The USA Involvement in Mali Conflict Research Paper

The USA Involvement in Mali Conflict - Research Paper Example The reason that could support the USA involvement in the Malian conflict is the fact that Mali has been identified as an emerging new hub for terrorism (Teichmann, 2013). Reports have indicated that the al-Qaeda wing that is operating in Mali was responsible for the Algerian attacks, which greatly impacted on the country, and caused it a great deal of instability. The effect of the war in Mali, courtesy of the Jihadist and other militant rebels can already be felt, to a significant level. The United Nations agency that handles refugees has been calling for an international community engagement in resolving the conflict, citing the Humanitarian crisis that has been experienced in the country since the war began. According to UNHCR, hundreds of thousands of the Malian population in the northern region have been displaced, while many others have been killed in the conflict and yet more others abused (Watt & Harding, 2013). This concern raises the need for the USA to consider engaging in the Malian conflict, just to help bring the war to a speedy end, and thus help to rescue millions of the Malian civilians who are suffering in the hands of the militants, as well as those being displaced and committed to suffer as refugees in the neighboring countries. According to the UNHCR statistics, more than 150,000 people have been forced to flee out of Mali, while another 230,000 are now living as internally displaced persons within the country (Perry, 2013). This trend is alarming, following the consideration that it is the international community that is responsible for giving aid to such people, through the international humanitarian agencies, such as the UNHCR.  The rebels and the insurgent militants have also given the USA more reasons to engage in the Malian conflict. The Jihadists and the Rebels have been involved in taking hostages most of the people from the western powers living or serving in Mali, as the aids assistants to the people who are affected by the war (Huff Post, 2013).

Measurement and Instruments for a Quantitative Research Plan Coursework - 1

Measurement and Instruments for a Quantitative Research Plan - Coursework Example It is against this background that the levels of measurement to be selected for the study would follow the principle of ordinal scale of measurement. This means that grading shall be assigned to the students according to their performance rate. The levels of measurement shall therefore be a grading system to be tagged or labeled as ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘F’. As an ordinal scale, these levels of measurement shall be directly linked or related to the performance rate of students. In the given situation, students who score grade ‘A’ shall be given the classes they applied for whiles students who score ‘B’ shall be placed in one class below the class they applied for. Finally, students scoring ‘F’ shall be rejected a place in the schools. Given the levels of measurement that will be used in the study, the researcher shall design a multiple-indicator instrument or test. The multiple-indicator instrument will be used because it has the potential of ensuring validity on a number of scales. Cherry (2012) explains that â€Å"When a test has content validity, the items on the test represent the entire range of possible items the test should cover.† This means that the study shall ensure content validity by setting out questions to cover all aspects of the course content to be given to the students (Rodchua, 2009). By so doing, the test items shall represent the entire range of possible items because no aspect of the course content shall be left out. On empirical validity, it has been said that for empirical validity to be achieved, it is important that the researcher creates a criteria with which the results obtained can be compared for confirmation (Cheng, 2009). In the present study, the empirical validity can be measured by means of comparing the scores of the test, to the continuous assessment results that the students will bring from their respective

Different Views To Non Equivalence English Language Essay

Different Views To Non Equivalence English Language Essay Equivalence does not mean the source text is the only significant factor. However, equivalence does make out the translation from writing. 2. Equivalence to a manuscript in another language entails more difficulties, linguistic, temporal and cultural, and therefore, more challenges than monolingual interpretation. 3. Similarity to the source texts is neither possible nor even preferred. 4. Text type is a vital issue in deciding how much a translation should be equivalent as well as other factors such as translation purposes, demands of the clients and expectations of the target readers. 5. Equivalence is never a static term, but is similar to that of value in economics. 6. Equivalence and the techniques to achieve it cannot be dismissed all together because they represent a translation reality. He stresses that equivalence it will remain central to the practice of translation even if it is marginalized by translation studies and translation theorists. Finally (Leonardi, 2002) sees the concept of equivalence as would known is one of the most problematic and complicated issues in the study of translation theory. The term has created, and it seems quite possible that it will keep on causing, heated issues in debates in the field of translation studies. This term has been classified, studies and widely discussed from various points of view and has been reached from several various perspectives. The first debate of the concepts of equivalence in translation was the additional explanation of the term by contemporary theorists. The complexity in defining equivalence as the consequence of the impossibility of having a widespread approach to this concept. The investigation of equivalence in translation reveals that how translators exactly transfer massage in translation from the source language into target language or vice versa. 2.4 Different views to non-equivalence at a word level especially culture- specific concepts One of the most challenging tasks for all translators is how to render culture- specific concepts in a foreign language. Indeed, we will see how much attention has been paid to this problem by translation theories. (Newmark, 1987) define culture as the manner of life and its appearance that relate to a community that uses exact language as its way of expression; he also said that culture is object , processes , institutions , customs, idea peculiar to one group. While (Deretti, 1980) define culture as the whole thing that individual have produced, discovered, constructed, changed, and progressed during life. (Demo, 1987) define culture as total of knowledge, a way of life, creative and moral, main beliefs, laws, habits, as well as the capability acquired by humans as members of a community. (Albà ³, 2005) defines culture as an idea connected to personality asserting that citizens have the tendency to distinguish themselves as parts of a group due to the common distinctiveness they share with its other members and also to the differences they develop in relation to others. While (Sapir, 1986) points out that no two languages are ever completely similar to be taken as indicating the same social reality in the worlds in which various societies exist are distinctive worlds, not simply the same world with different labels attached. The idea of equivalence has a lot of disparagements and challenges. If equivalence is taken as the heart of translation, the second issue will about cases of nonequivalence in translation. As (Baker, 1992) points out, the complicatedness and the difficulties in translating from one language into another is posed by the idea of nonequivalence, or lack of equivalence. This crisis can be seen at all language levels initially from the word level up till the textual level. She explores a variety of nonequivalence troubles and their achievable solutions at the word, above word, grammatical, textual, and pragmatic levels. She takes a bottom-up approach for educational reasons. She goes on with her nonequivalence debate from the word to more upward levels. She claims that translators must not miscalculate the increasing consequence of main idea options on the way we understand the text. She also acknowledges the reality that there are translation troubles created by nonequivalence. She classifies common difficulties of nonequivalence and gives suitable strategies in handling such cases. (Baker, 1992)cultural specific concepts are those SL words may state an idea that is entirely mysterious in the target culture. They possibly will cover something to do with a spiritual belief, community custom, or even a kind of food. For instance, in Arabic, we have Jihad, as a holy word which is unidentified in the majority of the other languages. The second group is SL idea is not found in the target language which reveals that the SL word can state an idea that is identified in the target culture but basically not lexicalized. She also gives an example of landslide has no accurate equivalence in various languages. She also points out that the SL word is semantically problematical and reveals that a particular word can occasionally state a difficult meaning than an entire sentence. The other is that the TL lacks a superordinate or a hyponym which means that the TL possibly will have an exact word (hyponym) but no general words (superordinate), and vice versa. For instance, under house, English has a diversity of hyponyms which have no equivalence in several languages such as Arabic, for example in English we have: bungalow, cottage, croft, chalet, hut, and manor, lodge and so on. Diversity in meaningful is an extra difficulty of nonequivalence at the word level shown by (Baker, 1992) which show that there may present a TL word which has the similar propositional meaning as the SL word, but possibly will have a dissimilar meaningful meaning. Terms like homosexuality offer fine examples homosexuality is not a naturally uncomplimentary word in English, although it is normally used in this way. On the other hand, the equivalence expression in numerous other languages is naturally more badly and would be reasonably not easy to employ in a neutral context without suggesting strong dissatisfaction. (Nida, 1945) holds out that almost all would identify that language is most excellent classified as a branch of culture when dealing with several kinds of semantic problems, mainly those in which the culture under consideration is quite different from his or her own, for instance, the English expressions the houses of Commons are culture-bound. Similarly, the expression brother-in-law loses its meaning when translated literally into Arabic akh fi al-qaanun a brother in the law. While English applies this expression to the brother of your husband, the brother of your wife, the husband of your sister, the husband of your husbands sister, and the husband of your wifes sister, so Arabic expresses itself differently. Most significantly, in Quran translation, schools of exegesis have considered as the major part in the translation. Therefore, intra-language translation plays a major function within the target text. Translating the Quran text is the difficult job due to the fact that the translation process is fraught with pragmalinguistic and cross-cultural limitations. The Quran translator, for example, must be aware of the cultural Muslim tradition that draws a difference between exegesis tafsiir and para-transfer opinion tail. (Nida, 1964) states that a person who is engaged in translating from one language into another must to be always conscious of the dissimilarity in the entire variety of culture shown by the two languages pragmatic and contextual divides among the source language and the target language. He also shows that the semantic associations between the words of various languages have no one-to-one sets of correspondences or even one-to-many sets. The associations are always many-to-many, with more of scope for ambiguities, unclear, and unseen boundaries. Furthermore he identifies two kinds of equivalence, formal and dynamic, where formal equivalence keeps its concentration on the message itself, in both type and content. In this kind of translation one is concerned with such correspondences as poetry to poetry, sentence to sentence, and concept to concept. He calls this kind of translation a gloss translation; which aims to let the reader to comprehend more of the SL context as possible. (larson, 1984) stress that there is rarely completely equivalent between languages. Because of this, it is often essential to translate one word of the source language by a number of words in the target language in order to give the similar meaning. The fact that the target language is spoken by people of a culture which is often very dissimilar from the culture of those who speak the source language will mechanically make it hard to find lexical equivalents. The lexical difference will make it necessary for the translator to make various adjustments in the process of translation. This shows that, in translating, we often encounter source language lexical items that do not correspond semantically and grammatically to target language expressions. (Schnorr, 1986) identifies the place where a lack of cultural specific of nonequivalence can be found: 1. Festivals and celebrations: Such as standing day in pilgrimage in the Islamic World, which is an extension for the example derived by Schnorr (the idea of Guy Fawkes Day in the United Kingdom) in the Islamic world? 2. Dressing and national traditions: Such as Sari in India and shal a type of head garments in the Arab World. Tools and objects: Like Mugwar a tool for fighting in Iraqi Arabic. 3. Historical facts: Such as the restoration in England and Al-twabeen in the Islamic history. 4. Spiritual terms such as minister, priest in Christianity and Ayatollah in Islam. 5. Educational and specialist knowledge. A number of scholars have accepted the importance of the problem that appears at a culturally specific terminology of translation for example, (Pistor-Hatam, 1996) argument of translations from Persian to Ottoman Turkish beginning of the fourteenth century, remarks that Arabic tarjama2 meant to interpret, to care for way of explanation, rather than to transfer from one language to another as take place in its recent practice. (Hagen, 2003) scripts of a related period and position _ Persian-Ottoman translations in the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries _ claims that the difficulty of translation into Anatolian Turkish starts with terminology, since translating the Arabic-Turkish term tercume as translation does not fully render the idea. In local usage tercume covered a much wider capacity, by transferring a text or parts of it into another language. (Jedamski, 2005) puts a variety of terms that appear to have been used almost synonymously for translation in Malay, for example, terkarang (written, composed), terkutip (quoted, copied) and dituturkan (arranged), indicating that no single term was sufficient to describe the multiple and creative activities. (Levy, 1984) states that any reduce or remove of complex expressions in translating were morally wrong. The translator, he supposed, had the responsibility of discovering an answer to the most discouraging of the problem, and he stated that the practical view must be selected taking into account all the aspects like appearance, style and sense. If the principle of sameness cannot exist between two languages is accepted, it becomes likely to come close to the issue of loss and get into the translation method. (Nida, 1964) found rich materials about the reasons of failure in translation, in particular regarding the complication with a translator when he or she found a term or ideas in the SL that cannot be found in the TL. He cites the case of Guaica, a language of southern Venezuela, where there is small trouble in finding suitable terms for the English murder, stealing, lying, etc., but where the terms of good, bad, ugly and beautiful cover a very different area of meaning. When such difficulties are faced by the translator, the whole issue of the translatability of the text is raised. (Catford, 1965a) identifies two types of untranslatability, which he calls the linguistic and cultural. On the linguistic rank, untranslatability take place when there is no lexical or syntactical alternate in the TL for an SL it Catfords class of linguistic untranslatability, which is also introduced by (Popovic, 1971). In linguistic untranslatability, he insists, because of variations in the SL and the TL, whereby cultural untranslatability is of the absence in the TL culture of a significant situational feature of the SL text. For instance, he combines the different concepts of the term bathroom in an English, Finnish or Japanese context, where both the object and the use made of that object are not at all alike. But (Catford, 1965b) also claims that more concrete lexical items such as the English term home or democracy cannot be said as untranslatable, and holds that the English phrases like Im going home, or Hes at home can readily be provided with translation equivalents in most languages while the term democracy is international. The English phrases can be translated into the major European languages and democracy is an internationally used term. But he ignores to take into consideration two significant factors, and this seems to symbolize and add a slight approach to the issue of untranslatability. If Im going home is transferred to as Je vais chez moi, the sense meaning of the SL sentence (positive self speech aims to carry on in place of residence and/or origin) is only insecurely produced. And if, for example, the phrase is spoken by an American stay for some time in London, it could either mean a return to the immediate home or and Beyond. (Kashgary, 2010) religious vocabulary are culture-specific they have taken as a symbol group of translation nonequivalence since they cannot be correctly translated by giving their dictionary equivalents. The lexicon equivalents of these terms may be measured within the framework of Nidas estimate in translation where equivalents are specified only to estimate the meaning in universal terms and not the details since the content of these terms is extremely dissimilar from the content of their equivalents. (Korzeniowska and Warszawa:, 1994) the entire culture-specific concepts which take place in the source language but are completely unknown in the target language are the most notorious for the making the problems with finding equivalents. There possibly will be also circumstances where the source culture and source language build different distinctions in meaning from the target culture and target language. The target language may also lack a more specific concept or term (hyponym) or a more general one (superordinate). Also a literal, word for word, translation would be completely difficult: the speakers of English would neither understand the nature of this establishment in reference to source language culture, nor associate it with any institution of a similar type present in their system. Translators are always under pressure to reproduce the exact meaning of the original in the translated text. (Davies., 2003) defines culture as the set of principles, way of thinking and behaviors shared by a group and accepted by learning. These culture specific items are different among cultures as a variety of countries have a dissimilar history and experience of life. When the source text expression is found as being strange to the target audience, the strategies for dealing with nonequivalence should be applied in translating. Different types of nonequivalence should be treated using different translation strategies .While he works in the field of translation with more consideration on the translation trouble of culture specific items such as different traditions, dress, or references to a variety of types of food. He identifies a number of measures that are used in translation of culture specific items:

