My Thoughts About Worldviews

A worldview, in my opinion, is the way you look at the world and how you see God; a worldview is a set of beliefs that directs the way you act. To determine your worldview, you must ask yourself a few questions. Some of these questions include: Who is God? Where did I come from? Why do I exist? What is my purpose in life? Answers in Genesis defines a worldview as â€Å"the overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world. A worldview is a collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group. †[1] To make this definition easier to understand, I’ll use an analogy. A worldview is like a pair of glasses.If you get the right prescription, you’ll be able to see really clearly. If you get the wrong prescription, it could make your eyes worse and make everything blurry. Just like how the glasses make a big difference in your life, your worldview makes an even bigger difference. Your worldview influences the way you live and m ake choices. For example, the worldview can show how a teen could do their homework. If he was Christian and wanted to do everything for the glory of God, he would do his homework the best he could. If he was a Post-Modernist and wanted to please himself, he might not do his homework to do something â€Å"fun†.Having the right worldview is very important. The Christian worldview includes monotheism which is the belief in one God. Not only do Christians believe in a personal, knowable Creator but he believes in the Trinity. The Trinity is God being in three parts: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. To most people, this is very confusing because they don’t understand how God can be three in one. In this case, Christians go to heaven not because of their works but because of God’s grace. God displayed His grace when He died on the cross for us. Christians get most of their information from the Bible.This is the foundation for a Christian’s philosophy. Since Christians believe in God, their philosophy includes believing in the supernatural. As for the Christian view of metaphysics, one would go to John 1:1-4 for an answer: â€Å"All things were made by God. †[2] For their view of cosmology, they believe that there was no accident; God created the world with a purpose and it shows how great God is. Christian philosophers also believe the mind is a reflection of God, and that it is evidence of Him. Some great Christian philosophers are C. S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer.A Christian’s ethic is grounded in the character of God, which is known because of the Bible. This is the reason why ethics goes hand in hand with theology. Christians do not have rules that differ for each person, instead, they have moral absolutes. This is â€Å"the belief that an absolute ethical standard exists for all individuals regardless of era or culture. †[3] As followers of Christ, Christians have a huge responsibility: â€Å". . . lov e the Lord your God with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. [4] Jesus tells us to love our neighbor because loving your neighbor is like loving your Lord, and when we serve our neighbors, we’re serving Him. Biology, however, starts with the creation of the world in six literal days. The Bible states that â€Å". . . God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. †[5] If you kept reading, you would find that God created the world with order, design, and purpose. Michael Behe, the author of Darwin’s Black Box, came up with the phrase â€Å"irreducible complexity. † A bacteria flagellum is irreducibly complex.This means that if the flagellum lost one of its parts, the flagellum would not work. This denies evolution by saying that the flagellum could not have evolved because it needed every part to work. â€Å"Th e biblical worldview is about viewing everything-our friendships, careers, property, environment, interaction, ultimate responsibilities, even our homework-the way God views it and talks about it in Scripture. †[6] Muslims believe in monotheism, just like Christians, but they believe in a different god. They believe that Allah is god and that Muhammad is his messenger.They do not think Allah is a knowable god and they do not believe in the Trinity. They do not believe in heaven but they believe in a paradise and to go there you must do a certain amount of good deeds. Also, Muslims must complete some tasks, often called pillars. These pillars include: confession, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, pilgrimage, and in some cases, jihad. Like Christians, Muslims have a book of scripture, called the Qur’an, written by Muhammad. Islam philosophy also believes in the supernatural because of Allah. Muslim philosophers, and some Christian philosophers, use the Kalam Cosmological Argum ent for the existence of God.Although Muslims do believe in miracles, Muhammad never performed any. This created some doubts but they still had faith in Muhammad. Some great Islamic philosophers are Ahmad and Yusif Ali Hammuda Abdalat. Like Christians, Muslims believe in moral absolutes. However, these absolutes come from Muhammad and the Qur’an (or Hadith), rather than Allah, because Muslims believe that Allah cannot be known. To help Muslims follow moral obligations, they follow the Five Pillars. Unlike Christians, Muslims are motivated to do good because of their fear of judgement.Another similarity with Christians and Muslims is the belief that a god created the earth with order, design, and purpose. Sometimes, there can be contradictions. Some Muslims think the earth was created in six days and others think it was eight days. Also, some think the days were ages instead of 24 hours. There is one big difference between Christians and Muslims: the fall of man. Muslims belie ve that man sinned but they do not believe that man was cursed. Secular Humanists believe in atheism. This means they do not believe in a god. God is not the only thing the Secular Humanists do not believe.They do not believe in Satan, angels, or souls. They think instead of God creating us, we created Him just like we created Santa Claus. Although they do not believe in a god, they still tolerate religions. Unlike Muslims and Christians, they do not believe in an afterlife. Books that are very popular among Secular Humanists are the Human Manifestos I, II, and III. Secular Humanist philosophy does not believe in the supernatural. They only believe in things that are made out of matter; this is also called naturalism. Since Secular Humanists don’t believe in the supernatural, they deny all miracles.Another problem for not believing in supernatural things is the mind and body problem. This is a problem because they do not believe in supernatural. Secular Humanists believe the mind is a â€Å"manifestation of the brain. †[7]If you do not believe in the supernatural, you could not think because it is not made of matter. Some famous Secular philosophers are Corliss Lamont and Carl Sagan. The ethics of a Secular Humanist is that everyone has their own ethics. Unlike in Christianity or Islam, Humanists avoid absolutes. Everyone chooses what is right by what they think is right or whatever fits the situation. This is also called moral relativism.Secular Humanists use reason to determine what is right or wrong. As for Secular Humanists, they believe in Neo-Darwinism. This is â€Å"the theory that new species were made from natural selection acting over vast periods of time on chance genetic mutations in reproductively isolated populations. †[8] They also believe in spontaneous generation and the big bang theory. Both of these ideas talk about how everything was made randomly without a god. Secular Humanists have six â€Å"planks† they hold their biology on: spontaneous generation, natural selection, struggle for existence, beneficial mutations, adaptations, and the fossil record.Marxists and Leninists, like Secular Humanists, are called scientific atheists. Unlike the secular humanists, they do not tolerate religion, they hate it and want to get rid of it! Karl Marx said that we created religion in order to worship ourselves. He said this but he also believes that we are gods so we should take reality and use to our liking. Like Secular Humanists, Marxists-Leninists do not believe in an afterlife. They believe the book related to Marxism-Leninism is the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxist-Leninist philosophy isn’t called naturalism or supernaturalism.It is called Dialectical Materialism. There is no god in this philosophy but they call many Christian attributes, dialectical matter. This means that something begins with a thesis. Eventually, an antithesis is made and then the thesis an d antithesis combine and make a synthesis. This process repeats many times. For a Marxist-Leninist, their epistemology has faith in science. Their view of metaphysics is that the earth is all that exists and the only thing that will exist. As for the mind/body problem, Marxists and Leninists think the mind is a reflection of matter and then it is translated into thought.Some famous Marxist-Leninist philosophers are Frederick Engels and Vladimir Lenin. Marxists-Leninists have a different kind of morality: proletariat morality. This is â€Å"the ethical belief that whatever advances the proletariat and the cause of communism is morally good and whatever hinders the proletariat or communism is morally evil. †[9] This is pretty much saying that people who are trying to get rid of the class system are good, and whoever is trying to interfere is evil. Marxists-Leninists also believe that morality is constantly changing. Lastly, Marxists-Leninists want a classless society, also call ed utilitarianism.They believe that if we have a classless society, we will all be considered moral. Like Secular Humanists, Marxists-Leninists believe in spontaneous generation but, contrary to Darwinism, they believe in punctuated evolution. This is â€Å"the theory of evolution that proposes that evolutionary changes occur over a relatively quick period of time, followed by periods of little to no evolutionary change. †[10] Cosmic Humanism is a little different than the worldviews we have talked about so far. Cosmic Humanists are not monotheists or atheists; they believe in pantheism.This means they believe everything is God (eg. nature and humans). Also, they do believe in an afterlife but they believe in reincarnation. Not only do you live after you are dead but you have had previous lives. For Cosmic Humanism, there is no book like other worldviews. In my opinion, I think they just look at movies. Cosmic Humanist philosophy is also different from previous philosophies. They believe everything is supernatural (non-naturalism). They also embrace Zen Buddhism. This is the belief that you can become enlightened through meditation and self-contemplation.A Cosmic Humanist’s ontology is, in a way, like a Marxist or a Secular Humanist. A Marxist/Secular Humanist believes everything is material and a Cosmic Humanist believes EVERYTHING is spiritual. As for their view of epistemology, they believe we need to get in touch with our higher self. Since we are all gods, Cosmic Humanists believe in truth relativity. This means, truth is whatever each person thinks it is. A couple of Cosmic Humanist philosophers are Joseph Campbell and Neale Donald Walsch. Out of all the ethical systems, the Cosmic Humanist’s is the easiest to understand.Since everyone is God, we all do good all the time. Everyone does what they feel is right so you can’t judge. This is another example of moral relativism. As for their system of justice, they believe in karma. They think that if you do good, good things will come but if you do bad, you will be punished for it. Cosmic Humanists believe in something very different. This is called cosmic evolution. Cosmic evolution is the idea that â€Å"all humanity is going toward a new age of higher consciousness. †[11] All Cosmic Humanists are trying to get into an age of higher consciousness and become gods.Also, they believe in the idea that all living things make up one, complex living organism ( The Gaia Hypothesis). Postmodernists are also atheists. Not only are they atheists but they believe in something called the â€Å"Death of God† theology. This is â€Å"a movement that was essentially promoting the idea that religion did not need to invoke ‘God’ in the area of theology. †[12] Something that is different from the other worldviews is that Postmodernists like to be ambiguous. They also believe there are no universal truths (relativism) so they, like Secular Huma nism, tolerate religion (pluralism).Finally, Postmodernists have a â€Å"trend† called emergent churches. It is a church that is incorporating Postmodernism into a Christian’s theology. Post-Modernists’ philosophy is called Anti-Realism. This means reality is anything a human can think up. Since a human can think up reality, a human can also have their own truth (subjective truth), and when they read something, it can mean whatever they want it to mean (deconstruction). Because a human can have their own truth and reality, there is no metaphysics, ontology, cosmology, or epistemology. Strangely, there are still influential philosophers.A couple of them are Jean-Francois Lyotard and Jacques Derrida. As for Postmodernists, they follow cultural relativism. Cultural relativism is â€Å"the belief that truth and morals are relative to one’s culture. †[13] Although they believe that Postmodernism is the best worldview, they still call it relative. Commun ity morals are determined by coercion and consensus. Like Marxists-Leninists, Postmodernists think morality evolves with society. Lastly, Post-Modernists affirms in punctuated evolution. They believe in evolution because they like the idea that man is insignificant and because they like the thought of chance.

