The Impact of Climate Change

In the last few years there has been a lot of attention given to the problem of climate change. Usually we only hear vague ideas about how the Earth is heating up, how we are all going to die and that we are to blame. However climate change is a natural process that experts have said has been sped up by human activity, for example, industrial activities, vehicles and machines producing gases like carbon dioxide and methane. These gases are damaging because of how the Sun's rays heat up the Earth. The rays from the Sun enter the atmosphere, hitting the Earth's surface with most being reflected back without heating up the Earth at all. The ones that are absorbed by the sea and the ground are reflected back as infrared rays therefore heating up the Earth. However as more CO2 and other â€Å"greenhouse gases† are pumped into the atmosphere, fewer and fewer of the Sun's rays are reflected away, hence the rising temperatures. Although there is debate over the largest contributor to the climate change problem that is not my focus for this essay. In this essay I intend to show how climate change would affect the world's water; that is to say 70% of the Earth's surface. The most talked about point in the media about the effect of climate change on water is the sea level. This is because as the Earth heats up the seas and oceans will absorb a lot of the heat causing the water molecules to expand and the sea level to rise. Another possible factor that contributes to the rising sea levels is the melting of the glaciers, ice shelves and ice sheets and this has another effect. As there is less and less ice to reflect back the sun's rays as ice reflects back 90% of the light that hits it while water absorbs the same percentage, this speeds up the warming of the earth even more and as more and more ice melts the problem worsens. There are many inter-linking consequences to the rising sea levels and of global warming. Droughts, floods and even the danger of the Gulf Stream, the warm water current that heats up our region, shutting down. The idea of flooding because of rising sea levels is self-explanatory. As there is more water, rivers, lakes and streams could break their banks and flood. The possibility of the Gulf Stream shutting down is more complicated and will have a much more lasting effect. The Gulf Stream works through a mixture of wind, water salinity and temperature, the shape of the ocean floor and the Earth's rotation. As temperatures continue to fall and more sea ice melts, this adds more fresh water to the Atlantic, reducing the salinity of the water. As there is less dense and less salty water, the Gulf Stream slows down. As it does slow down and weaken it will become more and more unstable and more likely to shut down altogether, lowering temperatures in our region by up to 9oC. Fortunately there are things we can do to help the climate change problem. Saving energy lowers the amount of fossil fuels that are needed to produce that energy and the less coal, oil and gas being burned in power plants, the lower the emissions of carbon dioxide. Saving energy can be a simple matter, such as switching off lights when you leave a room, having showers instead of baths, and turning down central heating systems, even 1oC can save up to 10% on energy bills. One of the most effective ways of helping is properly insulating your home as this reduces the energy needed to heat your home. The second most important greenhouse gas, methane is produced by landfill waste, which comprises 90% of the UK's sixteen million tonnes of waste each year. If we recycle more and more of this waste then there is less need to mine for raw materials and less methane being produced as there is less landfill waste. Two hundred years ago, if we produced the same amount of carbon dioxide as we did now, it probably would not have had any major effect, as there was not the same level as deforestation. The reason this would have made a difference is because trees take in carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Although the effects of climate change won't be felt for years, we owe it to the future generations to save, if not our planet, our way of life.

