A Study of Recruitment & Selection Process in Bank

A STUDY OF RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PROCESS IN BANK A project proposal (synopsis) report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the award of the degree of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA) From Guide: Dr. Nitin G. Vighne By: PRN. No. :- 200801737737 Study Centre No. :-44175 *SESSION: 2009*-10 To YASHWANTRAO CHAVAN OPEN UNIVERSITY, NASHIK (M. S. ) Title: A STUDY OF RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PROCESS IN BANK Without a sound and effective banking system in India, it cannot have a healthy economy. The banking system of India should not only be hassle free but it should be able to meet new challenges posed by the technology and any other external and internal factors. For the past three decades India’s banking system has several outstanding achievements to its credit. The most striking is its extensive reach. It is no longer confined to only metropolitans or cosmopolitans in India. In fact, Indian banking system has even reached to the remote corners of the country. This is one of the main reasons of India’s progress. During the first phase of financial reforms, there was a nationalization of 14 major banks in 1969. This crucial step led to a shift from Class banking to Mass banking. Since then the growth of the banking industry in India has been a continuous process. The Government’s regular policy for Indian bank since 1969 has paid rich dividends with the nationalization of many private banks of India. As far as the present scenario is concerned the banking industry is in a transition phase. The Public Sector Banks (PSBs), which are the foundation of the Indian Banking system account for more than 78 per cent of total banking industry assets. Unfortunately they are burdened with excessive Non Performing assets (NPAs), massive manpower and lack of modern technology. On the other hand the Private Sector Banks in India are witnessing immense progress. They are leaders in Internet banking, mobile banking, phone banking, ATMs. While at the same time, the Public Sector Banks are still facing the problem of unhappy employees. There has been a decrease of 20 percent in the employee strength of the private sector in the wake of the Voluntary Retirement Schemes (VRS). As far as foreign banks are concerned they are likely to succeed in India. Some Banks in India: – ING Vysya Bank, HDFC Bank, Industrial Development Bank of India, SBI Bank, ICICI Bank; etc. In today’s rapidly changing business environment, organizations have to respond quickly to requirements of the people. The Financial market has been witnessing growth which is manifold for last few years. Many private players have entered the economy thereby increasing the level of competition. In the competitive scenario it has become a challenge for each company to adopt practices that would help the organization to stand out in the market. The competitiveness of a company of an organization is measured through the quality of products and services offered to customers that are unique from others. Thus the best services offered to the consumers are result of the genius brains working behind them. Human Resource in this regard has become an important function in any organization. All the practices of marketing and finances can be easily emulated but the capability, the skills and talent of a person cannot be emulated. Hence, it is important to have a well-defined recruitment policy in place, which can be executed effectively to get the best fits for the vacant positions. Selecting the wrong candidate or rejecting the right candidate could turn out to be costly mistakes for the organization. Therefore a recruitment practice in an organization must be effective and efficient in attracting the best manpower. Like in the case of BPO’s, banking sector too faces the problem of attrition. Thus, recruitment is an ongoing process carried through out the year. The project is based on the study of recruitment process. The various recommendations suggested have been the result of the study. The idea is to generate ways of dealing with high attrition and making hiring process manageable and efficient. To know the recruitment and selection process in Banks. To know the purpose & importance of Recruitment & Selection process for the banks. To know the challenges faced by HR Department in these Processes. To know the sources used by the banks for the recruitment and selection process. To know factors effecting the on the Recruitment & Selection process & working of the banks. To evaluate the recruitment and selection process in banks. 4. HYPOTHESIS 5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A Research design is simply the framework of plan for a study that guides for the collection and analysis of data. The study is intended to know the Recruitment and Selection Process in the two banks and comparing the processes held. The study design is descriptive in nature. Descriptive study is a fact-finding investigation with adequate interpretation. The descriptive studies come under formal research. It is the simplest type of research and is more specific. It is mainly designed to gather descriptive information and it also provides basic information for formulating more sophisticated studies. Nature of the Study – This research is ‘Quantitative’ and ‘Qualitative’in nature. RESERCH METHODS:- SAMPLING DESIGN Sampling Method Used: – DATA COLLECTION:- Sources of Data collection Primary data Sources– Personal Interview Structured Questionnaire Ope_n-ended Questions_: – It is a type of questions that requires participants to respond in his/her own words without being restricted to pre-defined response choices. Close-ended Questions: – It is a type of questions which restrict the interviewee’s answers toper-defined response options. Secondary data Sources – Study of recruitment and selection at ICICI & HDFC Banks by the manual provided by the HR department. Internet Books Newspapers Magazines Journals 6. *Expected Contribution Attract and encourage more and more candidates to apply in the organization. Create a talent pool of candidates to enable the selection of best candidates for the organization. Determine present and future requirements of the organization in conjunction with its personnel planning and job analysis activities. Recruitment is the process which links the employers with the employees. Increase the pool of job candidates at minimum cost. Help increase the success rate of selection process by decreasing number of visibly under qualified or overqualified job applicants. Help reduce the probability that job applicants once recruited and selected will leave the organization only after a short period of time. Meet the organizations legal and social obligations regarding the composition of its workforce. Begin identifying and preparing potential job applicants who will be appropriate candidates. 10. Increase organization and individual effectiveness of various recruiting techniques and sources for all types of job applicants 6. CHAPTERISATION Introduction Research methodology & limitation Company profile Product profile Problem analysis Data analysis conclusion & recommendation Bibliography

