Primary Factors Affecting Tourism Demand Tourism Essay

Primary Factors Affecting Tourism Demand Tourism Essay Primary factors affecting tourism demand are the economy with matters ranging from the exchange rate to job losses.Politics,the growth in size of the EU,environment and taxation.Crisis and threats including earth quakes,epidemics and terrorism.Demographic change with a shifting age structure,effects of migration and the rise of educational levels.Technology and it effects on transportation,communication and information.There is change in consumer attitudes and for the industry itself,product standardization,the growth of information channels,and pricing strategies. The realisation of deciding to have a holiday is dependent in large part on the individuals economic position and freedom to make the journey.External factors proving influential to this need would be freedom,fitness,time and money.The behaviour trend includes a host of factors including an internal state of mind relating to the motive and the capacity to make the journey.Emerging factors may be useful to examine as they will become somewhat predictable and constant in their evolution.Power relating to market concerns lies with the consumer.The prospective tourist. The enlargement of the EU is especially important.Its size has grown some 25%,its population by some 20% and the GDP by 5% over the years.The general process of political maturation spanning over twenty years has influenced changing tourism demand.Media coverage influences a seed bed of latent interest in the recently inaugurated members of the community.Most prospective travellers are now able to see the world as their oyster.The holiday destinations therefore have become intensely competitive.Yet barriers to immediate progress remain especially for the countries of Eastern Europe.Here low investment rates,undeveloped infrastructure for the countryside,a poor transport system with third rate hotels and cuisine are capped by weak tourism marketing. Image is a vital ingredient to the tourist destination.Their is prevailing ignorance of the new member countries.Destinations are chosen usually by motive matching.Here the enlargement of the EU has had remarkably little effect on the consumer,so it seems that only a transformation in marketing strategy management is going to improve matters.There will be significant change for the EU in source markets and the upswing of a rising welfare.The impulses undoubtedly come from the south and east with the traditional source markets such as Germany being saturated. Demographic considerations have made their appearance and are now featuring as a focus for online debates and deliberations.Society consists of an older population with increasing life expectancy;and there is a decline in the number of children because of an increased proportion of the population divorcing and living separately.Traditional family patterns are dissolving.Also becoming influential is a rise in educational levels,the changing role of women in society and a more vibrant society due to admixture from migratory patterns.Yet tourists,people,are not going to alter their travel behaviour as they turn 60 or because of retirement.Patterns are adhered to originating from earlier years.Because of this it is possible to cater for future requirements in tourism for such a population.The generation of ‘baby boomersis likely to be super active in their endeavour to satisfy themselves on prospective travel horizons.There will be senior trips accommodating to individual tailoring .Consider Germany as an example.The age group of 70-80 will rise more than 50% by 2018.Alterations of family numbers will become slow in maturation but this allows the industry to maintain orientation and supply a strong focus for needs and expectations of destination.Older people are becoming increasingly involved with their younger forebears and this will require adjustment.Factors to consider here are higher spending,longer stays,and other destination choices.The kids trip being a standard incurs its own behaviour pattern.More flight trips and usage of more tour operators.Playmates will be needed so this is another feature that the destination will have to meet.It is clear therefore that the changing nature of demography has impacts that will reflect in tourism demand. The very important pre-trip phase involving the search for information and deciding upon the tourism product has as an emerging factor the skilled consumer with low involvement.This situation has produced interchangeable products.Distinctions of destination and tour operator is not a contentious issue with information overload these days.What happens to us all is an agreeable solution.Just a number of aspects for the required products from a few information sources.Arguing is not necessary and therefore the position is that of ‘low involvement.And so the actual position is that of convenience together with experience helping ones orientation;variety being a feature which of course is sought by everyone.Our personal experiences and emotional banks have now become part of the product on offer promised by the producer. Price orientation has become a dominant feature.This has been induced by strategy within the industry.The selling of quality trips for remarkably low prices in the hope of higher market shares is likely to result in a high turnover with probably a lower profit.But convenience and product quality rank with the consumer and so the phenomenon of induced price orientation continues to spiral.Yet it is the consumer who is more flexible than the industry itself.If one destination doesnt turn out as I expected I can go to another.I dont honestly have too much fancy for flying so I take the train or road network.There is contingency with the availability of an alternative even if more inconvenient;I can still get there.Consuming,drinking is fun not a necessity.There is no sense of lack because everything now is available on the market.But this means it becomes impractical to predict individual behaviour,yet it is becoming an importance to have at ones disposal as far as the industry is conce rned the most accurate figures possible.Such market conditions,with decidedly knowledgeable consumers and vast resources in the field are presenting a serious challenge to the marketing departments.The problem has become even more intense and difficult;with globalization and a computer based technology tending to incline to standardization but tourism demand and products are becoming more differentiated and fragmentized.There are winter sports,field trips and holidays for the family.Expectations involve both quality and difference.With such standardization and differentiation this imposes more pressure without; in effect guaranteeing an increased demand or turn-over. Without the consumer the service industries along with tourism go nowhere.This fact relates not only tourism but for any policies to do with tourism.Destinations have to become switched on,alerted, to realise they have become truly