Fire extinguishers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fire extinguishers - Essay Example personnel to have adequate training in fire suppression, familiarize with the location of fire extinguishers and demonstrate competency towards the task. It is important for individuals to keep one or several fire extinguishers in their households. They play a crucial role within the household because by minimizing property damage and safeguarding life (Burke, 2007). Apparently, power interruptions can have detrimental effects on numerous households. The situation necessitates the need to have at least one fire extinguisher in the house because it will assist greatly in minimizing damage. Households that depend on firefighters to control fire incidents suffer increased risks because they may take a while to arrive at the scene. The situation implies that more damage will occur than when an individual would otherwise have tried to contain the situation with a fire extinguisher. They assist in controlling fire before it gets out of control thereby minimizing the resultant damage. It does not make sense in having a fire extinguisher at home and yet lack the technique and skills necessary to operate it. Therefore, it is imperative for individuals to have adequate knowledge on the use of fire extinguishers as well as the safety measures. An individual trained to suppress a fire incident is aware on how to hold the equipment with the nozzle pointing away from the individual and aiming low. Essentially, learning on how to use fire extinguishers equips an individual with essential skills on how to use the equipment correctly in case of any fire incident. Burke (2007) affirms that learning how to control the fire before it gets out of control will play a vital role in safeguarding lives and minimizing the amount of property destroyed. Knowledge on refilling fire extinguishers ensures that an individual is well prepared to offset fire incidents as opposed to waiting for fire fighters who might take time to arrive at the scene. The response time for fire fighters is

Select 2 or 3 even 4 movies to conduct a comparison Movie Review

Select 2 or 3 even 4 movies to conduct a comparison - Movie Review Example ory of two men (Dieyi and Xiaolou) against the historical backdrop of a country in upheaval and how their lives are affected by the Japanese invasion of China in the 1930s and the victory of the Communists in 1949. The two meet at troupe and become very close friends. They, craving freedom, escape from the troupe but later return (Farewell my concubine, 2006). Douzi and Shitou grow on to be stars of Beijing opera and assume the stage names Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolou. Dieyi falls in love with Xiaolou while a patron, Yuan Shiqing, makes advances at Dieyi. Xiaolou develops affection for Juxian and they later get engaged. Dieyi and Xiaolou have a falling out. Dieyi takes up with Master Yuan who gives him Zhangs sword. Master Guan shames them into re-forming the troupe. The relationships of the three main characters are tested in the political upheavals that follow. Xiao and Douzi disagree on Xiao’s training and punishment after which Xiao threatens vengeance. He makes good on the threat by usurping Dieyis role as the Concubine. Deiyi becomes an opium addict but is aided to the path of recovery by Xiaolou and Juxian. On the eve of the Cultural Revolution, after a few drinks, they rekindle their relationship. Under pressure, Shitou admits that Douzi performed for the Japanese and may have had a relationship with Yuan Shiqing. Douzi, angered by the revelation, tells the mob that Juxian was a prostitute. Shitou is forced to admit that he indeed married a prostitute but swears that he doesnt love her and will never see her again. Juxian is hurt by these words and commits suicide from a crushed heart. Xiao is caught by the Communist cadre in a gym elated by taking Douzi’s position and practicing Concubine Yus role (Farewell my concubine, 2 006). The grandmaster, starring Tony Leung as Ip Man, is a 2013 Hong Kong- Chinese martial arts film directed and written by Wong Kar-Wai and tells about the life of Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man from the 1930s in Foshan, his

Organization transformation Essay Example for Free

Organization transformation Essay The need for a change is almost there on a daily basis in corporations. This is accentuated by particularly by the advent of new technology like the internet and new management methods and new technologies (Wallace, 2007). This brings in new ways of doing jobs within the company and thus the workers are affected. Companies which initially used to have the traditional organization model have increasingly adopted they are better and more efficient and modern transformed organizational models. An organization provides a mean of utilizing individual capabilities within a team to accomplish what cannot be achieved by the aggregate attempts of team members working in isolation. The aims of forming corporations and organizations are to deliver goods or services to consumers in a way that at the conclusion of the deal profits and not losses can be realized. Organizational change is geared at achieving this and thus winning the hearts and minds of the target population while concurrently bringing about a changed behavior and work culture to the partakers. In response to this Organizational transformation, roles, skills, job descriptions and structure of the workforce need to be re-designed. The Southwest Gas Corporation Such a company that has embraced organizational change from the traditional one to the modern organization transformation is the southern gas corporation of Nevada. Having realized that all organizations and corporations are unique due to unique environment in which they operate and their mode and ways of operations they should be structured to accommodate unique problems and opportunities Southwest Gas Corporation is a company engaged in the business of purchasing, distributing and transporting natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers in Nevada state of the southwestern United States. The Gas Corporation has employed about 2,500 workers who serve at least 1. 