Love in Kamala Das’s Poetry Essay

Love and sex in her poetry become a paradigm for fractured realities encountered by the poetess. Essentially she speaks for a woman who is in search of love. She challenges the very idea of phallocentric tradition and asserts in poem after poem that the subaltern can speak. Post colonialism consists primarily in the contestation of power structures and social hierarchies. For Kamala Das a woman’s predicament as a daughter , a wife, or a lover reflects a victimization in relationships. Kamala Das revolts against a constructed notion of relationship. Women are not the self-sacrficial model of virtue or promiscuity. The hitherto premises of male hegemony are violently shaken by Kamala Das who can defy the conventional ideological discourse of sexism and love. She herself became a victim of a young man’s carnal hunger . In ‘The Freaks’, a remarkable lyric which was published in Summer in Calcutta contains a picture of love that is full of dirt and filth as the man ensconced in sexual intercourse turned his ‘sun-stained / Cheek to me , his mouth , a dark /Cavern, where stalacities of /Uneven teeth gleam , his right / Hand on my knee, while our minds/ Are willed to race towards love ; / But they only wander, tripping / Idly over puddles of desire† . The focus on the ‘puddles of desire’ refers to her unfulfilled sexual desire as her heart remains ‘ an empty cistern’. Kamala Das describes in ‘The Freaks’a man and a woman persona are described as capriciously and whimsically behaving in unexpected manner. The poem celebrates the mood of transitory triumph over the defeat of love : My glass , like a bride’s Nervous smile , and meet My lips. Dear , forgive This moment’s lull in Wanting you, the blur In memory. Elsewhere in the poem Kamala Das describes the ambience : The April sun , squeezed Like an orange in My glass? I sip the Fire , I drink,and drink Again, I am drunk. We get a poignant verbal drama in the expression. The graphic details of drinking and the April heat. The poem focuses on the inborn passivity of the male partner and yet it ends with the assertion : â€Å"I am freak†. This is the identity crisis of an Indian woman who fails to flaunt ‘ a grand flamboyant lust’ in spite of the dissatisfaction. Here the poetess highlight the notion of vehemence and impetuosity with which the poet appropriates and internalizes the vocabulary for mapping out the terrain for the post colonial women in social terms. She secures the first significant step toward the explosion of the myth of male supremacy propagated by patriarchy. This is in itself automatically presupposes the awareness of a shared fate of injustice. In The subjection of Women John Stuart Mill argues that the principle of servitude in marriage is a monstrous antithesis to all the principles of the modern world. For Mill the most liberating aspect is that human beings are no longer born to their place in life. Kamala Das has shown and is very loud in violently showing that to be born as a woman is to lose the capacity to transcend that place in life already determined by patriarchy. Here Kamala Das decides to empower herself as a woman. In ‘Forest Fire’ the poetess minces no word in recording her innate desire to consume all sorts of experiences in this world: Of late I have begun to feel a hunger To take in with greed , like a forest-fire that Consumes , and, with each killing gains a wilder Brighter charm,all that comes my way. A little later the fury of passions gets the most of her : My eyes lick at you like flames , my nerves Consume. This is not a refusal to acknowledge the tenets of valorization in masculine terms. We encounter in these lines paradigms of transgressions in the discourse, the female playing the male role . The readers are more directly taken into a woman’s quest for identity when the poetess can say in ‘The Looking Glass’ : Getting a man to love you is easy Only be honest about your wants as Woman. Kamala Das does not describe how man loves a woman, she is more interested in telling how a woman can get the love of a man: Stand nude before the glass with him So that he sees himself the stronger one And believes it so, and you so much more Softer , younger, lovelier†¦. Admit your Admiration. This is not urge for female hegemony but the quest for identity in a female mind. Surrendering is an image in the poetry of Kamala Das : Gift him what makes you woman The woman here knows that she will be left alone if the lover forsakes her. A lustful woman rarely succeeds. Getting a man to love is easy but afterward without the man it is a living without life. Joan Chittister writes : In the end women like other minorities who have been taught their natural limitations by the dominant culture in which they live, turn their anger against themselves†¦They know that women can not do what men can do, and they resent and scold and criticize any woman who tries to do it. They become the instruments of the system, its perfect product, its most important achievement. 156) Simultaneously, in a poem like ‘My Grandmother’s House’ published in Summer in Calcutta , there is a note of nostalgia in the depiction of the care-free days of childhood : â€Å" There is a house now far away where once / I received love †¦. That woman died†. In this poem the poetess felt â€Å" My blood turned cold like the moon†. The moon is a romantic image. But Kamala Das used it so realistically to reveal her broken heart and lost love. Bedroom door is like ‘a brooding dog’. The poetess peers through ‘ blind eyes of windows’. The polyphonic text about identities with the autobiographical voice multiply itself into myriad selves. K. R. S Iyengar characterizes some of Kamala Das’s poems as ‘confessional’. Devinder Kohli calls her poems â€Å" candid and witty piece of self-revelation’ In the confession, Kamala Das poignantly tries to straddle both worlds – the secret world of her desire and the world defined by the male chauvinists. But she is left with no option but to conform to the stereotype of the sexual –patriarchal man even when it outlines a mandate of a society that loathes any challenge coming from the females. The poetess tries to negotiate sexual difference, but the importance lies rather in the way it showcases male chauvinism in a patriarchal ideology constructing patterns of fixated behaviours exalting them as normal. Individuals in this quest of identity socialized themselves into a locus of role specificity which in the case of a female disrupts the orientations. It is the crisis of the role that sustains the split between the role the character plays in Kamala Das’ poems. ‘Spoiling the Name’ presents effectively one of Kamala Das’ central insights, as Devinder Kohli points out , the commitment of her poetic self to experience. The sighs are ‘metallic’ , limbs are curled at the ‘touch of air’ (‘A Relationship’)and ‘nudity on sheets of weeklies’( ‘Loud Posters’ ). Kamala Das mocks her ‘feminine integrity’ ( Sarkar Jaydip:84) when she finds in a shamefully helpless situation as in ‘The Freaks’ with the lover whose mouth is a dark Cavern where stalacities of Uneven teeth gleam It is not that the subversion is apparent everywhere. Women also gravitate from aspiring to be transgressive social agents to artitculating their muted histories, finally pointing up the truth that they were forced to suppress. In the poem ‘Love’ there is a ‘celebration of happiness and contentment in love â€Å" My life lies, content / in you† (Sarkar Jaydip: 86). The poetess was committed to the sensual world , true, but in her life partner she tried to achieve the shared identity . She sought a life beautifying force of love which might be equated with physical relationship. Sterility and vacant ecstasy were all that Kamala Das abhorred and herein she had her disillusionment. Love that is extra marital was not Kamala Das’ angst , rather her inner self created for herself a tiny world in which the trauma of love and marriage were distant cries, hardly heard of. In the ‘Sunshine Cat’she depicted the picture of ‘a cold and half dead woman’ who was of no use to her. The cat might be her own feminine self as well. In ‘Winter’ , the celebration of sex was a theme,but it was more a desperate attempt of her soul for groping for roots in his body(Sarkar Jaydip: 85). As a singer of feminine sensibility she protests against restraints of society , and simultaneously she shakes off the rigid gender roles , determination triggered by situational factors. In 1948, Alfred Kinsey published Sexual Behavior in the Human Male in which sexual orientation was placed on ‘a graduated continuum’ ( Kinsey: 638). Kinsey advocated a re-appraisal of the treatment meted out to queer beings by way of isolation and rehabilitation. The hypocrisy latent in marriage is due to societal pressures. In most occasions , the victims in such marriage of convenience is the wife, that Kamala herself was and who wanted to express the oppressive anguish of her own life. Thus on the one hand, the poems of Kamala Das are visualizations of her own pains, but at the same time they are the demeaning perceptions galvanizing the concomitant negativity into a motive for further exploration of female psyche. The fantastically confessional poem ‘The Old Playhouse’ reveals this agony of the mind of the poetess: It was not to gather Knowledge Of yet another man that I came to you but to Learn What I was and by learning to learn to grow †¦(K. S. Ramamurti:151) This is what we mean by ‘pathei mathos’,wisdom consisting in suffering, the poetess gradually learning to cope up with demands of the more realistic world and compromising with her dreams as the potential abilities of the human body got stunted by the sterility of the man she loved. We may safely surmise that the poems do not become an erotic world in spite of all the sexual replenishments for the starving soul of a woman. Nor the poems become an articulation of a muted feminine consciousness. Kamala Das exploded the stigma of vulnerability and gained a critical consciousness to stand up to the deforming norms of the conventional intercourses in marital life or love life,whatever it is. It was not in her capacity to reorder the chaotic world into a cosmos. At best she could suggest some therapeutic rehabilitation of a trauma-ridden woman who survives the psychological abuses, manipulation and a dreariness of emotional desert. The poems serve for such a starving soul as a rallying point. K. R. S. Iyengar rightly remarks : â€Å" Kamala Das is a fiercely feminine sensibility that dares without inhibitions to articulate that the hurts it has received in an insensitive largely man-made world. † ( Iyengar: 667) . Reading List Works cited Das Kamala , Summer in Calcutta, New Delhi: Everest Press, 1965. ———– The Old Playhouse and Other Poems. Madras: Orient Longman, 1973. ———– My Story , New Delhi, Sterling Publishers, , 1976. ————- Tonight , This Savage Rite: The Love Poems of Kamala Das & Pritish Nandy. New Delhi: Arnold- Heinemann (India) 1979. ————— Only the Soul Knows How to Sing. Kottayam: DC Books, 1996. Primary Sources . 1. Lal. P. Ed. Modern Indian Poetry in English : An Anthology and a Credo, Calcutta: Writer’s Workshop, 1969. 2. Kotoky, P. C. Indo English Poetry, Gauhati: Gauhati University, 1969. 3. James ,Vinson (ed. ) Contemporary Poets,New York: St. Martin Press,1975. 4. Abidi, S. Z . H. Studies in Indo Anglian Poetry, Bareilly: Prakash Book Depot, 1979. . Parthasarathi, R. Ed. Ten Twentieth –Century Indian Poets. New Delhi: OUP. 2nd Ed. 1980 6. Shahane, Vasant A. and Sivaram Krishna, M. (eds. ) Indian Poetry in English : A Critical Assessment . Delhi: Macmillan, 1980. 7. Rahman ,Anisur. Expressive Form in the Poetry of Kamala Das. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 1981. 8. Stella ,Samdahl. ‘South Asian Literature: A Linguistic Perspective’, A Meeting of Streams. (ed). M. G. Vassanji,,Toronto: TSAR,1985. 9. Chindhade ,Shirish. Five Indian English Poets , New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers, 1996. 10. De Souza , Eunice. Nine Indian Women Poets : An Anthology. Ne w Delhi: Oxford Univ. Press, 1997. 11. Mitapalli Rajeswar et. al. Kamala Das: A Critical Spectrum. New Delhi: Atlantic,2001. 12. Gokak, V. K. (ed. ) The Golden Treasury of Indo Anglian Poetry. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 2004. . Secondary Sources: 1. Kohli ,Devinder. Virgin Whiteness: The Poetry of Kamala Das. Calcutta: Writers Workshop, 1968. 2. K. R. S. Iyengar, Indian Writing in English , New Delhi Allied Publishers,1962; 2nd ed. , 1973. 3. King ,Bruce . Modern Poetry in English, Delhi, Oxford University Press. 1987. 4. Joan D. Chittister, Heart of Flesh: A Feminist Spirituality for Women and Men Cambridge and Ontario : WmB. Eerdsmans Publishing Company, 1998. 5. Alfred C. Kinsey et al. Sexual Behavior in lthe Human Male. Philadelphia: W. B Saunders: Bloomington, Indian U Press, 1948 2nd Ed. ,1998. 5. Banerjee,Benoy Kumar ; Bakshi, Kaustav. Studies in Indian Poetry in English, Kolkata: Books Way, 2008 6. Ahmed, Irshad Gulam , Kamala Das : The Poetic Pilgrimage. New Delhi: Creative Books,2005. 7. Ramamurti, K. S. Ed. Twenty-Five Indian Poets In English , Kolkata: Macmillan India Ltd. , 2008. 8. Sarkar ,Jaydip (ed. ) Kamala Das and Her Poetry , Kolkata: Books Way,2009. —————————- .

