Body Worlds Exhibit Essay

The body worlds exhibit is a traveling exhibition of conserved human bodies and human parts they have prepared by plastination. Plastination is when the water and fat inside the body is replaced with plastic so that human specimens can be touched, do not smell, or decay. The creator of plastination was German his name was, Dr. Gunther Von Hugens. The three main reasons why body worlds exhibits are a good and bad idea to have around the world are, educational but disturbing, artistic but odd, and can help with medicine and patients but can sometimes be personal. To begin, body world exhibits should exist because, they are educational. They give you a visual imagery on your whole body three dimensional using real human bodies. Young students training to be in the medical field could relate to these exhibits and learn a lot, like where your organs are placed, which muscles flex when you move a certain muscle, what it looks like to have smoker’s lungs and not have smoker’s lungs, you could learn many things by going to these exhibits and just examine the bodies. One of the bad reasons why body world exhibits should not exist is because, they can be disturbing. For some cutting up and cleaning out the inside of a dead human body and have it prepared for plastination might just be a bit too extreme. To continue, body world exhibits should exist because, it is artistic. Some of the human bodies are placed in different shapes and forms. For example, there is a human body faced upside down with a skateboard in hand doing a trick it is showing the different kinds of movement in your muscles. Some bodies just have nerves covering their entire body, there are 8th month old fetus’s, and two placsinated bodies meshed together. To make these exhibits interesting you would have to be very creative and artistic. Another bad reason why body world exhibits should not exist is because, their odd. Who would want to go pay $30 for an exhibit that shows thousands of dead people carved out into presentable form so you can see their insides? They were alive just like you a few years ago, and now their a mannequins posing for people to take pictures and jot down notes? You would either have to be artistic, smart, or brave to walk around with plastic corpses.

Rape of nanking outline

The Rape of Nanking was a mass murder and war rape the all occurred in the period of six weeks. The Japanese e saw themselves as the superior race compared to the Chinese. There were approve intimately 500,000 people living in Nan king when the Japanese attacked. Over 300,000 CIA villains were killed by the Japanese in brutal ways that even the Nazis living in Anion g at the time were horrified.The Japanese had a long standing contempt for the Chine SE as a people. Being an island nation in the shadow of the much larger China for so much of its history bred a healthy balance offer and nationalism. The Rape of Nanking occurred in just a few weeks late in 1937 to early 1938. When people are asked to describe the Nanking Massacre the most co moon response is â€Å"six weeks of hell. † The Japanese army began to zero in on Nanjing The the the official dates of the war were December 9 , 1937 and lasted tell January 17 1938.The Japanese believed they were superior to all races. Ther efore what atrocity they committed in Nanking were justified to them. The direct cause was the impanel Army took Nanking and wanted to â€Å"celebrate† by raping and murdering thus ands of civilians. During which an estimated 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians we re killed, and 20,000 women were raped. The Japanese had troops pushing down from the north while a troop was way ting for them down south. Inside Nanjing was about 70,000 troops and a quarter lion civilians.The troops would begin bringing their own trucks through the city an d not long after that the troops were seen loading people into the trucks by dozens. Nevertheless, most of the Japanese have remembered what happened to the Asian nations including to the people in Nanjing, and the Japanese has lived as a pep useful nation, from the reflection to the war. Being an island nation in the shadow of the much larger for so much of its history bred a healthy balance of fear and nationalism.

The person i met in Heaven

I stood there, motionless. Shock had taken over my body like a disease. I started shaking; my body going into panic mode. I collapsed, tears streaming down my face. I couldn't move. I just sat, looking, staring. I screamed, and then I was in total darkness. This was the last memory going through my head before†¦ I opened my eyes. As I sat up to see where I was, I felt a cool breeze against my cheeks. I saw that I was lying in the middle of a massive field with trees surrounding it. I knew where I was straight away. I had been thinking about this place for thirty years. I looked around, this place was the same, but, it just had a softer atmosphere then I remembered. The sky seemed to glow. Almost like a dream. Except, this wasn't a dream, this was real. I got up to look around, and then suddenly I heard a voice. â€Å"Well, well, well. You made it then?† the voice laughed. â€Å"Never could've imagined that!† I spun around. â€Å"Katy?† I stood there, staring at her. I had dreamed of this moment since I was a teenager. I had planned every word, every movement, but now, no words ran through my head. Just emotions and memories. â€Å"Are you alright? Looks like you've seen a ghost,† she chuckled. â€Å"God, I crack myself up!† â€Å"Am I dreaming?† â€Å"Nope, you're in Heaven! To be honest, I'm surprised you made it!† The atmosphere cooled, and it felt like old times again. â€Å"What do you mean? I was more angelic than you!† We both laughed, then, silence. It suddenly felt awkward. â€Å"I'm so sorry Katy. I never realised you were so upset with your life. I hated myself; I wanted to see you, to talk to you. I – I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My words came out so quickly, rushing out of my mouth. The sky darkened from a sunny blue to a deadly black, and pictures of the past seemed to appear all around us. â€Å"Lauren, shut it! What are you? Forty-Five? And you're still going on about that? It wasn't your fault, okay? Stop blaming yourself. I've been watching over you for thirty years and there are so many things you could've done. You turned down so many opportunities to meet new people and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she paused, â€Å"you just had no confidence in yourself. And that's because of me.† She looked as defenceless as she did when her parents died in that car crash when she was fourteen. Being in care had messed her up a bit, and I knew that she had been on anti – depressants for a while. But wouldn't anyone be like her in her situation? I had never expected her to kill herself. I sat down next to her, then, finally breaking the silence, I spoke. â€Å"Why?† The word shot through the air like a dart. I looked at Katy. â€Å"I know you were upset about your parents but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I stopped to think about what I was saying. Scared of what her reaction might be if I said the wrong thing. â€Å"You seemed to be managing fine† I said. â€Å"I don't know. I just†¦ I felt like I could manage. I stopped taking my tablets, and then everything seemed to go downhill. I thought about what happened quite a lot. I blamed myself for everything. I knew I shouldn't've, but I did. I got more and more depressed, taking everything so seriously. Like, that time when Louise Painsley called me a ‘useless whore', just because I messed up in our music performance?† I nodded, not quite sure of what to say, but before I had time to think, she continued. â€Å"Well, everything just used to hit me like a punch in the stomach. Every little thing. It sounds stupid, but it just built up. I couldn't manage anymore, I just wanted to go. To be with my family. And away from†¦ everything.† She looked at me. â€Å"I'm sorry that I didn't speak to you. I just didn't want to bother you with all my worries. I just knew what I wanted to do, so I did it. But deep down you knew that, so why did you mess up your life over it? I just don't get it Loz. You were my best mate. Why would it have been your fault?† I thought about my answer, but to be honest, I had no idea. Finally, I just said everything that I felt. â€Å"All these years I had just thought about you, and the fact that I was having fun when you were gone. It just didn't feel right. I suppose that's okay for the first few months right? But I know I shouldn't've dragged it out. I just didn't feel right. I felt like I was betraying you in some way.† We looked at each other in a knowing way. In a way that meant not to carry on with the conversation. That it was finished and didn't need to be mentioned again. I sighed with relief. It felt like a massive weight had been lifted from my chest. I grabbed Katy's hand and we walked around the place that I had been thinking about for thirty years. The place where me and Katy spent most our time. A massive field with trees surrounding it. I felt a cool breeze against my cheeks. I felt at peace with myself. This was my heaven, and nobody could ever take it away from me again.

Quantitative and Qualititative reserch----teenager smoking Research Paper

Quantitative and Qualititative reserch----teenager smoking - Research Paper Example The main reason for the study is to address the increasing rates of smoking among teen in the United Kingdom. This study has two major aims. The first aim is to illustrate the negative effects of smoking, both first hand and second hand, among the teenage demography in the United Kingdom. The second aim of the research is to illustrate measures that address the health challenges cause by teenage smoking. The hypothesis for the study is that; teenager smoking has negative health consequences. The first analyzed study explains that; the addictive drug contained in cigarette smoke is called nicotine. The addiction causes the teenage smokers to go on with the habit of consuming tobacco. Addicted teenage smokers consume adequate nicotine levels to achieve their craving needs. Individuals, who crave high nicotine levels, consume more cigarette products. Tobacco smoke has more than 60 chemicals that cause cancer. Smoking, therefore, harms almost all body organs. The second study focuses on the health consequences of smoking. Short term effects of smoking include; nicotine addiction and respiratory effects. The long term effects of smoking entails reduced lung functioning and minimized lung growth. Other generate effects involves heart strokes during later stages of life, and heart diseases. The third research study shows the demographics involving teenage and children smoking. In 2014, approximately 4% of children and teens aged between 11 and 15 continuously smoke not less th an one cigarette every week. However, regular teenage smokers in the United Kingdom consume an average of 36 cigarettes per week. The three studies employed appropriate research techniques. This is because they applied both quantitative and qualitative approaches of research, during data analysis (Laura 2008). The main limitation in the three studies involved minimum time duration for collecting data. Respondents normally required adequate

Explain Race and the Wrong Side of the Bed in American History Essay

Explain Race and the Wrong Side of the Bed in American History - Essay Example Technology and popular culture is not making us less intelligent; instead it is making us stretch our intelligence in new directions. One of the parts of modern technology and pop culture that people like to complain about the most is videogames. People say that gamers are â€Å"melting their brains† as they waste away indoors, doing a time-wasting activity that doesn’t stretch their minds. However, by taking a closer look at videogames, we can see that this isn’t the case at all. Videogames force us to use a type of problem-solving intelligence that most other activities don’t help us to use. By becoming good at videogames, people become good at solving puzzles and working out spatial relationships that are too complex for other activities. People who are good at videogames are the people who will be the next generation of software designers and technological problem-solvers. Texting is another form of technology in pop culture that many people view with suspicion. People see â€Å"textspeak† as an illiterate means of communication. However, texting actually causes people to think creatively about language. In order to make messages as short and easy to type on a number pad as possible, people who text come up with clever ways to abbreviate words.

Child Abuse Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Child Abuse - Research Paper Example very reality that all these kinds of violence not only leave indelible destructive imprints upon their innocent minds, but also such kind of obnoxious behavior may put their future in grave jeopardy. The researches reveal the very fact that domestic violence and child abuse not only adversely tell upon the process of cognitive development among children, but also they wide open the avenues towards juvenile delinquent behavior and perversion for the future years to come. Exposure to violence can result in ‘regressive’ symptoms such as increased bedwetting, delayed language development and more anxiety over separation from parents (cited in Margolin & Gordis, 2000). Researches also show that sexual exploitation of the innocent children, at the hands of the adult members of society, destroys their mental capabilities, and remain as the terrifying part of the bitterest memories of their life, which haunt their minds and cause their psychological collapse even during their adulthood and later part of their life. Researches also prove the bitter reality that the individuals, who had become the victim of physical or sexual abuse in their childhood, lead mentally retarded and highly disturbed life in their grown years. They remain prey to some invisible danger hanging like a sword on their head, which takes long time for recovery. Hence, the convalescence procedure of the victims of child abuse is technically very difficult and time-taking one. The psychologists suggest counseling, medicines consumption, therapeutic measures and consoling from family members, teachers and friends for the complete recovery of the victims of child abuse. Hence, child abuse serves as an infamous mar as well as a shameful curse on the very face of society, which may produce perverts, offenders and criminals to challenge the very peace and stability of the social establishment at large. In the nutshell, children become victim of abuse at the hands of family members, teachers, peers,

Comparing English with Persian Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Comparing English with Persian - Essay Example Being a popular and traditional language, Persian did not remain confined to Iran only; rather, it is spoken and understood in few central Asian states along with Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It had enjoyed the status of official language of India from the beginning of the Muslim rule under the Sultanates of Delhi till the fall of Mughal Empire in 1857. Additionally, Persian is aptly viewed as the sweet and melodious language (sheereen zubaan) because of the sophistication and tenderness. Sheikh Sa’di, Farrukhi, Omar Khayaam, Behki, Romi, Iqbal and others are most prominent Persian writers and poets. English: English is the most dominant and popular language of contemporary era, and is spoken in almost all countries of the world at large. The main reasons behind its unabated popularity include the many centuries long rule of the British Imperialism over several Asian and African countries, as well as the technological inventions made by the English spea king nations of the world. Hence, English is being taught as a compulsory language in all parts of the globe. Chaucer, Spencer, Shakespeare, Johnson, Milton, Coleridge, Austen, Keats, Emily Bronte and Frost are the most prominent literary figures of English Literature. STRUCTURE OF THE LANGUAGES UNDER ANALYSIS: Since both English and Persian are written in quite a different way, which share least characteristics with each other. It is partially due to the very fact that the former resembles with French, German and Spanish, while the latter share commonalities with Arabic, Urdu and Turkish languages. The basic structure of both these languages has been analysed as following: SYNTAX: Both English and Persian share the same number of subjects in grammar, which are six in both the languages. Since both English and Persian have first person, second person and third person as addressees, both look taking after one another grammatically. ENGLISH PERSONAL PRONOUNS: SUBJECTS, OBJECTS AND POS SESSIVES Singular Subject Object Possessive First Person I Me My, Mine Second Person You You Your, Yours Third Person He/ She/It His/ Her/Its Him/ Her/It Plural Subject Object Possessive First Person We Us Our Second Person You You Your, Yours Third Person They Them Their PERSIAN PERSONAL PRONOUNS: SUBJECTS, OBJECTS AND POSSESSIVES Singular Subject Object Possessive First Person Mann Mann raa addition of the alphabet meem (?) after every object OR addition of Mann after the object Second Person To/Tu To/Tu Tera/shuma Third Person Ou Ou Ou raa Plural Subject Object Possessive First Person Maa Maa Maa raa Second Person Taan/Shumaa Tu Taan shuma Third Person Ou Eeshaan, aanhaa Ou raa In English grammar, singular first person is described as I, my and me, whereas in Persian, the subject is translated as single word mann, while possessive is translated by adding the alphabet meem (?) after the noun related to the first person. Similarly, the first person singular object is translate d as mann or mann raa (i.e. of or related to me). Similarly, while making plural of first person, the subject we is translated as maa, and for object us, the same maa is generally applied. However, in first person possessive, raa is added to maa, making it maa raa. Similarly, second person is written as tu , shuma and tu or shuma raa in place of you, yours and you

