Analysing The Grameen Bank Of Bangladesh Economics Essay

Analysing The Grameen Bank Of Bangladesh Economics Essay Grameen Bank (GB) is called the bank of poor people in Bangladesh. It has been established for the welfare of the poor village people of Bangladesh, which becomes a role model of the world of micro credit banking system. At the beginnings of Microcredit, Dr. Muhammed Yunus who is an economist educated in the United States of America, although originally from Bangladesh, introduced the world to the notion of micro-credit in the 1970s. Counts (1996) said that Muhammed Yunus talked with the poor village people and discover that general local bank never shows interest to provide loan to poor people and does not lend them and they had to borrow money from extortionate moneylenders with high interest rates. As a result, they ended up more-or-less permanently in debt and any money they made went to pay the interest on these high-interest loans. Yunus became conscious at that moment that the poor problems were in some ways no different from anyone else: low interest credit was a necessity of life. Definition of Micro Credit Auwal (1996): An extremely small loan given to impoverished people to help them become self employed. Also known as micro lending. This small loans extension (microloans) to those in poverty designed to spur entrepreneurship. These loans especially given to a poor person to enable him or herself to become self employed. Financial services loaned a small amounts of money usually around $50-$150 to poor people as a capital of a small business to start or extend it. The Grameen Bank in Bangladesh has become a model of successful micro loan provider. Principles of Microcredit: General financing or credit. It emphasizes building capacity of a micro-entrepreneur. Employment generation. Trust building. Socioeconomic development. Help the micro entrepreneur on during difficult. Advantage of Microcredit Soeama (2004): Source and cost of funding: In order for the Microfinance institutions to loan they need funding too and a stable microfinance institution might have a competitive advantage of low cost of funds which enables it to provide finance at low cost. Infrastructure set up: Microfinance companies must have a required network and infrastructure to deliver these services. The Grameen Bank of Bangladesh creates and implements this structure in rural village area. Image: MFIs are many times criticized as money squeezing machines which charge very high cost. Which is not necessarily true considering their cost of funds and risks moreover they have to be sustainable. So here I think having a good name, image and Top management team helps a lot. Disadvantages of Micro Credit: Although microcredits are the keystone in terms of development in poor countries, it can also have its difficult. Indeed, the disadvantages of microcredits are: Some microcredit institutions are often unpredictable. Refunding problems. Budget depends on subsidises from the government or NGOs. Fig 1: Current Microcredit Network of Grameen Bank History of Grameen Bank: The founder of Grameen Bank Muhammad Yunus open up the idea of micro-creditminuscule loans to the very poor. The bank currently lends more than $500 million a year with a repayment rate of better than 97 percent. Its Group Savings Funds have assets of $186 million. Grameen Bank operates 1,100 branches in half of Bangladeshs nearly 80,000 villages. The program has been successfully replicated in dozens of countries, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Africa, and Bolivia. It has also been applied to inner city and rural poverty in rich nations in North America and Europe. The origin of Grameen Bank can be traced back to 1976 when Professor Muhammad Yunus, Head of the Rural Economics Program at the University of Chittagong, launched an action research project to examine the possibility of designing a credit delivery system to provide banking services targeted at the rural poor. The Grameen Bank Project (Grameen means rural or village in Bangla language) came into operation with the following objectives: Extend banking facilities to poor men and women. Eliminate the exploitation of the poor by money lenders. Create opportunities for self-employment for the vast multitude of unemployed people in rural Bangladesh. Bring the disadvantaged, mostly the women from the poorest households, within the fold of an organizational format which they can understand and manage by themselves. Reverse the age-old vicious circle of low income, low saving low investment, into virtuous circle of low income, injection of credit, investment, more income, more savings, more investment, more income. The action research demonstrated its strength in Jobra (a village adjacent to Chittagong University) and some of the neighboring villages during 1976-1979. With the sponsorship of the central bank of the country and support of the nationalized commercial banks, the project was extended to Tangail district (a district north of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh) in 1979. With the success in Tangail, the project was extended to several other districts in   the country. In October 1983, the Grameen Bank Project was transformed into an independent bank by government legislation. Today Grameen Bank is owned by the rural poor whom it serves. Borrowers of the Bank own 90% of its shares, while the remaining 10% is owned by the government. Current structure of Grameen Bank: Grameen Bank allowed to operate branches