8million customers in Arizona, Nevada and parts of California states. The company is an investor owned utility whose shares are traded in the New York Stock Exchange and the pacific stock exchange (South West Gas Corporation, 2007). The company has been implementing a five year organizational transformation with an aim of offering better services to the customers and improving the quality of he workers. With respect to transformation certain areas should be prioritized for instance in redefining the business model, integrating acquisitions, building infrastructure, reframing markets and managing talents. The southern gas corporation has taken comprehensive plan to change from the traditional to the transformed organizational model studies done on this company indicated that a positive correlation between the working conditions and the productivity of the workers exists . the results of the studies revealed that innate forces of human behavior may have a greater influence on organizations than do mechanistic incentive systems. In response to that study southern gas corporation have done an almost complete overhaul in areas to do with transport, billing, the accounting system, meter reading systems and the whole organization structure of the company since 2002. Effects Having undergone the organizational change to a more better and modern one saw a number of transformations in the work force. Every member of the workforce was subjected to month long refreshment training as a way of crating a new working atmosphere and as a way of orientating them to the new working tools. The remuneration package was revised to increase the morale of the workers. On the part of the infrastructure the offices and other working areas were renovated. The total reorganization of the offices this was to cater for the psychological aspect of the workers The Organizations adopted a vertical division of labor practice involving the administrators then below them the managers and supervisors and lastly at the base we have the workers. The principal function of top level administrators or executives generally is to plan long-term strategy and administer the middle managers whose work is to guide the day to day activities of the corporations and oversee implementation of the top level strategy. Low-level supervisors and laborers put the made strategy into action and carry out the immediate tasks needed to keep the corporation running. Thus, the South west gas corporation has become a formal with reference to the extent of formalization of rules that have been adopted within the organization structure. In formal organizations, a mild impersonal relationship between the workers and the company is viewed as the best environment suitable for achievements of organization’s objectives by the managerial staff. Here subordinates duties more clearly defined and workforce with different applicable skills are dispensed duties to their areas of specialization in the corporation. It is the duties of workers at the bottom level to perform the essential duties of the corporation with supervisory assistance from the managers. Subordinate staff deals generally with supply and production chain of the corporation . The managerial needs of the whole business process is overseen by the higher cadre staff that includes the supervisors and the administrators. Two important implications into the change in the organization procedure there was equity due to just fair and impartial treatment of all workers, the organization was more orderly since employees were arranged where they would be of most value to the corporation. Initiative was fostered by encouraging the employees to act on their own. Similarly the employees cultivated more attributes and etiquettes (South West Gas Corporation, 2007). Motivation should come from different incentives rather than letting monetary rewards be the sole motivators. The spirit of comradeship among the workers fostered devotion to a common cause. The behavioral change by the managers that allowed greater latitudes stimulated the workers. In general, transformation made workers to become more productive. Having been provided with the best working conditions the workers employees have become capable of effective self-direction yielding self-actualization and this was among the biggest rewards that organizations has provided to its employees. Similar the shares of the southern gas company at the New York stock exchange gained value. Use of improved service delivery systems for instance the better gas safety management systems reduced the number of gas accident cases recorded prior to the five year period. Due to a liberalized approach towards the workers in the by the management they were able to create their labour organization to looks for their own interests, thus enhancing growth of the labour union organizations. This amounted to increase in vocal power of the workers to demand their rights. Conclusion In the world today organizations are operating in an increasingly complex platform. Changing multiple dimensions and high rates globalization trends and the implications of the post-industrial information age are driving these corporations to revolutinalize themselves (Wallace, 2007). The end product of this transformation is a successful company with competent work force. However, organizational transformation should not stop with the end of the project duration. During the benefit realizations stage of the lifecycle, emphasis should be continued on the need to encourage the workers and the community to adapt to the new ways of working and get the most from the system change.

IT Impact on Organizational Performance in Banking

IT Impact on Organizational Performance in Banking Information technology and permeated almost every aspect of business operations and communications technologies. So it is a one of the most exciting research has been focusing on the wide interest in all parts of the world through the decades, but little was devoted to study the impact of information technology to banks in Bahrain. This study examines the impact of information technology on organizational performance in the banking sector during the period from 2005 to 2009. The dependent variable used is return on equity ( ROE) while the independent variables are Hard ware, Soft Ware, System Development Operations, I .T Maintenance, I.T Training , I .T Insurance , I.T Communication, I .T Implementation, I .T Consultancy , I .T Sites and Business Continuity Planning (BCP). Preliminary data collected through in-depth interviews, official documents and surveys of the field through the top 8 banks in Bahrain, this data has been tested by applying different statistical methods and finance. The research results led to the conclusion that information technology has a positive impact on organizational performance in the banking sector. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION As an emerged business trend, the use of information technology (I.T) in the economic organizations are immense and measureless. Systems of organization and functions are now considered effortless and unproblematic because of I.T. information technology passes to be the most important one for each financial institution and the banks, particularly, they are one of the greater investors in I. T, Ahli united bank one of these banks that costs them around $ 13 millions. It is an enormous cost of this technology for local and international market. The existing studies generally have concluded two positive effects concerning the relationship between IT and the financial performance of banks. â€Å"First, it can reduce operational costs of banks (the cost advantage). For example, the Internet helps banks to conduct standardized, low value transactions (e.g. send the bill payments, balance inquiries, account transfers) through the online channel, while focusing its resources on specialized, high value added transactions (eg small business loans, personal trust services, investment banking) through branches. Second, can facilitate transactions between customers within the same network(the network effect). As an example, let us consider the case of automated teller machines (ATMs) by banks. If ATMs are geographically dispersed areas available largely over, the advantage of using an atmosphere will increase as customers can access their accounts from any geographic location they want. This would imply that the value of the ATM network increases with number of locations available in the atmosphere, and the value of the network of the a bank to a customer is determined in part by the final size of the network effect banks network is important in the adoption of the atmosphere. IT has drawn the attention of many researchers, commissioned to study the impact of IT in the functioning of the bank and that is a goal of many organizations. Some researchers have found positive relationships between IT investment and organizational performance and some of it found it negative. Problem Statement IT investments and its impact on the banking industry is a very important point for both banking managers and IT managers to be able to deal with and justify wither increased spending for investment in IT will lead to increase performance of Bank or not. That will put increasing pressure on managers to asses its business value. In this study we will examine the key components of IT investments (Hard ware, Soft Ware, System Development Operations, I .T Maintenance, I.T Training , I .T Insurance , I.T Communication, I .T Implementation, I .T Consultancy , I .T Sites and Business Continuity Planning (BCP) to see if spending in different IT areas as an impacts on bank performances. Significance and Importance The importance of this project lies in its ability to shed a light on the Impact of Information Technology on The Financial Performance of Bank sector in kingdom of Bahrain. Furthermore, this study would encourage other Banks in the area to benefit from Bahraini Banks experience and therefore follow their lead. Purposes The goal of this study is to: To determine which type of information system leads to high financial performance of the banks. Evaluate in what specific ways and to what extent do information systems could eventually lead to high financial performance. To find out what issues emerges when implementing IT at the bank. Research Hypothesis The main Hypotheses There is no significant relationship between investing in I.T and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H01: There is no significant relationship between investing in HW and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H02: There is no significant relationship between investing in SW and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H03: There is no significant relationship between investing in SDO and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H04: There is no significant relationship between investing in Main and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H05: There is no significant relationship between investing in Trn and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H06: There is no significant relationship between investing in Insu and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H07: There is no significant relationship between investing in Comm and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H08: There is no significant relationship between investing in Imp and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H09: There is no significant relationship between investing in Con and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H010: There is no significant relationship between investing in Sit and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H011: There is no significant relationship between investing in BCP and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. Key Words Information technology (I.T): any technology that helps to produce, manipulate process, store, communicate, and/or disseminate information. Information system (IS): is any combination of information technology and peoples activities using that technology to support operations, management, and decision-making. I.T Investment : Banks of Bahrain: Its a financial institution located in Bahrain that deals in money and its substitutes and provides other financial services. ATM: automated teller machine, which allows customers to complete basic transactions without the aid of a branch representative or teller. Financial Performance: is the overall profitability of the insurance firm. Study Outline The paper proceeds as follows: Chapter 2 focuses on the literature review where the work of other researchers and some previous theoretical and empirical studies are mentioned. Chapter 3 is about the methodology used in this study. Chapter 4 discusses the empirical results and findings of the research. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are made in chapter 5. CHAPTER TWO BACKGROUND CHAPTER TWO BACKGROUND Introduction This chapter will specify some aspects of Bahrains economy and what attracts foreign and local investors to invest their capital in this country; along with some important features and statistical data regarding the banking industry, we will try to know why It is necessary for the management of the organizations to measure and to evaluate the organization performance. Finally, the literature review will discuss a number of some previous studies related to this topic. An Overview of Bahrains Economy The economy of Bahrain is mainly defined by oil production and refining and production, ship repair, iron pelletization, fertilizers, offshore banking, insurance. The country is trying hard to privatize its economy so that it can reduce the dependence on oil production and that prompted the government to develop other industries as well. For example, in 1970, the government established Aluminum Bahrain (ALBA), an aluminum smelting industry which still remains an important industry. In a further effort at diversification, the government has also promoted tourism. The government controls the oil and gas, most heavy industry, and the bulk transport and communications, but has made efforts to privatize the economy, bank transfer, light manufacturing, and trade in private hands. Listen Read phonetically Dictionary View detailed dictionary Translate any website El Confidencial-Spain Tom.com-China News.de-Germany Nord-Cinema-France Zamalek Fans-Arabic Gotujmy.pl-Polish Vogue-France Arte Toreo-Spain LExpress-France Onet.pl-Polish Pà ºblico.es-Spain Zeit Online-Germany Bahrains economy is strong and always improving their sectors to look for a bright future. It was called the fastest growing financial center in the Arab world by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia in January 2006 by the City of London global financial centers index in 2008. In 2004 it signed a free trade an agreement with United States will reduce the trading Which Barriers between the two countries. Bahrain Was the first Arabian Gulf state to sign such a trading mutual agreement with the United States. http://www.mapsofworld.com/country-profile/bahrain1.html https://www.cia.gov Banking Sector in Bahrain Bahrain is the home of more than 400 the authorized financial institutions, what represents a rich mix of international, regional and local names. They cover all the range of financial products, with private concentrations in sure, wholesale banking and funds / asset management. The financial sector is now the major sector of the economy represents more than the 27% of the GDP. The financial sector is also the major employer in Bahrain for more than the 80% of the labor. The sector is regulated and supervised by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) (www.cbb.gov.bh), which since 2002 has functioned as a regulator of the entire financial system. Bahrains banking system consists of both conventional and Islamic banks and is the main component of the financial system, which represent over 85% of total financial assets. The conventional segment includes 19 retail banks, 69 wholesale banks, 2 specialized banks and 36 representative offices of foreign banks. The Islamic segment, offering a series of Sharia Conformity of their products and services include 6 retail and 18 wholesale banks, and the numbers are increasing steadily. The banking sector has played a central role in the development of Bahrain as major financial center in the region. As in December 2006, banking sector assets amounted to over U.S. $ 180 billion, more than twelve times annual gross domestic product. The recent increase in the sector has been supported willingly fortune of the industry of the petroleum and the corresponding increases of liquidity. The banks are playing thus a central role in surplus to reinvest the petroleum incomes as well as complying the opportunities of financing in other segments of the economy. http://www.bahrain1.com/banking.html Performance Measures The performance as declared by Wheelen and hunger (2000) is the final result of an activity and a performance organizacional accumulates turned out final of all the organization process and activities. It is necessary for the management of the organizations to measure and to evaluate the organization performance to utilize organizations resources in better form and to win good organization honorableness. Managers measure and to control organization performance, since conducts to a better management of assets, to a greater capacity to provide value of the client, for improve the measures of organization Knowledge and measure of performance organizacional have an impact on an organization reputation. Literature review Many studies had been done in order provide a clear picture of the financial performance of banks. Gupta, Uma and Collins (1997) investigate the impact of information systems on the efficiency of banks. They were centered in determining the relation among the investments in I.T and bank efficiency; they identified an efficiency measures assembly commonly utilized by the banks and they asked to their respondents to specify if these measures were utilized to evaluate the performance of I.T an investment. They found that the companies ensure that the investments in technology are deliberately and in a significant way aligned with achieving the strategic, tactical one, and the operational goals of the business is probable that to see a narrower link among I.T investments and improvements of productivity of the organization. Thus I.T performs an important and valuable role in helping to reach objectives organizational, to enlarge the productivity to improve service to the client, and to utilize fully existing system. Lunardi, Becker and Macada (2003), they evaluated the strategic impact of IT in Brazilian, American, Argentinean, Uruguayan and Chilean banks as perceived by their executives. In order to externally validate the questionnaire, results were analyzed considering, as isolated samples, (a) Brazil, (b) the United States, (c) Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, and, then, (d) as one group merging all data. The results indicate that (1) Competition, Products and Services, and Borrowers (customers) are the main strategic variables affected by IT; (2) there are no differences between executives of IT and other functional executives regarding their perception of the impacts of IT in strategic variables; and (3) the impact of IT in Competitiveness is significantly related with the impact of IT in Borrowers, Government and Country Requirements, Products and Services, and Cost Structure and Capacity. This study supported banking executives to plan IT strategies, their implementation and to evaluate their use. Another research had been done by Elena Becalli. (2005) Who investigated whether investment in Information Technology (IT) hardware, software and other IT services influences the performance of banks by Using a sample of 737 European banks over the period 1993-2000 . The study found that the impact of different types of IT investment (hardware, software and services) on banks performance is heterogeneous. Investment in IT services from external providers (consulting services, implementation Services, training and education, support services) appears to have a positive influence on accounting profits and profit efficiency, while the acquisition of hardware and software seems to reduce banks performance. Shaukat and Zafarullah. (2009) made a study examined the impact of IT on organizational performance in quantitative terms of Pakistans manufacturing and banking sectors over period of 1994-2005 and come with the following result. I.T changed the character of so much work for the industries and enlarges its performance. This positive impact has shown in indicators of qualitative performance. Significant improvements with regard to the different qualitative variables as customer satisfaction, client/suppliers links, image of the business, employees interest work, shareholders, confidence and among office links/communication they have been observed in both the sectors and banking in Particular . Akram and Allam. (2010), explored the impression on improving the performance of two forms of matrix. The first is matrix of financial performance which comprises Market Value-Added (MVA), Return on Investment (ROI) and Earning per Share (EPR) and the second is matrix of operational performance, which includes the Net Profit Margin (NPM), Operating Return on Assets (ORA) and the profit value of the employee (PE). Utilizing IT by Jordanian banks which measured by testing the level of investment in Hardware, Software, Internet Banking, Phone banking, number of ATMs, use of Cyber branches and Banking via SMS. The results of measurements indicated that there