Isis: Terrorism and Richest Terrorist Group

ISIS is the biggest terrorist army in history. It has caught people's attention all around the world and needs to be stopped immediately. Published by the Boston Herald, scholars Steven Buck,James Philips, Charlotte Florence, Hell Dale and Peter Brooked met up to make an article about the ISIS. â€Å"ISIS Is a clear, present danger. † Before reading this article I had never discovered SIS'S. I never would've thought that a terrorist group could cause so much sadness and hate. I didn't know that terrorists could form an army and just decide to destroy people.When they say convert, Join us, or die,† they not only mean it, but they will follow through with terrible effect. I never watch the news or read the newspaper so I didn't get the chance to hear about ISIS until now. It is absolutely sickening how people in this world can be. Now after reading this article, I learned a lot about ISIS. I learned that ISIS became a huge success so quickly. They even use social media to advertise themselves as a killing group. Their Youth and Twitter page show that the West Is their target. The ISIS Is rising to the top to the point where the terrorist group, al-Qaeda, want to come together with SIS'S. The al-Qaeda control no territory and Is dependent on Afghan and Pakistani and Salamis militants. The leaked is forced to live a clandestine existence under the constant threat of drone strikes; while everyone in the world know about ISIS and how they harm people. The leader of ISIS, ABA-Baker al-Baghdad, is a charismatic leader who claims descent from the Prophet Mohammed. He has much more personal appeal for young Muslim militants than al- Qaeda leader Amman al-Chair. Most people are aware that terrorist groups control almost everything.ISIS lone controls electricity, extortion racket, and exports OLL and gas. â€Å"ISIS Is the richest terrorist group In history,† as stated In the article. ISIS robs banks, controls OLL fields, and pockets a huge amount of mo ney from ransoms. Robbing Mogul's central bank yielded more than $400 million in gold and Iraq currency. It controls oil fields in Syria and Iraq that generate income. How can people who were once so low in the world now be a group of terrorists who are an unstoppable army? Their army controls the size of Maryland! ISIS is the most heavily-armed Salamis extremist group in history.They captured huge amounts of military weapons and equipment in Iraq and Syria. It is easier to travel across the border of Iraq and Syria than it is to travel to Pakistan or Afghanistan. The amount of disrespect this group has caused is disgusting. They should be embarrassed, not happy about it. After watching a video and looking up more Information I feel sick. ISIS needs to be stopped. In conclusion, after reading and watching the news about ISIS, all I have to say Is how sickening and heartless how people can be In this world. ISIS Is not Just a error group, it is an unstoppable army.ISIS attracts recru its from the Middle East, understand how much pain they're causing others? Don't they realize whoever they just killed belong to a family? I hope sometime in the near future this group stops and realizes what they are doing is hurting others. Everyone needs to be at peace and go back to their country. If their group is so â€Å"religious† as Eve heard, what makes them want to harm others for no reason? This all needs to end soon. They need to get bad karma and rot in hell. My source for this essay is the Boston Herald.

Marketing Plan - Option Care Services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing Plan - Option Care Services - Essay Example Option Care Services is increasingly looking forward to provide high quality, professional and extremely caring services to its individual as well as its organizational clients, by providing them with highly trained and efficient caring staffs comprising of nurses, cleaners, care assistants and related or necessary support workers. Option Care Services is also looking forward to maintain a line of consistency in terms of quality and professionalism for the personnel provided to the individual or organizational clients. And finally, the organization is also targeting to be acknowledged as the best agency to provide quality healthcare personnel to their clients in the London region. Marketing Audit The marketing audit comprises of analyzing of various factors related to the external and internal environment for a business that comes into play when charting out the role of the various elements of the marketing mix. A typical marketing audit comprises of both the internal as well as the external audit (Perreault & McCarthy, 2006, p.549). External Audit The external audit can be performed by analyzing the business using the PEST analysis as well as an analysis of the competitive environment as well. PEST Analysis: Political Around the year 2008, the government of UK was providing extensive support for domiciliary services availed by the senior citizens of UK in order to retain their independency in their homes or surroundings. The senior citizens of UK, at that time, could avail the need of personal care and other related support activities, with sponsorship from the government or the local council. This led to huge increments in the governmental spending and led to huge public spending deficits. As a consequence of this cut, the local council came up with an effective measuring criterion on the basis of the sickness or the severity of needs in order to avail the services sponsored by the government. This has led to an increase in the personal spending amongst the m asses of UK to avail the personal care and support services on their own. Economical The macro economical factors also played its part in this particular service sector. Coupled with the global credit crunch, came the effect of slowdown in the factory outputs all over the globe, the triggering of fears for a double dip recession in certain part of the world and the extended phenomena and political drama related to the Euro zone crisis. This created a panic among the government policy makers in regards to their huge public spending. As a counter measure to these macro economic factors, the government responded by setting up cuts on its spending in the supporting the domiciliary needs of the people of the UK region. Social In response to the government’s measure to protect the country from possible economic crisis, cuts on the domiciliary needs of the masses, a social effect was triggered as well. As a matter of fact, more and more people are trying to avail the services for ca ring and support by paying from their own pockets. Technological Though the

Key elements from the philosophies of Hegel and Husserl Essay

Key elements from the philosophies of Hegel and Husserl - Essay Example According to existentialism, existence comes before the essence of life. Hegel was also of the same opinion albeit he put forth certain conditions or situations when human beings have this kind of free will. According to his ‘Philosophy of Right’, human beings are free to act or decide for themselves only if they are part of any particular system or area concerning the free will. According to Hegel, freedom should not be linked with arbitrariness (doing whatever one pleases). Hegel believes that, â€Å"We are free only when we overcome ‘particularity’ and act ‘universally’ or ‘objectively’, according to the concept of the will† (Wood, 2003). Usually people misinterpret the meaning of freedom; they feel that freedom means nonexistence of hurdles in doing anything of one’s choice. But when we view it with practicality, the situation is somewhat different. on the contrary, Hegel feels that human beings cannot be said to b e free â€Å"unless social institutions provide considerable scope and protection for arbitrary freedom† (Woods, 2003). Another element of Hegel’s philosophy relates to the civil society. Hegel says that human beings are free to decide what work they choose for their livelihood but they cannot completely deny the fact that their actions will not affect the society. It should be a give and take system where individuals contribute towards the society and in turn the society looks after the broader interests of all human beings. Any work that we do indirectly helps the society as a whole; â€Å"As members of this society, individuals have the duty to support themselves through labor which benefits the whole, while civil society as a whole owes each individual the opportunity to labor in a way which provides a secure, respected and self-fulfilling mode of life† (Woods, 2003). Philosophy of Phenomenology Edmund Husserl was the founded the ‘Philosophy of Phenome nology’. He was a mathematician and all his anticipations and explanations were based on mathematic calculations or to be more precise, the inferential system. The motive of Husserl’s Theory of Phenomenology, â€Å"is to study the units of consciousness that the respective speaker presents himself as having – that he gives voice to – in expressing the proposition in question (for instance, while writing a mathematical textbook or giving a lecture)† (Beyer, 2011). Husserl relates the actions of human beings to their perceptions. According to him, it is quite possible that while performing any action, a person is hallucinating. Means that he/she may think he/she is being watched while doing the act. Also, â€Å"from a first-person point of view, one cannot, of course, decide whether in a case of what one takes to be, say, an act of perception one is currently performing, there actually is an object that one is perceptually confronted with† (Be yer, 2011). In Tel Asiado’s words Husserl’s philosophy claims that ‘consciousness is ‘directedness towards an object.’ The mental state and the object of the state exist together in consciousness without implying that there is any ‘material’ object answering to the call† (Asiado, 2009). Husserl’s apprehensions are more towards the doubts on the ‘information about self’ rather than the ‘information about things’. Husserl’s philosophy can be summarized to be â€Å"as both an early direct reference theorist (headword:

Profiling -marketing plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Profiling -marketing plan - Essay Example As part of market plan, this paper analyses the segmented markets of this business and addresses its marketing opportunities in relation to its marketing mix elements. Mission Statement and marketing objectives of the GGI ‘To deliver quality home decor and gift items to the customers, by importing from quality suppliers abroad’ is the main mission that GGI would like to communicate to its customers. in order to achieve this mission and goal, the GGI plans to conduct its business based on following key marketing strategies: provide quality home decor and gifts to the customers, value their perceptions, make regular quality assurance and checks, take care of employees and respect the customers. This mission will be communicated to all of its stakeholders, because, as Ferrell and Hartline (2008) noted, a mission statement is an important portion of strategic marketing plan which mustn’t be kept confidential (p. 33). Market Profiling of GGI Market profiling is a metho d of plotting market action by organizing and collecting market-generated time, price and volume information in relation to specific product or service marketing. A market profiling helps a firm identify where from its majority of buyers come towards selecting its products (Person, 2004, p. 40). GGI has been successfully operating its business by selling home decors and gift items and based on the information it collected, the company plans to conducts its future marketing operation. Most customers are very likely to appeal to Asian decors and the company therefore plans to continue importing from Asian countries. It has been observed that the company gained more number of customer when the home decors and gift items have been priced between $20 to $80 per item. A high price, as observed, yields relatively less appeal from customers and therefore relatively less margins to the company. Targeted Markets The major segments that GGI targets consist of the following groups. 1) Generatio n A, mainly comprising of baby boomers who are married with kids, average educated and home owners who all are likely to stay in their own home. Their income is more than $20,000 and less than $50,000. 2) Generation B, mainly comprising of Affluent, who are married, average educated and their income is more that $50,000. 3) Generation C, who are well educated, married and are experiencing tremendous growth. They are sophisticated achievers and 30 + savvy business and other people. Out of 30+ million population in those three regions, the target market of GGI is between 5- 6 million, comprising of 2 million from Generation A, 1.5 million from Generation B, 1.3 million from Generation C and .2 million from other un-targeted groups. Marketing Mix strategies Product Element: The GGI plans to deliver quality home decors and gift items to the above detailed three segments and find quality goods according to varying needs and requirements of its customers. in order to ensure customer satis faction in relation to product quality, GGI plans to assign quality departments duties of regular check ups and make necessary actions to improve the quality of imported items. Company will focus on its brand GGI in a way that can be positioned better in customers’ mind so that it will create long term profitability as well as make them loyal customers (Wreden, 2007, p. 13) Price: GGI never plans to charge any higher amount than the reasonable price, being fixed on margin plus pricing policy. The

