...crosshairs. But in fact, now is the ideal time to upgrade existing infrastructure and invest in next-stage technologies that create value. And speaking of costs, what role does a capital-intensive function like information technology play in this quest for high performance? Many business leaders are understandably wary of IT investments. Although spending on information technology has increased substantially in the past 10 years, many technology projects have been characterized by sketchy metrics, long cycle times to new products and unpredictable results. No wonder many executives have come to regard IT investments as a necessary evil and information technology as something to be managed and purchased like any other commodity or utility. Bank of America holds a broader, decidedly more positive view. We believe that technology investment is vital to driving future productivity and growth—hence, it is critical to achieving high performance. And this investment can, in fact, be managed with discipline and rigor, which leads to increasing predictability and decreasing cycle times. Greater discipline in IT investments will enable companies to attain superior cost positions, which, in turn, can be used to gain market share, bring new products and services to market sooner, and serve customers with deeper insight. Investing to capture value Companies that achieve high performance through technology understand this. They execute to take full advantage of the IT investments they have already...
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...Culturally Responsive Education Since the early 1970’s, there have been robust conversations about how to improve the K-12 educational experience for students of color, African American students in particular. Most of the studies that were conducted showed that African American students (and students of color) lagged behind their white counterparts in both mathematics and reading. The Coleman Report in 1966 gave rise to future discussions regarding gaps in achievement between African American and White students. Such conversations about disparities in academic achievement between African American and White students were generally from cultural deficit perspectives, meaning, students of color, were blamed for the gap in achievement between...
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...MIS Case Studies Case 1 SystemX Inc. Withdraws Rs. 1 Billion SoftGuide Acquisition Offer The following is an excerpt from a news article in the Daily Update, March 07, 2010 “SystemX Inc., called off its acquisition of SoftGuide Knowledge Consultants, Friday, saying that 1 Billion was too high a price.” (SoftGuide has a considerable market share in Training and Development services and would therefore help SystemX to diversify and expand its range of services to customers.) “Although SystemX officials would not comment further, several observers said that problems discovered at SoftGuide probably lay behind the decision…. The article said that SystemX feared that SoftGuide’s data-processing system was inadequate to handle the new products planned for the SoftGuide sales staff. SystemX officials were also concerned about the 30 percent annual turnover among sales personnel… Tabrez A., SoftGuide CEO, responded that the SoftGuide’s data-processing was quite competent and has absorbed at least one new product a month for two years.” Questions: a. Why should SystemX be so concerned about the capabilities of SoftGuide’s data-processing? b. What competitive advantages to a Training and Consultancy services company may be provided by an information system? Case 2 Professor Challenges Basic Assumption about Planning and Control Professor A. Van Cauwenbergh of Antwerp University, in a paper presented at the Tenth Anniversary Conference of the European Institute for Advanced Studies...
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...MIS Case Studies Case 1 SystemX Inc. Withdraws Rs. 1 Billion SoftGuide Acquisition Offer The following is an excerpt from a news article in the Daily Update, March 07, 2010 “SystemX Inc., called off its acquisition of SoftGuide Knowledge Consultants, Friday, saying that 1 Billion was too high a price.” (SoftGuide has a considerable market share in Training and Development services and would therefore help SystemX to diversify and expand its range of services to customers.) “Although SystemX officials would not comment further, several observers said that problems discovered at SoftGuide probably lay behind the decision…. The article said that SystemX feared that SoftGuide’s data-processing system was inadequate to handle the new products planned for the SoftGuide sales staff. SystemX officials were also concerned about the 30 percent annual turnover among sales personnel… Tabrez A., SoftGuide CEO, responded that the SoftGuide’s data-processing was quite competent and has absorbed at least one new product a month for two years.” Questions: a. Why should SystemX be so concerned about the capabilities of SoftGuide’s data-processing? b. What competitive advantages to a Training and Consultancy services company may be provided by an information system? Case 2 Professor Challenges Basic Assumption about Planning and Control Professor A. Van Cauwenbergh of Antwerp University, in a paper presented at the Tenth Anniversary Conference of the European Institute for Advanced Studies...