The Saga of the Tigua Indians Essay -- Tigua Indians Native Americans

The Saga of the Tigua Indians The Saga of the Tigua Indians is an amazing one. By all reasoning they should have been wiped out long ago. There quiet defiance to change, however, has carried them through. From the height of civilization to near extinction the Tigua have remained. They endure imprisonment by the Spanish, oppression and manipulation by everyone that followed. This is the story of a people thought to extinct, that are once again learning to survive. Early histories of the Tigua Indians are conflicting and largely untrue. Since 1680 it had been believed that the Tiguas were traitors to the Pueblo Nation, and had chose sides with the Spanish during the Pueblo Revolt. Upon the Spanish retreat south it was believed that the Tiguas chose to flea with the Spanish Military. The truth of their migration south is somewhat different. The Tigua are direct descendants of the Pueblo Indians of Isleta, New Mexico. There name Tigua, or Tiwa, refers to the dialect that they speak. Long before they founded Isleta, however, they were the inhabitants of a much more spectacular home; the fabled city of Gran Quivira, the golden city that drew the interest of Coronado. By 800 A.D. the city covered seventeen acres. T its height it had twenty housing projects built in the form of towering apartments, when most of Europe was nothing but primitive tribes. Terraces, garden apartments, churches, workshops and kitchens separated these projects. The masons w ere so skilled that the stones required no cement, and the carpenters cut wood in a way that the beams required no nails. When the Spanish finally found this city of legends they ere so impressed that they called it Pueblo de los Humanas, or the City of Human Beings. Then they went about destroying the city and the people forcing them into exile. This marked the beginning of centuries of abuse. From relocation to theft the Tiguas were to become the plaything of Europeans and Americans alike. In 1680 the majority of the Pueblo Indians in New Mexico staged a revolt against the Spanish. On the whole the Tigua did not join the revolt. Some believe this is an indication that the Tigua were loyal to the cross and to Spain. This is not entirely accurate. As the southernmost pueblo, location probably had more to do with the fate of the Tigua then anything. The news of this revolt led by an Indian named Pope had... ...se. The tribe is currently building many welfare programs, educational programs, establishing health benefits, plus laying aside money to distribute to the entire tribe. The money is currently collecting interest in a trust until the Bureau of Indian Affairs gives approval to a distribution plan. The lawsuits to reclaim the land have been put on hold. The Tigua are getting what they want through the casino. They are by choice quietly buying land that is legally theirs anyway. Though they are the rightful owners, the Tigua do not wish to make a big scene. They prefer to achieve economic independence on their own, hopefully reducing the chances of being taken advantage of again. Only six full-blooded Tigua remain, and they still plow and keep their traditional lands. They continue to teach children and grandchildren how to be Tigua. Works Cited 1. Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Archives (the Tigua file. / (S.l. / 1992-1993 FILM 22,186 REEL 1 Center for American History FILM 22,186 REEL 2 Center for American History FILM 22,186 REEL 3 Center for American History 2. Exiled : the Tigua Indians of Ysleta del Sur. Randy Lee Eickhoff. Plano, Texas, Republic of Texas Press, 1996.