The Relation Between the Customer Behavior and Shopping Centre

Title The relation between the customer behavior and shopping centre promotion Author(s) RISHI The relation between the customer behaviour and shopping centre promotion Citation Issue Date 22/3/2012 URL Rights 2002 http://hdl. handle. net/10722/28778 The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works. The Relation between the Customer Behaviour and Shopping Centre Promotion: A Case Study of Whampoa Garden TSE Chun Wai DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Housing Management The University of Hong KongDecember 2002 DECLARATION i declare that this dissertation, entitled The relationship between the customer behaviours and shopping centre promotion: A case study of Whampoa Garden, represents my own work, except where due acknowledgement is made, and that it has not been previously included in a thesis, dissertation or report submitted to this University or other institution for a degree, diploma or other qualification. un Wai Acknowledgement This paper intends to show the relationship between the customer behaviors and shopping centre promotion, to understand the problem of the shopping entre by studying the customer behaviors and examining the shopping promotion strategies. Firstly the author sincerely thanks Mr. Bonny Chiu who has worked ? n Whampoa Garden ? n the property management department, for his assistance ? n providing information about the details of Whampoa Garden and promotion strategies. Secondly, thanks must be expressed to Ms. Candy Lam and Ms. Jessica Wong; classmates of Master of Housing Management have given valuable information regarding the shopping centre under their management. Thirdly, the author must also thank Ms.June Yau and Mona So for helping with word processing and production of the final typescript and proofreading. Finally, the author wants to thank Dr. Eddie Hui, the supervisor of this dissertation, for his valuable guidan ce and support in the research of this paper. THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG i. I Il W ir . J Thesis Collection Deposited by the Author Contents Acknowledgement Abstract 1. Introduction ti Am and objectives p. 1 1. 2 Methodologies 1. 3 Researchmethod I . 4 Implication of the study 1. 5 Sourceofdata 2. p. 2 p. 3 p. 3 p. 4 P. 4 Customer behavior and shopping centre p. 5 2. 1 The definition fcustomerbehaviour Dynamic customer behaviour Interaction Exchanges 2. 2 Why people go shopping 2. 3 Factors affecting shopping behaviours and motivations 2. 4 Changingofshoppinghabit 2. 5 Goal and characteristic of customer 2. 6 Conceptual models and customer characteristics 2. 1. 1 2. 1. 2 2. 1. 3 2. 6. 1 2. 6. 2 2. 6. 3 2. 6. 4 Huff1s topological model (1960) Timmermans' conceptual model (1982) Sheth's integrative theory 2. 6. 3. 1 Choicecalculus 2. 6. 3. 2 ShoppIng motives 2. 6. 3. 3 Shopping option Lindquist(1974-1975) 3. What is a â€Å"shopping centre†? 3. 1 The principle of a shopping ce ntreIdentification the positioning, role and function of a shopping 3. 1 1 centre 3. 1. 2 Location ata shopping centre 3. 1. 3 Catchmeritarea 3. 1. 4 Accessibility and interlink 3. 1. 5 TenantMix 3. 1. 6 Decoration Shopfront 3. 1. 7 Entrances 3. 1. 8 3. 1. 9 Finishes 3. 1. 10 Signagesystem 3. 1. 11 Marketing 3. 1. 12 Management 3. 1. 13 Promotion . 3. 2 Typeofshoppingcentre 3. 2. 1 3. 2. 2 The neighborhood centre The community shopping centre p. 5 p. 6 p. 6 p. 6 p. 7 p. 8 p. 10 pli p. 11 p12 p. 12 p. 12 p. 13 p. 13 p. 14 p. 14 p. 17 p. 18 p. 18 p. 19 p. 19 p. 19 p. 20 p. 20 p. 21 p. 21 p. 22 p. 22 p. 23 p. 3 p. 23 p. 24 p. 25 p. 26 32. 3 The regonaI shopping centre 3. 2. 4 Specialty shopping centre 3. 3 The development of shopping centre 3. 4 Dev&opment of shopping centres in Hong Kong 3. 4. 1 Firstphase 3. 4. 2 Second phase 3. 4. 3 Third phase 4. CasestudyofwhampoaGarden 4. 1 background information and characteristic of Whampoa Garden 4. 1. 1 Development 4. 1. 2 Accessibility 4. 1. 3 Catchrnentarea and interlink 4. 1. 4 Conceptofnewtown 4. 1. 5 Theme Concept 4. 1. 6 Varietyofshop 4. 1. 7 Continuous refurbishment 4. 1. 8 Shoppingmanagement 4. 1. 9 Cleaning 4. 1. 10 Security 4. 1. 11 Air-conditioning 4. 1. 2 Maintenance & repair 4. 2 Findings Irnageattributes 4. 2. 1 4. 2. 1. 1 Recreational experience 4. 2. 1. 2 Userfriendly 4. 2. 1. 3 Stores 4. 2. 1. 4 Qualityofstores 4. 2. 1. 5 Easeofusebycarandbus 4. 2. 2 Shoppers characteristics 4. 2. 2. 1 Gender 4. 2. 2. 2 Shopping accompanied 4. 2. 2. 3 Travel model 4. 2. 2. 4 Occupation 4. 2. 2. 5 Monthly income 4. 2. 2. 6 Frequency of visits 4. 2. 2. 7 Presence of undesirable characters 5. Problems ofWhampoa Garden p. 32 p. 32 p. 32 p. 32 p. 34 p. 34 p. 34 P. 37 p. 38 p. 38 p. 39 p. 39 P. 40 p. 40 P. 41 p. 41 p. 41 p. 41 p. 4. 2 p. 43 p. 43 p. 43 p. 44 p. 44 p. 45 . 45 p. 45 p. 46 p. 47 Inadequate parking facilities Uncovered footpaths/insufficient interlinks Unsuccessful theme concept p. 48 p. 48 p. 48 p. 49 p. 50 Lack ofanchorteriants p. 51 Recession of retailing industry p. 52 5. 1 Lack of mass transportation network 5. 2 5. 3 5. 4 5. 5 5. 6 p. 27 p. 27 p. 28 p. 29 p. 30 p. 30 p. 30 6. Recommendations and shopping centres in the future 6. 1 Understandshopper'sneed 6. 2 HK$10 Plaza discountoutlets 6. 3 Transportation p. 54. p. 54 p. 54 p. 55 6. 4 Parking spaces arid footpath 6. 5 Marketing strategies 6. 6 Signage 61 Development of theme concept 6. 8 Promotion . 8. 1 Advertising 6. 8. 2 Personal selling 6. 83 Sales promotion 6. 8. 4 Publicity p. 56 p57 p. 57 p. 58 p. 58 p. 59 p. 59 p. 59 p. 59 7. Conclusion p. 61 Questionnaires p. 63 Summary results of questionnaire for customers p. 68 Bibliography p. 73 Abstract In Hong Kong, the accessibility and transportation network of newly constructed site is highly important. The transport links, especially by means of Mass Transit Railway and Kowloon-Canton Railway, are vital to the retailers, as these would increase footfall, which can bring thetn more p otential customers. However, it is all for the shoppers?Where will they go and why will they shop? Customers' shopping habits and preference has changed over years. Most importantly, it has gone along with the development and construction of shopping centre. Now instead of shopping in the sheet, shopping in huge department stores is a new trend. This paper aims at assessing the factors in attributing to the shoppers' decision by starting with a brief description of customer's behavioural models and the development of shopping centre in Hong Kong. Determining elements include convenience, pleasant and entertainment environment, tenant mix, leisure facilities and catchment, etc.Whampoa Garden is selected as the case study Overall, the findings shows active, well planned, coordinated and periodical promotion should be operated throughout the year. Besides promotion, the infrastructure of shopping centres also plays a vital role in deciding the retail pattern and the tenant mix. Therefo re, active promotion activities and continual development of shopping centres should be used as the strategy to meet the ever-changing demand and improve the image of the centre for their specified clientele. 1. Inlroduction Shopping centres are vital to our economy.Different planning of shopping centres causes different sizes and arrangements. However, all these planning would bear two purposes in mind – to provide an optimum retailing environment for the tenants and to meet the needs of customers. In recent decades, shopping centres are becoming increasingly important for the services they provide to individual consumers and many ways in which they benefit the communities in which they are located. Developers should want to know how and why people shop in their shopping centres, but others just have a fare dodging and walking in the centre.From a commercial standpoint, it may distinguish consumer behaviour from other activities. This is the point for the shopping centre bec ause profits are generated when consumers select the shopping centre rather than another. Consumers are more interested in the facilities provided by the shopping centres, so that they could spend their time arid money in there. The improvement of living standard in Hong Kong has to lead the transformation of shopping behaviour of the residents. Formerly, markets were just places where people gather together for retail activities.Nowadays, shopping centres have become multifunctional, and it is an enclosed area not only for shopping, but also for entertainment and amusement. A successful shopping centre must have the right location, (easy to access) good management; effective marketing strategy arid the right tenant mix for the demographic profile of the population it serves. However, the attraction of the shopping centre will slip downwards or fade away with the passage of time: demographic changes, competition arising from the other new shopping centres, etc. All these pose as gre at challenge for the status of an existing shopping centre.Therefore, strategies are required for rejuvenation. The aim far promoting shopping centres is to improve their overall commercial potentials and auxiliary facilities. In addition, the shoppers' behaviors and characteristics, (preference, the choices ofthe retails shops, etc. ) as well as location of the shopping centre also have to consider. Furthermore, the competition from new shopping centres compels existing shopping centres to seek for the best ways and strategies to revive the business of a shopping centre. 1. 1 Aim and Objectives The aims of this study are to investigate and evaluate strategies for the shopping entre promotion in upgrading the value of a shopping centre. Factors such as marketing stand point, competition from other competitors, demographic of the surrounding areas, social and economic situation will be considered. In addition, this paper will study the consumer behaviour and characteristics, such as place of residence, mode oftransportation, frequency ofvisit and consumer images. The objectives ofthis study are as follows: I. I . i To conduct a literature review on the characteristics and the development 2 of shopping centre through a case study on â€Å"Whampoa Garden Shopping Centre† located at Hung Horn; . i . 2 To study the behaviour of the customers; i . 1. 3 To identify the decision problems and preferences ofthe customers; i . i . 4 To analyze the store image from the view ofthe customers; 1. 1. 5 To study why shopping centres require promotion strategies? and; i . 1 . 6 To examine the shopping centre promotion strategies; 12 Methodologies in the theoretical framework, reference has been made to relevant books, magazines, newspaper, annual reports, journals as well as data from census and government statistics. In addition, marketing, promotion and management of shopping centres will also be included.In order to obtain an understanding of the relationship between the customer behaviours and shopping centre promotion, this essay will examine two broad measures. The frequency of visit, purpose, accessibility, facilities, image and overall impression of the shopping centre would be identified. Moreover, the age group, sex, place of living, working condition, income and household size of the customers will be studied. In order to examine the taxonomies adopted by previous researchers of consumer (spatial) shopping behaviour such as Shepherd and Thomas, (1980); Spiggle and Sewell, (1987).The models such as Huffs topological model; Timmerman's conceptual model; Sheth's integrative theory and Lindquist will be reviewed. Those theories are focused on the perception of the shoppers relating to the shopping centre's image. Through the above methods, developers can select the right tenants and promotion strategies to generate income and promote the shopping centre image. On the other hand, a successful shopping centre can through the information such a s age, income group and the customers' behaviour, can decide the trade of business and formulate promotion strategies to attract customers to visit. 1. 4 Implication ofihe StudyThe study will find out the behaviours of customers, and the relationships among the tenants, developers and the customers. In addition, the shopping centre promotion will also influence the investment atmosphere and affect the income of the developers. The above study can be a reference for other aging shopping centres in carrying out revival programme. LS Source of Data This study is hard to get secondary data for the shopping condition since relevant parties are reluctant to provide their business strategies. Surveys would be carried out with the tenants and customers of the shopping centre in order to obtain the 4 first hand-data.On the other hand. , through interviews with the management staff and office staff, more information and data can also be obtained. Surveys and questionnaires will be conducted t o obtain the primary data. The questionnaire is printed in Chinese since the majority of' Hong Kong's population is Chinese. It contains questions about customer behaviour, personal particu1ar and the image of a shopping centre. 5 2. Customer Behaviour and Shopping Centre Customers spend their time in purchasing goods and services, at the appropriate places where they will visit. In addition, they also like to spend their leisure time for their aily activities such as entertainment, gathering arid shopping. Shopping centres provide them a place to meet these needs. What kind of shopping centre would be suitable for them; what kind of function and facilities should the centres have; what kind of market strategies and what kind of promotion can induce more customers to visit the centre. I [J1J1IIff According to Arnould, Price and Zinkham (2002), customer behaviours define as individuals or groups acquiring, using, and disposing of products, services, ideas, or experiences. Consumer be haviour also includes the acquisition and use of information.Therefore, communicating with consumers and receiving feedback from them is a crucial part of consumer behaviour of interest to marketers. Consumers may consist of individuals or groups including families, clubs and organizations, purchasing units within corporations, and government departments. Consumer behaviour is the study of human responses to products, services, arid the marketing of products and services. This topic is of considerable importance to marketing managers and marketing researchers because the focus on the consumers is the key contribution of marketing to business practice.Other business function (e. g. , finance, accounting and production) either neglect the consumer or overlook the consumer entirely. Organizations that lose sight of their consumers cannot compete effectively against firms that stay close to their consumers. Managers who really understand their customers develop better products and servi ces, promote their products and services more effectively, and adopt marketing plans and strategies that foster sustainable competitive advantages for their products and services. Furthermore, managers who know their consumers cari reach and satisfy them more efficiently.Such managers are important assets to any organization and are rewarded accordingly (Kardes 2002). The American Marketing Association defines consumer behaviour as â€Å"the dynamic interaction of affect and cognition, behaviour, arid environmental events by which human beings conduct the exchange aspects of their lives. † There are at least three important ideas that pointed out in this definition: (1) consumer behaviour is dynamic; (2) it involves interactions between effect and cognitions, behaviours, and environmental events; and (3) it involves exchanges. The following implications are put forward. 2. 1. 1 namicCnsumer Behaviour Consumer behaviour is dynamic and means individual consumers, consumers grou ps, and society at ‘arge are constantly changing and evolving across time. 2. 1. 2 Interaction It means that to understand consumers and develop superior marketing strategies, we must understand what they think (cognitions) and feel (effect), what they do (behaviour, and the things and places (environmental) that influence and are 7 influenced by what consumers think, feel, and do. 2. 1. 3 Exchanges These make the definition of consumer behaviour consistent with current definitions of marketing that also emphasize exchange.In fact, the role of marketing is to create exchanges with consumers by formulating and implementing marketing strategies (Peter and Olson, i 993). 2. 2 Why People GoShopping Why do people do the things they do? More specifically, why do they buy and consume the products, services, experiences, and brands they do? People always mention that when they are feeling low or want to reward themselves by shopping, and shopping can be interpreted as a pleasure or a self-gift. The role of shopping and purchasing has taken on dramatic new meaning and trend to be a recreational shopping.The modem, self-enclosed shopping centre in all its variant forms has become a site to which consumers make frequent visits to satisfy a wide variety of needs including those aesthetic enjoyment, problem solving, and personal display. These trends lead the emergence of the largest shopping centre such as Disney World, Universal Studios, and the like. Such shopping centres provide retail environments combine in shopping and entertainment. Going shopping is a major source of relaxation as well as a household chore. [:1 When people realize that a good store exposed the greatest portion of its goods to he greatest number of its shoppers for the longest period of time, which put its merchandise in the path and the field of vision in a way that invites people for consideration. We're all aware of how shopping means different things to different people at different times . We use shopping as therapy, reward, bribery, pastime, as an excuse to get out of the house, as a way to troll for potentia' loved ones, as entertainment, as a forni of education or even workshop, as a way to kill time. There are compulsive shoppers doing serious damage to their bank accounts and credit ratings, who use shopping as a cry for help (Underhil, i 999, p. 5-96). People going to shopping centres as all new modem shopping centres provide leisure spaces and varies facilities such as mini cinema, indoor family games stores and funfafr style shops. In addition, the enclosed environment, controlled climate, patrol of centre's security guards and the promotion events give customers a feeling of warmth, safety, comfort and satisfaction. In addition, people going shopping can be broadly divided into three categories, they visit the supermarket to buy household chores; occasional visits the regional shopping centre to buy fashion goods, elecirical app1iances and recently shopping centre as place for people gathering together and enjoy of fun. As Beddington stated in i 99 1 that shopping is a primary human activity in which almost every individual in civilized society Building and services for takes part, inevitably almost daily. shopping are as closely related to housing as those for education, health, administration and entertainment. Bund1in of products, product components, and services is an important consideration for manufacturers, retailers, and service providers bringing their goods and services to market. Bundling typically takes one or two forms: pure or mixed (Adams and Yellen, i 976).There are four factors that affecting customers' intention to buy product and service. (1) whether the product and service are pure and mixed; (2) the price discounts of a pure goods and service in comparison to the sum of the component of mixed; (3) the functional relationship among the components and (4) number of components. As more and more shopping centres estab lished with the development of property market, it is undeniable that the competition becomes more intense. Also as the economy recession of Hong Kong has not yet fully recovered, customers cautiously evaluate the goods and services when they use their savings, and he anchor product and service that they can obtain as they are become extra pricesensitive. On the other hand,, Shenzhen, a city in mainland China just about one hour from Hong Kong by train, offers attractive entertainment facilities and low- priced retail goods in various shopping complex. To a certain extent, it actually draws much Hong Kong customers away from Hong Kong' s more expensive stores and restaurants. In general, most retail shops inside shopping centres use lo price as its competitive tool to combat competition. It is not difficult to find that shopping malls range from metropolitan to eighborhood emphasize the concept of â€Å"Discount†, † Mega Sale† it is especially obvious in some fest ivals which usually highlight the provision of ‘crazy sa1e during festival. As a result, the provision of discount become a general practice to marketers and become a norm to shoppers. Without the benefit of discount, customers are more Likely to delay their consumption or shift to others stores with the provision of discount. Thus, it is not a long-term measure to combat competition. Ji}! iIU1iIk') tii flhlTi In the past, daily products such as provisions, wet foods are gathered in market; atching movie, shopping, entertainment, games and shopping are located in different places, performed at different times for specific people. Recently, the new modem shopping centres are characterised by new spatial form including leisure and consumption activities at the same place for different people. Centres are all modem and well-managed, together with special layout to attract tenants and customers. Many centres adopt the policy of encouraging independent and specialist outlets to pro vide more choices and lower price for the customers.The concept of tenant mix is widely used is shopping management, it provides a one-stop services for the customers, so that customers can obtain their needs in one trip. In addition, the centre is also provided security patrol system, cleaning 11 service, temperature controlled and the promotion events, customers can enjoy their life here in the enclosed environment, make them feel warmth, comfort, safety and satisfaction. Furthermore, people are looked busier; they would like to save their shopping time and use for entertainment and pursuit of personal interest and other leisure time activities.Nowadays, people are more enjoy the largest one-shop shopping centres, which providing them convenient and efficient shopping. In order to attract more customers visiting the shopping centre, shopping centre not only providing convenient and efficient shopping for customers, it also develop as a place for leisure activities and create parti cular themes to upgrade their ability to competition. Recently, there has been a trend for developer to provide mini cinemas, indoor family games stores, funfair style shops and food courts inside the shopping centre. Therefore, customers regard as part of their life or entertainment and enjoyment of their leisure time, this lead to increasing the pedestrian flow. In order to attract more pedestrian flow, developer recognized that some of the customers are only spent their leisure time in the centre without any purchasing. However, the large of pedestrian flow will induce investors and tenants to invest in the shopping centres, in which with recreational, entertainment and extra facilities. Finally, shoppers like to visit shopping centre when shopping promotion is held. As lifestyle of Hong Kong people is so excited, more and more shoppers strive for he feeling of relaxation during their weekends or holidays with families and 12 friends. They usually prefer to spend a day at shoppin g centre, which can provide one-stop services. 2. 5 Goal and Characteristic of CuMomer Women shop not out of devotional love for family members, and their shopping behaviours is an investment in their families and relationships with family members. Purchasers are rationalized not in terms of what was spent, but in terms of savings and thrift. The savings and thrift generated through shopping then constitute funds that can be given to dependents and descendents (Price, Arnould, Zirikhan, 2002). 6 Conceptual Mxle1s and Customer Characteristics In the following, the major ideas from and models derived by Huff, Timmerman, Sheth, Lindquist and Wee be briefly discussed. 2. 6. 1 Huff's Topological Model (1960) It attempts to derive simple deductive models of consumer spatial behaviour and cognition, Potter (1982) considers that one ofthe landmarks was the graph theoretical or topological model of consumers space preferences developed by Huff(1960) (McGoldrick, Peter J, and Thompson, Mark G . (1992, p. 46)).According to Huff, consumer spatial behaviour was determined by the interaction of three systems; the value, behaviour-space perception and movement imagery. These refer to (i) the geographical location of the consumer of the consumer and his/her personal traits; (ii) the perceived characteristics of the retail outlet; and (iii) the perceive and objective features 13 of the transport network and the mode of travel. 