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...UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULA AND FACULTY 2007 – 2011 Proposed 2009 – 2013 2 Requirements for the BBA degree: Foundation Courses 40-41 Credits Core Courses 45 Credits Departmental Requirement 24 Credits Minor 15 Credits Total variable requirement for Graduation 124-125 Credits Foundation Courses Communication Skills ENG 101 ENG 102 ENG 105* ENG 106 ENG 202 Listening and Speaking Skills English Reading Skills Business English Advanced English Skills Introduction to English Literature 40-41 Credits 9 3 3 3 3 3 * Prerequisite ENG 101 & 102 Note: students not exempted from ENG 101 and ENG 102 will have to take ENG 101, ENG 102 and ENG 105. Note: students exempted from ENG 101 and ENG 102 will have to take ENG 105, ENG 106, ENG 202 Computer Skills CIS 101* CSC 101** Fundamentals of Computer System Introduction to Computer Science 3 3 3 * For students without basic knowledge of computer **For students with basic knowledge of computer & mandatory for students with Major in subjects offered from the SECS Numeracy MAT 100* MAT 210* Basic University Mathematics 1 Basic University Mathematics 2 6 3 3 3 *MAT 100 and MAT 210 mandatory for SLAS majors(English, Media & Communication, Anthropology) other than Sociology MAT 101* MAT 211* MAT 102* MAT 212* Intermediate University Mathematics II Probability and Statistics Introduction to Linear Algebra & Calculus Probability & Statistics for Sc. & Engr. 3 3 3 3 **MAT 101and MAT 211 mandatory for...
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...for ever. So when his company increased its stake in Tesco to 5% in 2012, it sent a strong message that the giant British grocer would rebound from its disastrous attempt to compete in America. But it turned out that even the Oracle of Omaha can fall victim to dodgy accounting. On September 22nd Tesco announced that its profit guidance for the first half of 2014 was £250m ($408m) too high, because it had overstated the rebate income it would receive from suppliers. Britain’s Serious Fraud Office has begun a criminal investigation into the errors. The company’s fortunes have worsened since then: on December 9th it cut its profit forecast by 30%, partly because its new boss said it would stop “artificially” improving results by reducing service near the end of a quarter. Mr Buffett, whose firm has lost $750m on Tesco, now calls the trade a “huge mistake”. No sooner did the news break than the spotlight fell on PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the “Big Four” global accounting networks (the others are Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY) and KPMG). Tesco had paid the firm £10.4m to sign off on its 2013 financial statements. PwC mentioned the suspect rebates as an area of heightened scrutiny, but still gave a clean audit. PwC’s failure to detect the problem is hardly an isolated case. If accounting scandals no longer dominate headlines as they did when Enron and WorldCom imploded in 2001-02, that is not because they have vanished but because they have become routine....
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...MIS Mini-cases -- 1 of 30 Cases for Use in Management Information Systems MIS Mini-cases -- 2 of 30 MIS Mini-cases -- 3 of 30 Case 01 -- Freeway Ford You are a management consultant working for Franklin Absolom, the majority stockholder for a group of 10 automobile dealerships. He has asked you to spend several days at Freeway Ford, a dealership that is not performing up to its potential. You are not to go ―looking for trouble‖: instead, your assignment is to find ways to help management at the dealership take advantage of opportunities. One day while you are talking with James Kahler, the sales manager for Freeway Ford, you realize that the dealership only uses transaction processing systems—it is not realizing the full potential of the information it has gathered for managerial decision making. For example, Freeway Ford knows the purchase date and owner of every car it sells, but it never contacts owner about routine maintenance. Freeway Ford know that people who purchase a new car generally trade it in for another new car 3 to 4 years later, but the dealership does not contact these previous customers. Another opportunity comes from used car purchasing and sales. Every car has a vehicle identification number (VIN), and the dealership uses this number to check for known problems with a used car before it makes a purchase. A data bank of car insurance claims histories and major repairs is kept on a set of CDs that is sent to the dealership each month. At the...
