Personal Reflection on Leadership

Personal Reflection on Leadership In my brief professional career at IBM, I was part of a software development team where I was the youngest and least experienced person. I vividly remember that we had a team manager, highly experienced and professional but an ineffective leader. He would perform his tasks but did not go that extra mile. On the other hand, one of my teammates-very less experienced compared to the manager was a true leader, his duties did not ask him of any such commitments, but he always went the extra mile to help the team. He took me under his wing, motivated others in the team, and found innovative ways to solve the problem. He created an environment for high competence. He gave me so much confidence through his mentoring that I was performing at the highest level in no time. He created a synergy among the team that even the client praised. His actions reminded me of a saying from Jack Welch, former CEO of GE â€Å"Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others†. In my opinion, he was the true leader because he positioned the team at the centre of everything and took the responsibility of growing everyone. This experience was one of the most influential leadership lessons I have come across till now. I am definite that I will have a clear picture in mind when I embark on future leadership roles. Before pursuing my degree at Cass, I had the opportunity to look around my brother’s nascent IT firm which is primarily focused on web-based services and providing internet marketing solutions. Though a well rounded firm, I sensed a lack of strong innovation and new products. This might jeopardize the company in the long run. Ideally, after completing my graduate studies, I am keen to join him and oversee the launch of new products, specifically, something along the lines of an automatic website builder. Furthermore, I am also keen to move the companys operations to different cities in the country where there is an opportunity of further growth. Taking charge of being the Product Head and institute such changes will require strong leadership skills. Innovative Leadership: Launching a technologically advanced product in my organization will require me to adopt innovative leadership characteristics and work seamlessly across different sets of people having varied skills. A good innovation leader is characterized by the ability to excel on  two  conflicting skills: creativity and discipline. Creativity involves skills such as idea generation and conceptualization while discipline involves the skill to implement and launch. A successful leader should measure the weight of both and take actions accordingly (Roland Bel, 2010). Furthermore, Innovative leaders are characterized by the following attributes (Jean-Philippe Deschamps, 2008) Mix of Emotion and Realism The Acceptance of Uncertainty, Risks, and Failures High Degree of Passion The Willingness to Proactively Search for External Technologies and Ideas The Courage to Stop Projects, Not Just to Start Them Talent for Attracting Innovators and Building and Steering Winning Teams According to the author if an individual needs to bring an innovative change in the organization, he or she should possess at least some of the qualities listed above so that they are successful in bringing new products or services in the market. Adaptive Leadership and change: Coming back to my tenure at IBM, what my colleague did differently with others in the team was that he forced us to think differently than other teams, bringing out the best in everyone. Each one of us was flexible in taking any type of task, further increasing the teams flexibility and productivity. According to Ronald A.Heifetz and Donald L.Laurie (1997, p132-141) Organizations today require adaptive leadership where challenges reside not in the executive suite but in the collective intelligence of employees at all levels. This is where the success of many future ideas and entrepreneurial ventures will lie. I believe bringing in such a change will be one of my biggest challenge once I take the leadership role. Moreover, Adaptive change will require people to work in new ways, new relationships and take on new roles (Ronald A.Heifetz and Donald L.Laurie, 1997). I intend to carry out such changes through the implementation of different project management techniques such as Lean and Agile (Schwaber, 2004). These techniques have been successful in recent years as they are quite adaptive in nature. These techniques forces employees to adapt quickly, learn new things constantly and learn from their mistakes. In Particular, these techniques are found to be useful in major tech companies and technologically driven products and hence will suit the company style. I have already had experience with such techniques at IBM and hence I will be able to use my knowledge and skills to implement it within my future organization. A lot of companies such as IBM or Google make ‘transformation of employees their top priority. They continuously invest in employee transformation and hence are able to meet the challenges of the changing environment. When I was working in IBM, I remember going through multiple trainings and workshops and these trainings did not just include technical trainings. Trainings such as communicating effectively, leading in teams, how to conduct meetings etc were equally important. According to Mike Pedler et al(1989,pp1-8) an organization which facilitates the learning of all its members and continuously transform itself is a learning company . My future goal will also be to change my organization into a learning company through employee development programs and knowledge management systems (Pedler et al, 1989) as currently there is lack of such learning. My skill model: The skills model provides a good overview of the skills which are necessary for an effective leader (M.D. Mumford et al, 2000). Appendix 1 lists my score in the three components which are described in the model Technical skills: The high score in this regard can be attributed to my experience in software engineering and working on a complex product while I was working in IBM. My daily tasks almost always included problem-solving and analyzing product requirements in detail. According to Mumford et.al (2000, p.24) the experiences required in the course of leaders careers influence their knowledge and skills to solve complex problems. My background and experience will help me tackle problems during the development stage of the product. Human Skill: Throughout my professional experience I worked with different sets of people with varied skills and experience. The entire project in IBM consisted of over a hundred people in India, and the product had multiple features that required expertise and collaboration from multiple teams. This meant communicating with various team leads and delegating responsibilities. Though I had quite a rich experience working in teams, there is still development which needs to be done in this regard. For e.g.: Participating in Toastmasters club at CASS will improve my communication and leadership skills. The experience of working with people from diff cultures and backgrounds in CASS will further improve my people skills. Conceptual skill: Since my duties at IBM were essentially technical I was largely uninvolved in the strategic decision-making process. My low score represents my lack of experience in this skill and needs the most development. Conceptual skills require working at an organization level and working with ideas (Peter G.Northouse, 2013). I plan to intern at a start-up company so that I am able to have experience at an organizational level. It will give me an overview of the challenges which are faced by new organizations when launching new products or services. Furthermore, not to forget the mentoring I will have from my brother who has been heading the company for a couple of years now. Learning form him will improve my understandings and will help me tackle issues at a higher level. Additionally, I will have to broaden my knowledge base further and enhance my entrepreneurial skills to be successful in my futures goals. Though Leadership theory and practice can greatly improve a persons leadership skills a competent business leader is one who possesses a clear vision for his or her company, is keenly aware of emerging trends and possesses the ability to capitalize on them. References: Bel, Roland. 