in urban areas. Earlier they could open branches only in the rural areas. Government stake cut down from 25% to 15%. Note that when the Bank started, Government had a stake of 60%. Number of Government nominated directors brought down to 2 from 3. Chairman of the bank will be appointed by the board instead of Government nomination which existed until now. Fig 2: Current structure of Grameen Bank. Aims and Objectives of Grameen bank: The Grameen Bank believes that the best way for participants to learn about how the bank works, is through first hand exposure and observations at the field level. Through these experiences, participants are encouraged to draw their own conclusions about the effectiveness of Grameen Banks work and the impact it has on the poorest of the poor. The objectives of GBs training programs are to: Arouse curiosity. Stimulate interest on the subject of Micro financing. Encourage responsibility of self-motivated learning. Learn and share with others. Discover individual role in the organization and the global community. Methods of Growth: The Grameen Banks Method of action can be illustrated by the following principles: Start with the problem rather than the solution. Adopt a progressive attitude. Make sure that the credit system serves the poor, and not vice-versa. Establish priorities for action vis-a-vis to the the target population. Lean on solidarity groups. Establish priorities for action vis-a-vis to the target population. Associate savings with credit without it being necessarily a prerequisite. Do everything possible to ensure the systems financial balance. Invest in human resources. There are 16 decisions and 10 indicators in Grameen Bank policy to grow it up. These are: Decisions: Follow the four principles of Grameen Bank- Discipline, Unity, Courage and Hard work. Bring prosperity to the families. Work towards to construct new houses. Grow vegetables all the year round. During the plantation seasons plant as many seedlings as possible. Plan to keep families small which will help to minimize expenditures easy to look after every bodys health. Provide education to the children and ensure that they can earn to pay for their education. Keep the environment clean. Build and use pit-latrines. Arrange safe drinking water from tubewells and boil water or use alum when needed.   Do not take any dowry at our sons weddings, neither shall give any dowry at any ones daughters wedding. No body inflict any injustice on anyone. Will do more collectively undertake bigger investments for higher incomes. Always be ready to help each other. If anyone is in difficulty, all help him or her. Come to know of any breach of discipline in any centre, go there and help restore discipline. Take part in all social activities collectively. Indicators: Grameen Bank does staff evaluation of their work every year and check whether the socio-economic situation of GB members is improving. GB evaluates poverty level of the borrowers using ten indicators. A member is considered to have moved out of poverty if her family fulfils the following criteria: The family lives in a house worth at least Tk. 25,000 (twenty five thousand) or a house with a tin roof, and each member of the family is able to sleep on bed instead of on the floor. Family members drink pure water of tube-wells, boiled water or water purified by using alum, arsenic-free, purifying tablets or pitcher filters. All children in the family over six years of age are all going to school or finished primary school. Minimum weekly loan instalment of the borrower is Tk. 200 or more. Family uses sanitary latrine. Family members have adequate clothing for every day use, warm clothing for winter, such as shawls, sweaters, blankets, etc, and mosquito-nets to protect themselves from mosquitoes. Family has sources of additional income, such as vegetable garden, fruit-bearing trees, etc, so that they are able to fall back on these sources of income when they need additional money. The borrower maintains an average annual balance of Tk. 5,000 in her savings accounts. Family experiences no difficulty in having three square meals a day throughout the year, i.e. no member of the family goes hungry any time of the year. Family can take care of the health. If any member of the family falls ill, family can afford to take all necessary steps to seek adequate healthcare. PESTEL Analysis: There Wahid (1999) are many factors which are affecting the work process and decision making of GB. Tax changes, new laws, trade barriers, demographic change and government policy changes are all examples. To analyse these factors we can categorise them by using the PESTEL analysis. This classification distinguishes between: Political: The political condition of Bangladesh is not stable. The opposite part of government never helps their government properly to the welfare of the country. As a result work strike is happening, which affect the working progress of GB. Economical Bangladesh is a developing country. Most of the villagers are considering as poor. Lone interest rate, tax, unemployment, inflation has effect to any business. Basically unemployment and low national income are the main problem, that why GB trying to motivate people to become self employed. Though Bangladesh is a poor economic country grameen bank faced this crisis to move forward their journey. Social In Bangladesh peoples average age is 60 years. A large number of populations of the country are aged and have no activity in the economy. Grameen Bank also working with