King Lear Essays (1042 words) - King Lear, Films, British Films

Ruler Lear Shakespeare's dynamic utilization of incongruity in King Lear helps the microcosmic outline of sixteenth century Britain, yet all things considered and puts. The subject that best builds up this delineation is the conversation of numb-skulls and their silliness. This conversation permits Shakespeare not exclusively to depict human nature, yet additionally to evoke a kind of Socratic thoughtfulness into the idea of society's own numbness too. One kind of moron that Shakespeare includes in Lord Lear is the unethical numb-skull. Edmund, for example, might be viewed as a moron in the feeling that he is ethically frail. His stupidity lies in the way that he has no feeling of right or equity, which rewards him with a less than ideal, amusing passing. He talks about this as his dad, Gloucester, leaves to contemplate the plotting of his child Edgar. Edmund soliloquizes, This is the superb coxcombry of the world, that when we are debilitated in fortune... ...we make blameworthy of our calamities the sun, the moon, and stars, as though we were lowlifess on need; tricks by great impulse. (I. ii. 32) for the sole reason of showing his underhandedness. Edmund understands that his fiendishness is self-educated. This discourse shows the crowd Edgar's stupidity in his conviction that vindictiveness is the power that drives one to significance or success. It too represents the charlatan's mixed up conviction that by tricking his dad, he may have the option to kill Edgar, the opposition for Gloucester's title, and perhaps free himself of his dad in a similar demonstration. This is a prime case of shameless stupidity in King Lear. Another sort of numb-skull in King Lear is the uninformed fool. While characters, for example, Goneril, Regan, and Edmund are fools in view of their inclination to hurt others for self-gain, the uninformed silly are most certainly not essentially headed to fiendish. Be that as it may, the shrewdness are quite often headed to stupid activities. Gloucester, seemingly Lear's foil, advances an intriguing viewpoint in the play. His character is introduced as one who is oblivious to the truth, and incidentally, one who turns out to be genuinely visually impaired at long last. In reality, it is his visual deficiency to reality of Edgar's adoration and Edmund's voracity also, lack of care that at last achieves Gloucester's death. At the point when he says, I have no chance and along these lines need no eyes,/I staggered when I saw (IV.i.173), he is by all accounts representing the acknowledgment of his own stupidity. Gloucester delineates, through his utilization of verbal incongruity, that his stupidity lies in the way that he never genuinely observed anything (for example the genuine idea of Edmund or Edgar) until he was visually impaired. Another case of Gloucester's uninformed stupidity is the mishap he predicts toward the start of the play. He says, These late shrouds in the sun and moon predict nothing but bad to us. Despite the fact that the insight of nature can reason it along these lines, yet nature winds up scourged by the sequent impacts. Love cools, fellowship tumbles off, siblings divide...in royal residences, injustice; and the bond split 'twixt child and father (I, ii, 103-109). This announcement unexpectedly predicts most by far of the play with uncanny precision. Shakespeare is by all accounts utilizing Gloucester as an instrument to give more knowledge into the idea of stupidity. Another uninformed nitwit, and clearly one of the most significant, is King Lear himself. Shakespeare purposely utilizes Lear as a portrayal of the darker side of human silliness. He seems, by all accounts, to be delineating the imprudence of not tuning in to one's internal voice, just as talking about the debasement of influence and riches. He first shows his stupidity by saying to his little girls, Just we will hold the name, and all the expansion of a lord (I, I, 15). His desire is to keep up the realm without all the going with obligation of the crown. Be that as it may, in an increasingly convoluted way, Lear's silliness is gotten from his failure to see that despite the fact that he was the best, he was a straightforward man also. As a ruler, he wished to have his little girls straightforwardly show an undying friendship for him. He shows that his practices are gotten from that of a ruler, in that he can just observe life through the eyes of a ruler, not a basic man. Shockingly for Lear, his explanation comes to him in frenzy. He states When we are conceived, we cry that we result in these present circumstances extraordinary phase of simpletons (IV.vi.178-179) as though he at long last had come to acknowledgment that everybody is an individual, be they lord or homeless person. By a wide margin the most powerful medium utilized by

The Bet Essay Example for Free

The Bet Essay In the story â€Å"The Bet† by Anton Chekhov, the legal counselor and the investor make a wager, which is better arrangement the death penalty or life detainment. The investor at that point wager 2,000,000 dollars that the legal counselor would not stand five years in a room alone without any methods for correspondence aside from through a little gap, yet the legal counselor said he would remain in the space for a long time and with that, they shut the wager. For a long time, the legal advisor remained in the room perusing and learning new things and on the most recent night before the day he retakes his opportunity and his 2,000,000 dollars, the investor attempts to undermine the legal counselor by attempting to kill him. In any case, subsequent to perusing the letter that the legal counselor composed he halted and cried. The following morning, five minutes before the wager was over the legal advisor fled and lost the wager and the broker kept the letter that the legal advisor composed and secured it his safe. The creator Anton Chekhov discussed the virtue of human life and the results it bears, for example, the death penalty and life detainment. At the point when the investor and the legal advisor contended about what discipline is better, it demonstrated how they don't pay attention to the estimation of human life. This drove them to make the wager. The creator at that point presents a type of hinting. At the point when he composed life detainment, it demonstrated what befalls one of them and it did. The wager was that the legal counselor should remain bound in space for a long time and it like life detainment on the grounds that the legal advisor would feel a similar way a detainee would feel carrying on with his life in jail. The story gives you sudden closure due to what the legal counselor chose to do at long last. The investor who can be portrayed as an over-energized, presumptuous man began to set up the wager against the legal advisor. The creator shows that the broker is vain that he was certain that he could improve of the legal counselor, anyway the story doesn't end that way. Anton Chekhov demonstrated the feeble side of the investor, which is that he, would not have the option to acknowledge whether the legal counselor won the wager. This statement, The main departure from insolvency and disfavor is that the man should kick the bucket, unmistakably shows the apprehensive characteristic of the financier in light of the fact that with his franticness of winning, he would go in a difficult situation to execute the attorney to make sure he would not lose his cash. Furthermore, this presumes his self-estimation of the virtue of human life have arrived at their record-breaking low.

Cambridge, Boston, and MIT in the Snow

Cambridge, Boston, and MIT in the Snow Here’s what I woke up to on Friday morning: massive snowflakes, falling sideways and sticking to everything. I wasn’t brave enough to take photos during the actual storm (I also thought I’d be fine with a sweater (which got soaked) and a dollar store umbrella (which broke)). Here are some photos from friends who were more brave than I was (click for larger versions). Alewife, five T stops from Kendall Square/MIT, by YQ L. ‘16, whose paper art you saw on Sunday:     Kresge, by Erin M. ‘16: The east side of campus, viewed from the courtyard outside Medical (first three photos) and Killian Court, as seen from admissions (next two), by Chris Peterson:     (You might recognize these from the admissions Facebook page.) Running that evening was surreal. It felt like we were in a tunnel of snow, from the ground up to the trees and around again. The next morning it was partly melted, and the roads were cleaned. The snow looked like flowers on the treesâ€"a weird frozen springtime, still and empty and unalive. Here was our view on Saturday:     I noticed while taking the first photo in this blog post, on Friday morning, that two of our minifigures had pleasantly and similarly textured white beards. Though they have very different professions, in a way Santa and Poseidon both have a lot to do with to snow. I took them with us to meet up with Ami G. ‘14 MEng ‘16 (like me! but she graduated now-ish/a semester before I (hopefully) will) and Geronimo M. ‘17 and Kate T. ‘16 and some new friends. We got tea and then everyone else got fries while I watched, at a place with a drink named after my black heart (Lydia’s black ?). Here are Santa and Poseidon on Ami’s hat, together yet separated by what you might call an ocean of time-distance. Luckily Ami is a physicist and her hat is science-magical and they got to be together after all.     Here they are again, claiming that poutine for the North Pole/ocean.     Here is Boston Commonâ€"       â€"and Beacon Hill (as before, click for larger versions).                             Finally, we are back in Cambridge (those tiny lighted trees are in Kendall Square, by MIT).                   On Monday and we had a new storm. Here are Stata and a view from the Infinite.   If you’re more info apocalyptic snowy constructionscapes, we have those too.   Here’s a view of Boston (hint: you can’t see Boston) from inside the Great Dome, and again from outside on Killian Court. You can see the grey expanse of the Charles under Boston.   Here is Killian Court itself, probably a familiar view.             You get a view of Killian Court from a lot classrooms off the Infinite, many of which have massive windows and are often empty. Here is the Charles again. Boston is past the river and Memorial Drive is in front of it, and the Harvard Bridge is on the right behind the trees.   Here is the inside of the Small Dome, or Lobby 7, just at the start of the Infinite Corridor. We are looking out at Massachusetts Avenue. On the other side of the columns are students waiting to cross the street just outside. The Student Center is on the right across the street, and Kresge Auditorium is on the left. You can see the Alchemist in front of the Student Center. The west side dorms are farther left, past Kresge, and the Z Center is on the right past the Student Center. The student huddle is usually less dense. It was cold. Finally, home again. There was no sunset on Monday, just a deepening grey sky. It snowed through the night, though it was never really night, the sky glowing, snowflakes darting through the light of the streetlamp under our window.

