How Do Banks Increase Their Liquidity?

How Do Banks Increase Their Liquidity? This essay will be looking into liquidity problems within individual banks, exploring why it is absolutely essential for banks to have good liquidity and exploring the sources of liquidity that are available to them, should they need to increase it. Over the past year there have been an assortment of serious issues involving banks, with the nationalisation and part-nationalisation of several retail banks in the UK, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Bradford Bingley, HBOS and Northern Rock and the collapse of various large financial institutions in the US and Europe including Bear Sterns and Lehman Brothers. It will also look into why these banks faced such problems, and examine the role that the Central Bank plays in managing liquidity within the money markets, and how it can help individual banks and the entire banking system if liquidity becomes an issue. Explain why banks have become under-capitalised and insufficiently liquid and that there are ways for banks to sort out their liquidity. Firstly it is necessary to define liquidity, and explain the reason that liquidity is so important for banks. Liquidity is essentially immediately spendable funds or the ability to convert assets into spendable funds, quickly and easily without a significant loss. Banks need liquidity because of demands for spendable funds. These demands mainly come from customers wishing to withdraw money from their accounts and from customers with credit requests, either in the form of new loans or drawings upon existing credit lines. However banks will also have a demand for liquidity for other reasons including paying off liabilities that they have for example loans from other banks, or the central bank, payment of income taxes and the paying of cash dividends to their shareholders. Sources of liquidity that banks have available to them fall into two categories; asset liquidity and borrowed liquidity, with most banks tending to use a mix between them both known as balanced liquidity management. Banks using a balanced liquidity management strategy look at their expected liquidity demands, store some of these demands in liquid assets and the rest left down to prearranged lines of credit from potential suppliers of funds. The stock of liquid assets is held by banks solely as a reserve, which can be turned into cash in crisis conditions, when a bank cannot meet its financial obligation. These assets must be of high quality so that in times of need, they can be sold immediately with minimal losses. These liquid assets, other than cash, include: Commercial paper is issued by large corporations as a form of short term borrowing. The maturity of commercial paper is in most cases between 7 and 45 days, and is sold similarly to the treasury bills, at a discount to its maturity value. Commercial paper is generally unsecured, making it riskier than buying treasury bills. Companies using commercial paper will normally get a credit rating check from a credit rating agency and the better the rating they achieve, the smaller the discount they can issue it at, as it is a more secure investment. A certificate of deposit (CD) is a certificate stating that a deposit has been made with a bank for a fixed period of time, and that at the end of the fixed term, the original deposit will be repaid with interest. The advantage of CDs for the depositor is that they are tradable to third parties, so the depositor can make use of the funds, if needs be, before the maturity date. The advantage to the financial institution issuing the CD is that they can make use of the deposit for the fixed period, but because they offer the depositor flexibility, the bank gets it for a slightly lower price than they would normally have to pay for other time deposits such as repos. The disadvantage of the CD is that the depositor has to deposit a minimum denomination of  £50,000 which means that small companies may not have the money for them. Repurchase agreements (Repos) are a combination of two transactions, and play a critical role in the money markets. It works by firstly a securities dealer, such as a banks, sells securities it owns to an investor and agrees to repurchase them at a specified higher price at a date in the future. This is a great way for dealers to raise funds quickly. For the investor, repos can be a very profitable short term investment. This is because not only will they make money with the dealer buying the securities back at a higher price, but if they believe that the price of the securities will drop, then they can sell them, and then potentially purchase equivalent securities to return to the dealer just before the repo must be unwound. Therefore the investor has potentially made more money on top of the interest earned from the dealer. Treasury Bills are securities with a maturity of one year or less, and are issued by national governments. These are generally considered to be the safest of all investments, and for this reason they account for a larger share of money market trading than any other type of instrument. They are also known as zero coupon bonds, as they do not pay any interest, but instead are bought at a discount rate to their face value, depending on how long it is until the security matures. The main sources of borrowed liquidity available to banks inlcude: The Interbank lending market is a market where banks can lend money to each other. This provides banks with the ability to get funds quickly in times of bad liquidity and also provides an outlet for lending excess funds. The loans are normally short term loans, generally between 1 and 14 days, but can be longer. The interbank lending market has its own interest rate, called the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which is currently stabilised at just over 0.6%, around 10 basis points above the current base rate. Euromarkets have been some of the fastest growing markets in recent years and are basically any instrument denominated in a currency other than that of the country where it is traded. Financial institutions will look for money at the lowest price, regardless of the currency, and then change it into the home currency. This can be a good way of finding cheap money quickly, especially if the interbank lending market has dried up as it has done recently. Bond Markets are a great way of getting liquidity as there is a huge market for bonds. Bonds offer the investor interest throughout the life of the bond, and repayment of the original principle at the end. Unlike shares, the owner of the bond does not have any degree of managerial control or ownership of the issuer. For this reason it is a great way to get liquidity, because the issuer is not losing any of the company or institution and therefore none of its powers. The interest rates however must be competitive on the day of issue, but need to be just right as if it is too high, then the issuer could end up with excessive costs, but if it