2. 6. 2 Timmermans' ConceptiialModel (1982) The model suggests that the decision problem such as the type of goods to be bought, together with the consumers value system, information levels, etc. , efines a set of decision criteria for the consumer which conditions the perception of the objective physical environment containing all potential outlets (McGoldrick, Peter J, and Thompson, Mark G. (1992, p. 47)). The decision making process makes this model involves an evaluation of each destination, base on the rating to evaluate attributes and Timmerman assu mes that consumer will chose their the destination with the highest scale value. In addition, he further points out that familiarity with the various shopping opportunities and whether they are within reasonable travel time are two important factors in this respect. . 6. 3 Sheth's integrative theory Sheth formulates a theory of shopping behaviour and a theory of shopping preference. A theory of shopping behaviour includes four types of unexpected events can intervene between preference and behaviour, such as events occur between the time and place when shopping preference and intentions are established and when actual shopping behaviour takes place (McGoldrick, Peter J and Thompson, Mark G. (1992, p. 47)). Sheth further postulated three basic constructions interact to determine a shopper' s preference or shopping predisposition. 14 2. 6. 3. Choice calculus Sheth used three systems such as sequential, dominant and tradeoff as the first construct by which consumers may match their sho pping motives with their shopping operation. In which sequential calculus eliminated shopping options that do not satisfy this motive until all shopping motives have been utilized. Tradeoff calculus involves the evaluation of each shopping option on aU shopping motives simulianeously to obtain an overall acceptability score. Finally, dominant calculus evaluates each shopping option only on the most impor. ant shopping motive. 2. 6. 3. 2 SlmppingmotivesShopping motives refer to shopper's needs and wants related to the choice that shoppers looking for. In 1983, Sheth provided a distinction between functional needs and non-functional needs; functional need is the shoppers need for the low prices or some products such as food, and non-functional need is the shoppers want to shop just for relieve boredom or some products such as clothes. In addition, Sheth mentioned that personal values, social values and epistemic values influence shopper's shopping motives. He further mentioned that sp ecial products also can influence shopper' s motives. 2. 6. 3. Shopping option According to Sheth, shopping options are determined by three market factors such as location, retail structure and positing/image. 15 2. 6. 4 Lindguist (1974-1975) Store image attributes groupings (McGoldrick, Peter J, and Thompson, Mark G. (1992, p. 59)). In this mode1 it describes nine store image attributes, which contributes to image formation or to favourable/unfavourable consumer attitudes towards outlets of various types. 2. 7 Shopping Centre Image Attributes AccordIng to Wee (1986) a basket of 27 attributes was worked out though an examination of coefficient alpha values.It was thought to adequately represent the domain of shopping centre image. By grouping the 27 attributes into different categories, 8 major factors of the customers towards store image are come out for ease analysis. Detail ofthe factor analysis is as follows:- Factor 1: Recreational Experience According to Wee, this factor accou nts for 3 1 . 2% of the variance and incorporates most of the â€Å"activity oriented†. These are, in descending order of leadings, a place to spend time, an â€Å"in place† to go, a place to go when the weather is bad, a place to take children and a place to eat or drink. Two feature related variables, ecor and spaciousness, also lead significantly and are consistent with this interpretation. Factor 2: JJr Friendliness This label was chosen to describe the group of variables loading with factor 2. Most of these attributes are features, which make the centre an easier and more 16 pleasant place to use. These attributes that are unique to this factor are the helpfulness of store staff, friendliness of the atmosphere, standard of security, toilet facilIties, seating area and air condoning. The two other attributes, place to eat or drink and a place to take children, load higher with factor i.Factor3: Stores It comprises the four attributes relating to stores at the cente r, rather than the centre itself. These rated the choice of major stores, the variety of stores, the product selection available within the stores and the general quality ofthe stores. Factor 4: Quality of Environment It combines the four attributes relating to the appearance and design of the centre, namely, cleanliness, lighting, spaciousness and decor. Factor 5: Ease ofUse by Car It represents the level of accessibility to car users, who tend to be in the majority at this centre. t is possibly surprising that layout loaded within this factor, rather than factor 2 or 4. This could suggest that the layout of at very large centre is associated more strongly with accessibility than with the internal feature of the centre. Factor6: Others Factor 6 was labeled â€Å"crowding† incorporating the level of crowds and the number of undesirable characters. Factor 7, labeled â€Å"ease of use by bus† combines the opening hours and access by bus; this provides a reminder that ope ning hours are, 17 in effect one element of accessibility. Only on attribute loads significantly ithin factor 8, the general leveL of prices. In this essay, survey will be conducted by using some attributes, which are mentioned above, for the analysis of the consumer behaviour of Whampoa. 18 3. What is a â€Å"SltoppingCentre†? The use of the world â€Å"mall† to describe a pedestrianised shopping street almost certainly originated in North America in ari effort to convey a greater sense of space, quality and elegance than is normally associated with an arcade. Malls are usually covered and wide enough to provide a central area for planting, seating, fountains and other furniture.Although shops fronting an arcade are usually smaller than those in a shopping mall, the basic difference between a mall and an arcade lies not in the types of shops found in them but in the volume of space between the frontages (Northen and Flaskoll 1977). The shopping centre is distinct from other forms of commercial retail development. It is a specialized, commercial land use and building type, which today is found throughout the world but until the late 1 970s thrived primarily in America suburbia, occurring only rarely in downtowns or rural areas. Over the years, it has been ransformed from a suburban concept to one with much broader and varies applications (Shopping Centre Development Handbook). According to Urban Land Institutes (1990), shopping centre is defined as â€Å"A group of commercial establishments, planned, developed, owned, arid managed as a unit related in location, size and type of shops to the trade area it serves; it provides on-site parking in definite relationship to the types and sizes ofthe store (James (1993, p. 3)). Recently, Urban Land Institutes has redefmed this definition so that a shopping centre must have a minimum of three commercial establishments, and, in the case of urban 9 shopping centres, their on-site parking needs may be relat ed not only to the types and sizes of the stores but also to the availability of of-site parkings and alternate means of access (Shopping Centre Development Handbook). However, it is not easy to derive a universally accepted definition of shopping centre because of several reasons. Shopping centres range in size from a very few shops to those with hundred number of shops, offering a full range of shopping provisions including large department stores, restaurants, supermarkets, entertainment facilities and parking spaces as well. 3. 1 The Principle ola ShopphigCentreThe successful of a shopping centre depends on many factors such as design and layout, its locatIon, its catehment areas, the way the business is run by the shop traders and whether there is any competition within the vicinity. ! Before constructing of the shopping centre, developer should understand the position of the centre in order to avoid competition with other centres The centre will depend on the size and the popu lation to classify as community shopping centre or regional shopping centre. Also it will depend on the location that the transport can be reached together with visiting carparks.Then, developers should identify the role and function, and choose the most 20 suitable theme and target groups of retailers and shoppers. For any type of shopping centre will play different role and provide different goods and services to the specified catchment population. A good shopping centre requires to strength its image by special features and good facilities. 3. 1. 2 Locationnfa Shopping Centre Location is one of the paramount important elements for a shopping centre, accessibility and visibility should be taken into account. The best location for a shopping centre should e located at strategic location in well-developed district such as area close to railway stations or any transport interchanges. Retailers will decide to run their business as high visibility and easy accessibility of a shopping c entre will increase the pedestrian flow; also shoppers from other districts will be attracted to this centre. 3. 1. 3 Catchment Area To defme the catchment area is one of the major factors affecting the success of a shopping centre, developer should understand the needs of customers, and tailor-made the design and different type of shopping centre will have different criteria for catchment area. . 1. 4 Accessibility and Interlink The key to a successnul shopping centre plan is to attracted more pedestrians as they are potential shoppers. The greater the concentration, the better the shops will be run their business. The City Plaza at Taikoo Shing and New Town Plaza in Shatin, pedestrians have passed through the shopping centre; 2! the provision of covered footbridge linking to all shopping centres is an example of diverting the pedestrian flow. The more time the shoppers stayed in the shopping centre, the more chance they spend.The trades of the retailers must make special arrangeme nt, so that shoppers visit all parts of the shopping centre will not feel tired and lose their interest. 3. 1. 5 Ten ant Mix Selection of well-known brand names and anchor tenants is critical to strengthen the centre and appeal to others as pulling effect may be result by such tenant. It can also attract shoppers to visit all parts of the centre and maximize the attraction ofprospective customers. However, the routing of centre should be well designed and balanced for all retailers.The success of a shopping centre may rely on proper designation of trades in its appropriate locations to create pedestrian flow to induce shoppers. In addition, a trade balance is also good for a shopping centre. Apart from catering the local needs, anchor tenants may attract more shoppers. Major tenants such as department stores, supermarkets, large Chinese and Western restaurants, chain stores and entertainment facilities such as iceskate field and cinemas. Beside the desigiated trades, some criterion for different trades should be considered. a) licensing requirements such as food premises require the provision of drainage, extra water supply and exhaust arrangement; (b) eleclricity supply for fast food shop and large consumption of electricity imdes; 22 (e) air conditioning for some trades require addition cold water and (d) floor loading will be considered for some trades that require installing heavy machines. 3. 1. 6 DecoratiGn hi order to attract tenants running their business in the shopping centre, the decorations should be glamour and attractive to induce potential and anchor raders. The layout of the shopping centre is a key factor in patronage and increasing the business promising. In addition, it is also ensured that customers could be convenient and easy to follow the route; the signages are easily to identify, so that to attract them from one end to the others, and from the first floor to the second, third and up to the fourth floor, etc. Furthermore, any dead-end t o be avoided, and harmony standard in design and layout of the shopping centre should be included the design of the shopfront entrances and finishes. . 1. 7 Sliopfront Standard glass panels are installed in the front of each shop, which enable tenants to display their products or demonstrate the services to be provided in order to attract customers. To maintain a continuity and uniformity of the shopfront, all tenants are requested to make use of the metal facade above the glass panels to place their trade name and logo. 3. 1. 8 Entrances The entrances for a shopping centre must be as attractive as possible; locations 23 must be at a concentration of pedestrian flow.In addition, a successful shopping centre should provide enough customers flow especially in peak hour and season, and each entrance should be conspicuous and brig1t enough to draw attention of the pedestrians arid passers-by. It also is as wide or grand a possible so as to produce an elegant or classic image in order to impress both tenants and shoppers. A narrow entrance gives an unpleasant outlook and is unattractive. 3. 1. 9 Finishes The finishes should make customers feel comfortable, in which colour should be consistent with the theme of the shopping centre.The external wail facade of the shopping centre should be furnished with pink and yellow tiles together with tempered glass glazing, in which light coloured materials could brighten up the appearance of the shopping centre. For internal wall facade with the corridors, mirrors should be installed on the wall. It makes customers feel more comfortable as space in the corridor looks like ‘arger. In addition, in the prominent places, the wall should be covered by stainless steel, porcelain enamel or coated metal cladding. Furthermore, floors could be applied ceramic tiles and granite tiles in the open areas.However, for those areas in the centre of the shopping centre could pave granite slab and polished homogenous tiles to upgrade the sh opping centre. Finally, the false ceiling with light trough could be covered the ceiling. 3. 1. 10 Signage System In order to direct pedestrian flow and strengthen the identity of the shopping 24 centre, a sizable name of the shopping centre with logo should be placed in the external wall; in which is easy eye-catching for the customers. In addition, an external advertising paniel for anchor tenants should be installed on the Mall facade the main street.Furthermore, name of the tenants is shown in each floor together with a guide map, directories showing each tenant at each floor on the wall near the escalators and staircases. Main directories showing tenants under different trade groups can be installed at the main access to facilities customers to identify and locate specified trade more easily. However, restriction must also be imposed on the size, colour and method of illuminating the signboards so as to obtain a better appearance as a whole. The amount of wording used and the s ize of lettering should be strictly controlled. . 1. 11 Marketing Marketing in which plays an Important role In the retailing business. the chief target is provided a pleasant environment for the customers to spend their money, while tenants to promote their sales. The duty ofthe marketing people must realize that the aggressive advertising and promotion campaigns required huge amounts to pay for such activities. In addition, the on-going market analysis to explore the ever changing of market conditions, customers' behaviours, purchasing power, attitude, social taste and trend should be studied to adapt the change.Market exposure is an important to gain the latest market intelligence, so that pro-active strategies could be formulated to strike for survival and expansion. 3. 1. 12 Management 25 A successful centre can also be attributed to an efficient and effective management; management a centre is a challenging role that requires all ski11s knowledge of a professional Management C ompany. From the shop tenants' point of view, they desire reasonable profits, while from the customers' point of view; they expect an attractive, comfortable and constant flow of traders.Due to face with ever changing environment, high expectation from the tenants and customers, and the competitiveness in the vicinity, it is essential that effective and efficient management together with innovative marketing concepts should be adapted. 3. 1. 13 Promotion The centre should be designed to strengthen promotional and publicity activities with an aim to draw the public's awareness to generate traffic and patronage, so as to create additional sales. More creative and innovative promotion activities, free coupons for shopping arid particular prize winning events will be introduced.In additIon variety show features and popular artists will be invited during holIdays. Promotion campaign will include: to work out promotional programmes schedules to be linked with the theme of the centre; to a rrange seasonal and festival decorations; to issue shopping guide, display panels and newsletter; to maintain a web site to publicize information and activities relating to the Mall; arid arrange gatherings and meetings with shop tenants, district Councils and community groups. oT;u) ifs] s] sjflfl 26 Much of the impetus for shopping centre development came from USA and by the id-1950s; three main types of shopping centre had been recognized by developers, architects, plamiers and geographers (Dawson 1983). Shopping centres were originally divided into three principal types – neighbourhood, community and regional; recently, the development of specialized markets opportunity, numerous types of shopping centres have evolved. The acceptance of this three-fold classification has become one of the established truths of modern urban geography and remained in common use despite the subsequent development ofmany centres which clearly do not fit any ofthe three ategories. The classifi cation has become less meaningnzl because there are increases in the numbers of centres arid the irmovations in tenant policy design, location and development practices (Dawson 1983). The increase in hybrid shopping centre makes the types of shopping centres difficult to distinguish; therefore the major tenant classifications and to a lesser extent the centre size and trade area determinate the type of centre. 4_ ff1rf ;i;rn; i The neighbourhood shopping centres provide for the sale of convenience goods such as food, drugs, sundries and personal services.This centre is usually based on a supermarket and covers a wide range of convenience goods including personal services such as laundry, dry cleaning and shoe repairs. It serves a localized catchment population less than 50,000. (Planning Department, 2001). It provides convenience goods and services which 27 consumers needs immediately and frequently. Shoppers as a rule find it most convenient to buy such goods and services near home or near workplace. Majority ofthis shopping centre is located in public housing estates. Most are less than 30,000-100,000 square feet (Shopping Centre DevelopmentHandbook, 1999). Typical Gross Leasable area is 50,000 square feet. Shopping centres locate in public and private housing estates are typical example such as Metiopolis Plaza locates at Sheung Shui near the Kowloon Canton Railway. The shopping arcade is on level I and 2 just underneath the three domestic blocks, with 60 shops of a total rentable area of 56,433 square feet. There are 129 private car and i i 9 bicycle parking spaces respectively. The centre is also accessible by public bus, public light bus and taxi, In addition, there are 22 lorry carpark spaces and 2 cargo lifts for loading and unloading.Between level i and 2, there are 2 escalators for customers. The centre is satisfied for local residents' need as it includes food & beverage shops, convenience shops, boutique shops, shoes and leather shops, electrical a ppliance shops and others. 3. 2. 2 The Crnmnunity Shopping Centre Community shopping centre is built around a small department store or variety stores as anchor tenant. In addition to a supermarket provides convenience goods and offers a wide range of comparison goods and personal services. It usually locates in new town centre with convenient transportation network and erves a catehment population of about 50,000 to 1,OOOOOO (Planning Department, 2001). The range of the area is 100,000-450,000 square feet (Shopping Centre Development Handbook, 1999). Typical Gross rental area is 28 150,000 square feet. This type of shopping cenfre also offers greater depth and range of merchandise and goods than neighbourhood shopping centre. It provides certain categories of goods, particularly commodities, which are less likely to be found in regional shopping centre. It attracts shoppers through the provision offull range ofshopping faciLities and goods. The maIn attraction ofthis kind f centre is usually the department store or some anchor tenants like ParkN Super Store, McDonald's Restaurant and Maxim's Chinese Restaurant. On the other hand, neighbourhood shopping centres have potential power to be a community shopping centre as their sizes and populations are strong enough to support them, just as some community shopping centre can expand into regional shopping centre. Therefore, the position of community shopping centre is the â€Å"in-between† centre, and it is hard to categorize. Tuen Mun Town Plaza and Shatin New Town Plaza, Telford Garden in Kowloon Bay are categorized as regional shopping centre.Shopping centres in Hong Kong such as Hang Fa Chuen in Chai Wan and City plaza in Taikoo Shing with several residential blocks in the vicinity, are categorized as community centres. 3. 2. 3 The Regional Shopping Cenfre Regional shopping centre usually has one or two full-line department stores, and the size can be range from 300,000 to 900,000 square feet, which can be served more than 150,000 populations. This type of shopping centre is a comparison trading centre, customers are visited on a regularly period or 29 occasional shopping trip to purchase goods such as fashion, shoes, furniture nd electrical appliances; customers usually make the prices comparison before they buy. It usually serves Hong Kong people as a whole. It includes local residents, office people as well as tourists. For example, Landmark at Central, it provides consumer durable goods, personal services as well as entertainment. The catchrnent area of this centre involving into different district areas and serves for large group of population. Shopping centres such as Pacific Place, Landmark, Time Square at Causeway Bay arid Ocean Terminal at Tsim Sha Tsui and Festival Walk that serve for people in different districts. . 2. 4 Specialty Shopping Centre J_n Hong Kong, this kind of shopping centre represents relatively small categories of the market, typical example such as gol den Shopping Centre in Shamshuipo for various types ofcomputer hardware and software. Golden Shopping Arcade is suited at Yen Chow Street and Kwei Lin Street in Shamsbuipo district. It is just a few steps away from the Shamshuipo Mass Transit Railway station, and public buses, public light buses and taxi can also be accessed. There are about 70 shops occupying two levels of the arcade. Beside he retailing shops, there are shops selling computer hardware and software of various brands and models. No matter new and experienced computer users, the arcade attracts them as the centre provides various software and hardware at lower prices. 30 3. 3 The Development f Shopping Centre According to Schiller, i 985, the term of shopping centre is ambiguous in Britain. It can mean either a comprehensive shopping development, as it does it most other countries, or a clustering of traditional shops in a town centre. Town centre can include planned and unplanned retail areas; however shopping centr e is often oosely used to mean a group of shops, which has been designed, planned, developed, owned, marketed and managed as a unit. Shopping centre is a planned assemblage of shop units which may or may not exist as part of sopping district, in which a shopping district can consist oftwo or more shopping centres. In Britain, many town centres has been developed as a shopping centre. According to McGildrick & Thompson, 1991), the massive suburban expansion in the last thirty to forty years has produced the features of urban landscape usually associated with the term â€Å"Shopping Centre†, but the British residential sprawl