How The Free Marketplace Within Our Economy - 933 Words

The free marketplace within our economy provides a tremendous opportunity for small businesses and companies to grow and prosper. This type of economic system provides business owners the independence to design and supply almost anything. But this fluid environment can also limit and even closedown a company if the demand for their products isn’t sustained. The company Apple Inc. is known for their competitive advantages in the current marketplace and worldwide. This company is known for their creation and design of Macintosh personal computers and its signature look is in the shape of an apple, creating instant visible product recognition for customers. Currently, Apple Inc. leads the industry in the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online stores. In addition to their creations they have also reinvented mobile iPhone and iPads which have defined the future of mobile media and computer systems with new advanced technology. These innovations with electronic de vices have enhanced the overwhelming worldwide demand for their products which has affected the way other technology companies around the world, market and strategize their current and future products to its customers. When it comes to having a competitive advantage in the marketplace, Apple Inc.’s former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founding father Steve Jobs has put his business at the top of their industry by having a sustained marketplace leadership. This means that a company has anShow MoreRelatedFree Trade And International Trade1382 Words   |  6 PagesAnalytical Essay 1 Free trade occurs when there are no artificial blockades put in place by governments to restrict the flow of goods and services between trading countries. When trade barriers, such as tariffs and subsidies are put in place, they protect domestic producers from international competition and redirect, rather than create trade flows. 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Intern Report on Standard Chartered Bank - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 30 Words: 9140 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/09/20 Category Business Essay Type Analytical essay Tags: Organization Essay Student Essay Did you like this example? 1. 0 Introduction 1. 1 Origin of the report The BBA internship program is a required course for the students who are graduating from the School of Business of Independent University, Bangladesh. It is a 12 credit hour course with duration of 14 weeks. Students who have completed all the required courses (at least 114 credit hours) are eligible for this course. In the internship program, I was attached to a host organization Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank for 14 weeks. During this period I learned how the host organization works with the help of the internal supervisor. The internal supervisor assigned me on of the projects. Another project about the customer query frequency is assigned by my supervisor in SCG bank. The report on â€Å"SCG’s Online Service: Customers Query Frequency and Satisfaction† is prepared by the author and finally, submitted to the internal supervisor on April 30, 2002. 1. 2 Objective of the report 1. 2. 1 General objective †¢ T o gain practical job experiences and view the application of theoretical knowledge in the real life. 1. 2. 2 Project objective †¢ To know Standard Chartered Grindlays customers’ different queries regarding cards by using bank’s current online service. To know Standard Chartered Grindlays customers’ view on bank’s current level of online services quality and standards. †¢ To suggest ways of improving the service standard that accommodates a rapidly growing customer volume. 1. 3 Scope This study attempts to relate the growing customer base with the standard of online service as perceived by customers. The study is mainly done on perception of the customer of the Standard Chartered Grindlays. Most of the primary information has been collected through the tabulation work and a questionnaire survey and also through Card Division, Motijheel branch of Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank. The author was cautious to relate the experience with that of ot her sales and service center of Standard Chartered Grindlays through observation. This study briefly highlights the various customer services of Standard Chartered Grindlays. 1. 4 Methodology This study is based on both primary and secondary information. To know the customer query patters tabulation sheet work was done for 15 days. And to know the customers’ perception about the current online service provided by Standard Chartered Grindlays and its quality, a questionnaire has been constructed and a survey has been conducted. The research was conducted on April 2002 through sample survey. The survey was conducted in Card Service at Motijheel branch of Standard Chartered Grindlays. Information from the bank personnel was gathered through informal discussion. In addition, the author used some secondary data, too. To consummate the survey the following steps were followed: 1. 4. 1 Selection of sampling The sample was selected randomly so that no question of bias would exist. The bank provided the author a random credit card holders list to conduct the survey. In this way, each sample was selected for the present study. And for the tabulation work the CSA’s followed a MIS tabulation sheet to trace the calling frequency of the customer. 1. 4. 2 Data collection Method ? Primary source: The data on the perception of the online service quality of Standard Chartered Grindlays was collected from the cooperative respondents through a structured questionnaire. The information on some other services of Standard Chartered Grindlays was collected through informal discussion with several personnel of Standard Chartered Grindlays. And for the query frequency a MIS tabulation sheet was filled up with tally bars for 15 days. Secondary source: The data about the organization and other customer services was collected from some secondary sources like brochures and Standard Chartered Grindlays’s magazine and personnel. 1. 4. 3 Data Analysis Method Data An alysis was done mostly with the help of Microsoft Excel XP through table and statistical data comparison tools like Average, Standard Deviation, Hypothesized Mean, Z-Test, and multiple regression with T-test and F-test. 1. 5 Limitations ? Lack of comprehension of the respondents was the major problem that created many confusions regarding verification of conceptual question. Limitation of time was one of the most important factors that shortened the present study. Due to time limitation many aspect could not by discussed in the present study. Due to time constraints, the sample size had to be restricted to 50 only. ? Confidentiality of data was another important barrier that was faced during the conduct of this study. Every organization has their own secrecy that in not revealed to others. While collecting data on Standard Chartered Grindlays, personnel did not disclose enough information for the sake of confidentiality of the organization. Rush hours and business was another reason that acts as an obstacle while gathering data. ? The finding of the survey is based on customers’ response in different Standard Chartered Grindlays branches located in Dhaka City only. The results may not reflect the same for other branches of Standard Chartered Grindlays outside Dhaka. 1. 6 Abbreviation Abbreviations used throughout the report are as follows: SCGStandard Chartered Grindlays SCGBStandard Chartered Grindlays Bank ANZ ANZ Grindlays Bank HSBCHong Kong Sunghai Bank AMEXAmerican Express Bank CSACustomer Service Advisor MIS Management Information System CCCredit Card C/HCard Holder PINPersonal Identification Number SSC Sales and Service center ATM Automated Teller Machine PFS Personal Financial Service EMIEquated Monthly Installment LCLetter of Credit NGONon-Government Organization 1. 7 Report Preview The report contains five parts. Part one is the Introduction part, which includes objective of the report, scope, limitations, and methodology. Part two the Orga nizational part gives the idea about Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank’s historical background, different divisions, banking services specially the card services of SCG bank. Third part contains Working Report that mainly discusses about the author’s experience during his 3 months internship with the Bank. Fourth part, the project part explains the main study about the customers’ query frequency to use online and the satisfaction on the present level of online service standard of SCG including research, literature review and hypothesis development. The fifth part contains the author’s point of view and some conclusions and recommendations to ensure their quality service. 2. 0 Organization part 2. 1 Historical Background SCGB has a rich historical background as both Chartered Bank and Standard Bank. Standard Chartered Grindlays Group formed in 1969 through a merger of The Standard Bank founded in 1863 and The Standard Bank founded in 1853. The first branches of The Chartered Bank opened in April 1858 in Calcutta (Kolkata) and Bombay (Mumbai). At present SCGB (former Standard Chartered Grindlays) is the largest and oldest foreign commercial bank operating in Bangladesh. This bank is operating in this region since 1905. It opened its first branch at Narayanganj to invest in Jute sector. Until today, SCGB has 15 branches in Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Sylhet, Narayanganj and Bogra of Bangladesh. In May 2000, Standard Chartered Grindlays has acquired Standard Chartered Grindlays through a deal of US $ 2. 53 billion in cash. From August 1, 2000, the bank has been renamed as Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank. Until September 2002, both Standard Chartered Grindlays and Standard Chartered Grindlays will operate under the same management but as separate entities. With effect from September 2002, there would not be any Grindlays- only Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank. 2. 2 Banking Services: There are two types of service provided b y the Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank. 1) Business or Corporate Financial Services 2) Retail or Consumer Financial Services. 2. 2. 1 Business/Corporate Banking of SCGB It is very true that major contribution to the bank’s equity has been from business banking sector. It provides several types of services under business banking (Figure 6). As Figure 6 shows, SCGB offers corporate banking facilities to both local corporate and multinationals. Besides, it also provides commercial, Institutional, Quasi Government or Correspondence and Treasury banking facilities. Figure 2. 1 Business Banking of SCGB [pic] Source: Corporate Banking, SCGB 2. 2. 1. 1 Corporate Banking SCGB is recognized as the leading financial institution in corporate finance services in Bangladesh. A professional management team caters to the needs of its clients and provides them with a wide range of financial services some of which are project financing and investment consultancy, syndicated debt and equity , bond and guaranties, local and international treasury products. 2. 2. 1. 2 Institutional Banking SCGB’s this service is designed for different fund based organizations like donor agencies, NGOs, voluntary organizations, foreign missions, airlines, shipping lines and their personnel with the facilities like convertible and non-convertible current accounts, convertible taka accounts, which are freely convertible to major international currencies, local and foreign currency remittances through a large network of branches and correspondence. 2. 2. 1. 3 Commercial Banking SCGB offers different commercial banking facilities to all commercial concerns specially those with particular involvement with import and export finance. It provides the finance facilities like trade finance facilities including counseling, confirming export L/CS, and issue of import L/CS backed by its international branch and correspondent network. It also provides bonds and guarantees, investment advic e, leasing facilities, project finance opportunities. 2. 2. 1. 4 Quasi Government Banking SCGB’s Quasi Government service helps the government by providing different financial service like efficient and knowledgeable management of trade business (import and export), skills in barter, swaps and counter trade deals. In addition, the opportunity of debenture finance for new projects, possibilities of hard currency loans and lease deals, the opportunity of syndicated hard currency, financing of loans and import L/C, highly efficient account management and remittance handling within the country or aboard. 2. 2. 1. 5 Treasury Banking SCGB’s treasury is one of the leading treasuries that offers foreign exchange requirements, provides market commentaries, economic forecasts and advisory to its major corporate clients. To keep its customers up-to –date with what is happening in the money markets, SCGB has ‘Weekly Treasury Updates’. . 2. 2 Retail Banking o r Consumer Banking Services: The services of PFS and Card Services are known as Retail banking or Consumer Banking. Retail banking deals with the providing the bank services to individuals on a one-to-one basis. 2. 2. 2. 1 Personal Banking Services of SCGB SCGB (former ANZ) started its personal banking services in March 1992. Besides usual deposit services, consumer finance services of SCGB have been most popular. This section of report discusses all these personal banking services provided by SCGB. 2. 