involved with intense competition.It is not sufficient simply to have a reliable product or for the consumer to realise this.There has to be the correct placement with the correct set and shrewd judgement is required for doing so.Here travel operators and agencies can assist in the phenomenon of the information overload providing well-timed guidance and convenience within the information jungle.Yet the politics involved has to pinpoint inconsistency and contradictions within the set of proposed objectives and establish solutions and priorities.Financial support should be discriminative here not everybody necessarily being acceptable as to the validity of following such objectives.Social balance of resources may be variable and indeed there could be a widen ing gap developing but tourism does require a broad base of comfortable incomed people with time and money.Any kind of vision is going to accomodate pan-european,national,regional and local needs.All the different levels of destination and industry segmentation will have to be linked somehow. There are two categories of circumstances requiring priority of action.Either supply exceeds demand or the opposite of demand exceeding supply.Strategies adopted are tailored to meet circumstances arising either on a daily,weekly,seasonal or a long term basis.With demand being low either at below capacity or only at certain periods there is a variety of strategy engaged.Product modification and diversification with adjustment of distribution channels if needs be to strengthen.There has to be identification of alternative or even new sources of demand and price discounting.Reappraisal of promotional strategy.An example of the application of all these would be the Caribbean destinations responding to low levels of occupancy during a summer period.VFR is promoted to domiciles as the holidays usually fall within the summer period.While casinos as attractions are being promoted on some of the islands within the group. Another condition is the necessity to reduce costs because it is not possible to increase the desired demand factor.To reduce fixed and variable costs in the hotel sector for example it may be necessary not only to reduce the rooms available but whole wings or even the hotel itself.Again this is prevalent in the Caribbean.Airlines can reduce plane quota available or rent them to other companies. Redistribution becomes necessary as the demand for a product is no longer self-sustaining.Converting factors for hotels might consist of fusing two rooms into one or the provision of no-smoking rooms.Conventional hotel rooms are being transformed into time-share units being an example of long-term adaptive strategy.Or for the airline industry the conversion of scheduled flights into charter itineries.These are examples of adaptive supply redistribution. When demand exceeds capacity additional charging for such resources incurs increased pricing for seating or rooms so gaining extra revenue per unit.Theme parks with ever increasing clientele but negative impaction can resort themselves to significantly higher entrance charges. Then,responding to higher demand level, destination management may expand the current capacity factor.The hotels again being an example with additional infrastructure being acquired.Cot facilities are often available to increase the room capacity.Portable accommodation in the southern hemisphere is quite attractive and popular.Resort communities in the slack season make use of their surveillance staff to accommodate for the daily and weekly pattern of demands by supplying patrolled beaches. The Caribbean again may be referred to as an example of the transference of demand at times of excess to periods of low demand.Differential seasonal pricing is an attempt to redistribute demand following from a high winter demand to a low summer one. Accomodation forms an integral part of the tourist destination.The range is wide.From five-star luxury apartments to bed and breakfast;but all contributing to the experience of the destination.So the accommodation sector is a vital element in the supply of services and products to the tourist. Supply of accommodation with easy access and amenities contribute to the pulling influence of the destination,its attraction;the only limitation being that of ones own personal budgeting which at times might well be variable.The concept of relative value becomes therefore a primary consideration for finalisation of destination choice for the prospective tourist.Income levels rule the volume of demand whereas relative prices will determine actual choice of such a destination.Exchange rates apart from cost format will influence price levels so if the dollar proves to be stronger compared with European currencies then more US visitors will appear in Europe because it is cheaper.With floating exchange rates this proves not to be so influential as in the past.Complications are bound to arise and it is therefore generally the case that volume for demand is linked to real income levels, real discretionary income.Precisely, it is elasticity of demand regarding income and how the exchange rat es effect on prices influences this. The exchange rate itself reflects the general well-being of the country concerned.Yet what constitutes economic data for the country involved has little meaning to the tourist who actually is only interested in relative prices for consumption items e.g.accomodation,shopping etc.Attempts are effected to install a ‘value-for-money concept whereby tour operators for example cost such items as bottle of wine to provide a means of comparison with the purchase of like items within the home country.This concept of value-for-money is useful regarding holiday expenditure.Affluent countries such as France and Britain have significant tourist outflows to quite poor countries such as Greece and Portugal. Quality of amenities at the host destination including accommodation will influence demand.A certain aggregate of tourists will have to be present for a sufficiently powerful stimulus to further the demand flow.There should be a range of attractions for a certain degree of market differentiation to be existent. With the all-inclusive tour the actual nature of the decision making process has changed;effectively the tour operator becomes the interpreter and coordinator of demand.Their specialised knowledge proves to be particularly useful here.Markets are known to exist for a certain price banding.As noted in this report the potential tourist is becoming exceedingly knowledgeable about such matters in some instances being able to displace such a function. It has become necessary to examine tourist motivation over a period of time.Only partial explanations are expected in a field strewn with inconsistencies.Essentially the reason(s) for motivation must revolve around a persons personal preference,experience and the social and economic circumstances.Hopefully the understanding of tourist motivation will enable us to realise why it is that some destinations hold a heightened attraction compared to others and why decline occurs with changing tastes and fashions providing a greater knowledge of the world and its requirements than was so for earlier industry forecasting. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Cooper,C et al (2005) Tourism:Principles and practice.FT Prentice Hall Page S. (2006) Tourism Management: Managing for Change Butterworth-Heinemann Tribe John (1995) The Economics Of Leisure And Tourism.Butterworth-Heinemann Weaver D and Oppermann M (2000) Tourism Management. John Wiley Holloway JC. (2006) The Business of Tourism

