Financial Services Essay -- Industry Body Finances Essays

Financial Services Introduction to Financial Services 1.0Financial Services is a growing industry, which provides for the financial needs of individual consumers and businesses. This unit explores the needs of and products available for both the consumers and businesses. The term financial service covers a wide range of products including accounts for depositing money, loans, savings and investments, pension and financial advice. Financial Services for individual consumers are available from banks, building societies and also from organizations such as supermarkets and insurance companies, over the counter, by telephone or over the Internet. Businesses have financial needs when they start up, expand and carry on day-to-day business activities. These needs include financing, insurance, bookkeeping, payment services, investment and general financial advice. A variety of financial institutions can provide these services banks, insurance and investment companies and firms of accountants. In this assignment I will produce a report which analyses the financial needs of three different types of customers and investigate the ways in which these needs can be satisfied by a range of financial service providers. Two of the customers are personal customers of contrasting types. In this case I will be talking about a graduate from university and parents of two children. I will estimate their likely expenditure and income in the form of a personal budget. In the 2nd task I will recommend how those needs can be met and from which type of financial institution (an assessment of the cost, returns, risks and benefits of the products). To: Business Studies Department of S.G.M Ref: 1122 From: Demet Gocer Date: 02/11/04 Title: Analysis of financial needs of a graduate from university and a married couple both employed with children. 1.0 Terms of Reference On Monday 7th September 2004 , I was asked to write a report on financial services by the business studies department. This report is written by Demet Gocer, and is based on an analysis of two customers, and an estimate of their likely income and expenditure, in a form of a cash-flow forecast, and an assessment of their financial needs, I also need to identify the financial service needs of a business, and explaining how the size of an organization can be a signi... ...eeds to be changed or withdrawn. Supply of goods and services act This act involves the supply of services, including those for the supply of financial services. The following are included in the contract: - The services will be performed with reasonable care - The work will be done within a reasonable time - A reasonable charge will be made Reasons for legislations: In general terms legislation in this area is intended to: - Protect those with weaker bargaining power, e.g. employees in a large firm or small firms negotiating with a large powerful trade union - Ensure that all UK firms meet the needs of customers in a cost effective way which will lead to international competitiveness There are plenty of regulations and laws that aim to protect the public when they are buying or using financial products or services, they are mostly formulated by particular industry bodies, an industry body is not a government regulator, but a group which represents similar kinds of business (e.g banks, or mortgage lenders) Therefore customers know that if they deal with a business that is a member of that body, they will be treated in a particular way.

The Three Tier Essay

The five-paragraph essay is a form of written argument. It is a common requisite in assignments in American schools. The format requires an essay to have five paragraphs: one introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs with support and development, and one concluding paragraph. Because of this structure, it is also known as a hamburger essay, one three one or a three tier essay. The introduction serves to inform the reader of the basic premises, and then to state your thesis, or central idea. When a thesis essay is applied to this format, the first paragraph typically consists of a narrative hook, followed by a sentence that introduces the general theme, then another sentence narrowing the focus of the one previous. (If the author is using this format for a text-based thesis, then a sentence quoting the text, supporting the essay-writer's claim, would typically go here, along with the name of the text and the name of the author. Example: â€Å"In the book Night, Elie Wiesel says†¦ â€Å"). After this, the author narrows the discussion of the topic by stating or identifying a problem. Often, an organizational sentence is used here to describe the layout of the paper. Finally, the last sentence of the first paragraph of such an essay would state the thesis the author is trying to prove. The thesis is often linked to a â€Å"road map† for the essay, which is basically an embedded outline stating precisely what the three body paragraphs will address and giving the items in the order of the presentation. Not to be confused with an organizational sentence, a thesis merely states â€Å"The book Night follows Elie Wiesel's journey from innocence to experience,† while an organizational sentence directly states the structure and order of the essay.