The importance of the illustration to the meaning/interpretation of the poem

The illustration shows two distinct characters – a child and a man. The child is the representation of innocence while the man is for experience. Significantly, the background of trees and herd sheep brings the viewer to a deeper meaning that is within. The existence of the illustration enables us to visualize what William Blake wants us to see, know, and achieve by opening our minds to what has become of the world (his world at his time) from what it is supposed to be.Amongst our senses, vision could be the primary and perhaps the summary for whatever we touch, hear, read, and feel, we need to visualize them far beyond what our human eyes plainly see. The visualization of the â€Å"Songs of Innocence and Experience† through the illustration draws larger and multiple interpretations amidst the variations in the arts’ coloring and legibility which major role could be the enhancement and clarity of the core subject of the piece – human being, both in drawing and words – human being. 2. â€Å"Tintern Abbey†It is evident in the poem how Wordsworth illustrated nature and used it to present and depict movement and development of his work. He used it to transcend dull feelings to ethereal ones. Nature mirrors beauty – a call for transcendence that we are supposed to see amidst human chaos and emptiness, both within ourselves and within society. The poem opens with the line â€Å"five years have past†¦ â€Å", and goes on to the description of a beautiful landscape that is always impressive and amazingly beautiful, highly personifying nature (These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs, With a soft inland murmur.— Once again.. ), and vividly describing natures cycle yet unchanged beauty. The repetition of â€Å"Once again† leads to the persona's frequency of viewing nature and brings us the consistency of nature's beauty amidst time and space, where he/she highly recognized, recollected, and fo und solace. Unceasingly, the beauty of nature is hailed, and its role to our lives not just being the primary source of our survival through provision of our needs but also what nature is amidst material provision.The naked truth behind its existence – learn from nature as it transcends us to a state of joy and fulfillment. The persona recognized nature as: â€Å"anchor of purest thoughts, , nurse, guide, guardian of the heart, and soul of moral being†. In so doing, the poem implicitly reminds us not to exploit nature. How are we suppose to relate with nature is also foreshadowed. Nature, in the last stanza is personified as friend and a sister. It is highlighted as well, that â€Å"it never betrays as heart that loved it, which brings us to the golden rule.Lastly, it relates to us the intimate relationship of the persona to nature and how nature is recognized, praised, and loved by him that beyond human wanderings, loneliness, and emptiness, consolation, companionshi p, and love is laid bare to us by nature. The answer to the universal longing for peace and joy is nature. Nature transcends us to spiritual satisfaction. 3. â€Å"Kubla Khan† â€Å"Kubla Khan† is Coleridge attack against sexual abuse by man of power.His use of sound, rhythm, sound, imagery, language, and rhetorical effects to achieve unity and singularity of theme â€Å"war: warrior and victim† which is drawn and placed to a metaphorical meaning elevates his work and reveals his style. The poem opens with the description of a supposed kingdom and a man which holds on a deeper meaning beyond superficial or denotative meaning. His distinctive pairing of words in ‘sinuous rills, sunless sea’ draws the reader to a more sophisticated unelaborated meaning. The line â€Å"mighty fountain momently was forced† depicts the beginning of sexual intercourse.All through, beginning from the title, to the combination of the sounds of war (from a mans vantag e point and the lonely music of the woman (victim), a more meaningful work is created – a record of a sexual abuse established implicitly that beneath his grandeur and might is an abusive and dangerous man. 4. â€Å"In ‘Ode to the West Wind’ and in ‘To a Skylark† Shelley searches in the physical world for reassuring analogies to substantiate his belief that regeneration follows destruction, that alteration does not mean obliteration, and that mankind should heed the prophetic voice of poets.† The introduction of a season in the â€Å"Ode to the Wes Wind† depicts a cycle of generation and regeneration. Shelley’s belief that regeneration follows destruction is evidently seen in the whole poem – in the sequence of the seasons, after winter comes spring. In the third stanza, the persona visualizes old palaces and towers overgrown with azure moss, and flowers. Through time, it has been altered yet remained sweet – a clear evidence that alteration does not mean obliteration.In the last stanza, the persona calls on the west wind to scatter the poets words, which could be a defense to poetry, to mankind depicting poets work as prophetic in effect timeless and awaken mankind’s mind 5. â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale† and â€Å"Ode on a Grecian Urn†: A search for a reconciliation of the world’s loveliness and its evanescence, its pain with its pleasure. â€Å"Beauty is truth, truth beauty† – that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know† – with this line the five-stanza ‘Ode the Grecian Urn† emphatically ends, which draws several interpretation from different literary scholars.It summarizes the message of the author, an answer to the multiple â€Å"what- questions† in the first stanza. The work, while it presents duality and separation, or perhaps defiance of what is expected depicted in the lines: â€Å"Heard melodies are swee t, but those unheard are sweeter†¦ Bad lovers never, never canst thou kiss†, it challenges us to find reconciliations between opposites/dualities that would sum up to the world’s loneliness and its evanescence, where every silence is a sound (second stanza), and along happiness comes sorrow (third stanza).While the first stanza is deeply concern with â€Å"what† to mean what are our lives for whichever walk is followed, the last stanza answers it. The answer to that search for a reconciliation of the world’s loveliness and its evanescence is embodied in the line â€Å"Beauty is truth, truth beauty†¦, which is to solely recognize that life is beautiful, that duality and opposition is real and is embodied in the same beauty however all has an end and we are but temporal beings – the only answer as to how we all should live.â€Å"Ode to the Nightingale† is a heavy depiction of pain evident throughout the poem and crowding in the first three stanzas. Amidst pain, is the search for pleasure and for love beyond â€Å"to-morrow† pointing what is beyond time and space. To fly or soar high like that of the nightingale and not to dwell and be consumed and drowned in pain could be the answer. Source: It is indicated in the instructions of this paper that own analysis and interpretation is encouraged. www. blakearchive. org/blake

FINANCIAL MARKETS AND MONETARY POLICY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

FINANCIAL MARKETS AND MONETARY POLICY - Essay Example Structure of Interest Rates The connection that occurs amid interest rates or the bond yields and dissimilar terms or developments. The word structure of interest rates can also be known as the yield curve and it shows a vital part in the economy. The word structure reflects expectations of marketplace participants’ almost future variations in interest rates and their valuation of financial policy environments (Greenwood 2010). Yield curves in the UK from 01.01.2008  to  31.12.2012 As far as Macro Economic Analysis Partition is concerned, the Bank of England estimates the yield curvatures for United Kingdom being on a day-to-day basis and are two types: the first one, customary, is located on yields on UK administration bonds (gilts) and comprises of nominal and real vintage curves and the increase period structure. The second one is founded on (LIBOR) i.e. Interbank rates that are sterling; earns on mechanisms connected to LIBOR, undersized sterling prospects, forward rat e bargains and LIBOR-based interest ratio exchanges. These profitable bank liability curves are minimal lone (Addison 1998). The government obligation nominal yield curves are also derived from the UK gilt prices and it offers an overall Security (GC) repo rates. The actual yield is copied from or they are derived from the UK index-linked bond values. However, by appealing to the Fisher relationship , the oblique inflation terms structure is therefore put in numbers and calculated as the change of rapid nominal frontward rates and rapid real onward real rates (section 2 makes clear exactly what these terms mean). The instruments used in the construction of the commercial bank’s liability curvature are first converted into synthetic bonds, and a similar technique is then used to crop the lucrative bank accountability curve as is used in the nominal inquiry (Gurkaynak 2012). Now, we are by means of the repo rate using asan flawed proxy for the riskless rate. In the approach to the end of the year, or the yearly the spread therefore widens. This result is known called the ‘year-end turn’ and can be detected in a number of ways in other markets. Without the three months at the end of the previous two years, the middling spread between the two rates has however, been about 35 basis points. Previously we noted that G Crapo (at least at two-weeks’ development) inclines to be biased on the downwards compared to the Bank’s repo rate. So about 15 base facts of this banquet are likely to be related to the liquidity and contract differences deliberated: Bonds of Zero-coupon, in order to do the price computation, together with the yield so as to extract the existing price of any fixed coupon instrument. In order to calculate the price’s yield, discount rates etc. Municipal, the treasury bills, existing bonds are utilized. To calculate price and extent callable bonds, agency options can be adjusted. Permanent and floating rates, the range, all are utilized in the computation of accumulated interest rates and the range. The shape of the yield was quite consistent with the main theories of the term structure, because

Business Ethics in the Globalised Economy Essay

Business Ethics in the Globalised Economy - Essay Example While, The not-for-profit centers, which normally operates as a voluntary or charitable body has totally different form of administrative frame work . And, finally the government run institutions are the other type of systems that are usually fully funded by the government. The differences in the systems of administration are also reflected in their operations and functional outputs. The charitable hospitals have severe constrains on the resource generation and they mostly depends on the philanthropic contributions. Thus they are unable to attract the best talents in the respective fields which affect the quality of delivery. Bureaucratic set up, feeble decision making process, inadequate doctors and other support personal are the major issues affecting the smooth function ofa governmenthospital. But on the other hand a private hospital often tries to attain the premier position as their revenue is dependent on the patient volume alone. Well established management team, efficient doc tors and other par medical staff are the major attractions of the private hospital. But in the event of a economic slow down, the government hospitals are the least effected and the private hospitals often tend get affected at a higher magnitude. Thus unethical practices are said to be more possible and takes strong roots in these circumstances. And hence necessary pragmatic ethical policies need to be in place to ensure a well acceptable medical delivery system (Health Care). Due to these reasons the health care industries are chosen for the detailed analysis on the ethical practices in the business. Backgorund A good performing hospital would consist of a team of efficient doctors coupled with skilled support personnel, along with the well established equipments and diagnostic devices. Often the cost of health care has been experiencing high rate of increase which often makes the quality treatment inaccessible for most of the people. The ethical practices that are prevailing in these places need to be of highest level as it involves a matter of human and health (Health Care). The present situation of turbulent business weather has severe impacts of the operation of this industry too. The loss in jobs and reduced remuneration levels have started forcing people to opt for less costlier options, thus making all the premier health care operators not the prime choice of most of the medical attention seekers. But these situations too are not without solutions. Even during the period of recession and job losses, it is the responsibility of the company to deliver and support the desired level of service to the customers while considering the needs and aspirations of the employees (Wise Geek). Before moving into a deeper introspection of the analysis of various ethical models, it would be very prudent to have an overall assessment of the corporate practices, where business objectives could ride over the ethical rules. Besides evolving a pragmatic means of ethical practices, this sector could also motivate and hence create an attitude to implement a value-based operation in other sectors too (Health Care). Based on the detailed analysis available theories and models following initiatives are proposed for effectively implementing ethical practices during the turbulence experienced in the global economy. Promoting the concept of general well being as the organizational mandate. The

Redbox Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Redbox - Essay Example ly, the Redbox provided video games that are good sources of entertainment of children thereby relieving their parents once they are in stores and restaurants among other places (Redbox Corporate Managemen 00: 01:46). Notably, other than being initiated by the McDonald’s management, the Redbox was introduced to other retail outlets including mass retailers, grocery and convenience stores, and pharmacies among other fast food restaurants. Finally, it is worth noting that despite the Redbox not only started its operation as a movie selling store kiosk, but also majored on items including grocery items including eggs, milk, and sandwiches. However, of all the store kiosks, the DVD rental kiosks became more successful of the other grocery kiosks thereby making the company to focus on the DVD market (Redbox Corporate Managemen 00: 08:22). Notably, the same success of the DVD kiosks has made the company to be thinking of expanding the market to other regions with the immediate region in mind being