2010, Leadership and Innovation: Learning from the Best, Wiley Periodicals-Global business and Organizational Excellence, pp 47-58 Deschamps, J. P. (2008). Innovation leaders: How senior executives stimulate, steer, and sustain innovation. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Heifetz, Ronald A. Laurie, Donald L (1997), The work of Leadership, Breakthrough Leadership-Harvard business review, pp 132-141 Mumford, M.D., Zaccaro, S.J., Harding, F.D., Jacobs, T.O., Fleishman, E.A.(2000). Leadership skills for a changing world: Solving complex social problems. Leadership Quarterly, 11(1), 11-35 Northouse, Peter.G (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sage publications-6th edition, p46-51 Schwaber, K (2004). Agile Project Management with Scrum, Microsoft Press, Redmond, WA, Pedler, Mike., Boydell, Tom., Burgoyne, John.(1989). Towards the learning company, Management education and development, Volume 20-part1, pp 1-8

Essays --

Early life and military career[edit] Born in Tampa, Florida, Kittinger was educated at the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, and the University of Florida. After racing speedboats as a teenager, he entered the U.S. Air Force in March 1949. On completion of aviation cadet training in March 1950, he received a USAF Pilot rating and a commission as a Second Lieutenant. He was subsequently assigned to the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing based at Ramstein Air Base in West Germany, flying the F-84 Thunderjet and F-86 Sabre. In 1954 Kittinger was transferred to Holloman AFB, New Mexico, and the Air Force Missile Development Center (AFMDC). He flew the observation/chase plane that monitored flight surgeon Colonel John Stapp's rocket sled run of 632 mph (1,017 km/h) in 1955. Kittinger was impressed by Stapp's dedication and leadership as a pioneer in aerospace medicine. Stapp, in turn, was impressed with Kittinger's skillful jet piloting, later recommending him for space-related aviation research work. Stapp was to foster the high-altitude balloon tests that would later lead to Kittinger's record-setting leap from over 102,800 feet (31,300 m). In 1957, as part of Project Manhigh, Kittinger set an interim balloon altitude record of 96,760 feet (29,490 m) in Manhigh I, for which he was awarded his first Distinguished Flying Cross. Project Excelsior[edit] Kittinger next to the Excelsior gondola Main article: Project Excelsior Captain Kittinger was next assigned to the Aerospace Medical Research Laboratories at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. For Project Excelsior (meaning "ever upward"), a name given to the project by Colonel Stapp as part of research into high altitude bailouts,[2][3] he made a series of three extreme altitude parac... ...4-mph wind blowing on you. I could only hear myself breathing in the helmet."[12] Kittinger set historical numbers for highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump, longest drogue-fall (four minutes), and fastest speed by a human being through the atmosphere.[13] These were the USAF records, but were not submitted for aerospace world records to the Fà ©dà ©ration Aà ©ronautique Internationale (FAI).[14] Kittinger's records for the highest ascent, highest parachute jump, and fastest velocity stood for 52 years, until they were broken in 2012 by Felix Baumgartner. For this series of jumps, Kittinger was decorated with a second Distinguished Flying Cross, and he was awarded the Harmon Trophy by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.[15] The Stargazer gondola on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. Project Stargazer[edit]

College Athletes Should be Paid Essay example -- argumentative essay

A running back slips through the line, breaks a couple tackles, and scampers down the sideline for a large gain. The point guard pulls up for a deep jump shot over his defender and nails it as the shot clock expires. Both of these descriptions can be used to describe either a college athlete or professional athlete. Both are participating in a sporting event in which fans will pack into the stadium or arena. Money is flowing into both the college and professional organization. This is where the similarities end. In the professional leagues such as the NBA or NFL, athletes make millions of dollars off of lucrative contracts and an abundance of endorsements. They can make as much money as they possibly can. In college, the athletes are limited to what kind of scholarship the college they are attending provides them and whatever money they have saved. It may not appear like this is not a serious problem. However, there is the one glaring difference between these two sides. While professional athletes are paid to play and can make bundles of money, college athletes are not allowed to receive money or other benefits of any kind even if they acquire this money in a legal and correct fashion. This has been the rule for ages, but many people are starting to challenge the rule. There are people who believe that college athletes should not be able to receive benefits of any kind, including money. On the other side, there are people who believe that the college athletes should be able to make money and support themselves. The people who are the side which believes the should not make money usually point out the fact that they are in college and should be more focused on their studies. The other side provides many valid points to h... ...rmine how much to pay each player in different sports. However, it seems completely unfair that a college athlete can neither accept gifts from someone or even sell their own possessions to make money. If a regular student can sell something they own on a website such as Ebay, why is that an athlete is not allowed to do the same with something they own? It also seems crazy to me how something as simple as â€Å"Dez Bryant [a former wide receiver at Oklahoma State]...having a meal with Deion Sanders† (Rogers 2) will cause the NCAA to throw down harsh suspensions down on the athlete and school. The NCAA needs to worry about more important things then who the student-athletes dine with and whether or not they are selling apparel they wore in a game. Hopefully they will realize this and the student athletes in college will finally get a fair chance at the money they deserve.