The Bembo Typeface

The design of typefaces has undergone various changes through out the history of the printed text and has metamorphosed itself from the design requirements of primitive printing press to modern day digital needs. Typography aims to provide a text that is readable and coherent at the same time ensuring the typeface preserves an aesthetic appeal to the readers. The clarity of the text also needs to be taken into consideration when analyzing the typeface.When understood in an historical perspective the typefaces which were popular in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries were largely Roman and lacked the presence of italicized letters. The lack of italics often hampered the readability of the text. In the Renaissance Italy, Venice emerged as center that catered to the typographical needs of the scholarly society. With the widespread use of printing press and the subsequent proliferation of printed materials, the time was ripe for the redesigning of existing typefaces.Aldus Ma nutius was an accomplished printer in Venice known for printing scholarly articles. The typefaces that were used by him were created by Francesco Griffo. Francesco Griffo was a goldsmith turned typeface cutter who worked on the design of the important typefaces used by Aldus Manutius. The calligraphic characteristics like slants and curves influenced Griffo to a large extent and these influences were assimilated into the typefaces he developed. As a result he created the first italic typeface that incorporated an element of elegance.This typeface when used for printing not only had an aesthetic appeal but also lent itself to a greater clarity of reading, which set it apart from earlier Roman typefaces. Manutius used this new typeface for printing a small piece of work commissioned by Pietro Bembo. The unique characteristics of this typeface made it widely popular and came to be known as the Aldine roman typeface. The Aldine roman typeface is now known as the Bembo typeface. Bembo ty peface emerged as the most modern one developed in the century. Initially Bembo typeface consisted of lower case characters only and upper case characters were borrowed from other typefaces.On gaining widespread popularity, italicized upper case characters in keeping with the characteristics of Bembo were added to the typeface. The design of Bembo typeface is rendered unique due to the following characteristics. The creator of Bembo has ensured minimal variation in the weights between thin and thick strokes. This lends evenness to the text. The oblique stress emphasized in the typeface lends it a classical elegance, while the angled serifs enhance the aesthetics. Stanley Morrison of Monotype corporation launched a program to rediscover the historical typefaces to use it in modern day printing.The Bembo typeface was revived in the 1920s by the Monotype corporation, which made use of the original books and specimen material as a foundation using the original typeface by Francesco Grif fo as a reference. Morrison based the revival largely on the text Hypnerotomachia Poliphili by Francesco Colonna, which was typeset by Griffo. Initially the revived typeface was called â€Å"Poliphilus† but the name Bembo gained more acceptance. Keeping with their tradition of preserving classical typefaces, Monotype introduced a digitalized version of Bembo typeface in the 1980s by leveraging its original metal revival of the 1920s.To cater to the demands of modern digital printing needs, semi bold and extra bold weights were incorporated into Bembo. The distinguishing characteristics of the Bembo typeface lend a consistency to the text irrespective of the color and texture used for printing. The legibility and classical look of this typeface makes it highly suitable for books. Bembo has maintained its appeal through the generation as compared to other historical typefaces such as Gutenberg typeface, which are no longer in use. It has also heavily influenced Garamond family of typefaces, which are now known as ‘Old Style’.To summarize the classical typeface has undergone 500 years of change and constantly adapted itself to the changing dynamics in the printing industry without losing its inherent design characteristics. References Christensen, Thomas. (n. d. ) The typehead chronicles. Retrieved March 11, 2009 from http://www. rightreading. com/typehead/bembo. htm Meggs, Philip B. , & Carter, Rob. (1993). Typographic Specimens. USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Bembo Typeface [Online Image]. (n. d. ). Retrieved March 11, 2009 from http://www. rightreading. com/typehead/bembo. htm.

