Performance Appraisal of Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited

1. 0 Introduction Every company has its own vision and mission. Achieving of its vision and mission is primarily depends on the performance of the employees. If the employees are not dedicated to their works, they will not achieve company’s mission as well as its vision. It is the duty of the Human Resource department in a company to measure the performance of the employees and based on their performance appraisal report and considering the need of the organization assigning employees with different training and development programs so that the employees can develop their skills as well as contribute in the development of the organization.As a result, the organization can achieve its goal from their employees. This performance appraisal and training program has great impact on financial institution to achieve its targeted profit and competitive advantage. As a part of our BBA Program, our Human Resource Management Course Instructor Mr. Faisol Chowdhury assigned us to prepare a report on the employee performance measurement in an organization, the training and development program offered in an organization and the benefit the organization gets from these training and development programs.We have selected our report topic as, â€Å"Performance appraisal, training and development programs and its benefits in AL-Arafah Islami Bank LTD†. 1. 2 Background of the Company: Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited is a scheduled commercial bank. With the objective of achieving success here & hereafter by pursuing the way directed by Allah and the path shown by His Rasul (SM), Al Arafah Islami Bank Ltd was established under the Bank Companies Act 1991 and incorporated as a public limited company under the Companies Act 1994 in Bangladesh with the primary objective to carry on all kinds of banking business in Bangladesh.The Bank is listed with Dhaka Stock Exchange Limited and Chittagong Stock Exchange Limited in 1998. For the purpose of maintaining boost modern manageme nt, advanced technology, good profitability and steady growth transparency Al-Arafah Islami Bank started its journey in 1995 with the said principles in mind and to introduce a modern banking system based on Al-Quran and Sunnah. A group of established, dedicated and pious personalities of Bangladesh are the architects and directors of the Bank. Among them a noted Islamic scholar, economist, writer and ex-bureau craft of Bangladesh government Mr.A. Z. M. Shamsul Alam is the founder Chairman of the bank. His progressive leadership and continuous inspiration provided a boost for the bank in getting a foothold in the financial market of Bangladesh. A group of 26 dedicated and noted Islamic personalities of Bangladesh are the member of executive committee of the bank. MR. Badiur Rahman and MR. Ekramul Hoque are the existing chairman and the managing director of the bank. Now AIBL is one of the top ranked banks in Bangladesh. Recently it has introduced its 100th branch milestone by openin g its 100th branch in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar. AIBL annual Report, 2011) Vision: †¢ To be a pioneer in Islamic Banking in Bangladesh and contribute significantly to the growth of the national economy. Mission: †¢ Achieving the satisfaction of Almighty Allah both here & hereafter. †¢ Proliferation of Shariah Based Banking Practices. †¢ Fast and efficient customer service. †¢ Quality financial services adopting the latest technology. †¢ Maintaining high standard of business ethics and competitive return on shareholders' equity. †¢ Firm commitment to the growth of national economy. †¢ Innovative banking at a competitive price. Attract and retain quality human resources. †¢ Balance growth. 1. 3 Objective of this report: We have prepared this repost based on two purposes: Primary Objective †¢ To provide detailed information about the performance appraisal process of AL-Arafah Islami Bank LTD †¢ To provide detailed information on t raining and development †¢ To figure out the benefits of the training and development program Secondary Objectives †¢ It is an assessment criteria for our MGT-351 (Introduction to Human Resource Management Course) †¢ It is a practical implementation of our theoretical knowledge 1. 4 Scope of the StudyAs we have an assigned topic we have covered only that certain topics in this report. For covering that certain topics we talked to the Human Resource Division head and the training institute principal of AL-Arafah Islami Bank LTD. As a result we got some valuable information about the performance appraisal method of bank and their training programs which helped us to justify our theoretical concept of performance appraisal, training method and its real life benefit. As AIBL is a Shariah based Islamic bank we have also gathered some valuable information about Islamic banking system. 1. Methodology For making any report we have to collect primary and secondary information which reflect the actual situation of the company. We have collected both primary and secondary data for making our report. I. Primary data: The data we have collected from Mr. Md. Rafiqul Islam, Deputy Managing Director of AIBL, Mr. Mazharul Islam, Vice President & the Head of HRD, AIBL, Mr. Zahid Hasan, Assistant Vice President & Principal of the AIBTRA through interview are considering as primary data. II. Secondary data: The data we have collected from their AIBL website (http://www. al-arafahbank. om), Annual Report, periodicals, various books, articles etc regarding banking activities, different literature and official records ) are considered as secondary data. 2. 0 Literature Review 2. 1. 0 Performance Appraisal: What is Performance Appraisal? Performance Appraisal (PA) means evaluating an employee’s current and previous performance relative to his or her performance standards. (Dessler & Varkkey 2012, p. 318) Performance = f (A, M, O) A = ability, M = motivation, O = opportunity It is not a process that happens once a year or every six months, but one that happens every day.It should focus solely on employee performance improvement. It is an element of the Performance Management system. Performance appraisal always involves 1) Setting work standard 2) Assessing employees actual performance relative to those standard 3) Providing feedback to their employee with the aim of motivating him or her to eliminate performance deficiencies Potential Benefits of Performance Appraisals There are a number of potential benefits of organizational performance management conducting formal performance appraisals (PAs).There has been a general consensus in the belief that PAs lead to positive implications of organizations. Furthermore, PAs can benefit an organization’s effectiveness. One way is PAs can often lead to giving individual workers feedback about their job performance. From this may spawn several potential benefits such as the individual workers becoming more productive. Other potential benefits include: †¢ Facilitation of communication: communication in organizations is considered an essential function of worker motivation. It has been proposed that feedback from PAs aid in minimizing employees’ perceptions of uncertainty.Fundamentally, feedback and management-employee communication can serve as a guide in job performance. †¢ Enhancement of employee focus through promoting trust: Behaviours, thoughts, and/or issues may distract employees from their work, and trust issues may be among these distracting factors. Such factors that consume psychological energy can lower job performance and cause workers to lose sight of organizational goals. Properly constructed and utilized PAs have the ability to lower distracting factors and encourage trust within the organization. Goal setting and desired performance reinforcement: Organizations find it efficient to match individual worker’s goals and performance wi th organizational goals. PAs provide room for discussion in the collaboration of these individual and organizational goals. Collaboration can also be advantageous by resulting in employee acceptance and satisfaction of appraisal results. †¢ Performance improvement: Well-constructed PAs can be valuable tools for communication with employees as pertaining to how their job performance stands with organizational expectations. At the organizational level, numerous studies have reported positive relationships between human resource management (HRM) practices† and performance improvement at both the individual and organizational levels. †¢ Determination of training needs: â€Å"Employee training and development are crucial components in helping an organization achieve strategic initiatives†. It has been argued that for PAs to truly be effective, post-appraisal opportunities for training and development in problem areas, as determined by the appraisal, must be offered . PAs can especially be instrumental for identifying training needs of new employees.Finally, PAs can help in the establishment and supervision of employees’ career goals. 2. 1. 1 Performance Appraisal Methods: Many organisations have eliminated formal appraisal programs, preferring a structured hiring, training and organisational culture centric employee performance. Most organisations still practice some sort of appraisal methods to evaluate employee performance. A mixture of different appraisal methods is always recommended for a better and meaningful result. (Dessler & Varkkey 2012, p. 324) GRAPHIC RATING SCALE: The graphical rating scale is the simplest and most popular method for appraising performance.A graphical rating scale list traits (such as â€Å"communication or teamwork†) and a range of performance values (from â€Å"uncertainty† to â€Å"outstanding† or â€Å"below expectation† to â€Å"role model†) for each trait. The superv isor rates each subordinate by circling or checking the score that best describes the subordinate’s performance for each trait. [pic] Alternation ranking Method: Ranking employees from best to worst on a particular trait, choosing highest, then lowest until all are ranked [pic] Paired Comparison method: Paired comparison method helps to make the ranking method more precise.For every trait (quantity of work, quality of work, and so on), you pair and compare every subordinate with every other subordinate. Forced Distribution Method: The forced distribution method is similar to grading on a curve. With this method, anyone can place predetermined percentages of rates into several performance categories. The proportions in each category need not to be symmetrical. Critical Incident method: Keeping a record of uncommonly good or undesirable examples of an employee’s work related behaviour and reviewing it with the employee.Manager then uses the record to assess the employees ’ performance when it is time for PA. Not helpful for comparing employees and making salary decisions. Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS): A behaviourally anchored rating scale (BARS) is an appraisal tool that anchors a numerical rating scale with specific examples of good or poor performance. Essay Description: A written statement describes employee’s strengths, weaknesses, past performance and future development. Managers write the descriptions of the employees. So, good writing skill is the pre-requisite for this method.Management by Objectives: MBO is a comprehensive and formal organization-wide goal setting and appraisal programme, used sometimes as a primary appraisal method or a supplementary method. Electronic Performance Monitoring: Electronic performance monitoring (EPM) systems use computer network technology to allow managers access to their employees computers and telephone. So managers can monitor employees rate, accuracy and time spent working o utline. 2. 1. 2 Performance Appraisal Problems (Dessler & Varkkey 2012, p. 333) †¢ Unclear Standard – Most of the appraisal scales are unclear.Standards and traits are interpreted differently by different people. †¢ Halo Effect – When a supervisor’s rating of a subordinate on one trait biases the rating of all other traits. E. g. an unfriendly employee will often be rated ‘unsatisfactory’ for all traits rather than just for that specific trait. †¢ Central Tendency – Tendency to rate all employees the same way – the middle of the rating scale; which is usually rating an average rating. †¢ Leniency or Strictness – Tendency to rate all subordinates either ‘high’ or ‘low’. Biasness – Tendency to rate employees based on their differences on age, race, sex, background and other characteristics. 2. 2. 0 Definition of training and development: Training means giving new or current empl oyees the skills they need to perform their jobs. It is the process of providing employees with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to successfully perform their current job. It usually involves teaching operational or technical employees how to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently. (Dessler & Varkkey 2012, p. 274)Development is the process that provides employees knowledge, skills and attitudes they will need to perform jobs at present and jobs they aspire to in future. It is generally aimed at helping top level executives better understand and solve problems, make decisions, and capitalize on opportunities. The cost and budget of development program is higher than training. (Dessler & Varkkey 2012, p. 295) 2. 2. 2 Training Programs There are several training programs- (Dessler & Varkkey 2012, p. 283) †¢ On the job training: It having a person learns a job by actually doing the tasks by him. Apprenticeship: It is a process by which people become skilled wor kers, usually through a combination of formal learning and long-term on the job training. †¢ Job instruction: listing each job’s basic tasks, along with key points, to provide step-by-step training for employees. Sometimes position description (PD) can be used as job instruction. †¢ Coaching: Under an official appointed teacher employee learn the basic tactics of the job. †¢ Mentoring: linking an experienced employee with less experienced employee to share experience, knowledge and skills. Helping someone to change his attitude, not his skills. Lectures/Seminar/Workshop: Lecture is a quick and simple way of providing knowledge to large groups of trainees. †¢ Audiovisual/Multimedia: Audiovisual based training techniques like DVDs, films, PowerPoint, and audiotapes are widely used. †¢ Vestibule: Vestibule training is a method in which trainers learn on the actual or simulated equipment they will use on the job, but are trained off the job(perhaps in a s eparate room or vestibule). †¢ Computer Based Training (CBT): With computer based training, trainers use interactive computer-based and DVD system to increase knowledge and skills. Role Play: Role playing is to create a realistic situation and then have the trainees assumes the part (or roles) specific person in that situation. †¢ Action Learning: Action learning programs give managers and others released time to work analyzing and solving problems in departments other than their own. †¢ Assessment centres (in-house / off the job) : centre that assesses participants performance, benchmark this against established standards, and consider remedial resources. E. g. Ernst & Young. Simulated training: provides trainees with the opportunity to learn on the actual or simulated equipment while off the job in a risk free environment. E. g. driving, medical examinations, pilots. †¢ E-learning: learning delivered, enabled and mediated by electronic technology. E. g. compute r / internet web based training sessions on cost effective, OH&S issues. †¢ Vestibule Training: training that takes place away from the production area on equipment that closely resembles the actual equipment used on the job. 2. 3. 0 Development methods (Dessler & Varkkey 2012, p. 296) There are several development methods-Job Rotation: Job rotation means moving managers from department to department to broaden their understanding of the business to test their abilities. Action Learning: Action learning programs give managers and others released time to work analyzing and solving problems in departments other than their own. Case study: giving employees a written description of an organisational problem to diagnose and solve. Management games: computerised management game where trainees are divided into five or six person companies, each of which has to compete with the other in a simulated marketplace.Outside seminars: attending seminars arranged by outside organisations. E. g . AHRI. University programs: continuous education programs in leadership, supervision etc. Role Play: Role playing is to create a realistic situation and then have the trainees assumes the part (or roles) specific person in that situation. In house Development centers/Corporate University: In house development center typically offer a catalogue of courses and programs aimed at supporting the employers’ management needs.Executive Coaches: Executive coaches is an outside consultant who questions the executive’s boss, peers, subordinates, and (sometimes) family in order to identify executive’s strengths and weakness and how they can capitalize their strength and overcome the weakness. 