Image representation of Women in Magazines (which are targeted to Dissertation

Image representation of Women in Magazines (which are targeted to University Students) - Dissertation Example 1 Afghan Girl 4.3 Fig. 2 She looks spoiled 4.4 Fig. 3 â€Å"Quite a Pear† 4.5 Fig. 4 Wad 4.6 Fig. 5 Keep on Dreaming of a Better World 4.7. Fig. 6 It’s nice to have a girl around the house 4.8 Fig. 7 Dove Advertising 4.9 Fig. 8 Twiggy 4.10 Fig. 9 Do Men Hate Fat Women? 4.11 Fig. 10. Dolce and Gabbana Advertisement 4.12 Summary 5.0 Chapter Five: Discussion List of Figures References Appendices Abstract The research that was conducted for this study concerns the images in the media and their influence over women of university level age. Images in the media have been shown to have a powerful influence over the body image of young women, affecting their self esteem and their development of identity (Cash, Cash, and Butters 1983: Catterall, Maclaran, and Stevens 2000). In a study that discussed the responses to ten different images in a group setting with twelve women, the phenomenon of the way in which women experience influences by media images gave a new dimension through responses, both expected and unexpected. Broken into five chapters, this qualitative study examines the nature of media images and the impact that they have on society. Chapter One Introduction The effect of the representation of women in media through both photojournalism and fashion photography acts as a catalyst to emotional responses which have helped to frame the way in which women see themselves as members of Western culture. The issues of body image, self, and identity are often manipulated by the media as women grow from childhood through adolescence. The influences that media imposes upon women can often lead to issues such as anorexia, bulimia, BED (binge eating disorder), and other medically dangerous conditions. Objectification of women has now begun to shift to subjectification, leading women into a world where they must now be the aggressive sexual being, rather than the passive object. Through research conducted using images and the discussion of twelve women who wer e put into a focus group the concepts of image and self is explored through the information gathered within the interview process. In a qualitative study of the emotional responses to women when a ‘story’ or suggested interpretation of images was interjected, the concept of trend is also explored as it relates to the interpretation of the responses to the images. This type of research helps in understanding the way in which images influence the direction of how women perceive beauty and how they are positioned within the discourse of attractiveness. The power of photo imagery in contemporary discourse has influenced culture, making changes in the concept of beauty and ’normalcy’. 1.1Background The objectification of women is not a new concept. However, the ways in which images of women have been formulated to specifically associate women as objects as an everyday occurrence is a part of the information age. As advertising has become a cycling of images thr ough television, the internet, and print media such as magazines, the concept of female is habitually stripped of its identity and reformulated into creatures of ’otherness’, usable objects of the imagination. An example of this can be seen in Fig. 3, women are morphed with objects, redefined as something consumable as indicated in Fig. 4, and objects of manipulation as seen in Fig. 4. The nature

Work Values, Attitudes, Moods and Emotions - the case of Wells Fargo Term Paper

Work Values, Attitudes, Moods and Emotions - the case of Wells Fargo Company - Term Paper Example In this context, the emphasis on work values, attitudes, moods and emotions in all organizational department has become a common phenomenon. In Wells Fargo Company the use of work values, attitudes, moods and emotions as tools for increase the firm’s competitiveness has been proved an effective strategic choice. However, as the literature suggests, the development of HR plans needs to be carefully monitored. Failures in regard to one or more parts of these plans may set the firm’s position in its industry in risk. The principles on which organizational strategies are based are not common in organizations worldwide. However, it seems that certain organizational decisions are likely to be based on similar rules and criteria. Also, it has been proved that the success of organizational plans is depended on the ability of organizations to identify and evaluate appropriately employee needs. In this context, work values, moods and emotions are of critical importance for organi zations in different industries. The role of work values, attitudes, moods and emotions in the development of organizational plans is highlighted in this paper. Reference is made to a specific company, the Wells Fargo Company, one of the most successful organizations in the greater Los Angeles area. The specific organization operates in the banking sector and is well known for its employee values. The specific organization is considered as one of the most successful for the American banking industry. The success of the organization has been highly related to one of its practices: work values, attitudes and emotions are highly taken into consideration when the key strategies of the organization are reviewed. Values, attitudes, moods and emotions are key elements of organizational strategies under the following term: the involvement of these elements in key strategic decisions is not standardized. This means that there are no specific rules imposing the use of the above elements in th e development of an organization’s strategic policies. However, the use of these elements seems to increase the effectiveness of organizational plans, even in the long term. In order to understand the role of these elements in an organization’s strategies, it would be necessary to review their characteristics; then, the ways in which these elements can influence an organization’s strategic planning process would be made clear. The framework of values in the context of modern organizations is reflected in the following definition: ‘values are an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct is personally or socially preferable to an opposite mode of conduct’ (Gilliland, Steiner and Skarlicki 4). On the other hand, Williams (1993) note that work values should be described as the belief that every organizational task needs to be accomplished on time in accordance with the guidelines given. Moreover, Allison and Kaye (2005) support the view that value s as an elements of organizational culture reflects the priorities of organization’s in regard to critical social and environmental issues, such as the protection of the environment, the support to the community and so on. At the next level, Niven (2011) notes that organizational values are quite important for the stabilization of the organizational performance; for this reason, it is suggested that regular changes on organizational values are avoided (Niven 2011). Rather, emphasis should be given on the development of a core framework of organizational values on which the organization’s aims and objectives would be based. Regarding the potential use of attitudes as elements of organ

Clinical Epidemiology and Decision Making Case Study Essay

Clinical Epidemiology and Decision Making Case Study - Essay Example These spores thus need water or moisture to germinate and flood provides them the ideal environment to grow. Molds if inhaled can cause allergic reactions that affect the respiratory tract. Other illnesses include sinus congestion, sore throat and breathing problems. The health risks can be more for children and elderly people as well as people with low immune systems. Mold can also have severe implications on structural strength of buildings as well which may compound the problem in flood stricken areas. The field of clinical epidemiology suggests that general practitioners must consider facts based on population based studies of diseases and base their treatment and design preventive measures on these measures. Clinicians may use these statistics towards better patient care. In this paper we attempt to explore how clinical epidemiology may be beneficial to guide and deal with detection, prevention and treatment of mold in flood hit areas. It is pertinent to note that mold may appea r soon after the flood and may carry on until there is moisture. For this reason it is important that the rehabilitation process may not be started unless all moisture dries out. For the purpose, the health practitioners treating the disease need to be advised before and immediately after the floods about the types of molds in the area as well as the extent of illness in the area. Also, the health practitioners need to know about the medical facilities that they would have as well as chalk out a method to deal in case that it takes the form of an epidemic. These practitioners need to be told that they must not look to test every individual due to resources constraints and would be better served to look for symptoms. 2. Types of Molds Evidence from clinical epidemiology suggests that there are three types of molds that can affect people in the aftermath of a flood. These are mentioned below: i. Allergenic These types of molds are the least damaging as they affect only those individua ls that are already weakened by illness or disease and a have a weakened immune system. Although these molds are present all year, they thrive in areas where the moisture content is significantly high. This essentially means that these types of molds can exist in the aftermath of a flood. These molds result in sneezing and cause allergic reactions. Thus they do not have life threatening affects unlike other types of molds that might result in severe respiratory problems including congestion of the windpipe and choking. Mold spores are examples of allergenic molds. ii. Pathogenic This type of mold may cause respiratory tract infections. For persons with a weakened immune system, this may result in severe illness and may be possibly life threatening. However, healthy individuals may develop hypersensitivity but do not incur infection. This is why it is imperative that children and elders are guarded against this type of a mold infection. The bipolaris mold is one example of a pathogen ic mold. The mold may manifest itself as mycotic keratitis and sinusitis etc. This type of a mold can affect both immune-competent as well as immune-compromised individuals with different repercussions. iii. Toxigenic The most devastating strain of mold produces myotoxin which can cause some seriously undesirable health problems. This is an extremely toxic strain of mold which may not only

How Communication With Children And Young Essay Example for Free

How Communication With Children And Young Essay Children at different ages require different levels of attention, younger children will need more support which would mean more physical support, as children get older they need help with explaining and discussing their thoughts and issues they may have. When talking to different ages of children your vocabulary will need to change as younger children wont understand you if you were to use big words, so small and simple words would need to be used, as children get older turning into young people your vocabulary would develop more. Children and young people who may have communicational difficulties would need a whole different approach in the way you talk to them and the way they may communicate back. Some children and young people may be shy and quiet which would effect the way you would communicate with them, you need to adapt and respect how different children and young people are and their own individual needs. Some children and young people have a stammer or another type of speech disorder, when the child or young person are talking to you, you need to give them time to talk, never butt in to try and complete what they are saying you have to be patient and understand their speech disorder, if you try and rush them it will only make things worse as the child or young person will feel anxious and may find it harder to communicate with you. Working with children or young people who have special educational needs, you may need additional training such as sign language or makaton to help with communication. â€Å" Myself and the other staff use makaton in school, which is a big part of communication towards the pupils â€Å" The reason why makaton is used within the environment of special needs is that it is made up of simple words and signs, makaton is used for all ages who have learning difficulties, sign language is used for the deaf and it has its own vocabulary which is why it wouldnt be appropriate for the different age ranges who have learning difficulties it would be to hard to  grasp. In my school the pupils use pecs book which are made up of pictures that they can relate to. The pecs books are all pictures and a â€Å" i want â€Å" picture so when they request something at snack some children will point to â€Å" i want â€Å" and then to what they have chosen to have for snack, but some children will only pick out what picture they want like â€Å" a apple† and they will put it into my hand, i will then respond by saying the â€Å"childs name wants apple good talking† followed by giving the child a piece of apple. Some children use these pecs books at home to help with communication. Picture symbols are shown and given to the pupils on every transition, if for instance we were going to PE there would be two picture symbols on a schedule they would be a picture of a classroom and of PE, this shows them that after PE it is back to the classroom. This is such a great way of communication.