Portfolio Management

A PROJECT REPORT ON PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT AT SHAREKHAN LTD HYDERABAD A PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED TO [pic] OSMANIA UNIVERSITY HYDERABAD IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE IN MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SUBMITTED BY SAFIA MOHAMMADI 1238-11-672-015 VILLA MARIE PG COLLEGE FOR WOMEN SOMAJIGUDA- 82 2011-2013 By DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRTIONVILLA MARIE POST GRADUATE COLLEGE, SOMAJIGUDA (Affiliated to Osmania University) 2011-2013 DECLARATION I SAFIA MOHAMMADI student of Master of Business Administration, VILLA MARIE PG COLLEGE FOR WOMEN, hereby declare that the project report entitled â€Å"PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT† has been carried out at â€Å"SHAREKHAN LTD† and submitted in partial fulfillment for the â€Å"Master’s Degree in Business Administration† in the result of my own work and is original. I have not submitted this project to any other university or college for the award of any other degree or Diploma.SAFIA MOH AMMADI ACKNOWLEDGEMENT A project is never the  work of an individual. It is  moreover a combination of ideas, suggestions, review, contribution and work involving many folks. It cannot be completed without guidelines. I wish to express my gratitude to all those who have made significant contribution to the development and presentation of this project. I express my sense of profound gratitude to the Management of â€Å"SHAREKHAN LTD†, Hyderabad for giving me this opportunity to conduct a study on Portfolio Management in their esteemed organization.My sincere thanks to Mr. DEEPAK, Manager and Ms. SWATHI BASA, Assistant Manager for permitting me to pursue this project and for providing their valuable time, suggestions and support for completing my project work successfully. Their patience and invaluable guidance have proved to be very precious without which this project would not be completed. Acknowledgements are also due to all the other staff members and executives in Sha rekhan Ltd. , for providing information at various points of the project, especially the discussions on the market.I am thankful to our Principal and also I would also like to thank my project guide and all the faculty members of the college for guiding me throughout the process. I also wish to extend my sincere acknowledgement to my parents for their moral and financial support. Lastly, I am indebted to the friends and will-wishers who have extended their support to me during the project. Place: Hyderabad SAFIA MOHAMMADI INDEX | | | |LIST OF CONTENTS |PAGE NO. | | | |CHAPTER-1 | | | | | |INTRODUCTION | | | | | |NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY | | | | | |OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY | | | | |SCOPE OF THE STUDY | | | | | |DATA COLLECTION METHODS | | | | | |LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY | | | | | |CHAPTER-2 | | |REVIEW OF LITERATURE | | | | | |CHAPTER-3 | | |COMPANY PROFILE | | | | | |CHAPTER-4 | | |DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION | | | | | |CHAPTER-5 | | |CONCLUSION AND SUGGES TIONS | | | | | |QUESTIONNAIRE | | | | | |BIBLIOGRAPHY | | CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: A portfolio is a collection of assets. The assets may be physical or financial like Shares, Bonds, Debentures, Preference Shares, etc. The individual investor or a fund manager would not like to put all his money in the shares of one company that would amount to great risk.He would therefore, follow the age old maxim that one should not put all the eggs into one basket. By doing so, he can achieve objective to maximize portfolio return and at the same time minimizing the portfolio risk by diversification. Investment may be defined as an activity that commits funds in any financial form in the present with an expectation of receiving additional return in the future. The expectations bring with it a probability that the quantum of return may vary from a minimum to a maximum. This possibility of variation in the actual return is known as investment risk. Thus every investment invo lves a return and risk. Investment is an activity that is undertaken by those who have savings.Savings can be defined as the excess of income over expenditure. An investor earns/expects to earn additional monetary value from the mode of investment that could be in the form of financial assets. The three important characteristics of any financial asset are: †¢ Return-the potential return possible from an asset. †¢ Risk-the variability in returns of the asset form the chances of its value going down/up. †¢ Liquidity-the ease with which an asset can be converted into cash. Investors tend to look at these three characteristics while deciding on their individual preference pattern of investments. Each financial asset will have a certain level of each of these characteristics.An investor invests his funds in portfolio expecting to get a good return consistent with the risk that he has to beat. Portfolio management comprises all the processes involved in the creation & maint enance of an investment portfolio. It deals specifically with Security Analysis, Portfolio Analysis, Selection and Revision & Evaluation. Portfolio Management is a complex process, which tries to make investment activity more rewarding & less risky. ? Portfolio management is the management of various financial assets which comprise the portfolio. ? Portfolio management is a decision – support system that is designed with a view to meet the multi-faced needs of investors.According to Securities and Exchange Board of India Portfolio is defined as: â€Å"portfolio means the total holdings of securities belonging to any person†. ? PORTFOLIO MANAGER means any person who pursuant to a contract or arrangement with a client, advises or directs or undertakes on behalf of the client (whether as a discretionary portfolio manager or otherwise) the management or administration of a portfolio of securities or the funds of the client. ? DISCRETIONARY PORTFOLIO MANAGER means a portfol io manager who exercises or may, under a contract relating to portfolio management exercises any degree of discretion as to the investments or management of the portfolio of securities or the funds of the client. Investment avenuesThere are a large number of investment avenues for savers in India. Some of them are marketable and liquid, while others are non-marketable. Some of them are highly risky while some others are almost risk less. Investment avenues can be broadly categorized under the following head. 1. Corporate securities 2. Equity shares. 3. Preference shares. 4. Debentures/Bonds. 5. Derivatives. 6. Others. Joint stock companies in the private sector issue corporate securities. These include equity shares, preference shares, and debentures. Equity shares have variable dividend and hence belong to the high risk-high return category; preference shares and debentures have fixed returns with lower risk.The classification of corporate securities that can be chosen as investmen t avenues can be depicted as shown below: DESIGN OF STUDY NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY †¢ Portfolio management presents the  best investment plan  to the individuals as per their income, budget, age and ability to undertake risks. †¢ Portfolio management  minimizes the risks  involved in investing and also increases the chance of making profits. †¢ Portfolio managers understand the client’s financial needs and suggest the best and unique investment policy for them with minimum risks involved. †¢ It enables the portfolio managers to  provide customized investment solutions  to clients as per their needs and requirements. It also focuses on important aspects like Stability of Income, Capital Growth, Liquidity, Safety, Tax Incentives, etc. †¢ Main goals of Portfolio Management are To Maximize the value of the portfolio, To Seek balance  in the portfolio and To Keep portfolio projects strategically  aligned OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: â⠂¬ ¢ To provide the material frame work of Portfolio Management †¢ To understand how to analyze securities †¢ To know how portfolio management is done. †¢ To study the investment pattern and its related risks & returns. †¢ To help the investors to choose wisely between alternative investment. †¢ To understand, analyze and select the best portfolio. To strike balance between costs of funds, risks and returns. †¢ To find out optimal portfolio, which gives optimal return at a minimize risk to the investor. †¢ To see whether the portfolio risk is less than individual risk on whose basis the portfolios are constituted SCOPE OF THE STUDY: †¢ This study covers the Markowitz model. The study covers the calculation of correlations between the different securities in order to find out at what percentage funds should be invested among the companies in the portfolio. Also the study includes the calculation of individual Standard Deviation of securities an d ends at the calculation of weights of individual securities involved in the portfolio.These percentages help in allocating the funds available for investment based on risky portfolios. METHODOLOGY: Sources of Data Collection The Methodology employed in this study data include both the primary and secondary collection methods. Primary collection methods: This method includes the data collected from the personal discussion with the authorized clerks and members of the exchange. Secondary data collection: It includes the following: †¢ Companies Annual Reports †¢ Information From Internet †¢ Publication †¢ Information provided by Stock Exchanges. Period of Study For different companies, financial data has been collected from the year 2007- 2012 Selection of CompaniesCompanies selected for analysis are:- o Wipro o Indian Tobacco Corporation o Dr. Reddy Laboratories o ACC o Bharat Heavy Electricals LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY: †¢ This study has been conducted purel y to understand portfolio management for investor and is done for requirement of Certificate of MBA. †¢ For study purpose 5 companies have been taken for calculations. †¢ Study is limited to period from 2007-2012. †¢ There was a constraint with regard to time allocated for the research study, period of one and half month. †¢ Study is limited to only first 3 steps of phrases of portfolio management. †¢ Detailed study of the topic was not possible due to limited size of project. The availability of information in the form of annual reports and price fluctuations of the companies was a big constraint to the study. CHAPTER-2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE INTRODUCTION TO PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT The term Portfolio refers to any collection of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, and cash. Portfolios may be held by individual investors and/or managed by financial professionals, hedge funds, banks and other financial institutions. It is a generally accepted principle that a p ortfolio is designed according to the investor’s risk tolerance, time frame and investment objectives. Portfolio management is all about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the choice of debt vs. equity, domestic vs. nternational, growth vs. safety, and many other tradeoffs encountered in the attempt to maximize return at a given appetite for risk. The art and science of making decisions about investment mix and policy, matching investments to objectives, asset allocation for individuals and institutions, and balancing risk against performance is known as Portfolio Management. ? PORTFOLIO MANAGER means any person who pursuant to a contract or arrangement with a client, advises or directs or undertakes on behalf of the client (whether as a discretionary