Tuesday, January 28, 2020

ICICI Prudential â€Multiple Channel Distribution Essay Example for Free

ICICI Prudential –Multiple Channel Distribution Essay In terms of the future of the Indian insurance industry, what do you think are the measures that can be taken/ have been taken by ICICI Pru to further strengthen its distribution system to meet the competition? Bring out the drawbacks of the existing channels and the need to explore new avenues. Distribution Scenario in the Indian insurance Market The major challenges to insurers and intermediaries in highly competitive Indian insurance market are: 1. To build faith about the company’s insurance services in its customer’s mind  2.  To develop relationship(in terms of credibility) between intermediaries and clients 3. To develop extensive network for providing best service and stay close to the customers Capturing larger segment –Rural India Except ICICI Prudential, all the insurance companies have traditionally tied agents that have been the primary channels for insurance distribution in the Indian market. In case of the public sector insurance companies such as LIC, SBI etc. they have used their branches in almost all parts of the country and have attracted local people to become their agents. While ICICI Pru has used multiple channels such as bancassurance, direct marketing and corporate agents for their insurance distribution and have covered 69 cities and towns in India. By the virtue of these multiple distribution channels, ICICI Pru became leader in Indian insurance sector in short span of time with maximum contribution form bancassurance channel. However, these channels were targeted mostly at urban customers while the 70-80% of the Indian population stays in Rural area. ICICI Pru has tried to cater rural customers by joining hands with BASIX, World vision, Dhan, Shepherd, Uttaranchal Co-operative Marketing Federation, nLog Communiaction, ITC’e eachaupal etc. But, to cover the maximum possible rural market and develop strong rural insurance market at optimum cost for ICICI Pru, according to me India Post is the best intermediary option. India Post is one of the oldest infrastructure developed in India and it would be the best channel to reach Indian rural customers at very low cost. The postman are the best friend and information source to the village people. Hence they are the best fellows to create awareness about the company’s services and to distribute different insurance products. Thus they are the best sales man to build credibility about the company in rural India. Also the postmen have basic education in terms of services, hence the company can train them for their services at a very low cost. Thus the overall cost for reaching rural customer would be lower compare to all other possible options.

Monday, January 20, 2020

Quebec Nationalism Essay -- essays research papers fc

The question of whether Quebec will secede from Canada to become an independent nation has been a hot topic in the country for several years now. It dates back to the abortive rebellions of 1837-38. In 1980, a referendum to secede was rejected by a 60-40 margin. Since then though, the numbers of Quebeckers that want to become sovereign has significantly increased. There is so many questions of what will happen if this does happen. In this paper I plan to take a deeper look at this situation and try to figure out what it would actually be like if Quebec was its own country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The premier of Quebec, Lucien Bouchard has been attempting to separate from Canada for quite sometime. If he had it his way this topic would be old news by now. His main problem is the Federalist, English speaking citizens of his province. They have been very vocal on their stance to stay apart of Canada. They have sent around several resolutions stating this. It all started in Allumette Island East, which has a population of 458. It has since spread to municipalities along the borders with Ontario and the United States, and in the Montreal area. Unfortunately this means very little considering the fact that these municipalities only represent approximately 6% of the province’s population. When the Parti Quebecois government called for the first referendum on secession in 1980, only 40% were in favor of separatism. When the party took over control again in 1995 the approval rose just about 49%. The fear of the PQ is that if several of the floating voters ou t there feel that a sovereign Quebec must mean a partitioned, patchwork Quebec, the separatists might well fall back to 40% if that.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One group of Quebeckers with the strongest-and geographically the widest claims for self determination, the Cree, Inuit, and Innu who occupy the resource-rich northern two-thirds of the province. The views of these nations oddly enough seem to go unmentioned. During the 1995 attempt to secede these three groups all voted by more than 95% to stick with Canada.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People outside of Canada are baffled at how Canada ended up in such a state of affairs. Canada as a country has a lot going for it. A high GNP, and high per capita income in international terms. It is ranked at the top of the... ...izens are suffering.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I understand where the French-speaking Canadians are coming from. With the majority of French Canadians residing in the province of Quebec they feel like they are different than the rest of the country. As it stands now, Quebec is one of the more prosperous provinces in Canada, and I wonder if secession were to take place what would happen? We all know that it would take time to become successful, but who knows if they would ever return to the way it is now. Is the price too big to play? With the opposing sides at almost equal size it is important to come to a final situation. Before possible violence breaks out within the province. Bibliography Doran, Charles F. â€Å"Will Canada Unravel?† in Foreign Affairs. Sept-Oct 1996 v75 n5 pg97 â€Å"Quebec Divisible† in The Economist(US) December 6,1997 v344 n8046 pg 36 Bowen, Bruce â€Å"Jeffrey Simpson: Will the Quebec Secessionists Succeed?† in New Zealand International Review, May-June 1997 v22 n3 pg 30   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Sunday, January 12, 2020

What is Loneliness?