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...COMMENT Default and Recovery Rates for Project Finance Bank Loans, 1983–2010 1. Introduction 1 2 4 7 12 14 15 28 37 37 39 60 60 Table of Contents: 1. INTRODUCTION 2. SUMMARY 3. OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT FINANCE INDUSTRY 4. DATA AND METHODOLOGY 5. DISTRIBUTION OF PROJECTS 6. DISTRIBUTION OF DEFAULTS 7. DEFAULT RATE ANALYSIS 8. RECOVERY ANALYSIS 9. FURTHER ANALYSIS OF TIME TO DEFAULT AND TIME TO EMERGENCE BY INDUSTRY 10. EXPOSURE AT DEFAULT APPENDICES MOODY’S RELATED RESEARCH ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Analyst Contacts: NEW YORK 1.212.553.1653 This Special Comment (the “Study”) is an update to Moody’s initial study published in October 2010 (the “Initial Study”) examining the default and recovery performance of project finance bank loans. The Study documents Moody’s updated analysis of historical project finance bank loan default and recovery rates using updated and expanded aggregate data (the “Study Data Set”) from a consortium of leading sector lenders (together, the “Bank Group”). Moody’s wishes to acknowledge and thank each of the banks in the Bank Group for supporting and contributing to the Study. This Special Comment is an abridged version of a more comprehensive study undertaken on behalf of the Bank Group. The updated Study Data Set includes 3,533 projects which account for some 51% of all project finance transactions originated globally during a 27 year period from January 1, 1983 to December 31, 2010. The Study Data Set is a statistically robust data set which is substantially...
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...Case Study Metro Bank Breaking the Mould but Breaking the Malaise? An assessment of whether Metro Bank, with its distinct model, can bring about a cultural revolution in the UK banking market Authors: Ben Robinson & Thomas Krommenacker As the first new entrant in the UK banking market for over 100 years, Metro Bank is generating plenty of headlines…. UK’s Metro Bank beats target on new accounts Metro Bank works magic on customers Does the first new British bank since the 1800s herald the start of new competition for your money? the established players, despite blotted copybooks, are deeply entrenched ... the barriers to entry are formidable Metro Bank a fascinating case study in what customers really want Metro Bank model backed by banking commission Metro bank opens on Sunday as battle for high street hots up Metro Bank Speeds Growth The UK’s newest bank must show a genuinely creative side beyond the promotional gimmicks dispensed at the opening of the first branch Banking revolution or the emperor’s new clothes? … a challenge to the tarnished incumbents is long overdue. But its American-style “fun” marketing may not be enough to win over jaded British account holders Metro: first bank for 100 years opens its doors. Metro Bank has promised to revolutionise the British banking experience. Temenos Case Study Contents 01 02 Executive Summary History and Background of the UK Banking Market • The Market Today • Consumer Trust...
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...University, Atlanta, GA 30302-4015 U.S.A. {vstorey@gsu.edu} Business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) has emerged as an important area of study for both practitioners and researchers, reflecting the magnitude and impact of data-related problems to be solved in contemporary business organizations. This introduction to the MIS Quarterly Special Issue on Business Intelligence Research first provides a framework that identifies the evolution, applications, and emerging research areas of BI&A. BI&A 1.0, BI&A 2.0, and BI&A 3.0 are defined and described in terms of their key characteristics and capabilities. Current research in BI&A is analyzed and challenges and opportunities associated with BI&A research and education are identified. We also report a bibliometric study of critical BI&A publications, researchers, and research topics based on more than a decade of related academic and industry publications. Finally, the six articles that comprise this special issue are introduced and characterized in terms of the proposed BI&A research framework. Keywords: Business intelligence and analytics, big data analytics, Web 2.0 Introduction Business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) and the related field of big data analytics have become increasingly important in both the academic and the business communities over the past two decades. Industry studies have highlighted this significant development. For example, based on a survey of over 4,000...
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...Journal of Business Case Studies – November/December 2009 Volume 5, Number 6 Payday Lending: Perfunctory Or Predatory? Annie Schafter, University of Minnesota, USA Shee Wong, University of Minnesota, USA Stephen B. Castleberry, University of Minnesota, USA ABSTRACT Payday lenders are becoming more common across America as they meet the unique needs of consumers unable or unwilling to use the services of more traditional lenders. But many have claimed that certain of their practices are unethical. Do payday lenders take advantage of those less fortunate in our society? Are their fees exorbitant, or are the fees merely a fair return given the risk the payday lenders are incurring? This case looks at these and other issues surrounding the payday lending industry. Keywords: payday lending, finance, interest rate, ethics INTRODUCTION I n the last 15 years, cities around America have seen a dramatic rise in the number of payday lending stores open for business. Today there are over 22,000 payday lenders operating in the 39 states where payday lending is legal. To put that number in perspective, there are 13,700 McDonald‟s and 7,300 Burger Kings in the U.S.—simply put, there are more payday lenders than McDonald‟s and Burger Kings combined (Weston). But why? As traditional financial institutions tighten up loan requirements and drop smaller, less profitable loans from their books, payday lenders feel they are filling a substantial need in the communities they serve. They make...
