Monday, December 30, 2019

Communication Is Essential For Leadership Communication

Cross-Cultural Communication Communication is the key to succeed as a leader, such truth does not change for different cultures. As a leader one must be able to connect with others, this through verbal on non-verbal communication. Therefore one must understand how critical it is to become aware of cultural differences. Cultures change from city to city, and of course from country to country. When such cultural changes occur, it is most likely that values and believes will also change. If one is not aware of the differences in values, communication with other cultures will become fragile. This is why this topic is essential for leadership communication. As a business professional, one must understand diversity, and become very aware that such ignorance can lead to unwanted friction when doing business with other cultures. Furthermore, markets for many industries are starting to move globally, and one must be able to interconnect across these cultures. Inability to do so, will direct an individual to fail when dealing with intercultural communication. To further explain how critical it is to understand diversity and communication with other cultures, this paper will focus on understanding Mexican culture. The differences between U.S. and Mexican cultures and recommendations to succeed when doing a business presentation with this culture. Mexican Culture Mexican culture is one that is very family centered. This means that for the most part, this culture goes toShow MoreRelatedCommunication Is An Essential Skill For Effective Leadership866 Words   |  4 PagesCommunication is an essential skill for effective leadership. It is a skill that many leaders possess but might not know how to effectively use in the workplace. They may not be skilled in dealing with a diverse group of employees in terms of age, and they might not be diverse in their own style of communication. Leaders might even need to possess different skills to be effective global leaders which would require a vast knowledge into different cultures and their communication styles. It can seemRead MoreThe National Communication Association ( 2015 )767 Words   |  4 PagesThe National Communication Association (2015) describes communication as a distinct discipline that includes an inquiry by social scientists, humanists, and critical and cultural studies s cholars. Furthermore, the presentation of communication may appear in several forms such as textbooks, electronic publication, and academic journals. Also, understanding of how one communicates is continually expanding. The representation of the collaborative and ongoing message between individuals, an individualRead MoreCommunication Is A Part Of Everyday Life Essay1383 Words   |  6 Pages Communication and Leadership Melissa Stevens ORG 300-5 Applying Leadership Principles Dr. Barbara-Leigh Tonelli September 29, 2016 Communication is a part of everyday life. Not only is it present in our personal lives, but in the workplace as well. Communication is an essential skill that we cannot avoid, and should be perfected as a goal in improving your leadership efficiency. When in a leadership role, the leader must influence others effectively. Being anRead MoreEffective Business Processes Requires Strong Leadership789 Words   |  4 Pagesstrong leadership. The ability to provide optimal services and products requires exploration into the business process. One aspect of this endeavors involves leadership as it is central to the overall functioning of the business. Leadership does not operate in isolation. It entails interactions with subordinates who are active in establishing the company goals. For this reason, co-creation leadership needs to be explored in terms of business communication interactions, personal communication, personalRead MoreLeadership Style And Effective Communication Essay1253 Words   |  6 PagesLeadership Style and Effective Communication in the Workplace Introduction Blanchard, Hersey Johnson (2015) introduced the concepts pertaining to leadership styles, self-awareness in Chapter 11, and effective communication in Chapter 12. The two main ideas that will be taken away from the lesson review involve the use of feedback, and active listening, which helps in essential communication within the organization and in one’s daily life. When it comes to choosing the right style of leadershipRead MoreLack Of Strong Communication Skills1533 Words   |  7 Pages Strong communication skills are necessary in order to coordinate daily operations which may require multiple people participating in the care of a patient. Evidence has shown that a lack of strong communication has led to negative patient outcomes and financial losses for the institution. Effective communication will help deliver the plan and staff members will know exactly what is expected off them versus trying to figure it out on their own. Good communication will also help to prev ent errorsRead MoreDiploma Assessment Cover Sheet Letter1448 Words   |  6 PagesImportance of effective communications in business leadership Importance of Effective Communications in Business Table of Contents Executive Summary Introduction Effective Communication in Management Requires Great Speaking Skills Coaching and Keeping the Information Flowing Conflict Resolving Effective Communication in Entrepreneurship Helps in Sorting Logical Point in Sequences Communication Between Business Owner and Consumer Should be Fluid Communication in Business DevelopmentRead MoreLeadership Team Interview Essay1255 Words   |  6 PagesI often wondered what a typical day was