Macroeconomic Variables and Equity Market Relationship

Macroeconomic Variables and Equity Market Relationship Introduction The equity market also known as stock market is the market for buyers and sellers to trade their equity instruments. There are a few types of equity securities, the most common form of equity securities are preferred stock and common stock. Equity market is important for a company because it allows a company to acquire funds without incurring debts. However, not all the companies are allowed to issue shares, only public listed company which is a limited liability company are allowed to issue share for the sale to the public. The buyers of the stock also became an ownership of a corporation and common stock holders have the right to vote on issues important to the corporation. Company pays their stock holders dividend annually base on the profit of the years. There are two main branches for investor to trade the corporate stock, which are organized exchange and over-the-counter (OTC). Organized exchange trading is governed by regulations and formal procedures to ensure the soundness o f the market. However, stocks that traded through over-the-counter is more informal and uses electronic to trade. From the past, statistics has shown that stock prices can be determined by the economic factors. Literature Review The objective of the authors to carry out the research is to examine the relationship between macroeconomic variables with equity market. The research can helps stakeholder to understand more about equity market and the impact of macroeconomic variables toward equity market. Kim, McKenzie, and Faff (2003) had investigated the impact of scheduled announcements made by government for macroeconomic variables toward the risk and return of three major US financial markets which include equity market. Ioannidis and Kontonikas (2007) had investigates the impact of monetary policy on equity market performance in 13 OECD countries. Abugri (2006) had investigated the relationship between macroeconomic variables with equity market performance. Hooker (2004) had investigated the macroeconomic variables to predict the equity market performance using the Bayesian model developed in Cremers (2002). Patel (2012) had carry out the research in on Indian Stock Market for the effect of macroeconomic det erminants on the performance of market. Trivedi and Behera (2012) and Prof. Sangmi and Hassan (2013) also had carry out research on Indian Stock Market for the relationship between equity prices and macroeconomic variables. Abdelbaki (2013) had used Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model to examine the relationship between macroeconomic variables and Bahraini equity market. Verma and Ozuna (2004) had carried out an empirical investigation for the outcome of Latin American stock markets influence by the macroeconomic variables. Maysami, Howe and Hamzah (2004) had examined the cointegration between macroeconomic variables and stock market’s sector indices rather than the composite index. Most of the journals had chosen interest rate and money supply as one of the macroeconomic variable which will affect the equity market. Nevertheless, foreign exchange rate, inflation rate, industrial production, gross domestic product, foreign direct investment, unemployment rate, gold price and stock market index also popular macroeconomic variables used to carry out the researches. Besides that, few authors also used some unpopular variables such as balance of trade, consumer price index, producer price index, volatility in foreign market and retail sales growth to do their researches. The following table shows the macroeconomic variables used by the authors to carry out their researches. The reason that the authors conduct the research is to provide empirical evidence and also extend the research area that previous researchers voided. The reason that Kim, McKenzie and Faff (2004) do this research is because literature only investigate about the news announcement without investigate about the impact of important macroeconomic variables announcement and the actual news announcement that different from the participant’s expectation that reflect the stock price. Ioannidis, Kontonikas (2008) expand the literature of the significant of monetary policy and stock price by including dividend payment of stock return of 13 OECD countries. Abugri (2008) examine whether the macroeconomic indicator could significantly explain the stock market returns of Latin American. Verma and Ozuna (2005) investigate whether macroeconomic movement significantly impacts the equity market of other Latin American countries. Hooker (2004) extends the research by including macroeconomic varia bles to examine the expected emerging equity market return. Patel (2012), Trivedi and Behera (2012) investigate the existing literature by including eight more macroeconomic variables to test the effect of macroeconomics as determinant on the performance of the Indian stock market. Sangmi and Hassan (2013) examine the effects of macroeconomic variables on Indian stock market in the Arbitrage pricing theory (APT). Abdelbaki (2013) carry out the research to find the significant relationship between macroeconomic variables and Bahraini stock market development (BSMD). Maysami, Lee, and Hamzah (2004) extend the research between macroeconomics variable and stock market’s sector indices instead of the composite index and examine relationships between selected macroeconomic variables and the Singapore’s stock market index (STI), and Singapore Exchange Sector indices. In order to determine the relationship of the macroeconomic variables and stock return, there was variety of test employed by different researchers for different purposes. First, Ioannidis and Kontonikas (2008) employed the Jarque-Bera test to test for the normality. They indicate that stock returns are non-normally distributed which leading the results of hypothesis testing invalid. By taking into account of the non-normality stock returns, bootstrap analysis was undertaken. The researchers also used the ordinary least squares method and the Newey-West heteroscedasticity consistent covariance matrix estimator method to examine the negative relationship between stock returns and interest rates. Moreover, Patel (2012), Trivedi and Behera (2012), and Maysami, Lee, and Hamzah (2004) found that the Johansens cointegration test (Johansen and Juselius, 1990) is