was an impact on the use of MIS in Jordanian banks in the market value added (MVA), Earnings Per Share (EPS), Return on Assets (ROA), Net Profit Margin (NMP). Keramati, Azadeh and Mehran (2009), discussed and tested empirical to moderate environmental effects of dynamism and branch strategy on the impact of the investment and other efficient variables (number of employees and fixed assets) in the branches. The study sample was comprised of 102 branch offices of the bank Parsian and the empirical results, on the base of a model moderate of decline. Concretely, IT investment seems to have a greater positive impact on performance of the banks when there are greater environmental changes and more proactiva strategy branch. According to their conclusions, the banks considering that the investment should evaluate their performance environmental contexts and the strategic orientation. Another investigation has been carried out for Mallick and Shirley (2006). They examined the effects of the information technology (IT) in the banking industry of United States. They found that IT can improve banks performance in two ways: IT can reduce operational cost (cost effect), and facilitate transactions among customers the clients inside the same network (effect network). They characterized the conditions to identify these two effects and the conditions for the two seemingly positive effects to turn negative in the equilibrium. The results were tested on a panel of 68 US banks over 20 years, and they found that the bank profits decline due to adoption and diffusion of IT investment, reflecting negative network effects in banking Industry. In this study I will use the same factors used by Akram and Allam (2010) to explain the Impact of Information Technology on The Financial Performance of Bank sector in kingdom of Bahrain. CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY Introduction In this part of the study, we build the methodology of the study that is characterized in terms of tools and method of measurement and tests for the problem of the study, taking advantage of methods and tools of previous studies, in order to guarantee the access to the methodology to obtain the information more I need and better results. The key variables will be measured in an intent of practice to identify dependent and independent variables and to explain how the independent variable affects the dependent variable. Finally, It will also provide a study model and some specifications of the model used to conduct the research. Population and Sampling Data Collection The data was collected through in-depth interviews with the senior managers of finance , and some mangers from I.T Department of Banks in sample and from official documents plus We used several academic journals and articles which have been downloaded online from various websites to collect data for this study. Updating numerical data about the Banking sector and Banks have been collected from the annual reports of each Banks which are submitted on their official websites. Population The research population is all locally Banks in Bahrain Ahli United Bank National Bank of Bahrain Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait B.S.C . Bank Muscat International (BMI) Standard Chartered Kuwait Finance House Bahrain Citibank Bahrain HSBC Bank Middle East Limited Arab Bank Table 3.1 : Population Source: The Researcher Sample Ahli United Bank (AUB) Bank Muscat International (BMI) were selected as research sample to represent this sector. However these Banks were selected because I found that it was easy for me to collect any information needed for this research from these tow Banks since I am working in Ahli united Bank and I Know Manger of IT in Bank Muscat International (BMI) . Ahli United Bank . Bank Muscat International (BMI) Table 3.2 : Sample Source: The Researcher The first bank is Ahli United Bank, Bahrain (AUB): Ahli United Bank BSC (AUB) formed after the 2001 merger of Al-Ahli Commercial Bank and Commercial Bank of Bahrain, It is a full fledged commercial and investment banking group providing Services of 1. Wealth management 2. Retail, corporate 3. Treasury 4. offshore 5. Islamic banking 6. Real estate fund management 7. Structured finance and private banking services. The Groups businesses consist of the operations in Bahrain, a wholly owned subsidiary in the UK and associates in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Egypt, Iraq and Libya. Source: http://www.cbb.gov.bh/page.php?p=banking The second bank is Bank Muscat International (BMI) : BMI Bank (previously known as Bank Muscat International), an associate of Bank Muscat the largest financial services provider in Oman today, is a Retail Bank, registered in Bahrain and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain offering a full range of retail and commercial banking services. BMI Bank operates in Bahrain through a network of 8 branches and 26 ATMs with net banking for easy access to services. Source: http://www.bmi.com.bh/AnnualReport/images Period covered in this research This research covers the period from 2005 to 2009. Analysis Plan Use Regression method to specify the relationship between the independent variables (HW, SW, SDO, MAIN, TRN, Insu, Comm, Imp, Cons, Sit, BCP) and the dependent variable which is the (ROE). Research Model Model Specification This economic model is used to examine the relationship between Independent Variables and Banks performance. Defining Study Variables The independent variables Hard ware: Which includes spending on data storage devices, terminals, memory, peripherals, workstations, personal computers and data communications devices, So It is the net investment bank in the computer hardware and equipment in the period. (Akram Allam 2010) Soft Ware: which includes spending on packaged software, application Solutions software, application tools, and systems infrastructure software? It is the net investment bank in the software during the period. (Akram Allam 2010) System Development Operations: Which includes spending on Specific activities related to system development and other expenses for operations management during the period like the network, processing services, backup and archiving. ( Elena Becalli. 2005) I .T Maintenance :On going operational support of either hardware or software IT assets of an organization. This can be both preventative as well as reactive support. I.T Training: Includes education used to enhance general knowledge and expand the abilities to use IT during the period. (Elena Becalli 2005) I .T Insurance: The insurer provides protection of IT assets against fire, theft, flood and accidental damage and protects the firms investment from claims arising out of professional negligence or system failure . I.T Communication: Providing effective ways for inter application, inter entity communication. Effective IT communication provides the backbone for the working of any next generation application due to centralized and cloud based roadmap towards Information Technology. I .T Implementation: Which includes spending on a new or changed application systems are needed in order to support the processes, these must first be procured or developed and implemented. I .T Consultancy: Includes all what they spend to provide product-specific consulting during the period. It is one of the independent variables. (Elena Becalli. 