3. 1. 0 Performance Measurement in AL-Arafah Islami Bank LTD. AIBL has its own Human resource department. Personal data and the records of service and performance are recorded and maintained separately for each employee by HRD. HR executive and HRD head regularly measure their employe e’s performance.For measuring performance HRD of AIBL use APR (Annual Performance Report). Annual Performance Report (APR): (AIBL employee’s service rule p. 27) A system of annual report on the work and conduct of the employees will be laid down by the Board and such report will be called Annual Performance report(APR) and the bank may also call for special performance reports on any employees as and when considered necessary in the interest of the bank. AIBL has two specific format of APR (annual performance report): I.Operational post: It includes 27 traits. Operational employee’s (CEO, DMD, EVP, SVP and etc. ) performance is measured based on this 27 traits. II. Micro Finance & Logistics Posts: It includes 18 traits. This APR format is applicable for non-officer grade employee like filed supervisor, field assistant, Driver, Armed force, MCG(Messenger cum Guard) Operational post (APR format) Annual Performance Report (APR) (AIBL employee’s service rule p. 74) Personal Traits of the Officer under reporting (To be filled in by the reporting officer) |SL. No. Traits | Mark Secured | | | |Excellent | | | |Excellent |Very Good | |1 |Foundation course on Banking(Batch-I/2011) |1 |45 | |2 |Foundation course on Banking(Batch-II/2011) |1 |39 | |3 |Laws & Regulations in Bangladesh for Foreign Exchange Transaction & International Trade |1 |42 | |4 |Investment Operation & SME |1 |49 | |5 |Audit of Foreign & Exchange Trade Operation |1 |29 | |6 |Orientation Course on Banking |1 |45 | |7 |Orientation Course on Banking |1 |36 | |8 |Audit of Investment Operation |1 |27 | Development Programs that are offered by â€Å"Al-Arafah Islami bank† †¢ Job Rotation: For developing employee HRD of AIBL rotate the job and responsibility of each employee on a regular basi †¢ Action Learning: Action learning programs give managers and others released time to work analyzing and solving problems in departments other than their own. †¢ Case study: During the probation period, a written description of an organizational problem given to employees to diagnose and solve †¢ Workshop: workshops are organized by AIBL on a regular interval. Workshops organized by AIBL in 2011 (AIBRTA training & workshops 2011) S/L |Subject |Number |Participants | |1 |Capacity Development in ICC & Internal Audit |1 |21 | |2 |AML Compliance: Independent Testing Procedure |1 |27 | |3 |UCP-600 and its Application |1 |50 | |4 |Implementation of Web Based EXP from matching Through Online System |1 |23 | |5 |Al-Arafah Solar Energy Investment Scheme Management |1 |40 | |6 |Al-Arafah Solar Energy Investment Scheme Operation |1 |29 | |7 |Prevention of Money laundering and Fraud-Forgery in Banking |1 |41 | |8 |Security measures in handing Cash, Cheques and Instrument |1 |42 | |9 |BACH, MICR Cheque & Instrument and Security measure |1 |48 | |10 |Automation In Banking Operation in Bangladesh |1 52 | |11 |Green banking & Environment Risk Management |1 |44 | |12 |AML & CFT Issues(Batch-I/2011) |1 |49 | |13 |AML & CFT Issues(Batch-II/2011) |1 |44 | |14 |Operation Risk Associated with manual payment |1 |40 | |15 |UCP-600 |1 |48 | |16 |Asset Liability Management & Profit Maximization |1 |48 | |17 |General Insurance: bankers issues |1 |44 | |18 |Legal Process of Investment Recovery |1 |38 | |19 |Salesmanship in handling Foreign Remittance |1 |41 | |20 |Supervisory Review Process |1 |30 | |21. |Environment Risk Management & Investment Risk Management |1 |30 | |22. |Asset Liability Management & Profit Maximization |1 |40 | |23. |Renewable Solar Energy Management |1 |42 | |24. |Renewable Solar Energy Operation |1 |51 | |25. Readymade Garments Industry finance in AIBL |1 |48 | |26. |Implementation of Web Based EXP from matching Through Online System |1 |56 | |27. |Green Banking & Environment Risk Management |1 |21 | |28 |Functions of Internal Control & Compliance Division |1 |46 | |29 |Shariah Implementation in Aibl (batch-I) |1 |28 | |30 |ShariahImplementation in Aibl (batch-II) |1 |23 | |31 |AML & CFT Issues |1 |45 | |32 |Control of Primary Securities against Investment |1 |51 | |33 |UCP-950 |1 |23 | | | | | | Outreach Workshop: Outreach workshops are very helpful for providing development programs outside the Dhaka city. (AIBRTA training & workshops 2011) 2011 following outreach workshops are organized by AIBL S/L |Subject |Number |particepents | |1 |Sariah Implementation in Aibl(Veneue Agrabad, Khulna, Zindabazar, |1 |90 | | |Bogra branch) | | | |2 |Money Laundering prevention 2011(lead bank AIBL, Venue: Jhalakathi |1 |33 | | |branch) | | | Executive Workshop: AIBL organizes executive workshop for top level executive. 2011 following executive workshops are organized by AIBL |S/L |Subject |Number |Participants | |1 |Stress Training 1 |42 | |2 |Core Risk management |1 |42 | |3 |CAMEKS Rating & Banks health |1 |35 | |4 |Preparedness for BASEL II |1 |40 | |5 |Internal Control & Compliance |1 |42 | |6 |Corporate Gove rnance |1 |35 | †¢ Role Play: After completing each topic in the training institute, each trainee is sent to the nearest branch of the bank to implement his learning into the real life †¢ In house Development centers/Corporate University: AIBTRA typically offer a catalogue of courses and programs aimed at supporting the employers’ management needs. 3. 3. Organizational Benefits of Training & Development program Productivity: (M. Islam 2012, pers. Comm. , 26 November) Training is a process of learning as well as the function of acquired knowledge aiming at better performance of the employees, while development involves not only the related process but also helps the employees in building up their personalities, at the same time as, improving their progress towards the actualization of their full potentials. In order that the total performance may be improved, organizations need to have trained and experienced people. AIBL practices training and development for their employees with the thinking that their efficiency will increase.They think that these programs are very important for the preparation of the employees with the necessary skills that are required for particular jobs. Besides, failing to reach an expected level of performance of the employees or declines in the productivity also require training and development programs to be administered in the organizations. Team Spirit: Building team Spirit is very important for any organization because everyone in the organization work as a team and most of the time they are dependant with each other. So if they have no team spirit and team coordination then they will be failed to reach the goal and more value to the company. The complexities of various jobs emerge the importance of training and development programs.So AIBL train their employees for building the team spirit among the employees because they know when they practice the team spirit among the employees then the production level ultima tely increase. Organization Climate: This bank is one of the most disciplined Banks with a distinctive corporate culture. Here they  believe in shared meaning, shared understanding and shared sense making. Their people can see and understand events, activities, objects and situation in a distinctive way. They mould their  manners and etiquette, character individually to suit the purpose of the Bank and the needs of the customers who are of paramount importance to us. The people in the Bank see themselves as a tight knit team / family that believe in working together for growth. Health Work Environment:The offices of the Bank situated in the heart of city, generally in commercial surroundings. Offices are centrally air conditioned and well decorated with modern furniture and sophisticated technical Banking equipment. With the advancement of  Technology, offices of the Bank’s are now become paperless; most of the banking tasks are recorded and accomplished here with stron g banking software. They are continuously training employees for getting used to it and employees are learning and implementing very well. Inter and intra office communications are generally held by telephone, fax, internet and cell phones. The interior decorations of the office look gorgeous.Employees do their task in a safe and healthy environment Image: For the image of the company they give training and development to employees because as a big company they have some reputation to other companies and if they want to make them as a strong competitor they should maintain a good image both in the whole industry and to the customer. Profitability: The main agenda of any business is to make profit. For making profit they have to maintain quality products and services and to produce product efficiently. AIBL has different companies and every business’s main purpose is to make profit. So they think about the other factors behind this success so they arrange training and developm ent.Communications: The increasing diversity of today's workforce brings a wide variety of languages and customs. For being successful, it is also important to maintain communications among the employees and the other clients. So it is very important how to communicate with them and in which way it will be more effective. For this reason AIBL arranges some training and development program for their employees. They mainly do this for mid level and top level employees. Ethics: Today's society has increasing expectations about corporate social responsibility. Also, today's diverse workforce brings a wide variety of values and morals to the workplace.So for maintaining ethics they arrange some training and development program and practice this in their organization. Employee Benefits By providing training and development employee also get benefitted from it. Some of the benefit is given below: Training Improves Job Satisfaction: The training program improves the job satisfaction of the employee because when any employee get training then he/she become more efficient about his/her job. He/ she will be rewarded for his/her performance or can get recognition from senior employees which will motivate them. Training gives them knowledge which they share with others and they come out with so many ideas which involve them into work more.So, when his/her efficient level goes up and does the job more efficiently, then the salary of the employee goes up and overall the satisfaction level improves. Increased Employee Motivation: AIBL arranges some orientation program about their new technologies. So when the employees get some information about it and know how it works, then they are more motivated to do the job. But sometimes it’s not about a ‘new’ way of doing things, and simply about reminding each other about the ‘best’ way of doing things. Like any relationship, your employee relationships can get stale unless you consistently invest tim e and effort to remind them how important they are to you, how valued their contributions are, and critically that they are all part of one team—the same team Reduced employee turnover:Training and development increases employee’s motivation so that they eager to do his/her job with the company. So the employee turnovers become low and they tend to stay in the organization for long period of time. 4. 0 Findings ? We have found that all the employee of Al Arafah Islami Bank Limited has got training and thus the employee performance shows great potentiality and skill. The analysis also shows the respondents have got variety of experiences which is taking banks performance upward. ? A respondent as employee of Al Arafah Islami Bank Limited seems in young age and all of the employee educational level exceeds masters which are providing banks performance a great rhythm. Most of employees got 60 days entry level training which is known as Foundation Course and 5 to 10 days m id level training because here number of employees is higher than advance or other level. The bank provides advance and other level training according to their succession plan or situation. ? In Al Arafah Islami Bank Limited the respondents as employees got both on the job training and off the job training from the bank but unfortunately the employees did not international training from the abroad. ? Respondents show that training and development program provided by the bank is well organized and equipped. It also considered that training and development programs are directed and controlled by skilful trainer and these programs are based on banks working activities. Respondents as employees of Al Arafah Islami Bank agreed that training provided bank is beneficial for their working performance. So we can see training and development program provided by Al Arafah Islami Bank has positive effect on employee performance. 5. 0 Recommendations †¢ Al Arafah Islami Bank Ltd is arrangin g initial training employees but in mid level and advanced level they are not arranging well length programs. Al Arafah Islami Bank Ltd must be arranged training program and increase length of these types of training before sending employee which types of training will necessary for the trainees in future and one of the advantages s that no hindrance with regular activities. For these reasons, customer service of the bank will be increased and customer satisfaction will increase. †¢ TNA is essential for every bank to carry out the banking activities and to reach its goal. We know that TNA is the difference between standard performance and the actual performance. The bank should measure TNA before sending for training. Higher authority will take appropriate decisions for each employee to measure TNA and must be fair in their work. †¢ Though the trainers are very much skilful and knowledgeable persons sometimes they are not understand the trainee’s needs or their lack ing. So they must make know the need of trainees. The training and development department of Al Arafah Islami Bank Ltd provides the training to their employees try to improve the training and maintain international standard which helps the bank to reach its mission and vision. 6. 0 LIMITATIONS Followings are the limitations of the project work taken by us: ? One of the limitations of this project study is of the time limitation. Since the duration of our project study is of 4 weeks, it is somehow difficult to fully know any organization like AIBL in this limited time  period. ? Senior managers and others officers in AIBL are also very busy. They do not have enough time for solving our queries in details. Some respondents were conservative as they were hesitated to express their real opinion. ? Main limitation of this report was that the bank did not disclose all the data and main information for obvious reasons, which was could have been very much vital 7. 0 Conclusion Al-Arafah I slami Bank started in 1995 with the said principles in mind and to introduce a modern  banking system based on Al-Quran and Sunnah. Al-Arafah Bank is one of the markets leading bank in the banking sector and it has already proved its presence and contribution in the socioeconomic prospect. For the economic development of a country banking sector plays a vital role .In this project, we briefly discuss about organizational background, mission, vision and in topic analysis we elaborate performance appraisal, training and development program and its benefit. We can conclude that to compete with other bank Al Arafah Islami Bank needs skilful employees this is achieved by the effective training program. They have passed 16 years and  today they have established their own service and Brand with much goodwill. But still they  have problems and they are lagging behind with their competitors. Finally for the betterment of the organization, we hope that if they  take the above mentione d suggestions into account, they will definitely surpass its close  competitors in the banking service. References:Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd. , 2012, Employees’ Service Rules 2009 Al-Arfah Islami Bank Training and Research Academy, 2012, AIBTRA training & workshops 2011 Dhaka AI-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd. , 2012, Annual Performance Report 2011 Al-Arafah Islam Bank Ltd.. , 2012, Company Overview, [online] Retrieved December 13, 2012 , from , http:// http://www. al-arafahbank. com/ Dessler, G. & Varkkey, B. , 2012, Human resource Management, Pearson, India Wikipedia, 2012, Performance evaluation, Potential benefits of PA, [online], Retrieved December 13, 2012 , from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Performance_appraisal [pic][pic][pic] ———————– 32 – 1 –