I Was Mugged Essays -- Personal Narrative, essay about myself

I was mugged tonight. It was about 11pm, and I was walking home from the gym, and for some reason I decided to the Other Route. I walked down Valencia to 15th instead of 14th, and headed down the block that's supposed to be one of the worst in the city, along the side of the Valencia Street Projects. It was a beautiful, warm night, and tons of people were hanging out outside. It looked like a few drug deals were being had, but usually no one hassles me. I was wearing my torn up jeans jacket that I bought 13 years ago in high school, my jogging shorts and old Nikes, and my hair was all messy. How the hell could I have looked like a person with money? I was walking down this one particular block, thinking to myself, "wow, racism is bad." And then I thought about how this block was one of the first things that people warned me about when I moved into my hood, and how mad at me my ex-boyfriend John would be if he knew I was walking down that street, and how my parents would be pissed, and how really, logically speaking, it was a pretty stupid thing to do. But I made eye contact with one dude who was pretty cute and he smiled at me and I smiled at him and I kept walking, thinking, "well, there are some cute people in the projects." I wa... ...ds them. "You pathetic losers! You got my money, but you don't have my pride." (Sure it is a clichà ©, but hell, give me some credit, I did just get mugged!) "You two are the losers for doing that!" Why bother filing a report? These skinny kids have enough problems without having the cops go in there and remind them how desperate and lacking in dignity they are. In the war between good and evil, it is not always who walks away with the goods, but the who deserved them in the first place, and how they were attained. So I trotted home to write this up. Thirty bucks for a story to tell. Not a bad deal, really.

Communication Merit Essay

In this written piece I will be assessing the role of effective communication and interpersonal interaction in health and social care with references to theories of communication. The theories are; Soler theory, Tuckman’s theory and the communication cycle. The Soler theory was created by a man called Gerard Egan. He believed that this theory shows that basic non-verbal communication can help make a person feel involved and cared for when working with another person. This theory is a non-verbal listening method that is used commonly in communication. Soler means: S – Facing squarely- By doing this it shows that a service provider is involved with their clients. The body direction shows the message that you are involved with the other person. O – Keep an open posture- Keeping an open posture means not crossing arms and legs as this sends a message to the other person that you are talking too that you’re not involved or really interested. L –Lean- By leaning forward when a person is talking to you, it shows that you are involved and listening to what the other persons is saying. E – Use good eye contact- By having good eye contact with a clients, this shows that you are listening and that you are not distracted and shows you are involved because you are focusing on the person you are talking to. R – Be relaxed- It is important to keep still and not move about when a person is talking to you. You would use Soler Theory in a GP’s, such as; if someone has got an illness and needs to go to the doctors, the GP would sit squarely in front of the patient and keep an open posture and also, use good eye contact. The GP would use this theory to let the patient know that he is listening to them and to show the patient that you can tell him the problem without feeling shy or embarrassed. You may need to give someone some bad news and by using this communication theory, you will be comforting them and giving them your undivided attention, making them feels that they are valued. If you are giving the person some bad news, you will need to be serious and professional so that the other person trusts and respects you. However if you were fussing about with something else, not concentrating, kept looking at your watch as if wanting to be somewhere else or on your mobile the last thing they would want is to hear some bad news from you. Solar theory can be used in Interviews, such as, the interview could be 2 people getting to know  each other e.g. within early years or education teachers/minders would need to get to know the new children starting/enrolling. This would enable them to build a stable relationship with the child meaning they gain as much help or as little help needed to suit them. The teacher/carer would also get to know how the child best learns. An interview like this is often when first impressions are made so body language is very important. The Soler theory is good within counselling. Counsellors are often dealing with people in a fragile state of mind and will more than likely struggle to trust just anyone. The biggest part of a counsellor’s job is to listen to someone’s problems and react appropriately. Counselling sessions could become quite tense, especially if the counselee is on edge. The R in SOLER states that you need to be relaxed whilst paying attention, seeming relaxed would reduce the tense atmosphere making the other person relax. Soler theory, also states facing the other person squarely with an open posture, this makes the person talking feel valued, making them want to open up to the couns ellor and talk more. The Tuckman’s theory was created by Bruce Tuckman. He developed the four stages of team development in a group, which are; The Forming, Storming, Norming and performing stages. In order for the team to grow, to face up to challenges, to tackle problems, to find solutions, to plan work, and to deliver results. This model has become the basis for subsequent models of team dynamics and frequently used management theory to describe the behaviour of existing teams. Forming Stage- The forming of the team takes place. The team will meet and learn about the; opportunity, challenges, agrees on goals and begin to tackle the tasks. They may be motivated but are usually relatively uninformed of the issues and objectives of the team. The team members are usually behaved but very focused of them self’s. Supervisors of the team during this stage tend to need to be directive. Storming Stage- Every group will enter the Storming stage, in which different ideas compete for consideration. The team will address issues in the group, such as; what problems they are supposed to solve, how will they function independently and together and who would be the leader in the group. The team members will open out to each other and confront each other’s ideas and perspectives. Norming Stage- At some point, the team may enter the norming stage and team members will adjust their behaviours to each other as they develop work habits that will make the teamwork seem more  natural and fluid. Team members may often work through this stage by agreeing on; the rules, values, professional behaviours, shared methods and working tools. During this stage, team members will begin to trust each other and the motivation will increase as the team gets more acquainted with the project. Performing Stage- Some teams will reach the performing