Projects: Life Insurance

PROJECT FINAL REPORT ON Agency business model of insurance companies â€Å"competitive strategies† BY SUBODH GUPTA (07BS4336) SBI Life Insurance Company Limited Summer Internship Project (Batch of 2009) PROJECT TITLE Agency business model of insurance companies â€Å"competitive strategies† A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of MBA program COMPANY GUIDE FACULTY GUIDE Mr. Suresh Kumar V. Prof. T. N. Ramakumar DSM, Calicut branch ICFAI Business School KOCHI SUBMITTED BY SUBODH GUPTA (07BS4336) Certificate This is to certify that the project report entitled â€Å"Agency business model of insurance companies competitive strategies† at SBI Life Insurance Company Limited is a bonafide record of work done by Subodh Gupta, and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of MBA program of ICFAI Business School, Kochi. Prof. T. N. Ramakumar Faculty Guide IBS kochi TO WHOMSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN This is to certify that Mr. Subodh Gupta, doing MBA at ICFAI Business School, Kochi has done a project entitled â€Å"Agency business model of insurance companies competitive strategies† at SBI Life Insurance company Limited, Calicut Branch from February 22, 2008 to May 24, 2008. From SBI Life Insurance Company LTD. Mr. Suresh Kumar V. Divisional Sales Manager Calicut Branch Declaration I hereby declare that this report on â€Å"Agency business model of insurance companies competitive strategies† has been written and prepared by me during the academic year 2008-2009. This project was done under the able guidance and supervision of Prof. T. N. Ramakumar, Faculty, ICFAI Business School and Mr. Suresh Kumar V. , DSM, SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd. , Calicut in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Master Of Business Administration Degree course of the ICFAI Business School. I also declare that this project is the result of my own effort and has not been submitted to any other institution for the award of any Degree or Diploma. Place: Kochi Subodh Gupta 07bs4336 Acknowledgements If words are considered to be signs of gratitude then let these words convey the very same My sincere gratitude to SBI Life for providing me with an opportunity to work with SBI Life and giving necessary directions on doing this project to the best of my abilities. I am highly indebted to Mr. Suresh Kumar V. , Divisional Sales Manager and company project guide, who has provided me with the necessary information and also for the support extended out to me in the completion of this report and his valuable suggestion and comments on bringing out this report in the best way possible. I also thank Prof. T. N. Ramakumar, ICFAI, Kochi, who has sincerely supported me with the valuable insights into the completion of this project. I am grateful to all faculty members of ICFAI, Kochi and my friends who have helped me in the successful completion of this project. I extend my hearfelt thanks to Mr. Sukumaran, territory manger, Mr. Sunil K. Menon, unit manager, and Mr. Vinod P. , unit manager, to help me during this project. |Contents | |Sr. No. |Subjects Covered |Pages | |1. |Project Proposed |9 – 11 | |1. 1 |Objective of the project | | |1. 2 |Methodology | | |1. |Sampling | | |1. 4 |Limitations | | |2. |Introduction |12 – 16 | |2. 1 |Definition of insurance | | |2. 2 |Functions of insurance | |2. 3 |Definitions of life insurance | | |2. 4 |Role of life insurance | | |2. 5 |Importance of life insurance | | |3. |Agency business model |17 – 19 | |3. |Insurance agencies | | |3. 2 |Functions of agency manager | | |3. 3 |Operational work of insurance agency | | |4. |Indian insurance industry |20 – 27 | |4. |History | | |4. 2 |IRDA | | |4. 3 |Changing perception of customers | | |4. 4 |Changing face of Indian life insurance industry | | |4. |Possibilities | | |5. |Global insurance industry |28 – 29 | |6. |Functioning of insurance industry |30 – 36 | |6. 1 |Insurer’s business model | | |6. 2 |Investment management | | |6. |Key ratios and terms | | |6. 4 |Requirements of an insurance risk | | |6. 5 |Various types of insurance products | | |7. |Insurance and economy |37 – 39 | |8. |SBI Life insurance company |40 – 42 | |9. Distribution of insurance product |43 – 46 | |10. |Effective marketing strategies for insurance companies |47 – 52 | |11. |Competitors of SBI Life |53 – 62 | |12. |Comparison of ULIP products |63 – 69 | |13. |Questioner |70 – 71 | |14. Conclusions and findings |72 – 91 | |15. |Recommendations |92 | 1. Project proposed Agency business model of different insurance companies- competitive strategies. Different agencies of different insurance companies are having some strategies to survive in the market. Their strategies may be in the form of: †¢ How they target their customers. †¢ How they make their advisors active. †¢ How they make their operational and sales department effective. How they promote their employees. †¢ How they handle the conflict in age ncy. Objective of the project: – Main objective of the project is to find out the strategies of different insurance agencies and evaluate them. Project is about to penetrate the competitors of SBI life. Conclusion of this project can give an idea of strategies of different companies which may be helpful to the company. Now days all the insurance companies in India are trying to establish themselves in the competitive market. They are introducing innovative marketing strategies to survive in the market. Many other private companies are looking to enter in the Indian insurance market . so it is very essential to a company to innovate their marketing strategies in terms of †¢ Recruiting their advisors †¢ To make their advisors active †¢ Well educated and capable employee in the agency †¢ Marketing of their products †¢ Deployment of their products †¢ Targeting the right and potential customers †¢ Differentiating from other companies †¢ Future plan of the company This study consists of to find out the marketing strategies of different insurance companies which are the competitors of SBI Life insurance. This research requires the interview of branch managers of different insurance companies and find out their branches are working in terms of above mentioned factors. Methodology Research is totally based on primary data. Secondary data can be used only for the reference. Research has been done by primary data collection, and primary data has been collected by meeting with the branch and agency manager of different insurance agencies and branches in Calicut. Data collection has been done through by giving structured questioner. Research has been done after 27 branch managers or agency manager. This study will be based on judgment sampling and this research is skewed to organization level. This is an exploratory type of research. And this research needs further study also Research is a kind of pilot study. Sampling Sample size has been taken by judgment sampling. Judgment sampling is a process in which the selection of a unit, from the population is based on the pre judgment. This research requires the survey of different insurance agencies in Calicut city. So research concentrates on the branch or agency manager of different insurance companies. So the selection of unit for this research has been judged by the researcher. Sample size for this research is 27. Limitations: †¢ Time limitation †¢ Research has been done only in Calicut. †¢ Companies did not disclose their secrets data and strategies. †¢ Possibility of Error in data collection. †¢ Possibility of Error in analysis of data due to small sample size. 2. Introduction The story of insurance is probably as old as the story of mankind. Tendency of a human being to secure themselves against loss and disaster has been from the starting of world. They sought to avert the evil consequences of fire and flood and loss of life and were willing to make some sort of sacrifice in order to achieve security. Though the concept of insurance is largely a development of the recent past, particularly after the industrial era – past few centuries – yet its beginnings date back almost 6000 years as per records. Insurance business is divided into four classes: †¢ Life Insurance †¢ Fire †¢ Marine †¢ Miscellaneous Insurance. Insurance provides: †¢ Protection to investor. †¢ Accumulation of savings. †¢ Channeling these savings into sectors needing huge long term investment. Functions of insurance: †¢ Provide protection: The primary function of insurance is to provide protection against future risk, accidents and uncertainty. Insurance cannot check the happening of the risk, but can certainly provide for the losses of risk. Insurance is actually a protection against economic loss, by sharing the risk with others. †¢ Collective bearing of risk: Insurance is an instrument to share the financial loss of few among many others. Insurance is a mean by which few losses are shared among larger number of people. All the insured contribute the premiums towards a fund and out of which the persons exposed to a particular risk is paid. †¢ Assessment of risk: Insurance determines the probable volume of risk by evaluating various factors that give rise to risk. Risk is the basis for determining the premium rate also. †¢ Provide certainty: Insurance is a device, which helps to change from uncertainty to certainty. Insurance is device whereby the uncertain risks may be made more certain. †¢ Small capital to cover larger risk: Insurance relieves the businessmen from security investments, by paying small amount of premium against larger risks and uncertainty. †¢ Contributes towards the development of industries: Insurance provides development opportunity to those larger industries having more risks in their setting up. Even the financial institutions may be prepared to give credit to sick industrial units which have insured their assets including plant and machinery. †¢ Means of savings and investment: Insurance serves as savings and investment, insurance is a compulsory way of savings and it restricts the unnecessary expenses by the insured's For the purpose of availing income-tax exemptions also, people invest in insurance. †¢ Source of earning foreign exchange: Insurance is an international business. The country can earn foreign exchange by way of issue of marine insurance policies and various other ways. Risk free trade: Insurance promotes exports insurance, which makes the foreign trade risk free with the help of different types of policies under marine insurance cover. Life insurance: Life insurance is a contract under which the insurer (Insurance Company) in Consideration of a premium paid undertakes to pay a fixed sum of money on The death of the insured or on the expiry of a spec ified period of time Whichever is earlier. In case of life insurance, the payment for life insurance policy is certain. The Event insured against is sure to happen only the time of its happening is not known. So life insurance is known as ‘Life Assurance’. The subject matter of insurance is life of human being. Life insurance provides risk coverage to the life of a person. On death of the person insurance offers protection against loss of income and compensate the titleholders of the policy. Roles of life insurance: †¢ Life insurance as an investment: – Insurance products yield more than any other investment instruments and it also provides added incentives or bonus offered by insurance companies. †¢ Life insurance as risk cover: – Insurance is all about risk cover and protection of life. Insurance provides a unique sense of security that no other form of invest can provide. Life insurance as tax planning: – Insurance serves as an excellent tax saving mechanism too. Importance of life insurance:- †¢ Protection against untimely death: – Life insurance provides protection to the dependents of the life insured and the family of the assured in case of his untimely death. The dependents or family m embers get a fixed sum of money in case of death of the assured. †¢ Saving for old age: – After retirement the earning capacity of a person reduces. Life insurance enables a person to enjoy peace of mind and a sense of security in his/her old age. Promotion of savings: – Life insurance encourages people to save money compulsorily. When life policy is taken, the assured is to pay premiums regularly to keep the policy in force and he cannot get back the premiums, only surrender value can be returned to him. In case of surrender of policy, the policyholder gets the surrendered value only after the expiry of duration of the policy. †¢ Initiates investments: – Life Insurance Corporation encourages and mobilizes the public savings and canalizes the same in various investments for the economic development of the country. Life insurance is an important tool for the mobilization and investment of small savings. †¢ Credit worthiness: – Life insurance policy can be used as a security to raise loans. It improves the credit worthiness of business. †¢ Social Security: – Life insurance is important for the society as a whole also. Life insurance enables a person to provide for education and marriage of children and for construction of house. It helps a person to make financial base for future. †¢ Tax Benefit: – Under the Income Tax Act, premium paid is allowed as a deduction from the total income under section 80C. 3. Agency business model In India insurance is sold through mainly four channels. †¢ Through branch †¢ Through agency †¢ Through financial institution †¢ Through banks Independent agency system means of selling and servicing property and casualty insurance through agents who represent different companies. The agents own the records of the policies they sell. Insurance is now governed by a blend of statutes, administrative agency regulations, and court decisions. State statutes often control premium rates, prevent unfair practices by insurers, and guard against the financial insolvency of insurers to protect insureds. In most