Shakespeare and Angela Carter and their works Macbeth and Blood Chamber Essay Example for Free

Shakespeare and Angela Carter and their works Macbeth and Blood Chamber Essay Shakespeare and Angela Carter present through their work of ‘Macbeth’ and ‘The Bloody Chamber’ the struggles of women rebelling against gender stereotypes and how they fall victim to the patriarchal society they are a part of. Firstly, Shakespeare shows the importance of gender boundaries in society and how women who do not conform to their gender stereotypes will be punished. In Macbeth Shakespeare uses the character of Lady Macbeth to show this. Lady Macbeth throughout the play influences and controls her husband Macbeth for personal gain, she does this by taunting her husband which is already the first sign that she doesn’t conform to the stereotypical 16th-century woman who would usually be submissive to their husband. â€Å"When you durst do it, then you were a man† here we see that the gender roles have switched because it’s the wife who has the power here, by saying you ‘were a man’ is telling of this, she is almost mocking him by inferring that if he doesn’t murder Duncan then he is a ‘woman’ in the sense that he was too weak to carry out the murder showing how society viewed women as almost ‘delicate’ however in this scene it’s the woman who has the power. Lady Macbeth teases Macbeth because she knows how if he murders Duncan that she will gain power, now as they’re in a highly patriarchal society Lady Macbeth would not have had any social hierarchy over men but if she becomes queen she will have that power and this would have been desirable for her, as Shakespeare has shown us through her not follow social stereotypes that she has more ‘masculine’ desires rather than women who conform to society by following their only purpose in having children which Lady Macbeth opposes through her description of infanticide she has no interest in having children. To a Jacobean audience, this would be absurd because women’s only purpose in society in the 16th century was to provide men with children. Shakespeare is showing us here how she is against the most feminine thing for a woman and is almost striving for her own personal gain of power which is more masculine in the sense that in most Jacobean plays/stories it is onl y men who strive for power and is a masculine trait traditionally. In The Bloody Chamber, we see a masculine trait again is given to a female character, Carter gives the role of the hero who saves the damsel in distress to the protagonist’s mother which again in traditional stories is a male stereotype where a man would come to save the female who has been captured. The mother is identified with power as she’s described as having â€Å"furious justice† which shows that Carter and Shakespeare have both given female characters that power or shown that like Lady Macbeth they are capable of wanting/having that power. However, a female craving this power is not punished in The Bloody Chamber like it is in Macbeth with her being haunted by her feeling of guilt with her having visions of blood on her hands â€Å"come out, damned spot! But I command you!† as we can see from the way Shakespeare wants this presented as she’s shouting it’s obviously driving her insane as she can see it but no one else can and thus Shak espeare shows how a woman is punished for rebelling against gender stereotypes by her seeking power and has gone insane due to a man’s actions and therefore takes the consequences. But The Bloody Chamber doesn’t punish women for trying to gain power like in Macbeth but through the use of fetishes and sexual desires, they are punished. In The Bloody Chamber, the main protagonist is seen as having sexual desires through the words â€Å"thrusting†, â€Å"ecstasy†, †burning cheek† and â€Å"tender† the main protagonist is usually described with sexual words like this throughout the story. This is a continuative theme throughout the story even by things such as the red necklace she is given by the count which can symbolize blood is a reference to sexual fetishes and desires. However, the same intrigue that allows her to explore sexuality also forces her to explore the secret room which allows her to discover the bodies of the counts old wives. Like Lady Macbeth who is punished for her husband’s actions, the main protagonist in this story would also have been punished for her husband’s actions that being that she discovered his murders and would have been killed by him for discovering them until she is saved by her empowered mother. Secondly, we also see the rebelling of gender stereotypes through the merging of the genders with female and masculine traits being given to opposite-sex characters in Macbeth and The Bloody Chamber. In Macbeth, we see the characters of the witches who cross the line between female and male gender stereotypes. â€Å"You should be a woman, yet your beards forbid me† showing that Shakespeare even blurred the lines of gender through their appearance and thus they rebel against the patriarchal society by not conforming to these stereotypes of looking like a woman and it shows through the confusion of Banquo who has been indoctrinated by the patriarchy and knows nothing else. However, even with the witches who have tried to rebel from gender stereotypes even through appearance they still fall victim to the patriarchy. They have received the punishment of being segregated from a society which is most likely due to the time being that in the 16th century England the fad for witch hun ting was at its peak. A critic states: ‘Of all Shakespeares female characters Lady Macbeth stands out far beyond the rest — remarkable for her ambition, strength of will, cruelty, and dissimulation.’ I agree with this statement that Lady Macbeth stands out and has traits such as ‘strength of will’ because of â€Å"That made you break your enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man† it would have been unheard of for someone like Lady Macbeth who is a representation of a woman in 16th century Elizabethan England to stand up and taunt their husband like she does which does show strength, it also shows her rebelling against gender stereotypes because it’s unfeminine for a woman to mock their husband for not being a man in considering if she wasn’t married she would have no power at all in society and therefore doing this could be seen as a risk to a woman and therefore making Lady Macbeth ‘strong’ and ‘ambitious’ As Lady Macbeth propels her husband toward committing Duncans murder, she indicates that she must take on masculine characteristics. Her most famous speech

Analysis Of Life Insurance Industry In India Economics Essay