2. 2. 1. Deposit Services SCGB has the deposit services for its customers. SCGB’s deposit services are shown in the following figure: Figure 2. 2 Deposit Services of SCGB [pic] Source: SCGB’s Official Document 2. 2. 2. 1. 2 Consumer Finance SCGB first introduced consumer finance in Bangladesh and until today, they are the market leader. It has varieties in financing its retail customers with innovative products. These include different types of credit and savings schemes shown below in the Figure. Figure 2. 3 Scheme offered under consumer finance of SCGB pic] Source: External affairs division, SCGB 2. 2. 2. 1. 3 Locker Facilities SCGB’s locker service allows the customers to keep their valuable in a safe and secure place and access the same at convenient times. These strong and heat resistant steel lockers lodged in reinforced concrete steel vault, round the clock security guards, sophisticated anti- burglary alarm systems provide maximum protection to the valuables of customers. 2. 2. 2. 1. 4 Government Bonds Like other banks, SCGB provides its customers with bond services. Three types of government bonds are available with the bank. These bonds are sold and related accounts are maintained according to the already established procedures. 2. 2. 2. 2 SCGB’s Card Services Personal banking and business banking of SCGB, though these two are the major functions of any commercial bank, a description of SCGB’s customer services wil l not be complete without a discussion on its card services. In fact, SCGB is the pioneer in the card services of Bangladesh. This section of the report discusses different care services of SCGB. 2. 2. 2. 2. 1 Credit Card A credit card is a revolving loan facility, which can be used to purchase goods and services and withdraw cash at wide range of outlets. SCGB first introduced the Taka credit card in Bangladesh. Its credit card division offers both Silver Visa Card and Gold Master Card. 2. 2. 2. 2. 2 Benefits of Credit Card A SCGB credit card offers a wide range of benefits like: ? A minimum credit limit of Tk 10 thousands for Silver and Tk 1 lac for Gold Card. ? Free air travel death accident insurance Tk 5 lac for Gold, Tk 1 lac for Silver Card ? Convenient way of payment for purchase Maximum of 45 days free credit period ? Flexible and easy repayment options ? Credit can be used in over 3000 retail and service outlets around the country. ? 50% cash advances of the credit limi t from 25 ATMs, 24 hours a day or from any sales and service center of the bank during office hour. ? No need to carry cash anymore. ? 24 hours customer service over phone. ? One lifetime free supplementary card. ? Minimum 7% discounts in good restaurants in Dhaka, Chittagong and Shylet. ? Paying credit card bill through ATM machines. 2. 2. 2. 2. 3 Eligibility to Get a Card. For getting a credit card customers have to fulfill two conditions. These are: †¢ Card applicant should be aged between 21 and 70 years he/she should have a regular gross monthly income of Taka 10 thousand for Silver Card and Taka 55 thousand of above for Gold Card after tax. The detailed information about the documents is given in the table below: Figure 2. 4 Required Documents for credit card Of SCGB Source: Card Service, SCGB 2. 2. 2. 2. 4 Repayment of Credit Amount SCGB offers its customers with the option to repay the credit amount according to their convenience. Every month bank sends a statemen t contains details of the purchases and cash advances made by the customer in the last 30 days. Then the customers have two options: ? Pay the bill in full within 15 days from statement date. In this case, customers do not have to pay any interest charge for purchases. In case of failure of payment within 45 days, customers have to pay an interest at the rate of 2. 5 percent over the total credit amount and a late payment fee. ? Spread the repayment over a number of months while repaying the bank 10 percent of the outstanding balance in the statement or Taka 500 (whichever is greater) every month. . 2. 2. 2. 5 SCGB Access Card SCGB offers its customers with SCGB Access Card, which allows the customers a 24 hours access SCGB Night and Day banks by providing the services like cash withdrawals, statement requests, balance enquiries, funds transfer between the accounts. Banks issue the customers with a four digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) at the time of issuing the Access Car d. Customers need to enter their PIN every time they use their cards. For security reasons, maximum transaction is Taka 20000 once and you can withdraw many times in a day. SCGB, the pioneer of card services in the country, has achieved a huge success. SCGB has achieved a sharp growth rate in both Silver Visa Card and SCGB Access card and a steady growth rate in Gold Master Card over last three years. SCGB has approximately 52000 cardholders in the year 2002. 2. 2. 2. 3 Special Services Offered by SCGB 2. 2. 2. 3. 1 SCGB Link SCGB Link enables the customers to access the bank accounts from any places through their personal computer. Balance inquiry, account transfer are the main two facilities taken by the customers. 2. 2. 2. 3. 2 SCGB Cheq This service enables SCGB’s corporate customers to automate their cheque payments. It is offered to facilitate preparation, printing, recording, and reconciliation of SCGB’s cheque. 2. 2. 2. 3. 3 Tele-Banking SCGB’s Tel e-Banking service provides customers the opportunity to make inquires and service request to the bank over telephone. It supports account balance inquiries, transaction details, exchange rates, interest details, balance certificates, issue of chequebooks, issue of pay order and issue of drafts, advice of stop payments, lost chequebooks and change of address. . 2. 2. 3. 4 Mobile Banking SCGB’s Mobile Bank units are designed to bring banking service to customers doorsteps. It enables the customers to complete their daily banking without visiting the bank. 2. 2. 2. 3. 5 Any Branch Banking SCGB offers its customers with the facility of operating their bank accounts from any of its sales and service centers across the county. This enables customers to meet their countrywide banking needs out of one single account. 2. 2. 2. 3. 6 Premium Banking SCGB provides its top 5 percent clients with premium banking facilities. These 5 percent customers are determined depending on their amo unt of deposits in the bank. They receive special treatments from the bank in various banking services; every one of them is issued with a premium Banking Card. Each branch has a separate premium banking section where these cardholders receive quick and specialized service. 2. 2. 2. 3. 7 SCGB Courier SCGB has its own courier service to collect from and delivery documents. 2. 2. 2. 3. 8 International Network Service SCGB has an easy access to international network through its banking correspondence. The bank offers different facilities like trade finance facilities including advising, confirming exports L/Cs and issue of import L/Cs backed by international sales and service center of the bank and correspondent bank network. , bonds and guarantees. It also offers its foreign correspondent customers with current account services where taka settlement is necessary, the ability to issue bonds and guarantees in support of their customer’s business, advising of LC and negotiation documents, market intelligence and status report. 2. 2. 2. 3.. 9 Access Account SCGB has recently launched its latest product, the Access Account, which is a non-chequing savings account. It has been designed to give customers the benefit of day-to-day banking through its ATM network. 3. 0 Working report 3. 1 Introduction During my three months of work experience with Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank on my internship program, I was placed in the Card Service, Motijheel Branch. I joined the program in February 1, 2002. This branch is the main Card Sales and Service Center of Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank as a result I have gathered an important experience of handling a lot of customers in last three months. . 2 Organization Structure of Card Service of Motijheel Branch In this Card Service, the head of consumer banking holds the topmost position in the hierarchy, as the card service falls under the consumer banking. Then the head of cards holds the second position with 6 sub ordinate managers. Lastly, some officers are working under these managers. The internal communication among the Bank officials in this branch is supportive. Often, they have very informal discussion about different issues. Figure 3. 1 Organizational Structure of Card Service Division [pic] Source: Card Service Division . 3 Description of My Task Areas In Standard Chartered Grindlays, my main task was to handle customer over phone, which helped me to gain practical experience on handling different type of customers. This has definitely enriched my practical experience and united to theoretical knowledge. 3. 3. 1 Tasks I performed in Standard Chartered Grindlays, Motijheel Branch 3. 3. 1. 1 Online Customer Service for Credit Card With Credit Card, one can obtain and deposit credit card payments and purchase goods and services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. The ATM night and day service is used by the holders of VISA and Master Credit cards of Standard Chartered Grindlays bank. To access the credit card a customer must have his or her confidential PIN (Personal Identification Number). So when the cardholder faces problem in using the CC, he or she calls to our call-center and ask for the solution, and we try our level best to help the CC over phone. 3. 3. 1. 1. 1 Hands-on Experience It was a great learning experience for me to hear the problem and giving the solution to the CC over phone. Everyday I faced a lot of problems like card activation, authorization, lost card report, captured card in ATM, balance and payment enquiry, address change and a lot more and gave the solutions to the customers instantly. Handling customers over phone and convincing them with a right solution was really a great experience that will help me in near future regarding customer service. 3. 3. 1. 1. 2 Observation It is my personal observation that everyday a lot of customers call us to solve their problem and the customer feel very confident if we can provid e the prompt and right solution. Sometimes they get angry when we fail to solve their problem. So handling customers over phone is a bit challenging and I had many things to learn in the last three months. 3. 3. 1. 2 Other Task Areas ? Delivering different types of forms regarding credit card and helping the customers to fill those forms. ? Preparing the credit card complaint sheet and card activation regularly. ? Providing card numbers to the courier for sending the returned card, pin or other required documents. ? Giving authorization code to the merchants to complete the transaction. Giving advises to the customers regarding the proper use of the cc. 3. 4 Interaction with different levels of bank officials Except from the usual works I had interactions with the managers, officers and my colleagues. 3. 41 Interaction with the Managers In last three months I had attended in a training session and some lecturers were given by the managers. Beside this many I had informal discussi ons with the managers regarding my problem in handling customers, my mistakes and also about my report. The managers were very much helpful regarding my problems and other situations. . 42 Interaction with the officers One of the important tasks of the officers is to give some manual inputs into the main system regarding the transaction of the credit card. I used to give the card lists and the complaints of the customers regarding the transaction. 3. 043 Interaction with Colleague Under the direction of managers, and officers of card service, my colleagues and I used to handle customer complaints and provide necessary solutions over phone log the problems in complaint sheet and provide other service regarding cards. 3. 5 Challenges of work Standard Chartered Grindlays being an International Bank has a very friendly and helpful working environment. Being an intern the most challenging work for me was to perform my daily job properly. I had to be very sincere and alert while servin g customer as any mistake done by me could do a great harm to the bank and its reputation. The work environment at Standard Chartered Grindlays always provided me with challenge to improve my performance everyday. I was trained to interact with sophisticated customers and to follow bank’s procedures accordingly. 3. 6 Learning Experience I have learned that when the internal communication is effective among the employees within the organization, it tends to encourage employees to perform better and it automatically motivates the employees. †¢ I learned the importance of detailed data to be gathered from customer while opening a credit card. The validity and the accuracy of the details given offer help the bank in providing fast service. †¢ I also learned about the latest payment system or about the credit card which is a great knowledge for my near future. †¢ I learned to work in a group and how to contribute positively to the objective of the group. Standard Chartered has a practice of teamwork in almost each of its specific task. Working in different groups in different time helped me improve my communication skill. †¢ Interacting with customers and the techniques applied to deal customers over phone also helped me improve my communication skill. †¢ I learned that the perception and knowledge I gained from my Business School is of extreme importance. It made me confident, knowledgeable and open minded to new ideas and situation. This may be the reason that I found no problem to work in an absorbing work environment of Standard Chartered Grindlays. . 