Multi-culturalism and the new regionalism in Southeast Asia (or ASEAN) Essay

Multi-culturalism and the new regionalism in Southeast Asia (or ASEAN) - Essay Example Economic integration can be replicated in the political field but true growth of regionalism will come about through a coagulation of regional identities. Multiculturalism can contribute to creation of common identities and can thus provide a strong bond for the sustained growth of regionalism. The impact of multiculturalism in fostering regionalism and growth of ASEAN will thus form the central theme of this research. A realist approach with thorough analysis of data and study of primary as well as secondary sources will be adopted to arrive at specific answers to the key research questions. The rigorous approach thus adopted is expected to bring about a greater understanding of the phenomenon of multiculturalism in the specific context of South East Asian regionalism. The modern world is increasingly regionalized and globalized. This is posing greater challenges for individuals and nation states. Some of these are resulting in a clash of identities between individuals and states. Multiculturalism attempts to reduce these fault lines by bringing people closer together to melt different cultures and identities. Regionalism provides a geographical and political dimension to multiculturalism. However regionalism does not naturally imply assimilation of cultures. Multiculturalism needs stronger roots and deeper commitments than regionalism. Association of South East Asian Nations or ASEAN has emerged as an enduring regional phenomenon. It is a political and economic confederation based on the needs to protect and project economic and political power of the resurgent economies of South East Asia, such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Multiculturalism can also form a strong glue to bind together the people of ASEAN. Though it will be a long a slow p rocess, a multicultural ASEAN society would be far more homogeneous than it is today, thereby enabling peace and prosperity in the region more consistently.

History of Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

History of Architecture - Essay Example With an effective symmetry, one-half of the structure is an exact replica of the other half. Such a section is essential in determining the strength and he ability to the entire structure sine it influences the amount of weight that an engineer attaches on either side. The Facade of Pallao Chiericati is one of Palladio’s most prominent work. The symmetry among other pertinent aspects of the structure is similar to those in the early Roman society. He uses the similar rectangular shapes of the structures prevalent in the early society but he further seeks to achieve beauty and durability by modifying the structures and the design of the structures, a new feature in the Roman architecture that is symbolic of his era. Columns on the other hand refer to the solid upright structures that support the entire weight of the building. This is one of the most important aspect of a construction and requires effective consideration in order to reconcile with the total weight of the structu re. In designing his columns, Palladio accentuated his designs with acanthus leaf capitals at the top of the beams. The Roman structures had stronger columns, which just as in any other structure supported the structures. However, he added the design as a means of achieving increased aesthetic features of his design, thereby becoming an important distinction of his works and the new era in architecture that he pioneered. Palladio’s works laid more importance on the symmetry and perspective of the structure. He developed stronger and balanced structures and incorporated more of his creativity on the decoration of the structures thereby making them iconic beauties. He borrowed such aspects of the Roman society thereby earning relevance among them but incorporated his own creativity a feature that marked the transition between the two architectural eras. Among the most common features he used in decorating his works included scallop shells, typical motifs in the Greek and Roman arts. They used pediments to decorate doors and windows (Alain, 2009). Additionally, masks that were important motifs in the early society were used on the interior decoration of buildings. The increased decorations added weight to the building thereby demanding stronger columns and beams to support. Palladio achieved this through the accurate consideration of symmetry and perspective of his work thereby constructing stronger bases capable of withstanding the intense pressure resulting from the heavier walls and roofs. The uniqueness of the design arose from the fact that he used simple and common materials but with them developed stronger and more stable structure, which embodied beauty of the existing cultures (Giovanni, 1980).He designed simple structures, which he developed in bricks and covered in stucco. The stucco walls represented the Roman Villa topology. This way, he upheld the Roman culture in the art of villa constructions. Question 2 The construction technology resulted in stronger structures than those built in modern societies using steel. Basilique Saint-Denis in northern Paris, Canterbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in England are some of the early cathedrals whose structures employed the early gothic architecture. Comparing the two to Lincoln Cathedral in England and the Bamberg cathedral

The world history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The world history - Essay Example Human rights are rights inherent to all people whatever the nationality, race, ethnic origins, national, colour, religion or any other status. The horrors that followed World War II reaffirmed the demands of early twentieth-century internationalists to establish a Universal Bill of Human Rights. It would require â€Å"every nation to recognize the equal right of every individual on its territory of life, liberty and property, religious freedom and the use of his language† (Davies 110). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been integral in anticipating future needs and problems of the coming generations on matters concerning human rights and self-determination. This paper tries to analyse the significance of the declaration in anticipating of these needs, as well as its failures in the same. The period following the Second World War II (more than half a century ago) has seen an improvement in the protection of universal of Human Rights through the success is still being bogged down by several factors. The universal Of Declaration of Human document contains a total of thirty articles each characterising the individual human rights and freedoms. The declaration was a precursor to other binding human rights conventions and agreements. The Convention on the Elimination of All Types of Racial Discrimination and the ICESR are examples. The declaration has served as a preventative tool in various ways. The declaration articulates the philosophy that human rights education empowers individuals to contribute to the prevention of human rights abuses through the building of a culture of human rights. Article 4 of the declaration acknowledges the preventative power of Human rights education through combating of discrimination, racism, harmful attitudes and practices as well as hatr ed (Elkins, Tom and James 50). This article pre-empted the various atrocities that were to

Franchising Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Franchising - Thesis Example Researchers have pointed out that the impact of the fast-food restaurant on the society is much greater and therefore the evolving competitive environment is determined by the degree of operational freedom that these franchisees have in adding side dishes to the main menu and so on. This trend has been particularly marked during the last decade from 1999 to 2009. Modern fast food restaurants that consider making entry into a franchising business would have to adopt a strategy that would enable it to achieve intended results. There are a number of such options available to fast food restaurants such as those direct entry methods, e.g. export buying agency or a trading company and indirect entry methods, e.g. intermediate entry modes such as licensing and franchising (Alon, 2005). It's also desirable to go for a hierarchical arrangement like a merger, an acquisition or a wholly owned subsidiary. Franchising can be defined as "A form of business organization in which a firm which already has a successful product or service (the franchisor) enters into a continuing contractual relationship with other businesses (franchisees) operating under the franchisor's trade name and usually with the franchisor's guidance, in exchange for a fee" (www.investorwords.com). It is a business model for anyone who wants to start up a business that they don't have an established business idea. Thus franchising has been in existence in over 70 countries worldwide with the sales of US$ 1 trillion. In fact franchisee could be able to run a business under the particular brand name with the cooperation of a franchisor.When it comes to Subway fast food franchise in USA and it can be considered as one of the constantly growing franchises in the global arena with 32, 131 in 90 countries. Moreover, it is the largest single-brand fast food restaurant chain and holds the second place from largest operators like Yum Brands. Subway mainly operates its business in the US and five other major regions including Europe, Middle East, Asia, Latin America and UK. According to the Subway provides its franchise opportunity to worldwide businesses by fulfilling few steps - research the Subway franchise; submit application; find a best place to locate from the restaurant maps; getting worldwide contact information from regional managers; and getting a capital investment information and find a way to get a loan.The Subway Fast Food Company is considering entry into the other regions could conveniently adopt one of the latter strategies. In fact existing Subway restaurants that already have a line of fast food items basically operating in the up-market segments could be a good proposition though it has less strategic advantages when compared to operating a wholly owned fast food restaurant. As much as a franchising arrangement with foreign companies might not be feasible, franchising could reduce t he degree of operational freedom of the franchised company. Therefore compared to wholly owned fast food restaurants franchised restaurants could be regarded as the best alternative in the competitive business environment. Wholly owned restaurants would enable the management to carry on with some freedom by way of both its competition policy and operational strategy. There is a

Factors influencing the rate of enzyme catalysed reactions Essay

Factors influencing the rate of enzyme catalysed reactions - Essay Example Role of enzyme: enzymes catalyze physiologic reactions by decreasing the activation energy level that the reactants (substrates) must reach for the reaction to occur. They cannot alter the equilibrium of a reaction but can only decrease the activation energy of the reaction thereby accelerating the reaction rate. Activation energy: it is the amount of energy that is required to raise all molecules in one mole of a compound (substrate) at a specified temperature to the transition state at the peak of the energy barrier. Free energy of activation: it is the energy barrier that prevents chemical reactions. Reactants processing enough energy to overcome the energy barrier participate in product formation .The enzyme activity is determined by the rate of an enzyme catalyzed reaction under certain defined conditions2. Reaction rate/velocity (v): it is the rate of conversion of a substrate to products per min (mol/min). The reaction rate is proportional to the concentration of reacting molecules.A + B C + D If concentration of A and B is doubled, the rate of reaction is also doubled. At equilibrium, forward reaction and backward reaction are equal, so that K1 A + B C +D K2 Forward reaction R1 = K1 [A] [B] Backward reaction R2 = K2 [C] [D] At equilibrium R1 = R2 OR K1 [A] [B] = K2 [C] [D] OR K1/K2 = [C] [D] / [A] [B] = Keq or Equilibrium constant...Each enzyme contains 2. Catalytic efficiency: enzymes are highly efficient catalysts and can catalyze million times faster than an uncatalyzed reaction .it is capable of transforming 100 to 1000 substrate molecules into products each second. Role of enzyme: enzymes catalyze physiologic reactions by decreasing the activation energy level that the reactants (substrates) must reach for the reaction to occur. They cannot alter the equilibrium of a reaction but can only decrease the activation energy of the reaction thereby accelerating the reaction rate. Activation energy: it is the amount of energy that is required to raise all molecules in one mole of a compound (substrate) at a specified temperature to the transition state at the peak of the energy barrier. Free energy of activation: it is the energy barrier that prevents chemical reactions. Reactants processing enough energy to overcome the energy barrier participate in product formation .The enzyme activity is determined by the rate of an enzyme catalyzed reaction under certain defined conditions2. 2. Substrate concentration: as substrate concentration is increased, the velocity is also correspondingly increased in initial phases but as the enzymes molecules get saturated and further increase in substrate concentration cannot make any effect in reaction velocity. 3.