stage. These teams are able to function as a unit as they find ways to get the jobs done smoothly and effectively without conflict or the need of supervision. The team members will have become independent and will be motivated and knowledgeable. The team members are now competent, autonomous and able to handle the decision-making process without supervision. You would use Tuckmans theory in multi-agency services, such as, If someone was physically abused, they might contact the police to report the abuser, but the person who has been abused might need to go to the hospital due to the pain where they have been hit, so the police will pass this situ ation to the hospital once they have finished. Once the hospital has finished with the person who has been abused, they might pass the situation to a counsellor because, the person who has been abused may be suicidal due to the physical and emotional abuse. All of these services would work as a team and go through the Tuckman Stages. The Communication cycle refers to the whole process of communication from the origin up to the conceptualizing and the response of the intended message by the right person. The communication cycle is not complete before feedback even if the message reached the intended recipient. There are 6 stages in the communication cycle. An idea occurs- This is the first stage of the cycle, which is when you have an idea that you want to communicate. Message coded- In this stage you will think through how you going to communicate and what you are thinking and begin to put your thoughts into language, or even codes such as, sign language. Message sent- This is the point where you send your message in a form of sp eaking, writing or other ways such as, sign language or braille. Message received- This is the stage that focuses on the other person who has to sense the message by hearing your word or seeing your symbols. Message decoded- This is a vital stage of the communication cycle, where the other person will interpret the message. Message understood- This is the final stage of the communication cycle, this is when the message is understood and they are able to communicate effectively. The Communication cycle is used when trying to communicate  sensitive subjects. For example, if someone is dying, we can use the communication cycle to make sure that we don’t say anything insensitive or even hurtful to the person who is meant be receiving the information. We can use the communication cycle to encode the information correctly. It is also important to make sure that we communicate the information at the correct time to prevent a misunderstanding of the message. The place and method of communication is also important in communicating a sensitive subject effectively and sensitively. We use the Communication cycle in any health and social care services because everyone processes the Communication cycle. Blurtit Ltd. [Online] http://science.blurtit.com/157992/the-6-stages-of-the-communication-cycle-are-obtain-or-giving-thoughts-noting-body. [Available from: 22nd January 2014] AntiEssays.com. (2014) [Online] http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/325901.html. [Available from: 22nd January 2014]

Cash Pooling

Name: Dina Mohanna Rbea’an Subject: Cash Pooling Supervisor: Dr. Nasser Abu Mustafa University: NYIT? Cash Management: Cash pooling Abstract The role of the corporate cash manager has been continuously revised over the past few years, as a result of the demand for more effective and efficient ways to support the core needs of the organization. This has resulted in new responsibilities for the corporate treasurer and cash manager. The cash management function is demanding more accurate and continuous information on its cash position to provide responsive forecasting data and handling, so that availability of liquidity at the right time and price can be ensured. So this paper studies the Cash Management concept and focus on the cash pooling and whether it’s applied in the Middle East. Introduction The objectives of cash management are straightforward – maximise liquidity and control cash flows and maximise the value of funds while minimising the cost of funds. The strategies for meeting such objectives include varying degrees of long-term planning requirements. Also, like everywhere in the world, much treasury activity in the organizations is concentrated on cash management. This includes financing the corporation, administration of debts (loans, bonds, commercial papers, etc. ), good relationships with the banks, payments to suppliers and collections from customers, control of foreign currency and interest positions according to the company’s needs for finance, and finally the reporting and technical support of all these functions. The use of cash pooling as a global standard for concentrating cash into the main bank account of the firm has very quickly found favour in corporations. Cash pooling enables corporate groups to minimize expenditure incurred in connection with banking facilities through economies of scale. Under a cash pooling arrangement, entities within a corporate group regularly transfer their surplus cash to a single bank account (the â€Å"master accountâ€Å") and, in return, may draw on the funds in that account to satisfy their own cash flow requirements from time to time. The master account is usually held by the parent company or by a â€Å"Treasury Company â€Å"established specifically for this purpose. Depending on the type of cash pooling arrangement, the participating entities may transfer either their entire cash surplus (â€Å"zero balancingâ€Å"), or cash exceeding a certain surplus level (â€Å"target balancingâ€Å"). In general, all entities participating in the cash pooling arrangement will be liable for any negative balance on the master account, irrespective of the amount they have contributed. Transfers and draw-downs of funds to and from the master account by the participating companies have the nature of the grant and repayment of intra-group loans. In addition to physical cash pooling there is also â€Å"notionalâ€Å"(also known as â€Å"virtualâ€Å") cash pooling. This does not involve the physical transfer of funds, but rather the set-off of balances of different companies within the group, so that the bank charges interest on the group‘s net cash balance. This optimizes the position of the group as regards interest payments, but does not achieve optimal allocation of liquid funds as between the group members. Notional cash pooling will not result in the creation of intra-group loans, since funds are not physically transferred. As such, many of the risks outlined in this brochure do not apply to a purely notional cash pooling arrangement. In practice however, a notional cash pooling arrangement will frequently involve the grant of cross-guarantees and security by the participants to the bank, in order to maximize the available overdraft facility. To this extent, many of the risks outlined in this article could be relevant, even if the cash pooling arrangement is predominantly notional in nature. The specific structure of individual cash pooling arrangements can vary. For example, transfers to the master account may be undertaken by each participating group member individually or may instead be undertaken automatically by the bank on the