Polythene: Plastic Shopping Bags

Polythene pollution is everywhere, and the problem is getting worse. For most of us, the problem is seen as one of visual pollution, where plastic bags litter streets, roadways, and in some cases scenic areas across the country. No one will argue that polythene is useful. The plastic bags we use to carry home food or products are for the most part very light and very strong. Using these bags is not really the problem. The problem, leading to polythene pollution, is the improper methods of disposing of the bags.They've been marketed as throw-away items, and that is all too often what we do, except they don’t always end up in the garbage. Save A Tree – Polythene wasn't introduced as a bad thing. It wasn't all that many years ago that we started using plastic bags to â€Å"save a tree†. By using paper bags for groceries, it seemed like we were cutting down trees, using the wood or pulp products on a one time basis, and then throwing the product away. The message was , we were on the verge of making a renewable resource, trees, a non-renewable one.everal design options and features are available. Some bags have gussets to allow a higher volume of contents. Some have the ability to stand up on a shelf or a refrigerator. Some have easy-opening or reclosable options. Handles are cut into or added onto some.Plastic bags usually use less material than comparable boxes, cartons, or jars, thus are often considered as â€Å"reduced or minimized packaging†.Depending on the construction, plastic bags can be well suited for plastic recycling. They can be incinerated in appropriate facilities for waste-to-energy conversion. They are stable and benign in sanitary landfills. If disposed of improperly, however, plastic bags can create unsightly litter and harm some types of wildlife.Bags are also made with carrying handles, hanging holes, tape attachments, security features, etc. Some bags have provisions for easy and controlled opening. Reclosable feat ures, including press-to-seal zipper strips such as Ziploc, are common for kitchen bags. Some bags are sealed and can only be opened by destroying the packaging, providing some tamper-evident capability.Bags can be made with a variety of plastics films. Polyethylene (LDPE, LLDPE etc.) is the most common. Other forms, including laminates and coextrusions can be used when the physical properties are needed.Boil-in-bags are often used for sealed frozen foods, sometimes complete entres. The bags are usually tough heat-sealed nylon or polyester to withstand the temperatures of boiling water. Some bags are porous or perforated to allow the hot water to contact the food: rice, noodles, etc.Bag-In-Box packaging is often used for liquids such as wine and institutional sizes of other liquids.Often times, children may attempt to use bags as a sort of makeshift kite. By tying string to the handles, they are able to successfully glide them, provided there is a gentle breeze, until they lose thei r grip or grow weary of holding them and simply let go, unaware of the fact that they are endangering animals' lives.Plastic shopping bagsMain article: Plastic shopping bag Open bags with carrying handles are used in large numbers nationwide. Stores often provide them as a convenience to shoppers. Some stores charge a nominal fee for a bag. Heavy-duty reusable shopping bags are often considered environmentally better than single-use paper or plastic shopping bags.Waste disposal bagsMain article: Bin bag Flexible intermediate bulk container Main article: Flexible intermediate bulk container Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (Big bags, bulk bags, etc.) are large industrial containers, usually used for powders or flowables.Use of plastic bags internationallyThe number of plastic bags used worldwide has been estimated to be on the order of 1 trillion annually. The use of plastic bags differs dramatically across countries. While the average consumer in China uses only 2 or 3 plastic bags a year, the numbers are much higher in most other countries: Denmark: 4, Ireland: 18, Germany: 65, USA: > 300, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia: more than 400. In order to reduce plastic bag consumption, the European Union has suggested to pass new regulations.Danger to childrenThin plastic bags, especially dry cleaning bags, have the potential for causing suffocation. About 25 children in the United States suffocate each year due to plastic bags, 99.2% are under the age of one. This has led to voluntary warning labels on some bags which may pose a hazard to small children.Danger to marine wildlifePlastic bags, which escape the garbage collection process, often end up in streams, which then lead them to end up in the open ocean. Because they float, and resemble a jellyfish, plastic bags pose significant dangers to marine mammals, such as Leatherback sea turtles, when they enter their digestive tract. Because plastic bags cause damage to ocean marine life, litter city streets, and cont ribute to carbon emissions in their manufacture and shipping, some towns in the United States, including San Francisco, CA, Portland, OR, Seattle, WA and Austin, TX have begun to ban or restrict the use of plastic bags, usually starting with plastic shopping bags. Polythene: Plastic Shopping Bags Polythene pollution is everywhere, and the problem is getting worse. For most of us, the problem is seen as one of visual pollution, where plastic bags litter streets, roadways, and in some cases scenic areas across the country. No one will argue that polythene is useful. The plastic bags we use to carry home food or products are for the most part very light and very strong. Using these bags is not really the problem. The problem, leading to polythene pollution, is the improper methods of disposing of the bags. They've been marketed as throw-away items, and that is all too often what we do, except they don’t always end up in the garbage.Save A Tree – Polythene wasn't introduced as a bad thing. It wasn't all that many years ago that we started using plastic bags to â€Å"save a tree†. By using paper bags for groceries, it seemed like we were cutting down trees, using the wood or pulp products on a one time basis, and then throwing the product away. The message was , we were on the verge of making a renewable resource, trees, a non-renewable one. everal design options and features are available. Some bags have gussets to allow a higher volume of contents. Some have the ability to stand up on a shelf or a refrigerator. Some have easy-opening or reclosable options.Handles are cut into or added onto some. Plastic bags usually use less material than comparable boxes, cartons, or jars, thus are often considered as â€Å"reduced or minimized packaging†. Depending on the construction, plastic bags can be well suited for plastic recycling. They can be incinerated in appropriate facilities for waste-to-energy conversion. They are stable and benign in sanitary landfills. If disposed of improperly, however, plastic bags can create unsightly litter and harm some types of wildlife. [3][4] Bags are also made with carrying handles, hanging holes, tape attachments, security features, etc.Some bags have provisions for easy and controlled opening. Reclos able features, including press-to-seal zipper strips such as Ziploc, are common for kitchen bags. Some bags are sealed and can only be opened by destroying the packaging, providing some tamper-evident capability. Bags can be made with a variety of plastics films. Polyethylene (LDPE, LLDPE etc. ) is the most common. Other forms, including laminates and coextrusions can be used when the physical properties are needed. Boil-in-bags are often used for sealed frozen foods, sometimes complete entres.The bags are usually tough heat-sealed nylon or polyester to withstand the temperatures of boiling water. Some bags are porous or perforated to allow the hot water to contact the food: rice, noodles, etc. Bag-In-Box packaging is often used for liquids such as wine and institutional sizes of other liquids. Often times, children may attempt to use bags as a sort of makeshift kite. By tying string to the handles, they are able to successfully glide them, provided there is a gentle breeze, until t hey lose their grip or grow weary of holding them and simply let go, unaware of the fact that they are endangering animals' lives.Plastic shopping bags[edit] Main article: Plastic shopping bag Open bags with carrying handles are used in large numbers nationwide. Stores often provide them as a convenience to shoppers. Some stores charge a nominal fee for a bag. Heavy-duty reusable shopping bags are often considered environmentally better than single-use paper or plastic shopping bags. Waste disposal bags[edit] Main article: Bin bag Flexible intermediate bulk container[edit] Main article: Flexible intermediate bulk container Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (Big bags, bulk bags, etc.) are large industrial containers, usually used for powders or flowables.Use of plastic bags internationally[edit] The number of plastic bags used worldwide has been estimated to be on the order of 1 trillion annually. The use of plastic bags differs dramatically across countries. While the average co nsumer in China uses only 2 or 3 plastic bags a year, the numbers are much higher in most other countries: Denmark: 4, Ireland: 18, Germany: 65, USA: > 300, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia: more than 400. In order to reduce plastic bag consumption, the European Union has suggested to pass new regulations.Danger to children[edit] Thin plastic bags, especially dry cleaning bags, have the potential for causing suffocation. About 25 children in the United States suffocate each year due to plastic bags, 99. 2% are under the age of one. This has led to voluntary warning labels on some bags which may pose a hazard to small children. Danger to marine wildlife[edit] Plastic bags, which escape the garbage collection process, often end up in streams, which then lead them to end up in the open ocean.Because they float, and resemble a jellyfish, plastic bags pose significant dangers to marine mammals, such as Leatherback sea turtles, when they enter their digestive tract. Because plastic bags cause da mage to ocean marine life, litter city streets, and contribute to carbon emissions in their manufacture and shipping, some towns in the United States, including San Francisco, CA, Portland, OR, Seattle, WA and Austin, TX have begun to ban or restrict the use of plastic bags, usually starting with plastic shopping bags.

Arthur Miller’s Treatment of Women in The Crucible Essay

Women play a crucial role in the conflict of Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. They are the entire foundation to the play. Arthur Miller’s treatment of women in this play shows women as weak beings who give into their husbands. The way women are treated in this play is a reflection of the Puritan beliefs of that time. Women were believed to have only the job of reproduction, and supporting the family with food. The first example that exhibits this is the way Elizabeth Proctor, John Proctor’s wife, is treated as a character. Another example would be how Abigail Williams is a character that is very unique and smart but then again gives into society and is forced to lie to get herself out of trouble. Many other women are known in this story for revealing Miller’s treatment of women. Although many of the women in The Crucible are respected throughout Salem, Massachusetts, none of them have any sort of authority or power over anyone or anything. Even though they are pure hearted and genuinely good people, like Elizabeth Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, and Martha Corey, they possess no right of authority. All of these women instinctively live to take care of their families and households. This reflects Miller’s treatment of women. In The Crucible, Elizabeth Proctor is a very good wife and mother to her 3 children. She is known in the town as one of the most honest people ever and is very respected by everyone, but, regardless of those things, women are seen by society as second-class citizens throughout the 50’s. No matter how respected or well-known they are, men always dominate and that is portrayed in the life of Elizabeth Proctor. John Proctor is a man who provides for his family; he is there for support and the kindness of a father. On the other hand, Elizabeth Proctor is a good mother and a good house wife but always put in her place by her husband and this just demonstrates how dominant the character is. The dominance portrayed in the life of Elizabeth Proctor is an example of what Miller is saying through his characters. The fact that in this time women don’t have as many rights as women do now, shows that Miller is drawn to literature puritanism of that time. In The Crucible, Elizabeth is convicted of witchcraft and I sentenced to prison. Luckily, she is found to be pregnant and therefore not sentenced to hang like most other women that were arrested. The fact that Elizabeth is given the â€Å"privilege† to live until her baby is born is just another sign of how Miller portrays the Puritanism into his writing. The Puritans of that time would never hang an innocent baby because they believe that babies are born amoral and have no sense of right and wrong. Therefore, this proves that Arthur Miller treated women in The Crucible just as other literature periods of that time by being influenced by Puritanism. Another example of a women who undergoes Millers characteristic categorization is Rebecca Nurse. She, along with Martha Corey, is viewed as one the most respected, faithful, godly women in the town but she is accused of witchcraft. The main reason why the most innocent women of Salem are accused is because the people that accused them were aware that they were not willing to confess to a crime they didn’t commit. Therefore, Miller shows Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey as women who not only are respected by others in the town but also respect themselves that are accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death. Like mentioned before, women of this era had no right of power and the women that do have authority derive it from manipulation. An example of that is Abigail Williams. She is the main â€Å"possessor† of power in The Crucible. She is one the most important characters of this play. She has caused many other women of Salem to go to prison and later be hung because of â€Å"witchcraft.† Abigail is a character that is seen as very manipulative and sneaky around authority. She manipulates people into believing her story and she knows how to act differently around authority.