like for the leadership team of the multibillion dollar company American Family Insurance. I got my chance to learn about this while interviewing Chad Cerkoney, the director of risk management. American Family Insurance with its corporate office in Madison, WI. It currently operates in 19 states mainly across the Midwest with insurance products in life, health, business, and personal property. Chad has been working for American Family for over 30 years andRead MoreThe Critical Thinking Exercise On A Critical Pathway887 Words   |  4 PagesCommunication is the transfer of information from person-to-person, perception and understanding, as well as trust, respect, and empathy are essential to creating and fostering effective communication (Huber, 2014). I will discuss the critical thinking exercise in our text. I will describe communication problems occurring with the development of a critical pathway, and to whom the responsibility of these problems fall onto. Furthermore, I will discuss team behaviors, and leadership and managementRead MorePman 638847 Words   |  4 PagesRead the attached article An Order of Influence Can Make a Difference. What leadership strategies are proposed by this author to overcome resistance to change? Compare and contrast this approach to at least one other assigned reading. Answer The author Steve Willis (2008) in his above named article seeks to discourage leaders from adopting a one dimensional approach to overcoming resistance to change. This approach is similar to the well know adage ‘my way or the highway’ which in some cases

Sunday, December 22, 2019

W. James Popham, Former President Of The American Education

W. James Popham, former president of the American Education Research Association, defines standardized testing as, â€Å"Any tests that are administered, scored, and interpreted in a standard predetermined manner.† (Background). Standardized tests, such as the SAT or ACT, have been included in the American education ever since the mid-1800s. These certain tests incorporate multiple choice questions which could be graded easily with haste by the usage of automated test scoring machines. The tests also include â€Å"open-ended† questions that require the expensive alternative of using human graders. The standardized tests do come in a variety of different formats; however, multiple-choice questions and true and false formats are favored in usage since†¦show more content†¦There are many causations for failure in the education system. For example, rising in poverty levels, teacher quality, tenure polices, and as well as THE USE OF STANDARDIZED TESTING (Background) . Adversaries claim that the use of standardized testing can encourage a shortened curriculum and emphasize teaching the test material instead of emphasizing the basic knowledge of subjects. Furthermore, these tests are known for being neither fair nor objective and that their use will promote in a narrowing of curriculum. The excessive testing will undermine America’s ability to produce visionaries and critical thinkers. Therefore, leading to the claim that shortened curriculum due to the teaching of materials of standardized tests is the causation of the weakness in the education system. High-test taking has initiated major controversy. For example, it will hold many relevant significances for students, teachers, and schools. The score of a student who took the uniform test will determine whether that student will advance to the next academic level or not. Meaning either going to the next grade level or a senior testing to get into college. Furthermore, the failure of the s tudent(s) will also lead to the blaming of the teacher or educator, resulting in discharging them from their job or closing of the school. Subsequently, educators prefer to replace these tests with collections of students work throughout the year, like portfolios. Another disagreement of theseShow MoreRelatedTaking a Look at Standardized Testing598 Words   |  2 Pagesof students and in turn, the aptness of teachers. W. James Popham (2005), former president of the American Educational Research Association, defines standardized test as any test thats administered, scored, and interpreted in a standard, predetermined manner. In the United States, standardized testing became more prominent in 2002 due to the adoption of the No Child Left Behind Act. All public schools were held to a high standard of education by measuring their students’ scores in statewide standardizedRead MoreStandardized Test and Informal Reading Assessments Essay2179 Words   |  9 Pagespoints, and by listing a few of these you can make your own decision as to whether standardized testing is good or bad, and what or how you can use the testing information in your classroom. â€Å"Standardized tests are defined by W. James Popham, former president of the American Educational Research Association, as ‘any test that’s administered, scored, and interpreted in a standard , predetermined manner.† (ProCon.org, 2011, p. 6) The debate over these tests has become a very hot topic especially since

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Employee Diversity Assignment Free Essays