The definition of loneliness is the feeling of â€Å"sadness because one has no friends or company,† according to the dictionary. Many people feel lonely from time to time. Most often people are lonely because their friends are not available at the time or that they don't have any friends at all. People crave friendship and time with friends, but when being alone for a certain amount of time, people can feel lonely, (Marano, Hara). Furthermore, there are two type of loneliness:. sState loneliness and trait loneliness. â€Å"State loneliness usually occurs when a person move to a new place, like the person might move to a new city to work or to study,† (When Trait and State Loneliness Come Together). On the other hand, â€Å"In trait loneliness, the inherent traits of the person make him/her feel lonely,† (When Trait and State Loneliness Come Together). In other words, state loneliness is temporary, while trait loneliness is built-into a person and lasts a long time. State loneliness also largely depends on the situation a person is in. For example, a person could experience state loneliness when they move to a new school, as everything will be unfamiliar to them. However, trait loneliness has nothing to do with the situation a person is in. This is because their built-in traits and personality cause them to constantly feel lonely.CausesThere are quite a few reasons as to why someone might feel lonely. Gary J. Kennedy states that a person can feel lonely â€Å"due to death, geographic changes, or ‘lost contact.'† For instance, examples of death may be the death of a loved one, and having feelings of loss and grief for a period of time. Additionally, an example of a geographic change might be moving to a new state or country. People may also feel lonely because â€Å"they simply don't see or talk to anyone very often† or â€Å"even though they are surrounded by people, they don't feel understood or cared for,† (How to Cope With Loneliness). Furthermore, people who have friends may also feel lonely. The article â€Å"How to Cope With Loneliness† states, â€Å"You might feel that you have plenty of connections, but what is actually wrong is that you don't feel close to them, or they don't give you the care and attention you need.† All in all, there are many different ways a person could feel lonely. Physical EffectsFor starters, loneliness has physical effects on the human body. According to Gary Kennedy, loneliness can cause changes in the cardiovascular, hormonal, immune systems. For instance, people could experience heart damage, bone/muscle loss, higher infection risk, and frailty. In addition, the elderly have a higher chance of experiencing any of these risks. Furthermore, loneliness encourages artery erosion, high blood pressure, blood vessel damage, and deficient sleep. Turhan Canli, a professor of psychology and psychiatry, claims that â€Å"other illnesses and disorders are exacerbated in the presence of subjected social isolation.† In other words, loneliness has the capability of worsening previously owned illnesses and disorders. To illustrate, people who have Dementia could experience worsened symptoms if they are isolated for too long. The effects can be seen throughout the elder as feeling loneliness raises the risk of Dementia by 64%. Furthermore, there is also an increased risk of heart disease. Short term inflammation is crucial for the body to fight off infections, but when one is isolated for too long the inflammation turns chronic. Damaging the bodies tissues and blood vessels making them vulnerable to strokes heart attacks and other heart complications.(Biswas, 2015)Social EffectsAs most people already know, loneliness is a huge social problem. In fact, â€Å"According to researcher John Cacioppo at the University of Chicago, 20 percent of all people are unhappy because of social isolation at any given moment,† (Edmonds, Molly). Another statistic says that 1 in 5 Americans often experience loneliness. According to Hara Marano, psychologists have found that people have a â€Å"fundamental need for inclusion in group life and for close relationships.† That means that us humans need to have relationships in order to even survive. When we fulfill our social needs, it's noticeably easier to motivate ourselves and overcome challenges.When a person experiences excessive loneliness during childhood, they are more likely to be antisocial their entire life. As a matter of fact, most school dropouts happen because students failed to be social as children. â€Å"It sets in motion a course on which children spin their way to outcast status and develop delinquency and other forms of antisocial behavior,† (Marano, Hara).Mental EffectsAlong with having physical effects, loneliness can also affect a person mentally. To start off, there is a great correlation between loneliness and stress, as loneliness often leads to higher stress levels. In more intense conditions, loneliness can cause depression. This includes feelings of hopelessness, increased disability, weight fluctuations, bad sleep, suicidal thoughts, and more. The increase of stress levels causes excess stress hormones to be released, which can have a negative effect on the mind. For example, stress hormones can rewire the brain's hippocampus, the region of the brain mostly used for memory, emotions, navigation, etc. These hormones can affect a person's perception, Carol Schaeffer claims. She says that â€Å"The ‘internal GPS' of the brain is disturbed, depth perception is altered and where the body lies in relation to other objects in space in uncalibrated† (Schaeffer, Carol). In simpler terms, the release of excess stress hormones (due to loneliness) can change the perception of surroundings and sense of direction. Extreme loneliness can also cause hallucinations, especially in those who have experienced physical isolation for an extended amount of time. One extreme case of hallucination was the incident in 1895, where Joshua Slocum was circumnavigating the globe and said that he encountered Christopher Columbus' ship â€Å"The Pinta†. Where he claimed he spoke to the pilot of the ship, and that he also navigated his ship through heavy weather while he lay ill. Another extreme case was in 1933 when Frank Smythe attempted to climb Mount Everest. Where he became so convinced that someone was traveling alongside him that he even offered a piece of cake. (PsyPost, 2016) Despite the effects that feelings of loneliness can have on people, physical isolation has effects on people as well. One common example of pure isolation is solitary confinement, where prisoners are left in their prison cells for about 23 hours per day. According to Stuart Grassian, about one third of solitary inmates were â€Å"actively psychotic and/or suicidal.