Differences among nations affect international business Essay

This paper describes some of the ways in which social, cultural, economic, legal and political differences among nations affect international business. Specific real world examples of the described differences are also provided. Doing business in the international marketplace mandates taking into account some very hard to overlook social differences between countries. For instance, if trying to market and sell a product in a country other than where the company is based, the company must take into account the language differences for such things as packaging (Ebert, R. J., 2003), use instructions, marketing materials, web site presence, and customer care and support. A marvelous real world example of overcoming social differences in order to do business in the international marketplace is provided by the company Ikea (Ikea, 2003). Ikea does business in over thirty-four countries. Much of Ikea’s furniture requires the purchaser to assemble them. This means that all the instructions that are included with the same merchandise must be written for each of the countries that it does business in. Another example of Ikea’s adeptness at handling social differences is their website (www.ikea.com). The company has links from their global website to translated websites for each company they do business in. There are some other, not so obvious, cultural differences as well. Such things as general consumer preferences may be very different in the target country. An example of these consumer preferences would be what is considered standard staples in the country. Another example would be shopping habits, such as time, frequency and consumer outlet type that is generally preferred (Ebert, R. J., 2003). Yet another example would be if the standard work day isn’t the same as a standard workday in the country where the company is based, this could affect such things as the hours of operation of a store-front or office. A terrific example of general consumer preferences is brought to light by McDonald’s (McDonald’s Inc, 2003). McDonald’s does business in over fifty-eight countries. In order to gain consumer credibility they generally provide to a charity in the countries they do business in. In the United States the charity that they prefer is the Ronald McDonald House, which concentrates on providing for the needs of children. In Europe the charity of choice for McDonald’s is a community  football (United States soccer) due to the heavy influence that the sport has in the European countries it does business in. There are also some other cultural differences in European McDonald’s, such as the menu: beer is served as a beverage. Economic differences are probably the first hurdles that a company will recognize while planning to support their trade in a foreign country. These differences will be extremely obvious if, for instance, the company of interest is based in a country with a Market or Mixed Economy and wishes to do business in a country with a Planned Economy. Economic differences can include things such as monetary trade rates, the country’s banking policies and government involvement in an industry (Ebert, R. J., 2003). China is a great example of doing business with a Planned Economy country (Premier Star Company, 2003). In China foreign companies can not own land, rather it must be leased or rented from People’s Republic of China. Legal and Political differences are the biggest players in doing business internationally. A government in a foreign country can determine how an outside country’s business is run in their country by controlling such things as the cost of the outside country’s company’s goods in their country by using quotas, tariffs and subsidies (Ebert, R. J., 2003). The government can also control the payroll and employee education costs as well as initial capital expenditures of an outside country’s company, by requiring that a portion of what the company sells in their country must also be produced there. This may require employing local people and possibly educating them, as well as setting up a presence, whether it is a manufacturing plant or another type of facility that is required for the company to produce it’s goods. There is also the matter of complying with the target country’s business laws and regulations. This requires that the company expand it’s legal team to include knowledge of the remote government in order to protect itself. Many things that may be legal in one country, may be illegal in another. Cuba and the United States is a good example of legal and political differences (Haar, J., 2002). A United States company can not do business with Cuba, as it is illegal in the United States to do so. References Ebert, R. J. (2003). Business Essentials. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Ikea (2003). http://www.ikea.com. Sweden: Inter IKEA Systems B.V. McDonald’s Inc. (2003). http://www.mcdonalds.com/corporate/social. United States: McDonald’s Inc. Premier Star Company (2003). http://chinaunique.com/business/law_main.html#land. Rochester, NY: Premier Star Company Haar, J. (2002). http://www.miami.edu/nsc/pages/newsupdates/Update53.html. Miami, FL: University of Miami

General Electrical Medical Systems

Q1: What is the underlying logic behind the global product company idea? Global Product Company (GPC) philosophy is mainly aiming at producing products that fit global markets with lowest cost and highest profit. This philosophy has mechanisms that have been applied to different phases of product lifecycle: Manufacturing phase: In manufacturing phase, cutting costs was achieved by moving manufacturing activities and eventually design and engineering activities from high-cost countries to low-cost countries. R&D phase: R&D is a very important phase in product development, it is essential to develop new products that can compete in the global market and considers different customers’ needs. Having high skilled workers in developing countries, where labor has relatively lower costs, has enabled the movement of R&D from high-cost countries to low-cost countries, however R&D programs, objectives, and strategies were still managed by headquarter and the corporate global senior management. Marketing & Sales phase: On contrary to R&D and Manufacturing, marketing & sales have to be localized operations according to each region and country. Accordingly, GEMS has established many offices around the world for sales and marketing management to get closer to the customer. Q2: Should the Global Product Company philosophy be altered to suit the needs of medical diagnostic market in China? China already has the third largest market for medical diagnostic after USA and Japan and it is already the fastest growing, it has the biggest market or low-ended products which has about 20% of the worldwide industry revenues. Accordingly, somehow the tenets of the GPC policies should change to increase the market share in the low-end products; GEMS should adopt the new â€Å"In China for China† policy and bring the plants in already low-cost countries to China. According to Chinese culture and rules, domestic production will bring greater demand and will also bring a slight cost savi ng that could enable GEMS low-end products to compete with Siemens products that are already being manufactured in China. Dropping the price with 10% can increase the sales with 50%. Although the â€Å"In China for China† policy might cause duplication in infrastructure, the newly expected market share in the Chinese market can absorb this duplication of infrastructure and production. Q3: Should GEMS be pursuing genomics and health care IT opportunities aggressively in addition, or instead of the China opportunity? China opportunity is a cash cow for the time being, it represents the biggest opportunity in the low-ended products. On the other hand, genomics and health care IT opportunities are the future of the industry they are star products. If GEMS did not look for opportunities and investments in genomics and health care IT, then it will lose its market share in the high and medium-ended products which both represents about 80% of the industry market. Accordingly, I see that GEMS should pursue genomics and health care IT opportunities aggressively in addition to the China opportunity.