Employee Diversity Contents: 1. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. We will write a custom essay sample on Employee Diversity Assignment or any similar topic only for you Order Now 2 2. Advantages of employee diversity to organization†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2 1. Advantage of Language diversity†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦2-3 2. Advantage of Gender diversity†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 3. Advantage of Age diversity†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3-4 3. The problem of employee diversity†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦4 1. Communication problem†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4-5 2. Gender discrimination problem†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 4. Solutions to the problem of employee diversity†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5-6 1. Solutions of communication†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 2. Solutions of gender discrimination†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 5. Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6-7 Reference†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦8 1. Introduction: The employee diversity can be defined as the employment of people with different qualities and back grounds. The most fundamental of the definition of employee diversity are focus on race, gender, nationality, age. According to (Nancy R, June 2005), fast technological change, globalization, the demand for skills and education, an aging workforce and greater ethnic diversification in the labor market have greatly influenced the arrangement of diversity today. Today’s definition of employee diversity includes race, age, ethnicity, gender or personality and work style, secondary influence such as religion, socioeconomics and education. Nowadays, employee diversity is very population the work place. It has advantages also accompanied by the disadvantages. 2. Advantages of employee diversity to the organizations 2. 1. Advantage of Language diversity: In the organization if the employees are speaking different languages, it may bring some benefits to the organization. For example, in the one company if the staffs speak not only one language, when the company need some staff to go overseas to join some meetings or do some inspections and research. So the company can only pick up some staffs that can speak those countries’ languages and send them for the meetings or inspections instead of find out some translators or even spend money to hire some consultants. It really can save the expenditure for the company. Nowadays, if a company want to be succeed, it really need to be able to better integrate into this world and also need to broaden their horizons. The employees are the main force of the company; their performances are really affecting the company’s future. The employees’ language diversity can help the company to explore more overseas markets and make them more competitive. 2. 2. Advantage of Gender diversity Gender diversity also has its own advantages for organization. In an era, people change their ways of thinking the gender diversity in the work place. They realized that not only men can do every work in the work place. Now, women are becoming more and more important in organization. Nowadays women have the skill set for the new competitive demands of technical work. Companies agree that they need more technical leaders with varied skills such as interpersonal skills and business skills. 93% of technical leaders in a survey indentified the building of collaborative networks in an organization as a crucial component of leadership (White, B, 2006). Women have the skills to meet the new demands of technological work both in terms of technical and interpersonal skills (Tray, L, 2007). Of course interpersonal skills are really needed in the organization; it is very useful and helpful for running the organization. All those show that women are indeed more suitable for certain parts of organization. These are also the advantages of gender diversity. 2. 3. Advantage of Age diversity Age diversity has its own advantages in the workplace. Nowadays in the work place, there are many different age levels of workers. One part of them is old workers. More and more old workers in the work place are the current trend. Because now, people are retiring much later in life than before and their careers are extended in the present day. According to the research by United States Department of Labor shows that between 1977 and 2007 employment of workers 65 and over increased 101 percent, compared to a much smaller increase of 59 percent for total employment (16 and over). For those older workers they all worked long time in the work place, definitely they got more experience and knowledge than the young age workers. Those of them can transfer knowledge and experience to the new workers. It can help the organization save the expenditure for sending the new workers for training. And the old workers’ experience can help the new workers avoid some common mistakes. In the other hand, nowadays in the work place there are also many young age workers. They also can bring the benefits to the organization. Compare with older workers, younger workers are more creative and innovation. They can help the organization to make better decision and improve problem solving (Harvey, Carol P; M. June Allard, 2012). Nowadays, if the organization wants to remain competitive, it should encourage the staff to distribute a variety of ideas which leads to higher levels of innovation. This part of workers is really a new vitality of organization and they can help organization to keep up with the pace of the times. 3. The problems of employee diversity Consider the employee diversity in the work place. Besides the benefits, there are many problems come out as well. And all these problems may lead to loss for the organization. Below two problems are very common in the work place. 3. 