Communication with children Essay

There are many reasons why people communicate these are as follows: Building relationship, it is very important to build a relationship with the children, young people, colleagues and people around us. For instance in the setting I work, the nursery, we communicate all the time to the parents and children to have positive relationship so that we can work together in providing the children’s needs. Simple greetings to the parents will be the start of harmonious relationship and we can develop a partnership in working together towards the development of every child. In our setting we often ask the parents if their child has been ok at home, if any concern such as the child not feeling well or a bit upset, the parents will tell us and that we can understand or have any idea how to deal with the child. We communicate to build a secure, trusting and good relationship with colleagues. Read more:  Identify different reasons why people communicate  essay Every day we talk about our experiences and our lives just to build a bridge of friendship to all staff I work with. We communicate to solve issues or if any problems we experience along the way, we communicate to learn from each other sharing ideas etc. With the children as their carer in school we communicate to know get to know the child. And if the child knows us they feel secure and develop a trusting relationship. We communicate daily to the children to help them learn and enjoy their time in the nursery. Maintaining relationships, it happens to us every day with the people around us by just simply smiling or asking how they are doing, it maintains a good friendship and trust among staff and with the people we work with. In the nursery we communicate with the parents and the children everyday asking how they are feeling, how they are doing to know and understand their needs and that maintain a good relationship and trust. I work with 3-4 year old pupils, for them to stay on task and enjoy what we planned to do with them, a trusting relationship and respect should be establish, we start this as soon as the child starts nursery by communicating with them asking them about their likes and dislikes, then this will carry on everyday so the child will feel comfortable and at ease with you, and with that relationship it is easy for me to have some activities with them such as math game to teach them about playing fairly and the learning objectives. If there’s a problem or concern with the parents, children or colleagues a good communication will work it  out, resolve some issues to maintain a positive environment Gaining and Sharing Information, We need to gain information in the work settings not only with children, young peoples and their families but also with colleagues and other professionals. The information that we gain and share will help us in a way that we work. In the nursery, there was a child with asthma, the teacher and parents give me information about his condition and what to do during emergency, with that it helps me how to deal with the child and provide his needs. If a child has special needs a professional will come and asses the child, your information about the daily routine and behaviour of the child will be needed. Example of this was in the nursery there was a child with a statement for speech and language therapy, the chid sees his speech therapist and got some key words to practice every day, the speech therapist will provide us with a copy of the Childs keywords so that in the nursery we ask the child to practice those words every day. We gain information from the speech therapist about the words the child needs to practice and we share the feedback on how the Childs getting on with it. If a child has allergy, medications will be needed to be shared between parents and nursery staffs. In planning activities and making a child’s learning journey the teacher would like to know your observations , assessments with some children, any good work, likes and dislikes etc. In the end of the day ,nursery staff shares information to the parents regarding how their child has been, example when the teacher has given an activity, an information will be shared regarding how the child coping with the activities and the outcome of it. Gaining reassurance and acknowledgement With working with children and young people, we praise them if they have done good work good behaviour, this will make them proud of what they’re doing and continue the good work or behaviour. When talking to children , parents or colleagues, providing them eye contact or taking interest of what they say would give them reassurance and acknowledgement. We communicate to give reward to good work. A child who has been kind and sharing to his friends will have a smile and sticker from us, this acknowledge that what the child did was really good. Expressing needs and feelings As human beings we all need to express our needs and feelings without doing these it leads to frustration and isolation. A baby knows how to express their needs and feelings by crying or pointing to the object. A child in the nursery will tell a teacher or support staff if he is hungry thirsty, sad, frustrated, happy etc with this we can give their needs. Every day we communicate with children, they tell us if they are upset or if somebody has upset them we solve these issues with proper communication. We talk about our feelings as young children they still are developing to control their emotions, if a child is angry and hurting other children we give the child a timeout and after the time out we talk to them pointing out that its ok to be angry but it’s not ok to hurt other children and if next time he feels angry again, encourage the child to tall a teacher rather than acting out of the Childs anger. We express our needs and expectation to a child, if a child did a good work or behaviour we praise the child, â€Å"what you did today made me very happy†. We express our feeling and needs not only to a child but to other adults around as example children’s parents and our colleagues. Open communication within working environment is essential to maintain relationship. We communicate to understand and to be understood. Sharing Ideas and thoughts Humans have ideas that needs to be shared and thoughts that needs to be heard, example when we are doing Christmas party in our nursery, as a member of staff we put in our ideas and thoughts to this activity , having our ideas put in together we can come up with a brilliant fun party. In planning activities, communication is important to share your brilliant ideas, and if you got some expertise you can share them among other staff, and if you got some weakness other staff can help you. Parents ideas are welcome we welcome then by means of verbal communication or written communication example of this is a suggestion box we provide for parents . CYP 3.5-1.1,2.2 Children- Positive relationship with children is important so that the children will feel safe secure, happy, relax and will have trust in their carer in nursery. Positive relationship is the main ingredient for you to work with children, young people and their families. A relax , comfortable  and happy child can learn more effectively .We can built and maintain it by setting some rules and boundaries with the children, resolve issues with the children and parents if there’s any. Positive relationship with children can be built by asking how the child feeling, what play interest them, listening to them also by showing them good example as they learn through example, be a role model. Young people – Positive relationship with teenager is important for them to give their trust and with that you can work with them effectively. You can maintain and build it by listening and respecting their opinions, know their interest. Deal with issues with sensitivity, honesty and openness and make sure you give feedback. For instance if a young people shared an important information about themselves, show that you are interested by giving eye contact when they speak , body gestures, facial expression so that felt that they have been acknowledge and their ideas being valued. If a young people had shared some problems deal with it with an appropriate manner and made sure you give them appropriate feedback without judging them. Don’t pressure them to do things they don’t want to do, respect the young people’s opinion even if it contradicts your opinion. Parents/carers- Positive relationship with parents and carers is important so that we can build a trust and open relationship with them and with that partnership both school and home can work effectively and support the child’s development. In a nursery setting communication between parents and staff is important every day, so if there are any issues it could be resolve with open and honest communication. We can maintain positive relationship by being welcoming to the parent’s warm and friendly ready to listen to their concern. If a parent had opinions respects it and include parent’s ideas in planning their child’s learning journey. Good relationship with parents means a lot of support they give to our settings example parents voluntarily help during field trip, donation money for more books or anything for the children’s activity. Staff can also learn from parent’s expertise such as baking, etc. Agencies and Professionals –Positive relationship with agencies and professionals important as we work alongside with them as some children needs them. For example a speech therapist will work together with the teacher and staff in providing and giving the child information on how to help his speech development. In my work setting one child has keys words from his speech therapist and he needs to practice those key words every  day, so we communicate with the speech therapist about what the child needs what words he needs to practice. If a child has behavioural issues we can ask for help to the agencies and professionals as they are expert in that field. In the nursery we invited the community police officer to give the children an overview of what they do and how they can help. The children learn many interesting things about a community police officer and they even met a police dog which made the children very happy. SHC 31-1.2 Explain verbal communication and non-verbal communication. Verbal communication Verbal communication is simply the communication that is expressed through words. What you say is verbal communication. What you don’t say is nonverbal communication, example on nonverbal communications are physical gestures, facial expression, body language. Verbal communication example When a child comes to me and say â€Å" can i please go to the toilet†- the child using words and sound that’s verbal communication while non verbal communication is when a child needs a toilet , comes to me a, and just pointed the door of the toilet. The child using body language to say he wants to go to the toilet. I didn’t hear anything no sound produced but still sending the message. How to deal professionally with differences and disagreements As we work with our colleagues we may have different opinions and personality that may cause differences and disagreements to deal with it as a member of a team we should learn how to compromise, accept, listen and respect to other ideas, be diplomatic in everything you say and do, respect each other’s opinion and be discretional. If the there have been misunderstanding or have not used appropriate tone or style or communication a prompt and sincere apology can diffuse situations. When there is disagreements it is best to talk about it in a calm manner, in appropriate place and having a mediator will help. If there are any disagreements with my colleagues or children parents, I will diplomatically discuss and talk the issues with the person I had disagreements with in a proper place and time with sensitivity, tact and with open mindless. I will ask if there anything I did that made somebody upset, and I will apologise if there’s  any. If after trying to reconcile with the person I had disagreements with and there’s still an issue, I will forward it to our deputy head teacher, he the one dealing with issues among staff. Dealing with people with speech difficulties In dealing with people with speech difficulties we can use visual aids; this means we can use pictures to point things out. We can use strong body language facial expression, and hand gestures or learn sign language. The best way to help a child with speech problems is to give them constant support. Support alone can be tremendous in boosting their confidence, which will in turn help their speech. There was a child I was working with that stutters, so when that child speaks to me I listen and give that child time to finish what he/she saying without interrupting. We Avoid corrections or criticisms such as â€Å"slow down,† â€Å"take your time,† or â€Å"take a deep breath.