is too low, then they may not be able to sell them. Explain what role the bank of England has, and how it operates in the money markets and how banks are affected by the operations of the bank of England (interest rates etc) The Bank of Englands principal function is to conduct money and credit policy to promote sustainable growth in the economy and avoid severe inflation. There are various tools it uses in its role of helping in maintaining stability in the financial system as a whole, finding potential problems and risks and trying to find ways of fixing these problems and reducing the risks. In trying to achieve its main goals, the Bank of England effects the operations of all the banks, and they must be prepared for all outcomes. The tools that the central bank uses are outlined below. The Bank of England is responsible for the Governments accounts, and provides them with regular statements and banking services. It is also the banker of all commercial banks, and all commercial banks are required by law to keep 0.15% of the liabilities in their account with the central bank. The central bank is the Issuer of bank notes in England and Wales, but not the rest of the UK. It controls the countries reserves of gold and foreign currencies for the government, and by buying and selling these the central bank can influence the exchange rate. The central bank is known as the lender of last resort, and will always lend to the banks if there is a shortage of liquidity in the banking system. This has been shown vastly over the last couple of years, and has been fundamental in stopping the banking system from the possibility of total collapse. One example of this was the Northern Rock PLC in 2007, where a rumour that the bank was in serious financial trouble led to people with deposits in the bank lining up outside the banks demanding their deposits. In this instance the Bank of England quickly helped the bank out as lender of last resort. The Bank of England supervises the banking system. There are two main reasons the bank needs to do this which are the fact that customers of the banks and institutions are at a disadvantage because they are not necessarily well informed about the affairs of the intermediary and therefore could be depositing their money into a bank that is on the brink of a collapse. The central bank looks at all of the accounts of the banks to make sure that they are not in a bad position. This leads on to the second reason which is that the consequences of bank failure can be catastrophic to the whole financial system, as we have seen over the past two years, which shows that the central bank should have perhaps been supervising the financial institutions more closely. The Bank of England is involved in advising on the monetary policy. Monetary policy involves controlling the price and quantity of money and credit in the economy, with the use of different policy instruments, which are interest rates and the availability of reserves. Changing interest rates effectively changes the demand for money. The main instrument used today is interest rates. By putting interest rates up, there will be less demand for money, as it costs more to borrow, and on the other hand by lowering interest rates, it will increase the demand for money as it is cheaper. By doing this the Bank of England can basically slow down or speed up the economy and rates of inflation. This has a huge effect on banks, because everything they do relies on interest rates. Look at recent events in the money markets and the responses from firms and government and analyse the impact of these event on both individual firms and financial markets as a whole. Since the financial crisis started with the collapse of the sub-prime mortgages, banks have faced liquidity problems. This is mainly due to the fact that there has been impaired liquidity in a lot of markets, the two main markets being the interbank markets and the securities markets. Banks became unsure of both their own liquidity and the liquidity of other financial institutions, and for that reason they did not want to lend to each other on the interbank markets. This therefore pushed interest rates up in both markets, and with banks becoming increasingly dependent on these markets, it did not look good for liquidity. Many other markets also relied on the banks using these markets, and problems spread into many different markets. This all ended up with banks entailing higher borrowing costs, which then had to be passed in their lending rates and also left the banks with much weaker results. This all lead to some banks defaulting on their payment obligations, as they just did not have the liquidity they needed. Many large institutions around the world had to be bailed out by central banks, with banks in the UK including Northern Rock, Alliance and Leicester, HBOS and Bradford and Bingley amongst several others. The above table outlines the measures that the Central banks around the world took to try to address the situation. The Bank of England used several of these methods to try to resolve the severe liquidity problems that the banks and markets that were facing. As shown in the Essay, it is essential for financial institutions to have good liquidity. It is not important just for the survival of an individual bank, but for the survival of the financial system as a whole. It is clear that in recent events, the banks did not have sufficient liquidity to cover the demands for spendable funds, and in the future they need to have a much higher stock of liquid assets, and not rely so much on borrowed liquidity. It is also clear that big mistakes were made by many financial institutions, and learning from these mistakes is essential in trying to rebuild trust in both the money markets and banks in general. I believe that the Bank of England needs to improve the way it is supervising the banking system, as the collapse of the money markets could potentially have been avoided if certain banks had been supervised more effectively. The financial systems also desperately need to be regulated globally, which was one of the main topics of the G20 summit in 2009. Gordon Brown said We have a global financial system, but until now no global co-ordination or supervision, only national supervisors and a new financial regulatory is due to be released later this year, which will fundamentally change how world banks and markets operate. I believe that this new global financial regulatory system will change the way banks operate for the good, and should stop anything like this happening again. The Things They Carried | Analysis The Things They Carried | Analysis Tim Obriens The Things They Carried is a perfect example of American Contemporary, also known as postmodern, literature, mainly supporting the characteristics of metafiction, and mixture of fiction and facts, all of which are commonly used throughout all forms of postmodern literature. Because this era is current, how it will have on impact on literature still remains to be