portfolio manager or otherwise) the management or administration of a portfolio of securities or the funds of the client. DISCRETIONARY PORTFOLIO MANAGER means a portfolio manager who exercises or may, under a c ontract relating to portfolio management exercises any degree of discretion as to the investments or management of the portfolio of securities or the funds of the client. FUNCTIONS OF PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: ? To frame the investment strategy and select an investment mix to achieve the desired investment objectives ? To provide a balanced portfolio which not only can hedge against the inflation but can also optimize returns with the associated degree of risk ? To make timely buying and selling of securities ? To maximize the after-tax return by investing in various tax saving investment instruments.STRUCTURE / PROCESS OF TYPICAL PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT In the small firm, the portfolio manager performs the job of security analyst. In the case of medium and large sized organizations, job function of portfolio manager and security analyst are separate. CHARACTERISTICS OF PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: Individuals will benefit immensely by taking portfolio management services for the following reason s: ? Whatever may be the status of the capital market, over the long period capital markets have given an excellent return when compared to other forms of investment. The return from bank deposits, units, etc. , is much less than from the stock market. ? The Indian Stock Markets are very complicated.Though there are thousands of companies that are listed only a few hundred which have the necessary liquidity. Even among these, only some have the growth prospects which are conducive for investment. It is impossible for any individual wishing to invest and sit down and analyse all these intricacies of the market unless he does nothing else. ? Even if an investor is able to understand the intricacies of the market and separate chaff from the grain the trading practices in India are so complicated that it is really a difficult task for an investor to trade in all the major exchanges of India, look after his deliveries and payments. TYPES OF PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: Discretionary Portfolio M anagement Service(DPMS):In this type of service, the client parts with his money in favour of the manager, who in return, handles all the paper work, makes all the decisions and gives a good return on the investment and charges fee. In the Discretionary Portfolio Management Service, to maximize the yield, almost all portfolio managers park the funds in the money market securities such as overnight market, 18 days treasury bills and 90 days commercial bills. Normally, the return of such investment varies from 14 to 18 percent, depending on the call money rates prevailing at the time of investment. 2. Non-Discretionary Portfolio Management Service(NDPMS): The manager functions as a counselor, but the investor is free to accept or reject the manager‘s advice; the paper work is also undertaken by manager for a service charge.The manager concentrates on stock market instruments with a portfolio tailor-made to the risk taking ability of the investor. Risk of Portfolio Management The re was a time when portfolio management was an exotic term. The scenario has changed drastically. It is now a familiar term and is widely practiced in India. The theories and concepts relating to portfolio management now find their way to the front pages financial newspapers and the cover pages of investments journals in India. Capital markets have become active. The Indian stock markets are steadily moving towards efficiency, with rapid computerization, increasing higher market transparency, better infrastructure, better customer service etc.The markets are mutual funds have been set up the country since1987. With this development investment in securities has gained considered momentum. Professional portfolio management backed by competent research began to be practiced by mutual funds, investment consultant and big brokers. The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), The Stock Market Regulatory body in India is supervising the whole process. IMPORTANCE OF PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: ? Emergence of institutional investing on behalf of individuals. A number of financial institutions, mutual funds and other agencies are undertaking the task of investing money of small investors, on their behalf. Growth in the number and size of investible funds – a large part of household savings is being directed towards financial assets. ? Increased market volatility – risk and return parameters of financial assets are continuously changing because of frequent changes in government‘s industrial and fiscal policies, economic uncertainty and instability. ? Greater use of computers for processing mass of data. ? Professionalization of the field and increasing use of analytical methods (e. g. quantitative techniques) in the investment decision – making ? Larger direct and indirect costs of errors or shortfalls in meeting portfolio objectives – increased competition and greater scrutiny by investors.STEPS IN PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: ? Specification and qualification of investor objectives, constraints, and preferences in the form of an investment policy statement. ? Determination and qualification of capital market expectations for the economy, market sectors, industries and individual securities. ? Allocation of assets and determination of appropriate portfolio strategies for each asset class and selection of individual securities. ? Performance measurement and evaluation to ensure attainment of investor objectives. ? Monitoring portfolio factors and responding to changes in investor objectives, constrains and / or capital market expectations. Rebalancing the portfolio when necessary by repeating the asset allocation, portfolio strategy and security selection. CRITERIA FOR PORTFOLIO DECISIONS: †¢ In portfolio management emphasis is put on identifying the collective importance of all investor’s holdings. The emphasis shifts from individual assets selection to a more balanced emphasis on diversification and risk-return interrelationships of individual assets within the portfolio. Individual securities are important only to the extent they affect the aggregate portfolio. In short, all decisions should focus on the impact which the decision will have on the aggregate portfolio of all the assets held. †¢ Portfolio strategy should be molded to the unique needs and characteristics of the portfolio‘s owner. Diversification across securities will reduce a portfolio‘s risk. If the risk and return are lower than the desired level, leverages (borrowing) can be used to achieve the desired level. †¢ Larger portfolio returns come only with larger portfolio risk. The most important decision to make is the amount of risk which is acceptable. †¢ The risk associated with a security type depends on when the investment will be liquidated. Risk is reduced by selecting securities with a payoff close to when the portfolio is to be liquidated. QUALITIES OF PORTFOLIO MANAGER: 1. SOUND GENERAL K NOWLEDGE: Portfolio management is an exciting and challenging job. He has to work in an extremely uncertain and confliction environment.In the stock market every new piece of information affects the value of the securities of different industries in a different way. He must be able to judge and predict the effects of the information he gets. He must have sharp memory, alertness, fast intuition and self-confidence to arrive at quick decisions. 2. ANALYTICAL ABILITY: He must have his own theory to arrive at the intrinsic value of the security. An analysis of the security‘s values, company, etc. is s continuous job of the portfolio manager. A good analyst makes a good financial consultant. The analyst can know the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities of the economy, industry and the company. 3. MARKETING SKILLS: He must be good salesman. He has to convince the clients about the particular security.He has to compete with the stock brokers in the stock market. In this context, the marketing skills help him a lot. 4. EXPERIENCE: In the cyclical behavior of the stock market history is often repeated, therefore the experience of the different phases helps to make rational decisions. The experience of the different types of securities, clients, market trends, etc. , makes a perfect professional manager. PORTFOLIO BUILDING: Portfolio decisions for an individual investor are influenced by a wide variety of factors. Individuals differ greatly in their circumstances and therefore, a financial programme well suited to one individual may be inappropriate for another.Ideally, an individual‘s portfolio should be tailor-made to fit one‘s individual needs. Investor‘s Characteristics: An analysis of an individual‘s investment situation requires a study of personal characteristics such as age, health conditions, personal habits, family responsibilities, business or professional situation, and tax status, all of which affect the investor‘s willin gness to assume risk. Stage in the Life Cycle: One of the most important factors affecting the individual‘s investment objective is his stage in the life cycle. A young person may put greater emphasis on growth and lesser emphasis on liquidity. He can afford to wait for realization of capital gains as his time horizon is large. Family responsibilities:The investor‘s marital status and his responsibilities towards other members of the family can have a large impact on his investment needs and goals. Investor‘s experience: The success of portfolio depends upon the investor‘s knowledge and experience in financial matters. If an investor has an aptitude for financial affairs, he may wish to be more aggressive in his investments. Attitude towards Risk: A person‘s psychological make-up and financial position dictate his ability to assume the risk. Different kinds of securities have different kinds of risks. The higher the risk, the greater the opportunity for higher gain or loss. Liquidity Needs: Liquidity needs vary considerably among individual investors.Investors with regular income from other sources may not worry much about instantaneous liquidity, but individuals who depend heavily upon investment for meeting their general or specific needs, must plan portfolio to match their liquidity needs. Liquidity can be obtained in two ways: 1. by allocating an appropriate percentage of the portfolio to bank deposits, and 2. by requiring that bonds and equities purchased be highly marketable. Tax considerations: Since different individuals, depending upon their incomes, are subjected to different marginal rates of taxes, tax considerations become most important factor in individual‘s portfolio strategy. There are differing tax treatments for investment in various kinds of assets. Time Horizon:In investment planning, time horizon become an important consideration. It is highly variable from individual to individual. Individuals in their young age have long time horizon for planning, they can smooth out and absorb the ups and downs of risky combination. Individuals who are old have smaller time horizon, they generally tend to avoid volatile portfolios. Individual‘s Financial Objectives: In the initial stages, the primary objective of an individual could be to accumulate wealth via regular monthly savings and have an investment programme to achieve long term capital gains. Safety of Principal: The protection of the rupee value of the investment is of prime importance to most investors.The original investment can be recovered only if the security can be readily sold in the market without much loss of value. Assurance of Income: `Different investors have different current income needs. If an individual is dependent of its investment income for current consumption then income received now in the form of dividend and interest payments become primary objective. Investment Risk: All investment decisions revolve arou nd the trade-off between risk and return. All rational investors want a substantial return from their investment. An ability to understand, measure and properly manage investment risk is fundamental to any intelligent investor or a speculator.Frequently, the risk associated with security investment is ignored and only the rewards are emphasized. An investor who does not fully appreciate the risks in security investments will find it difficult to obtain continuing positive results. RISK AND EXPECTED RETURN: There is a positive relationship between the amount of risk and the amount of expected return i. e. , the greater the risk, the larger the expected return and larger the chances of substantial loss. One of the most difficult problems for an investor is to estimate the highest level of risk he is able to assume. [pic] TYPES OF RISKS:- Risk consists of two components. They are 1. Systematic Risk 2. Un-systematic Risk 1. Systematic Risk:Systematic risk is caused by factors external t o the particular company and uncontrollable by the company. The systematic risk affects the market as a whole. Factors affect the systematic risk are ? economic conditions ? political conditions ? sociological changes The systematic risk is unavoidable. Systematic risk is further sub-divided into three types. They are a) Market Risk b) Interest Rate Risk c) Purchasing Power Risk a) Market Risk: One would notice that when the stock market surges up, most stocks post higher price. On the other hand, when the market falls sharply, most common stocks will drop. It is not uncommon to find stock prices falling from time to time while a company‘s earnings are rising and vice-versa.The price of stock may fluctuate widely within a short time even though earnings remain unchanged or relatively stable b) Interest Rate Risk: Interest rate risk is the risk of loss of principal brought about the changes in the interest rate paid on new securities currently being issued. c) Purchasing Power Risk: The typical investor seeks an investment which will give him current income and / or capital appreciation in addition to his original investment. 2. Un-systematic Risk: Un-systematic risk is unique and peculiar to a firm or an industry. The nature and mode of raising finance and paying back the loans, involve the risk element. Financial leverage of the companies that is debt-equity portion of the companies differs from each other.All these factors Factors affect the un-systematic risk and contribute a portion in the total variability of the return. ? Managerial inefficiently ? Technological change in the production process ? Availability of raw materials ? Changes in the consumer preference ? Labour problems The nature and magnitude of the above mentioned factors differ from industry to industry and company to company. They have to be analyzed separately for each industry and firm. Un-systematic risk can be broadly classified into: a) Business Risk b) Financial Risk a. Busines s Risk: Business risk is that portion of the unsystematic risk caused by the operating environment of the business.Business risk arises from the inability of a firm to maintain its competitive edge and growth or stability of the earnings. The volatibility in stock prices due to factors intrinsic to the company itself is known as Business risk. Business risk is concerned with the difference between revenue and earnings before interest and tax. Business risk can be divided into. i) Internal Business Risk Internal business risk is associated with the operational efficiency of the firm. The operational efficiency differs from company to company. The efficiency of operation is reflected on the company‘s achievement of its pre-set goals and the fulfillment of the promises to its investors. ii)External Business RiskExternal business risk is the result of operating conditions imposed on the firm by circumstances beyond its control. The external environments in which it operates exert some pressure on the firm. The external factors are social and regulatory factors, monetary and fiscal policies of the government, business cycle and the general economic environment within which a firm or an industry operates. b. Financial Risk: It refers to the variability of the income to the equity capital due to the debt capital. Financial risk in a company is associated with the capital structure of the company. Capital structure of the company consists of equity funds and borrowed funds. PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS:Various groups of securities when held together behave in a different manner and give interest payments and dividends also, which are different to the analysis of individual securities. A combination of securities held together will give a beneficial result if they are grouped in a manner to secure higher return after taking into consideration the risk element. SELECTION OF PROTFOLIO: The selection of portfolio depends on the various objectives of the investor. The selectio n of portfolio under different objectives are dealt subsequently. Objectives and asset mix: if the main objective is getting adequate amount of current income, sixty per cent of the investment is made on debts and 40 per cent on equities. The proportions of investments on debt and equity differ according to the individual’s preferences.Growth of income and asset mix: Here the investor requires a certain percentage of growth in the income received from his investment. The debt portion of the portfolio may consist of 60 to 100 percent equities and 0 to 40 percent debt instrument. The debt portion of the portfolio may consist of concession regarding tax exemption. Appreciation of principal amount is given third priority. For example computer software, hardware and non-conventional energy producing company shares provides good possibility of growth in dividend. Capital appreciation and asset mix: Capital appreciation means that the valu of the original investment increases over t he years.Investment in real estates like land and house may provide a faster rate of capital appreciation but they lack liquidity. In the capital market, the values of the shares are much higher than their original issue prices. Safety of principal and asset mix: Usually, the risk averse investors are very particular about the stability of principal. According to the life cycle theory, people in the third stage of life also give more importance to the safety of the principal. All the investors have this objective in their mind. No one like to lose his money invested in different assets. Risk and return analysis: The traditional approach to portfolio building has some basic assumptions. First, the individual prefers larger to smaller returns from securities.To achieve this goal, the investor has to take more risk. The ability to achieve higher returns is dependent upon his ability to judge risk and his ability to take specific risks. Diversification: Once the asset mix is determined and the risk and return are analyzed, the final step is the diversification of portfolio. Financial risk can be minimized by commitments to top-quality bonds, but these securities offer poor resistance to inflation. Stocks provide better inflation protection than bonds but are more vulnerable to financial risks. PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION: Portfolio is a combination of securities such as stocks, bonds and money market instruments.The process of blending together the broad asset so as to obtain optimum return with minimum risk is called portfolio construction. Diversification of investments helps to spread risk over many assets. A diversification of securities gives the assurance of obtaining the anticipated return on the portfolio. APPROACHES IN PORTFOLIO CONSTRUCTION: There are two approaches in construction of the portfolio of securities. They are ? Traditional approach ? Modern approach TRADITIONAL APPROACH: Traditional approach was based on the fact that risk could be measured on ea ch individual security through the process of finding out the standard deviation and that security should be chosen where the deviation was the lowest.Traditional approach believes that the market is inefficient and the fundamental analyst can take advantage of the situation. Traditional approach is a comprehensive financial plan for the individual. It takes into account the individual needs such as housing, life insurance and pension plans. Traditional approach basically deals with two major decisions. They are a) Determining the objectives of the portfolio b) Selection of securities to be included in the portfolio MODERN APPROACH: Modern approach theory was brought out by Markowitz and Sharpe. It is the combination of securities to get the most efficient portfolio. Combination of securities can be made in many ways. Markowitz developed the theory of diversification through scientific reasoning and method.Modern portfolio theory believes in the maximization of return through a comb ination of securities. The modern approach discusses the relationship between different securities and then draws inter-relationships of risks between them. Markowitz gives more attention to the process of selecting the portfolio. It does not deal with the individual needs. In the modern approach, the final step is asset allocation process that is to choose the portfolio that meets he requirement of the investor. The risk taker i. e. who are willing to accept a higher probability of risk for getting the expected return would choose high risk portfolio. Investor with lower tolerance for risk would choose low level risk portfolio.The risk neutral investor would choose the medium level risk portfolio. MARKOWITZ MODEL: Harry Markowitz opened new vistas to modern portfolio selection by publishing an article in the journal of Finance in March 1952. His publication indicated the importance of correlation among the different stocks reruns in the construction of a stock portfolio. Most peopl e agree that holding two stocks is less risky than holding one stock. For example, holding stocks from textile, banking, and electronic companies is better than investing all the money on the textile company’s stock. But building up the optimal portfolio is very difficult. Markowitz provides an answer to it with the help of risk and return relationship.Markowitz model is a theoretical framework for analysis of risk and return and their relationships. He used statistical analysis for the measurement of risk and mathematical programming for selection of assets in a portfolio in an efficient manner. Markowitz approach determines for the investor the efficient set of portfolio through three important variables i. e. ? Return ? Standard deviation ? Co-efficient of correlation Markowitz model is also called as an â€Å"Full Covariance Modelâ€Å". Through this model the investor can find out the efficient set of portfolio by finding out the tradeoff between risk and return, betwe en the limits of zero and infinity.According to this theory, the effects of one security purchase over the effects of the other security purchase are taken into consideration and then the results are evaluated. Most people agree that holding two stocks is less risky than holding one stock. For example, holding stocks from textile, banking and electronic companies is better than investing all the money on the textile company‘s stock. Markowitz had given up the single stock portfolio and introduced diversification. The single stock portfolio would be preferable if the investor is perfectly certain that his expectation of highest return would turn out to