How smoking affect in your health (CLASSICAL ARGUMENT) Essay

How smoking affect in your health (CLASSICAL ARGUMENT) - Essay Example Many people look out for long-term effects of smoking; however, there are also short-term health implications on smokers. Short-term effects of smoking on health cover such aspect as an increase in heart rate, a drop in skin temperature as well as increased respiration rate of the smoker. Other immediate effects of smoking might also include diarrhoea and vomiting may occur especially in novice smokers. Many smokers feel that by smocking, there central nervous system becomes relaxed but the health experts report the opposite as research has shown smoking stimulates the central nervous system (Andreassi 425). Additionally, health effects of smoking concerns the negative implication it has on the digestive system of the smoker especially being linked to gastric and duodenal ulcers, which are twice likely to be the cause of death for smokers than non-smokers. These health implications are also experienced on the healing ability of skin wounds with smokers having a reduced ability due to depletion of vitamin C from the body (Foulds, Delnevo, Ziedonis and Steinberg 429). Long-term effects of smoking are more fatal than the short-term ones with cancer and cardiovascular diseases being more common health implications of smoking. Health statistics indicates that smoking among the deadly causes of cancer infections in the world with about 90 percent of new lung cancer cases being related to smoking (Hou 115). It is estimated that an average smoker has a higher chance of up to ten times of getting lung cancer compared with a non-smoker. This figure implies that smoking is responsible for more cancer related deaths than other causes with statistics indicating a 30% contribution in all cancer deaths. Even as lung cancer continues to be the deadliest disease caused by smoking, there are other types of cancers such as that of the bladder, mouth, colon, throat, pancreas, cervix, kidneys and,

The impact of Nike on the international markets in comparison to the Essay

The impact of Nike on the international markets in comparison to the local markets - Essay Example The firm that is analyzed in the paper is Nike, Inc. as a firm that deals with design, improvement and marketing of different shoe types. Nike is regarded as the best seller in athletic shoes as well as athletic attire around the world. The company vends its commodities to retailers via its own retailer stores, internet marketing as well as through autonomous distributors and other licensed individuals and groups. The company vends approximately 18,000 retail records in the US through its retailers and distributors. The shoes that the firm deals in are specifically for athletic purposes. In addition, it makes other athletic shoes and attires for different games such as football and baseball. The company also vends other sporting accessories such as sporting or gaming bags and other protective gear utilized in various games. The principal competitors within this industry are Puma and Adidas, which offer the company numerous challenges in maintaining their high profile and sales. Since the adoption of Nike, in 1978, the company has extensively grown into a global company specialized in footwear and other products related to sports. The financial analysis of the corporation through scrutiny of its financial, income statements, as well as, balance sheets allows reviewing of the company financial health and other achievements over the years. Over the period, since the company establishment, the management of Nike has generated value for the shareholders through the progression of the company’s operations in overseas nations in an extensive manner. The company’s trading and earnings have surpassed the Wall Street approximations with respect to FY 06 (Stilga, 2006). The income for the company hit approximately $15 billion while its income per share hit a high up by 18 percent. In the last 5 years, the compounded rate per split elevated by 20 percent while the average of the gross margins came to 42 percent (Stilga, 2006). In the precedent year, the compa ny’s margins were 44 percent seeing an enormous rise in profits. Currently, the company’s management has optimized the wealth for its shareholders although the company performance in Nike’s footwear has declined. The footwear performance in the sector generated an average of approximately 14.25 percent whereas the progression in stock reached 10.48 percent (Stilga, 2006). In view of performance for the management, the performance can be considered not noteworthy provided the augment in share value serves as the point of reference. The Price to Book relative amount for Nike is 3.97 whereas the segment in which the corporation operates has a relative amount of 3.96. Similarly, the company has a Price to Tangible Book relative amount of about 4.26 whereas the sector that Nike operates presents a relative amount of about 4.44 (Stilga, 2006). The brand name and image of Nike is considered the strength of the company thus the competitive advantage. In addition, to the brand name and image of the company, the company has acquired other strong points in global operations. The company’s processes in international markets have gradually expanded coupled with innovations and creativity in fresh products. The operational expansions in global markets can also be ascribed to the capability in relating with its consumers. As a multinational company, Nike has impacted on almost all nations although it overseas ventures have raised concerns over claims in exploitation of its employees. The company gains a lot of revenues from global markets than its receives from the internal markets. The international operations of the company earned approximately $6.5 billion as compared to $5.1billion from its local or internal markets. Therefore, the international o

Microbursts Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Microbursts - Research Paper Example Microbursts can cause production of high speed winds (about 100 mph or more), which last for about 5 to 20 minutes and have proven to be both damaging and destructive, especially to the airplanes. The microbursts are formed when falling rain drops mix with dry air and are evaporated, cooling the air above it as a consequence. As per theory, when air is cooled it sinks. Rapid cooling of air causes it to accelerate towards the ground and spread out and cause the diverging of wind patterns. Heavy rain and snow are also a source of microburst formation. Two types of microbursts are found: dry microburst and wet microbursts. The main difference between them is that the dry ones are formed by virga while the wet ones are formed by wet precipitation. (Caracena, 1990) To comprehend the concept of dry microburst, an understanding of what vigra is important. Basically, virga is that part of rain or snow that falls from the cloud but is evaporated before it reaches the ground. (Glickman, 2000) the evaporated vapor then carries out by the whole process described above. The most significant source of dry microburst are thunderstorms, which produce small amount of surface rainfall and hence, large amounts of vigra. On the other hand, wet microbursts majorly involve heavy rainfalls or snowfalls occurring at warm surfaces. (Fujita, 1985) The difference in the temperatures of the precipitation and the surface causes air currents to accelerate downwards and thus form the wet microbursts. In this case, important source is hail. Dry microbursts occur without precipitation, they are harder to predict or foresee and thus, are a far more potential threat to aircrafts than the wet. The large magnitude and unexpected nature of a microburst has resulted in a number of air crashes throughout history, more of which have occurred while landing. We read earlier that microbursts tend to spread out in all directions once they hit the ground. During landing, a plane is flying at a low

Victim Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Victim Interview - Essay Example interviewee provided information that matches with the nature of his work during the accident, date, time, the magnitude of the injury and the aftermath. In September 2010, an employee whose name will remain withheld was going about his normal duties at his usual work place. As a mansion at a construction site, the interviewee’s responsibilities included pushing, lifting, carrying, pulling and throwing variety of objects at work. A track had offloaded several building blocks some few meters from the construction site on the day of accident. At this stage of construction, the major building works were happening in the second floor of the same building. This implied that some of the workers had to carry the bricks physically to the second floor. This task involved bending or squatting to reach for the brick, lifting, the block and then transferring it to an appropriate position of the body, preferably on the shoulders. The interviewee would then carry the load on his shoulders as he climbs up the stairs up to the second floor. Upon reaching the destination, he would transfer the load from the shoulder into his hands before caref ully lowering it to the ground. The interviewee started on well and was registering encouraging progress as manifested by the diminishing number of bricks at the site of the offload. However, as time went elapsed and the number of trips increased, most of the employees started showing signs of exhaustion. My interviewee began to feel pain in his back, shoulders, waist and knees but the pressure from his supervisors to get the job finished was overwhelming. Although the job was later completed, my interviewee was taken to the hospital after he collapsed due to the immense pain he encountered from the slave like task. He complained of general body pains but especially on the shoulders, back, waist and the knees. The incident that happened on 2 September 2010 led to the sustenance of immense injuries on the body. The interviewee’s body had

Live in the Present with Memories of the Past Essay Example for Free

Live in the Present with Memories of the Past Essay Human Society is a long period of building and developing. From the time man lived in dank caves to nowadays when he lives in such a modern life with a lot of excellent facilities. The modern life, the excellent facilities was not a present from god. It was made by people of all generations who always learned from the past and developed everything they had learned from it. Thus, I totally disagree with the statement above that learning about the past has no value. The first reason for this is that learning about the past brings us all the knowledge and information in the past. Without yesterday, there is no today. A society can develop only when its people inherit and understand the achievements of the precursors because the precursors achievements were the foundation for everything to develop.. For example, before 1964 there was only black-and-white television but until now there are kinds of colour televisions that are slim and innovative such as LCD TV The black-and-white television made the basis and gave inventors idea to develop the modern TV nowadays. Consequently our knowledge, success today is the result of constant work of our ancestors before. Secondly, learning about the past is very essential because it makes us doubt and take consideration into earlier assumptions. For that reason, people will find out mistakes that were made in the past. This will show us which roads not to ever go down again and put human in a right way to develop. Learning about the past is not only learning about the history but also is learning from our and the others mistakes. By this way of learning, people will become more and more experienced and never make the same mistakes again. Additionally, if learning about the past has no value, people in the world could speak, could write by themselves without learning from anyone. This is impossible so the value of the past, in this case are the parents, are undeniable. In a nutshell, the past is always a good teacher and we are still bad students who crave for knowledge. Denying the past also means that we are destroying the present and our future because no one can jump without ground to stand on.

Problems caused by viruses

Problems caused by viruses Introduction I will discuss about different types of viruses and what threats they hold towards the computer and what kind of damage they can do. A virus is a small program written to alter the way a computer operates, without the permission of the user. I will talk about:- What a virus does How it can affect your computer A Bit of History About Virus Different types of viruses How does it cause problems when your using the internet and Conclusions Threats of Viruses A virus can only spread from one computer to another when its host is taken to the target computer. A user can send viruses over the Internet or it can be carried on things like CD, DVD or USB drive. Viruses can increase their chances of spreading to other computers by infecting files on a network file system or a file system that is accessed by another computer. It can damage your network area and without the proper antivirus software, your computer is most likely to be affected by a virus, especially if you are going to use the internet. A virus must meet two criteria: The virus has to be executed by itself. In order to be executed by itself, it has to have its own coding on when to be executed. The virus has to replicate itself. It has to copy itself from the original, so it can create a problem for the user. Viruses can infect desktop computers and network servers alike. History of Virus In the early 1980s, experiments were carried out on computer security and 1983 saw the emergence of the first virus. Fred Cohen, at that time a student at the University of Southern California, had the idea of introducing self-reproducing software, which could spread by infiltrating existing programmes, thus attacking the security of multi-user computing systems. Len Adleman, Cohens thesis adviser suggested that this was similar to a biological virus, which uses the resources of the cell it attacks to reproduce itself. The term computer virus was born. 6 Types of Viruses File Infector Viruses A virus that affects program files. This virus can damage the programs that you either use or do not use basically it damages executable files such as .exe and .com files. Boot Sector Viruses A virus that affects the system area of the disk such as floppy disk or CD. Boot sector viruses attach themselves to the program of that specific disk and activate when the user attempts to start up their PC from the infected disk. Master Boot Record Viruses A virus that affects the boot sectors. It saves a legitimate copy of the master boot record in a different location without you knowing that it has done it without your permission. Multipartite Viruses A virus that affects both programs and boot sectors. Basically for this virus if one is not clean, then the one that is clean will be infected. For example if the boot sector is clean, but the files are not, then the boot sector will be infected. Macro Viruses A virus that affects data files. This virus is the most common virus than any other viruses above because this virus can damage Microsoft programs such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel and etc. Virus Hoax A virus that are sent by emails. This virus can damage and delete everything on your hard drive if an email thats got a virus is either on your inbox or if you have open that email. Conclusions Virus Hoax is one of the viruses that can cause problems when you are using the internet because the email that is affected by a virus can damage and delete important files from your computer. A lot of people are getting these virus hoax chain letters, which can spread like fire depending on how many people you are sending it to. When people get these chain letters, they dont check who they got it from and open it up straight away and forward the message to other people, so they computer can get infected by the virus, so it is very important to 1st find out who sent u the email and 2nd if you receive an email titled which some will have email virus hoax on it then do not open it!. Another way of having a virus on your computer is if a hacker installs a virus onto your computer. This can happen if there is no anti-virus software or firewall and if there is no program to protect your computer, then the hacker has an easy access to your computer which he can do any kind of damage to your computer. Once the hacker gets into your computer, the hacker can do anything to your computer, it can even mess your computer up by installing a virus of any kind. So in order to prevent that from happening your will need either an anti-virus or a firewall onto your computer.(See Details Below) How do you get rid and prevent your computer from having a virus? To prevent from having any types of viruses, you will need to have anti-virus software. It is software that will track down and get rid of any viruses that are on your computer and also prevents any viruses from getting into your computer. It can also protect your computer from any other threats as well such as Trojans and hacking. Another way your can prevent having troubles while your using the internet is to have a firewall. Firewall is a necessary program to keep intruders away while you are connected to the internet such as hackers. Hackers can hack into your computer and create a massacre for example create a program to spy on you and take some important information such as credit card number when you do online shopping or install a virus without you knowing anything about it. So it is recommended that if you do not have an anti-virus program, then have firewall on or install firewall to prevent hackers to hack into your computer while you are on internet. Reference: http://service1.symantec.com/support/nav.nsf/docid/1999041209131106 http://www.windowsmaven.com/ http://www.internet-story.com/dangers.htm