Diversity in the Workplace and Implications Essay

Diversity in the Workplace: Implication for Human Resource Development – Paper Week 3 A brief description of the event and the work environment the discrimination occurred (Omit identifying demographic information and use fictitious names as needed). True event: When I was a younger man back in 1973 or 74, I was out in (Royal Oak) near the (Detroit Zoo). I cannot remember the reason I went out there more than likely just joy riding, I use to do a lot of that when I was younger since the age of 18, and mostly I have driven new cars all my adult life. I saw a sign for a delicatessen that offered corn beef sandwiches among others; so I stopped, and went in to buy a sandwich. When I entered there were people already in line placing and receiving their orders and more people came in after me; you did not need to have a number for your turn to place an order. The order taker or waitress a (white female), was doing a good job of calling the correct person for their orders until my tu rn was up. When my turn came the order taker asked someone for their order that I felt entered after I did, but I saw not sure. Anyway after this person made their order (MY turn), wrong; she asked someone else could she help them, but what she did not know was that me and this person had short small talk while waiting our turn. Instead of stepping up to place an order, this person said; I think gentlemen is suppose next, the order taker said (oh sorry), and asked me (what do you want)! I looked at her and said not a thing from this place, and turned and walked out. As I left I could hear a few people telling her about manners and he was just another customer regardless. Oh did I mention that I was the only person of color in the delicatessen. I was not embarrassed, but angry as a (**********). Federal and state legislation that supports fair workplace practices: The Department of Labor (DOL), enforces more than 180 federal laws. These mandates and regulations that implement them covers workplace activities for 10 million employers and 125 million  workers. The following is a brief description of (DOL’s) statutes which are most applicable to businesses, job seekers, workers, retirees, contractors and grantees. This brief summary of major labor laws and not to offer a detailed explanation. For authoritative information and references to fuller descriptions on these laws, you should consult the statutes and regulations themselves. (Employment Laws Assistance) provides a list of U.S. Department of Labor laws and regulations with links. The DOL compliance assistance Web site offers complete information about how to comply with federal employment laws. Rulemaking and regulations provide brief descriptions of links to various sources of information on DOL’s rulemaking activities and regulations. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) describes standards for wages and overtime pay that affect private an d public employment. This act is administered by the Wage and Hour Division. It requires employers to pay covered employees who are not otherwise exempt, the federal minimum wage and overtime pay of one-and-one-half-times the regular rate of pay. For nonagricultural operations, it cuts the hours that children under age 16 can work and forbids the employment of children under age 18 in jobs deemed too dangerous. For agricultural operations, the law prohibits the employment of children under age 16 during school hours and in certain jobs deemed too dangerous. The Wage and Hour Division also enforces labor standards provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that apply to aliens authorized to work in the U.S. under certain nonimmigrant visa programs (H-1B, H-1B1, H-1C, H2A). (Labor, U. D. (2015). The responsibilities of human resource managers and their implications concerning race, culture, age, gender, sexual orientation, spiritual or religious beliefs, and disabilities: The (Human Resource M anager) must have the ability to meet the needs of the changes within an organization. Organizations are becoming more successful, adaptable, and resilient, can quickly change directions, and customer centered. In this environment, the human resource professional must learn how to manage organizing, leadership and controlling of human resources, and have knowledge of emerging trends in ways of training and employee development. Dimensions of workplace diversity includes age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities, qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work  experience. (Chan Dr., A. (2015). How risk management strategies support equity within the workplace: Diversity and equality in the workplace is more than a business. It is imperative for a good solution to decades of race, gender, age, religious and sexual orientation discrimination. Having diversity that respect people from different backgrounds helps businesses produce a better product, makes new markets, and work with larger list of customers. Promoting principles means adopting diversity in all practice approaches. This means that diversity must be considered at each level, and in each policy from the management approach, hiring, and promoting, to new business development. (Ogunjimi, A. (1999-2015). Why issues of diversity within the workplace are paramount for human service workers and for management of human service organizations: Discussing the issues of the advantages and disadvantages of workplace diversity is not only difficult, but sometimes could be a situation in the workplace that is wished to go away rather than address the issue. There are times when discussing topics that include diversity and cultural differences lead to debating issues concerning stereotypes, generalizations, unfair workloads, and presumptions about particular cultures, religio ns, races and other issues of a diverse group of people. Broaching the subject of diversity can become an issue; however must issues can be done with candor, sensitivity, honesty and respect boundaries set for the discussion, this challenge can be easily resolved. You may need an experienced coach or human resources leader to facilitate the discussion, or may even require the services of a diversity expert. (Mayhew, R. (2015). How this experience or observation may influence issues of diversity within your dream organization for Week Five’s Learning Team Presentation: Issues of diversity and my experience or observation within our dream organization for Week Five’s Learning Team Presentation is mind boggling. First of all the diversity within the team and dealing with issues is stressful, but it has made me more determined to do the best I can to help our team by doing my part. I also feel that (Week Five’s Learning Team Presentation) for team B, will go smoothly. How this would apply to the development and management aspects of human resources: Human resource management incorporates everyone and everything that concerns the organization, and someone with a degree in human services can work as a manager in a personnel department. Human resources and development are more  specific. It focus is on improvement of personnel through training, selection, and other methods. The goals of human resource development personnel are worthwhile for improving organizational productivity. The goals of human resource management are more general and sometimes unclear. However, many employers are impressed if you have any type of management degree, especially if you want a higher level or higher paying job. (LAawMedMBA, L. (2009). References Chan Dr., A. (2015). The Challenges of Human Resource Management. Retrieved from http://www.zeromillion.com LAawMedMBA, L. (2009). What is the difference between human resource Development and human resource management. Retrieved from http://answers.yahoo.com Labor, U. D. (2015). Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor. Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov Mayhew, R. (2015). Major Issues to Consider for Workplace Diversity. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com Ogunjimi, A. (1999-2015). Strategies Promoting Equality & Diversity in the Workplace. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com