be real. In the world of uncertainty, most of the risk adverse investors would like to join Markowitz rather than keeping a single stock, because diversification reduces the risk. ASSUMPTIONS: All investors would like to earn the maximum rate of return that they can achieve from their investments. ? All investors have the same ex pected single period investment horizon. ? All investors before making any investments have a common goal. This is the avoidance of risk because Investors are risk-averse. ? Investors base their investment decisions on the expected return and standard deviation of returns from a possible investment. ? Perfect markets are assumed (e. g. no taxes and no transaction costs). ? The investor assumes that greater or larger the return that he achieves on his investments, the higher the risk factor surrounds him. On the contrary when risks are low the return can also be expected to be low. The investor can reduce his risk if he adds investments to his portfolio. ? An investor should be able to get higher return for each level of risk â€Å"by determining the efficient set of securitiesâ€Å". ? An individual seller or buyer cannot affect the price of a stock. This assumption is the basic assumption of the perfectly competitive market. ? Investors make their decisions only on the basis of t he expected returns, standard deviation and covariance’s of all pairs of securities. ? Investors are assumed to have homogenous expectations during the decision-making period. ? The investor can lend or borrow any amount of funds at the riskless rate of interest.The riskless rate of interest is the rate of interest offered for the treasury bills or Government securities. ? Investors are risk-averse, so when given a choice between two otherwise identical portfolios, they will choose the one with the lower standard deviation. ? Individual assets are infinitely divisible, meaning that an investor can buy a fraction of a share if he or she so desires. ? There is a risk free rate at which an investor may either lend (i. e. invest) money or borrow money and There is no transaction cost i. e. no cost involved in buying and selling of stocks. ? There is no personal income tax. Hence, the investor is indifferent to the form of return either capital gain or dividend.The Effect Of Combi ning Two Securities: It is believed that holding two securities is less risky than by having only one investment in a person‘s portfolio. When two stocks are taken on a portfolio and if they have negative correlation then risk can be completely reduced because the gain on one can offset the loss on the other. This can be shown with the help of following example: Inter-Active Risk Through Covariance: Covariance of the securities will help in finding out the inter-active risk. When the covariance will be positive then the rates of return of securities move together either upwards or downwards. Alternatively it can also be said that the inter-active risk is positive.Secondly, covariance will be zero on two investments if the rates of return are independent. Holding two securities may reduce the portfolio risk too. The portfolio risk can be calculated with the help of the following formula: CAPITAL ASSET PRICING MODEL (CAPM): Markowitz, William Sharpe, John Lintner and Jan Mossin provided the basic structure for the Capital Asset Pricing Model. It is a model of linear general equilibrium return. In the CAPM theory, the required rate return of an asset is having a linear relationship with asset‘s beta value i. e. undiversifiable or systematic risk (i. e. market related risk) because non market risk can be eliminated by diversification and systematic risk measured by beta.Therefore, the relationship between an assets return and its systematic risk can be expressed by the CAPM, which is also called the Security Market Line. Lending and borrowing:- Here, it is assumed that the investor could borrow or lend any amount of money at riskless rate of interest. When this opportunity is given to the investors, they can mix risk free assets with the risky assets in a portfolio to obtain a desired rate of risk-return combination. Rp =Portfolio return Xf =The proportion of funds invested in risk free assets 1- Xf = The proportion of funds invested in risky assets Rf =Risk free rate of return Rm =Return on risky assets The expected return on the combination of risky and risk free combination is Rp= Rf Xf+ Rm(1- Xf)Formula can be used to calculate the expected returns for different situations, like mixing riskless assets with risky assets, investing only in the risky asset and mixing the borrowing with risky assets. THE CONCEPT: According to CAPM, all investors hold only the market portfolio and risk less securities. The market portfolio is a portfolio comprised of all stocks in the market. Each asset is held in proportion to its market value to the total value of all risky assets. For example, if Reliance Industry share represents 15% of all risky assets, then the market portfolio of the individual investor contains 15% of Satyam Industry shares. At this stage, the investor has the ability to borrow or lend any amount of money at the risk less rate of interest. Eg. assume that borrowing and lending rate to be 12. 5% and the return from the risk y assets to be 20%. There is a tradeoff between the expected return and risk. If an investor invests in risk free assets and risky assets, his risk may be less than what he invests in the risky asset alone. But if he borrows to invest in risky assets, his risk would increase more than he invests his own money in the risky assets. When he borrows to invest, we call it financial leverage. If he invests 50% in risk free assets and 50% in risky assets, his expected return of the portfolio would be Rp= Rf Xf+ Rm(1- Xf) = (12. 5 x 0. 5) + 20 (1-0. 5) = 6. 25 + 10 = 16. 5% if there is a zero investment in risk free asset and 100% in risky asset, the return is Rp= Rf Xf+ Rm(1- Xf) = 0 + 20% i. e. 20% if -0. 5 in risk free asset and 1. 5 in risky asset, the return is Rp= Rf Xf+ Rm(1- Xf) = (12. 5 x -0. 5) + 20 (1. 5) = -6. 25+ 30 = 23. 75% EVALUATION OF PORTFOLIO: Portfolio manager evaluates his portfolio performance and identifies the sources of strengths and weakness. The evaluation of the portfolio provides a feedback about the performance to evolve better management strategy. Even though evaluation of portfolio performance is considered to be the last stage of investment process, it is a continuous process.There are number of situations in which an evaluation becomes necessary and important. i. Self-Valuation: An individual may want to evaluate how well he has done. This is a part of the process of refining his skills and improving his performance over a period of time. ii. Evaluation of Managers: A mutual fund or similar organization might want to evaluate its managers. A mutual fund may have several managers each running a separate fund or sub-fund. It is often necessary to compare the performance of these managers. iii. Evaluation of Mutual Funds: An investor may want to evaluate the various mutual funds operating in the country to decide which, if any, of these should be chosen for investment.A similar need arises in the case of individuals or organizations who engage external agencies for portfolio advisory services. iv. Evaluation of Groups: Academics or researchers may want to evaluate the performance of a whole group of investors and compare it with another group of investors who use different techniques or who have different skills or access to different information. NEED FOR EVALUATION OF PORTFOLIO: ? We can try to evaluate every transaction. Whenever a security is brought or sold, we can attempt to assess whether the decision was correct and profitable. ? We can try to evaluate the performance of a specific security in the portfolio to determine whether it has been worthwhile to include it in our portfolio. We can try to evaluate the performance of portfolio as a whole during the period without examining the performance of individual securities within the portfolio. Portfolio management has emerged as a separate academic discipline in India. Portfolio theory that deals with the rational investment decision-making process has now be come an integral part of financial literature. Investing in securities such as shares, debentures & bonds is profitable well as exciting. It is indeed rewarding but involves a great deal of risk & need artistic skill. Investing in financial securities is now considered to be one of the most risky avenues of investment. It is rare to find investors investing their entire savings in a single security. Instead, they tend to invest in a group of securities.Such group of securities is called as PORTFOLIO. Creation of portfolio helps to reduce risk without sacrificing returns. Portfolio management deals with the analysis of individual securities as well as with the theory & practice of optimally combining securities into portfolios. The modern theory is of the view that by diversification, risk can be reduced. The investor can make diversification either by having a large number of shares of companies in different regions, in different industries or those producing different types of prod uct lines. Modern theory believes in the perspective of combinations of securities under constraints of risk and return.PORTFOLIO REVISION: The portfolio which is once selected has to be continuously reviewed over a period of time and then revised depending on the objectives of the investor. The care taken in construction of portfolio should be extended to the review and revision of the portfolio. Fluctuations that occur in the equity prices cause substantial gain or loss to the investors. The investor should have competence and skill in the revision of the portfolio. The portfolio management process needs frequent changes in the composition of stocks and bonds. In securities, the type of securities to be held should be revised according to the portfolio policy.An investor purchases stock according to his objectives and return risk framework. The prices of stock that he purchases fluctuate, each stock having its own cycle of fluctuations. These price fluctuations may be related to e conomic activity in a country or due to other changed circumstances in the market. If an investor is able to forecast these changes by developing a framework for the future through careful analysis of the behavior and movement of stock prices is in a position to make higher profit than if he was to simply buy securities and hold them through the process of diversification. Mechanical methods are adopted to earn better profit through proper timing.The investor uses formula plans to help him in making decisions for the future by exploiting the fluctuations in prices. PASSIVE MANAGEMENT: Passive management is a process of holding a well diversified portfolio for a long term with the buy and hold approach. Passive management refers to the investor’s attempt to construct a portfolio that resembles the overall market returns. The simplest form of passive management is holding the index fund that is designed to replicate a good and well defined index of the common stock such as BSE- sensex or NSE-Nifty. ACTIVE MANAGEMENT: Active management is holding securities based on gthe forecast about the future.The portfolio managers who pursue active strategy with respect to market components are called ‘market timers’. The portfolio managers vary their cash position or beta of the equity portion of the portfolio based on the market forecast. The managers may indulge in ‘ group rotation’s. here, the group rotation means changing the investment in different industries’ stocks depending on the assessed expectations regarding their future performance. FORMULA PLANS: The formula plans provide the basic rules and regulations for the purchase and sale of securities. The amount