states, an administrative agency created by the state legislature devises rules to cover procedural details that are missing from the statutory framework. To do business in a state, an insurer must obtain a license through a registration process. This process is usually managed by the state administrative agency. The same state agency may also be charged with the enforcement of insurance regulations and statutes. Administrative agency regulations are many and varied. Insurance companies must submit to the governing agency yearly financial reports regarding their economic stability. This requirement allows the agency to anticipate potential insolvency and to protect the interests of insureds. Agency regulations may specify the types of insurance policies that are acceptable in the state, although many states make these declarations in statutes. The administrative agency is also responsible for reviewing the competence and ethics of insurance company employees. Insurance agencies: Insurance agency can be defined as a group of insurance agents or advisor. These agents or advisors create a distribution channel to sell the different insurance products. These advisors are the strongest distribution channel for an insurance agency. An advisor or agent works as a third party or intermediate between insurance company and customers. All the advisors in an agency work as a team. Main work of insurance advisor or agent is to promote and sell different insurance products of company. Functions of agency manager: a person who governs a group of insurance advisors is known as agency manager. Success of an agency manager depends on the success of their advisors. work of agency manager is to control the advisors in an efficient way. Agency manager is like a creature of two wings. He has to recruit advisors as well as to give sales to the insurance company. †¢ To recruit advisors. †¢ Make them aware of different insurance products. †¢ To give them training session. †¢ To motivate them for efficient work. †¢ To get maximum and efficient work from their advisors. Operation work of insurance agency (SBI Life): Every industry has an operational department which supports the market division. Front office partners (independent agents) Develop insurance products Distribute product CUSTOMERS Plan and manage company BUSINESS PARTNERS Fulfill and service product Claims Back office provider Regulatory institutions In the reference to the SBI Life insurance, development of insurance products, distribution, planning services products and claims are taken care by the head office. Back office providers are those persons who take care of the operational part of the organization and front office providers are the people who brings sell to the organization. Back office has its own hierarchy which is connected to head office, and every policy has to be processed to head office. Unit for the operations is known as processing centre, and processing centre within the city is known as mini processing centre. Proposal forms come through front office and the verification of the proposal is done by manually which is known as scrutiny. After scrutiny the operational staff enters it in SBI Life website, which is done online. the entry of a proposal is done in a sequential order starting with scrutiny, inwards, proposal wise inwards, cashier entry, cashier entry approval, data entry and finally outwards. After finishing all these operations policy issues from the head office of the state. 4. Indian insurance industry History: Life insurance came to India from England in 1818 when oriental life insurance company started in Calcutta by Europeans. After this many insurance companies had been started in India. But these companies were looking after only the needs of European community established in India. Indian people were not being insured by these companies. First Indian life insurance company came as Bombay mutual life insurance assurance. Second company was Bharat insurance company came in 1896. After this the united India in madras, national Indian and national insurance in Calcutta and the co-operative assurance in Lahore were established in 1906. To regulate Indian insurance business first insurance act came in 1912 as life insurance company act and provident fund act. These acts consist of premium rates tables and periodical valuations of companies. In the first two decade of 20th century many life insurance companies were started. So the insurance act came in 1938 to governing life and non life insurance companies and to provide strict state control. In 1956 the life insurance business in India was nationalized. In 1956 life insurance corporation of India (LIC) was created to spreading life insurance much more widely particularly in rural areas. In that year LIC had 5 zonal offices, 33 divisional offices and 212 branch offices. In 1957 the business of LIC of sum assured of 200crores, 1000crores in 1970, and 7000crores in 1986. Indian regulatory development authority: In 1999, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was constituted as an autonomous body to regulate and develop the insurance industry. The IRDA was incorporated as a statutory body in April, 2000. The key objectives of the IRDA include promotion of competition so as to enhance customer satisfaction through increased consumer choice and lower premiums, while ensuring the financial security of the insurance market. The IRDA opened up the market in August 2000 with the invitation for application for registrations. Foreign companies were allowed ownership of up to 26%. The Authority has the power to frame regulations under Section 114A of the Insurance Act, 1938 and has from 2000 onwards framed various regulations ranging from registration of companies for carrying on insurance business to protection of policyholders’ interests. Role of IRDA: †¢ Protecting the interests of policyholders. †¢ Establishing guidelines for the operations of insurers, and brokers. †¢ Specifying the code of conduct, qualifications, and training for insurance intermediaries and agents. †¢ Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance business. †¢ Regulating the investment of funds by insurance companies. †¢ Specifying the percentage of business to be written by insurers in rural sectors. †¢ Handling disputes between insurers and insurance intermediaries. Changing perception of Indian customers: Indian Insurance consumers are like Indian Voters, they are soft but when time is right and ripe, they demand and seek necessary changes. De-tariff of many Insurance Products are the reflection of changing aspirations and growing demand of Indian consumers. For historical years, Indian consumers were at receiving end. Insurance Product was underwritten and was practically forced onto consumers on a â€Å"Take-it-As-it-basis†. All that got changed with passage of IRDA act in 1999. New insurance companies have come into existence leading to open competition and hence better products for customers. Indian customers have become very sensitive to Coverage / Premium as well as the Products (read Risk Solution), that is given to them. There are not ready to accept any product, no matter even if that is coming from the market leader, should that product is not serving the purpose. A case in point is ULIP Product / Group Life and Credit Life in Life Insurance segment and Travel / Family Floater Health and Liability Insurance in the Non-life segment are new age Avatar. The new products are constantly being demanded by Indian consumers, which is putting huge pressures on Insurance companies (Read Risk Under-writers) and Brokers to respond. Customers are looking at Insurance for covering Pure Risk now which I have covered in my next section. Another good reason why we are seeing quick changes in the buying behavior of Insurance from mere Investment to risk mitigation is the cost of Replacement of Goods (ROG) or Cost of Services (COS). Now Indian customers are aware of insurance industry and insurance products provided by companies. They have become more sensitive. They would not accept any type of insurance product unless it fulfills their requirements and needs. In historic day’s customers looking at insurance products as a life cover which can provide security against any unacceptable events, but now customers look at insurance products as an investment as well as life cover. So today’s customers wants good return from the insurance companies. The Indian customer’s forms the pivot of each company’s strategy. Investment of Indian household savings (as a % in different sector) |BANK DEPOSITS |39% | |CORP. BANKS |2% | |SHARES AND DEBENTURES |1% | |MUTUAL FUNDS |2% | |NBFC’S |3% | |GOVT. BONDS |13% | |INSURANCE |13% | |PF/ RETIRE FUNDS |21% | |CURRENCY |6% | Source: – www. vivaindia. com Changing face of Indian insurance industry: After the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act have been passed there has been establishment of many private insurance companies in India. Previously there was a monopoly business for Life Insurance Corporation of India (L. I. C. ) who was the only life-insurance company for the people till 2000. L. I. C. still holds 71. 4% of the market share in 2006. But after the introduction of private life insurance companies there is a great competition in Indian market now. Everyone is trying to capture the fresh market here and penetrate it with aggressive marketing strategies. Today life-insurance is not only limited up to just life risk cover and maturity period bonuses but changed to greater return from the investments. With the introduction of the unit linked insurance policies these companies are investing the money in different investment instruments like shares, bonds, debentures, government and other securities. People are demanding for higher returns with the life risk cover and private companies are giving 30-40% average growth per annum. These life-insurance companies have every kind of policies suiting every need right from financial needs of, marriage, giving birth and rearing up a child, his education, meeting daily financial needs of life, pension solutions after retirement. These companies have every aspects and needs of our life covered along with the death-benefit. In India only 25% of the population has life insurance. So Indian life-insurance market is the target market of all the companies who either want to extend or diversify their business. To tap the Indian market there has been tie-ups between the major Indian companies with other International insurance companies to start up their business. The government of India has set up rules that no foreign insurance company can set up their business individually here and they have to tie up with an Indian company and this foreign insurance company can have an investment of only 24% of the total start-up investment. Indian insurance industry can be featured by: †¢ Low market penetration. †¢ Ever growing middle class component in population. †¢ Growth of customer’s interest with an increasing demand for better insurance products. Application of information technology for business. †¢ Rebate from government in the form of tax incentives to be insured. Today, the Indian life insurance industry has a dozen private players, each of which are making strides in raising awareness levels, introducing innovative products and increasing the penetration of life i nsurance in the vastly underinsured country. Several of private insurers have introduced attractive products to meet the needs of their target customers and in line with their business objectives. The success of their effort is that they have captured over 28% of premium income in five years. The biggest beneficiary of the competition among life insurers has been the customer. A wide range of products, customer focused service and professional advice has become the mainstay of the industry, and the Indian customer’s forms the pivot of each company’s strategy. Penetration of life insurance is beginning to cut across socio-economic classes and attract people who have never purchased insurance before. Life insurance is also now being regarded as a versatile financial planning tool. Apart from the traditional term and saving insurance policies, industry has seen the entry and growth of unit linked products. This provides market linked returns and is among the most flexible policies available today for investment. Now products are priced, flexible, and realistic and sustain so people in better position to understand the risk and benefits of the product and they are accepting these innovative products. So it is clear that the face of life insurance in India is changing, but with the changes come a host of challenges and it is only the credible players with a long term vision and a robust business strategy that will survive. Whatever the developments, the future and the opportunities in this industry will surely be exciting. There are 12 private players in Indian life insurance market. 6 bank owned insurers: – HDFC standard life, ICICI prudential, ING Vysya, MetLife, OM Kotak, SBI life. 6 independent insurers: – Aviva, ANP sanmar, Birla sun life, Bajaj Allianz, Max New York life, Tata AIG. Major international insurers are- Prudential and Standard life from UK, Sun life of Canada, AIG, MetLife and New York life of the US. Increasing growth since liberalization: |YEAR |LIC (in bn rs. ) PRIVATE PLAYER | |FY03 |110 |10 | |FY04 |120 |20 | |FY05 |130 |40 | |FY06 |140 |60 | |FY07 |240 |160 | Source: – Insurance Industry (ICFAI publication book) Possibilities for insurance companies in India: Further deregulation of the market. †¢ Greater concern for the customers. †¢ Newer products and services. †¢ Competition and quality consciousness. †¢ Cost effective operations. †¢ Restructuring of the public sector. †¢ Consolidation of domestic insurance markets. †¢ Technology driven shift in product design. †¢ Actual operations and distribution. †¢ Convergence of financial services. 