0 The Research Part 4. 1 Background of the research Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank has widened its credit card customer base in recent years. Again it has also merged with ANZ Grindlays bank. So, the number of customers has grown rapidly due to this merger and continuous marketing effort. Above all the bank’s success in acquiring a broader credit card customer base has created a serious problem in providing the usual fast service that this bank was repute for. A very common sight of SCG these days is continuous customer query over phone. However, infrastructural facilities of the bank to respond to these calls have not been expanded to match the increasing demand. The number of phone lines or the CSA’s and PC has not been increased in proportion to its rising customers. As a result it became a matter of concern for management that whether the bank will be able to maintain its distinctive reputation as a quality service provider or not. On the other hand the reaction of the customers to the banks current standard of service must also be taken into account before it continues to widen its customer base more. Thus, whether or not the bank is continuing its quality service with its booming customer base and the customers’ frequency of using online service and opinion about bank’s current online service standard has become a matter of interest to the bank’s credit card service department. 4. 2 Problem Statement 1 As already mentioned that the number of credit card holders are increasing day by day, but the bank’s resources are not increasing in that pace. So, it has become a great issue to provide the same service like before and to maintain the service quality for which SCG bank is reputed for. Proper utilization of the existing system could be a better alternative than increasing the resources. If findings prove that the existing system is properly utilized but still some new resources are needed than necessary steps could be taken at that point of time. So due to that reason my external supervisor of SCG bank has asked the author to work with the present situation of customer usage of the existing online system and to find out some useful and necessary findings about the existing system. On that perception the author has developed my first research topic that is: Research 1: Analy zing online queries by CC Holders. By analyzing the online queries the effort has been made to find out how frequently the credit card holders are taking the online service. From this frequency of the customers’ queries, the usage of the existing online service can easily be discovered. Another important finding will come out that is whether the existing resources are properly utilized or not. And some other valuable information will be revealed that will help the card service department to take necessary steps for the proper usage and improvement of the existing online system. 4. Problem Statement 2 Another very important thing is that, proper utilization of the existing resources always cannot make the customer satisfied. Due to other important factors at the end of the day some companies find its customers dissatisfied. As the author said that it is a very important concern of the bank to see whether their customers are satisfied or not with their existing services. As a s tatistical saying goes like that – â€Å"It is 5 times more difficult to get a new customer than retaining a customer†. So, proper and constant quality service is needed to make the customer satisfied. The author was very much curious about finding the present customer satisfaction regarding the online credit card customer service as it became a challenging issue to continue the quality service to its booming customer base. So, on that perception the author has developed his second research topic that is: Research 2: Evaluating online customer service quality of the credit card as perceived by CC holders. From the above discussion it is very clear that the present customer satisfaction regarding the online customer service regarding credit card has become a very important issue for SCG credit card service department. Here the author has tried to find out the present satisfaction level and the perception of the customer regarding online customer service regarding credit card. 5. 0 Literature Review and Hypothesis Development 5. 1 Literature review for research-1 5. 1. 1 Online Customer Service of Credit card Generally online service means providing service to the customer from anywhere in the world. But here the author shortened that wide range of service as SCG bank doesn’t have any international credit card. Here, the author wanted to indicate the customer credit card service over phone as online service regardless from where the customer is calling to the service center. The SCG bank is providing this online service to the credit card holders from a long time. It also can be said that as the bank is maintaining a data base connected to the main server of Dubai, and the service it is providing to its card holders is based on that database information the term online service can be used here to define that service. So in a gist the service over phone regarding the credit card is defined as the online service of SCG bank. . 1. 2 Cu stomer Query It is now very clear that online service of SCGB provides the information and necessary solutions to the credit card holders whenever a card holder calls to the call center. Everyday many card holders call to the call centre and ask for the information and solution related to their credit card. This is defined as customer query. 5. 1. 3 Different types of customer queries As the author has already said that the credit card holders call to the call center regarding their card problem. So here the author tried to mention the common problems in the following way: 5. 1. 3. 1 Address Change Due to the change in the address, the C/H calls in the call centre to change the old address in the database. 5. 1. 3. 2 Application Status Sometimes people call to the call center to know about the status of their application for the credit card. 5. 1. 3. 3 ATM Problem The ATM card holder as well as the credit card holder calls to the call center when they face problem using ATM machi ne. 5. 1. 3. 4 Authorization Authorization is needed when the card holder pays his or bill by the credit card in the goods or service centers. In this process the shop keeper calls us to give him a code to accept the transaction of the credit card. 5. 1. 3. Balance Enquiry It is very common that the card holder calls to know the current balance about his credit card account. 5. 1. 3. 6 Campaign related Sometimes new marketing campaign takes place and that’s why the card holders and new customers call to the call center to know about the campaign. 5. 1. 3. 7 Card Activation Normally the SCG Bank send a deactivate card to the card holders for the security purpose. So the card holders call to the call center to activate the card. 5. 1. 3. 8 Card Cancellation Call for card cancellation is very rare and the card holder only calls to cancel the credit card due to some problem or dissatisfaction. . 1. 3. 9 Card problem Card holders sometimes face some card problems like magnetic str ipe problem, wrong name embossed in the card and other problems, and that is why they sometimes take the online service 5. 1. 3. 10 Cash Advance The cardholders can withdraw cash from the ATM machine by using the PIN number. But sometimes they withdraw cash from the branch and at that time the branch people calls to the call center for the authorization code for the valid cash transaction like shops. 5. 1. 3. 11 Disputed Transaction Sometimes C/H calls for correcting the transaction of the credit card that has not taken place. . 1. 3. 12 Delivery/ Courier Problem From the beginning SCG bank has been using its personal courier service for the better and quick delivery of its necessary documents. Due to some reasons sometimes the cardholders do not get the documents regarding the credit card. Then they take the help of the online service and ask to solve that problem. 5. 1. 3. 13 Fee/Charges Waving Request Another very common problem for which the C/H takes the help of the online serv ice that is the extra fee or charges waving request that is charged and the C/H is not liable to pay that. 5. 1. 3. 14 Limit enhancement After using the card for using 6 months the C/H can apply for the enhancement of their credit limit and it takes 3 to 4 weeks to verify that application. So during this time the cardholder takes the help of online service to know the status of his limit enhance process. Again some C/H wants to know the procedure regarding the limit enhancement. 5. 1. 3. 15 Lost Card Pick pocketing is a very common accident and sometimes the C/H faces this problem that his or her credit card has stolen. So they call in the call center to take necessary action for this problem. 5. 1. 3. 16 Merchant Related The shopkeepers who use our credit card punching machine to provide the credit card payment facility to its customers sometimes face problems regarding their payment and machine. For this reason they take the help of our online customer service. 5. 1. 3. 17 O nline Down The online machine for taking the payment by credit card sometimes do malfunctions and for that reason the merchant complain and inform the bank by calling in the online customer service. 5. 1. 3. 18 Payment Related Sometimes the C/H faces problem regarding the payment and for that they take the SCG online service. 5. 1. 3. 9 Pin Problem Pin is a secured number that is provided to use the credit card in the ATM machine. Sometimes C/H forgets the PIN; sometimes they do not get the PIN and faces lot more problems regarding PIN number. Then they take the online service. 5. 1. 3. 20 Product Related Queries Especially new cardholders do this kind of queries over phone to know how to use the credit card and its other features. 5. 1. 3. 21 Replacement Problem For the lost card, expired card, problematic card the C/H wants the replacement of the existing credit card and for this reason sometimes they take the service. . 1. 3. 22 Reverse Authorization Reverse authorization takes p lace when the merchant wants to cancel the previous transaction. So they call and ask for the reverse authorization through the existing online service. 5. 1. 3. 23 Statement Related Problem Cardholders sometime do queries regarding their statement that the bank sends them as a summary of their transaction in a particular month. 5. 1. 3. 24 Others Other calls like personal calls, wrong numbers, and calls to know other information other than card takes place in a working day. Based on these different types of customer query the author developed a tabulation sheet to know the customer present query pattern and frequency of taking the help by using existing online credit card service. 5. 2 Literature review for research-2 5. 2. 1 Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction is really hard to define as many factors have a great influence on it. With the help of a research paper the author has developed a diagram related to customer satisfaction. WHAT IS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Performan ce Expected Dissatisfaction Performance = Expected Satisfaction Performance Expected Delight . 2. 1. 1 Factors influencing customer satisfaction As already mentioned that, there are many factors that influence the customer satisfaction. The factors are given below with the help of a diagram: 5. 2. 1. 1. 1 Service Quality and its Dimensions Service quality is one of the important factors that influence customer satisfaction. Researchers and managers of service firms concur that service quality involves a comparison of expectations with performance. According to Lewis and Booms â€Å"Service quality is a measure of how well the service level delivered matches customer expectations. Delivering quality service means confirming to customer expectations on a consistent basis†. This service quality has some dimensions that are presented in a diagram beside: So, by this diagram the author tried to show the 7 dimensions of service quality and they are reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, tangibles, access and lastly courtesy. Based on these dimensions the author has developed the questionnaire and tried to find out the present service quality that is perceived by the customer of the credit card. 5. 3 Hypotheses Development Hypothesis, from statistics point of view are assumptions or theories that a researcher or manager makes about some characteristics of the population under study. The intern used the above mentioned constructs to develop hypothesis for the customer satisfaction of the online service. 5. 3. 1 Research-1 In doing research-1, no hypothesis was developed, as it was a tabulation of the customer queries in a particular. In this research the author has emphasized on the findings only. 5. 3. 