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) - Essay Example Same-sex marriage (also known as gay marriage) is marriage between two persons of the same sex sex/gender. Legal recognition of same-sex marriage or the likelihood to perform a same-sex marriage is some of the time alluded to as marriage equality or equivalent marriage, especially by supporters. The primary laws in modern times, empowering same-sex marriage were established amid the first decade of the 21st century. In May 2013, thirteen nations, and a few sub-national administrations, permit same-sex couples to wed. Uruguay and New Zealand have both sanctioned laws to legitimize same-sex marriage, which has come into energy in August 2013. Same-sex marriage laws have differed by jurisdiction, being differently treated through anauthoritative change to marriage laws, a court decision focused around protected certifications of fairness, or by immediate prominent vote. The acknowledgement of same-sex marriage is a political, cultural, rights issue, and even a religious issue in numerou s countries. Debates are continuously rising on the hot topic whether same-sex couples ought to be permitted for marriage, be obliged to hold an alternate status. Permitting that couples to wed lawfully is thought to be a standout among the most imperative of all human and civil rights.Gay marriage has been a discriminating point in numerous nations for ages. Around the year 2000, nations, e.g. America and the United Kingdom began affirming gay marriages, despite the fact that not everybody concurred with this choice.

To What Extent Does the Current Use of Imprisonment as Crime Control Research Paper

To What Extent Does the Current Use of Imprisonment as Crime Control Reinforce Existing Inequalities and Segregation in the UK and the USA - Research Paper Example Traditionally imprisonment has been used – along with other crime prevention/ punishment measures - in order to control crime within a specific region. However, the terms under which the specific policy has been applied around the world have not been quite clear up to now. In any case, mass imprisonment has been found to be related to specific social ‘characteristics, like the unemployment, gender, and race. On the other hand, despite the fact that a series of measures have been taken by the British and the USA government regarding the improvement of the terms of mass imprisonment, still, the specific measure enforces inequalities among the population. It could be stated that the terms of mass imprisonment that are currently applied present many similarities with the ones used in the past. In accordance with Hallett (2002) ‘due to late 20th-century imprisonment policies, a renewed understanding of prisoners as commodities has emerged; the historical pattern of raci ally distinct commerce in imprisoned human beings, most of whom are poor, non-violent, minority offenders, has returned’ (Hallett, 2002, 369). The terms of mass imprisonment applied today would be improved so that inequalities are no longer enforced; but this target is a challenging task – especially if taking into account the resources (employees, funds, and technology) required. The development of technology in the developed countries around the world – including the USA and the UK – has not necessarily led to the improvement of the terms of justice or the limitation of inequalities in the society. The above fact is clear through the studies and the findings presented below.Current use of imprisonment as crime control and reinforcing of existing inequalities and segregation in the UK and the USA

Financial accounting College Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Financial accounting College - Research Paper Example But in reality the interest cost is tax deductible thereby giving an edge for their inclusion to create leverage to a certain point. This point of view was first espoused in theModigliani-Miller theorem, proposed byFranco ModiglianiandMerton Miller, which is the very foundation of further thought process on capital structure, even if it is purely theory based as the assumption of tax neutrality and risk neutrality. The theorem states that, in a perfect market, how a firm is financed is irrelevant to its value. On the contrary Market timing hypothesis states that capital structure is the outcome of the historical cumulative timing of the market by managers (Baker, Malcolm P.; Wurgler, Jeffrey p. 57). An analysis of capital structure is undertaken to assess the health of the organisation from the above mentioned points of view. Overall objective of ideal capital structure remains to maximise shareholders wealth without inflicting risk on the enterprise beyond acceptable levels. Financial Leverage- So long as the cost of funds is low ROE (Return on Equity) is high compared to ROA (Return on Assets). If and when the cost of debt rises beyond threshold levels the ROE falls compared to ROA thereby making debt funds disadvantageous for the equity share holders. "Leverage is non stationary, and declines with past profitability. The firm may hold a compensating cash balance while borrowing (at a higher rate) through the credit line." (DeMarzo Peter M., Sannikov Yuliy, p 1) Risk Analysis- Risk is directly proportional to the proportion of debt in capital structure. As debt inherently carries fixed servicing and repayment obligations, adverse earning conditions increase credit risk which rises in the same direction as the quantum of debt in relation to equity funds. Similarly low risk is associated with high equity (low debt) funds of an organisation. Even in periods of lower earnings, the existence of the organisation will be at lower risk as compared to an organisation with higher debt capital. Debt to Capital ratio (average debt / average assets) provides the slice of assets financed through debt. Debt to Equity ratio (average debt / equity base) shows the share of debt in capital structure. What is optimal capital structure There are no definite answers. It varies from industry to industry. Economic cycle of the industry being examined and within the industry the business cycle of the organisation would determine the best mix of capital structure so as to meet the overall objective of