† These comments, however well-intentioned, will only make the child feel more self-conscious. We make talking fun for that child let that child express and talk in his own time and pace. Different language Different language can be dealt with by body language, facial expression and good eye contact. We can use translation and interpreting services. In my working setting I am dealing with a child who cannot speak English as she was from other country, I dealt with it by providing pictures of our daily routines and a strong body language, and facial expressions. Working alongside with translation and interpreting service I had documents to the basic words of the child language, example, hello, good morning. In my work setting we have a child that comes from different country and don’t even speak English, I support that child during dinner time; I use pictures and strong body language to let her understand the rules during dinner time. I asked other child to be a model a good example to her, I reminded the children â€Å"this is how we line up properly, and we need to show our new friend how to stay in line†. During library times I let her choose a book and she was pointing at the pictures of the book telling me the story using her own language. I acknowledge the child and gave her smile and a sticker for sharing the book in her language. A strong facial expression that I am happy . SHC 31-2.2 Environment/Location, it is important to think about location to communicate effectively, it is easier to exchange personal communication when the location is quite and calm. Example of this is when you are talking to a parent about their child’s school performance, you find a quite room, away from the other children, usually the meeting room provided in school and discuss about the matter. When working with children, like reading stories you have to be in a familiar place provided a book area in the nursery, a calm and quiet place and cosy so they could listen effectively. You can’t effectively read stories to a child if you are in a noisy area or a place with lots of distraction. In circle time we gather all the children in the carpet big enough for them to sit down, then before talking we made sure the children sat still and quite. Appropriate place is needed when sharing private information; other people might only want to share the information to you. Exchange information – when changing information, appropriate place is needed, when communicating you should have good eye contact appropriate body gestures/ facial expression and be clear and concise so the information you are sharing is well understood by the receiver. Allow the receiver to clarify your information like asking questions and giving feedback. A good example of this is when the teacher will ask you to do some task with the children. You as a receiver will ask questions to clarify what the teacher ask you to do and how many children involve and the learning objectives. As a parent if you ask the nursery provider to continue your child’s medication, you tell the staff what medicine, what time and how much your child needs to give a clear instruction you can write it one piece of paper. Body language as a communicator is it important to be sensitive to the body language between you and the person you’re communicating with. A child who sucks their thumb may be indicating he is nervous or tired while the adult who are tapping their fingers on the desk sends out â€Å"I’m bored† or â€Å"I’m frustrated† signal. Crossed arms are usually interpreted as meaning you are irritated or unsure whereas open body language-hands on the side, for example-may signal that someone is feeling relaxed. We should avoid crossing our arms when talking to everyone as it may make the atmosphere tense. Facial expression is a strong element of communication and we can show how  we feel through our faces. If a child has done something good we show we are happy by showing a smile, we can’t say â€Å"very good† with a sad face. With working with young children it is important to show high level of facial expression so they can interpret what we are saying of to help them maintain interest. With adults it is important to show that we are taking in what they are saying and we are interested or trying to convey. When communicating to a parent, keeping body language open and relax is a good way to show professionalism and when a challenging situation it helps eases the tension. Smiling is important to show warmth and peace. Smiling when you first meet the parents and children is important to make them feel relax and secure and this will start a positive relationship. SHC 31-3.2 Environment – it can be a barrier to effective communication when the location is noisy, very warm room or not the appropriate place to share information. Example if you are trying to talk to a friend about your problems, you need an appropriate place so others can’t listen, with a conversation to be flowing you need to have a quite noise level, with too much noise you won’t be able to hear each other. If you are telling a story to a group of children you have to make sure the room not too cold or too warm, the children are comfortable and no distractions such as noise so they will listen, they are more likely to be distracted if they aren’t comfortable. Culture and family background-it can be a barrier to effective communication because different culture and family background affects the way people use the methods of communication. Example in different countries eye contact may not be as common in some cultures or may be interpreted differently. People in different countries has different language, with this barrier we have translation and interpreting service. In the Philippines, communicating with the elders has a different way to show respect and politeness example of this is adding â€Å"po† and â€Å"opo† to the end of every sentence. Family background makes a difference and every family has its own way of communication. Some children will have to hear swearing at home others may be hearing more than language. Some children may be vibrant and noisy. Disabilities is a barrier to effective communication, some people cannot speak, hear or some don’t have mental ability to understand but this barrier have lots of ways to deal with, lots of communication methods such as Makaton. Makaton uses signs, symbols and speech to help people communicate. Signs are used, with speech, in spoken word order. This helps provide extra clues about what someone is saying. Using signs can help people who have no speech or whose speech is unclear. Using symbols can help people who have limited speech and those who cannot, or prefer not to sign. Today over 100,000 children and adults, use Makaton symbols and signs. Most people start using Makaton as children then naturally stop using the signs and symbols as they no longer need them. However, some people will need to use Makaton for their whole lives.( http://www.makaton.org/aboutMakaton/) Babies and children’s communication are still limited, visual images including pictures and photographs can help them communicate but also understand what we are saying. Example of this is in our classroom setting everything has signs and labels with pictures on it, they have pictures of their daily routine and pictures of their pegs etc. We have speech and language services to help us find ways in communicating with children and young people. Blind or visually impaired people can access written communication by using Braille. Confidence and self-esteem is a barrier to effective communication when a person is not confident to speak out or express his feelings and thoughts and is not confident to share his ideas or give feedback. Some people shy away from direct face to face contact .Being unable to adequately express your emotions or ideas causes a lowered sense of self-esteem because you keep your feelings trapped inside. This can be extremely frustrating and can cause feelings of depression and isolation. People with low self-esteem generally have less satisfying relationships and more social difficulties than people with a healthy level of self-esteem. Working with children in the nursery, we always encounter shy children specially when it’s their first day in nursery, we deal with this by approaching (being warm and friendly)a child not pressuring the child to speak , and being attentive to a child’s body language so we can give what he needs or what he’s feeling. In circle time some children like to speak out some are shy and would rather share his ideas privately, we can encourage every child to speak and listen by passing a toy around giving them instruction that if they are holding the toy it’s their time to share their ideas. Children that are shy and refuse  to speak will be encouraged but he won’t be pressured to do it, in time he is ready and comfortable to speak out he will do it on his own time. Lack of literacy and ICT knowledge is a barrier to effective communication because some people can’t read or write, some people don’t have access to computers, some doesn’t know how to use computers. We should not make assumptions that all people can access their emails, text or can read English or find it easy to write. We deal with it by asking somebody how you’d like to receive information, such as newsletters in the nursery. With this we know who send emails with. With those people who can’t read and write we can ask extra support how to transfer the message to them or might be some prefer to receive message by phone calls. Use appropriate language when communicating with a person we should know who we are communicating with so we can use appropriate language. When communicating with children we should use simple and clear language. We should be a role model; we should speak clearly and use appropriate facial expression and body language to avoid misunderstanding. As a role model we should avoid swearing in front of children as they can easily pick up these things. We should talk to children with respect as we expect them to respect us. When communicating with parents we should always be tact polite and professional even in a difficult situation. Misunderstanding can happened easily if we don’t use appropriate language, if this happens an apology will do. SHC 31-41, 4.3 Confidentiality is a set of rules keeping certain information secret or private in order to respect people’s rights. Example of confidentially are as follows,  Before taking photographs of children in the nursery, there should be a parent consent usually signed by parents, some parents doesn’t want photographs of their children displayed for safety reasons. Working with children at work, should not be discussed with a close friend or any person who has nothing to do with a child. All written information that relates to a child should be kept securely, example of this children’s work. Information should not be shared to other person if somebody who is not the parent of the child asking for it always check with the parent and ask for consent. Data protection act 1998 the keeping of records, storing of data and passing of information is actually strictly regulated by the data protection act 1998. The act covers both paper-based and electronic records. The act is designed to prevent confidential and personal information from being passed on without a person’s consent. This act originally applied only to information that was stored on computers but it has been updated to include any personal information that is stored, whether paper or electronically. Example of this are the information such as name , address, date of birth, telephone number or any relevant information to our setting should not be shared to other people, it should be stored in a proper place where it’s safe , this act applies as well to computer data. If some random person ask for the child’s address, as the data protection act we are not allowed to give this information to that person. The Freedom of Information Act The Freedom of Information Act gives you the right to ask any public sector organisation for all the recorded information they have on any subject. Anyone can make a request for information – there are no restrictions on your age, nationality or where you live. If you ask for information about yourself, then your request will be handled under the Data Protection Act. Organisations you can request information from You can request information from publicly funded organisations that work for the welfare of the whole population, eg: †¢government departments †¢local councils †¢schools, colleges and universities †¢health trusts, hospitals and doctors’ surgeries †¢publicly funded museums †¢the police †¢non-departmental public bodies, committees and advisory bodies Government departments post responses to freedom of information requests online. You can search through previous responses. View the full list of public authorities covered by the Freedom of Information Act. You can contact an organisation directly by letter or email to make a freedom of information (FOI) request. When making your request, you should include: †¢your name †¢an address where you can be contacted †¢a detailed description of the recorded information you want You have certain rights to environmental information under the Environmental Information Regulations. For example, you can request information about air or water quality, noise and waste as well as any policies, decisions or activities that could affect them. (https://www.gov.uk) Paper based information are stored in a file cabinet, a room usually next to the reception office, it is usually lock and you ask the secretary or the head teacher if you want to access them. SHC 31- 41,4.3 Atmosphere in the setting would create a tension and this would impact the relationship and the development of children Concerns regarding child’s welfare, tensions arise when a parent doesn’t feel secure or lack of trust to the people looking after their child or the other way around such as abuse. To deal with this tension, it’s important to build a good relationship, respect and open communication between parent and carer and must work together for the best care of a child. As a staff, if a parent has problems or concerns about her child it it’s important to deal with it with calmness and follow the procedures laid down in the setting regarding such situations. Pass information directly and quickly to the person in another organisation that has responsibility for dealing such concern. Confidentially should be retained, other staff, parents etc will not necessarily know anything about the concerns that have been raised. Where a child or young person is suspected of committing abuse, example of this is in form of bullying, biting or hitting. This tension could affect children involved and the parents and carer. To deal with this is to refer the schools, or the settings policy with regard to bullying or any abuse committed by the young person. Follow the schools or nurseries Behavioural management, explain to the children what acceptable behaviour and deal with it calmly, or report it to your manager or head teacher. For instance of a child in our nursery scratched another child’s face, we deal with it by giving the child who scratched another child face a time out, usually 3 mins for their age 3-4 years old, after that we talk to the child, explain that  what he done is not acceptable behaviour and let the child understand why, and let him apologise to the child he hurt. Later on we inform the child’s parent about their child action. With the child who has been hurt we deal with it by comforting the child, if there’s a mark we let somebody who is a first aid have a look, then file an accident form. We inform the parent about the incident but not revealing the identity of the child who hurt their child. We ensure that parents that the incident has been dealt with and will investigate further so it won’t happen again. Staff member witnessing another abusing a child or young person, when this happens this will create tension in the setting it is important to report it to the safeguarding officer directly. If ever I witness another staff member abusing a child or a young person I will report it immediately to the safeguarding officer so the case will be look into. To maintain confidentially I won’t spread what I witness to other staff or any person who has nothing to do with the situation. Where a crime has been committed we have partnership with other organisations to safe guard children and young people. Example scenario of this when a child confides in you that he/she is being abuse; you can deal with it by telling your safeguarding officer about it or your line manager and maintain confidentiality. Disclose something if you think the child in danger, you will be doing the best for the child if you disclose such information of a sensitive nature even if you feel you are breaking a confidence. Follow your setting’s regarding disclosure of abuse. Parents should have seen your settings child protection policy which will state that information will be disclose if it is deemed that a child is in any danger.