Crumbs from the table of joy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Crumbs from the table of joy - Essay Example Godfrey with his puritan strictures, forces the family to the belief of the living messiah. He even scribbles question, which he believes will arise when he eventually meet the Father for one-on-one, a situation that does not materialize at all. A new them is brought forth when Lily is introduced; the theme of communism. There is a turn of events when Lily, the sister-in-law to Godfrey enters. The play describes her as a juke-joint maven (a term used to describe joint places of the blacks, associated with disorderliness) who has been brought in to take care of Ernestine and Ermina and also to provide guidance to the two. She begins to set up unwelcome residence. They fall apart with Godfrey, who detests her flirting habit and lavish lifestyle, and more so, her communist ideologies, which Ernestine takes as the sole truth. One can tell that Lily has planned to rekindles the history that they had with Godfrey, and to be more than just a surrogate to the girls. She intends to get intimate with Godfrey, a situation that forces Godfrey to move out of the house and gets into unprompted marriage with the Gerte, a white German. Refinement is definitely not the maxim for this play. Though the play was initially commissioned as part of the plans targeting the teens, which was never a surprise, nonetheless it never came as a bad thing. Through the presentation of invigorating topics that surround a family portrayed with diverse character, Nottage successfully manages to soften what one would refer to as educational pummeling. Equally, the manner in which Nottage has structured the scenes around Ernestine narrative references to house, clearly, one is reminded of the these events resonates with the with the interpretation of events by teenagers, at a time when the shades of age was hard to come by. At this end, the theme of injustice is brought about. As Ernestine

Substance Abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Substance Abuse - Essay Example Some people argue that recreational use of drugs is not harmful, however studies show that use of recreational drugs leads to addiction and permanent usage of drugs. People who support the recreational use of drugs favor the use of Marijuana as they feel it is not harmful for people. However, recent studies show that marijuana is also harmful for human beings. According to National Institute of Drug Abuse, marijuana users become dependent on others. They find it hard to understand different aspects of life and others assistance on every aspect. It is also important to note that illegal drug is not the only thing that creates addiction in an individual. Things like medicine, alcohol, tea, coffee etc could also create addiction which may cause problems for an individual (á ¸ ²aminer, 2010). Treatment The aim of the treatment of patients for substance abuse is to take them to a point where they are free of the dependency and habit of using illegal drugs. Although, the patients may not get rid of the problem completely, but the negative effects of the use of such drugs may be negated from such treatment. Studies show that 60 out of 100 are treated with desired results, as the dependency of drug addict patients reduces with the treatment.

Management case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Management case study - Essay Example Mark, who described to his team members about group dynamics and team effectiveness. Enough time needed to be provided in order to understand each other and proper co-ordination among the team members is of paramount importance. The group leader Mark gave a proper direction and scrutiny to its team members. For the effective undertaking of this session, proper co-ordination among the team members was essential. Working in a group is more dynamic as well as challenging than doing things on one's own. Motivation helps to improve the morale of the team members. Thus, the group leader needs encourage the team members to achieve the goals that they set. It is also necessary to provide a clear idea to the members about the group norms. The goals shall be achievable through team efforts of the group members. Team spirit and effective communication are the key factors behind the proper implementation of the norms of the group. Along with group dynamics and team effectiveness, proper leadership and supervision are necessary for the retreat group's success. Effective training and development programs are also necessary. The members of each group are different from one another on the basis of their knowledge and skills. They come from different environment and are mainly from three locations. While undertaking the session, Mr. Mark, the group leader maintained the group systematically, by arranging seating properly for the team members, and discussed their ultimate goals. The major goals of the team members were to accumulate competitive power, assimilate the essential quality to cope with other groups, reach the best in sports or athelitical activities, running around 25miles, and the like. The group also aimed at developing a sound atmosphere. As the retreat session went on, it could be clearly evaluated that the group was developing in athletic efforts, rather than those of academicals. When the first week of the training session ended, the participants of the group were called to undertake a self evaluation. Even though the group members knew each other, their strength and weaknesses, and so on, they were reluctant to charge each other. Both academic and athletic programs of Mark's group were good enough, but it turned out to be the worst when compared it with those of competitors. Mr. Mark was worried, because he was responsible for developing effective steps to overcome those problems an effectively. After a few days' gap, Mr. Mark planned another procedure known as Project X, by dividing the group members in to two, i.e. six members each. This project aimed at evaluating the capability and skills of the group members. This project would help in analyzing whether the group members will be able to tackle the problem, and their ability to provide a solution for it within the stipulated time period. But the Mark's group performed badly, which made the group leader quiet disappoint. The goals so set by the group remained unachievable. The leadership qualities of Mr. Mark were not remarkable. And the members were unable to attain the goals. The members of the group consist of their own personal merits, but there is a lack of group or team effectiveness to attain these goals. More than this, after the failure of Project X, the group decided to modify the goals on the basis of success and failures attained by them. The Mark's group was unable to