5. Global insurance industry Globally, insurers increasingly are pressured by the demands of their clients. The development of global insurance industry over the past few years was influenced by booming stock markets which enabled considerable capital gains to be made in non life business. Increase in insurers equity capital increased underwriting capacity, while demand did not develop at the same pace, resulting in decrease in insurance policies prices. The stock market boom of the past few years led to demand for unit linked insurance products. The global insurance industry is growing at rapid pace. Most of the markets are undergoing globalization. Lot of mergers and acquisition are taking place in the insurance world. The rapidity in the industry, technological improvement has resulted in pressures on a few economic parameters. The world insurance industry is at peak of its globalization process. Global insurance market is increasing by an average of six percent per year since 1990. Insurance companies have collected $2443. billion premium world wide according to the global development of premium volume in 144 countries in 2005. $1521. 3 has been generated as life insurance premium and $922. 7 as non life insurance premium. The US accounted for 35% of global life an d non life premium, Japan had global share of 21%, and UK was having 10% of global share. Influence on Indian insurance industry: In this era of globalization, insurance companies face a dynamic global environment. Dramatic changes are taking place owing to the internationalization of activities, appearance of new risk, new types of covers to match with new risk situations, and unconventional and innovative ideas on customer services. Low growth rates in developed markets, changing customers needs, and the uncertain economic conditions in the developing world are exerting pressure on insurer’s resources and testing their ability to survive. Now the existing insurers are facing difficulties from non-traditional competitors those are entering the retail market with new approaches and through new channels. India has a rapidly growing middle class and this section can afford to buy insurance products. This shows the attraction that the Indian market holds for foreign insurers who have been putting pressure on developing countries as well as on India to open up its market. Life insurance penetration as a % of GDP United kingdom |8. 9% | |Japan |8. 3% | |Korea |7. 3% | |United states |4. 1% | |Malaysia |3. 6% | |India |3. % | |China |1. 8% | |Brazil |1. 3% | Source: – www. indianinsuranceresearch. com 6. Functioning of insurance industry: Insurer’s business model: Profit = earned premium + investment income – incurred loss – underwriting expenses Insurers make money in two ways: (1) through underwriting, the processes by which insurers select the risks to insure and decide how much in premiums to charge for accepting those risks and (2) by investing the premiums they collect from insured. The most difficult aspect of the insurance business is the underwriting of policies. Using a wide assortment of data, insurers predict the likelihood that a claim will be made against their policies and price products accordingly. To this end, insurers use actuarial science to quantify the risks they are willing to assume and the premium they will charge to assume them. Data is analyzed to fairly accurately project the rate of future claims based on a given risk. Actuarial science uses statistics and probability to analyze the risks associated with the range of perils covered, and these scientific principles are used to determine an insurer's overall exposure. Upon termination of a given policy, the amount of premium collected and the investment gains thereon minus the amount paid out in claims is the insurer's underwriting profit on that policy. An insurer's underwriting performance is measured in its combined ratio. The loss ratio (incurred losses and loss-adjustment expenses divided by net earned premium) is added to the expense ratio (underwriting expenses divided by net premium written) to determine the company's combined ratio. The combined ratio is a reflection of the company's overall underwriting profitability. A combined ratio of less than 100 percent indicates underwriting profitability, while anything over 100 indicates an underwriting loss. Insurance companies also earn investment profits on â€Å"float†. Float† or available reserve is the amount of money, at hand at any given moment that an insurer has collected in insurance premiums but has not been paid out in claims. Insurers start investing insurance premiums as soon as they are collected and continue to earn interest on them until claims are paid out. . Naturally, the â€Å"float† method is difficult to carry out in an economically depressed period. Bear markets do cause insurers to shift away from investments and to toughen up their underwriting standards. So a poor economy generally means high insurance premiums. This tendency to swing between profitable and unprofitable periods over time is commonly known as the â€Å"underwriting† or insurance cycle. Finally, claims and loss handling is the materialized utility of insurance. In managing the claims-handling function, insurers seek to balance the elements of customer satisfaction, administrative handling expenses, and claims overpayment leakages. Investment management: Investment operations are often considered incidental to the business of insurance, and have traditionally viewed as secondary to underwriting. In the past risk management was the most important part of business, whereas today the focus has shifted to fund management. Investment income is a large component of insurance revenues, skilful and careful management of funds. Insurance is a business of large numbers and generates huge amount of funds over time. These funds arise out of policyholder funds in the case of life insurance, and technical and free reserves in the non-life segments. Time lag between the procurement of premium and the payment of claim provides an interval during which the funds can be deployed to generate income. Insurance companies are among the largest institutional investors in the world. Assets managed by insurance companies are estimated to account for over 40% of the world’s top ten asset managers. Returns on investments influence the premium rates and bonuses and hence investment income will continue to be an important component of insurance company profits. In life insurance, benefits from insurance profits accrue directly to policy holders when it is passed on to him in the form of a bonus. In non life insurance the benefits are indirect and mostly by the creation of an investment portfolio. Investment income has to compensate for underwriting results which are increasingly under pressure. In the case of insurance, the difference between revenue and the expenses is known as operating surplus. Revenue =premium. Expenses =sum of claims + commission payable on procurement of business + operating expenses. Operating surplus =revenue-expenses. Net investment income includes income from trading in and holding stock market securities including government securities, special deposits with the central government, loans to several public utilities and service providers in state government. Insurance premium collected is converted in a pool of fund then divided in to four expenses. †¢ To pay the expenses of the management. †¢ To pay agency commission. †¢ To pay for the claims. †¢ Surplus money will be invested in govt. securities. Requirements of an insurance risk Insurance normally insure only pure risks . However, not all pure risk is insurable . certain requirements usually must be fulfilled before a pure risk can be privately insured . From the view point of the insurer, there are ideally six requirement of an insurable risk †¢ There must be a large number of exposure units †¢ The loss must be accidental and unintentional. †¢ The loss must be determinable and measurable. †¢ The loss should not be catastrophic. The chance of loss must be calculable. †¢ The premium must be economically feasible Comparison of Insurance with other Similar Factors 1) Insurance and gambling compared Insurance is often erroneously confused with gambling . There are two important differences between them . First ,gambling creates a new speculative risk ,while insurance is a technique for handling an already existing pure risk . thus ,if you bet Rs 300 on a horse ,a new speculative technique is created ,but if you pay Rs 300 to an insurer for fire insurance ,the risk of fire is already present and is transferred to the insurer by a contract. No new risk is created by the transaction. The second difference between insurance and gambling is that gambling is socially unproductive, because the winner’s gain comes at the expense of the loser . In contract; insurance is always socially productive, because neither the insurer nor the insured is placed in a position where the gain of the winner comes at the expense of the loser. The insurer and the insured have a common interest in the prevention of a loss. Both parties win if the loss does occur . Moreover, consistent gambling transaction generally never restore the losers to their former financial position . In contract ,insurance contracts restore the insured’s financially in whole or in part if a loss occurs ) Insurance and hedging compared The concept of hedging is to transferring the risk to the speculator through purchase of future contracts . An insurance contract, however, is not the same thing as hedging . Although both technique are similar in that risk is transferred by a contract, and no new ri sk is created, there are some important difference between them. First, an insurance transaction involves the transfer of insurable risks, because the requirement of an insurable risk generally can be met . However, hedging is a technique for handling risks that are typically uninsurable ,such as protection against a decline in the price agriculture products and raw materials. A second difference between insurance and hedging is that insurance and hedging is that insurance can reduce the objective risk of an insurer by application of the law of large numbers. As the number of exposure units increases, the insurer’s prediction of future losses improves, because the relative variation of actual loss from expected loss will decline . thus, many insurance transactions reduce objective risk. In contract, hedging typically involves only risk transfer , not risk reduction . The risk of adverse price fluctuation is transferred because of superior knowledge of market conditions . The risk is transferred, not reduced, and prediction of loss generally is not based on the law of large numbers. Various types of life insurance policies:- Endowment policies: This type of policy covers risk for a specified period, and at the end of the maturity sum assured is paid back to policyholder with the bonuses during the term of the policy. †¢ Money back policies: This type of policy is for periodic payments of partial survival benefits during the term of the policy as long as the policy holder is alive. †¢ Group insurance: This type of insurance offers life insurance protection under group policies to various groups such as employers-employees, professionals, co-operatives etc it also provides insurance coverage for people in certain approved occupations at the lowest possible premium cost. †¢ Term life insurance policies: This type of insurance covers risk only during the selected term period. If the policy holder survives the term, risk cover comes to an end. These types of policies are for those people who are unable to pay larger premium required for endowment and whole life policies. No surrender, loan or paid up values are in such policies. †¢ Whole life insurance policies: This type of policy runs as long as the policyholder is alive and is covered for the entire life of the policyholder. In this policy the insured amount and the bonus is payable only to nominee on the death of policy holder. †¢ Joint life insurance policies: These policies are similar to endowment policies in maturity benefits and risk cover, but joint life policies cover two lives simultaneously such as married couples. Sum assured is payable on the first death and again on the death of survival during the term of the policy. †¢ Pension plan: a pension plan or annuity is an investment over a certain number of years but does not provide any life insurance cover. It offers a guaranteed income either for a life or certain period. †¢ Unit linked insurance plan: ULIP is a kind of insurance plan which provides life cover as well as return on premium paid over a certain period of time. The investment is denoted as units and represented by the value called as net asset value (NAV). 