Analysis Of Life Insurance Industry In India Economics Essay Since inception the Indian life insurance industry has its own origin and history. It has passed through many hurdles and hindrances in order to attain the present status. However, the income earning capacity of an individual citizen of a nation and the eagerness and awareness of the general public are the two key determinants of the growth of any insurance industry. In the Indian context, the insurance habits among the general public during the independence decade was rare and in the following decades, it has slowly increased. There was a remarkable improvement in the Indian insurance industry soon after the economic reform era (1991). After 1991 the Indian life insurance industry has geared up in all respects, as well as it is being forced to face a lot of healthy competition from many national as well as international private insurance players. In this paper we have analyzed the performance of LIC over a time period of 1980 to 2009, attempt has been made to analyse the overall performance of Life Insurance Industry of India between pre- and post economic reform era. To measure the current status, volume of competitions and challenges faced by the Life Insurance Corporation of India and to measure the effectiveness of investment strategy of LIC over the period 1980 to 2009. Data were analysed by using Regression, Trend Analysis and Anova. The study reveals that there is a tremendous growth in the performance of Indian Life Insurance industry and LIC due to the policy of LPG. Insurance industry also improved a lot due to the emergence of Private sector and opening up for foreign players. Further there is also a huge change in the investment pattern of LIC. There is a increasing trend toward the investment in Stock market by LIC from 60% to 93% from 1980 to 2009 due to the effective regulation of SEBI and increasing transparen cy of stock market. I. Introduction Life insurance is a contract for the payment of a sum of money to a person assured on happening of the event ensured against. Usually the contracts provide for the payment of the amount on a date of maturity or at a specified date at periodic intervals or at unfortunate death, if it occurs earlier. Life insurance is universally acknowledged to be an institution, which eliminates risk, substituting certainty for uncertainty and comes to the timely aid of the family in the unfortunate event of death of breadwinner. Life insurance is civilisations partial solution to the problems that caused by death. In short, life insurance is concerned with two hazards that stand across the life-path of every person: 1.That of dying prematurely is leaving a dependent family to fend for itself. 2. That of living till old age without visible means of support. The nationalization of insurance business in the country resulted in the establishment of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in 1956 as a wholly- owned corporation of the government of India. Indias life insurance market has grown rapidly over the past six years, with new business premiums growing at over 40% per year. The premium income of Indias life insurance market is set to double by 2012 on better penetration and higher incomes. Insurance penetration in India is currently about 4% of its GDP, much lower than the developed market level of 6-9%. In several segments of the population, the penetration is lower than potential. For example, in urban areas, the penetration of life insurance in the mass market is about 65%, and its considerably less in the low-income unbanked segment. In rural areas, life insurance penetration in the banked segment is estimated to be about 40%, while it is marginal at best in the unbanked segment. The total premium could go up to $80-100 billion by 2012 from the present $40 billion as higher per capita income increases per capita insurance intensity. The average household premium will rise to Rs 3,000-4,100 from the current Rs 1,300 as will penetration by the existing and new players. Indias ratio of life insurance premium to its GDP is around 4 per cent against 6-9 per cent in the developed world. It could rise to 5.1-6.2 by 2012 in tandem with the countrys demographic profile. India has 17 life insurers and the state owned Life Insurance Corp. of India dominates the industry with over 70 percent market share, though private players have been growing aggressively. Considering the worlds largest population and an annual growth rate of nearly 7 per cent, India offers great opportunities for insurers. US based online insurance company ebix.com plans to enter the Indian market following deregulation of its insurance sector. In a diverse country such as India it is imperative that a universal insurance infrastructure be created to maximize efficiency in the insurance industry. Online insurer ebix.com can offers the Indian market a business-to-consumer internet portal where consumers have more choice while purchasing insurance and an internet-based agency management system that will help agents work more efficiently with multiple carriers. Foreign holding in Indian insurance companies is limited to 26 per cent. The market is moving beyond single-premium policies and unit linked insurance products which are easier to sell. The agency model is the dominant sales channel accounting for more than 85 per cent of fresh premiums but overall inactivity and attrition is much higher at 50-55 per cent than the global average of 25 per cent. GIVE REFERENCE II. Review of Literature In the present section an attempt has been made to examine the review of literature related to the study. Rao, R.T.S. (2000) in this article had explained the phenomenal growth experienced by life insurance industries recently, in line with the countrys improving economic fundamentals. By comparing the growth, penetration, density and other insurance variables, he had shown that India is still an underdeveloped insurance market, it has a huge catch-up potential. According to him even though there is strong potential for expansion of insurance into rural areas, growth has so far remained slow. Considering that the bulk of the Indian population still resides in rural areas, it is imperative that the insurance industrys development should not miss this vast sector of the population. Goyal, K. (2004), in this article has reviewed that private insurance companies had reason to celebrate with the lifting of the sectoral cap in the insurance sector to 49 per cent in the Union Budget 2004-05, as against 26 per cent earlier. However, to offset the excitement, there was also an imposition of service tax of 10 per cent on the risk premium for life insurance, which has the industry with mixed feelings. The FDI hike has been a much-awaited plea of these companies, who believed that they could plough in more money into the business if their foreign partners were permitted