disable or enable different components of the presentation. Keys, Labels and Legends Most of the visualizations are ineffective because they lack useful and supported information to aid them. [2] Keys, labels and legends are therefore very helpful. Examples include captions, mappings used, grid marks, units of axes, key for symbols, color bar and etc. Using Color with Care Color can add significant visual appeal to a visualization but can also significantly decrease the effectiveness of the communication process. [2] Usage of color is context dependent and the characteristics of dataset itself can influence how the colors are noticeable. The designers should not forget there might be some color blind users as well. The Importance of Aesthetics Visuals, with both informative and pleasing to the eye, are known as the best representations. If the visualization is aesthetically pleasant, it attracts the viewers to analyze it in greater details. [2] Some useful guidelines for attractive visualization designs are as below. Focus The users attention should be drawn towards the most vital part of the visualization. Balance Balancing the screen space is another aspect to take note of designing pleasing visualizations. The most important components should be placed in the center. Simplicity Representing too much information will confuse the viewers. The designers should get rid of features which can be removed without losing information wanted to pass on since it is the best to be as simple as possible. Misleading Visualizations b c