Class Sizes in Highschool Should Be Smaller Essay

Class Sizes in Highschool Should Be Smaller - Essay Example In a smaller classroom, students are less anxious because the environment allows for ample time for them to understand the lesson, ask some questions, and get a complete explanation of the required work. Furthermore, if there were fewer students in a class, tasks such as presentations would become easier for students, who would likely feel more comfortable presenting to a smaller peer group. For these reasons, it is important that class sizes are kept to a maximum of twenty. Smaller classrooms are a must because an effective learning environment must have adequate resources available. In an average classroom there are less than 30 textbooks available. When the number of students in a class exceeds the number of available books, then not everyone has access to an important tool for learning. When a lesson is taught, having a book to follow from keeps the student engaged in the material. Without this item, it is easier for students to get distracted and lose interest in the subject. As well as this fact, students learn at different speeds. If two or three students are sharing a book, it will be difficult for all the students to progress at the same rate. Some students will be left behind, while others will not be able to read the entire page. Of course, there is also the problem of completing homework assignments without a text book. Students are given assignments, class projects, and homework regularly. If a student does not have a textbook, then it makes it so much harder to get any work done. With a larger number of students and limited books on the library shelves, an environment not conducive to learning is created. Another reason why smaller classrooms should be encouraged is that students are less likely to become... This report approves that some students may click their pens, listen to music loud enough for others to hear, or perform a repetitive movement such as tapping their feet against the ground. Additionally, some students may get out of their seats to receive help from their peers or teacher, or they may leave the room for various reasons. These little noises, in conjunction with visual interruptions, can draw a student’s attention away from their work and reduce their concentration. Many students may become frustrated with the noise and feel overwhelmed because they cannot concentrate and complete their assignments. This is very detrimental and unfair to the majority of students. With fewer people in the classroom, the distractions would be reduced. This allows an individual to remain focused and calm, which would result in a more productive education. This essay makes a conclusion that classroom sizes needs to be reduced because of different learning styles, a lack of sufficient resources, and the possibility of distractions. A student’s one-on-one time with their teacher is essential, and the loss of this is detrimental to that student’s learning capabilities. Not every student learns at the same pace, so it is essential that all students are given a fair opportunity to learn. Because of a lack of resources available to students, it is easy to understand why students and teachers are stressed. Furthermore, with the constant distractions of noise and movements, the ideal learning environment suffers greatly. With the general population in Ontario growing and thus classroom sizes on the rise, our education system becomes condensed and the students suffer as a result. It is time to prioritize students’ education by reducing the number of students in each class.

Comparison Between Macy's And Polo Specialty Store Essay

Comparison Between Macy's And Polo Specialty Store - Essay Example The invention of the black and white television in 1949 gave a substantial boost to the children wear industry. Children wear shows become popular programs and their licensing made quite a substantial amount of money for the children wear manufacturers. This money was in return re-invested back into the industry thereby enlarging and making it bigger. 1958 and 1959 were also noteworthy years for the fashion industry as the Hush Puppies shoes, and the Barbie Doll were invented respectively. The puppies' shoes were necessary for protecting the feet of the children as walking or working without shoes was not only stressful but also painful and full of discomfort. The invention spirit did not stop as several other new trends in children wear continued to be invented. During the entire 1960's, a whole lot of a variety of colors, patterns, and prints were produced. Some of these colors were light blue, light pink and light green. 1n 1970, various textiles including polyester were invented. Since the invention of the sewing machine, the discovery and subsequent use of manufactured fiber in apparel was another enormous development in the children wear industry. By this time, children wear was also beginning to look like adult wear. In 1980, a crucial shift occurred from manufactured fiber to more natural fiber such as cotton and linen among others. Naturals fibers were of immense preference over the manufactured fibers were either cheap, readily available or simply made better children's clothes.

Endangered Species Act of 1973 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Endangered Species Act of 1973 - Assignment Example As it is, there are already many in society that would argue that no exceptions whatsoever should be made.   In the end, to open up an exception to private enterprises as well, no matter how well-intentioned the organization might be.   In effect, were the government to open up such exceptions to others, the floodgates would literally come alive with individuals or organizations who felt their work was so important to the public welfare that it should be permitted to continue, no matter what the cost to a given species might be.   This would go against the very intent of the Endangered Species Act, not to mention create a bureaucratic nightmare for all affected agencies as they would be charged with the task of determining who to grant an exception to, and who to deny.   At some point, it would simply not work and would be ethically improper to proceed with that course of action.  