Multinational Apparel Specialist Retailer Marketing Essay

Multinational Apparel Specialist Retailer Marketing Essay HM Hennes Mauritz AB HM or the group, founded in 1947 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, is a multinational apparel specialist retailer and famous for its fast-fashion clothing for men, women, teenagers and children (Larenaudie, 2004). Besides the companys primary and eponymous chain, the group also operates through four independent brands: Collection of Style (COS), Monki, Weekday, and Cheap Monday (HM, 2011a). Growing with the business concept to offer fashion and quality at the best price, by the end of 2011, the group has grown one of the largest global apparel retailers with presence in 43 markets and nearly 2500 stores (HM, 2011a). HM operates within only a single segment: sale of clothing and cosmetics (MarketLine, 2012), which locates the company as a fast-fashion retailer in global apparel industry. High level of rivalry among competitors has been witnessed within the global apparel industry. And the fluctuating price of raw materials, unpredictability of fashion trends and increasing demand of real-time update from consumers also pose challenges towards fashion retailers. However, HM, as one of the fast-fashion pioneers, has an outstanding and steady performance over the years. There are various factors contributing to HMs outstanding performance. Combined with the industrys key success factors, it is essential for a fashion retailer to balance cost efficiency with differentiation, have strong brand-consciousness and global expansion. Also, the continuously heated corporate social responsibility (CSR) issue remains the key to HMs success. Therefore, this dissertation aims to achieve three goals: To analyse HMs performance based on the global apparel retailing industrys key success factors To competitively analyse HMs position against its competitors, especially Zara (Inditex Group) To reach recommendations for the companys future strategy This chapter serves as a general overview of the paper and aims to help readers with the guideline of thoughts in the dissertation. Chapter Two discusses literature review and methodology. Chapter Three focuses on analysis of global apparel retailing industry with Five Forces Analysis, PESTLE Analysis and Key Success Factors of the industry. Chapter Four is the main analysis of HM, starting based on four key success factors: cost efficiency; brand-consciousness; global expansion; and CSR, followed by competitive positioning of the company, financial analysis, SWOT analysis, and ending with recommendations. Chapter Five is the conclusion of the dissertation. Due to personal limitation of knowledge and reach of resources, several parts of discussions in the dissertation could not be conducted in-depth. No dependable survey and data collections have been conducted due to personal limitation of time and financial support. The dissertation is mainly based on figures and data collected from second-hand resources. Chapter 2: Literature Review and Methodology Literature Review This section serves as a theoretical support for the validity of the analysis of global apparel retailing industry in Chapter Three and analysis of HM in Chapter Four. Industry Analysis The analysis of global apparel retailing industry is conducted with Five Forces Analysis (Chapter 3.2), PESTLE Analysis (Chapter 3.3) and Key Success Factors (Chapter 3.4). Five Forces Analysis developed by Michael Porter illustrates five factors determining the level of competition and profitability within an industry (Grant, 2010). The framework is widely used in industry analysis and is conducted by analysing five sources of competitive pressure: buyer power, supplier power, new entrants, substitutes, and rivalry (Grant, 2010) (see Figure 1). Figure 1: Porters Five Forces framework (Grant, 2010) PESTLE Analysis is a framework to clarify and discuss the external macro-environment that affects an industry which stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors (Nejati et al, 2008). Key Success Factors of an industry is identified by analysing the factors that help a firm survive and thrive within the market environment (Grant, 2010). By analysing two main criteria what do customers want and how does firm survive competition the shared key elements of customer desire and the nature of rivalry could be identified (Grant, 2010) (see Figure 2) Figure 2: Identifying Key Success Factors (Grant, 2010) Combining Five Forces Analysis with PESTLE Analysis, industry environment could be discussed in details in Chapter Three. After the analysis of industry environment, key success factors will be reached by the model to serve as the basis for company analysis in Chapter Four. Marketing Mix Marketing mix model, also known as the 4Ps, is the combination of Price, Product, Promotion and Place, adopted by companies to explore their unique selling points (McCarthy, 1960) (see Figure 3). Figure 3: Marketing Mix 4Ps (McCarthy, 1960) By employing marketing mix model in Chapter 4.2, the unique marketing combination of HM has been analysed. International Product Life Cycle Theory The product life cycle (PLC) theory explains the basic development of products and motivations for international trade (Ajami Goddard, 2006). The theory describes four discrete stages in a product life cycle: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline (Vernon, 1966) (see Figure 4). Figure 4: Product Life Cycle Theory (Vernon, 1966) The PLC theory has been widely adopted in analysis of international business and trade (Ajami Goddard, 2006). In Chapter 4.2 and Chapter 4.4.1, the theory has been used in explaining HMs product and market select and entry in global expansion progress. Uppsala Model The Uppsala Model suggests that a companys global expansion is a gradual process reliant on market knowledge and incremental decisions (Johanson and Vahlne, 1977; Frynas Mellahi, 2011). The theory is based on the assumption that firms expand globally with logical steps, based on the gathered information from foreign markets, which will lead to greater involvement of market commitment to more international business activities (Johanson and Vahlne, 1977; Frynas Mellahi, 2011). The model is based on two steps. First, when starting foreign market selection and entry, firms normally start expanding to neighbouring countries or countries with small psychic distance (Frynas Mellahi, 2011). Then after gathering experiential market knowledge, the firm expand to foreign markets step by step (Frynas Mellahi, 2011). Figure 5: Uppsala Model (Frynas Mellahi, 2011) The Uppsala Model helps understand a companys choice and plan in international market selection and mode of entry. In Chapter 4.4, Uppsala Model is employed to better illustrate the global expansion strategy of HM. Corporate Social Responsibility The European Commission defines Corporate Social Responsibility as: A concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis (Commission of the European Communities, 2001) The importances of CSR has been analysed by Porter and Kramer (2006) as follows: Figure 6: Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (Porter and Kramer, 2006) In Chapter 4.5, the theory has been used to discuss and analyse HMs involvement in CSR activities and its effects. Market Positioning A firm can achieve its competitive advantages in either of two methods: either it can supply an identical product or service at a lower cost or it can supply a product or service that is differentiated in such a way that the customer is willing to pay a price premium that exceeds the additional cost of the differentiation (Grant, 2010), which defines two different approaches to achieve competitive advantages: cost leadership and differentiation. Combining the two approaches with the firms competitive scope either industry-wide or single segment Michael Porter has defined generic strategies as follows (Grant, 2010) (Figure 7): Figure 7: Porters Generic Strategies (Porter, 1980) And a firm should focus on either one of the strategies above and avoid stuck in the middle (Porter, 1980). By defining the firms strategy of achieving competitive advantages, the firm could be positioned in the market. Market positioning is about where you are located in the marketplace, largely as judge by customers, compared to the rest (Piercy, 2009) In Chapter 4.6.1, the market positioning theory has been used to analyse HMs competitive positioning within the market and serve as basis to comparative analysis against its competitors. Methodology As to the methodology of this dissertation, phenomenological paradigm is adopted due to the explanatory and descriptive nature of the analysis. Qualitative approach is implemented in the dissertation for that quantitative method requires the collection and interpretation of abundant accurate primary data to make sure reaching reliable conclusions, while the analysis of HM largely depends on secondary data and research group releases and third party opinions. Due to the limitation of my personal knowledge, further research might be needed for more accurate information to be acquired. Chapter 3: Industry Analysis HM operates within only a single segment: sale of clothing and cosmetics (MarketLine, 2012), which locates the company as a fast-fashion retailer in global apparel industry. The following chapter examines the industry with an overview, Five Forces Analysis, PESTLE Analysis and then comes up with Key Success Factors of the industry. 3.1 Industry Overview The apparel retail industry consists of the sale of menswear, womenswear, childrenswear, clothing accessories, hosiery and footwear within the global market including North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, MEA and Asia-Pacific (MarketLine, 2012). Figure 8: Industry Overview of Global Apparel Industry (MarketLine, 2012) The global clothing retailing industry has witnessed moderate growth in recent years. In FY2011, the total revenue of the industry had reached $1175.4 billion, a 2.7% growth between FY2007 and FY2011 (Figure). In all categorical segments, the womenswear segment remained most profitable in FY2011, representing 51.1% of the total value of the industry (Euromonitor International, 2011). Figure 9: Global Apparel Retail Industry Value; Global Apparel Retail Industry Geography Segmentation (MarketLine, 2012) 3.2 Five Forces Analysis As introduced in Chapter 2.1.1, the market will be analysed from five aspects: buyer power, supplier power, substitutes, new entrants and degree of rivalry. The analysis will take individual consumers as key buyers, manufacturers and wholesalers as key suppliers, and other retailers as players. Figure 10: Forces driving competition in the global apparel retail industry (MarketLine, 2011) 3.2.1 Buyer Power In global apparel retail industry, buyers are mostly individual consumers. As clothing has been recognised as symbols of fashion taste and social status, buyer power is weakened by design patterns and branding of a retailer (Bhardwaj and Fairhurst, 2010). However, the low switching costs of consumers strengthen buyer powers due to various choices on market. Furthermore, apparel retailers are at the end of the value chain. In a market where fashion trends change quickly and unpredictably, they have to offer buyers as demanded. This enhances buyer power. Overall, buyer power in this industry is assessed as moderate. 3.2.2 Supplier Power Major suppliers in the industry are clothing manufacturers and wholesalers, which are normally small to medium sized firms (MarketLine, 2011). In most countries, the supplier sector is fragmented because of the absence of diversity among suppliers (MarketLine, 2011). And further fragmentation is made by the retailers ability to outsource from foreign countries, especially from low-wage and labour-intensive regions such as China and India (Deloitte, 2011). However, the law of national minimum wage in some countries raises the labour power of suppliers. So overall, supplier power is assessed as moderate. 3.2.3 New Entrants Moderate growth has been witnessed in global apparel industry, making less people attracted to the market. However, with low barriers to entry and low requirement to start up a business in the industry, there are high possibilities for individuals to enter. And low switching costs for consumers and lack of variety in product differentiation in the market is beneficial for new entrants to compete. However, in some countries (e.g. the US) the market is majorly occupied by some large corporations from scale economies and strong buyer power (MarketLine, 2011). Regulation in the industry has remained little but recently corporate social responsibility issues have been heated among consumers (Idowu Filho, 2008). These factors prove that new entrants are strong threats. 3.2.4 Substitutes There are no substitutes for apparel. However, major substitute for retailing is to buy clothes directly from manufacturers (Zentes et al, 2011). This option is strengthened by the increase of online stores. Online shopping has been increasingly accepted by consumers (Peck et al, 2011). And by running online fashion stores, large amount of overhead could be avoided. There are still niche substitutes like home-made and couture clothing, or second-hand clothing (MarketLine, 2011). However, substitute threats are assessed as weak. 3.2.5 Degree of Rivalry The global apparel clothing industry is considered as fragmented (Jones, 2006). There are large numbers of small size retailers with the same product differentiation. And with increasing number of retailers expanding products to accessories and other diversities, rivalry in the industry has been intensified. With a moderate growth and low requirement of market entry, a high degree of rivalry has been resulted. In conclusion, the global apparel retailing industry is fragmented with moderate growth, weak threat from substitutes, moderate buyer power and supplier power. Low barrier to entry and low requirement for entrants have resulted in strong threats of new entrants and further led to high degree of rivalry. 3.3 PESTLE Analysis As discussed in Chapter 2.1.1, the macro-environment of the industry is analysed by PESTLE analysis regarding political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental aspects (Grant, 2010). Political As for global apparel retailers, legislations vary among different countries and areas (Cobra, 2011). Every retailer in the industry must follow government regulations regarding goods and labour (Graham Richardson, 1997). And the political stability is also crucial for fashion retailers as it would directly affect their sales situation and asset safety (Aspers, 2010). Economic For fashion apparel retailers, economic trends are crucial for their strong impacts on consumer behaviours and purchasing powers. For example, in 2011, the global economic recession had negative effects on fashion retailers (Euromonitor International, 2011). Because consumers with lower disposable income regard clothing as functional item, while with higher disposable income branding became important as a symbol of social status and fashion taste (MarketLine, 2012). Price fluctuation of raw materials cotton price for apparel retailers has significant impacts on the industry (MarketLine, 2012). Interest rates also would affect sales and high interest rates lead to difficulties to trade overseas (Arnold, 2010). Moreover, currency situation is important as the exchange rate influences the value and trades of retailers (Browne, 2000). Social Increasing attentions from public have been focused on corporate social responsibilities (CSR) of apparel retailers, mainly regarding labour conditions, such as protection of workers rights, maintaining safe working conditions, reasonable wage and no child labours (Idowu Filho, 2008). Also, for global fashion retailers, cultural differences between counties are crucial due to different fashion trends, consumer behaviours, or local customs. Technological The development of technology has enabled global apparel retailers with e-commerce and international trade more effectively (Euromonitor, 2011). And with the implementation of high technology, supply chain has changed significantly with global outsourcing, real-time update, and continuous replenishment (Lopez and Fan, 2009). Moreover, online shopping has been increasingly accepted by consumers, which initiated a new channel for retailers to cut costs by less middlemen and no store rent (Peck et al, 2011). Law Global apparel retailers need to follow different government legislation regarding employment and production (Graham Richardson, 1997). For instance, in some countries, such as the UK, there is national minimum wage to protect employees rights (Low Pay Commission, 2011). And tariffs from international trade are also important for international retailers to abide by. Environmental Environment protection has remained a heated issue among apparel retailing industry, especially issues like chemical restrictions and pollutions during production (Euromonitor International, 2011). It is also crucial for retailers to save energies and materials and reduce environmental impacts during product life cycle (PLC) (Chapter 2.1.3). From the above analysis, global apparel industry largely depends on political stability, government legislation, high-technology, public relations. And fluctuating price of source remains a major challenge to apparel retailers. 3.4 Key Success Factors As introduced in Chapter 2.1.1, Key Success Factors of apparel retail industry is analysed with the Grant model by examining the demand and competition of the industry as following Figure 11: Identifying Key Success Factors of Global Apparel Retailing Industry (Grant, 2010) Therefore, from the analysis above, for a global apparel retailer, cost efficiency is one of the crucial factors for that low cost ensures profitability and efficiency indicates fast responding time to meet demand, allowing fashion and quality at the best price (HMs business concept, HM, 2011a). Brand strategy also plays a key role in apparel retailers success as it facilitates customer loyalty. Differentiation of style in fashion industry positions the companys competitiveness and brand image in the market. Global expansion strategy of an apparel retailer is also essential as choices of global markets and international strategy decide retailers future development, global presence and even profitability (Deloitte, 2011). The continuously heated issue of corporate social responsibility also remains the key to companys brand image among public and future growth. It plays a vital role in companys success due to the heated social issue of environmental protection and labour conditions (I dowu Filho, 2008) In the following chapter, the company will be analysed starting based on key success factors to seek for unique interpretation of HMs performance. Chapter 4: Analysis of HM This Chapter is mainly focuses on analysis of HM, starting by analysis based on four key success factors of the industry, followed by competitive positioning analysis, financial analysis, and SWOT analysis, and ended with recommendations. 4.1 Operations Strategy HMs business concept is to offer fashion and quality and the best price (HM, 2011a). To make sure the company follows the leading fashion trends, quality of designing and lead time of distribution are important (Slack et al, 2010). And the offer of best price needs to rely on the basis that cost from each stage has been minimised. 4.1.1 Reduction of Costs Cost-consciousness at every stage remains the key to HMs operations (ZavrÃ…Â ¡nik, 2007). To achieve the growth target with offering best price, HM has a professional buying team (HM, 2011a). The company arranges its buying activities according to decisions from design team (MarketLine, 2011). The buying team achieves lowest cost by purchasing in bulk with the right products from the right market (ZavrÃ…Â ¡nik, 2007). With no factories itself, the company outsources its product manufacturing to approximately 700 suppliers, mostly in Asia and Europe (HM, 2011a). The manufacturing locations are divided by the level of fashion-sensitiveness: the fashion-sensitive collections are normally manufactured within Europe to cut the lead time while the cost-sensitive and sustainable collections are produced in Asia to allow the lowest possible price and achieve economies of scale (HM, 2011a). Furthermore, HM focuses on building long-term relationships with suppliers and manufacturers (HM, 2011a). HM does not own any factories (HM, 2011a), so quality control over the whole process might be a problem. Due to fast responses to fashion trend, there is usually not enough time to perform detailed quality control. Therefore the company has been involved in accusation of poor quality. So, dependable suppliers could not only provide HM with lowest price, but also ensure the quality of products from long-term cooperation and mutual understanding. Moreover, as a fast-fashion retailer, HM has lead time from weeks up to six months (HM, 2011a), which is slower than its strongest competitor Zara (Inditex Group) of maximum 14 days. However, faster responses indicate higher cost, HM focuses on reduction of cost and achieves balance between fast-fashion and price, allowing averagely 30% 50% lower price than Zara (Larenaudie, 2004) 4.1.2 Speed of Responses HM holds the point that the right lead time should be balanced between price, time and quality instead of pursuing merely short lead time (Euromonitor, 2012). However, as a fast-fashion retailer, quick responding to fashion trends, consumer demand and other market changes is still key for the company (Grant, 2010). The company achieves fast responses by integrating downstream and being efficient at every stage (HM, 2011a). HM has a professional design team. The in-house design team, headquartered in Stockholm with over 150 internal designers, focuses on combining inspirations and information from multiple resources such as news, travelling, streetstyle and various exhibitions and catwalks (J.P.Morgan, 2012). This cross-functional designing could ensure the quick response to market change. High technology has also been used by HM to ensure the speed and efficiency of supply chain and enable changes could be made quickly enough and design agreement then could be fasten (Bruce and Daly, 2006). HM has conducted top-class computerised design software and built common IT platform that enables quick information exchange between the process of designing, production and warehouse. The group set only limited stocking area in each store to keep maximum area for display. So the replenishment needs to be backed up by effective distributions according to the daily sales. The immediate sales data communication serves as a strong basis for fast response and efficiency at every stage. With this in-house design and outsourced production process, HM claimed that their lead time could range from weeks to up to six months: fashion-conscious within weeks and sustainable and classics could be months (HM, 2011a), achieving balance between price, quality and time. 4.2 Marketing Mix Strategy After analysing the cost and efficiency strategy of the company, marketing strategy will be analysed first with the companys unique marketing mix (Chapter 2.1.2). Price HM makes effort to differentiate its brand image from other fast-fashion retailers with competitive low price (ZavrÃ…Â ¡nik, 2011). The company makes efforts to offer best possible price in spite of fluctuating costs of raw materials. However, the price range of HM products varies according to designs, current interest rates, and tariffs (Larenaudie, 2004). Product Clothing is the main product for HM. The company offers a wide range of designs for clothing, from classics to basics, to designs following the latest fashion trends. In addition, HM expands product mix to make the most of sales opportunities, such as make-up and costume jewellery at competitive prices, and home furnishings for young households (Euromonitor, 2011). Furthermore, as fashion trends intertwined (Steele, 2011), the new sustainable collection and classics collection enable a longer Product Life Cycle (Chapter 2.1.3) to maximise the design and avoid quick decline. Promotion Marketing promotion is crucial for apparel retailers to build the brand image (Cooklin, 2006). Various methods could be adopted, such as advertising, social media presence, personal selling, publicity, presentations (Cooklin, 2006). For HM, inviting guest designers has been a major attraction to customers (Euromonitor International, 2011). Also, HM has two major fashion seasons annually spring season and autumn season, and two sales season summer sales and the Christmas and New Year season (HM, 2011a). The two sales seasons promote products and attracts more customer visits with even lower prices. Place HM has strong global presence with over 2500 stores by the end of 2011 (MarketLine, 2011). However, the majority of HMs store-based apparel sales come from Europe, with Germany contributing the most, followed by the UK and France (Euromonitor International, 2011). In addition, HM has a growth target to increase the number of stores by 10% to 15% every year (HM, 2011a). But the company does not own any store facilities. By renting store premises the company could achieve flexibility to the best level and make sure store locate at the best possible position. And the company has leading distribution system enabling continuous replenishment based on real-time update sales data (Bruce and Daly, 2006). 4.3 Brand and Multi-Channel Strategy In the fashion retail industry, brand image is crucial in building customer loyalty (Bhardwaj and Fairhurst, 2010). HM is the most important brand for the group and enjoys strong presence internationally. With only limited investment in advertisement on TV, HMs collections with famous guest designers and celebrities have been the major hit to attract customers. From Karl Lagerfeld for HM in 2004, M by Madonna in 2007, Jimmy Choos shoes and bags in selected stores in 2009, to the exciting autumn hit Versace for HM in 2011 and Marni at HM in 2012, the guest collections fully showed attraction to customers, which interlink the price-conscious brand together with great design and quality (Euromonitor, 2011). As a mass-production fashion retailer, HM could raise brand impacts globally by cooperation with celebrities and famous brands to create the feeling of luxury and limit edition for its own customers. By collaboration with HM, luxurious brands could open up customer market with lower disposable income. Figure 12: Images of HMs Collections by Guest Designers and Celebrities (Versace, Madonna, Jimmy Choo) (HM Annual Report) In addition, HM sells not only through store premises, but also over the internet and catalogue books, which with brand strategy, composes together HMs multi-channel strategy. HM has made positive progress by promoting limited online sales globally allowing consumers in areas with no HM stores to purchase online, which boosts global brand image for HM and generates sales (MarketLine, 2011). The company also produces own online webzine HM Life, linking to its online stores and fashion items with latest trends (Euromonitor International, 2012). Furthermore, HM has successfully combined social media strategy to build up its brand and customer loyalty with Facebook page, twitter account, YouTube account and special online social hub (MarketLine, 2011). For example, HMs Facebook page has competitive engagement rate of 2% (likes, comments, share, etc.). And the presence of free smartphone app for its brand is available to keep customers update with new products and sales. Figure 13: Images of HMs Social Media Network: Facebook Page, Twitter Page and Youtube Page (HM, 2012) With the success of clothing, HM further extend the product range to maximise sales opportunities by selling low cost make-up and jewellery and home furnishing (MarketLine, 2011). Following Inditex, the group has transferred into multi-brand channels. Besides HM, the group also has four independent brands, namely COS, Monki, Weekday and Cheap Monday, allowing the company expand its network further and avoiding saturation in European market (Euromonitor, 2011). However, these brands still only have limited presence globally. 4.4 Domestic and Global Strategy With a unique strategy and clear brand identity, a fashion retailer should then develop its global expansion for further growth. The global expansion strategy and process could be better illustrated with Uppsala Model theory (Chapter 2.1.4). 4.4.1 Market Selection and Entry HM, headquartered in Sweden, started expansion into neighbouring countries Norway (1964) and Denmark (1967) (MarketLine, 2011), and followed by entering other countries and regions (Chapter 2.1.4) (Appendix 1). As introduced in Chapter 2, similar culture or shared borders could all reduce psychic distances between foreign customers and can encourage the companys global expansion (Ghemawat, 2001). Western Europe still witness HMs majority of sales growth, which shows the effects of shorter psychic distances. Following Uppsala model (Chapter 2.1.4), after gathering market knowledge and analysis of potential growth, the company entered global market by acquisitions and with greater levels of market commitment (Appendix 1). With an ambitious growth target of 10% to 15% increase in store numbers every year (HM, 2011a), the company strategically selected global markets and made effort to expand globally step by step. Gradually, the brand established its global name among consumers. However, the dominance of Western Europe leaves HM reliant on this region (Euromonitor, 2011). Economic recession within the Eurozone could influence the sales directly, and saturation would limit HMs further growth potential. At the meantime, the apparel industry in other districts prospers, especially Latin America, with a forecast sales value growth of 25%, where HM is absent (Euromonitor, 2011). Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific is also forecast with high sales value growing potential of 32% and 33% respectively (Euromonitor, 2011). 4.4.2 Domestic Strategy After selection and entry into global market, HM has witnessed strong global growth. Compared with international market, domestic market has moderate performance. However, headquartered in Sweden, HM still possesses large portion of market share (Euromonitor, 2012). The companys sales growth in Sweden remains steady (Figure 14). With strong purchasing power, consumers in Sweden tend to buy clothes for enjoyment over necessity. Most of sales were conducted in store purchasing over the past five years (Figure 1