2 Hypothesis Statement-1 and Constructive / Conceptual Definitions of the constructs The author has used a research paper that was done on customer satisfaction as reference for the second research, and has found out 7 dimensions to measure service quality (as mentioned in literature review). So, the author developed 6 hypothesis statements by leaving one dimension tangible as this dimension has a very little importance in online credit card customer service. So the 6 hypothesis statements are developed as follows: 5. 3. 2. 1 Reliability Reliability is the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately. So the hypothesis is as follows 1. a) If reliability is greater than 3, the customers are satisfied. ) If reliability is greater than 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. 5. 3. 2. 2 Responsiveness Responsiveness is the willingness to help customers and provide prompt service. So the hypothesis is follows 2. a) If responsiveness is greater than 3, the customers are satisfied. b) If responsiveness is greater than 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. 5. 3. 2. 3 Assurance Assurance can be defined as the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence. 3. a) If as surance is greater than 3, the customers are satisfied. b) If assurance is greater than 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. . 3. 2. 4 Empathy Empathy is the caring, individual attention that a firm provides its customers. So the hypothesis is follows 4. a) If empathy is greater than 3, the customers are satisfied. b) If empathy is greater than 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. 5. 3. 2. 5 Tangibles Tangibles include the physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of personnel of a service provided by an organization. As it is quite irrelevant with the study, it is ignored. 5. 3. 2. 6 Access Access involves the approachability and ease to contact for getting the service whenever the customer needs the service. So the hypothesis is follows . a) If access is greater than 3, the customers are satisfied. b) If access is greater than 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. 5. 3. 2. 7 Courtesy Courtesy involves politeness, respect, consideration, and friendliness of contact per sonnel of a service system. So the hypothesis is follows 6. a) If courtesy is greater than 3, the customers are satisfied. b) If courtesy is greater than 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. All the satisfaction factors averaged value will be tested with the following hypothesis to test overall satisfaction. 7. a) If the average satisfaction is greater than 3, the customers are atisfied. b) If average satisfaction is greater than 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. 5. 3. 3 Operational Definitions The operational definitions of the dimensions or the constructs are given below: 5. 3. 3. 1 Reliability †¢ Providing service as promised †¢ Dependability in handling customers’ service problems †¢ Providing services right the first time. †¢ Providing services at the promised time. †¢ Maintaining all of free records accurately. 5. 3. 3. 2 Responsiveness †¢ Keeping customers’ informed as to when services will be performed †¢ Prompt servi ce to customers ( sending bill ) Willingness to help customers ( calling back) †¢ Readiness to respond to cutomers’ requests 5. 3. 3. 3 Assurance †¢ Employees who instill confidance in customers †¢ Making customers feel safe in their transactions †¢ Employees who are consistently courteous. †¢ Employees who have the knowledge to answer customer questions. †¢ Physical Safety 5. 3. 3. 4 Empathy †¢ Giving customers individual attention †¢ Employees who deal with customers’ in a caring fashion ( recognising regular customer) †¢ Having the customer’s best interest at heart. †¢ Employees who understand the need of their customers †¢ Convenient business hours. . 3. 3. 5 Tangibles †¢ Modern equipment †¢ Visually apealing facilities (plastic credit card) †¢ Employees who have a real, professional appearance †¢ Visually appealing materials associated with the service. 5. 3. 3. 6 Access †¢ The service is easily accessible by telephone ( lines are not busy and don’t put you on hold) †¢ Waiting time to receive service is not expensive †¢ Convenient time of operation †¢ Convenient location of service facility 5. 3. 3. 7 Courtesy †¢ Politeness, respect, consideration and freindliness †¢ Clean and neat appearance of public contact personnel. †¢ Consideration for the consumer’s property. . 4 Hypothesis Development (Null Hypothesis and Alternative Hypothesis) In the hypothesis statement part the author has mentioned about 6 hypothesis statements and from those statements the author has developed â€Å"Null Hypothesis (Ho), and â€Å"Alternative Hypothesis (Ha)† for each statement. Null hypothesis is the statement that the researcher wants to prove untrue and Alternative Hypothesis is the statement that the researcher wants to prove to be true. They are mentioned as follows: 1. a) If reliability is greater than 3, the customers are satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 0 b) If reliability is greater than 3. , the customers are very satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 5 2. a) If responsiveness is greater than 3, the customers are satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 0 b) If responsiveness is greater than 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 5 3. a) If assurance is greater than 3, the customers are satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 0 b) If assurance is greater than 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 5 4. a) If empathy is greater than 3, the customers are satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 0 b) If empathy is greater than 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 5 5. a) If access is greater than 3, the customers are satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 0 b) If access is greater than 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 5 6. a) If courtesy is greater than 3, the customers are satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 0 b) If cou rtesy is greater than 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 5 7. a) If average satisfaction is greater than 3, the customers are satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 0 b) If average satisfaction is greater than 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 5. 5 Questionnaire Development For the first research part a tabulation sheet has been developed based on the different customer queries and a sample of that tabulation sheet is given in the appendix part of this report. Again for the second research, based on the operational definition of the constructs a questionnaire has been developed and a sample is given in the appendix-b part of this report. 5. 6 Methodology The developed hypothesis has been tested with the help of Z-test and regression. Microsoft Excel XP and SPSS 11. 0 these two software were used to do these tests. 5. 7 Limitations Many other statistical tools could be used but due to time constraints and lack of knowledge it was not done. And other few scopes of going in depth of the collected data were not possible for the same reason. The software complexity was another reason for not doing the complex calculation of the collected data. 6. 0 Data Analysis 6. 1 Findings of the customer query tabulation To know the customers’ query frequency of online service of credit card provided by SCG, a tabulation sheet has been developed and followed for 15 days. After analyzing those sheets, different information have been found and discussed in this part. . 1. 1 Customer query variation As the intern mentioned that normally 24 types of customer query comes everyday in the online service. So, he analyzed those problems based on holidays and workings days. 6. 1. 1. 1 Customer queries in holiday Here, a graph below is given to visualize the customer query type in the holiday Figure 6. 1 Customer Query Type in Holidays Source: Primary Source Here, it is clear that authorization (79%), balance enquiry (9%), card activation (4%), payment related queries (2%) and others (2%) are the main customer queries in holidays. 6. 1. 1. 2 Customer queries in working day Here, a graph below is given to visualize the customer query type in the working day. Figure 6. 2 Customer Query Type in Working days Source: Primary Source Here, it is clear that authorization (50%), balance enquiry (13%), card activation (9%), cash advance(5%), application status(4%), limit enhancement(2%), merchant related (2%), others(2%), payment related queries (2%), pin problem (2%), and ATM problem(2%) are the main customer queries in the holidays. 6. 1. 1. 3 Customer queries in general Here, a graph below is given to visualize the customer query type in general. Figure 6. 3 Customer Query Type in General Source: Primary Source Here, it is clear that authorization (54%), balance enquiry (12%), card activation (9%), cash advance(4%), application status(4%), limit enhancement(2%), merchant related (2%), others(2%) are the ma in customer queries in the general. 6. 1. 1. 4 Analysis of the findings Here, we can see that in comparison to holidays more problems like cash advance, application status, limit enhancement, merchant, payment, ATM, and pin related problem came up, because these problems can be solved in the working days. And in general authorization, balance enquiry, card activation, cash advance, application status, limit enhancement, merchant related, and others are the common queries faced in online service. 6. 1. 2 Customer query frequency Here, the intern wanted to find out the customer calling frequency in different time slots of the day. It is very true that customer doesn’t call all the day. So, in some particular time slot they call in the online service and ask for the solution. So in the next session the intern tried to find out the calling frequency based on holiday, working day and in general. . 1. 2. 1 Customer query frequency in holiday Here, a graph below is given to visua lize the customer query frequency in the holiday Figure 6. 4 Customer Query frequency in Holidays Source: Primary Source Here, from the pie chart it is very clear that 19% of the total call occurs from 7pm to 9pm, 17% occurs from 5pm to 7pm, 15% occurs in 3pm to 5pm and 11am to 1pm and 11% occurs in 1pm to 3pm time slot. Others are low in comparison to these rush time slots. 6. 1. 2. 2 Customer query frequency in working day Here, a graph below is given to visualize the customer query frequency in the working day. Figure 6. 5 Customer Query frequency in Working days Source: Primary Source Here, from the pie chart it is very clear that 19% of the total call occurs from 7pm to 9pm, 17% occurs from 5pm to 7pm, 15% occurs in 3pm to 5pm and 11am to 1pm and 11% occurs in 1pm to 3pm time slot. Others are low in comparison to these rush time slots. 6. 1. 2. 3 Customer query frequency in general Here, a graph below is given to visualize the customer query frequency in general. Figure 6. C ustomer Query frequencies in general Source: Primary Source Here, from the pie chart it is very clear that 19% of the total call occurs from 7pm to 9pm, 17% occurs from 5pm to 7pm, 15% occurs in 3pm to 5pm and 11am to 1pm and 11% occurs in 1pm to 3pm time slot. Others are low in comparison to these rush time slots. 6. 1. 2. 4 Analysis of the findings In holidays till 11am and 1pm -3pm calls are low, as this is the rest time. But from 11am to 1pm and from 3pm to till 11pm the calling frequency is very high as the customer goes out and sometimes stay home and solve the problem. But in working days rush hour is from 9am to 9pm. And after 9pm the calling frequency goes down. Customer from the office and their housewives from shopping or home calls up in working days, so the pressure is pretty high. But in general the rush hour is from 9am to 9pm and gradually it decreases and there are hardly few calls during the night after 1pm. In general 3pm to 5pm is the peak time slot. 6. 1. 3 C ustomer query variation and frequency Here, the intern wanted to find out the customer calling variation and frequency in different time slots of the day. . 1. 3. 1 Customer query frequency and variation in holiday A graph below is given to visualize the customer query frequency and variation in the holiday Figure 6. 7 Customer Query frequency and variation in Holidays Source: Primary Source From the graph we can say that authorization and balance enquiry were the common problem. The others are very less in compare to these two. 6. 1. 3. 2 Customer query frequency and variation in working day A graph is given to visualize the customer query frequency and variation in working day. Figure 6. Customer Query frequency and variation in working days Source: Primary Source From the graph we can say not only authorization and balance enquiry like holiday but also card activation, cash advance, application status, limit enhancement, and others were the common problem. 6. 1. 3. 3 Analysis of the findings In holidays authorization takes place in every slot of time from morning to night and it reaches to its peak in 3pm to 5pm slot. Problems related to working days like cash advance does not take place. Except authorization and lost card report there is no call after 11pm in holidays. Lost card report is a very irregular phenomenon because nobody knows then it will occur. One important thing is that online machine down in holidays is a big problem for the online service. Now in case of working days the authorization and ATM problem take place in every slot like holidays. Address change, application status, card cancellation, campaign and product related queries, limit enhancement, online down, statement or payment related problem, reverse auth, pin problems very rarely come after 9pm. As branches close at 3pm the cash advance does not take place after that. Mainly authorization, ATM problem, balance enquiry, card activation, and lost card report are the main problem s that come in the SCG online service round the clock. 