Philosophy Skepticism Essay

Definitely the most fascinating thing when it comes to skepticism is not that severely philosophically doubtful people are present – it is the opinions that come from guiltless principles and get to amazing deductions. Rationalists like Locke argue that â€Å"all knowledge is based on reason (and the reasoned analysis of certain innate concepts and ideas that are possessed and understood by everyone). † Therefore, the inherent uncertainty of sensory experience (i. e. optical illusions and hallucinations) cannot provide a solid foundation for knowledge. Normally, a skeptic starts from several of explanations for a single situation but they will always end in wrong conclusions. Skepticism can take you to fertile results if you contemplate the following and consider the Sorites Paradox. First of all, admit these three properties. If you have two eyes – and can see clearly- that means you are not blind. And if you have mostly no eyes or cannot see either, then you are not blind. Likewise, if you take off one eye, this does not make you completely blind. So keep taking your two eyes off. Agreeing with this evidence, you should not get blind . However; you would get blind (www. philosophytalk. org). In addition, if we make reference to Descartes’ Meditations dispute. What Descartes argument means is that â€Å"the kind of evidence we have for our beliefs underdetermines what to believe (60). † Hence, we could use Bertrand Russell’s example. Imagine you had some kind of hallucinations consequence from some kind of drug or substance. In this case, how could someone differentiate their ‘dream’ life from their ‘real’ life? Since the skeptic never accepts that we are actually having a dream in the place of living. In fact, the skeptic states that our existing evidence does not regulate the chance that it could be a dream instead of real life. Idealism is definitely a good solution for skepticism. Moreover, skepticism creates the difference among our thoughts or observations and things that provide importance to these thoughts and perceptions such as dreams or any life experience. So, demanding that the universe is part of our ideas would separate the problematic of skepticism. For example, there is nothing concluded about the existence of a chair than just the impression that the table is there. During decades, many philosophers and skeptics have always had an extremist position as a way to give strength to their opinions. Though, idealism is actually more absurd than skepticism and our commonsense should allow us to reject it (Philosophical Reporter (4:50): Polly Stryker interviews Michael Shermer, the director of Skeptic Society). I believe that many skeptical opinions do not necessarily have to be based on a strong formation of knowledge. We can believe whatever we want– whether or not those beliefs are based on a complete form of knowledge? If knowledge is hypothetically that type of belief-with that kind of authority- whatever it is, that sustains skeptical opinions, then we probably do not count the privilege of having that â€Å"knowledge. † Nevertheless, we believe in several things and some of those beliefs are more or less acceptable by argument and/or evidence. Undoubtedly, many of the things we believe in are â€Å"strong enough† for this life with a list full of different and infinite purposes, even if the skeptic is right that none of them deserve the honorific label â€Å"knowledge† (Stroud, 96). Whenever we believe in something, we risk more than having some kind of knowledge . When I purely believe something and do not any doubt it and actually have evidences to support it, then that is when I cannot even have the thought or idea that my belief could be wrong for a certain reason. So Knowledge is in a way stronger than that. One cannot know that p, unless p is the case (Nozick, 109). There are serious doubts about the reliability of sensory experience on human beings in the development of ideas, and the possibility of ‘certain knowledge’ is definitely questionable. So, while experiences are the foundation for knowledge and certainty, we cannot fully trust our experiences, and cannot hope to accomplish certainty in our knowledge of the world. Reasoning a bit, we can realize that knowledge would always be dependable from the passing of time, and that knowledge could change anytime as well. Different kinds of advances, transformations and variations could lead knowledge to be moldable in anyway in any area depending on what we believe now and what we will believe later based on science or the resemblance of the past. All knowledge is a product of human experience, and is not possible that people are born with innate ideas . On the other hand, beliefs will always be based on the criteria of each people that comprise a whole different world, and our beliefs would hardly change the way we see and justify things that surround us in a period of five years or less. I do not think that knowledge is as important as it seems. I tend to believe that the rational part does everything. We want all of our beliefs to be constant under the stress that the rational pressure causes. When those balanced belief are being formed, our goal is to reach those beliefs that are receptive to all the stress of rational beliefs and that even after all that force of a rational belief, they can keep themselves firm. Perhaps a belief that is privileged of having such receptiveness to reasons and could appreciate the stability of not having any pressure by any rational beliefs, and then it would gain the honor to be named knowledge. * www. Philosophytalk. org * Nozick, Robert. An Analysis of Knowledge. Philosophical Inquiry. Indianapolis. Hacket Publishing Company Inc. 2007 * Stroud, Barry. Philosophical Scepticism and Everyday Life. Philosophical Inquiry. Indianapolis. Hacket Publishing Company Inc. 2007 * Descartes, Rene. Meditations on First Philosophy. Philosophical Inquiry. Indianapolis. Hacket Publishing Company Inc. 2007.