the working attitude to change it that people can find interest in different job activities. Technological Grameen Phone is another sister organisation of Grameen bank in Bangladesh. Muhammed Yunus bring the technology to the poor village people and give them an opportunity of phone business by doing cheap rate mobile phone call all over the world. Environmental Different environmental issues like global worming have concern in Bangladesh. Grameen bank motivate people to concern about it and also the human health by providing the easy way to make sanitary latrines, pure drinking water which is arsenic free. Legal In their different development program Grameen Bank teach people about their legal rights and law, that people can get more knowledge about their and others rights. SWOT Analysis of Grameen Bank: Strength Village people are the main resource. Trust between bank and customer. Loan with low interest for poor people. Modern technology. Weakness Loan return is difficult sometime. Cant give big amount of loan to the poor people. Sometime face the staff unhappiness. Opportunities Grameen bank a role model for the world. So this bank could expand all over the world. More job field can be created inside and outside of the country. Threats Political instability. Economic inflation. Environmental threats. e.g. cyclone. Conclusion: Grameen Bank is not only for Bangladesh but also a role model for other organisations all over the world. The village poor life style already has been changed by the different activities of this bank. In Bangladesh it has been success in finance and human health sectors. Australia, USA and some African country are trying to follow the Grameen bank.

Business Research Methodology & Quantitative Statistics Essay

The nature of business breed conflicts, obstacles and problems to discover, study and overcome. Every business has problems. They may be small or big problems in small businesses or global corporations, but they are still problems and all require attention. These businesses must address problems by identifying, analyzing and ultimately establishing their own research-based decisions and pursue actions for solutions to the problems. Business supervisors, managers and virtually all realms of leadership are constantly studying and analyzing such business issues. Organizational leadership is intimately involved in different forms of Business Research while they are addressing issues in their decision making processes towards their own business environment for the good of the company. The purpose of this paper is to apply a critical evaluation of the California InterContinental University (CalU) GRC 605, Mini Project for week one in the Business Research Methodology & Quantitative Statistics course (CalU, 2012). This paper will address the importance of business managers embracing the concept that research initiatives are vital to achieve and maintain a competitive business advantage. Discussion in this paper includes general and specific definitions of good and bad forms or research. Finally, this paper will explain the Research Process and provide relevant examples. Explain the Importance of Research The saying goes that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. The business leadership may be highly educated and accomplished in their specific industry. However, failure to keep up with business research in the industry they are operating in may result in missed opportunities to increase or even maintain optimum company revenue. Knowledge of business research resources allows business managers to be aware of successes and failures in their industry and can prevent making the same mistakes and enhance the propensity for success. Trends, processes, failures, successes and best practices in their business arena are all salient business insights research may provide. Savvy business managers have a healthy understanding of the virtues of business research and the Research Methods. Training in business research and research methods helps managers become cognizant of the complex nature of business situations. Bougie and Sekaran (2009) suggest the value of research training also enables manager to see through and reject overly simplistic answers to complex issues. Successful business managers study the pros and cons of all potential courses of action before making decisions. They will pursue targeted reviews of other Like-Industry Research findings, which assist these business Decision Makers (DM) in determining if research other than their own Primary findings may be of value as a form of positive or negative implementation for an internal evaluation process and business strategy. Accomplished DMs recognize the importance of Knowledge of Research tools and Methodology in the decision making process. Therefore, successful business DMs pursue the knowledge of research to better control, predict and understand events in their environments to make informed managemen t decisions (Bougie & Sekaran, 2009). Define â€Å"Good† Research Bougie & Sekaran (2009) emphasize the business industry recognized Good Research methods as those, which focus DMs on the multitude of variables in a business problem. Good research follows a focal point on the multi-causality and multi-finality of a given business event to assist in avoiding uninformed, simplistic thoughts of one variable causing another. Successful DMs acknowledge professional research project results originating from their own organizations primary research resources will aide them