6. 3 Hypothesis Testing Many hypothesis-testing techniques are there, such as t-test, chi-square test, ANOVA and so on. In this report the author has selected â€Å"z-test†, the most common and applicable on to test his hypotheses. 6. 3. 1 Calculation of value of Z The author has calculated the value of â€Å"z† for the z-test and all the values are given in a tabular form in the index. 6. 3. 2 Hypothesis testing for reliability Here the intern first tried to test whether the customers are very satisfied or normal satisfied. If he got the result that, the customers are not very satisfied then he tried to test whether the customers are satisfied or not. 1. b) If reliability is greater than or equal to 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 5 |Factor Average of Reliability |3. 82 | |Factor Standard Deviation of Reliability |0. 6 | |Hypothesized Mean for Reliability |3. 50 | |Z-Score |3. 49 | |Z-Critical |3. 68 | From the table it is very clear that z-score is less than z-critical and it falls in the acceptance region. So here the null hypothesis is accepted by rejecting the alternative hypothesis. As the customers are not very satisfied he looked for the satisfied customer. 1. ) If reliability is greater than or equal to 3, the customers are satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 0 |Factor Average of Reliability |3. 82 | |Factor Standard Deviation of Reliability |0. 66 | |Hypothesized Mean for Reliability |3. 00 | |Z-Score |8. 6 | |Z-Critical |3. 18 | From the table it is very clear that z-score is greater than z-critical and it falls in the rejection region. So here the null hypothesis is rejected by accepting the alternative hypothesis. So he found that the customers are satisfied. Explanation of the finding Here we saw that the customers are not very satisfied. And in the findings of the survey (Appendix-A) we can see that only 14% strongly agreed that they are getting promised service, 16% strongly agreed about service at the first call and getting service in promised time. One thing is remarkably noticeable that 52% strongly agreed about getting the accurate information. Only providing accurate information rather than providing first call, promised service will not highly satisfy customer. 6. 3. 3 Hypothesis testing for responsiveness 2. b) If responsiveness is greater than or equal to 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 5 |Factor Average of Responsiveness |3. 89 | |Factor Standard Deviation of Responsiveness |0. 8 | |Hypothesized Mean for Responsiveness |3. 50 | |Z-Score |4. 07 | |Z-Critical |3. 69 | From the table it is very clear that z-score is greater than z-critical and it falls in the rejection region. So here the null hypothesis is rejected by accepting the alternative hypothesis. So he found that the customers are very satisfied. As the customers are very satisfied the intern didn’t go for testing the 2. a no hypothesis for average satisfied customer. Explanation of the finding Here we saw that the customers are very satisfied. According to the survey findings (appendix-a) customers’ 58% strongly agree response about our helping tendency is a remarkable response. And average 50% agree response regarding prompt service, prepared service, and service performed time made hem very satisfied. 6. 3. 4 Hypothesis testing for assurance 3. b) If assurance is greater than or equal to 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 5 |Factor Average of Assurance |4. 25 | |Factor Standard Deviation of Assurance |0. 54 | |Hypothesized Mean for Assurance |3. 0 | |Z-Score |9. 92 | |Z-Critical |3. 65 | From the table it is very clear that z-score is greater than z-critical and it falls in the rejection region. So here the null hypothesis is rejected by accepting the alternative hypothesis. So he found that the customers are very satisfied. As the customers are very sat isfied the intern didn’t go for testing the 3. no hypothesis for average satisfied customer. Explanation of the finding Customers’ 66% strongly acceptance (appendix-a) of feeling it as secured system, 34% strongly acceptance of feeling confident by getting service, and 38% strongly acceptance of getting right solution made them very satisfied. 6. 3. 5 Hypothesis testing for empathy 4. b) If empathy is greater than or equal to 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 5 |Factor Average of Empathy |4. 9 | |Factor Standard Deviation of Empathy |0. 47 | |Hypothesized Mean for Empathy |3. 50 | |Z-Score |10. 28 | |Z-Critical |3. 63 | From the table it is very clear that z-score is greater than z-critical and it falls in the rejection region. So here the null hypothesis is rejected by accepting the alternative hypothesis. So he found that the customers are very satisfied. As the customers are very satisfied the intern didn’t go for testing the 4 . a no hypothesis for average satisfied customer. Explanation of the finding Customers’ 50% strongly acceptance (appendix-a) of feeling that we understand their problem, 42% strongly acceptance of feeling our caring made them very satisfied. . 3. 6 Hypothesis testing for accessibility 5. a) If access is greater than or equal to 3, the customers are satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 0 |Factor Average of Accessibility |3. 02 | |Factor Standard Deviation of Accessibility |0. 44 | |Hypothesized Mean for Accessibility |3. 0 | |Z-Score |0. 24 | |Z-Critical |3. 12 | From the table it is very clear that z-score is very less than z-critical and it falls in the acceptance region. So here the null hypothesis is accepted by rejecting the alternative hypothesis. So he found that the customers are not satisfied in this regard. Explanation of the finding Customers’ 82% strongly negative response (appendix-a) of getting the phone free at the first time, only 30% strong positive res ponse feeling the service expensive, and only 24% strong response about the satisfactory access made them dissatisfied. 6. 3. 7 Hypothesis testing for courteousness 6. b) If courtesy is greater than or equal to 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 5 |Factor Average of Courteousness |4. 33 | |Factor Standard Deviation of Courteousness |0. 3 | |Hypothesized Mean for Courteousness |3. 50 | |Z-Score |9. 23 | |Z-Critical |3. 68 | From the table it is very clear that z-score is greater than z-critical and it falls in the rejection region. So here the null hypothesis is rejected by accepting the alternative hypothesis. So he found that the customers are very satisfied. As the customers are very satisfied the intern didn’t go for testing the 6. a no hypothesis for average satisfied customer. Explanation of the finding Customers’ 52% strongly positive response (appendix-a) of our politeness over phone, 50% strong response of thinking us helpful, 42% strong response that greeted warmly and lastly 44% strong response of getting satisfactory behavior over phone made them very satisfied. 6. . 8 Hypothesis testing for average satisfaction 7. b) If average satisfaction is greater than or equal to 3. 5, the customers are very satisfied. Null HypothesisHo ( 3. 5 |Factor Average of Overall Satisfaction |4. 14 | |Factor Standard Deviation of Overall Satisfaction |0. 68 | |Hypothesized Mean for Overall Satisfaction |3. 0 | |Z-Score |6. 68 | |Z-Critical |3. 69 | From the table it is very clear that z-score is greater than z-critical and it falls in the rejection region. So here the null hypothesis is rejected by accepting the alternative hypothesis. So he found that the customers are very satisfied. As the customers are very satisfied the intern didn’t go for testing the 7. no hypothesis for average satisfied customer. Explanation of the finding So at the end of the last hypothesis test we found that the customers are very satisfie d though they are not highly satisfied. Satisfaction in reliability, very much satisfaction in responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and courteousness made them very satisfied. 6. 3. 9 Multiple Linear Regression (R2) A multiple linear regression calculation is done and described below. Normally regression is done to analyze how a single dependent variable is affected by the values of one or more independent variables. 0. 445297(m6) |0. 233849(m5) |0. 272201(m4) |-0. 08952(m3) |0. 146248(m2) |0. 320827(m1) |-1. 04632 (b) | |0. 117393(se6) |0. 138357(se5) |0. 162251(se4) |0. 145013(se3) |0. 114264(se2) |0. 133686(se1) |0. 708944(seb) | |0. 683417(r2) |0. 407187(sev) |#N/A |#N/A |#N/A |#N/A |#N/A | |15. 709(F) |43(df) |#N/A |#N/A |#N/A |#N/A |#N/A | |15. 39055(ssreg) |7. 129448(ssresid) |#N/A |#N/A |#N/A |#N/A |#N/A | Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Intern Report on Standard Chartered Bank" essay for you Create order

Managing Employee Misbehaviour for Promoting Business Ethics Free Essays

string(56) " at the office when they have a good work-life balance\." Managing Employee Misbehaviour for Promoting Business Ethics Workplace misbehaviour: Any intentional action by members of organizations that defies and violates Shared organizational norms and expectations, and/or Core societal values, mores and standards of proper conduct (Vardi and Wiener, 1996, p. 153). Misbehaviour in this sense is also said to be about breaching broader, yet far from clearly defined or fully shared societal norms or moral order. We will write a custom essay sample on Managing Employee Misbehaviour for Promoting Business Ethics or any similar topic only for you Order Now In industrial sociology key writers on misbehaviour – Ackroyd and Thompson (1999, p. 2) – borrow Sprouse’s (1992, p. 3) definition of sabotage – â€Å"anything you do at work you are not supposed to do† – to define misbehaviour, although questions remain about how useful this definition is. Perspectives on misbehaviour Misbehaviour is also a phenomena discussed in several other academic disciplines. For instance, in gender studies, we see quite a distinct dimension of misbehaviour emerging. Misbehaviour in gender studies tends to concern males defending masculine identities in an organizational context and how masculinity is in reality a crucial, yet often hidden dimension of a broader organizational identity (Collinson and Collinson, 1989; DiTomaso, 1989; Levin, 2001). An account of men trying to preserve the dominance of a masculine identity, sponsored implicitly by senior management, is outlined in the following passage taken from ethnography of a trading floor of a large, American commodities exchange: When the working environment becomes less active, the more overtly sexualized repertoire of joking and getting along emerges. Men and women use jokes to pass time, fit in and relieve tension, but a direct result of men’s sexual banter is to facilitate group solidarity among men to the exclusion of women. Strong heterosexual joking is predicated on men being the sexual agents of jokes and women being the objects (Levin, 2001, p. 126). Further dimensions of gender-related misbehaviour include women subverting dominant masculine identities (Cockburn, 1991; Game and Pringle, 1983; Gutek, 1989; Pollert, 1981), women taking advantage of their sex appeal to get around male supervisors (Pollert, 1981) and female flight attendants feigning responses to lurid comments from male passengers (Hochschild, 2003). Further details of Gutek’s (1989) research highlights the many ways in which sexuality can be the spur for a range of misbehaviour: More common than sexual coercion from either sex are sexual jokes, use of explicit terms to describe work situations, sexual comments to co-workers, and display of sexual posters and pictures engaged in by men at work (Sex and sports, some observers claim, are the two metaphors of business. ) The use of sex can be more subtle than either hostile sexual remarks or sexual jokes. Although this tactic is often assumed to be used exclusively by women, some men, too, may feign sexual interest to gain some work-related advantage (1989, p. 63-64). Commentary on what could be interpreted to be misbehaviour is also a feature of industrial relations research. In industrial relations theorists seem to view misbehaviour as a lesser version of strike action, or action short of strike action (Bean, 1975; Blyton and Turnbull, 2004; Hyman, 1981; Nichols and Armstrong, 1976). From this perspective, misbehaviour is taken to represent the actions of unorganized employees. In effect, misbehaviour is synonymous with a widespread and increasing inability of employees to offer a coherent and organized response to management strategies (Beynon, 1984). As such, industrial relations theorists link misbehaviour to record low levels of strike activity (Hale, 2007). Moreover, some theorists believe acts such as sabotage – in the form of grievance bargaining or deliberate poor workmanship – are intimately bound up in the labour process (Zabala, 1989). Research work in Ethics: 2008 NATIONAL GOVERNMENT ETHICS SURVEY in US: National Government Ethics Survey Shows Employee Misconduct is High Key Findings On all