Hypo Group Alpe Adria Analysis

Hypo Group Alpe Adria Analysis 1. General information about Hypo Group Alpe Adria Hypo Group Alpe Adria is an international financial group with more than 380 banking and leasing locations in twelve European countries: Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Macedonia and the Ukraine. The group has a rich historical background. Roots of Hypo Group Alpe Adria date way back in 1896 when the group was founded. Consequently, it has accumulated more than one hundred years of business experience. In the beginning of its activities, it concentrated on financing public institutions and housing construction. Hypo KÃ ¤rnten as it was then known became a universal bank in 1982. In 1988 the Bank took the first step on the road to international expansion by opening a leasing subsidiary in Udine, Italy. It became a public limited company in 1991, and in 1992 Grazer Wechselseitige Versicherung joined the Province of Carinthia as the second shareholder. This marked the beginning of a new era for Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank. With cross-border activities in twelve countries of the Alps Adriatic region[1], the Hypo Group Alpe Adria has a unique position in the economic area constituted by South Eastern Europe. Its network of branches and offices exists in Austria, Italy and Germany, from Slovenia through Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ukraine. Business priorities in the operations of Hypo Group Alpe Adria are the strategic business sectors banking and leasing, with the focus on a common goal: contribution to the prosperity of the Alps Adriatic region and of the people living in it. Hypo Group Alpe Adria is committed to pursuing its goal of becoming the leading commercial bank in the Alps Adriatic region. 1.2. Mission and Strategy The mission of the Group is the following: instead of pursuing global presence as a goal, Hypo Group Alpe Adria is more locally oriented. In the Alps to Adriatic region, with its cross-border markets, it is local market knowledge at a very personal and emotional level, which is crucial. Personal contact with the customers represents the basis of mutual trust for the Group. For this reason the Group sees its relationships as partnerships, which extend far beyond simple money issues. According to the Group, success can only be achieved through human contacts, and it can only be measured in terms of personal relationships, so that partnership at a personal level is the Groups ultimate ideal. Hypo Group Alpe Adria leaves the goal of worldwide presence to the global players. As a leading regional player in the Alps to Adriatic area, it concentrates on the southeastern markets, with the motto banking business is peoples business, confirming its nonnegotiable customer orientation. Respecting differences, growing together and sharing successes with others these are the cornerstones of partnerships with customers on which the business structures of the Group are based. Having in mind that the fundamental strategy of the Group is to achieve growth in the Alps to Adriatic region, Hypo Group Alpe Adria has been pursuing its visionary strategy since 1993 with great success: to establish and develop a strong financial services Group in the Alps to Adriatic region which combines the highly developed Northern Italian, Germany and Austrian business cultures with growth market opportunities in Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Macedonia and the Ukraine. As a result, the Group plays a key role in directing funds and economic development to and in the region. Up till now, its successful expansion has given Hypo Group Alpe Adria intensive coverage of the areas, which in coming years will become its home markets. Additionally, long term involvement and commitment are priorities of the Group. Hypo Group Alpe Adria has established itself as a strong and reliable business partner in the Alps to Adriatic region. Its involvement in each country represents a long term commitment, so that businesses operating in any of these countries have the certainty and security they need in order to develop their activities. The Group is actively involved in developing local economies, and consequently, this contributes to the foundations of local prosperity. Furthermore, preserving independence and regional identity is one of the cornerstones of the Groups philosophy. This fact gives customers and business partners the certainty that they are handling their business with a dynamic and internationally minded bank which at the same time is at home in each of the individual regions. Hypo Group Alpe Adria is close to its customers in all the countries it operates in, thanks to its emphasis on independence and un-bureaucratic decentralized structures. 1.4. Regional presence of Hypo Group Alpe Adria It is important to underline that the expansion of Hypo Group Alpe Adria into its core market, the Alps to Adriatic Region, followed gradually. The establishment of the first Austrian bank branch in Vicenza (Italy), under EU law followed with Austrias accession to the EU in 1995. In the same year leasing companies were established in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Zagreb (Croatia). In the upcoming years further leasing outlets were opened in Slovenia and the expansion of the branch network in Italy and Croatia. In 1997 the number of staff at Hypo Group Alpe Adria went over the barrier of five hundred employees, accompanied by the start of construction of the present Klagenfurt (Austria) headquarters, which was completed in three phases by 2002. By the beginning of the new millennium, Hypo Group Alpe Adria already employed over one thousand people. In the following year it entered the market in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2002, Hypo Group Alpe Adrias expansion penetrated into the market of Serbia and Montenegro. The Groups dynamic progress continued in 2003, when it was announced as investor of the year in Bosnia and Herzegovina, opened a leasing branch in Munich (Germany), founded the Biogaspark Alpe Adria and launched tourism initiatives in Carinthia (Austria), starting the Schlosshotel Velden project. Hypo Group Alpe Adria is today active in Austria, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Ukraine. In 2005 it numbered approximately 5000 employees at over 250 locations. The year of 2006 has been extremely important for the Group and it conducted strategically important expenditure decisions. It founded Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. in Podgorica (Montenegro), Hypo Alpe-Adria-Rent d.o.o. in Belgrade (Serbia) and Hypo Alpe-Adria-Leasing OOD in Sofia (Bulgaria). The principal company of Hypo Group Alpe Adria is Hypo Alpe Adria Bank International AG, which has its head office in Klagenfurt (Austria). Its owners are BayernLB (67.08%), the GRAWE group (20.48%), KÃ ¤rntner Landesholding (12.42%) and Hypo Alpe Adria Mitarbeiter Privatstiftung (0.02%). The network of Hypo Group Alpe Adria currently has around 7,500 employees serving more than 1.3 million consumers. 2. Hypo Group Alpe Adria in Serbia Hypo Group Alpe Adria conducts its business activities in Serbia from 2002, as a part of the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank International AG Klagenfurt, which originally operated only in the territory of Austria. In the past couple of years, the Group began with its dynamic expansion in the international market, which consequently resulted in great success: the Group became one of the most successful financial institutions in the Alps Adriatic region, with approximately 7500 employees and more than 1.3 million clients in twelve countries. When we arrived to the Serbian market, we made a thorough analysis of finance, economy and legal sector, as well as the political situation of the country, based on which we have determined that Serbia will become one of the most important countries in our network. Serbia has enormous potential and we plan to invest in this country in the future and to become one of the leading financial institutions of the country. (Markus Ferstl, former Chairman of the Management Board of the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd) Having in mind that Hypo Group Alpe Adria`s strategic business sectors are banking and leasing, the Serbian market was firstly penetrated in the leasing sector. Leasing represents a relatively new form of financing in the Serbian market. Therefore, a leasing company bearing the name Hypo Alpe Adria Leasing d.o.o., was established in 2002, and it gained a leading position from the very beginning of its activities. The company remained the leader till present time with a cumulative market share of 35.19% in all segments of financing. Hypo Alpe Adria Leasing d.o.o. Beograd currently employs 136 people in affiliating offices throughout Serbia, including Belgrade, Novi Sad, Cacak, NiÃ… ¡, Subotica, Sombor, Zrenjanin, Becej, VrÃ… ¡c, Ã…  abac, Kragujevac and KruÃ… ¡evac. Additionally, not long after the establishment of Hypo Alpe Adria Leasing d.o.o. in Serbia, the bank by the name Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd was founded in 2002. In just eight moths of business operations in Serbia, the newly founded bank achieved a growth rate of 853%, which exceeded all expectations. Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd is currently one of the top five financial institutions in Serbia, with a market share of 8.55% and first-class and diversified portfolios. Additionally, it employs more than 800 people and has developed a rich business network consisting of affiliates in almost all bigger cities in Serbia, taking into consideration the headquarters of the company located in Belgrade, in the Business Center Usce where the other member companies of the Group are located[2]. Hypo Alpe Adria Securities a.d. Beograd was founded in 2004. The company is ranked among the top five broker companies in the market of shares and of old savings bonds trading. The youngest company of the Group is Hypo Alpe Adria Rent d.o.o. Beograd, which is the first financial institution in Serbia to offer the possibility of operational leasing for the clients. During the present research, special focus will be on the bank and the leasing company operating in within the system of Hypo Alpe Adria Group. 3. Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd In order to proceed with the research on Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd, it is necessary to explain the circumstances in which the banking sector in Serbia existed from 1990s till present time. Disintegration and collapse of socialist Yugoslavia in the beginning of the 1990s announced the so-called lost decade, meaning that major structural features and weaknesses of the banking system were preserved or additionally deteriorated and the overall situation became desperate. The main characteristics of 1990s were losses of markets, repeated wars, economic sanctions and international isolation of the country. Mismanagement and pervasive corruption were main factors, which contributed to the degeneration of the economy. After the major hyperinflation, which occurred in 1993 and 1994, 90 % of all bank loans were perceived as bad. Unprofitable and non-performing foreign currency balance sub-balances dominated balance sheets. One of the main priorities in the reform agenda of the new Serbian authorities, which took over in 2000 was bank restructuring. The essence of the strategy was to undertake bank rehabilitation and re-capitalization only in the cases when it was expected that the banks could be viable institutions with good prospects for privatization through sale to strategic investor at a reasonable price and only if it can be implemented with identifiable fiscal resources. In the beginning of 2002, Serbian authorities decided to conduct one of the boldest bank resolution measures undertaken in transition economies: they liquidated four large and deeply insolvent banks, which accounted for 60% of the book value of the sectors asset and for about two thirds of outstanding commercial credit to non financial sector. Furthermore, banking legislation and regulations were improved[3]. After the first major wave of reform, credit institutions have become more attentive in lending money to the real sector which was still very week. The government immediately acted on attracting foreign investors since there was an urgent need for such a thing. Consequently, from the late 2000 to December 2002, National Bank of Yugoslavia (the central bank) issued eight bank licenses, out of which seven were for the foreign owned banks. Internationalization and privatization of the Serbian banking industry continued in 2005. The share of the market accounted for by foreign banks rose to 67.52%. Out of the ten largest banks, seven are foreign. Successful sales of Serbian banks to foreign financial institutions provided a vigorous stimulus to the countrys banking industry. Total assets of all banks in 2005 jumped by 40.4% compared with the previous year, to 9.07 billion euros. Strong increases in lending to private and business customers were the main forces, which were driving growth. Progress was also made in restoring the confidence of domestic savers: total deposits at the end of 2005 amounted to 5 billion euros. Foreign banks which penetrated the Serbian market played an important role in restoring confidence in the sector and have gathered a significant share of new deposits. One of these banks was Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd. Hypo Alpe-Adria Banks involvement in the Serbian market began in December 2002, when it acquired Depozitno-kreditna banka. The Austrian bank concluded the purchase of 86.6% of the Serbian Depozitno-Kreditna Banka, founded May 22nd 1991, whose registered offices were in Belgrade. At the shareholders meeting held on October 8th 2002, the Banks name was changed to Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank a.d., the capital increase to EUR 5.5 million was resolved, and the new Supervisory Board was appointed. The headquarters of to Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank a.d., the member of the Hypo Group (after Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Liechtenstein), are located in the new part of Belgrade New Belgrade. Referring to total assets, Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank a.d. is Serbias fourth-largest bank with a market share of 6.47 %. Furthermore, approximately 900 employees are currently working for the Bank in a total of forty-one branch offices throughout Serbia. Market share of top five banks in Serbia (Source: National Bank of Serbia available at http://www.nbs.rs/export/internet/latinica/50/50_5.html) After just several months of its operations in Serbia, the Bank has established itself as a recognizable part of the Serbian financial scene. In its first two years of its activities, Hypo concentrated on corporate customers. The Bank has achieved a particular competitive advantage in the corporate sector with its long-term investment lending. Efforts to develop private customer business began in 2004. The specific focus gradually switched to the housing construction market, which was performing excellently. When we arrived to the Serbian market in 2002, we were among the first ones and there had been only six foreign banks operating in the market. We have used that window of opportunity, the situation when there had been few foreign banks present, in order to develop our credit portfolio. In that period, we had the opportunity to finance some of the most successful companies in Serbia, as well as to develop well-balanced portfolio, which we diversified over the years. Special attention was dedicated to retail sector, mostly in the field of house loans. Additionally, we have formed a special unit for financing of small and medium sized enterprises and this has become one of our corporate priorities, having in mind that these companies are often suppliers and partners of the big companies we already cooperate with. Other than that, our focus is on food industry, agriculture, pharmaceutical and chemical industry. (Vladimir Cupic, Chairman of the Management Board of the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd) The Bank is organized in the following sectors and departments: Corporate sector Retail sector Sector of financing public enterprises and local community units Treasury sector Investment banking HR department Economic analysis department Sector settlement Market support sector Logistics sector Sector of organization and information technology Legal department Department of business control harmonization Marketing department The research process will only incorporate the sectors, which are relevant for the research question of the thesis. 3.1. Corporate sector From the very beginning of its operations in Serbia, the Bank has established an extremely developed corporate sector, which quickly expanded in the sense of different departments within the sector, as well as the number of employees. The corporate sector of Hypo Alpe Adria Bank quickly achieved competitive advantage in comparison to other banks in Serbia. Various departments are organized within the sector: Credit department Small and medium enterprises (transferred to the Retail sector in 2006) International financing Products and services of the corporate sector are concentrated on the client and its needs, and include the following: Investment loans (loans approved for the purpose of purchase of machines, equipment, land, real estate) Framework loans (exceeding permissible minus on the account, eskont of bills and revolving lines) Documentary operations (guarantees, credits, purchase of receivables and inkaso) Loans for working capital Till 2006 Hypo Alpe Adria Bank mainly focused on long term corporate loans, which were given to the big corporate clients. Since then, it strategically refocused on small and medium sized enterprises and expanded its offer of products. Corporate sector is known for its extremely innovative products and services offered to the clients. The innovation, which was introduced by the Bank in the market of Serbia, is the so-called cross border financing. This type of financing is dedicated to the clients that operate in more than two countries. The financing capital is actually provided from outside Serbia and offered to the clients under much better conditions than the ones, which are present in the Serbian market. Additionally, the Bank provides special guarantees for the clients within the Hypo Group, and in this way supports their business activities in other countries. Furthermore, another product, which is particularly innovative, was introduced in 2004 and it is called the revolving line. By using this product, clients are automatically enabled to use other additional products, according to their needs (dinar and foreign currency loans, working capital loans, guarantees etc.). The revolving line can be used by big corporate clients, as well as small and medium sized enterprises and entrepreneurs. Being a strategic branch of the Serbian economy, agriculture is one of the top priorities of the corporate sector. The Bank has been extremely active in financing agricultural production: individual agricultural manufacturers have the possibility to finance basic and working capital. Cross selling activities refer to the presentation of banks products from other sectors within the Bank. Acquisition of new clients also represents one of the fundamental operations of the corporate sector. It is particularly important since it is the basis of the planned growth of deposits, as the fundamentals for the primary sources. Special attention within the sector is dedicated to project and structural financing, like: financing of projects for the market or long term exploitation, purchase of shares, mergers / acquisitions of companies. 