7. Insurance and economy †¢ Indian economy is growing in reference to global market. Business of insurance with its unique features has a special place in Indian economy. It is a highly specialized technical business and customer is the most concern people in this business, therefore this business is able to spur the growth of infrastructure and act as a catalyst in the overall development of Indian economy. †¢ The high volumes in the insurance business help spread risk wider, allowing a lowering of the rates of the premium to be charged and in turn, raising profits. When there is a bigger base, the probabilities become more predictable, and with system wide risks balanced out, profits improve. This explains the current scenario of mergers, acquisitions, and globalization of insurance. †¢ Insurance is a type of savings. Insurance is not only important for tax benefits, but also for savings and for providing security. It can be serving as an essential service which a welfare state must make available to its people. Insurance play a crucial role in the commercial lives of nations and act as the lubricants of economic activities. Insurance firms help to spread the potentially financial consequences of risk among the large number of entities, to mobilize and distribute savings for productive use, facilitate investment, support and encourage external trade, and protect economic entities against external risk. Insurance and economic growth mutually influences each other. As the economy grows, the living standards of people increase. As a consequence, the demand for life insurance increases. As the assets of people and of business enterprises increase in the growth process, the demand for general insurance also increases. In fact, as the economy widens the demand for new types of insurance products emerges. Insurance is no longer confined to product markets; they also cover service industries. It is equally true that growth itself is facilitated by insurance. A well-developed insurance sector promotes economic growth by encouraging risk-taking. Risk is inherent in all economic activities. Without some kind of cover against risk, some of these activities will not be carried out at all. Also insurance and more particularly life insurance is a mobilizer of long term savings and life insurance companies are thus able to support infrastructure projects which require long term funds. There is thus a mutually beneficial interaction between insurance and economic growth. The low income levels of the vast majority of population have been one of the factors inhibiting a faster growth of insurance in India. To some extent this is also compounded by certain attitudes to life. The economy has moved on to a higher growth path. The average rate of growth of the economy in the last three years was 8. 1 per cent. This strong growth will bring about significant changes in the insurance industry. At this point, it is important to note that not all activities can be insured. If that were possible, it would completely negate entrepreneurship. Professor Frank Knight in his celebrated book â€Å"Risk Uncertainty and Profit† emphasized that profit is a consequence of uncertainty. He made a distinction between quantifiable risk and non-quantifiable risk. According to him, it is non-quantifiable risk that leads to profit. He wrote â€Å"It is a world of change in which we live, and a world of uncertainty. We live only by knowing something about the future; while the problems of life or of conduct at least, arise from the fact that we know so little. This is as true of business as of other spheres of activity†. The real management challenges are uninsurable risks. In the case of insurable risks, risk is avoided at a cost. 8. SBI Life insurance SBI Life insurance is a joint venture between the State Bank of India and Cardiff SA of France. SBI Life insurance is registered with an authorized capital of Rs 500 crore and a paid up capital of Rs 350 crores. SBI owns 74% of the total capital and Cardiff the remaining 26%. State Bank of India enjoys the largest banking franchise in India. Along with its 7 Associate Banks, SBI Group has the unrivalled strength of over 14,000 branches across the country, the largest in the world. Cardiff is a wholly owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which is The Euro Zone’s leading Bank. BNP is one of the oldest foreign banks with a presence in India dating back to 1860. It has 9 branches in the metros and other major towns in the country. Cardiff is a vibrant insurance company specializing in personal lines such as long-term savings, protection products and creditor insurance. Cardiff has also been a pioneer in the art of selling insurance products through commercial banks in France and 29 more countries . In 2004, SBI Life insurance became the first company amongst private insurance players to cover 30 lakh lives. The company expects to carve a niche in the Indian insurance market through extensive product innovation and aims to provide the highest standards of customer service through a technological interface. To facilitate this, call centre’s have been already installed and help lines will be installed and customers will have access to their accounts through the Internet or through SBI branches. SBI Life insurance is uniquely placed as a pioneer to usher banc assurance into India. The company hopes to extensively utilize the SBI Group as a platform for cross-selling insurance products along with its numerous banking product packages such as housing loans, personal loans and credit cards. SBI’s access to over 100 million accounts provides a vibrant base to build insurance selling across every region and economic strata in the country. Under section 88 of insurance act 1961 an individual is entitled to a rebate of 20 per cent on the annual premium payable on his/her life and life of his/her children or adult children. The rebate is deductible from tax payable by the individual or a Hindu Undivided Family. This rebate is can be availed up to a maximum of Rs 12,000 on payment of yearly premium of Rs 60,000. By paying Rs 60,000 a year, you can buy anything upwards of Rs 10 lakh in sum assured. (Depending upon the age of the insured and term of the policy) This means that you get an Rs 12,000 tax benefit. The rebate is deductible from the tax payable by an individual or a Hindu Undivided Family. SBI Life Insurance is currently growing at an impressive rate of 200%. As per the latest IrDA report SBI Life ranks No. 3 amongst the private insurers. The company's market share has increased to 10% amongst the private players and is 2. 25% in the total industry. This year, the company is aiming at a growth of 150%. The new business premium of the company from beginning of the year to September 2006 is Rs 660 crores. The total business premium of the company from the beginning of the year till September 2006 is Rs 765 crores. The company aims to collect first year premium of over Rs 2,000 crores. SBI Life follow a multi distribution channel approach and expect all channels to contribute to the overall growth. Today, the agency channel contributes over 50% and banc assurance channel contributes to 40% of the business. Other channels like Credit Life and Group Corporate are also performing very well. Products of SBI Life insurance: – (Source: – www. sbilife. co. n) |Unit Linked products |(1) Group Employee Benefit Products | |Horizon 11 |Retirement Solutions | |Unit Pus 11 |Cap Assure Gratuity | |Unit plus child Plan |Cap Assure Superannuation | |Unit Plan Elite |Cap Assure Leave Encashment | |Pension Products |Group Immediate Annuity | |Horizon 11 Pension |SBI Life Golden Gratuity | |Unit Plus 11 Pension |Protection Plan | |Lifelong Pension |Sampoorn Suraksha | |Pure Protection Products |SBI Life Group Term Life Scheme In Lieu of EDLI | |Swadhan |Specialized Term Insurance | |Shield |SBI Life Keyman Insurance | |keyman |(2) Group Loan Protection Products | |Protection cum savings products |Dhanaraksha Plus | |Sudarshan |Dhanaraksha Plus SP | |Scholar11 |Dhanaraksha Plus LPPT | |Setubandhan |Dhanaraksha Plus RP | |Money back scheme products |(3) Group Savings Protection Plan | |Money Back |Nidhi Raksha RP | |Sanjeevan Supreme |(4) Group Micro Insurance | | |Grameen Shakti and Super Suraksha | 9. Distribution of insurance products Insurance has to be sold the world over. The Touch point with the ultimate customer is the distributor or the producer and the role played by them in insurance markets is critical. It is the distributor who makes the difference in terms of the qualit y of advice for choice of product, servicing of policy post sale and settlement of claims. In the Indian arket, with their distinct cultural and social ethics, these conditions will play a major role in shaping the distribution channels and their effectiveness. In today's scenario, insurance companies must move from selling insurance to marketing an essential financial product. The distributors have to become trusted financial advisors for the clients and trusted business associates for the insurance Companies. Challenges for insurance companies and intermediaries in India- †¢ Building faith about company in the mind of clients. †¢ Building personal credibility with the clients. Different distribution channels in India:- A multi-channel strategy is better suited for the Indian market. Indian insurance market is a combination of multiple markets. Each of the markets requires a different approach. Apart from geographical spread the socio-cultural and economic segmentation of the market is very wide, exhibiting different traits and needs. Different multi-distribution channels in India are as follows †¢ Agents: Agents are the primary channel for distribution of insurance. The public and private sector insurance companies have their branches in almost all parts of the country and have attracted local people to become their agents. Today's insurance agent has to know which product will appeal to the customer, and also know his competitor's products to be an effective salesman who can sell his company, the product, and himself to the customer. To the average customer, every new company is the same. Perceptions about the public sector companies are also cemented in his mind. So an insurance agent can play an important role to create a good image of company. †¢ Banks: Banks in India are all pervasive, especially the public sector banks. Many insurance companies are selling their products through banks. Companies which are bank owned, they are selling their products through their parent bank. The public sector banks, with their vast branch networks, are helpful to insurance companies. This channel of selling insurance is known as Banc assurance. |INSURANCE COMPANY |ASSOCIATE BANKS | |ICICI prudential |ICICI bank, bank of India, Citibank, Allahabad bank, Federal | | |bank, south Indian bank, Punjab and Maharashtra cooperative bank | |SBI life |State bank of India | |Birla sun life |Deutsche bank, Citibank, bank of Rajasthan, Andhra bank | |ING Vysya bank |Vysya bank | |Aviva life insurance |ABN amro bank, canara bank | |HDFC standard life |Union bank, Indian bank | |Met life |Karnataka bank, j&k bank | Source: – Hindu Business Line, January 08, 2007 †¢ Brokers: Now a day’s different financial institution are selling insurance. These financial institutions are known as brokers. They are taking some underwriting charges from the insurance companies to sell their insurance products. †¢ Corporate agents: Corporate agency is a cross selling type of channel. Insurance companies’ tie-up with business houses in other industries to sell insurance either to their employees or their customers. Insurance industry, during the past 2 years has witnessed a number of such strategic tie-ups and alliances. Corporate agents have become a major force to reckon with in distributing insurance products. Such as- Bajaj Allianz tied up with Maruti Udyog and Ford for auto insurance and Tata AIG life has tied up with Tata tea, khaitan’s Williamson major and bridge foundation for selling rural policies. †¢ Internet: In this technological world internet is also a channel of selling insurance. This can be as direct marketing. 10. Effective marketing strategies Now the Indian consumer is knowledgeable and sensitive. Consumers are increasingly more aware and are actively managing their financial affairs. People are increasingly looking not just at products, but at integrated financial solutions that can offer stability of returns along with total protection. In view of this, the insurance managers need to understand more about the details that go into the introduction of insurance products to make it attractive in this competitive market. So now days an insurance manager requires leadership, commitment, creativity, and flexibility. â€Å"Every family in every village in the country should feel safe and secure†. This vision alone will help to bring the new ideas to the insurance manager. Financial, marketing and human resource polices of the corporations influence the unit mangers to make decisions. Performance of insurance company depends on the effectiveness of such policies. Insurance corporations formulate and revise these policies from time to time to ensure that the performance of the managers is best for the organization. In the competitive market, insurance companies are being forced to adopt a strictly professional approach in marketing. The insurance companies face the challenge of changing the uninspiring public image of the industry. Some of the important marketing elements are- †¢ Marketing mix. †¢ The importance of relationship. †¢ Positioning. †¢ Value addition. †¢ Segmentation. †¢ Branding. †¢ Insuring service quality. †¢ Effective pricing. †¢ Customer satisfaction research. The growth of insurance sector is governed largely by factors external to it. The following factors influence the market and demand of product- †¢ Government policies. Growth in population. †¢ Changing age profile. †¢ Income wise distribution of the population. †¢ Level of insurance awareness. †¢ The p ricing of the policies. †¢ The economic climate of the country. †¢ The aversion to risk. †¢ Social and political features of the country. †¢ Growth scenario in the world. Different companies adopt different approaches in their marketing strategies. One approach is focus upon product quality which can give confidence in the mind of customers that they are offered by best featured products. And other approach is focusing on customer’s needs, which involve a heavy investment in developing relationships with policyholders. Under this approach customer can expect a range of products and service offered to him. Third approach is market segmentation under which the population can be divided into several homogeneous products and groups, the effort should be tie clients to the company by customized combination of coverage, easy payment plans, risk management advice, and convenient and quick claim handling. An insurance product can be classified in three phases: Core product: In insurance industry the core product is the policy that provides protection t