seen, but what is clear is how the contemporary era has opened a new door to literature allowing people to view the world in a whole different manner also allowing authors to be freer in expressing ideas in their literature. Contemporary literature refers to literature written from 1945 to present. It is often referred to as the era directly after World War II. This era shares many of the characteristics introduced in the modern era, but is unique in the sense that the openness found in this literature is greater. Contemporary literature also has the tendency to contradict modernist thought and brings things into new light. It deals with events and issues within this time frame and for that reason we are able to comprehend a greater deal than before. It allows the reader to feel connected to the novel in a way that wasnt possible before. What both modernism and contemporary literature share is subjectivism. Modernist literature however saw fragmentation and extreme subjectivity as an existential crisis. In contemporary literature this crisis is avoided. It is more common to find self-consciously deconstructed and self-reflexive narrators unlike in modern literature it was all about the anti-heroes and to rtured souls. There is great inner narrative of the self in contemporary. This includes the self at war with itself, to the self as arbiter points back to the phenomenological roots of post-modern thought. As far as linguistic and stylistic characteristics go, contemporary literature has an open form of writing, allowing a writer to be freer with their thoughts and ideas. It is also common to find discontinuous narrative in these works. Intersexuality or borrowing and transformation of certain ideas form other texts is also quiet present in contemporary literature, often borrowing from past modern thought as well. There is an extensive use of classical allusions within the style. What is very interesting about contemporary is its tendency not only to borrow ideas, but the sharing of these ideas and themes that is found in other languages and cultures showing how wide of a spectrum contemporary literature is willing to go. These themes and ideas are often compared and combined. But with all its uniqueness, the thing that makes contemporary stand out from the rest is its unusual usage of metaphors in its literature. This has added richness to this type of literature that many will apprec iate. Contemporary literatures themes also set this era greatly apart from the rest. It has the tendency to shatter existing social customs and faiths, and focus more on depicting vividly the stark and bitter realities. This era of literature is heavily influenced by the severity of the scientific and technological changes of the 20th century. The famous authors and works of thisperiod are vast. Each author has their unique style and way of writing, but each share the same type of freedom found in contemporary literature. No point of view or way of thinking is excluded, but rather embraced and exposed to give insight into completely different worlds that we as people may not be to familiar with, but nevertheless are able to understand on some level. J.D Salinger, famous for the novel The Catcher in The Rye, proves this by giving us a glimpse into the mind of a young adolescent boy Holden who seems to be lost in his own mind. This novel greatly supports the man vs himself theme commonly found throughout contemporary literature. The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien truly expresses exactly what contemporary literature is. Tim OBrien skillfully places all his ideas and own experiences into this collection of stories that make this an excellent piece of contemporary literature. He does everything to make these stories feel as real as possible. Tim OBrien, which also happens to be the main characters name, does this by mixing reality with fiction, a technique commonly found throughout contemporary literature. From his own experiences of the Vietnam War he is able to capture the ugly truths and the harsh, raw, human emotions that real human beings feel. He expresses the dilemma people go through in making rash decisions, and the guilt and pain found in people who went to Vietnam, so accurately it causes one to almost feel these emotions themselves and allows the reader to connect on a level never really possible before the postmodern era. OBrien does an excellent job in making the novel feel as real as possible, which is not quite a necessary characteristic of contemporary literature, but is commonly used and effectively causes a richer literary experience. He said once A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing may not happen and be truer than the truth. He expresses this view through all the work he does. Although he did experience many of the things he speaks of on some level, he never lets his stories become more than fiction. It is the fiction that represents and reflects our world that makes the real impact on people. Literature is just another form of art. Art serves to represent parts of reality and allow us to see reality in ways we didnt before. The same applies to contemporary literature and the way Tim OBrien tries to capture his audience. His purpose is not to just tell his stories of the war, but to tell these stories in a way that will allow us to reflect and connect on our own lives. He said Its partly a story about what happens to men in a war, but more deeply it touches people to actually look at their own lives and childhoods. The reason that book ends not in the war, but with little Linda dying of brain cancer, is that that chapter is meant to move away from war to the lives of all of us. In doing this the war and its horrors serve as more than just stories of hardships and pain, but as well as a tool that allows these stories to truly serve a purpose. It is still unclear what time of impact our era will make on history, but it is clear however that contemporary literature is greatly rich, unique, and has a tremendous amount of potential to be a impacting literary period that people will continue to study even as time goes by. Postmodernism was the mark of a new age were true free expression was possible and as we moved into the 21st century it has continued to evolve into literature that is free of outside restrictions dropping the boundaries for authors allowing them to right about what they have on their mind or real issues and situations in our past and current world. This is the main reason why contemporary literature focuses so strongly on fiction. Simply because fiction is fiction it leaves a door open to infinite possibilities, and almost unimaginable stories that can move or reflect society and cause one to view the world not from the small aspect that it was shown in earlier eras, but rather from all angles and perspectiv es. Contemporary literature truly allows people to experience the full rich literary experience getting rid of the mind caging structure authors stuck to for so many years.