3.2. Human resource (HR) department and relationship towards employees HR department of Hypo Alpe Adria Bank was established in May of 2003 and has developed its activities at a very rapid pace, due to the fact that the number of employees was increasing intensively. In the very beginning of its operations in Serbia, the bank had a total of 27 employees and in just one year the number increased to 323 employees. In 2005, the growth trend continued and the number of the bank staff reached 531 people. Finally, on the closing date, 31 December 2008, Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank a.d., Beograd had 871 employees. The increase of the number of employees is the result of the extension of the branch office network. Furthermore, additional employees were recruited in the headquarters to cater for the increasing customer demands. Within the initial process of selection and engagement of young experts, 600 potential candidates have been interviewed. Furthermore, database containing more than 1500 biographies of interested candidates was created, which points out to the fact that young people of Serbia are very keen on participating in the creation of modern multinational companies. One of the key priorities of the HR department from the very beginning of its existence was to enable quick integration of new employees into the system. Secondly, the Bank immediately started with the implementation of the Hypo standards, creation of the corporate identity and team atmosphere in the institution. Additionally, a very important strategic goal for the department was to become the source of educational staff, which would be capable of taking on new jobs, initiatives and development. In that sense, many of the employees, who have already acquired standards of the corporation and business modalities, have obtained leading positions within the Bank as the heads of various sectors. As far as the age structure is concerned, majority of employees of the Bank belong to the age group 30 39 years old, as it is shown in the diagram below. Additionally, 47% of all employees have acquired university education, while 33% of employees have secondary education. Activities of HR department are focused in three directions: administration, finance and education. In the area of administration, the department is handling recruitment process and hiring of new people who are competent and can contribute to the environment of the Bank. In the field of finance, the so called time management program is being implemented within the department, referring to the planning of the budget which will be used for the purpose of staff education and various bonus systems realized through completed targets. Having in mind the fact that, contemporary flows of banking operations worldwide demand constant education of the staff in all areas of the business, HR department takes particular notice of education of employees. The department is conducting educational trainings in various forms: motivation trainings, special skills development courses and language courses. This contributes to the raising of the efficiency level of the staff. Educational trainings are organized internally and externally. Some of the most important types of trainings, depending on the sector are: Cross selling courses Microsoft Office Excel seminars Insurance trainings, which enables the participants to obtain the license of the insurance mediator Small and medium sized enterprises trainings Seminars for the sale of pension and investment funds CDO`s and Credit linked trainings Specialist courses MCPD and MCITP Database Administrator for staff in the sector for informational technologies System Oriented Management course 1 and 2 Optional modules Top executive Education Public Finance Basic Training Project management Train the Trainer Project Management for Top Management Cross selling courses for account managers are particularly important for the activities of the Bank, in order to introduce existing clients of the Bank with new products and services. In this way, account managers tend to ensure that the additional product or service is being sold to the client, while at the same time enhancing the value the client gets from the Bank. Moreover, employees have the opportunity of expanding their knowledge in seminars jointly organized in cooperation with relevant public institutions, such as the National bank of Serbia, Association of Banks in Serbia, Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Institute for Business research and other external providers, as well as trainings related to international accounting standards. Having in mind that the Bank operates in twelve countries and that everyday communication involves the use of foreign languages, English courses are provided for all employees, at the expense of the Company. Additionally, certain numbers of employees who occupy the positions, which are directly linked to the headquarters of the Group in Austria, take courses of German language, whose expenses are also borne by the Company. Particularly relevant project of the department was realized in 2008, when the Bank established its internal employee training center. The main goal of the project was to make the best possible use of the existing knowledge and the practical experience of the staff. The center was formed in order to initiate internal transfer of knowledge among employees, information sharing, better communication, which consequently leads to better work performance and improvement of inter-personal relations within the Bank. This modern and completely technically equipped space is intended for internal and in house trainings, seminars and workshops for employees. Additionally, several types of trainings are conducted within the Center: cross selling workshops, Hypo 1 a tool which helps the staff get acquainted about other sectors besides their own, small and medium size enterprises trainings, etc. In just three months after its opening, more than 400 employees have participated in organized trai nings, and in one year more than 900 employees successfully passed over 30 internal educational and development programs of the center, which consequently justified the original expectations set by the management of the Bank. In addition, there is no doubt that one of the key priorities of the Bank is employee satisfaction. HR department in Hypo Bank actively conducts the employee assessment programs, which are incorporated in the employee satisfaction program. Originally, the program was based on yearly interviews of employees and their superiors on the subject of work efficiency and success, through self evaluation done by the employee, and the evaluation obtained from the superior. In order to upgrade the program, in 2007 HR department decided to introduce new actions. One of these actions was employee satisfaction survey. This type of survey is conducted among all employees in the end of every working year, and concentrates on the four most important areas of employee satisfaction: general satisfaction with work and work conditions, communication and interpersonal relations, leadership, bonus systems and career opportunities. Achieved results from the survey serve as the basis for strategy planning for the upcoming years. This is particularly important in order to include the opinion of the staff in the process of future strategy defining and decision making, so that everyone can benefit from it. Furthermore, obtained results were than given to the HR agency Advance Response International that deals with HR issues, and in this way anonymity and objectivity of the research was achieved. At this point, it is necessary to highlight that Hypo Bank has developed cooperation with several human resource agencies for the purpose of various types of train ings: project management, leadership and management, credit and market risk, etc. Asides from the efforts, which are focused on the improvement of communication among employees, inter-personal relations and management, the management of the Bank puts special emphasis on professional development of the middle and top management members. For that purpose, development center operating within the HR department was established in order to assess development necessities of the staff belonging to these levels of management. The center analyses results of interviews, surveys and supervisors suggestions, and consequently creates individual development plan for every employee. Another type of development plan created in the center, is team development plan, which is implemented on the entire teams working in specific sectors. In order to do business well, you need to have products of good quality, but asides from that, you need to have excellent staff. Therefore, we invest a lot in education and training of our employees. For example, in the second quarter of 2006, we realized a special trainee project. We hired motivated young people who had just completed their university education and we enabled them to pass specific trainings throughout the entire Group in two years, in order to get familiar with every aspect of the company business activities. They didnt have trainings only in Serbia; they also visited other Hypo companies abroad. As we often like to say in the Group: our greatest assets are our employees and for that reason we will continue to invest in their internal and external education. (Marija Sutanovac, Head of the HR department of the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd). Important point, which should be highlighted in this section, is opportunity for scholarships for university education of employees. Each year Bank supports further education of thirty selected employees and provides funding for their studies. This program represents a special kind of acknowledgement for talented and hard working employees. Furthermore, in cooperation with the Serbian Business Club Privrednik[4], the Bank provides scholarships for ten students, which are not employees of the bank, and in this way shows its support directed to the young people of Serbia. In this way, talented and perspective students have the opportunity to be in touch with the people from the most significant and influential companies in Serbia, and can find employment opportunities upon their graduation asides form their scholarships. 3.3. Marketing department and relationship towards clients Marketing department had a challenging task of providing support to all business activities of the Bank, once it penetrated the Serbian market. The key priority of the department was to create a positive image of the Hypo Bank, as well as to inform the Serbian population about its products and services. Corporate image strategy emphasized values of the bank: its tradition, innovative approach to business, Alps-Adriatic philosophy based on the regional banking client focus, partnership, security, corporate responsibility and independence. The main focus of the department was to create and promote the corporate image, which emphasizes that Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd takes care of its clients in the same way as it takes care of its employees, and that it is a reliable partner who nurtures the local community in which it exists. The main element of the departments strategy was to create two-way communication with the clients: to reach the clients, and to hear their needs as well. For that purpose, the Bank introduced a special program called clients suggestions. Clients of the Bank have the possibility of sending their suggestions, comments, Hypo Group Alpe Adria Analysis Hypo Group Alpe Adria Analysis 1. General information about Hypo Group Alpe Adria Hypo Group Alpe Adria is an international financial group with more than 380 banking and leasing locations in twelve European countries: Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Macedonia and the Ukraine. The group has a rich historical background. Roots of Hypo Group Alpe Adria date way back in 1896 when the group was founded. Consequently, it has accumulated more than one hundred years of business experience. In the beginning of its activities, it concentrated on financing public institutions and housing construction. Hypo KÃ ¤rnten as it was then known became a universal bank in 1982. In 1988 the Bank took the first step on the road to international expansion by opening a leasing subsidiary in Udine, Italy. It became a public limited company in 1991, and in 1992 Grazer Wechselseitige Versicherung joined the Province of Carinthia as the second shareholder. This marked the beginning of a new era for Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank. With cross-border activities in twelve countries of the Alps Adriatic region[1], the Hypo Group Alpe Adria has a unique position in the economic area constituted by South Eastern Europe. Its network of branches and offices exists in Austria, Italy and Germany, from Slovenia through Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ukraine. Business priorities in the operations of Hypo Group Alpe Adria are the strategic business sectors banking and leasing, with the focus on a common goal: contribution to the prosperity of the Alps Adriatic region and of the people living in it. Hypo Group Alpe Adria is committed to pursuing its goal of becoming the leading commercial bank in the Alps Adriatic region. 1.2. Mission and Strategy The mission of the Group is the following: instead of pursuing global presence as a goal, Hypo Group Alpe Adria is more locally oriented. In the Alps to Adriatic region, with its cross-border markets, it is local market knowledge at a very personal and emotional level, which is crucial. Personal contact with the customers represents the basis of mutual trust for the Group. For this reason the Group sees its relationships as partnerships, which extend far beyond simple money issues. According to the Group, success can only be achieved through human contacts, and it can only be measured in terms of personal relationships, so that partnership at a personal level is the Groups ultimate ideal. Hypo Group Alpe Adria leaves the goal of worldwide presence to the global players. As a leading regional player in the Alps to Adriatic area, it concentrates on the southeastern markets, with the motto banking business is peoples business, confirming its nonnegotiable customer orientation. Respecting differences, growing together and sharing successes with others these are the cornerstones of partnerships with customers on which the business structures of the Group are based. Having in mind that the fundamental strategy of the Group is to achieve growth in the Alps to Adriatic region, Hypo Group Alpe Adria has been pursuing its visionary strategy since 1993 with great success: to establish and develop a strong financial services Group in the Alps to Adriatic region which combines the highly developed Northern Italian, Germany and Austrian business cultures with growth market opportunities in Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Macedonia and the Ukraine. As a result, the Group plays a key role in directing funds and economic development to and in the region. Up till now, its successful expansion has given Hypo Group Alpe Adria intensive coverage of the areas, which in coming years will become its home markets. Additionally, long term involvement and commitment are priorities of the Group. Hypo Group Alpe Adria has established itself as a strong and reliable business partner in the Alps to Adriatic region. Its involvement in each country represents a long term commitment, so that businesses operating in any of these countries have the certainty and security they need in order to develop their activities. The Group is actively involved in developing local economies, and consequently, this contributes to the foundations of local prosperity. Furthermore, preserving independence and regional identity is one of the cornerstones of the Groups philosophy. This fact gives customers and business partners the certainty that they are handling their business with a dynamic and internationally minded bank which at the same time is at home in each of the individual regions. Hypo Group Alpe Adria is close to its customers in all the countries it operates in, thanks to its emphasis on independence and un-bureaucratic decentralized structures. 1.4. Regional presence of Hypo Group Alpe Adria It is important to underline that the expansion of Hypo Group Alpe Adria into its core market, the Alps to Adriatic Region, followed gradually. The establishment of the first Austrian bank branch in Vicenza (Italy), under EU law followed with Austrias accession to the EU in 1995. In the same year leasing companies were established in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Zagreb (Croatia). In the upcoming years further leasing outlets were opened in Slovenia and the expansion of the branch network in Italy and Croatia. In 1997 the number of staff at Hypo Group Alpe Adria went over the barrier of five hundred employees, accompanied by the start of construction of the present Klagenfurt (Austria) headquarters, which was completed in three phases by 2002. By the beginning of the new millennium, Hypo Group Alpe Adria already employed over one thousand people. In the following year it entered the market in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2002, Hypo Group Alpe Adrias expansion penetrated into the market of Serbia and Montenegro. The Groups dynamic progress continued in 2003, when it was announced as investor of the year in Bosnia and Herzegovina, opened a leasing branch in Munich (Germany), founded the Biogaspark Alpe Adria and launched tourism initiatives in Carinthia (Austria), starting the Schlosshotel Velden project. Hypo Group Alpe Adria is today active in Austria, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Ukraine. In 2005 it numbered approximately 5000 employees at over 250 locations. The year of 2006 has been extremely important for the Group and it conducted strategically important expenditure decisions. It founded Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. in Podgorica (Montenegro), Hypo Alpe-Adria-Rent d.o.o. in Belgrade (Serbia) and Hypo Alpe-Adria-Leasing OOD in Sofia (Bulgaria). The principal company of Hypo Group Alpe Adria is Hypo Alpe Adria Bank International AG, which has its head office in Klagenfurt (Austria). Its owners are BayernLB (67.08%), the GRAWE group (20.48%), KÃ ¤rntner Landesholding (12.42%) and Hypo Alpe Adria Mitarbeiter Privatstiftung (0.02%). The network of Hypo Group Alpe Adria currently has around 7,500 employees serving more than 1.3 million consumers. 2. Hypo Group Alpe Adria in Serbia Hypo Group Alpe Adria conducts its business activities in Serbia from 2002, as a part of the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank International AG Klagenfurt, which originally operated only in the territory of Austria. In the past couple of years, the Group began with its dynamic expansion in the international market, which consequently resulted in great success: the Group became one of the most successful financial institutions in the Alps Adriatic region, with approximately 7500 employees and more than 1.3 million clients in twelve countries. When we arrived to the Serbian market, we made a thorough analysis of finance, economy and legal sector, as well as the political situation of the country, based on which we have determined that Serbia will become one of the most important countries in our network. Serbia has enormous potential and we plan to invest in this country in the future and to become one of the leading financial institutions of the country. (Markus Ferstl, former Chairman of the Management Board of the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd) Having in mind that Hypo Group Alpe Adria`s strategic business sectors are banking and leasing, the Serbian market was firstly penetrated in the leasing sector. Leasing represents a relatively new form of financing in the Serbian market. Therefore, a leasing company bearing the name Hypo Alpe Adria Leasing d.o.o., was established in 2002, and it gained a leading position from the very beginning of its activities. The company remained the leader till present time with a cumulative market share of 35.19% in all segments of financing. Hypo Alpe Adria Leasing d.o.o. Beograd currently employs 136 people in affiliating offices throughout Serbia, including Belgrade, Novi Sad, Cacak, NiÃ… ¡, Subotica, Sombor, Zrenjanin, Becej, VrÃ… ¡c, Ã…  abac, Kragujevac and KruÃ… ¡evac. Additionally, not long after the establishment of Hypo Alpe Adria Leasing d.o.o. in Serbia, the bank by the name Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd was founded in 2002. In just eight moths of business operations in Serbia, the newly founded bank achieved a growth rate of 853%, which exceeded all expectations. Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd is currently one of the top five financial institutions in Serbia, with a market share of 8.55% and first-class and diversified portfolios. Additionally, it employs more than 800 people and has developed a rich business network consisting of affiliates in almost all bigger cities in Serbia, taking into consideration the headquarters of the company located in Belgrade, in the Business Center Usce where the other member companies of the Group are located[2]. Hypo Alpe Adria Securities a.d. Beograd was founded in 2004. The company is ranked among the top five broker companies in the market of shares and of old savings bonds trading. The youngest company of the Group is Hypo Alpe Adria Rent d.o.o. Beograd, which is the first financial institution in Serbia to offer the possibility of operational leasing for the clients. During the present research, special focus will be on the bank and the leasing company operating in within the system of Hypo Alpe Adria Group. 3. Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd In order to proceed with the research on Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd, it is necessary to explain the circumstances in which the banking sector in Serbia existed from 1990s till present time. Disintegration and collapse of socialist Yugoslavia in the beginning of the 1990s announced the so-called lost decade, meaning that major structural features and weaknesses of the banking system were preserved or additionally deteriorated and the overall situation became desperate. The main characteristics of 1990s were losses of markets, repeated wars, economic sanctions and international isolation of the country. Mismanagement and pervasive corruption were main factors, which contributed to the degeneration of the economy. After the major hyperinflation, which occurred in 1993 and 1994, 90 % of all bank loans were perceived as bad. Unprofitable and non-performing foreign currency balance sub-balances dominated balance sheets. One of the main priorities in the reform agenda of the new Serbian authorities, which took over in 2000 was bank restructuring. The essence of the strategy was to undertake bank rehabilitation and re-capitalization only in the cases when it was expected that the banks could be viable institutions with good prospects for privatization through sale to strategic investor at a reasonable price and only if it can be implemented with identifiable fiscal resources. In the beginning of 2002, Serbian authorities decided to conduct one of the boldest bank resolution measures undertaken in transition economies: they liquidated four large and deeply insolvent banks, which accounted for 60% of the book value of the sectors asset and for about two thirds of outstanding commercial credit to non financial sector. Furthermore, banking legislation and regulations were improved[3]. After the first major wave of reform, credit institutions have become more attentive in lending money to the real sector which was still very week. The government immediately acted on attracting foreign investors since there was an urgent need for such a thing. Consequently, from the late 2000 to December 2002, National Bank of Yugoslavia (the central bank) issued eight bank licenses, out of which seven were for the foreign owned banks. Internationalization and privatization of the Serbian banking industry continued in 2005. The share of the market accounted for by foreign banks rose to 67.52%. Out of the ten largest banks, seven are foreign. Successful sales of Serbian banks to foreign financial institutions provided a vigorous stimulus to the countrys banking industry. Total assets of all banks in 2005 jumped by 40.4% compared with the previous year, to 9.07 billion euros. Strong increases in lending to private and business customers were the main forces, which were driving growth. Progress was also made in restoring the confidence of domestic savers: total deposits at the end of 2005 amounted to 5 billion euros. Foreign banks which penetrated the Serbian market played an important role in restoring confidence in the sector and have gathered a significant share of new deposits. One of these banks was Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd. Hypo Alpe-Adria Banks involvement in the Serbian market began in December 2002, when it acquired Depozitno-kreditna banka. The Austrian bank concluded the purchase of 86.6% of the Serbian Depozitno-Kreditna Banka, founded May 22nd 1991, whose registered offices were in Belgrade. At the shareholders meeting held on October 8th 2002, the Banks name was changed to Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank a.d., the capital increase to EUR 5.5 million was resolved, and the new Supervisory Board was appointed. The headquarters of to Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank a.d., the member of the Hypo Group (after Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Liechtenstein), are located in the new part of Belgrade New Belgrade. Referring to total assets, Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank a.d. is Serbias fourth-largest bank with a market share of 6.47 %. Furthermore, approximately 900 employees are currently working for the Bank in a total of forty-one branch offices throughout Serbia. Market share of top five banks in Serbia (Source: National Bank of Serbia available at http://www.nbs.rs/export/internet/latinica/50/50_5.html) After just several months of its operations in Serbia, the Bank has established itself as a recognizable part of the Serbian financial scene. In its first two years of its activities, Hypo concentrated on corporate customers. The Bank has achieved a particular competitive advantage in the corporate sector with its long-term investment lending. Efforts to develop private customer business began in 2004. The specific focus gradually switched to the housing construction market, which was performing excellently. When we arrived to the Serbian market in 2002, we were among the first ones and there had been only six foreign banks operating in the market. We have used that window of opportunity, the situation when there had been few foreign banks present, in order to develop our credit portfolio. In that period, we had the opportunity to finance some of the most successful companies in Serbia, as well as to develop well-balanced portfolio, which we diversified over the years. Special attention was dedicated to retail sector, mostly in the field of house loans. Additionally, we have formed a special unit for financing of small and medium sized enterprises and this has become one of our corporate priorities, having in mind that these companies are often suppliers and partners of the big companies we already cooperate with. Other than that, our focus is on food industry, agriculture, pharmaceutical and chemical industry. (Vladimir Cupic, Chairman of the Management Board of the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd) The Bank is organized in the following sectors and departments: Corporate sector Retail sector Sector of financing public enterprises and local community units Treasury sector Investment banking HR department Economic analysis department Sector settlement Market support sector Logistics sector Sector of organization and information technology Legal department Department of business control harmonization Marketing department The research process will only incorporate the sectors, which are relevant for the research question of the thesis. 3.1. Corporate sector From the very beginning of its operations in Serbia, the Bank has established an extremely developed corporate sector, which quickly expanded in the sense of different departments within the sector, as well as the number of employees. The corporate sector of Hypo Alpe Adria Bank quickly achieved competitive advantage in comparison to other banks in Serbia. Various departments are organized within the sector: Credit department Small and medium enterprises (transferred to the Retail sector in 2006) International financing Products and services of the corporate sector are concentrated on the client and its needs, and include the following: Investment loans (loans approved for the purpose of purchase of machines, equipment, land, real estate) Framework loans (exceeding permissible minus on the account, eskont of bills and revolving lines) Documentary operations (guarantees, credits, purchase of receivables and inkaso) Loans for working capital Till 2006 Hypo Alpe Adria Bank mainly focused on long term corporate loans, which were given to the big corporate clients. Since then, it strategically refocused on small and medium sized enterprises and expanded its offer of products. Corporate sector is known for its extremely innovative products and services offered to the clients. The innovation, which was introduced by the Bank in the market of Serbia, is the so-called cross border financing. This type of financing is dedicated to the clients that operate in more than two countries. The financing capital is actually provided from outside Serbia and offered to the clients under much better conditions than the ones, which are present in the Serbian market. Additionally, the Bank provides special guarantees for the clients within the Hypo Group, and in this way supports their business activities in other countries. Furthermore, another product, which is particularly innovative, was introduced in 2004 and it is called the revolving line. By using this product, clients are automatically enabled to use other additional products, according to their needs (dinar and foreign currency loans, working capital loans, guarantees etc.). The revolving line can be used by big corporate clients, as well as small and medium sized enterprises and entrepreneurs. Being a strategic branch of the Serbian economy, agriculture is one of the top priorities of the corporate sector. The Bank has been extremely active in financing agricultural production: individual agricultural manufacturers have the possibility to finance basic and working capital. Cross selling activities refer to the presentation of banks products from other sectors within the Bank. Acquisition of new clients also represents one of the fundamental operations of the corporate sector. It is particularly important since it is the basis of the planned growth of deposits, as the fundamentals for the primary sources. Special attention within the sector is dedicated to project and structural financing, like: financing of projects for the market or long term exploitation, purchase of shares, mergers / acquisitions of companies. 3.2. Human resource (HR) department and relationship towards employees HR department of Hypo Alpe Adria Bank was established in May of 2003 and has developed its activities at a very rapid pace, due to the fact that the number of employees was increasing intensively. In the very beginning of its operations in Serbia, the bank had a total of 27 employees and in just one year the number increased to 323 employees. In 2005, the growth trend continued and the number of the bank staff reached 531 people. Finally, on the closing date, 31 December 2008, Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank a.d., Beograd had 871 employees. The increase of the number of employees is the result of the extension of the branch office network. Furthermore, additional employees were recruited in the headquarters to cater for the increasing customer demands. Within the initial process of selection and engagement of young experts, 600 potential candidates have been interviewed. Furthermore, database containing more than 1500 biographies of interested candidates was created, which points out to the fact that young people of Serbia are very keen on participating in the creation of modern multinational companies. One of the key priorities of the HR department from the very beginning of its existence was to enable quick integration of new employees into the system. Secondly, the Bank immediately started with the implementation of the Hypo standards, creation of the corporate identity and team atmosphere in the institution. Additionally, a very important strategic goal for the department was to become the source of educational staff, which would be capable of taking on new jobs, initiatives and development. In that sense, many of the employees, who have already acquired standards of the corporation and business modalities, have obtained leading positions within the Bank as the heads of various sectors. As far as the age structure is concerned, majority of employees of the Bank belong to the age group 30 39 years old, as it is shown in the diagram below. Additionally, 47% of all employees have acquired university education, while 33% of employees have secondary education. Activities of HR department are focused in three directions: administration, finance and education. In the area of administration, the department is handling recruitment process and hiring of new people who are competent and can contribute to the environment of the Bank. In the field of finance, the so called time management program is being implemented within the department, referring to the planning of the budget which will be used for the purpose of staff education and various bonus systems realized through completed targets. Having in mind the fact that, contemporary flows of banking operations worldwide demand constant education of the staff in all areas of the business, HR department takes particular notice of education of employees. The department is conducting educational trainings in various forms: motivation trainings, special skills development courses and language courses. This contributes to the raising of the efficiency level of the staff. Educational trainings are organized internally and externally. Some of the most important types of trainings, depending on the sector are: Cross selling courses Microsoft Office Excel seminars Insurance trainings, which enables the participants to obtain the license of the insurance mediator Small and medium sized enterprises trainings Seminars for the sale of pension and investment funds CDO`s and Credit linked trainings Specialist courses MCPD and MCITP Database Administrator for staff in the sector for informational technologies System Oriented Management course 1 and 2 Optional modules Top executive Education Public Finance Basic Training Project management Train the Trainer Project Management for Top Management Cross selling courses for account managers are particularly important for the activities of the Bank, in order to introduce existing clients of the Bank with new products and services. In this way, account managers tend to ensure that the additional product or service is being sold to the client, while at the same time enhancing the value the client gets from the Bank. Moreover, employees have the opportunity of expanding their knowledge in seminars jointly organized in cooperation with relevant public institutions, such as the National bank of Serbia, Association of Banks in Serbia, Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Institute for Business research and other external providers, as well as trainings related to international accounting standards. Having in mind that the Bank operates in twelve countries and that everyday communication involves the use of foreign languages, English courses are provided for all employees, at the expense of the Company. Additionally, certain numbers of employees who occupy the positions, which are directly linked to the headquarters of the Group in Austria, take courses of German language, whose expenses are also borne by the Company. Particularly relevant project of the department was realized in 2008, when the Bank established its internal employee training center. The main goal of the project was to make the best possible use of the existing knowledge and the practical experience of the staff. The center was formed in order to initiate internal transfer of knowledge among employees, information sharing, better communication, which consequently leads to better work performance and improvement of inter-personal relations within the Bank. This modern and completely technically equipped space is intended for internal and in house trainings, seminars and workshops for employees. Additionally, several types of trainings are conducted within the Center: cross selling workshops, Hypo 1 a tool which helps the staff get acquainted about other sectors besides their own, small and medium size enterprises trainings, etc. In just three months after its opening, more than 400 employees have participated in organized trai nings, and in one year more than 900 employees successfully passed over 30 internal educational and development programs of the center, which consequently justified the original expectations set by the management of the Bank. In addition, there is no doubt that one of the key priorities of the Bank is employee satisfaction. HR department in Hypo Bank actively conducts the employee assessment programs, which are incorporated in the employee satisfaction program. Originally, the program was based on yearly interviews of employees and their superiors on the subject of work efficiency and success, through self evaluation done by the employee, and the evaluation obtained from the superior. In order to upgrade the program, in 2007 HR department decided to introduce new actions. One of these actions was employee satisfaction survey. This type of survey is conducted among all employees in the end of every working year, and concentrates on the four most important areas of employee satisfaction: general satisfaction with work and work conditions, communication and interpersonal relations, leadership, bonus systems and career opportunities. Achieved results from the survey serve as the basis for strategy planning for the upcoming years. This is particularly important in order to include the opinion of the staff in the process of future strategy defining and decision making, so that everyone can benefit from it. Furthermore, obtained results were than given to the HR agency Advance Response International that deals with HR issues, and in this way anonymity and objectivity of the research was achieved. At this point, it is necessary to highlight that Hypo Bank has developed cooperation with several human resource agencies for the purpose of various types of train ings: project management, leadership and management, credit and market risk, etc. Asides from the efforts, which are focused on the improvement of communication among employees, inter-personal relations and management, the management of the Bank puts special emphasis on professional development of the middle and top management members. For that purpose, development center operating within the HR department was established in order to assess development necessities of the staff belonging to these levels of management. The center analyses results of interviews, surveys and supervisors suggestions, and consequently creates individual development plan for every employee. Another type of development plan created in the center, is team development plan, which is implemented on the entire teams working in specific sectors. In order to do business well, you need to have products of good quality, but asides from that, you need to have excellent staff. Therefore, we invest a lot in education and training of our employees. For example, in the second quarter of 2006, we realized a special trainee project. We hired motivated young people who had just completed their university education and we enabled them to pass specific trainings throughout the entire Group in two years, in order to get familiar with every aspect of the company business activities. They didnt have trainings only in Serbia; they also visited other Hypo companies abroad. As we often like to say in the Group: our greatest assets are our employees and for that reason we will continue to invest in their internal and external education. (Marija Sutanovac, Head of the HR department of the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd). Important point, which should be highlighted in this section, is opportunity for scholarships for university education of employees. Each year Bank supports further education of thirty selected employees and provides funding for their studies. This program represents a special kind of acknowledgement for talented and hard working employees. Furthermore, in cooperation with the Serbian Business Club Privrednik[4], the Bank provides scholarships for ten students, which are not employees of the bank, and in this way shows its support directed to the young people of Serbia. In this way, talented and perspective students have the opportunity to be in touch with the people from the most significant and influential companies in Serbia, and can find employment opportunities upon their graduation asides form their scholarships. 3.3. Marketing department and relationship towards clients Marketing department had a challenging task of providing support to all business activities of the Bank, once it penetrated the Serbian market. The key priority of the department was to create a positive image of the Hypo Bank, as well as to inform the Serbian population about its products and services. Corporate image strategy emphasized values of the bank: its tradition, innovative approach to business, Alps-Adriatic philosophy based on the regional banking client focus, partnership, security, corporate responsibility and independence. The main focus of the department was to create and promote the corporate image, which emphasizes that Hypo Alpe Adria Bank a.d. Beograd takes care of its clients in the same way as it takes care of its employees, and that it is a reliable partner who nurtures the local community in which it exists. The main element of the departments strategy was to create two-way communication with the clients: to reach the clients, and to hear their needs as well. For that purpose, the Bank introduced a special program called clients suggestions. Clients of the Bank have the possibility of sending their suggestions, comments,