Developmental Psychology and Children Essay Example for Free

Developmental Psychology and Children Essay This is a very important stage as it helps children to get ready for school as well as preparing them for their future learning and successes. From when child is born up until the age of 5, the children early-years experiences should be happy, active, exciting, fun and secure and to support their development, care and learning needs. In my setting children will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating their understanding through 7 areas of learning and development. Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first. These are: †¢ Communication and language †¢ Physical development †¢ Personal, social and emotional development. These prime areas are those most essential for  the childs healthy development and future learning. As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are: †¢ Literacy †¢ Mathematics †¢ Understanding the world †¢ Expressive arts and design. These 7 areas are used to plan all children learning and activities. The key person teaching and supporting child will make sure all the activities are suited to childs unique needs. This its suitable for very young children, and its designed to be really flexible so that all staff in my setting can follow the childs unique needs and interests. Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) learn by playing and exploring, being active, and through creative and critical thinking which takes place both indoors and outside. In my setting I plan the activities based on the current interests and abilities of the children present. Sometimes the activities will be led by adults in order to practise and develop particular skills like using scissors or gluing, or learning new songs and rhymes to develop childrens awareness of sounds and letters. At other times children will select what they play with from a rich learning environment set up in the playroom or classroom. They will appear to be playing but, as this is how young children learn, they will be learning too. Washing the dolls clothes for instance helps develop physical skills, and gives the opportunity to communicate and co-operate with others, and to discover the properties of water and detergent. In the table above is a short meaning of the seven areas of learning and development that must shape educational programmes in early-years settings. All areas of learning and development are important and inter-connected. Three areas are particularly crucial for igniting childrens curiosity and enthusiasm for learning, and for building their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive. Children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early-years provision, including children with special educational needs and disabilities. The EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE (EYFS) is a term defined in Section 39 of  the British governments Childcare Act 2006. The EYFS comprises a set of _Welfare Requirements_ and a set of _Learning and Development Requirements_, which must be followed by providers of care for children below 5 years old the age of compulsory education in the United Kingdom. The Welfare and Learning and Development requirements are not specified in the Act but in separate. The legislation took effect from September 2008 and updated in 2012. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have separate framework. The Welfare requirements apply to the whole of the UK, but the Learning and Development requirements apply only in England. The EYFS is organised into 4 themes: -a unique child -positive relationships -enabling environments -learning and development The EYFS is linked to the Every Child Matters (ECM) agenda which has 5 areas that need to be addressed: -staying safe -being healthy -enjoy and achieve -make a positive contribution -achieve economic well-being The purpose of the ECM agenda is to ensure that all children are safe, have their needs met and are able to fulfil their full potential. _1.2 DESCRIBE THE DOCUMENTED OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN THAT FORM PART OF THE RELEVANT EARLY YEARS FRAMEWORK_ The Early Years Foundation Stage was designed to ensure that all children-regardless of where they live, their family background or circumstances-would have access to a quality early years education. To be able to measure this and also to ensure that practitioners have a clear focus for their work, a series of outcomes is given for each area of learning. These are called the Early Learning Goals. This helps that each child can meet them by the end of their reception year. These goals are important as they form the building blocks for childrens later education. It is important that practitioners recognise that many of the early Learning Goals are also associated with childrens development and so while it is reasonable to expect children to meet them at the end of the reception year, they are not meant to be used as outcomes in nurseries or pre-schools. It is also worth noting that some children will for a variety of reasons not meet  all the early Goals as they may have specific hea lth or learning difficulties or because they are simply younger than the other children. Every child deserves the best possible start in life and all support to full-fill their potential. A childs experience in the early years has a major impact on their future life chances. A secure, safe and happy childhood is important. When parents choose to use early years services they want to know that setting will keep their children safe and will help their children to thrive. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the framework that provides that assurance. The overarching aim of the EYFS is to help young children achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes of staying safe, being healthy, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution, and achieving economic well-being. Personal social and emotional development children need to develop a positive sense of themselves and of others, to learn respect for others, social skills and a positive disposition for learning. Self-confidence and self-esteem, behaviour and self-control helping children to understand their emotions and how to express those emotions, self-care children needs to be able to do tasks like dressing and feeding , sense of community learning where a child has come from respect for others and inclusion. The EYFS was designed to ensure all children are treated the same no matter where they have come from that they would have access to the same education to measure this and to ensure practitioners have a clear focus for their work a series of outcomes id given for each learning area these are called early years goals this is done by the end of the reception year. A UNIQUE CHILD Every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured. I understand and observe each childs development and learning, assess progress, plan for their next steps. I support children to develop a positive sense of their own identity and culture. I identify any need for additional support. I keep children safe. I value and respect all children and their families equally. Positive Relationships children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships. POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS ARE warm and loving, and foster a sense of belonging sensitive and responsive to the childs needs, feelings and interests supportive of the childs own efforts and independence consistent in setting clear boundaries and stimulating children Enabling Environments children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and carers. ENABLING ENVIRONMENTS †¢ value all people †¢ value learning †¢ I offer stimulating resources to all the childrens cultures and communities †¢ learning opportunities through play and playful teaching †¢ I support children to take risks and explore Learning and Development Children develop and learn in different ways. The framework covers the education and care of all children in early-years provision, including  children with special educational needs and disabilities. In my setting I teach children by ensuring challenging, playful opportunities across the prime and specific areas of learning and development. Children start to learn about the world around them from the moment they are born. The care and education offered by our setting helps children to continue to do this by providing all of the children with interesting activities that are appropriate for their age and stage of development. The Areas of Development and Learning comprise of three prime areas; personal, social and emotional development; communication and language physical development; and four specific areas: Literacy Mathematics Understanding of the World Expressive Arts and Design; For each area, the practice guidance sets out the Early Learning Goals. These goals state what it is expected that children will know and be able to do by the end of the reception year of their education. The practice guidance also sets out in Development Matters the likely stages of progress a child makes along their learning journey towards the early learning goals. Our setting has regard to these matters when we assess children and plan for their learning. _Personal, social and emotional development_ Our programme supports children to develop: positive approaches to learning and finding out about the world around them; confidence in themselves and their ability to do things, and valuing their own achievements; their ability to get on, work and make friendships with other people, both children and adults; their awareness of, and being able to keep to, the rules which we all need to help us to look after ourselves, other people and our environment; their ability to dress and undress themselves, and look after their personal hygiene needs; and their ability to expect to have their ways of doing things respected and to respect other peoples ways of doing things. _Communication, language and literacy_ Our programme supports children to develop: conversational skills with one other person, in small groups and in large groups to talk with and listen to others; their vocabulary by learning the meaning of and being able to use new words; their ability to use words to describe their experiences; their knowledge of the sounds and letters that make up the words we use; their ability to listen to, and talk about, stories; knowledge of how to handle books and that they can be a source of stories and information; knowledge of the purposes for which we use writing; and making their own attempts at writing. _Mathematics_ Our programme supports children to develop: understanding and ideas about how many, how much, how far and how big; understanding and ideas about patterns, the shape of objects and parts of objects, and the amount of space taken up by objects; understanding that numbers help us to answer questions about how many, how much, how far and how big; understanding and ideas about how to use counting to find out how many; and  early ideas about the result of adding more or taking away from the amount we already have. _Understanding of the World_ Our programme supports children to develop: knowledge about the natural world and how it works; knowledge about the made world and how it works; their learning about how to choose, and use, the right tool for a task; their learning about computers, how to use them and what they can help us to do; their skills on how to put together ideas about past and present and the links between them; their learning about their locality and its special features; and their learning about their own and other cultures. _Physical development_ Our programme supports children to develop: increasing control over the large movements that they can make with their arms, legs and bodies, so that they can run, jump, hop, skip, roll, climb, balance and lift; increasing control over the small movements they can make with their arms, wrists and hands, so that they can pick up and use objects, tools and materials; and their understanding about the importance of, and how to look after, their bodies. _Expressive Art and Design_ Our programme supports children to develop: the use of paint, materials, music, dance, words, stories and role-play to express their ideas and feelings; and  their interest in the way that paint, materials, music, dance, words, stories and role-play can be used to express ideas and feelings. _Assessment (learning journal, progress checks)_ I assess how young children are learning and developing by observing them frequently. I use information that I gain from observations, as well as from photographs of the children, to document their progress and where this may be leading them. I believe that parents know their children best and I ask them to contribute to the learning journals by sharing information about what their children like to do at home and how they as parents are supporting development. I make periodic assessment summaries of childrens achievement based on our on-going development records. These form part of childrens records of achievement. I undertake these assessment summaries at regular intervals as well as times of transition, such as when a child moves into a different group or when they go on to school. _1.3 EXPLAIN HOW THE DOCUMENTED OUTCOMES ARE ASSESSED AND RECORDED_ Assessment plays an important part in helping parents, carers and practitioners to recognise childrens progress, understand their needs, and to plan activities and support. On-going assessment (also known as formative assessment) is an integral part of the learning and development process. It involves practitioners observing children to understand their level of achievement, interests and learning styles, and to then shape learning experiences for each child reflecting those observations. In their interactions with children, practitioners should respond to their own day-to-day observations about childrens progress and observations that parents share. EYFS 2012 All effective assessment involves analysing and reviewing what you know about each childs development and learning. You can then make informed decisions about the childs progress and plan next steps to meet their development and learning needs. This is called assessment for learning. EYFS 2012 Formative assessment is the type of assessment based on observations, photographs, videos, things children have made or drawn and information from parents. It informs or guides everyday planning. Summative assessment is a summary of all the formative assessment done over a long period and makes a statement about the childs achievements. The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile is the summative assessment completed by practitioners at the end of the EYFS. EYFS Practice Guidance 2007 In the final term of the year in which the child reaches age five, and no later than 30 June in that term, the EYFS Profile must be completed for each child. The Profile provides parents and carers, practitioners and teachers with a well-rounded picture of a childs knowledge, understanding and abilities, their progress against expected levels, and their readiness for Year 1. The Profile must reflect: on-going observation, all relevant records held by the setting, discussions with parents and carers, and any other adults whom the teacher, parent or carer judges can offer a useful contribution. Year 1 teachers must be given a copy of the Profile report together with a short commentary on each childs skills and abilities in relation to the three key characteristics of effective learning. These should inform a dialogue between Reception and Year 1 teachers about each childs stage of development and learning needs and assist with the planning of activities in Year 1. EYFS 2012 In my setting we reflect on the different ways that children learn and reflect these in our practice. The three characteristics of effective teaching and learning are: _playing and_ _exploring_ children investigate and experience things, and have a go _active learning_ children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements _creating and thinking critically_ children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things My setting curriculum is planned and delivered with every child at the heart  of what we do. Every childs needs are met through a personalised learning journey in partnership with parents, carers and other professionals. We report on these aspects when a child transfers to a different setting or school. My setting provide accurate and up to date information about each childs learning and development and we are able to share this with parents and professionals associated with each child in order for each child to make the best progress possible. In my setting I observe children throughout the day, inside and outside accessing a range of opportunities which can be adult led or child led. Parents have access to their childrens records at all times. Records will be updated termly and a development folder should document the childs learning journey. Assessment should identify/highlight any children not making progress so that measures can be put into place to ensure that all children make progress. Assessment is used to ensure early intervention takes place and the gap is closed between those who achieve and those who do not. Children should be assessed in their home language where appropriate and the progress should be tracked. Children learn best when they are happy, relaxed, stimulated and involved. In my setting I encourage children to think, explore, play, take risks, question, talk, listen, show, create, share, celebrate, be, learn, grow, know and develop. Through the setting we visit the child and family at home and get to know them, we ask the family to fill out an all about me form to share information, we take photographs and videos of children learning, we make observation notes about the childrens successes, we valuate group time planning, we give feedback to children and parents about their progress and what steps come next. In my setting we create and maintain a green  developmental book on each key child, we mark off development matters statements as they are achieved, we inform the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator SENCO if we have concerns about a childs progress. My setting set targets for the school relating to curriculum areas and identify target children who may need additional support with their learning. My setting support, monitor and develop this through: Observation and monitoring of the procedures Continually developing strategies which improve assessment and record keeping Communication and partnership with parents and other agencies to share skills and ideas Internal moderation of records Staff development and discussion Related reading Attending courses All about me form Development Matters records Long Observation sheets Group Time planning sheet Well Being and Involvement Scales Language Assessments Transition Document RESOURCES: Books: Level 3 Diploma Children and Young Peoples Workforce by Penny Tassoni EYMP 2 Promote learning and development in the early years Cache Level 3 Diploma Children and Young Peoples Workforce by Carolyn Meggitt EYMP 2 Promote learning and development in the early years www.early-years.org www.nicurriculum.org www.foundationphasewales.com www.early-education.org.uk