Emily Dickinson :: Essays Papers

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet of the nineteenth century. She was one of the greatest masters of the short lyric poem. Not much is known about her life, but what is known is unusual and interesting. Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts on December tenth, eighteen hundred thirty, to a prominent family. [ 9. http://www.kutztown.edu/faculty/ reagan/*censored*inson.html ] She was the second child of three children. Her grandfather, Samuel Dickinson, was one of the founders of the Amherst College. Edward Dickinson, her father, held several political positions. He was on the General Court of Massachusetts, Massachusetts State Senate, and United States House Representatives. Edward was also a lawyer and the treasurer for the college. [ 9. http://www.kutztown.edu/faculty/reagan/*censored*inso n.html ] Emily's mother, Emily Dickinson, was a simple woman. She was dedicated to her home and family. Emily's mother suffered a long term of illness so she took care of her. Dickinson had an older brother, Austin, who also served as the treasurer for the college and other civic positions. Austin married Emily's best friend, Susan Gilbert. Lavinia was Emily's younger sister. She didn't marry anyone so she stayed in the family house. The three siblings shared a very close relationship. Their parents didn't have a close rela tionship with them, but they did love and care for them. Emily's parents made sure she had a good education. She went to a primary school for four years then she attended Amherst Academy from eighteen hundred forty through eighteen hundred forty-seven. After that she went to Mary Lyon's Female Seminary ( Mount Holyoke Female Seminary ) for only a year. [ 7. http://www.gale.com/library/resrcs/poets_cn/dic knbio.htm ] The seminary insisted on religious as well as intellectual growth. Emily didn't like the religious environment and was under considerable pressure to become a professing Christian. [ 4. wysiwyg://5/http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/0/0,5716,30830+ 1,00.html ] When it came to religion, Emily was a skeptic. She returned home so she wouldn't have to face the religious environment, and her parents asked her to come home. [ 10. http://www.sappho.com/poetry/historical/e_*censored*in.html ] Emily began to write poems at an early age. She had several inspirations in her poem writing. Emily Bronte was a poet, and after her brother's death she stayed home until her death. Bronte's book became a big success after her death. Emily Dickinson :: Essays Papers Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet of the nineteenth century. She was one of the greatest masters of the short lyric poem. Not much is known about her life, but what is known is unusual and interesting. Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts on December tenth, eighteen hundred thirty, to a prominent family. [ 9. http://www.kutztown.edu/faculty/ reagan/*censored*inson.html ] She was the second child of three children. Her grandfather, Samuel Dickinson, was one of the founders of the Amherst College. Edward Dickinson, her father, held several political positions. He was on the General Court of Massachusetts, Massachusetts State Senate, and United States House Representatives. Edward was also a lawyer and the treasurer for the college. [ 9. http://www.kutztown.edu/faculty/reagan/*censored*inso n.html ] Emily's mother, Emily Dickinson, was a simple woman. She was dedicated to her home and family. Emily's mother suffered a long term of illness so she took care of her. Dickinson had an older brother, Austin, who also served as the treasurer for the college and other civic positions. Austin married Emily's best friend, Susan Gilbert. Lavinia was Emily's younger sister. She didn't marry anyone so she stayed in the family house. The three siblings shared a very close relationship. Their parents didn't have a close rela tionship with them, but they did love and care for them. Emily's parents made sure she had a good education. She went to a primary school for four years then she attended Amherst Academy from eighteen hundred forty through eighteen hundred forty-seven. After that she went to Mary Lyon's Female Seminary ( Mount Holyoke Female Seminary ) for only a year. [ 7. http://www.gale.com/library/resrcs/poets_cn/dic knbio.htm ] The seminary insisted on religious as well as intellectual growth. Emily didn't like the religious environment and was under considerable pressure to become a professing Christian. [ 4. wysiwyg://5/http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/0/0,5716,30830+ 1,00.html ] When it came to religion, Emily was a skeptic. She returned home so she wouldn't have to face the religious environment, and her parents asked her to come home. [ 10. http://www.sappho.com/poetry/historical/e_*censored*in.html ] Emily began to write poems at an early age. She had several inspirations in her poem writing. Emily Bronte was a poet, and after her brother's death she stayed home until her death. Bronte's book became a big success after her death.