levels of government, there is a lack of programs and incentives to encourage ethical behavior, the report says †¢Six in 10 government employees saw at least one form of misconduct in the last 12 months. †¢One in 4 employees work in an environment conducive to misconduct. According to ERC, this includes strong pressure to compromise standards, a presence of situations which invite wrongdoing, and a culture where employees’ personal values conflict with their values at work. †¢Overall strength of ethical cultures is declining. †¢Almost one-third of employees do not report misconduct. More than one-third of government employees believe government does not demonstrate its values through socially responsible decision-making. Levels of Government Federal Level – The number of incidences of misconduct observed is slightly lower, but reporting is still comparatively low. Only 30 percent of federal government organizations have ethics and compliance p rograms, and only 10 percent have strong ethical cultures. State Level – Workers are most vulnerable to ethical risks as there are more reports of employees who have observed misconduct multiple times. Still 30 percent do not report misconduct to management. Local Level – Employees are the least likely to know the ethical risks since fewer resources are put in place to encourage ethical behavior. Local government organizations have the lowest levels of reporting misconduct, only 67% are reporting. â€Å"In order to encourage high ethical standards within our organizations, we first have to provide an environment that is conducive to ethical behavior,† says Sharon Allen, chairman of the board at Deloitte Touche. However, management and leadership have a huge responsibility in setting examples for their organizations and living the values they preach if they want to sustain a culture of ethics. † The report, â€Å"2007 Deloitte Touche USA LLP Ethics Workplace,† is based on responses from 1,041 U. S. adult workers. Harris Interactive conducted the research in February on behalf of Deloitte Touche. The top two factors contributing to the promotion of an e thical workplace are the behavior of management and direct supervisors, as chosen by 42% and 36% of respondents, respectively. More surprisingly, emphasis of criminal penalties doesn’t seem to do much to deter unethical behavior, nor does ethics training. There is, however, a strong relationship between ethical actions at work and a healthy level of work-life balance. In fact, 91% of those employees surveyed agreed that workers are more likely to behave ethically at the office when they have a good work-life balance. You read "Managing Employee Misbehaviour for Promoting Business Ethics" in category "Papers" Allen explains why this may be so. â€Å"If someone invests in all of their time and energy into their jobs, it may have the unintended consequence of making them depend on their jobs for everything – including their sense of personal worth. This makes it even harder to make a good choice when faced with an ethical dilemma if they believe it will impact professional success. † Categories of Employee Misbehaviour: a. Production deviance – includes behaviors that waste time and resources. b. Property deviance – involves either theft or destruction of facility or residents’ property. c. Normative deviance – generally involves talk that hurts or belittles others. d. Personal aggression – mostly involves hitting, fighting, or sexual harassment. Common Employee Misbehaviour: Fighting Theft from the employer or colleagues Fraud or falsifying work documents Accessing and/or distributing pornographic emails or websites Deliberately damaging company property Serious bullying or harassment Bringing the employer into serious disrepute Serious infringement of health and safety rules Serious failure to follow reasonable instructions. Causes of Employee Misbehaviour: Poor Employee selection and orientation procedures Poorly defined employee expectations Poorly understood employee expectations Improperly selected and trained supervisors Incorrect philosophy of discipline Effects of Employee Misbehaviour: oInefficiency oIncreased costs oUnhealthy and unsafe work environment Employee Misbehaviour – To be Punished or leaving it ignored: Handling employee misconduct is a very critical task to be performed by the senior managers. Misconduct and other offensive behaviors often lead to decreased levels of productivity as they affect the individual performance of the employees. To manage discipline among employees, every company opts for a discipline policy which describes the approach it will follow to handle misconduct. When dealing with employee misconduct, companies must keep careful mind of the legislative and common law legal framework that governs the employment relationship. Regard must be made to relevant legislation such as the Employment Standards Act 2000, Ontario Human Rights Code, Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act (reprisal provisions) and to principles such as constructive and wrongful dismissal. To effectively manage the employment relationship and deal with potential misconduct, employers are well advised to develop and maintain reasonable rules of conduct and performance expectations. Communicate these to employees and ensure consistent application and enforcement. Provide appropriate counseling and training to your workforce. Carefully consider each incident of misconduct and the appropriate reaction. Avoid knee jerk instantaneous reactions. These only serve to increase potential employer liability. Management needs to conduct a preliminary investigation. Once the company has completed the investigation, the manager should make the employee aware of the findings. Once again, the manager can ask for the employee’s side of the story. Using this evidence, management, with the help of a Human Resources representative, must decide what to do. They must decide how they should discipline the employee or whether they should fire the worker. To conclude, Very surely an action is required quickly if left unattended; misconduct will quickly demoralize the other employees too. While everyone reacts differently, even the top performers are usually going to be the first casualties of demoralization. Dealing with Employee Misbehaviour: The employer must investigate the matter fully (speak to witnesses, collect documentary evidence etc). The employer must also give the employee an opportunity to explain himself. The employee should sufficiently know what the case and evidence is against him before any hearing. Prior warning of the hearing date and that the disciplinary action is under consideration. Give the employee the opportunity to call witnesses. Inform the individual he has the right to be accompanied by a colleague (or a trade union official). Inform the employee he has the right of an appeal. Employee’s rights If an employee has been with the employer for over a year they have unfair dismissal protection. Although employees have the right not to be dismissed for an unfair reason, the conduct of an employee is expressly stated to be a potentially fair reason to dismiss. Employees also have the right not to be discriminated against on the grounds of their sex, race or disability. This would include being singled out for a warning about their conduct or receiving harsher penalties than other employees would receive. Employees have the right not to be dismissed in breach of their contractual terms. For example, failure to follow a contractual procedure may result in a claim of breach of contract. Employees are entitled to be dismissed on notice (unless for gross misconduct). Failure to do so entitles the employee to claim damages for breach of contract. This type of claim is also called ‘wrongful dismissal’. Employees should be made aware, either in their contract of employment or in disciplinary procedures what are the likely consequences if they break the guidelines the company has laid down in relation to their conduct. Employers must be consistent. If other employees have previously committed the same offence but have not been dismissed it may be difficult to justify dismissal on a subsequent occasion. Certain offences are contrary to acceptable conduct that discipline is readily accepted or justified upon review regardless of whether there was any prior communication or warning to the employee. Theft Intentional destruction of company property Total refusal to perform safe work Gross or intentional endangerment of the safety of coworkers. Excessive absenteeism is another factor that can lead to termination only after a series of lesser penalties. Dismissal for misconduct to be reasonable: Even though an employer may have strong suspicions that an individual is guilty of misconduct, this may not be enough. Although an employer does not have to show an employee committed the offence â€Å"beyond all reasonable doubt†, there is a threshold that must be reached. In particular: †¢The employer must believe that the employee is responsible for the conduct in question. †¢The employer must have reasonable grounds for this belief. †¢The employer must carry out as much of an investigation into the matter as is reasonable. Charging an Employee with a criminal offence: †¢The employer does not have to wait for the outcome of police investigations or criminal trial. †¢The employer should hold its own investigation into the matter. †¢The employee’s rights to have this matter investigated by his employer and to present his side of the story remain regardless of the fact that he is charged by the police. Out of office misconduct: †¢Generally, employees will only be subject to the company’s disciplinary rules and procedures during their office hours or when they represent the company. †¢In certain circumstances an employee’s behaviour may be subject to the employer’s scrutiny if it is deemed to be likely to impact on the performance of his contract or the reputation of the employer. Out of office misconduct must be particularly serious to warrant disciplinary action and the behaviour should also relate to the employee’s ability (or perceived ability) to do his job. Disciplinary action The type of disciplinary action that is taken will depend on the employer’s disciplinary procedures and the circumstances surrounding the misconduct. The employer will have to follow its written guidelines regarding certain types of misconduct. If historically an employer has always been lenient on a particular matter an Employment Tribunal is likely to find the employer has acted unreasonably and unfairly dismissed an individual if it suddenly decides to invoke its disciplinary procedures in disciplining individuals without warning. Warning tiers in a disciplinary procedure †¢Usually employers will decide to issue a first warning orally. This is appropriate if it is a minor infringement that cannot be dealt with on an informal basis. The employee should be told that this is the first step in the disciplinary procedure and why he is receiving the warning. At this point he should also be informed of his right of appeal against the decision. Although oral warnings will be kept on an employee’s personnel file, they should be disregarded for further disciplinary purposes after a specific period of time. †¢If an employer regards an infringement as being more serious then the employee should be given a formal written warning. Again an employee should be given details of the reason for the warning as well as what is required from the individual in the future and the allotted time scale for improvement. Employees should have a right of appeal. Employees also must be warned what penalty there will be if after the allotted time the employer does think there has been a satisfactory improvement. The written warning should also be kept on the employee’s personnel file but cannot be considered for disciplinary procedures after a specific period of time. A final written warning is appropriate if there has been a failure to either improve or change conduct while the earlier warning is still ‘live’. This type of warning can also be used if there is a one-off occurrence of misconduct that is deemed by the employer to be sufficiently serious. As always the final written warning should provide details of the misconduct, warn that failure to rectify the situation may lead to dismissal or some other d isciplinary action which is short of dismissal (which is explained below). Again employees must be told of their right to appeal. The written warning can only remain live for a specified period of time after which point it must be disregarded, no matter how serious the misconduct. †¢Disciplinary action short of dismissal may include a transfer, demotion, loss of seniority, suspension without pay or loss of increment. An employer cannot take these sanctions unless there is a specific provision in the employee’s contract. †¢If an employer decides to dismiss (either because of gross misconduct or failure to rectify behaviour following a final written warning) the employee should be informed as soon as possible of the decision, as well as the reasons for the dismissal. He should also know the date their employment will terminate and the period of notice. An employee should also be told of the fact that he has the right to appeal as well as how he can make that appeal and to whom. Employers should also confirm the decision to dismiss in writing. If an employee has at least one year’s continuous service they can request a written statement