basis of a power of attorney given by the relevant group company. In addition to the facility agreement with the respective bank, each participating group company will usually enter into â€Å"cash pooling agreementâ€Å". These agreements must be carefully structured in order to minimize the risks of civil or criminal liability of the participating group companies and their officers. Tax issues must also be carefully considered when structuring cash pooling agreements. Types of cash pooling Banks generally offer the following types of cash pooling: ?zero-balancing cash pooling, ?notional cash pooling, ?multicurrency cash pooling, ?Cross-border cash pooling. ?Zero -balancing cash pooling : Real cash pooling is based on a transfer from bank accounts to a master account, with balances on all bank accounts except the master account being zero at the end of the working day. It means this money physically ‘moves’ from the junior accounts to the master account. Real cash pooling requires companies to keep careful records of cash transfers, interest received and paid, and records of investments. Structure of a â€Å"Zero-Balancing-Pool† ?National pooling: Requires a company’s subsidiaries to use branches of the same bank, usually in the same country; although with the adoption of the euro, single-currency cross-border pooling has become rather common in Europe. All the excess and deficit balances in the company’s subsidiary accounts are summed each day to calculate the net interest earned or due. Funds are not actually transferred; rather, they are simply totalled for the purpose of calculating interest. Banks usually require credit facilities to support any deficit balances in the pool. National pooling generally requires extensive cross-guarantees among subsidiaries which many companies find very difficult to implement. Some countries disallow national pooling . among them are the United States, Germany, Mexico, Japan and Brazil. In countries where national pooling is not allowed, the zero balance pooling method must be used. Structure of â€Å" National pooling† ?Multicurrency cash pooling: Bank account balances in different foreign currencies are swapped to one agreed currency, which is the base for the interest rate calculations. ?Cross-border cash pooling Cross-border cash pooling helps corporations avoid the bureaucracy intrinsic to transferring cash across countries and different clearing systems, as well as different legal entities and the headache associated with the additional inter-company loan administration. While there is a selection of solutions in the marketplace, most of these operate on an interest enhancement basis where corporations are rewarded for servicing their liquidity through their chosen bank, but the bank is unable to achieve a balance sheet offset due to the complexity of multiple jurisdictional and regulatory barriers. Czech banks now offer cross-border pooling, both notional and real, for accounts in the domestic Czech koruna, euro, US dollar, Central European currencies (such as in the Slovak koruna, Hungarian forint and Polish zloty) and pound. These principles are used both in the Czech Republic and in the rest of Europe, and are therefore similar; any differences are the result of the legal requirements of each country. As mentioned above, the Czech Commercial Code does not recognise anything like ‘concern’ or a product like cash pooling. It is necessary to fulfil several conditions to prevent problems concerning taxation and reporting to minority shareholders. It is practically impossible to implement a cash pooling agreement between companies without a majority share. It is normal practice that a cash pooling system has to be agreed by a general meeting of the company and there is a strict requirement for signed control agreements. Sometimes, it is necessary to change the company articles of incorporation. †¢Reasons of Cash pooling : Reduction of financing costs on group level, -Improvement of investment-deposits by using economies of scale, -Simplification of liquidity-management on domestic level, -Reduction of expenses for financial intermediaries through centralization, -Improvement of planning cash flows through coordination of financial cycles, -Optimization of your financial image by decreasing external financing and better use of internal financial potentials, -Break-Even at about EUR 200'000 permanent liabilities on the accounts. Cash management in the Middle East: As in the rest of the world, cash management in the Middle East is benefiting from automation. How is this affecting different sizes of corporate, and what does the future hold in this area? The Middle East region, which includes countries like UAE, Oman and Qatar, has kept pace with the growth in such business ambitions and cash management is also not to be left out of this race to riches, as businesses continually explore opportunities to make more money, more profits and reduce costs. The excellent growth climate in countries like UAE, fuelled by ambitions and visions of the rulers and the business community, has resulted in opportunities, growth of infrastructure, access to international and other funds through opening up and freehold real estates, trading environments, the presence of more ‘free zones', creating a healthy and open competition for the survival and growth of the fittest, etc Multi-national corporate Middle East, especially the UAE, has recently seen an influx of many multi-national companies (MNCs) setting up their regional offices, treasury offices, marketing offices, etc. n UAE and managing the global operations. To attract such MNCs into the region, financial and general free zones plus offshore financial centers have sprung up everywhere with the intentions of inviting the best of MNCs to come and have their shops opened in these countries. The absence of tax regimes has added to the attraction in these markets. These companies typically need 24 hour Internet access, sweeping and pooling of funds and balances across banks and branches, competitive FX and deposit rates, competitive temporary overnight overdraft interest rates and credit interest on overnight floats. The ideal location of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the global map, the growth of communication, infrastructure, Internet, etc. have led to the explosive growth of such companies in the region Local corporate GCC is predominantly dominated by a number of local corporate or companies or family owned businesses, which are typically owned by large local/national families of businessmen. Most of these families have very successful and historic track records and have been associates/local representatives/agents for most of multinational brands from all over the world. The local regulations for a sponsor from a national has been a great aid in ensuring that the multinationals tie up with these local corporate for mutual success of business lines. While the MNC does the production, transport, marketing support, service association, etc. , the Local Corporate typically takes the local marketing and sales realization risk, like any MNC agency. This combination of MNCs and local corporate has worked very well historically in the GCC with the result that there is a successful association of MNC brands and families in the GCC. In many of these