to be spent on the different types of securities is fixed. The amount may be fixed either in constant or variable ratio. This depends on the investor‘s attitude towards risk and return.The commonly used formula plans are i. Average Rupee Plan ii. Constant Rupee Plan iii. Constant Ratio Plan iv. Variable Ratio Plan ADVANTAGES: ? Basic rules and regulations for the purchase and sale of securities are provided. ? The rules and regulations are rigid and help to overcome human emotion. ? The investor can earn higher profits by adopting the plans. ? A course of action is formulated according to the investor‘s objectives. ? It controls the buying and selling of securities by the investor. ? It is useful for taking decisions on the timing of investments. DISADVANTAGES: ? The formula plan does not help the selection of the security.The selection of the security has to be done either on the basis of the fundamental or technical analysis. ? It is strict and not flexible with the inherent problem of adjustment. ? The formula plans should be applied for long periods, otherwise the transaction cost may be high. ? Even if the investor adopts the formula plan, he needs forecasting. Market forecasting helps him to identify the best stocks. CHAPTER-3 COMP ANY PROFILE SHAREKHAN LTD Sharekhan Ltd. is one of the leading retail stock broking house of SSKI Group which is running successfully since 1922 in the country. It is the retail broking arm of the Mumbai-based SSKI Group, which has over eight decades of experience in the stock broking business.Sharekhan offers its customers a wide range of equity related services including trade execution on BSE, NSE, Derivatives, depository services, online trading, investment advice etc. The firm’s online trading and investment site – www. sharekhan. com- was launched on Feb 8, 2000. The site gives access to superior content and transaction facility to retail customers across the country. Known for its jargon-free, investor friendly language and high quality research, the site has a registered base of over one lakh customers. The content-rich and research oriented portal has stood out among its contemporaries because of its steadfast dedication to offering customers best-of-breed tec hnology and superior market information.The objective has been to let customers make informed decisions and to simplify the process of investing in stocks. On April 17, 2002 Sharekhan launched Speed Trade, a net-based executable application that emulates the broker terminals along with host of other information relevant to the Day Traders. This was for the first time that a net-based trading station of this caliber was offered to the traders. In the last six months Speed Trade has become a de facto standard for the Day Trading community over the net. Sharekhan’s ground network includes over 640 centers in 280 cities in India which provide a host of trading related services. Sharekhan has always believed in investing in technology to build its business.The company has used some of the best-known names in the IT industry, like Sun  Microsystems,  Oracle,  Microsoft,  Cambridge  Technologies,  Nex genix, Vignette, Verisign Financial Technologies India Ltd, Spider Sof tware Pvt Ltd. To build its trading engine and content. The Morakhiya family holds a majority stake in the company. HSBC, Intel &  Carlyle are the other investors. With a legacy of more than 80 years in the stock markets, the SSKI groupventured  into  institutional  broking  and  corporate  finance  18  years  ago. Presently  SSKI  is  one  of  the  leading  players  in  institutional  broking  andcorporate finance activities. SSKI holds a sizeable portion of the market in each of these segments.SSKI’s institutional broking arm accountsfo7%of  the  market  for  Foreign  Institutional  portfolio  investment  and  5%  of  allDomestic  Institutional  portfolio  investment  in  the  country. It  has  60institutional  clients  spread  over  India,  Far  East,  UK  and  US. ForeignInstitutional Investors generate about 65% of the organization’s revenue, with a daily turnover of over US$ 2 million. The Corporate Finance section has a listof very prestigious clients and has many ‘firsts’ to its credit, in terms of the size of deal, sector tapped etc. The group has placed over US$ 1 billion in private equity deals. PROFILE OF THE COMPANY: Name of the company : Sharekhan ltd.Year of Establishment : 1925 Headquarter : ShareKhan SSKI A-206 Phoenix House Phoenix Mills Compound Lower Parel, Mumbai – Maharashtra, INDIA- 400013 Nature of Business : Service Provider Services : Depository Services, Online Services and Technical Research. Number of Employees : Over 3500 Website : www. sharekhan. com Slogan : Your guide to the financial jungle Vision To be the best  retail brokering Brand in the retail business of stock market. MissionTo educate and empower the individual investor to make better investmentdecisions through quality advice and  superior service Sharekhan is infact: †¢ Among the top 3 branded retail service providers †¢ No . 1 player in online business †¢ Largest network of branded broking outlets in the country serving more than7, 00,000 clients Sharekhan's management team is one of the strongest in the sector and has positioned Sharekhan to take advantage of the growing consumer demand for financial services products in India through investments in research, pan-Indian branch network and an outstanding technology platform. Further, Sharekhan's lineage and relationship with SSKI Group provide it a unique position to understand and leverage the growth of the financial services sector.SSKI Corporate Finance Private Limited (SSKI) is a leading India-based investment bank with strong research-driven focus. Their team members are widely respected for their commitment to transactions and their specialized knowledge in their areas of strength ITA CORE SERVICES ARE: ? Equities, and Derivatives trading on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. (NSE), and Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd. (BSE), ? Commodities trading on National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange India(NCDEX) and Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX), ? Depository services, ? Online trading services, ? IPO Services, ? Dial-n-Trade ? Portfolio management services, Fundamental and Technical Research services, ? In addition to this they also provide advisory services and  distributions for  mutual funds. ? Sharekhan ValueLine (a monthly publication with  reviews of recommendations,stocks to watch out for etc. ) ? Daily research reports and market review (High Noon &  Eagle Eye) ? Pre-market Report ? Daily trading calls based on Technical Analysis ? Cool trading products (Daring Derivatives and Market Strategy) REASONS TO CHOOSE SHAREKHAN: ? Experience : SSKI has more than eight decades of trust and credibility in the Indian Stock Market. In the Asia Money Broker’s Poll held recently, SSKI won the ‘India’s Best broking house for 2004’ award.Ever since it launched Sharekhan as its re tail broking division in February in 2000, it has been providing institutional-level research and broking services to individual investors. ? Technology: With their Online Trading account one can buy and sell shares in an instant from any PC with an internet connection. Customers get access to the powerful online trading tools that will help them to take complete control over their investments in shares. ? Accessibility: Sharekhan provides Advice, Education, Tools and Education services for investors. These services are accessible through many centers across the country (over 650 locations in 150 cities), over the internet (through the website www. sharekhan. ltd) as well as over the voice tool. ? Knowledge:In a business where the right information at the right time can translate into direct profits investors get access to a wide range of information on the content rich portal www. sharekhan. com. Investors will also get a useful set of knowledge-based tools that will empower them t o take informed decisions ? Convenience: One can call Sharekhan’s Dial-N-Trade number to get investment advice and execute his/her transactions. They have a dedicated call-center to provide this service via a Toll Free Number 1800 22-7500 & 39707500 from anywhere in India. ? Customer Service: Its customer service team assist their customer for any help that they need relating to transactions, billing, demat and other queries.Their customer service can be contacted via a toll-free number, email or live chat on www. sharekhan. com. ? Investment Advice: Sharekhan has dedicated research teams of more than 30 people for fundamental and technical research. Their analysts constantly track the pulse of the market and provide timelyinvestment advice to customer in the form of daily research emails, online chat, printed reports etc. SHAREKHAN LIMITED’S MANAGEMENT TEAM †¢ Dinesh  Murikya   :   Owner  of  the  company †¢   Tarun  Shah   :   CEO  ofà ‚  the  company †¢ Shankar  Vailaya   :   Director  (Operations) †¢   Jaideep  Arora :   Director  (Products  &  Technology) †¢ Pathik  Gandotra :   Head  of  Research Rishi  Kohli   :   Vice  President  of  Equity  Derivatives †¢ Nikhil  Vora :   Vice  President  of  Research BENEFITS †¢ Free Depository A/c †¢ Instant Cash Transfer †¢ Multiple Bank Option. †¢ Secure Order by Voice Tool Dial-n-Trade. †¢ Automated Portfolio to keep track of the value of your actual purchases. †¢ 24*7 Voice Tool access to your trading account. †¢ Personalized Price and Account Alerts delivered instantly to your mobile phone †¢ Live chat facility with Relationship manager on Yahoo Messenger. †¢ Special Personal inbox for order and trade confirmations. †¢ On-line customer service via web chat. †¢ Enjoy automated Portfolio. Buy or sell even single share. †¢ Anytime orderin g. Sharekhan provides 4 in 1 account: *Demat a/c *Bank a/c: for fund transfer *Dial and Trade: for query relating trading *Trading a/c: for cash calculation DEMAT ACCOUNT: Sharekhan  is  a  depository  participant. This  means  that  we  can  keep  the  shares  in dematerialized form  in  Sharekhan. But  for  this  one  has  to  the  demat  account  in Sharekhan. Dematerialization is the process by which a client can get physical certificates converted into electronic balances maintained in his account with the DP. In Sharekhan, under demat account there are two types of terminals Classic and Trade Tiger. ACCOUNT OPENING:Opening a DP account with Sharekhan-One can open a Depository Participant (DP) account, either through a Sharekhan branch or through a Sharekhan Franchisee center. There is no fee for opening DP accounts with Sharekhan. However a nominal deposit (refundable) is charged towards services which will be adjusted against all future billings. All investors have to submit their proof of identity and proof of address along with the  prescribed account opening form. CLASSICAL ACCOUNT: This is a user friendly product which allow the client to trade through website www. sharekhan. com and is suitable for all the retial investors who is risk averse and hence prefers to invest in stocks or who does not trade too frequently Features Online trading account for investing in equity and derivatives via www. sharekhan. com †¢ Live Terminal and Single terminal for NSE Cash, NSE F&O & BSE. †¢ Integration of On-line trading, Saving Bank and Demat Account. †¢ Instant cash transfer facility against purchase & sale of shares. †¢ Competitive transaction charges. †¢ Instant order and trade confirmation by E-mail. †¢ Streaming Quotes (Cash & Derivatives). †¢ Personalized market watch. †¢ Single screen interface for Cash and derivatives and more. †¢ Provision to enter price trigge r and view the same online in market watch. SPEEDTRADE SPEEDTRADE is an internet-based software application that enables you to buy and sell inan instant.