Dashboard Mockup for Bigbazaar

Weakness Poor customer service Availability of goods in store is less when compared to online Delivery of goods ordered online takes at least 2-3 weeks Weak marketing and advertising Opportunities Providing wide range of products in store Improve the online delivery' system Expansion of stores in all over the country and neighboring countries Threats Online shopping websites Demand of goods Inflation Low space to provide for all goods in store Gap Analysis To improve market share in coming yearsTo improve marketing and advertising in next two years To improve customer service both online and in store increase customer base and by providing membership cards Objectives and Goals Maintaining low costs of products and providing quality goods at all times Meeting the demand of customers by analyzing the requirements of customer Proportioning delivery services and enhancing customer services Starting memberships to increase customers and providing them with discounts on purchases Avoiding stealing or shoplifting in stores Key Performance Indicators (Kepi's): Kepi's are also known as key success actors Of a company.They usually help an organization in labeling its goals and measuring organizational development linked to the objectives. Following are some of the Kepi's designed for Bizarre that are aligned with its goals and objectives. Net revenue Number of new stores Deliver Eng services Customer satisfaction reports Memberships registered monthly Number of thefts occurring monthly Net revenue: This KIP is directly aligned with first goal, second goal and fourth goal.The overall revenue of the organization is directly affected by the sales of the products. If Bizarre maintains the price and quality of goods properly then there will be an exponential growth in sales, which Will increase the net revenue as well. With the increase in number of stores to meet demand of the customer, increase in number of stores also plays a key role in net revenue. To attract customers g ift coupons and discounts can be offer to regular customers with membership which will increase sales.As profits play a vital role in companies' future, we need to go through revenue every quarter. As bizarre is a nation wide company with over 700 million dollar venue in last year it is essential to keep in mind that threshold value or minimum value for each quarter must not be less than 180 million dollars which is represented by yellow color. Any revenue above can be considered as good profit margin and is denoted by green and revenue below 180 should be considered as danger zone and is denoted by red color.If a quarters revenue is in red then it should be considered as an alert and authorities must revise their goals and objectives. Number of new stores: This KIP is primarily linked to second goal of meeting customers demand and plays a role in increasing net revenue. As there is a vast need of products that is required by customers and not everyone likes to purchase online. Incr easing number Of stores yearly to meet the demand will also increase sales of Bizarre. To achieve this Bizarre needs to open stores in north, south, west, and east regions in India.Opening of stores can be schedules in quarterly basis. To achieve the goal and produce good outputs company has to open more than 25 stores in each quarter if this criterion is met than the graph is represented in green color. The management can handle more than 20 stores per quarter, which is labeled in allow color. However, if the stores opened per quarter is less than 20, then the production of the company will be effected hence it must be considered as an alert and new stores should be planned for the next quarter.Delivering services: This KIP is aligned with part of third goal that is proportioning delivery system. Most of the customers prefer shopping in store mainly because with in Store shopping products are obtained instantly. However, by providing proper information and good delivery system onli ne shopping can decrease strain of driving. As Bizarre has to compete with its competitors, t must provide a good delivery system through which it can gain profits. To monitor delivery service we must concentrate on delivery percentage obtained every year.For Bizarre to maintain a good delivery system it is important that delivery percentage is 60 or above which is moderate and any percentage above 70 should be considered a good percentage of deliveries. If the percentage is less than 60, then the issue must be taken to officials notice. Customer satisfaction report: This KIP is affiliated to a part of third goal, which is to enhance customer service. For any retail store, it is very important to maintain a good customer service relationship.To see through that there is a good reputation on customer services offered by the store we can conduct survey and call members to get feedback from them and ask them to rate the services on a scale of five. Getting grade of 4 or 5 can be consid ered as good, which is colored in green and a grade of three can be reflected as moderate that is colored in yellow, which means it can be improved with little effort. But a grade of 1 or 2 should be considered as threshold and colored as red and a serious effort has to be put into rectifying the customer services. The aim is to get at least 60% of the customers to grade amongst 4 or 5.Memberships registered monthly: This KIP addresses fourth goal, which states to increase memberships by offering coupons and discounts. While increasing membership organization can gather information regarding purchase patterns of customers and improve stores structure. Members can get coupons and discounts on purchases, which makes them regular customer this will also help improve sales and revenue. As Bizarre is a nationwide company with many branches, there should be at least 7000 new customers every month registering for membership, which is moderate and is represented with yellow color.If the num ber of memberships registered is 8500 or above it should be considered as good and is represented with green color. If the number of new memberships registered is less than 7000, it must be colored in red and this issue must be informed to marketing department. Number of thefts occurring monthly: This KIP is directly linked to fifth goal that is to avoid shoplifting and stealing in stores. Shoplifting is one of the reasons, which causes a massive loss to the store. Some security measures need to be taken in order to avoid thefts in stores.