Global Atrocities :: essays research papers

Our Global Behavior and Acceptance   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When considering what our future society will consider as evil, such as we view slavery today, we must look to the past to estimate the future. The past two hundred years have led to enormous changes in the way we treat our fellow man. The next two hundred years, I believe, will lead to much more legislation and concern for the global impact of nation states and their practices. The human race has come to a point where we need to take careful concern for all issues. The bar will be raised so to speak concerning global injustices. I have laid out a few current events that will be considered global injustices in the future.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With globalization becoming more and more of a necessity in this world, the future would naturally weed out isolationist countries. It seems that a nation state could not survive without some economic interaction with the rest of the world. Furthermore it would be advantageous to take advantage of outside offerings. There is always a need and a resource within a nation. The trick is to tap into the resource and aid in the need. Not to just dominate a market and leave the problems to the people of the market one dominates. Of course it is not written, but should there not be common courtesy in global affairs? This globalization will also eventually lead to the apparent obligation to aid in the success of humans across the globe, rather than an individual group of humans (ie.states, governments, etc.) When this apparent process   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‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Page 2 becomes evident in society, people naturally will consider crimes against humanity as more and more unacceptable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Director General of The World Trade Organization, Mike Moore, said at the last World Economic Forum, that, â€Å"It’s not politically correct to say, but the big economies have needs too. And frankly... if the big economies get the sniffles, the rest of us get pneumonia.† This leads to the acknowledgment and realization of the domino effect, and how important it is to consider the implications of what we do. In the future, common society will consider isolationism and lack of willingness to aide others as evil. Humans will accept the notion that we are all related, and that all of what we do affects each other directly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A secondary thought looks at current issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The main thing besides the fact that these holy wars are wrong, is that they are obsolete. They serve no apparent purpose that I have been informed of. There are reasons to the conflict, but these reasons

How do pre-1914 writers create a sense of suspense, mystery and fear? :: Free Essay Writer

How do pre-1914 writers create a sense of suspense, mystery and fear? Comparison of three short novels The Red Room is a very good ghost story that was written by H.G Wells. The story was intended to be scary when it was written and it uses tension, atmosphere and a scary plot. Without these key features it would not succeed as a successful ghost story. The reason for this is to entice the reader by giving them small clues so it does not give the plot away, but you have to read on because it does not give enough away only small clues, so it is still a mystery. The main thing that helps create the good atmosphere for a ghost story is that it is set in the old castle. It is occupied by the three old people. They’re described as custodians. The candles that are situated round the castle also helps create atmosphere because it shows that it is in the night and most ghost stories are set at night and it then in turn provides an eerie atmosphere. At the beginning of the story the old people help add to the atmosphere by saying the things that had apparently happened there in the Red Room in the past. These things include; 'This night of all nights,' this makes it sound like it could be a type of anniversary of when something or someone had died or an event happened and this night is the worst night to go to the Red Room. 'In which the young Duke had died.' This shows you that something apparently had happened at the castle, a person had died in the Red Room which adds more evidence to there being a ghost being in the room. This then starts to make 'The Red Room' a better ghost story. 'And are you really going?' This shows that the man cannot believe that he is going to The Red Room. Other things such as the journey also turn out to be a good way of building atmosphere in the story. The way to the room is deliberately a long journey because if it was just up the corridor then there would be no suspense about the room and what can happen on the way to the room. The darkness of the journey also helps to create a ghostly atmosphere because it makes the littlest things look like the scariest things as in the dark things are not portrayed as what they really are. 'The ornaments and conveniences of the room about them were ghostly.' The silence of the journey helps to create echoes which add also to