Anti Discrimination Essay

Anti-discrimination occurs when a person is treated less preferred than others because of their age, gender, ethnicity, disability or religion. Anti-discrimination also refers to the law on the right of people to be treated equally. Three anti-discrimination laws include: Racial Discrimination Act 1975 Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 Disability Discrimination Act 1992 The Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 is an Act relating to discrimination in employment, the public education system, delivery of goods and services, and other services such as banking, health care, property and night clubs. The Act helps unlawful racial, sexual and other types of discrimination in certain circumstances and promotes equality of opportunity for all people. The Act was granted Royal Assent on 28 April 1977 and came into effect on 1 June 1977. It was the 48th Act of 1977. Since then the Act has been amended and reformed about 90 times Racial Discrimination happens when someone is treated less fairly than someone else in a similar situation because of their race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin. Racial discrimination can also happen when a policy or rule appears to treat everyone in the same way but actually has an unfair effect on more people of a particular race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin than others. Since the Act was passed in 1975, over 10,500 complaints have been received. The power of the national Parliament to pass this over-riding law arises under the â€Å"external affairs† power contained in the Australian Constitution. The power arose from the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination to which Australia is a treaty. This use of the power in this manner was confirmed in the landmark High Court decision in 1982. Disability Discrimination is when people with disabilities face huge social barriers at jobs, education and access to government. Disabilities also increase the chance of violence and other extreme forms of discrimination,  as well as banished from family and institutionalization. In the 1960s and 1970s, young activists and scholars organized a disability rights movement to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities, modeled after other civil rights movements. In general, the legal rights and responsibilities of employees in relation with anti-discrimination may include that you have the same right to training, promotion and work benefits as other employees e.g. if you have a disability, employers must provide you with any special facilities or services you need to access training, promotion or work benefits, as long as this won’t cause them unjustifiable hardship. You generally have the right to stay on in your job if you have a disability, or you acquire a di sability after you begin the job. An employer can only dismiss you, medically retire you or make you redundant because of your disability. As when you apply for a job, your employer must provide any special facilities or services you need to continue to do your job, as long as this won’t cause them unjustifiable hardship. If there are non-essential parts of your job that you can’t do, your employer must make arrangements to cover these in some other way. As for Race Discrimination you have the right to report any incidents if a person has harassed/bullied you this might include: your race, color, nationality, descent, ethnic or ethno-religious background of any of your relatives, friends, associates or work colleagues. If this does occur these penalties can be brought up to court for a trial. Problems faced by people affected by Anti-Discrimination might include African Americans who are called names who are harshly abused and harassed because of their race and their skin colour. All over the world, as a society we have been unable to accept being classified under one label. Our place as a racial state has changed throughout history, but still remains a mix of two ideas, racial dictatorship and racial hegemony, working to becoming a racial democracy. In the beginning, and for most of its history, from 1607 to 1865, most non-whites were firmly eliminated from politics. The racial dictatorship organized the â€Å"color line† rendering it the fundamental division in society. These â€Å"color lines† seem to be most prevalent in institutions where the color of your skin determined where you lived, what school you attended, and where you sat in restaurants and public transportation. It took real people from different cultures and grouped them into one generalized category. Instead of being labeled as your country of origin or where you lived, like (Americans) or (Africans), they were simply labeled black, therefore making them seem inferior to the dominant race. By grouping them into one category of little meaning, it takes away from their individuality and culture. The dominant group, in this case the United States, survives by a mixture of forcing and giving permission. For instance, blacks were given the right to education, however the level of education received by blacks compared to whites is different. Far more white people attend higher education institutions as opposed to blacks. Of all the students enrolled in higher education institutions, 70 percent of them were white while the remaining 30 percent of students. There is a large disparity in these numbers, however compared to a couple of decades ago, minorities, especially blacks, weren’t even allowed to attend school. Minorities’ attendance is even on the increase while white a ttendance in higher education is decreasing. Between 1991 and 1995, while the white enrollment was decreasing the black enrollment was increased by 9 percent. In the past the minority population made significantly less than the dominant race, and unfortunately it is still that way. While the gap is closing in disparity, there is still a huge jump in the earning of whites compared to those of blacks. Between 1980 and 1984, white men aged 18-64 made and hourly wage of $2.10 while there black counterparts only made an hourly wage of $1.86. (These men were performing similar jobs and yet the white male still made more earning than the black male. What also helped to close the gap was the black race was becoming educated and therefore more skilled. They were able to attend school now and become knowledgably in their skills and therefore make more money. These statistics should help to show that while racial disparity still exists, our dictatorship still exists but not as openly as in the past. For instance, real estate agents are more likely to point a white couple in the direction of white neighborhoods and a black couple in the direction of a black neighborhood. While helping them both equally, they are dictating where the couple’s should end up. Until politics serves the people and not the politician’s motives, we will never reach a racial democracy. As long as people are still saying discrimination, we will never reach a racial democracy. These problems were resolved since the Act was passed in 1975; over 10,500 complaints have been received. The power of the national  Parliament to pass this over-riding law arises under the â€Å"external affairs† power contained in the Australian Constitution. The power arose from the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination to which Australia is a treaty. This use of the power in this manner was confirmed in the landmark High Court decision in 1982. The Civil rights act 1964 was enacted to ensure that people in protected classes were not treated differently when it came to employment decisions, such as hiring, promotions and termination. Companies had policies that openly discriminated against employees for reasons, such as color or sex that were not related to the quality of job performance. In order to make the workplace equitable in its treatment of all employees, the government made it illegal to consider the protected classes in work-related decisions. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received more than 93,000 complaints of discrimination in fiscal year 2009. An employer may not intend to treat employees differently, but an employee behavior may have the impact of discrimination. For example, someone telling a sexually laced joke may not intend to harass an employee, but the impact of the conversation may have led to a hostile work environment. Employees who experience discrimination in the workplace may suffer from low morale, which directly impacts work performance. If employees do not feel valued for the work that they do, then they will not be motivated to continue to perform at a satisfactory or above satisfactory level. These employees may be more likely to seek jobs in other companies or to file discrimination complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Although the EEOC filled just over 300 lawsuits out of the 93,000 complaints it received in 2009, the time and money used to respond to complaints may impact the company’s profits. Also, a complainant may receive a â€Å"right to sue† letter from the EEOC. This gives the employee the ability to sue in court for discrimination, whether the charges are true or false. Again, the expense to a company may be greater than if it had implemented policies and workplace behavior expectations that would give everyone a clear mind on what to do and what not to do. Having a policy that forbids harassing  behaviors by employees shows that the company is proactive in protecting the rights of all employees. Disciplining or firing employees or members of management who have been proven to act in a discriminatory manner is a good defense against a claim of disparate treatment. This could help the company avoiding the expense and bad publicity which could be a great help at the end. Anti-Discrimination helps a lot of people around the people not only from work; it helps people from schools, shows and movies. It gives everyone a equal fairness on how they should get treated, and this why I think anti-discrimination is a great solution to make a world a better place. Bibliography www.antidiscrimination.gov.au www.wikipedia.org www.antidiscrimination.lawlink.nsw.gov.au www.humanrights.gov.au www.antidiscrimination.tas.gov.au/ www.ag.gov.au www.lawcouncil.asn.au www.adcq.qld.gov.au www.adc.nt.gov.au www.usq.edu.au www.thefreedictionary.com www.dictionary.com www.business.gov.au

The attitude of American public towards GM food Research Paper

The attitude of American public towards GM food - Research Paper Example GMO food production has identified seven main areas which concern the human safety test in the consumption of the foods and include the study of the DNA and the nutritional contents which are introduced in the new food product and the analysis of the chemical composition of the plant parts as well as the allergens. The human safety test also includes the estimate of the toxicological or nutritional problems which may be encountered by the consumer and the risk of transferring microorganisms in the gene transfer process (Weise, 44). The use of genetically modified (GM) ingredients in food production has attracted a lot of controversy. Public attitude towards these products has being highly negative in most of the developing countries especially Japan and some European countries. The consumer negative attitude in these countries has being attributed to the skepticism on the unknown health and environmental effects of the GMO foods (Tait 4). The negative attributes of the GMO foods has being identified as the spre4ad of the pest resistance herbicide, body allergic responses and the herbicide tolerance on the wildlife plants and the consequent toxicity of the wildlife. However, the full benefits of biotechnology will only be realized when the producers consider the GMO foods to be safe to their health and beneficial. Although many public attitudes towards the GMO foods have been done in the recent past, the public attitudes towards biotechnology seem to be sharply different between countries and the time of the study (Knowledge 5). The consumer attitudes towards biotechnology have been surveyed in Europe and USA over the past decades. From the global perspective, GMO foods have been one of the contentious issues in the society due to economical and technical benefits which are offset by the human health and the environmental impact (Nikki 34). The increase in multinational corporations and economic power of the GMO manufacturing companies has impacted the quality o f the GMO foods and threatened the traditional farming in rural societies in most of the rural developed countries. This paper will review the attitudes of the American public towards the GMO foods over the recent years. Studies in US have indicated that consumers have positive attitude towards the GMO foods compared with consumers in Europe and Japan. For instance, a study carried out by Daniel and Mark in 2001 indicated that 70 percent of the respondents were willing to pay a higher price for GMO foods (Heslop 214). In the US, the consumer makes the decision to purchase the GMO foods based on the uncertainties and the probabilities which are assigned to the consumer risk of the consumption of the GMO foods. The consumption of the foods results to certain payoff utilities which the consumers perceive to receive from the consumption (Macilwain 54). The perceived risks from the consumption of the GMO foods are derived from the future costs which the consumer expects to incur from the decision to consume GMO foods and carry probabilities which are different from one consumer to the other. The perceived risk stems from one of the following sources with the first one being the influence of the media in the