countries, the lack of restrictions such as taxes, financial regulations to publish books of accounts and audit, etc. have made the operations of such corporate mostly family driven. Recently, and especially in the last four to five years, GCC business families have started expanding into other countries in the region and also into countries in East and North Africa and other parts of the world, where investments in assets and business yields good and long-term returns for the business houses. In other words, the local corporate have been the opposite of the MNCs coming and operating into the GCC, and typically such local corporate are slowly growing and reaching the sizes of MNCs, albeit the growth into other competitive countries like Singapore, UK, other parts of Europe and the US have been very limited or generally non-existent. Mid-sized trading companies GCC has been historically characterized by a host of mid-sized trading companies, thanks to the general economic growth, healthy competition, absence of taxes and rules regime and a general absence of governmental red tape. Today, people of most GCC nationalities could come and start a business in any of the Free Zones in their own name, or if they choose to partner a national, they can start the business anywhere in these countries, with very limited capital and resources. The laws and business conditions have been very conducive for the mushrooming growth of such mid-sized companies, which have thrived, in the general economic upswing in the Middle East. While it is extremely difficult to list out the number of these companies, it is generally felt among banking community that the number of mid-sized corporate or companies (along with the small and medium enterprises (SMEs)) might currently be in the region of 15,000 numbers in UAE alone. This brings an exciting opportunity for smart entrepreneurs who thrive on such opportunities as also for smart bankers who have built a portfolio of such assets and relationships. On the cash management front, such small companies do not have many demands except that they require immediate and urgent funds clearance, remittances for payments, overnight float interest, good interest rates for deposits, etc. Many of them are also computer or Internet savvy and would be happy to use such online services to transact with their banks. Small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs have been the sleeping giants in the GCC business world, but they have now woken up to be a mid-sized monster. While banks are repeatedly facing the ever-decreasing margins (be it in interest rates, commissions, charges or any form of income to the bank) in the MNC and large corporate segments, it is the SME that has come as the boon for the dwindling revenues of banks. SMEs have been the ideal examples for the usual risk philosophy of ‘higher the risk, higher the return'. SME segment today offers the highest interest rates and margins in terms of lending – sometimes as high as 600 to 800 basis points over LIBOR/DIBOR, not to mention the amount of charges and commission. The risks of such SMEs have been mastered by many banks to offer an excellent basket of spread-out lending while keeping an eye on high margins. These SMEs will be the lifeline of banks in the next six to 10 years, and I personally believe that among the corporate income of banks, SMEs will represent the largest amount of this income. They could represent 70-80% in four to five years from now. This is an educated guess on what may happen, based on what is happening today. †¢Economic overview: There has always been a strong correlation between crude oil prices and the state of the Middle Eastern economies. With oil receipts accounting for 90% of government revenues in several Gulf countries and public projects dominating the markets, economic growth is largely dependent on the local government's expansionary policies. In view of the oil industry's cyclical nature, governments have become cautious in planning their annual budgets. An IMF study revealed that the Middle East countries, which were the beneficiaries of windfall oil export revenues in 2000-01, are using these gains prudently so as to be well equipped to deal with any sudden fall in oil prices over next few years. In addition, the governments have recognised the importance of economic diversification, and are now encouraging economic activity in sectors other than oil. Much of this effort has gone into developing manufacturing, trading, and tourism. Figure 1: Regional Macroeconomic Data and Forecasts †¢Financial Environment: The Gulf countries offer some of the most liberal financial environments, with fully convertible currencies, stable exchange rates, minimal exchange controls, and nil-to-low tax regimes. The relative political stability and increased economic cooperation between regional countries are some of the positive developments that attract big players to look at the Middle East as a viable investment alternative. Many of the Middle East countries that carefully protected themselves against the threat of foreign investors for so long are now inviting foreign capital to diversify their economies. Even the highly conservative states, such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, are gradually extending investment and ownership rights to foreign nationals. Free-trade zones, which were pioneered by the UAE and are now a common feature of all Gulf countries, have been instrumental in providing sole ownership and control to foreign investors. Apart from simplified registration and licensing procedures, free-trade zones offer tax holidays and world-class infrastructure facilities; thus, they are attracting new investors. †¢Banking System: The banking activities in the Middle East are largely domestic. The financial sector is engaged in a whole range of activities, from traditional public sector-dominated banking to state-of-the-art project finance and investment banking. Some banks are starting to obtain ratings from international agencies to pave the way for a more regional role. The governments have also been attempting to strengthen the banking sector by recapitalizing the domestic banks and ensuring that international capital requirements are met. There is a move towards encouraging smaller banks to merge and to develop domestic capital markets. Overall, there are many ongoing reforms designed to develop a sound banking system. The banking system in the Middle East is relatively flexible, and allows the opening and operation of a wide variety of accounts. However, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia do place some restrictions. Details of possible account structures are given in Figure 2 below. †¢Clearing System: All the countries in the Middle East, except for Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have a manual clearing system. Saudi Arabia has a real-time settlement system called the Saudi Riyal Interbank Express (SARIE). The SARIE is capable of interfacing with the electronic banking platforms of clearing participants for the online settlement of transactions. In the UAE, the Central Bank has recently introduced a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system to facilitate interbank payments. Some other regional countries are also considering introducing such