an increased holding. Jain, A.K. (2004), revealed that Waves of liberalization have done wonders to proper the insurance occupation to the status of a career with a bright future. The average mindset, particularly of younger generation in India was very amenable to the changes in insurance as an avenue where exhilarating opportunities are opened up in changed environment. Krishnamurthy, S. (2005) in this article had reviewed that Insurance companies have a pivotal role in offering insurance products which meet the requirements of the people and, at the same time, are affordable. Some of the challenges faced by the insurance sector pertain to the demand conditions, competition in the sector, product innovations, delivery and distribution systems, use of technology, and regulation. With the liberalization and entry of private companies in insurance, the Indian insurance sector has started showing signs of significant change. Ray, Subhashish and Pathak, Ajay. (2006) opined that ever since the privatization of the insurance sector in India in 2000, the industries has been witnessing the birth of numerous private players, mostly joint ventures between foreign insurance giants and Indian diversified conglomerates and each one is trying to make an inroad into the huge untapped market. Sinha, Ram Pratap. (2007) opined that the deregulation of general insurance industry in India is having far-reaching consequences in terms of market size, structure and operational practices. As compared to the international standards the penetration level of general insurance companies in India is quite low and, therefore, has tremendous potential for growth. His analysis revealed that the public sector insurers dominate the private sector insurers in terms of mean technical efficiency in constant returns to scale, while the private sector insurers have a slightly higher mean technical efficiency than the public sector insurers in variable returns to scale. Goswami, P. (2007) in this article had reviewed that the insurance industry in India was opened up to private sector participation in the year 2000. Prior to this, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India was the sole player in the life insurance industry in India. In six years since the entry of private players in the insurance market, LIC has lost 29% market share to the private players, although both, market size and the insurance premium being collected, are on the rise. In 2005, life insurance accounted for 79% of the total insurance market in India. It was found that the responsiveness dimension of service quality provides maximum customer satisfaction in the life insurance industry in India. Sabera. (2007) indicated that in March 2000, when the Government of India liberalized the insurance sector, lifted the entry restrictions for private insurance players, allowing the foreign players to enter into the market and start their operations in India. The entry of private players helps in spreading and keeping the operation in the Indian insurance sector which in turn results in restructuring and revitalizing of public sector companies. III. Research Methodology The research article is based upon descriptive as well as exploratory research. Secondary sources of data collection have been adopted for the study. The relevant and required data are collected from the text books, national and international articles, RBI Bulletin (various issues) as well as annual reports of LIC. The Statistical tools used in this research article are Correlation, Regression, ANOVA, the method of least squares and linear trend. The method of least square has been used for analysing the overall performance of Life Insurance Industry of India between pre- and post economic reform era and to measure the current status, volume of competitions and challenges faced by the Life Insurance Corporation of India. For processing the data and estimating the results, Excel, SPSS-16 packages have been used. Objectives: The following are the objectives of the present study To analyze the overall performance of Life Insurance Industry of India between pre- and post economic reform era To measure the current status, volume of competitions and challenges faced by the Life Insurance Corporation of India To measure the change in the effectiveness of the investment strategy of LIC over the period 1980 to 2009. Hypothesis: The study is based on the hypothesis that There is no significance difference in the performance of Life Insurance Industry between pre- and post economic reform era There is no significance Change in the pattern of the investment strategy of LIC over the period 1980 to 2009. Status and Position of Indian Life Insurance Industry in the pre LPG era In India, life insurance in its modern form came from England in the year 1818. The first life insurance was Oriental life insurance Company started by Europeans in Calcutta. All the insurance industries established during that period of time were brought up with the purpose of looking after the needs of European community and Indian natives were not being insured by these companies. Later on with the efforts of eminent people like Babu Muttylal Seal, the foreign life insurance companies started insuring Indian lives. But still Indian lives were being treated as sub-standard lives and heavy extra premiums were being charged on them. However in the year 1870, Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society heralded the birth of first Indian life insurance company and covered Indian lives at normal rates. Starting as Indian enterprise with highly patriotic motives, insurance companies came into existence to carry the message of insurance and social security through insurance to various sectors of the society. Bharat Insurance Company (1896) was another one of such companies inspired by nationalism. The Swadeshi movement during 1905-1907 gave rise to more insurance companies. The United India in Madras, National Indian and National Insurance in Calcutta and the Co-operative Assurance at Lahore were established in 1906. In 1907, the Hindustan Co-operative Insurance Company took its birth in one of the rooms of the Jorasanko, house of the great poet Rabindra Nath Tagore, in Calcutta. The Indian Mercantile, General Assurance and Swadeshi Life (later Bombay Life) were some of the companies that established during the same period. Prior to 1912, India had no legislation to regulate insurance business. However in the year 1912, the Life Insurance Companies Act, and the Provident Fund Act were passed. The Life Insurance Companies Act, 1912 made it necessary that the premium rate tables and periodical valuations of companies should be certified by an actuary, but in actuall the Act discriminated between foreign and Indian companies on many accounts, putting