more powerful in estimating the cointegrating vectors than Engle and Granger’s (1987). This is because cointegration can be tested in a full system of equations under one procedure, without requiring a specific variable to be normalized. This enables researchers to avoid carrying excessive errors from the first- into the second step. It also allows the avoidance of a priori of assumptions of endogenity or exogeniety. Moreover, the Johansen framework incorporates dynamic co-movements or simultaneous interactions, which enable researchers to study the channels through which of the macroeconomic variables affect the asset prices as well as their relative importance. Furthermore, Trivedi and Behera (2012), Patel (2012), and Verma and Ozuna (2005) identify that the Argumented Dickey-Fuller unit root test must carry out first to find the non-stationary of the variables before the Vector Error Correction which is used to investigate the long-run relationship and short-run dynamics among the variables. For the ADF test, reject the null hypothesis of non-stationarity for all the series. Then estimate the model i n log first difference if the given log first difference of all series is stationary which help to ensures that the series of data do not consist of unit roots problem and this could avoids the spurious relationships. In addition, Trivedi and Behera (2012) and Abugri (2008) estimates impulse response functions (IRFs) which are derived from the Vector Autoregressive Model (VAR). This estimates is used to measures the time profile of the effect of a shock on the behavior and investigate the dynamic relationship of equity prices with macroeconomic variables. Lutkenpohl (1991) states that depending on the ordering of the variables in the VAR model, the results from impulse response functions may have big different which may subject to the â€Å"orthogonality assumption†. Hence, Koop, Pesaran, and Potter (1996), and Pesaran and Shin (1998) combat the problem by employed â€Å"generalized† impulse response functions which are invariant to any reordering of the variables in t he VAR and also helps to any to ensure that the results are not subject to the orthogonality assumption. Last but not least, Hooker (2004) employed the Bayesian model selection approach. Due to the results could be sensitive to model specification problem, particularly when including additional variables in the regressions. Meanwhile, the theory provides little guidance as which macroeconomic variables should be included and excluded. This approach considers all achievable (linear) combinations of included explanatory variables, assigns them each flat priors of inclusion, and estimates their posterior probabilities. The purpose of the researchers is to examine the significant or insignificant relationship between macroeconomics variables and equity market. Kim, McKenzie and Faff (2003) found a significant relationship between equity market and price information of customer and producer. This can be evidenced by government announcements relating unexpected balance of trade news, bond market and financial market volatility which have great impact and important to the internal economy and subsequently influence equity return. Ioannidis and Kontonikas (2007) identify that the relationship between interest rate of monetary policy and expected equity return is significant. This had proved that the central bank can changed the interest rate to influence assessment of stock market. Moreover, Abugri (2006) found that the global variables which include interest rate, exchange rate, industrial production and money supply in four Latin American countries are significantly influence stock market’s ret urn. However, Hooker (2004) discovered that exchange rate do not provide significant results on equity market returns. Patel (2012) has identified commodity prices is one of the important variables that will significantly influence the stock market’s return. Hence, he suggested that the policymakers should try to maintain competitive price levels by implementing proper import duty and local taxes. Trivedi and Behera (2012) identify that there is a positive relationship between equity returns and macroeconomics variables which include index of industrial production, wholesale price index, foreihn institutional investment and capital international world index. Prof. Sangmi and Hassan (2013) have found that macroeconomics such as inflation, exchange rate, industrial production, money supply and interest rate, bring significant impact to the equity market where enhance in inflation would lead to higher stock price and tend to have higher rate of return. Abdelbaki (2013) found tha t the macroeconomics variables like income level, domestic investment, banking system development, private capital flows and stock market liquidity provide significant effects on a stock market functions, development and role in national economy. Verma and Ozuna (2004) found out that the use of cross-country Latin American macroeconomics variables is not significant in determining Latin American stock market movements. Maysami, Howe and Hamzah (2004) found out that the Singapore stock market formed significant relationship with all macroeconomic variables identified like money supply and interest rate, while the other Equity Index shows significant relationships on selected variables. Most of the journals are leading us to know that the macroeconomics variables and equity market have a significant relationship. Overall the researcher of Abugri (2006), Hooker (2004), Patel (2012), Trivedi and Behera (2012), Prof. Sangmi and Hassan (2013), Maysami, Howe and Hamzah (2004), found out th at macroeconomics variable such as interest rate and exchange rate is mostly the key of affecting the equity market. Recommendations Conclusion The results of the journals show us there is significant impact of macroeconomic variables toward the equity market. Hence, we recommend that there is a need for the government to initiate policies that will lower the interest rates as lower interest rate may boost up the equity market performance. There is a need for the government to control money supply since the results from the journals show that high money supply will lead to a better stock performance. Besides that, government also needs to control the exchange rate because there stock performance will go worse if the exchange rate is too high. Moreover, inflation rate may also a vital factor that will lower down the equity market performance if it is not control well. Hence, government is playing an important role and they should always analyze the equity market to boost up the country’s economy. In conclusion, macroeconomic variables significantly influence the stock price due to the implementation of macroeconomic variables affects the economic performance and companies’ stock price will be dropping during economic recession. Hence, movement of stock price can be predicted through the announcement or implementation of macroeconomic variables by the government.