Tanglewood Stores Case Study

Current Environment Assessment Due to fast growth rate and purchasing of smaller companies, legacy procedures are still found in HR practices among stores. Current polices and procedures managing the human asset must resonant with original mission statement. Competitors The competitor list would be any company that does business in non-durable general retail industry. Specifically, listed in the case study has Kohl’s and Target as competitors but I think that Dillard’s and Saks should also be listed since they align with operating revenue, number of stores and employees.All of these businesses compete for middle to upper income customers. Structure The organization has a tiered hierarchy with multiple levels of management reporting upward while maintaining a participatory management style even down to the departmental managers having the ability to create methods for running the department. Employees There are approximately 215 employees per store. The employees are see n as an essential asset developing and maintaining the values and culture of the organization.Each employee is part of a team and encouraged to suggest operational improvements for the business. Financial rewards are provided to employees with improvements that are chosen for implementation. Leadership shows that every employee is seen as a member of the core work force by offering permanent positions over temporary. Culture and Values The philosophy of the founders is taught at orientation; â€Å"If you tell someone exactly what to do, you’re getting half an employee. If you give omeone the space to make their own decisions, you’re getting a whole person. †Through clear and honest communication (business health or otherwise) plus keeping performance and customer service in forefront, leadership has provided an avenue for employees to be engaged at every level. The process of hiring only dedicated employees on a permanent basis fosters the culture and value of t he company. Human Resource Function 2 level HR process; corporate and store: Corporate level ? analyses data received from individual stores, ? designs policies and programs, sends specific recommendations to the stores (not sure to whom this information flows – it should be the Assistant Manager of Operations and Human Resources) Store level: ? Assistant Manager for Operations and Human Resource staffs the store, trains new hires Recommendations Operations Staff should be consistently managed throughout all stores with a core value with specific policies and procedures with a balance of allowing the continued personalized involvement from the manager.Staff Levels Have a balance between developing current workforce while acquiring key personnel with needed skill set and experience to the higher level core positions. ? Outsource the recruiting and hiring of new employees; use their expertise and compliance tracking capabilities. ? Continue with internal hiring as you develop a nd train the next generation of employees and business success; an employee familiar with company policies is an asset to the company. If current business situations need â€Å"new eyes† look to hiring externally. More companies are catering to the flexible workforce. Provide an environment that has some flexibility as this adds to your benefits of keeping a quality and qualified workforce. ? Create a strategy of cross training using the team environment that is already in place; this will help with minimizing the impact of turnover plus provide a hiring pool as management can have performance evaluations on hand. ? Currently with the size of the business and managing multiple controls;I suggest looking into the benefits of outsourcing the IT department and data analysis locally. Attracting or relocating key personnel through the outsourcing of the potential hiring firm can validate the extent of this need. ? The current position of the business would be to overstaff until it has met the needed results. Once that has been achieved, the business has the ability to develop the extra employees for new roles or let them go. ? I suggest keeping the long-term goals in the forefront while continually measuring the short term goals. The short term goals are easier to reach but it takes focus to keep the business on the long term path. Staffing Quality Multiple levels of job requirements should be identified as minimal tasks to perform; this will aid in the person/job and person/organization match.While some positions may be less task oriented needs, more emphasis would be on necessary personality qualities that adhere to the organization culture and values. ? For your corporate structure I suggest you have specific KSAOs listed as these positions require specific knowledge, skills and abilities. The store manager, assistant store managers and departmental managers should have general KSAOs as their workforce and responsibilities are more apt to have changes on a regular basis. The base of your leadership and management workforce should be exceptional quality the store shift leaders and associates would be listed under the acceptable workforce quality. But with that being said, if you are looking to encourage your staff and have them suggest improvements, there will be some looking to make a career at your organization. You must not lose site that the associates are the first exposure to your customers – if they are not respected or treated well, that will show in their service.I did find a risk with the implementation of improvement suggestions as it is left up to the manager on how it is carried out. The improvement should have metrics assigned and a timeline established for follow up and results provided. ? Actively pursue diversity within your organization; the benefits to this organization will be a well rounded workforce ready to enter into more markets, a deeper understanding of customer needs and the ability to provide oppor tunities for all people.