2005) I .T Sites: Physical controlled infrastructure support for IT related hardware / data centers. This can be segregated between production and disasters recover sites Business Continuity Planning (BCP): It is the cost of Planning that identifies to the organization, exposition to external and internal threats and synthesizes soft and hard assets to provide an efficient prevention and the recovery of the organization, during the period. It is one of the independent variables. The independent variables ROE: Return on equity  measures a corporations profitability  by revealing how much  profit a company generates  with the money shareholders have invested. So it is the amount of the net incomes returned like a percentage of the capital stock.   Each banks ROE has been obtained for its annual reports and calculated as: Return on Equity = Net Income/Shareholders Equity CHAPTER FOUR ANALYSIS TESTING HYPOTHESIS Introduction This Section includes tow main topics, the first is about descriptive Analysis of the study variables through various descriptive statistical measures, such as: Central tendency measures, Dispersion measures, Mean, Median, Range and Standard Deviation; to describe the study variables. The Second topic represents testing the study hypotheses, and computing the regression model information. First topic, Descriptive Analysis Descriptive Analysis The descriptive analysis table in the appendix shows the following: From Table 4.1, which illustrates the use of Bahrain banks for I.T, we notes that average cost of H W in Bahrain banks reached the highest average in year 2009 (3,332,204) and this year was the lowest in the standard deviation (323,436), as well as the year that contains the largest cost for investment (3,103,500), which refers to the rise in investment H W by Bahrain banks. The second independent factor is the S W, its mean (medium) started with (1,085,277) and we notice that they are on the increase from year to year until it reaches in 2009 to (3,117,740) While the standard deviation of S W started with 940,060 then decrease to (865,657) and increase later in 2007 and again decreased to (805,459) in 2008 and lowest amount (236,654) in 2009. The minimum S W during the research period was (420,554) while the maximum was (2,950,400). We marked that the third factor which is the S D O had a mean started with ( 627,493 ) and ended with( 525,001 ) and noted that investment in S D O reached the highest value in the years 2005 ( ,000,000) and 2007 ( 720,000 ) while the lowest value was in the year 2008 ( 245,907 ) and the standard deviation started high in first year 2005 ( 526,804 ) and decreased to the lowest in the last year 2009 ( 35,281) . The M A I N mean (medium) started with (930,182) in 2005 and ended with (1,519,138) in 2009. While the standard deviation started with (805,844) and ended with (957,440). The minimum M A I N during the research period was (360,365) and the largest amount was (2,196,150). The fifth factor which is the T R N had a mean (medium) of (133,498), (142,611), (180,363), (147,626) and (94,051) the standard deviation started with 94,048 and ended with (36,697), the minimum T R N during the research period was (66,996) while the maximum was (280,000). The I N S U mean (medium) started with 48,220 in 2005 and ended with 99,966 in 2009 while the standard deviation started with 37,873 and ended with 13,918 the minimum I N S U during the research period was 21,440 while the largest was 109,808. From the previous table we note that the seventh variable COMM, the average cost in Bahrain banks started with 1,124,045 and continue increased upto (1,737,626). In 2009, the standard deviation started with 955,944 and ended with (1,148,871), the minimum rate during the period reached to the lowest of 448,091 and highest was 2,550,000 in 2009. The I M P mean (medium) started with (243,621) in 2005 and ended with (562,749) in 2009. The standard deviation started with (188,627) and ended with the (60,303); the minimum rate during the period was (110,241), while the maximum was (60,303). The ninth factor which is the C O N S had a mean (medium) of (63,192), (32,123), (38,552), (55,051) and (95,053) and the standard deviation started with (52,055) and ended with (35,281), the minimum C O N S during the research period was (14,245) while the maximum was (120,000). The S I T mean (medium) in the beginning 3 years were the same 65,307 years and in the last 2 years increased to (104,500) while the standard deviation started with 49,063 and ended with (21,920). The minimum S I T during the research period was 30,614 while the maximum reached to (89,000). The BCP mean (medium) in the beginning year started with (295,011) and ended in the last year with (430,744). While the standard deviation was beginning with (247,472) and decreased in the last year to (198,759). We note the minimum BCP during the research period was (120,022) and the maximum was (571,288). The dependent variable is the ROE which was marked by the year 2006 the highest revenue between the years of the sample, as it reaches the highest return of 19.230% while the standard deviation was started with 3.606% and decreased later to .495 % in 2009. The year 2009 marked the lowest return on equity, amounting to 9.600%. Regression Analysis I used Pooled Data Regression method because Ive tie series data (2005-2009) and cross-sectional data (2 Banks). I have mathematical model of the study is developed as follows: I used E views program to analyze the data, I also used pooled regression and multi-regression because we have more than one independent variable verses only one variable which is the R O E. The confidence interval is ( 95 %). Testing Hypothesis As stated in the first chapter, these are the null hypothesis for this research The main Hypotheses There is no significant relationship between investing in I.T and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H01: There is no significant relationship between investing in HW and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H02: There is no significant relationship between investing in SW and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H03: There is no significant relationship between investing in SDO and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H04: There is no significant relationship between investing in Main and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H05: There is no significant relationship between investing in Trn and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H06: There is no significant relationship between investing in Insu and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H07: There is no significant relationship between investing in Comm and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H08: There is no significant relationship between investing in Imp and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H09: There is no significant relationship between investing in Con and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H010: There is no significant relationship between investing in Sit and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. H011: There is no significant relationship between investing in BCP and the financial performance of Banks of Bahrain. The above hypothesi