They Coming! Essays

They Coming! Essays They Coming! Essay They Coming! Essay They Coming!!!!!!!! They Coming!!!! These are the words you hear ringing loud throughout the thousands of supporters and spectators as Junkanoo groups’ approach the starting gate of what is expected to be an exciting parade. Junkanoo is celebrated in the wee hours of the morning on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Scores of people show up from near and far to celebrate in one of the Bahamas’ most talked about cultural events. After waiting all year long, Boxing Day is finally here! The thought of sleep never enters my mind, as the anticipation of who will be victorious resonates in my mind throughout the night.Excitement builds, as all I could think about is the feelings of swaying to and fro while watching the groups â€Å"rush† down Bay Street. Midnight is here†¦ Let the parade begin! As I make my way through the large crowd to get to my seat, I could hear the sounds of the goatskin drums and whistles blowing. The cowbells begin to shake, and I could feel the rhythm deep within my soul. The well-toned brass section chimes in, and it is almost melodious, as the melodies and tunes all mesh together perfectly.The dancers make their way up Bay Street gyrating and moving their bodies to the rhythmic beat of the drums, cowbells, and whistles, demanding all the attention; while dressed in brightly colored costumes. The larger than life costumes adorned with bright, dazzling colors, â€Å"tricks† and feathers threaten to steal the show. I find it extremely difficult to contain myself, as the various Junkanoo groups â€Å"rush† past me in the stands. I can feel the feathers as they rub across my face and the music thump.The energy of the dancers and the beat of the music motivate the large crowds of supporters and spectators to start moving in their seats, or on their feet. Daylight breaks, all too soon, the parade is over. I am so excited and energized that all I could think about is the New Year’s Day Junkanoo Para de. For one week I eagerly wait to hear the words â€Å"they coming† being echoed throughout the stands all over again! My love for Junkanoo is overwhelming from the magnificent, ravishing colors of the costumes to the music which moves throughout every part of me and creates a sound that is too strong to resist, where it almost becomes mesmerizing!

Security Industry Research Paper Essay Example

Security Industry Research Paper Essay Example Security Industry Research Paper Essay Security Industry Research Paper Essay The scope for the security industry Is vast as there are a number of different types of security officer titles as well as sites. Sites that require security can range from an office building to a construction site. However, regardless of the site location all officers generally conduct patrols of their designated area either on foot, bicycle or vehicle to ensure personal are safe and the location is secure against fire, theft, vandalism or any other illegal activity (Paladin Security, 2013). If an emergency situation was to occur or an regularity was spotted during a patrol, the appropriate personnel would be contacted. Depending on the seventy of the Issue this could mean contacting anyone from a direct supervisor to the fire department, ambulance or police (Paladin Security, 2013). It is also important that officers enforce safety codes, regulations, and procedures (Paladin Security, 2013). Products Made The security officer industry can be broken down into two components. These components are professional security guards, and mobile officers. Security guards are permanently stationed at sites the inure time a client has requested a security recent. A security presence Is Ideal to deter criminal actively (Paladin security 2012). Mobile officers on the other hand, are not positioned at the site for the whole 10 or 12-hour shift. Mobile officers will visit multiple sites in a shift either randomly or at pre-designated times (Paladin Security, 2012). Regardless of which officer or guard is chosen, both produce the same level of security. Property is regularly checked and secured. These patrols reduce the chances of windows and doors being tampered with in addition to force entry (Paladin Security, 2012). When applicable, ours that need to be locked or unlocked at specific times are taken care of and critical gauges are monitored periodically (Paladin Security, 2012). All sites are produced with security personal that is able to formulate intelligent on-the-spot judgments and take quick and effective action when time is a main factor (Paladin Security, 2012). Both of these components produce security solutions for their clients, such as public protection and securing assets (Guard Inc, 2010). Employment In the United States there are 1 713 250 individuals employed in the security industry n some type of capacity as of 2009 (Waitress, 2012). This includes anything from guard patrols to the individuals who operate x-ray machines and medal detector equipment (Waitress, 2012). Between 2010 and 2020 the employment rate of security guards is expected to increase by 18. 8 percent (Waitress, 2012). This is much quicker than all the other occupations, which have an average growth rate of 14. 