the Indian companies at a disadvantage. The first two decades of the twentieth century saw lot of growth in insurance industries. From 44 companies with total business-in-force of Rs.22.44 crore, it rose to 176 companies with total business-in-force of Rs.298 crore in 1938. During the mushrooming of insurance companies many financially unsound concerns were also floated which failed miserably. The Insurance Act 1938 was the first legislation governing not only life insurance but also non-life insurance to provide strict state control over insurance business. The demand for nationalization of life insurance industry was made repeatedly in the past but it gathered momentum in 1944 when a bill to amend the Life Insurance Act 1938 was introduced in the Legislative Assembly. However, it was much later on the 19th of January, 1956, that life insurance in India was nationalized. About 154 Indian insurance companies, 16 non-Indian companies and 75 provident were operating in India at the time of nationalization. Nationalization wa s accomplished in two stages; initially the management of the companies was taken over by means of an Ordinance, and later, the ownership too by means of a comprehensive bill. The Parliament of India passed the Life Insurance Corporation Act on the 19th of June 1956, and the Life Insurance Corporation of India was created on 1st September, 1956, with the objective of spreading life insurance much more widely and in particular to the rural areas with a view to reach all insurable persons in the country, providing them adequate financial cover at a reasonable cost. In the year 1956, LIC had 5 zonal offices, 33 divisional offices and 212 branch offices, apart from its corporate office. Since life insurance contracts are long term contracts and during the currency of the policy it requires a variety of services needs felt in the later years to expand the operations and place a branch office at each district headquarter. Re-organization of LIC took place and large numbers of new branch offices were opened. As a result of the re-organization servicing functions were transferred to the branches, and branches were made accounting units. It worked wonders with the performance of the corporation. It may be seen from the fact that about 200.00 crores of New Business in 1957 the corporation crossed 1000.00 crores only in the year 1969-70, and it took another 10 years for LIC to cross 2000.00 crores mark of new business. But with the re-organization happening in the early eighties, by 1985-86 LIC had already crossed 7000.00 crores Sum Assured on new polic ies. Table 1. Growth of LIC between 1959 and 1999 Table 1. Growth of LIC between 1959 and 1999 S.No. Particulars 1957 1999 1 Annual Business: Sum Assured Policies First year premium 336.3 crores 8,00,000 14 crores 75606 crores 14857000 4171 crores 2 Business in force: Sum Assured Policies Renewal premium 1477 crores 5686000 74 crores 459201 crores 91726000 16136crores 3 Group Business in force: Sum Assured No. of Lives 5.29 crores 69558 crores 21671000 4 Life Fund: 41040 crores 127389.06 crores Source: Secondary Data Annual Reports of LIC. Progress of Indian Life Insurance Industry in the Post LPG Era Insurance sector reforms: In 1993, Malhotra Committee headed by former Finance Secretary and RBI Governor R.N. Malhotra was formed to evaluate the Indian insurance industry and recommend its future direction. The Malhotra committee was set up with the objective of complementing the reforms initiated in the financial sector. The reforms were aimed at creating a more efficient and competitive financial system suitable for the requirements of the economy keeping in mind the structural changes currently underway and recognizing that insurance is an important part of the overall financial system where it was necessary to address the need for similar reformsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ In 1994, the committee submitted the report and some of the key recommendations included: 1) Structure Government stake in the insurance Companies to be brought down to 50%. Government should take over the holdings of GIC and its subsidiaries so that these subsidiaries can act as independent corporations. All the insurance companies should be given greater freedom to operate. 2) Competition Private Companies with a minimum paid up capital of Rs.1bn should be allowed to enter the industry. No Company should deal in both Life and General Insurance through a single entity. Foreign companies may be allowed to enter the industry in collaboration with the domestic companies. Postal Life Insurance should be allowed to operate in the rural market. Only One State Level Life Insurance Company should be allowed to operate in each state. 3) Regulatory Body The Insurance Act should be changed. An Insurance Regulatory body should be set up. Controller of Insurance (Currently a part from the Finance Ministry) should be made independent. 4) Investments Mandatory Investments of LIC Life Fund in government securities to be reduced from 75% to 50%. GIC and its subsidiaries are not to hold more than 5% in any company (There current holdings to be brought down to this level over a period of time). 5) Customer Service LIC should pay interest on delays in payments beyond 30 days. Insurance companies must be encouraged to set up unit linked pension plans. Computerisation of operations and updating of technology to be carried out in the insurance industry The committee emphasized that in order to improve the customer services and increase the coverage of the insurance industry should be opened up to competition. But at the same time, the committee felt the need to exercise caution as any failure on the part of new players could ruin the public confidence in the industry. Hence, it was decided to allow competition in a limited way by stipulating the minimum capital requirement of Rs.100 crores. The committee felt the need to provide greater autonomy to insurance companies in order to improve their performance and enable them to act as independent companies with economic motives. For this purpose, it had proposed setting up an independent regulatory body. MAJOR POLICY CHANGES Insurance sector has been opened up for competition from Indian private insurance companies with the enactment of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (IRDA Act). As per the provisions of IRDA Act, 1999, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) was established on 19th April 2000 to protect the interests of holder of insurance policy and to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance industry. IRDA Act 1999 paved the way for the entry of private players into the insurance market which was hitherto the exclusive privilege of public sector insurance companies/ corporations. Under the new dispensation Indian insurance companies in private sector were permitted to operate in India with the following conditions: Company is formed and registered under the Companies Act, 1956; The aggregate holdings of equity shares by a foreign company, either by itself or through its subsidiary companies or its nominees, do not exceed 26%, paid up equity capital of such Indian insurance company; The companys sole purpose is to carry on life insurance business or general insurance business or reinsurance business. The minimum paid up equity capital for life or general insurance business is Rs.100 crores. The minimum paid up equity capital for carrying on reinsurance business has been prescribed as Rs.200 crores. The Authority has notified 27 Regulations on various issues which include Registration of Insurers, Regulation on insurance agents, Solvency Margin, Re-insurance, Obligation of Insurers to Rural and Social sector, Investment and Accounting Procedure, Protection of policy holders interest etc. Applications were invited by the Authority with effect from 15th August, 2000 for issue of the Certificate of Registration to both life and non-life insurers. IRDA has so far granted registration to 12 private life insurance companies and 9 general insurance companies. If the existing public sector insurance companies are included, there are currently 13 insurance companies in the life side and 13 companies operating in general insurance business. Today LIC functions with 2048 fully computerized branch offices, 100 divisional offices, 7 zonal offices and the corporate office. LICs Wide Area Network covers 100 divisional offices and it connects all the branches through a Metro Area Network. LIC has tied up with some Banks and Service providers to offer an on-line premium collection facility in selected cities. LICs ECS and ATM premium payment facility is an addition to customer convenience. Apart from on-line Kiosks and IVRS, Info Centers have been commissioned at Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, New Delhi, Pune and many other cities. With a vision of providing easy access to its policyholders, the LIC has launched its SATELLITE SAMPARK offices. These satellite offices are smaller, leaner and closer to the customer. The digitalized records of the satellite offices will facilitate the customer anywhere servicing and many other conveniences in the future. LIC continues to be the dominant life insurer eve n in the liberalized scenario of Indian insurance industries and is moving fast on a new growth trajectory surpassing its own past records. LIC has issued over one crore policies during the current year. Table-2: Total Life Insurance Premium (Rs. Crore) INSURER 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 2002-03 2001-02 LIC 149789.99 127822.84 90792.22 75127.29 63533.43 54628.49 49821.91 (17.19) (40.79) (20.85) (18.25) (16.30) (9.65) (42.79) Aviva 1891.88 1147.23 600.27 253.42 81.50 13.47 NA   Bajaj Allianz 9725.31 5345.24 3133.58 1001.68 220.80 69.17 7.14 Bharti Axa 118.41 7.78 NA   NA NA NA NA Birla Sunlife 3272.19 1776.71 1259.68 915.47 537.54 143.92 28.26 Future Generali 2.49 NA   NA NA NA NA NA HDFC Std 4858.56 2855.87 1569.91 686.63 297.76 148.83 33.46 ICICI Pru 13561.06 7912.99 4261.05 2363.82 989.28 417.62 116.38 IDBI Fortis 11.90   NA NA NA NA NA NA ING Vysya 1158.87 707.20 425.38 338.86 88.51 21.16 4.19 Kotak Mahindra 1691.14 971.51 621.85 466.16 150.72 40.32 7.58 Met Life 1159.54 492.71 205.99 81.53 28.73 7.91 0.48 Max New York 2714.60 1500.28 788.13 413.43 215.25 96.59 38.95 Reliance Life 3225.44 1004.66 224.21 106.55 31.06 6.47 0.28 Sahara 143.49 51.00 27.66 1.74 NA   NA NA SBI Life 5622.14 2928.49 1075.32 601.18 225.67 72.39 14.69 Shriram 358.05 184.17 10.33   NA NA NA NA Tata AIG 2046.35 1367.18 880.19 497.04 253.53 81.21 21.14 Private Total 51561.42 28253.00 15083.54 7727.51 3120.33 1119.06 272.55 (82.50) (87.31) (95.19) (147.65) (178.83) (310.59) (4124.31) Total (LIC+Private) 201351.41 156075.84 105875.76 82854.80 66653.75 55747.55 50094.46 (29.01) (47.38) (27.78) (24.31) (19.56) (11.28) (43.54) Note: Figure in bracket indicates the growth over the previous year in percent. Two way ANOVA Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit Rows 49560705298 17 2915335606 37.2725415 4.7941E-36 1.723833402 Columns 1069788739 6 178298123.2 2.27954002 0.0417493 2.188760765 Error 7978104529 102 78216711.07 Total 58608598567 125 Analysis and Interpretation Table 2 shows total life insurance premium during the year 2001-02 to 2007-08. The proportion of premium collected by LIC out of total premium collected by life insurance industry is declined from 97% in 2001-02 to 74% in 2007-08. It indicates the increasing competition from private sector. ICICI prudential is becoming a stronger and stronger player by keeping over a lot of business of LIC. But still there is a lot of scope of development in the life insurance industry where private sector will be a challenge in the front of LIC. By applying ANOVA at 0.05 level of significance, It is being observed that there is a significance difference in the performance of LIC and other Private Sector insurance companies over a period of 2001-02 to 2007-08 Table 3: Total Life Insurance Premium Year (X) Total life insurance premium (Y) U=X-A/ H U2 UY 2002 50094.46 -3 9 -150283.38 2003 55747.55 -2 4 -111495.1 2004 66653.75 -1 1 -66653.75 2005 82854.80 0 0 0 2006 105875.76 1 1 105875.76 2007 156075.84 2 4 312151.68 2008 201351.41 3 9 604054.23 718653.57 0 28 693649.44 Source- compiled from table 2. Y = A+BX ÃŽÂ £Y=nA+B X ÃŽÂ £XY=A ÃŽÂ £X+BÃŽÂ £ X2 Y=A+Bu ÃŽÂ £Y=nA+B ÃŽÂ £U ÃŽÂ £uY=A ÃŽÂ £u+B ÃŽÂ £u2 ÃŽÂ £Y=nA A= ÃŽÂ £Y/n ÃŽÂ £uY=BÃŽÂ £ u2 B= ÃŽÂ £uY/ ÃŽÂ £u2 A= ÃŽÂ £Y/n A= 718653.57/7= 102664.79 B= ÃŽÂ £uY/ ÃŽÂ £u2= 693649.44/28= 24773.19 Y=A+B (X-2004) 102664.79+ 24773.19 (2012-2004) 102664.79+ 24773.19 (8) 300,850.35 crore Based on the middle year 2005, the trend value for the year 2012 can be calculated using the linear function Y=A+BX, where, AB are constant. If we substitute the values in the trend line equation, the expected total LIC premium for the year 2012 is Rs. 300,850.35 crores. It shows that the total business is in increasing trend. Table 4: Investment strategy of LIC (Rupees crore) Year Sector-wise Instrument-wise of which Total (2 to 5) Or (6 to 7) (end-March) Public Private Joint Co-operative Stock exchange securities Loans 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1979 3411.9 618.1 29.9 527.8 2733.8 1853.1 4587.7 1980 3915.5 770.1 0 602.1 3113.4 2173.6 5287.7 1981 4707.8 647.2 0 665.5 3591.3 2725.6 6020.5 1982 5410.7 698.7 32 753 4040.6 2612 6894.4 1983 6189.7 787.4 32.7 825.2 NA NA 7835 1984 7020.8 891.4 40.1 905.3 NA NA 8857.6 1985 7919.5 1010.6 51.2 972.9 NA NA 9954.2 1986 9063.8 1121.3 68 1036.