in the essential action plans with known propensities of success in their decisions. Good research is a bottom-line essential decision-making tool for DMs use (Gorelick, 1993). Good business research involves the use of scientific inquiry into a specific problem, which demands a sound solution for the DMs consideration. Good research requires a logical, step-by-step methodology that is both purposeful and rigorous to ensure a valid end-product. The scientific investigation process and DMs conclusions are essential aspects of an effective problem-solving course of action. Codes of conduct or business research ethics are paramount to the validation of good business research. Data collection, analysis, reporting and dissemination are all salient aspects of good research products, which must be conducted under business research ethical standards recognized in journals and professional publications devoted to the issue of business research ethics. Ethical issues must be addressed with industry standards and superintendence by industry watchdogs for the conduct of business research (Bougie & Sekaran, 2009). Explain the Research Process with Examples Bougie & Sekaran (2009) advance the Hypothetico-deductive research business research model. This Scientific Research method provides a systematic approach for basic and managerial problem solving through a seven-step process. The first step identifies a broad problem area such as a business’s drop in sales, which prompt the DM to initiate the business research project. The second step addresses a general objective of the business research with a well-defined problem statement. This step includes gathering preliminary information through interviews on topics intimately associated with the business environment or conducting a literature review to determine the extent to which the business problem has been exploited. The third step develops a hypothesis by fleshing out, identifying and testing probable variables that are causing the problem, and with gathered information, a prediction is made. A hypothesis follows the frame of an IF/THEN proposal. The primary trait of a hypothesis is that something can be tested and that those tests can be replicated (Zimmerman, 2012). An example of a hypothesis to the problem statement of declining sales may include overpricing as the reason why the business sales are dropping. Determining measures for testing the hypothesis is the fourth step in the business research process. Variables must be measurable or the hypothesis is not testable. The fifth, sixth and seventh steps in the business research method includes; data collection, data analysis and data interpretation. These include selecting the best method for gathering the data, analysis the gathered data to test the hypothesis and finally study the results of the business research project to determine if the hypothesis was correct or refinement of theories and testing is prudent. DMs can then take the results and determine management business decision courses of action (Bougie & Sekaran, 2009). Conclusion Business research is an essential tool that equips organizational leadership with the knowledge that guides informed decisions, grounded in the scientific process to address the business problems. Being educated in the research method process is a hallmark of a modern, successful, professional business manager. Knowing and believing that business problems have problem-solving processes, allow these business managers to proactively identify business problems and address them with strategies to overcome dilemmas before they reach a critical point. Today’s DMs turn to professional business research journals to study problems other industry competitors faced. That along with employing successful business practices, or best methods other industry organizations have used, may work to avoid problems in their own situation. A major factor for the business manager’s consideration is deciphering both good business research project reports and those not validated through the scientific method. In such, leaders may make calculated business decisions with full knowledge of all the risks and advantages involved. Their research knowledge provides sound insight of foreseeable probabilities resulting from the decision – eyes wide open. Further, a well-read, well-trained business manager is savvy to internal and external vested interests that may attempt to exert or advocate their decision preferences, which may be flawed or prejudiced. Practical experience and formal, scientific education and training in the business research field provide the business manager with the best possible combination for calculated, informed senior business decision making (Bougie & Sekaran, 2009). References Bougie, R., Sekaran, U. (2009). Research and markets: Research Methods for Business – A skill Building Approach. (5th Ed). John Wiley & sons Ltd Publishing. California InterContinental University. (2010, Jun 16). Study Guide, GRC 605, Research and Markets: Research Methods for Business – A Skill Building Approach, 5th ed. Gorelick, D. (1993). Good Research has Obvious – and Not So Obvious Benefits. Marking News, 27(19), 16-16. Retrieved 14 January 2013 from http://search.proquest.com/docview/216424702?accountid=35996 Zimmerman, Kim Ann. â€Å"What is a Scientific Hypothesis? | Definition of Hypothesis | LiveScience .† Science News – Science Articles and Current Events | LiveScience . Live Sciences, 10 July 2012. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. .