3-percent (Waitress, 2012). Injury Statistics The security industry is one of the most dangerous occupations. It is no wonder that in 2009 63 security guards suffered fatal work injuries, while roughly 8 920 fell victim o illnesses or nonfatal injuries at the workplace, that involved at least one day off from work (Workplace safety for security guards, 2012). Although the amount of officers that experienced illnesses or nonfatal work injuries seems quite high, it is nearly the same rate as all other occupations (Workplace safety for security guards, 2012). The rate of fatal injuries at the workplace on the other hand, was more than double of workers in general (Workplace safety for security guards, 2012). Both fatal and nonfatal injuries were commonly a result of assaults. However, some nonfatal injuries were often due to falls. These types of injuries can appear at any time during the day or night, but more often than not they take place in the evening and overnight (Workplace safety for security guards, 2012). Industry Processes Typical Processes There are many processes security firms go through to ensure that their employees and clients are safe. Some processes are typical, which means that every security company must follow them. An example of one of these typical processes would be the licensing process. Under the Security Services and Investigators Act, all persons hat want to become security officers must obtain an individual security license first (Government of Alberta, 2013). In order to receive this security license individuals must provide a clean criminal record check with the vulnerable sector checked, as well as complete the required 40 hours of Alberta Basic Security Training (ABS) and pass the exam with 80% or higher (Government of Alberta, 2013). The Solicitor Generals office must approve both the trainer for the course and the exam facilitator (Government of Alberta, 2013). Another example of a typical process would be standard safety training. Although the law does not require it, almost every security company provokes It once an employee passes tenet BASIS course teen generally go through the training process for first aid and CPRM classes as well as take a non-crisis intervention course before they can report to work (Paladin Security, 2012). These typical processes are put in place to ensure the safety of both officers and those they are protecting. Specific Processes Specific processes are any additional processes that are needed for companies to perform a certain duty. For instance the company that takes care of the security in capitals or the airport screening must put their employees through additional training so they are equipped with the tools to deal with different hazards that could present themselves. Healthcare security guards for example, go through 40 to 120 hours of extensive healthcare specific training on top of the many hours of basic training they are required to take (Paladin Security, 2013). Equipment Used There are many different types of equipment officers may carry on their persons at any given time. However, the form of equipment depends on what the company they re working for is licensed for, in addition to what their personal security license authorizes. Equipment can range to anything from a flashlight to a weapon. This is because there are many different positions in the security industry. Security guards that transfer large amounts of money are likely to carry weapons such as a gun or baton as well as a safety vest, those in the healthcare sector would likely carry handcuffs to restrain patients that are at high risk to cause harm to themselves and/ or others (Government of Alberta, 2006). Though there are some items that are aimed t particular sites there are some pieces of equipment that are common among all officers such as, flashlights for patrols, radios to communicate with managers and monitoring centers, and of course a first aid kit (Fuller, 2013). Industry Hazards Process Hazards and Related Occupational Injuries and Diseases The security industry has many hazards related to its processes and daily responsibilities. Most security processes are related to training, and although a majority of training takes place in a classroom setting there is some training that is hands on, such as handcuff training. With any training that is physical, there is a chance for injures to occur. Even with classroom training there can be injuries if workstations are not set up in a manor to minimize stress on the body(Victorian Government). When the employees do make it to their Job sites injuries can occur from violent assaults, having to stand for long periods of time and loud noises from construction sites or concerts(Victorian Government). There are also a large number of injuries caused by falls as a result to inadequate lighting or uneven ground, as mentioned earlier(Victorian Government). Industry Controls and Standards Applicable Legislation The Canadian Government has legislation in place called the Security Services and Investigators Act, which set an industry-wide standard across the province(Government of Alberta, 2011). This act spells out the process individuals need to follow in order to get their license. Whether it is a general security license or one for guard dog handling, every license process is listed(Government of Alberta, 2006). Along with licensing facts, there are also details on how employers are to deal with complaints against individual license holders in addition to business license holders(Government of Alberta, 2006). Specifics on the proper use of equipment, unlooses Ana ventricle markings are also outlined In ten act(ova ornament AT AY 2006). The Security Services and Investigators Regulation is an additional document, which describes how the law will be managed and enforced(Government of Alberta, 2011). As