Best Buy Managing For Competitive Advantage Commerce Essay

Best Buy Managing For Competitive Advantage Commerce Essay The paper is a critical examination of Best Buy managing for competitive advantage. The essay brings forth strategies Best Buy uses as well as how these strategies are put into action in order for it to gain competitive advantage over its competitors. Competitive advantage refers to set of strategic advantages a business have adopted that make it be in a better position to compete or even out shine its rivals. Thus attaining Competitive Advantage fortifies and places an organization in a better position within the competitive business world. According to Pfeffer 21, this theory of competitive advantage was brought forth by Porter Michael back in 1990. He suggested that business entities as well as other non-profit institutions need to adopt some policies, procedures and plans that will help it to develop very high quality goods and services that can be sold at higher prices to consumers. With the fact that almost all kind of business entities do meet very stiff competitions there is thus need for each and every organization to adopt the best strategies that will help them cut themselves an edge in this competitive world of business, Best Buy not being an exception. However various business and management scholars have come to a conclusion that having these strategies is not important unless they are adequately managed; hence competitive advantage management (Pfeffer 142). This refers to set of mechanisms and plans that not only places and organization at an upper hand as compared to its competitors but making it stand out in the business environment. The paper recognizes Best Buy competitive advantage as being it customer-centricity this implies delivering modified and extremely personalized service to clients. All this has been attained by automating the services it provides to customers by using online services. Best Buy customer centered strategy It has been argued out that once an organization clearly understands the need, wants and aspiration of its customers, there is nothing that will block it from excelling provided it takes corrective actions towards attaining the same. Additionally, research as shown that business entities that focus or are customer oriented do have higher chances of securing a competitive advantage which in most cases translates to higher revenue generation, price earnings ratio, highly satisfied customers thus creating customer loyalty. This concept seems to have been well mastered by Best Buy. For instance, since the plan was rolled out, the profit margin for the organization rose by almost 3% (Jaynie Flanagan 122). It is worth mentioning that the strategy has been successful thanks to technological innovation that has allowed customers to even buy good 24/7 even during the holidays. It is important to note although this strategy was recently launched, the organization adequately trained and educated its store-level workforce so that they could be in a position to have in mind the varied needs of the customers on the basis of how they were segmented. One strategy that was a milestone in taking the business where it is to day is customers segmentation. Best Buy segmented its customers into five different levels which include; small-business customers that utilize the business services and products to foster increased profits in their business, busy mothers leaving in suburban that aim at enriching their kids way of life with technological innovation especially in entertainment,, men having families that are in quest of bettering their general way of living through entertainment and other ways, young men who are is thirst of technological innovation and finally very rich professionals that seek the best in terms of entertainment as well as other life experiences. It is worth noting heretthat this I in line with the notion brought forth by Mentzer in his article titles Achieving Competitive Advantage through Supply Chain Management he suggested that not all customers are created equally because there are those that are very crucial to success of any organization while some are not as crucial as other and thus need to be treated by using a different approach. This has been adequately addressed by Best Buy by segmenting its customers (Mentzer 3). According to Mentzer 1 after successfully carrying out a survey, which included slightly over thirty of its stores, Best Buy started rolling the strategy of computerizing the quote-to-order process aimed at making it possible for customers to buy in a 24/7 hour basis even if it is on holidays. In total over hundred of the companys store adopted this strategy. Reports suggested that the company financial result could be boosted and indeed it was and that less cynical outcomes are expected as well as development of a stable link between the company and its customers. Additionally, it is important to remember that for any organization to be prosperous even in its best strategies, the part played by its workforce is of paramount, it is evident that the company did provide education and training to its employees so that they could be well equipped with knowledge to help customers. An example where customer centricity was attained through the efforts of store employees is in Pasadena store in which there was a reconfiguration of the place to appeal to suburban mothers (Peppers Rogers 4) It entailed transferring small electrical appliances to a low rack situated on the walk way of the store from high shelves, this boosted sales of the same to almost two folds. Generally speaking, the company strategy fundamentally rests on viewing its initiatives from the customers point of view, clearly understanding what they need as well as trying its best in meeting these needs (Jaynie Flanagan 211). According to the vice chairman and CEO of the company, this is what gives them a cutting edge in the business environment. On the same note, the company has adopted a way of distributing its goods that is inline with customers demand and aspirations. This has time and a gained been managed by using enterprise resource planning system that seem to have successfully synchronized the need of clients. Additionally, the company best strategy is also its ability to harmonize it various chains of supply together with what its stores need; (Peppers Rogers 2) this has resulted to those employees who work as sales representative having at their disposal a variety of products that meet the needs of those customers that are dear to the company. Similarly, it is worth mentioning that Best Buy has successfully adopted technological innovation whereby customers need not to come to their stores to select or see those appliances they plan to buy. This carries with it a number of advantages for instance convenience and lack of being pressurized by sales persons to buy (Pfeffer 164). Additionally, it give one enough time to scrutinize the features one desire to have in a given appliance. Conclusion From the review of competitive advantage management of Best Buy Company, it is evident that technological innovation adoption and focusing in customer and empowering its employees are among the strategies that have played a better part in shaping the company. What make the company different is that it has clearly understood what its customers need and have taken serious steps towards attaining those things desired by the customers. It is thus no doubt that the company has thrived despite stiff competition from other well known business organizations such as Wal Mart, Dell among other. In my view, every organization must adopt a set of strategies to help it thrive now and in future.

Patalogy of the Central Nevrvous System: Multiple Sclerosis Essay

Multiple Sclerosis: Pathology of the Central Nervous System Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that commonly found in individuals between the ages of 20 and 40. While men with MS tend to have a faster progressing disease, women are more likely than men to develop it. MS comes in many forms due to the extent of the damage and the amount of lesions, along with how quickly it progresses. All of this collectively forms the MS community today and has resulted in new test methods and forms of treatment developed to both help relieve the symptoms and slow the progression of the disease. This research paper will go through what causes a person to develop MS, what is going on within the body that causes the symptoms people experience, both the objective and subjective findings of MS, as wells as pharmaceutical and natural treatment options. Pathophysiology Multiple Sclerosis is distinguished as a chronic autoimmune disease that results in the demyelination of the central nervous system. The ultimate problem is that myelin within the central nervous system becomes inflamed and scarred which has massive effects on the individual. Huether and McCance (2012) go into great detail about what Multiple Sclerosis is stating that it is a multifactorial disease, meaning that it results when a person is genetically prone to developing MS and then develops a virus in the nervous system. The demyelination and inflammation of the central nervous system is caused by plasma cells, B-lymphocytes, T-cells and proinflammatory cytokines and causes the scarring and the degeneration of axons, which is unfortunately irreversible. Aside from the central inflammation caused by the disease, there is also injury throughout the CNS that is classified as ... ...ve the symptoms associated with the disease. Other, natural options, for people include dietary changes, daily exercise, massage, and herbal remedies to name a few. There are still unknowns about MS, however, there have been great advancements in the diagnosing and treatment of multiple sclerosis that are helping individuals who have the disease every day. References Alnar, O. (2009). Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis. CNS and Neurological Disorders- Drug Targest, 8 (3), 167-174. Cantorna, M. (2006). Vitamin D and its Role in Immunology: Multiple Sclerosis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, 92, (1), 60- 64. Huether, S. E., McCance, K. L. (2012). Understanding Pathophysiology. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Inc. Wilson, S., Giddens, J. Health Assessment for Nursing Practice. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Inc.