Coles Sales Promotion Essay

Pacific managing director of Nielsen Consumer Group, saidâ€Å"It’s no surprise that consumers are increasingly concerned about their household budgets in response to such fluctuating economic conditions, and the cost-saving strategies currently being employed by consumers are likely to continue well into the year. †(Jessica Kennedy,2011)Due to the rising concern of the current unstable economic condition in Australia, the people have developed a tendency to save or spend only what is necessary. There is also a concern for the rising food and fuel prices and more and more people are looking for good deals and bargains for the basic necessities required to run a household. If this holds true to the working population then this will hold true even more to the student population in Australia who perhaps only have a part time job and live on a fixed budget. Market analysis: The student population contributes a lot to the economy of Australia. In 2008, the total tertiary student community in Melbourne was around 208,800 people and international tertiary student population numbering was at least 28,150 (Melbourne City Research, 2010). These numbers have steadily risen in the past years and will continue to do so. From this situation analysis, it can be derived that it would be a successful venture if fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables were offered at a discounted price by Coles to students in Melbourne for a limited period of time. And if the response is successful in Melbourne it can be an option to expand to other cities as well. Sales promotion pitch: Offering a 15% discount to students from the 1s of July to the 31st of July on all of Coles’ fresh and frozen fruits and vegetable line. SWOT analysis : Strengths:The current economic condition will help the response to a sale if it is held. It will attract the customers and increase revenue. It is also a healthy campaign as fruits and vegetables are being offered at a discount to students to encourage them to eat healthier and will boost the image of Coles. Weaknesses:The risk that the response may not be as enthusiastic as predicted from the target audience. Also that it is targeting a very specific segment of the market and that can be risky to the campaign if the response is not as predicted. Opportunities:The option to hold this sale every half year or more frequently if response is good and also in a larger number of cities. Threats: Competitors like Woolworths and Aldi may also put their items on sale to compete with Coles. Target Segment Demographics: Treating the market as heterogeneous, as all the people of Melbourne are not being targeted and they don’t have similar wants, the target profile for the campaign would look like the following : * Age|* Late teens and above| * Gender|* Male and female|Geographic area|* Melbourne| * Occupation|* Students| * Household size|* Living alone or with housemates| * Lifestyle and Habits|* Lives on a budget, tends to look forthe most reasonable prices, prioritizes saving andhas a slightly more healthy lifestyle. | The typical profile of the segment being targeted would be a College student who Lives alone or with housemates or in a dorm and who purchases their own groceries. Within the target audience there will be differen t views and attitudes about fruits and vegetables. The types of opinions are usually four in kind. They are: * The appreciators: will be the portion of the target market that like eating healthy and enjoy eating lots of fruits and vegetables. These people may be more health conscious and aware of the fact that fruits and vegetables are a very important part of the diet. â€Å" I love fruits and vegetables! They are a part of almost all of my meals for the day†* The acceptors: are the segment of students that eat a moderate amount of fruits and vegetables but also prefer meats and other food items.I like fruits and vegetables but I don’t like including them in all my meals, I prefer meat†* The resistors:this segment is not very fond of fruits and vegetables but eat them on occasion. â€Å"fruits and vegetables are ok but I would rather eat something else†* The rejecters: This portion of students is strongly against adding fruits or vegetables to their daily meals and would most definitely eat other foods ins tead. Insert refrence pg. 206 One of the purposes of the campaign is to try and get the percentage of the resistors and the rejecters to convert to either the acceptors or the appreciators. Time frame: The promotion will last for one month. Starting July 1st and ending July 31st. The duration chosen is during the offseason period where there are no big sales held otherwise. This will make it easier to persuade the target market to purchase their groceries at Coles as it will be cheaper to do so. It gives them an incentive to buy. 20 specimen subjects from Chisholm College that fit the target profile completed a survey about why they picked a particular store over another. Four fixed options were asked and the results were as follows: More than half, i. e 11 people out of 20, said that the main reason they choose a store was because of its low prices. 6 people said they choose a store according to how conveniently it’s located, 2 said it was because of loyalty to the store and 1 said because of good customer service. This further emphasizes the fact that if a sales promotion was held, the response would be enthusiastic and the campaign would be successful. Main Objective: * Increasing the sales of fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables by 5 to 10 percent in the month of July. Initially only in Melbourne with an option to expand to other cities if the response is positive. Additional objectives: * Enhance customer loyalty * Create new customers * To reinforce brand advertising * Encouraging students to eat healthier Perception – achieve at least a 65% increase in awareness of the sales promotion in the firstweek Cognition – Achieve recall of discount period at Coles by at least 80% of the students in Melbourne Persuasion – Make the target audience want to go to Coles for their groceries rather than its competitors Emotion – Induce humor and fun through the advertisement Association – Associate Coles with the most reasonable prices and quality goods Behavior – Persuade at least 3% of the customers that shop at Woolworths, Aldi and other competitors to switch over to Coles Approach: The type of approach to be used for this promotion is the emotional approach and a soft sell strategy. Humor will be used a medium in the advertisement to allow students to relate to the campaign easily and for retention of the message to create the need to buy fruits and vegetables at Coles. An anonymous survey was conducted using 20 students in Chisholm College that fit the target audience. They were asked to state what kinds of advertisements they remembered the easiest out of a given three choices. Out of 20 students, 15 said humorous advertisements were the easiest to remember, 2 said informative and 3 said shock advertising. Pull promotional strategy: ‘ In a pull strategy, the manufacturer directs the majority of its promotional effort towards the ultimate consumer in an attempt to get them to pull the products through the marketing channel. ’ (McColl – Kennedy, JR, 1994) A pull promotional strategy creates a high degree of awareness amongst consumers and implants a desire and an interest for the product. This makes the customers to go to the retail store with the determination to find the product to purchase it and if it is not available they urge the retailer to stock up on it. This is the strategy that Coles is aiming at following as the message will be sent directly to the ultimate consumers who are in this case the students, urging them to purchase frozen, fresh and canned fruits and vegetables. And when the demand exceeds the supply, it will cause the Coles retail stores to urge the wholesalers and other links in the product chain to acquire the product causing a pulling effect through the marketing channel. Communication: In order to inform the potential customers about the promotion, effective and efficient advertising must be carried out. The use of Television, the internet, newspapers and magazines help in doing so. Since the target market is only students, it would also be productive to display the advertisements on social networking sites on the internet. To further reach students fliers can be put up on the notice boards and in the college magazines. Point of purchase displays also helps as it improves in store branding and keeps the customer informed. Having sales signs near the product also can lead to impulse buying. The key message sent out here would be that it is cheaper to buy your groceries at Coles than at any other supermarket. Eliciting the desired response: The main reason for fierce advertising and promotions is due to the reason that the sales promotion will be carried out for one month only. During this time period, Coles seeks to attract as many customers as possible to their stores in Melbourne. It is true that the potential customers go through a behavioral or psychological process before purchasing a product called a response hierarchy. The Coles advertisements and promotions seek to fulfill all the steps in this hierarchy chain.

Bhagavatism

Related to this name is an early religion, sometimes called Bhagavatism[1] that was largely formed by the 4th century BC where Vasudeva was worshiped as the supreme Deity in a strongly monotheistic format, where the Supreme Being was perfect, eternal and full of grace.[1] The name forms part of a famous mantra also known as a â€Å"twelve syllable mantra†, which believed to be the earliest mantra from pre-reformation times, pre-dating sectarian divisions in Vaishnavism- (IAST oá ¹  namo bhagavate vÄ sudevÄ ya), it is translated as â€Å"Om, reverence to the Lord Vasudeva†.[1] Vasudeva married Devaki, the sister of Kansa, and he was also the father of Krishnas sister Subhadra. He also took a second wife, Rohini, who bore his eldest son, Balarama. According to some accounts he also had several other children by other wives. Vasudeva and Devaki spent most of their early adult life behind bars in the deepest pits of darkness as ordered by Kamsa. Vasudeva was known for his consistent approach to life and his virtue of being a truthful person, never uttering a lie during his lifetime. After Kamsa was killed by Krishna, Vasudeva was installed as the Crown-Prince of Mathura under the reign of Devaki's uncle, King Ugrasena.

African American Athletes Essay

American student athletes have always faced stereotypes in and out of the classroom, being seen as self-segregating or â€Å"dumb jocks† that really wouldn’t be at school if it weren’t for their athletic ability. Although these stereotypes are applied to both white and black athletes, African American students, especially men, feel it more than their white counterparts. African Americans are already, for the most part, seen as intellectually inferior, so when they are seen in an academic environment they are automatically judged. If they didn’t get into school just for being black, they got into school for being a black athlete. Excuses are made as to why African American student athletes and pro athletes dominate in the world of sports in general. From the time the black athlete stepped into the sports arena and began to compete with whites, white people have been looking for an explanation. In his article Sailes looks into the myths and stereotypes surrounding African American athletes, most of which have been created by whites. In loosely replicated the experiment that Sailes conducted with his students and in doing so I found that the stereotypes he discusses do exist and many people strongly believe in some of the myths. I interviewed both male and female athletes and non-athletes alike and surprisingly most of their answers to my questions were the same. I asked them all the same five questions; 1. Do you think African Americans dominate in sports? 2. Which Sports? 3. Are there certain positions they are better at? 4. Why? 5. Is their demeanor on the field or court different than that of a white athlete? and 6. Have you heard any myths about why black athletes are better? Interviewee #1, A white female on the basketball team at Gettysburg College felt that black athletes were better at all sports and in all positions, but particularly in basketball and football. She has learned from experience that black athletes are more loud and aggressive. It was her belief that African Americans are better at sports because of genetics. She also said that it could be because historically they have done hard labor and had menial jobs, so their physical condition has evolved. The one myth she has heard is that African Americans have an extra bone in their leg which makes them capable of jumping higher and running faster. Interviewee # 2, an African American football player stated that blacks are better at all sports, but especially football, in such positions as cornerback, running back, and wide receiver. When asked why he felt that this is true his answer was â€Å"because we’re just nasty like that. † In regards to myths he recalled one of his high school classmates expressing to him that the reason blacks were better was because they still had some monkey left in them. Interviewee # 3, a white college graduate, non-athlete articulated that blacks are better at any sport they try but not in any positions that require brain power or thought. He said that they are not usually good quarterbacks because they aren’t smart enough. When I asked him why, his response was, â€Å"because they are dumb N’s†. He believes that they become athletes because they have no other options to get a job or get rich, unless they can rap. He also stated that the reason they can run so fast is because they are used to running from the cops. Interviewee # 4, A white male who is a former athlete said that he believes that African Americans are superior in all sports except for lacrosse and hockey, and that the reason for this is because they are much more expensive to start up and maintain- as opposed to soccer/football/basketball where all you need is a ball really. He thinks black people on the whole start out life economically feeble compared to whites and believes in the myth that they have been evolved into more muscular and stronger people because of the process of natural selection during slavery where the slave owners bought the biggest and strongest, and they’re offspring are the ones that created the people that are dominating in sports now. My last interviewee was a female African American basketball player who felt that African Americans dominate in football and basketball because it is the only sport they want to play so they strive for it. She also said that blacks are more aggressive because it means more to them. In the majority of my interviews the participants mentioned what Sailes referred to as the Mandingo Theory, in which the physical superiority of African Americans is attributed to the selection and so called breeding process along with the manual labor performed during the days of slavery. The psychological and dumb jock theories were also articulated in the answers I received from the white students for they all said at some point or another during the interview that African Americans are intellectually inferior and all they have going for them is sports, and even in the world of sports there are positions that they are mentally incapable of occupying. The one thing that I believe all the participants agreed on both black and white is that African Americans are somehow genetically different. I was really taken aback by my findings. Even though I have learned throughout this semester that people are more racist than I ever thought they were, I didn’t realize that this racism is existent in literally everything. I’m not really into sports and do not pay attention to them, so I had no idea that people felt this way about African American athletes. So, it seems as though African Americans are battling this war on racism on yet another front.