Importance of Costs in Pricing Strategy

Importance of Costs in Pricing Strategy Price of a product is a major element of the marketing mix. Pricing is one of the most important strategic issue because it is related to the product positioning. The price goes in hand with the other marketing mix elements such as product promotion, channel decisions and its features. For a developing the pricing of a new product, there can be a general sequence of steps that can be followed by the organisation which may vary from other organisations. The main area of focus will however be same for all the organisations. The different steps can be as follows. Develop marketing strategy perform marketing analysis, segmentation, targeting, and positioning. Make marketing mix decisions define the product, distribution, and promotional tactics. Estimate the demand curve understand how quantity demanded varies with price. Calculate cost include fixed and variable costs associated with the product. Understand environmental factors evaluate likely competitor actions, understand legal constraints, etc. Set pricing objectives for example, profit maximization, revenue maximization, or price stabilization. Determine pricing using information collected in the above steps, select a pricing method, develop the pricing structure, and define discounts. The various pricing strategies for products include, competition based pricing, cost-plus pricing, creaming or skimming, limit pricing, loss leader, market oriented pricing, penetration pricing, price discrimination, premium pricing, predatory pricing, contribution margin based pricing, psychological pricing, dynamic pricing, price leadership, target pricing, absorption pricing, high-low pricing, premium decoy pricing, marginal cost pricing, value based pricing. For each and every pricing strategies has its own reasons and market reach. At the end of the assignment, we can observe the various methodologies and techniques an organisation adopts in managing the finances using the pricing centric point of view. The factors that influence how a consumer perceives a given price and how price-sensitive a consumer is likely to be with respect to different purchase decisions[1] Reference Price Effect Buyers price sensitivity for a given product increases the higher the products price relative to perceived alternatives. Perceived alternatives can vary by buyer segment, by occasion, and other factors. Difficult Comparison Effect Buyers are less sensitive to the price of a known / more reputable product when they have difficulty comparing it to potential alternatives. Switching Costs Effect The higher the product-specific investment a buyer must make to switch suppliers, the less price sensitive that buyer is when choosing between alternatives. Price-Quality Effect Buyers are less sensitive to price the more that higher prices signal higher quality. Products for which this effect is particularly relevant include: image products, exclusive products, and products with minimal cues for quality. Expenditure Effect Buyers are more price sensitive when the expense accounts for a large percentage of buyers available income or budget. End-Benefit Effect The effect refers to the relationship a given purchase has to a larger overall benefit, and is divided into two parts: Derived demand: The more sensitive buyers are to the price of the end benefit, the more sensitive they will be to the prices of those products that contribute to that benefit. Price proportion cost: The price proportion cost refers to the percent of the total cost of the end benefit accounted for by a given component that helps to produce the end benefit (e.g., think CPU and PCs). The smaller the given components share of the total cost of the end benefit, the less sensitive buyers will be to the components price. Shared-cost Effect The smaller the portion of the purchase price buyers must pay for themselves, the less price sensitive they will be. Fairness Effect Buyers are more sensitive to the price of a product when the price is outside the range they perceive as fair or reasonable given the purchase context. The Framing Effect Buyers are more price sensitive when they perceive the price as a loss rather than a forgone gain, and they have greater price sensitivity when the price is paid separately rather than as part of a bundle. The Activity-based costing (ABC) The Activity-based costing (ABC) is a type costing model that identifies activities in an organization which assigns the cost of each activity resource to all products and services according to the actual consumption by each. The main concept of this model is to assign more of the indirect costs into direct costs. Indirect costs are costs that are not directly accountable to a cost object, such as a particular function or product. Indirect costs may be either fixed or variable. Indirect costs include taxes, administration, personnel and security costs, and are also known as overhead, which is nothing but the cost incurred for operating any kind of business. So in this costing model an organisation can precisely estimate the cost of individual products and services so they can identify and eliminate those that are unprofitable and lower the prices of those that are overpriced. In a business organization, the ABC methodology assigns an organizations resource costs through activities to the products and services provided to its customers. It is generally used as a tool for understanding product and customer cost and profitability. As such, ABC has predominantly been used to support strategic decisions such as pricing, outsourcing, identification and measurement of process improvement initiatives. The different uses of the ABC model is as follows It helps to identify inefficient products, departments and activities It helps to allocate more resources on profitable products, departments and activities It helps to control the costs at an individual level and on a departmental level It helps to find unnecessary costs It helps fixing the price of a product or service scientifically Yes, the ABC model does has its limitations. Even in activity-based costing, some overhead costs are difficult to assign to products and customers, such as the chief executives salary. These costs are termed business sustaining and are not assigned to products and customers because there is no meaningful method. This lump of unallocated overhead costs must nevertheless be met by contributions from each of the products, but it is not as large as the overhead costs before ABC is employed. Although some may argue that costs untraceable to activities should be arbitrarily allocated to products, it is important to realize that the only purpose of ABC is to provide information to management. Therefore, there is no reason to assign any cost in an arbitrary manner. Be able to apply forecasting techniques to obtain information for decision making Apply forecasting techniques to make cost and revenue decisions in an organisation Assess the sources of funds available to an organisation for a specific project Be able to participate in the budgetary process of an organisation Select appropriate budgetary targets for an organisation Participate in the creation of a master budget for an organisation Compare actual expenditure and income to the master budget of an organisation Evaluate budgetary monitoring processes in an organisation Be able to recommend cost reduction and management processes for an organisation Recommend processes that could manage cost reduction in an organisation Evaluate the potential for the use of activity-based costing Be able to use financial appraisal techniques to make strategic investment decisions for an organisation Apply financial appraisal methods to analyse competing investment projects in the public and private sector Make an justified strategic investment decision for an organisation using relevant financial information Report on the appropriateness of a strategic investment decision using information from a post-audit appraisal Be able to interpret financial statements for planning and decision making Analyse financial statements to assess the financial viability of an organisation Apply financial ratios to improve the quality of financial information in an organisations financial statements Make recommendations on the strategic portfolio of an organisation based on its financial information