Fpl Harvard Business Casw Essay Example for Free

Fpl Harvard Business Casw Essay The fourth largest electric utility company in the United States and the largest electric utility in Florida is the FPL Group, which formed in 1925 from the consolidation of several gas and electric companies. FPL as a company continued to grow after 1925 because the ever increasing Florida population demanded more and more electricity. This trend continued until the 1970s when operating problems, and the rising cost of fuel and construction, caused a reduction of the company’s profitability. To address this issue, then Chairman Marshall McDonald, decided to make four major acquisitions: Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company, Telesat Cablevision Inc. , CBR Information Group Inc. , and Turner Foods Corporation. FPL also attempted to improve operations by employing 1,700 teams for quality control to find ways to improve operations. This notion lead FPL to be recognized as â€Å"one of the best-managed US corporations,† when the quality control teams found ways to improve efficiency within FPL by decreasing customer complaints by 60%, and decreasing downtime operations by 12%. Despite these enhancements, FPL still had company troubles to include: problems with a nuclear plant, demand was growing at a faster pace in the 1980s than expected, one of their acquisitions had lost $250 million since being acquired, and employee morale was low due to all the new management regulations. Kate Stark, the electric utilities analyst at First Equity Securities Corporation came across a decision involving this Florida electric utility company, FPL. The decision begins with the buzz that FPL may decide to freeze its dividend at $2. 8 per share or even potentially reduce the dividend at FPL’s annual meeting. Kate had previously valued FPL with a â€Å"hold† recommendation three weeks earlier with the belief that FPL will either keep its dividend payout at $2. 48 or slightly increase it. However, with the news of this new rumor about FPL dividends, FPL stock price fell by 6% because a freeze of the dividend would mean that FPL would end a 47-year streak of ann ual dividend increases. Now Kate is reconsidering her â€Å"hold† rating and contemplated issuing a new updated report to revise her investment recommendation. It is now to decided how a change, if any, to the current dividend policy would affect shareholders, which option would have the greatest benefit to the shareholders and FPL, and what should be advised to investors with regard to FPL stock. Two theories of dividends come up with the FPL Group. The first theory is the Signaling Hypothesis and the second theory would be the Clientele Effect. The Signaling Theory is essentially the theory that managers of a certain company have better information and are more informed internally about a firms future prospects than the public stockholders. Future dividends are paid out of future profits, so any change in dividends to be paid is viewed as an indication of what future profits are going to be. Thus, when dividends are increased or decreased, stock prices tend to increase or decrease. The second theory relevant to the FPL group dividend policy is the Clientele Effect. Different clienteles of stockholders favor diverse dividend payout ratios. Different firms also have altering ways of calculating and paying out dividends. Thus, when a firm switches its payout ratio a current clientele will leave and a different clientele will join. The rule of thumb is that if more investors leave or leave faster than a new clientele could replace them, then there could be a temporarily depressed share price. There are two important issues that are facing the FPL Group in the May of 1994. The first is the concerns of potential competition resulting from industry deregulation and the second is the reexamination of a high dividend payout ratio already previously noted. The arrival of retail wheeling from the National Energy Policy Act of 1992 threatens to change the shape of the entire electric utilities industry. The Florida Public Service Commission is not currently considering a retail wheeling proposal, but the current trend in the industry is to increase the competition. The implementation of such a proposal, however, would expose FPL to numerous competitors and possible losses, for example, as shown in California; California had already implemented a retail wheeling program and the program had a severe adverse effect on the three major utilities in that state. Competing with rival utilities must now be a primary concern of FPL and FPL now needs to ensure that it has the ability to meet the challenge of competition from both in state and out of state providers. The current payout ratio is too high from FPL’s perspective because they need the extra capital to be able to fund new projects if the new wheeling regulations were to be implemented. FPL just could not afford to pay out 90% of its earnings given the possible need to expand in the face of new competition. Although FPL has had success in the past and present, the threat of retail wheeling means FPL must hold on to cash. Continuing a high payout ratio just isn’t feasible because of the severe challenges FPL would face if the retail wheeling plans were put into action. FPL must be prepared for this eventuality, so FPL needs the funds to ensure financial stability while protecting future profitability. A lower payout ratio would allow FPL to have the capital necessary to hedge itself from losing big to increasing competition. The problem now lies in the confidence of investors if FPL were to cut dividends. It is to believe that FPL will indeed cut their dividends or freeze them at the least to insure financial stability in times where the future is uncertain. The additional retained earnings from a reduction or halt of dividend payout will open opportunities for FPL to compete in a new open market, reduce their debt ceiling for added cash to fund and expand new opportunities for growth and allow for a more industry standard payout ratio for future growth. This may not at first be what a shareholder would want to see, but the positive outlook for the long run, outweigh the negative impacts of the short run. As a result of this analysis, FPL looks to be a very reliable investment for the future with a positive upside for future growth potential; however the only drawback would be how much exactly a dividend cut would actually affect the initial stock price, which is hard to tell. Kate Stark should absolutely keep her â€Å"hold† recommendation on FPL stock for the previous conceived reasons. There are no notions to believe FPL is in any urgent financial trouble or that there will be a drastic dividend cut. FPL’s stock will fall with the announcement of a dividend freeze or reduction; it is just a matter of how much. There is an upside potential for FPL and there is evidence that they will be prepared for more competition. The FPL stock price again will drop initially with the announcement of a dividend freeze or reduction, but â€Å"hold† on to the stock to not take a loss, and continue to â€Å"hold† the stock because the FPL group provides sound evidence that the stock price will continue to rise in the near future. References: Welch, Jonathan B., and Anand Venkateswaran. The dual sustainability of wind energy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13.5 (2009): 1121-1126. Soosay, Claudine, Andrew Fearne, and Benjamin Dent. Sustainable value chain analysis–a case study of Oxford Landing from â€Å"vine to dine†. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal 17.1 (2012): 68-77. Pitman, Glen, et al. QFD application in an educational setting. International Journal of Quality ; Reliability Management (2013). Plant, Robert, Leslie Willcocks, and Nancy Olson. Measuring e-business performance: towards a revised balanced scorecard approach. Information Systems and e-business Management 1.3 (2003): 265-281. Evelyn, John J., and Neil J. DeCarlo. Customer focus helps utility see the light. Journal of Business Strategy 13.1 (1992): 8-12. Gupta, Neeraj J., and Christina C. Benson. Sustainability and competitive advantage: an empirical study of value creation. (2011). ;