Are Alternative Energy Sources the Answer to Ending Human Dependence Research Paper

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Reasearch - Research Paper Example Another controversial issue that was facing Hemingway was in regard to his sexual orientation. This is controversial because Hemingway is known to have a deep hatred to the gay people; however, scholars denote that this was with the intention of hiding his sexual orientation. This is because Hemingway is suspected to have been a gay person. It is these types of controversies and issues surrounding the life of Hemingway that could have an impact in negatively affecting his career. This paper examines the controversial manner which Hemingway was able to depict women, and why this could negatively affect his career. Ernest Hemingway is a famous and talented American writer. However, most of his critics do not feel the same. This is because of his writing style, and the various controversies that Mr. Hemingway was able to have. On most occasions, Mr. Hemingway is always compared to famous authors such as William Faulkner and Scott Fitzergerald. However, he has a very different writing style, when it is compared to these famous authors. Furthermore, Mr. Hemingway has made enormous and great contribution to the modern fiction, when he is compared to the above mentioned authors (Boon, 27). However, this assertion is debatable, mainly because he has only a handful of novels and fictions to his name. This is when compared to the above authors, who dedicated most of their lives in writing fiction and novels. Furthermore, he was very particular in regard to his writing (Bloom, 31). He did not just come up with a story, but he analyzed the story carefully, and every sentence, and word, for purposes of e nsuring that the story under consideration would serve its function, and disseminate the intended message. Furthermore, the novels that Hemingway created were following a chronological order. The impact of this order is that the novels were boring, and very typical. For

Genetics - Its History, Advantages and Future Research Paper

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Aristotle's Poetics vs. The Lottery and The Bourne Identity - Essay Example For example, at the beginning of the story we have people gathering together for what seems to be a normal lottery. Then, we realize that this is no ordinary lottery because all the people seem nervous and afraid of winning. The stones that the children stack up are a foreshadowing of what is going to happen, but it doesn’t necessarily give away the ending. The reader knows that winning this lottery isn’t a good thing, so they may now be speculating about why it is such a bad thing to win. Getting the reader intrigued without giving away the ending drives the structure and arrangements of the incidents that occur in this tragedy. In this story, the characters are of secondary importance to the plot and the message that is conveyed. What gives the story it’s â€Å"soul† is the order of events which, in turn, builds up suspense and momentum. In the movie, â€Å"The Bourne Identity,† the arrangement and structure of the incidents are also very importan t in moving the plot forward. The first incident occurs when Jason Bourne wakes up in the fishing boat and doesn’t know who he is. Every incident that follows is a result of him trying to figure out who he is and who he works for. Thus, the plot is structured so that it moves from instance to instance based on a problem that requires a resolution.

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Chapter Six Reading Response - Assignment Example For instance, the bronze figure of Siva figure represented the Hindu god in a dance pose as a symbol of ritualistic devotion of the Hindu. It is quite fascinating to learn how people had diverse ways of religious devotion. Secondly, the Amber Necklaces of Eastern Asia were a symbol of good luck, happiness and as a charm against evil. The good associated with it is quite fascinating. The two works of art that I responded to most negatively were The Bayeux Tapestry and the Stc-Foy Reliquary. Though they are useful representations of the religious transformation and influence of the 10th century in Europe, they period was marked by several Christian-Muslim wars. The one monument I would want to know more about is the statues of Moai Ancestors figures found in Polynesia Island. I equate their significance to the pyramids of Egypt which has images of their early rulers. I would imagine how the rulers must have looked like. The monumentality of the statues exhibits some respect and