Bancassurance in Asia

The effect of bancassurance in the first quarter of 2010, was an increase in total premium income to $26. 91 billion, up 44% compared with the same period of 2009, this represents 8% higher compared to the overall insurance industry growth within the same period. Cotham, 2010) The main contributing factors for this trend have been the rapid growth of the Chinese economy leading to higher per capital income and the multiple economic reforms leading foreign companies to enter the insurance industry. In addition, the regulations introduced in 2003 played a major factor for the bancassurance growth. These regulations permitted banks to have multiple insurers as suppliers (â€Å"many-to-many† model). For instance, some major banks worked with 30 different suppliers for life insurance, and as many as 10 for property and casualty insurance. (Paribas, 2012) Although this model created growth, recently it has contributed to the slow down in the bancassurance market. Through this model, numerous complex insurance products were created and offered to clients by bank staff with minimal insurance expertise. As a result, demand decreased due to the lack of consumer understanding of the product and lack of trust. In addition, other major challenges in the bancassurance market are the financial market volatility (which makes insurance products less appealing compared to other wealth management products), intense competition and constant changes in regulations (particularly the introduction of CBRC 90 which prohibits insurance salesman from selling in banks). In turn, sales have declined. For instance, in 2011, sales through the bancassurance channel declined significantly and were blamed for an overall slowdown in premiums growth, from 29 percent to 11. KPMG,2012) India Just as in China, insurance products in India have been sold traditionally through agents. In addition, the insurance industry was entirely monopolized by the public sector. However, since the opening to private companies in the early 2000’s bancassurance through the distribution model has gained market share. In fact, it now accounts for about 25 per cent of new business for private insurers, with trends indicating that the proportion could rise to 40 per cent by the year 2013 (Cotham, 2012). In addition, India’s rapid economy has also played a major factor on bancassurance growth. However, just as China, India faces major challenges. The major challenges are poor manpower management, lack of a sales culture within the bank, no involvement by the branch manager, insufficient product promotions, failure to integrate marketing plans, marginal database expertise, poor sales channel linkages, inadequate incentives, resistance to change, negative attitudes toward insurance and unwieldy marketing strategy. (Sarvanakumar, 2012) Bancassurance in Asia The effect of bancassurance in the first quarter of 2010, was an increase in total premium income to $26. 91 billion, up 44% compared with the same period of 2009, this represents 8% higher compared to the overall insurance industry growth within the same period. Cotham, 2010) The main contributing factors for this trend have been the rapid growth of the Chinese economy leading to higher per capital income and the multiple economic reforms leading foreign companies to enter the insurance industry. In addition, the regulations introduced in 2003 played a major factor for the bancassurance growth. These regulations permitted banks to have multiple insurers as suppliers (â€Å"many-to-many† model). For instance, some major banks worked with 30 different suppliers for life insurance, and as many as 10 for property and casualty insurance. (Paribas, 2012) Although this model created growth, recently it has contributed to the slow down in the bancassurance market. Through this model, numerous complex insurance products were created and offered to clients by bank staff with minimal insurance expertise. As a result, demand decreased due to the lack of consumer understanding of the product and lack of trust. In addition, other major challenges in the bancassurance market are the financial market volatility (which makes insurance products less appealing compared to other wealth management products), intense competition and constant changes in regulations (particularly the introduction of CBRC 90 which prohibits insurance salesman from selling in banks). In turn, sales have declined. For instance, in 2011, sales through the bancassurance channel declined significantly and were blamed for an overall slowdown in premiums growth, from 29 percent to 11. KPMG,2012) India Just as in China, insurance products in India have been sold traditionally through agents. In addition, the insurance industry was entirely monopolized by the public sector. However, since the opening to private companies in the early 2000’s bancassurance through the distribution model has gained market share. In fact, it now accounts for about 25 per cent of new business for private insurers, with trends indicating that the proportion could rise to 40 per cent by the year 2013 (Cotham, 2012). In addition, India’s rapid economy has also played a major factor on bancassurance growth. However, just as China, India faces major challenges. The major challenges are poor manpower management, lack of a sales culture within the bank, no involvement by the branch manager, insufficient product promotions, failure to integrate marketing plans, marginal database expertise, poor sales channel linkages, inadequate incentives, resistance to change, negative attitudes toward insurance and unwieldy marketing strategy. (Sarvanakumar, 2012)

Responsible Government In The Canadian Regime Essay

Responsible Government In The Canadian Regime - Essay Example Soon, people began to agitate and rebel seeking "reform" of the constitutional system. As a result, Lord Durham was sent to Canada to investigate the cause of the rebellions and to figure out a solution. Lord Durham stressed that "the complete assimilation of French Canadians" (Malcomson and Myers 2005) was necessary and proposed the Act of Union. Further, he stated that a responsible government was needed to handle the situation and the British Government eventually acknowledged the idea. Canada's constitution has therefore been under the principle of responsible government, based on the fusion of power, which is distinct from a separation of powers. This fusion of power is the most important and fundamental factor in the responsible government system that helps the Canadian government remarkably efficient. It also increase voters' accountability, and imposes strong influence over the confidence in the House of Commons. The responsible government which depends on the fusion of power, allows the cabinet not only to acts as an executive but also to take a role in legislative action. There are no "standstills of the sort[and] once the cabinet backed by a parliamentary majoritythere is nothing to stand in its way." (Malcomson and Myers 2005) Because the same group is responsible for legislating, practicing and enforcing the law, they can take decisions without transferring the proposal from one branch to another for permission. Moreover, in a responsible government, the "power is married to responsibility". (Kam, Sept 19, 2006) Under separation of powers, it is hard to blame a particular branch or a person for unsatisfactory political events. However, in a responsible government, the power is fused into one system, and therefore, the responsibility for positive or negative events lies on one entity alone. This also influences the voters' evaluation of their elected servants. The fusion of power increases the accountability to the voters much more than separation of powers. Under the principles of responsible government, the prime minister and the cabinet's legitimacy solely depend on the confidence of the House of Commons which generates unique characteristics for the government. The prime minister and the cabinet are not directly elected by the people. Because of this, their democratic legitimacy depends on the confidence of the House of Commons. Consequently, if the members of the party do no support each other and cooperate in order to endorse the ministry, they will soon lose the confidence of the House and their right to rule would be taken away. For this reason, the party discipline in Canada is pretty strong. Furthermore, it prompts MPs to vote in support of their party instead of their constituents' desires. The dependence on the confidence of the House of Commons also influences the date of the election in Canada. Under the principle of separation of powers, each branch and the president are elected separately. Once they are elected, they each have their own mandate. However, in Canada, "the timing of parliamentary elections is normally decided by the prime minister". They "canlose that confidence at anytime,[so] it is essential to be able to hold elections at any time." (Malcomson and Myers 2005) The responsible government system originated from the British, but soon percolated into the Canadian government, creating distinctive features in the

System Design Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

System Design Report - Assignment Example The additional advantage of conducting the economic feasibility study is that it aids in developing a preliminary projecting of the new client server based system’s benefits in terms of the monetary returns or revenues expected from using the system. The benefits of the new system are expected to mainly come from various sources, that is, one of them being from the increased sales from the rental of the DVDs via the online platform system. The costs incurred in developing the system also form an important part of calculating and determining the economic feasibility of the system. The costs include the costs for acquiring the hardware and software components used during development. Another expense that would be incurred entails the maintenance costs that are factored in during the running processes of the daily operation costs, for example, renting server and hosting space online. This is determined via utilizing the discount rate which aids in defining the present value of the cash receipts and outlays. The Net Present Value (NPV) for this particular proposed system design and implementation project gives a -$27,998.06 amount. This simply means that the business has not yet realized any profit since it is still in the initial stages of its operation. The Return on Investment (ROI) represents the ratio of the cash receipts to that of cash outlay. The Return on Investment (ROI) for this project is at 0.239% which means that the project has realized some resource yielding benefits. It represents the efficiency of the business by highlighting the common profitability of running this business project. The Pay Back Analysis (PBA) focuses on the periods expected for the breakeven point of the business project to be realized. It represents the amount of time necessary for the cumulative cash flow to be equivalent to the original and preliminary ongoing investment. The payback period (Breakeven Point) for the

Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Globalization - Essay Example Before the United States of America was the ultimate supreme ruler and countries like India were low-level underdeveloped nations. However, globalization has changed this. Although these countries cannot yet rise to the same level in terms of development, they are able to learn and understand better the culture and other aspects of development such as in technology and innovations about other countries. Communication has definitely increased in growth. People are now integrated in their thinking to improve and modernize their ways of doing things. Lower level countries can now understand the good concepts of other countries and integrate them in their own country for development. Technology, especially computers, paved the way for Internet, which has made communication so much faster. Freidman, in his book, realizes that the world is flat when he visited several technology companies and call centers in India and also in China. Friedman is later told that the playing field right now h as been leveled, a condition in which all companies and businesses have an equal chance of being successful and on top. Now, countries like India can participate in the competition for worldwide understanding and knowledge, flattening to the point where businesses, small or big, can collaborate and vie globally. Globalization has caused several effects in the development of many areas in development and growth. In the military, it has flattened through the use of computer technology. Now, low-status officers and recruited men could gain access to different kinds of information through the Internet. Education is also now available through the Internet. Online schooling is now possible. American people can be lectured, coached and instructed online by Indian tutors. Information is spread throughout the world and is now continually flowing to even the remote locations in several countries. In terms of trade and commerce, advertising and sales can be done through television and the inte rnet as well which is seen by more audiences in a cheaper and a more low-cost way. Because of the flat world, there is an emergence and the beginning of worldwide production markets that have dramatically increased the development of international trade within the past five decades. In addition, in terms of economy, in my opinion, countries now have the same and equal opportunity to become the number one power in terms of wealth. Before, the United States was the main world power and it has maintained a sturdy and rich economy. But because of globalization, China grew tremendously, competing with America, and it has been predicted that in twenty years time with this kind of rate from China, it will have enough to rival with the United States. Communication to the social public has now effectively increased and grew. Tri media has now become cheaper and cheaper to the point where it has become affordable to everyone, enabling it to reach a larger audience faster and in a more afforda ble way. Culture has also become influenced and has changed. Cultural diffusion, or the sharing an the spreading of ideas, the contact between cultural countries, adopting new cultures and practices and technology has bloomed, flourished and tremendously grew. Cultural diversity is now more apparent such as the emergence of international pop culture and trends. With all this development and the rise

The Jubilee Debt Campaign Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Jubilee Debt Campaign - Essay Example This paper suggests that while reckless or self-interested lending by the rich world is indeed a factor, one significant aspect that must be neglected is the weakness of the developing countries with regard to its democratic institutions and regulatory mechanisms. In many, if not most, instances, it is the leaders of the developing countries themselves that subvert the development trajectory of the respective nations and compromise the well-being of their citizens. Domestic policy has played a big, if not key role, in the debt crisis of the third world. Leftwich suggests that official Western aid policy and development thinking is dominated by a new orthodoxy that good governance and democracy is not only desirable but also necessary. In many aid and loan agreements, however, precisely what is being taken advantage of is the dismal lack of democratic structures and glaring issues of governance. The point is that it is impossible to work out an economic recovery program while followin g the debt-repayment schedule of the creditors. Despite two decades of death relief efforts, the problem still remains. Hardships are evident, and many mass protests have taken place as a result of these hardships. A very good example of this is when precious government resources are channeled to debt restructuring instead of capital expenditures. The researcher takes a look at the example of Asian countries during the period of 1985 to 1995. Contrary to doctrinaire free-market economics, institutional economists argue that government financial resources devoted to building physical or social infrastructure or shoring up domestic demand â€Å"crowd in† rather than â€Å"crowd out† private investment, including foreign investment. For instance, one key study of a panel of developing economies from1980 to 1997 found that public investment, complemented private investment, and that, on average, a 10-percent increase in public investment was associated with a 2-percent inc rease in private investment.

The fashion clothing industry Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

The fashion clothing industry - Case Study Example Primark operates in 167 in UK, Spain and Ireland with one-third of its stores in Ireland and two-thirds in UK. Since September 2006, 23 new stores have opened to give 4.4 million sq ft of retail selling space. First established in 1969 as Penneys in Mary St (Dublin), Primark Stores Ltd., is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods Plc (ABF) a publicly quoted company. Primark is the leading player in UK's no-frills fashion retailers. Primark is a fast fashion trend setter for the consumers of age below 30. . Primark's profits rose 30% in 2005 off the back of a 17% sales increase (sales were worth over 1bn).( The Guardian) In 1997, the combined wholesale sales revenue of the UK fashion design companies was about 600m, over half from overseas sales. The fashion clothing sales revenues have grown from just 185m in 1990, an increase of 225% over seven years giving a compound annual rate of growth of more than 18%. (Designer Fashion) The UK industry, though experiencing strong growth, is still small by comparison with France (whose industry, including revenue from perfume, accessories etc, is worth 900m), Italy (1.5bn) and the US (5.2bn). Led by Paul Smith, and international experience suggests that there is room for growth in this sector. Overall, it is reasonable to project that the fashion industry will continue to grow at around a rate of 5% per year in nominal terms. ((Designer Fashion) Ac SWOT Analysis: While understanding the business strategy of any organization, the initial step to consider the SWOT analysis of the company. According to Chuck Williams, co-author Managing Organizations, "Strength and weakness are considered internal to the company while opportunities and threats are seen in the environment external to the company. (Williams, C. et al) Strengths: Cost Leadership: Primark's core strength lies in low price offer to the clothing consumer. This can be studied as cost advantage of the firm in the following sections. The company also exhibits Cost leadership strategy. Primark has a tactful strategy in offering speedy markets sales that replicate the hot trends of the fashion show within less time for cheap prices. The clothing is highly admired by teenage girls, mothers and young lads. Speed to market: The primark release the new fashion into the market in a rapid manner. While that fashion item is still in demand and hot in the market, it appears in the stores of primark. Value for money. Primark gives value to consumer's money. In primark's view, value to money is equal to quality compared to price. So, consumers are fully satisfied with the quality of clothes in primark and about prices. Efficient distribution: Having maximum hype is not enough to sustain in retailing market, delivering in time to retailers is also most important for business. This is possible through the efficient channel partners for distribution to primark. Delivering the products in time is the factor of success. Segmentation & Targeting: Primark's focus strategy is it targeted the fashion conscious in young people only under the age of 35, by offering high quality. Fashion basics at value for money prices. Primark is proud on its loyal customer base.

Changing Labor Markets and Demographics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Changing Labor Markets and Demographics - Essay Example Based on this, economic security is not only achievable by one being in employment but also the amount of work and the remuneration he or she gets from employment (Schiller, 2008). Two approaches are instrumental when measuring the length of time that one works. These include the number of weeks one spends at work in a year and the number of hours one spends in a week. Cumulatively, this leads to the computation of the sum of hours a worker spends in employment for a whole year. According to available statistics, the higher the number of weeks spent at work by households, the lower the rates of poverty. This statement directly affects workers who work part time. There are more full time workers than part time in the economy. This insinuates that the work experience of the poor is not properly highlighted by such a rate of incidence. According to the U.S Department of Labor, â€Å"persons who have devoted 27 weeks or more to working or looking for work and who lived in families with incomes below the official poverty threshold† are denoted as the working poor (U.S Department of Labor, 2012). In chapter 8 of the same book, Schiller traces back the poverty situation in America during the 1960s. During this period, many Americans believed that targeted assistance and economic growth could eliminate poverty. This was the War on Poverty initiated by Lyndon Johnson. The results of the war include an improved economy, 70 per cent rise in house incomes and an expanded employed labor hitting the 70 million mark. The U.S government dedicated a significant proportion of its expenditure than ran into billions of dollars into programs that aid the poor. However, poverty is yet to disappear in totality (Lofquist, Lugaila, Lofquist, & Feliz, 2012). This is because even the 1980s and 90s, economic expansions have only reduced the population of the poor in the U.S dismally. The fact that increased economic growth is unable to tame poverty levels is an issue that has elici ted numerous debates. One such debate focused on the existence of an underclass. These poor people have been alienated along social lines. These persons fail to match with the conventional values, prosperity and incentives (Jenkins, 2012). Schiller decided to explore the culture of poverty to understand the reason behind the existence of this group within the American population. This culture spans back to the colonial times when poverty was regarded as the symptom of sin or a vice. This was attributable to the availability of opportunities of economic security that could be acquired by self except the black man. In this context, the poor people were considered as morally bankrupt and received harsh treatment. For instance, the shoulders of the paupers in Pennsylvania were marked with letter P to serve as warning to unsuspecting members of the population. These kinds of culture portray how some behaviors and norms contributed to the difficulties when addressing poverty (Lofquist, Lu gaila, Lofquist, & Feliz, 2012). Mishel, Bivens, Gould and Shierholz in The State of Working America, examine how the policy driven inequality blocks affect the living standards for the low and middle income Americans. The authors share the view that the United States’ economy has done nothing to improve the living standards for majority of American households. This is because wealth inequality accruing from unfair rise in income and wages characterizes the economy. The rise in this trend is attributable to policy responses that