Portfolio Management

A PROJECT REPORT ON PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT AT SHAREKHAN LTD HYDERABAD A PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED TO [pic] OSMANIA UNIVERSITY HYDERABAD IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE IN MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SUBMITTED BY SAFIA MOHAMMADI 1238-11-672-015 VILLA MARIE PG COLLEGE FOR WOMEN SOMAJIGUDA- 82 2011-2013 By DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRTIONVILLA MARIE POST GRADUATE COLLEGE, SOMAJIGUDA (Affiliated to Osmania University) 2011-2013 DECLARATION I SAFIA MOHAMMADI student of Master of Business Administration, VILLA MARIE PG COLLEGE FOR WOMEN, hereby declare that the project report entitled â€Å"PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT† has been carried out at â€Å"SHAREKHAN LTD† and submitted in partial fulfillment for the â€Å"Master’s Degree in Business Administration† in the result of my own work and is original. I have not submitted this project to any other university or college for the award of any other degree or Diploma.SAFIA MOH AMMADI ACKNOWLEDGEMENT A project is never the  work of an individual. It is  moreover a combination of ideas, suggestions, review, contribution and work involving many folks. It cannot be completed without guidelines. I wish to express my gratitude to all those who have made significant contribution to the development and presentation of this project. I express my sense of profound gratitude to the Management of â€Å"SHAREKHAN LTD†, Hyderabad for giving me this opportunity to conduct a study on Portfolio Management in their esteemed organization.My sincere thanks to Mr. DEEPAK, Manager and Ms. SWATHI BASA, Assistant Manager for permitting me to pursue this project and for providing their valuable time, suggestions and support for completing my project work successfully. Their patience and invaluable guidance have proved to be very precious without which this project would not be completed. Acknowledgements are also due to all the other staff members and executives in Sha rekhan Ltd. , for providing information at various points of the project, especially the discussions on the market.I am thankful to our Principal and also I would also like to thank my project guide and all the faculty members of the college for guiding me throughout the process. I also wish to extend my sincere acknowledgement to my parents for their moral and financial support. Lastly, I am indebted to the friends and will-wishers who have extended their support to me during the project. Place: Hyderabad SAFIA MOHAMMADI INDEX | | | |LIST OF CONTENTS |PAGE NO. | | | |CHAPTER-1 | | | | | |INTRODUCTION | | | | | |NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY | | | | | |OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY | | | | |SCOPE OF THE STUDY | | | | | |DATA COLLECTION METHODS | | | | | |LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY | | | | | |CHAPTER-2 | | |REVIEW OF LITERATURE | | | | | |CHAPTER-3 | | |COMPANY PROFILE | | | | | |CHAPTER-4 | | |DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION | | | | | |CHAPTER-5 | | |CONCLUSION AND SUGGES TIONS | | | | | |QUESTIONNAIRE | | | | | |BIBLIOGRAPHY | | CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: A portfolio is a collection of assets. The assets may be physical or financial like Shares, Bonds, Debentures, Preference Shares, etc. The individual investor or a fund manager would not like to put all his money in the shares of one company that would amount to great risk.He would therefore, follow the age old maxim that one should not put all the eggs into one basket. By doing so, he can achieve objective to maximize portfolio return and at the same time minimizing the portfolio risk by diversification. Investment may be defined as an activity that commits funds in any financial form in the present with an expectation of receiving additional return in the future. The expectations bring with it a probability that the quantum of return may vary from a minimum to a maximum. This possibility of variation in the actual return is known as investment risk. Thus every investment invo lves a return and risk. Investment is an activity that is undertaken by those who have savings.Savings can be defined as the excess of income over expenditure. An investor earns/expects to earn additional monetary value from the mode of investment that could be in the form of financial assets. The three important characteristics of any financial asset are: †¢ Return-the potential return possible from an asset. †¢ Risk-the variability in returns of the asset form the chances of its value going down/up. †¢ Liquidity-the ease with which an asset can be converted into cash. Investors tend to look at these three characteristics while deciding on their individual preference pattern of investments. Each financial asset will have a certain level of each of these characteristics.An investor invests his funds in portfolio expecting to get a good return consistent with the risk that he has to beat. Portfolio management comprises all the processes involved in the creation & maint enance of an investment portfolio. It deals specifically with Security Analysis, Portfolio Analysis, Selection and Revision & Evaluation. Portfolio Management is a complex process, which tries to make investment activity more rewarding & less risky. ? Portfolio management is the management of various financial assets which comprise the portfolio. ? Portfolio management is a decision – support system that is designed with a view to meet the multi-faced needs of investors.According to Securities and Exchange Board of India Portfolio is defined as: â€Å"portfolio means the total holdings of securities belonging to any person†. ? PORTFOLIO MANAGER means any person who pursuant to a contract or arrangement with a client, advises or directs or undertakes on behalf of the client (whether as a discretionary portfolio manager or otherwise) the management or administration of a portfolio of securities or the funds of the client. ? DISCRETIONARY PORTFOLIO MANAGER means a portfol io manager who exercises or may, under a contract relating to portfolio management exercises any degree of discretion as to the investments or management of the portfolio of securities or the funds of the client. Investment avenuesThere are a large number of investment avenues for savers in India. Some of them are marketable and liquid, while others are non-marketable. Some of them are highly risky while some others are almost risk less. Investment avenues can be broadly categorized under the following head. 1. Corporate securities 2. Equity shares. 3. Preference shares. 4. Debentures/Bonds. 5. Derivatives. 6. Others. Joint stock companies in the private sector issue corporate securities. These include equity shares, preference shares, and debentures. Equity shares have variable dividend and hence belong to the high risk-high return category; preference shares and debentures have fixed returns with lower risk.The classification of corporate securities that can be chosen as investmen t avenues can be depicted as shown below: DESIGN OF STUDY NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY †¢ Portfolio management presents the  best investment plan  to the individuals as per their income, budget, age and ability to undertake risks. †¢ Portfolio management  minimizes the risks  involved in investing and also increases the chance of making profits. †¢ Portfolio managers understand the client’s financial needs and suggest the best and unique investment policy for them with minimum risks involved. †¢ It enables the portfolio managers to  provide customized investment solutions  to clients as per their needs and requirements. It also focuses on important aspects like Stability of Income, Capital Growth, Liquidity, Safety, Tax Incentives, etc. †¢ Main goals of Portfolio Management are To Maximize the value of the portfolio, To Seek balance  in the portfolio and To Keep portfolio projects strategically  aligned OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: â⠂¬ ¢ To provide the material frame work of Portfolio Management †¢ To understand how to analyze securities †¢ To know how portfolio management is done. †¢ To study the investment pattern and its related risks & returns. †¢ To help the investors to choose wisely between alternative investment. †¢ To understand, analyze and select the best portfolio. To strike balance between costs of funds, risks and returns. †¢ To find out optimal portfolio, which gives optimal return at a minimize risk to the investor. †¢ To see whether the portfolio risk is less than individual risk on whose basis the portfolios are constituted SCOPE OF THE STUDY: †¢ This study covers the Markowitz model. The study covers the calculation of correlations between the different securities in order to find out at what percentage funds should be invested among the companies in the portfolio. Also the study includes the calculation of individual Standard Deviation of securities an d ends at the calculation of weights of individual securities involved in the portfolio.These percentages help in allocating the funds available for investment based on risky portfolios. METHODOLOGY: Sources of Data Collection The Methodology employed in this study data include both the primary and secondary collection methods. Primary collection methods: This method includes the data collected from the personal discussion with the authorized clerks and members of the exchange. Secondary data collection: It includes the following: †¢ Companies Annual Reports †¢ Information From Internet †¢ Publication †¢ Information provided by Stock Exchanges. Period of Study For different companies, financial data has been collected from the year 2007- 2012 Selection of CompaniesCompanies selected for analysis are:- o Wipro o Indian Tobacco Corporation o Dr. Reddy Laboratories o ACC o Bharat Heavy Electricals LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY: †¢ This study has been conducted purel y to understand portfolio management for investor and is done for requirement of Certificate of MBA. †¢ For study purpose 5 companies have been taken for calculations. †¢ Study is limited to period from 2007-2012. †¢ There was a constraint with regard to time allocated for the research study, period of one and half month. †¢ Study is limited to only first 3 steps of phrases of portfolio management. †¢ Detailed study of the topic was not possible due to limited size of project. The availability of information in the form of annual reports and price fluctuations of the companies was a big constraint to the study. CHAPTER-2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT The term Portfolio refers to any collection of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, and cash. Portfolios may be held by individual investors and/or managed by financial professionals, hedge funds, banks and other financial institutions. It is a generally accepted principle that a p ortfolio is designed according to the investor’s risk tolerance, time frame and investment objectives. Portfolio management is all about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the choice of debt vs. equity, domestic vs. nternational, growth vs. safety, and many other tradeoffs encountered in the attempt to maximize return at a given appetite for risk. The art and science of making decisions about investment mix and policy, matching investments to objectives, asset allocation for individuals and institutions, and balancing risk against performance is known as Portfolio Management. ? PORTFOLIO MANAGER means any person who pursuant to a contract or arrangement with a client, advises or directs or undertakes on behalf of the client (whether as a discretionary portfolio manager or otherwise) the management or administration of a portfolio of securities or the funds of the client. DISCRETIONARY PORTFOLIO MANAGER means a portfolio manager who exercises or may, under a c ontract relating to portfolio management exercises any degree of discretion as to the investments or management of the portfolio of securities or the funds of the client. FUNCTIONS OF PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: ? To frame the investment strategy and select an investment mix to achieve the desired investment objectives ? To provide a balanced portfolio which not only can hedge against the inflation but can also optimize returns with the associated degree of risk ? To make timely buying and selling of securities ? To maximize the after-tax return by investing in various tax saving investment instruments.STRUCTURE / PROCESS OF TYPICAL PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT In the small firm, the portfolio manager performs the job of security analyst. In the case of medium and large sized organizations, job function of portfolio manager and security analyst are separate. CHARACTERISTICS OF PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: Individuals will benefit immensely by taking portfolio management services for the following reason s: ? Whatever may be the status of the capital market, over the long period capital markets have given an excellent return when compared to other forms of investment. The return from bank deposits, units, etc. , is much less than from the stock market. ? The Indian Stock Markets are very complicated.Though there are thousands of companies that are listed only a few hundred which have the necessary liquidity. Even among these, only some have the growth prospects which are conducive for investment. It is impossible for any individual wishing to invest and sit down and analyse all these intricacies of the market unless he does nothing else. ? Even if an investor is able to understand the intricacies of the market and separate chaff from the grain the trading practices in India are so complicated that it is really a difficult task for an investor to trade in all the major exchanges of India, look after his deliveries and payments. TYPES OF PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: Discretionary Portfolio M anagement Service(DPMS):In this type of service, the client parts with his money in favour of the manager, who in return, handles all the paper work, makes all the decisions and gives a good return on the investment and charges fee. In the Discretionary Portfolio Management Service, to maximize the yield, almost all portfolio managers park the funds in the money market securities such as overnight market, 18 days treasury bills and 90 days commercial bills. Normally, the return of such investment varies from 14 to 18 percent, depending on the call money rates prevailing at the time of investment. 2. Non-Discretionary Portfolio Management Service(NDPMS): The manager functions as a counselor, but the investor is free to accept or reject the manager‘s advice; the paper work is also undertaken by manager for a service charge.The manager concentrates on stock market instruments with a portfolio tailor-made to the risk taking ability of the investor. Risk of Portfolio Management The re was a time when portfolio management was an exotic term. The scenario has changed drastically. It is now a familiar term and is widely practiced in India. The theories and concepts relating to portfolio management now find their way to the front pages financial newspapers and the cover pages of investments journals in India. Capital markets have become active. The Indian stock markets are steadily moving towards efficiency, with rapid computerization, increasing higher market transparency, better infrastructure, better customer service etc.The markets are mutual funds have been set up the country since1987. With this development investment in securities has gained considered momentum. Professional portfolio management backed by competent research began to be practiced by mutual funds, investment consultant and big brokers. The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), The Stock Market Regulatory body in India is supervising the whole process. IMPORTANCE OF PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: ? Emergence of institutional investing on behalf of individuals. A number of financial institutions, mutual funds and other agencies are undertaking the task of investing money of small investors, on their behalf. Growth in the number and size of investible funds – a large part of household savings is being directed towards financial assets. ? Increased market volatility – risk and return parameters of financial assets are continuously changing because of frequent changes in government‘s industrial and fiscal policies, economic uncertainty and instability. ? Greater use of computers for processing mass of data. ? Professionalization of the field and increasing use of analytical methods (e. g. quantitative techniques) in the investment decision – making ? Larger direct and indirect costs of errors or shortfalls in meeting portfolio objectives – increased competition and greater scrutiny by investors.STEPS IN PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: ? Specification and qualification of investor objectives, constraints, and preferences in the form of an investment policy statement. ? Determination and qualification of capital market expectations for the economy, market sectors, industries and individual securities. ? Allocation of assets and determination of appropriate portfolio strategies for each asset class and selection of individual securities. ? Performance measurement and evaluation to ensure attainment of investor objectives. ? Monitoring portfolio factors and responding to changes in investor objectives, constrains and / or capital market expectations. Rebalancing the portfolio when necessary by repeating the asset allocation, portfolio strategy and security selection. CRITERIA FOR PORTFOLIO DECISIONS: †¢ In portfolio management emphasis is put on identifying the collective importance of all investor’s holdings. The emphasis shifts from individual assets selection to a more balanced emphasis on diversification and risk-return interrelationships of individual assets within the portfolio. Individual securities are important only to the extent they affect the aggregate portfolio. In short, all decisions should focus on the impact which the decision will have on the aggregate portfolio of all the assets held. †¢ Portfolio strategy should be molded to the unique needs and characteristics of the portfolio‘s owner. Diversification across securities will reduce a portfolio‘s risk. If the risk and return are lower than the desired level, leverages (borrowing) can be used to achieve the desired level. †¢ Larger portfolio returns come only with larger portfolio risk. The most important decision to make is the amount of risk which is acceptable. †¢ The risk associated with a security type depends on when the investment will be liquidated. Risk is reduced by selecting securities with a payoff close to when the portfolio is to be liquidated. QUALITIES OF PORTFOLIO MANAGER: 1. SOUND GENERAL K NOWLEDGE: Portfolio management is an exciting and challenging job. He has to work in an extremely uncertain and confliction environment.In the stock market every new piece of information affects the value of the securities of different industries in a different way. He must be able to judge and predict the effects of the information he gets. He must have sharp memory, alertness, fast intuition and self-confidence to arrive at quick decisions. 2. ANALYTICAL ABILITY: He must have his own theory to arrive at the intrinsic value of the security. An analysis of the security‘s values, company, etc. is s continuous job of the portfolio manager. A good analyst makes a good financial consultant. The analyst can know the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities of the economy, industry and the company. 