Study of Internet Banking in Malaysia

Study of Internet Banking in Malaysia Introduction. Background of study: Many scholars claim that electronic banking started in the 1970s. However, evidence showed that the first visible ATM machine was introduced in the year 1981. The ATM- Automated Teller Machines- are a great component of internet banking. They serve as a great alternative to the brick and mortal branches. Afterwards, tele-banking followed suit it yet another delivery channel for branch financial services via telecommunications devices connected to an automated system of the bank by utilizing Automated Voice Response (AVR) Technology. Before the introduction of internet banking in Malaysia in June 1, 2000, banks operated under an unconsolidated system. It was very difficult to conduct an interbank transaction. The bottleneck system was too frail to face the ever rising global competition from it international counterparts of who, by then, most have gone e-banking. To fully utilize the benefits of internet banking, the Malaysian central bank decided to consolidate its commercial banks. Prior to the implementation of this policy, there were about 23 banks in Malaysia in the banking system. However, after the consolidation and the implementation of internet banking, only 10 core banking groups survived, though some merged. The introduction of Internet system into the banking sector, drastically shoot up the performance and competitive advantage of Malaysian banking system. Inter and intra banking transactions became more flexible and faster. Banks are now able to grant loans to firms and individuals through faster an d easier means à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"e-banking. Individuals and firms are able to pay from and deposit money to their account without having to pay a physical visit to their banks. Almost all banking transaction can now be made at home at anytime on a system that runs almost 24/7.amybank became the first domestic bank to offer internet banking services. In Malaysia, this service is currently provided to individual customers at a 128-bit encryption technology to allay fears of security among consumers. The services provided in this portal includes bill payment, banking enquiry functions, , funds transfer, and accounts rundown, credit card payment as well as operation history. Customer support service is made available via e-mails in addition to telephone lines. Bellow is summary table of internet banking services provided by 6 Malaysian commercial banks BANK SERVICE TRANSACTIONS Southern Bank PC Banking Real-time fund transfers, credit-card payments, access account balances and auto alerts. Hong Leong Bank [emailprotected] Fund transfers, balance enquiries, statement download, bill payments, cheque-book request, cheque-status enquiry, stop cheque and credit-card payments. ec-banking Account Summary, Funds Transfer, Credit Card Service, Bill Payments, Service Request HSBC Bank Hexagon A desktop-banking system via the HSBC Groups proprietary worldwide communications network. Services include transfer of funds within own accounts and third-party accounts. Multi-Purpose Bank Multi-Link Basic banking services account balance enquiry, fund transfer, bill payments and product info. Also offers desktop share-trading via JB Securities Sdn Bhd. PhileoAllied Bank PALDIRECT PALWORLD Provides banking, share investing, news and information, utility-bill payments, insurance, travel, electronic shopping and communications services. RHB Bank RHB OnLine Balance enquiry, fund transfer, remittance services, fixed-deposit placements, credit-card payments, brokering and bill payments. Source: Internet Banking Patronage: An Empirical Investigation of Malaysia by Suganthi, Balachandher and Balachandran. Despite the many complaints about the slow transmission of data, mobile e-banking using the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) has increased the ease with which transactions are made. The introduction of Global Packet Radio Services (GPRS) and 3G phones has help in defeating the speed problem. Thus, speed is no longer a problem. Bellow is a table of summary of banks three banks and there (3) Malaysian commercial banks. BANK NAME SERVICES OCBC Bank i.wap Banking transactions balance enquiry, transaction history, statement request, fund transfer, cheque-book request, stop-payment request, bill payments. Others news, banking rates, treasury news and credit-card services. Philoe Allied Bank Palworld WAP Banking transactions, bill payments, news, share trading. United Overseas Bank Mobile-phone banking Banking transactions such as balance enquiry, statement request, increase in credit-card limit and others. Source: Internet Banking Patronage: An Empirical Investigation of Malaysia by Suganthi, Balachandher and Balachandran. Despite the benefit that concomitantly associates with e-banking, it success largely depends on the reception its get from the people that use it, i.e. customer, retail and corporate alike. Its of no disputable doubt that many bank account holders have signed up for the internet banking facilities. In fact in Malaysia, CIMB for instance, almost all account holders à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"i.e. more than 90%- have opted for internet banking due to the ease and flexibility it possesses. Problem statement: However, this success story has only been achievable due to the much resource being invested in creating awareness and expanding the capacity and speed of the system. The questions, Does the result or performance of e-banking justify the resource been used to promote it? How good is the response of the customer, and How well is the system running? Objectives of study The following are the objective of this paper: General Objective: To measure the performance of e-banking in Malaysian economy Specific objective Measure the security level of the system from both the customer and bankers perspectives Measure the level awareness amongst Malaysian denizen Measure the level of convenience in regard to accessibility and speed the users enjoy. Literature Review The advent of internet banking in Malaysia and its rapid growth and adoption has been a popular subject amongst modern researchers. Internet banking has attracted increasing attention since the 1990s. Partly fostered by technological advance, banks started to use the internet as an innovative payment method and as a way to reduce costs, enhance profits and increase customer convenience. Between the 1997 and 2001 Deyoung (2005) the internet banks had started and they managed to identify which online banking have been effective, and the study had shown that most of the internet banks had low profit but the study showed that the internet banks had been growing so fast, and to make these banks survive they need a competitor but the consequences in market share will be limited. Electronic banking (e-banking) is the newest delivery channel of banking services all around the world and has become a vital necessity. The definition of e-banking varies amongst researches partially because elect ronic banking refers to several types of services through which a banks customers can request information and carry out most retail banking services via computer, television or mobile phone (Daniel,1999; Mols, 1998; Sathye, 1999). Burr, 1996, for example, describes it as an electronic connection between the bank and customer in order to prepare, manage and control financial transactions. Many authors appreciate that Internet banking (e-banking) is defined to include the provision of retail and small value banking products and services through electronic channels as well as large value electronic payments and other wholesale banking services delivered electronically. Electronic banking can also be defined as a variety of the following platforms: (a) Internet banking (or online banking), (b) telephone banking, (c) TV-based banking, (d) mobile phone banking, and (e) PC banking (or offline banking) (LuÃ…Â ¡tÃ…Â ¡ik; 2004:9). Electronic banking (e-banking) is the newest delivery channel of banking services. The definition of e-banking varies amongst researches partially because electronic banking refers to several types of services through which a banks customers can request information and carry out most retail banking services via computer, television or mobile phone (Daniel,1999; Mols, 1998; Sathye, 1999). Burr, 1996, for example, describes it as an electronic connection between the bank and customer in order to prepare, manage and control financial transactions. Many authors appreciate that Internet banking (e-banking) is defined to include the provision of retail and small value banking products and services through electronic channels as well as large value electronic payments and other wholesale banking