Hydrolics Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hydrolics - Lab Report Example Pressures are examined at low, mid and also at high flow conditions. The spillway is one of the most important structures that should be given priority in a dam project. Spillways constructed along with the dams help in controlling excess water or flood hence ensuring the safety of the project. It is also vital that the design of the spillway facilities be done with enough capacity to help avoid overtopping of the dam, especially where an earth fill or rock fill dam type is used for the purpose of the project. The ogee-crested spillway has superior hydraulic characteristics. It has the ability to pass flow efficiently and safely when it is properly designed, with good flow measuring capabilities and this has enabled its application in a variety of situations by engineers. Though much is understood about the ogee shape and about its flow characteristics, it is also clear that a slight deviation from any conventional design parameter like change in the upstream flow conditions, a slightly modified crest shape or construction variations can significantly alter properties of the flow. These minor adjustments require that engineers carry out evaluation of the crest and also to determine whether the change or deviation will adversely affect the performance of the spillway or not. The ski jump spillways are basic in their design as they transfer the excess water from behind the dam. They usually have a â€Å"flip lip† and a dissipater basin which helps create a hydraulic jump and therefore protecting the toe of the dam from erosion. . An Ogee spillway was properly installed and the highest discharge was chosen and then using the weir boards, we created a USBR Type 1 stilling basin, with a hydraulic jump being within the stilling basin. We also ensured that the gradient on the flume was set at 3%. †¢ . Similarly a ski jump spillway was properly installed and the highest discharge was chosen and then using the weir boards, we created a USBR Type 1 stilling

Discuss Shakespeares Essay Example for Free

Discuss Shakespeares Essay The women of Shakespearean literature have been known to have a strong emotional complexity, where each of them find themselves subject to adversities based around the powerful men who influence them. From Lady Annes striking romantic confusion in Richard III, to Violas challenges in morality throughout Twelfth Night, such a Shakespearean signature in portraying women persists in Hamlet; through Gertrude, a Queen dealing with her questionable actions and Ophelia, who struggles with the pressures of male authority. It should come as no surprise that although being a 16th century play, the exploration of female issues of tradition, misogyny, romance and mortality allows Hamlets treatment of women to maintain a highly significant relevance in todays modern world. Elizabethan women held very little social rights and power, with strict roles in child bearing and household duties allowing them to have very little say even within their own lives. Despite clearly being set in Denmark, Shakespeare who was writing during this time, extended this traditional roles to Ophelia and Gertrude. Ophelia in particular displays the role more strongly, with critic David Leverenz noting [Ophelia] has no choice but to say I shall obey, my lord'. In this example of Ophelias compliant nature, after her father, Polonius orders her to not give words or talk with Lord Hamlet- (I. 3), the reader is able to view the customary relationship between a woman and the male figures in her life. Though Gertrude does not give any particularly submissive dialogue, even she as Queen reinforces this relationship in her minimal speech in scenes for which she is not only present, but concerned. It is important for modern critics like Leverenz as well as critical feminist readers to recognize that Ophelia and Gertrude are not necessarily weak and passive in personal character, but instead they are reflection of women (especially royal women) who were oppressed of empowering traits by the socially acceptable customs. Readers should instead appreciate this traditional treatment of women, in not only allowing the men in positions of power to be focused on for the sake of theatrical entertainment and drama, but for also extensively juxtaposing with motifs of insanity, revenge, sin, and violence associated with the powerful male leads; King Claudius, the Ghost of King Hamlet and Prince Hamlet. Though Shakespeare has been regarded as a feminist due to his relatively respectful treatments of women, the existence of this respect in Hamlet has been debated ever since the plays inception. As previously stated, the traditional portrayal of obedient women cannot be taken out of context, however as the play increases in intensity, as does its treatment of women. In his very first soliloquy for which he reveals his anger towards his mothers marriage to his uncle two months after his fathers death, Hamlet makes the striking universal comment Frailty thy name is woman (I. 2). In an example of Shakespeares unparalleled literary craftsmanship, he supports this quote through their actions, how upon her husbands death, Gertrude immediately marries his brother and how after her relationship with Hamlet is doomed, Ophelia begins to go mad herself. The quote is also infamously regarded as the establishment of the plays theme of misogyny, the quote indicates how Gertrudes traditionally incestuous marriage to her late husbands brother has ruined his faith in women and love all together. In an almost Freudian pattern, Ophelia then becomes victim to his misogyny with Hamlets refusal to continue their relationship. More analytical readers would then go beyond this basic evaluation and then find possible interpretations of Hamlets treatment, or as it seems, mistreatment of women. Those sympathetic to Hamlets negative attitude to Ophelia would perceive it as a defense mechanism, where between his grief of his father and desire to please his father through revenge, he must then resort to such discrimination to avoid further pain. In contrast to this sympathetic reception, quotes such as Frailty thy name is woman and [tis brief, my lord].. as a womans love (III. 3) may be seen as to defy fictional character and be the manifestation of Shakespeares own personal opinion, though evidence for this in his marriage with Anne Hathaway is not very strong. Through either interpretation, it is undeniable that so far in the play the women have yet to find themselves in a state of happiness. Another significant aspect of Hamlets treatment of women, is how the currently negative treatment is extended to how Shakespeare portrays their sexuality. For instance, after Ophelia is warned to not lose your heart, or [her] chaste treasure open by her brother Laertes, she gives her virginity to Hamlet. When Hamlet discards marriage, she says with in a particularly distressed tone Quoth she, before you tumbled me, /You promised me to wed. /So would I ha done, by yonder sun, /An thou hadst not come to my bed -(IV. 5). During Act 3, Scene 2 when the mouse-trap play is taking place, Ophelia must also be subjected to Hamlets sexual innuendos such as Thats a fair thought to lie between maids legs. for which she cannot reply in order to remain as a respectable lady. Again, Shakespeare indicates another aspect of Elizabethan women, with how female sexuality was highly conservative and their virginity very strictly only being lost with marriage with those not doing so being thought of as a disgrace. The readers sympathy for Ophelia is therefore increased substantially, where, who then later tells her to get the to the nunnery (III. 1) which shows her as an exploited figure. Gertrudes sexual behaviour, more specifically her decision to marry Claudius, has come under immense scrutiny not only by Hamlet who defeminised her by saying A beast would have mourned longer , but also by critics viewing her as sinful and in blunt Elizabethan terms, a whore. Critic Rebecca Smith commented on how this view is commonly translated to stage productions where she is often played as a sensual and deceitful woman. For a balanced view on Gertrude, it is imperative to note how she too is attempting to deal with her grief and there is a great possibility she is doing this for reasons of maintaining her families power. As for being deceitful, Carolyn Heilbruns 1957 essay Hamlets Mother defends Gertrude, arguing that the text never hints that Gertrude knew of Claudius poisoning King Hamlet. . As Hamlet progresses towards its conclusion, instead of the female characters developments becoming positive, the plot continues to prove devastating for them. Ophelia, upon the death of Laertes and Polonius, as well as Hamlets mistreatment seems to drive herself into madness and her death by drowning. Although truly saddening, the way in which Shakespeare presents her death reveals the beauty which has been overshadowed by tragedy. In expected Shakespearean style, the poetic announcement given by Gertrude uses beautiful naturalistic imagery to testament to Ophelias femininity, with When down her weedy trophies and herself/Fell in the weeping brook. Her clothes spread wide;/And, mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up: /Which time she chanted snatches of old tunes;(IV. 7). From that point on she is referred to as beautiful and sweet by Hamlet and Gertrude respectively, further emphasizing her graceful nature. To directly juxtapose with this, is the death of Gertrude, who poisoned by her son makes her last words with grace, No, no, the drink, the drink! -O my dear Hamlet! /The drink, the drink! I am poisoned. (V. 2). Her elegant demise in the midst of the blood and violence could be seen as her true nature also obscured by the plays tragic events like Ophelia, where Shakespeare perhaps reveals the real personalities of the women upon their death. However Gertrude sympathetics, may acknowledge that the murder and negative perception of Gertrude by Hamlet whose state of mind is generally perceived as mad and insane, calling her a wretched queen may in fact be incorrect because of this therefore proving her relative innocence. Shakespeare in both their developments and deaths, shows a treatment of women where through the violence of their deaths they still maintain a pleasant feminine quality that is given a focus that was previously absent in the play. No matter the perceptive of the reader on the plays treatment of women, they should be able to appreciate Shakespeares realistic portrayal, where although he took creative liberties in some circumstances, he gave true Elizabethan indications of female traditional roles and sexual attitudes on women. It was through writing with conviction (not only through staying true to the context but in showing Ophelias and Gertrudes emotion and complexity) that the play attains its status of one of the best of his classics. The two women are thought to be superficial, but considering the devices such as tone, juxtaposition and imagery as well as analysing their character intentions and behaviour it should be extremely apparent that this is not true and that they obviously do display depth. Secondly, I feel that in the question of whether Shakespeare was a feminist or even a misogynist that the answer cannot be found in Hamlet where his treatment of women in Hamlet is actually neutral. The female characters were designed not for the reader to be focused on who they were, but for what they brought out in other characters. More specifically, Ophelia and Gertrude were therefore created to see how romance, affection and love can truly drive a man insane.

Aegis Case Analysis Essay Example for Free

Aegis Case Analysis Essay The main question posed in this case is whether Aegis management should continue the relationships with their partners ProPack and POMS, and if they decided to continue with the relationships, how to structure them more effectively. Operating in a slumping economy, Aegis was worried about their level of sales resulting from the partnerships they had entered into. The main goal for Aegis when entering into both partnerships was to bolster sales, and neither company had accomplished that. With the possibility of terminating either relationship, Aegis would have to find another strategy for improved sales. With the absence of this strategy, it will be more productive for the company to restructure their existing relationships. Looking at this case through the concept of strategic alliances will help to find a strategy that will pull Aegis out of its downhill slide. For both relationships, Aegis has entered into licensing and distribution agreements. POMS and ProPack have combined their name with Aegis for separate products, as well as working together to distribute each other’s products. Unfortunately, in this situation economies of scale will not work to lower costs because of the nature of the product and the industry Aegis is competing in. Aegis and its partners have developed a product that is the technological standard for its category, but can continue to add value to the product, making it desirable and useful in the future. In my opinion, the best way to increase the benefits of these relationships is to foster an environment of trust and communication to operate in. This may mean revisiting the contracts that are in place to redefine what each entity wants out of the agreement, and the best way to go about creating sales. If they can do this effectively I believe the companies will work better together, creating more value for potential customers. This will result in an increase in sales for their products.