In the Line of Fire Essay Example for Free

In the Line of Fire Essay Author. Pervez Musharraf 3. Chapters 22 4. Pages 237 5. Price. Not Known 6. Year of Pub 2006 Introduction 7. With the publication of his memoir, In the Line of Fire, Pervez Musharraf has virtually launched his campaign for the next presidential election due towards the end of 2007. Through the medium of this book he intends to convey to the people of Pakistan what he has accomplished for his country, and to the world community, how he has endeavored to counter the forces of extremism and obscurantism that have brought bad name to Pakistan. About The Author 8. The title, In the Line of Fire, serves to project Musharraf’s image as a bold and courageous leader of a country beset by innumerable internal and external difficulties and threats. The idea is to make him appear as a man of crisis and saviour of the nation ,a leader who salvaged the sinking ship of Pakistan. SUMMARY Of THE BOOK 9. Divided into six parts and thirty-two chapters, In the Line of Fire contains a â€Å"Prologue† and an â€Å"Epilogue†. Inclusive of â€Å"Index†, the book is spread over three hundred and fifty-two pages, and contains several memorable photographs. 10. The book’s part one, â€Å"In the Beginning†, comprises chapters 1 to 5 and is devoted to Musharraf’s early life and youthful years. a. The chapter 1. Entitled same as Khushwant Singh’s famous novel, â€Å"Train to Pakistan†, opens with the words: â€Å"These were troubled times. These were momentous times. There was the light of freedom; there was the darkness of genocide. It was the dawn of hope; it was the twilight of empire. † (p. 11) Any student of English literature would immediately gather that the source of inspiration for this paragraph is Charles Dickens’ classic A Tale of Two Cities. Set in the background of the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities begins thus: â€Å"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair . . . .† b. Chapter 2. The Chapter 2 â€Å"Settling in Karachi†, narrates the story of housing and other problems faced by Musharraf’s family in their new homeland. Representing the ordeal of nearly every Mohajir household, Musharraf states: â€Å"Other uprooted members of our family assorted aunts and uncles and cousins came to live with us. At one time there were eighteen of us living in those two rooms. † (p. 15) Ultimately, Musharraf’s family settles down, and he as â€Å"an uprooted little boy found earth that was natural to him. He took root in it forever. † (p. 18) There is the commitment emanating from the innermost depth of his heart: â€Å"I would protect that earth with my life. † (p. 8) This represents the crisis of Mohajir identity: preoccupation with the search for roots after having been uprooted, and a desire to monopolize patriotism. c. Chapter 3. In chapter 3, â€Å"Turkey: The Formative Years†, Musharraf talks about his adolescent years in that country where his father was posted in Pakistan’s embassy. It was here that he developed admiration for the founder of modern Turkey: â€Å"Wi th the fall of the Ottoman caliphate, Mustafa Kemal had saved Turkey from balkanization and modernized it by dragging it out of dogma and obscurantism. † (p. 9) Ataturk is the role model, Musharraf is in search of his footsteps but the terrain is entirely different. As if to prove that his family was not â€Å"obscurantist†, the author says, â€Å"Both my parents loved music and dancing, especially ballroom dancing,† (p. 20) He seems to be conscious of the controversy that was created by the photograph in which he was carrying two puppies, as he reminds, â€Å"My love of dogs began in Turkey. †(p. 24). d. Chapter4. The chapter 4. â€Å"Home†, describes his life back in Pakistan where first Musharraf’s family took residence in Nazimabad Block 3. Here â€Å"a boy had to be street-smart to survive. There were the inevitable street gangs, and needless to say, I joined one. Needless to say, too, I was one of the tough boys. † (p. 26). While living in this Mohajir neighbourhood, Musharraf relates with pride that he thrashed a bully and became known as a â€Å"dada geer† (p. 27). The discernable reader would not fail to observe the author’s mental affinity to the stuff from which the MQM was to emerge. Perhaps Musharraf feels that without reference to some love affairs the story of his youthful years would remain incomplete and barren. So one finds mention of a couple of superficial love affairs. e. Chapter5. The next chapter, â€Å"Leaving the Nest†, takes the reader to Musharraf’s college years where he got his first experience in public speaking as a candidate in the election for class representative. (p. 32) Musharraf also got introduced to Tariq Aziz who was destined to become his principal secretary after he became president and was later to be appointed secretary to the National Security Council. It was also in the FC College that he â€Å"learned how to make a time bomb, which I later used as a commando to good effect. (p. 33). f. Chapter 6. The part two, â€Å"Life in the Army†, chapter 6, â€Å"The Potter’s Wheel†, is devoted to the author’s life in Pakistan Military Academy (PMA). Musharraf is all praise for the PMA, and describes it as the best in the world (p. 41). This is the beginning of his lifetime love with the institution of the armed forces. Here one in cident took place that probably became significant in the future: â€Å"I was one of four candidates short-listed to go to Sandhurst, England, to complete my training, but another cadet, Ali Kuli Khan Khattak, was selected. He retired as a lieutenant general and chief of general staff when I became army chief, but I suspect that his retirement, which was optional, had more to do with disappointment at not becoming chief himself, which is perfectly understandable. † (p. 41) . A little circumspection and Musharraf could have skipped the mention of above incident. g. Chapter 7. In chapter 7, â€Å"Into the Fire†, Musharraf gives account of his valiant contribution to the India-Pakistan War of 1965, which earned him an award for gallantry. He could have earned two awards but due to certain act of indiscipline court-martial proceedings were to be taken against him, which were dropped as a reward for his performance in the war. The author is silent about the Operation Gibraltar and Operation Grand Slam that had provoked India to attack Pakistan in the early hours of September 6, 1965. His comments on the developments preceding the war would have enhanced the value of the book. h. Chapter 8. In chapter 8, â€Å"Life in the Fire†, Musharraf makes a lot of criticism of Z. A. Bhutto. In his zeal for Bhutto-bashing, Musharraf makes an absurd point that instead of becoming chief martial law administrator Bhutto could have reverted to the Constitution of 1956 with amendments to the clauses that pertained to East Pakistan. (p. 57) He conveniently ignores that Yahya Khan had done away with â€Å"One Unit† with effect from July 1, 1970, and elections for four separate provincial assemblies had been held in December 1970. i. Chapter 9. The chapter 9, â€Å"Living through the Dreadful Decade†, is primarily an indictment of the civilian facade, 1988-1999: Never in the history of Pakistan had we seen such a combination of the worst kind of governance or rather, a nearly total lack of governance along with corruption and the plunder of national wealth. During these eleven years, every army chief there were four of them eventually clashed with the prime minister. The head of the government invariably got on the wrong side of the president and the army chief. Ad vice to Nawaz Sharif or Benazir Bhutto fell on deaf ears, leading every time to a confrontation. † (p. 78). j. Chapter 10. In chapter 10, â€Å"From Chief to Chief executive†, Musharraf relates the story of his becoming the army chief and not â€Å"chief executive† of the country as the title wrongly suggests. This glaring mistake cannot be condoned in a book meant for high caliber audience. Musharraf gives some detail of the conflict between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the one hand and President Farooq Leghari and Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah on the other. He accuses Nawaz Sharif of sending â€Å"his party goons to storm the Supreme Court building while the court was in session. . Chapter 11. In chapter 11, â€Å"The Kargil Conflict†, Musharraf gives his side of the Kargil story. He stresses that the Kargil operartion was just one in a series of moves and counter-moves at tactical level by India and Pakistan along the Line of Control in Northern Areas. (p. 87). According to him the Indians could have possibly used the reportedly increasing activities of the â€Å"mujahideenâ⠂¬  as a casus belli to launch operation against the positions of Pakistan armed forces. He states, â€Å"We knew that thousands of mujahideen, mostly indigenous to Indian-held Kashmir but also supported by freelance sympathizers from Pakistan, did operate against the Indian forces. † (p. 88) l. Chapter 12. The part three, â€Å"The Hijacking Drama†, chapter 12, â€Å"Plane to Pakistan†, contains detail of what happened on board flight PK 805, which was bringing Musharraf back to Karachi from Colombo. Musharraf accuses Nawaz Sharif of not allowing his flight to land in Karachi even if it had to be diverted to Bombay, Oman, Abu Dhabi or Bandar Abbas. The reason: â€Å"I had been dismissed and Ziauddin had been made the chief. Obviously, Nawaz Sharif did not want me around to counter his illegal action. † (p. 107) m. Chapter 13. In chapter 13, â€Å"The Conspiracy†, Musharraf charges Nawaz Sharif of staging a coup against him. According to Musharraf, â€Å"It was a gross misuse and misapplication of the law: you cannot summarily dismiss the army chief, a constitutional appointee, without giving him just cause and affording him due process. †(p. 109) n. Chapter 14 The chapter 14, â€Å"The Countercoup†, describes how the loyalists of Musharraf managed to thwart the alleged plan of Nawaz Sharif and removed him from power. . Chapter 15. In chapter 15, â€Å"Anatomy of Suicide†, Musharraf tries to explain why Nawaz Sharif took the decision to remove him. He refers to various irritants that had developed between him and the prime minister. He conjectures, â€Å"It could be that such affronts on my part made the prime minister realize his folly in selecting me for my position. He had probably thought that being the son of immigrant parents, I would acquiesce in his demands ___ that I would feel insecure and vulnerable and do his bidding. He couldn’t have been more wrong. . Chapter 16. In chapter 16, â€Å"Pakistan First†, Musharraf explains the reasons why he did not impose martial law repeating the earlier argument: â€Å"Our past experience had amply demonstrated that martial law damages not only military but also civilian institutions, because as the army gets superimposed on civil institutions the bureaucracy becomes dependent on army officers to make the crucial decisions that they themselves should be making. I therefore decided that there would be no martial law. †(p. 143). q. Chapter 17. The chapter 17, â€Å"The Quest for Democracy† makes a brief and superficial survey of constitutional developments, and government and politics in Pakistan. Here too Musharraf does not spare Bhutto: â€Å"Zulfikar Ali Bhutto masqueraded as a democrat but ruled like an autocrat. † (p. 159) Nawaz also becomes Musharraf’s target: â€Å" This time he had a brute two-third majority in the National Assembly and could bludgeon through any amendment to the constitution he wanted. He used his majority to silence dissent. He forced the army chief out of office. He attacked the press and arrested many journalists. And he had his party’s goons physically attack the Supreme Court. † (p. 162) r. Chapter 18. In chapter 18, â€Å"Putting the System Right†, Musharraf points out the flaws in Pakistan’s politico-constitutional setup, and discusses the measures that he has adopted to remove them. He primarily identifies two problems: â€Å"the absence of democracy at the grassroots level and the absence of effective checks and balances over the three power brokers of Pakistan: the president, the prime minister and the army chief. (p. 164) s. Chapter 19. In chapter 19, â€Å"Kick-Starting the Economy†, Musharraf presents a lot of figures to make the point that under his government there has been a revival of economy. What he conveniently ignores is the fact that since early 1990s Pakistan was facing sanctions whereas the actual starting point of revival was 9/11 when Pakistan became a US ally in its â€Å"war on ter ror. † And sanctions were lifted. It is yet to be seen if there has been any structural change in the economy or the present kick off is short-lived. The recent scandal concerning the sale of Pakistan Still Mills, the sugar crisis and uncontrollable inflationary trends are black spots on the management of Pakistan’s economy. The part five of the book deals with â€Å"The War on Terror†. t. Chapter 20. This part begins with chapter 20, â€Å"One Day that Changed the World†, an obvious reference to 9/11. During an important meeting at the Governor’s House, Musharraf received the famous phone call of the US secretary of state. He recalls, â€Å"Powell was quite candid: ‘You are either with us or against us. I took this as a blatant ultimatum. † (p. 201). u. Chapter 21. The chapter 21, â€Å"Omar and Osama†, contains details about Mulla Omar’s and bin Laden’s background and their worldview, and discusses the origin of the Taliban. Musharraf â€Å"suspects† that the United States did not disapprove of the Taliban phenomenon in the hope that they could bring peace to A fghanistan. (p. 211). v. Chapter 22. The chapters 22, â€Å"The War Comes to Pakistan†, 23, â€Å"Manhunt† and 24, â€Å"Tightening the Noose† are about the network and activities of Al-Qaeda and its allies in Pakistan. These chapters also contain the details of Pakistani agencies’ operations to break terrorist network in the country. Referring to Al-Qaeda members, Musharraf boasts: â€Å"We have captured 689 and handed 369 to the United States. We have earned bounties totaling millions of dollars. Those who habitually accuse us of ‘not doing enough’ in the war on terror should simply ask the CIA how much prize money it has paid to the government of Pakistan. † (p. 237).