The Differences Between CMM And CMMI

The Differences Between CMM And CMMI The recent attitude of the organisations to make the products complex in order survive the competitors, made them to employ software in their organisations. However, the community of information systems known for its poor product quality made them to research the methods to improve its efficiency. This led them to discover that the focus was needed more on the processes which in turn led to improve the quality of the software products. The process when used it an efficient way can make the organisations maintain the consistency and help to achieve their mission. Many models and programmes described the ways to improve the product quality. Of those, The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) found by SEI, in 1984, gave a clear sight to the organisations the efficient way to improve the process. Later, it was found that it can be employed in other fields too and thereafter it was employed to improve business processes. However this method had some drawbacks and those were superseded by the Ca pability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI). This essay portrait the key differences between these models and describes the effectiveness of using CMMI. 2. Differences between CMM and CMMI 2.1 CMM Overview The first CMM, developed in 1990, was developed for the purpose to improve the process in software development [1]. This model proved to be a successful one and thereof, it became a generalised model for improving the processes other than SW development process like software engineering, system engineering, software maintenance, software management, risk management and also being employed in other industries, governments, organisations and also for business process improvement [1]. Fig.1 CMM Maturity Levels [2] The CMM for Software (SW-CMM) is a framework that provides the way to manage a process effectively. It is a stair-cased structure wherein each step is a maturity level describing the current capability of the process. It tells where the processes are. The CMM scales the organisation from 1 to 5 based on the KPAs achieved by the organisations. Fig. 2.2 Structure of the CMM [3] As shown in the figure 2, each maturity level defines the process capability at that stage and contains (other than Initial) Key Process Areas (KPA) defined of goals to be achieved. Each KPA has certain key practices that are to be strictly followed to achieve the goals. These key practices are arranged as groups (Common features) consisting infrastructure and implementation. 2.2 CMMI Overview à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"CMMI is a process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements of effective processes that ultimately improve their performance. CMMI can be used to guide process improvement across a project, a division, or an entire organization.à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚  [4]. Both CMM and CMMI have the same five maturity levels. In CMMI, each process area has specific goals and generic goals that define the generic and specific practices respectively. Fig.3.1 CMMI Structure [5] There are two types of approaches à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ staged and continuous. In the case of the staged approach, KPAà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s are defined and then based on it the maturity level structure is drawn whereas in the continuous approach, a specific KPA is chosen and then it is relatively improved by using the capability levels [6]. The CMMI too scales the organisation from a scale of 1 to 5 based on the KPAs. It also provides an appraisal which focuses on improving the plans for the organisations. There are three classes of appraisals, namely class A, B and C [7]. 2.3 Key Differences The factors that distinguish CMM and CMMI during implementation are: 1.integration, 2.KPA, 3.approach and 4.paperwork [8]. 2.3.1 Integration: The CMM has individual models for each function. But when the individual processes when integrated led to few discrepancies like model overlapping, contradiction and each model had its own maturity level which lead to a confusion. This led to the increase in the costs of the companies that were put in training. But CMMI employs models that are classified on the basis of specific areas of interests. These models are those employed by industries successfully. To employ CMMI in an organisation, it must choose a model form the available 22 models wherein each module covers all the functionalities. 2.3.2 KPA: Both CMM and CMMI have 5 maturity levels. But there are differences in the KPAs of each maturity level. The differences in each model are as follows: 1. Initial: In both models, it covers the organisations without defined processes, having dynamic changes (ad-hoc) and undocumented. 2. Repeat: In CMM, the companies that seem to do the same process periodically attain this level. In CMMI, it requires a planned and defined ways of managing the requirements by estimating cost, time and resources. 3. Defined: CMM requires a standard, well-documented and consistent process with few degrees of changes to be followed. CMMI requires the process to be standardised, methodical and procedural with the use of tools. 