1. Communication problem Communication barriers will lead to problems in the organization. For example, if a manager gives instructions about completing a task to a staff. But this staff fails to fully understanding the instructions because of the language barrier. And then the staff may make mistakes if he tries to complete the task without receiving clarify or even don’t know what the task it is. This problem will cause the delay of the task complete or even fail. It will really cause the losses for the company. And if during a team work, the staffs have communication problem. It will affect the efficiency of work and sometimes it will affect the relationships of the teammates. And also because of the employees may come from different countries, so they may have their own work styles and behaviors and those situations also can cause communication problems among the employees. And finally affect the organization’s benefit. 3. 2. Gender discrimination problem Gender discrimination is another very common phenomenon in the work place. According to the traditional thinking, women have been considered intellectually inferior to men and men are more capable than women at work. Thus, in the workplace, under the same conditions men will get more opportunity to be promoted than women. Same as in the management level, women’s suggestion and ideas sometimes will be ignored or unaccepted. Above phenomenon have also can led to the lack of teamwork and inefficiency work. And this is also a reason of pay-gap between male and female workers. Sometimes the gender discrimination even happened in the recruitment. During the interview men really get high chance to get the job than women. According to a survey conducted by the center for Women’s law and legal services of Peking University in 2009 (Women’s Law and Legal services, 2009). This survey researched 3,000 female employees over one year’s time and got the results by analyzing data interviewed some women employees. According to employers set different criteria in recruitment and women have to have excellent performance than their male competitors in interview to get the same job. More than 1/3 of those women said that male employees are easy to get promoted and priority is always given to male employees. This is fully illustrated gender discrimination really happened in the work place and it becomes a big problem in the workplace. . Solutions to the problem of employee diversity Regarding the problems of employee diversity in the work place, we need to get some solutions to avoid or solve them. In case of these problems damage the interests of organization. 4. 1. Solution to communication problem: ? Training: Employees could be provided proper training to receive in certain language courses if they have language barriers. They also need to be trained how to use the organization internally information system such as telephone system, e-mail system. Set a SOP for staff to check the work has been access properly: Communication problem always caused by misunderstanding and ambiguity and finally lead to loss for the organization. The organization leaders can set some SOPs for staff to make sure the work and information has been implemented properly. In the SOPs may include the instructions of work process and double check procedures. 2. Solutions of gender discrimination: ? Set the relevant regulation of gender discriminations: Make sure the employee handbook includes anti-gender discrimination policies. Create clear examples of gender discrimination to clarify any questions employees may have. And organize the staffs review and test regularly. ? Put reflected box in the work place: In the organization it can be set the reflected box in the work place to encourage and promote the staff to reflect any problems especially the gender discrimination. Once the phenomenon happened, the organization should resolve it quickly and given the appropriate punishment. 4. Conclusion The employee diversity is a reflection of a present trend of this times. Diverse work teams can bring high value and benefit to organizations. Respecting individual differences will benefit the work place by creating a competitive edge and increase work productivity. But work diversity also causes many problems and they also can lead to loss for the organization. Therefore, we need correct to face and deal with the employee diversity. Words:1486 Reference †¢ Eisenberg, Eric M. ; H. L. Goodall, Jr. Angela Trethewey (2010). Organizational Communication (6th ed. ). St. Martin’s: Bedford. pp. 250–58 †¢ Harvey. Carol P; M. June Allard. Understanding and Managing Diversity(5th ed) Boston: Person. Harvey, Carol P. (2012). Understanding and Managing Diversity. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.. pp. 51–55. ISBN 0-13-255311-2 †¢ Nancy R, June 2005 , Retrieved 19 May, 2012 (http:web. ebscohost. com. ezproxy. utas. edu. ) †¢ Tay, L. IT goes soft for career oriented women. Computer World, 2007 P18-21 †¢ United States Department of Labor , July 2008, Retrieved 19 May, 2012 (http:www. dol. gov/spotlight/index. html), †¢ White, B, Leading Technical Professionals 2006, P21-22, †¢ Women’s Law and Legal Services (2009, April 16) Workers’ Daily, P. A5,A6 How to cite Employee Diversity Assignment, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Banking Challenges in the 21st Century free essay sample