Cyber Crime: Strategies and Types

Cyber Crime: Strategies and Types Cyber Crime: Identity Theft A. Introduction In this era of globalization, one of many things that can distinguish a developed country to a developing country is its progress of science and technology. This is because along with the development of a countrys science and technology, will also developed the countrys ability to enrich their own potential. Great advances in science and technology in developed country are due to their well-established information system. Meanwhile, in the developing country, the information system is still minimal, which make the development of science and technology become blocked. Thus, whether a country will become a developed country or not, is highly depend on their mastery of information system. In times like these, the mastery of the information system will not enough by merely mastering. We need to conquer the speed and accuracy too, because there is almost no point in mastering outdated information. Moreover, the very rapid progress of information makes the age of the information shorted. In other words, substitution of old and new information becomes faster. Old information will be ignored because of the more recent information. But, the development of science and technology, in which also means the development of information system, does not always have good effects. It has bad effects too. One of them is the increased rate of the computer crime. B. Computer Crime Computer crime issues have become high-profile, particularly those surrounding hacking, copyright infringement through warez, child pornography, and child grooming. There are also problems of privacy when confidential information is lost or intercepted, lawfully or otherwise. A computer crime is any illegal action where the data on a computer is accesed without permission. This access does not have to result in loss of data or even data modifications. Computer crime is often attributed to rogue hackers and crackers, but increasingly organized crime groups have realized the relative ease of stealing data with low-level of risk. There are three major classes of criminal activity with computer: 1. Unauthorized use of a computer, which might involve stealing a username and password, or might involve accessing the victims computer via the Internet through a backdoor operated by a Trojanhorse program. Unauthorized use of computers tends generally takes the following forms: Computer voyeur. The attackers read or copy confidential or propietary information, but the data is neither deleted nor changed. Changing data. Example, changing a grade on a school transcript. Unauthorized changing of data is generally a fraudulent act. Deleting data. Deleting entire files could be an act of vandalism or sabotage. Denying service to authorized users. 2. Creating or releasing a malicious computer program (e.g., computer virus, worm, Trojanhorse). Malicious computer program are divided into these following classes: 1) A virus is a program that infects an executable file. After infection, the executable file functions in a different way than before: maybe only displaying a benign message on the monitor, maybe deleting some or all files on the users hard drive, or maybe altering data files. There are two key features of a computer virus: The ability to propagate by attaching itself to executable files (e.g., application programs, operating system, macros, scripts, bootsector of a hard disk or floppy disk, etc.) Running the executable file may make new copies of the virus. The virus causes harm only after it has infected an executable file and the executable file is run. 2) A worm is a program that copies itself. The distinction between a virus and a worm, is that a virus never copies itself, a virus is copied only when the infected executable file is run. In the pure, original form, a worm neither deleted nor changed files on the victims computer, the worm simply made multiple copies of itself and sent those copies from the victims computer, thus clogging disk drives and the Internet with multiple copies of the worm. Releasing such a worm into the Internet will slow the legitimate traffic on the Internet, as continuously increasing amounts of traffic are mere copies of the worm. 3) A Trojan Horse is a deceptively labeled program that contains at least one function that is unknown to the user and that harms the user. A Trojan Horse does not replicate, which distinguishes it from viruses and worms. Some of the more serious Trojan horses allow a hacker to remotely control the victims computer, perhaps to collect passwords and creditcard numbers and send them to the hacker, or perhaps to launch denial of service attacks on websites. Some Trojan Horses are installed on a victims computer by an intruder, without any knowledge of the victim. Other Trojan Horses are downloaded (perhaps in an attachment in e-mail) and installed by the user, who intends to acquire a benefit that is quite different from the undisclosed true purpose of the Trojan Horse. 4) A logic bomb is a program that detonates when some event occurs. The detonated program might stop working, crash the computer, release a virus, delete data files, or any of many other harmful possibilities. Atimebomb is a type of logicbomb, in which the program detonates when the computers clock reaches some target date. 5) A hoax is a warning about a nonexistent malicious program. 3. Crimes facilitated by computer networks or devices, the primary target of which is independent of the computer network or device (cyber crime) Examples of crimes that merely use computer networks or devices would include : Cyber stalking Fraud and identity theft Phishings scams Information warfare The third type of Computer Crime has become the most famous right now, because it produce more benefits than the other two. C. Cyber Crime The Internet is a new frontier. Just like the Wild, Wild West, the Internet frontier is wide open to both exploitation and exploration. There are no sheriffs on the Information Superhighway. No one is there to protect you or to to lock-up virtual desperados and bandits.This lack of supervision and enforcement leaves users to watch out for themselves and for each other.A loose standard called netiquette has developed but it is still very different from the standards found in real life.Unfortunately, cyberspace remains wide open to faceless, nameless con artists that can carry out all sorts of mischief. And that is why the cyber crimes can be as they are right now. Cyber Crime is a criminal activity done using a computers and the internet. This includes anything from downloading illegal music files to stealing millions of dollars from online bank accounts. Cyber crime also includes non-monetary offenses, such as creating and distributing viruses on other computers or posting confidential business information on the internet. Cases of cyber crime, 1970 2005: 1970 1990 1. John Draper discovers the give-away whistle in Capn Crunch cereal boxes reproduces a 2600Hz tone. Draper builds a ‘blue box that, when used with the whistle and sounded into a phone receiver, allows phreaks to make free calls 2. Robert T. Morris, Jr., graduate student at Cornell University and son of a chief scientist at the NSA, launches a self-replicating worm (the Morris Worm) on the governments ARPAnet (precursor to the Internet). The worm gets out of hand and spreads to over 6000 networked computers, clogging government and university systems. Morris is dismissed from Cornell, sentenced to three years probation, and fined $10K. 3. After a prolonged sting investigation, Secret Service agents swoop down on organizers and members of BBSs in 14 US cities, including the Legion of Doom. The arrests are aimed at cracking down on credit-card theft and telephone and wire fraud.(1990) 1991 2000 1. Five members of the Aum Shinri Kyo cults Ministry of Intelligence break into Mitsubishi Heavy Industrys mainframe and steal Megabytes of sensitive data. (1994) 2. Hackers adapt to emergence of the World Wide Web, moving all their how-to information and hacking programs from the old BBSs to new hacker Web sites.(1994) 3. Russian crackers steal $10 million from Citibank. Vladimir Levin, the ringleader, uses his work laptop after hours to transfer the funds to accounts in Finland and Israel. He is tried in the US and sentenced to 3 years in prison. All but $400K of the money is recovered. (1995) 4. The French Defense Ministry admits Hackers succeeded in stealing acoustic codes for aircraft carriers and submarines. (1995) 5. FBI establishes fake security start-up company in Seattle and lures two Russian citizens to U.S. soil on the pretense of offering them jobs, then arrests them. The Russians are accused of stealing credit card information, attempting to extort money from victims, and defrauding PayPal by using stolen credit cards to generate cash. (2000) 2001 2005 1. Microsoft become victim of a new type of attack against domain name servers, corrupting the DNS paths taking users to Microsofts Web sites. This is a Denial of Service (DoS) attack. The hack is detected within hours, but prevents millions of users from reaching Microsoft Web pages for two days. (2001) 2. The Klez.H worm becomes the biggest malware outbreak in terms of machines infected, but causes little monetary damage. (2002) 3. Two men hack into wireless network at Lowes store in Michigan and steal credit card information. (2003) 4. Brian Salcedo sentenced to 9 years for hacking into Lowes home improvement stores and attempting to steal customer credit card information. Prosecutors said three men tapped into the wireless network of a Lowes store and used that connection to enter the chains central computer system in NC, installing a program to capture credit card information. (2004) 5. Secret Service seizes control of the Shadowcrew Web site and arrests 28 people in 8 states and 6 countries. They are charged with conspiracy to defraud the US. Nicolas Jacobsen, is charged with hacking into a T-Mobile computer system, exposing documents the Secret Service had e-mailed to an agent. (2004) Australian Institute of Criminology, 9 types of cycber crime: 1. Theft of telecommunication service The phone phreakers of three decades ago set a precedent for what has become a major criminal industry. By gaining access to an organisations telephone switchboard (PBX) individuals or criminal organisations can obtain access to dial-in/dial-out circuits and then make their own calls or sell call time to third parties. Offenders may gain access to the switchboard by impersonating a technician, by fraudulently obtaining an employees access code, or by using software available on the internet. Some sophisticated offenders loop between PBX systems to evade detection. Additional forms of service theft include capturing calling card details and on-selling calls charged to the calling card account, and counterfeiting or illicit reprogramming of stored value telephone cards. 2. Communication in furtherance of criminal conspiracies There is evidence of telecommunications equipment being used to facilitate organised drug trafficking, gambling, prostitution, money laundering, child pornography and trade in weapons (in those jurisdictions where such activities are illegal). The use of encryption technology may place criminal communications beyond the reach of law enforcement. 3. Telecommunications privacy Digital technology permits perfect reproduction and easy dissemination of print, graphics, sound, and multimedia combinations. The temptation to reproduce copyrighted material for personal use, for sale at a lower price, or indeed, for free distribution, has proven irresistable to many. 4. Dissemination of offensive materials Content considered by some to be objectionable exists in abundance in cyberspace. This includes, among much else, sexually explicit materials, racist propaganda, and instructions for the fabrication of incendiary and explosive devices. Telecommunications systems can also be used for harassing, threatening or intrusive communications, from the traditional obscene telephone call to its contemporary manifestation in cyber-stalking, in which persistent messages are sent to an unwilling recipient. 5. Electronic money laundering and tax evasion With the emergence and proliferation of various technologies of electronic commerce, one can easily envisage how traditional countermeasures against money laundering and tax evasion may soon be of limited value. I may soon be able to sell you a quantity of heroin, in return for an untraceable transfer of stored value to my smart-card, which I then download anonymously to my account in a financial institution situated in an overseas jurisdiction which protects the privacy of banking clients. I can discreetly draw upon these funds as and when I may require, downloading them back to my stored value card (Wahlert 1996). 