Pakistan Microfinance Sector Analysis

Pakistan Microfinance Sector Analysis The aim of this study refers to highlighting the key challenges and prospects for the microfinance sector of Pakistan. Being practiced since last few years, microfinance is considered to be an imperative financing practiced by financial institutions for the development of countrys economy. This study has been carried out using the following four steps: present scenario of microfinance in Pakistan, identification of internal and external challenges, prospects in microfinance, and policy recommendations to boost microfinance sector in Pakistan. In this research, microfinance framework has been used to better understand the process of building a sustainable microfinance institution. The findings have been obtained through Primary data which has been collected by sending 80 questionnaire surveys to microfinance sector. The companies that have participated are banks and other financial institutions. This research contributes in three ways. First, microfinance institutions will be facilita ted in highlighting the challenges and prospects that are being neglected in the process of analyzing the problems and opportunities faced by this sector. Second, other financial institutions and banks, realizing the significance of this business, will get encouragement to enter this sector with more innovative products and better standard practices. Thirdly, it will help the country in coming up with new strategies for micro financing. Moreover, microfinance sector may start conducting more training sessions to enhance the skills of the clients which will impact positively on this sector. INTRODUCTION Statement of the Problem Poverty cannot be illustrated, it can be experienced. One knows more about it when he is starving and can not manage to pay for food. He and his children want new cloths on festivals but can not buy these, due to low income. He is sick, but he is not able to buy medicine. He wants to send his children to school, but can not bear the expenses. He wants to be appreciated in society, but is treated poorly by the institutions of the state and society. He is voice less and incapable (Gobind M et al,2008). Poor people save all the time, although mostly in informal ways. They invest in assets such as gold, jewelry, domestic animals, building materials, and things that can be easily exchanged for cash. They may set aside corn from their harvest to sell at a later date. They bury cash in the garden or stash it under the mattress. They participate in informal savings groups where everyone contributes a small amount of cash each day, week, or month, and is successively awarded the pot on a rota ting basis. Some of these groups allow members to borrow from the pot as well. The poor also give their money to neighbors to hold or pay local cash collectors to keep it safe. However widely used, informal savings mechanisms have serious limitations. It is not possible, for example, to cut a leg off a goat when the family suddenly needs a small amount of cash. In-kind savings are subject to fluctuations in commodity prices, destruction by insects, fire, thieves, or illness (in the case of livestock). Informal rotating savings groups tend to be small and rotate limited amounts of money. Moreover, these groups often require rigid amounts of money at set intervals and do not react to changes in their members ability to save. Perhaps most importantly, the poor are more likely to lose their money through fraud or mismanagement in informal savings arrangements than are depositors in formal financial institutions. The concept of microfinance was launched to help the poor population of the world. The significance of microfinance cannot be neglected for the development of any economy. Microfinance encourages poor households to consume their funds in productive activities by providing them small amount of loans. Poor household refers to low-income people who traditionally lack access to banking and other related financial services. The concept tend to empower would-be entrepreneurs to take up a trade for living, allow them to start earning, and thus to provide their families with income stability. The income that generates from such businesses not only helps in expanding those activities but also contributes to the income of the household bringing benefits for the whole family. In Pakistan, about one-third of the population is Å“un-banked?, or lacking access to finance, which if appropriately tapped can offer tremendous opportunities to both banking institutions and businesses. As a step towards mainstreaming the un-banked, SBP has envisaged increasing the size of micro and small enterprise (MSE) financing from one million borrowers to four million borrowers, and from Rs.1 billion to four billion by the year 2010. In this context, increasing institutional outreach and sinking micro financing in to the sector are considered pivotal strategies. Other areas of interest include regulatory regimes, product and process innovations, relationship management and monitoring, and market intelligence data (Sohailuddin Alavi, 2007). According to ILO (2005) cited by Dahri (2007) it is concluded that the reality for most of the worlds poor is that they have to work often for long hours, in poor working conditions and without basic rights and presentation- at work that is not productive enough to enable them to themselves and their families out of poverty, it is Å“decent and productive? employment that matters, not employment alone. In developing countries, so many strategies have been put into practice and research has been done but it is felt that it is not enough and research should remain continue in light of latest reports and research to highlight the challenges and opportunities of microfinance. These studies are helping in bringing new strategies into practice. As Pakistan is also a developing country, further suggestions would help to overcome the challenges faced by microfinance and avail the opportunities that exist for this kind of financing. To keep these things in mind attempt has been made to iden tify the internal, external challenges and opportunities as special objective in this study. LITERATURE REVIEW The great challenge before us is to address the constraints that exclude people from full participation in the financial sector. Together, we can and must build inclusive financial sectors that help people improve their lives.(Kofi Annan, 2007). However, poverty is a widespread problem found in the rural areas of Pakistan, as almost 28 per cent of the total rural households is categorized as poor. In this regard, the provision of credit, especially micro-credit, has now become an effective tool and a successful strategy for poverty eradication. In Pakistan over the past few years, the number of active borrowers has increased by 85 per cent while total outstanding loans grew by 115 per cent (Economic Survey of Pakistan, 2005-2006). The broader definition of microfinance includes not only microcredit but also other financial services, which can be offered to the poor. Interested economists found soon that not only small credits but also other services connected with lending could improve economic lives of the poorest (Bauer, Chytilova Morduch, 2008). Most MFIs connect their credit services also with educational or saving programs or business trainings, retraining scheme or technical trainings. Logically, the investments can turn out to be more profitable when the people have access to training, which can enhance their skills. Historically, the goal of microfinance was the alleviation of poverty. For many years, microfinance had this primary social objective and so traditional MFIs consisted only of non-governmental organizations (NGO), specialized microfinance banks and public sector banks. Although the Microfinance sector has reached a maturity stage over the last three decades, but the capacity of operational level staffs has not enhanced to that extent (Hassan Islam, 2008) A variety of studies have found a few key strengths and positive impacts produced by the implementation of microfinance programs in poor and impoverished areas of the world. First, microfinance programs can be an effective way to provide low?cost financial services to poor individuals and families (Stephens Tazi 2006). Second, such programs have been shown to help in the development and growth of the local economy as individuals and families are able to move past subsistence living and increase disposable income levels (Khandker, 2005). MFIs should take initiatives to upscale their Microenterprise clients to SME level and provide necessary support to link these clients with mainstream financial institutions. The MFIs should take responsibilities of their clients managerial skill development training (Hassan Islam, 2008). In addition, many studies (primarily microfinance institution impact studies and academic researcher qualitative or case studies) have shown that microfinance programs were able to reduce poverty through increasing individual and household income levels, as well as improving healthcare, nutrition, education, and helping to empower women. For example, standard of living increases, which help to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, have occurred at both the individual and household levels as a result of microfinance programs (Khandker, 2005). Furthermore, it has been demonstrated by some research that microfinance programs increase access to healthcare, making preventative healthcare measures more affordable to the poor (Morduch, 1998). Finally, it has been shown that such programs can help borrowers to develop dignity and self-confidence in conjunction with loan repayment, and self?sufficiency as a means for sustainable income becomes available.The Microfinance Summit Campaign Report (2006) estimates that there are now more than 3,000 microfinance institutions, serving more than 100 million poor people in developing countries. The total cash turnover of these institutions world-wide is estimated at $2.5 billion and the potential for new growth is outstanding.One individual who gained worldwide recognition for his work in microfinance is professor Muhammad Yunus who, with Grameen Bank, won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Yunas and Grameen Bank demonstrated that the poor have the ability to pull themselves out of poverty. Yunus also demonstrated that loans made to the working poor, if properly structured, had very high repayment rates. His work caught the attention of both social engineers and profit-seeking investors (Grameen Bank, 2008). Some key strengths and positive impacts of microfinance programs in poor and impoverished areas of the world that; Microfinance programs can be an effective way to provide low-cost financial services to poor individuals and familie s (Stephens Tazi 2006). Such programs help in the development and growth of the local economy allowing individuals and families to move past subsistence living, and therefore increases their disposable income levels (Khandker 2005). Negative impacts of microfinance and microcredit programs are that; microfinance programs benefit the moderately poor more than the destitute, and thus impact can vary by income group (better-off benefit more from microcredit) (Jonathan Barbara 2002; Morduch, 1998; Dugger, 2004). Both formal and semi-formal financial institutions cover a very small share of MFIs markets as compared to informal market (Aleem, 1990). Hassan and Islam (2008) in a study conclude that, uplifting of client, managerial skill development programs for both client and staff of MFI and governmental policies can uplift the MFI growth which in turn has positive impact on overall macroeconomic growth of country. Moreover, the studies conducted on micro-credit were mainly based on the impact assessment of the programme. Realizing the situation, there is a need for an empirical study to analyze the factors that determine challenges faced by MFIs and future prospects in microfinance programme. Objectives of the Study The objectives of the study are: To explore the present scenario of MF in Pakistan To identify the challenges faced by MFIs in Pakistan To identify the internal and external constraints of MFIs in Pakistan. To provide policy recommendations to boost MFIs sector in Pakistan RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Conceptual Frame Work Utilizing the above mentioned details, a framework is suggested for MFI. Generic Framework for Building Sustainable Micro Finance Bank (MFB) Source: SOHAILUDDIN ALAVI (2007) Å“Microfinance in Pakistan: Challenges and Prospects?, journal of the Institute of Bankers Pakistan Volume 74, Issue No. 3 page 52-61 Data Collection In this research study, primary data has been obtained from questionnaire survey. The primary data here has been collected through a comprehensive questionnaire in this research. Primary data There are several choices for primary data collection i.e. survey (questionnaire), interview, observations and experiments. These choices are shown in below figure. The primary data here has been collected through a comprehensive questionnaire in this research. Primary Data Sources Source: Ghauri, P. Gronhaug, K. (2005). Å“Research Methods in business Studies?, 3ed. Prentice Hall. Size of the Sample The questionnaire was distributed to 80 executives in four different MFIs. These executives have the responsibility of key customers identification, analysis and operational activities involved in the management process. Out of the 80 respondents 54 (67.50%) have responded. The author has done the convenience sampling due to the limitations. Questionnaire We have divided this Questionnaire into three segments; External Challenges Internal Challenges Prospects First and second section measure challenges, both internal and external faced by MFI and third section addresses the future prospects for MFI. Each section is based on separate research objectives. Only closed-ended questions are included in the questionnaire. In closed-ended questions Likert-scale method (Proctor, T. 2005) is used for response. Seven different scaling options are included in Likert-scale method to minimize the response biasness. The scales: strongly agree, agree, slightly agree, neither agree nor disagree, slightly disagree, disagree and strongly disagree are assigned ranks from 1- 7 respectively. DATA AND METHODOLOGY Data and Sampling As we have limited MFIs in the country so author has distibuted 80 questionnaires and 54 responses are received (67.50%) from Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore cities. In the above section, the six factors highlighted addressees the external challenges of MFIs in the market of Pakistan. Govt.s due importance to the sector Staff trainings by the MFIs Utilizations of the loans Importance of clients skills development by the MFIs Islamic point of view Local norms Its clear from the table 1(b) that Å“Government is giving due importance to MFI?, out of 54 respondents 78% response positively and 22% in negative. It means Government considers MFI as a very important sector in the country development process. Second question is about Microfinance Institutions staffs training level; there is 50% response in positive and 50% in negative. This indicates that MFI staff working in market needs adequate training. Ultimately, their training may draw some positive impact on MFI sector in specific, and at large it may benefit the countrys economy. Third and the most important factor about the utilization of loan money by client, surprisingly 70% of respondents say that loans are used for investment purpose by client and not for personal consumption. However, 30% of respondents believe that loan taken by client is used for their private consumption. The fourth question is about MFI attitude towards clients skills development shows; only 26% of responses are positive and 74% responded negatively. This result indicates a gap for policy makers of MFIs concluding that they are not putting due efforts in their business because their client is usually not only poor but also lacking management and other skills. Further research can be done on the level of skill of client and the growth of their business and relationship with MFI. The second last question in the first section addresses the perception of the client about financial institute in religious perspective; 80% of respondents are positive that financial intuitions are largely perceived as non-Islamic. This issue can be resolved by focusing on the establishment of Islamic MFIs or marketing the concept of microfinance more aggressively. Final question is about the norms restrictions on the financial sector, again 53% of responses are positive about the existence of such norms and 43% are negative. We may say that in future these norms may go to decline. Internal Challenges The section 2 of the challenges is about the key internal challenges faced by MFI. We have discussed six different internal challenges; the first and probably the most important challenge is about the availability of other cheaper financial resources. 