of particulars of reasons for their dismissal. †¢General considerations for employers when disciplining †¢A good disciplinary procedure will enable an employer to take appropriate steps in the event of misconduct of an employee. The disciplinary procedure should be in writing Consequences of Disciplinary actions: Union Grievance Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Complaint (EEOC) Law Suits Employee Buyouts Having to Reinstate Employee Embarrassment to Leadership Leadership Looses Credibility Employees Don’t Respect the process Creating an Ethical climate in the Organization to avoid Mis conduct: The ethical climate of an organization is the shared set of understandings about what is correct behavior and how ethical issues will be handled. This climate sets the tone for decision making at all levels and in all circumstances. Some of the factors that may be emphasized in different ethical climates of organizations are (Hunt, 1991; Schneider and Rentsch, 1991): * Personal self-interest * Company profit * Operating efficiency * Individual friendships * Team interests * Social responsibility * Personal morality * Rules and standard procedures * Laws and professional codes As suggested by the prior list, the ethical climate of different organizations can emphasize different things. In the Johnson Johnson example just cited, the ethical climate supported doing the right thing due to social responsibility–regardless of the cost. In other organizations–perhaps too many–concerns for operating efficiency may outweigh social considerations when similarly difficult decisions are faced. When the ethical climate is not clear and positive, ethical dilemmas will often result in unethical behavior. In such instances, an organization’s culture also can predispose its members to behave unethically. For example, recent research has found a relationship between organizations with a history of violating the law and continued illegal behavior (Baucus and Near, 1991). Thus, some organizations have a culture that reinforces illegal activity. In addition, some firms are known to selectively recruit and promote employees who have personal values consistent with illegal behavior; firms also may socialize employees to engage in illegal acts as a part of their normal job duties (Conklin, 1977; Geis, 1977). For instance, in his account of cases concerning price fixing for heavy electrical equipment, Geis noted that General Electric removed a manager who refused to discuss prices with a competitor from his job and offered his successor the position with the understanding that management believed he would behave as expected and engage in price-fixing activities (Geis, 1977, p. 24; Baucus and Near, 1991). Pressure, opportunity, and predisposition can all lead to unethical activities; however, organizations must still take a proactive stance to promote an ethical climate. The final section provides some useful suggestions available to organizations for creating a more ethical climate. PROMOTING AN ETHICAL CLIMATE: Ethical Philosop hies and Employee Behavior: Recent literature has suggested several strategies for promoting ethical behavior in organizations (Adler and Bird, 1988; Burns, 1987; Harrington, 1991; Raelin, 1987; Stead etal. , 1990). First, chief executives should encourage ethical consciousness in their organizations from the top down showing the support and care about ethical practices. Second, formal processes should be used to support and reinforce ethical behavior. For example, internal regulation may involve the use of codes of corporate ethics, and the availability of appeals processes. Finally, it is recommended that the philosophies of top managers as well as immediate supervisors focus on the institutionalization of ethical norms and practices that are incorporated into all organizational levels. The philosophies of top managers as well as immediate supervisors represent a critical organizational factor influencing the ethical behavior of employees (Stead etal. , 1990). Research over a period of more than twenty-five years clearly support the conclusion that the ethical philosophies of management have a major impact on the ethical behavior of their followers employees (Arlow and Ulrich, 1980; Baumhart, 1961; Brenner and Molander, 1977; Carroll, 1978; Hegarty and Sims, 1978, 1979; Posner and Schmidt, 1984; Touche Ross, 1988; Vitell and Festervand, 1987; Worrell etal. 1985). Nielsen (1989) has stressed the importance of managerial behavior in contributing to ethical or unethical behavior. According to Nielsen, managers behaving unethically contrary to their ethical philosophies represent a serious limit to ethical reasoning in the firm. Much of the research cited in the above paragraph implicitly and explicitly states that ethical philosophies will have little impact on employe es’ ethical behavior unless they are supported by managerial behaviors that are consistent with these philosophies. Managers represent significant others in the organizational lives of employees and as such often have their behavior modeled by employees. One of the most basic of management principles states that if a certain behavior is desired, it should be reinforced. No doubt, how ethical behavior is perceived by individuals and reinforced by an organization determines the kind of ethical behavior exhibited by employees. As a result, if business leaders want to promote ethical behavior they must accept more responsibility for establishing their organization’s reinforcement system. Research in ethical behavior strongly supports the conclusion that if ethical behavior is desired, the performance measurement, appraisal and reward systems must be modified to account for ethical behavior (Hegarty and Sims, 1978, 1979; Trevino, 1986; Worrell et al. , 1985). According to Nielsen (1988, p. 730): In many cases, mangers choose to do, go along with or ignore the unethical†¦ because they want to avoid the possibility of punishments (or) to gain rewards. Ethical Culture: Organizations and their managers must understand that the above recommendations are key components in the development and maintenance of an ethically-oriented organizational culture. Organizations can also enhance an ethically-oriented culture by paying particular attention to principled organizational dissent. Principled organizational dissent is an important concept linking organizational culture to ethical behavior. Principled organizational dissent is the effort by individuals in the organization to protest the status quo because of their objection on ethical grounds, to some practice or policy (Graham, 1986). Organizations committed to promoting an ethical climate should encourage principled organizational dissent instead of punishing such behavior. Organizations should also provide more ethics training to strengthen their employees’ personal ethical framework. That is, organizations must devote more resources to ethics training programs to help its members clarify their ethical frameworks and practice self-discipline when making ethical decisions in difficult circumstances. What follows is a useful seven-step checklist that organizations should use to help their employees in dealing with an ethical dilemma (Schermerhorn, 1989; Otten, 1986): Helping employees in dealing with Ethical Dilemma: (1) Recognize and clarify the dilemma. (2) Get all the possible facts. (3) List your options–all of them. (4) Test each option by asking: â€Å"Is it legal? Is it right? Is it beneficial? † (5) Make your decision. (6) Double check your decision by asking: â€Å"How would I feel if my family found out about this? How would I feel if my decision was printed in the local newspaper? † (7) Take action. An effective organizational culture should encourage ethical behavior and discourage unethical behavior. Admittedly, ethical behavior may â€Å"cost† the organization. An example might be the loss of sales when a multinational firm refuses to pay a bribe to secure business in a particular country. Certainly, individuals might be reinforced for behaving unethically (particularly if they do not get caught). In a similar fashion, an organization might seem to gain from unethical actions. For example, a purchasing agent for a large corporation might be bribed to purchase all needed office supplies from a particular supplier. However, such gains are often short-term rather than long-term in nature. In the long run, an organization cannot operate if its prevailing culture and values are not congruent with those of society. This is just as true as the observation that, in the long run, an organization cannot survive unless it produces goods and services that society wants and needs. Thus an organizational culture that promotes ethical behavior is not only more compatible with prevailing cultural values, but, in fact, makes good sense. Although much remains to be learned about why ethical behavior occurs in organizations and creating and maintaining organizational cultures that encourage ethical behavior, organizations can benefit from the following suggestions: Maintaining organizational cultures that encourage ethical behavior: ** Be realistic in setting values and goals regarding employment relationships. Do not promise what the organization cannot deliver. ** Encourage input throughout the organization regarding appropriate values and practices for implementing the cultures. Choose values that represent the views of employees at all levels of the organization. * Do not automatically opt for a â€Å"strong† culture. Explore methods to provide for diversity and dissent, such as grievance or complaint mechanisms or other internal review procedures. ** Insure that a whistle-blowing and/or ethical concerns procedure is established for internal problem-solving (Harrington, 1991). ** Provide ethics training pro grams for all employees. These programs should explain the underlying ethical and legal (Drake and Drake, 1988) principles and present practical aspects of carrying our procedural guidelines. Understand that not all ethical situations are clear-cut. Like many basic business situations, the organization should recognize that there are ambiguous, grey areas where ethical tradeoffs may be necessary. More importantly, some situations have no simple solution (Cooke, 1991). ** Integrate ethical decision-making into the performance appraisal process. Responsibilities of Employers in accordance with managing the behaviour of Employees: †¢treat all employees equally; †¢give consideration to the employee’s general work record including their length of service, position and whether there are any special circumstances; †¢ensure incidents are dealt with without undue delay; ensure the proceedings (including any statements from witnesses and records) be kept confidential; †¢specify what disciplinary sanctions the company may take; †¢state who has authority within the company to take each level of disciplinary action; †¢ensure employees are informed of the allegations against them as well as any relevant do cumentation before the date of any hearing; †¢ensure that employees have the right to state their case before any decision is reached; †¢allow employees to be accompanied either by a colleague or if appropriate, a trade union official; †¢ensure that the sanctions are proportionate to the misconduct; †¢ensure that allegations will be carefully investigated; †¢ensure employees are given an explanation of any sanction; and †¢Specify that there is a right to appeal as well as how and when this must be taken. Finally†¦To conclude†¦ Ethical behavior among the employees can be inculcated by adopting the following principles of ethical climate. oMake the expectations clear oTreat the people employed as if they are adults, which they are. oSpend time meeting with staff members regularly oSevere discipline procedures may back fire. oMake all policies and procedures available to all employees. oEncourage open communication between you and the people who report to you. Human beings prefer to follow their own doctrines- therefore management should be aware that difficulties may crop up and should formulate friendly implementation of policies. â€Å" No man is fit to command another that cannot command himself† – William Penn References: 1. http://www. ethicsworld. org/ethicsandemployees/nbes. php 2. http://www. michaelpage. co. uk/content. html? pageId=15676 3. Managing misconduct By Rob Eldridge of Berwin Leighton Paisner 4. http://www. employeeterminationguidebook. com/ 5. http://www. lbwlawyers. com/publications/employeemisconduct. php 6. http://www. slideshare. net/meetsantanudas/managing-employee-discipline 7. http://www. fsa. usda. gov/FSA/hrdapp? area=home=mgrs=dem 8. http://www. employeemisconduct. com/ 9. Edward J. Tully December 1997 Misconduct, Corruption, Abuse of Power– What Can the Chief Do? 10. http://www. streetdirectory. com/travel_guide/20341/corporate_matters/how_employee_misconduct_affects_all_worker_productivity. html 11. Belt Tightening Tactics Linked to Increases in Employee Misconduct April 27, 2010 by Amy Coates Madsen 12. http://standardsforexcellenceinstitute. wordpress. com/page/2/ 13. W. Edward Stead, Dan L. Worrell and Jean Garner Stead An integrative model for understanding and managing ethical behavior in business organizations Journal of Business Ethics Volume 9, Number 3, 233-242 14. Ethical behavior starts at the top By Amy Schurr, Network World April 24, 2007 12:05 AM ET How to cite Managing Employee Misbehaviour for Promoting Business Ethics, Papers