6. Electronic vandalism, terrorism and extortion As never before, western industrial society is dependent upon complex data processing and telecommunications systems. Damage to, or interference with, any of these systems can lead to catastrophic consequences. Whether motivated by curiosity or vindictiveness electronic intruders cause inconvenience at best, and have the potential for inflicting massive harm (Hundley and Anderson 1995, Schwartau 1994). While this potential has yet to be realised, a number of individuals and protest groups have hacked the official web pages of various governmental and commercial organisations (Rathmell 1997). http://www.2600.com/hacked_pages/ (visited 4 January 2000). This may also operate in reverse: early in 1999 an organised hacking incident was apparently directed at a server which hosted the Internet domain for East Timor, which at the time was seeking its independence from Indonesia (Creed 1999). 7. Sales and investment fraud As electronic commerce becomes more prevalent, the application of digital technology to fraudulent endeavours will be that much greater. The use of the telephone for fraudulent sales pitches, deceptive charitable solicitations, or bogus investment overtures is increasingly common. Cyberspace now abounds with a wide variety of investment opportunities, from traditional securities such as stocks and bonds, to more exotic opportunities such as coconut farming, the sale and leaseback of automatic teller machines, and worldwide telephone lotteries (Cella and Stark 1997 837-844). Indeed, the digital age has been accompanied by unprecedented opportunities for misinformation. Fraudsters now enjoy direct access to millions of prospective victims around the world, instantaneously and at minimal cost. 8. Illegal Interception of telecommunications Developments in telecommunications provide new opportunities for electronic eavesdropping. From activities as time-honoured as surveillance of an unfaithful spouse, to the newest forms of political and industrial espionage, telecommunications interception has increasing applications. Here again, technological developments create new vulnerabilities. The electromagnetic signals emitted by a computer may themselves be intercepted. Cables may act as broadcast antennas. Existing law does not prevent the remote monitoring of computer radiation. It has been reported that the notorious American hacker Kevin Poulsen was able to gain access to law enforcement and national security wiretap data prior to his arrest in 1991 (Littman 1997). In 1995, hackers employed by a criminal organisation attacked the communications system of the Amsterdam Police. The hackers succeeded in gaining police operational intelligence, and in disrupting police communications 9. Electronic funds transfer fraud Electronic funds transfer systems have begun to proliferate, and so has the risk that such transactions may be intercepted and diverted. Valid credit card numbers can be intercepted electronically, as well as physically; the digital information stored on a card can be counterfeited. Right now electronic funds transfer fraud is the most famous type of cyber crime. Every year the rate of case about electronic funds transfer fraud always increasing especially in credit card information stealing. From www.spamlaws.com they wrote about credit card stealing in 2005,†Credit card fraud statistics show that about $2.8 million was lost due to credit card fraud, from fraudulent use of MasterCard and Visa alone. In total, credit card fraud costs cardholders and credit card issuers as much as $500 million a year.† Identity Theft Identity theft is really identity fraud. This criminal uses someone elses identity for their own illegal purposes.Examples include fraudulently obtaining credit, stealing money from the victims bank accounts, using the victims credit card number, establishing accounts with utility companies, renting an apartment, or even filing bankruptcy using the victims name. The cyberimpersonator can steal unlimited funds in the victims name without the victim even knowing about it for months, or even years. Anyone who relies heavily on credit cards, Social Security Numbers or network blogging is more susceptible to credit identity theft. Many of our modern conveniences also come with a risk and less protection. The digital age is the perfect age for the Cyber criminal to commit it. Think of the internet as a dark alley in the middle of the night. And these cyber criminals are those people hiding there waiting for the victims to make a mistake. Credit identity theft is a very damaging crime because it not only damages the person financially but also damages the persons reputation as well. Imagine someone borrowing money using your name and never telling you. You will both bear with the burden of paying back the money he borrowed and suffer the humiliation of having this blunder under your name. Identity theft has been referred to by some as the crime of the new millennium. It can be accomplished anonymously, easily, with a variety of means, and the impact upon the victim can be devastating. Identity theft is simply the theft of identity information such as a name, date of birth, Social Security number (SSN), or a credit card number. The mundane activities of a typical consumer during the course of a regular day may provide tremendous opportunities for an identity thief: purchasing gasoline, meals, clothes, or tickets to an athletic event; renting a car, a video, or home-improvement tools; purchasing gifts or trading stock on-line; receiving mail; or taking out the garbage or recycling. Any activity in which identity information is shared or made available to others creates an opportunity for identity theft. It is estimated that identity theft has become the fastest-growing financial crime in America and perhaps the fastest-growing crime of any kind in our society. The illegal use of identity information has increased exponentially in recent years. In fiscal year 1999 alone, the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Fraud Hotline received approximately 62,000 allegations involving SSN misuse. The widespread use of SSNs as identifiers has reduced their security and increased the likelihood that they will be the object of identity theft. The expansion and popularity of the Internet to effect commercial transactions has increased the opportunities to commit crimes involving identity theft. The expansion and popularity of the Internet to post official information for the benefit of citizens and customers has also increased opportunities to obtain SSNs for illegal purposes. Victims of identity theft often do not realize they have become victims until they attempt to obtain financing on a home or a vehicle. Only then, when the lender tells them that their credit history makes them ineligible for a loan, do they realize something is terribly wrong. When they review their credit report, they first become aware of credit cards for which they have never applied, bills long overdue, unfamiliar billing addresses, and inquiries from unfamiliar creditors. Even if they are able to identify the culprit, it may take months or years, tremendous emotional anguish, many lost financial opportunities, and large legal fees, to clear up their credit history. Identity theft occurs in many ways, ranging from careless sharing of personal information, to intentional theft of purses, wallets, mail, or digital information. There are some reasons why the attacker can steal the credit card information: 1. Unsecured network Example: 1. Poisoning Poisoning technique is quiet complicated. First, the attackers need to connect to the same network with the target. After that, the attackers have to look for the IP address of the target. The next step, the attackers should poison the target computer with ARP poisoning or with trojan horse. Then the computer target will move following the attackers track. The attackers will bring the target into fake shop site, and make the target unrealized that he/she has entered the credit card information. 2. Sniffing This technique is unstable, why? Because its depend on the attackers luck. Just like poisoning, the attackers have to connect to the same network with the target. After that, the attackers should scan all of MAC address in the network. Next, the attackers start the sniffing program, such as Cain and Able or Wireshark. Last, the attackers should wait until someone in the network open a shop site and enter the information of the credit card. 2. Vulnerabilities on the site Example: 1. SQL Injection With this vulnerability the attacker can enter admin panel without knowing the username and password. They just need to enter a right syntax as username and password to enter the admin panel. If they are already in admin panel they can see the complete information of the buyer. 2. Blind SQL Injection Blind SQL injection is the most favorite vulnerability for the attackers. The attackers will only need the web browser to do this technique. First, the attackers have to found a right page to be injected with some syntax. After that the attackers should drop all database table, and looking for user table or admin table. If there is user table the attackers can drop the column and the attackers could get the full data of the user, included the credit card information. But, if user table doesnt exist, the attackers should use the admin table. The attackers should drop the admin column and search for the admin password. After the attackers cracks the admins username and password, the attackers could go to the admin panel and look for the information of the buyer. 3. Order log Order log is an old vulnerability, but theres still websites that have this vulnerability. With this vulnerability the attackers only need to use search engine and look for the order log. If the order log has already founded the attacker will open it, and suddenly get full information about the buyer. 4. Admin Directory This vulnerability makes visitor of the site be able to open admin directory freely. So, the attacker could use this chance to see the database. Order database is always in the database. In the order database, the data of the buyer will be saved completely, including credit card information. 3. Human error Example: Social Engineering or Human Manipulating Attacker could use security weakness which is human. Why? Because human is easy to be manipulated. First, the attackers could request the target to do something unimportant, and then set a trap for the target. Attackers will manipulate the target to follow the attackers scheme. Then, if the target has already been trapped, the attacker could make the target gives the complete information about the credit card. There are several ways that can be done to avoid the potential victims from identity theft : The potential victims should request a complete credit report every once a year and check it closely. When get unwanted pre-approved credit card offers, shred them up before tossing them. When in public, do not recite social security number outloud to a bank teller or store cashier. Use a secure mailbox that locks. When asked to give mothers maiden name as a code access, use another key word instead. Change the personal identification numbers on accounts regularly. Pick up and keep printed receipts at bank machines or gas pumps. Even if have been victimized, there are still things that can be done : Before calling the police, contact bank or credit card company and freeze the account. The reason for this is twofold: first, it will help minimize monetary loss, and two, most banks and creditors have a time period in which the notification still valid and can be used to protect the victims. Then call the police department. It does not matter if the identification is being used in the victims city or halfway across the world because the police are required by federal law to take the report. After making police reports, the victim could contact any of national credit bureaus and put a fraud alert on their account. While dealing with the credit bureau, the victim should get a current copy of their credit report. And read it carefully. Then, the victims can contact their insurance company and ask for compensation. At least one insurance company has developed an insurance policy to help deal with identity theft. REFERENCES Anonymous. Computer Crime Definition. cited from http://www.mariosalexandrou.com/definition/ computer-crime.asp [21 November 2009] Anonymous. Cybercrime. cited from http://www.techterms.com/definition/cybercrime [21 November 2009] Australian Institute of Criminology. Nine Types of Cybercrime. cited from http://www.crime.hku.hk/ cybercrime.htm [21 November 2009] Hoar SB. Identity Theft: The Crime of The New Millennium. cited from http://www.cybercrime.gov/ usamarch2001_3.htm [5 December 2009] Karnow CEA. Cybercrime. cited from http://www.davislogic.com/cybercrime.htm [5 December 2009] Herries S. Overcoming Identity Theft: What to Do After You Have Been Comprimised. cited from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/272448/overcoming_identity_theft_what_to_do_pg2.html?cat=17 [5 December 2009]