systems. The settlement days for manual clearing depend on the local practices and the level of sophistication in each country. The average time to clear a local currency cheque ranges from one to three working days in major cities. Outstation cheques take anywhere from between five and 10 working days for realization. Foreign currency cheques take between five and 15 working days to clear. The lack of automated clearing and settlement systems has hampered the automation of payment services, such as high-volume and low-value payments. Banks have worked around this by accepting payment instructions electronically, and then effecting payment through cheque printing or bank-to-bank transfers. †¢Liquidity Management Products: The availability of several account types is further augmented by a liberal regulatory framework that supports the setting up of domestic and cross-border concentration and pooling structures. In Saudi Arabia, there are no explicit laws on various aspects of liquidity management set-ups. Egypt allows pooling and cash concentration between resident and non-resident accounts, and also between two different legal entities. Bahrain and the UAE also permit pooling and cash concentration among different legal entities. However, it is advisable to seek legal opinion before establishing a liquidity management structure. †¢Cash Management Overview: As the regional markets grow in sophistication, there is a corresponding need for corporate to improve their operational efficiency and cost competitiveness. Over the last year, several banks have introduced electronic banking services – both Internet and non-Internet based – to provide services ranging from simple account information to transaction automation. Despite the presence of the underlying framework, locally owned corporate have been slow to subscribe to electronic banking mainly due to fears of loss of control. Even multinational corporations (MNCs) have been unable to implement an efficient and integrated cash management system due to low volumes and a lack a full array of cash management products and services with the banks. Figure 2: Cash Management for the Middle Eas †¢Current Practice by Corporate, and Trends in Cash Management: The concept of cash management is fast catching on in the region. With an increasing number of companies looking beyond their domestic frontiers to sustain growth, there is a need to optimize costs and manage risk. While MNCs have the concept filtered down from their group offices, large professionally-managed domestic companies with a well-diversified portfolio are increasingly looking at cash management as an important risk management tool. In the Middle East, companies are looking at online banking information and the automation of transaction processing by the use of an integrated banking platform, preferably interfaced with their back office system. This trend is growing as companies adopt enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Cash management requirements among corporate vary depending on the size and nature of operations. MNCs and large corporate look for more comprehensive cash management tools involving non-resident accounts, interest-bearing deposit accounts, cross-border cash concentration, and notional pooling. Also, those corporate with clearly defined collection and payment processes perceive accounts payable as a non-core business activity and look to outsource these services to banks. Meanwhile, the huge middle-market corporate, which are not really geared towards full automation, are limited to piecemeal use of electronic banking services. Banks offer varied cash management services and product ranges. In general, the international banks, which have a better regional network and offer more sophisticated electronic banking platforms and domestic and cross-border liquidity mechanisms compared to domestic banks, are clearly the leaders in cash management business. Domestic banks score better on in-country branch networks †¢What Does the Future Hold For Cash Management in the Middle East? Direct debits: Wherein based on a standing debit authority, utility and other bills will be directly raised by utility companies to banks who will debit the customer account and pay. †¢Bulk upload of salaries to debit cards and withdrawals through ATMs specially located in customer premises. †¢Complete debtor/invoice payments follow up on behalf of customers to ensure that invoices are collected in time. †¢Complete and automatic link up of all payments for purchases/supplies, wherein banks will automatically pay for the purchases made by customers, based on invoice details uploaded automatically. Secured payment gateways between the top 100 to 200 companies in the world, wherein a global clearing player (could be a top class global bank) will act as a central clearing bank for such companies and any funds or payments for them will be routed through the clearing bank globally. †¢Conclusion: The economic stability and the world class infrastructure offered by the Middle East makes it an attractive destination for setting up of shared service centers (SSCs). Locations such as Bahrain and Dubai have already emerged as preferred centers for setting up of regional hubs covering the Middle East and some African countries. Banks in the region are waking up to the tremendous potential of e-banking, and are investing heavily in technology. The next few years present exciting times for the business and service providers, as the new and existing players gear up to meet the challenges being offered by the New Economy On corporate cash management in the GCC, V. P. Nagarajan, executive director at Emirates Trading Agency – Ascon Group says: â€Å"Corporate cash management is an important tool of corporate finance today and, as days pass by, cash management will be the centre point around which the functions of finance will revolve. If we have a financial crystal ball and look into the future, we can visualize a corporate cash manager juggling his financial resources across the world in a computer the size of his palm. At the press of a button, he will be traveling over the notional financial super highway (which should take about a few seconds to reach the other parts of the globe and the universe) for a virtual reality decision across. Some of the easier decisions in those days will be there will no physical currencies (saves a lot of printing and paper expenses), no multiple branches of banks (all of them will be operating from internet or computer driven global centers), and still there will be the cash management sales bankers who will come and try to sell what they do not have. † Hopefully corporate cash management will see a world of change as we move forward. †¢References: 1-http://www. gtnews. com/article/6920. fm Cash Management in the Middle East Rajeev Babel, HSBC Global Payments and Cash Management 2-http://www. gtnews. com/article/4172. cfmCash Management – The Middle East PerspectiveVenkatesan Thiagarajan, Barclays 3- Essentials of treasury management second edition (association for financial professional) . 4- De Gidlow, R. , Donovan, S. (2005), Cash Management Techniques. In: The Treasurer’s Handbook 2005, Act, London 5- Heezius, D. , Polak, P. (2006), Country Guide: The Czec h Republic. In: The Treasurer’s Handbook 2006, Act, London.