First of all I would like to congratulate the administration of Preston University Peshawar for organizing this Seminar. It was the earlier part of the 1990s when the inherent weaknesses of the banking structure were recognized and a comprehensive reform process in the banking industry was initiated. The underlying objectives of the initiatives were to ensure and create a level-playing-field environment of competition in the market and to strengthen the governance and supervision of the financial institutions. In fact, the reforms were targeted to adopt a market-based indirect system of monetary, exchange and credit management to ensure the efficient allocation of financial resources. Today, 15 years later, it would no longer be an exaggeration but a fair statement that the landscape of the banking system in Pakistan has changed. The country has made a significant progress in implementing financial sector reforms and has achieved a more competitive market structure with expanding market share of private sector banks. Moreover, significant gains have also been achieved in the form of better supervision and regulation of financial markets and institutions. Due to prudent 1 regulatory measures, the local banking industry is now considerably resilient in absorbing adverse shocks, both internal and external. Please note that this progress does in no way means the end of reforms, but provides great encouragement to capture and sustain the current momentum of progress. Time is ripe for further strengthening and reshaping of the reform process. This is not only to capitalize on the achieved robustness of the anking industry, but also to integrate it with the global economy deep into the 21st century. The 21st century challenges for the Pakistani banking industry are broadly of internal and external nature. Internal challenges are the one that stem from within the banking industry and carry a profound effect on the long run robustness of the banking industry. External challenges are somewhat exogenous, be ing generated from the external environment of the banking industry, and require shrewd management for adaptability. I would like to start with the internal challenges first. Technical Expertise: Acquiring the technical expertise should be the focus of future human resource management given the changing paradigm of banking sector regulations. For instance, the implementation of the new Capital Accord (Basel II) whereby capital adequacy requirements have been made more risk-oriented by linking capital to operational risk and changing the risk measurement approaches for credit and market risks. However, its implementation is not going to be an easy task especially in countries (including Pakistan) where risk management systems are at nascent stage. This is because of one of the prerequisite for Basel II implementation which requires that the banking institutions should have a robust risk management 2 setup which is capable of effectively managing all major risks that an institution is exposed to. Similarly, the banking institutions are also required to carry out stress testing, a technique used around the globe by financial institutions to assess risk exposures across the institution and to estimate the changes in the value of the portfolio, if exposed to various risk factors. Initially, although, SBP has advised banks to carry out the simple ‘sensitivity analysis’ keeping in the view the varying levels of skill and available resources among banks; however, going forward more sophisticated techniques will be adopted. Certainly, this process would require technical expertise at least in three areas: identifying, analyzing and proper recording of the assumptions used for stress testing; adjusting the situation or shocks applied to the data and interpreting the results; and an effective management information system that ensures flow of information to the senior management to take proper measures to avoid ertain extreme conditions. Therefore, going forward, the focus of human resource management should be to acquire technical expertise if the institutions intend to go along with the changing regulatory environment. Infrastructure Development: All around the world the share of private sector participation is increasing tremendously in the area of infrastructure development. Through most of 1990s, the investment in infrastructure projects with private participation rose steadily and of these the most successful projects were implemented in 136 low and middle income countries. In Pakistan, the conventional form of financing infrastructure projects only through Public Sector Development Programme has resulted in congestions and bottlenecks that have raised the need to find alternative way of fostering private-public partnership in the areas of infrastructure development. This success story of private sector in infrastructure development has also set challenges to the local banking industry to learn from the 3 experience of other emerging market economies and innovate and design the different modes of infrastructure financing and the associated risk management systems. Development of Liability Products: It should be noted that although new products have been introduced in preceding three years on asset side, including, consumer finance, SME finance, etc, but little attention has been paid on developing and innovating the liability products. This one sided approach has proved adverse for the local banking industry as these are the savers and depositors that provide financial resources to the banks to perform their intermediation business. The stagnant financial savings in the economy for last few years is an outcome of this neglect and this has raised the need to design the lucrative savings products in the country so as to look after the interest of the small savers and mobilize their savings in an efficient way. Anti-Money Laundering: As a result of increased integration in the global financial industry, the misuse of banking industry has been observed in