Security In Different Schools Of Thought Politics Essay

Security In Different Schools Of Thought Politics Essay Political analysts agree that international security is the most important contemporary global issue. Twenty first century politics has brought urgency to consider the proliferation of weapons, increase in military spending, and terrorism. In principle, security is a condition in which States consider that there is no danger of military attack, political pressure or economic coercion, so that they are able to pursue freely their own development and progress. International security is thus the result and the sum of the security of each and every State member of the international community; accordingly, international security cannot be reached without full international co-operation. However, security is a relative rather than an absolute term. National and international security need to be viewed as matters of degree. Concepts of security are the different bases on which States and the international community as a whole relies for their security. Examples of concepts are the balance o f power, deterrence, peaceful coexistence and collective security. The reason to address security in this paper is the belief that an understanding of the broader scope of security should make it possible for states to deal more effectively, both individually and collectively, with current problems and threats to peace. So accordingly the paper will deal with analysis of security as a concept well established specially since the world war and how different schools of thought defined it. Also the current issues of human security and its impact on foreign policy options will be discussed besides the national interest debate in international relations. What is security? There is no agreement on the concept of security. Notwithstanding the wide range of studies of security published over the past sixty years, no single generally accepted definition of security has been produced. The concept of security is as contested as ever. To understand the concept of security we should first define its relation to the state, is it an internal matter related to domestic circumstances or an external matter related to international context. As a matter of fact security as a predominant issue had developed and went through various phases marked by the two world wars, the Westphalia conference also had an impact on it, the huge advance in military and technological tools had dramatic influence as well. Still the concept remained contested between different theories and theorists and between different zeit geist shaping the interests and policies of states. In the Westphalia world of internally strong states, there is less danger of internal conflict, and the international system is marked by conflicts  among  states rather than  within  them.   Since 1945, however, many of the most significant threats to state security have been internal, rather than external, a shift which has only accelerated and which may have profound consequences on the conduct of international relations. So traditionally, security was defined primarily at the nation-state level and almost exclusively through the military prism. This focus on external military threat to national security was particularly dominant during the Cold War. It would be misleading, however, to associate the origins of security studies with the Cold War and the recent nuclear threat. In the first decade after the Second World War academic interest in security studies increased significantly. Although questions of national security were usually treated within the broader framework of international relations and foreign policy, this period has been described as the most creative and exciting period in the entire history of security studies Security in different schools of thought Security has been a cornerstone in realism theories and studies; neorealism has even put more emphasis on security and power as determining factors in states decisions and position. Thus a detailed explanation of realism security view follows. While Liberal school was seen as counter theory for realism, for the interest of this paper focus will be shed on these two leading theories. Realism: Realism has been the most dominant theoretical tradition in international relations and security studies. Its philosophical foundations were laid by Thucydides, Machiavelli, Hobbes and Rousseau. The realists world view represents international relations as a struggle for power among strategic, self-interested states. Realists discount any claims to system-wide international order other than that based ultimately on power or force. They argue that international society is best described as a condition of international anarchy, since there is no central authority to protect states from one another. States act as independent, sovereign political units that focus on their own survival (or expansion). For that reason, the objective of national security is survival of the nation-state rather than the guarantee of international security .Realists are not prepared to engage in long-term accommodation or cooperation. In this view, world politics is anarchical characterized by a state of war, not a single continuous war or constant wars but the constant possibility of war among all states. Consequently, the realist perceives a period of peace as a state of non-war. The possibility of war requires that states follow Realpolitik: be self interested, prepare for war and calculate relative balances of power. A state is constantly seeking relative gains and its behavior is therefore continuously determined to facilitate self-preservation by the actual balance of power between political powers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ this is what security stands for. As a product of presumed uncertainty, a central issue in nearly all realist theory is the security dilemma. Due to their continuous efforts to guarantee their own security and survival, states are driven to acquire more and more power in order to escape the impact of the power of others. This, in turn, constitutes a threat to the security of other states. Traditional Cold War concepts of nuclear strategies and deterrence only emphasize this line of thought. Striving to attain maximum security from attack therefore inevitably produces new insecurities. Realism is not a single theory. It could be argued that there are two crosscutting dichotomies: classical realism versus neorealism, and offensive realism versus defensive realism. Classical realists, of which one of the most influential was Hans Morgenthau believe that states, like human beings, have an innate desire to dominate others, which leads them to fight wars. In this perspective, state power and security are ends in themselves. Neorealists see the international system consisting of a number of great powers, each seeking to survive. Because the system is anarchic and has no central authority, each state has to survive on its own. This driving force of survival is the primary factor influencing their behavior and in turn ensures that states develop offensive military force, as a means to increase their relative power. The classical focus on the centrality of power shifts gradually towards a more neorealist view whereby power becomes a means to gain security. Neorealists bring attention to a persistent lack of trust between states which requires states to act in an openly aggressive manner. Though neorealists recognize that international democratic structures and liberal economics are imperative to peace, security stems from balancing strategies based on sound military capabilities. For that reason, neorealism can be considered the dominant paradigm in security studies. Despite the varieties of realist thought, all realists stress the centrality of military threat and the use of force. The referent object of security is the state; states act as strategic, self-interested units which seek to ensure their own security. In all cases, the realist concept of security has been severely criticized as being too narrow to account for the multiple dimensions of security. Liberalism: The principal challenge to realism came from liberal theory, the foundations of which were laid, by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. A central principle of liberalism is the importance of the freedom of the individual. Foreign policy should reflect the rights and duties of individuals. Liberals understanding of security differs in part from that of realists. Reflecting the aims of the individual, liberal states view security not only in military terms, but also in terms of the protection and promotion of individual rights. For example, the liberal approach to combating terrorism focuses far more on the application of legal instruments than on the use of military force. Thats to say that liberal concept of security tends to include issues such as migration, environmental concerns. Like realism, liberalism is not a single theory. Although all liberal theories imply that cooperation is more pervasive than even the defensive version of realism allows, each view offers a different recipe for promoting it. It is worth noting that Liberalism has such a powerful presence that the entire political spectrum of the Western world, it is no surprise that liberal themes are constantly invoked as a response to contemporary security dilemmas. Also Liberal theory believes in the innate goodness of mankind to conduct peace-keeping relations in the international system where States rely on mutual cooperation to tackle global issues. Managing security issues according to this theory requires the involvement of international institutions, along with the cooperation of states to achieve this.The Liberal theory of security management consists of two key methods; collective security and arms control. 1. Collective Security Liberal theorists strongly believe in the power of collective security. This is a protective measure used by a group of allied states. When threatening and unlawful actions are directed at one state, united opposition is shown by the other supporting states. The goal is to stop the aggressor while creating security in the international system. Collective security can be best described by the concept of one for all, all for one.Another important function of this security measure is to ward off potential aggressors from acting. 2. Arms Control In global politics, arms control is best described by either the controlling, reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons completely. Another approach to controlling weapons includes general disarmament. According to Liberal theory, arms proliferation and specialization can be reduced.Having fewer weapons means reduced insecurity so long as states agree to carry out this task mutually. National security and IR Human security In 1994, the United Nations Development Programs (UNDP) Human Development Report presented a new way of thinking about the integration of security issues and globalization. This report defined human security according to seven dimensions: personal, environmental, economic, political, community, health, and food security, the report adopted a people-centric security concept as its focus instead of the traditional state-centered concept The concept of human security stresses that people should be able to take care of themselves: all people should have the opportunity to meet their most essential needs and to earn their own living. This will set them free and help ensure that they can make a full contribution to development their own development and that of their communities, their countries and the world, Human security is a critical ingredient of participatory development. Human security is therefore not a defensive concept, the way territorial or military security is. Human security is a concept that identifies the security of human lives as the central objective of national and international security policy. After 1994, the concept of human security became a central theme of a number of governments through their foreign and defense policies. In particular, the Canadian, Japanese and Norwegian governments led the way in institutionalizing human security concerns into their respective foreign policies. According to a Canadian government report, human security means safety for people from both violent and non-violent threats. It is a condition or state of being characterized by freedom from pervasive threats to peoples rights, their safety, or even their lives. Also the report emphasized that increasing human security entails: Investing in human development, not in arms; Engaging policy makers to address the emerging peace dividend; Giving the United Nations a clear mandate to promote and sustain development; Enlarging the concept of development cooperation so that it includes all flows, not just aid; Agreeing that 20 percent of national budgets and 20 percent of foreign aid be used for human development; and Establishing an Economic Security Council Human security and Foreign policy: A departure from the realist, state-centered concept of security that has dominated foreign policy thinking of major powers, this conceptual reframing of security has important implications on foreign policy. It brings new issues or vulnerabilities and measures or actions as priorities for global security that were not on the security agendas, it has huge impact on foreign policy orientations especially when it comes to big powers decisions The issue of oppression and physical violence due to deliberate action and neglect by the state to its own citizens. Vulnerability to poverty and destitution as a factor inter-connected with threats of violence. Development and ending poverty as important means to achieve human security. Actors other than the state as sources of threat and as holders of obligations to protect; Global inter-connectedness of security threats (such as terrorist networks, global financial crises and global diseases) and necessary responses. Questions have been raised about the relationship between human security and state security and actions in foreign affairs. Contrary to some claims, the twokinds of security are not mutually exclusive. The security of the state is not an end in itself rather it is a means of ensuring security for people. In this context, state security and human security are in fact mutually supportive and accordingly the decisions made to maintain security of the state in foreign affairs and in international relations had a direct influence on humans security. Building an effective, democratic state that values its own people and protects minorities is central to promoting human security. At the same time, improving the human security of its people strengthens the legitimacy, stability and security of a state. So the interdependent relation is crystal clear. Human security provides a template to assess policy and practice effects on the safety of people. From a foreign policy perspective, there are a number of key consequences; First ensuring human security can involve the use of coercive measures, including sanctions and military force, as in Bosnia and Kosovo. On the other hand the human costs of strategies for promoting state and international security must be explicitly assessed. security policies such as economic sanctions, should take into account the impact on innocent people. Third, security policies must be integrated much more closely with strategies for promoting human rights, democracy, and development. Human rights and humanitarian provide the normative framework on which a human security approach is based. On the other hand one of the dividends of adopting a human security approach is that it further elaborates a people-centred foreign policy. Fourth, due to the complexity of contemporary challenges to the security of people, effective interventions involve a diverse range of actors including states, multilateral organizations, and civil society groups. As the challenges to the safety of people are transnational, effective responses can only be achieved through multilateral cooperation. This is evident in the new international instruments developed to address transnational drug trafficking, terrorism, and environmental issues. These threats link the interest of citizens in countries which enjoy a high level of human security with the interests of people in much poorer nations, who face a wider range of threats to their safety. This has a direct impact on foreign policy implementation and interests. The relationship between national and international security The changing international environment, following the advent of globalization and end of cold war politics has made it imperative for both practitioners and scholars to rethink and redefine the existing framework on which foreign policy operated. Foreign relations are in fact developed in the context of the security environment. However, security issues are no longer seen in the pure realist term of preserving the national security of the states in terms of territory only. States have aligned and realigned to further their national interest by forming new regional and economic blocs, while putting aside historical and cultural hostility, and arriving at consensus over various issues of global concerns. National and international security are becoming increasingly interrelated, thereby challenging the notion that security is primarily a function of national power or military and economic strength. Searching for solutions to the problem of insecurity, many nations increasingly find themselves face-to-face with circumstances beyond their direct control, such as a structural economic crisis and global economic, population, environmental and resource trends. All nations face universal threats posed by the nuclear arms race. Global interdependence has created a situation in which actions not only by major Powers but also by other nations can have major regional or even international repercussions. Only by recognizing that security is not divisible, either in its military, economic, social and political dimensions or as between its national and international aspects, can nations evolve the co-operative measures necessary to achieve security in an interdependent age. This requires a comprehensive and co-operative approach to international security(a liberal version of security). The unrestrained pursuit of national security interests at the expense of others is not conducive to international security and may even lead to disaster. With the existence of nuclear weapons such policies constitute a potential threat to the survival of mankind. It is imperative that nations reconcile the contradictions between individual national security interests and the overall interest of international security and peace. Conclusion