Sustainable Housing Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Sustainable Housing - Dissertation Example The construction industry in the United Kingdom is faced with myriad challenges related to the establishment and implementation of building and construction techniques and policies that would not only meet the immediate housing needs of the society but also ensure that future generations meet their survival needs (Macy & Young, 1998). As a result, the sustainable housing policies sought would help ensure that houses built are ideal, comfortable and eco-friendly. Besides known stakeholders in the construction industry such as construction companies, the other parties involved in the promotion of sustainable construction are commercial institutions such as banks and housing and mortgage firms, which support green building projects by funding (Cole, 1999). Among the benefits that the United Kingdom’s government and citizens enjoy from sustainable housing are eco benefits such as timber frames from sustainable forests, material recycling and rain water capturing. Notably, solar en ergy is also trapped by the designing of sloped roofs. It should however be realized that sustainable housing designs do not in any way jeopardize the design and quality of buildings.Importantly, most sustainable housing projects in the United Kingdom are tailored so that they fit into most types of locations where there are as little as possible negative environmental impacts of such projects Before delving deeper into the subject of sustainable housing in the United Kingdom... This paper thus explores sustainable housing in the United Kingdom. An extensive and exhaustive literature review on the subject of sustainable housing reveals that it is a rather multi-faceted subject that faces a bright future, the current and past challenges notwithstanding. Sustainability Sustainability is a term that is quite common and relevant to a number of subjects and disciplines. Generally, sustainability refers to the ability to tolerate or endure certain situations over a period. Human beings are always driven to act in certain ways so that their well-being is ensured or assured. The well-being in this context refers to the economic, social, political, and environmental dimensions of man’s existence (Atkinson et al., 2007). In addition, sustainability in its broad sense implies the idea of unity and interdependency occasioned by the mutual responsibilities among living and non-living things. Although sustainability is used excessively to refer to the various econo mic and progress-oriented strategies, the philosophical inferences of the term sustainability extend to ecological and biological systems and their diversity, which ensures their productivity and viability over time (Cole, 1999). Therefore, sustainability is more than just the mere economic perspectives that man exploit in providing stewardship in the management of creation and consumption of resources (Atkinson et al., 2007). By ensuring that the environment and the ecosystems remain healthy and safe all the time, humans and other organisms are provided with the necessary goods, service and environments. Housing as an important element in the lives of human beings must be provided either by private citizens for themselves or by governments

Philosophy in education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Philosophy in education - Essay Example t it argues that the same tried and true methods and subject matter should continue to be taught to the next generation of students do the fact that it is both tried and true and has informed the preceding generations. On the other hand, progressivism takes the more â€Å"liberal† approach in positing that individuality, progress, and change are key cornerstones of a truly great education (Labaree 281). Naturally, he progressivists approach to education has been largely informed by many sociological, anthropological, educational, and psychological breakthroughs of the 21st century. If one were to choose to follow a strictly perennialist approach to education, a very formulaic approach would ensue; one that placed a high level of emphasis on utilizing the relevant and historical primary texts that have informed education and thought throughout the centuries. For instance, a class on music would be taught focusing upon classical music theory, the works of Brahms, Bach, and Beethoven, and healthy amount of analysis and discussion of the symphony and the role of chamber groups. In this way, contemporary writings or the introduction of new material, rock n roll, jazz, or even swing music would likely not be included. It is the belief of this particular student that the best approach is thereby the progressivist approach. Due to the fact that our world continues to change at such an alarming rate, focusing solely and single-mindedly upon a strict interpretation of classical texts, and the ways in which knowledge has been inferred for hundreds even thousands of years may not be an appropriate way to better the learning understanding of the pupils involved in the process. Although the progressivists also exhibit some shortcomings, it is the belief of this author that such an approach could better inform the next generation of open minded professionals with regards to the key information they should seek to

Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 31

Discussion - Assignment Example Jurisdiction specifications and legal aspect consideration are other inputs that the company might use in an investment policy. Jurisdiction specification may include other inputs such as environmental, social, and governance standards, classes of assets and guidelines to ensure effective collaboration with external managers. Primary market differ from secondary market in such that, for the primary market, the organization or company is involved directly in the transactions, while in secondary market, there is no involvement between the company and the transactions because transactions occur between investors (Hall and Lieberman 405-406). Both market segments are inter-related and they influence each other in terms of performances. However, the primary market success and functionality is dependent on the secondary market’s complementary role in providing and opening a business opportunity for primary investors. As a result, the secondary market forms the baseline for investors in primary issues to transact on their investments that give other investors a chance to invest in the company. Consequently, primary market functionally dependant on the secondary

Policy control process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Policy control process - Essay Example The overall set up is termed polity. In a modern society the pivotal principle of polity specifies that power be legitimated by the reference to the consent of the governed, that is, each person must have a more or less equal voice in providing this consent. The arrangements in a society like political parties, lobby groups and social movements are the tools invented to express the consent. (Ritzer, 2000, pp579) Hence the policy makers retain the power of controlling the process in their own hands. This exhorts them to opt for elite theory and makes them politically elite. But generally elitists do not opt to get involved in politics; they get everything done through political stalwarts. They even posses complete control over the entire government. Its size, wealth, status, organizational strength, leadership, access to decision makers and internal cohesion, determine the proportionate strength of an elite group. While elitism cannot be challenged anywhere in this globe, pluralism is a supporting modality for elitists to reach their goal. Socially elite groups of Australia were trying hard for the upbringing of the aborigines, the 40000 years old primitives of the land. The Constitution of Australia prevented the federal government from directly aiding the aborigines. However with the help of the socially elite groups Australians got the clause removed in 1967. (World Book Encyclopedia, 1995, pp778). The elite theory does not compromise in its core, that is, powerful minority rules the masses. However the perseverance of the elite group in accomplishing their goal imparts them a type of immortality. 'White Australia Policy' was in vogue for about 70 years since, 1901. The Immigration Restriction Act passed in 1901 excluded the entry of Asians on the basis of a dictation test on any European language. But an epochal decision by the government in 1993 that affirmed aboriginal land rights diverted the entire attention to aboriginal Australians. This made Australia close to Asia and 'White Australia Policy' was allowed to die slowly. A new official policy of multiculturalism was created, which was very similar to cultural pluralism, an offshoot of cultural diversity. (International Encyclopedia of PROPAGANDA; pp60) Pluralism has paved way for smooth running of government in the land. The power of the Governor General of Australia to appoint more than one minister for one portfolio is the indication of the effect of pluralism conceived in a healthy manner. The Cabinet ministers collectively take major decisions on government policy matters and programs. They bear the collective responsibility on the decision arrived at. If one minister is not willing to support, he resigns and the remaining ministers who made the decisions shoulder the responsibilities. The business of policy making is normally done at Cabinet meetings of the ministers only. Since a Cabinet is an unofficial body it can conduct its business with flexibility, confidentiality and informality. The Cabinet primarily concerns itself with policy rather than the form of actions and legal restraints or legal instruments. It is the part of executive council, which includes parliamentary secretaries and some ministers too to approve gover nment's subordinate legislations. Policy decisions are normally arrived at after combining three important factors. They are: resources, evidences and values. The issue

Consumer behaviour and marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Consumer behaviour and marketing - Essay Example The only plausible way to do this is to ensure that the targeted customers are responding positively to the products or services of these companies. Marketing is one of the best ways to make sure that these customers have a connection to the companies’ products or services that is desirable. However, with the increased customer awareness and insight into brands all over the world, the marketing strategies of the companies have had to undergo a tremendous metamorphosis as a way of trying to predict the consumer behaviour and their influence on the businesses. According to Bian & Moutinho (2011, p. 200), customers have a great impact on the way a particular business behaves in the aspect of branding, usage, perception and even quality. The way the customer behaves towards a certain product is influenced by a number of different diverse factors. Some of these factors could be attributed to attitude of the customers towards a certain product of a certain company, fashion, culture among many others (Danaher & Rossiter, 2011, p.12). It is the responsibility of the companies to ensure that they come up with products that are in alignment with these different factors. In so doing, they must first identify which factor affects which type of the targeted customer and in the process come up with products that are considered appealing to this specific group of target customers. In other words, marketing is a strategy that puts the interests of the customer at heart. Companies are bound to fail if they come up with products without taking a survey of the market to identify the different needs of different customers. Different strategies of marketing are applied with respect to different fields. For instance, the kind of strategy that could be applicable to social marketing may not be fully applicable to another field such as manufacturing among others. However, no matter which field the marketing takes place, the main point of focus is on the customer. In every busin ess, the customer is the king. The customer is the main reason why people engage themselves in business activities (Geigenmuller & Outland, 2012, p. 430). This paper will indulge in the discussion of how the different forms of consumer behaviour influences the way companies conduct their marketing. It will illuminate upon the response of these companies in the marketing aspect with respect to changes in consumer behaviour. What happens to the marketing strategies laid down by different companies if the consumer behavior is varied? Since there are many diverse aspects of consumer behavior and attributes to name but a few such as fashion, culture, perceptions, attitudes, motivation and even group influence. Though these attributes sometimes intertwine, for the purposes of a clear investigation into this topic of influence of consumer behavior on marketing, this paper will narrow the attributes down to culture as a consumer attribute. Definition of terms For an in-depth and profound an alysis of this topic, a number of terms that will be applied extensively in this paper will be defined here. These terms are the consumer behavior as well as the culture concept of consumer behavior. Consumer behavior is a term used by different marketers and marketing strategists to describe extensively the way different consumers respond with respect to a number of factors. Consumer behavior