Fire And Ice - Compared To 4 Other Poems Essay -- essays research pape

Five Great Pieces of Thought I think Robert Frost is a understandable, but yet an unconventional poet. Frost wrote in his own style, and as a result, he took quite a bit of heat from the critics of his period. Frost has an elegant style of writing descriptive and understandable poems. I am going to tell you about the five best pieces he has ever written. First off, "A Considerable Speck" is a unusual poem about Frost noticing a tiny speck on his paper. Upon further observation, Frost notices that the speck is actually a extremely tiny mite, struggling to avoid being crushed by Frost’s pen. Frost appreciates the insect’s battle to stay alive and leaves it on his paper. Frost allows the mite to sleep on his paper because he values any intelligence, even one that is small as a bug’s. This poem is told directly from Robert Frost’s mouth. It shows how much the poet appreciates the little things in life. Regardless of size Frost understands that a life is a life, and all lives are important. The imagery in this poem is very clear to me. I can picture an old man trying to blow a piece of dirt off the paper. Then the piece of dirt starts moving, as he sees what he believes to be a dot on the paper but really to be a mite. The old man then starts to think about the value of life. The theme of the poem is that there is no such thing as an insignificant speck. Everything and everyone has a purpose for being here. This poem is filled with alliteration. Some examples I found are: cunning crept, tenderer-than-thou, and breathing blown (Silberner 98). Mind is repeated three times in the final stanza. Also there were two instances in which Frost used assonance room for and living mite. The rhyme scheme of the first stanza of "A Considerable Speck" is AABBCCDADEEFGFGHH, but there is no pattern throughout the poem (Silberner 99). Next I would like to tell you about is "Ghost House". It is an remarkably descriptive poem illustrating an aged, haunted house. The imagery in this poem is marvelous. This poem allows the reader to see the house as if he were standing on the front porch. You can picture an old decrepit house, covered with vines and wild raspberries. There is a dying tree in the front yard, with only one vital branch on it. Beneath the tree there are two gravestones so covered in moss that the names cannot be... ...uching poem to me because I was always taught to be my own person and I thank my parents for that. Robert Frost’s life started out quite different than most people. He never had any formal schooling until he was the age of twelve years old. This wasn’t the way you would think a famous writer would start off his life. The even awkward part of this story is that he graduated Lawrence High School as co-valedictorian of his graduating class. When I saw that I was very struck. I realized that changing is all up to one person and that one person is you. Robert Frost’s life took drastic changes and as a result of this his poetry varies quite a bit (Silberner 192). At the time he was writing his more depressing poems, he was having trouble getting his poems published, and he was doing oddball jobs to make ends meet (Gioia and Kennedy 522). His more upbeat poems were not created until after magazines began printing his work. Robert Frost is a simple, yet powerful poet. He uses small, understandable words, which show very powerful meanings. The main reason why I appreci ate Frost’s work is because I can understand it, which is more than I can say for the majority of poetry that I have read.

My Freshmen Year Essay

My freshmen year ?My freshmen year gives an objective look into the ideal freshmen year of college experienced by anthropologist Rebekah Nathan. From this? experience Nathan wrote about her first year as a college student. Nathan’s story attempts to show the social and academic expectancy of a student entering college. Nathan gave her personal accounts of freshmen life by? communicating her experience in the dorm, study habits, general? student interactions, and demographic. When comparing student life at Albion to that depicted in Nathan’s account, I could make generalizations but as Nathan also found, no student or campus is alike. To start, Albion College is a small college with a small student? body while the school Nathan attended was very large, so one would guess? there will be differences in what an Albion student would experience? and what Nathan experienced. Nathan had the disadvantage of being an? older women in a world of young adults that were at the least thirty years her junior. Nathan found it difficult at first to be accepted by other freshmen. Many thought she was a parent or just someone who did not belong. Although I didn’t experience this my freshmen year at Albion College, Nathan’s account of college dorms seemed to be similar to that of most freshmen in colleges today. The halls in freshmen dorms tend to be decorated in the personality of the occupants. One thing I noticed was outward decorations of a person’s room often reflects the occupant’s study habits, an area explored by Nathan. Nathan found generally students with busy class schedules do what is important first and the lesser important work tends to wait until they â€Å"find the time†. I would say this action is common among the majority students. As the workload increases for the student, things are pushed to the side for reasons such as personal relationships, exhaustion, or other more pending assignments. I’d like to point out that Nathan, as a professor, had her pick of classes which most freshmen do not and made a schedule that worked best for her own interest. In most cases, college freshmen choose classes from what is leftover and most often have to squeeze unwanted classes into a challenging class schedule. Void of a troubling class schedule, Nathan used her time for? Nathan’s interactions with international students, she found a slight alienation of that demographic of students. The complaints were that American students often show little interest in the international students and they are often left to explore the new country on their own. During Nathan’s initial experience in the freshmen dorm she noticed that friendships are made within the first week of classes, then it is hard to penetrate a new group of friends. Therefore with a possible, language barriers, difference of customs, or just awkwardness of different upbringings, may be the cause for this alienation. I would say there is a higher percentage of international? individuals that experience this at Albion College because of the? demographic of students here. Albion College students, for? the most part, are upper middle class white kids. Bigger schools tend to have a wider demographic of race and class, which often makes a melting pot of mingling people. Making friends is the ability to find common? interests with others. Therefore, someone from another country may find it? hard to make a connection with someone a different nationality due to? customary differences. Nathan’s depiction of the typical college student gives the picture that students often are â€Å"goof offs† and use college as a social club instead of a place that is meant to promote intellectual growth. Where this may be the norm at larger institutions, I would have to disagree with making this generalization for all schools. Albion College students take their education more serious than those from other state colleges. Many students at Albion are focused to continue on to a higher-ranking graduate school or job and? realize that taking school with a serious attitude is the way to do? hat. Nathan’s account of freshman life is realistic because it is her own? experience but it is not typical in some aspects for an Albion student.