services delivered electronically. Electronic banking can also be defined as a variety of the following platforms: (a) Internet banking (or online banking), (b) telephone banking, (c) TV-based banking, (d) mobile phone banking, and (e) PC banking (or offline banking) (LuÃ…Â ¡tÃ…Â ¡ik; 2004:9). Financial service customers are getting further away from the providers of those services. Petersen and Rajan (2002) found that small business lending, which has been the specialty of local relationship lenders, has been moving further from their customers over time, due in part to remote banking technologies. Remote access technologies in financial services have long been used to increase the geographic market of the financial service provider. Remote access technologies in financial services have long been used to increase the geographic market of the financial service provider. Hannan and McDowell (1990) showed that banks adopted ATMs in order to expand their market share or protect their market against those banks that offered ATMs. Similar arguments have been made about other forms of remote banking technologies by Bouckaert and Degryse (1995), and Degryse (1996). Financial service customers are getting further away from the providers of those services. Petersen and Rajan (2002) found that small business lending, which has been the specialty of local relationship lenders, has been moving further from their customers over time, due in part to remote banking technologies. Remote access technologies in financial services have long been used to increase the geographic market of the financial service provider. Remote access technologies in financial services have long been used to increase the geographic market of the financial service provider. Hannan and McDowell (1990) showed that banks adopted ATMs in order to expand their market share or protect their market against those banks that offered ATMs. Similar arguments have been made about other forms of remote banking technologies by Bouckaert and Degryse (1995), and Degryse (1996). According to the birch and young, they can use the internet to get new channels to reorganize the structure of the banks, they also planning to use electronic channels to be above retail banks. The new delivery channels can help to solve all the problems that the traditional Branches have, which are going to help to provide a lot of services and assistance which is to lead to the growth of electronic commerce. (Jayawardhena and foley) (2000). Referring to sulivan (2000) Furst (2000) that most of the traditional banks are not affected by the channels and they had a study between the existence of the internet baking and the profit that they make. Its acceptance is likewise great for example Sanmugam (2005) in his paper presents the side view of the Internet banking users in Malaysia based on a large-scale study. The large-scale survey was conducted in 2004 to examine selected individual characteristics of over 800 bank customers. He used a logistic model o estimate the probability of a bank customer adopting Internet banking. He suggested that his method is very basic and can help banks in gaining in-depth understanding of their internet banking customers. He also borrowed a leaf from Rogers (1995) in classifying innovation adopters into five broad categories i.e. Innovators, Early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. Innovators are the first adopters, who are interested in technology itself and possess positive technology attitudes while early adopters are also fascinated by technology and are keen to take risks. Both early and late majority consist of mainly young working adults. And lastly the laggards we re found to be predominantly older people. He found out that there was a marginal effect made by social economic factors on the predicted probability of the typical adopter. Also, he found that among social economic environmental limitations, non-availability of Internet services in the rural areas is definitely a significant constraint, reducing the predicted. On the other hand, Bauer (2008) holds that the early adoption by customers of this technology was disappointing to most having this in mind; he resorted to examining the demand for remote access to banking accounts by consumers. He focuses mainly if not solely on the consumer perspective and sought to attain the main determining factor in deciding whether or not to use the internet banking facility. He used the micro-economic theory of consumer utility maximization to replica how consumers decide whether or not to use internet services provided by the banks. His findings reveal that when the technology is new, the traditional risk return models including variables allowing for heterogeneous risk add power in modeling the adoption decision. He stressed the importance of perceived risks in internet banking and claim that it is responsible for some of the hesitation to adopt. He also discovered that younger consumers are found to be early adopters only when they have relatively high lev els of risk tolerance. Ironically, older consumers are found to be less likely to adopt internet banking regardless of their risk tolerances. Also, Maugis et al (2004) examined the pre-e-learning period of internet banking. They sought to measure the significance and extent of e-readiness data from banks from ten (10) countries. They develop a conceptual framework for the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"next generation e-readiness à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" focusing on different e-Business applications in different economic contexts with potentially different pathways. in concluding, they made the following propositions: (i) different countries (or economies) are characterized by diverse e-Readiness profiles or inclinations distinct by their individual access and capacity setting; (ii) given the range and diversity of characteristics, there may well be a wide array of variables that shape propensities for both admittance and capacity à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" a propos some opportunity; (iii) such propensities facilitate the pursuit of precise applications within the broad opportunity context that a country may have at any moment. Frame and Silber (2004, 2009) Silber (1983) the reason that the banks entered this field was because its going to help them and make their work easier. They also managed to offer a service which gone help to deposit and hold accounts and other staff and another service to reduce depositors to help them to compete with other banks. They had been trying to get new deposits so they made a new web service to help them and make their transaction easier and successful. They tried to put all the information about the new market shares to update their customers with every new thing and that have been done with most of the new banks. The rapid growth of the internet indicates that greater competitive pressure contributes to the adoption of Internet banking. They been trying to make banking market more open which they gone make the use of the internet banking more important, the more they used the internet it reduce the interest deposits, there was also a study that they are planning to make everything with technology such as PCs and other staff for people. Some still say otherwise about internet banking (Pavlou, 2003  ; Rotchanakitumnai and Speece, 2003) as the basic model of  «Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  TAM  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ » was extended in many studies by others factors as trust, perceived risks, awareness about Internet Banking, perceived costs. Through these studies, some obstacles to the adoption and the usage of Internet Banking were identified such as the lack of security the human contact, perceived risks Moreover, in order to identify the profile of Internet Banking user, a number of researchers have found that comparing to non users; users rated Internet Banking as being easier, more useful, more trustworthy Also comparing to non users, users are less concerned with human contact, security, perceived risks. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 1: Introduction This chapter explains the design and methodology of this research. It begins by identifying this researchs theoretical model, and then followed by a brief discussion on the theoretical framework of the research study. The dependent variable is performance while the independent variables are; security, convenience and speed, trust and awareness of E-banking. The dependent and independent variables will be discussed under the theoretical framework. The second part of this chapter will be the hypotheses developments which are based on the variables. 