74% of the respondents agree that the availability of other cheaper source of finance is a great challenge for them and 36% responded in opposite. This indicates the fact that the cost of borrowing is high for small borrowers. Effort should be done to make small loans available at some competitive cost in comparison to other financial products. About the limited physical presence of MFI, 87% response is positive and only 13% is negative, which again reveals the gap for policy makers that the limited presence may be the major cause of low performance and growth of MFI sector. The third question is about the general inability of MFIs about risks and standard practices; 52% responded positively about the situation but 48% do not agree. We may say that there is a great need for MFIs to mitigate the risk factors and adopt the standard practices. The fourth question is about the incompatibility of conventional banking with the need of microfinance product; 52% of respondents are positive about the inaptness of conventional banking with microfinance product need while 48% do not agree that there is incompatibility of microfinance need and traditional banking. So we may say that a second majority of MFI believes that conventional banking system can also cater to the need of microfinance product. The second last question of this section is about the availability of quality human resource in comparison to other financial institutions; 48% of the respondents are positive about the availability of quality human resource due to scare funds while 52% do not agree. This shows that availability of quality human resource is not much of an issue in MFIs. Final question is about the lacking in value chain and delivery process of mic rofinance product; a majority of 59% is positive that there are lacking in value chain and delivery process, but 37% are of opposite view and 4% are uncertain about the answer to this question. Prospects/Opportunities The third and the last section is about the opportunities for MFIs, first question is about the promotion of different kinds of business through MFIs; 56% of respondents are positive that MFIs are promoting all kinds of business and 44% do not agree. The second majority of respondents believe that MFIs are not addressing all kinds of business. Hence, there is a need to look at the different kinds of businesses served by MFIs. In the question about the role of MFI,s in reduction of poverty, 83% are positive about the role of MFI in poverty reduction, while a minority of 17% do not agree. The fourth question about the role of MFI in economic growth of country; 100% respondents advocate that MFIs are working for the economic development. 100% respondents are positive that MFIs are not only working against poverty but also playing some other roles too in economy. Finally a 70% of respondents are positive about the alliance of commercial banks and MFIs , 13% do not agree about the allianc e and 17% are uncertain. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION In this study, conclusions will be drawn on the basis of literature review and analysis made through market research. The reasearch is divided into two parts: conclusions and recommendations. Conclusions From this study we conclude that; Government is providing due importance to MF sector. MFIs staff needs training which can impact positively on MF Sector. A majority of 70% believe that loan is utilized in investments activities rather than personal consumption. MFIs have very low attention toward its clients skill development. A majority of population perceive MFIs and other financial services against their religious beliefs. Lastly norms and culture poses threats to MFIs and Banks. Cost of microfinance is relatively high in compassion to other financial products. Standards of practices and processes need improvement in MFIs. Alliance of commercial banking and microfinance is viewed as positive. Recommendations MFIs staff working in market needs adequate training. Ultimately, their training will draw some positive impacts on MFI sector in specific and may also benefit the economy of the country at large. MFIs are not putting due efforts in their business because their client is usually not only poor but also lacking management and other skills. Further research can be done on the level of skills of the client and growth of his/her business to elaborate the different skill levels. There may be a need of Islamic MFIs or marketing the concept of microfinance more aggressively to avoid the potential biasness in financial organizations. Effort should be done to make small loans available at some competitive cost in comparison to other financial products. There is a great need for MFIs to mitigate the risk factor and adopt the standard practices. Limitation of Research This study had the following limitations The author was not able to distribute the questionnaire to company executives all over the country. Time period to conduct the study was very limited. Some of the respondents did not answer the questions seriously Sample size was limited to 3 cities only which cannot be easily applicable to all population of Pakistan. The questionnaire was sent to respondents through e-mail. It was not feasible for the author to conduct the interviews personally. All respondents cant maintain same level of accuracy in answering the questions due to lack of time and interest. It may create little discrepancy to some extent in formulating the conclusions. Refrences www.sbp.org.pk/publications/prudential/micro_prs.pdf www.sbp.org.pk/l_frame/MF_Bank_Ord_2000.pdf Kofi, Annan. UN secretary,.2007. Avalibale atÂÂ  : http://www.diplomatie.be/en/travel/visa/default.asp Herani, Gobind M, Rajar , Allah Wasayo, Wasim, Mohammad Pervez and Shaikh, Riaz Ahmed., 2008. The Nature of Poverty and Its Prospects: Pakistan Evidence. Journal of Global Economy ,4(3), pp. 183-194. Global Monetary and Financial System: Principal Issues. Journal of the Institute of Bankers Pakistan , 74 (2) pp 1-6 Available at:www.ibp.org.pk/journal/Journal-Apr-Jun-2007.pdf Pakistan Statistical Profile Available at: agingandwork.bc.edu/documents/CP03_Workforce_Pakistan.pdf M. Bauer, J. ChytilovÃÆ'Â ¡, J. Morduch., 2008.Behavioral Foundations of Microcredit: Experimental and Survey Evidence from Rural India. American Economic Review,59 (1) pp71-86 Rashed Al Hasan., K.M. Zahidul Islam., 2008. Bridging the Gap between Microfinance and SME Financing in Bangladesh: Unlocking the Potentials. Daffodil International University Journal of Business and Economics, 3.(1), pp 41-57 Shahidur R. Khandker., 2005.Microfinance and Poverty: Evidence Using Panel Data from Bangladesh .The World Bank Economic Review, 19(2), pp263-286 Jonathan Morduch., 1998. Does Microfinance Really Help the Poor? New Evidence from Flagship Programs in Bangladesh, Department of Economics and HIID Harvard University. Available at: www.princeton.edu/rpds/papers/pdfs/morduch_microfinance_poor.pdf Grameen Bank. Available at: http://www.grameen-info.org/ Dugger, Celia W. 2004. Å“Debate Stirs over Tiny Loans for Worlds Poorest.? New York Times. Morduch, J., and Haley, B. (2002), ËÅ"Analysis of the Effects of Microfinance on Poverty Reduction, NYU Wagner Working Paper No. 1014 Available at: http://www.nyu.edu/wagner/workingpapers.html Briefing Note Summary of the Poverty and Social Impact Assessment: Pakistan Microfinance Policy May 2006 Available at: www. pipl.com/directory/name/Tazi/Hind Pakistan Microfinance Sector Analysis Pakistan Microfinance Sector Analysis The aim of this study refers to highlighting the key challenges and prospects for the microfinance sector of Pakistan. Being practiced since last few years, microfinance is considered to be an imperative financing practiced by financial institutions for the development of countrys economy. This study has been carried out using the following four steps: present scenario of microfinance in Pakistan, identification of internal and external challenges, prospects in microfinance, and policy recommendations to boost microfinance sector in Pakistan. In this research, microfinance framework has been used to better understand the process of building a sustainable microfinance institution. The findings have been obtained through Primary data which has been collected by sending 80 questionnaire surveys to microfinance sector. The companies that have participated are banks and other financial institutions. This research contributes in three ways. First, microfinance institutions will be facilita ted in highlighting the challenges and prospects that are being neglected in the process of analyzing the problems and opportunities faced by this sector. Second, other financial institutions and banks, realizing the significance of this business, will get encouragement to enter this sector with more innovative products and better standard practices. Thirdly, it will help the country in coming up with new strategies for micro financing. Moreover, microfinance sector may start conducting more training sessions to enhance the skills of the clients which will impact positively on this sector. INTRODUCTION Statement of the Problem Poverty cannot be illustrated, it can be experienced. One knows more about it when he is starving and can not manage to pay for food. He and his children want new cloths on festivals but can not buy these, due to low income. He is sick, but he is not able to buy medicine. He wants to send his children to school, but can not bear the expenses. He wants to be appreciated in society, but is treated poorly by the institutions of the state and society. He is voice less and incapable (Gobind M et al,2008). Poor people save all the time, although mostly in informal ways. They invest in assets such as gold, jewelry, domestic animals, building materials, and things that can be easily exchanged for cash. They may set aside corn from their harvest to sell at a later date. They bury cash in the garden or stash it under the mattress. They participate in informal savings groups where everyone contributes a small amount of cash each day, week, or month, and is successively awarded the pot on a rota ting basis. Some of these groups allow members to borrow from the pot as well. The poor also give their money to neighbors to hold or pay local cash collectors to keep it safe. However widely used, informal savings mechanisms have serious limitations. It is not possible, for example, to cut a leg off a goat when the family suddenly needs a small amount of cash. In-kind savings are subject to fluctuations in commodity prices, destruction by insects, fire, thieves, or illness (in the case of livestock). Informal rotating savings groups tend to be small and rotate limited amounts of money. Moreover, these groups often require rigid amounts of money at set intervals and do not react to changes in their members ability to save. Perhaps most importantly, the poor are more likely to lose their money through fraud or mismanagement in informal savings arrangements than are depositors in formal financial institutions. The concept of microfinance was launched to help the poor population of the world. The significance of microfinance cannot be neglected for the development of any economy. Microfinance encourages poor households to consume their funds in productive activities by providing them small amount of loans. Poor household refers to low-income people who traditionally lack access to banking and other related financial services. The concept tend to empower would-be entrepreneurs to take up a trade for living, allow them to start earning, and thus to provide their families with income stability. The income that generates from such businesses not only helps in expanding those activities but also contributes to the income of the household bringing benefits for the whole family. In Pakistan, about one-third of the population is Å“un-banked?, or lacking access to finance, which if appropriately tapped can offer tremendous opportunities to both banking institutions and businesses. As a step towards mainstreaming the un-banked, SBP has envisaged increasing the size of micro and small enterprise (MSE) financing from one million borrowers to four million borrowers, and from Rs.1 billion to four billion by the year 2010. In this context, increasing institutional outreach and sinking micro financing in to the sector are considered pivotal strategies. Other areas of interest include regulatory regimes, product and process innovations, relationship management and monitoring, and market intelligence data (Sohailuddin Alavi, 2007). According to ILO (2005) cited by Dahri (2007) it is concluded that the reality for most of the worlds poor is that they have to work often for long hours, in poor working conditions and without basic rights and presentation- at work that is not productive enough to enable them to themselves and their families out of poverty, it is Å“decent and productive? employment that matters, not employment alone. In developing countries, so many strategies have been put into practice and research has been done but it is felt that it is not enough and research should remain continue in light of latest reports and research to highlight the challenges and opportunities of microfinance. These studies are helping in bringing new strategies into practice. As Pakistan is also a developing country, further suggestions would help to overcome the challenges faced by microfinance and avail the opportunities that exist for this kind of financing. To keep these things in mind attempt has been made to iden tify the internal, external challenges and opportunities as special objective in this study. LITERATURE REVIEW The great challenge before us is to address the constraints that exclude people from full participation in the financial sector. Together, we can and must build inclusive financial sectors that help people improve their lives.