recent years. These include the use of banking services for activities like, terrorist financing, drug trafficking and money laundering. In few countries although there is a comprehensive legislative systems and well defined enforcement mechanism; but there are a number of countries where the entire regulatory framework is at initial stage. In such countries, banking institutions are exposed to adverse consequences of these activities in the form of reputational, operational, legal and concentration risks. For instance, the institutions have to pay the investigations or the penalty charges, decline in the stock value, assets seizures, temporary termination of correspondent banking facilities, etc. he tackling of this issue requires a coordinated effort of the banking institutions, regulators, law enforcement agencies, etc. In this regard, SBP has already taken some viable steps to prevent the use of banking institutions for illegal activities. 4 Operational Aspects: It has been observed over time that banks put their focus on treasury corporate business while the operational side is often ignored. I would like to emp hasize that the importance of operational side should not be underestimated. It is as important as other segments of banking and banks should strengthen and give incentives to those persons who are under taking operational business. Human Resource Development: According to the Labor Force Survey 2003-2004, the over all labor force participation rate is 30. 41 percent. In today’s era human resources are as important as financial resources to any organization. The Banks need to develop their human resources for future challenges and produce professionals having the desired expertise for specialized banking like Treasury functions, SME financing and Islamic Banking etc. This is the need of the hour that banks should develop their own Human Resources. To deal with this issue, Banks may enhance their collaboration with the educational institutions. These challenges, ladies and gentlemen, as I mentioned before are crucial in determining the long run robustness of the banking industry. In addition to this, there are a number of challenges that have emerged following the most recent macroeconomic developments in the domestic and global economy. These are what I would like to call as external challenges. Interest Rate Variations: Interest rates have been at historic low levels during the last three years and were therefore providing a conducive environment for the expansion of overall real economic activities. More importantly, smaller business entities which earlier could not afford bank financing were able to do so in this environment. However, since last fiscal year (2004) the interest rate structure is changing gradually. It has to be seen, therefore, whether banks would be able to continue the expansion in their businesses given that the fact in preceding three years, 5 ow financial charges were one of the major factors for credit demand in the economy. In addition, the repayment capacity of the borrowers who borrowed at floating rates has also put a question mark on the asset quality of the banks. Consumer-Durable Demand: The robust growth of auto and mortgage finance in preceding two years has significantly increased the prices of these assets, and thus has created inflationar y pressures in the economy. The probability of default on these loans has a direct relation with the value and the nature of the underlying collateral as most of the consumer lending is secured. This said, asset prices play a crucial role in determining the size of the losses incurred by banks in case of default. In order to avoid such problems, banks have to rely more on the future income streams of the borrowers in making their credit assessment instead of the collateral value, until such time that the asset prices are rationalized. Equity Stock Investment: Given the volatile nature of the equity markets, banks’ investment in equity stocks needs a cautious approach. E-Banking: Another area where still a lot of progress should be made is the Ebanking. Although small and medium banks are now offering on-line services to their customers, the large banks, with more expanded branch network and number of customers, are required to move more expeditiously so as to optimally utilize the Ebanking network. This will not only lower the transaction costs but will also help in improving the customer services. The ATM penetration ratio is still quite low in Pakistan and the efforts are needed to not only further expand the ATM network more aggressively but also to improve upon the security standards. Islamic Banking: Islamic banking is a relatively new concept in our banking system. More and more banks are seeking license to open Islamic bank Branches. At present two full fledged Islamic banks having 37 branches are operating in Pakistan. SBP has 6 also issued license to three more full fledged Islamic Banks, named as: BankIslami Pakistan Limited, Emirates Global Islamic Bank Limited and Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan Limited. Moreover, there are 34 stand alone branches of different banks which are operating successfully throughout Pakistan. The banks should be fully prepared to run Islamic branches with the help of their Shariah Board, Shariah Advisors, Auditors and trained staff. The Banking Industry should understand that Islamic Banking is still underdeveloped and we should not work half-heartedly towards the growth of Islamic Banking. This is a sector where growth is expected and the banks should capture this opportunity. May the Almighty bestow us with His blessings. Thank you. 7