2: Theoretical Framework Based on the conceptual framework below, it can be seen that there is a total of 4 independent variables which will be analyzed towards one dependent variable in this study. The dependent variable which is, performance of E-banking would be affected in a positive or negative manner based on the independent variables influence. Performance of E-banking Awareness of E-banking Trust Convenience and speed Security 3: Hypothesis Development Dependent variable Performance of E-banking: This deals with the performance measurements for Internet banking and how different people perceive its importance, usefulness and its impacts either negative or positive. Independent variables Security: With the growth of electronic banking have come new forms of security risks which often make users of the this new way of banking H1= Security positively influences performance of E-banking. Convenience and speed: H3= Convenience and speed positively influences performance of E-banking. Trust: H4= Trust positively influences performance of E-banking. Awareness of e-banking: H5= Awareness of e-banking positively influences performance of E-banking. Sampling method We used convenience sampling as our sampling method. Convenience sampling refers to the collect information from the members of the population who were conveniently accessible and available to provide it. For us it was quiet an effective and quick method, most importantly the best as we could attain information from the members of the population swiftly. We used questionnaire method to collect data from our respondents. Sample size The sample size we selected is around 250, we choose this quantity because we felt it was the best and was suitable for the population this is so because in research it has been stated that a sample size between the range larger than 30 and less than 500 is appropriate. The smaller the group size, the harder it is to be certain that the normal curve assumptions have not been violated (Todman and Dugard, 2001). We felt the sample we have elected is a valid and reliable one to carry out and base our investigation on. Sharon K. Ninness (2002) stated this in their research that Roscoe and Siegel and Castellan suggest that in the absence of an unambiguous demarcation between large-n and small-n studies, there is a commonly held assumption among parametric statisticians. Data Collection Method Our data collection methods are two in number. We used both questionnaires and interview to get our data. The questionnaires were distributed to e-banking users in order to get their own rating of the performance of e-banking, while the interview was to ascertain the bankers view of their system. Thus we collected and used primary data. Summary This chapter of the research is basically about the methodology of the project as a whole, it starts off with identifying the theoretical framework model, then a briefly discusses the theoretical framework of the research. The independent and dependent variables have been discussed and elaborated under the theoretical framework, then followed by the development of hypothesis for this research study. Other aspects that make the methodology successful have been also talked about.

Based loosely on an interpretation of the painting by Kevin Sinnott :: Drama

Based loosely on an interpretation of the painting by Kevin Sinnott called â€Å"Running Away with the Hairdresser†. The performance was based on the idea of running towards, and reaching, Earthfall Drama Essay During the week spent in the Earthfall residency, we produced a performance based loosely on an interpretation of the painting by Kevin Sinnott called â€Å"Running Away with the Hairdresser†. The performance was based on the idea of running towards, and reaching, your dreams and ideas for a perfect life. Kevin Sinnott’s work is largely based on emotions and human relationships; he deals with personal experiences and expresses them through his artwork. Each of his paintings has an individual theme which enables viewers of his piece to come up with their own understanding of how it relates to their personal emotions. The painting, â€Å"Running Away with the Hairdresser†, has two themes both running away with the hairdresser and leaving the past behind. We incorporated both these themes into our performance through two different physical portrayals, firstly the hairdressing motif and running away scene. These are the scenes which reveal and visualise the true understanding of the themes and morals of the performances. This performance was centred around the art of dance and physical movement. These techniques were linked into our performance by Earthfall from different artists. We used skills from the company DV8 who base themselves on physical theatre portraying a particular emotion. These provided the stimulation for the main running away section, adding a lively and contemporary twist, which the audience could take in and develop individual interpretations for the reasons behind running away. Thus proving, like DV8, the idea that there is no official meaning of the performance. The use of physical movement and gestures also reflected more meaning on the audience, and not only that, allowed them the ability to experience others personal outlooks on their reasons behind running away and what they would like to achieve from doing so. The ideas also inspired the dream sequence within are performance, as like DV8, this piece of theatre was formed on radical and eccentric personal ideas. However it was worked within our routine so that it fitted comfortably in with the themes and morals. Earthfall’s work is concerned with seeking a personal honesty, passion and economy in physical performance to produce quality work of depth, they used this idea to motivate us and encourage us to come up with our own ideas from personal experiences and dreams. They then used these to create a performance relevant to us pupils, through the use of monologues which allowed us a chance to express ourselves and also

HR Training Strategy :: essays research papers

Introduction Since the opening the market of the Bahrain telecommunication industry, it has gone through major structural changes. As with most opening of markets of former public companies, the government wished to see increased efficiency in the service of telecommunication. Nouradeen (2005) By opening the market, the government hoped that the incentive of higher profits would act as a reward for efficiency, meaning that more effort would be made in research and development of new techniques so as to make the service more efficient. In order to pass savings onto the consumer, the telecommunication companies would have to work under certain restrictions imposed by the government and the telecommunication regulator, (TRA), which were designed to prevent private monopolies exploiting the consumer. The aim of this project is to investigate to what extent the industry has changed since these changes were implemented and how the price of telecommunication to consumers has been affected by these changes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The opening of the market in this industry has seen Two main stages: Firstly, Batelco, a company which was effectively a monopoly ran from the 1960’s until the first step to opening the market in 2003. This stage on the road to opening the market was to introduce competition in direct supply for customers, thus introducing the idea of competition into the industry, allowing a small proportion of the market to be run to a certain extent by the market mechanism. By 2003 the telecommunication company was introduced mtc Vodafone and was set up to provide mobile services for the country. TRA(2003). This effectively meant that in a particular area of service a different company was in a position of to create competition to the sole provider in mobile services. (Which was regulated by the government). Akhbar Alkhaleej (14:2003) The question that I wish to answer is: - To what extent did the restructuring of the telecommunication industry affect the price of telecommunication to consumers and for what reasons did this occur? Economic Concepts The market for telecommunication in the Bahrain has undergone several important structural changes as outlined in the introduction to the coursework. Initially, before opening the market, the telecommunication market was a public monopoly which meant that although it had all of the features of a monopoly it was controlled and owned by the government and thus it was intended to provide the best price for the consumer. However, the idea of opening the market the industry was that the extra competition found in the market would allow the consumer to see a further fall in price, particularly as the competition should have increased finance of research and development and therefore increased efficiency in the market.