† Solitary confinement can cause panic attacks, cognitive difficulties, aggressive thoughts and fantasies, paranoia, loss of self control, oversensitivity, and hallucinations.One particular inmate that he interviewed said that he developed a strong obsession with the inability to feel his bladder was fully empty, he would stand hours on hours trying to pee. The obsessions they develop was a way for them to cope and maintain some sort of alertness.(PsyPost, 2016)Overall, the effects of physical and mental isolation are at a higher intensity than mental isolation alone because of the lack of social stimuli.Neurological Many changes occur in the brains of lonely people. For instance, studies have shown that loneliness was associated with higher levels of cortisol, often called a â€Å"stress hormone.† â€Å"Cortisol can help control blood sugar levels, regulate metabolism, help reduce inflammation, and assist with memory formulation,† (What is Cortisol?). This is because loneliness causes stress, which then causes cortisol to be released. High levels of cortisol can lead to Cushing's syndrome, a syndrome that causes extreme weight gain in the face and torso.Experiments have shown that loneliness correlates with the amount of activity in the ventral striatum, a region of the brain that is linked to reward processing and plays a role in learning. For example, a study done by the University of Chicago found that when viewing pictures of people in pleasant settings, people who were deemed as â€Å"lonely† showed less activity in the ventral striatum than people who were deemed as â€Å"not lonely.† That concludes that lonely people have a weaker reward system than non lonely people. Other experiments have shown that loneliness during childhood can cause lifelong abnormalities and cognitive problems in the brain. A professor of neurology and otolaryngology named Gabriel Corfas performed an experiment on mice to figure out the relationship between brain abnormalities and cognitive problems that were caused by loneliness. To start off, he took baby mice from their mothers when they were 21 days old. Then he put some mice in groups of 4 in a regular lab environment, some mice in a rich environment with lots of other mice, and some mice in complete isolation. After 50 days, the mice were tested on their social and memory skills. The mice from the regular and rich environments performed well, but the isolated mice struggled with both skills.Corfas then examined the mice's brains and found that the mice from the regular and rich environments had no abnormalities. On the other hand, the isolated mice had stumpy oligodendrocytes. Oligodendrocytes, which are cells in the brain that support and insulate axons (axons are the long and skinny parts of a neuron that transmit information to other neurons) help speed up communication between neurons by creating supportive blankets made of myelin and wrapping them around axons. Normally, oligodendrocytes have long, complex projections, but in this case, the isolated mice had oligodendrocytes with short and simple projections. Because the mice had stumpy oligodendrocytes, the blankets of myelin that were to be wrapped around their axons were thinner, so communication between neurons in their brain was slowed. A similar experiment was done by a professor of neurology named Dr. Michael J. Zigmond. He put a group of mice in an environment where there was lots of space, interaction with other mice, and exercise opportunities. This was supposed to represent a general prison environment. On the contrary, he put another group of mice in their own separated shoeboxes with very limited space and no exercise opportunities. â€Å"The way the housing is set up is very much like many solitary housing arrangements,† (Zigmond, Michael). In other words, this was supposed to represent solitary confinement. Overall, Zigmond noticed that the isolated mice had simpler, less complex neurons in their brains, few connections, and communication between neurons.A study conducted on the 1950s by the University of Wisconsin psychologist Harry Harlow placed rhesus monkeys in a custom isolation chamber in the shape of an inverted pyramid. The chamber nicknamed â€Å"the pit of despair.† Had sides that were made very slippery making it impossible to get out. The after a day or two of research, Harlow already started seeing a change in monkeys behavior. Harlow reported that the subjects were hunched over in a corner rocking back and forth for long periods of time, circling the cage and mutilating themselves. Those who were kept in for short periods of time were able to adjust easily as opposed to those who were kept in for twelve months. Those â€Å"Twelve months of isolation almost obliterated the animals socially,† Harlow stated.(PBS, 2014)In addition a test conducted with 38 lonely people and 32 people non-lonely people were given words and instructed to tag them as ‘social/positive', ‘social/negative', ‘nonsocial/positive' and ‘nonsocial/negative' to see the different ways they responded.' Subjects were attached to electrodes to read their brain waves. Lonely subjects became more attentive when were regarded as socially negative and also picked out socially threatening words more quickly. This suggesting that lonely people are subconsciously looking out for negativity. Non-lonely responded the same to both social and socially negative.(Richards, 2015) Human experiments are rare but a research conducted in 1951, researcher paid a group of male graduates to stay in small chamber for six weeks. The subjects were left in the chambers with goggles, earphones, and gloves limiting their sight, hearing, and touch. The only time they were allowed was when they had to go to the bathroom. CopingSome ways to prevent loneliness is to â€Å"Recognize that loneliness is a sign that something has to change.† Despite the fact that loneliness is a problem that can affect us negatively, there are many ways to cope with loneliness. What Can You Do To Help Someone Wh