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... Atlanta, GA 30302-4015 U.S.A. {vstorey@gsu.edu} Business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) has emerged as an important area of study for both practitioners and researchers, reflecting the magnitude and impact of data-related problems to be solved in contemporary business organizations. This introduction to the MIS Quarterly Special Issue on Business Intelligence Research first provides a framework that identifies the evolution, applications, and emerging research areas of BI&A. BI&A 1.0, BI&A 2.0, and BI&A 3.0 are defined and described in terms of their key characteristics and capabilities. Current research in BI&A is analyzed and challenges and opportunities associated with BI&A research and education are identified. We also report a bibliometric study of critical BI&A publications, researchers, and research topics based on more than a decade of related academic and industry publications. Finally, the six articles that comprise this special issue are introduced and characterized in terms of the proposed BI&A research framework. Keywords: Business intelligence and analytics, big data analytics, Web 2.0 Introduction Business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) and the related field of big data analytics have become increasingly important in both the academic and the business communities over the past two decades. Industry studies have highlighted this significant development. For example, based...
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...DEGREE OF GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS: A CASE ON JUTE, KENAF & ALLIED FIBRES INDUSTRY Niraj Kumar Mahapatra 15PGPM11 Management Development Institute, Murshidabad, West Bengal- 742235 Submitted to: Dr. Paroma Mitra Mukherjee, Faculty, Macroeconomics, Management Development Institute, Murshidabad, West Bengal- 742235 Abstract Global competition is the services or products provided by competing companies that serve international customers. Competition on a local scale where people are competing against one another for one common goal - the best in their core competency. Global competition has allowed companies to buy and sell their services internationally, which opens the door to increased profits and flattens the playing field in business. Degree of competitiveness helps to examine the present status and future prospects of an industry. This paper is an attempt to measure the extent of global competitiveness in world Jute, Kenaf and Allied Fibres (JAF) industry. Roy (2006) (1-√∑ 2) the formula for degree of competition is applied where Mi is the market share of each individual nation in global JAF production, i ranging from 1 to k. For each year we can calculate one such measure, generating there by a time series data. Based on time series analysis one can indicate the 1 Degree of Global Competitiveness: A case Jute, Kenaf & Allied Fibres Industry 2 past trend and future direction. The position of India has also been indicted along with top ten...
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...split off from the Ben Franklin Co. creating the first Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas. For the next six years Wal-Mart expanded within Arkansas and in 1968 expansion begins in Missouri and Oklahoma. Quickly after this expansion, Wal-Mart becomes a public company which raises capital allowing Sam Walton to buy up local chains around the country, creating the powerhouse it is today. It is important to understand Wal-Marts expansion and saturation of the U.S. market to identify its reasons behind expanding globally. In order to continue its growth and profitability for its shareholders Wal-Mart has entered many markets besides Mexico. They have expanded to Canada, Central America, Chile, China, India, Japan and the United Kingdom. (Wal-Mart) I found Wal-Mart’s expansion into Mexico as an interesting case study because it was unique to the other regions that the company has chosen to expand to. We can see from their original strategy Wal-Mart believed Mexico would be a similar...
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...INTRODUCTION:- COMPANY OVERVIEW About HSBC BANK Headquartered in London, HSBC is one of the largest banking and financial services organizations in the world. HSBC's international network comprises around 9,500 offices in 85 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With listings on the London, Hong Kong, New York, Paris and Bermuda stock exchanges, shares in HSBC Holdings plc are held by around 200,000 shareholders in some 100 countries and territories. The shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American Depositary Receipts. Through an international network linked by advanced technology, including a rapidly growing e-commerce capability, HSBC provides a comprehensive range of financial services: personal financial services; commercial banking; corporate, investment banking and markets; private banking; and other activities. History The HSBC Group has an international pedigree which is unique. Many of its principal companies opened for business over a century ago and they have a history which is rich in variety and achievement. The HSBC Group is named after its founding member, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, which was established in 1865 to finance the growing trade between China and Europe. After the British established Hong Kong as a colony in the aftermath of the First Opium War, local merchants felt the need for a bank to finance the growing trade between China...
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