Free Essays - Ernest Hemingways A Farewell to Arms :: Farewell Arms Essays

  Farewell to Arms A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, is a typical love story. A Romeo and his Juliet placed against the odds. In this novel, Romeo is Frederick Henry and Juliet is Catherine Barkley. Their love affair must survive the obstacles of World War I. The background of war-torn Italy adds to the tragedy of the love story. The war affects the emotions and values of each character. The love between Catherine and Frederick must outlast long separations, life-threatening war-time situations, and the uncertainty of each other's whereabouts or condition. This novel is a beautiful love story of two people who need each other in a period of upheaval. Frederick Henry is an American who serves as a lieutenant in the Italian army to a group of ambulance drivers. Hemingway portrays Frederick as a lost man searching for order and value in his life. Frederick disagrees with the war he is fighting. It is too chaotic and immoral for him to rationalize its cause. He fights anyway, because the army puts some form of discipline in his life. At the start of the novel, Frederick drinks and travels from one house of prostitution to another and yet he is discontent because his life is very unsettled. He befriends a priest because he admires the fact that the priest lives his life by a set of values that give him an orderly lifestyle. Further into the novel, Frederick becomes involved with Catherine Barkley. He slowly falls in love with her and, in his love for her, he finds commitment. Their relationship brings some order and value to his life. Compared to this new form of order in his life, Frederick sees the losing Italian army as total chaos and disorder where he had previously seen discipline and control. He can no longer remain a part of something that is so disorderly and so, he deserts the Italian army. Frederick's desertion from the Italian army is the turning point of the novel. This is the significance of the title, A Farewell to Arms. When Frederick puts aside his involvement in the war, he realizes that Catherine is the order and value in his life and that he does not need anything else to give meaning to his life.

Investigate whether firelighter, wood, ethanol, paraffin or wax contains the most energy :: GCSE Chemistry Coursework Investigation

Investigate whether firelighter, wood, ethanol, paraffin or wax contains the most energy Energy In Different Fuels Aim: I am going to investigate which fuels contain the most energy between; firelighter, wood, ethanol, paraffin and wax. Prediction: I think that the fuel that contains the most energy is the one that produces the highest rise in temperature of the water. I know this because†¦ Heat + fuel + oxygen => CO2 + H20 + energy. The energy realised is heat and light energy, which is dependent on the chemical potential energy in the fuel. The greater the chemical potential energy the more energy is transferred as heat and light; the greater the rise in temperature. And because of the fire triangle: tri2.gif (22406 bytes) Apparatus: List: Stop watch Thermometer Splint Clamp Matches Boiling tube Heat proof mat Fuels: Firelighter, Wood, Ethanol, Paraffin, Wax. Method (Preliminary test): first of all, I will make sure I take all of the safety precautions, I.e. tie back long hair, use goggles and make sure the room is well ventilated. Secondly I will set out the apparatus and get all the equipment from the list (shown on the previous page). Using the measuring cylinder, I will put 20cm3 of distilled water into a boiling tube, and take the starting temperature. In order to make this a fair test I will burn the fuel for one minute only, use 20cm3 of water and make sure the tip of the fuel’s flame is under the boiling tube. After the minute is up, I will blow out the flame or place the lid of the fuel over it, (cutting off the oxygen). I will then take the finial temperature. Then I will repeat the experiment for the other four fuels, in order to establish which two fuels produced the highest rise in temperature of the water. Method - Comparison: I will then compare these two fuels by heating them until they get to a certain temperature noting down the time every time the temperature increases by 10 °C in order to form a scatter graph using line of best fit. I will use step one and most of step two from the preliminary test (first of all, I will make sure I take all of the safety precautions, I.e. tie back long hair, use goggles and make sure the room is well ventilated. Secondly I will set out the apparatus and get all the equipment from the list (shown on the previous page). Using the measuring cylinder, I will put 20cm3 of distilled water into a boiling tube,) I then heat the water using the first fuel until it rises to 100 °C, noting the time every 10 °C starting from 20 °C.