Saturday, January 4, 2020

Enrons Business Ethics Failure - 1485 Words

Content 1. Overview ............................................................................................3 2. The Fall of Enron ...............................................................................4 3. Enrons ethical dilemmas ..................................................................6 4. Conslucions .......................................................................................7 5. Bibliography ......................................................................................8 1. Overview The goal of this report is to analyze business ethics in the context of the Enron scandal. Enron scandal became a classical example of how a major disregard for ethics and law occurred. It†¦show more content†¦This was caused when an investigation in Enron discovered that the auditing and accounting fraud was so large that it was impossible that the Arthur Anderson company could have been unaware of it. Arthur Andersen definitely acted unethically by hiding documents and information from the public. The consequences were brutal for Arthur Anderson and for Enron, but they were even more brutal for the employees that had lost their jobs and everything that they had. They were the people that were hurt the most by the unfair and dishonest practices that Enron and Arthur Anderson engaged in. Greed is one of the reasons why Enron executives failed in telling the truth. Most large companies are under great pressure to perform, they are worried about profits, and they are worried about what will happen to their stocks if they will be unable to meet the expectations of them. Even though these arguments help to understand why companies sometimes use improper moral judgment, it still does not excuse their incorrect decisions or unethical actions. Business ethics is becoming an increasingly important and significant part of successful business negotiations in the global business market. Even though, Enrons officials failed in recognizing the importance of business ethics, more and more modern organizations have not. Currently, a lot of organizations are recognizing and emphasizing the importance of socialShow MoreRelatedEnron s Ethics Code Of Enron Essay943 Words   |  4 Pagesfocuses on Enron’s ethics code, Enron’s failure of top leadership, Enron’s corporate culture and Enron’s complicity. On the other hand, I will discuss the lessons I learnt from Enron case. Keywords: Enron’s ethics code, Enron’s failure of top leadership, Enron’s corporate culture, Enron’s complicity, lessons learnt from Enron case Enron’s ethics code Respect, integrity, communication and excellence are the ethics code of Enron. These four aspects have a crucial impact on business ethics. â€Å"Ethics requiresRead MoreEnrons Ethics Code Of Enron1552 Words   |  7 Pagesfocuses on Enron’s ethics code, Enron’s failure of top leadership, Enron’s corporate culture and Enron’s complicity. On the other hand, I will discuss the lessons I learnt from Enron case. Keywords: Enron’s ethics code, Enron’s failure of top leadership, Enron’s corporate culture, Enron’s complicity, lessons learnt from Enron case Enron’s ethics code Respect, integrity, communication and excellence are the ethics code of Enron. These four aspects have a crucial impact on business ethics. â€Å"EthicsRead MoreEssay about The Downfall of Enron1734 Words   |  7 Pagesto lawfulness, societal standards, and things of that nature. In the business world, ethics commonly refer to acceptable and unacceptable business practices within the workplace, and all other related environments. The acceptance of colleges regardless of ethnicity, gender, and beliefs, as well as truthfulness and honesty in relation to finances within the company are examples of ideal ethical business conducts. Unethical business behavior would include manipulating procedures based on bias or discriminationRead MoreA Discussion On Ethics And Law Essay1635 Words   |  7 Pages Enron, a Discussion on Ethics and Law Leadership’s Role in Ethical Dilemma As documented in a promotional video for Enron, Kenneth Lay states: â€Å"Enron is a company that deals with everyone with absolute integrity. We play by all the rules. . . We want people to leave a transaction with Enron thinking they have been dealt with in the highest possible way, as far as integrity and truthfulness and really doing our business right.