3. MARKETING SKILLS: He must be good salesman. He has to convince the clients about the particular security.He has to compete with the stock brokers in the stock market. In this context, the marketing skills help him a lot. 4. EXPERIENCE: In the cyclical behavior of the stock market history is often repeated, therefore the experience of the different phases helps to make rational decisions. The experience of the different types of securities, clients, market trends, etc. , makes a perfect professional manager. PORTFOLIO BUILDING: Portfolio decisions for an individual investor are influenced by a wide variety of factors. Individuals differ greatly in their circumstances and therefore, a financial programme well suited to one individual may be inappropriate for another.Ideally, an individual‘s portfolio should be tailor-made to fit one‘s individual needs. Investor‘s Characteristics: An analysis of an individual‘s investment situation requires a study of personal characteristics such as age, health conditions, personal habits, family responsibilities, business or professional situation, and tax status, all of which affect the investor‘s willin gness to assume risk. Stage in the Life Cycle: One of the most important factors affecting the individual‘s investment objective is his stage in the life cycle. A young person may put greater emphasis on growth and lesser emphasis on liquidity. He can afford to wait for realization of capital gains as his time horizon is large. Family responsibilities:The investor‘s marital status and his responsibilities towards other members of the family can have a large impact on his investment needs and goals. Investor‘s experience: The success of portfolio depends upon the investor‘s knowledge and experience in financial matters. If an investor has an aptitude for financial affairs, he may wish to be more aggressive in his investments. Attitude towards Risk: A person‘s psychological make-up and financial position dictate his ability to assume the risk. Different kinds of securities have different kinds of risks. The higher the risk, the greater the opportunity for higher gain or loss. Liquidity Needs: Liquidity needs vary considerably among individual investors.Investors with regular income from other sources may not worry much about instantaneous liquidity, but individuals who depend heavily upon investment for meeting their general or specific needs, must plan portfolio to match their liquidity needs. Liquidity can be obtained in two ways: 1. by allocating an appropriate percentage of the portfolio to bank deposits, and 2. by requiring that bonds and equities purchased be highly marketable. Tax considerations: Since different individuals, depending upon their incomes, are subjected to different marginal rates of taxes, tax considerations become most important factor in individual‘s portfolio strategy. There are differing tax treatments for investment in various kinds of assets. Time Horizon:In investment planning, time horizon become an important consideration. It is highly variable from individual to individual. Individuals in their young age have long time horizon for planning, they can smooth out and absorb the ups and downs of risky combination. Individuals who are old have smaller time horizon, they generally tend to avoid volatile portfolios. Individual‘s Financial Objectives: In the initial stages, the primary objective of an individual could be to accumulate wealth via regular monthly savings and have an investment programme to achieve long term capital gains. Safety of Principal: The protection of the rupee value of the investment is of prime importance to most investors.The original investment can be recovered only if the security can be readily sold in the market without much loss of value. Assurance of Income: `Different investors have different current income needs. If an individual is dependent of its investment income for current consumption then income received now in the form of dividend and interest payments become primary objective. Investment Risk: All investment decisions revolve arou nd the trade-off between risk and return. All rational investors want a substantial return from their investment. An ability to understand, measure and properly manage investment risk is fundamental to any intelligent investor or a speculator.Frequently, the risk associated with security investment is ignored and only the rewards are emphasized. An investor who does not fully appreciate the risks in security investments will find it difficult to obtain continuing positive results. RISK AND EXPECTED RETURN: There is a positive relationship between the amount of risk and the amount of expected return i. e. , the greater the risk, the larger the expected return and larger the chances of substantial loss. One of the most difficult problems for an investor is to estimate the highest level of risk he is able to assume. [pic] TYPES OF RISKS:- Risk consists of two components. They are 1. Systematic Risk 2. Un-systematic Risk 1. Systematic Risk:Systematic risk is caused by factors external t o the particular company and uncontrollable by the company. The systematic risk affects the market as a whole. Factors affect the systematic risk are ? economic conditions ? political conditions ? sociological changes The systematic risk is unavoidable. Systematic risk is further sub-divided into three types. They are a) Market Risk b) Interest Rate Risk c) Purchasing Power Risk a) Market Risk: One would notice that when the stock market surges up, most stocks post higher price. On the other hand, when the market falls sharply, most common stocks will drop. It is not uncommon to find stock prices falling from time to time while a company‘s earnings are rising and vice-versa.The price of stock may fluctuate widely within a short time even though earnings remain unchanged or relatively stable b) Interest Rate Risk: Interest rate risk is the risk of loss of principal brought about the changes in the interest rate paid on new securities currently being issued. c) Purchasing Power Risk: The typical investor seeks an investment which will give him current income and / or capital appreciation in addition to his original investment. 2. Un-systematic Risk: Un-systematic risk is unique and peculiar to a firm or an industry. The nature and mode of raising finance and paying back the loans, involve the risk element. Financial leverage of the companies that is debt-equity portion of the companies differs from each other.All these factors Factors affect the un-systematic risk and contribute a portion in the total variability of the return. ? Managerial inefficiently ? Technological change in the production process ? Availability of raw materials ? Changes in the consumer preference ? Labour problems The nature and magnitude of the above mentioned factors differ from industry to industry and company to company. They have to be analyzed separately for each industry and firm. Un-systematic risk can be broadly classified into: a) Business Risk b) Financial Risk a. Busines s Risk: Business risk is that portion of the unsystematic risk caused by the operating environment of the business.Business risk arises from the inability of a firm to maintain its competitive edge and growth or stability of the earnings. The volatibility in stock prices due to factors intrinsic to the company itself is known as Business risk. Business risk is concerned with the difference between revenue and earnings before interest and tax. Business risk can be divided into. i) Internal Business Risk Internal business risk is associated with the operational efficiency of the firm. The operational efficiency differs from company to company. The efficiency of operation is reflected on the company‘s achievement of its pre-set goals and the fulfillment of the promises to its investors. ii)External Business RiskExternal business risk is the result of operating conditions imposed on the firm by circumstances beyond its control. The external environments in which it operates exert some pressure on the firm. The external factors are social and regulatory factors, monetary and fiscal policies of the government, business cycle and the general economic environment within which a firm or an industry operates. b. Financial Risk: It refers to the variability of the income to the equity capital due to the debt capital. Financial risk in a company is associated with the capital structure of the company. Capital structure of the company consists of equity funds and borrowed funds. PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS:Various groups of securities when held together behave in a different manner and give interest payments and dividends also, which are different to the analysis of individual securities. A combination of securities held together will give a beneficial result if they are grouped in a manner to secure higher return after taking into consideration the risk element. SELECTION OF PROTFOLIO: The selection of portfolio depends on the various objectives of the investor. The selectio n of portfolio under different objectives are dealt subsequently. Objectives and asset mix: if the main objective is getting adequate amount of current income, sixty per cent of the investment is made on debts and 40 per cent on equities. The proportions of investments on debt and equity differ according to the individual’s preferences.Growth of income and asset mix: Here the investor requires a certain percentage of growth in the income received from his investment. The debt portion of the portfolio may consist of 60 to 100 percent equities and 0 to 40 percent debt instrument. The debt portion of the portfolio may consist of concession regarding tax exemption. Appreciation of principal amount is given third priority. For example computer software, hardware and non-conventional energy producing company shares provides good possibility of growth in dividend. Capital appreciation and asset mix: Capital appreciation means that the valu of the original investment increases over t he years.Investment in real estates like land and house may provide a faster rate of capital appreciation but they lack liquidity. In the capital market, the values of the shares are much higher than their original issue prices. Safety of principal and asset mix: Usually, the risk averse investors are very particular about the stability of principal. According to the life cycle theory, people in the third stage of life also give more importance to the safety of the principal. All the investors have this objective in their mind. No one like to lose his money invested in different assets. Risk and return analysis: The traditional approach to portfolio building has some basic assumptions. First, the individual prefers larger to smaller returns from securities.To achieve this goal, the investor has to take more risk. The ability to achieve higher returns is dependent upon his ability to judge risk and his ability to take specific risks. Diversification: Once the asset mix is determined and the risk and return are analyzed, the final step is the diversification of portfolio. Financial risk can be minimized by commitments to top-quality bonds, but these securities offer poor resistance to inflation. Stocks provide better inflation protection than bonds but are more vulnerable to financial risks. PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION: Portfolio is a combination of securities such as stocks, bonds and money market instruments.The process of blending together the broad asset so as to obtain optimum return with minimum risk is called portfolio construction. Diversification of investments helps to spread risk over many assets. A diversification of securities gives the assurance of obtaining the anticipated return on the portfolio. APPROACHES IN PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION: There are two approaches in construction of the portfolio of securities. They are ? Traditional approach ? Modern approach TRADITIONAL APPROACH: Traditional approach was based on the fact that risk could be measured on ea ch individual security through the process of finding out the standard deviation and that security should be chosen where the deviation was the lowest.Traditional approach believes that the market is inefficient and the fundamental analyst can take advantage of the situation. Traditional approach is a comprehensive financial plan for the individual. It takes into account the individual needs such as housing, life insurance and pension plans. Traditional approach basically deals with two major decisions. They are a) Determining the objectives of the portfolio b) Selection of securities to be included in the portfolio MODERN APPROACH: Modern approach theory was brought out by Markowitz and Sharpe. It is the combination of securities to get the most efficient portfolio. Combination of securities can be made in many ways. Markowitz developed the theory of diversification through scientific reasoning and method.Modern portfolio theory believes in the maximization of return through a comb ination of securities. The modern approach discusses the relationship between different securities and then draws inter-relationships of risks between them. Markowitz gives more attention to the process of selecting the portfolio. It does not deal with the individual needs. In the modern approach, the final step is asset allocation process that is to choose the portfolio that meets he requirement of the investor. The risk taker i. e. who are willing to accept a higher probability of risk for getting the expected return would choose high risk portfolio. Investor with lower tolerance for risk would choose low level risk portfolio.The risk neutral investor would choose the medium level risk portfolio. MARKOWITZ MODEL: Harry Markowitz opened new vistas to modern portfolio selection by publishing an article in the journal of Finance in March 1952. His publication indicated the importance of correlation among the different stocks reruns in the construction of a stock portfolio. Most peopl e agree that holding two stocks is less risky than holding one stock. For example, holding stocks from textile, banking, and electronic companies is better than investing all the money on the textile company’s stock. But building up the optimal portfolio is very difficult. Markowitz provides an answer to it with the help of risk and return relationship.Markowitz model is a theoretical framework for analysis of risk and return and their relationships. He used statistical analysis for the measurement of risk and mathematical programming for selection of assets in a portfolio in an efficient manner. Markowitz approach determines for the investor the efficient set of portfolio through three important variables i. e. ? Return ? Standard deviation ? Co-efficient of correlation Markowitz model is also called as an â€Å"Full Covariance Modelâ€Å". Through this model the investor can find out the efficient set of portfolio by finding out the tradeoff between risk and return, betwe en the limits of zero and infinity.According to this theory, the effects of one security purchase over the effects of the other security purchase are taken into consideration and then the results are evaluated. Most people agree that holding two stocks is less risky than holding one stock. For example, holding stocks from textile, banking and electronic companies is better than investing all the money on the textile company‘s stock. Markowitz had given up the single stock portfolio and introduced diversification. The single stock portfolio would be preferable if the investor is perfectly certain that his expectation of highest return would turn out to be real. In the world of uncertainty, most of the risk adverse investors would like to join Markowitz rather than keeping a single stock, because diversification reduces the risk. ASSUMPTIONS: All investors would like to earn the maximum rate of return that they can achieve from their investments. ? All investors have the same ex pected single period investment horizon. ? All investors before making any investments have a common goal. This is the avoidance of risk because Investors are risk-averse. ? Investors base their investment decisions on the expected return and standard deviation of returns from a possible investment. ? Perfect markets are assumed (e. g. no taxes and no transaction costs). ? The investor assumes that greater or larger the return that he achieves on his investments, the higher the risk factor surrounds him. On the contrary when risks are low the return can also be expected to be low. The investor can reduce his risk if he adds investments to his portfolio. ? An investor should be able to get higher return for each level of risk â€Å"by determining the efficient set of securitiesâ€Å". ? An individual seller or buyer cannot affect the price of a stock. This assumption is the basic assumption of the perfectly competitive market. ? Investors make their decisions only on the basis of t he expected returns, standard deviation and covariance’s of all pairs of securities. ? Investors are assumed to have homogenous expectations during the decision-making period. ? The investor can lend or borrow any amount of funds at the riskless rate of interest.The riskless rate of interest is the rate of interest offered for the treasury bills or Government securities. ? Investors are risk-averse, so when given a choice between two otherwise identical portfolios, they will choose the one with the lower standard deviation. ? Individual assets are infinitely divisible, meaning that an investor can buy a fraction of a share if he or she so desires. ? There is a risk free rate at which an investor may either lend (i. e. invest) money or borrow money and There is no transaction cost i. e. no cost involved in buying and selling of stocks. ? There is no personal income tax. Hence, the investor is indifferent to the form of return either capital gain or dividend.The Effect Of Combi ning Two Securities: It is believed that holding two securities is less risky than by having only one investment in a person‘s portfolio. When two stocks are taken on a portfolio and if they have negative correlation then risk can be completely reduced because the gain on one can offset the loss on the other. This can be shown with the help of following example: Inter-Active Risk Through Covariance: Covariance of the securities will help in finding out the inter-active risk. When the covariance will be positive then the rates of return of securities move together either upwards or downwards. Alternatively it can also be said that the inter-active risk is positive.Secondly, covariance will be zero on two investments if the rates of return are independent. Holding two securities may reduce the portfolio risk too. The portfolio risk can be calculated with the help of the following formula: CAPITAL ASSET PRICING MODEL (CAPM): Markowitz, William Sharpe, John Lintner and Jan Mossin provided the basic structure for the Capital Asset Pricing Model. It is a model of linear general equilibrium return. In the CAPM theory, the required rate return of an asset is having a linear relationship with asset‘s beta value i. e. undiversifiable or systematic risk (i. e. market related risk) because non market risk can be eliminated by diversification and systematic risk measured by beta.Therefore, the relationship between an assets return and its systematic risk can be expressed by the CAPM, which is also called the Security Market Line. Lending and borrowing:- Here, it is assumed that the investor could borrow or lend any amount of money at riskless rate of interest. When this opportunity is given to the investors, they can mix risk free assets with the risky assets in a portfolio to obtain a desired rate of risk-return combination. Rp =Portfolio return Xf =The proportion of funds invested in risk free assets 1- Xf = The proportion of funds invested in risky assets Rf =Risk free rate of return Rm =Return on risky assets The expected return on the combination of risky and risk free combination is Rp= Rf Xf+ Rm(1- Xf)Formula can be used to calculate the expected returns for different situations, like mixing riskless assets with risky assets, investing only in the risky asset and mixing the borrowing with risky assets. THE CONCEPT: According to CAPM, all investors hold only the market portfolio and risk less securities. The market portfolio is a portfolio comprised of all stocks in the market. Each asset is held in proportion to its market value to the total value of all risky assets. For example, if Reliance Industry share represents 15% of all risky assets, then the market portfolio of the individual investor contains 15% of Satyam Industry shares. At this stage, the investor has the ability to borrow or lend any amount of money at the risk less rate of interest. Eg. assume that borrowing and lending rate to be 12. 