Drivers of Customer Loyalty and Firm Profitability Research

Drivers of Customer Loyalty and Firm Profitability Research Financial institutions perform a vital role in facilitating the aggregation and allocation of capital with the help of conveying individual savings in to loans to businesses, government and individuals. The role of banking division in the concentration and distribution of capital in Ghana can not be disputed. The recent credit crunch has left a deep impact over the performance of various banks all over the world. Thus, in order to survive in the long run, the institutions need to adopt competitive strategies. One and the most important of such strategies in the banking sector constitute customer loyalty to business which makes the banking businesses competent. In this paper, we will analyze the determinants of customer loyalty and their impact on the share market and firm profitability with the help of studying the customer relationship management (CRM) and contact management of Barclays Bank in Ghana. In the late seventies and early eighties, the state owned banks in Ghana dominated the formal banking system of the country as they had monopoly with respect to their spread and operations (Hinson and Hammond, 2006). However, the banking environment has now been evolved. According to Hinson and Hammond (2006; p.45), universal banking law has permitted all categories of banking to be performed under a single body for corporate banking which has greatly restructured the scopes of competency in various banking products in Ghana. Thus, the banking sector in Ghana has been brought in to the competitive arena which is based on the customers and products due to the reforms and deregulations. This infers that the management of the banks in Ghana should employ the strategies that provide customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, customer retention and thereby, increase firm profitability and market shares. 1.1 Service Quality Concept The European school of thought, vastly expressed by the work of Gronroos (1984), explains that the customers recognize service quality from two aspects which are: (1) the technical aspect of service and (2) the functional aspect of the service. Technical quality is determined by knowing if the customers expectations from the service are fulfilled or not. The functional quality is recognized through the customers perception about the service production and its delivery. According to Richard and Allaway (1993), both of these distinctions are correct and needed to define customers service quality analysis and loyalty behaviour. However, this concept does not consider the physical environment of the service. Thus, the American school of thought led by the work of Parasuraman et al., (1985, 1988) has been adopted in various studies which states that service quality is basically the difference between perception and expectation of the delivery of service. According to this model, service q uality has five dimensions on which customers judgement about perceived service quality is based. These dimensions are: Reliability: Performance assurance, accuracy and dependability of the service. Responsiveness: Will to help and provide prompt service to the customers. Assurance: Knowledge, courtesy and ability of the employees that ensures trust and confidence. Empathy: Care and special attention given to the customers. Tangibles: Outlook of the personnel, equipments and other physical facilities. These five dimensions will be measured through a scale called SERVQUAL comprising of 22 items. Service quality is operationalized according to the gap between perception and expectation (P-E). Thus, the SERVQUAL determines the gaps in the service delivery of a firm. SERVPERF is another service quality measure that has been developed by Cronin and Taylor (1992) considering that SERVQUAL was inadequate. According to them, performance and not perception minus expectation determines service quality by proving that expectations have almost no impact on the customers evaluation about service quality. Both of the SERVQUAL and SERVPERF conceptualizations have been incorporated in our research model for this study. Although, our research model includes P E, we measure service quality on the basis of perception only since expectation is insignificant (Cronin and Taylor 1992; Brady et al., 2002). However, the basics of Parasuraman et als., (1988) dimensions of service quality have been retaine d in our model. Moreover, the 22 items of these dimensions in our study are slightly modified according to relevancy. 7 point likert scale will be used to measure P. 1.2 Customer Loyalty Concept In our study, we have incorporated both attitudinal and behavioural concepts of customer loyalty. The following cues will be used to measure customer loyalty in the banking sector of Ghana. Word of Mouth: Recommendations made by the customers to their friends and family for using the services of the bank. Repeat Purchase: Repetition or consistency in making purchases by the customers for the banks products and services. Satisfaction: The level of pleasure or happiness of the customers with their banks services and products. 2. SERVICE QUALITY MODEL The Disconfirmation Paradigm (Parasuraman et al., 1985) allows service quality model to measure disparity between consumers perceptions and their expectations for the quality of service. Figure 1 given below represents the service quality model for the banking sector. This model illustrates that there are five gaps in delivering the quality service to the customers. These gaps are described below. Gap 1: This gap can be referred as Understanding as it depicts the difference between expectations of the customer and the management perceptions of the customers expectations. Gap2: This gap can be referred as Service Standards since it depicts the disparity between management perceptions of customer expectations and specifications of service quality. Gap 3: This gap can be referred as Service Performance as it illustrates the disparity between the service quality specifications and the actual service delivered to the customer. Gap 4: This gap can be referred as Communications since it shows the disparity between service delivery and external communication with the customer about the service. Gap 5: This gap can be referred as Service Quality as it depicts the disparity between customer expectation for the quality of the service and the customers perception about the performance of the firm. Gaps 1 till 4 impact the service delivery leading to Gap 5. Thus, these four gaps have a very strong influence over the gap 5. This study will focus on the potential discrepancies found in all the gaps. The managerial implications associated with these gaps must be assessed in order to formulate proper business strategies. These resultant strategies will then be properly implemented for closing the identified gaps found in the banking sector in Ghana and thereby, to improve service quality and profitability of concerned Bank. Word of Mouth Communication Personal Needs Past Experience Expected Service Perceived Service Gap 5 Service Delivery External Communications with Customers Gap 4 Translation of Perceptions in to Service Quality Specifications Management Perceptions of Costumer Expectations Gap 2 Gap 3 Gap 1 3. PROBLEM STATEMENT The gaps 1 to 4 impact the service delivery and are concerned with the management and service providers of the bank. Thus, the question arises, what variables or factors are responsible for creating these gaps or what is the lacking of the management that refrain them from delivering the quality service to the customers? As for Gap 5, the question arises which business strategies should be adopted to reduce the gaps and thereby, improve service quality and performance of the bank. 4. HYPOTHETICAL MODEL This paper is aimed towards finding loyalty drivers according to the viewpoint of the customers of the Ghanaian retail banking. This chapter of the paper will present a hypothetical model that will be used to determine the relationship among loyalty, loyalty drivers, banks profitability and market share. Figure 2 provided below represents the framework of our hypothetical model. The model presented in figure 2 below explains the service quality as perceived by the customer. This model has been premised on seminal model (SERVQUAL), Cronin and Taylor (1992; SERVPERF), Parasuraman et al., (1988) and Brady and Cronin (2001). The quality of service conceptualized by 2 pathways that are: (1) P-E representing the gap in between perception, P and expectation, E and (2) P that represents only perception as the conceptualization of expectation (E) is not important (Cronin and Taylor, 1992). Thus, perception is what is actually measured. Hence, the questionnaire in the survey will consist of a single set to elicit answers concerning customers perception (Brady and Cronin, 2001) instead of two sets of questionnaires for measuring perception and expectation distinctively and for determining the difference between the two as was done by Parasuraman et al., (1988). The framework provided in this paper demonstrates the fact that fake loyalty may be found abundantly and inco mplete satisfaction will result in customer switching. The model below illustrates a gap which represents the disparity between the customers perception and expectation. Since the expectation of a customer does not influence the actual service delivered to him/her by the bank, thus, it holds an insignificant value. This infers that the actual service delivered will depend on the perceived service quality which in turn is also influenced by various service quality dimensions namely: tangible, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. Moreover, it is known that these dimensions influence both the customers service quality perceptions and the management designed service quality. Thus, the hypotheses and the hypothetical model are the same for all the gaps mentioned above. This research paper will investigate the disparity between the perceived service quality and the actual quality of service delivered to the customer by measuring the above mentioned service quality dimensions. Service quality dimensions Competitive Price Expectations (Expected Service) Perception  (Perceived Service Quality) Satisfaction Loyalty Actual service Experienced Tangible Reliability Responsiv-eness Assurance Empathy Banks Profitability Bank (image reputation) Market share Dissatisfied customers Switching customers 5. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES 5.1 Purpose of the Research The purpose of this study is to empirically analyze the hypothetical model and the related hypotheses. The analysis of the hypothetical model will lead to the formulation of appropriate business strategies that will overcome the potential disparity between perceived service quality and the actual quality of service delivered to the customer upon implementation. 5.2 Research Objectives 5.2.1 Primary Objective The objective of this paper is to investigate the drivers of customer loyalty and firm profitability with the help of collecting empirical evidence through interviewing the customers of various banks in Ghana and also, through assessing a case study of Barclays Bank Ghana. Due to the distinct cultural values of the Ghanaian Society, our study will focus on the extant literature. 5.2.2 Secondary Objectives Businesses conventionally implement aggressive marketing strategies in order to draw the attention of the new customers and thus, increase market share at the cost of competitors. According to the latest trends in competition, those businesses benefit the most that focus on retaining their customers while providing them the goods and services (Roberts, 2005). Customer retention with the help of enforcing quality in products, services, prices and accessing facilities of the bank among others play a critical role in customer satisfaction. Studies have shown that satisfied customers always return to their service providers and also, make their recommendations to friends and families which in turn increase both market share and profitability of the firm. In the banking sector of Ghana, it is generally hypothesized that high performance of the bank is associated with high customer retention. Thus, Bankers appraise customer loyalty as the key factor towards maintaining market share and increasing profitability of the bank. Due to the high customer chum, it is important to know that what drives customer loyalty. Ghauri and Grà ¶nhaug (2005; p. 14) state that assumptions and speculations should not be accepted or rejected unless these assumptions are critically studied to give logical and reliable reasoning for their acceptation or rejection. This study seeks to attain this aim that requires investigation of the drivers of customer loyalty serving as the core of design strategies that result in the increase of customer retention and bank performance by taking in to account the case study of Barclays Bank in Ghana. 6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES 6.1 Research questions In order to study the optimization of the enterprise contact management through a CRM enabled contact centre platform by taking in to consideration the case study of Barclays Bank in Ghana, the following question are being posed in this paper. What are the factors driving customer loyalty in Ghanas banking sector, in particular Barclays Bank Ghana? What are the factors that set back customer loyalty and retention in the banking sector in Ghana, particularly Barclays Bank Ghana? Does customer loyalty is achieved through customer satisfaction? Do reluctant customers approach other banks in order to get better and improved customer relations and services? 6.2 Hypotheses Our study will test the following hypotheses in this paper. H1- Service quality influences loyalty and satisfaction of the customer. H2- Tangibility, responsiveness, reliability, assurance and empathy are the five dimensions of service quality that vary to the extent to which they instigate customer loyalty and satisfaction. H3- Customer loyalty and satisfaction depend upon competitive pricing. H4- Perceived reputation and image of the bank stimulate customer loyalty. H5- Banks or enterprises profitability can be increased by customer loyalty and market share. H6- Reluctant customers approach other banks in order to get improved service quality from other banks. 