Abstract

The fundamental way of banking undergoes a rapid transformation in the world of today in response to the forces of competition, productivity and efficiency of operations, reduced operating margins, better asset/liability management, risk management and Anytime and Anywhere banking. The technology has changed the face of banking by increasing high level of competition in the market together with increased awareness and quality consciousness among the customers by increasing the transparency in service. It is due to rapid development in technology that there is a sea change in both retail and investment banking. During 1980s the Rangarajan Committee report gave the first blue print for computerization of banks in the country. The Banks have been equipped with variety of platforms related to hardware, operating system, software and application software has implemented with different platforms. It is essential to have interface with different systems and other bank network environment. The cloud computing in banking sector aims to provide better and more innovative services to customers. The advancement of service oriented architecture (SOA) has brought all the banks to come closer to establish and run a virtual business with online services. Cloud computing implements SOA in which IT resources are offered as a service that is more affordable, flexible and attractive to banking sector. This article discusses the benefits and challenges of cloud technology in banking sector and conceptual architecture for a bank operation environment.

Abstract

Wellness, in general, is used to mean a healthy balance of the mind-body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being. It is a multidimensional state of being, describing the existence of positive health in an individual as exemplified by quality of life. Health/Wellness tourism refers to trips that are taken by tourists with the principal purpose being to improve their health and/or wellbeing. Life style diseases have emerged from the demanding and hectic pace of life led by people today. Hence there is a need to de-stress and increase involvement in leisure activities. What attracts medical tourists the most to India is its low cost treatment compared to that in western countries, along with the diverse tourism opportunities. Here, tourists can enjoy the vivacious culture, amazing contradictions, diverse geography, the most unique attribute — unity in diversity and are able to receive an orientation that will help them improve their life in terms of health and general wellness. Kerala's equable climate, natural abundance of forests (with a wealth of herbs and medicinal plants) and the cool monsoon season (June - November) are best suited for curative and restorative packages. The concept of health holiday, now better known as Wellness holiday, is based on the principles of Ayurveda, meditation, yoga, physical exercises and a balanced diet. It is like rejuvenation and clean up process on all levels - physical, mental and emotional. The main objective of this paper is to define and delimit the term Wellness and to explore the paradigm shift of Health Tourism concept to Wellness Tourism in Kerala, along with a study on the current opportunities and facilities.

Abstract

The concept of micro-credit or micro-loan, pioneered by the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, involves credit of approximately $100 to economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs--typically creative women in developing countries. The micro-loan movement has created a global network of tens of millions of women entrepreneurs. Although micro-credit has been in existence approximately three decades, there has been little theoretical work on micro-entrepreneurs. This paper reviews the literature and poses questions regarding the micro-entrepreneurship literature. Specifically, the paper poses the following questions: Are micro-entrepreneurs being helped or hurt by micro-finance institutions? Are micro-entrepreneurs receiving a micro-credit or micro-debt? Do micro-finance efforts help micro-entrepreneurs in both developing and developed countries? What are the long-term effects of micro-credit? First, a brief history of the microfinance movement is discussed and questions are then presented. Finally, possible directions for future research are outlined.

Abstract

The popular press often states that analyst decisions over an extended time period have significant influence over security prices. It is often assumed that analysts add value by conducting in-depth research on public traded firms that enable investors to gauge the attractiveness of each stock. We analysis whether either analyst forecast error or the magnitude of error bias affect the market’s estimated of a firm’s future growth potential as measured by Tobin’s Q and vice-versa. The findings show that analyst have no influence over capital market perception of firm value. Instead, analyst forecast error and bias herds around movement in Tobin’s Q. (JEL G10, G29).

Abstract

This paper studies how executive compensation is designed in firms that adopt sustainable corporate policies (‘sustainable firms’). It is now well understood that executive stock options increase the incentive for risk taking, an incentive that is exacerbated by declining stock prices (Kadan and Swivels (2007)). Empirical analysis of compensation policies at sustainable firms requires identification of such firms, a task that is susceptible to an endogeneity bias. The bias arises when profitable firms mirror the characteristics of sustainable firms without intentionally electing to be so. The paper circumvents the bias by comparing and contrasting compensation practices of firm additions and deletions from an index of sustainable firms created by Dow Jones Co, called the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). The analysis shows significant differences among additions and deletions in the level and composition of CEO pay. Only 27% of median CEO pay in firms added to the index is in the form of stock options.  Among deletions, stock options account for 41% of total CEO pay. Compensation of the top four executives below CEO is more comparable across the two sets of firms.

Abstract

Cultural/heritage tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry because there is a trend toward an increased specialization among tourists. This trend is evident in the rise in the volume of tourists who seek adventure, culture, history, archaeology and interaction with local people (Bob MCkercher, 2002 PP.262). Especially, Indian tourists’ interest in traveling to cultural/ heritage destinations has increased recently and is expected to continue. For example, cultural/heritage sites are among the most preferred tourism experiences in AndhraPradesh.

The recent studies about cultural/heritage tourism focused on the characteristics of tourists who visited cultural/heritage destinations. The study attempts to investigate the relationship between cultural/heritage destination attributes and tourist satisfaction, and to identify the relationship between cultural/heritage destination attributes and tourist satisfaction in terms of selected tourists’ demographic characteristics and travel behavior characteristics.