Ergonomics Essays - Ergonomics, Computer Peripherals, Chairs

Ergonomics Essays - Ergonomics, Computer Peripherals, Chairs Ergonomics What is ergonomics? Ergonomics is the science of fitting the job to the worker. When there is a mismatch between the physical requirements of the job and the physical capacity of the worker, work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) can result. Workers who must repeat the same motion throughout their workday, work in an awkward position use a great deal of force to perform, repeatedly lift heavy objects or face a combination of these risk factors are most likely to develop WMSDs. In this report, I will outline the main factors in having a safe workstation. Sitting-Chair There are certain ways in which you may choose an ergonomically correct chair. Does the seat feel comfortable and fit you shape? When you sit in the chair the seat should be at least one inch wider than your hips and thighs on either side. The seat should not be too long for your legs otherwise it will catch you behind the knees or it will prevent you from leaning fully back. Most ergonomic chairs have a seat with a front that prevents the seat from catching you behind the knees. The seat should also be contoured to allow even weight distribution and it should be comfortable to sit on. Is the seat chair height adjustable? The chair should be adjustable so that you can adjust seat height while you are sitting on the chair. Some chairs have a mechanical height adjustment (spinning) mechanism. Does the chair have a comfortable lower back rest? Many chairs have cushioned lower back supports that can be adjusted up and down and forwards and backwards to fit your shape. If the chair has a fixed height lower back support and it feels comfortable when you sit back against this then a fixed lower back support may be acceptable. When you sit back against the lower back support is there space for hips? Insufficient hip room can make you sit too far forwards on the seat so that you will not have enough thigh support. Does the seat still feel comfortable after you've been sitting in it for 30 - 60 minutes? If the seat is made from foam then continuous use can cause it to become deformed and then it will not provide cushioned support. Insufficient cushioning and inappropriate contouring can cause discomfort and hip and back fatigue. Is the tilt of the seat adjustable? In some situations it can be helpful to change the tilt of the seat pan to help to maintain a healthy seated posture. Does the chair have a 5-pedestal base? The chair should have at least a 5-pedestal base with casters that glide freely over the floor surface. You may also want to choose a chair that swivels ea sily. Do you need armrests on your chair? If so, are the armrests broad, cushioned and comfortable? While sitting can you adjust the height of the armrests and can you move the armrests closer together or further apart? Typing- Keyboard In the ideal typing posture both static and dynamic muscle loads are minimized. This posture is achieved when the keyboard is below seated elbow height and the keyboard base is gently sloped away from the user so that the key tops are accessible to the hands in a neutral posture. In this position the arms, shoulders, neck and back can relax, especially during brief rest pauses. Also, in this slightly reclined sitting position the low back rests against the lumbar support of the chair, the elbow angle is opened to promote circulation to the lower arm and hand, the abdominal angle, and the popliteal angle (behind the knees) are opened to promote blood circulation. The feet rest firmly upon the floor. Looking-Monitor Optical glass glare filters on computer monitors can reduce health and vision problems related to computer glare and help boost productivity in computer users, according to a new Cornell University study. After using a glass anti-glare filter, the percentage of problems related to tiredness, trouble focusing eyes, itching/watery eyes and dry eyes was half what they were before filter use. This was true for people, who use computer monitors all day at work, said ergonomist Alan Hedge, who is the professor of design and environmental analysis and director of the Human

How to Use the French Adverb dAbord (First)

How to Use the French Adverb dAbord (First) The  adverb dabord,  pronounced da bor, means first, at first, to begin with, in the first place, at the outset, anyway. It is a versatile, frequently used adverb that can fill many a role. Keep in mind that, as an adverb, the job of  dabord  is to modify the action, in other words, the verb. The Many Meanings of dAbord Here are some examples of each meaning: First: Nous irons dabord   Rome.   Well go to Rome first.At first, initially, to begin with: Jai cru (tout) dabord quil sagissait dune blague.   At first, I thought it was a joke.To begin with:  Dabord, tu nes mà ªme pas prà ªt  !   To begin with, youre not even ready !Anyway:  Et puis dabord,  Il a fallu le terminer. And anyway, he had to finish it. Expressions and Usage Tout dabord First of all, first and foremost, first off, to begin withAu premier abord At first sight, initiallyDà ¨s labord From the outsetVoie dabord Surgical approachManià ¨re daborder Method of approachToi dabord.   You first.Pensez dabord a soi. Think of yourself first. / Look out for, look after number one.La sà ©curità © dabord ! Safety first!Je vais rentrer dabord chez moi. Ill go home first.à ªtre dun abord facile To be approachable, accessible, easy to reachà ªtre dun abord difficile Hard to approach, difficult to come to grips with, hard to reach, difficult to get toLes raisons en sont diverses: dabord... There are various reasons: first...Dabord, je dois trouver mon livre, et puis nous pourrons commencer. First I need to find my book, and then we can start.Il semblait dabord sympathique, puis il a commencà © crier. He seemed nice at first, then he started shouting.Tout dabord, le Conseil europà ©en de dà ©cembre se prononcera sur son approbation. First of all, the December European Council will need to approve it. Il y a dabord la rà ©fà ©rence la perspective financià ¨re aprà ¨s 2006. Firstly, there is the reference to the financial prospects after 2006.Je tiens tout dabord prà ©senter les autres invità ©s dhonneur. To begin with, I would like to acknowledge my fellow honorees.

How to Write a Great Blog Post

How to Write a Great Blog Post How to Write a Great Blog Post How to Write a Great Blog Post By Ali Hale Blog posts might look straightforward, but if you’ve ever tried to write one, you may have found it was harder than you expected. Whether you want to start a blog as a hobby, as a step towards freelancing, or as a tool to promote your book your blog posts need to be well-structured and well-written. Of course, blogging offers a lot of freedom. You don’t have to write to a specific length, in the way that you would if you were writing a newspaper column or a magazine article. You can write short, newsy pieces, long, in-depth pieces, or anything in between. You’ve also got the freedom to pick your own topics – and to develop your own writing style. Perhaps you want to write nostalgic, gently humorous blog posts drawn from your own life or maybe you’d prefer to create detailed, reassuring tutorials for new WordPress users. Whatever you’re writing about, though, and whatever your reason for blogging, your blog posts need to work. They need to have a recognisable structure and they need to stick, more or less, to the point. Here’s how to write a great blog post: Step #1: Plan Your Post Before You Write Your blog post should have an introduction, main body and conclusion (or, if you prefer, a beginning, middle and end). Here’s how those work: The introduction should set the scene for your post and hook the reader. You might do this by asking a question, making a bold statement, or giving a quick anecdote from your own life. The main body is the real content of your post. It’s where you develop a particular line of discussion, share a story, or give your suggestions or tips on a particular topic. The conclusion wraps up your post. It’s easy to miss off – but it’s really important. It should sum up briefly and, ideally, offer the reader something to do next. Step #2: Draft Your Full Post While different bloggers work in different ways, I find that it’s usually best to draft a whole blog post from start to end (rather than writing a few paragraphs here and there to stitch together eventually). You could: Imagine that you’re emailing a friendly acquaintance as you write. I find that thinking about one reader helps me to get the draft of my post down as smoothly as possible. Jot down some brief notes for your introduction, then launch in with the first key point  that you want to make. It’s often easier to flesh out the introduction once you’ve written the actual post. Avoid editing as you write. If you need to fix a quick typo or restart an occasional sentence, that’s okay – but don’t start deleting whole paragraphs at this stage. When you’re mid-way through a draft, it’s hard to see what needs to go and what should stay. Step #3: Redraft Your Post Once you’ve got a rough draft of your post, it’s time to shape it for your blog. Since you’re writing for an online audience, it’s important to: Keep your paragraphs short. It’s harder to read on a screen than in print, so if you’re used to writing for books or magazines, you may need to cut your paragraphs in half. Keep (most of) your sentences short and straightforward. The occasional more complex sentence is fine – especially if you’re writing for an academic or well-educated audience – but mix things up with some short, simple sentences too. Use a conversational writing style. That means using â€Å"I† and â€Å"you†. These aren’t appropriate in academic writing, so you might have been taught not to use them at school but when you’re blogging, it’s fine to write as though you’re talking directly to the reader. (Just like I’m doing right now!) Step #4: Format Your Post Once you’re happy with the post as written, it’s time to move on to the formatting – how your post looks. You might want to: Include subheadings and/or bold text. These help to â€Å"signpost† important parts of your post for the reader – for instance, in this post, the different steps each have their own subheading so you can easily figure out where you are within the post. Add images where appropriate. Many bloggers like to start off their posts with an eye-catching image to draw the reader in. Images also help to create â€Å"white space† (the blank bits of the page around the words and images), which makes your post look more attractive and inviting. Add links to other posts (on your blog or elsewhere). One great advantage of writing online versus writing in print is that you can link to other resources. That might mean linking to an explanation about something you mention in passing, for instance, to help your readers who are new to your subject area. Step #5: Edit Your Post While you could tackle the editing before the formatting, I find it’s helpful to do a quick edit, at least, after putting subheadings, images and links into place. When you edit: Look out for typos and misspellings. Your default spellchecker won’t necessarily catch all of these. Some bloggers find that it’s helpful to view their post in a larger size, or to preview it live on their blog, to help mistakes stand out. Check that your links are working. It’s frustrating for readers (and embarrassing for you) if a post goes live with broken links in it. Look for areas where your post could be more polished. In this post, for instance, I went back while editing to make sure that each of the â€Å"steps† had three bullet points, so that they all matched. Of course, writing blog posts is more of an art than a science – and I definitely don’t want you to think that there’s only one â€Å"right† way to do it.  These tips, though, should help you to produce polished blog posts that are enjoyable to write and that are easy for your readers to engage with. (And if youre looking for some more suggestions, check out Sarahs post 10 Tips on How to Write the Perfect Blog Post.) I hope you enjoy blogging as much as I do and if you have a great tip to share about writing blog posts, leave it in the comments for us! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 "Home" Idioms and ExpressionsConnotations of 35 Words for Funny PeoplePeople vs. Persons