Major Shifts in Netflix Strategy Essay

Compare Blockbuster’s and Netflix’s profit models and value proposition prior to the establishment of Blockbuster online: Blockbuster’s Value Proposition and Profit Models: †¢ By establishing over 5000 locations to represent â€Å"70% of the U. S. population by a 10 minute drive,† Blockbuster’s value proposition is its convenience by geographic location. The physical convenience as well as established brand name made the Blockbuster experience attractive to potential movie rental customers. †¢ Their profit models were based highly off of their utilization of shelf  space. Most prominent shelf space would be dedicated to the newest releases. †¢ Another part of Blockbuster’s profit model was to maximize the number of days a video was rented. This financial aspect of the profit model allowed more rentals, thus more revenue. †¢ Late fees contributed to Blockbuster’s profit model in two ways. The fees accounted for $600 million or 10% of Blockbuster’s revenue in 2004. They also enhanced the company’s consistency in timely rental returns. Since customers usually want to avoid late fees, returning their rentals in a timely manner  allowed the videos to be rented by another customer. Netflix Value Proposition and Profit Models: †¢ Netflix’s key value proposition was offering a completely different format of movie rental. Not only did Netflix offer its product through a different channel (the internet), but they also focused on utilizing DVDs, which was at the time considered early- ­? technology. The popularity of both the internet and DVDs were increasing at the time of Netflix’s launch. With an increase in popularity of new technology, Netflix’s unique service offering became very  attractive among the early- ­? adopters of these technologies. The utilization of a subscription- ­? based service also added to its value proposition. Enabling subscribers to exchange DVDs as frequently as they wanted made Netflix even more attractive. †¢ One aspect of Netflix’s profit model was its marketing strategy to only target DVD consumers. By developing a cross- ­? promotional program with manufacturers and retailers of DVD players, Netflix did not waste marketing to other consumer groups who don’t have the new technology to even use DVDs. †¢ In regards to Netflix’s operational aspects of its profit model, Netflix expansion of nationwide distribution centers contributed to the company’s efficient process. The expansion improved delivery time and also nationwide coverage. Also, the low costs of investing in an additional distribution center further added to the company’s profit model. 2) List each major shift in Netflix’s Strategy †¢ The first major shift in Netflix’s strategy was the transition to a prepaid subscription service. Netflix realized its original pricing strategy of paying $4 for reach rental was †¢

Public Administrations Benefits from the Technological Advancement Free Essay Example, 2500 words

With the advanced technology, public administration has recorded reduced instances of corruption. The most susceptive area of public administration is the department of the treasury when there are complex projects that require large sums of money for execution, public servants may be enticed to embezzle such funds. However, chances of embezzling the funds are high if the public administration is not using technology in its operations (Milakovich Gordon, 2012). This is arguably true because the use of technology has been documented to have helped in monitoring areas that pave way for corruption. For instance, large projects might require complex calculations of funds required for their execution. This may create a room for corrupt individuals to manipulate the figures to steal the money. However, sophisticated software has eliminated some of those challenges since they can be used to easily execute calculations in a matter of minutes. Poor provision of services by the public servant s has been a debatable issue for a long period. Many public servants have in the past been accused of undermining the citizens when they seek government services. We will write a custom essay sample on Public Administration's Benefits from the Technological Advancement or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Some have been reported to be lazy in their places of work. However, with the introduction of CCT cameras in most of the public administration offices, such incidences have reduced. It would be easy to prove what transpired between a public servant and the citizen with the aid of video footage supported by the CCTV. This way, such public servants understand the consequences of being involved in unprofessional behaviors. In another dimension, technology has helped in improving public sectors that have for a long time lagged behind in regard to the provision of services. With performance contracts that have been aided by technology, many public servants put efforts to serve the people with the intent of meeting the requirements of the contract. This way, several public sectors are able to thrive (Fang, 2002). For example, the administrative system has been enhanced in such a way that every public service officer is required to log into the administrat ive system when they arrive in their work of places.