mentioned earlier, the Job description for individuals in the security industry can be quite varied, and so are the settings in which their skills and knowledge are applied. Issues may arise that result in guards performing duties that are rooted from legislations such as Gaming and Liquor Act and Regulation; Trespass o Premises Act; and Petty Trespass Act(Government of Alberta, 2011). These acts were developed not only to protect the security industry but the public as well. Codes of Practice and Control Programs Used in or Designed for this Industry The Criminal Code of Canada is a detailed document that indicates behaviors that are considered to be illegal or unlawful acts(Government of Alberta, 2011). The Criminal Code illustrates what can or cannot be done with respect to arresting persons, searching persons or property, and using force to control a situation(Government of Alberta, 2011). Furthermore, if the limit of these acts are ever exceeded the consequences of doing so are also outlined. In addition to the governments steps to protect, the security industry has policies and procedures in place for employees to follow for everyones safety. For example, a guard working at a one-man site has to radio their control center on an hourly basis, and mobile officers check in on the guard at their site regularly throughout their shift. Conclusion The security industry has many variables in terms of positions but even with that being said their main focus is always safety.

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 16

Summary - Essay Example Individuals such as Francis L. Lawrence have been expressed to the stipulations shunning prejudice due to his utterance. Francis L. Lawrence once expressed that blacks were the most disadvantaged and lacked genetic hereditary to merit any higher advantage. Craig Rogers also filed an expensive case about her lesbian professor of psychology for leaving her feeling rapped and also trapped. Learning institutions have formulated strategies to ensure no tolerance to prejudice of any manner ranging from racism to Christian bashing. This has been implemented to ensure that the society is favorable to the perceived minorities. By resisting every element of prejudice, it does not depict that the racial aspect does not exist in every individual. Nonetheless intellectual pluralism should be embraced to permit respect of expression of every individual. "Only when racism and other forms of prejudice are expunged," The suppression of prejudice targets the time when there will be a total belief among individuals in the society that there is no difference in human origin, a provision that is even doubted still. The author states that, â€Å"I doubt such a day will ever arrive.† The feeling of segregation is recurrent in human and should be suppressed every time. If a total freedom exists, people will be legitimate in their diverse thoughts such as insanity of the homosexuals , their barrier to reproduction and the doubts they impose on people. Moreover, as the efforts are geared towards doing away with the prejudice it is realized that no much achievement are attained and as a result the conditions worsen. Therefore, it would be wise to start thinking and implementing the facets of prejudice at the expense of eliminating them. Prejudice has caused much confusion in the society and bad habits in the society such as homosexuality benefit from the policies and opposing homosexuality is a prejudice to the group. For instance the student

Strategic Audit Michael Hill Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategic Audit Michael Hill - Essay Example The Porters five forces model measures the firms’ profitability in the various markets irrespective of the external forces fighting against the success of the firm. The five forces model analyzes the forces that affect and limit the profitability of the firm in the industry and how the firm is able to counter these forces, thus maintain a stable profit margin over the years (Ahlstrom & Bruton, p.131). The five forces include: buyers, suppliers, new entrance, substitutes and rivalry. The profitability of the firm will thus depend on how well the firm handles these forces. If the firm is able to conquer these forces its profitability remains constant or goes higher over the years. Value chain management is another tool to be used in the audit. Value chain analysis gives the auditor information on what the company is best at, that is what it produces the lowest possible cost and is profitable to the firm (needles, powers and Crosson 2011, p.805) the result of the value chain will help the firm concentrate more on the efficient products while eliminating the inefficient ones or possibly outsourcing what is cheaper to outsource than to produce. The information required includes the sales of the firm for the period for every specific line of product, the cost of production of that line and the profit earned from the product. This aids in comparing the profitability of each production line, thus showing the firms strong point in production. Moreover, financial ratios are important tools in internal audit. Among the ratios to be assessed include the leverage ratio and liquidity ratio. Liquidity ratio measures the firm’s ability to meet its current obligations while the leverage ratio measures the firm’s ability to cover long term financial debt obligations. A high the liquidity ratio is an indication of the firm’s ability to meet its current financial obligations thus is an indicator of the firm’s short term