(Kofi Annan, 2007). However, poverty is a widespread problem found in the rural areas of Pakistan, as almost 28 per cent of the total rural households is categorized as poor. In this regard, the provision of credit, especially micro-credit, has now become an effective tool and a successful strategy for poverty eradication. In Pakistan over the past few years, the number of active borrowers has increased by 85 per cent while total outstanding loans grew by 115 per cent (Economic Survey of Pakistan, 2005-2006). The broader definition of microfinance includes not only microcredit but also other financial services, which can be offered to the poor. Interested economists found soon that not only small credits but also other services connected with lending could improve economic lives of the poorest (Bauer, Chytilova Morduch, 2008). Most MFIs connect their credit services also with educational or saving programs or business trainings, retraining scheme or technical trainings. Logically, the investments can turn out to be more profitable when the people have access to training, which can enhance their skills. Historically, the goal of microfinance was the alleviation of poverty. For many years, microfinance had this primary social objective and so traditional MFIs consisted only of non-governmental organizations (NGO), specialized microfinance banks and public sector banks. Although the Microfinance sector has reached a maturity stage over the last three decades, but the capacity of operational level staffs has not enhanced to that extent (Hassan Islam, 2008) A variety of studies have found a few key strengths and positive impacts produced by the implementation of microfinance programs in poor and impoverished areas of the world. First, microfinance programs can be an effective way to provide low?cost financial services to poor individuals and families (Stephens Tazi 2006). Second, such programs have been shown to help in the development and growth of the local economy as individuals and families are able to move past subsistence living and increase disposable income levels (Khandker, 2005). MFIs should take initiatives to upscale their Microenterprise clients to SME level and provide necessary support to link these clients with mainstream financial institutions. The MFIs should take responsibilities of their clients managerial skill development training (Hassan Islam, 2008). In addition, many studies (primarily microfinance institution impact studies and academic researcher qualitative or case studies) have shown that microfinance programs were able to reduce poverty through increasing individual and household income levels, as well as improving healthcare, nutrition, education, and helping to empower women. For example, standard of living increases, which help to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, have occurred at both the individual and household levels as a result of microfinance programs (Khandker, 2005). Furthermore, it has been demonstrated by some research that microfinance programs increase access to healthcare, making preventative healthcare measures more affordable to the poor (Morduch, 1998). Finally, it has been shown that such programs can help borrowers to develop dignity and self-confidence in conjunction with loan repayment, and self?sufficiency as a means for sustainable income becomes available.The Microfinance Summit Campaign Report (2006) estimates that there are now more than 3,000 microfinance institutions, serving more than 100 million poor people in developing countries. The total cash turnover of these institutions world-wide is estimated at $2.5 billion and the potential for new growth is outstanding.One individual who gained worldwide recognition for his work in microfinance is professor Muhammad Yunus who, with Grameen Bank, won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Yunas and Grameen Bank demonstrated that the poor have the ability to pull themselves out of poverty. Yunus also demonstrated that loans made to the working poor, if properly structured, had very high repayment rates. His work caught the attention of both social engineers and profit-seeking investors (Grameen Bank, 2008). Some key strengths and positive impacts of microfinance programs in poor and impoverished areas of the world that; Microfinance programs can be an effective way to provide low-cost financial services to poor individuals and familie s (Stephens Tazi 2006). Such programs help in the development and growth of the local economy allowing individuals and families to move past subsistence living, and therefore increases their disposable income levels (Khandker 2005). Negative impacts of microfinance and microcredit programs are that; microfinance programs benefit the moderately poor more than the destitute, and thus impact can vary by income group (better-off benefit more from microcredit) (Jonathan Barbara 2002; Morduch, 1998; Dugger, 2004). Both formal and semi-formal financial institutions cover a very small share of MFIs markets as compared to informal market (Aleem, 1990). Hassan and Islam (2008) in a study conclude that, uplifting of client, managerial skill development programs for both client and staff of MFI and governmental policies can uplift the MFI growth which in turn has positive impact on overall macroeconomic growth of country. Moreover, the studies conducted on micro-credit were mainly based on the impact assessment of the programme. Realizing the situation, there is a need for an empirical study to analyze the factors that determine challenges faced by MFIs and future prospects in microfinance programme. Objectives of the Study The objectives of the study are: To explore the present scenario of MF in Pakistan To identify the challenges faced by MFIs in Pakistan To identify the internal and external constraints of MFIs in Pakistan. To provide policy recommendations to boost MFIs sector in Pakistan RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Conceptual Frame Work Utilizing the above mentioned details, a framework is suggested for MFI. Generic Framework for Building Sustainable Micro Finance Bank (MFB) Source: SOHAILUDDIN ALAVI (2007) Å“Microfinance in Pakistan: Challenges and Prospects?, journal of the Institute of Bankers Pakistan Volume 74, Issue No. 3 page 52-61 Data Collection In this research study, primary data has been obtained from questionnaire survey. The primary data here has been collected through a comprehensive questionnaire in this research. Primary data There are several choices for primary data collection i.e. survey (questionnaire), interview, observations and experiments. These choices are shown in below figure. The primary data here has been collected through a comprehensive questionnaire in this research. Primary Data Sources Source: Ghauri, P. Gronhaug, K. (2005). Å“Research Methods in business Studies?, 3ed. Prentice Hall. Size of the Sample The questionnaire was distributed to 80 executives in four different MFIs. These executives have the responsibility of key customers identification, analysis and operational activities involved in the management process. Out of the 80 respondents 54 (67.50%) have responded. The author has done the convenience sampling due to the limitations. Questionnaire We have divided this Questionnaire into three segments; External Challenges Internal Challenges Prospects First and second section measure challenges, both internal and external faced by MFI and third section addresses the future prospects for MFI. Each section is based on separate research objectives. Only closed-ended questions are included in the questionnaire. In closed-ended questions Likert-scale method (Proctor, T. 2005) is used for response. Seven different scaling options are included in Likert-scale method to minimize the response biasness. The scales: strongly agree, agree, slightly agree, neither agree nor disagree, slightly disagree, disagree and strongly disagree are assigned ranks from 1- 7 respectively. DATA AND METHODOLOGY Data and Sampling As we have limited MFIs in the country so author has distibuted 80 questionnaires and 54 responses are received (67.50%) from Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore cities. In the above section, the six factors highlighted addressees the external challenges of MFIs in the market of Pakistan. Govt.s due importance to the sector Staff trainings by the MFIs Utilizations of the loans Importance of clients skills development by the MFIs Islamic point of view Local norms Its clear from the table 1(b) that Å“Government is giving due importance to MFI?, out of 54 respondents 78% response positively and 22% in negative. It means Government considers MFI as a very important sector in the country development process. Second question is about Microfinance Institutions staffs training level; there is 50% response in positive and 50% in negative. This indicates that MFI staff working in market needs adequate training. Ultimately, their training may draw some positive impact on MFI sector in specific, and at large it may benefit the countrys economy. Third and the most important factor about the utilization of loan money by client, surprisingly 70% of respondents say that loans are used for investment purpose by client and not for personal consumption. However, 30% of respondents believe that loan taken by client is used for their private consumption. The fourth question is about MFI attitude towards clients skills development shows; only 26% of responses are positive and 74% responded negatively. This result indicates a gap for policy makers of MFIs concluding that they are not putting due efforts in their business because their client is usually not only poor but also lacking management and other skills. Further research can be done on the level of skill of client and the growth of their business and relationship with MFI. The second last question in the first section addresses the perception of the client about financial institute in religious perspective; 80% of respondents are positive that financial intuitions are largely perceived as non-Islamic. This issue can be resolved by focusing on the establishment of Islamic MFIs or marketing the concept of microfinance more aggressively. Final question is about the norms restrictions on the financial sector, again 53% of responses are positive about the existence of such norms and 43% are negative. We may say that in future these norms may go to decline. Internal Challenges The section 2 of the challenges is about the key internal challenges faced by MFI. We have discussed six different internal challenges; the first and probably the most important challenge is about the availability of other cheaper financial resources. 74% of the respondents agree that the availability of other cheaper source of finance is a great challenge for them and 36% responded in opposite. This indicates the fact that the cost of borrowing is high for small borrowers. Effort should be done to make small loans available at some competitive cost in comparison to other financial products. About the limited physical presence of MFI, 87% response is positive and only 13% is negative, which again reveals the gap for policy makers that the limited presence may be the major cause of low performance and growth of MFI sector. The third question is about the general inability of MFIs about risks and standard practices; 52% responded positively about the situation but 48% do not agree. We may say that there is a great need for MFIs to mitigate the risk factors and adopt the standard practices. The fourth question is about the incompatibility of conventional banking with the need of microfinance product; 52% of respondents are positive about the inaptness of conventional banking with microfinance product need while 48% do not agree that there is incompatibility of microfinance need and traditional banking. So we may say that a second majority of MFI believes that conventional banking system can also cater to the need of microfinance product. The second last question of this section is about the availability of quality human resource in comparison to other financial institutions; 48% of the respondents are positive about the availability of quality human resource due to scare funds while 52% do not agree. This shows that availability of quality human resource is not much of an issue in MFIs. Final question is about the lacking in value chain and delivery process of mic rofinance product; a majority of 59% is positive that there are lacking in value chain and delivery process, but 37% are of opposite view and 4% are uncertain about the answer to this question. Prospects/Opportunities The third and the last section is about the opportunities for MFIs, first question is about the promotion of different kinds of business through MFIs; 56% of respondents are positive that MFIs are promoting all kinds of business and 44% do not agree. The second majority of respondents believe that MFIs are not addressing all kinds of business. Hence, there is a need to look at the different kinds of businesses served by MFIs. In the question about the role of MFI,s in reduction of poverty, 83% are positive about the role of MFI in poverty reduction, while a minority of 17% do not agree. The fourth question about the role of MFI in economic growth of country; 100% respondents advocate that MFIs are working for the economic development. 100% respondents are positive that MFIs are not only working against poverty but also playing some other roles too in economy. Finally a 70% of respondents are positive about the alliance of commercial banks and MFIs , 13% do not agree about the allianc e and 17% are uncertain. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION In this study, conclusions will be drawn on the basis of literature review and analysis made through market research. The reasearch is divided into two parts: conclusions and recommendations. Conclusions From this study we conclude that; Government is providing due importance to MF sector. MFIs staff needs training which can impact positively on MF Sector. A majority of 70% believe that loan is utilized in investments activities rather than personal consumption. MFIs have very low attention toward its clients skill development. A majority of population perceive MFIs and other financial services against their religious beliefs. Lastly norms and culture poses threats to MFIs and Banks. Cost of microfinance is relatively high in compassion to other financial products. Standards of practices and processes need improvement in MFIs. Alliance of commercial banking and microfinance is viewed as positive. Recommendations MFIs staff working in market needs adequate training. Ultimately, their training will draw some positive impacts on MFI sector in specific and may also benefit the economy of the country at large. MFIs are not putting due efforts in their business because their client is usually not only poor but also lacking management and other skills. Further research can be done on the level of skills of the client and growth of his/her business to elaborate the different skill levels. There may be a need of Islamic MFIs or marketing the concept of microfinance more aggressively to avoid the potential biasness in financial organizations. Effort should be done to make small loans available at some competitive cost in comparison to other financial products. There is a great need for MFIs to mitigate the risk factor and adopt the standard practices. Limitation of Research This study had the following limitations The author was not able to distribute the questionnaire to company executives all over the country. Time period to conduct the study was very limited. Some of the respondents did not answer the questions seriously Sample size was limited to 3 cities only which cannot be easily applicable to all population of Pakistan. The questionnaire was sent to respondents through e-mail. It was not feasible for the author to conduct the interviews personally. All respondents cant maintain same level of accuracy in answering the questions due to lack of time and interest. It may create little discrepancy to some extent in formulating the conclusions. Refrences www.sbp.org.pk/publications/prudential/micro_prs.pdf www.sbp.org.pk/l_frame/MF_Bank_Ord_2000.pdf Kofi, Annan. UN secretary,.2007. Avalibale atÂÂ  : http://www.diplomatie.be/en/travel/visa/default.asp Herani, Gobind M, Rajar , Allah Wasayo, Wasim, Mohammad Pervez and Shaikh, Riaz Ahmed., 2008. The Nature of Poverty and Its Prospects: Pakistan Evidence. Journal of Global Economy ,4(3), pp. 183-194. Global Monetary and Financial System: Principal Issues. Journal of the Institute of Bankers Pakistan , 74 (2) pp 1-6 Available at:www.ibp.org.pk/journal/Journal-Apr-Jun-2007.pdf Pakistan Statistical Profile Available at: agingandwork.bc.edu/documents/CP03_Workforce_Pakistan.pdf M. Bauer, J. ChytilovÃÆ'Â ¡, J. Morduch., 2008.Behavioral Foundations of Microcredit: Experimental and Survey Evidence from Rural India. American Economic Review,59 (1) pp71-86 Rashed Al Hasan., K.M. Zahidul Islam., 2008. Bridging the Gap between Microfinance and SME Financing in Bangladesh: Unlocking the Potentials. Daffodil International University Journal of Business and Economics, 3.(1), pp 41-57 Shahidur R. Khandker., 2005.Microfinance and Poverty: Evidence Using Panel Data from Bangladesh .The World Bank Economic Review, 19(2), pp263-286 Jonathan Morduch., 1998. Does Microfinance Really Help the Poor? New Evidence from Flagship Programs in Bangladesh, Department of Economics and HIID Harvard University. Available at: www.princeton.edu/rpds/papers/pdfs/morduch_microfinance_poor.pdf Grameen Bank. Available at: http://www.grameen-info.org/ Dugger, Celia W. 2004. Å“Debate Stirs over Tiny Loans for Worlds Poorest.? New York Times. Morduch, J., and Haley, B. (2002), ËÅ"Analysis of the Effects of Microfinance on Poverty Reduction, NYU Wagner Working Paper No. 1014 Available at: http://www.nyu.edu/wagner/workingpapers.html Briefing Note Summary of the Poverty and Social Impact Assessment: Pakistan Microfinance Policy May 2006 Available at: www. pipl.com/directory/name/Tazi/Hind