4. Manage: CMM requires companies to quantitatively measure and monitor process thereby reducing risks. CMMI, n addition identifies and monitors the sub processes that contribute to overall efficiency. 5. Optimized: In CMM, the process is continuously improved by following the best software engineering practices but here the measures are taken simultaneously as the goals are satisfied. In CMMI, behaviour is selected and goals are set to support it. Behaviour is selected on the basis of goals and measures. 2.3.3 Approach CMM is an activity based model. It aims only in the completion of the process and does not care about the desired result and hence it does not motivate the company to make the necessary changes. But CMMI is a result oriented based on key performance areas and thereof it is a best practice for the companies and helps to avoid the possible risks at a very early stage. 2.3.4 Paperwork Both CMM and CMMI documentation has paperwork and meetings that leads to waste of effort and time of the personnel. However, in CMM is process-oriented whereas the CMMI is a goal-cum-result-oriented approach. 3. Benefits of adopting CMMI The organisations that adopted the CMMI reported the following benefits [9]: 3.1 Cost: The CMMI adoption led to reduced defect fix cost, reduced overhead rate, reduced cost of poor quality and increased the average cost performance index with decline in variation. 3.2 Schedule: It led to reduction in release turnaround time, reduction in average number of days late, increased percentage of milestones met, increased throughput that led to more releases per year, improvised and stabilised schedule performance index with decreased variance and increased time delivery accuracy. 3.3 Quality Reduction in software defects (KLOC), errors caused in the source code and the post-release defects and increased focus on quality by developers was observed after using CMMI. 3.4 Productivity Productivity was measured in metrics like number of statements produced per month, comparing the various builds, number of releases per year, software production etc, Productivity of the companies also increased. 3.5 Customer Satisfaction The customer satisfaction, measured using ratings and awards fees, increased since the time of delivery mentioned was accurate and also it was defect free. 3.6 Return on Investment (ROI) ROI ratio measured based on the defects that are overcome, the degree of automation activities and quality and process improvement, seemed to be on the positive side that motivated the organisations to employ CMMI. 4. Case Study of companies switching over to CMMI from CMM The following three points are the detailed reports [10] of the companies that evolved from CMM to CMMI which depicts the improvements and results of doing so. 4.1 Lockheed Martin M DS Initially, the organisation was assessed CMM level 2 in 1993. But later, in 1996 it moved to CMM Level 3 and then evolved to CMMI Level 5 in 2002 in integrating SE-CMM and SW-CMM. As a result of this, improvements in the customer satisfaction, productivity and the product cost were noted leading to the conclusion that the process improvement that lasted for nearly 10 years proved fruitful. Between 1996 and 2002, process improvement was continual and the company increased its productivity by 30% and decreased unit software cost and defect costs by 20% and 15% respectively. The customer satisfaction was achieved as there was an increase in percentage of the available award fees [10]. 4.2 Accenture Accenture, one of the reputed organisations, had a transition from the SW-CMM to the CMMI between May, 2001 and May, 2002. It attained the CMM Level 3 initially and when they moved to CMMI, during which they acquired CMMI Level 3. During the CMMI, the organisation focussed mainly on the processes related to the Measurement and Analysis, Decision Analysis and Resolution, generic goals and Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD). As a result of the transition, improvements in the costs of quality and ROI ratio were captured. The ROI ratio achieved was 5:1 in the quality [10]. 4.3 Boeing Limited, Australia The Boeing Limited process performance was not up to the mark. Initially they were using CMM and Electronics Industry Alliance (EIA 731). Thereof, they decided to improve the process by adopting CMMI so as to 1. Integrate SE and SWE 2.Universal acceptance by customers and suppliers and 3.Risk analysis using Defence Material Organisation (DMO) strategy. There were improvements seen in the product cost, schedule/cycle time and the product quality. The results of adoption made defect fix costs, turnaround time and test audits (pre and post) decrease by 33%, 50% and 60% respectively and product quality increase to a major extent [10]. 5. Factors that have major impact From the case studies it is clearly evident that the integration, approach styles and the need for continuous improvements of the process by the organisation led to the organisations to move from CMM to CMMI. However there are many organisations like Bosch Gasoline Systems, Thales Research Technology, Sanchez Computer Associates Inc, still are using the CMM and reporting benefits thereof. 6. Conclusion CMMI models should be still integrated and developed such the costs involved and the efforts are reduced.