5% and the return from the risk y assets to be 20%. There is a tradeoff between the expected return and risk. If an investor invests in risk free assets and risky assets, his risk may be less than what he invests in the risky asset alone. But if he borrows to invest in risky assets, his risk would increase more than he invests his own money in the risky assets. When he borrows to invest, we call it financial leverage. If he invests 50% in risk free assets and 50% in risky assets, his expected return of the portfolio would be Rp= Rf Xf+ Rm(1- Xf) = (12. 5 x 0. 5) + 20 (1-0. 5) = 6. 25 + 10 = 16. 5% if there is a zero investment in risk free asset and 100% in risky asset, the return is Rp= Rf Xf+ Rm(1- Xf) = 0 + 20% i. e. 20% if -0. 5 in risk free asset and 1. 5 in risky asset, the return is Rp= Rf Xf+ Rm(1- Xf) = (12. 5 x -0. 5) + 20 (1. 5) = -6. 25+ 30 = 23. 75% EVALUATION OF PORTFOLIO: Portfolio manager evaluates his portfolio performance and identifies the sources of strengths and weakness. The evaluation of the portfolio provides a feedback about the performance to evolve better management strategy. Even though evaluation of portfolio performance is considered to be the last stage of investment process, it is a continuous process.There are number of situations in which an evaluation becomes necessary and important. i. Self-Valuation: An individual may want to evaluate how well he has done. This is a part of the process of refining his skills and improving his performance over a period of time. ii. Evaluation of Managers: A mutual fund or similar organization might want to evaluate its managers. A mutual fund may have several managers each running a separate fund or sub-fund. It is often necessary to compare the performance of these managers. iii. Evaluation of Mutual Funds: An investor may want to evaluate the various mutual funds operating in the country to decide which, if any, of these should be chosen for investment.A similar need arises in the case of individuals or organizations who engage external agencies for portfolio advisory services. iv. Evaluation of Groups: Academics or researchers may want to evaluate the performance of a whole group of investors and compare it with another group of investors who use different techniques or who have different skills or access to different information. NEED FOR EVALUATION OF PORTFOLIO: ? We can try to evaluate every transaction. Whenever a security is brought or sold, we can attempt to assess whether the decision was correct and profitable. ? We can try to evaluate the performance of a specific security in the portfolio to determine whether it has been worthwhile to include it in our portfolio. We can try to evaluate the performance of portfolio as a whole during the period without examining the performance of individual securities within the portfolio. Portfolio management has emerged as a separate academic discipline in India. Portfolio theory that deals with the rational investment decision-making process has now be come an integral part of financial literature. Investing in securities such as shares, debentures & bonds is profitable well as exciting. It is indeed rewarding but involves a great deal of risk & need artistic skill. Investing in financial securities is now considered to be one of the most risky avenues of investment. It is rare to find investors investing their entire savings in a single security. Instead, they tend to invest in a group of securities.Such group of securities is called as PORTFOLIO. Creation of portfolio helps to reduce risk without sacrificing returns. Portfolio management deals with the analysis of individual securities as well as with the theory & practice of optimally combining securities into portfolios. The modern theory is of the view that by diversification, risk can be reduced. The investor can make diversification either by having a large number of shares of companies in different regions, in different industries or those producing different types of prod uct lines. Modern theory believes in the perspective of combinations of securities under constraints of risk and return.PORTFOLIO REVISION: The portfolio which is once selected has to be continuously reviewed over a period of time and then revised depending on the objectives of the investor. The care taken in construction of portfolio should be extended to the review and revision of the portfolio. Fluctuations that occur in the equity prices cause substantial gain or loss to the investors. The investor should have competence and skill in the revision of the portfolio. The portfolio management process needs frequent changes in the composition of stocks and bonds. In securities, the type of securities to be held should be revised according to the portfolio policy.An investor purchases stock according to his objectives and return risk framework. The prices of stock that he purchases fluctuate, each stock having its own cycle of fluctuations. These price fluctuations may be related to e conomic activity in a country or due to other changed circumstances in the market. If an investor is able to forecast these changes by developing a framework for the future through careful analysis of the behavior and movement of stock prices is in a position to make higher profit than if he was to simply buy securities and hold them through the process of diversification. Mechanical methods are adopted to earn better profit through proper timing.The investor uses formula plans to help him in making decisions for the future by exploiting the fluctuations in prices. PASSIVE MANAGEMENT: Passive management is a process of holding a well diversified portfolio for a long term with the buy and hold approach. Passive management refers to the investor’s attempt to construct a portfolio that resembles the overall market returns. The simplest form of passive management is holding the index fund that is designed to replicate a good and well defined index of the common stock such as BSE- sensex or NSE-Nifty. ACTIVE MANAGEMENT: Active management is holding securities based on gthe forecast about the future.The portfolio managers who pursue active strategy with respect to market components are called ‘market timers’. The portfolio managers vary their cash position or beta of the equity portion of the portfolio based on the market forecast. The managers may indulge in ‘ group rotation’s. here, the group rotation means changing the investment in different industries’ stocks depending on the assessed expectations regarding their future performance. FORMULA PLANS: The formula plans provide the basic rules and regulations for the purchase and sale of securities. The amount to be spent on the different types of securities is fixed. The amount may be fixed either in constant or variable ratio. This depends on the investor‘s attitude towards risk and return.The commonly used formula plans are i. Average Rupee Plan ii. Constant Rupee Plan iii. Constant Ratio Plan iv. Variable Ratio Plan ADVANTAGES: ? Basic rules and regulations for the purchase and sale of securities are provided. ? The rules and regulations are rigid and help to overcome human emotion. ? The investor can earn higher profits by adopting the plans. ? A course of action is formulated according to the investor‘s objectives. ? It controls the buying and selling of securities by the investor. ? It is useful for taking decisions on the timing of investments. DISADVANTAGES: ? The formula plan does not help the selection of the security.The selection of the security has to be done either on the basis of the fundamental or technical analysis. ? It is strict and not flexible with the inherent problem of adjustment. ? The formula plans should be applied for long periods, otherwise the transaction cost may be high. ? Even if the investor adopts the formula plan, he needs forecasting. Market forecasting helps him to identify the best stocks. CHAPTER-3 COMP ANY PROFILE SHAREKHAN LTD Sharekhan Ltd. is one of the leading retail stock broking house of SSKI Group which is running successfully since 1922 in the country. It is the retail broking arm of the Mumbai-based SSKI Group, which has over eight decades of experience in the stock broking business.Sharekhan offers its customers a wide range of equity related services including trade execution on BSE, NSE, Derivatives, depository services, online trading, investment advice etc. The firm’s online trading and investment site – www. sharekhan. com- was launched on Feb 8, 2000. The site gives access to superior content and transaction facility to retail customers across the country. Known for its jargon-free, investor friendly language and high quality research, the site has a registered base of over one lakh customers. The content-rich and research oriented portal has stood out among its contemporaries because of its steadfast dedication to offering customers best-of-breed tec hnology and superior market information.The objective has been to let customers make informed decisions and to simplify the process of investing in stocks. On April 17, 2002 Sharekhan launched Speed Trade, a net-based executable application that emulates the broker terminals along with host of other information relevant to the Day Traders. This was for the first time that a net-based trading station of this caliber was offered to the traders. In the last six months Speed Trade has become a de facto standard for the Day Trading community over the net. Sharekhan’s ground network includes over 640 centers in 280 cities in India which provide a host of trading related services. Sharekhan has always believed in investing in technology to build its business.The company has used some of the best-known names in the IT industry, like Sun  Microsystems,  Oracle,  Microsoft,  Cambridge  Technologies,  Nex genix, Vignette, Verisign Financial Technologies India Ltd, Spider Sof tware Pvt Ltd. To build its trading engine and content. The Morakhiya family holds a majority stake in the company. HSBC, Intel &  Carlyle are the other investors. With a legacy of more than 80 years in the stock markets, the SSKI groupventured  into  institutional  broking  and  corporate  finance  18  years  ago. Presently  SSKI  is  one  of  the  leading  players  in  institutional  broking  andcorporate finance activities. SSKI holds a sizeable portion of the market in each of these segments.SSKI’s institutional broking arm accountsfo7%of  the  market  for  Foreign  Institutional  portfolio  investment  and  5%  of  allDomestic  Institutional  portfolio  investment  in  the  country. It  has  60institutional  clients  spread  over  India,  Far  East,  UK  and  US. ForeignInstitutional Investors generate about 65% of the organization’s revenue, with a daily turnover of over US$ 2 million. The Corporate Finance section has a listof very prestigious clients and has many ‘firsts’ to its credit, in terms of the size of deal, sector tapped etc. The group has placed over US$ 1 billion in private equity deals. PROFILE OF THE COMPANY: Name of the company : Sharekhan ltd.Year of Establishment : 1925 Headquarter : ShareKhan SSKI A-206 Phoenix House Phoenix Mills Compound Lower Parel, Mumbai – Maharashtra, INDIA- 400013 Nature of Business : Service Provider Services : Depository Services, Online Services and Technical Research. Number of Employees : Over 3500 Website : www. sharekhan. com Slogan : Your guide to the financial jungle Vision To be the best  retail brokering Brand in the retail business of stock market. MissionTo educate and empower the individual investor to make better investmentdecisions through quality advice and  superior service Sharekhan is infact: †¢ Among the top 3 branded retail service providers †¢ No . 1 player in online business †¢ Largest network of branded broking outlets in the country serving more than7, 00,000 clients Sharekhan's management team is one of the strongest in the sector and has positioned Sharekhan to take advantage of the growing consumer demand for financial services products in India through investments in research, pan-Indian branch network and an outstanding technology platform. Further, Sharekhan's lineage and relationship with SSKI Group provide it a unique position to understand and leverage the growth of the financial services sector.SSKI Corporate Finance Private Limited (SSKI) is a leading India-based investment bank with strong research-driven focus. Their team members are widely respected for their commitment to transactions and their specialized knowledge in their areas of strength ITA CORE SERVICES ARE: ? Equities, and Derivatives trading on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. (NSE), and Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd. (BSE), ? Commodities trading on National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange India(NCDEX) and Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX), ? Depository services, ? Online trading services, ? IPO Services, ? Dial-n-Trade ? Portfolio management services, Fundamental and Technical Research services, ? In addition to this they also provide advisory services and  distributions for  mutual funds. ? Sharekhan ValueLine (a monthly publication with  reviews of recommendations,stocks to watch out for etc. ) ? Daily research reports and market review (High Noon &  Eagle Eye) ? Pre-market Report ? Daily trading calls based on Technical Analysis ? Cool trading products (Daring Derivatives and Market Strategy) REASONS TO CHOOSE SHAREKHAN: ? Experience : SSKI has more than eight decades of trust and credibility in the Indian Stock Market. In the Asia Money Broker’s Poll held recently, SSKI won the ‘India’s Best broking house for 2004’ award.Ever since it launched Sharekhan as its re tail broking division in February in 2000, it has been providing institutional-level research and broking services to individual investors. ? Technology: With their Online Trading account one can buy and sell shares in an instant from any PC with an internet connection. Customers get access to the powerful online trading tools that will help them to take complete control over their investments in shares. ? Accessibility: Sharekhan provides Advice, Education, Tools and Education services for investors. These services are accessible through many centers across the country (over 650 locations in 150 cities), over the internet (through the website www. sharekhan. ltd) as well as over the voice tool. ? Knowledge:In a business where the right information at the right time can translate into direct profits investors get access to a wide range of information on the content rich portal www. sharekhan. com. Investors will also get a useful set of knowledge-based tools that will empower them t o take informed decisions ? Convenience: One can call Sharekhan’s Dial-N-Trade number to get investment advice and execute his/her transactions. They have a dedicated call-center to provide this service via a Toll Free Number 1800 22-7500 & 39707500 from anywhere in India. ? Customer Service: Its customer service team assist their customer for any help that they need relating to transactions, billing, demat and other queries.Their customer service can be contacted via a toll-free number, email or live chat on www. sharekhan. com. ? Investment Advice: Sharekhan has dedicated research teams of more than 30 people for fundamental and technical research. Their analysts constantly track the pulse of the market and provide timelyinvestment advice to customer in the form of daily research emails, online chat, printed reports etc. SHAREKHAN LIMITED’S MANAGEMENT TEAM †¢ Dinesh  Murikya   :   Owner  of  the  company †¢   Tarun  Shah   :   CEO  ofà ‚  the  company †¢ Shankar  Vailaya   :   Director  (Operations) †¢   Jaideep  Arora :   Director  (Products  &  Technology) †¢ Pathik  Gandotra :   Head  of  Research Rishi  Kohli   :   Vice  President  of  Equity  Derivatives †¢ Nikhil  Vora :   Vice  President  of  Research BENEFITS †¢ Free Depository A/c †¢ Instant Cash Transfer †¢ Multiple Bank Option. †¢ Secure Order by Voice Tool Dial-n-Trade. †¢ Automated Portfolio to keep track of the value of your actual purchases. †¢ 24*7 Voice Tool access to your trading account. †¢ Personalized Price and Account Alerts delivered instantly to your mobile phone †¢ Live chat facility with Relationship manager on Yahoo Messenger. †¢ Special Personal inbox for order and trade confirmations. †¢ On-line customer service via web chat. †¢ Enjoy automated Portfolio. Buy or sell even single share. †¢ Anytime orderin g. Sharekhan provides 4 in 1 account: *Demat a/c *Bank a/c: for fund transfer *Dial and Trade: for query relating trading *Trading a/c: for cash calculation DEMAT ACCOUNT: Sharekhan  is  a  depository  participant. This  means  that  we  can  keep  the  shares  in dematerialized form  in  Sharekhan. But  for  this  one  has  to  the  demat  account  in Sharekhan. Dematerialization is the process by which a client can get physical certificates converted into electronic balances maintained in his account with the DP. In Sharekhan, under demat account there are two types of terminals Classic and Trade Tiger. ACCOUNT OPENING:Opening a DP account with Sharekhan-One can open a Depository Participant (DP) account, either through a Sharekhan branch or through a Sharekhan Franchisee center. There is no fee for opening DP accounts with Sharekhan. However a nominal deposit (refundable) is charged towards services which will be adjusted against all future billings. All investors have to submit their proof of identity and proof of address along with the  prescribed account opening form. CLASSICAL ACCOUNT: This is a user friendly product which allow the client to trade through website www. sharekhan. com and is suitable for all the retial investors who is risk averse and hence prefers to invest in stocks or who does not trade too frequently Features Online trading account for investing in equity and derivatives via www. sharekhan. com †¢ Live Terminal and Single terminal for NSE Cash, NSE F&O & BSE. †¢ Integration of On-line trading, Saving Bank and Demat Account. †¢ Instant cash transfer facility against purchase & sale of shares. †¢ Competitive transaction charges. †¢ Instant order and trade confirmation by E-mail. †¢ Streaming Quotes (Cash & Derivatives). †¢ Personalized market watch. †¢ Single screen interface for Cash and derivatives and more. †¢ Provision to enter price trigge r and view the same online in market watch. SPEEDTRADE SPEEDTRADE is an internet-based software application that enables you to buy and sell inan instant.