The expectancy-perception theory provided a conceptual framework for this study. The expectancy-perception theory holds that consumers first form expectations of products or service performance prior to purchasing or use. Subsequently, purchasing and use convey to the consumer beliefs about the actual or perceived performance of the product(s) or service(s). The consumer then compares the perceived performance to prior expectations. Consumer satisfaction is seen as the outcome of this comparison (Philip kolar 2006).

The study area for this study was Andhra Pradesh in cultural and heritage sites. Furthermore, it is one of world’s popular destination is Lord Venkateshwara attracting more than 8 Million tourists each year. The data of this study were collected from the on-site survey method. The sample population for this study was composed of tourists who visited popular tourist attractions in Andhra Pradesh between January and June in 2009. The survey was conducted at five different sites in Andhra Pradesh. Out of 500 questionnaires, 462 were usable. Therefore, the data from 251 respondents were analyzed in this study.

Appropriate statistical analyses such as frequencies, descriptive, factor analysis, correlation analysis, multiple regressions, Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) were used according to respective objectives and descriptors.

The factor analysis was conducted to create correlated variable composites from the original 28 attributes. Using factor analysis, 25 destination attributes resulted to four dimensions: General Tour Attraction, Heritage Attraction, Maintenance Factors, and Culture Attraction. These four factors then were related with overall satisfaction. Correlation analysis revealed that four factors were correlated with tourists’ overall satisfaction. The multiple regression analysis revealed that there was relationship between cultural/heritage destination attributes and tourists’ overall satisfaction. MANOVA revealed that there was significant difference between derived factors in relation to only total household income and the length of stay among 10 demographic and travel behavior characteristics. ANOVA revealed that there is a significant difference in the overall satisfaction of tourists by gender, past experience, and decision time to travel. Finally, MANCOVA revealed that only one of the control variables (past experience) controlled the relationship between the overall satisfaction of tourists and derived factors.

Based upon the results of this study, several recommendations can be made to increase tourists’ satisfaction with Andhra Pradesh. First, comprehending what tourists seek at cultural/heritage attractions will help tourism marketers better understand their customers.

Second, identifying which attributes satisfy the tourist who visit cultural/heritage destinations will help tourism planners develop appropriate strategies to attract their customers and serve them effectively.

Third, knowing who the satisfied tourists are may help reduce marketing costs and maintain cultural/heritage destinations’ sustainability.

Abstract

The main application of fuzzy logic in manufacturing has been through type-1 fuzzy sets leaving type-2 fuzzy sets behind. It is felt that type-2 fuzzy sets have the potential of being exploited on a similar scale to type-1 fuzzy sets, because of the additional advantages of containing more information about uncertainty.

The essence of type-2 is in capturing uncertainty in rule-bases by making the degrees of membership to fuzzy sets, fuzzy themselves. Type-2 fuzzy sets are used when (1) linguistic labels of fuzzy sets are uncertain, (2) there is more then one expert, (3) input data into the fuzzy model is uncertain, and (4) training data is uncertain for adaptive modelling. In this research (1) and (2) lead to the use of type-2 fuzzy sets for evaluating a New Product Introduction process. In particular the New Product Introduction Process is explored and documented in a high technology goods manufacturer. The work uses soft systems methodology, cause and effect diagrams, and process maps to document the use of and sharing of information and also to identify the causes of extended time to market.

Initially qualitative data is used to capture model structure by identifying linguistic variables and relationships between them. It is found that the variables can be arranged in a hierarchy to effectively reduce the potential number of rules. A questionnaire is prepared in order to capture further data to identify fuzzy set parameters and lead to type-2 fuzzy sets.  The remainder of the paper finds some initial results and further illuminates the methodology of using type-2 fuzzy sets.

Abstract

Small and medium enterprises play a very important role in a country like Oman in terms of their potential contribute to employment and growth. However, SMEs in Oman are in their nascent stage and need to be nurtured to contribute in a significant manner to the employment and growth of the country. The basic objective  of  this  paper is to look  financing  problems faced by  small and medium enterprises,  as  this is  seen to be  the critical obstacle  to  growth of   SMEs in  countries like Oman. Small enterprises are defined as those with 1 to 9 employees and medium enterprises are those with 10 to 99 employees. A framework was developed to examine the financing issues surrounding small and medium enterprises. The framework looks at the interlinkages between SME financing constraints, sources of SME financing, working capital financing problems and service sector SME financial constraints. Analysis leads us to conclude that more than 62% of small and medium enterprises in the MENA region find financing a problem. Majority of the small enterprises reported that   a large part of their assets are financed by owners funds (internal financing), while less than 25% of their funding requirements are met my short term bank borrowings, and long term borrowings. Supplier’s credit (payables) is a very important source of funding for small enterprises in Oman. The results clearly force us to conclude that small enterprises are not getting enough funding from banks and financial institutions. Internal equity financing and supplier’s credit are extremely important sources of financing for service sector firms in Oman. We conclude  that obstacles  which  need to be looked at  by  the policy makers for development  of  SMEs in middle east countries like Oman are  lowering interest rates,  ensuring that banks and financial institutions give long term loans,  reducing the need for collateral requirements  and  lastly making banks more accessible especially to small borrowers. There appears to be a need for better and easier communication between banks and small enterprises. However we conclude with a very troubling question which emerged in process of data analysis - does Oman really need small enterprises”?.

Abstract

This case study deals with the HR issues.