† (Enron Vision and Values, 1998, 3:32) Whereas this message was intendedRead MoreThe Ethics Code Of Enron1586 Words   |  7 PagesEnron’s ethics code Respect, integrity, communication and excellence are the ethics code of Enron. These four aspects have a crucial impact on business ethics. â€Å"Ethics requires respect. One cannot exist without the other. Ethical success depends on understanding the profound impact that respect has on your ethics and character.† As Mark S. Putnam said in his article â€Å"Respect: The Starting Point for Good Ethics†(2003), we need to make respect our obligation and show everyone a certain degree of respectRead MoreEnrons Business Failure Paper986 Words   |  4 PagesEnron Business Failure Paper Abstract The following paper will explain the reason of why Enron as a company failed. It will compare and contrast the contributions of leadership, management and organizational structures to the failure. Enron, was the worlds top electrical, communications, pulp and paper, and natural gas company. Unfortunately, in late 2001 the company started to unravel. Enron was on the brink of bankruptcy and even an attempt to be bought out by a smaller company calledRead MoreKey Stakeholders Affected By The Collapse Of Enron1065 Words   |  5 Pageslost their jobs as a results of Enron’s failure; four thousand were set off directly, with additional to follow. Several staff saw the worth of their retirement accounts collapse. c. The full impact of Enron’s collapse on customers isn t explored within the case. Students might speculate that some customers that had signed semi-permanent contracts with Enron for the delivery of bound commodities were left while not a reliable supply. d. The full impact of Enron’s collapse on suppliers isn t exploredRead MoreFailure Of Responsible Management : Enron Corporation1645 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction This report is select to investigate an example, which failure of responsible management. The Enron Corporation is an example, because Enron event is the typical case for organization failure of responsible management In the end of 2001, Enron scandal has been disclosure, Enron stock prices slumped, and its financial tricks was exposed. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began survey of company s records. Enron’s auditor ‘Arthur Andersen ‘destroys relevant documents. (Ailon, GRead MoreRise and Fall of Enron Essay872 Words   |  4 Pagesown leadership and ill business decisions. The motivational theories explained from the readings of Organization Behavior can correlate with the failure of Enron’s internal organization. Even though a company may appear to display successful business practices, the influence of leadership through management can ultimately lead the company to fail. Enron’s code of ethics prided itself on four key values; respect, integrity, communication, and excellence. Codes of ethics should be a reflectionRead MoreEnrons Ethical Dilemma1118 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Enrons Ethical Dilemma: Ethical and moral issues have received substantial focus in the modern society because of the recent cases in which huge corporations with big profits and earnings have faced bankruptcy. Enron is an example of corporations that have faced bankruptcy in the recent past because of the numerous problems it had with federal and state governments for manipulation of financial statements. While these problems are not only attributed to organizational issues, accounting firms