Meditation Worksheet

Directions: Locate two resources on the Internet that explain meditation techniques. Copy and paste the Web address into the top of the matrix. After reviewing the Web site, provide a brief summary for each source. Below your summary, list two interesting facts you learned from each site. Try the techniques you located in your Internet search. Provide a brief description of what happened in your experience. Summary of resource:Meditation is a form of stress management that will allow our mind to experience an oasis of peace and love within our heart and mind. Meditation gave me back control over my life so that no matter what was happening externally whether it was positive or negative I could still develop control over my thoughts and thus control the emotions and feeling in my mind. NO one can control eradicate adversity in life but you can master the way you respond in regards to your thinking processes. Take control now master your mind through one of the meditation techniques and you will forever be able to be the peaceful beacon in the eye of the storm of any adversity. The basis for attaining an experience in raja yoga meditation in to understand the self and the mind. The human mind is the most creative, powerful and wonderful â€Å"instrument† we possess. Using this energy called mind we have been able to search the deepest oceans, send humans to the moon and scan the molecular fabric of the building blocks of nature. But have we found our true self? We have become the most educated and civilized society in our history, but are we civil towards each other? The soul has three main faculties; the mind or consciousness, the intellect and the subconscious. by the Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga meditation organization. Two interesting Facts: So what I have read and learned of meditation is it is a way to lift up all bad energy from one’s body and it is a way to lower ones stress level to a normal level. It is a way to make one’s mind a peaceful place and in hopes of treating others like they are human too. Not only that, but most meditations help heal the body as well. Meditation allows one’s mind to open up to a peaceful place and it allows the stress to flow right out and it does have the power to heal the mind and soul. This in turns makes you feel loving and peaceful to other around you. That is what I got out of reading the facts I found. So my understanding of this particular meditation is more focused on ones three main faculties the mind or consciousness, the intellect and the subconscious. This meditation helps the mind and the other one is more for your body and mind. What intrigues me the most about this Raja meditation is that it is ran by women. Did you know that Raja meditation is what we have discussed in our class? It talks about the brain in how it is the power of our bodies. It also talks about the conscious mind and they talk about how feelings and emotions form in accordance with the montage of thoughts flowing in the mind. Therefore our state of mind at any given moment is determined by the thoughts in our consciousness, and also with the feelings that we associate with those thoughts. What happened after you tried each technique?Well, I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my mind and body. I am able to think more clearly and see everything around me as an equal. I tried this after my daughter spit grape juice all over my floor and I found myself not being so angry about it, but now I look at it as that she is a one year old who does not know any better and I am not as mad as I was at the beginning. I like the Raja meditation because it deals with our minds. When I tried this technique I found myself in a nicer state of mind. I was able to think clearly and I was able to appreciate life a little more than I did before. I was able to focus better on my homework while drowning out the extra noise around me. With both techniques I was more pleasant to be around and I was less moody. 1.Do you think meditation leads to heightened sensation and perception? Explain why or why not. Oh yes I do think it does lead to heightened sensations because when you allow your mind to open up to a different place you can actually feel it. Say you do the first meditation that I have tried. It takes your mind to any place you want to go. So when you get there you can feel the warm breeze on your face and smell the ocean air. You are able to hear the waves crashing on the rocks and sand and hear the gulls flying around in the sky. You can actually see the blue skies and the few white puffy clouds. It is amazing where one’s mind can take you. 2.Have you considered integrating meditation into your own lifestyle? If so, list one strategy for fitting meditation into your schedule. If not, explain why. Yes I have once brought meditation in my life when I was in high school. I think I need to bring it back to my life now because it has been so stressful and depressing. I plan to put in when I get up and when I go to bed. If for some reason I need it during the day I will find a quiet place to meditate for 15 minutes then I will go back to what I was doing with an open mind. There really is no reason why I cannot put a little me time in the day. I think everyone should be able to at least do some meditation in their day. Who knows maybe it might make the world a better place if they meditate.