7. BACKGROUND- BANKING IN GHANA Ghana has a well structured financial system that is built around the capital market, the Bank and the non Bank Financial Institutions. Banks are further divided in to the following classes on the basis of a licensed system: Universal Banking under Class I banking license. Universal and off-shore Banking under Class II banking license. Universal, off-shore Banking and ARB (Association of Rural and Community Banks) APEX Banking under the general banking license. (Bank of Ghana, Annual report, 2007). At present, the minimum amount of GHC 60 million is required to be possessed by the banks that are operating in Ghana as their stated capital (Bank of Ghana, Annual report, 2007). Ghana has 26 major banks operating under the Universal banking license and 126 rural and community banks that have been licensed for ARB Apex banking system. And also, 41 non Banking Financial Institutions which comprise of Discount Houses, Finance Companies, Mortgage Finance Companies, Savings Companies, Loans Companies and Leasing Companies. All of these NBFIs are supervised by the Bank of Ghana that is the central bank of Ghana. The activity based division of Commercial, Merchant and Development banking operating previously in Ghana have been replaced by this categorization. This was done in the wake of the initiative for the financial reforms that enabled universal banking in Ghana and thus, dissolved the operating limits hypothesized on the initial activity of incorporation. The goal was to transform t he conventional way of banking operation in order to welcome competitive trading in to the banking sector. Dr. Acquah, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana stated in his speech at the Fifth Banking Award Ceremony that universal banking was introduced in order to promote new banks, liberalize the options for the banking services, extend the branch network and increase competition for deposit at the level of retail (Acquah, 2009). Since the banks constitute 70 per cent of the financial sector, thus, they are the most common source for contributing to the economy (Bawumia, 2008). The head offices of all the banks in Ghana are situated in the national capital of the country while their several branches are located in major cities and town of Ghana that are owned by the government, Ghanaians, foreigners or the combination. Currently all the banks in Ghana possess Universal Banking License. Only 12 banks in Ghana are owned by its citizens. The table below shows the banks operating in Ghana with their branch networks, area of activity and proprietorship. Name of Bank Number of Branches Ownership Current Banking Licence Barclays Bank of Ghana Ltd 120 Non- Ghanaian Universal Merchant Bank (Ghana) Ltd 16 Ghanaian Universal Ecobank Ghana Limited 32 Non- Ghanaian Universal Ghana Commercial Bank Ltd 143 Ghanaian Universal National Investment Bank Ltd 24 Ghanaian Universal Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Ltd 19 Non- Ghanaian Universal SG-SSB Bank Limited 36 Non- Ghanaian Universal The Trust Bank Limited 17 Ghanaian Universal Agricultural Development Bank Ltd 50 Ghanaian Universal Amalgamated Bank Limited 10 Non- Ghanaian Universal Prudential Bank Limited 10 Ghanaian Universal Fidelity Bank Limited 6 Ghanaian Universal Zenith Bank Limited 9 Non- Ghanaian Universal Stanbic Bank (Ghana) Limited 10 Non- Ghanaian Universal Unibank Ghana Limited 11 Ghanaian Universal Intercontinental Bank Limited 12 Non- Ghanaian Universal HFC Bank Ghana Limited 11 Ghanaian Universal First Atlantic Merchant Bank Ltd 4 Ghanaian Universal International Commercial Bank Ltd 12 Ghanaian Universal Guaranty Trust Bank Limited 5 Non- Ghanaian Universal CAL Bank Limited 10 Ghanaian Universal United Bank for Africa (Gh) Ltd 16 Non- Ghanaian Universal Bank of Baroda Ghana Ltd 1 Non- Ghanaian Universal BSIC 1 Non- Ghanaian Universal BPI Bank Limited 9 Non- Ghanaian Universal Table 1: Banks in Ghana (Source: Price Waterhouse Banking Industry Survey, 2008). 7.1 The era of post Banking Reform in Ghana Developments in the era of post Banking Reforms in Ghana can be concisely expressed as the transformation of the distressed and dysfunctional banking system with illiquidity and insolvency, credit rationing and interest rate controls in to a market based regime along with improving the bank supervision in order to ascertain that efficiency and profitability is increased (Acquah, 2006). The Economic Recovery Programmed (ERP) introduced the Financial Sector Adjustment Program, generally referred as FINSAP so that the banking sector can play a vital role in promoting the economic development. This program was executed in two in two phases. In the first phase, FINSAP 1, provisions were made for liberalizing the banking industry and restructuring the distressed banks in Ghana (Brownbridge et al., 1998). The restructuring part was very crucial since these banks were either extremely important for the economy or deeply associated with other economic activities such that their demolition may result in disastrous ramifications. The second phase, FINSAP 2 brought new dimensions in the financial industry reform program through privatizing state owned banks, technological advancements, human capital development and careful supervision and regulation by the central bank of Ghana. In addition to this, the second phase of FINSAP characterized cautious banking through revising the Banking Law of 1970 and through introducing the Banking Laws of 1989 and 2004 which enforced the requirement of minimum capital keeping in view the increased number of banks and branches. Due to FINSAP 2, the banking and the financial industry in Ghana experienced strong regulation and supervision along with the advancement in latest payments and settlement system. Above all was the Payment Systems Development Strategy by the central bank of Ghana that focused at the delivery of financial services that enhanced the financial intermediation with the help of the progress of electronic payment products that include ATM (Automated Teller Machine) services, e-money, transfer of funds at the point of sale, SMS (Short Message Service), internet and telephone banking. Recently, e-zwich was brought in to the market in order to build a common platform that assisted in connecting the different banking institutions through a biometric smart card (Acquah, 2009). All the banks responded positively to the introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) in delivery of financial services which in turn improved the financial performance. This outlook over shadowed the competition and distinguished market share and profitability among the banks in Ghana. The new foreign and private banks launched latest technologies whereas the government banks have to cope up with the redundant man power and non-performing assets. The new banks encounter the challenges of market share, spread and size from the conventional banks. In order to overcome this challenge, the new banks employed the strategic option of swift implementation of the prescribed new products and the development of financial services administered by the Bank of Ghana so that the un-banked, banked and under banked customer classes of the population could be captured. 7.2 The Case Study of Barclays Bank, Ghana As shown in the table 2 provided above that Barclays Banks holds a leading position in the Ghanaian financial services market place in addition to an aggressive nationwide branch network. Thus, Barclays being the premier banking institution of Ghana is leveraging its distinct characteristics in order to compete effectively in the highly competitive and fast progressing banking and financial services industry of Ghana. In order to further differentiate itself from the rest in the competition, Barclays Bank is headed towards promoting its strategy of holding its market leadership position through developing its customer management functionality with the help of implementing a robust solution for customer relation management (CRM) with strongly emphasizing over its customer service operations. Barclays commenced this initiative for CRM in order to facilitate the customer facing the banks operations with the technology platform enhancing the banks operations and enabling the bank to compete effectively in addition to becoming a truly customer focused organization. Thus, Barclays is looking forward to working with a reputable organization in order to develop and upgrade its existing customer contact centre along with integrating it with CRM Dynamic Solution by Microsoft. Completely equipped, contact centre of Barclays Bank will eventually enable the customers to interact and deal with the bank via multiple channels such as voice, e-mail, fax, IVR, web, etc.) that fulfils various functionalities of sales, marketing and service at the time of their convenience either with a customer representative or through self service. It is highly vital for Barclays to enhance its processes facing customers in order to develop the business relationship in between its customers and employees for attaining its business goals. The implementation of such an advance and complex customer management project is to be based upon detailed and comprehensive planning, apt consulting and allocation of technical resources to ascertain that the desired goals are achieved with in a certain time period, being as cost effective as possible. Electronic services department of Barclays strongly believes that the goals of this initiative required being in line with the overall business strategies of Barclays Bank. It has been observed from similar engagements that spanning numerous industries is not adequate to ensure desired result. Barclays must recognize the important role that it has to play in the initial stages of the project. Complete commitment and dedication from Barclays is required through out the total time frame of the project in order to ascertain and realize the significance of enhancing its customer management functionality which will ultimately result in the growth in revenue and profitability. 7.2.1 Requirements for the Barclays Bank Ghana Barclays Bank Ghana is looking forward to improving its overall customer management operations through commencing a CRM strategy that is most likely to enhance the banks customer focus strategy. The first stage of this CRM initiative will emphasize over improving the customer service function of the bank through making new advancements in its current platform for the centre. This is achieved by employing latest tools that will improve the interaction of the customers with the bank either through the customer service representation or by means of self service. The first stage of CRM initiatives is most likely to improve the sales and marketing processes of the operation of the bank and set the stage for linking these processes with the customer service operations and allowing them to access the tools that will support in improving their performance, enhance their functions and recognize understand the customer as the Banks primary asset. The bank has recognized the following basic functions necessary for improving its existing contact centre platform. Outbound Calls and Multimedia Channels Automatic Distribution of Calls Caller Line Identification Complaint Management Interactive Voice Response Integration of CRM Computer Telephony Integration Call Recording Reports or Dashboard System Backup Barclays Bank has also recognized the following modules of Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform as the desirable milestones for the project. Marketing module Service Module Sales Module Workflow Module Analytical Module 7.2.2 Recommended Solution The recommended solution is divided in to the following three different components. CRM-Workshop for Business Process Mapping Implementation of Microsoft Dynamic CRM Up gradation of the platform of Contact Centre Technology 7.2.3 Business Process Mapping The aim of this exercise is to recognize the current business processes, future business processes and the gap between the two scenarios. It is formulated to overcome barriers between the business values and its technology. The outcome is strict accountability and a higher probability of customer satisfaction through its deployment. The exercise will determine the metric that need to be tracked down, managers and customers that will be held accountable for these measurements of the performance, required new processes, impact of processes and sub processes on data importing, solution configuration and integration with other technologies and systems used at the back end. The results of this exercise are given below: Detailed Process Map that consists of report on current state as validated by the stockholders. Detailed Process Map consisting of report on future state as validated by the stockholders. Gap Analytical Report Business Requirements Report After the above documents have been produced, the business users will eventually examine and validate the provided information. After approval, these documents will be used to support project execution. 7.2.4 Deployment of CRM System The desired outcome of the successful deployment of a CRM system is determined through the end users usage and willingness to use it daily in order to improve their personal productivity. In this regard, the adapted methodology gives a frame work for dealing with customer relationship management as a business strategy and also as a project for developing technical systems. The concept behind this process is that technology alone with out strategy does not produce business results. Thus, a proper strategy for CRM is required to be adopted side by side with the deployment of the technical system. The success of CRM lies in the implementation of the technology with the clear picture of the improvements in measurable business performance. 7.2.5 Strategy The strategic model used by the Barclays Bank Ghana constitutes of four components that must be understood in order to achieve real business advantage from any CRM based project. Figure 2 (Source: e.Services Africa Ltd. 2010). Performance Management The purpose of any CRM project in an organization is to improve or optimize its performance. However, it is complicated to precisely define: the areas and object to be improved, the extent of this improvement and the enhancement of this improvement measure through the CRM system. This objective is fulfilled by embedding key point indicators, business metrics in the form of understandable charts and graphs in to the user interface of the CRM system. This enables the user to use the system as a routine activity. User can easily find the changes made by them to the system in clear metrics on their dashboard. Users and the management must seriously operate the business in accordance to the embedded metrics on the dashboards. Management Commitment Commitment of the management serves as the basis for success of any CRM project. Senior managers must completely comprehend and be involved in adopting CRM as a strategy and they must also, actively take part in the implementation of CRM project. Existing processes need to be changed for improving performance of any business or system, thus, any CRM project could be referred to an effort for changing management and modifying behavior. Managers are supposed to support such changes. Irrespective of the technological functions, the managers must back the process changes along with communicating the fact that new procedures need to be adopted in order to achieve the desired goals of the business.