Media Policy

The issue of coming out versus staying in the closet is one that has the potential to provide a news media organization with a large amount of readership or viewer-ship because of the still novel aspect of the situation. America is quickly becoming a more liberal society, yet the conservatism within the country is still high. While many people have pushed the envelope of conservatism, still a lot struggle with the idea of challenging traditions because of the many consequences that attend such a decision.The idea of being homosexual (gay or lesbian) within American society still carries with it a stigma that many try to avoid. The main reasons for the avoidance of this stigma are the attention that such a lifestyle will bring to those who live it and the possibility of overt protest against such a lifestyle by activist or religious groups. Therefore, the â€Å"coming out† of a homosexual provides news that the public is highly interested in, and the developments that often fol low such a declaration are also highly news worthy. Since it is the business of this media house to provide information to the public that it finds interesting and seminal, it is therefore the policy of this organization to aim to be the first at announcing the â€Å"coming out† of individual homosexuals.The information regarding the lifestyles in which people choose to engage is often considered by critics of the media as personal and not as the business of the public. However, the American public has consistently identified what it considers its own business through its attention to the details of the lives of many individuals. In fact, the public has demonstrated its commitment to learning such news through its active awareness of televised news programs, feature stories on the internet, and its paid subscription to print media of varying levels of credibility.Unlike some media houses of lower credibility status, this media house is dedicated to providing the truth about t he lives of any individual labeled as coming out of the homosexual closet. This media house takes this type of claim very seriously and is held to a high level of integrity in providing proofs of any claims made to such effect. In this way, the curiosity and concern of the public regarding such matters will be satisfied not with lies and fabrications, but with factual accounts of very real and troubling issues.The media as an industry is not just a group of organizations that provide an update or commentary on the things that take place in our society. Rather, its role encompasses that of creating cultural artifacts and historical records of the socio-cultural metamorphosis of a particular society over time (Gauntlett 115-6).Without this record, anthropologists who study a given era are at a loss when trying to compile an accurate account of the cultural practices within a given society. Homosexuality is an integral part of the social practices of many Americans today, and fear or a n inordinate level of concern for privacy often pushes people into a mode of overprotection of such lifestyles. The role of the media is to effectively uncover such practices by aiding these persons in making their lifestyles and sexual preferences known to the public and therefore to posterity.Statistical considerations also prompt the media to engage in practices that â€Å"out† homosexuals who would otherwise remain hidden. Many reasons exist why statistical bodies seek out demographical data that will give the percentage of homosexuals within a given district or in the country itself. Such measures as the creative capital level of a town use data concerning the gay population as integral factors for calculation (Florida, 41).Such measures help gauge the tolerance level of certain regions, cities, or towns. In fact, it is often in the interest of even the homosexuals themselves to come out, as it increases the confidence level of others like themselves who want to live the ir lives out in the open and refrain from hiding. Yet, homosexuals who decide to keep their lifestyles in the closet succeed only in skewing the statistical data, resulting in the underestimation of the level of homosexual practice in a given region. This media house is committed to playing a role in this by encouraging, prompting, or otherwise effecting the open acknowledgement of the true level of homosexuality within a given area.The role of the media as an announcer of the coming out of certain homosexuals is one that succeeds also in helping such persons to liberate themselves from a confining public image that, in effect, adversely affects their lifestyle. Homosexuals who remain in the closet tend to have unnecessary burdens placed upon them, which the media should consider its humanitarian duty to remove. Such persons are unable to proclaim their love in the open.They are unable publicly to perform simple actions, such as holding hands or kissing, which demonstrate their feel ings toward their significant other. It is often the case that such persons want desperately to rid themselves of these confinements and reveal their sexual preferences to the world. However, they lack the courage or the nerve to stand up and make the declaration themselves. The media therefore provides a service to many of these persons by performing the unsavory act of â€Å"coming out† for them, so that they may begin their enjoyment of life openly professing and living what they indeed are in private.The media also plays a role that publicizes the lifestyle of homosexuals far beyond the borders of influence than they themselves would have been able to proclaim it. Public knowledge of the true proportion of the population that desires such a lifestyle provides in turn an impetus for changes in the legal structure of society that would facilitate such lifestyles. In other words, if enough homosexuals step forward and â€Å"come out,† they may even get the legal recog nition they desire.The media therefore facilitates not just the open lifestyle of such persons, but also justification and recognition of such a lifestyle so that they may be more able to live fulfilling life that contains all the accessories that make life fulfilling for heterosexuals. The role of the media in helping these persons come out will broadcast the view that such a lifestyle is legitimate. This is likely to prompt legislation that will allow such persons to marry, adopt children, and perform other partnership roles once available only to heterosexuals (Vargo, 114).Critics of the media are likely to cite the observation that the publicizing of lifestyle practices of homosexual should be left to their discretion. However, it is often the discretion of these persons that lead to the media finding out about their lifestyles in the first place. Furthermore, the media is also involved in publicizing romantic details about the lives of heterosexuals—mainly those persons such as public servants and entertainment personalities who live a large portion of their lives in the limelight.Since such stories are the domain of the media, then other very similar stories involving the coming out of homosexuals are also considered to lie within the jurisdiction of the media. It is often the case that people are opposed to things only when they affect them personally, and this double standard ought to be avoided. Since a large proportion of Americans show themselves interested enough in this type of material to purchase magazines, then the media should consider it a duty to provide that material.It should be considered the perpetual policy of the media to continue to provide information to the public regarding the sexual status of the individuals who live within its domain. The efforts made by the media to out these personalities are beneficial not only to the individuals themselves, but to anthropologists and sociologists of posterity who may seek to understand the socio-cultural practices of persons of this era.The actions of the media concerning the state of homosexuality in a given area are also beneficial to historians, who are likely to consult the media as cultural artifacts that give insight into the synchronic and diachronic development of certain occurrences of note in a given time. The media should be active in publicizing the coming out of homosexuals because of its role in informing the public and in legitimizing the homosexual lifestyle in a manner that is likely to lead up to the legalization of activities that occur in connection with it.Work CitedFlorida, Richard. The Rise of the Creative Class: and How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Community and Everyday Life. Cambridge: Basic Books, 2002.Gauntlett, David. Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction. New York: Routledge, 2002.Vargo, Marc E. Acts of Disclosure: The Coming Out Process of Contemporary Gay Men.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Birmingham: Haworth Press, 1998.