The Godfather Essay -- essays research papers

The Godfather is the story of a Mafia family. It follows the rise of Michael Corleone within the family. Michael was once a war hero and did not want to be involved in the family business. When his father is shot though, Michael takes revenge on the people who did it and becomes a part of the Mafia lifestyle. When his older brother is murdered, Michael ascends to become the boss of the family, and proves to be more ruthless than his father and brother combined. The scene that I am analyzing is one where Michael is becoming his nephew’s godfather at his baptism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Godfather is a traditionally edited movie. This particular scene however uses Eisenstein’s method of montage editing. Francis Ford Coppola uses hard cutting in order to show a stark contrast in the main character Michael Corleone. The scene begins with a shot of Michael’s godson. In the Catholic religion, a newborn baby is born with original sin. At the moment of its baptism, it is the most pure thing on earth; it has no sin. The godfather is the baby’s guardian into life. The scene cuts to all the different assassins Michael has deployed to take out his enemies. It cuts back to the baptism and the priest asks Michael if he believes in god, Jesus, and the church. Michael replies yes. The scene cuts back to the assassins. The voice of the priest is heard giving the ceremony as the assassins prepare to kill. The scene cuts back to Michael and the priest asks Michael if he rejects Satan ...

Humorous Wedding Speech †Reasons I Admire the Groom -- Wedding Toasts

Humorous Wedding Speech – Reasons I Admire the Groom Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen - I’m not an experienced public speaker, so I find it easier just to read the speech word for word. In fact, I’ve practiced it almost daily for about a week and a half now, so that I know it very well. It’s a tip that I read in a book about public speaking. I’ve also been drinking profusely to help calm my pre-speech nerves. I made that tip up myself. Laughter Yes, I am a little nervous about being the best man. But I am more bothered with the title of 'best man'. Saying that I'm the best man is saying quite a bit. If I'm the best man, why is Maria marrying Karl? So I'm just happy saying that I am a pretty good man, because today Karl is the best man. And he’s a man I admire for the following reasons: 1) His generous nature – what with him donating his body to science when he started at ...

Comparing the Electoral and Party Systems of China and Russia Essay

The collapse of the international socialist network changed the world at the turn of the century. The failure of the many socialist regimes ended the confrontation between East and West and provided an opportunity to restructure the international order. The individual states of East Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, China and the former Soviet Union took differing paths and chose differing restructuring strategies, which themselves led to different courses of transformation. The former hard-line socialist regimes of Russia and China had to face the challenges brought by the new world order specifically on altering its political structures. This paper would compare the government and politics of China and Russia focusing on the electoral laws and their impacts on the party system. Moreover, this would try to recommend some possible measures to ensure the development of democracy for both countries and to address some of their problems. Russia is a vast country with an imperial and authoritarian past. By area, Russia is the largest country in the world, almost twice the size of the United States. The population includes numerous minorities, with 36 national groups containing more than 100,000 people, Russia’s rulers have in the past been autocratic empire builders, basing their imperial expansion on control of the serf society and a rural community. Russia’s experience in communism represented a culmination of a authoritarianism. The Union Soviet Socialist Republics encompassing 15 European and Asian Republics, formed the former Russian Empire. The politics of Russia take place in a framework of a federal presidential republic. According to the Constitution of Russia, the President of Russia is head of state, and of a multi-party system with executive power exercised by the government, headed by the Prime Minister, who is appointed by the President by the parliament’s approbation. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, while the President and the government issue numerous legally binding by-laws. Although Russia has traditionally been ruled by absolute monarchs and dictators, it currently has a democratic system of government. Since gaining its independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991, Russia has faced serious challenges in its efforts to forge a political system to follow nearly seventy-five years of Soviet rule. With a new constitution and a new parliament representing diverse parties and factions, Russia’s political structure subsequently showed signs of stabilization. As the transition period extended into the mid-1990s, the power of the national government continued to wane as Russia’s regions gained political and economic concessions from Moscow. Although the struggle between executive and legislative branches was partially resolved by the new constitution, the two branches continued to represent fundamentally opposing visions of Russia’s future. One of the world’s oldest civilization consisting states and cultures dating back thousands of years ago is China. It is a cultural region, ancient civilization, and nation in East Asia. The deadlock of the last Chinese Civil War has resulted in two political entities using the name China: the People’s Republic of China (PRC), administering mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau; and the Republic of China (ROC), administering Taiwan and its surrounding islands. It has the world’s longest continuously used written language system, and the source of some of the world’s great inventions including paper, compass, gunpowder, and printing. The People’s Republic of China is working within the framework of a single-party socialist republic. The will of Chinese citizens is expressed through the legislative bodies of the People’s Congress system. People’s Congress members at the county level are elected by voters. These county level People’s Congresses have the responsibility of oversight of local government, and elect members to the Provincial People’s Congress. The provincial People’s Congress in turn elects members to the National People’s Congress that meets each year in March in Beijing. Current political concerns in China include lessening the growing gap between rich and poor, and fighting corruption within the government leadership. The support that the Communist Party of China has among the Chinese population in general is unclear because national elections are mostly CPC dominated, as there are no opposition political parties and independent candidates elected into office are too scattered and disorganized to challenge CPC rule. According to Hague and Harrop, â€Å"Party systems are the interaction between the significant political parties. In a democracy, parties respond to each other’s initiatives in a competitive interplay. The party system also reflects legal regulation applying to all parties. In China, a dominant party system is in place wherein one party is a constant component of the executive, governing either alone or in coalition. The dominant party system was more common in the twentieth century than it is today and China is one rare example. The dominant party of the PRC is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The leadership of the CCP is enshrined in the PRC Constitution. State power within the PRC is exercised through the CCP, the Central People’s Government and their provincial and local counterparts. Under the dual leadership system, each local bureau or office is under the theoretically co-equal authority of the local leader and the leader of the corresponding office, bureau or ministry at the next higher level. The ruling Communist Party committee at each level plays a large role in the selection of appropriate candidates for election to the local congress and to the next higher level. China is a country that accepts involvement from multiple political parties. Apart from the CPC, the ruling party, there are eight political parties. They are China Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang, China Democratic League, China Democratic National Construction Association, China Association for the Promotion of Democracy, Chinese Peasants’ and Workers’ Democratic Party, China Zhi Gong Dang, Jiusan Society, and the Taiwan Democratic Self-government League. Most of them were founded during the anti-Japanese war and the national liberation war. They support the political leadership of the CPC, which has become their historical choice during the long years of cooperation with the CPC and through common struggles. Although there are other political parties present in China, these parties are not opposition parties, but parties participating in the discussion and administration of State affairs. Moreover, these parties serve to endorse CCP’s policies. Meanwhile, Russia is working on a multi-party system wherein the legislature comprises several minority parties, resulting in coalitions or minority government by the leading party. The multi-party system in Russia resulted to the rise of not just one political party unlike the case of China. Although, United Russia occupies the majority seats of the Duma, the seats obtained by the Russian Communist Party, as well as other parties, are significant in producing checks and balances to the Russian Assembly. Electoral systems were made to answer the question of how to convert votes into seats. In elections to the legislature, the main questions is whether an electoral system ensures that the seats obtained by a party are directly proportional to the votes received (Hague and Harrop 146). In China, the people do not directly elect delegates for the National People’s Congress (NPC). China practices democratic centralism wherein direct democracy is only practiced at the local levels and the elected delegates in the local people’s congresses in turn elect their representative at the NPC. Delegates for the local people’s congresses are elected using the first-past-the-post system (FPTP). FPTP is a type of non-proportional system wherein parties are not rewarded in proportion to the share of the votes obtained. Specifically, FPTP takes the plurality form of non-proportional representation where a candidate only needs a plurality of votes to win a seat and a majority of votes is not required. In Russia, seats in the Duma were formerly elected half by proportional representation (with at least 5% of the vote to qualify for seats) and half by single member districts. However, President Putin passed a decree that all seats are to be elected by proportional representation (with at least 7% of the vote to qualify for seats) to take effect in the December 2007 elections. Particularly, Russia is adapting the list system to confer delegates for the Duma. The list system is the most common method of proportional representation in which parties submit a list of their candidates and then the votes they obtain determines the percent of seats they get. In proportional representation, the goal is to represent parties rather than territories. For China, the adoption of the list system is recommended to develop a genuine opposition party. For many decades now, the rule of the CCP did not face any significant challenger in China. There have also been secessionist movements due to some ethnic and cultural cleavages such as the Tibetans who are lobbying from independence from China. The adoption of the list system would allow the voice of the minority to be heard in the NPC thus ensuring the democratic rights of the people. It will also make China less prone to violence, just like what happened in the Tiananmen Massacre were students on protest were open fired by Chinese military, since grievances can be acknowledge in government institutions such as the NPC. It is necessary to abolish democratic centralism since government processes are easily manipulated by local bureaucrats to advance their own selfish gains. Political reform in China is a matter of opening the ‘nominally open’ elections to other political parties. For Russia, the current electoral system is well on its way to democratize the Russian political system. However, the recent decree of Putin would make it difficult for smaller parties to obtain a seat in the Duma. Seven percent is such a high threshold and may cause the marginalization of the smaller parties and the domination of the more established ones. A lower threshold is hereby recommended and that Putin’s decree for the December 2007 elections should be repealed because it is a hindrance for the continuous democratization of Russia. These formerly hard-line socialist regimes have adopted measures to cope up with the new international order. However, not both were able to give way to democratization due to the electoral and party systems that they adapted.